Who let him join the Sword Sect!

Chapter 404 Everyone's art style is off
The next day, noon.

Zhang Ze donned his black outfit, a style he hadn't worn in a long time, and styled his hair like an adult.

After fixing his hair and rubbing his face to make it look as handsome as if it had been sculpted by a knife, Zhang Ze pointed a finger at the full-length mirror in front of him and shouted, "Platinum Star!"

However, he waited for a long time but no substitute appeared behind him.

"Hmm, where's Ah Li?"

I was supposed to cosplay a Stand user today, but the most important Stand is nowhere to be seen.

Zhang Ze searched the inner room and finally found the note left by Ah Li under the table.

I'm going fishing in the Qinghe River. Have fun by yourself, bye!

"Alas, pigs grow too big to stay at home," Zhang Ze sighed.

Seeing that Ah Li was not there, Zhang Ze planned to invite his junior sister to go with him, but after calling her several times, he still couldn't find her.

"Chen Qin! Junior sister! Xiao Qin!"

It was just here a moment ago.

In the blink of an eye, he was the only one left in the courtyard.

"Never mind, go by yourself."

Zhang Ze sighed, pushed open the door and left the room, heading towards the underground city.

Yesterday, I discussed it with Li Yueqi and we agreed that we would only send one piece of information to Li Jue today.

If Li Jue can realize his mistake in time, then the matter can be dropped.

But if he remains obstinate, then he must be thoroughly tortured.

After descending the mountain, we arrived at the core of the Thousand Machines Pavilion underground city, a building that looked like a round tower.

This place was originally the old plaza of the underground city and covers a very large area.

In addition to integrating the control center into the tower, it also uses teleportation arrays and floating platforms to link it with other open facilities in the Thousand Machine Pavilion.

However, because it has not yet been officially opened, the underground city square, which should have been bustling with activity, was quite deserted.

"Good morning, Senior Sister Qiao."

As Zhang Ze passed by the door, he greeted Qiao Lezhi, who was lying in a rocking chair, seemingly either on duty or taking a nap.

"Oh, Junior Brother Zhang is here too, good morning."

Qiao Lezhi didn't move, and casually replied, her voice sounding muffled because her face was covered by a book.

Zhang Ze walked over with a smile, but he quickly turned back.

"Wait a minute? Senior Sister Qiao, how did you recognize me? I've already disguised myself!"

Zhang Ze, who was quite confident in his disguise skills, asked in bewilderment.

Qiao Lezhi took the book off his face and yawned. "Because people with Primordial Chaos Body can sense each other, you don't even understand. In my perception, you're just like a big light bulb."

Zhang Ze: "Then why didn't I feel anything?"

"Because you still have flaws now, once you have completely refined the remaining two golden cores and learned my Primordial Sensing Technique, you will be able to succeed just like me."

"Memorize the incantation for this spell first," Qiao Lezhi said, tossing the book aside and stretching out.

Zhang Ze was about to agree, but then he suddenly realized that learning this trick wouldn't be very useful.

The only known beings with a primordial body are themselves and Qiao Lezhi, who are human, and the little dinosaur who is not human. There are only two people and one dragon in total, so what's the point of them sensing each other?

If you need anything, just contact Little Walnut.

As for the little dinosaur, the kids aren't allowed to play with the little walnuts; they have to study hard.

"I have something to do right now, let's talk about it later," Zhang Ze replied casually.

But before he could leave, Qiao Lezhi grabbed his sleeve.

"No! You must learn it! This is a spell I painstakingly developed myself; do you know how precious it is?"

"Besides, you know my memory. What if I forget it tomorrow? This skill can only be learned by you and me. What if it gets lost?"

Zhang Ze, “.”

Unable to resist Qiao Lezhi's brute force, Zhang Ze finally entered the round tower after spending some time memorizing the useless spell.

As originally planned, he and Li Jue would enter the dungeon as lucky cultivators who won the trial cards, and the entire process would be just the two of them.

However, when Zhang Ze arrived at the destination, he found that something seemed amiss.

There are too many people here.

Before Li Jue even arrived, three burly men were already standing in the room.

The three men were all over two meters tall, with bulging muscles, and their chiseled faces showed nothing but unwavering determination.

The first person was dressed in black, resembled Lu Xun, and exuded the aura of a great leader.

The second person was dressed in yellow, with a DIO-like expression, standing there arrogantly, looking at everyone as if they were bread.

The third person was an old man who looked somewhat senile, sitting in a corner playing with a purple vine in his hand.

Looking at these three, Zhang Ze almost thought he had wandered onto the wrong movie set. It was as if someone would use Star Platinum or unleash a Sea Tiger Explosive Punch at any moment.

Although his own style isn't exactly normal either.

Zhang Ze looked at those people, and they looked at him in return.

He thought of his junior sister who had disappeared that morning, and Li Yueqi, whom he had also been unable to contact that morning.

"You are?"

The burly man in yellow strode towards Zhang Ze with an arrogant air, "Senior brother~ what do you think of this outfit?"

Zhang Zeyu gently pushed away his junior sister who was about to hug him, saying, "Don't hug me yet, I'm allergic to your face right now."

He then looked at Lu Xun in black, "Li Yueqi?"

"Call me the Grand Commander of Hell, thank you," Li Yueqi said coolly to Zhang Ze.

“And this one…” Zhang Ze looked at the old man in the corner.

"I just came to take a look around, you don't need to worry about me."

It was Old Tang's voice.

Zhang Ze, "..."

Looking at the group of people whose style he had led to a complete collapse, Zhang Ze felt extremely regretful.

As the instigator and the source of all the pollution, he swore to the lamp that if he could do it all over again, he would never plagiarize again.

At best, I could only be a Li Bai.

"I said, can we switch everything back?" Zhang Ze said weakly.

"Why? I think this outfit looks really cool." The junior sister twirled around.

"Don't you think our current style is a bit out of place here?" Zhang Ze said, pointing to the antique-style room.

It would be fine if there was only one person, but now that there are four of them together, something is not right.

Even if Li Jue were naive, he would have noticed that these people had something wrong with them.

Li Yueqi thought about it and agreed. She got up and pulled away the junior sister who wanted to add another man to Zhang Zenan's body.

Old Tang snapped his fingers, and his jacket transformed into a green Taoist robe, while the purple vine in his hand turned into a thermos. He dragged a chair to the door.

He instantly transformed from a useless old man into a legendary, unassuming night watchman.

……

"So, why are you all here too?"

Zhang Ze, who had already disguised himself as a normal person, looked at Li Yueqi and Chen Qin sitting opposite him and asked.

They've now become twin bald giants. Although they're still a bit abnormal, at least the style has returned to that of Dongzhou.

"It's my grandfather. He found out about Li Jue's situation and he plans to take action himself to teach Li Jue a lesson."

"I was worried, so I came along."

Li Yueqi said helplessly.

"And what about you?" Zhang Ze asked, looking at his junior sister.

Chen Qin, "Just like Dao Ye, I'm here to join in the fun."

Zhang Ze, "..."

Just as Zhang Ze was about to ask Old Master Li how he planned to punish his beloved grandson, Old Tang's voice rang in his ears.

"The rightful owner has arrived."

Several people shut up immediately.

A moment later, Jin Lijue pushed open the door and walked in.

Looking at Li Jue's expression, Zhang Ze heard Li Yueqi sigh almost imperceptibly.

The junior sister whispered, "I should have known better than to change my clothes."

Surprisingly, Li Jue also came in disguise.

He was shirtless, with seven scars on his chest arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper, and his buttocks and chin were round and plump, making him look like a wasteland killer king.

"I am Jian Chilang of the Big Dipper Seven Stars Sect!"

Li Jue, disguised, spoke in a hoarse voice. Zhang Ze didn't know how to comment.

He was being careful, but he was completely unaware that he was about to be disciplined by his family.

To say he was careless is an overstatement; he even had to disguise himself to stroll around Qianji Pavilion.

Looking at Li Jue, whose style was quite different, Zhang Ze sighed and decided to upgrade his oath.

If he could do it all over again, he swore to the Star God that he would never plagiarize again.

What followed is self-explanatory; it was nothing more than a series of necessary procedures. After completing the registration step by step, just before entering the teleportation array, Zhang Ze quietly transmitted his voice to Li Yueqi.

"Where does the old man plan to torture Li Jue? Leifeng Pagoda or Blood Moon Sea?"

Li Yueqi, "Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, Sanxing Xieyue Cave".

Zhang Ze, "?"

He didn't remember this level being in the dungeon; it was obvious that Elder Li had secretly created it himself.

but.
"Wait a minute, I wrote Journey to the West as a romance novel. Does the old man really read this?"

Before he could upgrade his oath again, changing the object of his oath from the Star God to the Sun, Zhang Ze was instantly transported to the underground city.

……

A burst of powerful music started playing in my ears.

[Dengdengdengdengdengdengdiaodiudiudiu]

The electronic music from the Tang Dynasty in the East made Zhang Ze's ears hurt.

Hearing this familiar song, Zhang Ze had a bad feeling.

'Oh no, are we going to have to start with the journey to the West to get the scriptures?'

However, when the electronic music ended and the main feature began, Zhang Ze realized that his worries were unnecessary.

As expected of the Beast Taming Sect Master, Old Master Li had a remarkably long-term vision. He didn't dwell too much on the original story; instead, he went straight to Black Myth.

Well, it went from a romance version of Journey to the West to Black Myth on fast forward. Heaven knows what the old man was thinking while watching it.
A monologue devoid of emotion echoed in Zhang Ze's ears.

[West Niu He Zhou, Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, 300 years after the true scriptures returned to the Tang Dynasty.]

The autumn wind was chilly, and the voices of people were sobbing, but all that reached Zhang Ze's ears was the word "hunger."

"Hungry."

Zhang Ze wasn't hungry, because he had eaten a full breakfast.

He wanted to join in and add some excitement, but he couldn't bring himself to speak.

His mouth was sealed with layers upon layers of red cloth.

Zhang Ze was transformed into a child and, along with ten other children of similar appearance, was tied to a bamboo platform covered with red cloth.

The red cloth was mottled, it was hard to tell whether it was stained with dust or blood, and it was so tight that Zhang Ze could not move.

Zhang Ze turned his head to see if his junior sister Li Jue and the others were there, but the red cloth was tied too tightly, and he could only see a small part of the scene around him out of the corner of his eye.

Red banners fluttered, and black cloths hung down, scraping against the dark, withered skin of the accompanying villagers.

Perhaps the bamboo platform was too heavy, or perhaps the mountain steps were too steep, so they climbed on all fours, devoutly and painfully.

The interplay of the real and the unreal makes this level incredibly realistic, thanks to Mr. Li's work.

But here's the problem: if the plan was to torture and educate Li Jue, why did the old man arrest me?
After bouncing around on the bamboo platform for a while, Zhang Ze saw the cave at the top of the mountain.

Fortunately, judging from the plaque, it's still on Lingtai Fangcun Mountain and wasn't sent to Night City.

However, only the character "斜" (xié, meaning slanting or oblique) remains of the original character "斜" (xié, meaning slanting or oblique), which is somewhat laughable.

The bamboo platform was raised a little higher, and he saw the Taoist priest standing under the slanted character.

"It should be a Taoist priest," Zhang Ze thought, somewhat uncertain.

The Taoist priest had a rather large head, very uneven teeth, and long strands of hair clung to his bald head, fluttering in the wind.

His robes didn't fit him well; they were loose and baggy, and through the collar, you could see his ribs, which were as withered and thin as those of the villagers.

His eyes were sunken, his features were like a child's, but his gaze was like an old man's.

The bamboo platform stopped, and all Zhang Ze could see was that slanted character again.

However, just as the Taoist was about to speak, a small Qilin, whose style seemed completely out of place, suddenly emerged from behind him, jumped onto the bamboo platform, and snorted at Zhang Ze.

The carefully crafted atmosphere of the Dharma-ending Age was completely ruined by that snort and the little Qilin's shiny scales.

Zhang Ze, “.”

The Taoist priest, “.”

It's a mistake.

Logically speaking, any continuity errors should be stopped, but there are always some experiential learners who get too caught up in the act.

Just as the Taoist priest retrieved the little Qilin that had wandered in, before he could even speak, an old man crawled out from the crowd and knelt before the Taoist priest, bowing his head.

"Immortal, we have brought the boy..."

"I humbly beseech the immortal... to grant me some..."

"Here you go," the Taoist priest said, tossing a gray cloth bag across the old man's forehead before he could finish speaking.

The bag contained millet, a small handful of millet.

“Immortal, this…” the old man said, clutching the cloth bag and glancing sideways at the Taoist.

"Damn it, wait until I finish my lines!" the old man whispered.

"I'll give it to you," the Taoist priest said, remaining silent as if he hadn't heard a word.

"Immortal, there has been a severe drought for ten days..." The very professional old man crawled forward two more steps.

"Hurry up and leave!" The Taoist priest, finally unable to hold back any longer, bent down and helped the old man, who was still deeply immersed in his role, to his feet.

The old man roared, showing none of his previous humility, "Why are you leaving? You haven't even kicked me yet! There's still the scene where you eat children. Follow the script, you dog!"

The Taoist priest said, "What are you acting for? You've already given yourself away."

The old man said, "You useless piece of trash! I told you I was going to play the Taoist priest, and you're playing an old man. You can't even keep up the mistake after saying two sentences. Don't you have any professional ethics?!"

The Taoist priest said, "What does this have to do with me? It's all your fault, you bastard! If you're going to put on a show, then put on a show. Why did you bring your spirit pet? Your little bean just jumped onto the bamboo platform, didn't you know?"

The old man exclaimed, "Huh? When did it come along?"

It is obvious that the two people know each other.

This scene is constructed from the story, not from anyone's memory. In order to make it realistic, Master Li brought many of his disciples here to act as important NPCs.

The two brothers argued for a while before remembering Zhang Ze, who was tied to the platform.

"Ahem, Senior Brother Li, please keep this a secret. Just pretend you didn't see anything, and we'll start over," the disciple disguised as the big-headed Taoist said awkwardly.

Senior Brother Li?
Zhang Ze was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses. These two people had mistaken him for Li Jue.

Another bug has appeared.

The new dungeon has been buggy; occasionally, the identity of the player will be misplaced in this dungeon that combines reality and illusion.

'But didn't Lily say the bug was fixed? Why is it still there?'

Before Zhang Ze could explain, the Beast Taming Sect disciple, who had transformed into a Taoist, flicked his whisk and fast-forwarded to the next scene.

"You are fortunate to have the opportunity to become disciples of Patriarch Bodhi today."

"Come with me to pay respects to our master."

A cloud of black mist rose without wind, swirling up the bamboo platform.

Upon entering the courtyard, there were no gods or Buddhas; everything before my eyes was either gray or black.

Looking up, spider webs were stuck to the gray-black wooden frame, which was connected to the gray-black brackets, and gray-black broken tiles were placed on the brackets.

Even the half-collapsed incense burner in the courtyard, and the countless handprints on it, were grayish-black, exuding a deathly aura.

To be honest, the old man arranged it quite meticulously.

After setting Zhang Ze down from the bamboo platform, the Beast Taming Sect disciple, disguised as a Taoist priest, winked at Zhang Ze, signaling him to go inside by himself.

"Brother Li, don't panic. The old man isn't here right now, and he doesn't intend to beat you up. It's just a small test inside. By the way, keep the fact that you've been exposed a secret. I'll treat you to some drinks in a couple of days," the disciple whispered.

Zhang Ze, “.”

Curiosity killed the cat. It would have been better if the disciple hadn't mentioned it, because now that he had, he was indeed quite curious.

I'm curious about how Grandpa Li plans to educate Li Jue.

He decided to play along, winked at the senior brother of the Beast Taming Sect, and stepped into the hall.

'But then again, if I'm here, where did Li Jue go?'

A level designed by Zhang Ze, tentatively named Qianjige Sewers, nicknamed the "Big Shit Pit".

This level is located at the very bottom of the dungeon, based on a ley line, and consists of countless rooms and spiraling downward corridors.

Even excluding the traps Zhang Ze had set up within it, it was a huge maze in itself.

In a corridor, Li Jue held his small bag of black pebbles, searching for a way out.

In the darkness behind him, shadows silently and colorlessly converged, slowly solidifying.

A catastrophe is slowly taking shape.

(End of this chapter)