Mythical Scroll Artist: Starting with the God of Wealth, Zhao Gongming

Chapter 78 Son of the Devil
Blood, blood everywhere.

The yellow earth beneath our feet was stained crimson with blood, and the air was thick with the stench of blood.

The streets were littered with corpses, bleeding profusely, each one more gruesome than the last, a veritable human tragedy.

Although this kind of horror element is very basic, the sheer amount of it leads to a qualitative change, and it inadvertently draws you into a terrifying atmosphere.

"What's the background of this Dead Mountain Town? Why are they going to such lengths?"

“A land forsaken by the gods,” Xue Lingling said warily, “no one has yet figured out the deeper background and concept behind it. All that is known is that this town has offended the gods, and every day when the rooster crows at dawn, it is slaughtered and robbed by bandits, and the process begins again the next day.”

Wu Xian asked in confusion, "Isn't this a scroll from your Necromancer's Guild? Don't you even know it?"

“You have to understand that when a scroll artist is creating a scroll, there are many subtle things that even he himself may not be aware of,” Xue Lingling explained. “Moreover, [Dead Mountain Town] is a work left behind by the first scroll artist of the dojo, and in that era, people’s exploration of scrolls was still in the exploratory stage.”

"The first master of scroll painting?" Wu Xian was startled. "The first painter in history to awaken the extraordinary scroll painting?"

“That’s right,” Xue Lingling nodded solemnly. “They were the pioneers of the Scroll Path and the founders of the Scroll Era. Don’t underestimate Dead Mountain Town just because it’s only a Silver-Rank Scroll. Its status in the Necromancer’s Guild is far more important than that of scrolls in later generations.”

"Why is that?" Wu Xian asked, puzzled.

"Dead Mountain Town, as the first generation of Domain Scroll, contains the wisdom and extraordinary inspiration of the first generation of Awakeners. It contains many ancient production techniques and traces, which are fundamentally different from the Domain Scrolls of later generations."

"What's the difference?" Wu Xian was surprised again.

To put it simply, Dead Mountain Town, as the first generation of the Domain Scroll, is a mixture of the extraordinary inspiration and ancient techniques of the first generation of Awakeners.

Xue Lingling said, "As we completely unravel the mystery of Dead Mountain Town and gradually glimpse its deeper secrets, we will advance the background concept to the next stage, thereby triggering the evolution and upgrade of Dead Mountain Town."

"You mean, Dead Mountain Town can automatically level up as long as you solve puzzles and make progress?"

Wu Xian was secretly shocked. Good heavens, isn't this exactly the characteristic that only ancient scroll painting possesses?

Just like the God of Wealth, he can improve himself by directly absorbing various spiritual substances.

For Dead Mountain Town, the exploration and puzzle-solving in later generations helped it digest various spiritual substances, thereby enabling Dead Mountain Town to evolve and rise to a higher level.

However, this is because each scroll artist can only possess one signature scroll.

Dead Mountain Town is more like a special product of the transition from ancient scroll painting to new scroll painting, possessing some characteristics unique to ancient scroll painting.

“Therefore, Dead Mountain Town is like a mystery left behind by the first master,” Xue Lingling confirmed. “This is also the fundamental reason why the dojo is willing to share Dead Mountain Town for the world to explore.”

Wu Xian understood.

"What level is Dead Mountain Town at present?"

"Silver Axis Five-Star," Xue Lingling said, "So far, we can only advance Dead Mountain Town to the fifth-tier dungeon, and there has been no further progress. The Silver Axis grade has never been improved from beginning to end."

"No one can clear the Tier 5 dungeon?" Wu Xian asked, puzzled.

"It can be connected, but it's more like a forced connection, without solving the deep mysteries in the background."

To put it simply, you can complete the game, but the way you do it is wrong, so you can't advance the background story of Dead Mountain Town.

The more this was the case, the more curious Wu Xian became.

Unlike the Tier 1 Dead Mountain Town, the Tier 3 Dead Mountain Town is filled with bandits who burn, kill, and plunder. These bandits are like NPCs, consistently carrying out their own actions.

They won't pay any attention to you unless you stop them from doing their evil deeds.

The master and apprentice hovered above the town of Death Mountain, where the evil aura was overwhelming, one standing on a coffin lid and the other on a flying sword.

"What are we going to do with the third-tier Dead Mountain Town? Are we just going to watch it go?" Wu Xian asked, puzzled.

“It depends on what you need,” Xue Lingling pointed to the mayor’s mansion. “The mayor’s beloved daughter is giving birth. Either stop the bandits and help the child be born safely, or kill the mayor’s daughter and stop the birth of the devil’s child.”

"There could be a different outcome?" Wu Xian asked in surprise.

Xue Lingling laughed, "If we stop the bandits, their leader will receive the power of the undead and become a powerful undead monster. And if the child is born safely, he will become a demon child, and the two sides will fight." Wu Xian's eyes flickered slightly, "What if we prevent the birth of the demon child?"

“After the mayor’s daughter dies, she will be devoured by the demon in her belly and become a vengeful ghost. She will still fight with the bandits,” Xue Lingling said with a sinister smile. “The difference is that one is the child of a demon, and the other is a vengeful ghost.”

"..."

So after all that effort, it's a dead end no matter how you try to solve it, right?

"What is the correct way to pass through customs?" Wu Xian pressed.

"Let the bandits kill the mayor's daughter, turning the child into a vengeful ghost. At that time, a powerful god-level undead will intervene," Xue Lingling explained. "Then we will help that god-level undead deal with the vengeful ghost, and in the end, we will receive the divine power factor bestowed by that god-level undead."

"What if we just kill that god-level undead directly?" Wu Xian asked, puzzled.

Xue Lingling was stunned. "Why would we go against the gods?"

"What are you talking about? Both sides are monsters formed from scrolls, why can't we just kill them?"

Wu Xian was preoccupied with maximizing his profits and had no respect for the "gods".

Xue Lingling's expression was strange, and she felt a strange stirring in her heart.

"Although we have never fought against that god, we are probably not someone we can contend with."

"Then let's team up with the vengeful ghost first." Wu Xian was fearless, his eyes filled with desire for the dungeon's rewards. "Anyway, we won't die, let's give it a try first."

Xue Lingling was speechless.

Meanwhile, the bandits had already stormed into the mayor's mansion and were heading straight for the mayor's daughter's delivery room.

Screams and sounds of fighting echoed, and the town mayor's mansion was soon covered in blood.

Finally, accompanied by the mayor's daughter's desperate screams from inside the delivery room, a terrifying aura surged out of the delivery room, and the surrounding yin energy and resentment gathered into the delivery room like a tide.

The child of the devil failed to be born and transformed into a terrifying ghost.

The bandits who rushed into the delivery room were instantly killed or wounded, their life force drained by the vengeful ghost, turning them into mummies.

"Get ready to take action!"

Xue Lingling took it very seriously, as if facing a formidable enemy. The Ghost King Divine Diagram above her head slowly unfolded, and the Golden Scroll Five-Star Soul-Devouring Ghost King roared out.

"Aren't we supposed to join forces with the vengeful ghost?" Wu Xian asked, puzzled.

"That deity won't come out for a while, and that vengeful ghost doesn't care whether you help him or not."

"Ok."

Wu Xian felt helpless and then released the Ten Great Yin Marshals Divine Diagrams.

"Huh, the vengeful ghost seems to have calmed down a lot," Xue Lingling exclaimed in shock. "My good disciple, what's the background of your divine diagram that it can intimidate a vengeful ghost of this level?"

"It only had a slight deterrent effect." Wu Xian shook his head and smiled.

He could sense that the vengeful spirits gathering below were only somewhat wary, but had not retreated and were still gathering and growing stronger.

"Don't be afraid, child, we're here to help you, okay?"

Black and White Impermanence emerged from the divine image, joining forces to deliver and comfort the vengeful ghosts below.

Sure enough, the vengeful ghost below did indeed reduce its resentment and malevolence considerably.

"When did the vengeful ghost become so obedient?" Xue Lingling was shocked.

In the past, when she chose the correct route to pass the level, she would inevitably have to fight the evil spirit for a long time before the gods would appear to help her.

(End of this chapter)