Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 227 Zhong Kui's Judge's Pen

Feng Ya and Jiang Jin retreated to the foot of a section of ruined corridor. At this moment, the former looked at the latter with undisguised admiration.

“Brother Jiang Jin, I was deeply impressed by your performance during our last collaboration. Your understanding and mastery of the corruption of rules were exquisite.” Feng Ya’s voice carried a rare hint of admiration. “I have explored many dungeons and seen quite a few genius reincarnators, but those with such talent for understanding rules as you are truly rare. I’m afraid you’re being somewhat wasted by staying in the Nirvana team.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jin looked up and said, "Commander Feng is too kind. I still prefer to stay in the Nirvana Team."

He paused, his tone inquisitive, and said, "As fellow hunters, Captain Feng, you are already a LV4 'Rule Hunter,' while I have only just advanced to LV2 'Ghost Hunter.' I wonder... if you could offer some guidance? Among the ten Reincarnator professions, apart from the unpredictable witchcraft, it is the hunter profession that is the most difficult and costly to advance."

Having the opportunity to hear legendary hunters like Feng Ya share some secrets and experiences for advancing in the game would save him a lot of trouble!
Feng Ya nodded solemnly: "That's right. Hunters are the class among the Reincarnators with the strongest direct damage against ghosts and evil spirits, but the price of power is dancing with the corruption of the rules. Each advancement means a deeper understanding and even utilization of the rules of the dungeon, and it also means enduring stronger corruption and erosion. The fluctuations in SAN value will be more violent and dangerous. One wrong step and you will be doomed. It is not impossible for you to become a being more terrifying than a ghost."

A hint of reminiscence flashed in his eyes, "Back then, it was precisely because I admired Minister Long Mingzhang's firm and steady steps on that narrow bridge that I resolutely joined the Temple team he founded."

Jiang Jin's eyes flashed: "Minister Long... I heard that before he advanced to LV5 'Unforgivable Butcher', you, Captain Feng, had already followed him? I've heard rumors that you obtained a... complete Zhong Kui corpse in an extremely dangerous Chinese horror dungeon?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Ya's face showed an extremely complex expression, a mixture of awe and lingering fear, but which ultimately turned into pride.

He nodded slowly: "That is indeed the case."

He raised his left hand and touched the Reincarnator's Watch on his wrist. The next moment, something appeared out of thin air in his palm.

It was not the sword or axe that one might imagine for slaying demons, but rather a judge's pen about one foot and two inches long and dark purple in color.

The pen was covered with densely packed cinnabar runes, and its tip was incredibly sharp. The moment it appeared, the surrounding air seemed to freeze, filled with a chilling, murderous aura.

"This is one of Zhong Kui's personal magical artifacts—the 'Judge's Pen,'" Feng Ya's voice was filled with utmost solemnity. "Wherever the pen touches, it can sever yin and yang, determine life and death, and has absolute suppressive power over all evil spirits and demons. However, in the memetic contamination instance, the essence of many things has been distorted. When we found Zhong Kui's physical body, he was no longer the legendary exorcist god, but... a terrifying being corrupted and consumed by eternal rage, more ferocious than ten thousand ghosts. In that battle... the Temple team's elite forces suffered nearly half their losses..."

His gaze deepened, as if he were lost in that painful yet incredibly poignant memory:
"That instance was called 'The City of the Wrongfully Dead.' There, we encountered a government office in the underworld, which was actually a huge, living, and constantly writhing and expanding Ming and Qing dynasty-style government building complex. The walls dripped with foul-smelling blood and flesh, and the grievance drum would automatically sound, but what it emitted was the shrill wails of the living. Countless walking corpses dressed as officials roamed within it, and when they struck people with their killing sticks, they didn't just damage the body, but directly drained their SAN value and even their lifespan."

"Our goal was to find and 'pacify' the rampaging Zhong Kui. But when we overcame numerous obstacles and broke into the deepest 'Judge's Hall,' what we saw was not a god at all, but a monster trapped on a giant official's chair..."

Feng Ya's voice lowered, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.

"It was still wearing that familiar red official robe, but it was now soaked in filth and some kind of black substance. Its face was no longer the legendary iron-faced bearded man, but an aggregate of countless tormented faces that were constantly writhing, each face screaming and groaning! Its left hand held a 'Book of Life and Death' that was constantly dripping black filth, while its right hand... gripped the 'cinnabar pen' that I was holding in my hand now!"

"When it saw us, it let out a 'crunching' laugh that sounded like millions of people grinding their teeth at the same time. The entire hall came to life instantly, and countless struggling arms began to appear, trying to drag us into it and make us new parts of its face. The power it used was no longer the supremely yang and evil-dispelling divine power, but a terrifying curse that could distort the rules and directly determine 'death'."

“That battle was the real Shura field. One by one, my teammates were physically intact but their souls were scattered amidst the silent thud of the 'judgment wood,' or they were called by that evil pen and their flesh withered and turned to ashes in an instant. Minister Long... it was at that moment that he forcibly broke out and snatched the 'judge's pen' from that monster's hands... Afterwards, he spent countless efforts to barely purify and reshape it into its relatively controllable form today.”

Feng Ya took a deep breath, breaking free from his memories: "Zhong Kui, in essence, could be described as a 'hunter' who has reached the pinnacle. Therefore, only we hunters can use his magical artifacts."

His memories began to drift back to that terrifying instance...

In fact, what happened after that was even more terrifying.

"Old Feng! Left Wing! The ghost tide is coming! Hold on!" A loud voice boomed amidst the deafening howls of ghosts.

Feng Ya snapped back to his senses, and the uniquely shaped broadsword in his hand unleashed a circle of golden light, shattering a blue-faced, fanged demon that pounced from the shadows. Then, his body instinctively stepped to the left, instantly switching places with Long Mingzhang.

"Shut up! Keep your talismans in check and don't let them go out!" Feng Ya roared back, his voice drowned out by the shrieks of the swarming evil spirits.

They were surrounded by countless evil spirits from the underworld, each with a unique shape!

They surged forth like a black tide from the broken gates of the City of the Unjustly Dead!

At the heart of the ghost tide, a ghost dressed in ancient official robes, with a face as pale as paper and eyes reduced to two black holes, appeared. It held a tattered black command flag in its hand and kept waving it. With each wave, more evil ghosts condensed from the void!
And that's when the Emeng team entered the scene!

They were only spared because Ye Xiu, Mo Xiu, and other reincarnators rushed in!

Therefore, he must save Ye Xiu's life!
Jiang Jin looked at the pen and slowly said, "With such a divine artifact in hand, it seems that my actions just now were indeed unnecessary."

Feng Ya shook his head and put away the judge's pen: "No, Brother Jiang. There are too many variables in the Lost Layer. It's always good to conserve every bit of strength. Your quick reaction and decisive action were a great help. Now, let's figure out a way to escape from here first..."

Before he could finish speaking, Feng Ya's expression changed drastically, and he turned around abruptly! The judge's pen that he had just put away reappeared in his hand, carrying an incomparably sharp and murderous aura. Without even looking, he slammed it hard into a shadowy spot behind him!

"clang--!"

A loud bang, like metal clashing, exploded, sending sparks flying!
In the shadows, two figures were forced to reveal themselves.

It was Huichi, the senior brother who should have been in the kitchen, and next to him was Gao Gongwei, who was using the alias Huijue!
Hui Chi revealed a sinister smile that was completely different from his honest face: "Not bad, Commander Feng. This 'Judge's Pen' is indeed a good treasure. From now on, it will belong to our 'Old Core'."

He cracked his neck, making a snapping sound. "Let me introduce myself. I'm from the 'Dream Core' branch of the Old Core Organization, Gu Poshan. I've come to seek your guidance." His aura suddenly changed, becoming sinister and eerie, and his monk's robes fluttered without wind.

Meanwhile, Takamiya Yui, who was standing to the side, struggled for a moment, then suddenly lifted the sleeve of her monk's robe, revealing the Reincarnator watch on her wrist!
The next moment, he drew his hidden katana with lightning speed, the blade flashing like snow, and slashed straight at the back of Gu Poshan's (Huichi's) neck!

"Gao Gongwei! How dare you!" Gu Poshan was filled with shock and anger!
puff!

The blade flashed, and a huge head flew off! It was Gu Poshan's head!
However, the flying head did not die; instead, it let out a shrill, venomous laugh in mid-air: "Hahaha! Fool! I'm a Level 3 'Flying Head Slash'! You think a mere decapitation can kill me?!"

The headless body did not fall, nor did blood spurt from the severed neck. The head, hovering in the air, turned bloodshot, spewing out a large plume of dark green poisonous mist. Simultaneously, its hair grew wildly, piercing towards Gao Gongwei and Feng Ya like countless steel needles!

"A sorcerer?!" Feng Ya and Jiang Jin were both startled.

This bizarre and evil profession is more difficult to deal with than common ghosts.

Feng Ya let out a low shout and began to unleash his professional skill, [Rusty Armament]!
A rusty, tattered suit of armor, as if unearthed from an ancient tomb, covered his body!

A dark red domain, exuding the scent of blood and rust, spread out from beneath his feet, enveloping Gu Poshan's flying head and headless body—the initial hunting domain!
Jiang Jin didn't hesitate either. His shotgun roared, and bullets rained down on the poisonous fog and strands of hair.

Takamiya Yui brandished her katana, severing countless poisonous threads, and said urgently, "I am Takamiya Yui, a Japanese reincarnator, and my profession is samurai! I was forced to cooperate by the Old Core! They had a reincarnator named Li Yuanxiu implant a Gu worm in me to control me! But after entering this temple, the Gu worm in my body lost its activity and died! Only then did I have a chance to fight back!"

"Li Yuanxiu?!" The name made Feng Ya freeze in mid-air, his eyes flashing with overwhelming killing intent and rage. "It's him! He actually associates with that group from the Old Core!!"

Just as he was feeling agitated, Gu Poshan's flying head seized the opportunity, and the poisonous mist it spewed from its mouth suddenly intensified, transforming into countless skulls burning with green ghost fire, frantically attacking Feng Ya's hunting domain!
The battle instantly heats up!
However, both Feng Ya and Jiang Jin sensed something was wrong. Their SAN values ​​were steadily and slowly decreasing, and were extremely difficult to recover.

Feng Ya tried consuming a food item that could replenish SAN points, but the effect was minimal, as if some rule was suppressing the recovery of his spirit.

Just as the battle reached a stalemate, a figure appeared silently at the edge of the battlefield.

That was a monk wearing a spotless white robe!
His face was blurred, his steps were unhurried, and he seemed oblivious to the intense supernatural battle before him, simply walking quietly along a fixed path.

"A white-robed monk!" Jiang Jin's heart stirred. Remembering the fifth rule of the temple, an idea formed in his mind. He immediately asked the white-robed monk loudly, "Master! May I ask which way is the way out of this place?"

The white-robed monk stopped, slowly raised his hand, and pointed in a certain direction. He didn't speak; after pointing, he continued walking forward.
Just as everyone was slightly distracted by the appearance of the white-robed monk!

The flying head of Gu Poshan, which should have been suppressed, somehow used some secret technique to forcefully break through part of the domain's restraints, letting out a sharp screech. Its tongue actually transformed into a sharp arrow, shooting straight at Jiang Jin's back!
This attack was extremely vicious, and it seized the most delicate moment!
"Watch out!" Gao Gongwei exclaimed.

It was too late for Fengya to return and provide assistance!

In the critical moment, Deathstroke suddenly leaped out and bit the arrow in mid-air, severing it!

Then, Jiang Jin glared angrily at Gu Poshan, and then he used his Cunning Lawyer skill!
He chose to amend Article 5 of the temple rules: All monks in the temple must wear gray robes. If you encounter a monk wearing a white robe, you may ask him for directions, but you should not follow him. He changed the word "may" to "must" in the original text!
It only works on Guposhan!
At the same time, the ferocious expression on Gu Poshan's flying head froze instantly, replaced by extreme astonishment and incomprehensible fear!

Because he saw the white-robed monk turn around, his neck making a strange "crackling" sound, and his eyes looking at Gu Poshan!

Then, Gu Poshan suddenly let out a shrill, distorted scream!
Immediately afterwards, his flying head, along with his headless body and all the escaping poisonous mist and ghost fire, began to rapidly disintegrate, weather away, and finally, completely annihilate!

It's as if it were erased from the very concept of existence by an invisible hand!
Not even a speck of ash remained.

All that remained was absolute nothingness and deathly silence.

Feng Ya and Gao Gongwei were both stunned, staring incredulously in the direction of the dead Gu Poshan.

Jiang Jin slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

"Phew... thank goodness..."

At this moment, Feng Ya walked towards Jiang Jin and said, "Brother Jiang, you..."

Suddenly, a black arrow pierced through Feng Ya's heart!
He coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground!

"Commander Feng!" Jiang Jin rushed forward, utterly astonished.

"Damn it..." Feng Ya spat out a mouthful of blood, "Before he died, he used the Flying Head Curse skill, killing me at the cost of his soul being unable to be reincarnated..."

Clearly, Gu Poshan was unaware that his death was due to Jiang Jin altering the rules, so naturally he had to kill Feng Ya, the strongest enemy, before he died, to accompany him in death!

Feng Ya handed the Judge's Pen to Jiang Jin, letting the black blood flow out: "Brother Jiang... this pen is something I obtained with my life... Minister Long's strength is no longer needed for this. As you grow stronger in the future, you will be a great help to us. This... is now entrusted to you!"

(End of this chapter)