Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 210 Li Yuanxiu

At the wedding, Blood Lord, dressed in an Armani suit, sat with a champagne glass in his hand and a gloomy expression.

He didn't want to attend such a crowded event, after all, he was now... a laughing stock for countless people.

However, out of consideration for the Ye family, he had no choice but to show his face here. He would leave as soon as the wedding was over to avoid losing face.

Just then, Bernadette swayed over gracefully, her red lips slightly upturned: "Captain, you're dressed so beautifully today, are you trying to steal the groom's thunder?"

Blood Lord looked at her and said, "Aren't you going to spend some more time with your best friend and have a private chat?"

“Firefly is having a heart-to-heart talk with her father,” Bernadette said tentatively after sitting down. “She also mentioned earlier that she wanted me to catch her bridal bouquet.”

How could Blood Lord not understand her subtext?

"Really? I'm sure there are a lot of people who want to take it, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to win."

A wise person can sometimes convey their meaning in just a few words, while also saving face for the other person.

At this moment, Xiao Tianze, the vice leader of the Temple team, suddenly came to his side and said, "Blood Owl, you've arrived."

Xiao Tianze had just greeted Chen Chongming when he came to find him.

“I understand you’ve been in a bad mood lately.” Xiao Tianze tried to appease Blood Lord, since the latter was a rare, obedient lackey. “I won’t mince words. You just need to focus on one thing: try your best to advance to LV5 Thousand Faces this year. You should also be aware that what you did back then was not something that could be openly discussed, so the arrangements made for you over the years have been relatively low-key.”

Blood Lord nodded and said, "I know that."

I am Song Jiang, and you are Gao Qiu! After conquering the Liao Kingdom and defeating Fang La, if I still can't get promoted, I should be prepared to be sidelined.

After all, his rise to power was accompanied by countless shady and dirty deeds committed by the court.

"Commander Ye asked me to remind you that if anything goes wrong at the wedding, immediately use 'Black Prison Sacrifice' to control the situation."

"Alright." Blood Lord knew that for now, he was still their trusted hound, and he could only play that role well.
Somewhat agitated, Blood Lord slowly shifted his gaze to a spot not far away. Suddenly, he saw a young man wearing overalls and holding a basketball.

Blood Lord's pupils contracted: "This... is that 'Chicken You're Too Beautiful' reincarnator from that day?!"

“Yes, his name is Cai Xiaoyu,” Xiao Tianze nodded and said, “Yinghuo said that his field is quite funny, and suggested that we invite him to perform at the wedding to entertain everyone. The wedding emcee can then act as the straight man and shout, ‘Everyone’s little black hairs are showing their chicken feet, right?’ Yinghuo said it would be even better than the current Spring Festival Gala.”

"Aren't you really afraid of a lawyer's letter warning?" Blood Lord couldn't help but sigh. As expected of the eldest daughter of the Ye family, with just a word, the reincarnators had to come over and perform like a circus act.

At this moment, Cai Xiaoyu's palms were sweating with excitement: "My God! This is Miss Ye's wedding! If I could perform here, and they just pluck a hair from my head, like a fragment of resentment crystal, I, Cai Xiaoyu, could skip ten years of hard work!"

He took a deep breath, straightened his overalls, and prepared to find an opportunity to show off his skills.

Suddenly, he saw Yu Tianlun!

The leader of the Nirvana team, he's a legendary figure! He's been incredibly popular lately!

Cai Xiaoyu rushed forward, the basketball spinning on his fingertips: "Commander Yu! I've heard so much about you! My name is Cai Xiaoyu, um, do you remember me?"

Yu Tianlun was taken aback and subconsciously took a half step back: "Uh... hello?"

He really wanted to ask: Who are you? Are you cosplaying in that outfit?
Cai Xiaoyu said enthusiastically, "Commander Yu, I've always admired the Nirvana Team! How about I join you? Although I'm low-level, I have a lot of potential! I've already comprehended the rules of the domain!"

As he spoke, he immediately prepared to demonstrate a crossover dribble.

Yu Tianlun finally remembered who he was and quickly raised his hand to stop him: "Wait! Our team is not recruiting... uh, singing and dancing talents for the time being."

Cai Xiaoyu's face immediately fell: "Captain Yu, please give me a chance! I can be part of the atmosphere-building team if you're willing!"

Yu Tianlun chuckled dryly, "Next time for sure, next time for sure..."

Just as Cai Xiaoyu was about to continue harassing her, his gaze suddenly locked onto a woman holding a cell phone not far away.

Cai Xiaoyu's expression froze instantly, his face turning from red to green, and then from green to black.

Yu Tianlun sensed something was wrong: "What's wrong?"

Cai Xiaoyu gritted his teeth, his finger trembling as he pointed at the woman: "She...she..."

Yu Tianlun became alert, his hand already on the Reincarnator's watch: "What's wrong with her?"

Could it be a reincarnated being that infiltrated from the old core?
If that's the case, then this is terrible! But how did they sneak in? How did Cai Xiaoyu figure it out?

Cai Xiaoyu took a deep breath and roared:
"She's... a Genshin Impact player! Get the hell out of here!!!"

At that moment, the woman was engrossed in scrolling through her phone, and the screen prominently displayed the gacha interface for Genshin Impact.

Yu Tianlun: "..."

Xu Yinqiu: "..."

Liu Yan: "..."

Wu Ge: "That's right, I support you!"

"Young man, you have good taste!"

……

After entering the restroom, Jiang Jin retrieved two skull keys. He had been so busy consolidating his LV2 level these past two days that he had completely forgotten about the keys.

"Let's see if we can get anything good to resolve today's crisis!"

Jiang Jin was truly at his wit's end; he couldn't tell anyone about the future he had envisioned. Nor could he confront Li Yuanxiu on his own.

Jiang Jin took a deep breath and used the Skull Key to summon the Skull Treasure Chest.

Will the treasure chests from the Old Nuclear Organization yield any good items?

The moment the key touched the lock cylinder, a clicking sound like bones rubbing together came from inside the keyhole, and then a dark and terrifying treasure chest appeared before them.

He first opened the first treasure chest and took out the contents.

The reincarnation system notification then appeared. The text notification received by LV2 reincarnators was more organized, divided into three parts: appearance, effects, and limitations.

The first treasure: [Ghost Blows Out the Light]

Appearance: A bronze oil lamp with a wick made of a pale human finger bone, and the lamp oil emits a faint smell of decay.

Effect: When lit, all spirit-type enemies within the light's range (significantly effective against vengeful spirits, but less effective against earthbound spirits) will be briefly stunned.

Limitation: Each ignition consumes 3% of the user's SAN value, and a single instance can only be used 3 times.

The second treasure: [Blood Rust Scissors]

Appearance: A pair of rusty tailor's scissors, with dried bloodstains on the blade and a few strands of black hair wrapped around the handle.

Effect: Can sever invisible "curse threads," such as lifting a one-time instant death curse or interrupting the propagation chain of meme contamination.

Limitations: Each use consumes 4% of SAN value; the scissors will rust more severely with each use until they are completely unusable.
The third treasure: [Underworld Road Guide]

Appearance: A yellowish talisman with the words "Guide to the Yellow Springs, all ghosts shall give way" written on it in cinnabar.

Effect: After being shown, it will make the holder be regarded as "one of the same kind" by lower-level spirits within 10 minutes, thus avoiding being attacked by them.

Limitations: After use, you will be enveloped by Yin energy (manifested as a sudden drop in body temperature) and your SAN will drop for one minute. The exact amount of SAN dropped is completely random.

“It’s a good thing,” Jiang Jin quickly put it into the Reincarnator’s Watch, “but it’s no match for Li Yuanxiu.”

Then he opened the second skull chest.

The first treasure: [Human Skin Drum]

Appearance: A hand drum the size of a palm, with the drumhead material resembling the skin on a young girl's back, and you can even see the fine pore texture.

Effect: After striking, all enemies within range will be forced to dance continuously (they cannot break free during this time), but the user must keep striking.

Limitation: After striking the drum for 5 minutes, blood will seep from the drumhead, reducing the SAN value by 10%. Continuing to strike the drumstick at this point will backfire on the user.

The second treasure: [Hungry Ghost Stomach]

Appearance: A shriveled, purple, sac-like organ covered with teeth marks.

Effect: Can devour an ominous object contaminated by memes or an item cursed by a ghost, and vomit out harmless residue after 24 hours.

Limitation: During the Devouring phase, the user will feel extremely hungry and must not eat at this time, otherwise their SAN will drop severely.

The third treasure: [Evil Spirit Ruler]

Appearance: Approximately 30 centimeters long, made entirely of some kind of black animal bone, with fine blood-red patterns covering the surface, and a rotating eyeball embedded at the top.

Effect: Upon hitting a target, it forcibly deducts 30% of the target's SAN value, ignoring the SAN lock mechanism.
Restriction: You must be 10 meters away from the enemy (in a conscious state) and shout in their face, "I'm going to attack you with this ruler!" Then rush up and strike them head-on with the ruler. Sneak attacks are strictly prohibited, otherwise it will be ineffective and will not deduct your own SAN value.

Jiang Jin curled his lips. In the end, this prop was too useless. You can shout from ten meters away, but do you think the other party can just stand there and let you attack?
As he walked out of the cubicle, he bumped into Yu Tianlun.

"Commander, perfect timing. I'd like to ask you a question. How much do you know about Li Yuanxiu?"

Yu Tianlun raised an eyebrow, not understanding why Jiang Jin had asked such an abrupt question. He washed his hands as he answered, "That young master of the Li family? He's certainly a genius."

Amid the sound of flowing water, his voice carried a hint of emotion: "He was clearly a rich young master born with a silver spoon in his mouth, yet he worked harder than anyone else. In just two years, he went from level 1 to level 3 in witchcraft. I heard that in order to develop his worm stomach, he gritted his teeth and endured the process of internal organ displacement."

Jiang Jin nodded thoughtfully: "Then what does he think of this marriage alliance..."

"Yes, I did hear he wasn't too willing." Yu Tianlun turned off the tap and shook his hand. "But I only heard it from people in the circle. It turns out that Lady Pussy from the Insect Cave team tried every means to recruit him. After all, most witchcraft reincarnators choose to join the Insect Cave team and receive guidance from Lady Pussy. How could Lady Pussy let go of someone as talented as him?"

"Then why didn't he accept Lady Pussy's offer in the end?"

"Well... I'm not entirely sure about that."

"Um... Commander, it's like this, I think we need to be careful of Li..."

However, before he could continue speaking, the Reincarnation System warned Jiang Jin that he could not continue, otherwise he would be violating the rules of the Space-Time Deep Eye!

Jiang Jin was dumbfounded!

Seriously? That strict? You can't even say this? Then he has no way to warn Ye Xiu!

Back in the banquet hall, Jiang Jin was immediately surrounded by a crowd. Many people, having heard from Ye Xiu that he was there today, wanted to find him immediately.

A middle-aged man with slicked-back hair patted him enthusiastically on the shoulder: "Mr. Jiang, you are a very handsome man! Would you be interested in developing a career in the entertainment industry? I own quite a few entertainment companies..."

“Old Liu, you’re being inconsiderate.” Another middle-aged man with a beer belly squeezed in. “Young Jiang is newly married, so he should solve his housing problem first. Mr. Jiang, I have several villas. Don’t worry, they’re in the city. You can choose whichever you like as a wedding gift. The decorations are all ready.”

Jiang Jin managed to maintain a polite smile and finally managed to get rid of these people.

Currently, it seems that the only tool he can use is that human skin drum. However, any tool used on a reincarnated person needs to be prioritized by the reincarnation system. If the other party has sufficiently strong armor, the tool's effect will be deemed to have failed.

After all, the other party is a near-LV4 reincarnator, not so easy to deal with.

Time is drawing ever closer...

Accompanied by the solemn wedding march, Ye Xiu walked slowly in, arm in arm with his daughter.

Di Nanyin, as a bridesmaid, was behind Ye Yinghuo, holding her long wedding dress train.

The bride's white wedding dress shimmered under the lights, but Li Yuanxiu, standing at the end of the red carpet, showed no emotion on his handsome face.

Jiang Jin gripped the Reincarnator watch tightly on his wrist.

Li Yuanxiu watched as the Ye family father and daughter approached little by little at the other end of the red carpet.

No one knew that, as the groom, his heart was actually burning with murderous intent!
Memories came flooding back.

Two years ago, Li Yuanxiu and Di Nanyin first met in a dungeon called "Abandoned Motel".

At that time, Li Yuanxiu, who had just become a sorcerer, was being chased by three skinning demons. When he hid in the basement of the hotel, he stumbled upon Di Nanyin, who was setting up a trap and was still a level 1 hunter, Blood Tracker.

She was wearing a special leather armor. When she heard Li Yuanxiu's voice, she turned around and a crossbow bolt was already pressed against his throat.

"Don't move." Her voice was as cold as ice. "Take another half step and I'll—"

Before he finished speaking, five blood-red corpses burst from the ground. Li Yuanxiu instinctively unleashed the "Heart-Eating Spider Gu," and the poisonous mist instantly corroded the monsters' eyeballs.

Di Nanyin's crossbow bolt then pierced the blood corpse's forehead with pinpoint accuracy, and the two fought back to back until dawn.

"Hunter profession, Di Nanyin." At dawn, she sheathed her weapon and said to Li Yuanxiu, "Your Gu technique is quite good."

The day after leaving the horror instance, they got to know each other very deeply in their hotel room.

Li Yuanxiu was an extremely rare person with a strong sense of emotional purity.

He doesn't easily give his emotions, but once he does, he never takes them back. Among male reincarnators, he's a rare anomaly. In this respect, he's on par with Zhou Chen, who is equally renowned. Both of them possess far greater self-discipline than ordinary people, whether it's in matters of emotion or cultivation.

At that time, neither Li Yuanxiu nor Di Nanyin knew that this encounter would become a heart-wrenching ordeal in the future.

As a sorcerer and reincarnator, and with his father being the CEO of the Pan Shi Group, Li Yuanxiu attracted too much attention. Therefore, he dared not reveal his lover, as this would become his weakness.

The memory suddenly shifts to the blood-soaked horror instance of "Dead by Daylight".

It was an extremely brutal hunting ground where participants were both hunted and forced to fight each other.

At that moment, Li Yuanxiu and Di Nanyin opened their eyes and found themselves standing in a gloomy forest.

Fog filled the air, the withered trees twisted like ghostly claws, and the faint sound of chains dragging on the ground could be heard in the distance.

Beside him, Di Nanyin held his hand tightly; her fingertips were cold, but her eyes were resolute.

“Don’t be afraid,” she whispered, “we will definitely get out of here alive.”

Li Yuanxiu nodded and looked around. There were thirty-two reincarnators entering the instance this time, including the two of them and several other reincarnators who had temporarily formed a team. No one knew that this instance had already been targeted by the "Eternal Dream Team".

When the Yongmeng team suddenly broke into this terrifying instance, Li Yuan was setting up traps in the cornfield.

The moment Ye Xiu arrived with Mo Xiu and twelve other elite members of the Eternal Dream Clan, this instance was destined to become their hunting ground.

Those who reincarnate must either submit or be slaughtered.

Submission means being planted with a soul imprint by Ye Xiu, becoming a permanent soul slave, losing one's self and personality, and turning into a slave!
Li Yuanxiu once saw a reincarnator with an iron hook piercing his shoulder and being hoisted high up.

From the shadows, a man wearing a leather mask slowly emerged, his machete dripping blood.

He is the reincarnation of Eternal Dream!
"Run!" Di Nanyin grabbed Li Yuanxiu and rushed into the woods.

Behind them, two other reincarnators from the Eternal Dream team had already begun to hunt down the other survivors.

During his escape, Li Yuanxiu suddenly stopped.

“We can’t keep running away,” Li Yuanxiu gritted his teeth. “We must fight back.”

Di Nanyin was stunned: "Are you crazy? They are from Yongmeng!"

Li Yuanxiu smiled, a smile that was both gentle and resolute.

"Nan Yin, trust me."

The battle that followed was like hell.

With his astonishing talent in Gu techniques, Li Yuanxiu consecutively killed two hunters from the Yongmeng team.

Di Nanyin, along with the other survivors, desperately tried to repair the generator.

The third station, the fourth station...

Hope seems to be just around the corner.

however--

Li Yuanxiu underestimated Yongmeng's power.

Their battle formation was quickly destroyed.

"What a pleasant surprise." At that moment, Ye Xiu stroked his daughter Ye Yinghuo's hair, his gaze fixed on Di Nanyin, who had separated from Li Yuanxiu and fled in the distance. "This hunter has good talent. Yinghuo, she will be your bodyguard from now on."

The next thirty-six hours turned into a nightmare.

The Emu team used sonic weapons to drive ordinary reincarnators into the slaughterhouse, where they began a brutal massacre.

Ye Xiu was actually willing to give ordinary reincarnators the chance to submit and have their soul imprints planted, but Vice-Captain Mo Xiu was ruthless and merciless when he took action, and female reincarnators suffered even more misery when they encountered this lustful demon...

To protect her injured fellow reincarnator, Di Nanyin deliberately exposed herself. Even as three electrified animal traps clamped her ankles simultaneously, she was still mouthing to her companion hiding behind the tanker truck, "Don't come out."

Fortunately, she was a reincarnator chosen by Ye Xiu, thus avoiding being humiliated by Mo Xiu.

Afterwards, Ye Xiu planted a soul imprint on Di Nanyin, permanently imprinting her with the absolute mental brainwashing message, "You must protect Ye Yinghuo with your life."

The moment the soul imprint was completed, Di Nanyin's eyes changed from pain to emptiness, and finally she mechanically knelt in front of Ye Yinghuo and said, "I am willing to serve you, Miss."

At this moment, Li Yuanxiu looked at the banner in front of him that read "Li Yuanxiu and Ye Yinghuo will be happily married for a hundred years," and felt extremely twisted inside.

Her father's face flashed before her eyes again: "By marrying into Yongmeng, we'll be on the imperial court's side! Don't put on that deadpan face. This is the era of meme pollution; strength is everything!"

Li Yuanxiu will always remember the night his mother committed suicide due to depression, while his father was in his mistress's bed.

His extreme fastidiousness regarding relationships is also closely related to this experience.

The father's feigned tears at the funeral were more repulsive than the stench emanating from the rotting corpse.

He would always remember that when he went on a blind date with Ye Yinghuo just to appease his father, he saw Di Nanyin standing behind her.

Her once bright and lively eyes now resembled misty glass beads. He looked shocked, finally understanding why she hadn't contacted him since the "Dead by Daylight" instance.

Later, Li Yuanxiu stood in the dimly lit study, holding an intelligence scroll in his hand.

"Tortoise of Achilles..." he murmured the skill name, a sinister smile playing on his lips.

Ye Xiu's defense is not absolute.

Once a soul imprint is placed, it cannot be removed. Killing the Soul Master is the only way to remove the soul imprint.

“The wedding…” Li Yuanxiu tapped his fingers lightly on the table, “Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he would never have imagined that anyone would dare to make a move.”

Not long ago, late at night, Li Yuanxiu came alone to an abandoned funeral home on the outskirts of the city.

He lit three black incense sticks and placed them in the incense burner. Amidst the swirling smoke, a dark shadow fell from the beam and stood silently behind him.

"The liaison for the insect nest?" Li Yuanxiu asked without turning his head.

"Commander Li is indeed punctual." The shadowy figure's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping. "I heard... you have a deal to discuss?"

Li Yuanxiu turned around and looked directly at the other party's face, which was covered by a black cloth: "Now that the imperial court has decided to wipe out your insect nest because of Liang Zhiyuan's death, you have no choice but to hide in your home dungeon and dare not openly operate in the real world. I plan to kill Ye Xiu at the wedding and then I need your help to get away."

The shadowy figure remained silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a piercing laugh: "Interesting! Eliminating Ye Xiu would indeed be beneficial to us. But how do I know this isn't a scheme between you and the imperial court? Don't you care about your father anymore?"

“My father and I broke off relations long ago. Anyway, he has no fewer than five illegitimate children, so he doesn’t need another son like me to inherit the family business. As for me, I can gather more information for you. You should know that I can do this. My only condition is that you take me and Di Nanyin with you to your home world when the time comes.”

"Di Nanyin?" The figure in the shadows seemed to understand, then realized, "She's Ye Yinghuo's best friend, isn't she? They say you have to be careful of your best friend, and it's so true!"

"What best friend!" Li Yuanxiu was furious. "Nan Yin is Ye Yinghuo's slave! Her free will has been completely stripped away! What's the difference between this and murder! Only if I kill Ye Xiu can the soul imprint be removed!"

“Alright, deal.” The shadowy figure grinned sinisterly. “First, we need to know where Sima Jin of the Misty Swamp is.”

"can."

"But I don't understand, how did you kill Ye Xiu?"

"The Achilles Tortoise has a huge flaw... I plan to persuade Ye Yinghuo to have her father remove this skill at the wedding. Once the skill is removed, he will become a helpless middle-aged man!"

The memory ends here.

At the other end of the red carpet, Ye Xiu, still unaware of what was happening, arrived in front of Li Yuanxiu with his daughter!

(End of this chapter)