Below the manor, in the underground river beneath the well.

In the damp, gloomy, small stone room.

"Those four blacksmiths were dragged in by that mysterious female demon and slaughtered?"

"However, the main gate of the mansion is tightly closed. That female demon must have returned to her secluded cultivation."

Ning Zheng, hiding away, breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the ancestral rites had ended.

The three have returned to secluded cultivation, ignoring external matters.

As for what kind of monster that female demon is?

Why she kills people?

He is not interested at all!

This is reality; many things are without beginnings or ends, and if you want to know the secrets within, you have to foolishly knock on the door to find out.

But he certainly won't court death.

Better to wait until he's strong, then to overturn the ancestral grave outside the village and eliminate the threat.

Ning Zheng excels at settling scores later.

This mad demon dared to kill his family's adorable little blacksmith?

First, jot down a few notes in the notebook!

Inside the room are wooden furniture and stone chairs, and outside is blocked by a metal door, testifying to "Su Yuniang's" good appetite these days, gnawing quite spaciously.

"The manor hasn't been attacked by the furious three ancestors, so I can emerge from the well."

With the blacksmiths' efforts to conduct ancestral rites and his daily 500 points of small luck, the death crisis of the manor was perfectly overcome.

He is very satisfied with this year's ancestral rites.

What does it matter if a few people die?

Even if they all die, it's irrelevant!

As long as his occupying the nest hasn't been discovered.

Plus, with the few thousand Qi Fortune Value accumulated over these days without spending a penny, it settled affairs perfectly, saving a few more days and reaching the next realm:

Fourth Body.

He's developing splendidly!

Among them, two blacksmiths successfully recognized their adoptive father.

This completely exceeded Ning Zheng's expectations, an overachievement in task completion!

This allowed the adamant Ning Zheng not to bow down or lower his head, yet still have an ancestor.

In the future, if someone invades the manor, calling upon the ancestor to strike, they would swiftly drag the enemy's corpse back, gifting it to the blacksmiths, for a joint research of iron forging.

The people in Pingchang City truly need to weigh their chances before attacking this manor!

"Indeed, matters of recognizing a father should be left to those skilled in recognizing fathers."

Ning Zheng summarized the crisis-averting experience, glanced at his Qi Fortune Value with satisfaction.

[Today's Qi Fortune Value: 700]

Daily fortune added a full 200 permanent, an advantage of having an ancestor backing.

Immortal cultivation isn't about fighting and killing; it's about human relationships, historical legacy.

Without ancestor graves outside the gate, without red-haired old monsters in the graves, can you claim "profound heritage?"

Without any ancestor graves, you're a homeless wild loose cultivator, the lowest in the Cultivation Realm.

"According to this calculation, two remaining ancestor graves, each might add 150 Qi Fortune Value."

"Once thoroughly mastered, with 500 Qi Fortune Value residents, I'd belong to a substantial formal sect."

Ning Zheng calculated, believing the future held promise.

However, these two are difficult to conquer.

One has explosive temperament, kills like a madman.

Another is in deep secluded cultivation, situation unknown.

Soon, Ning Zheng, confirming safety, climbed out of the well.

The light was slightly blinding.

Ning Jiaojiao happened to witness this scene in the courtyard, overjoyed: "Brother, why did you go down? Let me bring a large iron fishhook to get you up."

Ning Zheng hurriedly stopped her, indicating he was not intending to play fishing games:

"I'm just checking how well you've built the house under the well."

...

...

Sword Casting Manor.

Clang~~

The blacksmiths returned through the teleportation array to the manor, only to find the array closed.

Unable to go back, indicating the temporary instance—ancestral rites activity—has ended.

This was Ning Zheng's covert handiwork.

The teleportation array was time-restricted, never giving them another chance to approach the ancestor graves.

For Ning Zheng, less done, fewer mistakes; more done, more mistakes.

Letting them continue conversing with ancestors, should any major issue expose him, it would bring catastrophic crisis!

Soon, the blacksmiths in the manor tidied up all the ritual tools, cleaned up, and by the time they finished, it was already dusk, after five in the afternoon.

The Food God and others started cooking, igniting tonight's bonfire party.

For dinner, it was also a New Year meal, filled with various tangyuan, dumplings, buns.

Welcoming the New Year with joy.

Snap, crackle!

Firecrackers sounded again, fireworks blooming.

Everyone began to sit by the bonfire, awaiting dinner, chatting in small groups, summarizing the day's experiences.

"Ancestral rites just ended like this?"

"Celebrating New Year, it certainly feels festive."

"Don't engage in nonsensical literature."

"The remaining two ancestors didn't accept our New Year's greetings, feels rather anticlimactic."

"I think it's normal; this game emphasizes realism. Demon Cultivators are still emotionally indifferent; most demon cultivators don't acknowledge you, which is normal, otherwise the character setting crumbles."

Someone immediately rebutted:

"That's looking from a realistic angle; from a game plot design perspective, I think it's unreasonable; Bottle Ancestor deadlocked, lacking plot is expected...."

"But Stone Ancestor surely has a plot, and a beautiful red-dressed elder sister invites them in. But they definitely breached taboos!"

"Breached taboos, how so?"

"It's well-known, Embers have a killing pattern, driven by obsession before death!"

Everyone suddenly reacted.

Indeed.

Almost forgot the core setting of Embers.

Killing pattern.

All blamed on "Dizzy," possessing no presence at all.

"Dizzy" occasionally freaked out on them, glaring ominously, wishing to eat people, thus they started playing the manor's impromptu game—hide and seek, hiding together, playing around, quite cheerful.

In the end.

Those caught by "Dizzy" were unbothered.

Absolutely unafraid of being eaten by "Dizzy," they directly countered with two blows, beating "Dizzy" into a corner, drawing circles in grievance.

"Dizzy" himself held no memory of insanity.

Upon regaining clarity, instantly discovered being hit and surrounded by a group gesturing and pointing, increasingly horrified the entire manor was monstrous.

Unknowingly transplanted to a terrifying ghost-path-styled otherworld in fantasy wuxia, where's the system, the cheat... why haven't they arrived! The unluckiest transmigrator ever!

Summing it up, Embers have a killing pattern.

"What's our adoptive father's killing pattern, then?"

They straightaway called him father.

Even though the ancestor recognized only two adoptive daughters and sons.

They exchanged glances: "Our adoptive father's killing pattern—involves offspring's test issues! This, too, was his obsession while alive! Reviving family, remembered deeply even in death."

It's quite evident.

Also those two had amazing talents, stunning the ancestor into confusion and breaking his killing pattern.

Normally, they were unlikely to pass the test; if they failed the demon cultivator exam, everyone present would have perished by the hands of this sinister ghost.

Thus, this adoptive father appears bold but harbors hidden danger.

"So essentially, it's not that female ancestor doing anything special, but rather she's normal; we just coincidentally avoided adoptive father's killing pattern."

"Therefore, those four instantly died due to triggering some aspect of the boss's killing mechanism."

In the firelight, everyone excitedly discussed on site.

And Ning Zheng, observing through the spectator's perspective, quietly watched this scene.

They were indeed a bit clever.

Which grave's sinister ghost didn't ensure a nine-in-ten chance of death when encountered?

This fact truly grants Mature Businesswoman Zhang Huaping next door the most authority, almost perishing when entering ancient sinister tombs.

Yet, astonishingly, everyone survived this sinister tomb, even recognizing a father from the grave, a colossal miracle in Ning Zheng's eyes.

Miracles birthed because even ghosts found them absurd? Confounded by their unconventional moves?

"By the way, where's the Legendary Eye Squad—still not back?"

"Could it be they didn't die?"

Everyone noticed those four hadn't resurrected.

Finished cleaning, ready to eat, still no revival login, definitely problematic.

"Should I go offline to check, in [Queueing to Log In] for the Legendary Eye Squad's perspective." The Medical Fairy suggested, "Then come back to report."

"Sure."

"Go ahead."

"Remember to come back for the meal, otherwise, leftovers await later."

Medical Fairy went offline, collapsing to sleep beside the bonfire.

After ten minutes, she logged back in.

Just as everyone asked her why she was taking so long, Medical Fairy loudly exclaimed:

"Damn it, the Legendary Eye Squad over there has hidden professions, inside that grave, entered the hidden ancestral rites subline!"

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