Squeeze it dry-everything can be squeezed dry!

His head still throbbed with intermittent stabs of pain.

In the coffee shop on the corner, Lin Feng sat listlessly in a booth, holding a cup of coffee.

The air-conditioning was strong.

Lin Feng did not use the Qi-Observing Eye again.

He had forgotten he was no longer inside the game.

Here, he only had one life.

Once it was gone, it was gone.

He could not afford to get too reckless.

The spasms in his head came from overusing his skill. In fact, he had already sensed something was wrong when he left the hospital entrance.

He had felt a slight headache.

But he had not taken it seriously.

Looking sickly as he held his phone, Lin Feng bought a notebook and pen after entering the shop. It took several hours before his head finally settled down.

By then, he had mapped out plenty of clues in his notebook.

All the clues pointed to a single name.

[Western Hunan Blood God].

Below [Western Hunan Blood God] were several smaller labels.

[Ascension Stockade?]

[Northern Song Emperor?]

[Yuan Dynasty Imperial Preceptor?]

[Ancient Priest]

Some tentative ideas about this mission had already begun forming in his mind.

There was also the relationship between the [Western Hunan Blood God] and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Tusi, and the Celestial Master’s Mansion.

Closing the notebook, Lin Feng knew he still needed evidence to support his ideas.

A faint thread had already emerged in his mind.

What he lacked now were clues that could bring the main thread into focus.

Only by pressing onward could Lin Feng determine whether his guesses were correct.

He checked the time, took a couple of bites of cake, then Lin Feng checked the time again, hesitating slightly.

It was getting late.

Should he keep playing the game tonight, or livestream instead?

Between playing the game and earning his keep, Lin Feng decisively chose a compromise.

He would play a round first, then come out and stream. Whatever happened, until he could leave human society behind, he still had to put food on the table.

If a streamer kept skipping streams for too long...

People would forget him.

Food, clothing, housing, transportation—none of them came free.

He had to earn his keep!

There was no shame in that.

Leaving with his notebook, he hurried back to his room, put on his helmet, and entered the game.

He decided to use three lives, make it quick, and drain the flesh mask dry.

"My lord, the road ahead has collapsed."

Lin Feng said, "Take this route. I have something to do. I'll catch up in a bit."

Hundred-Household Officer Zhu: "..."

The guide: "..."

The guide was speechless.

But remembering his own position, he glanced at the silent imperial officer.

He had no choice but to offer a cautious reminder. "Master Taoist, I said the road ahead is cut off."

"Yes, I heard you. Take another route."

Lin Feng took a deep breath, his aura abruptly surging. Without another word, he pushed off with both feet and vanished, light as a swallow.

He left Hundred-Household Officer Zhu and the guide staring at each other.

The guide swallowed hard and looked at Hundred-Household Officer Zhu in despair.

"Sir, there's no road."

Hundred-Household Officer Zhu's expression remained unchanged. After a moment's thought, he said, "Lord Lin said to take another route."

The guide looked ready to cry.

Hundred-Household Officer Zhu wasted no more words.

A blade was more persuasive than words. It surpassed speech, even eliminating the need to speak.

With a blade pressed against his neck...

The guide understood what Hundred-Household Officer Zhu meant.

"Do as the Taoist said."

He yielded to the blade. Given the choice between dying by the blade right now and possibly dying on the road, he chose the latter.

The former meant certain death.

With the latter, he could still try his luck.

What if he survived?

Rain fell, and the mountain road was muddy.

Holding his sword against his chest, Lin Feng stood to one side and watched the figures approaching along the mountain road.

The three-meter-tall Ghost Uncle sat on a carrying chair.

He looked at Ghost Uncle and activated the Qi-Observing Eye.

[Type: demon]

[Fortune: black clouds overhead, bloody light soaring skyward, a certain-death calamity]

[Threat level: low]

Then he looked at the Toothless Old Lady.

[Type: demon]

[Fortune: black clouds overhead, bloody light soaring skyward, a certain-death calamity]

[Threat level: none]

So Fortune was not just represented by colors. In more extreme cases like these, it came with an explanation.

Unfortunately, when Lin Feng had looked in the mirror after returning home, he discovered he could not examine himself.

What was this called?

A physician cannot heal himself?

There was little to see in the mountain villagers, either. Their Fortune was black, just like that of the patients leaving the intensive care unit.

Having finished looking, Lin Feng attacked.

He ignored martial honor and launched a sneak attack.

His sword mingled with the rain, its shrill whistle drawing thin sprays of blood. Lin Feng burst out like a rabid dog.

Rabid dog swordsmanship.

Of course, that described his state, not his sword technique. The Little Emei Sword focused on thrusts and cuts, a close-quarters sword art that could not have been better suited to this situation.

Clean and efficient, it prioritized killing over beauty.

His sword qi sliced through necks like a waterjet cutter, severing heads along with their spinal columns. Without saying a word, Lin Feng charged straight up to Ghost Uncle.

Ghost Uncle opened her mouth wide, and the markings on her forehead seemed about to form the character for "king."

She wanted to use her innate divine ability to cow Lin Feng.

She was fast, but Lin Feng was faster. [Self-Sacrificing Strike]—this was supposed to be an ultimate move, consuming mana and health and leaving him weakened for a long time after a single use.

Lin Feng knew every trick Ghost Uncle had.

His essence, qi, and spirit condensed into a single sword strike. Rather than swordsmanship, it was more like a last-resort trump card.

Ordinarily, a swordsman would not use this move.

Even assassins did not use it.

That referred to assassins after the Spring and Autumn period. Assassins of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods had been quite fond of it.

A move for mutual destruction.

Now, however, Lin Feng was still the Mountain God. With a buff like that, his vitality flowed endlessly!

He used his ultimate as a basic attack.

One strike!

Like a swift darting through the woods, Lin Feng swept past Ghost Uncle. Then Ghost Uncle's head landed in Lin Feng's hand.

From bursting out of the woods to killing the Toothless Old Lady, the several Terracotta Figures blocking his way, and Ghost Uncle...

Only a moment had passed.

As he fought, Lin Feng felt that his physical stamina had improved.

Pure swordsmanship.

It was not just because of his cultivation level. Feasting on Wind and Drinking Dew seemed to help as well, filling his body with tremendous explosive power.

He just did not know how to figure out how strong he actually was.

As thunder cracked overhead, Lin Feng did not rashly reach for the mask.

Skill came from familiarity, agility from speed, strength from softness, and wisdom from clumsiness. Lin Feng scanned his surroundings, waiting for the shadow that had strung him up.

He waited a good while, but nothing appeared. The Yin God did not appear.

He worked through the possibilities by elimination.

Killing Ghost Uncle was not what made the Yin God appear.

Then was it the mask?

Without any hesitation, Lin Feng tore open Ghost Uncle's clothes and saw the mask. An eerie light flashed within it.

Just once, the light dazzled his eyes.

Lin Feng saw a shadow approaching from a distance. The shadow saw him too and came toward him.

"So you were behind it."

All to make him put on the mask.

This mask had really gone to a lot of trouble.

Looking thoughtful, Lin Feng finished speaking and snatched up the mask.

Sorry for all the trouble.

All that flirting wasted on a blind man.

The mask: "???"

Yanking the mask free, Lin Feng put it on his face.

Although the mask did not know why this young man was so reckless...

It still went to work.

[You are being forcibly subjected to a Priest's inheritance]

[You are acquiring knowledge]

[Congratulations, you have acquired a closely guarded Priest's secret, ancient knowledge: Ritual Incense Crafting Method]

[Ritual Incense Crafting Method: an ancient method of worshipping deities from the Yin-Shang dynasty. Through sacrificial rites, you can create Ritual Incense that connects to the secret realms of deities. It is an indispensable part of every sacrificial rite, as well as an essential component of the steps toward godhood]

[Congratulations, you have acquired the secret of Ritual Incense]

[Ritual Incense Crafting Method]

[Summoning souls and divining answers, appeasing and pleasing—the rule of deities is steeped in bloodshed and cruelty. Warfare, hunting, and livestock sacrifices together provide the offerings, which also serve as the basic ingredients for Ritual Incense. Humans are not the best among them, but neither are they the worst]

[Crafting Ritual Incense: you can use captives, livestock, and wild beasts to create Ritual Incense. The greater the spirituality of the offering, the higher the quality of the Ritual Incense, and the more likely you are to meet the deities within the Divine Realm]

[Your will has been broken]

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

[You have died]

Without hesitation, Lin Feng chose to continue.

He put the mask on again. This time, its knowledge repeated.

Lin Feng refused to believe it.

He revived again and put on the mask once more. Its knowledge still repeated.

His reward was a one-hour cooldown.

He checked the time: five in the afternoon. Lin Feng waited an hour and tried again, discovering that he really had drained the mask of all the knowledge it possessed.

It had no more knowledge to offer.

Lin Feng was disgusted.

Goddammit, so it was an illiterate moron too.

That was all it took to drain it dry?

What a paltry little mask.