The bounty offered on the wanted poster was so incredibly generous that even some of the established families and sects found themselves tempted.
Yet, despite the massive commotion caused by the bounty, no one had been able to capture Shu Laiyun.
Puzzled, many people sought out spirit mediums to ask about the situation.
Only then did they learn that after Shu Laiyun cast his unorthodox technique, he had devoured and plundered some innate secret talents from the Rat Immortal. It was precisely because of this that he had repeatedly evaded danger and remained at large to this day.
Among them, the three most troublesome talents were 【Danger-Scenting】, 【Homogeneity】, and 【Ground-Shrinking】.
【Danger-Scenting】, as the name implied, allowed him to scent crises in advance.
Consequently, no matter who tried to capture him, he could always flee ahead of time.
When escaping, he could use 【Ground-Shrinking】. Although it couldn't compare to the legendary technique of shrinking miles into inches, his speed was still exceptionally fast.
Lastly was 【Homogeneity】.
Shu Laiyun could make his own aura resonate with the surrounding environment, thereby minimizing his presence to the absolute limit.
Unless it was an absolute horror, nothing would notice him.
It was precisely because of this 【Homogeneity】 that the spirit medium Liu Fei hadn't discovered Shu Laiyun's identity earlier.
Otherwise, this wretched rat of a man could never have survived to this day.
Of course, while gaining such powerful abilities, Shu Laiyun had also paid a price.
An unorthodox technique was called such precisely because it was bloody, cruel, and carried massive side effects.
As for what the price was...
Looking at his current state—neither human nor rat—that was the price.
He was even slowly transforming into a rat.
Perhaps in the end, he would turn into a real rat.
Li Zhuang watched Shu Laiyun walk to the middle of the fork in the path, silently waiting.
If one were to ask why he could find the exit... it actually had nothing to do with talent.
It was purely because Shu Laiyun's plundered target was a Rat Immortal—a rat demon—combined with the fact that he was currently slowly turning into a rat. Thus, he was simply relying on a rat's instincts to find the exit.
Li Zhuang had also heard that many miners would keep a few rats in the shafts to ensure their safety.
Standing at the fork, Shu Laiyun closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings, his nose twitching slightly as he sniffed in several directions.
He seemed to have caught a scent. While keeping a calm expression on the surface, his eyes darted around restlessly.
“This way.”
Shu Laiyun pointed in a direction in front of everyone, but secretly made a hand gesture to Li Zhuang.
Li Zhuang's eyes flickered upon seeing it, but he said nothing. Instead, he silently reached out and scooped the scrawny Shu Laiyun up into his arms.
Then, he walked toward the mine shaft Shu Laiyun had just pointed to, and their figures quickly vanished inside.
The other five players behind them silently followed.
A short while after they left, the figures of Li Zhuang and Shu Laiyun slowly materialized back at the original fork.
Shu Laiyun gave a sinister chuckle.
“Brother Li, how long can your Shadow Split Art last?”
The corner of Li Zhuang's mouth curled up.
“If no one touches them, they should last about ten minutes. But did you really scent danger?”
Although he looked down on Shu Laiyun and even thought about capturing him to claim the bounty, that didn't stop him from cooperating with him now.
This was a specter dungeon, after all.
No matter what he thought in his heart, he had to ensure he could clear it alive first.
Shu Laiyun pointed at his nose.
“Of course there is. Brother Li, you probably know how sharp my nose is.”
Of course Li Zhuang knew!
After all, the fact that Shu Laiyun had survived until now was proof enough that his sensitivity to danger was absolutely infallible.
Otherwise, he would have been caught long ago by those coveting the bounty.
“Which way now?”
Shu Laiyun leaped lightly from his arm and began sniffing around the area continuously.
It took about ten seconds before he was certain.
“This way.”
Without another word, the two of them departed down that mine shaft.
Not long after, Zuo Lin'an and Fang Tang's specter bodies appeared at the spot.
“Which way?”
Zuo Lin'an handed the decision over to Fang Tang.
Fang Tang looked back and forth between the two shafts, then pointed to one of them.
“There are five over here. Let's head this way first.”
As for Li Zhuang and Shu Laiyun...
They might be powerful, but there were only two of them. Even if they ran into Zhao Lin, it wouldn't be a big deal.
After all, Zhao Lin's curse seeds didn't care about the target's strength; they only cared about numbers.
Having made her decision, the two of them rushed in the direction the previous five had gone.
It had to be said that Shu Laiyun's 【Danger-Scenting】 talent was indeed formidable.
He had so easily evaded a fatal disaster.
Just as they were about to catch up to the five, Fang Tang suddenly spoke.
“Two of those five haven't triggered my rules yet. Don't make a move later; let me call out to them first.”
Zuo Lin'an naturally wouldn't object.
“Alright.”
In less than ten seconds, they could already faintly see the players ahead.
Fang Tang revealed her figure, though she deliberately suppressed her specter aura.
“Why are you running so fast? I'm still behind you!”
The voice she used was not her own, but Li Zhuang's. She wanted the element of surprise.
After all, to the five players ahead, Li Zhuang and Shu Laiyun were supposed to be leading the way in front, yet his voice was coming from behind them.
It was guaranteed to startle them!
Sure enough, when Fang Tang spoke, none of the five remembered anything about novice benefits, look-back kills, or Death Rules.
Purely out of instinct, they whipped their heads around.
Yet at that very moment, what met their eyes was a terrifying female specter wrapped in bandages.
Their faces filled with shock, and they realized instantly.
“Oh no! It's a specter! We've triggered the rule!”
“Damn it, Li Zhuang is ahead of us! What was wrong with me just now? Why did I look back...”
“What are you standing there for? Run!”
The five players scrambled to flee, and Fang Tang immediately released her specter aura.
In just an instant, an incredibly dense specter aura rapidly filled the entire mine shaft, its bone-chilling cold forcefully slowing their pace.
“Phew...”
The five players were in immense agony, feeling as if every breath they took would freeze their lungs solid.
Left with no choice, they could only hold their breath for the moment.
“Attack, quickly!”
“I can't! I don't have a specter item, and my talent can't repel specters!”
“Me neither!”
“Me too, I'm the same...”
Going down the line, these five players actually turned out to be completely useless.
For a moment, even Fang Tang was a bit surprised.
But soon, a bloodthirsty smile spread across her face.
Since they couldn't repel her, she wouldn't hold back.
As Fang Tang slowly approached, the scalps of the players ahead went numb.
Someone was the first to break.
“Everyone, I'm leaving first. You're on your own!”
Immediately after, his cheeks puffed up, and he actually blew a gust of black wind directly from his mouth.
The black wind enveloped his entire body, and he rapidly flew deeper into the mine shaft. Just as he swept past the spot where the other two were, their figures suddenly shattered.
Only then did everyone realize that Li Zhuang and Shu Laiyun had fled long ago!
Though they were furious, now was clearly not the time to assign blame. Escaping with their lives was the top priority.
Rate on N.U.
