Plot Clues

Beneath the gloomy sky, Li Muyang sat on the raised field ridge and opened his eyes again.

He scratched his head, feeling speechless.

"Damn it, I died again..."

Had Steward Wu eaten gunpowder today?

Why did he kill Li Muyang the moment they met?

After meeting Steward Wu, the system offered two choices, but no matter which one Li Muyang picked, Steward Wu would fly into a rage and hack him to death. There was no way to survive.

After dying several times in a row, Li Muyang was at a loss for words.

"Meeting Steward Wu means certain death, but I can't just avoid him..."

In theory, an interactive game wouldn't give you an unavoidable death option. If one appeared, it meant you must have triggered a death flag with some key choice earlier, which was why the game now offered no way out.

But the third stage of the cultivation gameplay had only just begun. He'd barely made any progress through the story, so Li Muyang couldn't possibly have triggered a death flag.

Could the key to breaking the deadlock be before I meet Steward Wu?

Li Muyang loaded his save again, this time returning to the very beginning, before going to the Ancestral Temple to see Granny Gu.

After loading into the game, Li Muyang met Little Wild Grass.

"Big Brother, Granny Gu wants us to go see her in a little while."

Little Wild Grass passed along the message.

Li Muyang shook his head. "No. We're going straight into the mountains."

This time, Li Muyang chose not to see Granny Gu. Instead, he took Little Wild Grass straight into the mountains, bypassing the Ancestral Temple storyline.

They reached the limestone cave on time. Steward Wu didn't kill him, but his attitude was still as cold as ever.

After accompanying Little Wild Grass while she had her blood drawn in the cave, Li Muyang started back toward the stronghold with her.

But a chilling wind suddenly swept across the mountain path, and darkness surged over Li Muyang like a tide.

The sensation of being touched by a strange creature in the Ancestral Temple returned.

[You have died. Game over]

The death screen appeared, and Li Muyang opened his eyes on the field ridge.

If I don't go see Granny Gu, she'll kill me outright?

Li Muyang scratched his head. "Looks like my usefulness isn't as great as I thought. If I don't keep my appointment with her, she just kills me without giving me a chance to explain myself."

That old woman sure had a taste for killing.

Li Muyang closed his eyes and entered the game again.

Not seeing Granny Gu meant certain death. And once the Ancestral Temple storyline had been triggered, going to see Steward Wu also meant certain death.

So the key to breaking the deadlock had to be somewhere between those two events.

Li Muyang quickly worked out where to look and loaded his save again.

This time, he loaded a save from just after he and Little Wild Grass had left the Ancestral Temple.

After leaving the Ancestral Temple, Li Muyang didn't take Little Wild Grass straight to see Steward Wu.

He walked with her along the mountain path, considering what he could do before meeting Steward Wu.

The demonic cultivators who had come to Black Cloud Stronghold from elsewhere were brutal and powerful. They followed a mysterious figure known as the Temple Lord. Yet the Temple Lord was so secretive that he never appeared in public, and the villagers had never seen his true face.

Below the Temple Lord were three cave masters, and beneath them were eighteen stewards.

Steward Wu was one of them. Among the demonic cultivators, he was already an elite monster, with a high status.

Li Muyang couldn't bypass Steward Wu and go looking for the three cave masters. That would only get him killed faster.

These demonic cultivators from the old era were cruel and treacherous, far more sinister than the orderly-evil cultivators of the Demon Refining Sect. There was basically no reasoning with them.

Li Muyang took Little Wild Grass into the limestone cave, but instead of going straight to see Steward Wu, he deliberately avoided the Blood Chamber and wandered around the caves.

One limestone cave after another linked together to form a vast underground world.

The caves were all enormous, with the highest ceilings reaching hundreds of meters. It didn't feel cramped at all inside.

And after the demonic cultivators had renovated the caves, the only noticeable difference from the outside world was that the air was much damper and colder.

Even the cavern outside the pharmacy had been planted with all kinds of beautiful spirit herbs and flowers. Their stems glowed in the gloom, as if they belonged in a fairy-tale world.

Little Wild Grass followed Li Muyang as he steered clear of the Blood Chamber and toured every cave they could visit. Unable to hold back any longer, she asked him,

"Big Brother, are we still not going to the Blood Chamber? If we don't hurry, Steward Wu's really going to get angry."

Little Wild Grass sounded worried.

But Li Muyang wandered aimlessly through the caves, striking up conversations with any demonic cultivator he came across.

Talking to NPCs in a game was one of the main ways to obtain key information.

And now, whenever Li Muyang saw a demonic cultivator, he went over to talk.

"...Brother, anything happen in the caves today?"

"Sister, have you heard what happened in the caves today?"

"Hey... Uncle Blade, have you heard anything about what happened in the caves today?"

Li Muyang stopped every NPC he encountered to chat, trying to trigger an important plot event.

But after searching all the usual locations—the alchemy room, pharmacy, and marrow-cleansing pool—he still hadn't found any key clues.

Everyone was baffled by his questions and had no idea what he was talking about.

Fortunately, the low-ranking demonic cultivators in the caves were all villagers from Black Cloud Stronghold, just like Li Muyang.

They wore ribbons wrapped around their hands and followed the Temple Lord in cultivating demonic arts, but at heart they were still natives of Black Cloud Stronghold and acquaintances of the character Jiang Xiaoyu.

So, although Li Muyang's wandering around was strange, no one disliked him for it.

One kindhearted demonic cultivator even reminded Li Muyang to hurry and take the Soul-Lost One to the Blood Chamber to have her blood drawn. He shouldn't delay, because Steward Wu had a terrible temper, and making him angry could have serious consequences.

And, just as everyone had said, Steward Wu soon appeared.

"Jiang Xiaoyu! You haven't brought the Soul-Lost One to have her blood drawn, and you're wandering all over the caves... You think you can do whatever you want?"

Steward Wu appeared out of nowhere, his face dark with anger, and blocked Li Muyang's way.

Clearly, word had spread that Li Muyang was wandering all over the caves, and Steward Wu had come after hearing about it.

Steward Wu fixed Li Muyang with a cold stare. "If you don't want to work, then you don't have to work ever again!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Steward Wu swept his sleeve, and bloody red words appeared before Li Muyang's eyes again.

[You have died. Game over]

Li Muyang opened his eyes on the field ridge and pondered for a moment.

I can't trigger a plot clue inside the caves. Could the clue be outside?

He loaded his save again. This time, instead of entering the caves, he wandered around Black Cloud Stronghold.

Li Muyang tried the same trick as before, striking up conversations with every villager he came across.

There were even more villagers in the stronghold. Li Muyang wandered around for two or three hours, but still didn't trigger any key clues.

Then, two hours later, Steward Wu arrived after hearing the news, his eyes cold.

"Kid, you dare overstay your time?"

The next second, blood sprayed everywhere, and the game was over.

Li Muyang opened his eyes and loaded his save again.

"No clues in the caves, and none in the stronghold either... Could the clue be on the mountain path before I enter the caves?"