Shuzi roared, "Look, the magpies are flying south!" Wuque Nan said calmly, "Unlike some people who have poor psychological quality and fainted, if I don't slap you, will you wake up?"
Shuzi said angrily, "There's no way to wake someone up like you."
"Oh! My sister often wakes me up like this."
Wuque Nan seemed to recall something. He shivered at the thought and then said nothing more.
Chen Tian watched Wuque Nan and Shuzi converse, feeling as if they were friends playfully bickering, which was a pleasant feeling.
In the sky, Qing Ling slowly landed before Chen Tian and knelt down, saying, "Master, it's done. This is the reward my grandfather asked me to deliver to Master. Please inspect it."
At this moment, Qing Ling had changed into a completely new outfit. She wore a red phoenix robe, with long, dark black hair and a pair of black and white pupils. Her skin was as white as snow.
She looked like an immortal, with breathtaking beauty. Combined with her attire, she resembled a reborn phoenix.
Chen Tian accepted the reward and said, "Qing Ling, there's no need for such a grand gesture. You are still you. I didn't do this of my own volition; I only wanted to save you."
"Qing Ling understands. Thank you, Master, for saving my life."
Qing Ling clasped her fists and bowed. Chen Tian nodded slightly, then examined the reward. The mission completion was not perfect this time, so he received only half the reward.
The original additional condition was to bring the granddaughter back unharmed, with the Yin spirit body sealed. Only then would the mission be considered perfectly completed.
However, now the Yin spirit body had been opened and had even fused with the memories and physique of the ghost god, becoming Chen Tian's summoned creature. Naturally, the reward had to be halved.
But Chen Tian didn't care. Among the rewards, Chen Tian held a mirror, a white silk ribbon, and a broken blade.
Chen Tian pondered these three items, realizing that regardless of which additional condition he chose, these rewards would be the same. This piqued his interest.
"Oh, Master, my grandfather also asked me to tell you that the task requested by the City Lord is complete. This place will soon be restored to its original state, and the ghost tomb will continue to slumber at the foot of the mountain."
Qing Ling also spoke, her voice melodious and clear. Chen Tian nodded and said, "Wuque Nan, Shuzi, stop fighting. Wuque Nan, check your mission status. This is your task."
Wuque Nan was still engaged in a verbal spat with Shuzi. Chen Tian felt speechless. They had been arguing for over three years; hadn't they had enough? How was this possible?
"Oh! Alright!"
Upon hearing Chen Tian's words, Wuque Nan opened his mission interface and exclaimed, "The progress shows 10%, so it seems to be completed. So, this mission was to eliminate the ghost god!"
Chen Tian, however, stated, "No, this mission should be to keep the ghost monument in slumber. As for why there's a ghost god, it's probably because, according to the system, this mission is a mission within a mission."
"Our original mission should have been to find a way to extend the seal or consolidate it. That old grandfather might be the key person for a hidden quest and the trigger for a key item. I can only say I was lucky to have triggered it."
A slight smile appeared on Chen Tian's lips. The moment Qing Ling signed the contract, Chen Tian knew the specifics of this mission.
According to the game's design, the old grandfather and Qing Ling appeared randomly, and whether players encountered them depended on their luck. It would only trigger when the old grandfather faced a difficult choice.
Chen Tian encountered the old grandfather when both conditions were met: he met him, and the old grandfather was facing a difficult choice, which was why the mission was revealed to Chen Tian.
"Let's go, we'll head west. The information says there's a town guardian in the west. Perhaps it's sealing something there as well?"
Chen Tian did not dismiss Qing Ling but kept her by his side. The group set off once more.
To the west lay a vast town. However, compared to the City Lord's mansion, it looked like a small mountain village. This city was called: Zhencheng.
The five arrived outside Zhencheng. Brother Shuzi asked with concern, "Chen Tian, are you alright? Your attributes, abilities, and backpack are all sealed and unusable. Are you sure you want to go in?"
"I will protect Master, please rest assured!"
Qing Ling also stepped forward to stand in front of her master, saying with confidence. She was no longer the timid little girl she once was, but a girl with great power. She would protect her master.
Originally, the little girl's consciousness only held the thoughts of a normal girl. However, after fusing with the physique, abilities, and data of the ghost god, Qing Ling's mind and consciousness had continuously grown.
"It's fine, Qing Ling will protect me. As a level eighty-nine existence, I don't believe anyone in this city would dare to lay a hand on me. Let's enter the city!"
Chen Tian looked around, his eyes flickered as if he had seen something, and then he walked into the city.
If my guess is correct...
Chen Tian muttered inwardly and then entered Zhencheng. As the five entered Zhencheng, the four stone lion statues surrounding the city immediately turned their gazes towards the city center.
Instantly, Zhencheng transformed into a translucent form and slowly disappeared. A city vanished, leaving behind an open space.
The four stone lion statues then emitted halos from their paws, entwining them before they all disappeared.
Beneath the surface in the center of Zhencheng, a giant black blood pool flowed, with a black orb floating in the air. The phantom images of the four stone lion statues slowly emitted four beams of light, binding the black orb.
However, their phantom images were becoming increasingly ethereal, and their light was gradually extinguishing.
"You can't seal me for long. My followers will release me. You four will eventually be destroyed. You, who have lost the power of the town guardians, cannot stop me."
A domineering voice emerged from the black orb.
Within Zhencheng, Chen Tian observed as he walked along the road. The residents here were all NPCs, but Chen Tian discovered that these NPCs could not be communicated with. They merely walked around, like walking dead.
Chen Tian felt bewildered. What was happening?
Suddenly, the silk ribbon on Chen Tian's waist emitted a white light and began to flutter, pointing the way. Chen Tian looked in the direction the ribbon was indicating and said, "Let's go this way!"
The strangeness of the city and the suddenly luminous ribbon—were they connected?
Chen Tian and the other four then followed the direction indicated by the ribbon.
Upon reaching their destination, they saw a woman standing before a large tree. The tree was lush and verdant, with purple leaves, and it was tall and sturdy. In the center of the tree, numerous hollows appeared.
The young woman prayed, "Great True God, please send your true believers to find the town guardians! Otherwise, the entire Zhencheng will fall into ruin and become a dead city. Great True God, I hope you understand the suffering of your believers and the suffering of the people!"
"Your believer sincerely prays again, begging the Great True God to act and save the entire Zhencheng!"
Instantly, the purple leaves of the large tree fell and slowly floated towards Wuque Nanfei's hands.
The young woman saw the leaves fall into a man's hands and excitedly ran up to Wuque Nanfei, kneeling. "Respected believer, please save our city!"
Wuque Nanfei was still in a state of confusion. Then, a mission interface appeared before him, and Wuque Nanfei opened it.
His expression changed drastically as he exclaimed, "This, this is not my area of expertise!"
Brother Shuzi burst into laughter. "No need to search for things, and it's even based on textual clues to find things. This is too difficult for you. Who told you to choose the adventurer class, hahaha!"
"Shut up. How can I, who never went to school, find clues based on verbal information to find things? Isn't this making things difficult for me?"
Chen Tian slowly said, "Accept it! I'm here. It seems this mission can only be done by you, or else we wouldn't have gotten the leaves, and this woman wouldn't have only knelt before you."
Wuque Nanfei numbly clicked "Yes." The young woman slowly stood up and said gratefully, "Thank you, believer, for being willing to save our town. I thank you on behalf of the entire town."
"Wuque Nan, what kind of mission is it? Tell us the specifics," Brother Shuzi asked.
Wuque Nan nodded. "There is a town guardian in the west, disturbing the peace. This refers to what is beneath the town guardian. The seal is about to be broken, and the town guardian has been affected, causing all the NPCs in this town to lose their thinking abilities and become puppets. My mission now is to find other town guardians and place them in the central groove of that tree to restore the town guardian's power and suppress what is beneath it."
"Uh!! I see there are about seven or eight grooves in the center of that large tree, and they are all different shapes. How will you find them? Is there no clue?"
"There are clues. It says an NPC will provide the clues. That's all it says. I'm not sure about the specifics."
Wuque Nan, Shuzi, and Chen Tian looked at the woman before them. She had a calm expression, with phoenix-like eyes and wore a long dress. There was nothing particularly special about her.
The young woman stood motionless before the tree, not saying a word.
"Wuque Nan, what is this tree called?"
"The mission states it's called the 'Tree of Town Seal,' and that's the only information."
Chen Tian approached the tree and looked at the hollows, his brow furrowed. Why did some of the hollows look so familiar?
"Quick, come over here and look! Doesn't this look like this silk ribbon!"
Chen Tian waved his hand and pointed to a linear groove in the center of the tree. He then took out his silk ribbon and compared it. They were exactly the same, down to the size.
"Holy crap, it really is! Are you saying this is one of the town guardians? Then do we have to get other town guardians through missions!"
"I'm not sure. But look at this imprint, doesn't it look like Wuque Nan, your petrified feather?"
Chen Tian calmly analyzed. Wuque Nanfei looked at the imprint and took out his feather for comparison. It looked very similar, but the size was different. Why? httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Chen Tian, why don't you try placing the silk ribbon on it first? Perhaps there will be clues to other town guardians."