I have to get lucky right away.

Chapter 224: The boss himself has released the strategy guide!

"The characters move very nimbly, and their actions of drinking and eating are all different, so it should be confirmed that this is a highly realistic virtual reality scene, rather than a group of players sitting in front of computers controlling the characters of this world like puppets. However, the villager NPCs are indeed a bit dull. Although they can't be called fake people, they seem to ignore the players' out-of-character chatter. Is it because they are used to it, or are they being blocked?"

Feng Xue wandered through the town, observing the roadside stalls and the characters that were clearly players. This was not the final destination, the royal city. According to Bigeley, this was a strategic fortress on the front line and one of the possible targets for the next siege.

Because he didn't hide his whereabouts, players would occasionally come over for awkward chats. However, probably because the new accounts were all busy leveling up by fighting monsters, he didn't encounter any cultivators. Therefore, he maintained a cool and aloof demeanor, only pausing occasionally to raise his hand and make a divination gesture, which attracted whispers from the players who followed him.

"What's up with this NPC? He's just wandering around here, hasn't triggered any cutscenes, and there's no relevant information in the 'Memories Room'..."

"There should be a hidden quest, right? But the trigger conditions haven't been met yet."

"Judging from his mysterious appearance, he's probably a cultivator. Do you have an alt account? Should we ask him?"

"The alt accounts are all leveling up..."

Amidst this undisguised cacophony, the socially awkward cultivator, finally gritting his teeth, stepped forward under the shoving of his older brother, and walked forward with a look of resignation to his fate.

Good heavens, who would have thought that playing a stupid game requires social skills?
Unexpectedly, before the player could even speak, the usually aloof NPC glared at him, his face serious, and said:

"I initially thought that the lack of cultivators in this city allowed the demonic energy to take hold, but there are clearly cultivators like you in this city. How could you turn a blind eye to the demonic energy?"

"Demonic energy? What's that?" The player, who had painstakingly prepared his answer, was taken aback by the question. Seeing this, Feng Xue sighed softly and said:

"The demonic dragon has broken free of its seal, yet the juniors destined for this calamity have all fallen to such a state. Alas, this world is beyond saving!"

Having said that, he casually flicked his sleeves and turned to leave. The player, of course, knew there was a quest involved. As if struck by a sudden inspiration, his chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) instincts awakened, and he stepped forward, mimicking lines from web novels he'd read:
"Senior, please teach me!"

“Hmph↑↓!”

With a nasal tone that rose and fell, Feng Xue turned around and sized up the novice cultivator. Only when the onlookers began muttering things like "skip" did she speak:
Do you know how my Xuanmen lineage crossed the West to this place?

"Holy crap, this game actually has a backstory? I always thought it was just a virtual reality game where they put their heart into writing code but did nothing with the content!"

A gasp suddenly rang out from the crowd. Feng Xue chuckled inwardly. Seeing the young cultivator in front of her shake his head in a daze, she immediately made a hand seal, and the Spirit Ghost Transporting Technique was instantly activated. A table, chairs, and tea appeared between the two of them. Feng Xue, seemingly oblivious to everyone else, sat down at a Chinese-style octagonal table on a street in a Western-style town, sipping Chinese tea, and acting as if she could do whatever she wanted.

“In the past, there was a demonic cultivator in our homeland whose cultivation was so advanced that he stole the dragon energy of the Central Plains and transformed himself into a dragon. Countless predecessors chased him all the way to this realm and finally suppressed him completely. However, his method of transforming into a dragon was truly exquisite, and he had already embedded himself into the operation of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. If we were to eliminate him, it would probably affect the fortune of the Central Plains.”

"After discussion, our predecessors decided to seal it on the spot, using the power of time to wear down its intelligence, and using the special feng shui of this place to slowly replace the dragon's energy, thus weakening its connection with the fortune of the Central Plains. Only when the connection is completely severed can it be killed. However, this plan takes far too long, so our predecessors passed down their lineage here, guarding the seal for generations. Now that the demonic dragon has broken free of its seal, you have completely forgotten your mission. It is truly pathetic!"

"Holy crap, this story is interesting! That makes sense now; the dragon boss's strange appearance is due to the influence of local feng shui, making it neither entirely Chinese nor Western... and it matches his claim that the seal absorbed his magic power!" "Holy crap, does that mean Big Skull, Second Skull, Dog Brother, Blood Sister-in-law... they also have backstories? We just haven't found them yet?"

"Yeah, speaking of which, my wife often asks for blood-related materials. Is she the one in charge of guarding the Blood Sister's Seal? But she hasn't asked for anything in so long."

"Perhaps it requires specific professions to engage in dialogue at specific times? For example, this cultivator NPC was asked to approach and speak to the cultivator while he was having his fortune told..."

"What fortune telling? He's calculating the feng shui! Didn't he say the Demon Dragon Boss is tied to the local feng shui? He must be looking for something!"

With the help of Little Bell and Mo Ying, Feng Xue easily sorted out the chaotic discussion among the players in her mind. She was satisfied with the players' ability to fill in the blanks, but her gaze always put pressure on the opposing cultivator players.

If he weren't worried that being possessed by a ghost would affect the character's data and leave traces on the character panel, he would have directly had Mo Ying control the other party to speak.

Despite his social anxiety, a cultivation player is still a player, and having come this far, he wasn't going to let such a clearly significant task slip away. Urged on by his older brother's constant stream of messages, he mustered his courage and said:

"We dare not forget our mission, but that demonic dragon is so powerful that we cannot even defeat its projection. We beg you, senior, to teach us how to deal with the demonic dragon!"

"You're on the right track!" Feng Xue chuckled inwardly, but adopted the air of a seasoned expert, saying:

"That demonic dragon was sealed for many years, and its magic power was channeled into the earth's veins to form spiritual energy. That spiritual energy contains its magic power, which is what it lacks. If it can be used effectively, it may become a means of counterattack. However, now that the demonic dragon has broken free of its seal, it will surely search everywhere. We must find it before its minions do so."

"A strategy guide, it's a strategy guide! So you need a special item to defeat that boss? But where do you find it?"

The onlookers murmured amongst themselves, while the cultivator's message pop-up kept ringing. Seeing the questions his friend kept sending him, the player gritted his teeth and simply read them aloud:

"Senior, how should we find these spiritual objects?"

"???" Unexpectedly, the senior in front of him did not throw out a series of tasks like a normal game NPC, but instead showed a very surprised expression.

Immediately, he said with a puzzled expression:

"Didn't your teacher teach you these basic feng shui calculation methods? What exactly did he teach you?"

Hearing Feng Xue's question, the player couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He glanced at his talent tree, tilted his head, and said, "Sword control?"

(End of this chapter)