Xiao Jie stood at the entrance of the village, without hastily departing.
Looking at the familiar outline of the village behind him, his heart was filled with a thousand thoughts. Leaving this time, he feared he would never return. Although the villagers were just some illusory "NPCs," after being together for so long, some feelings had inevitably developed. If the system used this to threaten him, he might endure it without speaking, but if he had to watch familiar faces die because of him, he would ultimately feel uneasy.
Better to sever ties and let peace prevail. However, at this moment, where should he go?
Regarding this question, Xiao Jie had already thought about it.
In these years of living in the village, he wasn’t just lying around idly.
Not only did he diligently practice martial arts, mastering a third or so of his martial art skills, but he also consistently contemplated the mechanism and underlying logic of this trial.
Why could one open the Heavenly Eye and complete the Immortal Path by silently living an entire life? Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on noᴠelfire.net
If it were possible, there must be some reason.
And this reason must be closely related to everything he was to experience.
His life in the Taixu Illusion Realm was likely following some pattern or philosophy, and it wouldn’t truly be the ordinary life of an ordinary person.
The appearance of these mountain bandits today was precisely proof of this.
At this moment, Xiao Jie had a vague hypothesis about the trials he would face, but whether it was as he thought, he needed more data and information to make a judgment.
Yet Xiao Jie was very confident about one thing: as long as this was still a game, he could find a way to complete it.
At this moment, Xiao Jie weighed three paths:
First, flee into the wilderness, living a life of solitude. Seek a remote, uninhabited forest to completely isolate from worldly distractions. This approach could minimize the influence of "people," achieving peace without worries. Without the ties of human relationships, all that’s left is survival, allowing him to focus solely on living.
Second, seek a mentor to learn from, reaching the pinnacle of skill. Find a renowned sect or worldly expert to earnestly practice the martial arts of this world. If he could cultivate inner strength and grasp the essence of this world’s martial arts, coupling it with his understanding and memory of martial arts, becoming an unparalleled master wouldn’t be difficult. By then, what fear would the system pose?
If he could practice Demon Art and replicate his formidable sorcery, he could traverse the world unchallenged.
Third, hide in the bustling city, adapting to situations as they arise. Dive straight into the bustling metropolis, hiding amongst the noisy crowd. As the saying goes, block soldiers with generals, cover water with earth. Since the system is bound to arrange calamities for him, it might be better to take the initiative in a prepared state, rather than being ambushed by the system.
After pondering for a long time, Xiao Jie was still hesitating. Surviving in the wilderness seemed simple, but in this world teeming with demons, avoiding human calamity yet being harmed by demons might be even more unjust.
With his martial arts skills, dealing with a few mountain bandits was no challenge, but if faced with powerful demons, he feared he would only be fodder.
Apprenticing to learn skills was the best choice, but with his inability to speak, whether he could even gain entry to a sect was uncertain.
After weighing repeatedly, the only option seemed to first explore a nearby city, gather intelligence, and then decide.
After all, no matter the choice, the system would undoubtedly try all means to coerce him into submission. Escape was not a long-term solution. It was better to face challenges head-on, using permanence to counter change.
He wanted to see what tricks the system could play.
Determined in his mind, Xiao Jie finally set foot on the dusty official road.
Along the way, he paid particular attention to gathering information about this world. The information he acquired in the village was but a superficial understanding, due to its remote location and isolation. Now, paying attention to details along the way, he learned many specifics of this world.
The more he learned, the more Xiao Jie was amazed—the world was clearly the "Jiuzhou World" he knew! The difference was that it was three to four thousand years ago, at the end of the Longhua Empire, with the Dragon Emperor still ruling the Nine States.
However, the world was much more grand and real than the game setting, vast like a real planet, with towns and villages scattered, and a population numerous as grains of sand in the Ganges, far from the game map where one could reach the world’s edge in a few days.
Xiao Jie walked for three days before emerging from the valley where his village was located, and then walked for another seven days, gathering information along the way, before comprehending the general situation of the world.
On this day, the silhouette of a distant town came into view. Xiao Jie walked through the town gates with some apprehension. Leaving the village, he had few belongings, only a small amount of scattered silver coins and a steel knife, mostly spent by now. The urgent task was to find a way to make some money to survive.
Arriving at a notice board in the city, he saw a bustling crowd, packed tightly, with someone loudly reading a notice. Xiao Jie squeezed closer, scanning the wanted poster on the wall:
[WANTED: A Demon Shadow Swordsman, Jiu Jianxian, has killed countless people and committed numerous evil deeds, causing chaos in the martial arts world for years. The Heroic Alliance now issues a bounty, dead or alive, with a reward of 3,000 taels in silver for the capture of Jiu Jianxian.]
Beside it was a rough sketch, with indistinct features.
Jiu Jianxian? How could he appear in this illusion? Xiao Jie’s mind raced, becoming increasingly certain his hypothesis was correct.
For this anomaly, he had long suspected – it must be the system’s doing, integrating familiar figures from his past into this Taixu Illusion Realm, aiming to blur his memory and the boundaries between illusion and reality. When facing strangers, he could remain silent, but if reunited with old friends who questioned him, could he really stay composed?
This was surely the system’s ploy.