Red Luo Stone

Zhao Ke looked around again and saw that this was no temple at all, but ruins in some unknown place.

"Slap, slap, slap..."

Looking down, he saw countless tiny snakes covering the ground. Like rattlesnakes, they slapped their tails against one another, producing the hallucinatory sound.

"Ahhh... this feels so good!"

The fat man who had previously sat beside Zhao Ke was sitting on a rock, his eyes rolled back as a giant snake tightly coiled around him. He let out weak moans.

The giant snake opened its mouth and inhaled. A wisp of vital energy flowed out through the fat man's nose and mouth and was continuously sucked into the snake. The fat man's skin immediately shriveled, and he aged several years in an instant.

He did not die, only fainted. After all, this was a long-term business. They could not just kill everyone.

What surprised Zhao Ke was that after the giant snakes drained people's vital energy, they did not consume it themselves. Instead, they gathered it into a ball in their mouths and sprayed it onto a fist-sized stone behind them.

After absorbing the vital energy fed back by the snakes, the gem grew increasingly red and lustrous, flickering with an eerie rainbow glow.

Only then did the giant snakes reveal satisfied expressions. They turned around and began devouring the bodies that had been drained of vital energy.

"Don't be afraid. I'll make your death very pleasant."

At that moment, Zhao Ke's earlobe grew hot. A woman's face gradually emerged upon the snake's face before him, pressing intimately against his cheek. The snake woman opened her mouth wider and wider.

"No, don't!"

Seeing Zhao Ke's ashen face, she felt immensely pleased, filled with delight. In her eyes, Zhao Ke was already food on her plate.

Her thick snake body was tightly coiled around Zhao Ke's waist. Even if he woke from the illusion, he could never break free.

However, just as she opened her mouth to its widest, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a sly, icy gleam in Zhao Ke's eyes. Her heart skipped a beat, but before she could react—

Pfft!

A heart-rending pain struck her like lightning. A dagger had viciously stabbed into her mouth.

The dagger sank all the way to its hilt. Zhao Ke swung it hard, instantly carving a bone-deep gash through the snake's mouth.

"Ah!"

Overwhelmed by the agony, the snake woman no longer cared about Zhao Ke. With a sweep of her tail, she flung him away.

Zhao Ke rolled across the ground. When he looked up, he saw that the surrounding giant snakes had immediately fixed their gazes on him after hearing the commotion.

"Hiss, hiss..."

A human face gradually formed on a white snake's head. Zhao Ke recognized it as the old cultivator. He twisted his body and charged toward Zhao Ke, his formerly kind and benevolent face now twisted with ferocity.

"Benefactor, why are you leaving before you've had your fill of fun?"

Zhao Ke swept his eyes toward the gem behind the white snake and narrowed them. Rather than retreating, he gritted his teeth and rushed straight at it.

Seeing Zhao Ke actually charge at him, the white snake grinned. Opening his mouth, he bit down at Zhao Ke's head with brutal speed, clearly intending to give Zhao Ke no chance of survival. He planned to bite him to death first.

A white blur flashed past with breathtaking speed. The old nun nearly swallowed half of Zhao Ke's body in one bite, but the instant she bit down, the giant snake's eyes flew wide open.

A Great Iron Pot was wedged firmly in her mouth, leaving her in such pain that her eyes went blank.

Zhao Ke had looted this Great Iron Pot from Xiong Er's home and stored it in the Post Album in case of emergencies. He had not expected it to come in handy here.

The pot, cast from pure pig iron, weighed more than fifty pounds. If he had not equipped the Bear Coat stamp and doubled his strength, he would not even have been able to lift it.

Zhao Ke gave a cold smile. Taking advantage of the old fellow's daze, he flipped over her body, reached out, and snatched the crimson gem into his hand.

The instant the gem touched his hand, a chill surged out of it. It was icy cold, like a lump of ice, and its bite made Zhao Ke shiver. With a thought, he said, "Convert!"

His palm suddenly grew lighter. Zhao Ke could already sense changes within his Post Album, and he was secretly delighted. A pot for a gem. What a bargain.

However, just as he was congratulating himself, he heard something slice through the air behind him. He instinctively ducked, feeling a fierce gust brush past his hair.

With a bang, a stone before him shattered. Looking again, Zhao Ke saw that it was the iron pot. His mouth twitched. If he had not dodged quickly, his head would have been smashed open.

"Rip him apart!"

The old cultivator turned back and saw that his Red Luo Pearl was gone. His eyes instantly reddened as he called for the other snake women to attack Zhao Ke.

In truth, he did not need to give the order. The snake women were already rushing at Zhao Ke from all directions. The Red Luo Pearl was as precious to them as their lives. Their eyes were red with fury, and they wanted nothing more than to tear Zhao Ke to pieces.

Yet before they could pounce on him, Zhao Ke's lips curled slightly. He waved at the demons and monsters, silently chanting, Return!

Bang!

Several snake women lunged forward, only to miss. Zhao Ke's figure gradually turned translucent, then vanished from the air bit by bit.

"No!"

The white snake formed from the old cultivator stared with wide eyes. After his chest heaved violently, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and his enormous body crashed heavily to the ground.

Zhao Ke's vision went dark. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself still standing outside the shop.

Looking at the electronic clock hanging inside, he saw that it was still the day he had entered the horror space. It seemed as if he had only stood there for a few minutes.

He looked again at the package in his hands and patted his numb face, even beginning to wonder whether he had just had a dream.

Taking a deep breath, Zhao Ke walked back into the shop, shut the door, and placed the package on the table. After thinking for a while, he did not open it. Instead, with a thought, he summoned his Post Album.

First, he wanted to confirm that what he had experienced was not an illusion. Second, he wanted to find out exactly what he had obtained from Fragrant Mountain Nunnery.

A thick, heavy Post Album floated before him at Zhao Ke's command.

The lines at its four corners had been worn smooth, exposing a bright bronze color that gave off an indescribable feeling beneath the light.

Seeing the Post Album floating before him, Zhao Ke's eyes lit up. Though his face remained calm, he could not suppress the excitement in his heart.

Opening the Post Album, he saw that many stamps had already been affixed inside. Yet two of them stood out glaringly among the rest.

One was the Bear Coat, glowing with black light. Against its dark green background hung a bloody bear hide, blood dripping down from it. Looking carefully, one might even get the illusion that the bear hide was still faintly writhing, as if it were alive.

Thanks to this stamp, he had survived. If it had not unlocked the Post Album's permissions in advance and doubled his strength, he had no idea whether he could have returned alive from Zhuangyuan Tower.

But one thing was certain: he would never have gained so much.

Zhao Ke turned his gaze to the other stamp, anticipation shining in his eyes. Something that had made those snake demons so agitated had to be valuable.

It was a very strange stamp. A white snake coiled within it, holding a stone in its mouth—the blood-red gem. It radiated a bewitching red glow. After Zhao Ke stared at it for several moments, his chest began to feel tight and nauseated. Alarmed, he quickly looked away.

Only after some time did the oppressive feeling in his chest fade. When he looked at the note beneath it, Zhao Ke's brows immediately furrowed tightly.

Material Stamp (Precious): Red Luo Stone

Special Use 1: Absorption

Use the vital energy within the Red Luo Stone to increase one's own strength.

(Note: The user must possess a certain degree of special power. Ordinary people cannot absorb it, and prolonged contact is fatal.)

Special Use 2: Crafting

The Red Luo Stone can be used to create items with hallucinatory abilities. The strength of the effect depends on the creator's skill.

(Note: Red Luo Stone powder causes intense hallucinations.)

Seeing the notes below, Zhao Ke felt an indescribable disappointment. Though the stamp was marked as precious, it seemed to be completely useless to him at present.

But on second thought, since it had made the old cultivator so anxious and furious, its use could not be as poor as he imagined. He might not need it now, but perhaps it would prove useful in the future.

With that thought, he put away the Post Album and turned his gaze toward the package on the table.