Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 212 Lanruo Temple and Witchcraft
Ye Xiu's breathing grew weaker and weaker, and the abscess on his neck even seemed to writhe as if it were alive.

Bai Zhi, the Zhu You reincarnator from the Yongmeng team, placed her hands on Ye Xiu's chest. Pale green healing energy flowed into his body like water, but with each contact, the pustules would contract violently, completely consuming the healing light of Zhu You.

"No!" Fine beads of sweat appeared on Bai Zhi's forehead. "This is Lady Pustuca's Gu poison; I am powerless to help!"

Madam Ye knelt to the side, looked up at Jiang Jin, and said in a hoarse voice, "Mr. Jiang... you must have a way, right?"

Jiang Jin remained silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "I'm sorry, I can't do it. In this situation, I'm afraid unless Lady Pustules personally intervenes, there is no solution."

"Lady Pustules..." A hint of despair flashed in Madam Ye's eyes. The Insect Nest team was now at odds with the imperial court; how could they possibly come to rescue anyone?
Just then, Ye Xiu suddenly convulsed violently, making a gurgling sound in his throat, and his pupils began to dilate.

Bai Zhi gritted her teeth, took out a jade talisman from her bosom, and pressed it hard against Ye Xiu's chest: "Sealing Meridians and Locking Soul!"

The jade talisman shattered, transforming into countless fine threads that wrapped around Ye Xiu's entire body, finally temporarily suppressing the spread of the Gu poison.

But everyone knew this was just a delaying tactic. In the current state, the poison could no longer spread, but the healing ritual could no longer be performed. Moreover, this could only last for a relatively short time, temporarily saving Ye Xiu's life.

Suddenly, screams and shouts came from the other side of the banquet hall.

The reincarnators of the Hades team are now surrounded by the reincarnators of the Eternal Dream team!
"Li Yuanxiu has escaped!" Mo Xiu, the deputy commander of Yongmeng, shouted sternly. "You Netherhounds dared to collude with the Insect Nest to assassinate a high-ranking official of the imperial court!"

"You scum of the Netherhounds, you're in cahoots with Li Yuanxiu, aren't you?!" Another member of the Eternal Dream team roared at the same time, pointing his longsword directly at the nearest Netherhound member.

"Wait! We have no idea what happened!" Chen Ye, the vice-captain of the Underworld Hounds, hurriedly explained.

But the people of Emu were no longer listening.

"Kill them all! Leave no one alive!"

"Damn it! The people from Yongmeng have gone mad!" Chen Ye gritted his teeth, flipping over a dining table as cover. "Everyone, prepare to fight back!"

The members of the Hounds quickly assembled, but they had no desire to fight this inexplicable battle.

Lin Shuang, the witch reincarnator of the Yongmeng team, formed hand seals, and countless runes materialized and were projected. The three members of the Netherhound team were unable to dodge in time and their bodies were instantly pierced through.

Meanwhile, another member of the Netherhound bit his fingertip, smearing blood on his forehead. Strange black lines immediately appeared under his skin, his muscles bulged, and his veins writhed like snakes.

"Since you're being unreasonable, don't blame us for fighting to the death!"

The banquet hall was completely turned into a battlefield.

Long Mingzhang stood protectively beside Ye Xiu, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield, his face ashen.

"Leave some alive, don't kill them all!" Xiao Tianze shouted sternly. "Seal off the banquet hall, don't let a single member of the Netherhound escape!"

"Commander Xiao!" Chen Ye suddenly shouted, "We really didn't know that Commander Li... Li Yuanxiu would assassinate Commander Ye!"

Xiao Tianze said coldly, "Since that's the case, then surrender and I'll investigate!"

An investigation? In this situation, if they give up resistance, will they even survive?

Clearly, Xiao Tianze didn't care whether they were truly wronged or not!

Since Li Yuanxiu is their commander, then he deserves to die!
Just keep a few alive to interrogate them!

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye was so angry that veins bulged on his forehead: "The people from Yongmeng are attacking us, how can we stop? Li Yuanxiu just assassinated Ye Xiu, we were completely dumbfounded!"

But the people of Emu were so enraged that they wouldn't listen to any explanations.

The next second, the entire space seemed to be paused.

"Stop right there, all of you!"

Long Mingzhang's voice wasn't loud, but it resounded like muffled thunder in everyone's ears.

At the same time, a crimson energy erupted from his body, spreading rapidly like blood mist and instantly enveloping the entire banquet hall.

The No-Hurteria Hunting Grounds!
This is his professional skill as a Hunter LV5: Unforgiving Butcher!
After the [Unforgivable Hunting Ground] opened, countless dark red marks appeared before Long Mingzhang's eyes, precisely branded onto each member of the Netherhound team like bullseye. Their necks, hearts, and brows were all marked with shimmering "hunting marks," as if Death himself had branded them with the mark of death.

At this moment, Long Mingzhang's pupils seemed to have completely transformed into beastly eyes, and the air seemed to freeze wherever his gaze fell.

"Now, you are all my prey. Lay down your weapons and surrender, and I will guarantee your lives."

His voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable authority.

After a round of fighting, Long Mingzhang finally came out to stop them. How could the people of the Netherhound not know that he was doing it on purpose?

The members of the Hound team all felt a blood-red "hunting mark" appear on their bodies, as if they had been branded with a hot iron, and a faint burning pain came from them.

"This...this is..."

All the members of the Netherhound were frozen in place. They could clearly feel that with just a thought from Long Mingzhang, their lives would be instantly taken.

This is not a threat, but a fact.

"Put down your weapons," Long Mingzhang said calmly.

"Bang! Bang!"

After their weapons fell to the ground, the members of the Hound team knelt, trembling. It wasn't that they didn't want to fight back, but that they simply couldn't. Within the territory of the [Unforgivable Hunting Grounds], they were all prey for Dragon's Emblem!

The banquet hall was completely silent; everyone held their breath.

Jiang Jin was equally shocked. Was this the hunter's strongest level? Within the [Unforgivable Hunting Grounds], Long Mingzhang could hunt down all prey as easily as killing a chicken!

This is the Hunter LV5 class: The Unforgiven Butcher!
Yu Tianlun narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself, "[The Unforgivable Hunting Ground]... truly lives up to its name."

Long Mingzhang slowly walked towards Chen Ye, the vice-captain of the Netherhounds, his footsteps particularly clear in the silent banquet hall.

"You really don't know what Li Yuanxiu did?" He asked in a calm tone, as if he were talking about the weather.

Captain Hellhound's forehead was beaded with cold sweat, his throat bobbed, and he said, "Really, we really can't understand..."

Long Mingzhang reached out and gently touched his brow with his fingertips.

"Snapped!"

With a soft sound, a small bloodstain suddenly appeared between the brows of the captain of the Netherhound, and blood slowly flowed down.

"Ah—!" he screamed, but dared not move, and could only kneel on the ground, trembling.

Long Mingzhang withdrew his hand and said calmly, "From today onwards, you will be imprisoned by the Ministry."

The faces of the members of the Hellhound team turned deathly pale instantly.

The atmosphere in the banquet hall remained somber.

Long Mingzhang withdrew his domain and turned to look at the trembling guests in the banquet hall.

After all, there are still many people who don't know about reincarnators.

"Take all the ordinary people out of here," he ordered the temple team. "Cleanse their memories."

At this moment, Li Ruoxi suddenly shouted at Jiang Jin, "What's going on? Jiang Jin!"

But soon, Zhu You began to cleanse the memories of guests who were unaware of the concept of reincarnators.

This job is usually done by the cleaners. But now, Long Mingzhang doesn't even have the energy to schedule the cleaners.

Suddenly, Madam Ye walked over and knelt before Long Mingzhang, her voice trembling: "Minister Long, I beg you... to contact the Insect Nest team! As long as Madam Pustules is willing to save Ye Xiu, I will agree to any condition!"

Long Mingzhang's face was gloomy.

The imperial court and the insect nest are mortal enemies; to negotiate at this time would be tantamount to admitting defeat.

But looking at Ye Xiu, who was on the verge of death, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "I will try to contact Lady Pustules, but she may not agree."

Long Mingzhang's gaze swept over everyone present like a blade, and the crimson energy of the [Unforgivable Hunting Ground] surged around him, as if it could tear space apart at any moment.

Just as Long Mingzhang was considering how to persuade Madam Ye, a deep voice came from behind the crowd—

"Minister Long, perhaps there is another option."

Everyone turned around and saw a middle-aged man dressed in a Tang suit walking slowly towards them.

His face was stern, and his brows exuded an imposing aura. A black sparrow with outstretched wings was embroidered on his sleeve.

He is Shen Mohan, the Grand Master of the Black Sparrow Pavilion.

Long Mingzhang narrowed his eyes: "Sect Leader Shen, what do you mean by this?"

Even Long Mingzhang didn't dare to underestimate the Black Sparrow Pavilion. He knew they were secretly operating a black market for reincarnators, but he could only turn a blind eye to it.

Shen Mohan remained calm, his gaze sweeping over the nearly dead Ye Xiu, and said indifferently, "Our Black Sparrow Pavilion recently discovered a new instance—[Lanruo Temple], which has appeared in Qingtan Community."

"Lanruo Temple?" Long Mingzhang frowned. "A Chinese Ghost Story?"

He's extremely busy and doesn't keep up with new dungeons.

“Yes, but it has undergone tremendous changes due to meme contamination.” Shen Mohan’s voice was deep and resolute. “We have discovered that this instance seems to contain some kind of power that can counteract witchcraft.”

Long Mingzhang's eyes narrowed slightly: "How did you know?"

“We once sent several reincarnators in to explore the area,” Shen Mohan said slowly. “As a result, one of the witchcraft reincarnators had just entered the instance when all the witchcraft worms died, and his witchcraft abilities were also suppressed.”

"What?" Long Mingzhang's pupils contracted slightly.

Shen Mohan continued, "We recently signed an agreement with the Nirvana team, under which they will take the lead in pioneering the land for us."

Long Mingzhang was silent for a moment, then turned his gaze to Jiang Jin: "There are also witchcraft-based reincarnators in the Nirvana team. Is that why you sent them in?"

Jiang Jin's expression changed, and he said, "Since your Black Sparrow Pavilion discovered that this dungeon is effective against witchcraft reincarnators long ago, why didn't you tell us beforehand? Did you want to use us as test subjects to see if the effect was the same on different witchcraft reincarnators?"

Shen Mohan's expression remained unchanged: "I apologize to you, Mr. Jiang, for this, but risk means high reward. If there really is an ability to suppress witchcraft within Lanruo Temple, then perhaps... we will have a way to fight against Lady Pustules. Perhaps, this instance holds hope for saving Commander Ye!"

(End of this chapter)