I'll See You Out

Ma Qiao was actually the mole... When exactly?

From the moment they entered this mission, Ma Qiao had been with him the whole time, so he had no chance to mutate... Could it be like the previous Playground Number Six mission, where the mole was there from the very beginning?

I can't believe I didn't notice it for so long!

Moreover, this guy's strength is not simple. Although Old Yuan does not maintain his Gathering Origin Protective Qi at all times like Luo Jun, the Protective Qi Strength on a daily basis is still quite high. Even if he were to launch a sneak attack, he could pierce through the Qi Condensation Realm and injure Old Yuan's eyes. This guy's attack power is quite strong!

"Master, here you go!" Luo Jun tossed out a small bottle containing the Third Checkpoint challenge on the second floor, which could heal any injury.

Old Yuan caught one, ate it himself, and the wound on his left eye, which had been stabbed, slowly began to heal. He then bent down and helped Mao Xintong up, but the woman showed no signs of life.

"Huh?!" Old Yuan suddenly frowned, and his body suddenly activated his internal energy, sending Mao Xintong flying. She crashed into the wall, blood splattering everywhere, her body twisted in pain.

"What's wrong, Master?" Luo Jun came to Old Yuan's side and noticed that his left hand was trembling slightly. The blood on his hand suddenly began to wriggle. Upon closer inspection, it was not a normal liquid, but seemed to be composed of countless tiny red worms. Moreover, these worms were constantly multiplying and spreading, burrowing into Old Yuan's skin through his pores!

Then look at Mao Xintong, who had been sent flying. Suddenly, she trembled all over, let out a terrifying laugh, and then stood up in a bizarre posture.

Luo Jun's eyes widened. Even Mao Xintong was a mole?

That's impossible. It's one thing for Ma Qiao, but he verified Mao Xintong's identity with dice; she was definitely human... She was replaced after that!

Second floor!

Aside from the second floor where everyone went up alone, Luo Jun was almost always with Mao Xintong!

Was she replaced on the second floor? Did she eat the food from the Fourth Checkpoint?

So she's lying when she says she only passed three rounds!

So, does that mean that Ma Qiao, who also said he only passed three rounds, was also replaced around that time?

Why? They were clearly warned not to attempt the Fourth Checkpoint lightly...

By the way, the Fourth Checkpoint gives you a teleportation item, but it can only teleport one person. These people are worried about falling behind, so they're risking everything to get through the Fourth Checkpoint. The fact that they dare to challenge it means they have a way to avoid it, but ultimately something unexpected might happen, leading to them being replaced!

"I didn't expect the door's defenses to have evolved again," Ma Qiao sneered. "I thought I could finally escape this damned maze, but I'm stuck here!"

"It's alright, it's not a loss." Mao Xintong licked her fingers, which had turned into sharp claws. "That old bastard fell for our trick, he won't live much longer... He's incredibly powerful, once we take over his body, we'll both become even stronger!"

Mentioning this, Ma Qiao let out a strange laugh, "That's right, even if you can't leave, having found such a powerful body is enough to roam freely in the labyrinth."

As they spoke, the spot where Old Yuan had just been penetrated by the Chaos Substance began to mutate...

"Master, quickly use your vital energy to resist!" Luo Jun advised based on his experience.

But Old Yuan looked pained, gritted his teeth, and shook his head, saying, "I've tried... I can only delay it, not stop it, and my mind is starting to Blur..."

"How could this be?!" Luo Jun exclaimed in surprise. He had used his own energy to resist when Ailongtan was replaced by Chaos Substance before, so why couldn't his Master?

"Hehehehe..." Ma Qiao laughed from the other side, "Too naive. Our clan's replacement technique is not that simple. Once you've been infused with our essence, unless you possess the Saint's Body or the Immortal Qi, you simply cannot resist!"

"The Saint's Body? The Immortal Qi?" Luo Jun was stunned, having never heard of these two things before.

"Immortal Qi refers to an extremely high concentration of primordial energy! Even if I cultivate to the Seventh Layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm using the Body Tempering Art, the concentration of primordial energy still doesn't reach that standard..." Old Yuan gritted his teeth and said, "Currently, the only known method to achieve Immortal Qi is the Ascension Realm!"

"After breaking through to the Ascension Realm, the quality of one's vital energy will undergo a leap, becoming vastly different from the vital energy of ordinary Cultivators. Only this kind of energy can be called the Immortal Qi!"

Luo Jun frowned slightly upon hearing this. It seemed that Ailongtan's ability to resist the erosion was due to his vital energy. Could it be that the quality of his vital energy had reached the level of Feather Transformation?

Luo Jun dared not be arrogant... After all, even until the very end, Ailongtan had not completely resolved the Chaos Substance within his body; he could only hold on by relying on his vital energy and erosion. Clearly, Luo Jun's vital energy had not yet reached the level of an immortal!

However, it is clear that at the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, which is still double the maximum increase, Luo Jun's Qi concentration far exceeds that of ordinary Cultivators. Even if he cannot compare to true Feather Transformation, he is probably close to touching the threshold of Immortal Qi.

"What about the Saint's Body?" Luo Jun pressed.

"I'm not too sure about that," Old Yuan said through gritted teeth. "But during my explorations in other worlds, I heard some legends. It is said that there was once an extremely rare race with extraordinary talent. Although they could cultivate Yuan Qi, their control over it was extremely poor. They couldn't condense or compress it, let alone expel it from their bodies. Therefore, they could never reach the Foundation Establishment Realm. However, they could cultivate the Body Refinement Realm with almost no upper limit. If they could cultivate to the end, although they didn't have any special abilities, they could reach the pinnacle and become top-tier powerhouses just by relying on brute force!"

"If it's truly possible to resist this kind of erosion with the physical body, perhaps only a race from Mythical Legend could accomplish that..."

Old Yuan's words reminded Luo Jun of his previous Death Challenge, which was initiated by Midnight.

The Saint's Remains... those remains showed no trace of qi, yet their brute force alone was enough to suppress Luo Jun had used his Gathering Origin Protective Qi!

Could those remains be the remains of the rare race that Old Yuan mentioned?

There was no time to think about such things now. Luo Jun took out a strange piece of meat. "Master, eat this first, then just walk towards the door. I'll take care of these two guys."

"I advise you not to try this," Mao Xintong chuckled. "This old guy has the essence of both of us fused in his body. If he eats anything from the Black Shop, he'll die instantly!"

"Trying to fool me?" Luo Jun frowned. "Even Ling Jian, who just mutated by 90%, survived."

As he said this, he silently rolled the dice in his mind to get the truth, and he succeeded!

"Even within our clan, there are distinctions of rank. The one who implanted the essence within that kid is far inferior in status to the two of us. Moreover, there are two of us who injected our essence into the same body!"

As they spoke, the two revealed ferocious expressions. "That old thing is in great danger now. Those guys won't let him return to your world! Even if he hasn't fully mutated, he'll be killed by that rotten flesh!"

Luo Jun's heart sank upon hearing this. The dice indicated they were telling the truth. Was his Master truly beyond saving?

He immediately withdrew the flesh, and the constantly being Old Yuan looked at the two people opposite him. "It's alright, this Old Man has lived for over a hundred years, that's enough. Today, I'll risk my old life to kill you two monsters!"

As he spoke, Old Yuan's body energy rose up, condensing as he tried to unleash his Gathering Origin Protective Qi. However, he had only spoken halfway when he suddenly showed pain on his face and knelt down on one knee with a thud, only managing to stay upright by supporting himself with his hands.

"Master!" Luo Jun immediately helped Old Yuan up, only to find that the part of him that had been replaced had expanded.

Just like when Ling Jian was corrupted, as long as he circulates his vital energy, the corruption will accelerate, and his body will become weak and out of control.

"Still have the nerve to care about others?" Ma Qiao's figure blurred, his hands transforming into a dozen tentacles, and he charged forward in the blink of an eye. "You're not getting away either!" Such speed!

Even Luo Jun couldn't help but admire him; this monster who replaced Ma Qiao was indeed formidable. No wonder he even managed to ambush his Master.

Unfortunately, Luo Jun, whose average attributes are now close to 400 and who is at the ninth level of both the Foundation Establishment, is far stronger than Old Yuan. What others see as lightning-fast speed is nothing special to Luo Jun!

He snorted coldly and charged towards Ma Qiao. With a flick of his left hand, his qi was like a knife, severing the attacking tentacles. With his right hand, his Gathering Origin Protective Qi thickened and formed an invisible giant hand, which grabbed Ma Qiao by the neck and slammed him heavily to the ground!

Boom!

The immense force smashed a large crater into the hard floor, instantly spreading out a fine spiderweb pattern. The person directly hit by the attack, Ma Qiao, was so shaken that his body was twisted beyond recognition...

At this moment, Mao Xintong flashed and appeared behind Luo Jun. Her body suddenly transformed into a large sack that covered Luo Jun.

Faced with this bizarre attack, Luo Jun neither dodged nor evaded. Suddenly, the qi behind him surged up and formed more than a dozen sharp spikes, instantly piercing the monster that had descended upon him with countless holes. Then, these spikes slid and rotated on his back, instantly cutting Mao Xintong into several pieces!

However, this guy was also quite experienced. When he was cut into pieces, he managed to dodge at the Limit second, leaving more than a third of the piece intact. After escaping Luo Jun's attack range, he immediately sent out countless tiny tentacles to roll back and merge the scattered fragments!

But just then, Luo Jun, who was still holding onto Ma Qiao, suddenly chased after her and, before Mao Xintong could recover, reached out his other hand, grabbed her, and slammed her against the wall!

Boom!

The wall was smashed into a large crater, and a violent tremor came from it. Looking at Mao Xintong, she was no longer human; she had turned into a puddle of mud-like matter!

Taking advantage of this moment, Ma Qiao changed his body shape, trying to break free from Luo Jun's control. However, Luo Jun swung his arm and slammed him against the wall. At the same time, he activated and expanded his qi in both hands, enveloping the two monsters like two large pot lids, firmly pinning their bodies to the wall, leaving them nowhere to escape!

"Tell me! How can I leave my Master?"

"It's useless..." Ma Qiao laughed, "Those who have already been infected by us cannot recover!"

Mao Xintong, standing nearby, chuckled and said, "Unless he can undergo the purification process at the exit before being completely replaced, but unfortunately, with the current mechanism, the exit will no longer recognize him..."

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"Are you going to talk or not?" Luo Jun increased the pressure, squeezing the two monsters even flatter...

"It's pointless..." Ma Qiao's voice came through. "Even if you really have a way to kill us, we'll both be reborn inside that old man's body. Then, will you still have the heart to kill him?"

Luo Jun frowned. Just then, he heard a thud behind him. Turning around, he saw that Old Yuan had collapsed to the ground, unconscious...

"Master!" Luo Jun roared in fright. His internal energy became unstable, and his grip loosened inadvertently. The two monsters seized the opportunity, suddenly slipping away from his grasp. Their bodies transformed into two thin tentacles, twisted into a pretzel. Taking advantage of Luo Jun's unstable mind and scattered internal energy, they actually burrowed into his open mouth!

"Damn it!" Luo Jun hurriedly grabbed his throat with both hands, but it was too late. He could feel two abnormal energies rampaging through his body, constantly invading and assimilating his body tissues! And he was completely unable to separate these two forces.

Before long, signs similar to those of being assimilated by Chaos Creature appeared on his body. His body trembled uncontrollably, and he collapsed to the ground, lying next to the unconscious Old Yuan.

A few minutes later, the Chaos features on Old Yuan, who had already begun to mutate in many places, suddenly began to fade. Then Luo Jun suddenly got up, a triumphant smile on his face, reached out and took out a strange piece of meat, stuffing it into the mouth of the unconscious Old Yuan.

The piece of meat melted in his mouth and flowed down his throat. Old Yuan, who ate the meat, did not die as the monsters had said, but he also did not wake up.

"Impossible! How could this be!"

"Who are you? Why? Why is this happening?!"

Two voices roared within Luo Jun's body, but Luo Jun did not respond to them. Instead, he repeatedly used his vital energy to cleanse the body until the two voices were completely drowned out...

Yes, Luo Jun had just opened his mouth when they took advantage of the opening. It wasn't an accident; it was intentional. The purpose was to lure these two guys to take advantage of him and abandon his Master.

Remember what the merchant said before? As long as Gold Ingot is dropped, it means the monster has been killed, and the injured person is no longer at risk of being replaced.

Initially, when the word "infected" was deemed ambiguous by the dice, Luo Jun wondered what the difference was between "infection" and "replacement," given that both involve injury and mutation caused by foreign invasion.

Later, he figured it out by observing how Gold Ingot exploded.

There is a fundamental difference between "infection" and "replacement": the source of infection can reproduce and divide on its own!

When I am sick and infect you, my illness will not get better; one patient will become two.

But if I replace you, I will still be me, just living my life in your image.

Therefore, once Gold Ingot is dropped, the Chaos Creature cannot be replaced, because the original body is already dead, and the Chaos Substance that was separated cannot regenerate and revive the original body!

In other words, a person can be replaced by multiple Chaos Creature working together, but a single Chaos Creature can only replace one person at a time!

Since Ma Qiao and Mao Xintong chose to jointly replace Old Yuan, Luo Jun created a loophole to lure them into replacing him, thus stopping the replacement of Old Yuan.

After all, his demonstrated strength far surpasses that of Old Yuan, which should be quite attractive to these two monsters.

Of course, in order to succeed, Luo Jun did not hesitate to use the Dice of Heavenly Secrets one last time before taking action!

The result was good; the operation went smoothly. The two monsters were overjoyed when they first entered Luo Jun's body, constantly increasing their strength. Luo Jun, however, played along, luring them deeper and deeper until the two monsters realized something was wrong. They were already too deeply trapped, firmly locked inside Luo Jun's body, and could no longer transfer to Old Yuan's side...

As for Luo Jun, whose plan had succeeded, he helped up the still unconscious Old Yuan and brought him to the tightly closed door, where he pressed himself against it.

As the gate slowly opened, Luo Jun whispered to Old Yuan, whose eyes were still closed, "Master, you go first, I'll be right behind you." With that, he gently pushed Old Yuan out and watched the gate slowly close.

(End of this chapter)