There are many hosts, so apparently what Su Er did hadn’t reached the ears of the Divine Seer yet.
The Divine Seer released his hand and pretended to think deeply. After a moment, he said, “Indeed, you have no need to go. Why not stay here and wait for the result?”
His tone made it hard to tell whether he was serious or not. Su Er couldn’t read anything from his expression either. But based on common sense, staying overnight in the mountains was practically asking to die—so he didn’t hesitate and chose to follow the group.
The Divine Seer didn’t try to interfere with Su Er’s decision and dutifully offered a reminder: “It gets dark early in the mountains. Best hurry along.”
As for himself, he didn’t follow, only waving his sleeve at the backs of the players as they left.
The stairs had been worn down by sun and rain, with many sections broken. To avoid twisting an ankle, the players kept their heads down and moved cautiously. Once they’d walked far enough, Wei Jun finally spoke up: “Something’s off.”
Normally, the host would simply explain the clearance conditions and then leave the players to fend for themselves. Sometimes, if they were feeling mischievous, they might stir things up from the shadows.
But this Divine Seer was very different from most hosts they’d encountered—almost like an active participant in the game itself.
“Best to stay alert,” Ji Heng said calmly. “Don’t forget the main goal.”
Wei Jun closed his eyes for a moment and instructed the others, “As much as possible, make sure Su Er survives.”
The players around them showed varying reactions, and Su Er felt a bit uncomfortable being singled out like that.
Wei Jun didn’t mince words: “Your Charm value is the highest, far beyond the others. You’ll be a valuable breakthrough point.”
Su Er suddenly felt a bit of admiration for these players. To gain the upper hand against ghosts and monsters, they risked their lives again and again.
“Ahem.”
A short man a few steps behind him, named Cao Ledao, had noticed the respect on Su Er’s face and awkwardly cleared his throat. “It’s not as noble as you think.”
Su Er paused.
Cao Ledao gave a bitter smile. “I don’t have much ability. Sooner or later, I’ll die in this game. The team promised that as long as I enter this dungeon—whether I live or die—they’ll give my family a sum of money.”
Several others were here for similar reasons.
Wei Jun confirmed this: “Each of the major organizations sent one member. The agreement is that if even one of us survives, we must share everything we learn with them.”
Su Er couldn’t help looking at Ji Heng—why hadn’t he heard anything about team benefits before coming?
Ji Heng answered calmly, “Grave Return has too few people. Whoever has time goes.”
Turns out the elite path wasn’t easy either.
Climbing the stairs was exhausting. Halfway up, dark clouds suddenly gathered and a light drizzle began to fall. The path grew even more treacherous, and no one dared stop to rest. Someone tried to lighten the mood, joking, “My legs are so sore. If something nasty jumps out later, I won’t be able to run.”
“Look over there!” Cao Ledao called out excitedly from a rock nearby, pointing upward. “We’re almost there!”
As soon as he spoke, two or three others stood on tiptoe to look. Sure enough, through the misty drizzle, they could make out the vague outline of a temple.
With a clear goal in sight, everyone subconsciously quickened their pace and pushed on until they reached the mountaintop. But standing before the temple, they were all momentarily speechless.
“This temple…” Su Er hesitated. “Isn’t it a bit too run-down?”
His words echoed everyone’s thoughts.
According to the Divine Seer, this was the place where fate could be changed. Subconsciously, they’d expected something grand and imposing. But what stood before them was a dilapidated old temple that clearly hadn’t been repaired in years, surrounded by overgrown weeds. The worn wooden doors creaked eerily in the wind.
Now that it was nearly dark and the wind was picking up, even knowing the temple was suspicious, going in was their only option.
Cao Ledao asked, “Anyone need to take a leak?”
Answering nature’s call before nightfall was smart—no one would dare go out again once darkness fell.
“Hold it,” Wei Jun stopped him. “There’s probably a lot of filth in these woods.”
Several others nodded. Cao Ledao might not have enough Spiritual power to sense it, but they could… there was a creeping chill coming from the forest ahead.
Nothing was more important than staying alive, so Cao Ledao ultimately chose to go into the temple with them.
The wind grew even stronger. A player near the entrance shut the door and moved further in.
Bang bang!
The wind slammed against the door, like an uninvited guest pounding to be let in.
Ji Heng moved around, observing everything inside the temple. Su Er, not far from him, mimicked him and carefully looked around. But with his lack of experience, all he noticed was some spiderwebs on the ceiling—nothing suspicious.
Ji Heng caught a glimpse of Su Er’s blank expression and raised a hand. “Look over there. There’s a ghost.”
Su Er felt like he was being teased like a child and pouted slightly.
Wei Jun couldn’t help glancing at Ji Heng—he hadn’t expected someone like him to act this childish.
Ji Heng said seriously, “I’m not joking.”
Su Er hesitated, then looked where he was pointing—and saw that at some point, someone had appeared there. The figure wore a square scarf and had pale lips. Just from the way he was dressed, he looked quite down-and-out.
The sudden appearance of the figure startled everyone!
Cao Ledao had already been holding it in without going to the restroom. Now, being the closest, he was genuinely on the verge of wetting himself and staggered back several steps in fright.
The scholar acted as if he couldn’t see them, pacing in place with his hands behind his back, muttering to himself.
“Hello.”
The one who took the initiative to speak was a female player named Song Jiayue. She didn't want to be the first to step up, but the Divine Seer had predicted she would die a violent death one night. Who knew if this night was the one? So she could only try her best to gather information and change the fate dictated by the dungeon.
At first, the scholar ignored her, lost in his own world. But after a while, he suddenly came closer, startling Song Jiayue into holding her breath.
“Can fate be changed?”
Song Jiayue didn’t dare give a definite answer and only said, “I need time to think about it.”
The scholar suddenly shoved her forcefully. The impact was so strong that the people behind her couldn't react in time. Song Jiayue slammed hard against the wall and let out a muffled grunt, clutching her numb shoulder. She didn’t dare to cry out.
Su Er didn’t know what kind of luck he had. Though he had been farthest away, he could only watch helplessly as the scholar strode straight toward him.
“Can fate be changed?”
The scholar sounded even more irritable this time, his long robe rustling as he approached.
When in doubt, return the question. Su Er said, “What do you think?”
The scholar stared at him for a long moment, then suddenly turned his gaze to the others, his eyes full of contempt. “Not one of you has a good fate!”
It was then that Ji Heng finally spoke. “We came here specifically to find a way to change our fates.”
The scholar's eyes flickered, and he agreed immediately. “Yes!”
The straightforward reply set everyone on edge.
“But you have to do something first.” There’s no such thing as a free lunch—he quickly stated his condition. “There’s a white fox spirit in the dense forest. You have to help me kill it.”
Su Er asked, “You have a grudge with the white fox?”
As soon as he asked, the surrounding air grew cold.
The scholar’s face twisted with resentment. “The Divine Seer said I would die at the age of twenty from a peach blossom curse. To avoid it, I’ve stayed away from women all my life. But the white fox was cunning—she disguised herself as a man and traveled with me to the imperial exams. Midway, she tricked me into removing my protective jade pendant and then took my life!”
Su Er asked, “You also said the fox was cunning. What if we can’t kill her?”
The scholar sneered coldly and kicked aside the weeds on the ground, revealing a patch of eerie white bones—whether animal or human was unclear. In the center was a raised portion. Su Er looked closely and confirmed it was a human skull.
He had originally felt some sympathy for the scholar’s experience, but now he was reminded once again that a ghost was still a ghost. Showing pity in a dungeon was asking for death.
The scholar said menacingly, “If the white fox isn’t dead by dawn, you will be.”
Against the wall, Song Jiayue was certain her shoulder was already bruised and purple. Gritting through the pain, she asked, “Does the white fox have any weaknesses?”
The scholar answered, “Of course—she fears my consecrated jade pendant.” Then his anger surged again. “If I hadn’t trusted that monster and removed it, she would’ve never been able to harm me!”
Song Jiayue immediately asked, “Where is the jade pendant?”
The scholar waved dismissively. “Probably dropped somewhere in the forest.”
Given how vast the mountain forest was, the vague response made it clear he didn’t want to reveal the truth. He wanted revenge but also wanted to take lives—and right now, the latter desire was winning.
The players had no control. All they could do was go along with it.
Several of the ones predicted to die first grouped together and prepared to search nearby.
Ji Heng had quite a reputation among players. Before setting out, Song Jiayue looked at him and said, “If you come with us, the pendant—if we find it—will be yours.”
The pendant sounded very much like a special item.
After speaking, she was extremely nervous. She didn’t know if the promise of a potential item would be enough to tempt Ji Heng to risk going outside.
Ji Heng didn’t answer right away. He glanced at the sky outside—seeing the rain was easing—and then slowly replied, “Half an hour. If we don’t find it, I’m coming back.”
Su Er wanted to go with them, but Ji Heng gave a slight shake of his head, silently signaling him to stay.
Sharing a temple with a ghost was definitely not pleasant. The place was damp and cold, but thankfully six people remained behind, so it wasn’t too scary.
The scholar resumed pacing and muttering to himself. The players didn’t dare talk much, fearing they’d draw his attention.
As time dragged on like years, there was finally a sound from outside. Wei Jun, sharp-eyed, saw something and quickly went to the door to help carry a player back inside.
“Cao Ledao?” Su Er went over, pulled together some weeds to form a dry patch, and laid him down. “What happened to him?”
From the outside, there were no visible injuries, but Cao Ledao clearly looked thinner than before. His physical power had dropped by more than half.
Song Jiayue shook her head. “A mist rose in the forest. When it cleared, he just collapsed.”
It seemed the white fox, seeing they had come in a group, chose to strike them one by one.
Ji Heng said thoughtfully, “We can’t see its true form. That makes it harder to deal with.”
"A bunch of useless trash." The scholar gloated maliciously, but his tone was vicious. "I don't shelter useless trash here."
His thin, bony finger pointed at the unconscious Cao Ledao. "Throw him out!"
Song Jiayue protested, "That's not what you said earlier! Before dawn, we’ll definitely think of another way to—"
The scholar cut her off. "Either throw him out, or you roll out with him."
When a ghost wants your life, reasoning doesn’t work.
Song Jiayue's physical power had already pushed past its limit, but it still wasn’t enough to handle the scholar. She turned to look at Ji Heng and Wei Jun—both of them nodded slightly. In the next second, all three of them struck at the same time.
Su Er had personally seen Ji Heng destroy a Tongue-Pulling Ghost in the <World of Wudu> dungeon. This scholar was clearly much harder to deal with. Even with three people working together, all they could manage was to hold him in a prolonged fight.
Mid-battle, Ji Heng glanced at Su Er. "We’ll try to buy some time—use the opportunity."
The scholar was enraged that Ji Heng still had the leisure to speak and directed nearly all his attacks toward him.
Su Er quickly understood what Ji Heng meant—this was a great chance to experiment with how to use his Charm value.
Ghosts only got stronger the more they fought. Humans had limited stamina, so the longer it dragged on, the more the players would be at a disadvantage.
“Two minutes at most!” Wei Jun growled.
Su Er calmed himself, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think of a way. Unwilling to give up just yet, he decided to take a risk and moved closer, hoping to feel something— anything—new.
“One minute!” Wei Jun shouted. “Anyone with weak physical power, stay by the door. If it goes bad, run into the forest!”
The white fox was in the dense forest, so the scholar likely wouldn’t follow. Otherwise, he wouldn't have urged them to go seek revenge. But that forest was also a deadly trap—it would all come down to luck whether one lived or died.
Su Er alone kept inching closer to the scholar, eyes locked on him. He noticed that whenever he felt killing intent toward the scholar, it was like something inside his blood began to roar.
He tried swinging a fist—but it didn’t cause any damage. Suddenly, the round, smiling face of Gou Baopu flashed through his mind. Su Er took another step forward.
The air around the scholar was freezing—bone-chilling cold.
Yet his brain didn’t stop working. The scene of trading with Gou Baopu replayed in his mind, and he vaguely remembered the Smiling Merchant saying he was very satisfied with the yin energy on the red paper. Su Er’s eyes lit up instantly, and he shouted, “Hold him down! I’m gonna suck him!”
Song Jiayue was so shocked by what he yelled that she nearly lost control and dealt a fatal blow by mistake.
Clenching her teeth, she continued cooperating with Ji Heng and Wei Jun, pushing the scholar back toward the corner.
Ji Heng glanced at the others. "Use your items."
Song Jiayue pulled out a talisman—she only had two in total, and using one now felt like her heart was bleeding. Wei Jun ripped off the peachwood sword hanging around his neck. Ji Heng also used a talisman.
The three items together barely managed to restrain the scholar for a moment.
Su Er didn’t hesitate—he rushed in, obeying the instinct in his heart. Standing about a foot away, he gently inhaled.
That breath lasted unnaturally long—far beyond what any human lung capacity could manage.
The scholar immediately sensed the yin energy draining out of him, endlessly and uncontrollably. The skin on his face began to shrivel, like a tree being forcibly yanked from the soil, its life force bleeding away. He started to tremble and gasped out, “S-Stop… stop—”
At that moment, he remembered the same terror he felt when he had been drained dry by that fox spirit!
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