Attributes

The sky was gray and on the verge of brightening.

Changxin Marquis Mansion.

A group of soldiers had three white-haired zombies and one green-haired zombie chained up with iron links.

Daoist Number 323 held a broadsword, a smile rising at the corner of his mouth.

Almost there!

At this rate, he'd have enough points for five Soul Jades in two or three days.

He might even earn enough for himself and have plenty left over. Once he left the Secret Realm, he'd be able to make a fortune!

He could even trade for several Dao Discussion Cards and gather a group to attack that Wild Boar all at once—assuming the pig could survive that long!

He knew every detail of Bright Moon Illuminating People's plan. He didn't think there was any way a pig could survive it.

Forget the pig. Even if he led the Marquis Mansion's private soldiers against that horde of corpses, none of them would make it out alive.

He beheaded the last walking corpse with one slash, washed up, changed clothes, and opened the Scroll. The first thing he did was check Zhu Jiusi's profile picture.

It was still lit. That pig wasn't dead yet?

Daoist Number 323 frowned.

A bunch of idiots. With such a perfect plan, they still hadn't killed the pig. Had they not acted tonight?

Good for nothing!

If they weren't going to act quickly, what were they waiting for?

He tapped Bright Moon Illuminating People's profile picture, hoping to sound her out indirectly.

He found it, only to see that Bright Moon Illuminating People's picture had gone dark.

Dead!

A dreadful premonition rose within him.

He immediately searched for Mountains and Seas Affection. The picture was dark.

Thin Monkey. Dark.

Tanaka Banichi. Dark.

Lame Fei, Sheep Seller!

When he found these two, Daoist Number 323 let out a breath. Thank goodness, they were still alive.

Something must have gone wrong while they were luring the zombies, and they'd been scared to death. He'd thought the Wild Boar had killed them.

If that really was the case, he'd have to reconsider...

Just as Daoist Number 323 was thinking this, Lame Fei's picture went dark.

He stared in shock. A moment later, Sheep Seller's picture went dark almost simultaneously.

Dead!

All six of them were dead!

Daoist Number 323's breathing suddenly quickened as he looked at Zhu Jiusi's profile picture.

But the pig was still alive and well.

This was wrong!

This was very wrong!

Daoist Number 323 couldn't afford to rest. He jumped up and rushed out of his little courtyard.

"Uncle Zhong, prepare the carriage. We're going to my aunt's house!"

The old servant promptly brought the carriage around. Before dawn, the Marquis Mansion's carriage shattered the city's peace.

Daoist Number 323 didn't care about manners. He was just acting out a role, after all. It wasn't even his house!

He had a servant knock on his aunt's door, then hurried inside. He called his uncle-in-law straight out of his concubine's room.

"Uncle, help me locate that Cave Master again!"

His uncle-in-law looked helpless. He took out a Bagua Compass and consulted the map, marking the location of Master of Cloud Stack Cave for him once more.

After a long while, his uncle-in-law looked up at Daoist Number 323 in confusion.

"No one!"

"Huh?" Daoist Number 323 didn't understand.

His uncle-in-law repeated, "There's no trace of him! He's either dead or has left Xiangnan Prefecture."

His authority only extended across Xiangnan Prefecture. Outside it, there was nothing he could do.

Daoist Number 323 froze, then looked utterly bereaved. He muttered, "He couldn't be dead. No way..."

The profile picture was still lit. That could only mean he'd left.

Why?

How had that pig gone? Even from the closest point, he'd have had to travel hundreds of miles to leave Xiangnan Prefecture!

How could he just disappear all of a sudden?

Daoist Number 323's face twitched. After a long moment, he swallowed and decided to message Zhu Jiusi.

He opened the profile and hurriedly typed, "Boss, watch out! Someone's trying to lure zombies over to kill you!"

Message failed to send. The recipient was out of service.

Daoist Number 323's expression became a sight to behold.

At that moment, Rain Seeker and Monkey Has Iron Rod looked just as stunned, as did Orchid Pavilion Scholar and Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword.

Just moments ago, the big boss, Cave Master, had contacted each of them with an offer: a loan, providing them with sufficient Life Stones and Soul Jades.

Five apiece, not one more or less.

The interest, however, varied!

Aside from repaying the same amount of Life Stones and Soul Jades later, each person had different interest to pay.

Orchid Pavilion Scholar would have to give it his all five times for him.

Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword would have to make a move three times, but would receive five Dao Discussion Cards in compensation.

Zhu Jiusi was a sly old fox. These two had been genuine powerhouses in the previous round. Three chances to call them in, saved for the mid-to-late game, were as good as an immunity talisman.

Dao Discussion Cards were valuable too. Used well, they could save a life.

Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword had bizarre luck. From the start until now, she'd managed to get a Dao Discussion Card almost every day.

Rain Seeker and Zhu Jiusi hadn't asked for anything extra. She just had to return the five Life Stones as they were.

In the previous round, this fish had managed to become the secretary of a Secret Realm. She must have had something special going for her—at the very least, a photographic memory! It was an investment. Right now, even if he squeezed this fish dry, he'd get little out of her. Better to invest in her future.

Monkey Has Iron Rod had made the biggest contribution of all. The guy's luck was off the charts. He'd started with two horses and a carriage.

He had an endless supply of good stuff. Zhu Jiusi had told him to offer whatever he thought was fair, and he'd voluntarily sent over a huge pile.

Materials, pills, parts—other than food, there was nothing this guy couldn't get his hands on.

Even after killing so many people, Zhu Jiusi had somehow obtained fewer materials than him!

Comparison was the thief of joy!

Of course, Zhu Jiusi's stuff didn't come for free.

After taking his supplies, at least two of the four had to reach the Land God Temple and Mountain God Temple as quickly as possible, then claim the top three spots for the third modification.

Daoist Number 323 was awfully close to the Land God Temple. It worried Zhu Jiusi.

Especially since he could locate Zhu Jiusi from hundreds of miles away.

Either he had a special item, or he'd entered the Secret Realm and obtained an incredible identity!

Whatever the case, Zhu Jiusi wouldn't let him turn things around!

None of the four refused Zhu Jiusi's deal.

In Journey Survival, even a minute's head start could make all the difference.

They couldn't kill a Green-Haired Zombie yet, and against a White-Haired Zombie, they were only even odds. Mostly, they were killing walking corpses to build up points.

With Zhu Jiusi's modification materials, they could immediately upgrade their vehicles and lairs.

More than one step ahead! That was the greatest benefit.

Once the deal was done, Zhu Jiusi also left messages for Scholar and Sword Seven: if they killed Daoist Number 323, he'd count it as two uses of their services!

Even if he was a nobody, Zhu Jiusi wouldn't give him the slightest chance to turn things around!

By then, the four of them were already heading for the Land God Temple, all hoping to make the top three.

At the same time, Zhu Jiusi was surveying his surroundings.

Mountain paths, dense woods, mist.

He was back!

The Enforcer must have been afraid he'd stay any longer. The instant Zhu Jiusi killed the last person, the guiding map burst apart, turning into a gale that knocked him over.

Zhu Jiusi jumped to his feet, and he was already back.

The Secret Realm Canyon ahead had disappeared. His lair sat on the ground, and from atop it, he could see the Mountain God Temple not far away through his Crude Telescope.

Everything was exactly as it had been before he entered the Secret Realm Instance.

Zhu Jiusi grumbled as he packed up his lair and ran toward the Mountain God Temple. He had to be the first to undergo the third modification!

The instant he entered, the hammer in front of the Mountain God statue leaped up by itself, and even the Scroll unfurled automatically.

[Well, well! Path Seeker. You're the first Path Seeker in the 66th Path Seeking Zone to undergo three modifications. Would you like to give your Pig Nest a special attribute?]

A moon appeared on the Scroll, looking smug as could be. As it spoke, its pointed tip dipped down, and three options appeared.

[Invisibility], [Golden Soup], [Thorn]

Invisibility was exactly what it sounded like: the lair could become invisible like the Mountain God Temple, but only for one hour a day.

Golden Soup made the lair impregnable. By investing basic resources during combat, its defenses could skyrocket.

Thorn caused spikes to grow around the lair, giving it some offensive capability.

They were all pretty good, but Zhu Jiusi wasn't especially fond of them.

He looked at the moon. "Does the first one to upgrade get a hidden attribute?"

The moon bobbed up and down, even conjuring two little hands and planting them on its hips. "Of course... they do!"

[Earthquake], invest resources. The lair unleashes a shock wave, stunning all creatures within three meters.

[Spirit Gathering], slightly increases the spiritual energy inside the lair.

[Disaster Summoning], as the name suggests, attracts extra monsters.