124 Descending into Darkness

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Having obtained the Mother-and-Child Sword, Yang Tang immediately sought out Xu Ziyi, who was enjoying tea in the city. He began to challenge virtual opponents, the Heavenly King and Dragon King, using the Lone Solitary Nine Swords combined with the Golden Wild Goose Technique. Because these were official battle scenarios, and the fake Heavenly King and Dragon King were weaker than the originals, Yang Tang, with his high evasion, won nine consecutive matches. Consequently, his attributes—vitality at 46, internal energy at 32, attack at 20, and defense at 17—rose once again.

Afterwards, he opened several treasure chests around the Yichun Courtyard and obtained a small yellow booklet of erotic spring palace paintings. Upon studying it, his comprehension increased by five.

At the Dog Hour, in the chamber of the famed courtesan Xianger.

Listening to Xianger’s singing and playing, Yang Tang frowned slightly. Though she had finished her segment, he had yet to receive any insight prompt.

Damn it, it must be that she isn’t singing with enough sincerity or passion. How can I collect her vocal essence?

As Yang Tang pondered, the insight notification flashed: “You may sever her vocal cords, use one hundred merits to dispel malign energy, and convert one hundred sins into mission progress.”

Yang Tang’s face turned as cold as water. Was this telling me to kill her?

“Young Master, Young Master,” Xianger’s dryad-like figure noticed his distracted state and hurriedly paused her performance to call him.

Yang Tang feigned surprise, pretending to snap out of it, and looked at her puzzled. “Anything the matter?”

“The evening grows late, and you seem fatigued, Young Master. Why not stay here with Xianger for the night?”

Yang Tang replied quickly without much thought, “That can’t be. I mustn’t ruin Miss Xianger’s reputation.”

The wary look in Xianger’s bright eyes vanished swiftly, replaced by a coquettish gaze. “Since you say so, if you wish to see me again, please come to the West Lake Pavilion at noon tomorrow. Xianger wishes to present you with a gift then.”

Yang Tang quickly cupped his fists. “I shall be at the Pavilion at noon. I must take my leave for now!”

The next day, at the West Lake Pavilion.

As promised, Yang Tang met Xianger again.

After a few casual words, she sang once more. Just as the hour struck, Yang Tang, frowning and hesitating to strike, suddenly received an insight prompt: “Dryad’s most heartfelt voice collected, the third of the four perfect vocal essences!”

“Excellent, excellent!” Hearing this, Yang Tang applauded, disrupting her rhythm.

Xianger frowned slightly but did not get angry, merely pouting. “Young Master Yang, why are you clapping?”

Yang Tang chuckled awkwardly. “Miss Xianger’s voice is truly exquisite. I could not help but applaud.”

“Ah, forget it. It was an unintentional lapse. Let us part ways here.”

“Then, until we meet again!” Yang Tang feigned reluctance, watching her leave.

Back at the Carefree Valley, Gu Yuexuan proved trustworthy and handed over a perfectly preserved thousand-year He Shou Wu plant.

“Little junior brother, there’s still thirty thousand coins left here. Take it back.”

Cradling the precious He Shou Wu, Yang Tang frowned. “Senior brother, what do you take me for? Since you promised and bought the He Shou Wu for me, the remaining money naturally belongs to you!”

“I only wanted to help, never thought of taking money,” Gu Yuexuan replied.

“Senior brother, how can you refuse payment? Even a porter gets paid for moving furniture,” Yang Tang argued.

Gu Yuexuan chuckled softly. “So you think of me as a porter?”

“No, no, no. I mean, even close brothers keep accounts straight!” Yang Tang tucked the He Shou Wu safely away and continued, “Senior brother, you’re busy and have your own livelihood. Helping me is a disruption. If you don’t accept payment, how can I ask for your help again in the future?”

“That much seems unnecessary,” Gu Yuexuan replied.

Seeing his tone soften, Yang Tang took back ten thousand coins from him. “Let’s make a rule: whenever you help me buy something, you get paid exactly what the item is worth. If He Shou Wu costs twenty thousand, you get twenty thousand for your help. Fair?”

“Alright, between us brothers, whatever you say goes.”

Returning to his quarters, Yang Tang used his Eagle Eye to verify the authenticity of the He Shou Wu. Confirming it was non-toxic and beneficial, he harmonized his energy flow and swallowed the herb.

Insight notification: Dreamer’s vitality increased by two thousand, internal energy by two thousand!

Then, he converted three thousand vitality and three thousand internal energy into constitution and magical power. In total, Yang Tang had now converted five thousand vitality and five thousand internal energy.

After transformation, under concealment, Yang Tang’s stats were vitality 3,762, internal energy 4,001, attack 330, defense 398—a remarkable improvement. Considering he had only been in Carefree Valley for one year and two months, if Master Wuzi saw this, he would undoubtedly be astounded—either revering him as a treasure or killing him on the spot, with no other choices.

Having just transformed his vitality and internal energy, Yang Tang felt somewhat weak. Wandering to the lakeside, he happened upon Li Weizhi, a scholar from Luoyang. After a bout of couplet exchange, Yang Tang’s comprehension rose again, reaching ninety.

From then until mid-December, he buried himself in training. His specialized internal power, swordsmanship, and palm techniques all reached level one hundred. Even the more recent dual weapons style, with its ten-blade combo, he had trained up to sixty-six.

As for hidden weapons, Yang Tang only knew the Life-and-Death Talisman, which he barely practiced, remaining at sixty-five. However, following the immortal melodies, his qin skill advanced to sixty-two.

One day, planning to seek wild beasts for combat, Yang Tang knew the beasts near Carefree Valley’s Forget-Worry Valley had either been slain or scared off. So he went to the lake, hoping to find water snakes or crocodiles. Why? Because heroes always have such creatures for battle.

Unexpectedly, he found none but again met Li Weizhi. After another couplet exchange, Yang Tang’s comprehension rose to ninety-five. As he prepared to leave, a water snake lunged at Li Weizhi. Naturally, Yang Tang fought and defeated it without hesitation.

At this time, recalling the detailed strategy regarding Ren Qingxuan, Yang Tang spent his days either fighting in the wild or strolling lakeside and forest, eventually triggering the event to rescue Ren Qingxuan’s maid, Lan’er.

A few days after saving Lan’er, Yang Tang encountered Ren Qingxuan in Forget-Worry Valley. She seemed to be consulting a floral enthusiast on grafting techniques. Yang Tang learned alongside them. The next day, he and Ren Qingxuan helped a child with grafting, forging a bond between them.

The following January, the fighting arena opened. Yang Tang, rare in the town, wished to test himself in formal combat. Along the way, he met Jiang Yu, son of Jiang Tianxiong, and learned that the Evil King of the Law intended to steal the Forty-Two Chapter Sutra.

During the Lantern Festival, Yang Tang stayed put in Carefree Valley. After answering a few questions from his senior brother perfectly, his comprehension rose by ten. Since his comprehension had recently plummeted by thirty points, he now fully recovered to one hundred, enhancing his learning speed beyond when it was merely in the eighties or nineties.

After the festival, besides rigorous training, Yang Tang cultivated peonies and sought further blacksmithing guidance from Old Hu. In early February, he and his senior brother jointly defeated the Black Wind Stronghold. By early April, he participated in the Luoyang Flower Festival with his cultivated peonies.

Winning the Flower King title, Ren Qingxuan’s favor towards Yang Tang increased by twenty points. He also learned to cultivate the “Drunken Hibiscus” flower from her.

In early May, Yang Tang traveled to Chengdu. Over nearly five months upon return, he devoted himself to cultivating the Drunken Hibiscus, voraciously consuming snake, bear gallbladder, and rainbow carp, and training relentlessly in combat. His strength soared dramatically: martial skill at 306, practical combat at 315, comprehension 100, internal power 100, swordsmanship 100, palm techniques 100, leg techniques 20, staff 19, blade 41, hidden weapons 65, dual weapons 100, finger claws 0, short weapons 0, and qin skill 81. His vitality reached 5,201, internal energy 5,368, attack 607, defense 655!

Though his attack and defense rose seemingly fast, in truth, Yang Tang was somewhat unlucky. Every other day, he fought a wild battle and a match in the arena; if the arena was empty, he would fight two wild battles. Even if only half the time was effective, conservatively, his attack and defense should have increased by over 240 points. Yet he hadn't even reached that minimum.

But this did not matter. What counted was that this training method showed tangible results, unlike the real world outside the dream where gains after half a year are vague at best.

By early September of the third year, while wandering Forget-Worry Valley, Yang Tang saw the same Drunken Hibiscus in the flower enthusiast’s garden, triggering the final event to woo Ren Qingxuan’s younger sister: “Hibiscus Draws Longing.” Immediately, Yang Tang fully grasped the Dual Weapons technique, the Netherworld Thirteen Moves, as if it were already in his pocket.

More importantly, the game’s plot reached a critical juncture. The fourth perfect vocal essence, Jinnara, had only appeared once so far—in early October of the third year during the internal strife of the Heavenly Dragon Sect. If Yang Tang failed to acquire his vocal cords then, the chaotic final battle with many on both sides might mean even killing Jinnara wouldn’t allow seizing his vocal cords.

Therefore, the best chance was to slay him during the Heavenly Dragon Sect’s infighting. But a major problem loomed: four top experts would be present at that time. Yang Tang did not consider it wise to face four opponents alone before mastering his techniques fully.

Insight: “If I use precision sniping to kill Jinnara and remove his vocal cords, does that complete the mission?”

“Of course. The mission only demands the result, not the method.”

That was it. Although formal turn-based battles forbade precision sniping, stealth assassination was not prohibited!

Yang Tang planned to exploit this loophole. Yet, unknowingly, his heart began to harden and grow cold.

This plotline would close at the end of March in the third year.

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