CHAPTER 126: CHAPTER 126: THE FIVE FLAVORS OF THE THREE REALMS (FIRST UPDATE)

Jiang Yuan took a step forward, and the system immediately popped up a prompt; turning his head, he saw Bai and Wan Mingchuan were blocked a step away.

"Venerable Family, come back quickly, this Ghost Realm is peculiar!" Bai Yunqi was obstructed by an unpredictable mysterious force. He tried to forcibly breakthrough with his Cultivation Technique but failed.

[Contract pet’s fondness is below the minimum requirement, unable to summon in the dungeon]

[Riverfront Village dungeon currently allows single entry only, no team entry]

[Do you want to enter the Riverfront Village dungeon?]

Jiang Yuan looked at the prompt that appeared, turned around helplessly, and said, "Since you can’t enter, forget it. Just follow my previous instructions and go gather mushrooms and pick herbs. I’m not stupid, if it’s very dangerous inside, I’ll naturally know to run away."

"But Master, how did you manage to get in?" Wan Mingchuan was so anxious that he was pacing in circles, standing right behind his Master’s position but unable to step inside, "It’s too dangerous for you to go in alone. Can you first come out, and then we think of another solution?"

Jiang Yuan casually grabbed some paper craft from the Storage Bag and gestured, "Look, I have so many powerful helpers; it doesn’t matter if I’m alone. If it’s too dangerous, I’ll leave them behind as protection, and I can run anytime. Alright, you hurry and go gather, especially Bai find more herbs and spices, so I can make more fragrance for you to eat."

With that, he waved his hand and clicked to enter the dungeon, disappearing into the ghostly mist with a group of paper crafts.

"No wonder Master can tame you, he indeed is more powerful!"

Wan Mingchuan felt very worried but helplessly turned to look at Bai Yunqi who was boasting about his glorious past, and said quietly, "Look, you can’t even get in."

Bai Yunqi immediately got so angry that his horns flared up, but had to admit, grudgingly, "I was just a bit unlucky, my Realm has decreased too severely. Once I restore my strength, hmph... Let’s go, go, hurry and get to work! I need to finish quickly so I can focus on my Cultivation."

The ghostly mist surged, and the two remained on the outskirts, unable to detect any commotion inside. Left with no other choice, they glanced back every few steps as they departed to attend to their tasks. Meanwhile, after Jiang Yuan opted to enter the dungeon, he distinctly felt a sensation akin to dizzying teleportation; darkness abruptly brightened before his eyes.

[Please answer the questions to randomly receive bonuses]

[Question one: What are the three major surnames in Riverfront Village]

Out of ten or so surnames, Jiang Yuan selected He, Xu, and Wang, and the system indicated the correct answers, granting him a Damage Reduction buff lasting three hours.

[Question two: Who transformed into a fierce ghost in Riverfront Village]

[Question three: What does the "god" worshipped by the villagers of Riverfront Village call himself]

Luckily, in his efforts to trigger side quests, Jiang Yuan engaged as much as possible with the original villagers and heard plenty of gossip from his disciple about the village, enabling him to answer all three questions correctly, thus obtaining Defense, Attack, and Damage Reduction buffs.

[The Riverfront Village dungeon is officially open, players please pay attention to personal safety]

The scene gradually transitioned, revealing a dilapidated city gate suddenly before him.

The automatic system analysis function was entirely disabled, making the interface refreshing, but also enhancing Jiang Yuan’s evident sense of unease, prompting him to cautiously observe every step to avoid unintended consequences.

The rammed earth city walls were occasionally incomplete, bearing many blood-stained handprints and claw marks, instantaneously evoking a zombie siege atmosphere.

The portal above the city gate was half destroyed, making the hanging plaque illegible, yet the vermilion city gate retained its color; upon closer inspection, it was also stained with fresh blood, hinting at a recent massacre.

The wind was chilly, and the gigantic wooden door was ajar, leaving a narrow gap, seemingly awaiting prey to blindly walk in.

"Indeed, it’s almost like the Wilderness World at night; for some reason, it has fused with Riverfront Village?" Jiang Yuan already had a foreboding intuition before entering.

It seemed likely that behind this door lay countless unknown monsters and ghosts!

Taking a deep breath, he moved forward to push open a wooden door.

"Squeak~"

The door emitted a harsh groan, opening only to leave a gap barely wide enough for one person, unable to be pushed further.

Jiang Yuan peeked inside and saw no imagined roaming zombies nor wild demons, not even eerie ghostly mist. Behind the city gate was a straight long street, flanked by Riverfront Village’s villagers’ grass huts, among which he quickly spotted his disciple Wan Mingchuan’s once burned-down home.

The street was tranquil, the sunset gold lining the houses, largely alleviating the oppressive aura brought by the bloody handprints on the city gate.

Taking out a carving of an eagle, he breathed on it, mounted it, and flew high into the sky to survey the entire city at a glance.

Riverfront Village had merged with a pentagonal city, the ghost cultivator statue still standing in the center; from there, wide streets divided distinct architectural style into five zones, each hoisting a large banner—oil, sugar, salt, sauce, vinegar.

"Isn’t this too coincidental?" No wonder Jiang Yuan was always suspicious; everything encountered in the Otherworld appeared orchestrated by an invisible hand, each task and reward seamlessly linked.

Missing ingredients from the cookbook, and coincidentally, the dungeon opens with the necessary cooking condiments; he could already guess the reward obtained after completing the dungeon.

Original residents of Riverfront Village wandered sparsely on the street, none spared from black cobweb-like patterns spreading across their faces, eyes pitch black with a pair of sharp fangs protruding from their mouths, resembling zombies above heads displaying health bars.

"Roar!"

A distant howl rang out, and as Jiang Yuan locked onto the source, he saw a peculiar eaves beast atop a blue-bricked house, stirring its body, causing fragments of dust to crumble, transforming into a winged creature resembling a monkey, fluttering its wings as it flew over, "Is the guest here to purchase goods in Wufeng City?"

Well, he had intended to leverage the eagle’s flying advantage for long-distance control to fight paper craft and clear the dungeon, but who knew the dungeon imposed flight restrictions.

"Yes, but upon entering the city and seeing those people..." Jiang Yuan realized he could converse with the monster, gesturing towards the humanoid creatures in the vicinity with a smile.

The eaves beast glanced coldly and replied, "The esteemed guest need not worry, those corpse ghosts are incredibly stupid, as long as no sound disturbs them, it’s no trouble."

"Corpse ghosts?" Without system detailed explanation, Jiang Yuan really felt unfamiliar, thus he continued to inquire, "I see their form is apparently human."

"Hmm, the soul of a deceased has been severely polluted, returning to the corpse as an evil entity. They don’t feel pain nor fatigue, capturing and training them can be very useful."

Can it really be that way?

Previously when watching zombie films, Jiang Yuan often pondered why not harness the ceaseless motion of zombies for electricity generation? Even if their arms are chopped off, or jaws removed to prevent biting, tying them up as laborers seemed a great use—how could one waste such a perpetually moving "device"?

"What goods does the esteemed guest wish to procure?" The eaves beast patiently queried, "Is it vinegar from Fragrant Vinegar Square, sugar from Hundred Flowers Square, salt from Yong’an Square, oil from Wanxiang Square, or sauce or soy sauce from Qile Square? The products of Wufeng City are renowned throughout the Three Realms, be it the Netherworld’s Ghost City, the Mortal World’s Imperial Palace, or the Celestial Realm’s Immortal Feast, none can do without the five flavors of Wufeng City."

Upon hearing this setting, Jiang Yuan realized it was exaggerated; do Immortals really consume meals made with condiments? They subsist on air and dew!

Moreover, the five flavors are supposedly sour, bitter, sweet, spicy, and salty; so, how are these considered as the five flavors? They’re merely five types of condiments.