Chapter 224: Boss Personally Released a Guide!

"The character movements are highly fluid, with distinct actions for drinking and eating—this must be a high-fidelity virtual reality, not players sitting in front of computers, puppeteering characters. But the village NPCs are oddly dull; though not quite lifeless, they ignore players' OOC chatter entirely—is this habit, or are they blocked?"

Feng Xue wandered through the town, observing roadside stalls and players instantly recognizable as such; this was not the final destination, Wang Cheng. According to Bi Gelei, this was a frontline strategic fortress and one of the possible targets for the next siege.

Since he hadn't hidden his whereabouts, players occasionally drifted over to awkwardly chat, but since no cultivators had appeared—likely because all new characters were grinding monsters—he maintained a cold, aloof demeanor, pausing occasionally to raise his hand in divination gestures, drawing murmurs from the following players.

"What's up with this NPC? I've only seen him wandering around, never triggering any CG, and no info in the 'Memory Room'..."

"Probably a hidden quest—just hasn't met the trigger conditions yet."

"He looks so mystical—definitely a cultivator class. Got a alt account? Go ask him."

"All our alts are still leveling up..."

Amid this unfiltered noise, the socially anxious cultivator finally gritted his teeth and stepped forward under his older brother's shove, approaching with the air of a man walking to his execution.

Good heavens, who would've thought playing a stupid game required social skills?

But before the player could speak, the previously aloof NPC suddenly glared at him, face stern.

"I assumed there were no cultivators in this city, allowing demonic energy to take root—but there you are, a true cultivator, and yet you ignore the demonic energy entirely?"

"Demonic energy? What's that?" The player, having rehearsed his lines, froze. Feng Xue sighed faintly.

"The Demon Dragon has broken free, yet the chosen ones destined to face the calamity have sunk to this level—alas, this world is beyond salvation!"

With that, he swept his sleeve with effortless grace and turned to leave. The player instantly realized this was a quest—his inner otaku gene awakened—and stepped forward, mimicking the tone of online novels:

"Master, please teach me!"

"Hng↑↓!"

Feng Xue emitted a rising-falling nasal tone, turned back, and sized up the novice cultivator. Only when the surrounding players began muttering about skipping did he speak:

"Do you know how my Xuan Sect's lineage came to cross over to this land?"

"Holy shit, this game actually has lore? I thought they just used VR tech, coded half-assed content with their feet!"

A gasp erupted from the crowd. Feng Xue smiled inwardly. Seeing the young cultivator shake his head dumbly, he flicked his fingers—Spirit Ghost Transport Technique activated. Instantly, a table, chairs, and tea appeared between them. Calmly, Feng Xue sat at the Chinese eight-immortal table right on the Western-style street, sipping tea as if the world belonged to him.

"In ancient times, a demonic cultivator from my homeland achieved mastery beyond heaven and earth, stole the dragon qi of the Central Plains, and transformed himself into a dragon. Countless elders pursued him across realms until they finally sealed him here. But his dragon-transformation technique was exquisitely refined—he had already fused himself into the very flow of heaven and earth's spiritual energy. If we destroyed him outright, it would disrupt the Central Plains' destiny."

"After deliberation, the elders decided to seal him here, using the power of time to erode his consciousness, and with this land's unique feng shui, gradually replace the dragon qi, weakening his connection to the Central Plains' destiny. Only when that bond is severed completely can he be slain. But this plan requires eons. So the elders established our sect here to guard the seal generation after generation. Now the Demon Dragon has broken free—and you've forgotten your duty entirely. How tragic!"

"Holy shit, this story's awesome! So the Demon Dragon boss's weird design makes sense—he's been warped by local feng shui, half-East, half-West... and his seal absorbing his power fits too!"

"Holy shit, so maybe Big Skull, Second Skull, Dog Brother, Blood Sister... do they have lore too? We just haven't found it?"

"Yeah, my wife always needs blood materials—could she be the one guarding Blood Sister's seal? But she's never said a word!"

"Maybe you need a specific class at a specific moment to trigger dialogue? Like this cultivator NPC—he only talks when he's doing fortune-telling..."

"Fortune-telling? He's calculating feng shui! Didn't you hear? The Demon Dragon boss is tied to local feng shui—he's definitely searching for something!"

With Xiao Ling's and Mo Ying's aid, Feng Xue effortlessly sorted the chaotic player chatter in his mind, pleased with their imagination—but his gaze never wavered from the cultivator across from him, pressing him with silent weight.

Had he not feared Guimi Xin affecting the NPC's data profile and leaving traces on the character panel, he'd have had Mo Ying make the player speak directly.

Though socially anxious, the cultivator was still a player. Now that the opportunity was here, he wouldn't let such a massive quest slip away. Under his brother's relentless message prompts, he gathered his courage and said:

"Our duty is never forgotten—but the Demon Dragon is too powerful. Even his projections overwhelm us. Master, please teach us how to defeat him!"

"Perfect!" Feng Xue smiled inwardly, adopting the demeanor of a venerable elder:

"The Demon Dragon has been sealed for ages. His power has seeped into the earth's veins, condensing into spiritual essence—this essence contains his lost energy. If properly harnessed, it may serve as a countermeasure. But now that he's broken free, he'll search everywhere for it. You must find it before his minions do."

"It's a quest item! So we need a special item to beat this boss? But where do we find it?"

The crowd murmured. The cultivator's message window buzzed nonstop. Seeing his brother's repeated prompts, the player clenched his teeth and blurted out:

"Master, how do we find this spiritual essence?"

"?!!" To his surprise, the elder didn't offer a quest chain like a normal NPC—he looked utterly bewildered.

Then, with a baffled expression, he said:

"You've never been taught such basic feng shui calculation methods by your master? Then what on earth did he teach you?"

Hearing this, the player felt embarrassed, glanced at his talent tree, and tilted his head: "Sword flight?"

(End of Chapter)