Ancestral Nuo: Faceless

Jiang Ran heard Zhou Yuan's words and turned to look at him with a meaningful gaze:

"Could it be that I am going to be killed by him?"

Upon hearing this question, Zhou Yuan immediately and instinctively retorted: "Impossible, they do not actively attack humans..."

But halfway through his sentence, Zhou Yuan suddenly clamped his mouth shut.

Looking at Jiang Ran with a touch of helplessness, he said: "Stop trying to fish for information from me."

Seeing this, Jiang Ran turned his head back, and while continuing to clear the rubble around the Golden Skeleton, he whispered:

"This is not Qu Yuan."

Hearing this, the tense muscles on Zhou Yuan's face visibly relaxed a little.

He stood up immediately, seemingly wanting to continue giving orders, but then he remembered something, crouched back down, leaned in close to Jiang Ran, and whispered:

"That man Qian Laojiu belongs to the ninth gate of the Old Nine Gates. They were among those who learned about the opening of the Abyssal Void quite early, and they prepared quite a bit before coming in; there are some ruthless characters among them. Be careful yourself."

After saying this, Zhou Yuan stood up and walked away, beginning to direct his team members to expand the search area.

Jiang Ran, meanwhile, frowned slightly as he listened.

The Old Nine Gates?

Does that thing still exist nowadays?

However, Jiang Ran did not dwell on it.

Qian Laojiu was already dead, and his subordinates had been wiped out along with him just moments ago.

Even if the Old Nine Gates really wanted revenge, that was a matter for the future.

The most important thing right now.

Is this Golden Skeleton and the mask upon it.

He continued to clear away the rubble, and soon, the entire Golden Skeleton was fully unearthed.

The skeleton was about 1.7 meters tall, its bones entirely a warm, golden color, the surface appearing as if coated in a layer of jade-like luster.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran bent down, wrapped his hands around the chest and rib area of the skeleton, and prepared to lift the whole thing up.

The very moment he lifted it.

A pale blue panel suddenly popped up before his eyes:

[Congratulations, you have obtained the class fusion material: "Witch Gold War Bone"]

[Witch Gold War Bone: A special skeleton refined by ancient Shamans through secret arts, fused with the essence of incense faith and the bone marrow of ferocious beasts. It remains immortal after a thousand years, containing vast vitality and sharp golden battle intent.]

[Supernatural class detected: Martial Monk]

[Do you wish to proceed with class fusion?]

Jiang Ran's eyes flickered slightly at the sight.

Witch Gold War Bone...

The name is certainly fitting.

However, he did not choose to fuse it immediately.

For one, there were too many people around, and for another, there was still a pitch-black mask on the skeleton that needed to be dealt with first.

Jiang Ran gently set the skeleton back down.

He reached out toward the pure black mask that was stuck tightly to the sternum.

The mask was stuck quite firmly, and Jiang Ran had to exert a bit of force to pry it off.

And the very moment Jiang Ran removed it.

The entire lower space.

Suddenly fell into silence.

Those scattered masked figures that had fallen from the upper level and had not yet been cleared away all ceased their movements.

Standing stiffly in place, the Nuo Opera masks on their faces began to dissolve at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Within a few short seconds, all the masks turned into nothingness.

Revealing the long-decayed and withered corpse faces beneath.

Following that, these corpses collapsed to the ground in unison, as if losing their support, and fell completely silent.

Everyone present couldn't help but be stunned, all turning their heads to look at Jiang Ran.

The only one capable of causing such a scene at this moment had to be him.

Jiang Ran was also slightly taken aback.

But not because of the scene around him, but because of another prompt that had just popped up before his eyes:

[Congratulations, you have obtained the class material: "Ancestral Nuo: Faceless"]

[Do you wish to unlock the "Nuo Opera Master" (Supernatural) class?]

Ancestral Nuo...

Jiang Ran stared at the name, his heart skipping a beat.

Could this name truly belong to that legendary figure?

However, it was naturally impossible to activate a new profession in front of so many onlookers.

With a flicker of thought, Jiang Ran tucked the pitch-black mask away.

The surrounding crowd witnessed this scene, a trace of envy flashing through their eyes.

But that was all.

When the gap between two parties is small, there might be jealousy or schemes.

But when the gap is too vast, not a single improper thought dares to surface.

That is not greed; that is courting death.

Subsequently, everyone withdrew their gazes and returned to their respective tasks.

Things were much easier now.

Without those bizarre masked men causing trouble, the rescue work proceeded much more smoothly.

The wounded were gathered and settled.

Those still capable of movement began a systematic search of this lower-level space.

Jiang Ran followed a small squad from the Inspection Team, continuing to dig deeper.

However, the two groups had different objectives.

The Inspection Team was looking for Qu Yuan, while Jiang Ran wanted to see what exactly was hidden beneath that blood pool.

Soon, someone from the Inspection Team drove a shovel into the ground.

A muffled thwack suddenly erupted from the earth.

Immediately following, a jet of dark red blood sprayed from the gap where the shovel had entered, splashing all over the man.

"Damn it!" The man jumped in fright, stumbling back several paces.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran stood up and walked over immediately.

The Dragon-Tiger Phantom quietly manifested on his right arm, crimson blood energy coiling around his fist, as he spoke softly to those nearby.

"Move aside."

The man was stunned for a moment, but he and the others around him sensibly cleared a space for Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran said nothing more; he raised his right fist and slammed it down toward the spot where the blood was gushing out.

BANG!!

Gravel shattered and soil flew into the air.

More blood surged out as if it had found a vent.

Through the hole he had blasted open, the embryonic form of the buried blood pool was already visible.

At the same time, a roar erupted violently from the depths of the blood pool.

Jiang Ran listened, his expression calm.

As expected... that Jing was not dead yet.

The next second, the blood pool exploded instantly.

Waves of blood surged into the air as the head of the Jing lunged out from the pool, its eyes blood-red, charging straight at Jiang Ran.

Seeing this, the five-meter-tall Vajra Phantom manifested behind him in an instant.

The Dragon-Tiger Phantom emerged upon the Vajra's giant hand, black flame coiling around the fist, as he met the lunging Jing head-on...

He threw a punch!

BANG!!!

A dull, heavy impact resounded through the underground space.

The Jing let out a shrill screech, its massive body sent flying out of the blood pool by the force of the punch, crashing heavily against the rock wall behind it.

BOOM!

The rock wall caved in, and debris tumbled down.

Jiang Ran gave the creature no chance to resist.

He pushed Eight-Step Cicada Chase to its limit, the Vajra Phantom stepping forward in sync with his movements, closing the distance to the Jing in a few strides.

He pinned the struggling body down with his left hand and raised his right.

The Dragon-Tiger roared incessantly.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

One punch, the skull cracked.

Two punches, the eyeballs burst.

Three punches, the shrill screech came to an abrupt end.

Violence is the ultimate aesthetic.

This Blood-Flow Realm deer, far larger than its peers, ultimately could not withstand a few punches from Jiang Ran in his peak state and soon ceased to breathe.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran caught his breath slightly and retracted the Vajra Phantom.

He paid no mind to the complex gazes of those around him, stepping forward to stow the massive deer carcass into his Heavenly Net Pouch.

Having finished this, he turned to look at the stunned crowd.

At this moment, a thought suddenly occurred to Jiang Ran.

He looked at the people around him and suddenly asked:

"Where is Liu San?"

Hearing this, the group exchanged glances.

Many of them did not even know who Liu San was.

However, a female team member with a ponytail hesitated for a moment, raised her hand, and pointed toward a corner:

"He is over there... He was severely injured when we were driven in. But without proper medical conditions, we could only treat his wounds simply..."

Jiang Ran was stunned upon hearing this, then immediately rushed toward the corner the woman had indicated.

He had always harbored a doubt.

That was, the Bagua Copper Coin equipment did not seem right.

According to the two pieces of equipment dropped from monsters so far, as well as verification from other players on the forums, equipment was graded by tiers.

For instance, the Heavenly Net Pouch and the Underworld Binding Gauntlets were both opened from blue light orbs, belonging to blue quality.

The Bagua Copper Coin, however, was opened from a white light orb.

But... after using it for these past few days, the utility of the Bagua Copper Coin could not be measured by white quality at all.

Its functionality was too strong.

It could not only locate cultivation techniques but also find equipment.

This level of functionality completely crushed the white equipment others had posted on the forums.

That was why Jiang Ran had always wanted to find Liu San and ask.

Where exactly did this piece of equipment come from?

But...

In the end, he was too late.

When Jiang Ran rushed to the corner, Liu San was already lying on a pile of rubble, eyes tightly shut, his complexion ashen.

There was a gruesome wound on his chest; although it had been simply bandaged, the blood had long since soaked through, pooling into a small puddle of dark red on the ground.

Jiang Ran reached out to check his neck.

No pulse.

He tested for breath as well.

His body temperature had already turned completely cold.

Jiang Ran remained silent for a few seconds before slowly withdrawing his hand.

Zhou Yuan, who had watched the battle from start to finish, stepped over and asked in a low voice:

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Ran shook his head calmly:

"Nothing. It's just a pity that someone I knew died just like that."

Having said this, Jiang Ran ignored Zhou Yuan and stood up, heading back toward the direction of the blood pool.

Since the person was dead, there was naturally no way to ask.

He would just have to keep using it for now.

At the very least, the Bagua Copper Coin was still of great use to him.

As for the subsequent exploration, it was quite dull and tedious.

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

Aside from a thick layer of bones piled at the bottom.

There was nothing else in the blood pool.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran lost interest.

The Inspection Team, however, was still actively digging and exploring the surroundings.

But that was a matter for Zhou Yuan and his group.

Jiang Ran had little interest in continuing to explore deeper.

The harvest from this trip was already bountiful enough.

The reward of fifteen Blue Spirit Crystals, one "Martial God Power" Nuo Opera Mask, one "Ancestral Nuo" Nuo Opera Mask, one "Witch Gold War Bone," and the corpse of that Giant Muntjac.

There were even some items left on Qian Laojiu and his men.

Now, it was time to digest these gains.

Meanwhile.

In Feng City outside.

The scorching sun hung in the sky, baking waves of heat off the asphalt road.

On an old road near the perimeter of the Safe Zone, two figures approached.

The two were dressed in archaic attire, similar to ancient robes, as if they had just walked off the set of a period drama.

However, their faces...

Were truly difficult to describe.

Because their faces were covered in fur.

One was black, the other green.

At this moment, the black-furred man was bowing and scraping, saying to the green-furred man:

"Bo's aura... it vanished right here."

The green-furred man listened, not speaking immediately.

He tilted his head slightly, looking at the towering modern structures, skyscrapers, glass curtain walls, and crisscrossing overpasses surrounding them...

The corners of his mouth curled into an arc.

"Interesting..."

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

Having said that, he withdrew his gaze, looked at the black-furred man beside him, and softly commanded:

"Go, bring everyone here."

"Build a Jingguan."

"Find the one who killed Bo."