Today the internet was acting up, so the upload was late. Please forgive me!
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The trips to Ghost Yin Mountain and the Jade Buddha Temple had gone smoothly. After returning to Baihe Village, Gao Xu and Lin Yueru rested at Doctor Han's home. Their next stop—and their last—was Heishui Town. Going there at night would be a poor choice.
The zombie chaos in Heishui Town hadn't broken out yet, but Gao Xu knew that since the space had sent Reincarnators there, they were bound to trigger some plot related to the undead.
That was why Gao Xu had deliberately added some glutinous rice and black donkey hooves to the prescription he'd given Xiao Jun earlier. Such things might not work on zombies in a cultivation world, but they were better than nothing.
Early the next morning, Lin Yueru met Xiao Jun at the village entrance. She collected the medicinal herbs, along with the Ghost Shadow Flower and Jade Beard Stem, and gave them to Doctor Han to prepare the medicine. The last ingredient, Ink Mystery Juice, would only be needed when the medicine was taken, so preparing the rest first was the best way to save time.
Of course, in case something unexpected happened to Doctor Han, Gao Xu had also kept a set of the ingredients in his Emblem space, just in case.
Once everything was ready, the two crossed the stone bridge and headed toward the fork in the road to the east.
The path was pitch-black, and a faint, fishy smell hung in the air. No one could tell where it came from. Even the short grass underfoot looked rotten, and their steps felt sticky.
Gao Xu looked grim, while Lin Yueru furrowed her delicate brows, nearly covering her nose. But when they reached the town, they found that it didn't seem much different from Baihe Village. There were villagers tilling the fields, old men fishing, and women washing clothes. The only thing missing was children playing and laughing.
The best place to ask about medicinal herbs was naturally a doctor's home or an apothecary. But when Gao Xu stopped a passerby to ask for directions, the man's reaction was strangely vacant. He stared straight at Gao Xu, a faint, ashen pallor flickering in his eyes.
Gao Xu's heart tightened. He tried asking several other people and found them all in the same state, so he stopped wasting his effort.
"The yin energy here is so heavy. It's no wonder ordinary people might turn into walking corpses after living in this environment for too long. That corpse demon really can't be underestimated!" As a martial artist, Lin Yueru had keen senses. The moment she entered the town, her discomfort had grown even worse.
Gao Xu nodded. This little town was already on the brink. If they'd arrived a few days later, the zombie chaos might have fully erupted. It would be difficult to communicate with the townsfolk now, too. Where could they find the Ink Mystery Juice?
As he hesitated, the wooden door of a nearby house suddenly flew open. Several figures streamed out, coming face-to-face with Gao Xu and Lin Yueru.
Gao Xu's pupils contracted. His breath caught, and his body stiffened. His sudden tension immediately put Lin Yueru on guard as well.
He had every reason to be nervous. The people standing before them were Reincarnators from the space!
This wasn't impossible. Tang Mei'er had accepted a mission to guide newcomers, and the group had been sent to Lin Family Fort, but that didn't mean they were the only Reincarnators in the Chinese Paladin world. In distant Yangjing City, second-difficulty Reincarnators might be facing the Thousand-Year Spider Demon Poison Lady. In Shushan, floating high in the sky, or in the war-torn Miao Frontier, Reincarnators might be taking part in missions involving the Demon Locking Tower or the struggle between the Black and White Miao.
The space had always used this difficulty-based system. Naturally, high-difficulty Reincarnators rarely crossed paths with lower-ranked ones, so there was little need to worry about deliberate plundering. But if a low-ranked Reincarnator wandered into a high-difficulty area and got killed, that was their own fault.
Gao Xu had been active around Suzhou, so he hadn't needed to worry about threats from high-difficulty Reincarnators. Normally, only one group of Reincarnators entered an area of the same difficulty, and he hadn't been here long. He shouldn't have been this unlucky.
But this time, the Goddess of Fortune hadn't smiled on him. These people must have used some special item to enter midway through. Whatever their reason for coming, a clash would be hard to avoid...
Gao Xu was now carrying out a time-sensitive mission to save Su Mei. He absolutely couldn't let other Reincarnators interfere. Yesterday, he'd forced Zhu Hao back to the space to clear away an obstacle, and now he felt the same way!
The Reincarnators across from him were far more imposing than Tang Mei'er, Qin Guang, and Zhu Hao. The man at their head stood nearly two meters tall, bare-chested, with dark skin and bulging muscles. He looked like a divine giant. His hands were empty, and he carried no weapons, but no one would doubt the destructive power of those massive palms.
There were seven or eight others behind the giant, but Gao Xu's attention was fixed entirely on him. An immense pressure descended with the man's gaze. A rumbling like war drums echoed faintly in Gao Xu's ears, sending a storm surging through his heart!
"What powerful domain pressure. This man's strength has to be among the best in the first difficulty. Why is he here?"
A domain was a unique ability possessed by Reincarnators. It could exert pressure and deal damage in several ways. Those who possessed one were elite Reincarnators—powerful figures among their ranks.
Take the ill-fated Tang Mei'er, for example. If she'd really obtained the Fox Demon's hundred-year inner core and successfully combined it with her Succubus bloodline, condensing a charm domain unique to herself, her strength would have undergone a complete transformation. Even if her attributes and equipment remained unchanged, her combat power would surge several levels. She'd leap from being an ordinary veteran to one of the top powerhouses in the first difficulty. That was why she'd risked everything to get it!
A domain was the mark of an expert. In the first difficulty, that was an absolute truth. And now, a top expert stood right before Gao Xu!
"Kid, return to the space on your own. I've got a basic return scroll here. It costs 1,500 points. Come over and trade for it! If you don't have enough points, apply for a collateral loan from the space!"
Though the giant had unleashed his domain against Gao Xu, he was using it mostly to intimidate him. His expression was calm, showing neither haughty contempt nor cautious suspicion. His voice was low, but Gao Xu could clearly sense the unquestionable authority behind it.
"This is troublesome..." Gao Xu didn't want anyone interfering with his mission, and the other Reincarnators naturally felt the same way. Their conflict was almost impossible to resolve. Unless they fought to the death, one side would have to withdraw.
In fact, the giant was being quite reasonable. If Gao Xu had run into someone like Tang Mei'er, they'd have attacked first and asked questions later. With his current strength, he'd have been certain to die, with no chance of escape.
But Su Mei's treatment was already at its final step. How could Gao Xu be willing to give up everything now?
"You're a newcomer, so I'm sparing your life. Don't push your luck!" As Gao Xu hesitated, the giant's voice sounded in his ear again. This time, he was using a private message. Apparently, he didn't want anyone else to hear him expose Gao Xu's identity.
Gao Xu was taken aback, and found himself warming to the giant. With his strength, the man had no need to play both sides or resort to tricks like Tang Mei'er. The fact that he'd still warned Gao Xu made it all the more admirable. Who would have thought that this rugged-looking powerhouse really had a good heart?
"Lin Yueru's presence could serve as a deterrent, but if it came to a fight, we'd be in trouble. Is there really no other way out..." At this point, Gao Xu wasn't too stubborn to admit defeat. He could only accept his bad luck and entrust the rest of the mission to Lin Yueru, hoping she could find the herbs and cure Su Mei.
Gao Xu's expression darkened. He was just about to select the option to return early when a familiar figure caught his eye.
"Isn't that...?" Gao Xu froze. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and in an instant, he had a plan. His expression relaxed.
Just as the giant gave a slight nod, thinking Gao Xu would know better than to resist, Gao Xu smiled and said calmly, "I think we can still work something out. The boss-subjugation scroll can accommodate at least ten people, and you haven't filled all the slots yet, have you..."
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