24: Chapter 24 Real-world Cultivators and the Hunting Moment

The elevator doors at the end of the corridor slid open slowly to both sides. The pale light inside the car projected onto Qin Ji's pitch-black trench coat like a thin layer of frost.

He stepped inside, and just as his finger was about to touch the button for the 1st floor, a clear yet slightly immature voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Layman, please stay your steps. Your younger sister might still have a sliver of hope."

Qin Ji's finger hovering over the button froze in mid-air. His purple-gold pupils instantly contracted like needlepoints. He didn't turn around immediately, instead coldly scrutinizing the youth who had appeared behind him at some unknown time through the stainless steel mirror of the elevator wall.

It was a young Taoist priest dressed in a navy blue robe, about seventeen or eighteen years old. He had a clean, handsome face and carried a faded white canvas bag over his shoulder, with cloth shoes on his feet that were covered in mud spots. In this modern hospital filled with the smell of disinfectant and precision instruments, his presence seemed completely out of place.

"Who are you?" Qin Ji turned around, his right hand instinctively dropping to the side of his trench coat pocket—where a folding tactical knife was hidden.

"This humble Taoist is Zhang Ye, Taoist name Ye Xin." The young Taoist gave a traditional greeting, his gaze passing over Qin Ji toward the direction of the Intensive Care Unit. "I observed that this place is entwined with resentment yet the spark of life is not yet extinguished, so I have come specifically to forge a good affinity."

Qin Ji narrowed his eyes. Resentment? Spark of life?

If it were before, he would have treated this as the opening line of a charlatan. But after the baptism of ragnarok, especially after obtaining the System capable of plundering Laws, his perception of the world had long since collapsed and been reconstructed.

"Can you save her?" Qin Ji's voice had no fluctuations, as if he were discussing a business deal. "Name a price."

"I do not have absolute certainty that I can make your sister wake up, but as for protecting the clarity of her spiritual terrace and delaying brain necrosis, I can give it a try." Zhang Ye shook his head honestly. "As for the reward... that can be discussed later."

Qin Ji stared at him for three seconds before stepping aside to clear the path: "Please."

The two returned to the hospital room.

The doctors and nurses were preparing to remove the equipment. Seeing Qin Ji return with a Taoist priest, they were about to stop them, but were forced back by Qin Ji's icy gaze.

Zhang Ye walked to the bedside, his expression instantly becoming solemn. He slowly raised his right hand, and a visible silver-white glow actually emanated from his palm. This light wasn't blinding, but it carried a heart-palpitating fluctuation, and even the dust in the surrounding air seemed to be repelled by this force.

Qin Ji's pupils vibrated slightly.

External release of inner strength? Or... spiritual power?

This energy fluctuation actually bore a startling similarity to the Mana values in ragnarok!

Zhang Ye's palm hovered three inches above Qin Qingqing's forehead, and that silver-white glow seeped into the girl's glabella like flowing water. The originally chaotic waveforms on the ECG monitor miraculously stabilized, and a trace of extremely faint color returned to Qin Qingqing's paper-pale face.

A moment later, Zhang Ye withdrew his hand. A layer of fine sweat broke out on his forehead, and the silver glow dissipated along with it.

"Fortunately, I did not fail my mission." Zhang Ye let out a long breath, pulled out a crumpled tissue from his robe, and wiped his sweat. "Although the blood clot is still there, I have used True Qi to protect her Sea of Consciousness. As long as her Physical Body does not perish, her consciousness will not dissipate. However, if she is to wake up completely..."

"A vegetative state." Qin Ji took over the conversation, glancing at the data on the monitor. "This is enough. As long as her consciousness is still there, I will have a way."

As long as her consciousness existed, she could log into ragnarok through a brain-machine interface. And in that world, he, Qin Ji, was a god.

"Card number." Qin Ji pulled out his phone.

"Ah?" Zhang Ye froze for a moment, then scratched his head sheepishly. "That... the layman can give whatever he sees fit. I came down the mountain for experiential training, but my funds have indeed been a bit tight lately..."

"One hundred thousand." Qin Ji directly entered a string of numbers. "Is it enough?"

"How... how much?!" Zhang Ye's eyes widened, even forgetting to maintain his Taoist persona. "One hundred thousand? Layman, I only wanted to buy the latest model gaming pod, ten thousand would have been enough..."

"Gaming pod?" Qin Ji caught the keyword, a sharp light flashing in his eyes. "You play ragnarok too?"

Zhang Ye nodded, his expression becoming somewhat fanatical: "I observed the stars at night and discovered that within that 'ragnarok', the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth is hidden. Before Master passed away, he said that in this Dharma-Ending Age, Opportunity lies within the illusory. Perhaps that place can help me break through my shackles and reach the legendary Foundation Establishment realm."

As expected.

The suspicion in Qin Ji's heart was confirmed. Even real-world practitioners had noticed the uniqueness of ragnarok; the Fusion of the two worlds was definitely not a groundless rumor.

"The extra ninety thousand is hush money and an advance for medical fees." Qin Ji finished the operation, and the transfer notification sounded. "In the future, if you encounter someone named 'Snow Emperor' in the game, remember to steer clear, or... ask me for help."

Zhang Ye looked at the arrival SMS on his phone and grinned, revealing a set of white teeth: "Snow Emperor? Good name, domineering enough. I've noted it down. Then I won't disturb the layman further; I still have to go line up to buy a helmet... oh wait, I have money to buy a gaming pod now!"

Watching the young Taoist's departing back as he left in high spirits, Qin Ji thoughtfully rubbed his chin.

Have the ancient Martial Artists and cultivators in reality begun to enter the fray?

This game is getting more and more interesting.

...

Back at his rented room, Qin Ji didn't delay at all and lay directly into his old gaming pod.

Iris scan passed, neural connection activated.

[Welcome back to ragnarok, esteemed player 'Snow Emperor'.]

The feeling of weightlessness was gone in an instant. When he opened his eyes again, Qin Ji was already standing in the square of Novice Village No. 9527.

It was currently late night in the game, and a blood-colored crescent moon hung in the sky. Most players had already logged off to rest, with only a few scattered "grinders" still tirelessly taking on quests.

Qin Ji opened his inventory and took out that [Soul-Gathering Magic Bottle].

The black glass bottle emitted a faint chill under the moonlight, and the runes on the bottle's surface slowly writhed like living creatures.

"One hundred Souls of Elite Rank or higher..." Qin Ji whispered to himself, casting his gaze toward the mist-shrouded forest outside the village. "Then I'll start by taking down those so-called 'Novice Village Overlords'."

His figure flickered, and like a bolt of black lightning, he instantly vanished into the shadows at the village entrance.

Level 5 monster zone, Violent Wild Boar territory.

A Wild Boar King as large as a truck was lying by a giant boulder napping, with tattered cloth from some unknown player still hanging from its tusks.

"Roar—!"

Sensing a human presence, the Wild Boar King suddenly stood up and let out a deafening roar.

However, what responded to it was a pitch-black sword light descending from the sky.

The novice longsword in Qin Ji's hand had long since been replaced by a [Frost Heavy Sword] (Silver Rank) that shimmered with a ghostly blue luster; it was one of the rewards from the first dungeon clear.

Puchi!

The heavy sword used no fancy techniques, relying purely on a terrifying Strength attribute to directly pierce through the Wild Boar King's hard skull.

-4890! (Lethal Critical Hit)

Fresh red damage numbers floated up. The Wild Boar King didn't even have time to scream before its massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

[Ding! You have killed LV.5 Bronze BOSS: Violent Wild Boar King.]

[Greedy Grasp triggered! Plundered Attribute: Physique +50.]

[Passive 'Death Siphon' triggered! HP/MP forced recovery 1%. Max Mana permanently +1.]

[Soul-Gathering Magic Bottle progress: 1/100.]

A gray air current invisible to the naked eye drifted from the Wild Boar King's corpse and was greedily swallowed by the magic bottle at Qin Ji's waist.

"Too slow."

Qin Ji pulled out the heavy sword and flicked the blood droplets from the blade.

This kind of low-level BOSS no longer posed any challenge to him; it didn't even count as a warm-up. He needed more prey, more intensive slaughter.

Over the next three hours, the wilderness areas of Novice Village No. 9527 welcomed a silent massacre.

LV.6 Poisonous Demon Spider King had its venom sac crushed by a single stomp, juice splashing everywhere and corroding the surrounding grass into a scorched dead land.

LV.7 Bloodthirsty Wind Wolf King's proud speed was like slow motion in Qin Ji's eyes, and its throat was torn apart by his bare hands.

LV.8 Iron-Armored Rhino King, along with its proud iron hide, was split in two by a heavy slash imbued with fire elements, the cut surface showing a strange molten state.

Everywhere Qin Ji passed, not a blade of grass remained.

Trees were snapped at the waist, rocks were pulverized by Sword Qi, and the originally peaceful forest looked as if it had been plowed over by an ancient Vicious Beast.

By the time the tenth BOSS fell, the magic bottle in Qin Ji's hand was already faintly emitting a layer of blood-light.

"That's about enough."

Qin Ji glanced at the quest panel. Besides Blacksmith Wang's magic bottle quest, he had also unknowingly completed a hidden bounty issued by the Village Chief—[Clear Surrounding Threats].

Although the Novice Village quest rewards were already somewhat trivial for the current him, even the smallest mosquito is still meat. Moreover, that old Village Chief didn't seem as simple as he appeared on the surface.

...

Village Chief's small courtyard.

The old Village Chief was sitting in a rocking chair smoking a dry pipe. Seeing Qin Ji walk in covered in bloodlust as if he had just crawled out of Hell, a trace of hard-to-detect brilliance flashed in his cloudy old eyes.

"Young man, the Killing Intent on your body is very heavy."

Qin Ji casually threw ten BOSS heads (quest proof) onto the ground, making a dull thud.

"Village Chief, the task is complete."

The old Village Chief looked at the trophies all over the ground, his mouth twitching slightly. This wasn't doing a quest; this was practically an extermination.

"Not bad, Snow Emperor, I truly didn't misjudge you." The old Village Chief sighed and pulled out a small object wrapped in black cloth from his bosom. "This is what you deserve."

[Ding! You have completed the hidden quest 'The Village Chief's Worry'.]

[Rewards Obtained: Gold Coins +20, Free Attribute Points +20, Luck +1.]

[Special Equipment Obtained: Eye of Spotlessness.]

Qin Ji raised an eyebrow and reached out to take the cold object.

It was an eyeball-shaped crystal, transparent throughout, but the interior seemed to Seal a swirling nebula.

[Eye of Spotlessness (Special/Unique)]

[Equip Requirement: None]

[Effect: Grants the wearer 'True Vision'. Able to ignore interference from darkness, mist, and illusions; visual range increased by 500%. Extremely low probability to discern a target's weaknesses and hidden information.]

[Durability: 100/100]

[Note: There was once a blind archer who used it to shoot down the sun in the sky.]

Top-grade.

Qin Ji's heart stirred. In this fantasy MMO where there was no "night vision goggles" setting, darkness often meant death. Especially in those high-level Abyss dungeons, having a vision advantage was equivalent to having the initiative.

"Thanks, Village Chief."

Qin Ji had no extra nonsense and pressed the [Eye of Spotlessness] directly toward his left eye.

The moment the crystal touched his skin, it turned into a stream of light and merged into his pupil.

In an instant, the world changed.

The originally dim and blurry village night scene was now as clear as daylight in Qin Ji's eyes. He could even see the fine dust floating in the air, see a Night Owl perched on a treetop a hundred meters away preening its feathers, and see the trajectory of every wisp of smoke rising from the old Village Chief's pipe.

More importantly, a faint stream of data light appeared at the edge of his vision, as if the entire world had been parsed into its most primitive code.

"Is this... reality?"

Qin Ji turned and strode out of the courtyard.

The wilderness outside the village was pitch black, and the distant Twisted Jungle looked like a man-eating beast in the night.

But now, under the gaze of those pupils shimmering with faint silver light, darkness was no longer an obstacle, but had become his most perfect hunting ground.

Qin Ji stood atop the boundary stone at the village entrance, the night wind blowing his clothes, making them rustle loudly. He slowly raised his right hand, making a grasping motion toward the void as if throttling the throat of this long night. His eyes, fused with the Eye of Spotlessness, coldly pierced through layers of mist, dead-locking onto the entrance of the dungeon in the far distance that emitted an ominous red light, his mouth curling into a cruel and expectant arc.