Chapter 325: Uncle Nine
"Gunilla?"
Seeing Gunilla's body beginning to mutate into a Yoma, Rin Nohara had a bad feeling.
She was a sharp girl and clearly remembered what Gunilla had said—unless absolutely necessary, she should avoid releasing her Yoki.
Which meant that doing so came with serious side effects.
Previously, when Gunilla unleashed her Yoki, she would still talk to them and ask for cover.
But now, without saying a word, she was releasing even stronger Yoki—
which meant the backlash had already gone beyond the limit. So much so that she no longer had the time or ability to communicate.
"Stop, Gunilla…"
Rin quickly tried to intervene, activating her Healing Palm and pressing it against Gunilla's expanding skin.
She keenly sensed that Gunilla's cells were beginning to change.
And this change… even her all-purpose medical ninjutsu couldn't reverse it.
Healing Palm could even bring a dead fish back to life—yet it couldn't stop the mutation caused by the Yoki.
Which meant Gunilla might permanently turn into a Yoma.
Thinking of this possibility, Rin's pupils trembled.
She didn't want it—
even if they'd only recently met, she didn't want to see her friend sacrifice herself right before her eyes.
"What do we do? What do we do?!"
Everyone was at a loss—
until…
Ding-ling.
A bell rang.
It was the same kind of bell the Crimson-Robed Taoist used—
but this one didn't feel sinister.
It felt like the sun parting the mist—warm and comforting.
Along with the bell's sound,
the fog-enveloped graveyard tore open like a ripped cloth sack,
and a shaft of golden light broke through the rift.
"Is it him?!"
The Taoist's face changed dramatically.
He lost his composure and quickly ordered the two Muscle Zombies to finish off the group.
Boom!
Gunilla stepped forward, blocking their path. Her greatsword held back the massive limbs of the two zombies.
Her face had fully transformed into that of a Yoma,
and she growled with rage:
"I won't let you hurt my friends!"
The others quickly rushed to her aid,
using ninjutsu, breathing techniques, and swordsmanship strong enough to cut steel.
Together, they pinned the Crimson-Robed Taoist in place.
Slice!
Tanjiro twisted his head just in time to avoid a fatal swipe—
but still ended up with a long gash across his forehead.
Ding-ling…
The bell chimed a second time.
The formation shattered.
A man in a golden Taoist robe appeared,
a peachwood sword strapped to his back and a small bell in his hand.
He sprinted toward the Ren family's grave.
With a few flashes, he crossed half the cemetery in seconds.
"Tch. Once I finish crafting the Corpse Fiend, you'll all die."
The Crimson-Robed Taoist glanced reluctantly at Gunilla, then at the others.
The Muscle Zombie lifted the coffin. A gust of evil wind swept through,
and in the blink of an eye, they vanished.
[Side Quest Complete. Rewards Granted.]
Hearing the reward prompt,
everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Before they could even move,
the Taoist in gold had already arrived, frowning as he looked over the area—
especially at Gunilla, who was still partially transformed.
"Was it you who stopped the Taoist's demonic corpse from rising?"
His voice was deep and steady—full of authority.
His thick, dark brows almost touched, giving him a stern, imposing face.
Though he phrased it as a question, his tone said he already knew the answer.
"A Yoma… no, a hybrid of impure blood and fractured soul—why is such a creature inhabiting a human?"
The Taoist's frown deepened as he touched Gunilla's neck.
He muttered,
"Not purely Yoma blood. She's fully human. Did she consume flesh or hair tainted with Yoma aura?"
His insight was razor-sharp.
He pressed two fingers together like a sword and moved to slice Gunilla's shirt.
His control was precise—he wouldn't expose more skin than necessary.
Gunilla grabbed his wrist and shook her head pleadingly.
She didn't want her hideous, mutated body seen by her teammates.
"Sigh…"
The Taoist sighed,
already understanding her condition.
He took out a talisman and pressed it to her forehead.
Gunilla's raging Yoki instantly quieted.
The swirling demonic aura was sucked into the talisman like it was vacuumed away.
"I'm okay…?"
Gunilla looked at her now-normal hands, fell to one knee, and said respectfully,
"Thank you for your help."
Being sincerely thanked by such a tall, beautiful blonde girl,
the Taoist rubbed his nose and tried not to smile.
He waved a hand and said,
"No need. You're the ones who discovered the Crimson-Robed Taoist's plan. You stopped the demon corpse and saved Ren Village. I should be the one thanking you."
"I'm Uncle Nine, the Taoist from the local morgue."
[Prompt: Your reputation in Ren Village +50. Status: "Somewhat Known."]
A notification appeared for everyone,
an extra reward for completing the side quest.
The Reputation System.
This was a special feature added during the latest patch for mission worlds.
They opened the map of the Qing Kingdom,
most of which was still covered in fog.
Only Ren Village was lit up, showing their 50 reputation points.
At the top of the screen was the national reputation of Qing Kingdom—
currently zero.
It was said that if players built up enough reputation by completing quests,
they would earn powerful rewards.
That's why so many factions were pouring high-level players and resources into mission worlds.
"This one's on me."
Uncle Nine sighed.
"Not long ago, Ren's family head came to me for help relocating his ancestor's grave."
"I agreed to assist. But just as I was preparing, two villages to the east were wiped out by vengeful spirits.
While I was busy exorcising them, the Crimson-Robed Taoist snuck in, deceived Ren's family, and almost caused a catastrophe!"
Even Uncle Nine was confused.
Normally, ghosts and zombies only caused trouble sporadically—maybe once in several years.
After all, zombies were born of hatred, yin energy, and filth—
conditions that were hard to meet.
You'd only get a zombie if someone was buried in a cursed place
or if many people died in a mass grave.
Ghosts were even rarer.
They needed someone to die with extreme resentment,
have an "extremely yin" birth chart, and absorb enough dark energy after death.
That kind of soul was rare to begin with.
And yet…
now zombies and ghosts were popping up nonstop.
In just a few years, more had appeared than in all of Qing Kingdom's history.
Even Uncle Nine couldn't figure it out.
Meanwhile, in the Reincarnation Game space—
Fang Yi was sculpting a new rune,
while the white-haired loli hovered nearby, craning her neck to watch.
She didn't get it,
but she wanted to watch anyway.
Fang Yi wordlessly reached out and pushed her away.
Then he explained,
"There are two kinds of corruption: one is brute force—send monsters to attack head-on."
Back then, the loli had been steamrolled by such an invasion—
and had to flee in disgrace.
That method only worked on weak, Tier-1 worlds.
Stronger worlds were too costly to conquer like that.
"So instead, in places like Qing Kingdom Ghost Stories, they infect the core first—like a zombie virus.
The corruption spreads quietly until the world is devoured."
The loli sulked, a little unhappy at being called weak—
but couldn't refute it.
The Qing Kingdom world was a fusion of spiritual horror set in the Republican era.
With the dragon vein polluted, all sorts of monsters and dark sorcerers had begun to spawn.
The Wind and Cloud world was similar.
Fang Yi had opened nine mission worlds at once because their corruption levels were still low—
making them easy to purge quickly.
When that happened,
the weakened world consciousnesses would abandon their resistance and side with the Reincarnation Game.
They'd become part of his territory.
The white-haired loli—Ah Fu—awkwardly asked,
"Master, haven't the players hit their limit? Do they still have the energy to cleanse nine worlds?"
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