"Nothing good ever comes from anything involving you. Besides, didn't I tell you before? Don't panic in the face of trouble. Although your life is full of hardships, there is hidden hope within you."
"To put it nicely, good people are always protected by heaven; as long as they don't die, that's fine!"
Si Zang casually pinched his fingers a few times: "Look, this deadly situation was meant to kill the three of us, who could have imagined..."
Just as he was about to tap his finger, he suddenly stopped. Looking at him, Mao Xiaofang had a bad feeling.
"Have you gotten into trouble with something else?"
"Me?" Mao Xiaofang looked at Si Zang's suspicious gaze and seriously recalled, "No, a few days ago I killed a few zombies, sent a few wandering ghosts to reincarnation, and then there were those things just now, encountering a few demons..."
"If it's not you, then it's us..." Si Zang's expression was particularly solemn. He flipped through the electronic tortoise shell again and again, and after several different divinations, he stopped at a hexagram: "Whatever, the hexagram has changed again. Even the Heavenly Official's blessing can't stop it..."
"The hexagram 'Ze Shui Kun' (困卦) indicates that the great lake is leaking water, and the aquatic plants, fish, and shrimp are in dire straits."
"Only by finding a way out of a predicament and remaining grounded even when trapped can one break free."
"This journey is fraught with danger, but we have no choice but to go!"
After Si Zang finished speaking, Lin Feng, who had only heard these words, showed a very solemn expression.
"That serious?!" Mao Xiaofang suddenly felt a little scared. The Ze Shui Kun hexagram is one of the most ominous hexagrams. Fish and shrimp are trapped at the bottom of a pond that is about to dry up. Even if they do not move, they cannot escape their inevitable death.
Even the most ominous divination has a solution; the difficulty lies in whether one can actually do it.
"This matter is dangerous. If you're scared, you should quickly take my treasure and leave." Si Zang glanced at Mao Xiaofang, calculating with his hands as he spoke with disdain.
Upon hearing this, Mao Xiaofang was not about to back down. He gripped the object in his hand tightly and stared intently at Si Zang's constantly waving fingers.
"The one who is meant to break the deadlock has already entered the game, so how can there be any talk of breaking the deadlock..." Si Zang suddenly raised his head, a flash of inspiration passing through his mind: "Wait, who exactly set up this game?"
"Bureau?"
“Yes, we didn’t offend anyone or tell anyone before coming here, but this situation arose out of nowhere.” Si Zang gripped the electronic tortoise shell tightly, his fingers turning white. “If it were a calamity, there would be other divination signs, but now we’ve entered a trap…”
Could it be him?
Si Zang frowned, and when his gaze met Lin Feng's, he thought of someone else, Bian Er, who was also in this mission world.
Or perhaps it's one of the gods and immortals of heaven and earth?
The silent discussion flashed by, and Si Zang quickly approached Mao Xiaofang, grabbed his shoulder, and said in an urgent tone, "When you were asking the ghost messengers, did you hear anything about sorcerers?"
"A curse?" Mao Xiaofang shook his head at first, then added firmly, "I can ask them!"
"Ask? How will you ask?" Si Zang suddenly became curious: "Walking through the underworld? Once you go down there, you'll find people without anyone to guide you? Did you promise them you'd help them collect souls to boost their sales targets?"
"Brother, here's your stuff..." Mao Xiaofang picked up the Nine-Turn Thunderfire Ghost-Torture Staff that he had placed on the ground, and said slightly embarrassedly, "I don't know how to use this thing. If you don't mind, brother, I can use it to make a deal with the ghost messengers..."
The torture stick is too heavy. I didn't feel it when I was lifting it, but I can't feel it now.
"Heh~"
Si Zang nodded, showing no objection.
To be honest, if Mao Xiaofang hadn't mentioned it, the Nine-Turn Thunderfire Ghost-Torture Staff would still have been his in the end. After all, the two of them had cooperated in this way before, and Si Zang was not lacking in these odds and ends of magical artifacts.
"Then I'll begin!"
Mao Xiaofang quickly tidied up the ritual implements, changed his expression, put on the Taoist robe given to him by Si Zang again, made a hand seal with both hands and held it in front of him, and stomped down with his right foot.
"Tap tap tap!"
After the three sounds, the earth's energy shifted, the surrounding light suddenly dimmed, and a man wearing a white coat with the traditional Chinese character "灵" (spirit) written on his chest appeared out of thin air.
"Wah wah buzz buzz buzz".
Incomprehensible gibberish flowed from his mouth, and then he pointed a pale finger at Lin Feng, who was standing at the very back.
“Brother Sui.” Mao Xiaofang remembered the name Si Zang had called out. While digging up a clod of wet soil, he asked, “He asked you where the ghost on your body came from and why it wasn’t registered.”
Upon hearing this, Si Zang took a step forward and rushed to block the two of them: "She is not within the Three Realms. If you want to investigate, tell him to go find Emperor Huaguang."
"Waaaaaah..." Mao Xiaofang had a mouthful of dirt in his mouth, turned his gaze to the ghost messenger, and as he spoke, his tone suddenly became a bit tougher.
The ghost messenger was startled, his eyes darting left and right before finally settling on the ashes scattered on the ground and the marks left by the scorching spirit fire: "Wow..."
"Waaaaah..."
"Wow..."
"Waaaaaah..."
After a brief exchange in ghostly language, a black hole appeared beneath the ghost messenger's feet. He jumped down and vanished instantly.
It happened almost in the blink of an eye, quick as it came and quick as it went, but cold sweat had already broken out on Mao Xiaofang's forehead. He spat out the dirt he was holding in his mouth, wiped his mouth, and said, "The underworld has just issued a document ordering the wandering ghosts in this area to be burned to ashes, which saves this ghost messenger a lot of trouble..."
So there's no need to make any more connections.
“That sorcerer is very close to us. If we go east past the village and then cross three mountains, we will meet them…” Mao Xiaofang swallowed hard. “They somehow got wind of this and dug up a buried temple in the mountains, which triggered the earth dragon. Many evil cultivators are rushing over there.”
"The Zhen hexagram signifies the earth dragon turning over!" Upon hearing this, Si Zang drew a hexagram: "Ominous!"
It's another inauspicious divination, and this time it includes the other party as well. Although there are ways to resolve the problem, this time it carries a different meaning. Such danger is beyond human control; the earth is turning upside down... Could it be some deity secretly rejecting the participants?
The conflicts and collaborations over interests—this world, which he knew all too well, made him think more deeply.
...
Outside the nameless little mountain village on the east side.
The heavy rain that had fallen all night finally stopped, and a ray of sunlight broke through the clouds, shining directly over the mountain village.
From the mountain, the village appears perfectly normal. At the village entrance stands a stone lion that has been weathered by wind and rain for decades. To the north of the village is a thriving local temple, and one can vaguely see a simple-minded man in tattered clothes squatting under the stone lion, eating a steamed bun that someone has given him.
A dozen or so early-rising children yawned and wandered around with sticks in their hands, while several adult men carried carrying poles to fetch water from the river. Smoke had already risen from some of the large houses in the village, and the faint scent of newly burning firewood drifted from afar.
"It doesn't look like anything bad has happened." Si Zang had only said a few words when Mao Xiaofang took out two small willow-leaf shaped magical artifacts from his pocket, placed them in front of Si Zang's eyes, and opened his third eye.
"No need, I can see it." Seeing that Mao Xiaofang was about to help him, Lin Feng immediately shook his head.
Upon hearing this, Si Zang glanced at the black mist rising from the village and casually asked, "Have you opened your third eye?"
Lin Feng replied, "More or less."
Almost? What is that? Mao Xiaofang asked in confusion, but Lin Feng explained the next moment: "The spiritual eye is not just an eye that sees the world through sight."
"Huh?" Si Zang turned around and looked Lin Feng up and down with curiosity: "Suibian, are you planning to learn the Fiery Eyes?"
"Forehead..?"
Lin Feng was puzzled, and Si Zang casually said, "The Spirit Eye is connected to the spiritual essence of heaven and earth. If you cultivate it to a high level, it can not only surpass the Monkey King's Fiery Eyes, but also Yang Jian's Heavenly Eye. If you learn some thunder magic, you might be able to cultivate the Thunder Punishment Eye."
"Really?" Before Lin Feng could ask, Mao Xiaofang spoke up incredulously. Opening the Heavenly Eye was already good enough, but to cultivate the Fiery Eyes and the Thunder Punishment Eye was equivalent to joining the ranks of immortals.
"Fake, fake. How many people in this world have that kind of destiny?" Si Zang chuckled, casually brushing off Mao Xiaofang and telling him to continue observing the village. Then he quietly said to Lin Feng, "These eyes are no ordinary thing. You must know that all things have a spirit, and the methods they cultivate are naturally ever-changing. If they could combine with the power within you, who knows what would happen in the end..."
"Whatever. These eyes are basically useless in the early stages of the game. Why did you choose them?" Si Zang seemed to have sensed something, smiled and gave him a wink, and didn't ask any more questions.
After waiting a short while, Mao Xiaofang finished surveying the village and turned back to ask uncertainly, "Brother, should we go straight in?"
"Task Six: Eliminate the demons and monsters."
Black mist formed above the village, and several beast heads were entangled in the black fog, roaring angrily at the stone lion at the village entrance.
With Mao Xiaofang's current cultivation level, he would never dare to face such a demon alone unless absolutely necessary.
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