Xu Zhou's Script Projection

The three Mandrake Snakes charged at Xu Zhou simultaneously.

Yu Xiaogang was the first to react.

"Luo Sanpao, come back!"

"Luo luo!"

Luo Sanpao had only just recovered from his Martial Soul state. He could not even fly steadily, let alone get in front of Xu Zhou in time.

Tang San stepped forward.

Blue Silver Grass burst from the ground and Entangled the Four-Century Mandrake Snake at the front.

But the snake was too fast. Before the Blue Silver Grass could tighten around it, its jaws had already reached Tang San.

"Tang San, back off!"

Xu Zhou shouted.

Tang San did not retreat.

He raised his arm, and the Sleeve Arrow shot out alongside its fangs.

Clang!

The Sleeve Arrow struck the fleshy crest and bounced aside.

It did not injure the Mandrake Snake, but it knocked its head half an inch off course.

Its fangs grazed Tang San's shoulder.

His clothes were torn open.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

Tang San raised a hand and pressed down on the wound.

Blood had already begun to seep out.

The Four-Century Mandrake Snake caught the scent of blood and immediately changed direction.

Xu Zhou looked to his side.

The Millennium Mandrake Snake had arrived as well.

Its fleshy crest spread open, and purple poisonous mist gathered in its mouth.

It was far beyond what the Four-Century one could compare to.

Once it released that poisonous mist, Xu Zhou had no idea whether Yu Xiaogang and Tang San would still be able to stand.

He himself definitely would not last long.

"Use Script Projection."

The Black Ancient Book floated before Xu Zhou.

[Script Projection activated.]

[Projectable target: Xu Zhou.]

[Projection content is influenced by public cognition.]

[Projection duration: ten breaths.]

[Warning: the projection cannot attack proactively.]

The final line of text settled onto the page.

Another Xu Zhou appeared before him.

The clothes were the same.

The height was the same.

Even the poison marks on his arms were identical.

The projection stood where it was, looking up at the three Mandrake Snakes.

It had no Soul Power.

No presence.

Yet all three snakes stopped at once.

Everyone else stopped as well.

"Is that Xu Zhou?"

"Why is there another one?"

"A clone skill?"

Someone outside the iron fence shouted.

"Isn't he Innate Zero Soul Power?"

The Spirit Hall captain who had just released the third Mandrake Snake also stood frozen in place.

The three snakes quickly made their choice.

The Four-Century one charged at the projection.

The Millennium Mandrake Snake did not move.

It kept staring at the real Xu Zhou.

Those vertical pupils had not been completely fooled by the projection.

Only eight breaths remained on the countdown in the Black Ancient Book.

"As expected, a Millennium Soul Beast can't be fooled."

Xu Zhou reached into his clothes and pulled out the cloth bag containing severed roots that they had found in the carriage earlier.

Inside was a remaining section of Mandrake Snake root that had been cut off.

They had prepared it to lure the snakes.

Xu Zhou threw the cloth bag toward the projection.

The Four-Century Mandrake Snake rammed into the projection, its body passing straight through.

The next moment, it caught the scent of the severed root, immediately turned its head, and charged at the cloth bag.

The projection remained standing in place.

The people outside could not see the difference.

To them, Xu Zhou had been passed through by the Mandrake Snake and remained completely unharmed. It was simply beyond anything a normal Soul Master could explain.

"He's an illusion!"

Tang San quickly saw the problem.

"Xu Zhou, run already!"

"I can't run."

Xu Zhou's legs were somewhat numb.

The backlash from the resonance had not completely faded, and the poison had made his body feel heavy.

Tang San did not try to persuade him again.

He pulled Xu Zhou behind him and wrapped Blue Silver Grass around a nearby tree.

"Hold tight."

Xu Zhou grabbed the Blue Silver Grass.

Tang San tensed his arm and swung sideways with Xu Zhou.

The moment they left their original position, the Millennium Mandrake Snake sprayed out purple poisonous mist.

The mist struck the ground.

The soil immediately hissed.

The nearby grass and trees rapidly withered.

Yu Xiaogang retreated while holding Luo Sanpao. Luo Sanpao lay on his shoulder, sneezing continuously.

"We can't drag this out any longer."

Yu Xiaogang looked toward the Spirit Hall team.

"The Soul Beasts you brought have lost control. Take them back immediately."

"Soul Beasts cannot be recalled."

The captain gripped his spear tightly.

"They have broken free of control."

"Then open the gate and let everyone out."

"Tang San still hasn't obtained his first Soul Ring."

"I said, open the gate!"

Soul Power rose around Yu Xiaogang.

He could keep researching. He could keep guessing wrong.

But with Tang San and Xu Zhou inside, he would not stand outside and lecture about theory.

The Spirit Hall team did not move.

Someone blocked the exit.

"Grandmaster Yu, this operation has been jointly authorized by the academy and Spirit Hall. Tang San must obtain his first Soul Ring here, or no one may leave."

Tang San heard that and glanced back.

The Four-Century Mandrake Snake had charged at the projection again.

Driven mad by the scent of the severed root, it kept tearing and biting at the phantom.

Every missed bite made it more violent.

A Soul Ring floated above its head.

Four hundred and twenty-three years.

The Soul Ring Tang San was supposed to absorb in the original story was right before him.

As long as he killed this snake, he could obtain his first soul skill, Entangling, and Blue Silver Grass would gain toxicity as well.

The path the original-story fans had been waiting for had finally returned.

But this snake had been artificially drugged, and the structure of its Soul Ring had already been damaged.

No one knew what would happen after absorbing it.

"Tang San."

Xu Zhou grabbed his wrist.

"Don't go over there."

"I know."

Tang San looked at the Soul Ring.

"I won't absorb it."

Curses immediately erupted outside the iron fence.

"Tang San, what are you doing?"

"This is your original-story route!"

"You have Innate Full Soul Power, yet you won't absorb your first Soul Ring. How will you cultivate in the future?"

"He really has been led astray by Xu Zhou!"

Xu Zhou's Black Ancient Book trembled softly.

A large amount of Cognitive Bias entered his body.

Some believed Tang San was giving up his first Soul Ring because of him.

Some believed Xu Zhou was the true culprit behind changing the plot.

Others thought Xu Zhou was deliberately stalling to make Tang San miss the Mandrake Snake.

All of those judgments were wrong.

Xu Zhou had never intended to change Tang San's path.

He only wanted Tang San to survive this step.

"Tang San, kill it."

Yu Xiaogang suddenly spoke.

Xu Zhou turned to look at him.

Yu Xiaogang raised a hand and pointed at the Four-Century Mandrake Snake.

"The Soul Ring has a problem, but that does not mean the problem cannot be solved. Not absorbing it now does not mean you cannot absorb it later."

"Store the Soul Ring first."

"How can a Soul Ring be stored?"

Tang San asked.

"After a Soul Beast dies, its Soul Ring can only exist for a period of time."

Yu Xiaogang frowned.

"If we can use a Soul Tool to suppress the Soul Ring, perhaps we can extend that time."

"The academy does not have such a Soul Tool."

"Then take it back with us."

"Spirit Hall won't let us take it away."

Xu Zhou looked toward the guards at the exit.

"They won't let us leave, and they won't let the Soul Ring disappear either."

"As long as Tang San doesn't make a move, they'll be more anxious than we are."

It was a stalemate.

The people outside wanted to restore the original story.

The people inside wanted to leave alive.

What should have been the moment Tang San killed the Mandrake Snake had become a three-way deadlock, with everyone waiting for the others to die.

Three breaths remained on the Script Projection.

The Four-Century Mandrake Snake had already torn open the sack, and the scent of severed roots filled the captive-breeding ground.

For the moment, it did not attack the real Xu Zhou.

The Millennium Mandrake Snake raised its head again.

It did not look at the projection.

Nor did it look at Tang San.

It stared at the Spirit Hall team beyond the iron fence.

More precisely, it stared at the captain holding the Soul Tool.

A black bag hung from the captain's waist.

A faint scraping sound came from inside the bag.

Xu Zhou looked at the Black Ancient Book.

Words immediately appeared on its pages.

[Mandrake Snake hatchling aura detected.]

[Quantity: Three.]

[Belongs to: Millennium Mandrake Snake.]

Xu Zhou looked up.

"You captured its eggs."

The Spirit Hall captain's expression changed.

"Nonsense."

"That Millennium Mandrake Snake never intended to kill us."

Xu Zhou pointed at the black bag on his waist.

"It came for its hatchlings."

"You brought its eggs in here, then used drugs to provoke it into attacking us."

"In the end, Tang San would kill it. Tang San would get the Soul Ring, and you would get the eggs."

Yu Xiaogang looked at the bag.

"This is the illegal capture of Soul Beast hatchlings."

"And you still held a hearing in the name of the Soul Beast Protection Faction."

The students outside the iron fence began discussing it.

The members of the Soul Beast Protection Faction started cursing outright.

"Put down the eggs!"

"Who gave you permission to capture hatchlings?"

"How is this any different from child trafficking?"

The captain still wanted to explain, but the Millennium Mandrake Snake had already charged at him.

It smashed aside the guards blocking its way, and purple toxic mist spread across the ground.

The Spirit Hall team fell into complete chaos.

"Retreat!"

"Get out of the poison mist first!"

"The Soul Beast has gone out of control!"

Xu Zhou looked at the projection in its final moments.

The projection began to fade.

The three Mandrake Snakes turned their heads at the same time.

The Four-Century Mandrake Snake abandoned the sack of severed roots.

It opened its jaws and fixed its gaze on the real Xu Zhou once more.

The Millennium Mandrake Snake had already rushed toward the Spirit Hall captain.

The third Purple Mandrake Snake bypassed everyone and blocked the exit.

The projection on the Black Ancient Book vanished.

[Script Projection ended.]

[Public Script progress: The entire team has left the captive-breeding ground.]

[Completion condition updated: The entire team safely leaves the Soul Hunting Forest.]

[Current status: Failed.]

[Reason: The exit has been sealed by a Millennium Soul Beast.]

Xu Zhou looked at the third Mandrake Snake blocking the exit, then lowered his head and smiled.

"Good."

"Now we do not even need to close the door."

The Four-Century Mandrake Snake charged at him.

Behind Xu Zhou, Tang San had already raised his hand.

Blue Silver Grass surged wildly from the ground.

"Xu Zhou, don't move."

"I'm using my first soul skill."

"But you don't have a Soul Ring yet."

"Then I'll use Blue Silver Grass without a Soul Ring first."

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass coiled around the snake's body.

At the same time, the Black Ancient Book in Xu Zhou's hand flipped to its final page.

A new line of text appeared.

[Detected that the host's Soul Power has reached level ten.]

[Thirty-day mission completed.]

[Would you like to condense your first Soul Ring immediately?]