Chapter 203: Rotting Corpse at the Temple Gate, Coffin Blocking the Road

【Begin Trial for Dimensional Apostle ID 99990909191】

【Cangmang Guling (Peace Mode)】

【Trial Summary: In an era of warlord chaos, Cangmang Guling buries numerous tombs, harboring various great evils】

【Trial Task: Within one month, enter Cangmang Guling and locate an ancient tomb of a prince, marquis, or higher rank】

【Trial Difficulty: D-Class (Normal)】

【Trial Reward: 2000 Paradise Points, +1 Attribute Point】

【Trial Failure: Lose 4000 Paradise Points, forced return】

【Hint: Do not leave the trial area arbitrarily, or risk unknown consequences such as increased difficulty—assume full responsibility】

【Hint: In Peace Mode, killing fellow apostles does not drop Apostle Chests】

【Warning: Do not mention or reveal any Dimensional Paradise-related information during the trial, or you will lose trial eligibility, have all tasks failed, be forcibly repatriated to the Paradise, and lose 1 point from all attributes】

——

【Chain Quest Stage 1: Enter Yuanping Wang's Tomb and retrieve the Ziwei Jade Seal】

【Trial Difficulty: S-Class (Nightmare)】

【Trial Reward: Unlock next stage of chain quest】

【Trial Failure: This talent awakening quest terminates】

——

【You spent 200 Paradise Points and mastered the language and script of this world】

【Open Identity Selection】

【Identity: Wandering Sorcerer (Inherited), Cost: 500 Paradise Points】

Chu Danqing stood inside a ruined temple, staring at the main quest, his expression slightly odd.

"The good news is the talent quest overlaps with the trial task."

"The bad news is—what the hell is this, sending me to tomb raiding?"

"This is illegal, you'll end up in jail, stitching shoes on a sewing machine," Chu Danqing joked.

After selecting his identity, Chu Danqing's mind filled with chaotic fengshui knowledge, along with details about this trial world.

Similar to the Republican warlord era, airplanes and cannons had already taken the stage; cold weapons were obsolete.

Lethality had increased, but so had the cost.

Casting silver coins required technical skill and silver mines, so many warlords turned their eyes to tomb burial goods.

The four major schools—Banshan, Xieling, Mojin, and Faqiu—flourished and branched out under market demand.

"Official staff really are different—more detailed intel, and actual knowledge given," Chu Danqing thought the Paradise's benefits were truly excellent.

He spent the same amount of Paradise Points but gained more, though part of it was due to his rank's upgrade.

"But the problem is—I don't know how to use any of this fengshui knowledge," Chu Danqing said helplessly.

Knowledge isn't something you acquire just by memorizing it.

But the Paradise didn't care—he paid, the Paradise delivered what was owed; the rest was none of its concern.

At this moment, Chu Danqing stood inside a ruined temple, before him a pile of ash—the remains of burned dry firewood.

He scanned the temple: a headless deity statue sat silently upon its altar.

Da Bao, however, fixed his gaze on the temple's exterior, growling a warning from his throat.

Outside, a heavy rainstorm raged, lightning flashing intermittently.

With a thunderous boom, in the flash of lightning, Chu Danqing saw a blurred human figure standing motionless in the rain.

Seeing this, Chu Danqing stepped back behind Da Bao.

"What's going on?" Chu Danqing asked.

"Dead man," Da Bao replied.

The next instant, the figure appeared abruptly on the temple's threshold.

Only then did Chu Danqing clearly see its appearance—half-rotted skin crawling with maggots, as if freshly dug from a grave.

Given this world's lore, such a thing was entirely possible.

"Male corpse. From the clothing, he's no wealthy man," Chu Danqing noted the coarse hemp robe.

He died with a final breath unexhaled, his body decaying into a rotting corpse.

"The quickest solution is to break the evil qi in his chest."

Don't ask how Chu Danqing knew—his identity granted the knowledge.

The fengshui knowledge of this world wasn't just about fengshui—it also involved deeply dark matters of the dead.

"Da Bao, strike his throat." Chu Danqing gave the order.

Da Bao lunged forward; the rotting corpse moved too—but seemed cowardly.

It avoided Da Bao and chose Chu Danqing instead.

But it was too slow—Da Bao's claws pierced the corpse's throat instantly.

Black, rotting miasma surged out, filling the entire temple with stench.

The corpse collapsed into a pool of pus, its bones dissolving along with it.

Only the clothing remained mixed in the sludge.

Da Bao's face twisted—he bolted behind Chu Danqing, shoving his large head against Chu Danqing's back, covering his nose.

"Ugh—stink." No sooner had Da Bao spoken than he vomited on the ground.

Chu Danqing's eye twitched—Da Bao's senses were sharp, his smell acute; being hit with this stench head-on was unbearable.

"Da Bai, cast a shield," Chu Danqing sighed; a shield could effectively block the odor.

Da Bai extended two heads, releasing a wide-area healing surge—Spirit Art + Dao Foundation—layering two shields onto Da Bao.

Only then did Da Bao recover.

"We need to train your sensory issues," Chu Danqing muttered, having found another weakness in Da Bao.

Normal people could overcome this, but Da Bao's intelligence was only five years old—how much self-control could you expect from a nearly three-meter-tall five-year-old?

"Rest over there for now. I'll check what's here," Chu Danqing told Da Bao, then began examining the pus.

From the clothing, he pulled out a talisman carved from a pangolin claw.

"Mojin Talisman? It's a Mojin Captain," Chu Danqing recognized, per his fengshui knowledge—the talisman was authentic, not a fake, belonging to a legitimate tomb raider.

But he had met his end here.

"Beyond this, no other clues," Chu Danqing said, then disposed of the stinking pus.

Outside, the downpour continued—he wouldn't move yet.

Mainly because he didn't know which direction to go; leaving blindly risked disaster.

The pus had been washed away by rain—he used Five Element Spirit to clear the stench from the temple.

Only then did Da Bao sit down unhappily, munching snacks.

There was nothing else to do—snacks first.

Seeing this, Chu Danqing said nothing, lit a fire, and opened the public communication channel.

It was eerily quiet—few spoke, but he could see the number of participants.

Including himself, there were 321 people; different identities meant different drop locations.

Actually, this was good news—fewer people meant fewer conflicts.

After about fifteen minutes, the rain lessened and stopped; thunder faded.

But the sky remained gloomy, lifeless.

"Let's go, see what's out there," Chu Danqing said, rising and summoning the Beast-Mask Warrior.

As the warrior and warhorse appeared, they radiated a killing aura.

It was a passive aura boost from his Perception attribute.

Once outside, under the warrior's control, the aura receded, returning to its normal state.

"My Lord," the Beast-Mask Warrior bowed upon summoning.

"March out. Don't ask where—I'll follow the road," Chu Danqing said.

His fengshui knowledge was limited; his identity gave no direction, only partial setting details.

Task-related clues must be found by himself.

He boarded the chariot; the driver-warrior immediately guided it down the road from the temple's entrance.

The temple sat atop a hill, desolate and abandoned.

Looking down from halfway up the slope, he could see a small village.

Chu Danqing planned to head there first to gather information.

But as they advanced, a coffin blocked the road.

From the marks, it seemed washed here by the storm.

Chu Danqing narrowed his eyes: "First a Mojin Captain, now a coffin blocking the way."

"Send Ghost-Resentment Infant to check," Chu Danqing noticed the coffin lid was gone—he suspected whatever was inside had escaped.

From his shadow, a Ghost-Resentment Infant crawled from its mother's arms, darting toward the coffin and leaping inside.

About ten seconds later, the infant emerged clutching a embroidered shoe.

And it babbled that the coffin contained only this one shoe.

"The coffin was already empty before it was washed here," Chu Danqing said, seeing nothing else.

But if the logic holds, the Grave Robber Captain may have been killed by whatever's in this coffin, then died with resentment and became a decayed corpse.

"Down the mountain—definitely ran to the village," Chu Danqing said, immediately reducing the coffin to ash with Fire Elemental Qi.

As for the embroidered shoe, keep it.

See if we can lure that thing out.

If it's strong enough, it could be another treasure chest.

As for the earlier decayed corpse, if it were in the Reserve Rank, it would've dropped at least one Common-tier treasure chest.

But now we're at Rank 1—it no longer drops Common-tier chests; the lowest is now Excellent-tier, so naturally none dropped.

"Da Bao, can you smell anything?" Chu Danqing asked.

"No, water washed away the scent," Da Bao shook his head.

First, this isn't the original crime scene; second, there was heavy rain.

Da Bao's sense of smell relies on Perception stat, not a conceptual ability, so it's naturally limited.

Perhaps if he reaches 30 Perception, he might catch some trace.

"Hmm, I understand," Chu Danqing said, not pressing further, and slipped the embroidered shoe into his pocket.

If a hand or hair reached out from inside the shoe, that'd be interesting.

Because right next door is the Edict of the Son of Heaven, containing not just the Son of Heaven but also ten burly Yellow Turban Warriors.

So it's best if this is just an ordinary embroidered shoe—otherwise, the consequences will be terrible.

Chu Danqing is a good man, but none of his summons or allies are.

"Let's go, down the mountain," Chu Danqing said, and only then did the Driver Armored Warrior drive the carriage down the mountain again.

(End of Chapter)