WTNL Chapter 56

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Chapter 56: The third soul-locking altar

Dim red lights shrouded the silent and narrow corridor.

The countless criss-crossing corridors had been completely distorted into a completely different appearance, forming an intricate map that was extremely suitable for sneak attacks and fighting.

In the distance, the sound of a fierce confrontation between the anchors could be heard.

The sound of chaotic footsteps, the weird sound when props were used, the clanging aftertaste when the abilities were activated, and the laughter of ghosts mixed into the battle situation sounded from time to time.

All kinds of voices were mixed together, echoing in the dark and small space, making one’s scalp tingle unbearably.

Su Cheng heard his heart beating wildly, and the blood all over his body was rushing against his ears, making a buzzing noise.

Wen Jianyan was right.

As the difficulty of the instance increased, it could be clearly seen that this Nightmare live broadcast room was promoting “competition” among the anchors, both openly and secretly.

In other words—”Battle”.

Whether it was the existence of the “Hand of Guidance” prop or the instance mechanism, they were all catalyzing the development of this melee.

And they also had a soul-locking altar in their hands. Even if they didn’t take the initiative to participate in this melee, with the existence of such props as the Hand of Guidance, sooner or later they would become the prey of other anchor teams.

Being proactive was the best way.

The scene before separating from Wen Jianyan flashed before his eyes again and again.

Under the dim red light, the young man squinted his amber eyes, staring at him intently with a slight smile on his lips. A clear and magnificent shimmer danced in his eyes. The depth of his eyes flashed with the familiar luster that Su Cheng couldn’t resist trembling with an almost childish sense of danger:

“Let’s stir the water a bit more so they won’t think about hunting us down.”

Obviously, he did.

In Wen Jianyan’s words, Su Cheng was a “novice scammer who can’t lie or act”. Although there was still a lot of room for development after good training/teaching, it was best to start with simple tasks now.

Although Su Cheng didn’t have any opinion on this division of labor, he always felt that something was weird…

Why did he say it like he will change from a novice to a veteran in the future?

Watching Wen Jianyan teach Su Cheng the art of speaking, Su Cheng’s live broadcast room was filled with heartache:

[It’s over, the anchor has really been led astray!]

[Woohooo, our naive and pure cutie from the first instance had been brought into a crooked way by this dog liar!]

[The one near vermilion is red, and the one near ink is black!]

It was because of this strange-sounding reason that the task Wen Jianyan gave Su Cheng was not too complicated.

On Su Cheng’s body, there was a paper copper coin and the real soul-locking altar, which was the one that was put into a cookie box. In this way, the existence of these two props could serve as a cover for each other.

After all, although the “Hand of Guidance” could point out the location of the hidden item, it could not tell the user what the hidden item was, nor would it tell its specific level.

What’s more, it also had a mechanism that gave people a lot of room to play.

The low-level hand of guidance could only point out the location of the item when the anchor was close to the hidden item of the ordinary level.

The middle-level hand of guidance could be actively activated by the anchor, pointing out the location of hidden items below the difficulty level for him. As for which level of the item the anchor would eventually lead to, it was based on the principle of proximity——That is, it led to the item that was closest.

Therefore, the hand of guidance used by the anchors must be intermediate.

Wen Jianyan had already implanted the concept of “copper money” as a difficult-level hidden item into the minds of Chen Mo and Wang Hanyu, so after Su Cheng appeared, they would subconsciously think that the item the “hand of guidance” was pointing at was the paper coins on his body, and they would not think that what he was carrying on his body was actually the soul-locking altar.

“What if the two anchors of the same team brought different levels of the hand of guidance?” Su Cheng asked a little nervously, “Wouldn’t that expose everything?”

If the two hands of guidance were pointing in the same direction, then the hidden item must be of the normal level; if they were pointing separately, then one was normal and the other was difficult.

Wen Jianyan shook his head: “They won’t do it.”

“The hand of guidance is limited to purchase in a single instance. Each anchor can only buy it once. If you can buy the middle level, you won’t buy the low level. The hand of guidance is based on the principle of proximity. If the hidden item in front of you is really ordinary-level, the team not only wasted a prop but also wasted the opportunity to exchange for the middle-level hand of guidance on the low-level one.”

Su Cheng suddenly said: “I understand.”

“What are you going to do?” Su Cheng asked.

“Me?”

Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes and gave a short laugh.

He lightly weighed the dark black pottery jar full of cookie crumbs in his hand, and the dark red beads on his wrist flickered briefly under the long sleeves.

He said lightly, almost excitedly:

“Of course, it’s to add fuel to the flames.”

Since there were only five hidden items in the instance, and the soul-locking altar itself had already occupied three places, the levels of the three soul-locking altars should also be different. Some of them may be ordinary, while others may be difficult, but none will be legendary… no one knows for sure.

If you want to complete the high-difficulty side tasks, you must gather all three soul-locking altars. In the case of multiple teams participating in the snatching battle, this difficulty was too great.

That is to say, even if they snatched the normal-level jar, they couldn’t complete the high-difficulty side tasks without gathering the other two.

However, if the soul-locking altar they snatched was of a difficult level or higher, the situation would be different. It could be taken out of the instance and become a prop. Therefore, even if the three altars were not collected, they would not return empty-handed.

Wen Jianyan had the difficult-level hidden item given to him by that old woman, so as long as he cleverly used the blind spots and dead angels, he could disguise the empty jar in his hand as a difficult-level soul-locking altar.

At that time, the value of this chip would more than double.

Su Cheng: “……”

He took a deep breath and said slowly, full of doubts: “You…aren’t you worried that you will offend more guilds?”

Wen Jianyan shrugged heartlessly: “Have you forgotten? In the eyes of those people, I am now a person from Dark Fire.”

The corner of Su Cheng’s mouth twitched: “But are you not afraid of Dark Fire…”

“Don’t worry.” Wen Jianyan said with a smile: “Anyway, the Dark Fire and I have a grudge, and it doesn’t matter if there are more. There is no need to worry about too many debts.”

Su Cheng: “……”

Although I know that what you said is fallacious, I don’t know why I can’t refute it.

***

Before deciding to act, Wen Jianyan bought several Robes of Concealment, and combined with the Hand of Guidance, he found the details of the other teams on the inner world map.

At least three teams.

One of the teams had their former teammates, Wang Hanyu and Chen Mo.

Whether they had the soul-locking altar in their hands had nothing to do with Wen Jianyan’s plan. As long as Su Cheng told them the so-called “facts,” it would be enough to attract the hatred of their team.

The other two teams need to be carefully considered.

Wen Jianyan used his hand of guidance to choose a team that didn’t have a soul-locking altar to make contact with.

Only in this way could he create enough information gaps to make the other party believe in the information he would provide next.

“You mean.”

The captain frowned, with a serious look on his face: “That team has already gathered two soul-locking altars?”

“That’s right.”

The young man lowered his eyes slightly.

Although his voice was still extremely calm, there was a bit of cold forbearance between the words: “I came in with my guild, but you see, I am the only one left in my team now.”

Wen Jianyan raised his eyes, and the dark red lights danced in his eyes: “I know that I am alone now, and with my current strength, there is basically no possibility of winning this competition. So instead of getting involved again, it is better to leave here as soon as possible. Saving my life is the most important thing.”

He smiled, but the black pottery jar in his palm reflected a cold and strange luster under the light:

“I know that cherishing this item can get me into a lot of trouble. Therefore, I can give you this soul-locking altar in my hand… if you are willing to exchange Granny Wen’s mirror for it.”

There was a dead silence in the corridor.

The anchors stood opposite each other, looking at each other silently. The atmosphere seemed to be condensed. It was full of weighing and scrutiny despite its calm appearance. An invisible crisis was brewing in the air.

“Of course, you can also choose to kill me and take away the soul-locking altar.”

Wen Jianyan’s final voice was slightly dragged out, with a smile on his lips and calm, unwavering eyes like a deep pool: “However, I didn’t dare to come here without making any preparations… So, do you really want to be entangled here with me at this time, allowing the other two eyeing teams to take advantage of the opportunity?”

Several team members glanced at each other vaguely.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t considered this option.

However, if the truth was really what the other party said just now and he escaped and survived when his team was completely wiped out, it meant that the ability of this anchor was either related to this or he was very difficult to deal with.

And he dared to appear in front of them so blatantly that it was very likely that he also had some cards up his sleeves that they didn’t know about.

No matter which option it was, it was very likely to lead to unpredictable situations. Not only might the opponent successfully escape with the soul-locking altar again, but he might even make the other two teams aware of their position in the process, thus being caught by both sides.

The three parties were in the balance right now. No matter which party acted rashly, it might become the target of a siege.

Furthermore…

There was more than one Granny Wen’s mirror in their team.

After all, their current team was composed of two teams, and each team went to meet Granny Wen separately and got the mirror from the other party.

“Of course, if you don’t need it, I think there should be another team willing to make a deal with me.”

The young man raised his eyes:

“I just want to live, and I don’t want to have a conflict with you, and… regarding the team that is going to have a conflict with us, I can give you any information you want.”

He sneered: “Although what I want most is to leave, it is okay to pit them before leaving.”

***

“Buzz.”

The phone in his pocket vibrated three times before stopping.

Su Cheng knew that this was a signal from Wen Jianyan.

He took a deep breath, calmed himself down, then hurried forward and tugged at Wang Hanyu’s sleeve: “Brother, can I tell you something?”

Wang Hanyu turned his head just in time to see the yellow paper coin flashing in the other party’s palm.

He was startled for a moment, and then a hint of greed flashed across his eyes.

“What’s the matter, tell me?”

Wang Hanyu asked kindly.

Inside 1304.

Wen Jianyan leaned against the wall, waiting quietly and motionless, like a silhouette submerged in the darkness, almost blending with the surrounding shadows.

Soon, a rush of footsteps approached.

Su Cheng’s pale face appeared at the door; his breathing was a little disordered, and the expression in his eyes was still one of shock.

“Did it go well?”

Wen Jianyan asked.

Su Cheng steadied his breath and said intermittently: “Yeah, it went well.”

“Gave out the paper coin?”

Su Cheng nodded: “Well, as you said, I gave the paper coin to one of the anchors who chatted with you before, hoping to hide behind him in the future.”

If he hadn’t given out the “props” at hand, he would always be watched by other anchors.

After handing over the paper coin used as a cover, Su Cheng voluntarily handed over all his use value, and the attention on him quickly decreased and shifted to Wang Hanyu, who got the props.

Soon, after falsely claiming to know Wen Jianyan’s whereabouts and leading the team to the agreed place, another team appeared from the front according to Wen Jianyan’s information.

The two sides met, and a dogfight began almost immediately.

Su Cheng put on his robe of concealment and left quickly from behind.

Su Cheng never thought that one day he would do such a two-faced thing. His heart was pounding nervously, his palms were sweating, and even after seeing Wen Jianyan, he was still in shock.

Wen Jianyan patted Su Cheng on the shoulder, not being stingy with his appreciation and praise:

“Not bad, promising.”

Su Cheng: “……”

Sorry, I don’t want to have this prospect, thank you.

He took a deep breath and asked, “What’s next?”

Wen Jianyan took out the mirror from his pocket, which was stained with a light layer of incense ash. He raised his eyebrows with a slight smile and shook the mirror in his palm:

“Let’s try it first to see if we can go back.”

The Bagua mirror in the soul-locking altar was the same as the mirror given by Granny Wen, but perhaps because of Granny Wen’s treatment, it was far easier to use this Bagua mirror than to enter the monster’s mirror. It only took a person with enough inspiration to chant the mantra to enter this mirror; to enter the monster’s mirror, they must borrow the monster’s spirit body.

Su Cheng nodded and took a deep breath: “Okay.”

Wen Jianyan was the first to try.

He pressed his palm on the surface of the mirror and slowly repeated the mantra that Granny Wen taught them in a low voice. After repeating it several times, the surroundings were still the same as before, and nothing happened.

“Well, it seems that my inspiration is not strong enough.”

Wen Jianyan sighed, then turned to look at Su Cheng: “Come on, try it.”

After all, Su Cheng had a precognition ability, and his inspiration should be higher than his. If he couldn’t do it… then Wen Jianyan could only bite the bullet and think of other ways.

Su Cheng also followed Wen Jianyan’s example and pressed his hand on the mirror.

The familiar system notification sound rang in his ears:

【Ding! Congratulations to the anchor for obtaining the hidden item (ordinary) in the instance!】

【Collection level 2/5】

Immediately afterward, Su Cheng unskillfully repeated the strange spell in a low voice, and before he finished chanting the third time, he felt a sense of earth-shaking, and his whole body was pulled into the mirror.

Su Cheng staggered slightly, appearing to have fallen.

Soon, he raised his head and found that they had returned to the real world. The corridor was dimly lit, but it no longer had the same ominous dark red glow as the inner world.

“We’re back!”

Su Cheng suppressed the joy in his heart and turned to look at Wen Jianyan.

Wen Jianyan lowered his head, staring thoughtfully at the Bagua mirror in his hand.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just curious.” Wen Jianyan frowned slightly: “Why are there so many of them?”

Su Cheng was at a loss: “What do you mean?”

Wen Jianyan frowned even tighter: “This mirror is an ordinary-level hidden prop, right?”

Su Cheng nodded.

When he touched the mirror, the system prompt sounded in his ear, so there should be nothing wrong.

But……

Su Cheng was startled and immediately reacted: “You mean…”

“That’s right.” Wen Jianyan looked up at Su Cheng and said slowly: “If you want to enter the inner world, you have to go through the Bagua mirror of Granny Wen. That is to say, those anchors who are still in the inner world, there is one mirror for every two or three of them, and even with a conservative estimate, there are more than ten mirrors.”

In fact, Wen Jianyan noticed this when he was probing the inner world layout and other anchor teams, but he never dared to draw a conclusion.

After all, the system clearly stated that there were only five hidden items in the entire instance.

After making a deal with that team and getting the Bagua mirror, Wen Jianyan was completely sure that his guess was right.

The Bagua mirror was their way to leave the inner world, and it was also a way back.

If they only had a Bagua mirror in their hands, even if the other party used a difficult-level hidden item as a temptation, they would not agree so readily.

But… it was indeed one of the hidden items.

After all, the system couldn’t lie about this kind of thing.

By analogy, all Bagua mirrors should be ordinary-level hidden items… But this was even more unreasonable.

Wen Jianyan frowned and returned his gaze to the Bagua mirror in his hand, hoping to glean some information from it.

Suddenly, he was slightly taken aback and took out his cell phone from his pocket.

The light from the flashlight approached the mirror, illuminating its surface as brightly as new, and even the tiny scratches were clearly visible.

“Did you find anything?”

Su Cheng asked.

Wen Jianyan didn’t answer but just handed the phone to Su Cheng: “Here, help me illuminate this.”

Although Su Cheng didn’t know the reason, he obediently held up his mobile phone and helped him illuminate the Bagua mirror in his hand.

The surface of this Bagua mirror was concave.

According to traditional feng shui, the convex Bagua mirror was a device that could reflect evil spirits back, while the concave Bagua mirror had the meaning of “attracting and borrowing.” If it was hung well, it could absorb wealth and blessings, while if used improperly, it would also attract evil spirits and invite disasters.

The pattern on this Bagua mirror was nothing unusual. In the middle was Yin Yang Tai Chi, surrounded by heavenly stems and earthly branches, Bagua, and Heluo’s nine stars.

But……

Wen Jianyan stroked the cold brass surface with his fingertips, feeling the uneven ups and downs on it slowly and carefully.

Under the extremely common pattern, there were some complicated lines engraved in the inscriptions, just like scratches left after using it for too long. They were almost impossible to detect if you didn’t look carefully.

These lines shuttle between the heavenly stems and the earthly branches, vaguely connecting with each other, just like…

In the next second, Wen Jianyan’s pupils suddenly constricted.

He held his breath subconsciously, and with the dim light of the flashlight in Su Cheng’s hand, he began to grope on the mirror, silently counting the numbers in his heart——

One, two, three…

…

Thirteen.

A total of thirteen lines.

It was the number that exactly matched the floor.

In other words, the inscriptions engraved on the Bagua mirror were actually a complete map of the inner world!

At that moment, Wen Jianyan felt a strong shudder slowly creeping up his back, and the speculation that emerged in his heart made him uncontrollably chill all over, and his hair stood on end.

He suddenly raised his head and looked at Su Cheng: “The team you went to, do they have a soul-locking altar in their hands?”

Su Cheng was taken aback by Wen Jianyan’s sudden serious expression:

“……no, what happened?”

After getting the answer, Wen Jianyan’s expression became more serious.

In the inner world, there were three teams beside them.

If Su Cheng’s team didn’t get any altars, then… the third team should have two altars in their hands.

But this difficulty was really too great.

After finding the altar, the monster inside would definitely be triggered, and the nearby anchors would be pulled into the mirror world, and even if they could leave alive, they would be teleported to other locations on the map.

Therefore, although the two anchors who acted together with Su Cheng activated the altar in 1304, it was Wen Jianyan who got the jar in the end.

If Wen Jianyan didn’t have the bracelet given by that old woman, he would also be unable to return to 1304.

In other words, the person who activated the altar might not be the same person as the person who got the jar.

In the team that Wen Jianyan came into contact with, no one had activated the altar.

In other words, if there were two altars in the last team, not only did they get the altar in 1306, but they also activated the third altar and got it in the end.

Was it possible to do so in such a short time?

It was possible.

But the possibility was extremely low.

Unless……

There was no third altar on the entire map.

Wen Jianyan slowly raised his head and looked at Su Cheng: “What did the note in the paper man’s hand in 1304 say?”

He didn’t need the other party to answer, and just answered by himself:

“Let that crazy woman go to hell. Right?”

“…Yes.” Su Cheng nodded.

“We always thought that the crazy woman Zhou Xiuqing mentioned was referring to his wife, but think about it from another angle… What if this crazy woman refers to his mother?”

Wen Jianyan’s face was a little pale, but his eyes were extremely bright. Being stared at by the other party like this, Su Cheng couldn’t help but feel a chill go down his spine.

“If my guess is true, then Zhou Xiuqing’s wish has not been fulfilled.”

“The production method of the soul-locking altar is actually two words in the final analysis: desire and massacre.

Two months ago, in the 1306 murder case, the baby was imprisoned in the soul-locking altar.

One month later, in the 1304 extermination case, although everyone died, their desires were not satisfied, so no new altar was created.

Push back another month, and here we are today. “

Wen Jianyan jumped up and rushed toward Su Cheng, startling him.

He held the Bagua mirror in his hand, his fingertips turned slightly white due to the force and handed the mirror to Su Cheng

“In every soul-locking altar, there is a mirror like this. The mirror is a channel connecting the inner and outer worlds, and the monster is sealed in the mirror, right?”

“Don’t you understand yet?”

Wen Jianyan paused and said: “From the beginning to the end, there are only two soul-locking altars; the third altar never existed from the beginning.”

—It failed to produce in 1304.

Therefore, Granny Wen still needed a massacre to make a new altar.

The young man took a deep breath slowly and in a restrained and calm tone, uttered a frightening guess:

“And those of us anchors who were tricked into the mirror and started killing each other because of desire will be made into a third altar.”

Therefore, none of the Bagua mirrors in their hands was a “hidden item.”

What was really judged to be a hidden item was the soul-locking altar connected by these mirrors.

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