Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 262 Absorption
At that time, she and Blood Lord had just completed a difficult mission and were enjoying a period of absolute safety as a reward before returning to base in a motel within the instance, thinking they could properly tour the United States. Just then, Xia Yu, using some unknown method, precisely located them.

She didn't come empty-handed.

She brought a box. Upon opening it, what was inside was... the head of A-Jie, a core member of the Misty Swamp team! Next to it was his skull key.

A-Jie was Sima Jin's right-hand man, a young man who was extremely loyal to him. He also addressed Xia Yu affectionately as "sister-in-law." Xia Yu said that she took advantage of A-Jie's lack of vigilance to successfully ambush and kill him.

Blood Lord was extremely shocked at the time, and his first reaction was even suspicion—was A-Jie sacrificing himself voluntarily to stage a reincarnation version of "Jing Ke assassinating the King of Qin"? Next, should the map of Yan be revealed?
However, Xia Yu's next move completely dispelled their doubts.

In front of Blood Lord and Valeria, she stated without hesitation: "If Blood Lord is not at ease, I can accept having a 'soul imprint' implanted."

"Oh?" Blood Lord sneered, "No, no, I dare not. I consider myself mediocre, not even as good as Lü Bu in the Three Kingdoms. How could I be worthy of having you, sister-in-law, come to serve me?"

Xia Yu immediately bowed slightly, her tone carrying an unsettling quality: "Blood Lord, I was blind to your greatness before, and I said many hurtful things, which broke your heart. It was all my fault. Today, I've come here specifically to apologize to you."

Before Valeria could even grasp what this "apology" meant, Xia Yu had already answered with his actions.

Right next to the box containing Ajay's head, in front of Blood Lord and Valeria, she began... to undress!
The movements were without the slightest hesitation or shame, as if they were simply doing something perfectly ordinary.

"Blood Lord," her voice became soft and seductive after she entered the "Unveiled" state, "From today onwards, I, Xia Yu, abandon darkness for light, voluntarily leave the Misty Swamp Team, and pledge my complete loyalty to you. This is my pledge of allegiance and... my apology."

Blood Lord swallowed subconsciously, but he remained clear-headed: "What do you want?"

“I’ve set my sights on a character from a Korean horror game. She’s the key to making my cursed doll more powerful, and I need to kill her as a sacrifice. But, as you know, my saintly husband will never allow me to do that.”

Blood Lord nodded.

"make a deal."

At that moment, even someone as extremely twisted and perverted as Valeria had to admit she was an expert.

The frozen, astonished expression on Ah Jie's face contrasted sharply with Xia Yu's alluring and unrestrained demeanor, creating an incredibly eerie and terrifying scene.

This ruthlessness, decisiveness, and complete lack of principles convinced Blood Lord of her determination to surrender—or rather, that she was willing to sell out everything for profit.

Afterwards, Blood Lord simply said to Valeria, "Blood Spider, I have a lot of details to discuss with... my sister-in-law. You go and patrol outside first."

Valeria obeyed, left the room, and closed the door. She could guess what happened inside the room with her toes.

Valeria, also a villain walking in the shadows, was wary of Xia Yu. This woman was a predator in human clothing, willing to sacrifice anyone, including her once loyal subordinates, her husband with whom she shared a bed, and even her own dignity and body, in order to climb the social ladder.

Xia Yu's presence made Valeria feel like a venomous snake was coiled around her, and no one knew when she would turn around and bite you deadly for greater benefits!
And just then... Xia Yu slowly opened her eyes. At this moment, she was lying in a lounge at the Yaochi Club.

Her eyes were initially unfocused and filled with pain, but soon, that familiar, eerie, and alluring light returned to its former intensity, even more frantic than before.

Xia Yu struggled to sit up, feeling the lingering pain and emptiness within her body, as if her soul had been torn apart. But soon, a twisted and cold smile bloomed on her pale lips, emitting a chilling chuckle.

"Miss Xia, are you alright?" the club manager asked anxiously.

"Get out, lock the door, and no one is allowed to come in without my permission."

"Yes..." The foreman left immediately and locked the door.

"Heh...hehe...I didn't expect this...I really didn't expect this..."

Xia Yu murmured to herself, her eyes growing brighter and brighter: "This sudden backlash has actually become an opportunity for me!"

Perhaps she can seize this opportunity to attempt to become a Level 3 Blood Sacrifice Priestess!

A blood sacrificer must not only absorb a large amount of resentment and ashes within themselves, but also deeply integrate with the corruption of the rules, resulting in a qualitative leap in strength. However, the process is extremely dangerous, with a near-death experience.

The cursed puppet is the priestess's cultivation of the corrupted rules. To advance to LV3, the cursed puppet must be broken, and finally merged with the divided soul within it, thus entering the Blood Sacrifice class!
She closed her eyes and concentrated.

Although the soul connection was being weakened, thanks to the deep connection from before and the vengeful spirit originating from Xiuwei, she could still vaguely sense the location and state of the cursed doll—it was located in an area filled with intense Thai horror memes!

"I sensed it..." Xia Yu's lips curled into a malicious smile. "A mere native of a terrifying dungeon actually thinks of severing my connection and giving the cursed puppet to someone else? How naive! Does she really think the Witch Queen is all talk and no action?"

A glint of blood flashed in her eyes.

"However, the native's witchcraft is indeed powerful. It can precisely help me resist the erosion of the rules' corruption and remove the final obstacle to my advancement!" Xia Yu stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, as if savoring an exquisite delicacy. "I'll advance right now and then let the cursed puppet shatter on its own!"

"The moment the cursed puppet shatters, that torrent of resentment will be forcibly absorbed and devoured by me through that connection! And witchcraft can control the backlash of resentment, allowing me to more easily absorb the corruption of rules into myself!"

Her breathing became rapid, and a sickly flush rose to her face.

"In this way, the probability of breaking through my own bottleneck and forcibly integrating the corruption of the rules deeper into my soul and flesh will increase significantly... I am at least 30% confident that I can cross that insurmountable barrier in one fell swoop and become a true LV3 Blood Sacrifice!"

This is an extremely risky plan. If not handled properly, the immense resentment will first and foremost devour and annihilate her. But high risk also means high reward; if successful, her strength will skyrocket, making her the second strongest member of the Bloodthirsty Team, second only to the Blood Lord!
Not only are Long Cang and Benedetta no match for her! She could become the vice-leader of the Bloodthirsty Team! Furthermore, if she could advance to LV4, she might even be able to refine the soul imprint under the Blood Owl Master! At that point, who would be the master of the Bloodthirsty Team would be anyone's guess!

After all, Blood Lord is different from Ye Xiu; his Soul Imprint can only control behavior, not thoughts.

"Heh... Blood Lord, I'm not Bernadette, and I can't let you sleep for so long for nothing, can I? This time, you should at least give me a vice-captainship, right?"

Xia Yu sat cross-legged, surrounded by more than a dozen crystals of resentment.

She took a deep breath, and strands of resentful ash were extracted from the crystallized resentment, flowing into her seven orifices and merging into her soul.

"Come...come...the fruit I have carefully cultivated..."

Xia Yu's face was filled with a fanatical yet painful expression. She could clearly feel that the power of her split soul and Xiu Wei's vengeful spirit contained in the cursed doll in the Thailand instance was being activated by the witch's sorcery, reaching an unprecedented peak!
That power was so immense and so pure that it was the perfect fuel for her to break through to become a LV3 Blood Sacrifice!

Through a secret technique, using that tenacious connection of evil thoughts as a bridge, she began to frantically extract and absorb the torrent of resentment erupting from the cursed puppet!

"boom--!!"

An immense surge of resentment energy crossed space and crashed into her body!
Xia Yu felt as if his soul was about to burst, repeatedly torn apart and reassembled by the violent power of the rules!

"Now! Merge souls and combine evil spirits, open the gate of blood sacrifice!!"

She shrieked, guiding this destructive force toward the solid bottleneck!
Jiang Jin, who was completely unaware of this, looked at Lin Lu with a puzzled expression.

She's not a shrine maiden, so why does she crave this doll?

And her eyes held an undisguised longing!

Perhaps the profession of sorcerer truly has a special sensitivity or affinity for such resentful objects? Letting her try it out initially, while I supervise her, might allow me to better understand the doll's true nature.

"Okay, be careful. Just prick me for a drop of blood, and stop immediately if you feel anything is wrong." Jiang Jin handed the puppet and needle to Lin Lu, remaining fully alert. He would act immediately if anything unusual happened.

Lin Lu took a deep breath, her fingers trembling slightly as she picked up the cold, heart-devouring needle, carefully piercing her fingertip and squeezing out a drop of bright red blood.

Then, following the witch's instructions, she slowly pierced the doll's heart with the blood-stained needle. Just as the needle was about to touch the doll—

A sudden change occurred!

The doll suddenly burst forth with a terrifying black and red light, and then exploded!

An unimaginable, terrifyingly powerful aura of resentment ash, containing a potent force of rule corruption, erupted with a deafening roar!

Then... it surged wildly into Lin Lu's body!
"Ah!" Lin Lu let out a short cry of surprise, her body trembling violently!
This is Xia Yu's masterpiece!

She reveled in the exhilarating surge of power; she had already touched the barrier of LV3 and was about to break through! And so, at that moment, she used her will to cause the spell puppet to explode, reaping its rewards!

"It's done! It's almost done! Hahaha... Uh?!"

Her maniacal laughter stopped abruptly!

Just as she was about to absorb the last and most essential source of the rule-contaminated resentment, laying a foundation far exceeding that of an ordinary LV3, that massive and terrifying torrent of energy suddenly... came to an abrupt halt!

It was as if a bottomless black hole had ruthlessly snatched away more than 80% of the power of the corrupted rules in an instant!
She tried her best, but could only manage to absorb a few scraps!
"Do not--!!!"

Xia Yu let out an unbelievable, extremely shrill scream!
The surging power around her instantly became unstable and precarious!

Although she had accumulated far more power than ordinary priestesses before, she managed to barely break through the LV3 gate by absorbing the last 20% of the power of rule corruption. Her aura surged, and she officially stepped into the realm of LV3 priestess blood sacrificer.

but!

This level of strength... is merely the most ordinary and basic level of a LV3 priestess! It is far from the level of a blood sacrificer she had envisioned, who could ascend to the heavens in one step with a massive amount of resentment and be able to stand out among other LV3 priests!
Not only did her anticipated formidable strength vanish, but with such an ordinary LV3 level, her hopes of advancing to LV4 in the future are likely to be slim! Her path to advancement will end at LV3! As for refining the soul imprint, it has all become a joke!

Xia Yu... is completely finished!
"No! Why?! Why is this happening?!" Xia Yu was in a frenzy, feeling his "ordinary" LV3 cultivation level within him, and almost vomited blood!

She suddenly remembered what the guiding NPC she had encountered when learning the priestess profession had told her: "Could it be... could it be that someone with a completely Yin destiny, and an absolute favorite of Yin energy, could be able to do something so ruthless and predatory under those circumstances... Impossible! How could it be such a coincidence?"

……

Sweet Home.

The overwhelming light of resentment has vanished.

Lin Lu stood still, the Heart-Eating Needle and the puppet in her hand turning into dust and disappearing.

She lowered her head slightly, her long hair falling down, making it impossible to see her expression.

Jiang Jin asked anxiously, "Lin Lu! Are you alright?!"

Lin Lu slowly raised her head.

The moment Jiang Jin saw Lin Lu's eyes, he shuddered and stopped abruptly in his tracks!

What kind of eyes are those?
Still clear, yet as deep as an ancient, icy pool!
Jiang Jin's Ghostly Eyes were activated almost instantly, allowing him to see deep within Lin Lu's eyes, where countless gray vortexes of resentment seemed to be slowly rotating, arising and ceasing!
A cold, obscure, yet incredibly powerful aura emanated naturally from her petite body, causing even Jiang Jin, a level 2 hunter, to feel a chill run down his spine!
This feeling... is it really a newly recruited reincarnator who just got a job and hasn't even fully experienced a single dungeon?
"I'm fine," Lin Lu said, her voice still soft, but with an ethereal and cold quality, as if it came from a very distant place. "It seems I've obtained something... special."

Jiang Jin looked at the old witch and asked angrily, "What's going on?"

The old witch was also utterly horrified. She trembled as she looked at Lin Lu's condition, her cloudy eyes flashing with disbelief. She murmured, "Nine Yin Summoning Evil... Heaven's will! It truly is Heaven's will..."

"What do you mean!" Jiang Jin asked, puzzled.

The old witch replied, "She has a special destiny. She successfully absorbed all the resentment contained in that puppet. In the future, she will become a very terrifying sorcerer!"

Is it really like this?
Jiang Jin's heart stirred, and he looked at Lin Lu!

Xia Yu, the "Witch Queen", absorbed all the resentment of her natal cursed doll.

She's definitely playing the role of Duan Yu and Xu Zhu!

Such talent must be recruited into the Nirvana team!

“Mother-in-law,” Jiang Jin said, “if you want to get the money, I need to ask you for another favor.”

"Okay, no problem!" The old witch was afraid that Jiang Jin would not pay and would ask for the original 10,000 baht back.

Jiang Jin said in a deep voice, "My house... is a bit unclean. I would like to ask you to help me find out where that 'unclean' thing is hiding."

The old witch narrowed her eyes, a look of interest on her face: "Feng shui? Finding evil spirits? Hehe, this old woman hasn't done this kind of business in a long time. Alright!"

Then, the old witch twitched her nose a few times, and her cloudy eyes began to dart around, looking everything in sight.

She strolled slowly on the first floor, her fingers lightly tracing patterns on some of the furniture, sometimes nodding, sometimes shaking her head.

"Hmm, the feng shui is alright, and there is also the protection of Buddha..." she murmured to herself. Jiang Jin guessed that the so-called protection of Buddha referred to the shrine.

She then went upstairs to the second floor, looking around the hallway and study, but didn't find anything particularly unusual. Finally, she arrived at the master bedroom.

As soon as she entered the bedroom, her eyes were immediately drawn to the huge wedding photo on the headboard. She tilted her head and stared at the photo for a long time, especially at the bride, "Lu Ni."

At first, her expression was just a little puzzled, but her brows furrowed more and more, as if she had seen something illogical yet indescribable.

She leaned close to the photo, almost pressing her face against it, staring intently at it with eyes whose pupils were barely visible.

suddenly!

The old witch seemed to have been stabbed hard by something, and she staggered backward!
Her face contorted with extreme fear, her cloudy eyes widened instantly, and her body began to tremble violently, revealing an unprecedentedly horrified expression!
"Ah!" she screamed hoarsely, her voice distorted with fear!
She seemed to have encountered the most terrifying and unbelievable existence in the world, retreating repeatedly as if looking at the wedding photo again would kill her instantly!
She staggered and practically tumbled down the stairs.

Then, the old witch rushed outside, still trembling all over.

She glanced back at the entrance of Sweet Home in terror, as if looking into a den of monsters that would devour anyone who dared to approach her.

"Mother-in-law, what did you see?" Jiang Jin came out of the door, helped her up, and asked, "Inside the house..."

"Don't ask! I don't know anything! I didn't see anything!" the old witch shrieked, violently shaking off Jiang Jin's hand as if he were some kind of plague. "I don't want the money! We're even! Stay away from me! Don't come looking for me again!"

After saying that, as if she were being chased by a vengeful ghost, she stumbled and rushed into the crowd on the street at a speed completely out of character for her age.

Jiang Jin rushed forward to continue the search, but she vanished right in front of him, a level 2 hunter!
What did that old witch see in the photo that made her so terrified?

"What exactly... happened?" he muttered to himself.

At this moment, Jiang Jin realized that Lin Lu's special physique had probably made this terrifying dungeon... no longer an ordinary trial dungeon for newbies!
(End of this chapter)