Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 351 Yu Tianlun's High-Stakes Gamble and the Blood Lord's Adventure

Based on the clues provided by Goro Kobayakawa, the Nirvana team rushed to the vicinity of Pofo Port despite the rain.

"But what exactly is En no Ozuno?" Ren De asked, puzzled.

Yui Takamiya replied, "En no Ozunu, also known as En no Gyōja, was a legendary figure from the Asuka and Nara periods of Japan, and is revered as the founder of Shugendō, a unique mountain Buddhist sect in Japan."

“Yakunozuno was born in Yamato Province (present-day Nara Prefecture). From a young age, he showed extraordinary talent. He disliked worldly glory and devoted himself to ascetic practices in the mountains. He went deep into dangerous mountains that were considered the abode of gods and forbidden places for mortals at the time, such as Mount Ōmine, Mount Katsuragi, and Mount Kinpo, to carry out extremely rigorous ascetic practices.”

"What people talk about most about En no Ozuno is his supernatural power to command demons and spirits. According to legend, he was able to freely command two powerful 'Zenki' and 'Goki' as his protectors."

Then, Takamiya Yui continued, "However, the fate of this traveler who walked between gods and men is shrouded in mystery. One widely circulated story is that his extraordinary abilities aroused the suspicion of the imperial court. He was falsely accused of using magic to bewitch people and plotting treason, and was thus exiled to Izu Oshima."

Based on information from various horror game guides, the legend of En no Ozuno is related to the background of Yamamura Shizuko gaining superpowers in "The Ring." In the universe of "The Ring," this stone statue is no longer simply a religious relic, but may have become a vessel for some kind of powerful and ancient energy or curse.

It connects to Japan's deep-seated mountain beliefs, supernatural powers, and the terror lurking in the shadows of history, becoming one of the sources of meme contamination.

Then, on the edge of a rugged coastline, they found the legendary location—a sea cave half-hidden by dense vegetation.

Deep inside the cave, a dilapidated and abandoned shrine can be vaguely seen. The torii gate is rotten and tilted, and the wooden structure inside is riddled with holes.

"This is it," Jiang Jin said in a low voice. He could feel a strange residual energy in the air, bringing a long-suppressed and unsettling sense of distortion.

The process of entering the cave and the abandoned shrine was not smooth. The cave was dark and damp, and the air was filled with a strong smell of the sea and mildew.

Even more bizarrely, the closer they got to the depths, the clearer the chilling feeling emanating from the cursed videotape became, as if Sadako's gaze was piercing through space, watching their every move.

There seemed to be whispers in the darkness, but when Yang Jian's ghostly eyes swept over, there was nothing there.

Clearly, this is the infiltration and interference of Sadako's curse power into this area.

They carefully entered the main hall of the shrine, cleared away many rubble, and found an entrance blocked by a large number of rusted iron chains beneath the altar.

"The seal... is down there." Yu Tianlun's voice was hoarse but firm, and the bloodshot in his eyes intensified!
Jiang Jin took out the farmer's chainsaw and broke the chain.

A dark, downward-facing opening, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, was revealed, from which a chilling current of air surged forth.

Jiang Jin led the way, and the others entered in turn.

Below is a narrow underground stone chamber, and in the center of the chamber, a stone statue about half a person's height stands silently.

It was that small horn stone statue!
The stone statue is carved in a simple yet lifelike style. The pilgrim is wearing a dharma robe, holding a vajra staff, with a solemn face and deep eyes.

The surface of the stone statue is covered with fine cracks, especially on the face and hands. What is even more unsettling is that the statue is tightly wrapped and bound by several thick shimenawa ropes covered with yellowed talismans, forming a broken sealing formation.

Even after being so tightly sealed for decades, the stone statue still exudes an indescribable sense of oppression.

It was an ancient, powerful force fluctuation, yet it also carried obvious "abnormal" and "polluted" characteristics.

Yu Tianlun stared intently at the stone statue. The shamanic power within him resonated with it in a subtle way, but he was more attracted by the immense and twisted power of rules it contained.

After all, he follows the path of "aligning himself with the Tao," which means that the power of the rules and his own personality can often resonate with each other.

Yu Tianlun could sense that the level of power contained within the stone statue far exceeded his current realm!
Within this terrifying instance, Sadako is clearly a product of the corruption of its internal rules!

A crazy and resolute idea took shape and solidified completely in his mind.

"This is it..." Yu Tianlun murmured to himself, his voice filled with an almost manic fervor, "I will use its power here... to break through to LV4!"

"Commander!" Jiang Jin's expression changed, and he immediately stepped forward to dissuade him, "This is too risky! The nature of this stone statue's power is unknown, and it is severely corrupted, entangled with Sadako's curse! Your state of mind is unstable right now, and forcibly attempting to break through to a higher realm has a very low success rate. If you fail, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

His worst fears came true. Xu Yinqiu's death caused Yu Tianlun to lose his mind and take desperate risks.

“Low success rate doesn’t mean no success!” Yu Tianlun suddenly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Jiang Jin, his voice hoarse, “We don’t have time! Yinqiu is dead! Who will be next? You? Me? Or someone else? If we cultivate step by step, we won’t be able to wait until then! This is the only chance, the only chance to quickly gain the power to fight against her! Even if there’s only a sliver of hope, I’ll take the gamble!”

His words were filled with undeniable resolve and deep sorrow.

Ignoring Jiang Jin's advice, he quickly took out various array-setting tools from his watch—array flags inscribed with intricate runes, jade stones imbued with pure spiritual energy, and specially made incense and candles.

He needed to set up an auxiliary formation around the stone statue that could guide, transform, and protect himself as much as possible in preparation for his attempt to reach LV4.

Li Shang silently walked to the entrance of the stone chamber, his hands beginning to form complex hand seals for a black magic spell, and a sinister yet powerful aura began to gather around him. He would be the first line of defense against external interference.

Yang Jian didn't speak, but quietly walked to the other side of the stone chamber. His Ghost Domain would be the last and strongest barrier, whether against external enemies or... Yu Tianlun's possible loss of control.

Jiang Jin looked at Yu Tianlun's busy and resolute back, and then at Li Shang and Yang Jian who were on high alert. His heart was filled with worry and heaviness.

He knew that Yu Tianlun's decision was largely due to Xu Yinqiu's death, and this breakthrough driven by grief and anger was full of uncertainty.

But he also understood that what Yu Tianlun said was true; they really didn't have much time left.

……

Meanwhile, in the world of "The True Story of Hong Kong Ghosts".

Blood Lord was walking cautiously deep into the Kowloon Walled City complex.

The male protagonist, Ah Le, has now disappeared without a trace. As he gradually delves deeper into the core area of ​​the walled city, a terrifying aura, far beyond his expectations and much deeper and more ancient, faintly emanates from the deepest part of the city.

That aura was not simply a vengeful spirit or malevolent energy, but something more chaotic and indescribable, as if it were an aggregate of countless tragic, sinful, and desperate histories of the entire stronghold, giving birth to a terrifying being with rudimentary "consciousness".

"Something's wrong..."

Just then, a figure flashed past at the corner of the passage in front of Blood Lord.

Blood Lord immediately became alert, and the [Nine Nether Prison] materialized around him, forming a shield that seemed almost tangible. He slowly approached the corner, holding the Soul Weapon in his hand.

After the corner was a dead end, piled with discarded furniture and garbage.

At the end of the alley, a woman in a blue dress with long, flowing hair stood with her back to him. Her movements were stiff, and the sounds of her moving were exceptionally clear and eerie in the deathly silent passage.

It's Jia Hui!
One of the key female ghosts who appears in the early stages of the game "Hong Kong Ghost Stories"!

Blood Lord did not act rashly.

He knew that in these rule-based horror scenarios, visual perception itself was often a trigger for death. He tried to slowly back away.

However, Jia Hui suddenly stopped moving.

She didn't turn around, but Blood Lord could feel a cold gaze, filled with endless sorrow, firmly fixed on him.

The surrounding temperature suddenly dropped, and white frost flowers began to condense rapidly on the walls.

"Woo...Woo..."

A low, sobbing sound, as if from the depths of the earth, echoed through the passage, growing closer and clearer.

Blood Lord saw that Jia Hui's shoulders began to tremble slightly, and the sobbing was coming from her.

I can't stay here any longer!

Blood Lord made a decisive move and immediately began to retreat!
Just as he was about to move, Jia Hui suddenly turned her head!
It was a deathly pale face devoid of any color, with eyes that were two empty black holes, but the corners of its mouth were stretched into an unbelievable arc, revealing gleaming white teeth and an extremely eerie, chilling "smile"!
Her body, defying the laws of physics, was pulled towards the Blood Lord by invisible threads at an extremely fast speed!

Blood Lord snorted coldly, and swung his soul weapon, a condensed blood-red blade of light slashing towards Jia Hui.

The blade pierced through her body, but it seemed to strike the air, only causing her illusory figure to tremble slightly, without slowing her speed in the slightest!

The Horcrux attack was ineffective!
Blood Lord stopped pursuing her and dashed left and right through the narrow passage, trying to shake off Jia Hui.

However, Jia Hui clung to him like a leech, her eerie sobs and smiles constantly lingering in his ears and out of the corner of his eye.

While escaping Jia Hui's pursuit, Blood Lord stumbled into a relatively open area, resembling an abandoned stage.

The old curtain hung down, covered with cobwebs and dust.

Suddenly, a sharp, shrill, and out-of-tune operatic singing style rang out without warning!
The sound seemed to directly affect his soul, causing Blood Lord's mind to become dazed and his SAN value to plummet!
On the stage, where there was nothing before, a theatrical evil spirit dressed in a gorgeous but tattered costume and with heavy makeup on its face appeared out of thin air!
Its singing style was sometimes high-pitched and piercing, and sometimes low and whimpering, forming a kind of mental pollution attack that interfered with the Blood Lord's judgment and actions.

Ahead, evil spirits from traditional operas block the way; behind, Jia Hui pursues them!
Blood Lord is caught in a pincer attack!
He roared, holding nothing back. His body surged with crimson light as he unleashed [Black Prison Sacrifice]!
The black prison rained down on the evil spirits on the stage like a storm, while simultaneously diverting some of its power to form a barrier, preventing Jia Hui from getting close.

The black prison and the water sleeves waving by the evil spirits in the opera collided, producing a hissing, corrosive sound.

The evil spirit's chanting grew even shriller, as if it could tear eardrums. Blood Lord felt his SAN value steadily decreasing; this mental attack was even harder to defend against than a physical one.

After a fierce battle, Blood Lord, with his superior power level and combat experience, forcibly dispersed the form of the opera spirit, bringing its shrill singing to an abrupt halt.

He dared not linger and immediately broke through the stage area, leaving Jia Hui, who had been temporarily repelled, behind.

He ran frantically down a narrow staircase leading to a lower level, sensing that the source was below.

The stairwell reeked of blood, and more and more strange red handprints and scratches began to appear on the walls.

As he rushed down the stairs and entered a space resembling an underground slaughterhouse, he saw a woman dressed in a blood-red dress standing quietly in the center of the room.

Her hair covered most of her face, leaving only a small part of her extremely pale chin visible.

She lowered her head, her hands hanging naturally at her sides, her nails sharp and black.

The resentment and malevolent aura emanating from her were ten or even a hundred times stronger than Jia Hui's and the evil spirits of the opera! Just by standing there, she made the surrounding space feel sticky and cold.

A female ghost in red!

The ultimate nightmare of the game's third level!

Blood Lord's heart skipped a beat. He could sense that this red-clad female ghost was completely different from the "scattered soldiers" he had encountered before!
The female ghost in red slowly, extremely slowly, raised her head.

Through those sparse strands of hair, the Blood Lord met a pair of terrifying eyes! Those eyes held only pure malice and a destructive desire!

No warning, no foreshadowing!
The figure of the red-clad female ghost vanished instantly, and the next moment, she appeared in front of the Blood Lord!
A cold, stiff hand with sharp nails plunged straight into his heart!

Fast! Extremely fast!

Blood Lord held the Soul Weapon across his chest almost instinctively!

"clang!!"

With a deafening clang of metal clashing, Blood Owl held nothing back, unleashing his most powerful secret technique in an instant. The black prison surrounding him transformed into a gigantic, roaring skull, carrying a corrupting power that could corrupt any living being, and charged toward the red-clad female ghost.

boom--! ! !
The red-clad figure, radiating overwhelming resentment, gradually dissipated, for it was, after all, the Blood Lord's full-force attack!
But deep within the fortress, an even more terrifying entity seemed to have been alerted by the commotion.

Having left the dangerous area, Blood Lord leaned against a relatively safe broken wall, breathing heavily.

The brief encounter with the woman in red had taken a heavy toll on him, and it had also made him truly realize the perilous nature of this dungeon.

As expected of the most challenging Hong Kong-style horror instance in the Qingtan Community! This Kowloon Walled City leads directly to the deepest part of the Annihilation Layer! There's even a possibility that it contains an entrance to the Infernal Layer!
At that moment, he involuntarily recalled the chilling ending of the original "Hong Kong Ghost Stories" game—

The protagonist enters a vast, eerie space made up of countless old television sets. Each television screen displays distorted, skipped, and noisy images, creating a terrifying spectacle. The player character wanders aimlessly within this seemingly endless space.

At the end of that television set, there exists an even more mysterious and unsettling presence—Sister Ghost.

Blood Lord gazed into the deeper darkness of Kowloon Walled City, feeling the terrifying aura that throbbed like a heartbeat.

He realized that this instance was far more complex than it appeared. Jia Hui, the opera ghost, the red-clad female ghost... perhaps these were just the tip of the iceberg.

That space composed of countless television sets is very likely the true core secret of this instance, and also the source of that terrifying power that made even him feel uneasy!

(End of this chapter)