Chapter 448: 《A Chinese Ghost Story》Nie Xiaoqian

Before even entering Lan Ruo Si, they had already obtained rare game items like the scepter and the wood heart.

The Navy Alliance squad was looking forward to the monsters inside the temple.

A vast forest of withered leaves, the ground covered in rotting yellow foliage.

Passing through layers of towering, bare trees, a dilapidated temple appeared within everyone's line of sight.

Outside the temple, the five of them did not rush in, but instead pondered the mission Master Ning had spoken of.

"Two hundred Ghost Tree Demon hearts—have we gathered enough?"

"We already have fifty. Although the Ghost Tree Demons are strong and have an energy Resistance status, they aren't a threat to us."

All the Ghost Tree Demon hearts were tossed into the inventory slot by Akainu.

Along the way, the five of them had hunted about two hundred Ghost Tree Demons; although the tree hearts needed by Master Ning were not a guaranteed drop, the drop rate was quite high.

Orochimaru took the initiative to raise a point of suspicion, flicking his tongue as he said, "Haven't you noticed? The mission issued by Master Ning is too simple."

"Although I prefer not to dwell on troublesome matters, it is indeed somewhat suspicious."

Kizaru leaned down, his light-flame sword sweeping a circle behind him, slicing the ambushing Ghost Tree Demon in two.

Snap.

Another Ghost Tree Demon heart dropped.

This type of mission material did not appear as a treasure chest at all; it simply dropped onto the ground.

Kizaru picked up the Ghost Tree Demon heart, threw it to Akainu, and said, "Given our strength, we can finish the mission before dawn and go find the Demon-Clad Scholar."

And then,

they could have a Dark Gold-tier boss as a henchman? Smoker's brows furrowed tightly; he felt a vague sense of unease.

All along, the rule of the Samsara Game had been Equivalent Exchange; the higher the quality of the treasure chest, the more powerful the monster one had to hunt to obtain it.

A mission that was this easy for the Navy Alliance squad made them feel that something was wrong.

"Also, the old crone killed by Orochimaru earlier seemed to be hiding something."

"In that case, my idea is to first explore Lan Ruo Si and investigate information regarding the Ghost Tree Demons and Lan Ruo Si..."

This way, they could roughly deduce Master Ning's true goal.

To avoid being deceived.

Master Ning was the 【Demon-Clad Scholar】; it was hard for players to fully trust such a powerful and intelligent dark monster boss.

"Seconded."

Tiequan Garp didn't think much of it; he had never been good at these kinds of brain-taxing matters.

Smoker nodded with a serious expression, took two steps, and walked to the very front of the four.

Death Poison Mist...

Within the withered leaf forest, a purple-red mist suddenly began to permeate the air.

The withered trees, rocks, and wandering Ghost Tree Demons covered by the mist all appeared as if they were soaking in sulfuric acid, their surfaces showing signs of corrosion.

This large-scale poison mist could serve as a sensory skill; information on all life touched by the mist would be transmitted back into Smoker's mind.

Roar...

A Ghost Tree Demon flapped its branches, but instead of blowing the mist away, the agitation caused the purple-red poison mist to gradually take the shape of a Poison Dragon, biting fiercely into its body.

"Have you finally brought out your true ability, Admiral Poison Dragon Smoker..."

Orochimaru smiled, his eyes narrowing to hide the dangerous glint in his pupils.

"Follow me!"

Smoker closed his eyes, receiving the information transmitted back by the Death Poison Mist.

Half a minute later, he suddenly opened his eyes and bypassed the decaying courtyard wall of Lan Ruo Si.

"It's here." As soon as Smoker finished speaking, Tiequan Garp had already acted swiftly, smashing the high wall of the backyard with a single punch.

Walking into the backyard of Lan Ruo Si,

following Smoker's intuition, they walked to an extremely thick Taoshu and stopped, saying in a deep voice, "Under this Taoshu, it seems something related to the old crone ghost is buried."

The Taoshu grew in a very strange way; the trunk was thick, and the cracked bark was a dark red, like the color of dried blood poured onto the bark.

The branches at the top spread out in all directions, looking just like palms.

This made the entire Taoshu look like a blood-red arm breaking through the earth.

"Found it..."

Orochimaru understood, releasing two Necrotic Curse Snakes that burrowed into the ground and slithered at the roots of this Taoshu.

Soon, the two Necrotic Curse Snakes pushed up the soil and brought out a black porcelain jar the size of a human head.

【Nie Xiaoqian's Urn】: Contains the ashes of the deceased, can serve as a dwelling for a ghost.

Hint: Consuming 20,000 Reward Points and possessing a relic of the urn's owner allows for soul summoning.

"20,000 Reward Points."

Akainu did not hesitate; he took out the Xiu He Bao left behind by the old crone earlier and performed the soul summoning.

The pouch was stuffed into the urn.

A series of faint, chilly winds blew up.

The ghost of the old crone, shattered by Orochimaru, condensed strand by strand above the black urn under its summons, manifesting as a phantom.

【Nie Xiaoqian】.

This phantom no longer looked like the hunched old crone from before.

Her loose brocade dress now fit perfectly, her features were delicate, and her complexion was pale, revealing a soft and beautiful temperament.

However, none of the five had any interest in beauty; Tiequan Garp only liked training his body, Kizaru only wanted to hunt Shuyao Laomu and get off work as soon as possible, Orochimaru was thinking about slicing up the transformed female ghost for research, Akainu only wanted to become Fleet Admiral, and Smoker's brows were furrowed, feeling that the female ghost's revealing attire was very unjust...

Seeing that everyone remained unmoved, tears welled up in the corners of the female ghost's eyes, and she knelt on the ground like a weak willow in the wind, saying, "Thank you all for saving me, allowing me to break free from Master Ning's control."

Orochimaru ignored her posture and laughed, saying, "Tell me everything you know."

"Yes."

The female ghost narrated slowly.

Everyone gradually came to understand the reason for the birth of this special space.

"My name is Nie Xiaoqian; I was the daughter of an official's family in my previous life, but I encountered bandits in the wilderness and my corpse was exposed beneath the roots of Shuyao Laomu at Lan Ruo Si, where I was controlled to absorb the yang energy of living people for her."

"Half a year ago, a scholar accidentally stumbled into Lan Ruo Si..."

According to the plot development of the river of fate, this scholar named Ning Cai Chen would become entangled with the female ghost Nie Xiaoqian before them, and eventually, the lovers would be united.

But fate had long since deviated from its track.

Ning Shusheng was seduced by the female ghost and had his yang energy drained; fortunately, a Xiake Daoren named Yan Chixia arrived in time, so he did not perish on the spot, but with his yang energy depleted, he did not have much lifespan left.

The Xiake Daoren and Shuyao Laomu fought a fierce battle, and in the end, both were exhausted.

In the entire Lan Ruo Si, only Ning Shusheng was able to move freely, looking at the Taoshu that was about to wither and the severely wounded Xiake Daoren who could not move.

Shuyao Laomu promised Ning Shusheng gold, silver, treasures, and beautiful female ghosts, ordering him to kill the immobile Xiake Daoren.

The Xiake Daoren used the righteous path to urge Ning Shusheng toward goodness, to ignite the Taoshu, and to completely kill Shuyao Laomu...

Orochimaru laughed disdainfully and said, "In the end, did Ning Shusheng agree to Shuyao Laomu's conditions and kill Yan Chixia?"

He had never believed in the human heart; only dead things were the most loyal.

"No..."

The female ghost Nie Xiaoqian shook her head gently.

(End of this chapter)