Laying It Bare and Striking Decisively.

The Short Man envied the ability of the Night Thunder Dream Beast.

It should be noted that Gray Garlic is not common, and only the residents of Weiju Village know how to collect it, and even then, it has many flaws.

The amount of Gray Garlic they've prepared is barely enough for this journey. If anything unexpected happens, like rain, they'll be lost in the sea of the dead.

Lu Jun's Mind Invisibility relies entirely on magical effects, making him highly resistant to risks and allowing him to move freely in the land of the dead.

Mo Fan, Asha Ruiya, and the others also breathed a sigh of relief.

The group then successfully reached the hillside corner where the Weiju Village was located, just as the heavy rain of the night gradually subsided.

The Weiju Village is backed by the majestic Qinling Mountains, with towering peaks and majestic shadows reaching the sky in the distance. The branches of these mountains create a landscape of Thousands of Ravines and Valleys on the plateau.

The first settlement, 'Yangyang Village', was located in a ravine somewhere.

When everyone arrived, they found the place empty except for a pile of abandoned and messy wood, and the ground was covered in black ash from burning. There was no village to be seen!

"What's going on?!" Asha Ruiya's male attendant immediately turned around with a hint of anger and asked, "Are you playing us?"

The Short Man quickly explained, "No, Hua Village is right here. We were definitely here last time."

Lu Mei, the older sister standing nearby, checked the map and frowned, saying, "The location shown on the phone does indeed indicate that we are in Hua Village."

At this moment, the strong man was disoriented and looked incredulous. He began to rush down the ravine like a madman.

But no matter how hard he searched, all he found was a pile of tangled wood; there wasn't a soul in sight.

Seeing this, Mo Fan's expression turned grim. The Weiju Village was where Zhang Xiaohou had disappeared. Even the native inhabitants had mysteriously vanished. The monkey's fate was indeed worrying.

He whispered, "The Abyss of Calamity, Undead Forbidden Zone, appeared around here recently. Could it have been slaughtered by the undead?"

"Impossible," the burly man retorted. "Our Weiju Village has drunk Kun Jing Water for generations. The spirits of the dead won't harm us. Nothing has happened to us all these years."

"So what do we do now?"

Asha Ruiya suggested, "Why don't we go check out the next village?"

The Short Man sighed, "That's all we can do."

Who would have thought that a normal trip to collect a body would lead to so many problems?

Only Lu Jun shook his head. Most of the six villages in the perilous settlement were slaughtered, and the remaining residents of Hua Village were also completely wiped out by Fang Gu, the village chief of Yangyang Village, in subsequent retaliation.

[Fang Gu] was the first Undead Mage to don the Ancient King Armor Robe.

It's fair to say that Hua Village deserved it. Back then, the Black Vatican stole the Kun Jing Water from the six villages, leaving the Weiju Village with nowhere to hide.

Fang Gu brought his family to seek refuge, intending to stay for one night and then leave, but they were still refused entry by Village Chief Xie Sang of Hua Village.

So he went mad and used the Kun Jing Water to transform the people of his village into sentient spirits, allowing them to survive in an unusual way.

Then it's nothing more than the same old stories of Mortal World tragedy and revenge.

The man still had some sense; not seeing a body meant it wasn't the worst-case scenario, so he led the group to the next village, [Hua Village].

With Lu Jun present this time, Ye Yu caused no trouble.

Soon, the group arrived at Hua Village.

"Holy crap!" the Short Man exclaimed, "How come the people from Hua Village have disappeared too?"

They saw the village ahead in disarray, with traces of blood on the muddy ground.

Just as everyone had a bad feeling, Lu Jun suddenly said, "They're not dead; they're all hiding in that well cave."

Lu Jun possessed exceptional Mental Power, secretly employing mental detection to cover an area of several hundred meters, ensuring that no movement escaped his notice.

Not to mention the Mind Mark planted on Zhang Xiaohou that has begun to resonate.

Upon hearing this, the burly man breathed a sigh of relief and ran to the well, shouting down, "Is anyone in there? I'm Fang Miao from Huayang Village."

Not long after, a commotion arose from below, and finally a strong male voice said, "Someone's here, come out now."

It was a small well, but hundreds of villagers climbed out of it one by one.

The first person to come out was a young man, whom the burly man recognized at a glance. He hurriedly asked, "You are... Hong Jun, the village chief Xie's son. Do you know what happened in our village?"

"Oh, you're Fang Miao from the next village."

Hong Jun shook his head and said, "I don't know what happened in your village either, but we were attacked by the undead."

The strong man asked each of the next dozen or so villagers, but none of them knew the answer, and he looked sorrowful.

At the very end, when the man and woman climbed out of the well at the same time, Mo Fan's eyes widened, staring intently at the man.

Mo Fan had expected the other person to come over immediately, but she simply walked past him, ignoring him completely, like a stranger.

Ah... Mo Fan's expression froze. Realizing what was happening, he grabbed Zhang Xiaohou before he went far.

The pretty young woman in her early twenties Su Xiaoluo, looked at the stranger who had suddenly made a move and asked warily, "What are you doing?"

Mo Fan ignored the woman and exclaimed in surprise, "You don't recognize me?!"

He then glanced at Su Xiaoluo and laughed, "I went through all this trouble to save you, and you're here having a lucky streak with women. How can you face your He Yu?"

"Do you know that He Yu spends her days in tears in the Ancient Capital? If Wei Fang hadn't stopped her, she would have come to find you long ago."

After he finished speaking, Zhang Xiaohou remained expressionless and bewildered.

Su Xiaoluo was overjoyed and quickly asked, "You know him?! He was seriously injured and almost died a few days ago. He appeared in Hua Village and I saved him, but he has some aftereffects."

Mo Fan opened his mouth. Amnesia? A classic scene from a TV series.

However, he still hugged Zhang Xiaohou tightly and patted his shoulder, saying, "It's alright, it's good that you're okay."

Seeing this, Lu Jun remained silent, while his sister Lu Mei raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself that, as expected, her brother's goal was not just to save people.

Otherwise, Zhang Xiaohou would have been overjoyed to be safe, but now he looks grave.

She was used to it; her younger brother possessed a remarkable ability to see through the world and foresee the future, which she suspected was Innate Talent of the Mind Element.

Little did Lu Jun know, he was thinking about other things. He glanced at Zhang Xiaohou and knew that the other was pretending to be stupid because the Black Vatican's people were secretly watching him.

The monkey faced the Abyss of Calamity and accidentally bumped into a group from the Black Vatican, thus realizing part of their conspiracy.

Unfortunately, he was forced to lie low due to a life-or-death crisis. In addition, he was infected with Death Worm by Mu He, the Tiger Jin Grand Deacon, and lost his related memories, which saved his life.

His gaze was deep as he turned to look at the young man Hong Jun, a smile playing on his lips.

The current situation is quite interesting; there are three groups of forces secretly monitoring this group in Hua Village.

Fang Gu is on the first level, and is also the mastermind behind the attacks by the undead. Hong Jun is on the second level, and secretly joined the Black Vatican to control Zhang Xiaohou. The Adjudication Court on the third and final level.

The appearance of Abyss of Calamity and the activities of the Black Vatican attracted the attention of the Adjudication Court, which dispatched personnel to investigate.

The judge happened to spot Zhang Xiaohou, a missing military officer, and began to follow and protect him.

Chapter 226: Make it clear, take decisive action.

Lu Jun was quite interested in the three forces; it was a classic layered scheme.

You think I'm on the first floor, but I'm actually on the fifth floor!

This member of the Adjudication Court, hidden in the surrounding area, appears to be at the top, looking down on the Black Vatican and Fang Gu factions, but in reality, he doesn't possess much intelligence.

The Adjudication Court came too late. They had no leads, only the slightest clues. Seeing Zhang Xiaohou as the only person who knew the truth, they decided to use him as bait.

If the Black Vatican and Fang Gu don't take action, the members of the Adjudication Court remain inactive.

Unfortunately, the Black Vatican was fully engaged in drawing in the Abyss of Calamity, remaining deeply entrenched. Only Fang Gu, the Undead Mage who truly stood on the first level and was solely driven by revenge, made his move.

In the original story, with Mo Fan present, the members of the Adjudication Court did not expose themselves.

Of course, although the Adjudication Court came later, its contributions were still evident. The subsequent Guillotine Plan was based on the discovery of Salang's presence in the upper echelons.

Then, the mysterious gray-robed man, as a representative, verbally relayed the information to Han Ji and other high-ranking members of the Ancient Capital Magic Association.

Lu Jun suspected that it was at this moment that the Adjudication Court became connected with 'Ye Meng'e' Asha Ruiya.

He himself could detect Fang Gu and members of the Adjudication Court hidden on the outskirts of Hua Village using his mental detection, so there's no reason why Asha Ruiya couldn't find them.

After all, Asha Ruiya's father, Wen Tai, is a Dark King, and she possesses the Dark Angel Holy Soul, a treasure that reaches the Forbidden Curse Level.

While it is far inferior to the Ancient King Armor Robe in its Resurrection Soul, it is still extremely terrifying.

These were all his guesses, things not shown in the original work. Now, looking at Asha Ruiya's occasional glances towards the outside of the village, he was pretty much right.

Logically, this filled in the gaps in the story.

With this, Lu Jun finally finished sorting out the entire history of the Ancient Capital. The 'fog of war' before him gradually diminished and faded, becoming as clear as the lines on the palm of his hand.

"You all think you're on the top floor, but little do you know, I'm the ceiling."

Lu Jun, full of inner monologue, suddenly spoke, his voice carrying hundreds of meters away to the outskirts of Hua Village: "How long do you two intend to hide?"

As soon as the words were spoken, Mo Fan, Su Xiaoluo, and other residents of Hua Village, including Hong Jun and Xie Sang, were startled.

Asha Ruiya glanced at him with slight surprise.

As for the members of the Adjudication Court who were hiding on the outskirts, the Undead Mage Fang Gu was deeply shaken.

However, being seasoned veterans, the two were not so easily fooled. They remained silent and began to secretly speculate about the other person.

Who else could it be but themselves?!

Mo Fan became alert and gestured to Lu Jun, asking, "Someone's there? Where?!"

Among the crowd in Hua Village, Hong Jun was the most panicked. As a peripheral follower of the Black Vatican, he knew that his superiors hadn't sent anyone to follow him. Now, the presence of an unknown force was following him. Could it be that they had discovered him?

After a long wait, there was complete silence outside the village.

Hong Jun breathed a sigh of relief, stepped forward, and demanded, "What nonsense are you spouting, you outsider?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Jun coldly swept his gaze over the lowly henchman of the Black Vatican, too lazy to bother with him, deciding to deal with him later as evidence to warn the Ancient Capital.

As soon as he had a thought, the Night Thunder Dream Beast, which had been lying low-key and unassuming at the village entrance, awoke.

Buzz buzz buzz!

The colossal stag, several meters long, stood up, its aura overflowing. A terrifying pressure swept across Hua Village, and surging dark mist mixed with subtle nightmare fluctuations spread outwards.

Night fell on Hua Village, covering an area of nearly one kilometer in radius.

The Night Thunder Dream Beast stood proudly in the center, arrogant and domineering, with Black-purple Lightning crackling around it, displaying the majesty of Commander-level Great Demon.

The villagers, unaccustomed to such sights, were terrified and their faces turned ashen as they were overwhelmed by the thick, dark fog that swept over them.

Thump! Hong Jun immediately knelt down, breathing rapidly and sweating profusely. He felt that the dark power of this summoned Summoned Beast was even more terrifying than that of the several adults he had seen.

"My life is over!"

Hong Jun felt uneasy, having offended such a powerful figure.

But Lu Jun ignored him and instead looked at the Night Thunder Dream Beast with surprise, Nightmare Domain, Night Ruler, a dual domain!

Originally, the Dream Beast only possessed two advanced techniques. Now, with the addition of one more, the combined power of the two has greatly increased its strength, reaching the level of a formal ruler.

Clearly, after absorbing the Warm Spring of the Ancient Capital Undead's land of the dead for so many days, it has advanced.

With its powerful physique and high-level magic of the Mind, Darkness, and Lightning elements, the Night Thunder Dream Beast can defeat seven or eight ordinary high-level monsters.

Lu Jun shouted loudly, "Enveloped by the mental domain, do you still intend to hide?"

"Don't make a move." Finally, a movement stirred in the shadows, and a heavy-looking man stepped out, producing his identification and saying, "I am from the Adjudication Court."

The Adjudication Court looked helpless; their plan to fish had been discovered, and the scheme had failed.

Upon seeing this, Lu Jun raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. This person's cultivation was actually at a high level. Thinking about it, anyone who dared to investigate the Abyss of Calamity must be highly skilled and daring.

Immediately afterwards, from another forest, a pale-faced middle-aged man emerged, shrouded in a black robe.

The villagers of Hua Village, upon seeing this face, exclaimed in surprise, "You're Fang Gu, the village chief of Yangyang Village!"

Xie Sang looked uneasy, his body trembled, and he suddenly realized the truth behind the undead attack.

Fang Gu looked at the villagers with a hint of regret, his eyes filled with hatred, and said indifferently, "What a pity, there's no way to take revenge now."

The moment he saw the Commander Rank Demonic Beast, he knew he was doomed.

Buzz buzz buzz!

Fang Gu was not one to sit idly by and wait for death. He chanted incantations and began to draw Star Chart.

A vast expanse of black mist spread out, accompanied by a thick, pungent smell of blood. The dark, blood-red magic Star Chart resembled some kind of pattern used by a priest. Once it was fully drawn, it was filled with a burst of bloody light and rampant resentment!