Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 353

Runsheng crossed his arms, gathered his strength, and then slowly opened his arms.

Accompanied by a dull thud of muscles and bones, powerful waves of air were continuously released.

Standing at the very front, he formed a protective barrier for his companions behind him.

In the past, Runsheng was unable to control the air currents with such precision, but after the "crash course," he can now do it with ease.

The flames surged up, instantly like an egg being smashed into boiling water and rapidly dispersed.

It was as if a thick blanket of flames had been laid around Li Zhuiyuan and the others, both inside and above them.

Although the passageway here is wide, it is still a sealed space. If the fire is big and fierce enough, most people will not be able to resist, and even those few who have the means to resist will not have time to react.

The screams around them were incessant. Many martial arts practitioners, who were only one gate away from the Dragon King's gate, had their bodies and their aspirations of soaring to the sky and leaping over the dragon gate turned to ashes.

Tan Wenbin kept turning his body, and the information he sensed was transmitted to Xiao Yuan's brain in real time through the red line, allowing Li Zhuiyuan to keep track of the situation outside even when his vision was obstructed.

The four women remained firmly in place, having withstood the ravages of the flames in their own way.

As for the man, his location could not be determined for the time being, but Li Zhuiyuan believed that he was probably still alive.

He was clever; he not only put in the effort to block the burning, but also isolated himself from the sounds of his own presence.

Around the thick blanket of flames, dark red flames would occasionally approach. These flames, with their higher color, were hotter and had a more terrifying incinerating ability.

Lin Shuyou always reacted in advance, conjuring a trident phantom in his hand and throwing it to disperse the dark red color.

Overall, the fire is still burning, and even now, there is no sign of it stopping.

Chen Xiyuan: "That senior inside the sect is trying to completely refine us like demonic beasts."

Li Zhuiyuan:
"Do you think he can't tell the difference between the roar of a monster and the screams of a person?"

Of course, it's true that it's impossible to tell the difference, since the Yu family's situation is special, consisting of a mix of demons and humans, so it's quite reasonable for them to emit human screams.

Did you see those dark red flames that appear from time to time? That's the blessing effect given by spraying blood essence from the tip of the tongue when using this spell.

However, even at such a high price, it can be understood that he was afraid that some demonic beasts might escape using their own talents, and he was ensuring that evil was eradicated completely.

It's been burning for so long, yet he's still continuing. Why doesn't he push the stone door open wider and come in to check on things himself?
Finally, normal people don't usually have this habit of talking to themselves, especially when facing what they "believe" to be monsters, and they even start with an exaggerated "hahaha."

Chen Xiyuan: "You mean, he knows we're not demonic beasts, and he's deliberately trying to kill us?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "He was unsure whether we were demonic beasts or not, and he was unwilling to find out, because once he did, he would suffer a backlash from the Heavenly Dao."

But he deliberately overdid it in matters that might be ambiguous.

"It's better to kill a thousand innocent people than to kill one innocent person by mistake."

Zhao Yi had reminded Li Zhuiyuan that when the elders of those families attacked the Yu family, they must have left some traces of excessive force.

But it was clear that these senior figures had a deeper understanding of the Dao than Zhao Yi had imagined, and they were also more ruthless in their actions.

The unique image created by the Yu family's beastly rule gave them a reason to attack "people." As soon as they heard any noise, they would strike without hesitation, and might even be able to kill off outstanding juniors from other families and sects in advance.

At the same time, their own descendants are also in the same "moment of being mistakenly killed".

Li Zhuiyuan felt that the Heavenly Dao's arrangement in this wave was truly interesting; the overall rule was:
The elders on one's side cannot protect their younger generation on the river. Even if the younger generation encounters danger, they cannot escape to their elders, and the elders dare not directly help them.

The unique environment here provides those older generations with the opportunity to target other families' children. As long as someone can't help but do so, or even if the idea has just formed in their mind, the prisoner's dilemma will arise.

You may not lay a hand on someone else's juniors, but your juniors might be targeted and killed by someone else, or perhaps they have already met with an accident and died in a daze.

Although these old guys are all shrewd and not so short-sighted as to be so eager.

However, the Heavenly Dao had finally set up the stage with Dragon King Yu and then promoted such a luxurious lineup of elites who had traveled the river. Just counting the known legitimate descendants of the Dragon King family in Yu Dibei, there were already six.

If there are no surprises, then introduce them; if there are no conflicts, then induce them. Even a gust of wind or a leaf can change a person's life trajectory. The way of Heaven has many ways to make the desired effect appear.

The more ruthlessly those old guys slaughtered the Yu family's demonic beasts, the faster they were clearing the field, in order to prepare for the upcoming internal strife within the righteous path.

Before the old guys came to the Yu family, they only thought about sharing the Yu family's wealth. They certainly didn't expect that they would become "actors" who had been arranged in this wave, playing the role of a traditional evil spirit in the normal wave.

Even now, most people probably haven't fully realized it. Firstly, their understanding of the Heavenly Dao is not deep enough. Even Li Zhuiyuan only understood it when the incident occurred. Those who can make predictions in advance are the kind of people who truly "understand" the Heavenly Dao, such as the Dragon King, the ultimate victor of each generation, as well as the people and... animals who accompanied the Dragon King on his journey across the river.

Another reason is that the excessive killing of demonic beasts in a short period of time caused their demonic blood and resentment to spread in large quantities. Combined with the special environment of the Yu family's house deep underground in Mangshan, a special miasma was formed, which made people more impulsive and unable to maintain rationality.

Driven by the will of Heaven, the river had already meticulously arranged everything and taken care of every aspect.

The best of this generation will eventually have to fight each other, and there will inevitably be a winner and a loser. It's either death or defeat; you can't just stand leisurely on the river and enjoy the scenery forever.

Every generation's battle for the Dragon King has gone through this process. The journey across the river is, in essence, a life-or-death arena crafted by Heaven for outstanding individuals of each generation.

Li Zhuiyuan thought the man was clever because he immediately discerned the intentions of the person behind the stone gate and concealed his aura, thus preventing the other party from launching further attacks.

Right now, Li Zhuiyuan has two choices.

Alternatively, he could lead everyone around him to confront the one behind the stone gate. If they could break through the stone gate, Chen Xiyuan could shout "Dragon King Chen" again!
Unless the old man opposite him went mad and desperately tried to withstand the backlash of the Heavenly Dao and forcibly kill Jiang Zhe amidst the waves, he would have no choice but to immediately stop and say sheepishly, "I made a mistake, I made a mistake."

This is considered a preferential treatment within the rules; the people sent by each family are roughly equivalent to the status of Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu within their respective families.

Therefore, if the current river travelers were to fight against the elders of various families, their chances of winning would be very low. This is also a constraint that the river has set for those old guys.

If you really want a good fight, it's simple. Just like in Lijiang last time, give each team a piece of black jade and require them to carry it with them at all times. Define it as an evil spirit by "Heaven," and that way they can kill each other in a reasonable way.

But for Li Zhuiyuan, if he risked going out just to get an apology from the other party, then it wouldn't be very meaningful.

With Chen Xiyuan around, Li Zhuiyuan didn't think he was completely without the qualifications to compete with her. If he was lucky, he might even be able to defeat or even kill her, given the low probability. After all, these old guys only had Uncle Qin's status, but not necessarily his strength.

However, he himself will also pay an extremely heavy price.

Having just entered the Yu family, he has already played all the cards in his hand. This is really irrational. There are still many things to do and many benefits to be gained.

Then I'll hold back for now. Since it's a cat-and-mouse game, I'll be the mouse for once.

The other party dared not pay too much attention to observe, because once they "saw it clearly," they would be unable to justify their actions. The old man behind the stone gate was definitely in a state of "deliberate ignorance."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Tell me your birth date."

Chen Xiyuan answered immediately.

The boy pulled out a small stack of yellow paper from his sleeve, five sheets in total. The spirit of the black dragon flew out from his palm, stained with Li Zhuiyuan's blood, and patted each sheet of yellow paper with strokes, "writing" down everyone's name and date of birth.

Then the boy crossed his arms and bowed forward, and the puppetry technique took effect. The five pieces of yellow paper fell to the ground and folded up, becoming five small paper figures.

Since we know the other party is "confused," there's no need to be too meticulous; we can just fool each other.

The boy knelt down on one knee and slapped the ground with his right palm.

"Snapped."

Runsheng closed the air valve, but the air wave used to block it did not disappear; it simply changed into an array effect.

Tan Wenbin's eyes widened, allowing his vision to penetrate the flames more deeply, while Lin Shuyou's trident phantom shot out even faster, advancing further and dispersing the dark red flames that were about to converge.

Chen Xiyuan witnessed the whole thing. The boy didn't give any orders, but his three companions immediately reacted. What's even stranger is that Tan Wenbin's snake eyes seemed to be shared with Lin Shuyou's.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Open the domain!"

As Chen Xiyuan instantly opened her domain, she was thinking to herself: Why do I have to speak verbally when it comes to her?
She had realized that these four people, with the boy at the core, must possess a secret technique she had never heard of before, which allowed them to communicate their thoughts to each other in real time.

Chen Xiyuan also really wanted to join in and experience it.

Runsheng retreated, Lin Shuyou retreated, and Tan Wenbin moved forward. Everyone quickly moved closer and were enveloped by Chen Xiyuan's domain.

The array set up by Li Zhuiyuan collapsed, allowing the fire to break through and burn the five paper figures. Under the boy's control, the paper figures struggled incessantly, emitting silent, shrill screams.

Immediately afterwards, Li Zhuiyuan grabbed Chen Xiyuan's hand and pulled her to continue retreating, and Runsheng and the others followed suit.

The five people first moved towards the direction the flames were sweeping, and then immediately retreated as the fire receded.

Standing still, Chen Xiyuan continued to activate her domain for isolation. Li Zhuiyuan still didn't feel safe, so an array flag appeared in his right hand, and he set up another temporary isolation array outside the domain.

With this double protection, unless they themselves show any murderous intent, it should be difficult for others to detect their presence.

The next moment, the passageway, which had been filled with flames, fell silent. The flames were drawn away and transformed into fire snakes, all rushing towards the location of the four women.

According to the old man outside the stone gate, Li Zhuiyuan and his group had already been burned to death, so the only thing left to do was to focus on dealing with the last group of stubbornly resisting monsters.

"This monster, is it fire-resistant? I refuse to believe I can't burn you to death, pfft!!!"

Blood spurted from the tip of his tongue as if it were free, and then a fire dragon composed entirely of dark red flames roared toward the location of the four women.

Upon seeing this, Li Zhuiyuan immediately deduced that the old man outside the stone gate had not been idle during the fire.

The old man set up a deadly trap at the door.

The fire dragon came with great force.

The blind woman shook her head, indicating that the formation she had set up had no chance of resisting it.

The woman in the white dress drew her sword, her eyes cold and menacing. She had made her decision and was about to strike.

"boom!"

The obese woman took a deep breath, and dense purple scales sprouted from her body. She first forcefully pushed aside the flames in front of her to open a passage for her companion, then shattered the ordinary fire snakes around her, and finally punched the dark red fire dragon.

The fire dragon twisted and veered off course, causing large areas of the fat woman's scales to fall off, and her right arm to melt instantly, with the remaining flames at the wound continuing to consume her.

The thin woman appeared beside her, and a thread cut through the fat woman's burning wound. Then the thread extended, and her figure changed shape repeatedly in a short time, avoiding the fire dragon that was trying to capture her.

After reaching halfway, the thin woman pulled the silk thread with all her might, and the woman in the white dress stepped on the thread, moving as fast as a ghost, while the sword in her hand began to gather power.

The fire dragon turned around, trying to stop her, clearly not wanting her to get close to the stone gate.

The blind woman placed her palms together, tilted her head back, and struggled to arrange her formation.

"boom!"

Invisible shackles fell, attempting to trap the fire dragon, but only for a moment.

Blood flowed from the blind woman's eyes, her head slumped forward, and she nearly fainted.

However, this moment was enough.

The woman in the white dress appeared behind the stone door, about to thrust her long sword—a symbol of her identity—through the crack in the door, while simultaneously shouting:

"Ding family Ding of the River Valley..."

The sword was about to pierce through the crack in the door. The woman in the white dress deliberately omitted "I am" when she shouted, but how could a last-minute decision compare to a long-planned one?
Almost simultaneously, two withered index and middle fingers joined together and emerged from the crack in the stone gate.

This move caused the entire stone gate to darken, and silenced all surrounding sounds!
The woman in the white dress widened her eyes and sheathed her sword in front of her.

"Snapped!"

The sword broke instantly upon contact with the fingertip.

The jade pendant around the woman's neck was about to shake, and the bracelet on her wrist was about to tremble, with the sound of bells about to be heard. Just as these life-saving items were about to play their role, they all turned into dust.

As the fingertips drew near, the white dress on the woman began to shatter, but just as it broke apart, the special material inside remained intact, retracting and blocking the woman's path.

Li Zhuiyuan could only sigh inwardly. With so many protective items and such a foundation, it would be difficult to die even if one wanted to in normal waves.

However, under this finger, all external obstacles became meaningless, the barrier was broken once again, and the fingertip continued to break through.

The woman opened her mouth, and a tiny, toy-like sword flew out. Her face aged instantly, and her hair turned white.

This final weapon, released at the cost of lifespan, did not shatter or bounce off upon impact with the fingertip, but instead pierced through and continued to penetrate deeper.

However, the overall movement of the fingers did not stop.

The thin woman appeared in front of the woman in the white dress, and the silk threads in front of her quickly intertwined to form a barrier, which then disintegrated in an instant.

"boom!"

The thin woman's body exploded.

The woman in the white dress behind him continued to face his fingers; her chest had sunken in.

But it must have been that small sword that had entered through his fingertips that had traveled through the old man's body, and now it must have reached a point where the old man had to be distracted to deal with it.

"Wow..."

The fingertips paused.

The woman in the white dress couldn't transmit her voice, but she kept clutching the broken sword she had started with.

With a powerful flick, the broken sword flew out of the crack in the stone gate. It bore her family crest and her name; seeing the sword was like seeing the woman herself.

The old man's voice came:
"Ah, so it's your grandniece! I thought she was some kind of powerful and difficult-to-kill monster. I'm sorry, I made a mistake!"

Without lingering, the old man behind the door left immediately.

The fact that he preferred to use the essence of his tongue to enhance ordinary spells and then unleash the killing move with his fingertips instead of his own weapon shows that he did not want to reveal his identity. If he failed to kill the target and the victim escaped, it would be equivalent to gaining another enemy in the martial arts world. Therefore, the old man's initial voice may have been a lie.

However, under all the pressure, he must have been injured, especially that small sword, which was not so easy to remove.

The woman in the white dress slumped to the ground, clutching her chest, looking at her broken companion in front of her.

At that moment, a shadow peeled off the wall, and the man whose aura had previously vanished stepped out.

The first thing the man said after they came out was:

"My purpose in infiltrating this group is to wipe out you bunch of scoundrels who aid and abet evil!"

The one-armed, overweight woman immediately stepped in front of the woman in the white dress, who stared coldly at the man.

Chen Xiyuan looked at Li Zhuiyuan beside her. Li Zhuiyuan did not react. Chen Xiyuan knew that her little brother did not intend to save anyone.

She wanted to help, but after what happened at the museum, her desire to save people isn't as strong anymore.

Since I'm currently being used by the younger brother, I might as well do what he wants.

As the man walked towards them, he glanced at the spot where Li Zhuiyuan and the others had been standing and shook his head.

"It gave me quite a fright when I was outside earlier. I thought the Qin family had sent people out to patrol the river again."

Those who could be burned to death so easily could not be members of the Qin family.

It seems that my father and the others, by joining forces back then, truly broke the backbone of the Qin family's revival.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In an effort to reverse my blood sugar levels, I quit sugar and started dieting again, which disrupted my biological clock. I didn't sleep for two nights, and my mind was blank during the day, making it difficult for me to write.

This chapter is not long enough; I owe you 5 words.

I apologize to everyone here. Long-time readers know how overweight I am and how unhealthy my work habits are. In short, I will adjust as soon as possible and make up for lost time with more updates.

(End of this chapter)