[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-immortal-who-speedruns-the-supernatural-game":3,"chapter-the-immortal-who-speedruns-the-supernatural-game-the-immortal-who-speedruns-the-supernatural-game-chapter-40":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Immortal Who Speedruns the Supernatural Game",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2296709,4492,"Chapter 40: Old Bastard! Your Substitute Is Useless!","the-immortal-who-speedruns-the-supernatural-game-chapter-40",40,"\u003Cp>“Huh ha! Huh ha!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dong long long~ dong long long~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the square, before the wooden plaque.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two bare-chested giants each held a torch, dancing wildly; as they sporadically spat fire, the red glow of the setting sun mingled with the sparks, staining the ground and the villagers’ faces a deep crimson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The atmosphere had been electrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The clanging of gongs and drums beside them was deafening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if to announce the sacrifice to the entire world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Sacrifice of Yin Yuan Village was magnificent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After feasting, the opera troupe hired by the villagers played their instruments nearby with a clatter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The massive square, capable of holding a thousand people, was thronged with activity, like a grand carnival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was clear that Yin Yuan Village truly lived in plenty, as the dungeon description had claimed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One could even say it was prosperous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Wang and the old village chief sat side by side on the highest viewing platform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He occasionally peeled sunflower seeds from the table, savoring them slowly, and clapped and cheered when the performance reached its highlights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who are you? Where did you take Zhang Sanfeng?” The old village chief’s voice was quiet, drowned out entirely by the surrounding noise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Wang turned his head, forcing a bright smile: “Who do you think I should be? And why do you need Zhang Sanfeng?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier, after he had retaliated with bone spikes against the old chief, the man had been unable to react under the watchful eyes of the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he couldn’t let Wu Wang just escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the skeleton ghost knew he could alter his appearance and physique—step into the crowd, blink, and vanish without a trace, especially today, when the entire village was gathered here, chaos everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he arranged a seat for himself on the viewing platform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if he desired conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The villagers near them had all been sent off to the sacrificial banquet, precisely to prevent anyone else from overhearing their exchange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I might as well tell you,” the old chief said, lifting his wine cup and taking a small sip: “Zhang Sanfeng is the illegitimate child born to a former Yin Yuan Sacred Maiden before her sacrifice. His life can repay the village’s debt.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Debt? Usury’s illegal these days,” Wu Wang sneered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew perfectly well the chief wasn’t speaking of money or material things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But something far more arcane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old chief explained carefully: “All things are relative. The Yin Yuan Deity grants our village prosperity, and we must offer Him a satisfactory return. He favors profoundly yin women—each year, we must present one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But last year, an accident occurred: the Yin Yuan Sacred Maiden hanged herself before the Great Sacrifice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We owe Him a Sacred Maiden. If we fail to offer one this year, Yin Yuan Village’s fate will end.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhang Sanfeng isn’t a woman, but he carries the blood of the Yin Yuan Sacred Maiden—he can appease the Yin Yuan Deity’s wrath.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Wang heard this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t help but chuckle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still chewing sunflower seeds, he mumbled: “Then what are you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His real intent had been, after retaliating against the old chief,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>to provoke him into rage and reveal his true form,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>thereby shattering the villagers’ trust in him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he hadn’t expected this skeleton ghost to be so patient—even after such humiliation, he showed no sign of exposing himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He even seemed eager to sit down and chat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was he playing at?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Me? I’m also a villager of Yin Yuan,” the old chief said slowly, grinning: “Or rather, I built this village myself. I was the first village chief.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Wang froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the day, while pretending to be a villager, he had inquired about the village’s history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most households kept genealogical records, so the history hadn’t been lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The village was founded roughly two hundred years ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had been called Yin Yuan Village from the start, though back then it was poor and desolate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was merely a gathering of desperate refugees fleeing disaster, who settled together in a remote spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worship of the Yin Yuan Deity was no different from elsewhere—burn paper money, light incense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no such thing as a Yin Yuan Sacred Maiden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But starting with the second village chief, human sacrifice became required to worship the Yin Yuan Deity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And from that moment on, the village grew better each year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until it reached its current state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only did they live in plenty—they even sent some clever children outside to study.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first village chief…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was this skeleton ghost from two hundred years ago?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Didn’t you try to eat me earlier today? Why the sudden change? Why suddenly want to be bosom friends? Don’t forget I just stabbed you,” Wu Wang sneered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shift in the man’s attitude from day to night was too extreme.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So extreme that even a fool could sense something was wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t know you had a way to absorb this…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, the old chief extended a trembling hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pointed at the large wooden plaque covered in black cloth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath it lay the Eye of the Abyss God’s seal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned to Wu Wang, his deeply sunken, hollow eyes blazing with intense desire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He trembled as he spoke: “Let’s make a deal. Teach me how to absorb the presence of that being, and I’ll give you anything you want!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Wang was baffled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What the hell was this Abyss God?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Copies corrupted by Him twisted into grotesque horrors, yet even stranger beings tried to absorb His aura.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Wang from “The Runaway Schoolboy” was one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now this old chief was another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What benefit could come from absorbing this aura? Why couldn’t he feel anything himself?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All He did was alter his mission and try to turn his brain into mush.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What else could He do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes Wu Wang truly wanted to draw a mouth under the red vertical pupil on his wrist with a red pen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let the Abyss God answer his questions properly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First tell me—what do you plan to do with the Abyss God’s… aura?” Wu Wang stuffed candy and sunflower seeds into his pocket, taking what he could—never leave empty-handed!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old chief’s expression turned serious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke slowly, word by word: “I will replace the Yin Yuan Deity and become the village’s new guardian deity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pfft—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Wang burst out laughing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes he truly couldn’t understand these people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather, couldn’t comprehend their absurdity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Principal Wang claimed to be righteous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the guise of helping students, he sought to strip them of their humanity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old chief called the Yin Yuan Deity a guardian deity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the price was one life after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now he wanted to become such a cannibalistic guardian himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What the hell was he even protecting?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What a bunch of hypocrites.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The first year I became chief, I saw the Yin Yuan Deity,” the old chief said, his gaze turning wistful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He made a pact with me: granted me immortality, but at the cost of becoming inhuman. Every thirty years, I must change my clothes, and from then on, I must always wear them before the villagers—only in the ancestral hall can I remove them to breathe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This life is unbearable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But thirty years ago, while listening to music on my radio at home, I heard the call of that being.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, the old chief patted the wooden plaque.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes gleamed with ambition: “That being’s power far surpasses the Yin Yuan Deity’s—even a trace of His aura here gives me hope of escape!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ask for anything you want! Help me, and I’ll grant it all!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the man’s slightly deranged expression,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Wang rubbed his sunflower-seed-dusted hand on the old chief’s robe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He finally understood what the human skins in the ancestral hall were.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were each newly chosen village chief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The village chief of Yin Yuan Village changes every thirty years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chosen person enters the ancestral hall to pay respects to the ancestors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then they are skinned and killed by the skull ghosts, forced to wear those skins, and assume their identities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This old thing has always been replacing others!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder that kid nearly got beaten to death right after pretending to be the village chief’s grandson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old village chief showed not the slightest pity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, he wasn’t even his own grandson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Wu Wang sneered, “Buddy—no, old thing—I need to correct you on two things.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First, those things are called human skins—human skins peeled off while the victims were still alive. No matter what you call them, clothes or whatever, they’re still human-blood buns.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Second, you haven’t achieved immortality—you’ve just become a ghost, and ghosts can die too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You haven’t even seen true immortality.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old thing, your stand-in is the most useless of all!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Wu Wang’s smile grew even brighter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one understood the Deep God better than he did!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one understood immortality better than he did!\u003C\u002Fp>",1497,"2026-06-20T05:36:16.007Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","97a5fced7ae69a4d348c1005b85f413757eae08ff989bdc2eb8b12faac3a1b0a","the-immortal-who-speedruns-the-supernatural-game-chapter-41","the-immortal-who-speedruns-the-supernatural-game-chapter-39",331,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-immortal-who-speedruns-the-supernatural-game-cover.jpg"]