**[Hannya Kitetsu (Purple)]**
**[Level 7]**
**[Qi Attack: +50]**
**[Mental Power: +10]**
**[Trait: Bloodlust]**
**[Description: Crafted using the flesh and hair of a Hannya tainted with an unknown aura, along with countless pieces of cheap steel, fueled by the sacrifice of the blacksmith’s life.]**
The tachi in her hand emitted a faint, eerie glow. The moment Luo Taozhi unsheathed it, a status effect appeared on her bar — **[Bloodlust]**.
**[[Bloodlust]: When active, reduces the user’s Health Points by 10% per minute, but increases damage by 5% when attacking.]**
Luo Taozhi brushed her fingertip against the tachi’s hilt, feeling the cold texture and sharpness emanating from the blade. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
‘Very real.’
The sensation this tachi gave Luo Taozhi was familiar and incredibly realistic.
It was a demonic blade forged through a life sacrifice. Although the aura was faint, she couldn’t be mistaken about the feeling.
It was very similar to the aura of the Demonic Sect’s magical artifacts she had seen in Another World, yet it lacked Spiritual Energy, an artifact spirit, or even demonic qi.
‘Could it be a commonality in Blood Sacrifice Forging? …It isn’t impossible.’
The problem was, wasn’t this a game?
Luo Taozhi opened her Attribute Panel.
[Attribute Panel]
ID: Xiao Taozhi
Level: 7
HP: 900 (700+200)
MP: 870 (700+170)
(Note: Starting HP/MP is 100. +100 per Level)
Mental Power: 45 (25+20)
Qi Attack: 120 (30+90)
Qi Defense: 60 (25+35)
(Note: Starting Mental Power, Qi Attack, and Qi Defense is 10. +5 every 2 Levels)
Attribute Points: 0
Skills: Basic Swordplay MAX, Basic Footwork MAX, Longsword Mastery MAX, Weakness Insight MAX, Qi Gathering MAX
Equipment: Hannya Kitetsu (Purple), Hannya Breastplate (Blue), Hannya Helmet (Blue), Wolf Tooth Necklace (Green), Wolf King Belt (Green), Wolf Skin Boots (White)
Indeed, it was an Attribute Panel.
Once she confirmed this, Luo Taozhi immediately chose to log out.
***
In reality.
After taking off the game helmet, Luo Taozhi looked at her familiar modern room and the helmet in her hands. She raised her finger and swiped at the air twice.
As expected, no game panel popped up. She circulated the Spiritual Power within her body to inspect herself.
Her Nascent Soul Dao Foundation was stable, and her soul bore no trace of illusion techniques.
After confirming that everything was normal, Luo Taozhi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She was still herself, reality was still reality, and she wasn’t trapped in some illusion.
Even in Another World, as someone who had already achieved the Nascent Soul stage, it would be impossible for her to fall under an illusion without leaving a single trace.
‘In that case…’
Luo Taozhi carefully observed the helmet in her hands, sending her Divine Sense through the exterior material into its internal components.
The interior was filled with circuits, electronic components, and other things she didn’t understand. She couldn’t see anything abnormal at all.
‘That makes things very interesting.’
The mechanics of Qi Gathering, the demonic methods of Blood Sacrifice Forging… could there really be such a coincidence in this world?
However, since she truly couldn’t find any abnormalities for now, she could only let it go.
Donning the helmet again, she logged back into the game. She immediately saw Priestess Granny looking at her anxiously, while Yoshimura Umeko stood by her side, trying to comfort the old woman.
“Benefactor?! Benefactor! What’s wrong with you?!”
“It’s nothing, Granny. She’s… she’s just lost in thought.”
“But… she’s been dazed like this for half a day. No matter how much I call her, she doesn’t respond. Could it be…”
Seeing how worried the Priestess Granny was, Luo Taozhi moved and quickly spoke up to interrupt her.
“I’m fine! I’m fine.”
‘If I let Granny keep thinking, she’ll probably finish planning my funeral…’
Hearing Luo Taozhi speak, the Priestess Granny’s expression finally softened significantly.
Beside her, Yoshimura Umeko added, “See, Granny? I told you the Benefactor was fine.”
“Yes… Yes! You young people really do understand each other better. I’m just getting old~”
“Uh, well… not exactly… but close enough.”
Yoshimura Umeko wanted to say that wasn’t the reason, but she didn’t know how to explain it to Granny, so she simply went along with her words.
Luo Taozhi listened to their conversation, looking at Yoshimura Umeko with genuine interest.
After witnessing a method like Blood Sacrifice Forging, her suspicions had been piqued. Looking at Yoshimura Umeko again, the girl’s behavior became quite thought-provoking.
When she first met her in the forest, Luo Taozhi had been tempted to kill her just to see if she would drop any equipment. Back then, she seemed no different from any other NPC in a typical game.
But after arriving at the village and meeting the Priestess Granny, this girl’s intelligence seemed to have spiked significantly.
She appeared to be different from the Priestess Granny.
Luo Taozhi remembered the Priestess Granny saying that she had picked up Yoshimura Umeko outside years ago.
In other words, she was special!
“Umeko, how did you know what I was doing just now?” Luo Taozhi asked conversationally.
However, Yoshimura Umeko froze for a moment.
“I… I guessed.” She was lying.
The moment Yoshimura Umeko saw Luo Taozhi, it was as if she understood her purpose.
She could vaguely feel that her task was to guide people like Luo Taozhi to defeat the Large Hannya every day.
This was also why she dared to assure the Priestess Granny that the Large Hannya would definitely be defeated.
Just now, seeing Luo Taozhi standing there motionless, her first instinct was to pull Luo Taozhi away from the sight of the Granny and the villagers.
Yoshimura Umeko also knew for a fact that Luo Taozhi was perfectly fine; she was simply temporarily not there.
Just temporarily gone… It was a strange feeling.
Even though Luo Taozhi’s body was right there in front of her eyes, her brain kept telling her one thing.
‘It’s fine. She just left for a moment. she’ll be back soon…’
She didn’t understand it, but she found herself believing the voice in her head.
Luo Taozhi—the Benefactor—was fine; she was just temporarily absent.
As for where she went, Yoshimura Umeko couldn’t comprehend it, nor did she want to. She only needed to know the fact.
Hearing her explanation, Luo Taozhi looked at her with a smile.
“Then your guess was quite accurate~ You even knew I went offline?”
“My intuition has always been sharp. Plus, as a Jujutsu Master, I have the ability to communicate with souls.”
Yoshimura Umeko’s expression instantly became incredibly natural. The confidence and liveliness in her eyes held not a shred of falsehood.
Yet, it was precisely because it was too natural that it felt unnatural!
“Offline? What does ‘offline’ mean? Is that some slang for you young people?”
The Priestess Granny, hearing this from the side, was completely bewildered and chimed in with a question.
“But Umeko is right. She’s been smart since she was a child. She never cried or made a fuss. Whenever something big was about to happen in the village, she always had some kind of premonition.”
“This child is the lucky star of our village!”
The Priestess Granny grew more enthusiastic as she spoke, launching into a non-stop stream of stories about Yoshimura Umeko’s childhood as if she could go on forever.
Meanwhile, Yoshimura Umeko’s face turned beet red as she tried to stop the Priestess Granny from sharing any more embarrassing childhood stories.
Everything was so logical and natural.