Sentient?

--This world has finally gone mad into a form I can't understand.

At this moment, He Qiu had only one thought in his mind.

Out of a bit of politeness, these guys had just picked up the badly damaged statue from the ground, placed it back on the altar, and bowed respectfully.

Although everyone knew perfectly well that there was probably no "true god" in charge of this area, they were still borrowing someone else's land, so they should at least show some courtesy in return.

At this moment, the three "literati" were sitting behind the relatively clean altar of the deity, discussing matters.

But unlike this somewhat unsettled fellow, Du Qifeng and Lu Yansheng were now chatting with great interest.

"----But conversely, the main plot of A Chinese Ghost Story revolves around what happens after the scholar Ning Caichen goes to Lanruo Temple. What does that have to do with Xuan-Yuan Sword: The Scar of the Sky?"

Du Qifeng shook the collar of his neck forcefully, pulling out a few strands of long hair that had accidentally slipped inside.

Even though most of the bugs on my body have been cleaned off, thinking about it now still makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"No, if I had to say, there is actually some connection."

"Many of us from that generation played the single-player version of Xuan-Yuan Sword. I remember the game's official statement that because the A Chinese Ghost Story film series had a huge influence at the time, the Xuan-Yuan Sword games referenced many of the film's settings, including the very name 'Xuan-Yuan Sword' itself."

Unlike the two young men, Lu Yansheng was several decades older, which meant he was unfamiliar with many new things. However, similarly, there were things he understood that the young men didn't quite understand either.

"Furthermore, in the single-player game Xuan-Yuan Sword Scar of the Sky, there doesn't seem to be any mention of this 'Earth Sovereign,' nor is there any title like 'Earth Sovereign.'"

"The game's story is set in the Sui Dynasty, but it's been twenty or thirty years, so my memory isn't very clear. I only remember that in the game's setting, the Mandate of Heaven seemed to have shifted from the protagonist Chen Jingqiu to Li Shimin, rather than from Yuwen Tuo to Chen Jingqiu."

"But the current problem is, how can the plot of 'Scar of the Sky' jump directly out of the world view of 'A Chinese Ghost Story'?"

"If this world truly possessed the Eastern Emperor Bell, the Kongtong Seal, the Nuwa Stone, and so many other absurd things like the Nine Heavens Barrier and the power of the gods, could it have turned into this monstrous state?"

"Similarly, without those magical artifacts, I really can't imagine how we would clean up that mess."

Rolling his eyes, Lu Yansheng still felt a little awkward as he lifted his long hair from his head to avoid obstructing his view, and simply pointed to the dilapidated temple roof above him.

No further explanation is needed.

The other two knew he was referring to the area above the temple. Through the dilapidated gaps that could no longer shield it from the wind and rain, even the naked eye could now clearly see a faint, eerily sinister, boundless scar deep in the sky—a scar that seemed to roll with blood. "And besides the orthodox Formation of Loss, there is also the one with myriad spirits—"

"Shut up!"

He Qiu suddenly raised his hands, pressing them down on Lu Yansheng and Du Qifeng simultaneously like two iron clamps. "Something's coming."

He could hear it fairly clearly; it seemed that at some point, the howls of wild beasts in the distance had almost disappeared.

The two were startled, then horrified, and quickly lowered their breathing, turning around to remain on guard.

"Those things are closing in, they feel like dogs—no, more like a pack of wolves! There are quite a few of them!" He Qiu's voice also lowered.

With Inner Breath circulating within him, He Qiu's five senses were noticeably more acute than those of the two individuals who had only undergone basic enhancements in human genetic power.

At this moment, he could vaguely sense some unusual activity outside the small, dilapidated temple.

---- Accompanied by the faint sound of sharp claws stepping through withered branches and leaves, the subtle traces of those lurking and approaching in the darkness, and the suppressed panting of beasts.

Pairs of eerie green lights gradually lit up in the darkness outside the temple, slowly approaching like will-o'-the-wisps, finally stopping at the temple gate and several broken holes, revealing a group of blurry yet agile outlines.

Just as He Qiu said, it was indeed a wolf!

Through the cracks in the dilapidated temple walls and doors, just from what they could see, the three of them scanned the surrounding area and, judging from the shadowy gray figures, there were at least a dozen large wolves.

Their eyes met, and perhaps unconsciously they had already realized the implications of being "exposed." The pairs of eerie green lights suddenly slowed their movements, not rushing forward, but instead lying in wait among the vast expanse of weeds outside the temple.

These beasts, hiding under the cover of night, clearly had no intention of easily entering the relatively narrow interior space of the small temple, which was not conducive to agile group attacks or maneuvering. They simply crouched under the grass, coldly staring at the few people inside the temple.

Those pairs of bright green eyes seemed to glow as if they had seen several pieces of moving "living flesh."

"Guys, to be honest, this is the first time in my life I've ever been stared at like this by a bunch of beasts."

Lu Yansheng showed no sign of being in a hurry; he was clearly very composed.

The previous two Mission World had a significant effect on tempering people.

"To be honest, this was much more exciting than those big dogs I encountered while walking alone at night last year."

Standing back to back, Du Qifeng licked his lips, pulled up the oversized cuffs, tied a knot tightly, and took out his trusty "tool" from his personal storage compartment.

I acquired this Guan Dao (a type of Chinese halberd Autonomous God for a single-digit price; it has a long handle, a wide spine, and a curved blade!

What are you doing playing with swords and knives?!?

Let alone a novice, even if you were a true swordsman, in a serious fight, you should prioritize using long weapons!

This is the famous Ashina-style swordsman, and the ancient wisdom of battle formations that he clearly taught to young people!

- If it weren't for the Main God the price of firearms here is obviously incomparable to that of ordinary cold weapons, this kid would at least need to get a heavy firepower suit with Infinity ammo first!

However, despite the obvious situation of being outnumbered, the wolves outside still did not immediately attack.

They merely lay low in the grass, emitting threatening "whistles" from their throats. Even their fangs gleamed white in the dim night. Pairs of wild green dots locked onto the three "prey" inside the temple, but never rushed to pounce.

The two sides were locked in a brief standoff.

The air was unusually heavy, with only the sound of the wolves' heavy breathing.

"Something's not right. These beasts seem a little too cunning."

He Qiu frowned deeply.

"If I'm not mistaken, they probably didn't detect much of that fearful scent on us, so they sensed something—"

Lu Yansheng suddenly realized, "Something's definitely not right; their reactions are too human-like."

"Is this... a sentient being?"

All three of them were well aware that in this theoretically demon-infested world, the idea of a supernatural being "becoming a spirit or a demon" didn't seem like such an outlandish possibility.

"No, it shouldn't be that bad. Apart from a slightly eerie aura about them, I didn't sense anything significantly different from the ordinary creatures I remembered—"

He Qiu decisively rejected this idea.

Although the Body-Washing Introductory Heart Method he exchanged was only a basic method, it still included breathing exercises, making him noticeably more sensitive to this kind of "qi".

"Or is it that the wild creatures in this world are inherently exceptionally intelligent, even bordering on having developed a slight level of sentience, almost like spirits?"

Du Qifeng probably hadn't grasped the meaning behind this, but He Qiu suddenly shrank his neck and turned to look at Lu Yansheng had said those words.

Clearly, they both realized something.

If, in this day and age, even these ordinary wild animals are prone to exhibiting such "spiritual" reactions—