Chapter 34: The Transaction – Slaying Ghosts (Double-Length Chapter)

I Want to Become an Immortal: "What's up, Brother Suifeng?"

Yinyue Suifeng: "Want to switch to the Hunter class?"

I Want to Become an Immortal: "How? That hunter surnamed Yang doesn't take apprentices. I asked Brother Wang about it, and he said I need a hundred-year-old ginseng to apprentice. I checked the medicine shop, but that item hasn't spawned yet."

Yinyue Suifeng: "I have a way for you to switch to the Hunter class, but I need to borrow your ebony sword. If you want to change classes, join my party and we'll do this quest together."

I Want to Become an Immortal: "I'm coming right now."

------

Yeluo: "Looking for me?"

Yinyue Suifeng: "I need to do an exorcism quest. Could you help me locate the ghost servant?"

Yeluo: "I can do that, but how do you plan to deal with it? Don't tell me you need a reminder that physical attacks are useless against ghosts."

Yinyue Suifeng: "I have my own methods. Come to the hunter's cabin, and we'll discuss the details."

------

The village wasn't large, and both of them arrived in no time.

I Want to Become an Immortal was startled upon seeing Yeluo at first, but then he brightened up and greeted her warmly.

Yeluo, however, appeared rather cold, as if she had little desire to make friends.

Xiao Jie wasn't surprised; she had acted the exact same way toward him yesterday.

He didn't pay it much mind. Everyone had their own habits when playing games, and some players suffered from social anxiety. Even when playing online games, they preferred to play solo and disliked teaming up with others—such things were quite common.

Xiao Jie introduced the two to each other and then explained the quest he had accepted.

"Normally, this quest is extremely difficult to complete, but I calculated that with the abilities and resources the three of us possess, we can just crack this quest.

"My Sacred Wood Talisman can expel the ghost servant from the hunter's wife.

"Yeluo is able to see ghosts.

"I Want to Become an Immortal's ebony sword can slay ghost-type entities. Judging by the ghost servant's health pool, its combat power shouldn't be too high. If the three of us cooperate, we can definitely take it down. Once the ghost servant dies, Yang Bai-chuan should start taking apprentices normally, and both of us can learn archery and dog-taming."

Hearing this, I Want to Become an Immortal instantly grew excited. He had almost been killed by three wild dogs previously, so he knew very well the immense value of having a dog.

Yeluo, however, remained calm and asked, "What's in it for me? I'm already Yang Bai-chuan's apprentice."

"Be a good person? Yang Bai-chuan is your master; isn't helping his wife only right? Besides, who knows, maybe he'll be so happy he'll teach you a hidden skill."

"I've handed over three wild ginseng roots in total, and I've already learned all the available skills. Besides, this is just a game," Yeluo replied with exceptional coolness.

Xiao Jie felt a bit helpless. Generally speaking, shouldn't girls be more emotional? Was this Yeluo really this ruthless?

I Want to Become an Immortal offered, "Then how about I hire you with money? 200 copper coins." He wasn't short on cash and always wanted to solve problems with money at the first sign of trouble.

"I'm not short on money."

"500 copper coins?"

"1,000 copper coins is useless either. Like I said, I'm not short on cash."

Yeluo's tone was resolute, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Then what do you want?"

"I'll help you slay the ghost servant, but this sword goes to me."

Before I Want to Become an Immortal could speak, Xiao Jie beat him to it.

"Are you kidding me? This thing is a magical artifact; you're asking for way too much."

"Exactly, exactly! I had a really hard time getting this sword," I Want to Become an Immortal added hurriedly.

Yeluo calmly replied, "This sword is useless in your hands anyway since you can't see ghosts. Unless you plan to dump a bunch of attribute points into Perception and build a Perception-oriented character, this sword is a complete waste with you.

"How about this? I'll throw in a skill book to make up the difference. You use an axe, right?"

"I..." I Want to Become an Immortal wanted to claim he used a sword, but realized he hadn't learned any swordsmanship skills whatsoever. However, after chopping wood for two days, he had indeed acquired the Axe Weapon Mastery.

"I guess so."

"That settles it then. This manual for *Rock-Splitting Slash* only requires 15 Strength to learn. You just need to invest a few attribute points to use it, and it's definitely more valuable to you than the ebony sword."

"But I want to be a swordsman..." I Want to Become an Immortal said weakly.

"There's no swordsmanship taught in Ginkgo Village. You need to go to the prefecture's sword hall to learn Sword Mastery before you can learn advanced swordsmanship. You haven't even left the newbie village yet, so you can't learn swordsmanship. Once you leave the newbie village, there will be plenty of weapons better than an ebony sword."

Seeing that I Want to Become an Immortal was still hesitating, Yeluo added, "How about this? Whatever that ghost servant drops, it all belongs to you guys."

I Want to Become an Immortal was finally tempted. He sent a private message to Xiao Jie, asking, "Brother Suifeng, what do you think?"

------

Xiao Jie let out a noncommittal hum and fell into deep thought.

Originally, he hadn't thought much of this ebony sword. How good could equipment given in the early stages of a game really be?

Yet, seeing how desperately Yeluo wanted to get her hands on it, he had a lingering intuition that the value of this ebony sword might be far greater than it appeared, and that it wasn't just some ordinary minor top-tier item.

Its base attributes were very mediocre; its only unique feature was the "Spirit-Slaying" weapon effect.

Wang Kai had mentioned earlier that magic-based classes in this game were exceedingly rare. That meant the vast majority of players were physical classes, and physical classes found it extremely difficult to deal with ghost-type monsters.

Consequently, the Spirit-Slaying effect of this sword possessed exceptional value.

Especially for Perception-build players; with this sword, they could farm ghosts.

Still, Yeluo wasn't entirely wrong. Unless someone intended to follow a Perception build, this item really had no use.

"Are you planning to go for a Perception build?" Xiao Jie asked I Want to Become an Immortal.

"Um... Let me think."

I Want to Become an Immortal opened up the strategy guide left behind by his older brother once more.

Aside from information regarding the monsters in the beginner village, it heavily emphasized the key points of stat allocation.

In this game, everyone had to invest in basic attributes, especially in the early stages—playing without them was simply impossible.

If one wished to transition into a magic class later on, advanced attributes would come into play.

And advanced attributes were quite nuanced; not every single one of them was useful.

Within this game, there were many different magical factions: Daoist arts, immortal spells, demonic arts, divine powers, ghost incantations...

The attributes corresponding to each faction varied completely.

Spirit: Increases maximum mana pool, mana regeneration speed, and resistance to mental skills such as charm, fear, and hypnosis.

This attribute could be considered essential for all magic classes; investing in it certainly had no downsides and generally served as a secondary attribute for magic types.

Aptitude: Increases absorption efficiency of heaven and earth spiritual energy, sun and moon essence, as well as the ability to learn and use immortal and demonic spells.

This attribute primarily targeted immortal and demonic spells. To learn these two types of magic, one needed to pump Aptitude very high.

Perception: Increases detection range, sensing distance for monsters, and the ability to sense invisible entities. A higher Perception might draw the attention of ghosts and deities.

This attribute was crucial for classes like assassins and hunters, and was also required for learning ghost incantation spells.

Faith: Increases the ability to absorb incense-burner power, as well as the capacity to learn and use divine power spells.

This attribute was mandatory for learning divine power-type magic.

Naturally, I Want to Become an Immortal wanted to cultivate immortality so he could resurrect his brother, and for immortal cultivation, Perception served no purpose.

"I'm not planning to go for a Perception build."

Xiao Jie nodded; then there was no problem.

"Since she wants this sword so badly, it must have its unique qualities. Based on my experience, the most valuable aspect of this sword is its Spirit-Slaying property.

"With magic classes being so scarce in this game, weapons capable of inflicting damage on ghosts hold extremely high value.

"Of course, to slay a ghost, you must first be able to see it. If you were going for a Perception build, this sword would absolute be a top-tier item, worth a fortune.

"If you aren't building Perception, the sword's significance isn't quite as massive, and you could consider trading it for something more suitable.

"However, this sword belongs to you, so it's better for you to decide. I advise you to consider carefully and not agree easily just because of me."

Xiao Jie's analysis was exceptionally clear.

I Want to Become an Immortal had a better grasp of the situation now and said to Yeluo, "Deal, but you need to sweeten the offer, otherwise forget it."

"This thing is useless to you."

I Want to Become an Immortal said with confidence, "But it's very useful to you."

Yeluo was left momentarily speechless. After a long silence, she sighed helplessly, "What do you want?"

Xiao Jie had expected I Want to Become an Immortal to ask for some equipment, but instead, the latter said in a deep voice, "Information."

Yeluo was slightly startled. "Huh?"

I Want to Become an Immortal explained, "I don't know much about this game, but you seem quite familiar with it. You must know a lot of things I don't. I can give you the sword, but in exchange, if I have any questions about the game in the future and consult you, as long as you know the answer, you must help me out."

Yeluo fell silent for a long moment. "Fine, deal."

Hearing this, I Want to Become an Immortal laughed heartily, "Alright, it's settled then. But let's get one thing straight: all the drops from the ghost servant belong to me; you aren't allowed to ninja my loot."

Yeluo let out a soft snort. "Rest assured, I'm not that petty."

Xiao Jie nodded inwardly; I Want to Become an Immortal's choice was actually quite smart. Compared to a piece of equipment or two with limited value, intelligence and information were undoubtedly far more useful, especially in a death game with zero room for error where a single wrong step could lead to total ruin. Having more information would undoubtedly allow someone to go much further.

This kid was growing up.

The three of them had gotten what they needed. Xiao Jie needed to complete his advancement quest and claim his reward.

I Want to Become an Immortal wanted the class change + ghost servant drops + skill book + game intelligence.

And Yeluo would get the ebony sword.

With their plan settled, the three of them returned to the wooden cabin once again.

"Brother Yang, this is the helper I recruited. He also wants to become your apprentice; I wonder if that's acceptable."

"As long as you can save my wife, what does it matter if I take on one more apprentice?"

A prompt immediately appeared on I Want to Become an Immortal's screen.

System Prompt: Player Yinyue Suifeng has shared the quest [Exorcism Operation] with you. Do you accept?

Naturally, I Want to Become an Immortal accepted.

He turned around, traded the ebony sword to Yeluo, and received the skill book *Rock-Splitting Slash*.

The three of them took their respective positions. Xiao Jie took out the Sacred Wood Talisman.

"Get ready, I'm starting. Counting down: 3—2—1!"

Exorcism Art!

Ebony Infused with Blood!

The exact moment Xiao Jie cast the Exorcism Art on the hunter's wife, Yeluo lightly wiped the edge of the ebony sword across her palm. A layer of crimson bloody aura instantly emerged on the blade, flashing with an ominous red light in the dim room.

A chill wind rose from all directions, and the hunter's wife convulsed violently all over. The very instant her convulsions stopped, Yeluo suddenly slashed her sword toward empty air.

Awooh! A strange shriek rang out from thin air, making it clear that the strike had hit its target.

However, Yeluo's expression immediately shifted. "Not good, it's trying to run!"

Lunging forward fiercely, she executed a combat skill—Triple Wave!

Swish, swish, swish! Three consecutive sword strikes landed in the empty air.

A ghost's wail echoed through the air, followed by a shockwave of chilling wind radiating outward in all directions.

Boom! Xiao Jie, I Want to Become an Immortal, and the hunter were all forced back two steps by the shockwave, which unexpectedly carried AOE damage. Fortunately, the damage of this move wasn't high, only shaving off a few health points.

Yeluo flashed forward, utilizing a movement technique—Assassin's Footwork!

She smoothly dodged the shockwave.

Immediately following that was a flowing sequence of sword forms.

Sword Dance: Thirteen Styles of Flowing Clouds!

Swish, swish, swish, swish!

Yeluo spun and brandished her sword, her movements resembling a dance. As the blade sliced through the air, bizarre ghostly shrieks continuously emanated from the surroundings.

The other two watched with intense excitement, completely unable to help, left standing on the sidelines with wide eyes.

Until a shrill, miserable scream echoed from the air and something clattered to the ground, the two of them realized the ghost had probably been dispatched.

A prompt appeared on Xiao Jie's screen.

[System Prompt: Participated in slaying the ghost servant, gained 76 experience points.] Because he initiated the fight with the Exorcism Art, he had actually managed to share some experience.

As for I Want to Become an Immortal, he didn't gain a single drop of experience, spending the entire encounter as an audience member.

However, he didn't pay attention to that at the moment; his gaze was entirely fixed on the item lying on the ground.

It was a piece of yellow talisman paper, with a strange humanoid symbol drawn in cinnabar upon it, marked by a single sword slash across the paper.

This is—

Xiao Jie picked up the talisman, examined it briefly, and handed it over to I Want to Become an Immortal.

[Shattered Ghost-Driving Spirit Talisman (Quest Item)

Usage: Hand it over to the hunter Yang Bai-chuan to trigger a quest.

Item Description: Legend has it that Ghost Incantation Masters can use talismans to control ghosts and command them to serve their bidding, carrying out shady and illicit deeds. This is an evil art that bridges the Yin and Yang realms, and has always been despised by righteous practitioners.]