Chapter 156: New Trait: 【Night Walk in Brocade】

From the perspective of feeling.

The Junior Martial Sister is good in every way, except that her personality is overly extreme.

This is in stark contrast to Jiu Jiu.

Jiu Jiu's personality is also strong, but in non-essential situations, Jiu Jiu will not make things very difficult for Gu Jiangming, and she will still carefully consider Gu Jiangming's thoughts.

In this regard, Liu Moran is very different from Jiu Jiu.

Her love is intense and passionate, so when it comes to the matter of liking someone, she cannot tolerate even half a grain of sand; things that others cannot bring themselves to do, Liu Moran is precisely the type to do.

Gu Jiangming even suspects that if Liu Moran's cultivation were completely superior to his own, he might be snatched away by Liu Moran to become a "captive."

With such a yandere wife, not to mention whether Gu Jiangming could handle it mentally, he would likely find it extremely difficult to endure physically.

【Please make your choice!】

In Gu Jiangming's mind, 【Mie Changsheng】 suddenly split into three paths for Gu Jiangming to choose his next course of action.

【1: Head to Niankong Villa and swear to protect the Junior Martial Sister and your beloved child to the death.】

【2: Bide your time, observe the changes quietly, and provide assistance from the shadows as a mysterious person.】

【3: Unable to let go of the matter concerning Wang Qinghe from back then, you are determined to find the whereabouts of the missing Wang Qinghe.】

On the Mie Changsheng interface, three different visual images appeared.

In the first path, Gu Jiangming holds a sharp blade, standing alone in front of Liu Moran and Gu Nianmo, while Liu Moran holds their young child in her arms; under the cold, ink-wash painting style, Gu Jiangming's face shows only steadfastness and determination.

In the second path, Gu Jiangming wears a Bronze Mask, with a massive chessboard placed before him; those so-called Demon Race, and even humans, are merely pieces on the board. Among these many chess pieces, Gu Jiangming's gaze is fixed firmly on those few white pieces, and upon the white pieces, their figures appear.

As he places a piece, the surrounding black pieces turn gray and dim.

As for the third path, Gu Jiangming is entirely the image of a dejected man, his face weathered and full of stubble, appearing as if filled with guilt and lost, his entire spirit and essence seemingly swallowed up.

Gu Jiangming only thought for a brief moment before analyzing the pros and cons.

The first path is to turn directly into Liu Moran's storyline; he would nine times out of ten be walking the path he once walked, and it would not cause any change in the situation for the future.

Gu Jiangming is certainly not afraid of death; what would it matter if he died ten thousand years ago?

But everything is about affection; he cannot say that for the sake of Liu Moran and Gu Nianmo, he would completely disregard Jiu Jiu and Gu Mingyue.

This is where the contradiction and conflict lie.

Choosing the first path means abandoning the others.

By the same logic, choosing the third path is highly likely to turn into Wang Qinghe's storyline, which is also linked to Gu Shengxi's plot, so walking the third path is also likely a single-line path.

Both the first and third paths are dead ends for himself.

Only the second path has enough room for maneuver, and there is no need to worry about not being able to connect with any other line; Gu Jiangming could even connect to the storylines of Liu Moran, Wang Qinghe, and Jiu Jiu.

To observe and provide assistance from the shadows as a mysterious person.

It does not define who the objects of assistance are; it does not refer to just one person.

【You have chosen the second route.】

【You have temporarily obtained a new trait—"Night Walk in Brocade," which can help you temporarily obtain all information on all units you wish to monitor.】

Gu Jiangming's heart sank.

Different choices reward different traits to deal with the situation of that route, so if one were to choose the first path, it would likely grant a trait for combat power amplification or accelerated cultivation progress.

The third path might have traits related to Fortune or mental state improvement.

What the choice of the second path rewards is equivalent to giving Gu Jiangming a powerful intelligence network, and this intelligence network is of the type that is difficult to capture.

This also fits the needs of Gu Jiangming in the second path; at the very least, it allows Gu Jiangming to have a much clearer view of the current situation.

In the 【Mie Changsheng】 interface, Gu Jiangming first looked at the situation at Niankong Villa, as it is currently suffering the most severe impact and is in the most critical situation.

"What, it's already a gold-quality faction?" Gu Jiangming felt a slight shock in his heart.

Whether it is a faction or a character, one can distinguish strength through color; the talents possessed by gold-quality characters are simply more powerful than those of other qualities.

Niankong Villa reaching gold quality means that this faction is an indispensable and extremely weighty existence in the current Nine Provinces.

【Niankong Villa.】

【Villa Master: Liu Moran (Enlightenment Stage)】

【Young Villa Master: Gu Nianmo (Nascent Soul Stage)】

【Other members: Liu Family Four Guards (purple quality), Nineteen Sword Disciples (purple quality), One Hundred Twenty Halls (blue quality).】

【Total population: 11,823 people.】

【Current status: Suffering from Demon Race impact.】

【Based on the current status assessment, with your current cultivation, you cannot provide effective help.】

【Ways to improve cultivation—participate in trials to strengthen practice, find new cultivation techniques, temper magic treasures to increase equipment level.】

【Please quickly increase your own influence.】

Gu Jiangming pondered for a moment and jumped to Jiu Jiu's interface.

On the screen.

Jiu Jiu's character portrait suddenly appeared.

Unlike Liu Moran who established Niankong Villa, Jiu Jiu's situation is clearly more special.

【Due to her outstanding talent, she has awakened the Jingwei Blood within her body ahead of schedule, showing signs of atavism.】

【Jiu Jiu's cultivation realm has reached Heaven and Earth Enlightenment, and she has headed to Penglai to find the whereabouts of the Black Tortoise, hoping to achieve deeper cultivation progress.】

By comparison, the situations of Wang Qinghe and Long Xi are relatively normal.

【Wang Qinghe is living in seclusion in a mountain village, while teaching his young son, Gu Shengxi, the way of the gentleman.】

【Long Xi is restricted by the old Dragon King in the Nanhai Longgong and cannot leave the South Sea for the time being.】

【You recall that there was once a place called the Taicang Ruins, which might be able to provide you with temporary help.】

【Carrying hazy memories, you begin to search for the location of that Taicang Ruins, but regretfully, after you arrive at Taicang Mountain, you do not find the so-called Taicang Ruins.】

【However, you bumped into a blind old man who lives in seclusion at the foot of Taicang Mountain.】

【With your cultivation, it is difficult to see through his true nature.】

【You felt strange, and the other party was also quite curious about your arrival; you chatted a few words in your spare time, and he was quite surprised, as just a few sentences made him feel comforted in his life, and in the end, he told you that he is the Old Man of Taicang who lives in seclusion here.】

【He spent his whole life pursuing the supreme Sword Dao, but he was long unable to comprehend the original heart of the Sword Dao.】

【He invited you to play a game of chess, and you agreed to it.】

【In the chess game, you felt quite embarrassed and were long unable to break the deadlock, while the Old Man of Taicang was always skilled at slaughter, suppressing you for the entire game; clearly a man living in seclusion, yet he was full of unhidden sharpness.】

【You tried to place yourself in a desperate position to find a new way to break the game, only to find that such an approach remained futile.】

【You lost, but the Old Man of Taicang just smiled and waved his hand, inviting you to play another game.】

【Just like that, you moved a step, he placed a piece; after hundreds of slaughters, your state of mind tended to be stable, but your chess skills were rising rapidly every time, from clumsy and helpless defense to wide-open fighting, and you gradually understood something.】

【Living in seclusion here was not his intention, but life seems to be such a helplessness; even with the highest spirit, when facing a situation that cannot be broken, it seems one can only resign oneself to decadence.】

【"You lost again," the Old Man of Taicang said indifferently, "Although your chess skills have been progressing, you are still not my match; many times, the gap is not in ability, but in talent. Perhaps, your talent ends here."】

【You pursed your lips, simply placed a black piece, and said in the calmest tone, "Again."】

【"Losing is not terrible; what is terrible is giving up the spirit to fight against it."】

【"If a person has no spirit and no soul, then no matter how powerful the shell, it is only superficial."】

【"I will win everything; it is absolutely impossible for me to lose."】

【Your cheeks were slightly glowing red, and demonic thoughts grew from this; human desire is just like demonic thoughts, impossible to ever cut off.】

【And once the so-called demonic thoughts are cut off, and that initial ambition is abandoned, one is no different from a walking corpse.】

【Are ambition and desire not the very things that drive an ascetic to become stronger?】

【Perhaps, from the very beginning, the power of demonic thoughts should have been the ultimate method to help you go further.】

【You released your demonic form in front of the Old Man of Taicang, and you revealed a wild, arrogant smile like that of a defiant soul.】

【"In this game, I am destined to win!"】

(End of this chapter)