Chapter 329: The Strong Never Complain About Their Environment!
They thought the matter would end there, but it seemed the excitement was just getting started.
The audience in front of the big screen was thrilled—was Master Zhang finally going to make his move?
Inside the strange tales world, the purple-robed eerie felt that since he had paid, the other party should step aside.
After all, he was a purple-robed eerie, already considered a fairly powerful existence in this world. He wasn’t in the habit of yielding to others.
The whole way here, everyone else had been the ones making way for him.
But as luck would have it, Zhang Yangqing wasn’t in the habit of yielding either. “A mere ghost general and I have to step aside? How am I supposed to survive in the future if I do that?
Besides, you gave me money, I gave you accurate information—what more do you want from me?
This kind of thing is a transaction. One thing is one thing.”
Their thinking diverged, and the two sides’ auras began to clash.
The purple-robed eerie wasn’t from this tomb, and he didn’t want trouble either. He released his aura, hoping to make the guy in front of him back off.
A hairy zombie at the level of a red-robed fierce ghost dares to block his way?
As the black qi on his body began to spread, the audience could see—behind him appeared one black, long arm after another.
These arms had skin that was pale and shiny, but their nails were red to the point of being purple. The whole scene looked like the underworld itself, making people’s hair stand on end.
If Zhang Yangqing didn’t release his Celestial Master aura, he definitely wouldn’t be as strong.
Besides, this guy was a hidden eerie—an undying, immortal existence. There would be a lot of trouble later.
So Zhang Yangqing put on a show for him that would make his eyes light up—leveling up.
“You think I’m a hairy zombie, huh? Let me show you what a flying zombie looks like!”
Zhang Yangqing took a single breath, and the corpse qi on his body grew several times stronger, instantly overpowering the purple-robed eerie’s aura.
Moreover, the corpse qi on his body surged and washed outward, terrifying the purple-robed eerie into feeling like a flickering candle in the wind—it actually blew him back several steps.
Even the ghost hands behind him were blown away into nothing!
Just from this alone, one could see how huge the gap was.
The purple-robed eerie tried very hard to raise his aura, but the more he tried, the more he felt the gap was enormous.
The person in front of him had an aura like a mountain—probably even a Zombie King wouldn’t be much different, right?
Actually, this was the purple-robed eerie overestimating himself. Zhang Yangqing was basically a max-level main account playing on a smurf and showing off. Even if you go all out, your understanding of realms is far too lacking.
Maybe ordinary people couldn’t see it, but when the transcendents saw this scene, they directly began to doubt life.
On Dragon Tiger Mountain, Zhang Xuanjing’s teacup fell to the floor.
He pointed at Zhang Yangqing on the big screen and said to his senior brother Su Muyu, “Senior brother, if I’m not mistaken, the sect master Celestial Master leveled up, right? How did he do it?”
Su Muyu yawned and said listlessly, “What’s so strange about that? Why do you think he became Celestial Master in two years?”
When he said two years, Su Muyu was actually already trying not to scare Zhang Xuanjing.
In fact, Zhang Yangqing had only cultivated for a little over a year, and he had already trained a certain skill to the extreme.
At that time, he was already the best candidate to inherit the Celestial Master position, but the old Celestial Master was still considering whether any of the other disciples might break through next.
But over the following year, Zhang Yangqing trained everything that could be trained to the extreme.
Was it that the old Celestial Master didn’t want to choose?
No—he simply had no other option.
Even so, Zhang Xuanjing still wore a shocked expression and murmured, “I think I understand now why some people often say breakthroughs are like breathing and leveling up is like lightning. I thought it was a joke, but I never expected the sect master Celestial Master to actually play it that way today.”
Casually practicing other types of cultivation methods and still reaching such a level.
It really was something no one would dare imagine. What kind of comprehension was this?
Inside the strange tales world, the purple-robed eerie knew he had hit a hard wall. The guy in front of him was not to be messed with, so he walked to the side and, like the other chosen ones, looked on humbly as Zhang Yangqing left.
Just when the audience thought this matter was over, Zhang Yangqing found a way to make money.
It seemed many people wanted to obtain the tomb owner’s treasure, but that treasure was on him.
Of course, Zhang Yangqing couldn’t give them the treasure, but he could sell information.
With that thought, he went to the first floor, spent some money, and hired a few eeries to spread the word: “In this tomb, there is a person wearing a bamboo hat and covered in bandages. He might know where the tomb owner’s treasure is hidden.”
That way, those with ulterior motives would take the bait and come to Zhang Yangqing endlessly to buy information.
Because if they wanted the information, they would definitely have to pay a price.
Of course, Zhang Yangqing didn’t deceive them—he would tell them the specific location.
“As long as you pay, I’ll tell you truthfully. You can’t exactly ask me for a refund, right?
I only charged you this little bit of money, and you still want exclusive rights to the information?
Why can’t I tell others? After all, they paid too!”
As for how to unlock the mechanisms, what kind of chaos would break out among them, and what they would do if they couldn’t find the treasure after entering—Zhang Yangqing didn’t care about any of that. There was no after-sales service of that kind. Once you get the information, no refunds.
Moreover, Zhang Yangqing’s main customer base was very clear: the people who attended the banquet today and each harbored their own schemes, wanting to secretly obtain the treasure here.
These people knew they were in the wrong and didn’t even dare to report Zhang Yangqing.
Once everything was ready, afraid that the suckers wouldn’t be able to find him, Zhang Yangqing sat in a very conspicuous place, posing mysteriously so that anyone could tell at a glance this person was extraordinary.
This sense of mystery further increased his credibility.
And when selling information, he also acted as if he were looking around cautiously, making the suckers who came to buy information wish they could keep paying him for more insider information.
Watching the big screen, the audience momentarily couldn’t tell who was the NPC and who was the chosen one.
This chosen one’s performance had practically taught him all the NPC money-making tricks!
So next, the audience could see that during the remaining time, the funds of the other chosen ones kept decreasing, while Zhang Yangqing’s funds grew rapidly.
Originally, Zhang Yangqing’s revenue in the previous stage was already double that of the other chosen ones.
Now, with one side declining and the other rising, before Zhang Yangqing even walked out of the tomb, the funds in his hands were already ten times that of the other chosen ones.
This couldn’t help but make the audience sigh—sure enough, the strong never complain about their environment. They can make money anywhere.
The most terrifying part was that Zhang Yangqing didn’t rely on violence, but on methods anyone could potentially use.
If Zhang Yangqing had always relied on killing and robbing, then no matter how strong he was, the audience wouldn’t be convinced.
Everyone would think, “Give me that kind of strength and I could do it too. There’s nothing technical about the strange tales world.”
But by making money with his brain, he made the audience admire him even more.
That’s how impressive people are—so impressive that you can’t find any basis for comparison.
When you feel his strength is greater than yours, you also feel his brain is even stronger.
Even senior brother Su Muyu felt that this guy was lucky he came to cultivate the Dao. If he had gone into business, who knows what methods he would have used to amass wealth.
And Zhang Yangqing’s way of making money wasn’t ordinary either—he didn’t deceive anyone, and he still benefited.
It made some people, even knowing they’d been tricked, still unable to do anything about him.
After making a haul, Zhang Yangqing continued working.
At this stage, his playstyle became strange again.
Among the other chosen ones, Rahman’s approach was relatively close to the correct answer.
He first came to the tomb chamber where Young Master Kongxu lived. There were definitely Young Master Kongxu’s underlings nearby.
They carried Young Master Kongxu’s sedan, so naturally they knew where the sedan was.
Rahman still used the gift-giving method, obtained the specific location of the sedan, and then slowly approached.
But there were people guarding the sedan, so he needed to lure the tiger away from the mountain, make these people leave, and then get the key from the sedan himself.
This method was correct, but those with greater courage had even better options.
Zhang Yangqing directly told Young Master Kongxu’s underlings, “Your boss sent me to decorate the sedan. Hurry and take me there. If he comes back and finds it’s not decorated properly, he’ll use you as candles.”
Anyway, Young Master Kongxu can’t be found. Who cares what I say?
If you’ve got the ability, go find Young Master Kongxu yourself.
For the other chosen ones, not being able to find Young Master Kongxu was troublesome.
For Zhang Yangqing, Young Master Kongxu not being there was even better.
These underlings of Young Master Kongxu indeed couldn’t contact him personally and didn’t dare offend Young Master Kongxu, so they took Zhang Yangqing to inspect the sedan.
Zhang Yangqing didn’t need to lure the tiger away from the mountain at all. In full view of everyone, he rummaged through the sedan inside and out, treating it as if he were decorating it.
He practically obtained the key fair and square, without effort, and most importantly, without spending money.
Because Zhang Yangqing said Young Master Kongxu sent him to decorate the sedan—would Young Master Kongxu’s underlings dare charge him?
It’d already be good if Zhang Yangqing didn’t demand money from them.
Next came the hardest part: finding the living person in the tomb.
The other chosen ones had to spend money to buy information, asking where the “kitchen” for the wedding banquet in the hall was, and asking whether there was any information about a living person here.
Zhang Yangqing was even more direct—he grabbed Young Master Kongxu’s underlings and worked them over.
He said Young Master Kongxu wanted him to question that living person, and also check whether that living person was dead yet. As for what he wanted to ask, that wasn’t something they could pry into.
When it came to bossing NPCs around, almost no chosen one was better than Zhang Yangqing.
That aura of a superior made Young Master Kongxu’s underlings unable to judge whether it was real or not.
In order not to offend Young Master Kongxu, they had no choice but to comply.
Just like that, Zhang Yangqing saved another sum of money.
The highlight of this playstyle was: when Young Master Kongxu isn’t around, I’ll just use his name and say whatever I want.
It made the audience’s scalps go numb. The other chosen ones complained that Young Master Kongxu wasn’t there and that they had no way to effectively obtain information.
This Master Zhang, on the other hand, practically treated Young Master Kongxu’s absence as an advantage, going around using Young Master Kongxu’s name to stir up trouble.
In the strange tales world, what difficulty is there really? It just depends on whether the chosen one can find a way to turn things around.
“Oh, what mistake did this person make?”
Zhang Yangqing asked arrogantly. The one leading the way was Young Master Kongxu’s underling.
Since I’m here because your boss called me to ask questions, it’s only normal for me to first understand the situation, right?
The more high-profile he was, the more humble Young Master Kongxu’s underlings became.
Because Young Master Kongxu’s underlings felt this person seemed even fiercer than their boss.
As underlings, they still had self-awareness. Since this was their boss’s “friend,” they couldn’t offend him.
This was a routine of creating a false impression. Other chosen ones who came here were always afraid their actions would be exposed, so they were very careful.
When Zhang Yangqing came here, he carried the aura of a distinguished guest—someone Young Master Kongxu had invited.
As long as he created that impression, Young Master Kongxu’s underlings could naturally be used.
Hearing Zhang Yangqing’s question, these eerie underlings replied, “This guy snuck in from who knows where. Our young master caught him. But the young master is very busy right now. Once he’s done, he’ll definitely deal with him.”
Not long after, led by the eerie underlings, Zhang Yangqing arrived at the second underground floor, in a remodeled dungeon.
Some strange-looking things were imprisoned here, along with a person whose face was ashen.
After sending Young Master Kongxu’s underlings away, Zhang Yangqing questioned him alone.
The method used by the other chosen ones here was to take a look, remember the location, and then leave.
Then they would sneak back in later, otherwise they’d be suspected by the guards here.
From this captured person, he learned that he was a tomb robber. He had originally been lurking around this tomb, then pretended to be a black-clothed ghost and mixed his way in.
One had to say, this kid really was bold.
After getting in, he planned to take some things out to sell.
But to his surprise, he found there really were too many eeries inside, leaving him almost no chance to take anything, so he wanted to leave.
But he knew where the exit was. Without the key to open the tomb door, he wanted to sneak out with Young Master Kongxu’s group, but ended up being caught by Young Master Kongxu.
One thing to know here: the passage connecting the tomb and the main gate was flowing.
Some exits even only appeared at specific times.
Even if the chosen ones searched along the route they came by, they still couldn’t find the exit.
And in such a massive tomb, there was more than one exit.
The other chosen ones didn’t know how to get out, so they naturally needed a guide.
Next, they still had to go to the city. Saving this human was naturally the best choice.
Zhang Yangqing was more casual—he knew how to get out, so now he was just going through the motions.
As for how to rescue him, Rahman’s method was relatively complete.
He first prepared a set of clothes for the living person he was about to rescue, then found the key from the dozing guard and unlocked the cell door.
That way, when Rahman took him out, even if someone noticed, there wouldn’t be anything strange.
Zhang Yangqing’s approach highlighted simplicity. After all, the guard was just a black-clothed ghost with poor strength.
He directly beat the black-clothed ghost to death and snatched the key.
Conveniently, he also got the clothes here, so he could take him out.
The other transcendents’ methods were similar to Zhang Yangqing’s, except they all used some weapons to varying degrees, such as peachwood swords.
As long as this thing stabbed the black-clothed ghost’s vital point, the black-clothed ghost was basically done for.
Did Zhang Yangqing not use one?
No—he just didn’t bring one.
A Daoist of his level basically rarely used props anymore.
Right now he just didn’t have a heart. Zhang Yangqing didn’t want to cause extra trouble; otherwise, he could clean out all the eeries here at any time.
Next came the most critical step: whether to go to the four-eyed red-robed eerie’s place and save that demon cultivator.
In theory, he didn’t have to save him. What needed to be obtained had already been obtained.
But if preparations were more sufficient now, future dangers would be easier to get through.
There had been chosen ones before who rescued some imprisoned prisoners in the early stages, and later, at a life-and-death moment, were saved by those prisoners.
Save one more person, and you have one more path.
After making up their minds, the chosen ones all headed to the depths of the third floor, where the four-eyed red-robed eerie was.
It was still the same as before—gloomy and terrifying. The chosen ones stayed on guard at all times against footsteps coming from behind.
“Although this road isn’t my first time walking it, it’s still so gloomy every time.”
Rahman felt it was strange inside. He kept feeling something was about to happen.
Because Young Master Kongxu’s disappearance already seemed to mean something?
The time was now approaching five in the deep night. If he didn’t want to gain some benefits, he would have left long ago.
This time, he had also made up his mind: if there was danger at the four-eyed red-robed eerie’s place, he would go straight out. Never mind saving the demon cultivator.
But this time, he had a “little follower”—the tomb robber he had saved.
After all, the key was in Rahman’s hands, and he had saved the tomb robber himself, so naturally the tomb robber would listen to him.
For example, if Rahman asked him to do small things, he would obey completely.
He could even discuss his plans with the tomb robber and have the tomb robber cooperate with him.
Only then did Rahman experience the joy of the Dragon Kingdom’s Celestial Master. So having a follower really made things go smoothly in the strange tales world.
The difference was, his own little follower was given by the rules, while the Dragon Kingdom Celestial Master’s little followers were all recruited by himself.
In other words, what Rahman had, the other chosen ones also had.
What Zhang Yangqing had, the other chosen ones might not have.
Maybe this tomb robber was already a major help for clearing the game on Rahman’s side, but on Zhang Yangqing’s side he was useless.
This tomb robber did have some skills, but his strength was too poor and he had nothing special.
To give a simple example, it was like the characters given to you for clearing the story in a game. Maybe they’re somewhat useful at the current stage, but after some time, they can’t even push through the map.
The ones Zhang Yangqing recruited were like special characters. They would always have unexpected uses, and could even be used all the way to the ending.
“Boss, where are we going?”
The tomb robber said cautiously.
He saw that Zhang Yangqing was mysterious and didn’t speak, so he was a little nervous and uneasy.
“Don’t ask so much. Just follow me. I’ll keep you safe.”
Zhang Yangqing’s words were still very aloof.
After all, Zhang Yangqing didn’t need his help with anything.
Hearing this, the tomb robber shrank his neck, but for some reason, this boss gave off a sense of security, making him not dare stay too far away.
Because wherever this boss passed, basically all the other eeries made way.
Even if the tomb robber were blind, he could still tell how strong this boss was.
If this boss wanted to harm him, there’d be no need to play any tricks. Since he said just follow him, then he would follow.
Not long after, Zhang Yangqing arrived at the final stage—the four-eyed red-robed eerie.
His approach was still so simple and direct. Using Young Master Kongxu’s name, he told the four-eyed red-robed eerie to go to Young Master Kongxu’s tomb chamber, saying there was an important matter to discuss.
The four-eyed red-robed eerie asked why Young Master Kongxu hadn’t come himself.
Zhang Yangqing casually said something seemed to have gone wrong at the wedding and told him to go help too.
The four-eyed red-robed eerie nodded and left his tomb chamber.
Tomb doors were basically stone doors without locks. As long as you turned the mechanism, they could be opened.
After the four-eyed red-robed eerie left, Zhang Yangqing directed this mostly useless tomb robber to rescue the demon cultivator.
After changing the demon cultivator into a set of clothes, the next step was to leave this place.
The tomb robber thought to himself, finally it was his turn to perform. This boss saved him, wasn’t it also to find the exit?
But when he saw Zhang Yangqing knew the roads even better than he did, the tomb robber was dumbfounded.
It seemed his usefulness had been completely stripped away. Then what was the point of this boss saving him?
But this tomb robber wasn’t the kind of person to be stubborn about it. He knew his own abilities. Since there was a boss here, he’d just be a leg accessory.
You had to know, at other times, he wouldn’t even qualify to meet such a boss.
