The words of the half-demon youth, Luo Feng, left Jiang Xiaoyu with a wide grin.
[Jiang Xiaoyu: You’re quite the character, telling jokes with a straight face. You want me to find an Immortal Sword… and if I find one, am I supposed to just hand it over to you dutifully?]
However, Luo Feng shook his head.
[Luo Feng: You’ve misunderstood me. If you find the Startling Swan Immortal Sword, the sword will belong to you. You can completely take the sword and leave the city, and I won’t stop you.]
[Luo Feng: Moreover, while you’re searching for the Immortal Sword, I will provide you with information and help you infiltrate and search for it, fully cooperating with you.]
[Luo Feng: If you don’t find the Immortal Sword, I don’t want any compensation. If you do find the sword, I don’t want the Immortal Sword either—it will belong to you.]
[Luo Feng: As long as after you get the sword, you lend it to me to kill a few people, that will be enough.]
The half-demon youth proposed such a trade.
Jiang Xiaoyu was somewhat surprised.
[Jiang Xiaoyu: Who do you want to kill? Such a big grudge…]
[Luo Feng: In any case, it’s not you, so rest assured. I, Luo Feng, always keep my word and never go back on it.]
Faced with Luo Feng’s suggestion, Jiang Xiaoyu was hesitant.
[Accept his suggestion, with his help, you can get the Immortal Sword faster.]
[This kid is so frank… Could there be a catch? Reject!]
In Li Muyang’s field of vision, such options popped up.
And the warning in red below.
[The current options may affect the difficulty of the game later on, please choose carefully.]
(The difficulty level will not affect the reward settlement.)
“Affect the difficulty later on, not the reward settlement?”
Li Muyang was surprised as he looked at the two choices in his vision and noted that the difficulty level would not affect the reward settlement.
It was almost as if the system was explicitly advising Li Muyang to take the easy path.
If it had been in his previous life while playing a video game, Li Muyang would certainly not be superstitious and would want to try the difficult mode to see just how hard the game could get.
But this was not simply playing a game.
This system interfered with reality and could grant generous rewards.
After saving the game, Li Muyang spent quite a while thinking and ultimately gave up the option of “challenging the high difficulty,” which was something that held much gamer’s dignity.
“I choose the easy mode.”
He chose to accept the proposal of the half-demon youth, Luo Feng.
[Jiang Xiaoyu: Fine! I’ll cooperate with you. But you can’t even find the Startling Swan Immortal Sword yourself, what help can you offer me?]
[Luo Feng: At the very least, I can now lead you safely out without being stopped by the guards outside.]
Following this, Jiang Xiaoyu walked behind Luo Feng towards the outside, and indeed, no one stopped them.
Entering cautiously and failing numerous times, they now left the sealed district with ease and swagger.
Once the two of them had exited the sealed district, Luo Feng spoke first.
[Luo Feng: I originally thought that the Immortal Sword was at the bottom of Drowning Soul Lake, but I have just explored underwater. The lake is empty, the Immortal Sword has obviously gone elsewhere.]
[Luo Feng: The Immortal Sword is sentient and might have hidden itself along with the corpse of the fairy. There is one more clue now, but it’s not convenient for me to show myself, so I’ll leave it to you to investigate.]
[Luo Feng: There is an elder in Bewildered Alley to the north of Southern River City, an old friend of the Jade Fairy. You can find him and perhaps learn the whereabouts of the Startling Swan Immortal Sword.]
After Luo Feng finished speaking, he handed a jade pendant to Jiang Xiaoyu.
[Received Luo Feng’s Jade Pendant x1]
[Luo Feng: This is my personal belonging. Show it to the elder, it will prove your identity.]
When Luo Feng finished speaking, the task bar status in Li Muyang’s vision was updated.
[Main Quest Updated]
[Quest Content: Go to Bewildered Alley to find the Human Puppet Master and inquire about the whereabouts of the Immortal Sword.]
“…Human Puppet Master?”
Li Muyang scratched his chin, always feeling that this address was a bit odd, sounding somewhat sinister.
But surely the friend of Jade Fairy couldn’t be demons or ghosts, right?
He made Jiang Xiaoyu leave and headed towards the north of the city.
However, at that moment, he heard footsteps nearby.
Li Muyang paused the game and opened his eyes.
At this time, he was at the back end of the floating flying boat, sitting beneath a small platform window.
The place was extremely secluded, and combined with the howling cold wind, even the passageways were incredibly narrow, making it highly unlikely for anyone to come here out of sheer boredom.
That’s why Li Muyang hid here every day to secretly play games, avoiding unnecessary social interactions with other Outer Sect disciples—those chosen to join the outbound teams were all desperately trying to climb up the ranks.
They were colloquially known as the “study kings.”
This bunch of people were all workaholics, gathering together to network, build relationships, and cozy up, as if they couldn’t wait to call each other brothers.
The atmosphere reminded Li Muyang of those university graduation and civil service exam gatherings back in his college days.
Li Muyang disliked the atmosphere that was full of vanity and impatience. Moreover, there were always people who would come up to cozy up and disturb his gaming progress.
So, whenever he played games, Li Muyang liked to hide in this quiet, deserted corner, away from the crowd.
But now, the sound of a man and woman talking arose.
Shortly after, a man and a woman emerged, both dressed as Outer Sect disciples.
The woman said in surprise, “Liu Ge, why did you bring me here? There’s nothing here…”
The woman was quite pretty, a slender beauty who would stand out in a crowd.
After all, as long as young girls dressed up a bit, they generally weren’t bad-looking.
The man was also an Outer Sect disciple, who had chatted with Li Muyang a few times before, a typical study king always trying to build connections.
At this moment, he led the woman into the corner, chuckled softly, and wrapped his arms around her.
“…Who says there’s nothing here? Isn’t there a good brother like me…”
“Stop it…”
A man and a woman, two young people, like a tinder and a flame, ignited right there on the spot.
Without any pretense or overture.
Li Muyang, crouching in the corner, hesitated over whether to speak up and make his presence known, but seeing the two people instantly pile on top of each other… well, it seemed better to keep hiding.
Intervening at this time would likely earn him Liu’s hatred for a lifetime.
Li Muyang, speechless, closed his eyes and lay back on the small platform.
The outside panting and applause continued for quite some time; cultivators are physically strong with plenty of stamina, far more so than ordinary people.
Just as Li Muyang was growing impatient, the noise finally died down.
But the shameless couple didn’t leave; instead, they lingered, sharing sweet nothings and tender words.
Just as Li Muyang decided not to bother with the insufferable pair and continue his game, the man named Liu boasted to the woman with a laugh.
“…Speaking of this trip to the Immortal Sword City, my family actually used to live in Immortal Sword City.”
“I’m pretty familiar with this ancient city, and that’s one of the main reasons why I was chosen to join the mission,” he said.
The woman’s fawning praise, the man’s proud laughter—Li Muyang didn’t care at all.
What he cared about was a particular phrase the man uttered.
“…It’s said that thousands of years ago, Immortal Sword City was a place where demons and humans lived together!”
“Demons and humans cohabiting in one city… spooky, right?”
Liu described the legends of his hometown with vivid detail.
Li Muyang, who was about to resume his game, suddenly froze and gaped in astonishment.
A city where demons and humans lived together…
Thousands of years ago…
Holy shit?!