Flesh · Priest Mask

The black, enormous Yin God, radiating an oppressive presence, spotted his prey returning from the dead.

Lin Feng couldn't make out the shadow's expression. He looked like one of those black dog reaction memes people posted—a huge, shaggy embodiment of ill omen, in black.

One glance was enough to inspire crushing dread and fear.

His feet clearly touched the ground, yet the trees beneath them remained completely unharmed.

"You turned on phasing, huh!"

Even in the thick of things, Lin Feng didn't forget to snark. The shadow turned his head. Lightning and thunder, a torrential downpour, a ruthless killer, a helpless player.

It was a classic horror movie scene.

He could kill you, but you couldn't touch him.

One of those troublesome spirits.

Add in the darkness and pouring rain.

Every horror movie box was checked.

The problem was that Lin Feng himself was another kind of deeply annoying monster from a horror movie.

An undying monster.

A Yin God, huh?

I've come to bargain.

If you won't let me kill you, I'll die ten thousand times right in front of you.

Seeing Lin Feng revive again, the shadow walked toward him. The ropes on his body seemed ready to drop once more and strangle this prey that had returned from the dead.

Lin Feng didn't run. He let out a long breath, gathering his essence, qi, and spirit once again.

Dragon-Tiger qi could hurt him, which meant he wasn't invincible. As long as he had a health bar, there would always be a way to kill him.

Lin Feng planned to try other methods, such as bleeding onto his sword, or quickly entering a meditative state, merging with the wind, becoming a great sword, and slashing at the shadow. As long as he died enough times, he would eventually figure out the pattern. A spirit being killed by another spirit made perfect sense.

No rush. No panic. Just treat this Yin God as a game boss.

I can fail ten thousand times.

But you only get one chance.

As his mind settled, he heard the mask speak.

It wasn't speaking Miao, but Mandarin. This was direct communication between minds, bypassing language barriers.

"Put me on..."

"The Yin God only kills the living..."

"You are no match for him..."

"I possess boundless wisdom. I can share a third of it with you..."

"You and I shall become one..."

"I possess a method to become a god. I can teach you some of it..."

At that moment, the mask uttered strange murmurs into Lin Feng's ears, seemingly trying to entice him into putting it on. Unfortunately for it, Lin Feng remained perfectly clearheaded.

Protected by Mountain God authority, Lin Feng felt nothing in response to this despicable outsider's enticements.

Still, he glanced at the mask.

[Flesh · Priest Mask]

A sudden idea struck Lin Feng.

Motherfucker.

I'll die either way. In a flash, Lin Feng remembered what the guide had said on their way up the mountain. At least the Priest Mask hadn't lied about the Yin God only killing living people. He wondered whether he could coax some secrets out of this thing.

He even suspected that this despicable mask was responsible for his being able to see the Yin God and being hunted by him.

Granted, putting on the mask might end very badly.

But he had survived a Red-Line Worm entering his brain. Could this mask possibly be more terrifying than a Red-Line Worm?

With that thought, Lin Feng decisively pressed the mask onto his face.

He intended to see what the Priest Mask was plotting.

Then he discovered what the "Flesh" prefix in [Flesh · Priest Mask] meant.

The mask was alive.

Within this terrifying legacy,

the priest was a useless, replaceable shell.

The mask was the immortal life-form that passed down the wisdom!

As he put on the mask, excruciating pain shot through Lin Feng. Some living thing seemed to emerge from the mask, entering his mouth and piercing his palate.

Then his eardrums erupted with pain!

Something burrowed into his nose as well.

Only his eyes remained relatively comfortable!

In that instant, amid the agonizing pain, he heard notification chimes.

[The Priest is forcibly passing his legacy on to you.]

[You are acquiring knowledge.]

[Congratulations. You have acquired the Priest's closely guarded secret, ancient knowledge: Mystic Sustenance Method.]

[Mystic Sustenance Method: An ancient method of making offerings to gods from the Yin-Shang era. Through sacrificial rituals, flesh and blood can be transformed into blood offerings for gods. It is an indispensable part of every sacrifice, and essential to the steps toward godhood.]

[Congratulations. You have acquired the secrets of the Mystic Sustenance Method.]

[The Priest has detected your cultivation method—the Shaman Priest cultivation method. The Priest has discovered that your cultivation method does not conflict with the steps toward godhood. Indeed, they lead to the same destination by different paths.]

[The Priest is delighted. He believes you have the potential to become a god.]

[You have gained new insight.]

[You have learned Mystic Sustenance Method: Feasting on Wind and Drinking Dew.]

[Mystic Sustenance Method: Feasting on Wind and Drinking Dew]

[Those who feed on water swim well and endure cold; those who feed on earth are mindless yet wise; those who feed on wood are strong and unruly; those who feed on grass run well but are foolish; those who feed on leaves produce silk and become moths; those who feed on meat are brave and fierce; those who feed on grain are intelligent but short-lived; those who feed on qi are divine and long-lived; those who feed on nothing are deathless gods.]

[Mystic Sustenance Method: Feasting on Wind and Drinking Dew. You can survive without mundane food. Your food becomes the wind spirits between heaven and earth. You devour the wind spirits between heaven and earth. You eat them, and you become them.

When you finally become them, you will be the god who embodies the wind.]

[Your will has been broken.]

[You have been assimilated by the Flesh · Priest Mask.]

[You have died.]

Amid the excruciating pain, Lin Feng felt the world around him finally fall silent.

He collapsed to the ground, rain washing over his corpse.

Having lost his target, the Yin God turned and left. Lin Feng was also forced out of the game interface.

He swallowed and glanced at his character panel.

He clicked his teeth together.

[Name: Lin Feng]

[Class: Embroidered Uniform Guard, Wild Fox Zen]

[Realm: Seventh Rank qi condensation (Mountain God's power passive enhancement active during this game session)]

[Status: Mountain God's Blessing, Mountain God's Wrath, enhanced by Mountain God's power]

[Skills: Swordsmanship Mastery (permanent passive); Sword Heart Clarity (permanent passive); Precise Vision (permanent passive)

Spitting Blood (active skill); Self-Sacrificing Strike (active skill); Mystic Sustenance Method: Feasting on Wind and Drinking Dew (active skill)]

[Equipment: None]

[Fortune: Two Coins (fortune can enhance spells, strengthen your body, and purchase skills)]

[Note: A Daoist who looks like a swordsman. Perhaps you could call yourself an unorthodox Maoshan practitioner. After all, unorthodox Maoshan encompasses everything.]

What caught Lin Feng's attention were those three active skills. Spitting Blood was the blood sword. Self-Sacrificing Strike was what he had comprehended earlier: gathering all his strength to unleash his strongest blow at the cost of damaging his body and exhausting all his power.

Mystic Sustenance Method: Feasting on Wind and Drinking Dew was what Lin Feng had just learned, and it left him dumbfounded.

In short, Mystic Sustenance Method: Feasting on Wind and Drinking Dew told him to live on air.

Whether he lived on air wasn't important. What mattered was what Lin Feng had heard earlier: this was a method for becoming a god?

A god?

What kind of god?

A wind god?

What was a god? A person with supernatural abilities, a symbol, or a kind of power?

More importantly, what exactly did this Mystic Sustenance Method do?

With a bellyful of questions, Lin Feng entered the game without another word. After all, testing a skill inside the game was far better than doing it outside. If he died in the game, so be it. But if he died in reality, he would truly be dead!

Entering the game again and selecting [Continue Game], Lin Feng felt that bone-deep pain strike once more.

His vision went black.

Shit. I forgot the mask was still torturing me.

Seeing him revive again, the mask continued pouring knowledge into him.

Once more, Lin Feng endured the "price" of knowledge.

[The Priest is forcibly passing his legacy on to you.]

[You are acquiring knowledge.]

[Congratulations. You have acquired the Priest's closely guarded secret, ancient knowledge: Qi-Observing Eye.]

[You are acquiring knowledge.]

[Congratulations. You have acquired the Priest's closely guarded secret, ancient knowledge: Qi-Observing Eye.]