Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 180: Prelude to the Frontal Battle
The final incantation transformed into a tangible sound wave, shattering the vengeful spirit's body into countless ashes of resentment!

Clearly, these vengeful spirits have been absorbing the crystallized resentment!

Before the ashes could even touch the ground, they were sucked into the mirror's inner world.

“Not bad, not bad,” Yu Tianlun said with satisfaction. He looked at the painful and distorted faces that appeared on the mirror and said, “These resentment ashes weigh several kilograms. If we give them to the cleaners, they should be able to be reprocessed into new resentment crystals.”

The workshop fell silent again, save for Yu Tianlun's heavy breathing; the back of his Taoist robe was soaked with sweat. Xu Yinqiu immediately stepped forward and quickly patched his wounds.

"The lifeline has been severed?"

Yu Tianlun nodded and picked up the Yongle Tongbao coin that had fallen to the ground.

A crack appeared on the surface of the copper coin, and rust appeared in the center.

"Duan She won't be able to control vengeful spirits for at least a month. He's probably heartbroken right now, so many vengeful spirits have fallen into my hands. Who gave him the courage to come and kill me? Liang Jingru?"

Meanwhile, Duan She's screams echoed in the backyard of the izakaya.

"Yu Tianlun! Impossible! Wasn't he under a curse? How come he's not weakened at all?"

At this moment, Duan She was in so much pain from the backlash that he couldn't even pretend in front of Zhou Chen anymore!
Zhou Chen quickly turned to look at him, and upon hearing his words, suddenly understood something.

"Duan She! How dare you?"

He rushed forward and grabbed Duan She by the collar!
"Are you trying to kill Qin Mei by doing this?"

Now that Qin Mei is in the hands of the Nirvana team, if Yu Tianlun is killed, Xu Yinqiu might very well kill Qin Mei in a fit of rage! At the very least, she might cut off a few of her fingers!
Xu Yinqiu is a practitioner of the Zhuyou Reincarnation method, possessing sufficient means... to torture a person without killing them!
Fortunately, the reincarnation system did not notify that any reincarnators had died, and Yu Tianlun and Qin Mei were both safe!
However, whether the Nirvana team will torment Qin Mei is completely uncertain!
“Qin Mei deserved to die! She brought the Shadow Blade team in, only to suffer heavy losses. Even if she goes back, Blood Lord won't forgive her!” Cold sweat rolled down Duan She's forehead. “If we kill Yu Tianlun, Nirvana will have no LV3 Reincarnators left, and we…”

Zhou Chen suddenly grabbed Duan She's left arm and said coldly, "Say it again!"

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

Duan She let out a scream, then knelt on the ground, his left arm twisted at an abnormal angle.

His face was contorted in agony, cold sweat rolling down his temples.

"Zhou Chen! Are you insane?" Duan She hissed through gritted teeth, "You...you dare to do this to me? I...I will return to the Bloodstained Legion sooner or later..."

His response was a precise kick. Zhou Chen's boot slammed into Duan She's broken arm bone, making a crisp cracking sound. Duan She threw his head back and let out a howl that sounded inhuman, his vision blurring.

"You are still my subordinate," Zhou Chen's voice was colder than ice. The eighteen-year-old exuded a terrifying aura. "You disobeyed my orders and acted on your own! Do you really think my words carry no weight?"

Zhou Chen knew that Blood Lord was suspicious of him, so he deliberately avoided establishing his authority within the branch to show his loyalty to Blood Lord.

Ruan Hong huddled in the corner, her nails digging deep into her palms.

She had seen Zhou Chen kill before—clean and efficient like slicing sashimi, but never with such deliberate cruelty in torturing someone. Her instincts as a sorcerer told her that Zhou Chen was extremely dangerous at this moment.

Lu Cun was even more miserable. This usually arrogant sorcerer was now trembling like a quail, and didn't even dare to look Zhou Chen in the eye. He stared at the blood gushing from Duan She's severed arm and suddenly began to gag.

"I...I did it for the team!" Duan She argued, enduring the excruciating pain. "We took advantage of their momentary lapse in attention to kill Yu Tianlun! But I never expected...he was cursed and afflicted by our spells, and he could even unleash my vengeful spirit..."

Zhou Chen grabbed Duan She by the back of the neck, forcing him to look up. "If you were really capable, killing everyone in Nirvana would be fine. But what you're doing now is forcing the people of Nirvana to fight us to the death!"

He kicked Duan She away, then took out his phone and called Yu Tianlun, hoping he would understand that it wasn't him who gave the order.

Didn't you want to negotiate? Sure, let's negotiate!

The condition is that Qin Mei's life must be spared!

However, the other party refused to answer.

Clearly, there's no chance to negotiate now.

Duan She's fighting strength has been reduced to about half, leaving only Ruan Hong and Lu Cun as his remaining capable fighters. Their current actions demonstrate that they no longer care about Qin Mei's life or death, thus forcing them to come out and hunt down their balloons!

The Concealment Array has both advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage is that Zhou Chen is currently unsure whether their balloons have appeared or where they are!
"Han Wei, has Jiang Jin's position changed?" he shouted at Han Wei.

Han Wei shuddered and said, "It's...it's still in the same place, nothing much has changed."

"But we can't guarantee that Yu Tianlun won't take the initiative now..."

Zhou Chen's heart was pounding wildly. He might see a message on his left retina at any moment: the news of a Shadow Blade team member's death!

At this moment, Tang Min's gaze shifted back and forth between Zhou Chen and Duan She, finally settling on the twisted severed arm.

“Treat him.” Zhou Chen pointed at Duan She, shaking the blood off his hands. “Don’t let the bones set too well.”

Tang Min knelt down beside Duan She with trepidation.

When she touched the broken bone, Duan She let out another painful roar.

"Be gentle! You bitch!"

"Try calling out again?" Zhou Chen narrowed his eyes, a talisman hidden between his fingers.

Duan She immediately fell silent, only the bulging veins on his temples showing that he was still enduring excruciating pain.

Tang Min's hands were trembling. As the team's medic, she had treated all sorts of wounds, but the situation before her was completely different—this wasn't a combat injury, but an internal punishment.

What alarmed her even more was that Zhou Chen's current state was clearly abnormal.

This usually frighteningly calm young man now had bloodshot eyes, his breathing was much faster than usual, and his right hand was unconsciously stroking the peach wood sword at his waist. All these details pointed to one conclusion: Zhou Chen had lost control.

Because of Qin Mei.

Tang Min suddenly remembered that rainy night six months ago. She had sneaked into Zhou Chen's room in a see-through nightgown, hoping for a fleeting affair in exchange for his future consideration within the team, but she had been kicked out. At the time, she thought Zhou Chen was asexual, but now it dawned on her—he preferred mature women like Qin Mei, and wasn't interested in her, the girlish type. Tang Min also recalled seeing Zhou Chen watching a movie on his phone once before; it was Monica Bellucci's *Malèna*, a film about a young man secretly in love with a mature woman.

The girl touched her flat chest and understood why her seduction attempt had failed. She recalled Qin Mei's alluring curves whenever she wore tight-fitting clothes, and it became clear. Of all the Asian members of the Bloody Team, only Kim Suk-mi could compare to Qin Mei.

The number of female reincarnators is far less than that of males, and this ratio becomes more pronounced at higher ranks. Therefore, for female reincarnators to advance, they either need talent or can only rely on men.

It has to be said that although Qin Mei is nearly forty, she has indeed put a lot of effort into skincare. Her skin and figure are almost as good as a woman in her twenties, with hardly any wrinkles. But who would have thought that Zhou Chen would actually be having an affair with her? Tang Min remembers that he protected the young master at Yinye High School, and he and Qin Mei's daughter were classmates!
If she hadn't witnessed Zhou Chen's reaction with her own eyes, she would never have believed that such a dramatic story, comparable to Tokyo Hot, would happen to someone she knew.

"Hiss..." Duan She's gasp pulled her back to reality. Tang Min quickly focused her mind and chanted an incantation. A green halo appeared in her palm, enveloping the severed arm. The bones slowly returned to their original positions, but just as Zhou Chen had requested—she deliberately left several fractures in their original state.

At this moment, if she offended Zhou Chen, she was genuinely afraid that he would kill her in a fit of rage.

"It's done," she reported softly, not daring to look up.

Zhou Chen didn't speak. When he turned around, his face had returned to its usual indifference. Only the bloodstains on his hands proved that his rage just now was not an illusion.

“Lu Cun, we can’t stay here any longer. We need to act immediately,” he said calmly, as if discussing the weather. “Ruan Hong is preparing materials for a black magic spell. We need to give Nirvana a big gift.”

"Yes Yes!"

"Han Wei, Meng Chang, you two come along too. We're going to have a good fight with the Nirvana team."

"Tang Min, you stay and keep an eye on this good-for-nothing." Zhou Chen pointed to the limp Duan She. "If he makes any more moves..."

The boy gave a chilling smile: "You know who to report to."

Tang Min nodded vigorously.

When Zhou Chen left with Han Wei, Ruan Hong, Duan She, and Meng Chang, Tang Min finally breathed a sigh of relief and realized that her back was soaked with sweat.

"That bitch Qin Mei..." Duan She cursed weakly, "How did she manage to seduce Zhou Chen?"

He just couldn't understand how Zhou Chen could have fallen for Qin Mei, a widow with a daughter.

Duan She suddenly grabbed Tang Min's wrist with his still-mobile right hand: "When we get back, we must tell Blood Lord what Zhou Chen did for a woman!"

"Give me a break." Tang Min shook him off. "The Blood Lord definitely values ​​Zhou Chen more. His potential is far greater than yours. Do you think genius reincarnators are a joke?"

Then, she lowered her voice and said, "Why do you think Zhou Chen only broke your left hand? It was to save face for Blood Lord—otherwise, he could have just chopped off your head."

"He wouldn't dare! I am a direct subordinate of the Blood Lord!"

Tang Min shook her head. This guy was truly hopeless. Did he really think that just because he had shared life and death with the Blood Lord, the other party would protect him for life? Besides, if that were the case, Zhou Chen's achievements back then far surpassed Duan She's!

Meanwhile, Zhou Chen and the others had already left.

They had poured corpse oil on the balloons to ensure they wouldn't be able to pinpoint their location for the time being.

"Should we go directly to Jiang Jin, or..."

“Jiang Jin dares to stay put, he probably has something to rely on,” Zhou Chen said. “Yu Tianlun will definitely come out to find us.” Duan She’s hasty action completely disrupted Zhou Chen’s plans.

“Yu Tianlun…” he murmured the name, the peach wood sword trembling slightly in its sheath.

He brushed aside the stray hairs from his forehead, revealing a bright red vertical mark between his eyebrows.

That's a blood pact mark. Each use consumes SAN points, and it cannot be replenished by any means within the instance.

Under normal circumstances, he tries to avoid using it.

But at this moment, Zhou Chen bit his finger without hesitation and smeared the blood on the mark.

The vertical gash opened like lips, greedily absorbing blood. Zhou Chen's aura surged instantly; he looked northwest, his pupils turning blood red, piercing the night!
As if sensing something, Yu Tianlun suddenly stopped.

The Bagua mirror was burning hot in his arms; it was a warning to him!
"They're here," he whispered to his companion. "Zhou Chen has also chosen to take the initiative."

Xu Yinqiu immediately took out three silver needles, and Liu Yan's Gu worms formed a defensive formation.

Tomie licked her lips excitedly: "Oh my... am I going to meet that handsome guy? Is this the time for me to step in?"

Yu Tianlun ignored her teasing. They both knew about Tomie's existence, and Zhou Chen definitely had a device to prevent cognitive contamination; Tomie's charm was useless. Bringing her out was primarily to prevent her from becoming an unstable factor by Jiang Jin's side.

At this moment, Ruan Hong was secretly alarmed when she saw Zhou Chen's reddened pupils.

Zhou Chen is now in his strongest battle state!
……

Inside the luxurious villa of the Blood Lord at the Dingyou Reincarnation Camp in the real world.

Xia Yu's knees have lost all feeling.

The marble floor in the villa's basement was as cold as ice, and Xia Yu had been kneeling there for more than ten minutes.

She kept her head down, her vision limited to the gleaming toes of the Blood Lord's leather shoes, reflecting her own terrified face.

"I'll give you ten more minutes."

The Blood Lord's voice came from above, so calm it was chilling.

Xia Yu knew that this calm was more terrifying than rage—like the routine tone of a prison guard before a death row inmate hears "execution immediately."

"Yes, yes, Commander!"

She struggled to raise her stiff arm and continued chanting incantations over the faded doll in her hand.

This was the first "fate doll" she made when she became a puppeteer; the doll's hair was implanted from her own hair.

A silver needle was pinned to the chest of the doll, its tip gleaming with an eerie blue light.

"Tsk." Jin Shumei leaned against the side, saying sarcastically, "Madam Sima, is your ability really nothing more than this?"

Xia Yu ignored the sarcasm.

She bit her finger again and dripped the blood onto the doll's head.

The blood droplets didn't seep into the fabric; instead, they flowed eerily along the contours of the doll's face, outlining its features.

"With blood as the guide, with soul as the bridge..."

The moment the incantation was uttered, the temperature in the room plummeted.

Xia Yu's breath condensed into white frost in the air, and the doll suddenly trembled in her palm!
The Blood Lord has finally made his move.

He crouched down and said, "I hope this time it will be successful. You had better show me your value. Otherwise, I'll throw you to those lustful beasts in the Black Scorpion squad. I think they'll be very interested in your body."

Xia Yu felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The Black Scorpion was the Bloodthirsty Third Division, a group of inhuman beasts.

"I...I definitely will..."

The doll suddenly convulsed violently, and the blue light at the tip of the needle surged.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xia Yu immersed her consciousness into the "synesthetic" state of the puppeteer, and a shattered scene immediately appeared before her eyes!

Xia Yu was so excited that she almost lost her synesthetic state.

She quickly calmed herself and tried to establish a two-way connection with the doll. But the next second, a sharp pain struck her mind like lightning—something was blocking the connection.

"what!"

She couldn't help but cry out in pain, blood dripping from her nose onto the front of her clothes.

Kim Suk-mi's gloating laughter could be faintly heard, but it had become very distant.

"Hold on..." Xia Yu roared in her heart, biting her finger and pressing it against the back of the doll. "I must persevere and become the leader's wife of the Bloody Team!"

More blood seeped into the doll, finally breaking through that invisible barrier.

The blurry image reappeared: Jiang Jin seemed to be in some abandoned factory...

But before she could see clearly, the screen was suddenly engulfed by a large expanse of red.

It wasn't blood... it was the sky... the entire sky was blood red!
Xia Yu's consciousness was forcibly pulled towards that crimson night. In a fleeting moment, she saw countless black dots floating beneath the red clouds.

what is that?
“Red Night…” she murmured unconsciously.

"What?" Blood Lord's voice suddenly drew closer.

The connection was severed at that moment.

Xia Yu was struck backward as if by lightning, her head hitting the marble floor hard.

"waste!"

In his blurry vision, Blood Lord stood up and disdainfully kicked away the rolled-out doll with the tip of his leather shoe.

Blood Lord grabbed Xia Yu's chin and forced her to look up: "You just said 'Red Night'?"

Xia Yu's pupils were still dilating from the excruciating pain, but her survival instinct made her grasp at this straw: "Look, I see it, the red night sky... there are so many things floating around, but I can't see them clearly..."

Blood Lord suddenly released his grip, and Xia Yu collapsed to the ground like a rag doll.

Kim Suk-mi.

"Yes, Commander!"

"Go to the archives and retrieve all copies of documents containing the keyword 'Red Night'."

Jin Shumei reluctantly agreed, and kicked Xia Yu before leaving.

The moment the door slammed shut, Blood Lord grabbed Xia Yu by the hair and lifted her up.

"You'd better not be lying." His breath tickled her ear. "Otherwise, you know what will happen."

Xia Yu trembled all over. She had realized that to the Blood Lord, she was nothing more than a tool, a plaything, used to provoke Sima Jin.

She betrayed Sima Jin and joined the Bloodstained Team in order to obtain enough resources to advance to LV3. But now, she lives a precarious and undignified life.

If I had known this would happen, I would have preferred to remain the wife of the leader of the Kiri Swamp branch! Why did I end up in this situation?

"Commander...I...I also saw Jiang Jin in a factory..."

Blood Lord narrowed his eyes.

Does he appear to be in a captured state?

"It doesn't look like it..."

"Yeah……"

Blood Lord frowned; the situation wasn't what he had expected...

Zhou Chen, you've really disappointed me!

If he doesn't deliver good results this time, then he can forget about being the leader of the Crimson Division!

(End of this chapter)