333: Chapter 333 Attending one's own funeral?

[Quest: Building the Foundation of the Great Dao]

[Objective: Go to Wangshui Garden at the West Gate of Cangxing City and find Gatekeeper Old Mo.]

[Hint: The Great Dao is formless, and foundation building can be flawed. To condense a perfect Dao Foundation, one must undergo Marrow Cleansing with the Primordial Water of the Yellow Springs. Old Mo knows the entrance to the Yellow Springs.]

Chen You closed the panel.

The spiritual energy cyclone within his dantian spun steadily.

The attribute boost from the Ninth Level of Qi Refining made him feel full of power.

[Shadow Clone]!

With a thought, dark purple aura rose up and condensed into a figure beside him.

"Water of the Yellow Springs? I wonder what it tastes like."

The clone of Chen You left the training room and walked out of the Supreme Tower.

The streets were empty.

The usually bustling commercial street didn't have a soul in sight.

A cold wind blew, swirling a few pieces of discarded parchment.

Chen You frowned.

Hundreds of thousands of players had flooded into Cangxing City; it was packed just a moment ago, and now they'd all evaporated?

He summoned the Big White Rabbit and headed toward the West Gate along the main road.

The closer he got to the West Gate, the heavier the smell of incense and smoke in the air became.

Faintly, the extremely mournful sound of a harp drifted over.

"What's going on?"

Chen You couldn't help but quicken his pace.

Turning the corner, his vision suddenly cleared.

The West Gate Plaza was a sea of people.

Countless players were huddled together in dead silence.

In the center of the plaza stood a ten-meter-high Obsidian Altar.

Mages held up flames while life-skill players burned parchment.

Chen You reached the edge of the crowd and stood on his tiptoes to look at the center of the altar.

A massive portrait, five meters wide, hung there.

The person in the painting wore a moon-white Daoist robe, head tilted back, eyes rolled up, and the corner of his mouth twitching.

Chen You's blood pressure spiked instantly.

That was him.

The screenshot was taken from a bizarre angle, turning his heroic expression of self-sacrifice into the tragic aesthetic of someone suffering from the aftereffects of a stroke.

On both sides of the portrait hung two white banners.

Left side: His voice and face remain in our hearts.

Right side: May God You live on for eternity.

The steps of the altar were covered in white flowers.

In the most prominent spot sat a half-raw roasted Snow Rabbit leg, flanked by a few bottles of low-quality red potions and some tattered novice equipment.

Someone had even placed a skill book titled "Postpartum Care for Sows" there.

Standing at the very edge of the crowd, Chen You's cheek muscles twitched uncontrollably.

He had only come out a little late, and he was already being given a "grand funeral"?

"Brother, let me through," Chen You said, patting the shoulder of a Berserker in front of him.

The Berserker, holding a bunch of nearly withered roses, roared without looking back:

"Stop pushing! Can't you see everyone is in mourning? God You just passed away, have some decency!"

Chen You was silent for two seconds.

"No, it's just... I think that portrait was a poor choice. The rolled-back eyes really ruin his image."

The Berserker was furious.

He whipped his head around, eyes bloodshot. "You know jack squat! That was God You's compassion when he faced the mythological-grade Bone Dragon to save us!"

"That was the composure of someone facing death! If you dare insult God You one more time, I'll hack you to pieces!"

The Berserker raised his battle-axe.

Then, his eyes met Chen You's face.

The Berserker's expression froze.

He looked at Chen You, then looked up at the portrait.

Then back at Chen You, then back at the portrait.

*Clang.*

The battle-axe dropped onto the bluestone floor.

The Berserker's mouth hung open, and a "cluck-cluck" sound came from his throat, like a duck being strangled.

"A... a corpse is walking!"

The Berserker let out an incredibly shrill scream and scrambled backward.

The scream was exceptionally piercing in the silent plaza.

The players in front turned around in annoyance.

"What's with the shouting? Can you take responsibility for disturbing God You's soul?!"

"Exactly, where are your manners?"

Dozens of players turned around at the same time.

Then, they froze too.

Like dominoes, the crowd turned their heads row by row.

Countless eyes landed on Chen You in unison.

Dead silence.

Absolute silence.

Only the crackling of the parchment in the brazier could be heard.

Qiao Biluo was kneeling at the very front, still clutching a freshly made white flower.

She turned her head, tears still wet on her face, a snot bubble expanding and contracting with her breath.

The Thief player who had so confidently claimed Chen You's "account was gone" was holding a cup of wine, ready to pour it on the ground—

The wine spilled all over his own boots.

Chen You stood there with his hands behind his back.

He was expressionless.

As long as I'm not embarrassed, the ones who are embarrassed are these 300,000 people.

"Uh..." Chen You cleared his throat. "Can someone explain to me what's going on here?"

*Pop.*

Qiao Biluo's snot bubble popped.

The crowd finally reacted.

"Holy crap! He's alive!"

"God You isn't dead! God You is still here!"

"Damn, scared the life out of me. I thought I was seeing a ghost in broad daylight!"

*Boom!*

The plaza erupted instantly.

After the brief shock, the atmosphere became extremely bizarre.

Hundreds of thousands of people holding a funeral for a very much alive person was a mind-blowing event even in the entire Source Realm.

In the crowd, the guild leader who had hired eight golems to carry his sedan chair was the quickest to react.

He kicked aside a brazier and pointed at the Thief, cursing loudly, "It was you! You son of a bitch coward!"

"You were the one who so confidently said God You's account was gone! We were all fooled by you!"

The Thief panicked, his face turning red as he retorted, "How was I supposed to know?! The sky literally split open! God You disappeared along with the Bone Dragon, and the system even sent out a server-wide announcement!"

"Bullshit! Who do you think God You is? Could a mere Bone Dragon take his life?"

The Berserker also jumped out, pointing at Qiao Biluo and shouting, "It's all her fault! She was the first one to kneel and cry! Once she started, everyone else followed suit!"

Qiao Biluo stood up abruptly, her fat trembling. "You're full of it!"

"You were clearly the one holding roses, saying you wanted to see God You off on his final journey! I made three hundred white flowers, my hands are raw from it!"

"You, that Orc! Was it you who put the rabbit leg there? So stingy, you couldn't even offer a whole sacrifice!"

"I... I was hungry from farming mobs in the middle of the night and ate half of it. I meant well!"

The plaza turned into a chaotic mess.

They shifted blame and cursed at each other.

No one wanted to bear the blame for "cursing God You."

Chen You watched this bunch of jokers, feeling completely speechless.

He coughed.

The entire place fell silent instantly.

Chen You slowly stepped onto the altar.

He walked up to the portrait with the rolled-back eyes, raised his hand, and a golden sword qi erupted from his fingertip.

*Rip.*

The portrait was shredded into pieces by the sword qi, dissipating into specks of light.

"Just a little trouble, that's all." Chen You turned around, looking down at the 300,000 players below.

"The Bone Dragon was indeed a bit tricky. I took some time to drag it into the depths of the void and slay it."

As soon as he said this, the entire crowd of players gasped.

Dragged a mythological-grade Bone Dragon into the void and killed it?

What level of power is that!

"God You is awesome!"

Someone shouted, and immediately after, a tsunami-like roar echoed through Cangxing City.

"God You is invincible!"

"Long live God You!"

"Alright, everyone disperse," Chen You waved his hand. "I have important business to attend to."

"Tear down this altar. Whoever left the rabbit leg, take it back and eat it yourself. Don't waste food."

The players, as if granted a grand pardon, scattered in all directions.

Chen You said no more, stepped down from the altar, and walked along the base of the city wall toward a corner of the West Gate.

The quest hint indicated that Old Mo was nearby.

There were no shops here, only a pile of collapsed stone pillars and a pond that looked long abandoned.

Chen You stopped by a stone pillar.

A person was crouching there.

An old man with thinning hair, wearing a tattered grey robe.

The old man held a pitch-black tobacco pipe, puffing away.

Amidst the swirling smoke, his face was obscured.

Chen You walked over.

"Old Mo?"

The old man didn't look up, only exhaling a thick smoke ring.

"You've finally arrived, Lu You."

"..."

Chen You suppressed the twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"My surname is Chen."