Chapter 234: Aphasiac Village Strategy Guide

Chapter 234: The Silent Village Walkthrough

Naturally, regarding the claim that the evil organization had prepared a feast to welcome Yuanshi Tianzun's demise in the Spirit Realm, Guan Ya treated it as a joke; however, the evil organization was undoubtedly awaiting the outcome, harboring intense anticipation for Yuanshi's death in the Spirit Realm.

After all, as the champion of the Arena Tournament, Yuanshi was, to a certain extent, already a leading figure among the Order-class professionals at the Transcendent stage.

Once a contestant like this matured, there was no telling but they might become another Fu Qingyang.

Li Dongze spoke in a low voice: "Guan Ya, maintain contact. If we still can't reach Yuanshi by 12:30, I'll notify the Centurion immediately; we might have to hold a meeting then."

The meeting's agenda would naturally be to discuss "Yuanshi Tianzun's successful return" and "arranging someone to impersonate Yuanshi Tianzun."

Given "Yuanshi's" current fame and status, if he truly died in the Spirit Realm, it absolutely could not be brushed aside with a mere announcement.

It would be a public relations crisis.

Although Li Dongze had great confidence in Yuanshi, as a mature leader, he had to be fully prepared for any contingency, including psychological preparation.

At this moment, Wang Tai spoke:

"That's absurd!

"The crisis that nearly killed the Demon Lord doesn't mean Yuanshi is doomed. Setting aside factors like combat power and artifacts, the Demon Lord isn't a polymath; a crisis that left him helpless might simply be a field he's unskilled in, yet for someone else, it could be as simple as common knowledge.

"Your worry is warranted, but becoming panic-stricken is unnecessary. Claiming that a dungeon the Demon Lord deemed unsurvivable is absolutely impassable for Yuanshi Tianzun is simply absurd, low-IQ nonsense."

Guan Ya and Li Dongze were stunned, thinking it rare for Wang Tai to voluntarily say so much.

"Although... maybe... but... Wang Tai, what you said makes sense..." Guan Ya said blankly: "But we didn't say that last part."

Wang Tai, hair disheveled and gaze slightly dull, let out an "Oh":

"That was said by a few brainless keyboard warriors on the forum; I couldn't win against them. So I'm venting on you two."

Who gave you such courage, those keyboard warriors? Guan Ya and Li Dongze looked at him expressionlessly.

...

Zhang Yuanqing saw his familiar bedroom again, still cradling the small jade box in his hands.

I'm back... He subconsciously looked toward the bedroom door; it was open, but Zhang Yuanqing remembered clearly locking it when he entered the Spirit Realm.

"The locked door was opened. Missing for twenty-four hours, Jia Kai must be frantic with worry."

Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a moment, yet surprisingly couldn't find a suitable excuse to fob him off.

Although he was technically an adult, he was still a student; what trivial business could a student possibly have to stay out for twenty-four hours?

Probably the only thing left was checking into a hotel with a girlfriend, but I don't have a girlfriend... Zhang Yuanqing mocked himself inwardly as he grabbed his phone, only to find it had shut down due to low battery.

He plugged the phone in to charge, and his gaze shifted back to the artifact. Opening the jade box, he found three small jade talismans lying inside.

"Three. Mhm, matches the time of the Demon Lord's death..."

Zhang Yuanqing had obtained the character card this April, over two months ago; thus, the Demon Lord's time of death must be greater than that number.

The jade box produced one jade talisman a month; with three in the box, the talisman count aligned with the time of the Demon Lord's demise.

"Find a time to use one talisman and verify the effect. No need to test in reality; I'll try returning to a Spirit Realm dungeon. Among the ones I've visited, there's no need to return to Yin-Yang Town; I'll pick between the Jinshui Amusement Park and the Mountain God Temple."

“So, does this thing really teleport you to places you've been before? Then if I wanted to go back to the womb, what would it do?”

Zhang Yuanqing was just idly speculating; he had no intention of acting on it. After all, he’d been born twenty-one years ago—he wasn't a four-or-five-jin infant anymore. If he really went back to the womb, his mom would likely drop dead on the spot.

He stowed the Teleportation Jade Box, peeled off his filthy, tattered clothes and pants, and wearing nothing but a pair of boxer briefs, walked into the living room and entered the bathroom.

Amid the "splash" of running water, Zhang Yuanqing's thoughts soared.

"At this hour, Grandma isn't home; she must've gone grocery shopping. At her age, with her precious grandson missing for twenty-four hours, how could she possibly swallow a bite of food...?"

Fresh from his shower, changed into a clean T-shirt and sweatpants, Zhang Yuanqing unplugged his phone, crossed the living room, turned the deadbolt on the security door, and with clear purpose, headed for the upscale restaurant outside the complex to enjoy their signature dish: Braised Chicken with Rice.

Twenty-four hours without food, he was starving half to death.

Just as he opened the security door, Zhang Yuanqing saw the one opposite swing open as well, and a middle-aged man stepped out wearing beach shorts and a beach shirt, the very picture of "sleaze."

"Yo, silly little Yuanzi, looking like you haven't woken up, dragging that wrung-dry body of yours!"

Seeing his successor, the uncle opened his mouth and spat out a lame rap verse.

Then he chuckled lewdly: "Finally wised up, huh? Know to find a girlfriend and get a room. Your uncle is so relieved."

Zhang Yuanqing looked at his uncle, covered head-to-toe in floral prints, and said with ill grace:

"Uncle, with that getup, are you off to vacation in the Land of Exile? ...Wait, what did you say? Get a room?"

"This summer's damn weather, you could even escape the heat in the Land of Exile. I figured beach shorts suit this weather just fine." The uncle explained, then winked suggestively:

"Yu'er said you got a girlfriend. That you stayed out all night with her yesterday. Your grandma was over the moon, said our Yuanzi is the most promising after all."

Aunt? She actually lied to cover for me with Grandpa and Grandma? Zhang Yuanqing played along:

"When I have a kid later, I'll make him learn rap from you, Uncle."

The uncle beamed at that, and stuffed a bright red banknote into his successor's hand.

...

"A bit much, no? Thirty missed calls?"

In the restaurant where the cold wind howled, Zhang Yuanqing cradled his phone, now charged to 9%, his face full of shock.

Among those missed calls, five were from Grandma; the rest were all from Guan Ya.

Though this was standard procedure, two dozen calls in one go was overdoing it... Zhang Yuanqing suspected she'd beaten his phone dead with her calling.

The Mute Village instance was indeed dangerous, but to the outside world, Yuanshi Tianzun had merely entered an A-rank instance, nothing more.

He thought to himself, *Could Guan Ya's feelings for me really run this deep?*

Just then, his ringtone chimed. The caller: Guan Ya.

Zhang Yuanqing's lips curled. He answered, coughed once, and teased:

"Sister Guan Ya, I had no idea you worried this much about me. Tsk tsk, a beauty's grace is heavy; only eighteen centimeters can repay it."

However, Guan Ya did not respond as he expected: "Eight centimeters or eighteen? I'll have to verify that personally."

Or: "Would your repayment be like a clearance sale at a clothing store—everything fifty percent off?"

Guan Ya's voice held joy, held excitement, held a weariness born of immense relief: "Yuan Shi, you're out? Wonderful, just wonderful..."

Huh? Zhang Yuanqing froze for a moment: "What's wrong?"

Guan Ya on the phone didn't respond, instead shouting:

"Captain, Yuan Shi is out!!"

A dozen seconds later, Zhang Yuanqing heard Li Dongze's distinctly inelegant voice:

"Oh heavens, Yuan Shi, when it comes to clearing instances, you've never disappointed. You're a genius, a top-tier genius."

"Captain, your voice is too loud, I didn't catch the situation. Please explain elegantly."

Soon, Zhang Yuanqing learned from Li Dongze the rumors sparked by Yin Ji's words, and learned of Guan Ya and the others' worries.

The Demon Lord missed the point, he must have been like me, mistakenly thinking killing the village boss was the key to clearing; by the time he realized, he was half-dead...

My escape from the Commandery Princess was pure luck; the Demon Lord likely fared the same back then.

...

Fu Family Bay.

In the training hall, Fu Qingyang, drenched in sweat, gripped his sword with both hands, slashing continuously.

The blade friction against air let out heavy, short whistles.

Ten thousand swings a day was the goal he set for himself; aside from entering instances, nothing could stop him from swinging.

Fu Qingyang had many assistants; for daily needs, a group of bunny girls attended to him; for managing his companies and maintaining the White Tiger Guards' operations, professional management teams and think tanks racked their brains for him.

Fu Qingyang devoted his energy to only two things: Five Elements Alliance affairs, and cultivation.

He dared not waste excessive energy elsewhere; he knew his talent fell short of those top-tier geniuses; only by paying tenfold, a hundredfold the effort could he suppress those self-proclaimed geniuses.

To date, the only genius Fu Qingyang hadn't suppressed was the Female Marshal; everyone else, even the current Flame Emperor's scion Jiang Ju, had to bow their heads before him.

But today, after two thousand slashes, he still couldn't find his rhythm, a restlessness persisting in his heart.

At that moment, the training hall door was pushed open; Ling Jun, wearing boxers and flip-flops, hair a mess, phone in hand, leaned against the doorframe.

"You'd better have a damn good reason to explain why you're disturbing my training."

Fu Qingyang didn't look at him, continued swinging, but his brows furrowed slightly, face cold, seemingly extremely displeased by Ling Jun's intrusion.

Ling Jun let out a "heh," smiling lazily:

"Your simp got out of the instance."

Fu Qingyang's swinging stance paused, halted for a few seconds, then resumed its previous rhythm, saying blandly:

"Got it."

His tone was calm, as if this were a trivial matter, but the anger from moments ago had vanished from his face.

Sword momentum smooth and natural, mind undistracted.

Ling Jun leaned lazily against the door, utterly lacking the awareness to leave, instead opening the conversation on this topic, chatting away with great relish:

"How to put it... there's a sense of the unexpected, yet also the inevitable. I recall mentioning to you once—Yuanshi Tianzun is peculiar. After dealing with him directly, I'll grant he has talent, but my gut tells me he shouldn't measure up to monsters like the Demon Lord or the Lady Marshal, those staggering geniuses. Yet he keeps churning out battle records that don't lose to theirs."

Fu Qingyang said blandly, "I always thought your intuition was—you'll definitely meet a kindred-spirit woman when you leave the house today."

"Ah, so you're mocking me, saying a playboy knows nothing of genius? You're clearly a cold-faced paralytic who loves to posture, and your tongue is venomous to boot."

"I'd rather just beat you!"

Ling Jun's expression sobered at those words: "I still have to report this matter to Elder Dog for you, and incidentally quell the forum rumors. You keep practicing sword. I'm leaving..."

...

#Demon Lord and Taiyi Sect Master both shook their heads—how will Yuanshi Tianzun survive this crisis?#

#Songhai Branch claims Yuanshi Tianzun entered an A-rank instance—credible?#

#If Yuanshi Tianzun dies in the instance, for the authorities it's a PR crisis#

#Debunking: Taiyi Sect states Sect Master never said such things#

#Some Taiyi people are truly disgusting, gloating on their own forum#

#To earn such appraisal from Demon Lord and Taiyi Sect Master—what exactly is the Silent Village instance?#

Well-fed and satisfied, Zhang Yuanqing returned to his bedroom, lay on the bed, scrolling through forum posts.

Half an hour later, he'd scrolled past over a dozen threads discussing "Yuanshi Tianzun and the instance," official Walkers from every major branch locked in fierce debate.

Aside from a small minority with twisted psyches muttering schadenfreude in the shadows, most were genuinely worried for Yuanshi Tianzun's safety—these people split into two camps.

One camp held that an instance earning such appraisal from the Demon Lord and Taiyi Sect Master spoke for itself in danger level; Yuanshi Tianzun's odds were grim, truly lamentable.

The other camp argued Yuanshi Tianzun had cleared even S-rank instances—this would be no different—and the Demon Lord might not even match Yuanshi Tianzun in instance strategy.

Then both sides began citing data, arguing with logic and evidence.

This level of heat was unexpected... Zhang Yuanqing gained a deeper understanding of his current fame.

Times have changed; now his every move draws attention—colleagues watch him, evil organizations watch him, just like a rising young star.

Fame brings status, but one must be wary—it also brings trouble.

The most direct manifestation: attracting envy and hatred. Within the Five Elements Alliance, those hostile to him, jealous of him, are not few; within the Taiyi Sect, those who envy and oppose him are even more numerous.

Especially after winning the arena tournament, his reputation among ordinary disciples in the Taiyi Sect had plummeted.

Take this time—he saw a post flaming Taiyi Night Walkers for gloating; the poster had screenshotted remarks from the Taiyi official forum and attached them.

"Our Sect Master never called that instance a death trap. If he had, would Yuanshi Tianzun still be alive? Five Elements Alliance, start preparing the funeral feast."

"But even the Demon Lord said he nearly died in there, survived only by luck. Yuanshi Tianzun's probably done for—luck isn't something brains can compensate for."

"Watch your mouths, the sour stench has reached outer space. Best if Yuanshi Tianzun returns alive. Five Elements Alliance and Taiyi Sect are allies, and the biggest beneficiary of the Silent Village Spirit Realm guide is actually us, Taiyi Sect."

"We might never encounter an A-rank instance in our lifetimes. Besides, there are 9,900 Spirit Realm instances at the Transcendent stage—one Silent Village more or less doesn't matter."

"It matters, obviously. Who complains about too many instance guides? But who says we have to rely on Yuanshi Tianzun?"

"Five Elements Alliance spends all day hyping Yuanshi Tianzun as an instance-strategy genius, building a persona—now the persona's collapsed, hasn't it?"

Comments beneath the post:

【Solitary One Has an Ailment: Those guys from the Taiyi Sect, in the end, are just jealous of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable.】

【Time Is on Our Side: Probably love turned to hate, too. After all, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable is the man they can never have.】

Compared to them, the female members' rhetoric was far more vicious.

【Call Me Queen: This pack of dog sh*t. I didn't sleep a wink last night, woke up and still have to watch them spouting sarcasm.】

【Queen Consort: They'd love for the Primordial Heavenly Venerable to die in the instance, wouldn't they? I'm going to register an account on the Taiyi Sect forum and flame them to death.】

【Passionate Jenny: Back when the guides for the Jinshui Amusement Park and the Sheling Tunnel dropped, the Taiyi Sect came begging for them shamelessly. Now they have the nerve to say they don't rely on the Primordial Heavenly Venerable to clear instances?】

Reading this, Zhang Yuanqing exited the post.

He fell into deep thought: whether to turn in the guide for the Mute Village instance.

Judging by the mission settlement rewards, as long as he cleared Mute Village, he would definitely obtain replicas of the three artifacts. Completing the hidden mission would add three extra uses to each artifact.

Once a guide existed, the clearance difficulty of Mute Village would drop to Grade B, even Grade C, yet the rewards remained terrifyingly generous.

In other words, if this guide were handed to the Taiyi Sect, future Night Wanderers entering Mute Village would leap to become the absolute top-tier Extraordinary Walkers, even if that supremacy didn't last long.

Zhang Yuanqing asked himself: if he encountered an enemy controlling the three artifacts of Mute Village, he would likely capsize in the gutter.

If the person obtaining the three artifacts bore him ill will, or was an outright enemy, that would be aiding the enemy.

He would never forget that the officials had good people, but also villains like Chi Yue'an.

"Mute Village is an exclusive Secret Realm for Night Wanderers; Walkers of the Five Elements Alliance can't enter. Handing over the guide changes nothing in the short term, but over time, over years, more and more Night Wanderers would clear Mute Village, more and more replicas of the three artifacts would accumulate. The Extraordinary Walkers of the Five Elements Alliance would become little brothers to the Taiyi Sect in every sense..."

Reaching this point, Zhang Yuanqing had made up his mind.

No way.

He refreshed the forum. A stickied, red-highlighted thread yanked his soaring thoughts back to earth.

#Good News: Just Received Word from the Songhai Branch, Primordial Heavenly Venerable Clears Mute Village#

Then, he watched the views and replies on this thread skyrocket at a visible speed.

Right now, countless people were camping the forum waiting for news.

【Days of Past Suffering: Hahaha, I knew the Primordial Heavenly Venerable wouldn't just gg so easily. He's a genius who cleared two S-grades.】

【Jiang Yang: When it comes to clearing instances, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable never disappoints. Just look at his plays in the Instance Tournament—you know this guy wouldn't die easily in an instance.】

【Call Me Queen: Ahhhhh~】

【Betel Nut Plus Cigarette, Boundless Mana: Speaking of which, what kind of instance makes even the Demon Lord sigh that it was pure luck he survived? I'm really curious. Shame there's no guide in the database.】

【Nan Aiding: Uh, probably hasn't been written yet. Just wait a bit.】

A few minutes later, the Queen posted another comment:

【Call Me Queen: Those Taiyi Sect people are already asking for the guide on their forum. Pfft, truly shameless. But it feels so good, hahaha (laughs with hands on hips).】

【Queen Consort: Not giving it to them (angry).】

【"We have an ailment: the guide must be given, after all, they are an ally, there's no helping it."】

The words of low-level personnel could never sway the decisions of the upper echelons.

The rhetoric of those Night Patrolling Gods was much the same.

…

"Old Dog, I heard from my assistant that Yuanshi Tianzun has emerged?"

Inside the pet shop, Elder Dog perched on the desk, his black button eyes fixed on the phone screen; the caller ID read—Confused Old Sun!

"Is that not only to be expected?" Elder Dog said:

"Yuanshi would not fall in a mere A-rank instance; only an S-rank can truly temper him."

His tone was that of a parent boasting of their elementary-school son scoring a perfect hundred.

…Elder Sun sneered, "You weren't saying that yesterday; your dog face went white with fright."

"You might as well say my dog fur turned white with fright; that's more convincing than a pale face." Elder Dog was in a fine mood, forgiving Old Sun's jealous taunts.

Elder Sun said irritably, "Enough nonsense. Hand over the guide, name your price."

The matter of the Taiyi Sect instance guides fell under Elder Sun's purview; it was for this very reason that Fu Qingyang had sought him out directly back then.

"One moment!"

Elder Dog recalled he hadn't yet checked the guide.

But when he opened his computer and searched for "Aphasia Village," what popped up was: No relevant content found.

"Yuanshi probably hasn't finished writing the guide yet; I'll have Qingyang ask." Elder Dog said.

…