My Years in the Folklore World

Chapter 729 Confusing
"You learned what happened last night from the ghost of the sandrat. Last night, it returned to its resting place, but not long after falling asleep, it suddenly woke up from a nightmare. Its heart began to beat violently, as if it was about to jump out of its chest."

"This is the signature method of the Heart Demonic Technique. It can synchronize the rhythm of one's own heartbeat with that of another person's heartbeat, thereby speeding up or slowing down the other person's heartbeat, causing the person to suffer a sudden cardiac arrest or a heart explosion and die."

"When Sandshrew was learning martial arts, he heard his teacher talk about the Heart Demon Technique and knew how to crack it. Although this spell can kill people without being seen, it requires full concentration and cannot allow the mind to be confused at all. So Sandshrew wanted to cause a huge noise to alert others to come and help, and at the same time affect the person who cast the Heart Demon Technique."

“But just as it was about to attack, the Heart Devouring Demonic Sound rang in its ears again, and then it was hit by a Heart-Breaking Palm, leaving it unable to resist. It could only use the last of its strength to turn soil into gold and trap its body in it, trying to block the attacks of the Heart Demonic Art and the Heart Devouring Demonic Sound.”

"But the final result was obviously not as expected, otherwise it would not have appeared here. After the Sandshrew trapped itself in the stone, it had already lost consciousness due to severe injuries. So the Sandshrew didn't know whether it was the Broken Heart Taoist who killed it. It only knew that the cause of its death was the two spells, and it didn't know anything else."

"After Sandshrew asks you to return to the living world, tell the other four brothers about these things and let them be careful. No matter who killed it, the other party must be targeting the five rats. After killing it, they will definitely attack the other four brothers. It will continue to explore the underworld. With its abilities and cultivation, it can make a name for itself in the underworld and rebuild a Xiankong Island."

"What are your options next?"

"Will you choose to leave the underworld and return to the world of the living to tell the other four people what happened here? Or will you try to find out the truth from the sandrat?"

"If you choose the latter, you will have two chances. One is to use the Yellow Spring Lantern's ability to reflect the past and recreate the image of the revolving lantern before Sandshrew's death to see if you can find some evidence."

"Of course, you can also use the power of the Legendary Lamp to go back to the past and replace the Sandshrew to see if you can find the murderer?"

"However, if you choose to use the Legendary Lamp, you must use the soul of the Sandshrew and the rush from the shore of the Styx. Combine the two to light the Legendary Lamp and forcibly activate the weak Legendary Law in your body. Only then can you become the Sandshrew of the past time and space fragment."

"Moreover, after you adopt this method, the Heirloom Law will fall into silence until you find new fragments of the Heirloom Law. Only then can you awaken the dormant Heirloom Law again. Otherwise, you will not be able to use the authority of the Heirloom Law again."

"So, how are you going to choose?"

Jiang Xinghuo looked at the two choices and three branch options given by the game, pondered for a moment, and chose the latter without much thought.

This is beyond doubt. If you choose to leave the underworld like this, it would be equivalent to giving up this mission in vain. You won't get any clues, and it is estimated that no new tasks will be triggered later.

If you want to dig out more plots, you can only keep pushing deeper and try to find the murderer who killed the sandrat.

As for which one to choose between the Huangquan Lamp and the Heirloom Lamp, there is no need to worry too much. Just try them one by one. If the Huangquan Lamp doesn't work, then use the Heirloom Lamp.

It doesn't matter if the traditional law falls into silence. Anyway, this law cannot be actively controlled and activated by itself, so there is nothing to regret even if it falls into silence.

Having made up his mind, Jiang Xinghuo no longer hesitated and immediately chose to continue digging for the truth.

"You chose to stay in the underworld and continue to dig for the truth."

"Would you choose to use the Yellow Spring Lantern or the Revolving Lantern?"

"You chose to use the Yellow Spring Lantern."

Jiang Xinghuo took out the Yellow Spring Lantern from his magic bag and clicked to use it.

"The Yellow Springs Lantern cast a faint yellow light on the soul of the Sandshrew. The images on the revolving lantern began to flow, showing what happened to the Sandshrew last night."

"Just as the sandmouse said before, it was suddenly attacked while it was sleeping. Before it could react, it suffered heavy blows one after another. Finally, it had no choice but to hide itself inside the stone to avoid the fatal threat. From beginning to end, I didn't see the person who attacked it. I only saw a hand hidden in the sleeve imprinted on the sandmouse's chest in the last scene of the revolving lantern."

“The revolving door ends here.”

"The Sandshrew witnessed his own death from a third-party perspective, but still found no clues. Although the Broken Heart Palm was the unique skill of his teacher, it does not mean that it cannot be taught to others. If he concludes that the Broken Heart Taoist killed him based on this, the evidence is not sufficient."

"What are you going to do now?"

"Do you want to use the Heirloom Lamp?"

"Although you are a walking officer of the Justice Hall, you are only friends with the Five Rats. You don't have a deep friendship. There is no need to devote all your energy to such a matter. You can just leave the underworld. Even the Five Rats can't say anything. You have done the best you can and have done your best."

Jiang Xinghuo looked at the game text without thinking too much. Since he had already made a decision, there was no need to worry about it anymore.

"You pulled the heirloom lamp from your trick bag."

"But because the integrity of your Legacy Law is too low, you cannot actively activate the authority of the Legacy Law. Therefore, if you want to forcibly use the power of the Legacy Lamp, you must seek help from external objects. The rush growing on the banks of the Styx is said to have evolved from the blood of the Red Lantern God in the underworld. It has a trace of the authority of the Red Lantern God hidden in it."

"The Red Lantern God is a powerful and ancient god in the underworld. Other monsters and demons have powerful powers because they are ancient, but the Red Lantern God is just the opposite. It is ancient because it is powerful."

"Legend has it that the Red Lantern God is nothing more than an ordinary red lantern. It was damaged by wind and rain over the years and thrown into the river. By some strange coincidence, it flowed downstream into the underworld and was soaked in the water of the Styx for countless years. It gained a bit of spirituality and successfully survived in the underworld. Wherever the lanterns are covered, evil spirits retreat and are immune to all kinds of attacks. Even if the years erode it, it remains immortal. By resisting the erosion of time, it has mastered the ability to reverse the flow of time."

"The rush is a trace of the blood and flame of the Red Lantern God, fused with the weeds on the banks of the Styx. Naturally, it also possesses a trace of the Red Lantern God's ability. Although it is not strong, it is enough to activate the heirloom law in your body."

"You can follow the Styx downstream, and when you see red fireflies on the shore, that's where the rush grows."

"Are you going to enter the Styx?"

Jiang Xinghuo chose yes. He controlled the character to walk to the riverside and took out the fishbone boat from the magic bag. This was a prop he accidentally obtained during his previous exploration.

Using a land dragon boat here would make too much noise and easily attract unnecessary trouble. The fishbone boat is just the right choice. The talismans and spells on it can also deter the monsters under the water.

"You throw the fishbone boat in your hand into the black river. The wronged souls underwater seem to sense it and immediately swim over to cling to the boat, trying to forcibly flip it over in the water. But when you step onto the boat and exude the aura that belongs only to the King of the Underworld and the Lord of Hell, the ghosts and wild spirits underwater immediately disperse like birds and beasts."

"You control the fishbone boat and drift downstream. You can only hear the constant crying and wailing from the Styx. These wronged ghosts and wild ghosts are trying to escape when crossing the river, but they are not strong enough, so they are knocked into the water by the ferryman's oars. Except for the Lord of the Underworld and those powerful monsters, no one else can rescue those who fall into the Styx."

"That's why these ghosts will try every possible means to drag other people who have crossed the river into the water. After all, the worst outcome is to be trapped here. If they can be beaten to ashes, it might be a relief."

"You walked on the river for an unknown distance, and suddenly you saw a little light flickering in front of you, as if countless fireflies were flying. It should be the rush you are looking for."

"You controlled the boat and sailed over. It turned out to be what you wanted. But when you went ashore to pick it up, you were suddenly attacked by the little lamp god."

"You have discovered it, little genie."

"This is a kind of monster that grows near rushes. It is a species that was born from the essence of the rushes. Its mission is to protect the rushes. It looks like an octagonal palace lantern, but it has facial features. It can float in the air and attack enemies with the flames burning in the lantern. The light it emits can not only dispel darkness, but also has the effect of seeing through reality."

"How do you plan to deal with these little djinn? Will you choose to kill them here? Or will you try to take them for your own use?"

Jiang Xinghuo thought it would be a shame to kill this monster, so it would be better to keep it for himself.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xinghuo took out the God-Binding Immortal Talisman from his magic bag and clicked on it to use it.

"You have used the God Binding Immortal Talisman."

"You put the talismans into the bodies of these little lamp spirits, and soon they were successfully subdued. Then you put them into the magic bag, and they can move freely in the magic space, like stars in the sky floating behind the mist."

After resolving this little incident, the rush was successfully obtained.

"You have obtained rush +17."

"You obtained the key rush, and took a small boat upstream to return to the Styx Ferry, intending to find a sandrat and proceed with the next plan."

"But you discovered that the Sandshrew that was supposed to be waiting for you there was actually fighting with a few vicious monsters and was trapped in a bitter battle."

"Do you want to go over and help?"

"You walked over to join the battle. Those who participated in the siege of Sandshrew were also the souls of the dead in the underworld. They were naturally restrained by your Black and White Impermanence and were subdued in an instant, becoming the nutrients of Black and White Impermanence."

"It turns out that these people are all the scum of the underworld who were eliminated by the Five Rats. There are vicious bandits, lecherous thieves who roam the green forest, and bandits who specialize in robbing wealthy businessmen."

"After these scums were eliminated, they still felt resentful. They knew they could not seek revenge on the Five Rats, so they wandered around the banks of the Styx in the underworld, hoping to find a chance to seek revenge after the Five Rats came down."

"Today they happened to see a lone sandmouse, so they came to seek revenge and wipe out the sandmouse, but they didn't expect that they would end up getting themselves involved."

"You killed these evil ghosts and came to the Sandshrew. You explained your idea and planned to use the Lantern to return to the past. However, you need the soul of the Sandshrew as a guide. This will seriously damage its vitality and it may never recover."

"But Sandshrew feels obliged to do this, and has no doubts about it. As long as he can find the murderer and let the brothers be on guard and prepared, he will not hesitate even if his vitality is seriously damaged, or even if his soul is completely destroyed."

"You have obtained the power of the sandrat's soul."

"The Sandshrew stripped off most of its soul and gave it to you. Its body suddenly became extremely thin, and its existence was almost imperceptible to the naked eye."

As soon as Jiang Xinghuo saw the description of the game text, he immediately took out the things he had prepared in advance from his magic bag.

"Yinshan Black Wood (Special), a strange wood found by the owner of the Plum Blossom Sword Hall in the Yinshan Ancient Building. It looks like an ordinary dead wood, but it is hard to be damaged by swords and can also nourish and boost the strength of the soul."

This material was obtained from the Plum Blossom Martial Arts School which was wiped out by the Eight-Headed Boy in the Martial Arts School Street of Dilong City in the underworld. It had been in his magic bag without being used, so he kept it. It was just right to nourish the soul of the sandrat.

"You have obtained the soul of Sandshrew. In order to help you find the real culprit, Sandshrew told you the methods to break the Heart Demon Technique, the Heart-Breaking Palm, and the Heart-Eating Demonic Sound."

"To break the Heart Demon Technique, the caster's attention must be diverted. As long as the caster's mind is unstable, the Heart Demon Technique will lose its effect."

"The method to break the Heart-Breaking Palm is not complicated. You just need to practice a heart-protecting technique, or wear a heart-protecting mirror. These items are available on Xiankong Island, so you can choose whichever you like."

"The way to break the Heart Devouring Demonic Sound is to break it with sound. This requires a dignified and righteous sound technique, such as the Buddhist Lion's Roar to Subdue Demons, or the Taoist Heavenly Drum Thunder Sound, or the Ancient Corpse Roaring Moon Technique of the Corpse Driving School. Perhaps these techniques can also resist the attacks of the Heart Devouring Demonic Sound."

"Now that you have obtained the means to crack the three magics, where do you plan to go next?"

"Will you choose to return to the mortal world to deal with these matters? Or will you head to the nearby sky burial site?"

(End of this chapter)