Although the Magic Thoughts were related to a five-star mission, it still required fate to complete.
Magic Thoughts were not something to be taken lightly. Once affected, they could cause real-world problems for a person, making them extremely dangerous.
"No, it's not possible!" Tiger Roar Heaven shook his head decisively.
"These Magic Thoughts have been struggling with me for twenty years and hold deep grudges against me. If we let them recover, they will eventually come back to haunt me."
As he spoke, he took out a storage ring, waved his hand, and a surge of energy enveloped the Magic Source Bead, sealing it inside the ring, which he then handed to Su Nan.
"I will seal the bead in this storage ring for now. As long as the ring is not opened, even if the Magic Thoughts recover within a month, they won't be able to escape."
"Afterward, I will figure out a solution."
Only trapped for a month?
Su Nan's heart sank. He suddenly understood why the quest had a one-month countdown.
If a solution to the Magic Thoughts wasn't found within a month, they would be free to emerge on their own.
However, he wasn't particularly worried. It was just a five-star mission; he could choose not to complete it. If, in the final moments, Tiger Roar Heaven found a solution and helped him complete a five-star mission, it would be the best outcome. Otherwise, he could just discard the ring. After all, the one who would suffer was Tiger Roar Heaven.
With this in mind, Su Nan accepted the ring.
For now, the matter of the Magic Thoughts came to a temporary conclusion.
"It's been a long time since I've been out and about. I wonder if those old folks still remember me." Tiger Roar Heaven thought of something and showed a look of anticipation in his eyes.
"Younger brother, I haven't been out for over twenty years. I want to visit some old friends. I'll leave first. If you have any matters, you can find me in the Tianyun County."
Saying this, without waiting for Su Nan's response, he disappeared into the cave.
"Tianyun County? That's convenient," Su Nan nodded.
Leaving the cave, the ghastly spirits that had roamed the forest had all disappeared, apparently collected by Tiger Roar Heaven.
At the same time.
At the foot of the mountain, just as the ghastly spirits disappeared, Ji Changfeng and the others were the first to notice something was amiss.
"All the ghastly spirits have disappeared. Could it be that the outsider succeeded?" Ji Changfeng said.
"They succeeded just like that?" Song Zhi and the others were even more astonished.
In their view, the Tiger Demon was at least a king-level demon, and even if someone had a way to lure out the Magic Thoughts, it wouldn't be something that could be done in a short time. If it were that easy, the Tiger Demon wouldn't have been troubled for so many years.
The three of them exchanged glances and could only marvel at the strangeness of the outsider's methods.
"Ye Ge must have succeeded, I'm sure of it."
"Quick, check the rankings. I wonder how much Ye Ge has improved this time."
"Ling-level is definitely within reach!"
On the other side, a few players were overjoyed.
At this moment, Su Nan transformed back into the appearance of Zhang Yang using the Transformation of the Worlds, and he appeared out of thin air at the location where he had disappeared before.
Seeing him appear, a few players bragged, "Zhang Yang, you came at just the right time. Ye Ge's mission has already been completed."
"Really? Congratulations to him," Su Nan smiled.
The players were even more pleased with themselves.
They didn't know that Li Ye, at this moment, had an extremely unpleasant expression.
When the Tiger Roar resounded, his mind was tense, a mixture of nervousness and anticipation, preparing for an encounter with the Tiger Demon. However, after waiting for a while, he didn't see the Tiger Demon. Instead, he received a game notification:
"Your main quest 'The Curse of Magic Thoughts,' Second Phase, has been completed by another player. The Third Phase is now available. Please check your quest log."
"Completed by another player?"
Li Ye was dumbfounded for a moment, unable to react.
A moment later, he suddenly woke up, realizing the meaning of the notification.
"Impossible! How could someone else trigger this quest besides me?"
"Moreover, besides me, there shouldn't be any other players on this mountain, right?"
Ignoring the ghastly spirits wandering around, Li Ye stood up abruptly, full of disbelief.
He hastily opened the quest panel, and when he saw that the Second Phase of The Curse of Magic Thoughts had truly disappeared, he was completely dumbfounded.
The change in the quest was beyond his comprehension!
"What... what's going on?" Li Ye was filled with doubts. He even began to suspect if the game had a bug.
However, that wasn't the end of it.
Shortly after, he noticed that the ghastly spirits that had been roaming around seemed to be recalled and disappeared into thin air as if they had never existed.
This change clearly indicated to him that it wasn't a bug in the game; his quest had truly been completed by someone else.
"Could it be that someone triggered this quest before me and arrived at Tiger Roar Town ahead of me?"
Li Ye was unwilling to accept it, but he couldn't deny the reality in front of him.
"No matter who you are, if you've taken my quest, we're not done!"
Li Ye's face darkened, and his gaze fell on another mainline quest. He made up his mind.
The Curse of Magic Thoughts was no longer his concern, and now he could only rely on another quest!
Li Ye descended the mountain in a daze.
When he returned, a few players quickly greeted him.
"Congratulations, Ye Ge, on completing the quest!"
Li Ye ignored them and instead fixed his gaze on Su Nan, a suspicion forming in his mind.
Could it be him?
Li Ye wondered, but then he shook his head, dismissing the possibility. In his view, Su Nan was just an accidental visitor to Tiger Roar Town and couldn't have triggered The Curse of Magic Thoughts quest.
He had no way of knowing that there were items like Mainline Quest Replicators in the game, and only the first and second-ranked players had access to them.
Unfortunately, he would never find out about this.
Li Ye spoke in a dark tone, "Did you guys see anyone else coming down from the mountain?"
"Anyone else? No."
The players shook their heads, puzzled by Li Ye's question.
Su Nan walked over and smiled, "Li Ye, I heard you completed a four-star mission, congratulations!"
Ji Changfeng said, "Young friend, we have to thank you this time. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't know how long we would be stuck here."
Song Zhi patted Li Ye on the shoulder and said, "Your name is Li Ye, right? We owe you a favor this time. If you ever need help in the future, you can find me at the Demon Slayer Bureau in Jiuting County."
Li Ye's face darkened, and he didn
't say anything.
He certainly couldn't admit that he had solved the Tiger Demon issue himself; that would be like slapping himself in the face.
With Tiger Roar Heaven's departure, the strange power that had kept Tiger Roar Town inaccessible had also disappeared.
Su Nan and the others found their original carriage and continued on their way to Tianyun County.
As Su Nan left the range of Tiger Roar Town, the completion notification for the quest appeared before him.
"Congratulations, you have completed the daily quest 'Escape from Tiger Roar Town,' and you have been rewarded with 30 demon power points."
Chapter 133: Invitation to Lead the Extermination Bureau
[Current available demon power: 60 points.]
With 60 points, it was enough to elevate a demon technique to perfection.
Out of the three characters, Wang Nan and Lang Shisan had already achieved perfection in their demon techniques. To further advance, they would need to merge bloodlines.
Now, the only character Su Nan could still upgrade was Zhang Yang.
"Li Ye's mission has just been snatched away, and he must be trying to find out who took his quest. It's difficult to proceed with the upgrade now without arousing his suspicion."
"Let's wait a little longer."
The carriage returned to the official road leading to Tianyun County.
Due to the delay in Tiger Roar Town, the journey that should have taken three hours now required four.
On the carriage, Ji Changfeng did not relax after leaving Tiger Roar Town. Instead, his expression became even more serious.
"We're not far from Tianyun County now. If nothing unexpected happens, we should arrive in half an hour."
"We entered Tiger Roar Town earlier because we were influenced by the power of the demon beasts. That demon beast is probably not ordinary and may not have left."
"Everyone, be cautious!"
Su Nan also didn't dare to be careless and used three foresight opportunities.
Song Zhi and the others had learned their lesson and each took out their daggers, prepared to stab their palms if they started to doze off.
Fortunately, there were no further surprises this time.
Half an hour later.
The group spotted a massive city from afar.
They had arrived at Tianyun County.
"We've finally arrived!" Song Zhi and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
Tianyun County was truly the center of the entire Tianyun County. The towering city walls seemed endless, and even from a distance, they felt imposing.
The once bustling Jiuting County now appeared tiny in front of Tianyun County.
The carriage continued, heading straight for the county governor's mansion in the city center.
Upon entering Tianyun County, the completion notification for the mission appeared once again.
"Congratulations, you have completed the daily quest 'Escort Ji Changfeng to Tianyun County.' 30 demon power points have been awarded."
[Current available demon power: 90 points.]
Another three-star mission completed, and a smile appeared on Su Nan's lips.
When he checked the rankings, he noticed that Qian Yu had already reached the Spirit level and was ranked behind Zhang Yang.
Following Qian Yu were Li Longfei, Li Ye, Zhou Cheng, and Yang Zheng, all of whom had achieved perfection in four demon techniques.
Clearly, the rewards from the survival mission had greatly boosted their progress.
"It's about time to upgrade." Su Nan no longer hesitated.
Consuming a total of eighty demon power points, he advanced the Serpent Bloodline from unlearned to perfection.
He also gained a new bloodline martial technique and had his foresight count increased by three, bringing it to a total of 33 times.
A little over ten minutes later.
The carriage came to a stop in front of the county governor's mansion.
Ji Changfeng quickly got off the carriage and said, "Wait here, everyone. I'll report to the county governor first."
Song Zhi and the others nodded and disembarked from the carriage, waiting outside.
After a stick of incense burned.
Ji Changfeng emerged from the county governor's mansion and looked at Su Nan. "Young friend, come with me. The county governor wishes to see you."
"Very well!" Su Nan didn't hesitate and followed Ji Changfeng into the county governor's mansion.
The county governor's mansion was grand and imposing, heavily guarded, even more so than the Wolf King's Palace in the Sky Wolf Tribe.
Su Nan followed Ji Changfeng into a magnificent hall.
An elderly man with a youthful appearance sat on a raised platform. Even in his silent presence, he exuded a commanding aura.
The old man looked at Su Nan and said, "You are the third-ranked outsider, correct?"
"That's me," Su Nan replied.
The old man nodded, "Your situation has been explained to me by Changfeng. Now, I have a question for you: are you willing to join the Extermination Bureau of the Great Yu Dynasty?"
"Yes," Su Nan replied.
"Very well! In recognition of your merits in escorting Changfeng and your rapid growth as an outsider, equivalent to the Profound level, I am willing to make an exception and appoint you..."
The old man paused for a moment and then said, "I am willing to make you the director of the Extermination Bureau in Tianyun County. Are you willing to accept this position?"
The director of the Extermination Bureau?
Su Nan was somewhat surprised.
This position was not low. Ji Changfeng, who was at the Profound level late-stage, was only a bureau chief of a county.
Now, the county governor was directly offering him the position of director of the Extermination Bureau in Tianyun County, and Su Nan couldn't help but wonder what the county governor had in mind.
Su Nan hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether to accept this position.
On the side, Ji Changfeng heard the county governor's words and also revealed a look of astonishment.
He hadn't expected the county governor to offer Su Nan the position of bureau director directly.
However, he quickly thought of something and didn't say much. Instead, he turned to Su Nan, waiting for his decision.
Su Nan's thoughts raced.
He had wanted to join the Extermination Bureau as Zhang Yang for the possible region-wide mission related to repairing the Heavenly Seal Prohibition.
If that mission did involve repairing the Heavenly Seal Prohibition, then being part of the Extermination Bureau would give him a significant advantage over ordinary players.
After all, this incident was spearheaded by the Great Yu Dynasty.
Realizing Su Nan's hesitation, the county governor fell silent for a moment before saying, "You don't need to overthink it. The reason I'm offering you the position of director is not only because of your rapid growth as an outsider, but more importantly, because you won't die."
When he said the words "won't die," the county governor deliberately emphasized them.
Upon hearing this, Su Nan's heart stirred, and he made his decision. "Since County Governor values me so highly, I will gladly accept and serve."
"Excellent! I knew I didn't misjudge you!" The county governor's face revealed a smile.
Next, the county governor made some arrangements regarding the Blue-Gold Stone, dispatching two Profound-level powerhouses to accompany Ji Changfeng as they left.
Su Nan, on the other hand, was led by a guard named Tian He to the Extermination Bureau.
On the way, Tian He spoke in a low voice, "Director Zhang, Tianyun County is a treacherous place. As the director of the Extermination Bureau, you'll be in a high position, but the risks are enormous. Be cautious."
Su Nan asked, "Captain Tian, do you know what happened to the previous director of the Extermination Bureau in Tianyun County?"
Tian He didn't directly answer but instead asked, "Do you know how the previous director of the Extermination Bureau in Tianyun County died?"
Su Nan's mind raced, and he asked, "Was it because of demons?"
"That's right!"
Tian He nodded with a grave expression.
"Tianyun County may seem to be controlled by our human race, with many strong individuals, but it is also a gathering place for demons in secret. There are at least two Demon Kings openly present in the city."
"Not only the previous director, but even several predecessors were all killed by demons."
"The one who served the longest in this position didn't exceed a year, and the shortest one didn't last more than seven days!"
"Is that so!" Su Nan suddenly realized why the county governor had offered him this position.
However, he wasn't afraid.
He was a player, and the ability to resurrect was one aspect. More importantly, he had another identity.
He could easily infiltrate the ranks of the city's demons with his Wolf Demon identity and gather information about their plans.
At that time, who was the prey and who was the hunter remained to be seen.
With these thoughts in mind, a faint smile appeared on Su Nan's lips.
Looking at Tian He, Su Nan said, "Thank you, Captain Tian, for informing me. If there's a need in the future, feel free to give me orders."
Tian He replied, "Director Zhang, you're too polite. I just didn't want to see you die without understanding the situation."
(End of this chapter)