The bronze halberd did not immediately return to its master’s hand. Amidst the shattered tiles and debris, it became even more greedy. A few of the corpses that had been collected by the man earlier became its second victims, the blade of the halberd drinking fresh blood in great gulps.
To retrieve his weapon, the golden-threaded figure strode first in Lu Yiyuan’s direction.
…A strange scent.
There was clearly something on Lu Yiyuan that also attracted it.
Thinking that Zhou Qi’an was the unlucky one, Lu Yiyuan’s eyelid twitched when the powerful ghost came for him first. But he quickly calmed down and clapped his hands rapidly.
Ding.
A faint, ethereal bell sound rang out.
The soul-stirring bell sound spread further in the wind. The pile of corpses under the brick wall began to writhe and contort.
The pile of corpses automatically split into three parts. One part actively lured the bronze halberd to drink blood, another part formed a protective wall in front of Lu Yiyuan, and the last part, surprisingly, did not charge towards Zhou Qi’an but instead temporarily pulled back, remaining in the distance on standby.
The moment Lu Yiyuan completed his defense, the golden-threaded figure had already arrived before him.
In front of the golden-threaded figure, the reanimated monsters were like a thin sheet of paper. With a stretch and a pull of its long arm, the powerful ghost instantly tore a corpse in two.
A stinking rain of blood filled the sky. From a certain distance, Zhou Qi’an watched this scene quietly.
With the sheep-headed man watching him, he couldn’t slip away.
Zhou Qi’an had no intention of leaving either. There was clearly something illogical about this leader of the Whalers’ Association.
He deliberately slowed down his writing speed, wanting to see if he could wear down the other party with just the golden-threaded figure.
Its body covered in the flesh and blood of others, the golden-threaded figure’s strength was immense. One hand actually pierced through a nearby corpse and directly grabbed Lu Yiyuan who was hiding behind it.
With a ‘squelch.’
The sound of flesh being torn open was dull and horrifying.
Even the sheep-headed man would have a headache dealing with this powerful ghost, whose strength was completely superior to Lu Yiyuan’s. The latter’s shoulder was torn, and as he retreated in pain, he lost half of his forearm on the spot.
Lu Yiyuan grit his teeth to keep from screaming.
Faced with the fountain-like spray of blood, Zhou Qi’an’s shoulders trembled weakly.
It scared him so much he almost wrote the wrong character.
The sheep-headed man: “…”
Who the hell are you pretending for?
The bell sound rang again. Lu Yiyuan once again had his flesh scraped away, losing a whole patch of skin from his chin to his shoulder blade, but it was not a fatal wound.
An ordinary town resident couldn’t possibly survive this long under the golden-threaded figure’s attacks. Zhou Qi’an frowned. The power of the Death Cursing Bone was indeed much weaker than he had imagined.
At the very least, it definitely didn’t reach eighty percent.
Lu Yiyuan, now half a man of blood, clapped his hands again. This time, the bell sound was even crisper than before.
As the bell sound rippled, a strange noise came from another intact house nearby.
Instinct was faster than thought. Before this strange noise could get louder, Zhou Qi’an leaped directly off the sheep cart. Almost at the same time, a terrifying tide of corpses poured out of the house.
Zhou Qi’an’s expression changed.
There are still more corpses! Is this some kind of corpse farm?
At least a dozen corpses surrounded him. At the same time, the blood-soaked Lu Yiyuan charged towards him. The bell rang for the third time, and the corpses that had been letting the bronze halberd feed on their flesh and blood also started walking towards him one by one.
The weapon, the golden-threaded figure, all the trouble was diverted and rapidly closing in.
Seeing the danger right at his doorstep, Zhou Qi’an surprisingly stood his ground instead of running.
A flash of disappointment crossed the eyes of the charging Lu Yiyuan.
If the other party greedily wanted to wear him down and used the Holy Relic to break through the encirclement at the cost of blood, it would actually be a good thing. He could use the Blood Coffin to his advantage.
Zhou Qi’an must have accepted the mission from the Ridie Pavilion. If he lost the coffin and couldn’t complete the mission, it would be a dead end.
Unfortunately, the latter did not fall for the trick.
The thick smell of blood pierced his nose, making him dizzy.
On the brink of life and death, Zhou Qi’an’s hand was exceptionally steady, a far cry from the Parkinson’s-like state he had displayed under the sheep-headed man’s watch.
Zhao Mo.
…The last remaining ‘dog’ radical of the character was finally written. Zhou Qi’an didn’t even look down at the Death Cursing Bone. He looked at Lu Yiyuan’s empty half-arm and smiled, mouthing the words: Dog. Thing.
Lu Yiyuan’s face instantly darkened.
The disdainful gaze, the slightly raised eyebrows—the other party looked at him as if he were a bug on the ground.
This contempt could not be faked.
Lu Yiyuan already harbored a twisted jealousy and unwillingness towards Zhou Qi’an. Now, he was so provoked by anger that he almost forgot the pain.
By this time, the golden-threaded figure had retrieved its weapon. It swung at both of their heads at once.
The bronze halberd was no less than the legendary forty-meter-long broadsword. Its curved blade was ferocious and sharp, sweeping down from an angle.
As the foul wind swept past, the Death Cursing Bone in Zhou Qi’an’s hand gradually thinned. The system prompt came a step ahead:
[You have successfully used the Death Cursing Bone]
[Curse Target: Zhao Mo]
[Remaining Uses: 0]
[Target locked]
[Curse taking effect]
As the system’s last word ended, the golden-threaded figure’s movement stopped at the instant of its swing.
Suddenly, its time seemed to have frozen.
Black energy drilled into the golden threads, and cracks appeared at all the nodes connecting the blood jade pieces. With a clatter, the irregularly shaped jade pieces scattered to the ground like the heavy rain in the sky at this moment.
The curse of death came too suddenly. Its gaze still retained the terrifying malevolence from when it was swinging its blade.
The entire process was completed in one go.
Zhou Qi’an couldn’t help but take another look at the dog-thing. The last curse hadn’t gone this smoothly; there had been a delay of several minutes. There was definitely something fishy about this person.
Lu Yiyuan was also staring intently at him.
Confirming that the characters on the Cursing Bone were completely carved, the moment the golden-threaded figure fell straight down, Lu Yiyuan seized the opportunity to ‘kill the donkey after it’s done its work,’ immediately manipulating the surrounding corpses to attack.
Zhou Qi’an was also prepared. The white silk sash timely wrapped around and bound the corpses, and the delicate cane swung forcefully, sending two charging corpses flying.
At the same time, his other hand lifted the heavy, bloody corpse of the golden-threaded figure from the ground. The sticky, foul-smelling blood wet his palm, causing him to slip slightly as he dragged it.
The advantage of not moving his position when the golden-threaded figure had attacked was now apparent; the blood coffin was very close to him.
After a perfect parabola, the golden-threaded figure was accurately thrown in.
Layers of iron chains wrapped around the entire coffin. A strong wind blew past just before the coffin was sealed tight, the wind blowing in sounding like a piercing shriek.
“Side Quest–Ghost Collection has been completed.”
The system prompt was still continuing, but Zhou Qi’an was not listening closely, his attention fully focused on the man with the severed arm in front of him.
The ability to manipulate corpses didn’t seem like something the Gilt Bronze Buckle could extend to, not to mention that manipulating corpses to harm people violated the NPC’s settings. As his doubts continued to increase, another kind of crimson blood-light, like a searchlight, shone over.
Lu Yiyuan’s arm was still bleeding profusely. His golden pupils flickered slightly, and a strange smile stretched his lips.
‘I’ve waited for this moment for a long time.’
Under the silent mouthing of words was a cruel calculation.
The effect of reanimating corpses during the day was far less effective than at night. The abilities of the walking dead were limited. Lu Yiyuan had never expected to kill anyone with these corpses. Moreover, the sheep-headed man was still waiting covetously to pick up the pieces. If Zhou Qi’an were seriously injured in reality, the staff would most likely find a way to take the thing inside his body.
…Only in the relic world.
Only if the other party died in the relic world could he get everything without being disturbed.
At that time, even the sheep-headed man would not be able to intervene.
The red light grew more intense, so piercing that it was almost impossible to open one’s eyes. This was not the first time Zhou Qi’an had been forcibly pulled into a relic world.
He was very clear that this was a precursor to being forced to view a relic, but just like when the golden-threaded figure had charged over at the beginning, he faced the red light projected from the relic inside Lu Yiyuan’s body without dodging or evading.
The distance was too close; he couldn’t avoid it. There was no need to waste effort.
The mission for the Ridie Pavilion was completed smoothly. The other association members should have been roughly locked down by his teammates. Now, only the last step remained.
‘It’s time to completely deal with this rat in the gutter.’
Zhou Qi’an’s gaze, so calm it was almost inhuman, could be felt even through the dazzling glare.
He could hear the sound of blood dripping. He half-lowered his eyes and proactively put away the Holy Relic.
Lu Yiyuan was in a heavily injured state, so the intensity of his relic world was naturally not at its peak. But the other party seemed very confident, believing he could achieve a first-strike victory.
Vaguely seeing a cold smile on Lu Yiyuan’s lips, Zhou Qi’an calmly raised his arm. Before being pulled into the relic world, his fingers formed a ‘three.’
In less than three days, he had been left with a severed arm, and his entire team was almost wiped out.
And yet, he was still smiling foolishly.
Idiot.
‘I’ve also waited for this moment for a long time.’
He was waiting to use the ‘Plunderer’ skill to add bricks and tiles to his evolution.
Using the life energy of the leader of the Whalers’ Association as his final stepping stone into a new world would be a fitting end.
…
The light, like a golden bell罩, went from red to black and purple. The time taken to enter the relic world this time was exceptionally long.
The world fell into a chaotic darkness. When he regained consciousness, Zhou Qi’an’s hearing recovered first.
The rumbling sound was far greater than the noise of the brick wall collapsing outside.
The moment he opened his eyes, the entire sky was overexposed, filled with a white similar to a fish’s belly. In the center of the white area was a crack. The hole seemed to be about to pour out half the universe. The deep, terrifying black was dotted in a pale white, strongly resembling a human eyeball.
Just as Zhou Qi’an was looking up to observe, something fell out of the giant eye in the sky.
Like tears, they were initially the size of sesame seeds.
One, two… as the distance continuously shortened, they finally turned into meteorites and smashed down.
“Side Quest–Soul-stealing Bell has been activated.”
[Quest Content: Escape from the world of the Soul-stealing Bell.
…Relics have inevitably developed cracks… There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.]
The barren land developed black fissures one after another. The familiar doomsday scene was playing out.
There was only one person in the entire world. The surprise on Zhou Qi’an’s face was undisguised.
The Soul-stealing Bell, how could it be this relic?
The sheep-headed man had clearly hinted that the relic transplanted by the leader of the Whalers’ Association contained a gold element.
“Could it be that he transplanted two relics?”
But the list of suitable fakes for transplantation compiled by Shen Zhiyi did not include this one. Zhou Qi’an did not think Shen Zhiyi’s statistics would be wrong.
Boom!
An unprecedented loud noise interrupted his thoughts, making his eardrums feel like they were about to rupture.
A distant volcano had actually erupted amidst the crustal movement. Searing lava continuously spewed from the crater.
The nearby temperature rose madly, and the air was filled with a large amount of ash.
Zhou Qi’an immediately ran away from the mountain. Billowing smoke surged from behind, wave after wave, as if to bury him in the ground with the ash.
For some reason, although it was also a doomsday, this world gave him a very sad feeling.
Even the sound of the wind seemed to carry a sob.
While fleeing, Zhou Qi’an multitasked: avoiding danger and thinking about the reason for the abnormality in Lu Yiyuan.
The Death Cursing Bone had taken several minutes to lock onto the target, indicating that there might be a problem with Lu Yiyuan’s identity.
He first ruled out being possessed by a ghost. He had never heard of a ghost taking over a body and then seeking revenge for it.
“Two relics, an indeterminable identity…”
It was Lu Yiyuan’s body that was injured. The relic world had no reason to be in such a dilapidated state.
Could it be that this is not his relic?
Zhou Qi’an immediately thought of something. When viewing the folding fan, two players had been pulled into the relic world and were forever trapped in the painting.
This showed that some relics had the ability to imprison players. By analogy, a bold idea was born.
“Could he have devoured a member of the association who had transplanted a relic?”
By keeping the other’s soul intact, one body with two souls, the judgment process of the Death Cursing Bone would be prolonged.
Even if it was finally locked, the curse would be shared with another soul, which was equivalent to the Death Cursing Bone cursing a name that did not appear on the bone.
This violated the fundamental setting of the item.
The resulting BUG directly led to a great reduction in the curse crisis that finally descended upon Lu Yiyuan.
“I have to admit—”
The sudden voice made Zhou Qi’an extremely vigilant. A strong feeling of being watched arose.
The eye-like opening expanded again, as if a real pair of eyes were observing his every move.
“You are very smart,” the voice in the sky was ethereal and cold.
The vantage point overlooking everything from the clouds gave the speaker’s voice a faint sense of superiority.
Nonsense.
Zhou Qi’an was busy dodging the cracks in the ground. If it weren’t for the volcanic ash he would inhale every time he opened his mouth, he would have retorted with a sharp comeback.
The next moment, Lu Yiyuan’s voice surprisingly began to clear up Zhou Qi’an’s confusion on its own initiative: “Regarding the original intention of establishing the Whalers’ Association, not everyone agreed with my methods back then.”
The running Zhou Qi’an felt a touch of surprise. He had thought the Whalers’ Association was a bunch of madmen.
From above the sky, the voice carried a malicious laugh:
“Do you remember the most silent and quiet girl in the team? She strongly disapproved, even thinking you were right, and wanted to instigate others to give up…”
“I had no choice. I had to forcibly transplant a relic that would cause severe rejection, and then devour and seal her soul.”
Forced transplantation, sealing a soul.
A coldness instantly appeared in Zhou Qi’an’s eyes. As he moved, he glanced at the constantly moving ‘eye’ above.
Just a slight change in expression was accurately captured.
The other’s tone became even more joyous. “The process of devouring was very dangerous. It almost broke my relic.”
But high risk brought high reward. He now possessed a trump card that could counterbalance the Death Cursing Bone.
“Beast.”
No emotion could be seen deep within his indifferent eyes, but Zhou Qi’an’s face was much darker than usual. The two words that came from his mouth did not hide his killing intent at all.
His mind was spinning non-stop.
Lu Yiyuan suddenly starting to talk nonsense might have other purposes mixed in.
“Heh…”
The ground collapsed from time to time. The clear sneer covered the terrifying and horrifying sounds, with some crisp sounds mixed in.
The disharmonious crisp sound reached his ears, and Zhou Qi’an’s head immediately began to swell.
“Someone lost their life because of you, yet in the end, you don’t even know her name or what she looks like… how sad.”
His body began to go numb, and an uncontrollable dizziness came over him.
With every word the voice in the sky spoke, the loosened memories were further catalyzed, until Zhou Qi’an’s cranial nerves were trembling. The pain was like someone peeling away the deepest flesh.
The crisp sound entering his ears further spread, and he uncontrollably began to recall with the other’s every word.
Gradually, a delicate and pretty face appeared in his mind, from blurry at the beginning to gradually clear.
When he had proposed the idea of the Holy Relic, saying it would increase the difficulty of the instance, everyone was talking and laughing. Only the person sitting in the corner seemed to have thought of something but didn’t speak.
Zhou Qi’an’s impression was not very deep.
Even now, he did not feel much closeness or familiarity.
Constantly being guided to search his memory, in the end, Zhou Qi’an only vaguely saw a fragment. It seemed to be a natural disaster instance as well. On a giant ship in the apocalypse, he had pulled a girl who was about to fall into the deep sea.
“Thank you.” The girl’s face was pale. “I… I will not forget your kindness.”
Kindness? The younger version of himself on the giant ship gave a helpless smile, seeming to feel that the word was too heavy.
It was just a casual act.
With every inch of memory recovered, the pain in his left eyeball felt like it was about to explode.
Ding.
Amidst the heaven-splitting and earth-shattering chaos, another light sound was heard, followed by Lu Yiyuan’s voice again:
“Her relic is only a few days away from truly shattering…”
This time, Zhou Qi’an bit his tongue, forcibly preventing his attention from following this voice.
“Isn’t it interesting to witness the process of your supporter’s soul dissipating?”
The taste of rust appeared in his mouth. The spreading pain made Zhou Qi’an’s attention this time not only focus on the man’s words, but also, when he spoke, he finally captured that crisp sound.
It was a bell.
“Soul-stealing Bell…”
Lu Yiyuan wanted to use the Soul-stealing Bell to guide his memory recovery.
The giant stones falling from the sky became more and more dense. In just a few minutes, some nearby places were almost like a rain of fire.
“First try to restore my memory. If that fails, use the doomsday to deal with me…”
Zhou Qi’an was in so much pain he was almost kneeling on the ground, yet he still relied on his willpower to dodge the natural disasters.
His voice was very suppressed, very weak, but he knew the other party could hear:
“…Even if I escape from here, I’m sure there’s another relic world waiting.”
Lu Yiyuan’s true relic—the Gilt Bronze Buckle. That was the real killing weapon.
Truly a chain of interlocking schemes, all intelligence used for harming others.
The Soul-stealing Bell rang rhythmically, one after another.
After an unknown amount of time, the disaster erupted to a certain extent, and the entire world fell into darkness. The sparks from the friction of falling meteorites became the only source of light.
Thunder, storms. The figure fleeing in embarrassment in the darkness was like an ant.
Clearly holding all the advantages, the eye that spied on everything gradually felt that something was wrong.
From beginning to end, Zhou Qi’an had only been fleeing. He hadn’t even tried to find a crack to leave the world of the Soul-stealing Bell.
When he spoke of the past, the other just listened.
As the environment worsened, he passively and blindly fled in the natural disaster. This passive coping measure was more like… stalling for time!
“Actually, I also like to have a backup plan.”
Just as the disaster was about to become unavoidable, and the light of the Holy Relic was about to be swallowed by darkness, a translucent card had appeared in Zhou Qi’an’s hand at some unknown time.
The card’s surface was smooth, looking no different from a hotel room key card.
He had already figured out all of this rat’s trump cards.
More importantly, from entering the small town until now, someone among his other teammates should be about to break free from a relic world and find this place.
He had stalled for enough time now, enough for them to cooperate from inside and outside if the situation turned bad.
In the darkness, Zhou Qi’an staggered to a halt, but a bright smile appeared in his eyes.
“Your relic, like you, has no viewing value.”
The death trap left in the other Gilt Bronze Buckle, he didn’t even want to touch it, and no one would in the future.
“Next, I don’t know if I will escape successfully first, or if my teammates will find me first…” A faint, sarcastic smile hung on Zhou Qi’an’s face. “You’d better pray it’s me.”
And not that friend who has thirty thousand different methods.
With that, he directly activated the [Universal Door Card].
