Chapter 156: How is the Madness Contagious?

No players believed that what Lin Bai said was the truth.

Just as NPCs cannot hear their private chats, they likewise cannot see the Red Thread that Lin Bai casts.

Players can see Cupid's bow and arrows, but who would believe that being struck by an arrow would cause one to erupt with intense feelings of love?

That is even more absurd than "Words Follow the Law."

Combining Lin Bai's various past performances, players are more willing to believe in the existence of "Words Follow the Law."

Otherwise?

Did Lin Bai make up "Words Follow the Law" for no reason to deceive people?

Before deceiving others, he first turned himself and his lover Jiang Qingqin into clowns?

This does not fit the persona of Shopkeeper Lin, who never gets up early for anything unprofitable.

Therefore.

The livestream audience firmly believes that Lin Bai is practicing "Words Follow the Law."

Combining Lin Bai's performance, they voted and selected two most likely facts: the current Lin Bai is very likely speaking in reverse and saying things to provoke people...

Players do not care about the practice sequence of Lin Bai's "Words Follow the Law."

Because Lin Bai said that after breaking through the first stage, "warm as spring," subsequent prompts will appear naturally.

This is the normal way for a hidden Skill to manifest.

Many prospective players in the forum have already begun silently collecting golden sentences offline, silently practicing how to continuously send warmth to others like Lin Bai without being disturbed.

Players on transportation such as the Hundred Flower Shuttle and Sword Boat also erupted with unparalleled enthusiasm. The transportation is nearly full; practicing cultivation on it is not very possible, but practicing "Words Follow the Law" is absolutely no problem.

"You look great today."

"The more profound a person is, the more humble they are; it cannot be denied that you are such a profound person."

"You are so beautiful, beautiful like a lyrical poem..."

"No, you are even more beautiful, beautiful like a love poem..."

The suddenly crazy players left Jiang Yuru dumbfounded.

She suddenly realized.

The "Words Follow the Law" that she had questioned all along, and even dared not report to the sect, is very likely real.

Once she thought that practicing "Words Follow the Law" to the extreme would grant the power of laws, Jiang Yuru felt a sense of resentment toward Lin Bai for no reason.

Why tell the Heavenly Descended about such a terrifying cultivation technique?

If they master the laws first, will there still be a way for us to survive?

Truly, he is not acting like a human!

Could it be, as Jiang Qingqin said, that he is using the Heavenly Descended to force us to practice?

Fine!

He won.

We cannot be weaker than them!

Originally, Jiang Yuru felt that the practice method of "Words Follow the Law" was somewhat shameful and thought about using Disciples for experiments first.

Now, she cannot care about that much anymore.

Jiang Yuru looked at the Hundred Flowers Valley Disciples nearby and ordered: "From this moment on, everyone is to practice 'Words Follow the Law'; you must not fall behind the Heavenly Descended."

"Yes, Master." The Disciple replied. She looked up at Jiang Yuru, her eyebrows curved, squeezing out the most sincere smile: "Most beloved teacher, your earnest teachings have awakened my confusion and given me a new life. My life can be without sunshine, but it cannot be without you."

Ever since they boarded the Flying Shuttle, the ears of all the natives have been filled with various sweet words.

With such environmental influence, it would be hard not to learn.

Entering the state so quickly?

Jiang Yuru was stunned, glared at the Disciple with feigned anger, and said, unwilling to be outdone: "Xiao Liu, your success is more due to your own intelligence and your own hard work..."

Meanwhile.

Zhao Ang, Peng Ze, and others were also startled by the suddenly crazy players.

The few asked each other, but none knew what had happened!

Asking the players only yielded nonsensical words that made one's skin crawl, such as "Senior Brother Zhao, you are brilliant and martial; one look and I can tell you are a star deity descended to earth," and "Senior Brother Sun, your sighing stubble and world-weary eyes are so masculine."

Zhao, Peng, and Sun did not know the anecdote of Lin Bai sending warmth in Jiamu City and only thought the players had collectively gone evil or developed hysteria. After discussing it, they came to the Hundred Flowers Valley's Flying Shuttle to ask Jiang Yuru for countermeasures.

The Main Hall Masters of their respective sects were not present, and Jiang Yuru was the only Golden Core True Person.

Who would have thought, just as they knocked on Jiang Yuru's door.

After Jiang Yuru was stunned for a moment, she blurted out: "The arrival of the three Junior Brothers at the Hundred Flower Shuttle truly makes the Hundred Flower Shuttle shine with splendor and adds luster. I see that the three Junior Brothers have their divine light restrained; forming a Golden Core is just around the corner."

After speaking, Jiang Yuru's face turned red to the roots of her neck instantly.

As a dignified Golden Core True Person over eighty years old, saying such shameful words to a few juniors was simply the death of her.

Damn "Words Follow the Law," it really isn't something an ordinary person can practice; it tests the Dao Heart too much.

"..." Zhao Ang froze and asked stammeringly, "Senior Sister Jiang, are... are you alright?"

Once "Words Follow the Law" begins, it cannot be terminated until a prompt appears. Jiang Yuru had finally gathered the courage to start, so naturally, she did not want to give up halfway. She looked at Zhao Ang and gritted her teeth: "Junior Brother's concern makes my heart warm as spring; there is nothing more gratifying than this."

Zhao Ang's expression changed abruptly. He swallowed his saliva and looked at the ally beside him who had also been persecuted by Lin Bai: "It's over, Senior Sister Jiang has also gone evil. Senior Brother Peng, what should we do?"

"You ask me, who do I ask? Thousands of Heavenly Descended falling ill at the same time must have a reason." Peng Ze looked at the infected Jiang Yuru with lingering fear, subconsciously took a step back, and sighed, "I don't have a Qingxin Pill in my hand. Their symptoms are just babbling; other actions are normal. Let's just go to Huilong Temple and ask Lin Bai what to do! He is full of tricks; perhaps he knows what happened?"

"That is all we can do!" Sun Lie's complexion also looked bad. He looked at Jiang Yuru with pity and said with worry, "Ever since the Heavenly Descended came, strange things have happened one after another. I understand this world less and less."

"..." Jiang Yuru closed her eyes in pain, feeling that her face for this entire lifetime had been lost to this "Words Follow the Law."

In this brief instant, she suddenly understood why Lin Bai insisted on spreading the "Words Follow the Law."

Such a mortifying cultivation method should not be enjoyed by one person alone!

It is better for everyone to die together than for one person to die alone.

Thinking of the "Words Follow the Law" practice she had persisted with for over half an hour just now, Jiang Yuru threw caution to the wind. She gave a light cough and said, "Fellow junior brothers, I am fine. The Heavenly Descended are not going mad; we are all practicing a miraculous cultivation method called 'Words Follow the Law.' There is no need to ask Lin Bai. 'Words Follow the Law' is the signature technique of the Justice Sect, and it was indeed Lin Bai who spread it. This cultivation method is extremely difficult to practice, but when trained to a profound level, one word spoken creates a law; it is a method for cultivating the Dao..."

Jiang Yuru told the three of them exactly what Lin Bai had used to hoodwink her.

Lin Bai was selfless; since he could pass "Words Follow the Law" to Hundred Flowers Valley, he would naturally tell Zhao Ang and the others as well.

Rather than letting them owe Lin Bai a favor, it was better to be the good person herself.

"This..." The three looked at each other, somewhat disbelieving of Jiang Yuru's explanation.

After all.

Lin Bai had done too many unreliable things, and besides, how could a method for cultivating Dao laws be so sloppy and absurd?

"This matter was seen with the eyes and heard with the ears of my disciple Jiang Qingqin, and it is common knowledge that Lin Bai practices 'Words Follow the Law' in Jiamu City. Believe it or not, that is up to you." Looking at the three hesitant men, Jiang Yuru suddenly had the strange feeling that everyone else was drunk while she alone was sober. "Three junior brothers, please leave! To clear up your confusion, my practice of 'Words Follow the Law' has been forced to interrupt. Now, the Heavenly Descended are all practicing 'Words Follow the Law,' and I must seize the time to start over."

Night fell.

Lin Bai and the others, who had been flying all day, found a mountain cave for a brief rest.

Having practiced Martial Art, the players' Fatigue Level had improved significantly.

However, the three members of 【Longxi】 had first followed Huilong Temple to fly for a day and a night to reach Qian City, and without even touching the ground, they flew back from Qian City. Having barely rested, their Fatigue Level had already reached the threshold.

One by one, they were all struggling to hold on.

Moreover, Lin Bai would get hungry, and the players also had hunger values.

Zhangdu Pill could temporarily alleviate hunger, but relying solely on pills was clearly a bit bland.

There was plenty of game in the mountain forests.

The Chef God System had rewarded Lin Bai with a pile of cooking techniques; he was no longer the greenhorn who had tortured the guards of Xu Longyun.

Even without seasonings, the roasted food was still incomparably delicious, especially the knife skills, which had already reached a level of perfection.

A wild deer was dismantled in minutes, transformed into raw ingredients, leaving 【Longxi】 and the others stunned.

Several players excitedly discussed the possibility of Shopkeeper Lin's knife skills in actual combat via private chat.

But after just a few sentences, they reached a final conclusion: no matter how exquisite or flashy the knife skills were, in this Xianxia World where Sword energy flew everywhere, the possibility of successfully cutting an enemy was almost zero.

Therefore.

The few of them unanimously abandoned their yearning for knife skills.

Actually.

Lin Bai had considered the possibility of the Chef God System's Blade Technique in actual combat even earlier than the players.

The Chef God System was one of the original systems; the other three systems had all displayed powerful might, and even the Yuelao System that appeared later had shown great power.

It made no sense that the Chef God System could only be used for cooking.

Moreover, once one cultivated to the Nascent Soul, one would consume wind and Qi, not even needing to eat; what use was exquisite culinary skill then?

Later.

The appearance of the Great Demon Disintegration made Lin Bai realize a glimmer of possibility for using knife skills to launch a sneak attack.

But after thinking it over and over, the plan still wouldn't work.

If you can't immobilize the enemy, no matter how good your knife skills are, one slash later, the enemy runs away—what is the point of cutting?

Furthermore.

Whether they were Sword cultivators or practitioners proficient in Dao Method, almost everyone had one or two pieces of protective Dharma Treasure.

If you don't immobilize their bodies, you cannot break through their protective Dharma Treasure.

The Chef God System was, after all, a chicken rib...

Unable to find a way to break the deadlock, Lin Bai could only hope that the systems that hadn't emerged yet would have one or two effective Skills that could be triggered, which could cooperate with the Chef God System to let it exert its proper power.

The sun set behind Xishan.

Under the glow of the campfire, Lin Bai and the others shared the roasted deer.

The truth-telling task finally sent a success notification, and Lin Bai harvested the reward of the True Word Art.

The Great Language System's tasks were always routine and never caused any trouble.

After completing one task, it immediately launched the next:

【Boasting can, to a certain extent, enhance self-confidence, reduce inner fear, and alleviate anxiety, thereby achieving the realm of the ideal self psychologically and gaining a powerful psychological game advantage; please maintain a boasting way of speaking for twelve hours (conditions as above); Reward: Sound Transmission Technique (can transmit what you want to say to a specific target)】

Sound Transmission Technique?

Lin Bai pursed his lips slightly, his heart pounding; the Great Language System's rewards were becoming more and more powerful.

Lin Bai had always envied the players' private chats; with players everywhere and walls having ears, it was inconvenient for him to whisper to others. With the Sound Transmission Technique, it would be much more convenient.

Moreover, it would be more conducive to him acting like an expert.

As for boasting?

Isn't that just a matter of having a mouth!

What Lin Bai didn't expect was that the Great Language System could beautify boasting so well; it truly lived up to being a system that played with language!

"Shopkeeper Lin, when did you learn the skills of Huilong Temple?" 【Longxi】 was an apprentice of Huilong Temple and had long noticed that Lin Bai's moves occasionally mixed in the moves and supernatural powers of Huilong Temple. Unable to suppress the doubt in his heart, he finally asked.

"Does this need to be learned? I know it just by looking at it." Lin Bai glanced at him and said dismissively, "From the moment I entered the Justice Sect, my master told me that I am a one-in-a-million genius. Any Martial Art or Dao Method I see, I know; any point I touch, I understand. Otherwise, why would the Justice Sect have lived in seclusion for thousands of years, only to let me, in my early twenties, out to contend for the world? It's just because the old men of the Justice Sect felt inferior when they saw me and kicked me out early to be done with it!"

Without needing to weigh his words to tell the truth, Lin Bai found himself again, handling 【Longxi】's questions with ease.

"Master, so amazing." The little white fox, her mouth covered in grease, still didn't forget to look up and act as a Pungent for her master.

"Well, here is another new version of Shopkeeper Lin's origin story," 【Great Golden Immortal】 said in a private chat.

"I reckon this one is the real deal," said Xiashan Hu. "Shopkeeper Lin truly possesses many Skills that other NPCs do not have; it would be no exaggeration to call him a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius."

"It's the dog developers' favoritism, right!" Longxi said sourly. "If we could see Shopkeeper Lin's stats, his Comprehension would definitely be three question marks."

"Not just Comprehension, right? The other attributes are likely the same. Even now, Shopkeeper Lin hasn't shown where his true upper limit lies. But what does that have to do with us? We are all people of the Beggar Sect; the more powerful Shopkeeper Lin is, the more advantageous it is for us!" Tie Tou Xian said excitedly.

"I'm just afraid that in the future, we'll turn into enemies with Shopkeeper Lin..." Longxi snuck a glance at Lin Bai and said, "Never overestimate the level of disgust the developers are capable of."

"Why think so far ahead?" Daluo Golden Immortal said with disdain. "If Shopkeeper Lin really is the final BOSS, if we can't beat him, we'll just go play other projects! The world is so big, must we compete for victory or defeat against one person? I feel that in a game that has almost built a real world, a situation where all the players in the world target one BOSS won't happen; that doesn't conform to common sense..."

Who the hell wants to be a big BOSS!

Lin Bai looked at Longxi with disdain, secretly Zhaofeng, *Crazy, isn't cooperation and mutual benefit good? Thinking about screwing me over all day long, sooner or later I'll force you to quit the game! *

"Shopkeeper Lin, when can you teach us Daoist arts?" Daluo Golden Immortal exited the private chat and asked Lin Bai with a cheeky grin. "I just feel that the Dragon Subduing Palm is starting to fall behind the development rhythm of the Beggar Sect! You also said that the Beggar Sect is your guardian sect; you can't be expected to personally step in every time we encounter an issue!"

Lin Bai turned the roasted meat in his hands and laughed: "I am so powerful that teaching you Immortal Art and Dao Method is a waste of talent. In a few days, I will go to the Seven Orthodox Sects to capture a hundred or eighty Great Ability True Immortals and command them to teach you Dao Method and Martial Art; wouldn't that be even better? Before long, the people of the world will only know of my Justice Gate and no longer know of the Seven Orthodox Sects."

"Yes, yes, Shopkeeper Lin is right, the Justice Gate is the best in the world." Great Luo Golden Immortal accompanied him with a smile. "But isn't that in the future? Why don't you teach us a few moves of Dao Method first, let us practice them; who knows, maybe we'll help you capture those Great Ability True Immortals!"

"Exactly." Tie Tou Xian echoed. He looked at Huaxi Furen and Qingyu Daozhang standing by the side and clicked his tongue. "It's a pity that Qingyu Daozhang and the others, who were sealed by Shopkeeper Lin, are muddled and have lost their consciousness. Otherwise, having them serve as teachers for the Beggar Sect Disciples would be such a wonderful thing!"

Consciousness?

Lin Bai was suddenly stunned and subconsciously looked at Qingyu Daozhang, forgetting even to brag.

Enlightenment Pill!

That's it!

How could he have forgotten about this thing!

The Enlightenment Pill can help ordinary creatures open their intelligence.

These guys sealed by the Card System are theoretically considered creatures too!

Although the Enlightenment Pill is a pill rewarded by the Pet System, it never said it could only open the intelligence of animals...

Try it?

What if it works!

A Puppet that can both listen to his orders in battle and help him teach players Skills is a good Puppet!

After completing the Pet System missions several times, Lin Bai had accumulated quite a few Enlightenment Pills; using one or two for an experiment didn't matter...

(End of this chapter)