Chapter 96 - 92, 700 years ago

Chapter 96: Chapter 92, 700 years agoAfter the two had walked quite a distance from the farmland, I Want to Be Immortal couldn’t help but ask, "Feng, aren’t we forming a team with Dongfang Sheng? I think he’s quite insightful." "No, he’s only Level 1, so even if we team up now, it wouldn’t be useful, and even if we were to form a team, he should be the one asking us, not the other way around. Moreover, he didn’t ask to join the team, and do you know why—that implies he’s wary. We might have killed Ximen Wuhen under the guise of eliminating a menace to the people, but all the information Dongfang Sheng has about it came from us, and even if he believes us, he can’t fully trust us. After all, we did kill someone, so it’s normal for him to be guarded." I can sense that he’s a meticulously thoughtful and overly cautious person, not easily trusting. Certainly, there’s also another point, he’s a man full of ideas and once he decides something, he gives his all. This can be seen from the fact that he dared to take out loans and sell his house to spend heavily in the game. But the more inventive people tend to be, the less likely they are to follow orders; they prefer to be the ones in charge. What if he doesn’t follow commands if we really form a team? This game is a deadly game, and I would rather team up with a compliant novice like Little White than team up with a know-it-all who does things his own way." I Want to Be Immortal was silenced by the explanation, having never considered so much before. He just thought that since they were from the same village, everyone should help each other out. "Wait a minute, so Feng, are you calling me a novice?" "Hahaha, no, no, no, I just think you are more down-to-earth and trustworthy." By the time they finished speaking, the two of them had already arrived at Hunter Yang Baichuan’s wooden cabin. Seeing them enter, Yang Baichuan was very happy. Yang Baichuan (Hunter): "Ah, my two disciples, you have finally returned. How did it go, I Want to Be Immortal? Any progress on the investigation of the ancient tomb?" This task was accepted by I Want to Be Immortal, and Xiao Jie only shared it, so the task of reporting back could only be done by him. Fortunately, on the way back, Xiao Jie had already helped him think of what to say. At this, I Want to Be Immortal followed the script exactly. "Master, we have already investigated clearly. The ancient tomb was the place where an Immortal sealed away the Ghost General. That mysterious figure in the black robe has opened the ancient tomb, very likely to release the sealed Ghost General or harness the Ghost General’s power for his own use. This matter is of great importance; we didn’t dare to explore the tomb too deeply, but could only monitor and investigate nearby. Unexpectedly, we saw a Corpse Chaser herding a large group of zombies and soulless zombies entering the tomb, and we’re not sure of his intentions. Lately, we were discovered by the Corpse Chaser, faced assassination, and had to retreat first. After a life-and-death struggle, we finally managed to escape back here, and even contracted corpse poison during the fight, though fortunately, it has been cured now." "Such a thing occurred!" Yang Baichuan’s expression immediately turned solemn. "Well done, you’ve done well. If it weren’t for your discovery, all the people of Ginkgo Village would have been kept in the dark. Now that we are aware, we can find a way to deal with it. This matter must be reported to the village chief without delay. Both of you should come with me later to inform the village chief about this. You’ve accomplished such a feat and faced such life-threatening danger, demonstrating your heroic spirit. I have practiced the archery all my life and seldom share my skills lightly, but today, teaching my skills to you would not be misplaced. I Want to Be Immortal, your leadership in this investigation has been instrumental, and I could teach you two ultimate skills. Hidden Moon Following Wind, since you ventured to risk your life with I Want to Be Immortal, your contributions are also indispensable, and I will teach you an ultimate skill. If there is anything you wish to learn, just ask me." A system prompt appeared on Xiao Jie’s screen. [System Prompt: Mission "Investigate the Mysterious Ancient Tomb" completed, your reputation in Ginkgo Village has increased by 200 points, now at 260/500, respected. You have earned Yang Baichuan’s favor, and you can now learn a skill from him.] I Want to Be Immortal’s prompt was slightly different from Xiao Jie’s—his reputation increased by 300 points, and he could learn two skills. I Want to Be Immortal was excited. Initially trading the Black Wood Sword for Ye Luo’s help in killing the Evil Spirit and acquiring the curious task item—talisman paper—now finally seemed to have paid off. This mission was certainly worth accepting. The two eagerly began to check the skills they could learn. [Combat Skills: Full Moon Shooting. Draw the bow fully, forming a full moon, and shoot a deadly arrow. Range increases by 30%, causing 200% weapon damage with an added piercing effect. For every 10 points increase in Strength above 20, range and weapon damage augmentation further increase by 10%. Learning requirements: Bow Specialization (entry-level), required Strength: 20. Combat Skill: Continuous Arrow. Continuously shoot three arrows at the target, each arrow causing 70% weapon damage. For every 10 points increase in Agility after reaching 20, an additional arrow is shot. Requirements for learning: Bow Specialization (entry-level), Agility 20. Combat Skill: Heart-Hitting Arrow. Sense the most threatening enemy around you and release a blind shot, causing 100% weapon damage and guaranteed to hit. Requirements for learning: Bow Specialization (entry-level), Perception 20. Combat Skill: Raptor Strike. Imitate the hunting technique of raptors, leap into the air and launch a rapid descending attack on the enemy, causing 150% weapon damage and gaining a speed damage bonus. Learning requirements: Agility 15, Strength 15. Combat Skill: Bear Hug. Imitate the hunting technique of grizzly bears, can only be used on close-range enemies, grapple the enemy to immobilize them, and cause compression damage equal to Strength × 0.5 per second for 3 seconds. After the grapple ends, a bear throw is triggered. If successful, the enemy is thrown down. Learning requirement: Strength 30. Mystical Skill: Call Beast. Emit a sound imitating that of a wild beast, attracting nearby beasts to approach you (the beast to be imitated must be in your Illustrated Book of Beast Knowledge). Requirements for learning: Beast Knowledge. Professional Skill: Rope Binding Trap. Set up a simple trap made of hemp rope and camouflage it slightly. Enemies passing over the trap will be bound and unable to move for 3 seconds. Learning requirement: none. Xiao Jie looked through the list and couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement. Didn’t expect this, Yang Baichuan’s Skill Pool is almost as extensive as that of Tie Qianli. He knows so many skills. It’s a pity this guy doesn’t teach formally, or I would definitely pay to learn from him. Fortunately, I can freeload one skill now, which is not bad. After hesitating between Continuous Arrow and Raptor Strike, Xiao Jie finally chose Continuous Arrow. Since I’m purely following the Agility path, my Agility attribute will definitely continue to grow. This Continuous Arrow has scalability. If my Agility reaches 50-60, I might even shoot six or seven arrows. Even if each only deals 70% damage, the total is still considerable. With a better bow and arrow, the damage would be absolutely explosive. This game has no restrictions on professional skills. Although currently focused on using knives, the ability to fight both up close and at a distance is the best strategy. I Want to Be Immortal first learned Full Moon Shooting, then also hesitated between Raptor Strike and Bear Hug. Previously, he leveled up to 8 and hadn’t yet assigned his five attribute points. If he added them all to Strength, he could learn Bear Hug, and if he added them to Agility, he could learn Raptor Strike. Xiao Jie, however, reminded him, "Can you even jump while wearing full heavy armor?" This suddenly enlightened I Want to Be Immortal, and he decisively added 5 points to Strength, boosting it to 30, and learned the Bear Hug skill. Moreover, reaching 30 Strength had another benefit; he could wield a Giant Axe with one hand in the future, and could complement it with a Shield to further improve his defense. However, wielding a Giant Axe and a great Shield, and wearing full Heavy Armor, his setup was a complete Tank, which made the path to becoming an Immortal seem a bit dim. After the two learned their skills, Yang Baichuan said, "Gentlemen, this matter is of great importance. Please come with me to see the village chief and explain the situation." Xiao Jie replied, "Of course, please lead the way, Master." Yang Baichuan then led the two towards the inside of the village. The three quickly arrived at the village chief’s house. Yang Baichuan explained their purpose to Master Huang, and Xiao Jie and I Want to Be Immortal recounted their investigation process once more. After hearing the account, the Old Village Chief also showed a grave expression. Master Huang (Ginkgo Village village chief) said, "I didn’t expect such a thing to happen! Alas, this is truly a calamity for Ginkgo Village. I am indeed aware of the Ghost General’s Tomb. For thousands of years, the Land of Nine States has been plagued by calamities, and Ginkgo Valley was once inhabited by humans. However, after several changes, it’s no longer the same. Seven hundred years ago, a Ghost General ravaged this place, killing hundreds of villagers in one day, and the entire population of Ginkgo Village was wiped out, except for a pair of children who hid in a well and survived. Fortunately, an Immortal came from Gu Yun State, slew the evil spirit Ghost General, saved the children, and later recruited refugees to rebuild Ginkgo Village. This incident was recorded in the earliest village chronicles of Ginkgo Village. The malevolent Ghost General that caused this trouble is none other than the Corpse Vulture. This Ghost General is not an ordinary human; it has no flesh and blood and can resurrect through the power of Yin Spirit even if slain. Thus, the Immortal sealed the Corpse Vulture in the ancient tomb, dispersing its Yin Spirit with an Array, ensuring that it would naturally perish after eight hundred years. Originally, with the protection of our Ginkgo Village, such an error should not have occurred. However, three hundred years ago, a great disaster fell from the sky, and no one guarded the ancient tomb, allowing a mysterious man in a black robe to take the opportunity to enter. This person drove the Walking Dead and Wandering Souls into the tomb, surely aiming to use the power of these Corpse Ghost Yin Spirits to resurrect the Ghost General. Now, even though the Ghost General Corpse Vulture has only one-tenth of its strength left after seven hundred years, if given time to recover, it will surely cause great turmoil. For the Ghost General to regain its strength, it must devour living souls to bolster its power. In these times of disaster when humans are scarce, it won’t be easy for him to absorb the power of living souls. Within dozens of miles, only our Ginkgo Village still has some inhabitants. When the day comes for the Ghost General to resurrect, I fear that Ginkgo Village will face a grave peril."