An Unforgettable First Encounter

The three-meter-tall Ghost Uncle raised her head helplessly.

For that single instant, all of Lin Feng's awareness rested on the tip of his sword.

He could no longer hear even the lightning overhead or the rolling thunder.

His mind was clear of distractions.

There was no time for snark.

All his vitality, energy, and spirit went into this one strike.

This strike was his very life.

Wind and rain swept along beside him, becoming the most breathtaking sword strike he had unleashed so far at the Seventh Rank!

A strike with no return.

Wind, rain, and sword energy merged into a thin white streak, while leaves from the surrounding evergreen trees drifted down around him.

The sword was too fast, the leaves too slow. Lin Feng vanished, but the leaves remained where they were.

His sword let out a piercing howl that drowned out the thunder overhead.

Like a spirit compelled to answer when called, Ghost Uncle had her disguise exposed and revealed her true form.

She tilted her head back, dazed, as the skin on her body flaked off like dried plaster.

Her flesh was exposed.

Blood covered her body. Her head shriveled rapidly, like a sponge sucked dry, and all her blood gathered in her chest.

Her second trait vanished, leaving only a single face on her chest!

A priest mask made of gold!

The pills, the staff, and that mask—she had already consumed or used them all after hearing that strange priest's voice.

She had thought the mountain folk were sacrifices, never realizing she was one too.

She was merely a higher-grade sacrifice than those mountain folk.

The same truth still held.

Gods that fed on blood had no morals. The Six Heavens' Old Qi had nothing whatsoever to do with morality.

Before the priest mask could recover, Ghost Uncle was gone!

One sword strike, three meters high, split the rapidly shrinking Ghost Uncle in half, along with the ground beneath her.

A sword technique unlike any he had used before.

One he had comprehended on his own.

He had no time to check what he had learned.

He went to inspect the corpse.

The corpse slumped limply to either side.

Her body had been split in two.

A deep gash had also opened in the ground, its depth unknown.

Lin Feng had struck before the mask could return to its peak condition.

Yet the three-meter-tall body, split in half, was dry and withered inside. Blood vessels and muscles alike had been sucked dry by something in that instant.

Lin Feng had to stagger two steps backward, away from the corpse.

After that strike, his legs went limp as cooked noodles, and he could barely stand. Fortunately, he was on his own turf. As the Mountain God, he received an endless stream of life force from the spirits of the surrounding trees.

He took two long, deep breaths.

Lin Feng felt his stamina and energy gradually returning.

Looking at the mask and staff lying intact on the ground, Lin Feng did not touch them.

They were far too sinister.

He saw the game display prompts for all three items.

[Altered Sacrificial Prayer]

[Flesh · Priest Mask]

[Sacrificial Staff]

Ghost Uncle's death was no injustice. She had thought this was an opportunity. She wanted its supernatural powers; it wanted her flesh and blood.

Splitting a three-meter-tall person in half was no easy feat.

Let alone carving such a huge gouge into the ground.

But what he had not expected was that, even after a blow of such force—

The mask was perfectly fine.

Lightning flashed, and Lin Feng saw what seemed to be scarlet eyes in the mask, watching him.

They held a peculiar, meaningful malice.

It was watching him.

Lin Feng narrowed his eyes.

He did not try another strike.

He had surpassed himself with that last strike. If it had failed to break the mask, his next attempt would not destroy it either.

When Ghost Uncle had killed him before, he did not know whether he had simply failed to see through her, or whether he had been so weak that she had not needed to activate this thing. Either way, Ghost Uncle had killed him.

Now, just as Ghost Uncle had come to her senses, she had suddenly dropped dead.

Lin Feng kept feeling that the strange things in the tomb passage had a particular craving for blood.

Lin Feng planned to leave and explore the new map next: the tomb passage.

Lightning continued to flash, but Lin Feng's [Sword Heart Clarity] seemed to reach its peak in an instant.

Behind him!

Lin Feng turned his head and saw an enormous shadow.

He suddenly remembered how he had described the Terracotta Figures when he first saw them.

"They're like string puppets, controlled by a tall, unseen figure."

Those words had been true.

At first glance, Lin Feng had seen through the true nature of the Terracotta Figures.

Now he finally saw what stood behind him.

It was indeed an enormous shadow. He could not describe what it was. Perhaps a person?

It was very tall.

Lightning flashed again and again, but strangely, although Lin Feng could see that enormous silhouette, the lightning never made it cast a shadow.

Strange.

Strange beyond measure.

Countless strings seemed to hang from the figure's hands.

Were those strings attached to the Terracotta Figures?

Lin Feng wanted to move, wanted to leave. Strangely, the Mountain God's authority did not help him this time. He was fast, but the dark silhouette was faster.

Strings descended everywhere, reaching toward Lin Feng!

Every single string was alive!

One blow!

Every hair on Lin Feng's body stood on end!

He failed to escape.

Attacks were useless against them.

That was cheating!

What kind of thing was this? His attacks did nothing to it, while its attacks dealt critical hits to him.

More importantly, [Mountain God's Wrath] had no effect on the shadow.

Dragon-Tiger Qi worked, but its effect was far too weak.

It could not hurt the shadow.

One blow smashed Lin Feng into the ground, shattering his bones. Those seemingly living strings descended from above and tightened like a garrote, gradually increasing the pressure until they snapped his neck!

He died of strangulation, anything but peacefully.

Even with the suffocating sensation of death muted, Lin Feng still looked utterly bewildered when he was expelled from the game world!

What was going on?

How had he just died?

Why had a deus ex machina suddenly shown up? What was that thing?

Was it the legendary Western Hunan Yin God?

Or something that had emerged from the tomb?

Why had he never been able to see these things before, but could see them now?

Was it because he had killed Ghost Uncle?

He had unraveled a little of the mystery, only for more mysteries to cloud his vision.

Lin Feng was impatient.

It was like a puzzle game. He could not rest easy without playing on.

Between [Start over] and [Continue game], Lin Feng chose [Continue game] without hesitation. He did not intend to clear the game with these three lives. He just wanted to see what was going on. He had a feeling that this tomb passage was inextricably tied to his future game quests.

Opening his eyes, Lin Feng felt his strength return once more. Every [Continue game] reset his condition. His shattered neck bones and everything else would return to normal.

After strangling him, it had not hung him up.

He climbed to his feet and saw the enormous shadow in the distance, about to leave. It seemed to sense that someone had revived.

The dark shadow turned around again and looked at its prey, "returned from the dead."