Chapter 100: A Chance to Strike It Rich

Mushroom was startled. He clearly hadn't exposed his position, yet he had been discovered. It seemed the person before him possessed formidable strength. But why was it an old geezer? He had assumed all players were young people. Still, this old man must be from an earlier batch of players; otherwise, he wouldn't have such power. With this thought, Mushroom immediately walked up to him with an eager face.

"Senior, don't attack, we’re on the same side..."

"You are the Mushroom mentioned in the mission?" Ouyang Feng retracted his internal energy in time, his expression unchanging.

Mushroom’s eagerness intensified: "That’s me! Do you take disciples, Senior?"

Ouyang Feng: "......" This kid certainly knew how to climb the ladder when given the chance.

After a brief negotiation, Ouyang Feng learned of Mushroom’s plight. His eyes shifted slightly, and he said with a chuckle: "Keep this protective talisman safe, and trouble yourself to enter the cave once more."

Mushroom was stunned and quickly demurred: "Senior, I’ve only been cultivating for a few days... I really cannot shoulder such a heavy responsibility."

A fierce glint flashed in Ouyang Feng’s eyes: "Hmm? You dare to refuse?"

The mission had never mentioned that players couldn't kill each other. Mushroom forced a smile, feeling miserable inside. He seemed to have no other choice now. But if he went in, surely this wouldn't count as actively seeking death, right?

......

[Under the coercion of Ouyang Feng, player Mushroom enters the cave again with a protective talisman. The restriction’s attack strikes him once more, but this time, protected by the talisman, Mushroom survives the blow.]

Su Ji’an: "......" This sinister personality certainly fits Ouyang Feng’s style. However, Mushroom’s death this time was worth it; otherwise, it would have been Ouyang Feng who died. Resurrecting Ouyang Feng costs 50,000 spiritual power points, which is clearly a losing business.

[At the brink of death, Mushroom catches a glimpse of the scene inside the cave. He sees a bluestone platform built in the deepest part, with what appears to be a skeleton sitting cross-legged upon it. Light shines down from above, landing precisely on the skeleton; otherwise, he would not have been able to accurately locate the remains at the moment of his near-death experience.]

Hmm? Not the lair of a great demon? A skeleton in the cave with light shining upon it... it sounds like the place where a cultivator passed away. The other party must have left behind belongings... but their value is hard to determine. There is a chance for a sudden fortune, or it could be a wasted effort. But why could that rat demon come and go freely without being killed by the restrictions?

"It seems the key to obtaining this opportunity lies with the rat demon," Su Ji’an thought to himself.

Immediately, Su Ji’an resurrected Mushroom once again and began issuing tasks.

[You and Ouyang Feng continue to lie in wait, keeping a close eye on any movement in the cave. Once you spot the demon rat you saw earlier, you must capture it at the first opportunity.]

[Mission Reward: Five Heavenly Spirit Pills.]

[Mission Penalty: Deduction of twenty years of lifespan.]

Regardless, the first priority is to capture that demon rat. This matter can be handled slowly; after all, the cave dwelling isn't going anywhere. The Holy Lord has an immortal body, so he could be sent to handle this. But the Holy Lord is currently occupied, and finishing off Xi Wang is the real priority.

At this moment, in the player channel:

Mushroom: "Brother Key Immortal, Brother Ye the Heavenly Emperor, are you there?"

A moment later, Ye the Heavenly Emperor and Key Immortal responded in succession.

Mushroom: "I have a major opportunity here, but it’s a bit dangerous. To be honest, I’ve already died twice in a row. It just depends on whether you have the guts to join me in pulling this off."

Key Immortal: "It seems you can't hog it all for yourself, so you finally remembered us?"

Ye the Heavenly Emperor: "Give us the details, brother. We’re all players; the one thing we don’t fear is death."

Key Immortal: "Even if it turns out to be nothing, we have nothing to lose."

Mushroom: "I’ll wait for you at the entrance of Lingxiu Village. This isn't the place to talk."

Seeing this, the corner of Su Ji’an's mouth twitched. Damn it! You might have nothing to lose, but it’s his spiritual power being wasted. He couldn't settle his mind without teaching the guy a lesson.

[You are subjectively courting death; a severe warning is now issued. There will be no resurrection for this death.]

[Mission Reward: None.]

[Mission Penalty: Hair loss (total baldness).]

Perhaps he will become stronger once he is bald. This matter is enough for Mushroom to handle alone; there is no need to involve too many others. Mushroom is quite good at the art of advancing by retreating; he found two good scapegoats.

......

Meanwhile, Key Immortal and Ye the Heavenly Emperor, whose hair began to fall out rapidly, were left in disarray. A moment later, they met not far from Lingxiu Village. Upon seeing each other's shiny, bald heads, they instantly realized the other's predicament. Both brothers-in-misfortune sighed heavily.

Ye the Heavenly Emperor sighed softly: "What do we do now?"

Key Immortal said, slightly reluctant: "What else can we do? We’ve been severely warned now; going back is just suicide."

Ye the Heavenly Emperor said with disappointment: "Then why stay here? Let’s disperse early."

Key Immortal said with resentment: "We ended up like this entirely because of Mushroom. He’s right at the village entrance now. If we let him off just like that, wouldn't that be too easy for him?"

Ye the Heavenly Emperor’s eyes lit up: "You mean...?"

Another moment later, player Mushroom was seen leaving Lingxiu Village, black and blue, limping away.

......

[Your Dao companion, He Hansu, looks at the approaching extraterrestrial meteorite. After a moment of hesitation, she drifts upward as if under a spell.]

Su Ji’an frowned deeply. So his previous advice was for nothing, then? She really is not a source of peace of mind. Courting death like this, even if she doesn't perish, she’ll be lucky to survive. This woman is truly not very smart, and she doesn't work hard at cultivation. He really wants to change to a more useful Dao companion. If he can't change her, he should just change the mode. But he has to wait for the next trigger to have a chance at something better.

He is really tied up in a mess of problems right now. Su Ji’an felt quite weary. Immediately, there was new movement from He Hansu.

[Amidst the raging hurricanes on her journey, He Hansu hides in the depressions of the meteorite, repeatedly casting spells to resist the winds.]

[In just a short moment, she has traveled tens of thousands of miles. Although her old wounds have yet to heal and new ones have been added, she can already see the full scope of the Nine Realms.]

Su Ji’an analyzed: "It seems this woman is about to succeed in descending to the lower realm."

She has already seen the Nine Realms, which means the distance is very close. The world is divided into nine realms; the human race occupies seven, and the other two belong to the demon race. However, within the seven realms held by humans, the Demonic Path occupies three.

Never mind, let her come. It won't cause him any harm in any form anyway. With her level of intelligence, he can deceive her many times. If there is a chance, he can even urge her to practice harder.

Just then, there was a knock at the door outside the courtyard. Su Ji’an habitually placed the Great Teleportation Talisman in his palm. It turned out to be the little girl, Li Ling’er, but her expression looked very urgent.