Heart-Devouring Temple, one of the few hidden dungeons in Chronicles of the Azure Goddess, was a name Ji Yanqing couldn’t be more familiar with.
Once players obtained the Origin Path-tier technique and the ferocious sword [Nightmare] hidden within, the game’s difficulty would plummet.
Such lavish rewards naturally came with a challenging trigger condition.
Simply put, after entering the Ghost Shadow Mountains on a Red Moon Night, players had roughly a 0.03% chance of getting lost and stumbling into Heart-Devouring Temple.
At first, Ji Yanqing didn’t believe in luck. In his mind, low probabilities could be overcome with enough attempts.
So, he spent a mere nine hours trying to trigger this blasted dungeon.
But after reloading his save over 1,600 times without triggering the hidden dungeon, Ji Yanqing finally let go of his near-broken mouse, slumping back in his chair, utterly exhausted, his eyes vacant, lost in profound bewilderment.
In the end, that spirited youth bowed to fate.
No more playing. He gave up. Screw it!
Little did he know that all those attempts had accumulated as a “guaranteed pull” for after he transmigrated.
While fleeing for his life in the Ghost Shadow Mountains, pursued by enemies, he miraculously triggered the hidden dungeon of Heart-Devouring Temple.
At this thought, Ji Yanqing licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with excitement. In that moment, the intense pain racking his body seemed trivial.
To a player, this was merely a tool to breeze through the game.
But for a game character, this was a power capable of turning the world upside down.
“Are you alright?”
Seeing the boy’s strange expression, Ji Qingyan asked softly, her beautiful phoenix eyes tinged with pity. To her, he must have been driven mad by sheer terror.
“It’s nothing. I just recalled some interesting things I read in ancient texts, some of which happen to relate to Heart-Devouring Temple.”
Ji Yanqing cleared his throat, the corners of his mouth curling slightly as he regained his composure. He lifted his somewhat delicate peach-blossom eyes to meet the gaze of the girl in the red dress.
“Young Master, do those texts mention anything about the ferocious sword [Nightmare]? Please, you must tell me! If that demonic sword falls into the wrong hands, countless lives will be lost.”
Ji Qingyan pressed urgently, her faint fragrance wafting, her stunningly beautiful face, lightly flushed like peach blossoms, resembling a celestial fairy descended to the mortal realm.
While he was unconscious, she had searched every corner of the temple, practically wiping the dust off the rafters.
At this rate, her first mission away from the sect would end in failure. The thought of her master crying and wailing in heartbreak made Ji Qingyan feel she had failed the years of nurturing and teaching from the Rakshasa Ancient Sect.
Ji Yanqing’s words were like a lifeline, offering hope in her despair.
[A captivating young maiden earnestly asks you about the demonic sword Nightmare. Her alluring fragrance keeps stoking the wicked flames in your lower abdomen. Strategy options are as follows:]
[Option 1: A trivial matter, not worth mentioning. If the heroine wishes to know, I’ll tell her plainly. Reward: +1 Epiphany]
An epiphany? It might prove useful in the future.
Ji Yanqing thought to himself that such things, which couldn’t be easily acquired even with the Wei King’s Mansion’s resources, were what truly piqued his interest.
[Option 2: Is this how you beg for help?! Kneel and lick this young lord’s shoes clean, and I’ll satisfy your request. Reward: Dragon Roar Spear (Mid-Grade Earth-tier Spirit Weapon)]
In Chronicles of the Azure Goddess, techniques and weapons were ranked from weakest to strongest: Yellow, Mysterious, Earth, Heaven, and the legendary Origin Path.
For instance, Ji Qingyan’s sword [Shadow Bearer] in the early game was a Low-Grade Heaven-tier spirit sword.
While the Wei King’s Mansion didn’t have as many Earth-tier weapons as Mysterious-tier ones, they could still muster thirty or forty.
A mere Mid-Grade Earth-tier Dragon Roar Spear wasn’t worth his attention.
[Option 3: Heroine Ji wouldn’t want to return empty-handed and disappoint her sect, would she? Strip naked and please me to the fullest within fifteen minutes, and I’ll tell you everything about the demonic sword Nightmare. Reward: Purple Haze Divine Art (High-Grade Heaven-tier Technique)]
Ji Yanqing swallowed hard, sorely tempted.
But don’t misunderstand—he was only after the High-Grade Heaven-tier Purple Haze Divine Art, not Ji Qingyan’s beauty.
Yet, the more he looked at the red-dressed girl, the more he found her… enticingly radiant.
“A trivial matter, not worth mentioning. If the heroine wishes to know, I’ll tell her plainly.”
Ji Yanqing said calmly.
Though His Highness the Heir’s moral底线 was flexible, he still had some standards. He would never stoop to such shameless acts as bullying an innocent girl.
Besides, considering the slight gap in their strength, he might not even finish speaking before Ji Qingyan, in the name of justice, ran him through with her sword.
As his words fell, a system prompt sounded in Ji Yanqing’s ears.
[Ding! Option task completed. Reward: +1 Epiphany]
“Young Master, you’re… agreeing to help me just like that, with no conditions?” Ji Qingyan asked hesitantly, as if she couldn’t believe he’d agreed so readily.
“Of course. You and I share a common enemy, don’t we? The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?”
Ji Yanqing replied without missing a beat. His life was currently in her hands, so he seized the chance to boost her favorability, hoping to lower her guard and suspicion.
Ji Qingyan nodded slightly, saying nothing, but a faint, alluring blush crept up her slender, snow-white neck.
The demonic sword Nightmare, once the personal weapon of the Soul-Devouring Demon Cult’s leader, was a genuine Heaven-tier supreme artifact.
Legend had it that, had the cult’s master swordsmith not deliberately damaged a corner of Nightmare to spare the world from calamity, it could have become the eighth transcendent weapon, a so-called “Dao Artifact.”
Thus, countless people—whether from the martial world—coveted it. Even unverified rumors about its whereabouts fetched astronomical prices.
Yet this young gentleman, whom she’d only just met, was willing to share this information freely, without even a word of caution.
Young Master Ji truly was a good person!
Pure-hearted, honest, and strikingly handsome, he inspired an instinctive desire to get closer. He was just too kind, easily exploited by villains. As a friend, she’d have to find a chance to warn him.
Ji Qingyan thought silently to herself.
“According to ancient texts (the game’s guidebook), the Soul-Devouring Demon Cult practiced evil arts, harvesting souls to strengthen themselves, committing heinous sins.
Thus, they were eradicated by the seven righteous sects. Their last protector fled to the Ghost Shadow Mountains with the demonic sword and vanished without a trace…”
As Ji Yanqing spoke, he dragged his weakened body, slowly walking while leaning against the wall. The ferocious sword [Nightmare] could be left to Ji Qingyan, but the Origin Path-tier technique Soul-Coagulating Nether Art was his for the taking.
Reaching the Buddha statue, he climbed onto the platform. The statue had a ghastly blue face with bared fangs, exuding a heavy malevolent aura, especially its black jade eyes, deep and eerie.
Ji Yanqing extended his fingers, lightly pressing the statue’s eyes. The sound of gears turning echoed, and from the fanged mouth, an ancient wooden sword case slowly emerged.
The case radiated a sinister aura, its danger palpable even from a distance.
“To evade the seven sects’ pursuit, that protector secretly shaved his head, became a monk, and built this Heart-Devouring Temple. Before his death, with his last ounce of strength, he hid the demonic sword within this statue.”
At the same time, Ji Yanqing discreetly tapped the hidden compartment at the bottom of the sword case, slipping the technique inside into his sleeve unnoticed.
“Heroine Ji, it seems you are the fated one.”
Taking a deep breath, he walked to the red-clad girl and, with a sense of ceremony, opened the sword case.
A dark purple ferocious sword lay quietly within. Its scabbard was three fingers wide, nearly four feet long, with a meteoric iron guard and a dragon-shaped hilt.
Though it hadn’t been unsheathed in decades, it still emanated a chilling, blood-soaked aura that sent shivers down the spine.