Chapter 215: You Can't Afford to Offend Advisor Yan in Bianliu County

Before the player could react, the Actor Cultivator had already stepped right in front of him.

Weird energy surged across his body, his level of mutation spiking wildly.

His skin peeled away bit by bit to reveal blood-red muscle fibers, shedding like a snake to expose the heavily scarred body beneath.

Bent arms, stiff fingers, worn-down heels, and a torso twisted a full 180 degrees—these were all traces left behind from "practicing the act."

At this moment, the Actor Cultivator truly transformed into a monster, glaring at the man with a vicious light in his eyes.

Even the surrounding light seemed to flicker, dimming and brightening erratically.

Instantly, the man's Mental Immunity Value dropped by several points.

Even now, he still hadn't figured out why these inner world residents on his side had suddenly turned against him.

Shooting a terrified glance at the inner world resident, he turned and fled, abandoning the flag planted in the ground.

With the player gone, Yan Jing stepped forward and pulled the flag from the dirt.

Buzz—

A dark silhouette identical to the fleeing player materialized a few meters away. Weird energy surged around it as green and yellow-green light bloomed behind its back. The phantom image of a takeout bag appeared and slowly tipped upside down toward Yan Jing, spilling a mess of eyeballs and hair across the ground.

Every single eye stared at Yan Jing, carrying the unyielding gaze of the dead.

Yan Jing walked over with a calm expression, casually stomping the eyeballs until they popped. He grabbed the silhouette by the collar and viciously slammed it into the ground.

Bang!

With an explosive crack, the shadow shattered into several pieces and vanished into nothingness.

Immediately afterward, the entire Regional Grid turned from purple to gray.

The three inner world residents behind him watched this unfold, swallowing hard at the exact same time.

Yan Jing turned back and smiled.

"Which faction are you from?"

"Reporting to the advisor! We are from Feinan Temple!"

The aroma cultivator hastily raised a hand, only to earn a unified glare from the other two.

It was him again! Always trying to show off!

"I see."

Yan Jing nodded.

"At this time, the people from the peripheral regions shouldn't have entered yet. Whether it's Feinan Temple or West Street, we are all people of Bianliu County. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Understood, understood."

The aroma cultivator nodded vigorously. "We are all from Bianliu County! We should unite and not fight among ourselves!"

"Wrong."

Seeing the aroma cultivator answer incorrectly, the Actor Cultivator rejoiced inwardly and hurriedly spoke up.

"I know! The advisor means that the people from the periphery are heretics! We should work together to fend off outside forces and catch them off guard!"

"Wrong!"

Wrong again?

Both the Actor Cultivator and the aroma cultivator were slightly dumbfounded. Beside them, the leg cultivator looked at Yan Jing's calm face, recalled the rumors about this advisor, and suddenly lit up. He raised a hand and said:

"I know! The advisor means that regardless of whether it's Feinan Temple or West Street, it all belongs to Bianliu County."

"And what belongs to Bianliu County belongs to the county magistrate!"

"Even if a coin falls from the sky, it belongs to the magistrate!"

"Very good!" Yan Jing nodded. "You catch on quick."

"Does your Feinan Temple have any other Regional Grids where flags are being planted?"

"Yes! Yes, we do!" Overjoyed that he got the right answer, the leg cultivator beamed.

"Follow me, advisor. Right this way!"

...

...

At this very moment.

On Stone Mountain—the semi-wasteland beside Silent Valley.

A man wearing glasses stood halfway up the mountain, watching a team approach him.

This was a team formed by a city near Rainbow City, and they had chosen to land in the peripheral zone.

They had set their sights on this semi-wasteland, figuring that no one else would drop here, hoping to seize a few Regional Grids while they had the chance.

The entirety of Stone Mountain was made of solid rock, completely barren and devoid of human life.

Furthermore, anyone attempting to climb this mountain risked turning into stone the higher they went.

By now, the skin of everyone in the team was already showing signs of petrification. They had claimed several Regional Grids along the way, never expecting someone to block their path.

"Did you claim the grids further up?"

The leader of the team looked at the man. He wore a plaid shirt and had a wooden expression, looking entirely harmless.

However, the man didn't answer, merely muttering something under his breath.

Seeing this, the leader put a hand behind his back and covertly made a gesture. Receiving the signal, the others seamlessly fanned out, subtly forming a perimeter around him.

Unexpectedly, the man suddenly moved. Yellow-green light bloomed behind him, manifesting the phantom image of a calculator. On this calculator, every single button was an eye instead of a number.

For instance, the '1' key was a single eye, while the '5' key was a cluster of five densely packed eyes.

Then, a number appeared floating above the head of everyone in the team.

Including the leader, not a single person had a number exceeding sixty.

"All failed."

The man finally spoke. Before the group could react, an overwhelming sense of lethargy washed over them. A massive fountain pen flashing with yellow-purple light materialized in the man's grasp, and he slashed it toward the numbers above their heads.

Someone failed to dodge in time and was marked with an 'X'. The number above his head instantly plummeted.

His face abruptly turned deathly pale. As his body convulsed violently, the thumb and middle finger of his right hand snapped off as if entirely sapped of life, falling to the ground.

Amidst the man's agonized screams, the rest of the team broke into a cold sweat.

"Attack together!"

The leader roared a command and unleashed his full strength. Light erupted behind him, revealing a Ritual ratio of green, yellow, and yellow.

He was a Third Tier, which was exactly why he had been chosen to lead the team.

But right at that moment, another figure appeared behind them.

It was a woman with long brown hair wearing a tennis skirt. Just like the man in the plaid shirt, yellow-green and yellow-purple light blossomed behind her. A tennis racket appeared in her hand.

A pitch-black tennis ball materialized in her grasp. She tossed it high, followed by a beautiful jump and swing. The ball spun wildly as it rocketed toward the leader.

The leader's expression shifted. Several tentacles sprouted from his hands as he activated his ability from the 'Life' Pathway, catching the incoming tennis ball.

Just as he was feeling smug about effortlessly deflecting a lethal attack, his body was suddenly struck by an invisible heavy blow. He coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with bits of organ tissue.

Above his head, a few bloody characters materialized.

"Fault!"

What does this mean...?

The leader stared across at her in disbelief, a chill suddenly shooting down his spine.

He realized who they were facing.

This kind of Ritual ability definitely couldn't have been obtained from the Old Sin City corresponding to Rainbow City and its surrounding areas.

They could only be from those two outside teams.

At that thought, he turned and sprinted down the mountain.

The duo watched him go, making no attempt to pursue.

Very quickly, the rest of the team was completely wiped out.

"...Twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six."

The man in the plaid shirt stuffed all the flags into a backpack and slung it over his shoulders.

"Let's go. This many should be enough."

The woman then stowed away her tennis racket.

While the man had been counting the spoils, she had been relentlessly practicing her swings against a nearby tree.

Not long after the two departed, the thick tree crashed heavily to the ground.

Retracing their steps, the pair walked all the way back to a stone house, planting flags in every Regional Grid they passed.

Pushing open the door, they found a man with waist-length hair inside, along with a black Four-Directional Curtain.

"You're back?"

The long-haired man, who had been conversing with someone through the Screen, turned his head and asked.

"Did it go smoothly?"

"We wiped out three independent teams and claimed twenty-four grids in total."

The man in the plaid shirt reported.

The long-haired man nodded in satisfaction, then turned back to the Four-Directional Curtain with a smile.

"Mr. Bai, I wonder if the strength we've displayed is sufficient?"

"Not bad. Very good, in fact."

Bai Qiu's voice echoed from within it. "But as your subordinate mentioned, the ones coming to this semi-wasteland are all just independent teams."

"Furthermore, there are only a hundred grids here in total."

The long-haired man nodded.

"Once we finish claiming everything here, we will directly attack Bianliu County."

"There is no need for you to rush. After all, even if all the flags are planted, there are still twenty-four hours left."

Bai Qiu assented.

"You asked me not to recruit anyone else besides you because you want to maximize your profits, right? But how can you guarantee that the Regional Grids on Stone Mountain won't be taken back when you attack Bianliu County?"

"I will stay here."

The long-haired man chuckled. "I alone am enough."

Hearing the man's smiling voice, Bai Qiu's eyes flashed.

He was no fool.

However, these people before him could indeed be considered quite outstanding humans.

"Then we have a deal."

Bai Qiu declared.

"A pleasure cooperating with you, Mr. Bai!"

The long-haired man reached his hand into the Screen.

Since the Screen could be used to interact and transfer items within a certain range, Bai Qiu placed his hand over it.

"A pleasure."

The long-haired man pulled his hand back.

In his palm sat a photograph that Bai Qiu had handed over.

"This is?"

"This man."

Bai Qiu said, "I don't know if he is participating in this Dungeon, but if your subordinates happen to run into him..."

Bai Qiu took a deep breath.

"Run."

"Run away immediately."

"Do not provoke him, and do not look back."

...

...

"Don't provoke him!"

An identical scene was playing out on West Street.

Over in the West Street sector, there were two Fourth Tiers holding down the fort. Although they weren't from the same family, they were considered allies at this current stage.

Correspondingly, this area also had the most people.

Under each Fourth Tier expert, over a dozen teams had gathered.

However, the leading forces were still two teams from Rainbow City.

At this moment, a member of the West Street Artisans handed over a black-and-white photograph, passing it through the Screen into the hands of a short-haired woman with a massive scar on her face.

"If you see this man, come back and report immediately. Tell us exactly what he is doing, which faction he belongs to, and what his possible motives are. But remember—whatever you do, absolutely do not provoke him."

The short-haired woman heard the wariness in the artisan's voice and looked down at the black-haired man in the advisor robes in the picture.

The man was sitting beside a massive pile of skeletal remains. His gaze was complex, and his loose bangs fluttered in the wind.

"I know him."

The short-haired woman's expression was impassive. "But he is only a Second Tier."

As a "lunatic" who had fought her way up from the very bottom of the Public Security Association, she had only been participating in Inner World Dungeons for six years, yet she was already a Third Tier.

"May I take a look?"

Beside her, a man with tightly shut eyes spoke up.

The short-haired woman didn't assume he was blind just because his eyes were closed; she simply tossed the photo over and turned to leave.

"I'll have my subordinates keep an eye out."

"Provided he doesn't provoke us first."

...

...

"The eleventh one."

Yan Jing looked at the Regional Grid in front of him, which had turned black, and nodded in satisfaction.

Although the speed wasn't particularly fast, the upside was that it was a steady increase.

Just as he was about to follow the guidance of the inner world residents and the Little Bird to the next Regional Grid, a group of people appeared on the other side of the street.

Yan Jing wasn't very familiar with the four people leading them, but he had indeed heard of or seen all of them to some extent.

They were the Third Tier experts from the Chen Family, Lin Family, Xu Family, and An Family who had entered the Dungeon this time.

There were two men and two women. Based on their ages, they ranged from their thirties to their fifties; the representative from the Lin Family even looked to be an old lady in her sixties or seventies.

"Heh. We heard someone was stealing our territory."

The one who spoke was the burly man from the Chen Family. He looked to be around forty, his face covered in stubble, and wore a genial smile.

"I never expected it would be you, little friend."

"It looks like this is all a misunderstanding. Dalang mentioned you to me back then, and even asked me to look after you."

"Don't give me that crap about misunderstandings," the bald man in his fifties from the An Family snapped.

From what the Chen Family man had just said, he deduced that the Yan Jing in front of him was from Ling'an City, making him even more emboldened.

"Hand over all the territory you swallowed, and turn over the flags you're carrying."

His eyes glinted fiercely.

Demanding that Yan Jing hand over all his territory was no different than demanding his life.

This was also one of the unique mechanics of this game. When you possessed four Regional Grids, you could only have your flags stolen a maximum of four times; no matter what, you would still survive.

But if your Regional Grid count exceeded five...

You had to weigh whether you actually had the life to hold onto that much land.

"There's no need for all that. Four is about right,"

The Chen Family man said, having received a pleading look from Chen Dalang behind him, stepping in to defuse the situation for Yan Jing.

"It must be all of it!!!"

The old lady from the Lin Family screeched, having recognized Yan Jing.

When abnormal black hair had sprouted on her beloved grandson's body back then, it had everything to do with this brat!

And later, when Lin Mian died straight away in the Novice Dungeon, she suspected it was also this brat's doing!

"Yes, he has to surrender all of it."

The woman from the An Family, who looked to be in her early thirties, agreed.

Prompted by the old lady's outburst, she had also recognized Yan Jing.

Back then, the black hair on An Ranran's body had also given the An Family quite the headache.

A large number of the younger generation trailed behind them, including many who had previously had their land stolen by Yan Jing.

There had probably been so many people running to tattle that it prompted all the Third Tiers from the Eight Major Families' teams to mobilize at once.

Among those juniors, Yan Jing also spotted quite a few of his own 'relatives,' including his older sister.

At this moment, they were all glaring at him with cold detachment.

"I don't care."

Yan Jing chuckled. "The land I stole is right behind me. If you want to take it, go right ahead."

"Or were you planning to attack me directly?"

As he spoke, four more figures stepped out from beside the four Third Tier experts.

They were the representatives of the remaining four of the Eight Great Families.

The Wang Family, Wu Family, Mu Family, and Yan Family.

The Third Tiers of their families hadn't participated in this Super-Large Dungeon for various reasons, so they had only sent representatives from the younger generation.

However, every single one of them was a top-tier expert among the Second Tiers.

For instance, the Yan Family representative was no longer Yan Yan, the older cousin Yan Jing had hugged last time; it seemed they had swapped him out for someone else.

Right now, he was glaring fiercely at Yan Jing.

The old lady from the Lin Family sneered coldly. "Attack."

Just as the group prepared to make their move, a temple cultivator from Feinan Temple hurried over from the side.

"Amitabha! Everyone, please go back! It would be best not to raise a hand against Benefactor Yan! There are some things we haven't had the time to explain to you yet..."

"Heh."

The Lin Family old lady wasn't about to listen to any of that.

From the very beginning, she had already been fed up with these inner world residents.

In the past, as human players, they always had to sneak around and avoid the inner world residents. But this time, they held the flags, and they had the superior combat strength. She had no intention of coddling them anymore.

"I've finally figured it out!"

"You inner world residents have secretly colluded with this guy, haven't you?! Did he bribe you to turn against us?!!"

The old lady's voice was shrill and hoarse, grating like a noisy crow.

"Cease this nonsense!"

The temple cultivator's expression shifted drastically. Clumps of gory tentacles uncontrollably surged from the precept scars on his bald head. "I advise you all, it is best not to provoke—"

He cut himself off mid-sentence, quickly shutting his mouth upon feeling Yan Jing's gaze land on him.

"Heh, no wonder those freaks are helping you!"

Assuming her deduction was correct, Old Lady Lin waved a hand as withered and dry as tree bark.

"Attack!!!"

The several Second Tier experts immediately bypassed Yan Jing, sprinting toward the Regional Grids behind him.

Their figures disappeared down the end of the street.

"What tricks do you have left, brat?"

The old lady leaned heavily on her walking stick and sneered.

"I feel fine, honestly. It's just that I'm a little short on time."

Yan Jing looked back at the inner world residents behind him. "Does anyone have a watch? Start a timer."

"I do! I do!"

One of the inner world residents spoke up. "Just say the number, advisor."

"Five minutes."

Yan Jing declared.

There were a lot of things to do; this was all the time he could spare.

"You got it."

The inner world resident hastily nodded.

Opposite them, the burly man from the Chen Family was still trying to persuade everyone.

"This little friend has indeed done my Chen Family a great favor. How about this? Tell me what you want. As long as you spare his life, we can talk."

Four people had just rushed past. Even though Chen Dalang had told him Yan Jing was very strong, he still felt that Yan Jing's chances of surviving today were incredibly slim.

"Spare him my ass!"

Hearing that the Chen Family man was willing to trade, the other two were somewhat tempted, but Old Lady Lin snapped fiercely, "Who gives a damn about your things!!!"

She had lost her grandson! She was grieving more than anyone!

Her grandson had always been the most polite! He celebrated her birthday with her every single year! Of all her grandchildren, she had favored Lin Mian the most!

She wanted this brat to go straight to hell to apologize to her grandson!

Faced with the old lady's venomous opposition, the other two held their tongues.

No one wanted to argue with the eccentric and erratic crone.

Time ticked by, second by second.

The group, originally waiting to watch Yan Jing make a fool of himself, began to notice something was wrong.

Why hadn't it been dealt with yet?

According to their calculations, Yan Jing should have already been coughing up blood by now.

"Advisor, five minutes are up."

The inner world resident holding the watch announced.

"Go collect their things."

Yan Jing instructed calmly.

"Right away."

Several inner world residents sprang into action. Before long, the leg cultivator returned first, hauling a corpse by the collar.

The corpse was shockingly the Yan Family leader from moments ago. His state of death was incredibly gruesome—his eyes bulged out as if ready to drop from their sockets, and given the unnatural flexibility of his body, it was highly likely that every single bone in his body had been shattered to dust.

Behind the four Third Tiers, the crowd stared at the scene in sheer horror, a freezing chill racing through their veins.

That Yan Family leader was considered one of the absolute strongest in the previous generation, yet now... he was just dead? Just like that?

Right on the heels of the first, several more corpses were dragged over.

The entire group—four bodies in total—were laid out in a neat, tidy row right next to Yan Jing.

The atmosphere instantly grew suffocatingly heavy. The entire street plunged into dead silence.

"I don't believe it!!!"

Finally, it was the old lady from the Lin Family who broke the silence. The venomous malice in her cloudy eyes practically threatened to spill over.

"You brat, you're playing tricks again! How is it possible that every single corpse died in a completely different way!!!"

"It was those people you just sent over who killed them! That has to be it!"

As her words hung in the air, quite a few people felt she had a point.

Indeed, just looking at the bodies... one looked like it had been crushed by immense force, another looked like it had been punctured into a bloody sieve by something, and yet another looked as if it had been hanged...

No matter how you looked at it, it didn't seem like the work of a single person!

"While I would very much like to convince you, old lady,"

Yan Jing smiled. "We're running short on time. For some things, it's best if you can figure them out in the next few seconds. If you can't, well, nothing to be done about that."

The moment he finished speaking, as the crowd was still trying to parse his words, Yan Jing pushed off the ground. His figure blurred into an afterimage, vanishing from his spot entirely. He instantly crossed the distance of over a dozen meters, materializing directly in front of the old lady. Then, he reached out his hand.

"You!!!" The old lady panicked. Yellow-purple light erupted from the walking stick in her grasp as she immediately invoked her Third Rite, the Incense Burning Rite.

The phantom image of a broken bowl manifested from the head of her cane.

But she was too slow.

Yan Jing had already reached out and hoisted her up by the neck.

And then, he viciously slammed her down!

Bang!

The strike was like the swinging arm of a titan. The stone slabs beneath everyone's feet shattered instantly, sending rock fragments flying as a mist of blood violently burst outward!

With just a single slam, the old lady's head deformed completely. The phantom bowl behind her violently shuddered, nearly dispersing entirely.

Yet, this was only the beginning.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three consecutive impacts echoed out, every single one erupting in another burst of bloody mist.

Every single crack felt as though it was hammering directly into the hearts of the crowd behind her.

The phantom bowl, which had originally shrouded the old lady in an attempt to protect her, was completely overwhelmed before its power could even fully activate. The relentless slams battered it until it violently trembled. After the final strike, it simply collapsed and scattered.

"That's just how it is."

Lifting the old lady like a dead dog, Yan Jing spoke softly. "If you couldn't figure it out this time, try again in your next life."

Then, his hand gave a gentle twist. With a sickening crack, the old lady from the Lin Family went entirely limp and lifeless.

...

...

In that instant, sheer terror seized the crowd.

What... what had they just witnessed...

A Third Tier powerhouse, instantly killed before she could even trigger her ability???

This scene was a million times more horrifying than any horror movie. Physical mutations meant absolutely nothing; the only real things were the ashen corpses on the ground that had been running their mouths just moments before. Unable to hold it in, someone instantly vomited.

The remaining Third Tier experts weren't feeling much better; in fact, their mental states were even worse.

Because they knew their strength wasn't that much greater than the Lin Family old lady Yan Jing had just murdered.

Even if she had died merely because she didn't activate her ability in time, the sheer brutality of it was enough to freeze them to the bone.

"What did I say! What did I tell you!!!"

To the side, the temple cultivator who hadn't dared to breathe all this time suddenly ran out. He pointed a trembling finger, and it was hard to tell if he was shaking from fear or sheer excitement.

"I told you not to provoke Advisor Yan!!!"