Ancestral Nuo: Faceless

Jiang Ran heard Zhou Yuan say this and turned to look at him, his eyes full of meaning.

"Are you saying I'm going to be killed by him?"

At the question, Zhou Yuan instinctively shot back, "Impossible. They don't attack humans on their own..."

But halfway through, he suddenly fell silent.

He looked at Jiang Ran with a helpless expression. "Don't try to trick me into telling you things."

Only then did Jiang Ran turn back. He continued clearing the rubble around the Golden Skeleton and said softly, "This isn't Qu Yuan."

The tension in Zhou Yuan's face eased noticeably at those words.

He stood up at once, as if he meant to resume giving orders. But then he remembered something, crouched down again, and leaned close to Jiang Ran to speak in a low voice.

"Qian Laojiu belongs to the Ninth Gate of the Old Nine Gates. They were among the first to learn that the Abyssal Void had opened, and they made plenty of preparations before coming in. There are some ruthless people among them. Watch your back."

With that, Zhou Yuan stood and left, directing his team to expand their search.

Jiang Ran frowned as he listened.

The Old Nine Gates?

That thing still existed?

But he didn't give it much thought.

Qian Laojiu was already dead, and he'd just wiped out the men under him as well.

Even if the Old Nine Gates really wanted revenge, that could wait.

What mattered most right now

was the Golden Skeleton and the mask on it.

He kept clearing away the rubble. Before long, the entire Golden Skeleton was uncovered.

It was about 1.7 meters tall, its bones a mellow gold all over, their surfaces seeming to gleam with a layer of jade-like luster.

Jiang Ran bent down, wrapped both arms around the skeleton's rib cage, and prepared to lift it.

The instant he picked it up,

a prompt suddenly appeared on the Pale Blue Panel before him:

[Congratulations, you have obtained a Profession fusion material: "Witch Gold War Bone"]

[Witch Gold War Bone: A special skeleton formed when ancient shamans tempered their bodies with secret methods, fusing incense-and-faith power with the essence of vicious beasts' bone marrow. It has endured for a thousand years without decay, containing vast vitality and a sharp will to fight.]

[Extraordinary Profession detected: Martial Monk]

[Would you like to fuse the Profession?]

Jiang Ran's eyes shifted slightly.

Witch Gold War Bone...

The name suited it.

But he didn't choose to fuse it right away.

For one thing, there were too many people around. For another, there was still a black mask on the skeleton, and he needed to deal with that first.

Jiang Ran gently set the skeleton down.

He reached for the pure black mask pressed against its breastbone.

It was stuck on tight. Jiang Ran had to apply a little force before he could remove it.

And at the very instant he took it off,

the entire lower level

suddenly fell silent.

The scattered masked figures that had fallen from the upper level and not yet been cleared away all stopped moving.

They stood rigidly in place as the Nuo Opera Masks on their faces began to dissolve at a visible speed.

Within seconds, every mask had vanished.

Beneath them were the faces of long-rotted, withered corpses.

Then, as if they'd lost their support, the corpses all toppled to the ground in unison, completely silent.

Everyone was stunned and turned to look at Jiang Ran.

He was the only one who could have caused such a disturbance.

Jiang Ran's expression also froze for a moment.

But not because of what had happened around him. It was because another prompt had appeared before his eyes:

[Congratulations, you have obtained a Profession material: "Ancestral Nuo: Faceless"]

[Would you like to unlock the "Nuo Opera Master" (Extraordinary) Profession?]

Ancestral Nuo...

Jiang Ran stared at the name, taken aback.

Could this really be that person's mask?

But of course, he couldn't unlock a new Profession with all these people watching.

With a thought, Jiang Ran put the pure black mask away.

Everyone nearby watched with envy in their eyes.

But that was all.

When the gap between two sides was small, people might grow jealous or start scheming.

But when the gap was too great, no one would entertain such thoughts.

That wasn't greed. It was suicide.

The others soon looked away and returned to their work.

Things were much easier now.

Without those strange masked figures harassing them, the rescue operation proceeded far more smoothly.

The wounded were gathered together, while those still able to move began a systematic search of the lower level.

Jiang Ran continued digging deeper with a small squad from the Inspection Team.

But the two groups had different goals.

The Inspection Team was looking for Qu Yuan. Jiang Ran wanted to see what else was hidden beneath the blood pool.

Before long, someone from the Inspection Team struck the ground with a shovel.

A muffled squelch suddenly came from beneath the surface.

A stream of dark red blood burst from the crack where the shovel had been driven in, splashing all over the man.

"Shit!" He jumped in fright and staggered back several steps.

Jiang Ran immediately got up and walked over.

A Dragon-Tiger Phantom quietly appeared along his right arm. Scarlet vital energy coiled around his fist as he spoke softly to those nearby.

"Move aside."

The man froze for a moment, then he and the others tactfully cleared some space for Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran said nothing more. He raised his right fist and slammed it down where the blood had spurted out.

Boom!

The rocks exploded, and dirt flew everywhere.

More blood gushed out as if it had finally found an outlet.

Through the opening he'd blasted apart,

they could already see the rough outline of a blood pool buried below.

At the same time, a roar suddenly erupted from deep within the pool.

Jiang Ran remained calm as he listened.

As expected... that stag was still alive.

The next second, the blood pool exploded.

A wave of blood surged into the air as the stag's head shot out of the pool, its eyes blood-red as it lunged straight at Jiang Ran.

A five-meter-tall Vajra Phantom instantly took shape behind Jiang Ran.

A Dragon-Tiger Phantom appeared over the Vajra Phantom's giant hand, black flames coiling around its fist as it met the charging stag head-on...

And threw a punch!

Boom!!!

The dull impact thundered through the underground space.

The stag let out a piercing shriek. Its enormous body was knocked straight out of the blood pool and hurled toward the rock wall behind it.

Crash!

The wall caved in, and broken stones rained down.

Jiang Ran didn't give it a chance to fight back.

He pushed Eight-Step Cicada Chase to its limit. The Vajra Phantom strode forward with him, and in just a few steps, they reached where the stag had landed.

He pinned down its still-struggling body with his left hand and raised his right.

The Dragon Tiger roared again and again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

One punch cracked its skull.

The second burst its eyeballs.

The third silenced its shrieks.

Violence was the ultimate form of beauty.

This Blood-Flow Realm stag, far larger than its kind, still couldn't withstand a few punches from Jiang Ran at full strength. It soon fell silent.

Jiang Ran took a slight breath and dismissed the Vajra Phantom.

Ignoring the complicated looks from those around him, he stepped forward and put the enormous stag corpse into the Heavenly Net Pouch.

When he was done, he turned to look at the still-stunned crowd.

At that moment, something suddenly occurred to him.

He looked around and asked, "Where's Liu San?"

At his question, everyone exchanged glances.

Many of them didn't know who Liu San was.

A woman on the team, her hair tied back in a ponytail, hesitated before raising her hand and pointing to a corner.

"He's over there... He was badly injured when we were driven inside. But we don't have proper medical supplies, so we could only do some basic first aid..."

Jiang Ran froze, then immediately rushed toward the corner she'd indicated.

He'd always had one question.

Something about the Bagua Copper Coin didn't seem right.

Judging by the two pieces of equipment dropped by monsters so far, along with the accounts other players had posted on the forum, equipment came in different grades.

For example, the Heavenly Net Pouch and Underworld Binding Gauntlets had both come from blue light orbs, making them blue-quality.

The Bagua Copper Coin, on the other hand, had come from a white light orb.

But after using it for the past few days, Jiang Ran knew its effects couldn't be measured by white quality.

It was far too versatile.

It could find cultivation techniques, and it could find equipment.

That kind of versatility completely outclassed the other white-quality equipment people had shown off on the forum.

That was why Jiang Ran had wanted to ask Liu San

where this piece of equipment had come from.

But...

In the end, he hadn't gotten the chance.

By the time Jiang Ran reached the corner, Liu San was already lying on the rubble, his eyes shut and his face ashen.

A terrible wound ran across his chest. Someone had wrapped it in a simple bandage, but the blood had soaked right through and pooled in a small, dark red puddle on the ground.

Jiang Ran reached out and felt the side of his neck.

There was no pulse.

He checked for breath.

His body had already gone completely cold.

Jiang Ran fell silent for several seconds, then slowly withdrew his hand.

Zhou Yuan, who'd watched the whole fight from beginning to end, came over and asked quietly, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Ran shook his head calmly. "It's nothing. We knew each other, and it's a shame he died like this."

After saying that, Jiang Ran paid Zhou Yuan no further attention. He stood and headed back toward the blood pool.

Liu San was dead. There was no way to ask him now.

He'd just have to keep using it as he had been.

At least for now, the Bagua Copper Coin was still very useful to him.

The exploration that followed was rather tedious.

Jiang Ran and the Inspection Team members completely cleared out the blood pool.

Other than a thick layer of bones piled at the bottom,

there was nothing else inside.

Jiang Ran lost interest.

The Inspection Team, however, continued digging and searching the surrounding area with enthusiasm.

But that was Zhou Yuan and the others' concern.

Jiang Ran had little interest in exploring any farther.

They had already gained more than enough from this trip.

Fifteen Blue Spirit Crystals as payment, a "Martial God: Power" Nuo Opera Mask, an "Ancestral Nuo" Nuo Opera Mask, a Witch Gold War Bone, and the corpse of that Giant Muntjac.

There were even a few things on Qian Laojiu and his men.

Now it was time to process what they had gained.

Meanwhile.

Outside, in Feng City.

The blazing sun hung overhead, baking the asphalt until heat shimmered above it.

Two people came down an old road near the edge of the Safe Zone.

They were dressed in old-fashioned clothes, like ancient robes, as if they had just walked off the set of a period drama.

Only, their appearances...

Were difficult to describe.

Their faces were covered in fur.

One had black fur, the other green.

At that moment, the black-haired man kept bowing and scraping as he said to the green-haired man,

"Bo's aura... disappeared right here."

The green-haired man listened but didn't speak at once.

He lifted his head slightly and looked at the modern buildings towering around them, the skyscrapers, glass curtain walls, and crisscrossing elevated roads...

The corners of his mouth curled up.

"Interesting..."

"These kinds of palaces... are much more interesting."

With that, he turned his gaze away and looked at the black-haired man beside him, giving a quiet order:

"Go. Bring everyone here."

"Build a Jingguan."

"Find the person who killed Bo."