第47章 离奇死亡的队长们

Gu Jianlin's left hand hung naturally at his side. The illusory silver-white chains had already been released from his right wrist, swirling all around him and hovering in mid-air, visible only to him.

--Non-Existent Lock, minimum level release.

It required little spiritual energy to maintain; it simply erased his presence on a transcendent level.

He did not know what inheritance path the intruder might possess, but it was always best to be prepared.

The door handle seemed to have something inserted into it, and it began to turn gently.

This Fallen knows how to pick locks, Gu Jianlin thought.

The door was pushed open quietly. A short, thin, dark shadow slipped inside, creeping silently toward the bed.

It was as agile as a monkey.

Gu Jianlin watched him from behind, stepped forward without a sound, and struck!

With a squelch, blood sprayed out.

The monkey-like man was stabbed in the back, but instead of screaming, he endured the agonizing pain and spun around, his palms igniting with pale ghost fire!

At that moment, Gu Jianlin lowered his head to watch the pale ghost fire pressing against his own chest.

At the same time, he could feel his life force evaporating rapidly.

Divine Sacrifice Fire.

What a coincidence, an internal strife between Divine Priests.

Gu Jianlin also raised his hand, igniting pale ghost fire in his palm, and slammed it back onto the top of the intruder's head!

Sacrifice!

Two Divine Priest Path users were burning each other with Divine Sacrifice Fire, plundering each other's life force.

Vitality tugged back and forth between their bodies.

Gu Jianlin felt a massive amount of life force draining away, only for it to be poured back into his body the very next second.

It was even more than what he had lost.

Almost double!

Both were first-tier Divine Priests, so their strength should have been comparable.

However, the key was that Gu Jianlin was dual-core driven; in other words, his output was doubled, a complete suppression!

At this moment, the monkey-like man's vitality drained rapidly. He realized the problem, and a look of immense terror surfaced on his face as he instinctively tried to scream.

Gu Jianlin pulled the dagger from his back and slashed it directly across his throat.

Blood flowed down.

The whimpering was swallowed by the night.

After an unknown amount of time, the monkey-like man's eyes bulged, the look of death appearing in them. His entire body withered away like rotten tree bark, and even his breathing and heartbeat vanished. He died without anyone knowing why.

Gu Jianlin laid him gently on the floor, feeling the vitality surging within his body.

This was the advantage of the Divine Priest Path.

He didn't even need to eat to maintain his vitality.

He only needed to absorb it from others.

Moreover, after promoting to a first-tier Life Controller, the power of his Divine Sacrifice Fire had become even stronger.

"According to the data provided by the Deep Sky Network, a first-tier Life Controller can expand the Divine Sacrifice Fire to a five-meter radius. Within this range, it can slowly strip away low-level life forms. Is this considered a barrier or a domain?"

Gu Jianlin reached out and pressed his hand against the floor. The pale ghost fire merged into the ground, and countless twisted, pitch-black runes spread in all directions. Illusory flames ignited at the four cardinal points, constructing a mysterious sacrificial formation.

The range was a full twenty meters.

In his Life Perception, those insignificant life forms were all stripped away.

Mosquitoes, ants, and the like—all dead.

So that was it.

He understood.

If he wanted his other abilities to become as exaggerated as Life Perception, he would likely have to wait for his next advancement.

"Even when not in the Ancient God form, I can create Ancient God Blood." Gu Jianlin felt the chaotic life force in his body gradually merging with him, though the level of aberration was still too low to condense into actual Ancient God Blood.

Furthermore, he once again deeply realized why the Divine Priest Path was the easiest to lose control in.

Generally speaking, one should not use Divine Sacrifice Fire to deal with such Fallen.

Because once this chaotic life force was swallowed, there was a high probability that one would lose control themselves.

Gu Jianlin, however, was not afraid.

He possessed the power of an Ancient God; he was a source of pollution himself.

However, as this chaotic life force merged into his body, the Black Kirin deep within his consciousness also began to riot.

It felt as if he could turn into an Ancient God at any moment.

Gu Jianlin forcibly suppressed the urge to transform, packed his belongings, and walked out of the room.

The corridor was pitch black. It seemed the entire hotel had lost power, and even the long street outside was so dim that not a sliver of light remained. He could vaguely sense a thick fog permeating the area, swallowing the dilapidated stronghold.

The fog had risen.

Black mist, accompanied by a strange and ominous aura, whistled with the gale.

Gu Jianlin narrowed his eyes, instinctively sensing that something was wrong with Black Cloud Stronghold. It wasn't just because of the motley crowd here, but because he felt a trace of an aura belonging to another world.

The aura of the Ancient God world.

Gu Jianlin turned to leave, only to see the door of the next room left ajar, as if someone had just gone inside.

He approached silently and slipped in.

In the room, Nie Xiangsi was still sleeping lightly on the bed. Seeming to sense something, she opened her eyes.

At that moment, her lively eyes were filled with terror.

A burly, hulking man was standing at her bedside, about to swing a giant axe!

"Die."

Suddenly, someone whispered.

The burly man let out a muffled groan, as if his brain had been struck by a heavy blow, and blood began to pour from his seven orifices.

A sharp dagger pierced through his chest, accompanied by thick, pungent blood.

With a squelch, if Nie Xiangsi hadn't been covered by the quilt, she would have been splattered with blood from head to toe.

Gu Jianlin gripped the dagger, panting. The backlash of the Ghost Curse hit him, and his face was also covered in blood.

The burly man hadn't died despite such a severe injury; he turned around without hesitation and hoisted the giant axe.

Terrifying power was accumulating.

At this moment, in Gu Jianlin's vision, a phantom of a Wandering Warrior appeared behind the brute, fierce and savage.

Samurai Path, skilled in close combat, not to be trifled with.

Gu Jianlin raised his right hand without hesitation. A pitch-black bell hung from his fingers, releasing a black halo. A sound like a giant ancient bell tolling erupted, sending ripples overlapping through the night.

--Soul-Pacifying Bell, minimum level release!

The burly man was struck as if by lightning, his mind roaring, his soul seemingly shattered.

Even Nie Xiangsi was impacted, letting out a muffled groan, her face turning pale.

The effect of the Soul-Pacifying Bell did not distinguish between friend and foe.

But there was no helping it. Gu Jianlin thought that he really wasn't suited for having teammates. He pulled out the dagger without hesitation, stabbed it back into the brute's heart, and ignited pale Divine Sacrifice Fire with his other hand.

Sacrifice!

Gu Jianlin pressed his hand onto the brute's head, the pale ghost fire devouring the opponent's life force.

After a long while, the brute withered away and collapsed to the ground.

Gu Jianlin withdrew the Divine Sacrifice Fire, returning to his peak state.

The chaotic life force flowed through his body, silently absorbed to the last drop.

Although he was still far from condensing a drop of Ancient God Blood, he had plenty of patience.

Killing two people in a row felt like killing two chickens to him; he didn't know why his psychological resilience was so strong.

The girl on the bed seemed to have fainted, and in the darkness, he could feel her steady, rhythmic breathing.

"Stop pretending to be asleep."

Gu Jianlin said softly, "It's me. The self-healing ability of your Priest Path is very strong; that blow just now won't cause you any lasting trauma. Now, follow behind me and let's go meet up with the others."

After saying this, he turned and walked away without hesitation.

In the darkness, Nie Xiangsi's pretty face turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

When she had sensed the enemy attack earlier, he had appeared silently and killed the enemy with thunderous speed.

It was just that the light was too dark, she couldn't see anything, and she had been stunned by that bell toll.

She hadn't even seen the Divine Sacrifice Fire.

Therefore, not knowing what his intentions were, she had simply decided to play dead to see how things unfolded.

She hadn't expected to make such a fool of herself.

Gu Jianlin's appearance made her feel embarrassed, but also gave her a sense of security.

Moreover, this boy seemed different from the others.

Nie Xiangsi had a strong background among the newcomers, and her personality was relatively gentle and shy, making her easy to feel protective of.

Most people took good care of her.

If it had been anyone else in that situation, they would surely have come over to ask if she was alright, help her tidy up, wipe away the blood, and so on.

Of course, Nie Xiangsi also felt that she didn't need special treatment.

It was just that Gu Jianlin's attitude toward her was a bit too cold. She was already prone to shyness, and now she felt even more flustered.

Especially since, although the boy's tone was flat, she couldn't help but feel she was being shunned.

Phew, Xiangsi, come on! You're the best, you have to fulfill your duties as a doctor.

Nie Xiangsi encouraged herself and quickly got out of bed to put on her shoes.

"Hurry up."

Gu Jianlin had just stepped out, but he turned back and poked his head in: "Bring your supplies."

Nie Xiangsi lowered her head and murmured an "oh."

The corridor was too dark. For safety, Gu Jianlin didn't turn on his phone's flashlight. Instead, he stood at the door, carefully sensing the rhythm of life in the darkness, and suddenly fell silent.

Because he discovered that the life rhythms in the adjacent hotel had all vanished.

All the life auras belonging to the captain seemed to have been drowned out by this black mist.

Even among the seventeen-person strike team, many life rhythms were extremely weak.

As if they had been severely wounded.

Nie Xiangsi followed behind, carrying her supply box. Seeing him standing there in silence, she asked tentatively, "What's wrong?"

"This mission is not right. Prepare to treat the wounded."

Gu Jianlin said calmly, "Can you do it?"

Nie Xiangsi felt his gaze, bit her lip, and nodded.

·

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A massive roar echoed from the distant corridor!

Flames burst through a door, illuminating the dark long street.

Three charred figures were slammed hard against the corridor wall.

Amidst the burning flames, Yan Ye stood in the room with his arms crossed, his white suit spotless, his expression cold.

A scorching breath spilled from his lips, and the fire in his throat gradually extinguished.

Celestial Master Path ability: elemental control.

Yan Feng walked out, holding a blade in his right hand and a headless corpse in his left, his face full of disdain.

As for Mu Ziqing, she was well-protected and continued to sip her coffee calmly.

At the end of the corridor, the faint sound of a blade trembling could be heard, fleeting and gone.

A sharp, cold light flashed through the night, accompanied by biting Sword Qi that tore through the door. The corridor wall was sliced directly open. In the night illuminated by the fire, one could see a corpse severed at the waist being blown downstairs.

Blood splattered like rain.

Tang Ling carried her instrument case, holding a silver-white iron sword, standing in the blood falling like a rainstorm.

Grim Sword Qi swirled around her, not letting a single drop of blood touch her.

The core ability of the Sword Sect Path: Sword Qi fluctuations converted from intent!

All six of them saw each other in the firelight.

In Gu Jianlin's Life Perception, there were no more enemies on this floor.

Before he could say anything, a scream rang out from downstairs.

Gu Jianlin remembered that voice.

Cheng Youyu!

"Go."

Gu Jianlin was the first to head down the stairs, still carrying a chair in his hand.

Because after the previous fight, he felt the dagger wasn't very easy to use; it was better to smash them with a chair.

Nie Xiangsi realized her companions were in danger and hurried to follow.

"Did you encounter an attack?"

Yan Ye stood in the firelight, watching their retreating backs, and said, "Ziqing, prepare a healing spell."

Mu Ziqing put down her coffee and said faintly, "Understood."

Yan Feng looked at the white-haired girl opposite, just about to say something.

However, Tang Ling went downstairs without a word, having no intention of paying him any mind.

Yan Feng opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing.

"Don't dwell on matters of the heart at a time like this."

Yan Ye said coldly, "Let's go down and see the situation first."

Yan Feng curled his lip: "Got it."

When Gu Jianlin rushed downstairs, even though he had anticipated it, he still fell silent.

At the entrance to the first-floor restroom, Cheng Youyu and Zhang Cheng stood to the side, their expressions looking ghastly.

Cheng Youyu, in particular, let out a terrified shriek, trembling violently.

Because at the far end of the restroom, Chen Chen had been impaled through the skull by an iron sword, pinned dead against the wall.

Fresh blood was splattered like paint.

The manner of death was too wretched, and there was not even a trace of a struggle at the scene.

One had to realize, this was a vice-captain level, a Tier 3!

He had died just like that, in such an inexplicable way.

"Vice-Captain Chen..."

Seeing this scene, Nie Xiangsi's pretty face turned deathly pale, and she instinctively wanted to rush over to provide aid.

"Don't bother, he's already gone."

Gu Jianlin held her back. "There will be plenty of people for you to save later."

Nie Xiangsi was stunned. "What do you mean?"

Gu Jianlin glanced at her and said indifferently, "It means there are still enemies, of course."

Furthermore, he felt something was strange.

Because in his Life Perception, the life rhythms of all the captains had vanished at the exact same time.

Including Lu Zicheng and Chen Qing.

In other words, if they had truly been killed, then someone possessed the ability to slay everyone simultaneously.

It made no sense that they, these greenhorn rookies, were still alive.

Therefore, there had to be something fishy going on.

Cheng Youyu and Zhang Cheng also recovered from the shock of the scene, their faces pale and trembling slightly.

Death had descended too quickly, catching everyone off guard.

Out of the seventeen people, a total of eight had been seen so far; it was unknown what the others had encountered.

"Get ready, they're coming."

Gu Jianlin said softly.

As his voice fell, a scream rang out.

Someone was thrown down from the third floor, blood spraying on the spot.

"Running dogs of the Ether Association, I suggest you don't move, unless you want your companions to die."

A sinister voice echoed.