Chapter 459

"Pack up, we're pulling out."

Since the divine deer had been seen, his own auspicious setup had become superfluous.

That pack of wolves not only possessed extremely high intelligence and keenness, but every single one of them was blessed with the merit of destiny. Surrounded by the pack, how could they possibly remain hidden?

If the Deer Family Manor didn't have one, there would still be a small probability of escaping, but since it truly did, the ending was already destined from this moment on.

Everyone immediately set about collecting the things they had just set up. When traveling away from home, the supplies and materials carried were limited, and it was difficult to obtain effective replenishment before the family was ruined and the sect destroyed.

The attention of those at Deer Family Manor was entirely on capturing the escaped divine deer; they didn't notice at all that a group of people had snuck in and then quietly left.

When leaving the Deer Family Manor's barrier, Li Zhuiyuan specifically lingered for a while longer, leaving behind several more "back doors."

Anyone with a certain level of proficiency in formations would be able to discover them.

Wolves travel a thousand miles to eat meat; you cannot truly give them a chance to organize themselves to conduct so-called negotiations.

What if there was a ruthless person in Deer Family Manor who, facing the situation of their heritage being wiped out, dared to give up the divine deer?

The best thing was, after confirming the existence of the divine deer, to let a portion of the wolves who couldn't hold back go in first and start grabbing directly, forcing the wolves behind to follow closely, turning Deer Family Manor into a slaughterhouse for the divine deer.

In this way, it could be ensured that Deer Family Manor would be wiped out cleanly.

Lin Shu You: "Brother Xiaoyuan said there was a divine deer, so there was a divine deer."

Tan Wenbin: "That's because framing someone requires logic; you need to make the group of people you want to mislead believe your narrative."

The style of Deer Family Manor through the generations exuded a sense of eeriness.

They didn't obsess over competing for dominance on the river, and they didn't strive for the promotion of their heritage. Expansion and development are the spontaneous instincts of a power; when you discover it is openly performing self-castration, the most reasonable explanation is that it is plotting something huge in the shadows.

Lin Shu You: "But they really do have a divine deer, sigh."

Tan Wenbin: "Are you feeling regretful?"

Lin Shu You: "Yeah, if the hide and flesh of the divine deer really have the effect of turning decay into magic, couldn't we have originally... done this job secretly ourselves?"

Actually, Tan Wenbin had the same thought in his heart as A-You.

After seeing that divine deer from afar, it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted. Not to mention the mythological evidence of the Deer family's rise to power, anyone who wasn't a fool could sense the preciousness of that divine deer at the time.

But Brother Xiaoyuan's choice was very decisive; he resolutely led everyone to withdraw and left a back door for the wolf pack, clearly not intending to steal the deer's food here.

Tan Wenbin, half-answering A-You and half-reassuring himself, said:

"When implementing a set plan, details can be adapted to local conditions, but in terms of the general direction, it is best not to change it easily before encountering a sufficiently large contradiction.

We have already lured the wolf pack here; if we were to enter the fray and compete with the wolves for meat, it would be equivalent to lifting a rock only to drop it on our own feet, increasing the difficulty for ourselves.

Even if we grabbed the meat, after personally entering the bloody competition, how could we still set up our banner, form an alliance, and guide the wolf pack toward the final target of this wave, the Valley of the Living?

The value of the divine deer is certainly great, but considering the series of increases in difficulty and cost that would be triggered by it, it can be abandoned."

Li Zhuiyuan, holding A-Li's hand and walking behind Runsheng, nodded.

Tan Wenbin's interpretation was indeed the decision Li Zhuiyuan had weighed in his heart.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Brother Binbin, the details of the plan still need to be slightly modified."

Tan Wenbin pursed his lips and followed the train of thought: "On the premise of not being in a hurry to expose our identities, we need to show ourselves in front of the wolf pack in advance.

We can choose not to compete or grab, and appear high-minded, but we must manifest a certain sense of presence. It would be best if, because of our existence, we could control the intensity of the wolves' pursuit of the deer.

This way, after Deer Family Manor is destroyed, it can pave the way for us to raise our banner and make a name for ourselves;

Secondly, it can also preserve our effective strength to the greatest extent for the subsequent march into the Valley of the Living."

Li Zhuiyuan: "There is a third point."

Tan Wenbin looked excited: "Thirdly, in the future, the difficulty of digging canals and diverting trouble on the river will be greatly reduced. This group of people on the river will know that following our line of thought means there is meat to eat!"

Lin Shu You looked enlightened: "Suddenly feel that not taking this deer has a greater return; it's so cost-effective."

Li Zhuiyuan said frankly: "Actually, it's a bit of a make-up. If I could have confirmed that Deer Family Manor really had a divine deer before laying out the plan, I probably would have led you all to try and steal this deer out."

Hearing this, everyone laughed.

Even Runsheng, who was walking at the very front, had a smile on his face.

The Xiaoyuan of the past rarely spoke in this slightly humorous, self-deprecating way.

Ahead was the location where everyone had previously eaten brown sugar and various eggs.

Tan Wenbin: "Let's rest ahead, Xiaoyuan."

Li Zhuiyuan immediately released the red thread, connecting it to everyone.

Li Zhuiyuan thought to himself: "Maintain speed, continue forward."

Tan Wenbin thought to himself: "Someone intended to rest at the place where we previously rested, but they discovered the traces we buried and processed. Although they did a perfect restoration, the soil quality in that area changed, and it's too fresh."

Lin Shu You thought to himself: "Then are they still in the vicinity?"

Tan Wenbin thought to himself: "If they discovered traces of our stay and didn't want to meet us, they could have just left. Restoring it so carefully is highly likely an attempt to wait for us to return.

Brother Xiaoyuan, besides the area where we previously rested, the periphery here, here, and there... the soil quality has all changed."

During ordinary communication, "here and there" would be meaningless, but through the red thread, the efficiency of message transmission was improved.

Li Zhuiyuan thought to himself: "This is because a formation has been set up, with stakes buried underground."

Lin Shu You thought to himself: "Could it be that a lone wolf came early?"

Tan Wenbin thought to himself: "The three who were arranged to set the pace controlled the timing. Even if there really were lone wolves who were impatient and left the team early, they should have been heading toward Deer Family Manor. There's no reason to set an ambush on the periphery and blindly start a conflict."

The distance was getting closer and closer.

Tan Wenbin didn't discover any other abnormalities.

Lin Shu You suddenly thought to himself: "There's a ghost."

At this time, regardless of whether the person waiting for us ahead was human or ghost, we had to go up and clash with them.

If we want to grasp the initiative in this wave, we must find and break the other hands that are trying to hide and manipulate things.

Runsheng took out his Yellow River shovel and, while completing the assembly, entered the formation first.

The formation did not activate at the first moment.

Metal playing cards flew out, surrounding the youth and the girl in the center.

The Two Generals of Increase and Decrease:

"Evil ghosts, only kill, do not ferry~"

Immediately, Tan Wenbin and Lin Shu You each moved laterally, rushing toward the two underground formation stake locations.

"Hum."

The formation activated.

The other side should have realized the formation had been discovered and had no choice but to act.

Powerful pressure acted upon Runsheng. The scars under Runsheng's clothes squirmed, and relying on his current physique, he neutralized this pressure.

Following this was the sound of numerous dead souls giggling, targeting Runsheng's spirit and mind.

This movement, even Tan Wenbin and Lin Shu You, who were outside the formation, could clearly perceive.

Runsheng thought to himself:

"The pressure isn't great, I can endure it."

As for the giggling of the dead souls, Runsheng didn't mention it because he didn't feel it.

Tan Wenbin threw out his rusty sword, and Lin Shu You drew his golden mace, each gathering strength, preparing to smash toward the buried formation stakes below.

Just at this moment, a vortex appeared beside each of them; the one beside Tan Wenbin was black, and the one beside Lin Shu You was white.

From the two vortexes, one black and one white figure reached out; the black one threw out a soul-hooking rope, and the white one offered up a mourning stick.

The images of these two were very similar to the Black and White Impermanence in folklore.

Appearing here meant they came from the Small Hell of the Valley of the Living.

The moment Black and White Impermanence acted, the ground in the formation area where Runsheng was located bulged. A creature with a thick physique resembling an earthworm broke through the soil, and after opening its mouth, it revealed a circle of sharp teeth inside, swallowing toward Runsheng.

At the same moment, the light and shadow above appeared wrinkled. A figure with a small physique like a young master, dressed in incomparably luxurious clothing, looking like a jointed puppet, stood in mid-air.

He stiffly raised his hand and then stiffly lowered it. One after another, fierce ghosts darted out from his fingertips, pointing directly at Li Zhuiyuan below.

Up to now, on the premise that the trap had been seen through, the other side's timely response could be called perfect.

While each had their own constraints, the young master with the highest status personally targeted Li Zhuiyuan, who was in the core position of the opposing team.

However, in the face of absolute strength, the application of technical and tactical levels often appears very pale.

First, the attacks of Tan Wenbin and Lin Shu You, which were originally aimed at the formation stakes under their feet, completed a turn with incomparable smoothness and attacked the attackers beside them.

This shows that before smashing the formation stakes, they had long received instructions to make a feint.

Therefore, the original sneak attack instead became a gathering of strength and waiting on this side.

Tan Wenbin's rusty sword stabbed at the Black Impermanence's soul-hooking rope. Ghostly energy erupted from the rope, attempting to suppress and wrap around Tan Wenbin.

The "Five Senses Map" operated, four spirit beasts let out low roars, and waves of resentment surged. Tan Wenbin's snake eyes turned red, and majestic resentment rushed out from within the rusty sword, instantly crushing the ghostly energy on the soul-hooking rope, and then it became unstoppable, wrapping around that Black Impermanence.

Under Lin Shu You's forehead, the Ghost Commander mark shone brightly. He matched his golden mace against the White Impermanence's mourning stick. Upon the first contact, Lin Shu You's golden mace formed a suppression against the opponent. Even though the White Impermanence held the mourning stick with both hands, it still fell into a disadvantage, and at this time, Lin Shu You's other golden mace happened to smash into its body.

"Ah!"

A scream came from the Black Impermanence. It was wrapped in terrifying resentment, and this resentment was using the ghostly energy on its body as nourishment, carrying out crazy devouring and transformation.

After the four spirit beasts were fed by Li Zhuiyuan, it was as if they had broken their fast. Previously, when they were weak, they hid low-key in the city to avoid people from the Profound Sect; now, they just wanted to eat meat.

After completing absolute suppression, Tan Wenbin directly used "Five Senses Awe"!

The Black Impermanence couldn't even let out a scream, its consciousness fell into chaos, and it lost all room for resistance.

Facing the mace that Lin Shu You swept over, the White Impermanence's soul body became ethereal, attempting to avoid it in this way, but Lin Shu You was a Ghost Commander, and even more so, he was personally blessed by an Yin God like the White Crane Master Master Tongzi. The boy was most skilled at dealing with soul bodies.

The force wrapped around the golden mace burned the White Impermanence. Its body, which had just become ethereal, returned to solidity, and fierce ghost fire ignited on its body.

Lin Shu You flipped his wrist, and the golden mace flicked, knocking away the White Impermanence's mourning stick, and then followed up with a smash, hitting the White Impermanence's shoulder, forcing it to kneel.

The other golden mace aimed at the White Impermanence's head, seamlessly following up with a heavy blow.

Head-smashing was A-You's muscle memory.

In real life, A-You was the most shy and timid one, but every time he fought, his fighting style was often the most brutal.

"Bang!"

The White Impermanence's head was smashed open.

Inside the formation, after the huge earthworm swallowed Runsheng, it suddenly let out a mournful cry. Its abdomen tore from the middle, and green blood plasma splashed.

Runsheng first used the Yellow River shovel to disembowel it, then stabbed the shovel into the ground, grabbed a section of the earthworm's body with each hand, first lifted it horizontally, then crossed his arms, consolidating the earthworm's body with wind power, intensifying the force of the collision.

"Boom!"

Dust flew, and flesh and blood collapsed and flew.

On Li Zhuiyuan's side, the Two Generals of Increase and Decrease saw the young master above release fierce ghosts and immediately looked excited.

Especially the General of Decrease, who was so excited that the black mark on his face began to turn red.

Just as the Two Generals of Increase and Decrease were preparing to perform properly, the girl beside Li Zhuiyuan raised her head and looked at the luxurious young master above.

It wasn't that A-Li didn't trust the ability of the Two Generals of Increase and Decrease, but when she was beside Li Zhuiyuan, she would instinctively not allow Li Zhuiyuan to encounter risks.

Under the girl's indifferent gaze, the young master above seemed to suffer some kind of shackle, and his body trembled.

The chain of the mountaineering bag on A-Li's back automatically pulled down, and a red hand stretched out from inside, grabbing toward that young master.

In this process, those fierce ghosts released by the young master were all annihilated after being touched by the red arm.

The arm forcefully grabbed the young master's neck.

A-Li lowered her head and looked down.

The arm swung down, smashing the young master from the air into the ground.

The Two Generals of Increase and Decrease, who had failed to get a chance to act again, looked at each other, had no choice but to alternate positions, and shouted:

"Might~~~ Martial~~~"

On the young master's face, there was a clear puppet boundary line. Its mouth opened and closed, and sound came from within:

"How many benefits did the Valley Master promise you? I can give you double!"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Stop."

Tan Wenbin put away the resentment, and the rusty sword pressed against the Black Impermanence's neck. The Black Impermanence lying on the ground had its body charred and shrunk by a large circle.

Lin Shu You pressed one golden mace on the headless neck of the White Impermanence, and used the other golden mace to reach his back and scratch an itch.

The earthworm's head remnant was still squirming. Runsheng reached out, tore a piece of meat from it, put it into his mouth, chewed twice, and spat it out, looking uncomfortable.

It wasn't delicious at all, full of earthy smell.

The red hand was still pinching the young master's neck and did not retract.

The blood-colored porcelain bottle was unwilling to stop, longing to pull this young master in.

Li Zhuiyuan's right hand ignited with karmic fire, and he gently patted the red arm extending from his side.

"Hiss!"

The blood hand immediately let go, as if someone had been scalded, and quickly retracted back into the porcelain bottle.

This blood porcelain bottle was not like an evil book; it had an existence similar to an artifact spirit inside. It only had the inertial instinct formed by generations of devouring living beings.

It was already not easy for A-Li to be able to use it; it was almost impossible to train it to be as flexible as an arm at present, because it had no brain.

It had also taken Zhao Yi a great deal of effort to bring it back from the northwest yellow sand.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the young master, who sat up, his mouth opening and closing again:

"Now, make your offer."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Are you the traitor in that Small Hell?"

Young master: "So, are you planning to take me to the Valley Master, expose my true identity, and claim a reward?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "I ask, you answer."

The young master nodded.

Li Zhuiyuan: "What is your status in the Small Hell?"

Young master:

"I am the Young Lord in Hell."

The campfire crackled and popped.

Lin Shu You caught quite a few fish, cleaned them, found a tree branch to string them up, and was doing a barbecue.

Opposite the campfire sat Li Zhuiyuan and that young master.

The young master's surname was Sun, and his name was Sun Xi.

This was the surname of the Valley Master, and it was also a name bestowed by the Valley Master.

He didn't remember what his name was before; he had lost all memories of the world of the living.

He only knew that he had been dead for sixty years.

At the beginning of this year, he passed his sixty-year "death day."

People in the world of the living celebrate birthdays; ghosts in the underworld celebrate death days.

The former commemorates how many years one has been a human; the latter commemorates how many years one has been a ghost.

However, in the underworld, only ghost officials with a certain status and position are qualified to carry out this kind of celebration.