Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 237 Summoning the Ghost Eye Yang Jian
A clear, melancholic female voice emerged from Yan Chixia's mouth, creating an extremely terrifying scene when combined with her pale, eerie face!

Huikong felt a buzzing in his brain, and his last shred of reason completely collapsed!
Overwhelmed by extreme fear, it took him a full three seconds for his brain to process: he must immediately close his eyes tightly and shout out the Diamond Sutra with all his might!

"Thus have I heard! At one time the Buddha was staying in the Jeta Grove of Anathapindika's Park in Shravasti, together with a great assembly of twelve hundred and fifty monks. At that time, the World-Honored One, having put on his robes and taken his bowl, entered the great city of Shravasti to beg for alms..."

He read it so fast and urgently that his voice trembled uncontrollably, almost as if he were crying.

At the same time, a figure floated up slowly from the well that had swallowed Ning Caichen, as if it were weightless—it was Jiang Jin, whose chest had been blasted open and who should have been dead!

In fact, Jiang Jin played Ning Caichen, not Yan Chixia.

Upon entering the Lanruo Temple instance, the reincarnation system assigned them the following roles: Jiang Jin played Ning Caichen, and Yu Tianlun played Xiahou Jianke. Xu Yinqiu and Murong Yan were assigned by Yu Tianlun to provide support outside the temple.

The main quest issued by the system is unsettlingly simple—the team must survive inside the Lanruo Temple until the "meme entity" appears, and at least two members of the team must enter the temple within 24 hours.

Apart from that, there were no other requirements.

Such lenient conditions often imply that the instance itself is extremely dangerous, a high-risk meme that can kill without requiring any additional tasks! For example, in an instance like [The Curse of Immortality], the only requirement for the reincarnator is to survive within a limited time. As for inflicting any damage on Kayako? That's impossible. Even a LV5 reincarnator who stays in the Curse of Immortality instance's dimension without leaving will inevitably die; it's just a matter of time. LV5 only means having a stronger ability to adapt to rule corruption and being able to survive in the interdimensional realm for a certain period of time, but it absolutely does not make one invincible.

Using the identity of "Ning Caichen," Jiang Jin approached Huikong, who had come down the mountain to beg for alms, claiming he was looking for a quiet place to take the exam, and thus entered Lanruo Temple. His glasses were a prop to conceal his identity; he wasn't actually nearsighted, and his powerful "Ghostly Eyes" ability allowed him to see clearly without the lenses affecting his vision.

That night in the monks' quarters, when the mirror reflected the mummified corpse, he did not remain inactive. Instead, he secretly commanded the death knell to attack the ghost in the mirror, thus averting the crisis. He did not tell Huikong because he did not want to frighten this ordinary character in the story.

As for disappearing in front of the dead end, it was because he used one of the core professional skills of the "Ghost Hunter" - brief ghosting, which allows him to pass through physical walls like a ghost!
He never imagined that Yan Chixia was actually an evil spirit in disguise! He had previously wondered why this "Yan Chixia" was also carrying a hunting rifle, assuming it was just a matter of time and demon hunters had updated their equipment...

At this moment, Jiang Jin, who had escaped from his predicament, saw the scene before him and understood!
In fact, he also tried to determine whether Yan Chixia was a human or a ghost through his profession as a lawyer, and the test showed that he was not a ghost. However, it now seems that Yan Chixia was probably contaminated by memes and transformed into a meme carrier of Nie Xiaoqian! Therefore, Yan Chixia is definitely not a ghost!

Jiang Jin immediately closed his eyes. At the same time, his "Ghost Eyes" could still "see" the "meme entity" in front of him even with his eyes closed!
Without hesitation, he also began to loudly recite the Diamond Sutra, his voice merging with Huikong's trembling voice. At the same time, he raised the ancient-looking "Mourning" hunting rifle in his hand, aiming it at "Nie Xiaoqian" with the guidance of You Tong!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Bullets, mixed with the chanting of the Diamond Sutra to suppress evil spirits, rained down on "Nie Xiaoqian" like a storm!
The chanting and gunshots seemed to have an effect! Jiang Jin "saw" that the energy connection at its neck had become extremely unstable, making a teeth-grinding "crack" sound, as if it would break at any moment!

However, at that moment, a dull, deep sound, as if from the deepest part of the earth, resounded, "thump...thump...thump..." piercing through the gunshots and chanting, striking directly at the souls of the two men!

The sound of the wooden fish did not bring peace; instead, it carried an extremely cold and filthy power, forcibly interfering with and neutralizing the power of the Diamond Sutra!

"Ah—!" Huikong suddenly let out a shrill scream!

Jiang Jin "saw" that the sound of the wooden fish on the ground transformed into an invisible black wave, which slammed into Hui Kong like a heavy hammer!
Huikong's body seemed to have been drained of all its energy and spirit, and he instantly collapsed to the ground, his life force extinguished in an instant!

He strictly adhered to the rules until his death, never opening his eyes.

Jiang Jin felt a pang of pain in his heart, but he could not afford to be distracted at this moment.

He saw that, with the blessing of the wooden fish sound, the injury on "Nie Xiaoqian's" neck began to heal, but the resentment on her body became even more turbulent!
We can't let it recover! We must sever its connection with the underground "wooden fish sound source"!

Jiang Jin suddenly pulled out an item emanating an ominous aura from his Reincarnator Watch—the [Blood Rust Scissors]!
It was one of the items that was opened with the skull key at Li Yuanxiu and Ye Yinghuo's wedding!

These scissors have an antique design, with dark brown dried bloodstains remaining on the blade, and a few strands of black hair still wrapped around the handle. They are icy cold to the touch!
[Blood Rust Scissors] Effect: Can cut invisible "curse threads," such as removing an instant-death curse or interrupting the spread of memetic contamination. Limitations: Consumes 4% SAN value per use; the scissors will rust more severely with each use until they are completely unusable.

The 4% SAN value consumption was nothing to Jiang Jin at the moment. Without hesitation, he activated the Nether Eye to its fullest extent and locked onto an extremely thick and dark "curse line" that originated from "Nie Xiaoqian's" heart, went deep into the ground, and was closely connected to the source of the wooden fish sound!
"Cut it off!"

Jiang Jin roared and slashed down hard with the [Blood Rust Scissors]!
"Crack——!"

A crisp sound, seemingly originating from the very soul, rang out! The thick curse thread snapped instantly!

“Ouch——!!!”

Nie Xiaoqian let out a deafening scream, her entire "body" twisting and swelling violently, and countless viscous, foul-smelling black blood gushing out from the severed "threads"!

It could no longer maintain the form of "Yan Chixia", and the memetic entity collapsed, completely turning into a terrifying black mist that kept rolling and trying to recombine!
Almost simultaneously, the rust on Jiang Jin's [Blood Rust Scissors] spread and deepened at a visible speed, almost covering the entire blade surface, clearly nearing the point of being unusable.

Nie Xiaoqian is more terrifying than he imagined! This is an item possessed by a reincarnator of the Old Core Organization!
A fierce glint flashed in Jiang Jin's eyes. Instead of retreating, he used the nearly destroyed Blood Rust Scissors like a dagger to plunge them into the core of the black mist—the spot where Nie Xiaoqian's face could still be vaguely discerned!

"Pfft!"

The scissors plunged deep inside!

At that moment, it was as if some terrifying switch had been flipped!
Throughout the entire Lanruo Temple, every inch of land, every hall, every tree... simultaneously emitted countless overlapping screams and wails of extreme pain and resentment from men, women, young and old!

Amidst this terrifying collective wailing, Jiang Jin's SAN value began to plummet once again!
Meanwhile, Kim Suk-mi watched in despair as the strange changes at Lanruo Temple began to twist and writhe in the moonlight, the walls peeled away to reveal an internal structure that looked like flesh and blood, and countless dark figures struggled and wailed within it... This was simply hell on earth!

Just when she was on the verge of a mental breakdown, her phone suddenly rang!

The caller ID on her phone screen jolted her awake—it was Blood Lord!

She answered the call immediately, as if grasping at a straw, her voice trembling with tears, "Commander! Commander! Lanruo Temple is dead! It's alive again! Can I use a return-to-town item? I need to leave now! Please!"

On the other end of the phone came the Blood Lord's icy voice, which reassured her immensely: "Of course! Return immediately! My phone was briefly controlled by that bastard Li Yuanxiu with his Gu worms, sending you false orders! Those weren't my commands!"

Kim Suk-mi instantly understood the strange thing that had happened, and tears welled up in her eyes with excitement: "Yes! Commander! I'll be back right away!"

Without hesitation, she immediately activated her treasured team recall item!

A steady silver light enveloped her, and the next second, she, along with the skull key she had obtained from Li Sheng and the black liquid sample she had collected, vanished from the spot.

At that very moment, Jiang Jin and Yu Tianlun, who were scattered in different areas of Lanruo Temple, both had their left retinas flashing with blinding warning messages about the Reincarnation System without warning!

"Warning! Warning! Highest priority alert!"

The entire Nirvana team has been alerted by the Reincarnation System, which has detected the hidden meme in Lanruo Temple—[Grandma] has fully awakened and manifested!
The pollution concentration at the core of Lanruo Temple has skyrocketed!

All surviving reincarnators, please flee the Lanruo Temple area immediately at all costs! Flee now!

Those who escape the temple's perimeter can immediately return to the Qingtan Community's Hong Kong-style terrorist containment zone!

The chilling system notification struck them both like a hammer blow!

"Finally...it's here!"

This means we can escape!
Escape! We must escape immediately!
Jiang Jin suddenly turned around, increased his speed to the maximum, and sprinted towards the direction of the temple gate in his memory!

On the other side, Yu Tianlun reacted in the same way. This usually calm shamanic reincarnator's expression was more solemn than ever before. His movements were as swift as lightning, his longsword unsheathed, cutting through any possible obstacles in his path, and he too rushed outwards!

However, Lanruo Temple seemed to come back to life instantly and shut all doors of departure for them!
The familiar path became utterly unfamiliar. Even though they were running in one direction, they would always find themselves back at the starting point after a few minutes, or even run into a bunch of newly appeared, more painfully struggling mummies! Thick black liquid began to seep from the walls, and countless overlapping, shrill wails echoed in the air!
"We've already begun to fall into the deeper layers of the Lost Realm!" Jiang Jin was extremely anxious. He could feel the omnipresent, cold, and malicious gaze emanating from [Grandma]! Oh right, I almost forgot, there's also Deathstroke!

Jiang Jin suddenly pulled out the Ghost Dog Whistle! Without hesitation, he put it in his mouth and blew it with all his might!
The next moment, the shadow in front of Jiang Jin twisted and the Deathstroke appeared out of thin air!

The man and the dog reunited and immediately began their all-out escape!

They hadn't gone far when they bumped into Yu Tianlun!
"Jiang Jin!"

"Captain!"

When the two met, they both saw immense solemnity and a hint of relief at having met again in each other's eyes.

The death knell pounded relentlessly, Yu Tianlun's sword energy surged, and Jiang Jin's hunting rifle roared intermittently.

But all of this was in vain!
The space of Lanruo Temple seemed to have become an infinitely looping Möbius strip. All their efforts were like ants running on a piece of paper, never able to break through the boundaries of the paper.

Despair, like an icy tide, slowly engulfed the two of them.

"No... We definitely won't be able to escape if this continues!" Jiang Jin's forehead veins bulged, his eyes were bloodshot, and his watch showed that his SAN value had dropped to 36%!

We're already close to the annihilation layer! Even if I have an annihilation layer pass, it's useless; I can't hold out for long!
All existing methods to combat invisible meme pollution are clearly futile and like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!
Yu Tianlun's face was as pale as paper, and his SAN value had dropped to nearly 40%!
Am I really going to die here? Like those mummies, becoming an eternal prisoner and nourishment for this demonic temple?

Do not!
A crazy, resolute glint flashed in Jiang Jin's eyes!

He has another trump card!
A trump card he never used lightly!
Summon Ghost Eye Yang Jian!

He immediately submitted his will to the reincarnation system, requesting to summon Ghost Eye Yang Jian!
"Reincarnator Jiang Jin, are you sure you want to use one chance to summon Ghost Eye Yang Jian? You have a total of three summons. After you leave this instance, the summoning will end."

whether"

Jiang Jin's mind chose "yes" without hesitation!
Now, Jiang Jin can't think of any other way besides summoning the male protagonist of the [Terror Resurgence] dungeon who possesses the Ghost Domain!
In an instant, the space in front of Jiang Jin collapsed, forming a swirling, bottomless black vortex!

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Jin saw Yang Jian step out of the black vortex!

"Hey, Jiang Jin? It's you! Long time no see!"

Upon seeing Yang Jian appear, Jiang Jin grasped at the last straw and hurriedly pointed to the terrifying surroundings, urgently saying, "Yang Jian! Please help us! We're trapped in a strange, rule-based dungeon! Please help us escape!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Jian raised an eyebrow, glanced around at the distorted corridors, blood-soaked walls, and wailing shadows, and nodded: "Hmm, alright, I'll help you."

At this moment, Yang Jian was also a little apprehensive. He had just arrived in J City from Dachang City and had just resolved a supernatural incident on the plane. As a result, he was summoned here as soon as he got off the plane.

"Get ready, I'll take you out," Yang Jian said calmly, ignoring Jiang Jin and Yu Tianlun's reactions.

The next moment, the ghost eye opened on his body!

An indescribable, scarlet light emanated from Yang Jian and instantly spread out, engulfing everything!
The Ghost Domain has begun to unleash its power!

Compared to his time in Dachang City, Yang Jian has become much more adept at using the Ghost Domain ability.

Under the crimson light, the stone slabs beneath their feet seemed to transform into writhing human skin, while the walls appeared as if they were made of countless twisted, compressed, and tormented monk faces, constantly emitting silent screams!

The entire Lanruo Temple, shrouded in this true ghost realm originating from a powerful evil spirit of the rule system, began to reveal a terrifying scene approaching the annihilation layer!
"This place... seems... even more troublesome than Dachang City back then..."

Yang Jian's voice rang out in surprise. Clearly, Lanruo Temple's own "living" rule was fighting against the Ghost Domain.

Jiang Jin and Yu Tianlun felt an immense sense of pressure coming from all around them, along with countless cold memes attempting to invade their consciousness!

That's the power of "Grandma" repelling and attacking this invading ghost realm!

"Troublesome." Yang Jian seemed a little nervous, and the crimson in his ghost eyes intensified!

Ultimately, Yang Jian at this stage was still in the early stages of the story, and his strength could not yet be compared to his later extraordinary abilities.

The resistance from Lanruo Temple became even more frantic, and Jiang Jin and Yu Tianlun immediately felt a splitting headache, as if their brains were about to be torn apart!

Jiang Jin deeply felt the terror of Lanruo Temple at this moment. And this was still a terrifying dungeon that didn't allow LV4 reincarnators to enter! How terrifying would a dungeon for LV4 reincarnators be!
At this moment, an indescribable light, seemingly capable of annihilating everything, shot out from the ghost eyes of Yang Jian's superimposed ghost domain, instantly illuminating a certain spot in the void ahead!
Ghostly Realms Overlap!

"Crack——!"

A deafening crash, as if the entire world were shattering, rang out!

The contamination layer was forcibly torn open briefly by Yang Jian's Ghost Eye!

Through that opening, Jiang Jin and Yu Tianlun could "feel" the faint but fresh air outside, belonging to the material plane, even with their eyes closed!
"Now! Get out!"

Yang Jian shouted, and with a wave of his hand, an irresistible force enveloped Jiang Jin and Yu Tianlun, hurling them like stones toward the crack!
The next moment, a dizzying sensation came over me!
Pfft!Pfft!
The two fell heavily onto the hard floor.

They suddenly opened their eyes—

Inside that apartment room in Qingtan Residential Area!

They escaped! They really escaped from that terrifying Lanruo Temple!

The overwhelming sense of exhaustion from surviving the ordeal instantly overwhelmed the two of them. They collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, their bodies drenched in cold sweat. Looking at each other's disheveled state, they both felt a sense of unreality, as if they had just lived through another life.

The bizarre and life-or-death nightmare at Lanruo Temple has finally come to an end.

"Captain!"

They looked around and saw Xu Yinqiu and Murong Yan, who had already come out!

The two women were ordered by Yu Tianlun not to enter Lanruo Temple under any circumstances; they could only wait outside. Without the raid leader's orders, they were not allowed to enter. The fact that the instance allows a portion of the raid to stay outside the temple proves that the instance is so dangerous that it's very difficult for the entire raid to escape!

"This dungeon was terrifying," Yu Tianlun said, still shaken. "There will definitely be more teams going in in the future... and sooner or later they'll grow to the point where even LV4 Reincarnators can enter..."

Jiang Jin took out the blood-rusted scissors, the blade of which was covered with a lot of thick black liquid.

"Is this thing... part of a 'meme carrier'?"

(End of this chapter)