Chapter 85: Illusory Spirit Realm (1)

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Poison Toad observed the two’s reaction.

“Why are you acting so surprised? It’s not like I’m telling you guys to strip everything off, just remove your robes and sit back to back on the bed.”

Then you should’ve been clearer from the start! You scared this baby girl!

Shen Jingbin really wanted to rage, but regardless, Poison Toad was on par with Song Yuqing as the Sect Leader of Lich Palace, and she didn’t have the guts to do something so audacious.

However, reality proved that she’d been overthinking things. To protect the morals of players within the game, it was set to prevent players from being able to strip naked. As a result, she couldn't strip herself bare even if she wanted to.

Since it was merely de-robing, it wasn't much of a concern. The two simply followed Poison Toad's instructions by removing their robes, and then sat with their backs against one another on the bed.

“Close your eyes, I'm starting.”

The two complied and shut their eyes.

Because they couldn't see, their other senses were heightened. They could hear Poison Toad's clothes rustle when he stood up, the rhythm of his breath as he slowly approached, and sense his warm hand as it made its way towards their necks.

“Technique activate,” These two brief words resounded softly by their ears, before the two of them suddenly felt dizzy at the same time.

“You have entered the Illusory Spirit Realm,” After the wave of dizziness had passed, the pleasant sounding female voice of the system rang out in Shen Jingbin and Quiet And Steadfast's ears.

Slowly opening their eyes, they found that they were no longer in the small room they had been in before. Instead, they found themselves standing on the coast of a small isle that overlooked a vast, endless ocean.

“A married couple is like a pair of birds sharing the same tree; when disaster strikes, they will each go their own way. Dear visitors, please follow me,” Without any warning, a child's voice suddenly called out from behind them.

The two were startled, and turned in unison to face the voice.

What they saw, was a child with his hair tied into a bun who had appeared behind them unknowingly. His hands were tucked into his sleeves, and a pair of bright and intelligent eyes roamed about as if he were sizing the two of them up.

“What should we do? Should we follow him?” Shen Jingbin enquired with her eyes.

“We might as well follow him since we’re already here. Let’s go.” Quiet And Steadfast eyed her in return.

Quiet And Steadfast then turned to the child and said, “Sorry for the trouble. Lead the way."

The child laughed, “The two of you are quite strange. The husband is as pretty as a flower, while the wife is as ugly as a toad. How fascinating.”

Shen Jingbin forced out a hollow laugh.

Why was this NPC so talkative?!

Fortunately, the child only gave a chuckle, before he turned and led the way. As the two followed behind the him they first passed through a dense forest, before a wooden cabin appeared before their eyes.

“Before us is my Grandpa's house, please enter by yourselves. I’ll send you back after you’ve returned from answering some questions.”

All manner of unexpected things had happened ever since Poison Toad had led them to the hidden room. As they hiked up the path to the small wooden cottage, Shen Jingbin couldn’t hold back her curiosity any longer and asked, “Wasn't Poison Toad just supposed to perform the forbidden art on us? What’s going on?”

Quiet And Steadfast thought for a moment and replied, “This is probably just a simple spell to NPCs like Poison Toad. But for players, it's a quest that requires them to teleport to another location to complete. The forbidden art will succeed if the quest is completed. If we fail the quest, then the forbidden art would fail as well.”

Explaining it in this manner allowed Shen Jingbin to understand what was going on.

“However, isn't this NPC's intelligence a little too high? Going by this, I feel like the day where artificial intelligence takes over humanity like what happens in the movies is just around the corner.”

“NPCs aren't all managed by the system. Some of them are actually controlled by personnel from the game company. I think that child just now might be one such case.”

Shen Jingbin was confused.

"But that child’s so young. Is he even old enough to play this game? I've never heard of a person being able to change their height or age this much.”

“They're the game company’s employees. Is there anything they can’t do?"

Shen Jingbin suddenly had an epiphany. “That's true! But this guy must have a love for children to have created his character like that.”

“Mm, that's very likely.”

The child who was waiting for them outside suddenly let out a sneeze. “Atchoo! Who's gossiping about me?!”

During their short conversation, the two arrived at the door of the wooden cabin. Quiet And Steadfast politely knocked on the door then waited patiently outside.

Approximately four to five seconds later, an elderly voice came from within.

“Come in,” The voice sounded aged, but its tone was filled with vigor.

Quiet And Steadfast responded by pushing open the door and entering. Inside the cabin sat an elderly man close to sixty years old with white hair and a ruddy complexion, appearing both lively and full of energy.

The old man stood up when he saw Shen Jingbin and Quiet And Steadfast, laughing as he walked towards the two.

“Hahahahaha! I've been waiting for so long! At long last, someone has finally come! My god, I was so lonely!”

A huge question mark manifested above Shen Jingbin and Quiet And Steadfast's heads.

What the hell was this!?

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