Chapter 58 The Piggery

Now, let's turn our attention to Wang Tanzhi…

With an absolute advantage in both intelligence and strength, Xiao Tan acted with virtually no worries. Therefore, he quickly tracked down Xian Ye Wei Wang and Zui Zhong Qiang Xi, keeping a close watch from a distance.

Although the two of them remained vigilant, their Investigation Specializations were fairly ordinary. Added to that, the constant approach of ghosts caused interference, making it almost impossible for them to detect Xiao Tan.

"These two… could they be trying to run outside the town…?" After tailing them for five or six minutes, Wang Tanzhi discerned their intentions.

His guess was indeed correct… Xian Ye Wei Wang and Zui Zhong Qiang Xi were trying to "escape Heyue Town."

Even though the Shi Dao team members hadn't obtained much information, they were still professional players, and it wasn't difficult for them to deduce the "barrier" issue. After their attempt to "be the first to crack the plot" was thwarted, Xian Ye Wei Wang's initial backup plan was to "escape the barrier."

According to Captain Xian Ye's idea… if he and his teammate could successfully leave Heyue Town, there would be at least three benefits: first, the ghost pursuit would stop; second, the skill restrictions would be lifted; and third, they shouldn't encounter Hell Frontline's people in the short term.

In short, he planned to use "time" and "distance" to reduce their current disadvantage, dragging the fight into a prolonged war to seek a chance to win.

Unfortunately… none of his plans or reactions were outside someone's prediction.

In fact, ever since Xian Ye Wei Wang was attracted by Feng Bujue's mountain song and appeared before the latter, he had essentially fallen into his palm, never to escape…

Here, we might as well review Captain Xian Ye's experiences after encountering Brother Jue…

He was first injured and tracked by Brother Jue, acting as a guinea pig; then, after several tens of minutes of running, he finally reunited with his teammate, but still couldn't shake off the surveillance…

When Feng Bujue went to help Xiao Tan and Xiao Ling at Auenk's place, he arranged for Ruo Yu to secretly follow Xian Ye Wei Wang and Zui Zhong Qiang Xi to ensure they lived a little longer. Thus, there was the scene of Ruo Yu stopping Miao Xuzi.

And then, it came to the present, where they were being watched by Xiao Tan again.

In summary… Shi Dao's captain basically never left the sight of the Hell Frontline team, and his and his teammate's lives were in a state of constant threat.

If someone were to analyze this match through recordings, they should come to the conclusion that Shi Dao's First Team had actually lost within the first ten minutes of the game.

Because in those ten minutes, one of the two people who had contact with Feng Bujue died, and the other was injured. One broke the balance of the situation, and the other became a pawn for the opponent to consolidate their advantage…

"Eh? You can really see the 'border'," Xiao Tan remarked, having followed them for several more minutes and spotting a hazy barrier in the distance.

The barrier resembled a semi-transparent energy field, difficult to notice in the dim moonlight. But upon closer inspection, one could see a "refraction" effect.

"This is bad… there are no more houses ahead, and the crops in the fields are withered…" Xiao Tan muttered to himself as he tracked them. "Even if their eyesight is average, in an open area with no other cover, relying solely on a group of semi-transparent ghosts to hide… I'll still be exposed, right?"

Even so, he couldn't possibly watch the two of them leave his sight. If it came down to it, he would have to reveal himself, and at worst, directly eliminate the opponents. It was better than losing them.

Fortunately… he didn't seem to need to do that.

Because Xian Ye Wei Wang and Zui Zhong Qiang Xi, upon reaching the border… stopped on their own.

"Damn it… I knew it wouldn't be that easy." Touching the "barrier wall" in front of him, Xian Ye Wei Wang muttered dejectedly.

Buzz buzz buzz—

Zui Zhong Qiang Xi, standing beside him, immediately clenched his fist and knocked on the invisible barrier, but the feeling… was like punching into semi-solidified cement, completely lacking force.

"This… you'd need a high-intensity energy skill to create a gap, right?" Zui Zhong Qiang Xi said.

"Yeah…" Xian Ye Wei Wang shook his head and sighed. "But our skills are restricted right now, and we can't unleash high-intensity energy attacks."

"So…" Zui Zhong Qiang Xi swallowed, glancing back at the town behind him. "We have to go back…"

"Looks like there's no other choice." Xian Ye Wei Wang quickly accepted the reality before him and planned his next move. "Let's turn back to the town and get rid of the blood smell on us…" He turned around and continued, "Those ghosts are too troublesome. To avoid them, we have to keep moving at a certain speed… which severely affects our Stamina recovery; and… they'll indirectly reveal our location, making it easy for those Hell Frontline guys to track us."

"But the problem is…" Zui Zhong Qiang Xi said, "Even if we stop the bleeding from the wounds, the blood smell on our clothes will still attract monsters…" He spread his hands, helplessly adding, "So far, the rivers and wells we've seen are all dry. There's no water for us to clean our clothes, and we can't possibly take off our clothes and throw them away…"

"I know." Xian Ye Wei Wang waved his hand, interrupting his teammate. "I wouldn't have brought it up if I hadn't already thought of a solution."

"Oh?" Zui Zhong Qiang Xi immediately asked with bright eyes. "What solution?"

"Since we can't completely 'clean' off the blood smell…" Xian Ye Wei Wang replied, "then we can try using a stronger scent to 'cover up' the blood smell."

"That's right!" Zui Zhong Qiang Xi exclaimed in sudden realization. "That makes sense!"

"Hmm…" Captain Xian Ye nodded at him. "Anyway, come with me… Actually, I considered this situation on the way here, so I noticed a pigsty in the northeast corner of the village…"

…………

On the other hand, back at the Liuhe Temple…

After resolving Congming Er's plot, Brother Jue and Xiao Ling ascended to the fifth floor of the pagoda.

In the middle of this floor, a human-shaped ghost hovered. His face was obscured by messy, long hair, making it difficult to distinguish. His entire body was wrapped in a fleshy "armor," and the surface of the armor was covered with twisted patterns.

Most people would be somewhat intimidated by the sight of such a figure, but Feng Bujue walked toward him without hesitation.

Soon, Brother Jue realized… he wasn't wearing "armor" at all. Those fleshy, thick substances… were all flesh and blood.

"Are you Zhang Ke?" Feng Bujue asked without hesitation.

But the other party didn't respond to him, or rather… didn't respond to him with "language."

"Ugh—" Two seconds later, Zhang Ke let out a groan and suddenly raised his head.

Brother Jue took the opportunity to lift the lantern and shine it on the other party's face.

It was a face full of twisted patterns, a face of extreme pain. Except for the eyes, the outlines of the other facial features were difficult to distinguish. And the only discernible eyes were just the whites.

"Ah—ah!" Zhang Ke immediately went berserk when his face was illuminated by the white light. He immediately roared and opened his arms.

At this moment, the entire floor was shrouded in a oppressive resentment. The sudden burst of invisible spiritual pressure made Brother Jue and Xiao Ling feel a heaviness on their shoulders, as if they were carrying a weight several times their own.

"This kind of reaction, huh…" Facing the change, Brother Jue calmly muttered, "Then I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Feng Bujue knew very well that the Zhang Ke in front of him… was clearly not the final Boss of this script. In fact, he should be considered the easiest of the Six Ferocious Spirits to kill.

Forty years ago, Zhang Ke secretly forged a key to the Stone Courtyard with his own craft and sneaked into the pagoda. As an ordinary person, he naturally didn't have the ability to break the seals within the tower. Therefore, after a series of missteps, he was injured by the defensive spells before he even reached the second floor.

Then, in a panic, Zhang Ke's blood… dripped onto the floor. This drop of blood wouldn't have mattered if it had dripped outside the tower, but inside the tower… it was within the "inside of the seal"; so… the Six Harmonies Mirror moved upon smelling blood, directly sucking Zhang Ke's three souls and seven spirits to the top floor.

In the following forty years, this poor man was repeatedly tormented by the resentful spirits in the mirror, tasting the suffering of the Avici hell. Those "flesh armors" on his body… were actually scars that had accumulated countless times during those tortures.

Later, when Miao Xuzi and the others unlocked the mirror's seal, Zhang Ke, as the last resentful spirit to be absorbed by the mirror, bore the resentment of the "Naraka Path" and appeared inside the tower. According to Auenk's description—"This person's soul has long been tortured beyond recognition. Not to mention reason… he may not even have awareness. Rather than calling him a ferocious spirit, it's better to call him a lump of flesh that carries power."

Of course, even without intelligence, he still had some strength. The system placed this "Naraka Path" ferocious spirit here as a "benchmark to test raw strength." There was no need for any tactics to deal with him, but the battle had to be ended with an attack with a certain level of power.

In summary, there were only two types of people who could pass here. The first type had already cracked the plot and had drunk Auenk's meat soup; the second type was strong enough to kill their way up while their skills were restricted and their Survival Value was constantly draining, and then defeat Zhang Ke.

Feng Bujue and Gu Xiaoling undoubtedly belonged to the former type… and to be honest, even if the two Shi Dao members really snatched the key from Miao Xuzi, they would still face a grim future upon entering the tower…

"Then… let me help you be free…" After waiting for two seconds, Feng Bujue put down the lantern, raised his hands, and a [Evil King's Flaming Murderous Hellscream] instantly erupted.

To be on the safe side, Brother Jue instantly activated [Spirit Sense Gathering Technique-Modified] when releasing this skill to increase its power, aiming for a one-hit kill.

Boom boom boom—

In an instant, shadows of fists flickered, and black flames raged. As the flames moved, they brought forth bursts of roaring.

A few seconds later, the pressure in the floor eased, announcing the demise of this gatekeeper Boss.

"Okay… the show is about to begin." Before the lump of flesh had completely dissipated, Feng Bujue turned to Xiao Ling and muttered, and… conveniently took out the [Blood Corpse God's Magatama] from his bag.