"Hurry up and give me the reward! I'm in a hurry!"
Ding!
System notice: You have received +1000 experience points, +20 copper coins, +10 reputation, and one piece of [Novice Boots].
Yet another piece of white-tier gear. But since Xiao Yu already had the [Poison-Resistant Boots], these boots—which only added two points of internal and external defense—were of no use to him.
"Y-Young hero."
"What the hell is it? You want me to kill another pig?"
"No, no, no! Since even the [Pig King] was effortlessly slain by your hand, how could this old man dare to order you to do such despicable chores..."
"You motherf..." Ceng Jing Shu Guang couldn't help cursing out loud.
Who on earth designed this idiotic gimmick? Why did doing a quest get him branded as performing despicable chores???
Seeing that the other party was angry, the village chief hurriedly forced a smile: "Don't be mad, don't be mad. A few days ago, this old man was working in the fields when nature suddenly called. I hid behind a big tree to relieve myself, and only after I was done did I notice a letter lying on the ground. When I picked it up and looked, I realized it was actually a cry-for-help distress letter!"
"A distress letter?"
"Mhm, mhm, it's a secret distress letter sent from my sect, the [Wuling Sect]..."
"What? A secret letter from my sect?! Why didn't you say so earlier? What happened to my master?!" Ceng Jing Shu Guang grabbed the village chief by the collar, asking anxiously. He hadn't even learned a single skill yet; if his sect got wiped out, who was he supposed to complain to?
"The young hero should just read it yourself." With that, the village chief pulled a yellowish, old envelope from his bosom. The moment the envelope was brought out, Ceng Jing Shu Guang was hit by a strange smell that assaulted his nostrils.
"What—what is this smell?!"
"When I was taking a dump... well, I was a bit careless, hehe, you know..." The village chief smiled awkwardly.
"Go to hell!" Ceng Jing Shu Guang covered his nose and took a large step back.
Ding!
System notice: Accepted quest [Reinforce Sect]. Before undertaking the quest, you may first visit the residence of your sect instructor, [Bai Susu], to assess the situation. The address of [Bai Susu] is detailed in the letter.
"..."
He had wanted to refuse this envelope, but who knew refusing wasn't an option since the instructor's address was written inside.
Frowning and holding his nose with one hand, Ceng Jing Shu Guang took the envelope from the old villager, opened it, and glanced at it twice.
"In the Stagnant Water Pool in the southeast corner of the village!"
Stagnant Water Pool? Why on earth did this senior sister live in a stinky puddle?
"Y-Young hero."
"What the hell is it? You want me to kill another pig?"
"No, no, no! Since even the [Pig King] was effortlessly slain by your hand, how could this old man dare to order you to do such despicable chores..."
"You motherf..." Ceng Jing Shu Guang couldn't help cursing out loud.
Who on earth designed this idiotic gimmick? Why did doing a quest get him branded as performing despicable chores???
Seeing that the other party was angry, the village chief hurriedly forced a smile: "Don't be mad, don't be mad. A few days ago, this old man was working in the fields when nature suddenly called. I hid behind a big tree to relieve myself, and only after I was done did I notice a letter lying on the ground. When I picked it up and looked, I realized it was actually a cry-for-help distress letter!"
"A distress letter?"
"Mhm, mhm, it's a secret distress letter sent from my sect, the [Wuling Sect]..."
"What? A secret letter from my sect?! Why didn't you say so earlier? What happened to my master?!" Ceng Jing Shu Guang grabbed the village chief by the collar, asking anxiously. He hadn't even learned a single skill yet; if his sect got wiped out, who was he supposed to complain to?
"The young hero should just read it yourself." With that, the village chief pulled a yellowish, old envelope from his bosom. The moment the envelope was brought out, Ceng Jing Shu Guang was hit by a strange smell that assaulted his nostrils.
"Rumble..."
Thunder suddenly rumbled across the sky, and immediately afterward, bucket-sized raindrops came pattering down. The letter in Ceng Jing Shu Guang's hand was quickly soaked through.
"It's thundering! It's raining! Hurry home and take in your laundry!"
Someone shouted this out, and looking at the village chief, the man actually turned around, walked back to the front door of his house, opened it, stepped inside, and then shut the door behind him.
"..."
Xiao Yu cursed in depression: How the hell was anyone supposed to do quests like this? The NPCs had all gone home to hide from the rain—were players just supposed to stand here and wait?
Soon, the small window of the village chief's house was pushed open. The village chief's head and upper body poked out, and he suddenly held several umbrellas in his hands.
"Umbrellas for sale, umbrellas for sale! Ten copper coins each! High quality, low price, honest to young and old alike! Back in the day, Xu Xian bought an oiled-paper umbrella from me and hooked up with Bai Suzhen in the blink of an eye! Whoever buys an umbrella today will run into the Seven Fairies! Umbrellas for sale..."
The village chief's words left Ceng Jing Shu Guang completely dumbfounded. This old man had changed careers to go into business and stopped giving out quests? Then how were other players supposed to play?
Sure enough, a chorus of curses erupted. Ceng Jing Shu Guang glanced at the public chat, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Damn it, what is this nonsense? I can't turn in my quest!"
"What the hell, NPCs even know to dodge the rain? What kind of gimmick is this?!"
"How do you accept quests? Wuwuwu..."
"Oh my god! This is way too ridiculous, you have to buy an umbrella just to accept a quest? There goes my money!"
"..."
Sighing, Xiao Yu felt quite helpless. Even though he was the principal designer of the game, facing all this, he was just as much of a newcomer as any regular player.
The weather in [God Tribulation] simulated reality; cloudy days, rain, wind, thunder, and all other meteorological changes that occurred in real life were present in the game. But unlike other online games, the weather changes here weren't merely decorative—they posed genuine, substantial obstacles to the players.
Take the rainy weather right now, for instance. It could slow down a player's movement speed, lower the height of a player's qinggong flight, and even restrict the execution of skills.
In [God Tribulation], wanting to become a gaming master required more than just good equipment, high-level skills, and great control; making full use of changes in terrain and weather was also a mandatory subject for any master.
Shaking his head and deciding not to buy an umbrella, Ceng Jing Shu Guang lowered his head and headed southeast according to the address on the letter.
He had barely taken a few steps when Xiao Yueya sent him a message.
"Hey, where are you going?"
When they accepted the quest, the party had automatically disbanded. He had no idea how this chick had managed to spot him in this sea of people—finding someone here was no easy feat.
"Doing a quest."
"A quest? What quest? Let's party up and do it together?"
"Sect quest, can't be done in a party, it's not shareable. Didn't you accept it?"
"Nope! That dead old man told me to buy an umbrella first, and I couldn't bear to part with the money..."
"Sigh, worldly wealth is just a material possession. Didn't I give you five gold coins? Just buy one and hurry up and learn your skills..."
"Fine. Ugh, there goes my ten copper coins..."
Seeing that there was no further activity from Xiao Yueya, Ceng Jing Shu Guang picked up his pace and hurried forward. By now, the rain was coming down heavier and heavier, blurring his vision, and his clothes were already soaked clear through.
"Wow, it's Ceng Jing Shu Guang!"
"Ah, he's that expert who killed the [Pig King]! My idol!"
"Where? Where? Where is my little Guangguang?"
"Big Brother Shu Guang, carry me!"
"Can I get an autograph photo?"
"Brother Guang, I love you!"
"Jingjing, be my boyfriend..."
"What? This jerk is Ceng Jing Shu Guang? He can't even afford an umbrella? What a loser!"
...
Wherever Ceng Jing Shu Guang passed, many players recognized the ID hovering above his head. This bunch of guys rushed up asking for guidance, while the girls came forward asking to be kept as sugar babies. If players in the Novice Village weren't able to walk through one another, forget about doing quests—just getting out of this street would have been nearly impossible.
"Sigh, being a celebrity sure brings a lot of trouble."
Xiao Yu casually toggled his ID to hidden. With that, the nearby players instantly lost their target, and the vicinity grew quiet at once.
Walking to the end of the main street, he turned four or five corners. The roads grew narrower and narrower, and the surrounding players fewer and fewer. Because of the rain-slicked ground and the dirt roads, the water turned everything into a muddy mess, leaving Ceng Jing Shu Guang's entire pair of pants covered in filth.
Suddenly, not paying attention for a split second, Ceng Jing Shu Guang stumbled and nearly fell to the ground.
Ding!
System notice: You have been afflicted by the rainy weather's [Muddy] status. Movement speed reduced by 30% for 30 seconds.
The moment the notification sound rang out, Xiao Yu felt his legs grow noticeably heavier, and every step felt exceptionally laborious.
Right at that moment, a massive puddle came into Ceng Jing Shu Guang's view in the distance. The water in the puddle was a dark, murky brown, with all sorts of garbage and waste floating on top. Swarms of black, winged flying insects flitted back and forth unceasingly above the foul water, emitting a faint buzzing sound. The sensation was just like tens of thousands of green-headed blowflies swarming around a cesspool, enough to make anyone's scalp tingle just listening to it.
"Could Senior Sister possibly live in a place like this?"
Xiao Yu furrowed his brow deeply. How could anyone live in a place like this? Is this fit for human habitation?! Even if she were an NPC, they shouldn't have assigned her a location like this!
Slowly approaching the Stagnant Water Pool, even though the game's settings weren't sophisticated enough to let players actually smell the stench of the water, just looking at the color of the filth and the dense swarms of green-headed blowflies hovering above it allowed Xiao Yu to imagine that the smell could hardly be pleasant.
Walking a few more steps forward, Xiao Yu finally discovered that right in the middle of the Stagnant Water Pool was a patch of land. It looked like land, but it was actually just a small island piled high with garbage and waste.
On this small island stood a dilapidated little thatched cottage. The cottage had no door, and the windows were wide open. Swarms of black flying insects constantly darted in and out through the windows, while on the ground, dense patches of spiders, centipedes, scorpions, venomous snakes, and toads crawled their way right through the doorway.
"According to the letter, this should be the place, but how do we get in?"
Xiao Yu noticed there wasn't even a bridge around. Not only was there no bridge, there wasn't even a small boat—how was he supposed to get across?
Did he have to swim across? At the sight of that pitch-black, filthy water, Xiao Yu almost threw up.
Walking a full circle around the perimeter of the Stagnant Water Pool, Xiao Yu finally spotted a thin figure dressed in a long blue skirt with a head of pure white hair standing in a corner.
"Senior Sister Bai?" Ceng Jing Shu Guang had barely taken two steps forward when the quest storyline triggered.
The woman in blue turned her head, revealing a face so pale it was somewhat frightening to Ceng Jing Shu Guang's eyes.
"Mhm, I am Bai Susu. Not bad, not bad at all—gifted in appearance and dashing in demeanor. For our sect to have fallen to such a state and yet still have a disciple like you willing to willingly cultivate our sect's arts is truly the greatest fortune of our sect."
Before Xiao Yu could speak, Bai Susu continued, "You're here to learn the Wuling Sect skills, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Come, touch me!" Bai Susu took two steps forward and thrust her full chest outward. Although her complexion was pale, the look in the corners of her eyes made it obvious to anyone at a glance that she was a natural beauty.
"What?" Ceng Jing Shu Guang was startled and hurriedly took a step back.
"Touch me."
"Touch you?" He heard her clearly this time.
"That's right. Don't you want to learn the skills? How can you learn them if you don't touch me?"
Ceng Jing Shu Guang was depressed. Whose bright idea was this, anyway? You have to touch people just to learn skills?!
"Touch where?"
"Touch wherever..."
This was way too stimulating!
"Is my hair okay?"
"Sure. These locks have never been touched by anyone before..." Bai Susu's voice sounded somewhat strange.
"Oh, do other disciples..."
"Touch my chest! Do you even need to ask?!"
"..."
Ceng Jing Shu Guang didn't dare ask any further. He reached his hand out toward Bai Susu's head and gave it a light tap. The moment his hand made contact with her hair, he heard system notification sounds ringing out like crazy, one after another.
Ding!
System notice: Congratulations on becoming an official disciple of the Wuling Sect. Your meridians have been cleared by your sect instructor, granting you 36 free attribute points!
Ding!
System notice: Congratulations on learning the Wuling Sect skill: [Hundred Poisons Heart Scripture]!
Ding!
System notice: Congratulations on learning the Wuling Sect skill: [Gu-Taming Secret Recipe]!
Ding!
System notice: Congratulations on learning the Wuling Sect skill: [Gu-Raising Poison Art]!
Ding!
System notice: Congratulations on learning the Wuling Sect skill: [Wind-Breaking Claw]!
Ding!
System notice: Congratulations on learning the Wuling Sect skill: [Mad Gu]!
Ding!
System notice: Because you withstood the temptation of your sect instructor and did not commit any acts of sexual harassment against her body, you are specially taught the sect's secret technique: [Blood Cauldron Divine Skill]!
...
"Oh my god, the [Blood Cauldron Divine Skill] is learned this way?!" Ceng Jing Shu Guang was completely left speechless.
The Wuling Sect possessed two major secret techniques, and this [Blood Cauldron Divine Skill] was one of them. If you played the Witchcraft Poison Master class and failed to learn the [Blood Cauldron Divine Skill], you were destined for tragedy—especially in the late game, as this was a lifesaving skill.
Glancing over, the attributes of the learned skills surfaced one by one before Xiao Yu's eyes.
[Hundred Poisons Heart Scripture] was the introductory heart method of the Witchcraft Poison Master, which accelerated Qi and blood recovery when meditating. It belonged to the passive skills.
[Gu-Taming Secret Recipe] was the basic technique used by Witchcraft Poison Masters to attack with Gu. As cultivation levels increased, multiple methods of planting Gu could be utilized. Right now, Ceng Jing Shu Guang's skill level was only level one, so he could only use the simplest Gu-planting method: directly releasing the Gu onto the target.
[Gu-Raising Poison Art] was divided into two parts: Gu-raising and poison-extracting. Gu-raising involved preparing various foods to feed the Gu Mother in order to enhance her various capabilities. Poison-extracting involved extracting toxins from the Gu Mother or Gu insects and using these toxins to infuse weapons for special attack effects—though infusing poison naturally required having learned [Venom Infusion Art].
Detailed information regarding the Witchcraft Poison Master's first "claw"-type attack skill, [Wind-Breaking Claw], was as follows:
[Wind-Breaking Claw]: Wuling Sect low-level claw technique. Frantically slashes the enemy, inflicting [Bleeding].
Active skill
Level: 1
Proficiency: 1/100
Skill cooldown: 2 weeks
Restricted weapon: Claws
Concurrently attacks the opponent 3 times, causing each hit to drain 10 health points, and has a 10% chance to trigger the move [Raging Wind Dance], extending the bleeding duration by 3 seconds.
As for [Mad Gu], it was the Witchcraft Poison Master's first Gu-attack skill, allowing a swarm of crazed Gu insects to attack a single enemy and inflict [Bleeding].
All five of the above skills were basic skills of the Witchcraft Poison Master. Any poison master could learn them from Bai Susu with a 100% success rate, but what made it impossible for Xiao Yu to calm his internal emotions was—
The [Blood Cauldron Divine Skill], a secret technique that should have been virtually unobtainable through ordinary means anywhere in the game, had actually been handed to him so easily. The feeling was no different from a dream.
[Blood Cauldron Divine Skill]: Wuling Sect secret technique.
Passive skill
Level: 1
Proficiency: 1/100
Gu Mother production speed increased by 10%
Gu Mother lifespan consumption during production reduced by 5%
Maximum health increased by 10%
Maximum internal force increased by 10%
Grants use of the Wuling Sect primary manual control skill: [As Maggots to Bone]
A manual control skill! This was precisely what he wanted! Although all manual control skills in [God Tribulation] required precise techniques and operation, that posed absolutely no obstacle for Xiao Yu. With the [Ebony King Cauldron], producing high-level Gu insects would present zero problems, and having now learned the [Blood Cauldron Divine Skill], he could completely run rampant through the game from here on out.
Even though he currently didn't possess a single piece of decent gear, Xiao Yu believed that with just these two magical treasures, killing people, looting items, and snatching bosses would be a piece of cake.
Once the skills were learned, Ceng Jing Shu Guang's wide-open mouth hadn't even had time to close before the quest scene continued...
"Hahaha, little junior brother, I have already imparted all of the sect's primary skills to you. Senior Sister will gift you one more item, the [Red Wood Cauldron]. This Stagnant Water Pool teems with venomous bugs and is an excellent place for refining Gu insects. Once you ignite the [Red Wood Cauldron], you will understand the marvels within." As Bai Susu spoke, she fished a small red cauldron out from her person.
"[Red Wood Cauldron]? Isn't this a bit too crappy?" Ceng Jing Shu Guang frowned, reached out, and pulled the [Ebony King Cauldron] from his inventory. Wisps of light smoke emanated from the king cauldron, instantly dispersing much of the black Qi hanging over the Stagnant Water Pool.
"Ah! Th-Th-This is the [Ebony King Cauldron]?" Bai Susu was struck dumb with shock.
Ceng Jing Shu Guang smiled, placed the [Ebony King Cauldron] on the ground, and before he even had a chance to ignite it, all the venomous bugs in the vicinity began to stir restlessly. Some of the flying insects hovering above the murky water simultaneously whipped their heads around toward this direction, paused for a second or two, and then abruptly flew over, plunging straight into the [Ebony King Cauldron].
One, two, five, ten...
The [Ebony King Cauldron] acted just like an invisible black hole; in the span of mere moments, those tens of thousands of flying insects were actually all sucked right inside! The Stagnant Water Pool instantly grew dead silent.
And that wasn't all. The centipedes, scorpions, venomous snakes, and toads crawling toward the small thatched cottage seemed to catch the scent from this direction as well. They all halted their bodies, reversed their directions, and frantically crawled toward here...
"The [Ebony King Cauldron]... Such a formidable [Ebony King Cauldron]! It seems the heavy responsibility of our sect's rise can only rest upon it..." Bai Susu murmured to herself.
Watching the various venomous bugs converging from all around upon the ground, Xiao Yu broke into a wide, beaming smile.
You had to understand that compared to other classes, the difficulty of the Witchcraft Poison Master class lay entirely in the collection and production of Gu insects—especially the cultivation of top-tier Gu Mothers, which was definitely an agonizingly tedious mega-project. Without the support of various Gu insects and toxins, those freakish late-game skills of a poison master would be utterly useless and impossible to cast.
Originally, Xiao Yu had intended to slightly lower the overall difficulty of the poison master class during the final days of the game, but Guo Xiao had gone behind his back and signed a contract with Tenglong without giving him even that last bit of time. As the designer of this class, other than being more familiar with it than ordinary players, Xiao Yu actually had no other advantages. This was akin to the principle that the person who builds a car isn't necessarily good at driving it.
Soon, every last venomous bug in the entire Stagnant Water Pool had burrowed into the [Ebony King Cauldron], and the light smoke emitted by the king cauldron seemed to have faded significantly.
Waiting a moment longer, Ceng Jing Shu Guang bent down, picked up the [Ebony King Cauldron], and gave it a gentle pat with his hand. Instantly, a thumb-sized beetle burst out from within.
"Ah! That's a dark cyan-colored Fly King Mother!" Bai Susu couldn't help crying out in surprise.
Xiao Yu was also stunned, and once he recognized the color of the flying insect, he leaped high into the air with joy, almost tumbling right into the Stagnant Water Pool.
It actually turned out to be a dark cyan Gu Mother? Wasn't this luck a bit too incredible?