“Although I also want to put on that serious expression of yours…” Feng Bujue looked at Dian He Wang and said calmly, “But your current appearance and voice, coupled with that tone and those lines…you look like a chuunibyou (eighth-grade syndrome) patient in the late stage.”

“Hmph…trying to provoke me with your words…” Dian He Wang sneered, stepping out of the coffin. “This is your usual trick, isn’t it…”

“Oh…I almost forgot, you’ve already heard some ‘stories’ about me.” As Feng Bujue said this, he maliciously aimed the searchlight at the other party’s face. “In that case, you’re already psychologically prepared for the various vile acts I might commit, aren’t you?”

“I originally thought so too…” Dian He Wang didn’t mind the light shining on his face, and replied in a steady tone, “Until…you started singing Shíbā Mō (Eighteen Touches song)…”

“Heh…” Feng Bujue laughed. “So you had your eye on me since then…”

“No, earlier than that,” Dian He Wang replied.

“That would be when…” Feng Bujue’s thoughts raced, and after half a second, he continued, “…when I first met ‘Mom’.”

“Correct,” Dian He Wang replied.

“I see…” Feng Bujue said. “No wonder I felt something ‘coming’ at that time, but I couldn’t catch anything…” He looked directly into the other party’s eyes and said, “Now that I think about it…that was the feeling of your ‘consciousness’ enveloping me.”

“At first…I didn’t consider you too much of a threat,” Dian He Wang said again. “But soon after, I heard the ‘voice’ of Zhuan Xie Zun communicating with you. At that time, I made up my mind to eliminate you as soon as possible.”

“So…that scene in the river happened,” Feng Bujue continued the other party’s words.

“It seems you’ve already deduced everything…” Dian He Wang replied gloomily. “That’s right…there was originally a small boat behind the door leading to the river. But…in order to separate you, I moved the boat away.” He paused for a moment. “I knew you wouldn’t choose to advance by swimming together, because that’s a very laborious and slow method. As expected…you each set off in your own way, thus widening the distance between you.”

Speaking to this point, Dian He Wang moved two steps horizontally, moving his face away from the center of the light beam. “Seeing that the time was ripe, I enveloped the area you were in with Black Rose Poison, and released a powerful monster in front of you and behind you to block your path…” He shook his head, revealing a hint of helplessness. “I originally thought…this tactic was foolproof, at least enough to kill or injure more than half of you, but unfortunately…”

“Unfortunately…your carefully designed ambush failed to achieve your expected results,” Feng Bujue said with a smile.

Dian He Wang snorted coldly. “Hmph…your strength is indeed beyond my imagination, especially you…” He looked at Jue Ge and said, “Now that I think about it…at that time…you had already noticed my plan, right? That’s why you chose to stay behind.”

“I only vaguely sensed that you wanted to widen the distance between us,” Feng Bujue’s tone and lines were relatively modest, but his face was full of smugness. “Heh…I didn’t expect that my act of staying behind would strategically defuse your plan.”

Listening to the conversation between Teacher Jue and Dian He Wang, Buu and Uub felt more and more terrified (Ruo Yu was calm and collected, Xiao Ling followed the train of thought closely, and Xiao Tan was relatively naive, so the three of them seemed more composed). Now that they thought about it…if Feng Bujue hadn’t stayed at the rear of the team, things might have developed completely differently…

It was precisely because Jue Ge chose to stay behind that he was able to cripple the monster chasing from behind in the first place, and then rushed all the way forward, bringing all his teammates along the way, allowing the six of them to reunite as quickly as possible.

But if…Feng Bujue’s position at that time was in the middle of the team, he would only be able to choose one direction to go first, bring the people from that end, and then return to the other end…This would not only lengthen the time the teammates were in contact with the monsters, but also increase the time everyone spent alone in the poisonous pollen. Not to mention anything else, just take Xiao Tan…if he had met Uub any later, he would have started breathing poisonous air; and on the other side…Uub would very likely have been seriously injured by the monster behind him before Feng Bujue arrived. Considering the combat environment at that time…it was very possible that Uub would have died there directly. And once he died, the two sets of breathing equipment on him would also disappear…As a chain reaction, Buu and Xiao Tan, who lacked means of holding their breath, would fall into crisis.

Thinking about it carefully, the ambush set up by Dian He Wang was indeed quite brilliant. If it were an ordinary six-person team…even if they didn’t get wiped out, they would still lose a layer of skin.

Unfortunately…it met Feng Bujue.

If the ambush battle in the river was regarded as a game, then…whether in strategic choice or actual execution, Jue Ge did his best. It was his performance that made Dian He Wang gain nothing.

“The following development became more and more unfavorable for me…” Dian He Wang walked in front of Jue Ge and continued, “You obviously read that fairy tale, so…after I appeared in front of you once in the image of a ‘sparrow,’ it was basically equivalent to exposing my ‘host body’.”

“Blame yourself for being too confident,” Feng Bujue replied. “You showed up too early.”

“Yes…I was careless.” Dian He Wang shook his head. “Later, the surprise attack on the ‘Black River’…also failed. After all, there are system restrictions there, and I can’t use inexplicable means to instantly kill you. I can only temporarily imprison the one with the highest horror value at the bottom of the water.”

“Eh? I thought the person with the highest horror value at that time was me…” Xiao Tan said upon hearing this.

Uub turned his head and said to him, “No, no…Brother Xiao Tan, you overestimate me. Actually, I’m very timid…The reason I look calm on the surface is just a matter of appearance…”

He was telling the truth…his “malnourished” face did give people a sense of inexplicable calmness.

“In short…one wrong step leads to complete defeat…” Dian He Wang said. “Mistakes and disadvantages gradually accumulated, causing the situation to go from controllable to out of control.” He raised his eyes to look at Jue Ge. “To the point that in the end…I had to compromise.”

“Heh…hearing this, cooperating with me really wronged you,” Feng Bujue laughed.

“Hmph…it doesn’t really matter…” Dian He Wang snorted, a strange look flashing in his eyes. “In order to achieve my goal, this level of compromise is simply…”

“…is simply nothing, right?”

Suddenly, a low, wise voice rang out, taking over Dian He Wang’s words.

In that instant, Dian He Wang’s expression changed drastically. He hurriedly turned around and looked in the direction of the voice.

But he saw…an old man in a white robe, holding a staff, slowly walking out from the depths of the stone tomb. This “person” had white hair and a white beard, and an imposing appearance. Although his face was old, the sparkling light in his eyes resembled that of a young man.

“Whoa…is that Gandalf?” Xiao Tan blurted out when he saw the figure.

“Not quite, young man.” The old man looked at Xiao Tan with a smile and replied, “…it is Zhuan Xie Zun.”

“You can actually come in by yourself?” Feng Bujue asked in surprise.

“Of course I can come in,” Zhuan Xie Zun replied. “It’s just more troublesome, and I have to take a certain amount of risk.”

“I understand…it’s similar to what we humans do when we self-hypnotize, isn’t it?” Feng Bujue muttered.

“Feng Bujue, stop trying to change the subject.” Zhuan Xie Zun didn’t let Jue Ge continue the topic. He continued in a questioning tone, “I asked you to destroy Dian He Wang’s host body and expel him from my body…but you’re doing well, at the critical moment of success, you defected for the sake of some equipment and skills…” He paused for a moment. “Causing me to have to come here myself…”

“You don’t know sh*t.” Feng Bujue replied with a casual curse word. “After achieving the hidden ending, I can just take action to deal with it, can’t I?”

“Hey!” Dian He Wang was almost scared sh*tless when he heard this.

“I can get the information on \[Hard to Know as Yin] from you, and I can easily obtain equipment, skills, and hidden ending rewards through cooperation with Dian He Wang.” Feng Bujue looked at Zhuan Xie Zun and said, “This supreme strategy of mine, which kills two birds with one stone and maximizes profits, has been declared bankrupt because of your appearance at this moment.”

Not to mention Dian He Wang, even Zhuan Xie Zun was dumbfounded. He looked at Jue Ge blankly and stammered, “Uh…this…”

“Feng Bujue! You despicable guy…” Two seconds later, Dian He Wang shouted sharply, “You really dare to say it!”

“Nonsense, the plan can’t be implemented anymore, so why should I hide it?” Jue Ge replied with a justified tone, as if his two-faced, unprincipled, selfish behavior was aboveboard.

“Sigh…” Feng Bujue then took two more steps, looked at Dian He Wang, and sighed, “Actually…the line I wanted to say the most was…’Sorry, I’m an undercover agent’.”

“You’re determined to be a traitor! How much do you want to be a double agent! Why do you portray this kind of despicable behavior as something cool!” Dian He Wang’s shock was beyond words, but he still had to maintain a bit of divine demeanor on the surface and couldn’t complain like that.

“Good…very good…” Dian He Wang glared at Jue Ge with a ferocious expression, and squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth, “When I solve Zhuan Xie Zun…I’ll slowly deal with you…”

His confidence was still based on some evidence: first, the Zhuan Xie Zun in front of him was just a “brain projection” and shouldn’t be able to exert his full strength; second, even if Zun Ge could exert his full strength, it wouldn’t matter, because his power was already very weak and might not be Dian He Wang’s opponent; third…due to the restrictions of the main quest, the players wouldn’t attack Dian He Wang’s host body, because this was obviously contrary to the conditions for clearing the level. Forced execution would be judged by the system as a passive game, and the more serious ones would be kicked out of the script.

“Ha! Daydreaming!” Feng Bujue sneered and immediately turned his head to Zhuan Xie Zun and said, “Zun Ge, quickly tell us the method to complete the main quest.”

Zhuan Xie Zun was slightly stunned, then he understood what Jue Ge meant. He immediately replied, “That stone wall over there…” He raised his staff and pointed, “Solve the rune puzzle on it and you can pass…”

“Shut up!” Dian He Wang also quickly realized that the situation was not right. With a sway of his body, he had already killed his way in front of Zhuan Xie Zun.

Zun Ge was prepared. While dodging and blocking, he continued, “The puzzle is set according to the principles of Sudoku. Each symbol above represents a number. You substitute Roman characters, simplify it a bit, and you can interpret it…”

“I told you to shut up!” Although Dian He Wang was in the host body, his combat strength was still considerable. Even ordinary physical attacks had the power of a thousand pounds and the speed of lightning. If it weren’t for the system’s protection, this stone tomb would have been collapsed by the power he was leaking.

However…as the saying goes—a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. As a high-ranking existence almost on par with the Four Pillar Gods, Zhuan Xie Zun’s combat power couldn’t be weakened too much no matter how much it was weakened. When he focused on defense, it would be difficult for Dian He Wang to determine the outcome in a short period of time.

Therefore, Zun Ge still spoke while fighting: “Behind that wall, there is a tunnel hidden with undead creatures. After passing through, you will reach a garden full of black roses. Enter the garden gate, follow the ‘Ji’ (己) shaped route, and keep a distance of more than three meters from the columnar sculptures you see along the way. Don’t approach…you will soon find the ‘Juniper Tree’…”

As Zhuan Xie Zun said this, Feng Bujue had already rushed to the stone wall.

For Jue Ge, once he grasped the method of deciphering, this kind of obstacle was not difficult at all. He solved the Sudoku puzzle in no time and opened the stone wall.

“I won’t go over…” Feng Bujue stood by the wall, not entering, but said to his teammates. “You follow Zun Ge’s instructions and advance, and complete the main quest as soon as possible. You don’t have to wait for me after you complete it, just teleport out.”

“Jue Ge, what are you going to do?” Xiao Tan asked with some concern.

“Is there any need to say it…” Feng Bujue replied. “As long as you meet the conditions for clearing the level, I will no longer be restricted by the main quest and can deal with Dian He Wang together with Zun Ge.”

“Understood.” Upon hearing this, Ruo Yu immediately said, “Everyone, let’s go.” After saying that, she took the lead in rushing into the tunnel, disappearing in a few seconds.

Ruo Yu’s thinking was very clear. At this time, one should be decisive and act vigorously and resolutely. Even if this kind of reaction seems a bit cold and realistic, in reality…this is the real way to help teammates.

On the contrary, the common plots and dialogues in film and television dramas—"You go, I'll stay...No, we'll go together...Don't be silly, we'll die together...No, we'll die together even if we die..." and the like, seem to be "affectionate and righteous," but in reality they are very brain-dead behaviors. Generally speaking, as long as this kind of scene appears, the one who stays behind has already set up a death fLAg. No matter how much you wriggle and fuss...he still has to die. The only function of this kind of scene is to waste time and make the other party's sacrifice in vain...

“What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and follow,” Feng Bujue saw that the others hadn’t moved, and raised his voice to urge, “You can talk about anything after the script is over.”

“Okay, Jue Ge, be careful yourself.”

“Cheer up, Captain.”

Seeing that Jue Ge’s attitude was firm, Xiao Tan and Xiao Ling exchanged glances slightly, and then followed into the tunnel.

“Teacher Jue, see you later!” Buu and Uub quickly reached a consensus and left together.

After all five teammates entered the tunnel, Feng Bujue closed the stone wall again and turned around to look at the two gods who were fighting in close combat…