Ita Era

Chapter 180 Temporary Camp
Shortly after Sha Bi left, Ding Shi began experimenting to find the pattern of the black fire's attacks. It would indiscriminately attack meat products about 1.5 meters tall, including living creatures. Ding Shi used Wang Wu's left thigh as an example; the black fire penetrated Wang Wu's left thigh, and the entire left thigh burst into flames.

As expected of the Nine-Refined Ghost Fire, it cannot be cut by a sickle, killed by a stick, or even extinguished by water.

When Sha Bi returned with the glass bottle, Hei Huo was gone. Sha Bi asked anxiously, "Where's Hei Huo?"

Ding Shi said, "It's all burned."

Sha Bi looked at Ding Shi and said, "I don't believe it." If he could beat Ding Shi, he would be beating him right now.

Ding Shi shrugged: "Well, there's nothing I can do about that."

The truth is that during Ding Shi's numerous attempts, he was nearly ambushed by the black flame, and Ding Shi, prepared to sacrifice one of his hands, slapped it away. Then he discovered that his hand was unharmed. So Ding Shi used his Force hands to knead the black flame, sometimes shaping it into a ball, sometimes into a small star, and sometimes into a dumpling.

Finally, Ding Shi had a brilliant idea: he planned to fuse the power of black fire into the Force. Imagine, you throw a punch and set your opponent on fire—how cool would that be? Lighting a cigarette for an old person, starting a fire in the wild—just poke it with your finger, it couldn't be more convenient.

So Ding Shi rubbed the black fire in his palm vigorously, until it disappeared. Where did the black fire go? Ding Shi truly didn't know; it had absolutely nothing to do with his Force.

Sha Bi was also pitiful. He knew Ding Shi was lying, and he knew Ding Shi knew he knew he was lying, yet he lacked the courage to expose him. Poverty makes one weak-willed; he couldn't beat his opponent, so what could he do?

Ding Shi, being quite accommodating to Sha Bi, changed the subject to avoid embarrassing him, saying, "It's past four o'clock, there's still one hour and forty-five minutes until sunset, let's go back and check." This Huang You's magical treasures are endless. By nightfall, can these few players really defeat him?

Sha Bi wisely refrained from mentioning Blackfire again: "Hmm." He followed Ding Shi back to the Jinshi's residence, feeling incredibly frustrated, but what could he do? He was the man who could kill Blackfire. He himself still didn't know how to kill Blackfire.

Inside the mansion, the monks were still circling the pond, and the young nun was still doing her homework.

In other words, since Sha Bi had experienced the illusion once, he was alert and was able to leave the illusion quickly.

"They won't wake up before sunset," said Sha Bi.

Ding Shi agreed with Sha Bi's opinion, so he squatted down beside the coffin. Ten seconds later, the main quest was still not completed. Ding Shi crawled into the coffin, but still didn't finish. Ding Shi lifted the coffin, propped it up with stones, and crawled under it, but still didn't finish the quest.

Complaint.

System: Divine Tree, not Divine Wood. Subtext: Why do you think this thing can be called a tree? Are you stupid?

Actually, when Qi Niang mentioned that her family had a sacred tree, Ding Shi knew that the coffin was useless, but since he was already there, how could he not give it a try?
Silly Bone squatted to one side, silent, watching Ding Shi's idiotic performance art.

Ding Shi: "What are you looking at? Move the person away."

Ding Shi, a pure Force cultivator, possessed immense strength, effortlessly carrying the Taoist nun and tucking the young nun under his arm. Sha Bi, on the other hand, fared much worse. He managed to drag the monk ten meters, only for the monk to walk back. Left with no other option, he summoned a ghost shadow, grabbing the monk and running frantically. The longer the ghost shadow was used, the more severe the backlash became.

……

On the road from the village entrance to Sanlifen, there was an old, uninhabited house. The village chief moved the funeral parlor there using oxcarts and other means of transportation. In addition, more than 30 homeless villagers also followed the village chief to settle there.

The atmosphere was tense, with many worried about their loved ones who couldn't leave Tianmen Village. Besides the followers of the Ghost Mother, those remaining in the village were people who had used Soul Slave Talismans to seal evil spirits within them. Some of them used tadpole-script Soul Slave Talismans; the evil spirits within them wouldn't rage after sunset, but they were likely to become targets of any raging evil spirits.

As the sun gradually set, Ding Shi, carrying the young nun and the Taoist nun, and Sha Bi, dragging the monk, arrived at their temporary resting place. The villagers spread out the mats they had brought on the ground for everyone to rest. Some people gathered firewood nearby and lit several bonfires. Several women, under the village chief's arrangement, began to cook porridge.

With the help of his aunt, Ding Shi spent three knives to find a clean spot and also got a bowl of porridge and two pieces of fermented bean curd.

At other times, Ding Shi was always watching the village chief.

The village chief was very busy; he had just settled the villagers when the truck arrived. He explained to the officer in charge that there were only four unpainted coffins left, and they needed to bury twelve soldiers' remains. The final decision was to share a coffin with three soldiers, so they could keep each other company in the afterlife.

The officer left behind a small amount of money and a bottle of sulfa pills. The village chief took out most of the money and found workers among the villagers. Some workers would go to dig the pit the next morning, while others would deliver the coffin to Sanlifen.

Sha Bi leaned against the wall and asked, "Looking so closely? Is there something wrong with the village chief?"

Ding Shi said, "The village chief might have 13 people. Hey, among the people we both know, besides public figures, are they only from the Dragon Gang?"

Sha Bi said, "And your boss, named Xia Shen. He's a tough guy. I pulled out his fingernails and smashed his fingers, but he didn't give in. It wasn't until I slit his wife's throat for the sake of our only child that he told me where your paper file is."

Ding Shi remained completely calm and said, "Bringing up old stories, are you looking for death?"

Sha Bi said, "You talk like you're a good person, but you killed my whole family, no, my entire clan."

Ding Shi said, "But you hate your family."

Foolish Bone sneered: "You talk as if you don't hate your boss. Don't tell me you don't like life in the Dragon Gang. In the Dragon Gang, you're the second-in-command, second only to the boss, with tons of money, strong liquor, beautiful women, luxury cars, and yachts."

Ding Shi: "Cut."

Foolish Bone said, "Don't rush to deny it. Let me ask you a question. If I hadn't persuaded Wang Meng to strike first and shoot you twice, forcing you to become mortal enemies, but instead told Wang Meng the truth, and Wang Meng advised you to reform and return to the evil path, helped you arrange a second identity, and let you develop the Dragon Gang abroad, would you have agreed?"

Ding Shi said, "No."

Sha Bi said, "Say it again with your conscience."

Ding Shi retorted, "Why do you think people like us still have a conscience?"

Silly Bike smiled without saying a word, closed his eyes to rest, and after a long time, Silly Bike suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the village chief: left-handed, standing with his legs together, his left ring finger brushing his hair from left to right.

That's right, the village chief is the 13th person, and Sha Bi knows who he is, but he has forgotten his name.

Silly Bone instinctively stood up and began pacing back and forth, his brain's CPU running at 100%. Name, name, I need to know my name. Bullshit martial arts world, what's with the nicknames? I want my real name.

The 13th person is a task issued to all players, but only the first person to say the correct name will receive the reward, and that person will be successfully resurrected. Whether or not someone is resurrected is irrelevant to Silly Bone; he only cares about the reward.

Sha Bi paced back and forth, glancing at the village chief from time to time, while Ding Shi, who was feigning sleep, took in everything.

Ding Shi knew he had guessed correctly; the village chief was indeed the 13th person. Sha Bi likely already had a direction and was just one step away from success. Ding Shi began to observe the village chief closely, but he couldn't connect him to anyone he knew through the village chief's actions.

Sha Bi bought two more bowls of porridge and some pickled vegetables from the woman, woke up Ding Shi, and handed one of the bowls to him.

"Don't even mention the Divine Tree," Foolish Bone complained. "I can't even find a partner now."

Ding Shi took the porridge and said, "Thank you. I don't have any either."

Sha Bi said, "Didn't you used to have many girlfriends? Like that Mei, she's a rich girl."

Ding Shi said, "Plum blossoms and orchids? Bamboo and chrysanthemums? They sound so

Sha Bi said, "Liu Mei."

Ding Shi thought for a long time: "Oh, it seems there is someone named Liu Mei."

The idiot asked, "Why are you able to attract so many women?"

Ding Shi said, "Humorous, rich, and handsome."

Sha Bi said, "There are even bigger pectoral muscles than theirs." Ding Shi was taken aback and said, "That's an exaggeration."

Sha Bi said, "That's right, there's this Ying who's older than you. I remember she came from the foreign country and was a liaison under Wang Meng. Didn't she sleep with you?"

Upon hearing this, Ding Shi flew into a rage, stood up, and kicked Sha Bi over. With Sha Bi looking on in bewilderment, Ding Shi slid to the village chief and grabbed the village chief's shoulders with both hands.

When the fool realized what had happened, his rationality collapsed. This idiot had already noticed his abnormality and knew that he was being deceived and had deliberately set a trap.

The devastated idiot shouted, "Don't say it!"

Ding Shi smiled sweetly at Sha Bi and looked at the village chief: "Listen to me, your name is Cao Ying."

Sha Bi collapsed, powerless. That's right, her name is Cao Ying. He only knew her as Phantom, nicknamed "Killer." Then he looked again, something was wrong. Ding Shi wasn't happy. He checked his 13-person mission; it hadn't disappeared.

Sha Bi jumped up, pointed at Ding Shi, and laughed loudly: "Haha, you fell for it, didn't you?" If it wasn't Cao Ying, then who could it be? Could it be Fei Fei? What's Fei Fei's full name? It also sounds a bit like Coco. These women, they even use fake names when they go out to play, don't they have any ancestors? Can't they at least use a surname?

Ding returned unhappily and said, "There's porridge on your clothes."

Sha Bi shook his head indifferently, sat back down next to Ding Shi, and said, "But this village chief should be one of 13 people."

Ding Shi wasn't interested and said, "The monk has slowed down."

The monk had a rope tied around his waist, the other end of which was attached to a stone mill. The mill was outside the courtyard, in a fairly large area. The monk pulled it round and round, but whether from exhaustion or some other reason, he finally slowed down. However, the first to awaken was the Daoist nun who controlled the illusion. As soon as she awoke, the entire illusion shattered, and both the young nun and the monk woke up.

……

The five people gathered the information and realized they might be facing a battle of offense and defense.

The attacker is Huang You.

The defender is Feng Qiniang, who possesses the divine tree. If Feng Qiniang wins, she will transplant the divine tree to the gap on the night of the seventh day, on the day of the full moon, to restore the feng shui of Tianmen Village, and all evil spirits and yin energy will dissipate.

If Huang You wins, she will… it's unclear what she'll do, since the vessel has run away and she has no way to resurrect Cui's father. She also can't get a healthy body for herself; for now, she can only reside within the image of the Ghost Mother.

Suddenly, a woman screamed, "Oh no! My child is still at home! What should I do? She's only one year old!"

A group of players: "What the heck? This mom is amazing."

Side Quest: Rescue Little Girl. Successfully completing the quest unlocks one inventory slot. This means you can leave the dungeon with one item in your inventory.

What should I take with me when I leave the instance? The Divine Tree? The Divine Wooden Coffin? The Wooden Bell? The Bagua Mirror? Or even the Ghost Cultivator's magic weapon, Black Flame?

Ding Shi's opinion is: the dog system didn't expect everyone to run away, so it created a side quest to lure everyone into the village at night to die.

This side quest is open-ended, but there's only one Little Girl. Whoever brings Little Girl back to her mother will receive the reward; there's no possibility of cooperation, unless it's a duel-style cooperation. A duel-style cooperation involves cooperating first to obtain the necessary items, then the two players engage in a fair duel, with the winner taking all the items.

Ding Shi didn't want to risk entering the village. Although he didn't know the situation inside Tianmen Village, he could guess that the rioting demons, dressed in human skin, were searching for and killing other villagers. Even with the limitations of human bodies, the demons were still very powerful.

The temperature began to drop, and a villager yawned. The village chief beckoned everyone to gather around the fire. In times of war, medicine was extremely precious, and even a minor cold could become a serious matter.

Everyone moved aside, and suddenly a middle-aged woman appeared out of thin air beside the fire, plunging two fingers of her right hand into a villager's head. She slowly pulled her fingers out and then disappeared.

Everyone froze for a second, then someone shouted, "A demon! There's a demon in this house!"

Ding Shi turned his head and whispered in Xiao Ni's ear, "The one who died was the one who yawned." Ding Shi dared not yawn.

Xiao Ni leaned closer: "Six seconds."

Then the two of them saw a monk tilting his head back and opening his mouth, preparing to sneeze.

The two were shocked. Xiao Ni rushed forward and covered the monk's mouth, while Ding Shi's fist landed on the monk's stomach at the same time.

The monk shoved the nun aside and quickly went to the side to vomit violently.

The Taoist nun frowned: "What's going on?"

Ding Shi: "The dead villagers..." He made a sneezing gesture.

Everyone understands.

Although the players understood, the villagers avoided them like the plague. Many packed their belongings, took their children and families, and ran outside the houses, where they set up their bedding in the wild. For a time, the once bustling dilapidated houses became as quiet as chickens.

Knowing the evil spirit's rules for killing, the evil spirit isn't scary anymore. If you need to sneeze, just go outside the yard; it's not a big problem. Besides, you have six seconds to escape.

Sha Bi stood up and said, "I'm going back to the village to take a look." After saying that, he left without waiting for anyone's response.

Xiao Ni hesitated for a moment, then stood up: "I'll go too."

Ding added firewood and said, "Don't go looking for death."

Xiao Ni said, "There shouldn't be any missions that are certain to lead to death, so there should be opportunities."

The Taoist nun said, "I'll go too."

Ding Shi said, "This is not a cooperative mission."

The nun said, "I know."

Ding Shi said, "I strongly advise you not to do this mission." Apart from himself, the mortality rate for everyone who went to do the side mission was at least over 90%.

The Taoist nun and the young nun exchanged a glance. They had their own opinions and decided not to accept the advice.

Ding Shi said the mortality rate was over 90%, not because of the mission, but because of Sha Bi. They had very little contact with Sha Bi, and there was no player friendship between them. Based on Ding Shi's understanding of Sha Bi, he would never be the first to take the plunge; he preferred to be the first to try something new.

If I'm not mistaken, Silly Dagger won't enter the village. He'll hide near the village entrance, and when the other players rescue Little Girl, it will be their death.

Ding Shi wasn't a morally upright person either, mainly because he didn't have what he wanted.

To give a somewhat inappropriate example, if someone gives you 100 dollars and asks you to call them "Dad," you wouldn't agree. But what if they gave you a million dollars and asked you to call them "Dad" even once?

There are no principles that cannot be broken; if they cannot be broken, then the benefits are not sufficient.

If saving Xiaoya would grant him a 50% power boost, Ding Shi wouldn't mind betraying a player. In contrast, Sha Bi's floor is much lower; a mere 1% power boost would be enough for him to betray a player.

However, you can go to the village entrance to see what's going on; you're just killing time anyway.

(End of this chapter)