A Chinese Ghost Story???
It seemed like only a momentary daze, yet it also felt like a long time had passed.
In his drowsy state, something light and airy, carrying an overwhelmingly strong, musty smell, suddenly filled He Qiu's nostrils.
They forcefully pulled him out of that bottomless abyss where his entire being was in a daze, a state even more terrifying than the warm bed at home in winter.
He suddenly opened his eyes, and the still not very obvious Inner Breath in He Qiu's body began to circulate on its own almost instinctively, but his vision was still blurry.
Two or three seconds later, his vision finally returned to normal and he could focus on his objects.
Above, there were dilapidated wooden beams covered with cobwebs. Through the gaps in the broken tiles and rotten thatch, the light shone in a gloomy, starless and moonless light, more like the dim red light of a city night.
My mind was completely foggy when I remembered that I had just selected Mission World on the platform, so this must be what it means to "enter" the game.
Even though the ground beneath him was covered with a thick layer of dust and decaying leaves, the wood chips and rubble still made him feel uncomfortable.
He Qiu had just gotten up and subconsciously taken a deep breath when he realized something was wrong.
The air here was filled with a complex stench, a mixture of the earthy smell of soil, the sour smell of rotting wood and leaves, and a faint, yet unsettlingly sweet odor.
My mind gradually cleared completely.
The first thing that was clearly wrong was the feel of the fabric.
He Qiu's original modern casual clothes, as well as the tactical vest he bought online for backpackers, had mysteriously disappeared. In their place was an ancient-style decoration that, judging from the texture, seemed to have a distinct grainy feel and was mostly made of coarse cloth or hemp.
Wearing a wide robe with large sleeves, and a cloth belt around the waist, her movements exuded a lightness and... inconvenience that was completely different from before.
Especially the excessively wide sleeves, which almost completely enclose both hands, making every movement extremely inconvenient.
Holy crap, something's not right... Why does it feel a little chilly down there...?
Oh, my underwear is still here, thank goodness!
He subconsciously opened his shirt to check first, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, this Main God wasn't so outrageous as to change underwear on the spot with a single click, otherwise it would have been truly baffling!
Feeling the pull and "weight" on his head, He Qiu subconsciously touched his head. His short hair, which was originally no more than a buzz cut, had now grown to his shoulders and was simply tied up with a piece of leather that felt like leather.
--Well, this really is a revival of the Zhou Dynasty's rites.
He looked around several times, but all he could see was desolation.
The place where he was currently staying was clearly a small, dilapidated temple that had been abandoned for a long time.
The dilapidated statue leaned against the altar. Its face, half-destroyed, had been blurred by time and grime, leaving only a pair of empty, dark eye sockets that seemed to be silently watching the uninvited guest.
The temple walls were drafty, and a strong gust of wind would produce a strange, whistling sound, accompanied by the faint howls of unknown wild beasts in the distance, sending chills down one's spine!
... It's not an illusion!
It really gave me goosebumps!
--But the reason wasn't fear, but rather because tiny insects were crawling inside the overly loose clothing!
He patted himself down a couple more times and finally realized something was wrong. He Qiu jumped three feet in the air and immediately became furious!
Who could possibly resist this!
He hurriedly ripped open his clothes, no longer caring about his appearance. He jumped and swung his arms wildly, trying to shake off the tiny, itchy, wriggling insects that had clearly crawled into his clothes from the rotten wood and mud on the ground!
While the grass was thrashing and shaking wildly, he wasn't paying attention and jumped up, stepping on something buried in the grass next to him!
Suddenly, a deafening "Aow!" was heard—a blood-curdling scream!
A figure that had been curled up in the grass suddenly sprang up from the ground, as if possessed by Tom the cat from Tom and Jerry, who was known for his incredible tenacity!
The guy hadn't even fully recovered yet; tears were streaming down his face from the pain. He was swaying and staggering around, all he could do was curl up his ambush-stricken trotter and howl in pain!
What would it feel like to have a grown man jump up and stomp on your hand with his full weight?
As the "perpetrator" in the literal sense, He Qiu certainly wouldn't know.
He was also startled by the figure that jumped out of the grass, and stumbled back a few steps. When he looked closely, he realized that the guy who was grimacing in pain was the "long-haired version" of Du Qifeng!
Oh no! I accidentally hit my teammate!
Just as He, who was beginning to feel guilty, realized what had happened, before he could think any further, he heard a somewhat indistinct voice coming from behind the altar of the small temple.
"Du Fu... is that you, kid?"
He Qiu recognized the voice – it was Lu Yansheng's!
His eyes lit up, and without thinking twice, he quickly turned around and pulled up "Lu Xun," who was also dressed in ancient costume and had just barely sat up from the ground. Then he pulled Du Qifeng over as well, repeatedly tearing open their clothes and swatting away any insects that might be on their bodies.
After a while of fiddling around, the remaining two finally came to their full senses.
"You even changed my outer clothes? This is truly the first time. Does the Main God even care about this?" Du Qifeng said with a wry smile, rubbing his hands as he adjusted his slightly awkwardly clasp.
"When in Rome, do as the Romans do. It seems the world is much more 'refined' than we thought."
"I can understand, after all, it's a world with a 'Legendary' difficulty suffix..."
Although it was confirmed before entering the mission that all three had a common Mission World option, it is extremely rare for the three of them to "land" in the same place.
While Du Qifeng was still tugging at his clothes, trying to clean himself up, He Qiu and Lu Yansheng tacitly turned on the light screen first to understand the current situation.
[Current World Dungeon - A Chinese Ghost Story???]
[World Type: Eastern Fantasy/Legendary Mythology]
[Difficulty Rating: 1 star / Medium to Legendary?]
[Main Quest: Participate in the main storyline of the current world as much as possible, regardless of faction or methods, until the participant dies or the story ends.]
[Main Quest Rewards: Depending on the circumstances, relevant assessment points will be awarded, with the final reward settlement based on the assessment points.]
[Additional Note: You may interact with story characters within this Mission World, but you are prohibited from revealing any information about the Main God Platform to them in any way.]
[Additional Note: Due to the extremely high difficulty level of this Mission World, some world-building information has been unlocked for participating users and visitors (available for viewing).]
[Note: "To express my respect, I may choose not to use the Xuan-Yuan Sword."]
"The Xuan-Yuan Sword? What does that mean? Isn't this mission supposed to be about A Chinese Ghost Story? How does it involve the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan... Oh wait, I remember now, in the story, the swordsman Yan Chixia seemed to have a Xuanyuan Divine Sword of unknown origin!"
Upon seeing the message in the notes, Lu Yansheng was initially puzzled, then slapped his forehead and remembered some vague information.
But they were both completely dumbfounded after watching for only a short while.
[Currently unlocked partial world-building information--]
[The order of Heaven is broken, Humanity is shaken, Yin and Yang are in chaos, and evil spirits flourish—this is the world we live in today!]
As the ancients said, when Heaven unleashes its killing intent, stars shift and constellations change! When Earth unleashes its killing intent, dragons and snakes rise from the land! When Man unleashes his killing intent, Heaven and Earth are overturned!
Seven days ago, a celestial demon star, "Chiguan," streaked across the sky like a rainbow, leaving a trail of blood across the land. Boundless killing intent transformed into the banner of Chiyou, shattering the heavens, and the "Scar of the Sky" finally took shape!
[The world was thrown into turmoil, people were filled with fear, and demons roamed freely!]
[A skilled and extraordinary person from the mountains and wilderness, through divine observation, saw the "Chiguan Demon Star" shatter the void, severing yin and yang, and plummeting from the depths of the celestial rift into the netherworld, never to be seen again...]
[On the same day, in the Jinhua, a sudden earth dragon arose, startling both humans and ghosts. This was interpreted as a calamity arising in the Underworld, which was now affecting the mortal realm. Extraordinary people lamented that they could not witness even a fraction of it.]
[Later, a senior cultivator from Western Kunlun, on a whim, forcibly sought to glimpse the secrets of heaven. In the end, he sacrificed his life's achievements, leaving his disciple only a few words, saying that the three realms were incomplete, and that a "Earth Sovereign" would descend to earth, drawing his sword to sweep across the Shifang, breaking the "demonic chaos on the earth," and mending the creation of heaven.]
After giving these brief instructions, he turned and left in ashes...
[Thus, Kunlun disciple Zhiqiu Yiye, carrying his master's dying wish, descends the mountain to find the future "Earth Sovereign" and his swordsman. Just as he is about to pay his respects to the swordsman Yan Chixia, the secrets of their affair are discovered by demons, who then drive a mob to pursue and kill him for hundreds of miles!]
At this very moment, a guest star clashes with the Grand Duke Jupiter in the southern sky, unleashing a surge of calamity. Many extraordinary beings from beyond the realm descend to investigate destiny, thus creating unpredictable changes. Their fates and paths are now open to choice...
"No, Main God, are you out of your mind?! You call this 'A Chinese Ghost Story'?"