Precisely because of this, during the targeted actions in the first few years, almost all the factions returned in crushing defeat.
The heavy losses also made them realize one thing.
The Celestial Corpse Sect was a tough nut to crack, covered in thorns and spikes.
Anyone who tried to target them either ended up with their bodies completely destroyed, or had their corpses taken and refined after they died.
What made it even more frustrating was that from then on, disciples of the Celestial Corpse Sect rarely traveled alone, and they were often secretly protected by their elders in the shadows.
If anyone dared to make a move, the consequences were obvious.
But!
Things were different now.
Right now, they were in a specter dungeon!
If they did whatever it took to get their hands on the corpse-refining secret art here and then ensured this man stayed in the dungeon forever, no one would ever know it was their doing.
In the next instant, a burly man standing near Zuo Lin'an took a step forward.
He stared greedily at the corpse-refining man.
“We might not be able to cultivate this corpse-refining secret art ourselves, but the bounty on the black market is incredibly high. I heard the complete version is worth one and a half billion!”
“And even an incomplete version is worth a fortune!”
“If I can pull off this deal, haha! I won't have to worry about my future ever again.”
He sneered, his expression looking somewhat sleazy.
“Others might not know who you are, but I've seen you before. You're ranked fifth among the current generation of Celestial Corpse Sect disciples, Wu Su!”
“Am I right?”
When this name was spoken, some of the surrounding players widened their eyes in surprise.
Clearly, they had all heard of him.
The woman who had spoken earlier seemed particularly astonished.
“So it's Wu Su! I'm actually very familiar with that name!”
“You're the one who appeared on the outskirts of Dragon City a few months ago, got hunted down, but broke through mid-battle and slaughtered your pursuers, right?”
Once the corpse-refining man's identity was exposed, the atmosphere in the room grew tense, like a powder keg waiting for a single spark to explode.
Yet Wu Su showed no fear whatsoever. He even wore a relaxed smile on his face.
“You think you've got me cornered? Do you really think I wouldn't dare to kill you all?”
As soon as he said this, the eager players instantly cooled down.
Wu Su sneered.
“According to you, I'm dead either way. Why don't I just take you all down with me?”
“Killing one is breaking even, killing two is a profit, and the more I kill, the more I gain!”
“Since you all want to clear the dungeon, you wouldn't dare to deal a fatal blow to me. But I don't have that concern!”
“After all...”
At this point, his voice dropped slightly.
“None of you are willing to risk your own lives to heavily injure me, only to let someone else reap the rewards.”
“Am I right?”
Wu Su ended their meaningless conversation with those two casually spoken words.
He turned around, took the kerosene lamp hanging on the wall, and walked toward one of the mine shafts right in front of them.
Earlier, he had been the first to emerge from the narrow mine shaft to this spot.
He had been observing the area the entire time.
Out of all the surrounding mine shafts, this was the only one that no one had emerged from.
In other words, this was the only correct path.
As for the other mine shafts, they were merely the players' spawn points and were dead ends.
As Wu Su left with the only kerosene lamp, the area gradually fell into darkness. The other players looked at each other, but in the end, none of them followed him.
Before long, the light vanished completely.
Soon, however, the woman who had targeted Wu Su earlier extended one of her fingers, and a bright light bloomed from her fingertip.
It looked just like... a lightbulb.
There's a technique like that?
Zuo Lin'an found it quite novel and couldn't help but stare for a moment.
But seeing how calm the other players were, he figured it was probably a basic technique that most cultivators knew.
She spoke up, “Since no one wants to go after him, why don't we analyze the dungeon notification first and plan our next move?”
At that moment, a few people stepped out from the corner.
“What is there to analyze?”
“We're university paranormal club students exploring an abandoned mine shaft, we accidentally awakened the specter here, and now we have to escape.”
“With the two main quests, isn't the meaning obvious?”
“We have to escape this abandoned mine within a day—twenty-four hours—and the path of survival must be at the exit of the mine.”
“As for the novice benefits... 【Did you hear that? Someone is calling you】, I think even an idiot can understand that.”
“Have you heard of a look-back kill?”
“This must be one of the specter's Death Rules, so we just need to remember not to look back when we hear a voice!”
With that, these few people headed toward the mine shaft Wu Su had entered.
Before leaving, one of them warned,
“This mine shaft seems to be the only correct path. Wu Su went ahead of us. If he sets traps or collapses the shaft behind him...”
The moment those words were uttered, everyone instantly realized the danger.
They quickly hurried forward.
In less than ten seconds, everyone entered the mine shaft and left.
Naturally, the two "ordinary people," Zuo Lin'an and Fang Tang, lagged at the very back.
But right at that moment...
Fang Tang, walking beside him, suddenly tripped and instinctively stumbled forward.
“Ah!!”
She cried out in panic!
Fortunately, Zuo Lin'an had quick reflexes. He grabbed her arm and stabilized her.
“Are you okay?”
Fang Tang stood in place and let out a long sigh of relief.
“I'm fine, thank you, Brother Lin'an.”
Zuo Lin'an shook his head.
“That's good. Follow behind me, and don't rush.”
“Okay.”
On the surface, Zuo Lin'an kept his face completely blank, but he was incredibly shocked in his heart.
Fang Tang was truly formidable.
With just a simple act of almost tripping, fifteen out of the nineteen players walking ahead of them had actually turned their heads!
And her second Death Rule was: Those who turn back upon hearing a voice, die!
Of course, this "voice" referred to her own voice or any voice she mimicked.
Just now, fifteen players had triggered her Death Rule!
Zuo Lin'an secretly gave Fang Tang a mental thumbs-up.
As expected.
In many cases, knowing how something works doesn't mean you can easily execute it.
Although these players already knew that the novice benefits hid the specter's Death Rule, which was the look-back kill, merely knowing it was useless.
Turning around upon hearing a sound was an involuntary reflex—a biological instinct!
It wasn't something they could completely avoid just because they were aware of the Death Rule.
Unless they actually saw a specter appear or sensed its presence behind them, they might stand a good chance of suppressing their body's instinctual reaction.
But the current situation was that the two people walking behind the players were specters in disguise.
Rate on N.U.
