Chapter 107: Life-and-Death Struggle

Seventh Level of the Princess’s Tomb, Poison Chamber

The moment the suona sounded, the entire room, packed with malevolent creatures, surged toward Imperial Inspector Liu like a tidal wave.

At first, he and Li Yan believed that as long as the suona played, the surrounding malevolent entities would immediately fall into a dormant state on the ground.

With this plan in mind, one person would blow the suona while the other loaded the creatures onto the peddler’s cart,¹ making it possible to transport large numbers in a single trip.

However, they hadn’t accounted for a delay in the suona’s hypnotic effect—it did not instantly put the creatures to sleep.

And so, the brave “trumpet warrior” froze completely when he saw a rat gleefully climb onto his thigh.

Right after that, centipedes, bedbugs, venomous snakes, and other sinister creatures began gathering on the ground. Soon, they were scrambling over each other, rushing to cover Imperial Inspector Liu from head to toe.

Their countless legs, tentacles, and even tongues continuously “danced” on his skin, sending waves of tingling, stinging, and numbing sensations through his entire body.

Some people might not fear ghosts or even death itself, but very few could remain indifferent to such filth. For most, the sudden touch of a single rat would be enough to trigger a mental breakdown…

Let alone Imperial Inspector Liu, whose entire body was now draped in vile creatures, making him look like a walking discount store—overflowing with horrors, teeming with venom.

The moment he realized these things were crawling all over him, two thoughts flashed through his mind:

First, close his eyes.
Out of sight, out of mind—focus entirely on playing the suona.

Second, he regretted everything.
If he could go back, he would have worn that pair of shit-stained pants without hesitation.

Standing outside the door, Li Yan could no longer bear to look. He turned away, shouting repeatedly, “Old Liu, hang in there! Remember what you told me—every hardship becomes bragging material in the future! If you can say it, you can do it…!”

“Thunder! Heaven-shaking power, the sky collapses, the earth splits—the Violet Gold Hammer!”
“Violet Lightning…!”

Suddenly, the melody of “Thunder” from the suona surged higher, more impassioned.

This was the final defiance of the virus-contaminated warrior—Old Liu’s unyielding response to his comrade.

As Old Liu pushed his limits, the venomous creatures clinging to him gradually fell into slumber.

Seizing the moment, Li Yan steeled himself and reached for a snake.

But the moment he grabbed it, the snake jolted awake, whipping its head around to strike at Li Yan with an open mouth.

“Smack!”

Li Yan swung it against the wall, splattering blood from its crushed head.

Taking two quick steps back, he frowned and shouted, “It wakes up too fast—I can’t carry them.”

Hearing this, Old Liu, still playing the suona, nearly had a mental breakdown. He shifted the melody abruptly in response, signaling that he had heard.

After a brief pause, Li Yan analyzed, “The creatures wake up as soon as they leave you, and the time gap is too short. That means we can’t use the peddler’s cart anymore. Let’s do this instead—you keep playing and try to move, we’ll walk back together. Once we reach the drop-off point, I’ll stand there with you and toss them in.”

Old Liu gave a slight nod, indicating he understood.

Thus, abandoning the peddler’s cart, Li Yan led the way with his footsteps while Old Liu, still playing, took slow, steady steps forward.

The method was slow but effective—none of the creatures on Old Liu’s body woke up.

About fifteen minutes later, they successfully reached the drop-off point along the Path of Rebirth.

Imperial Inspector Liu kept blowing his suona forcefully, while Li Yan used the time gap between the creatures’ awakening to snatch cockroaches, centipedes, and other pests off him, frantically throwing them into the drop-off chute.

It turned out Old Liu’s tall and sturdy build gave him an advantage—he could carry a lot of these “venomous companions.”

This “batch” alone easily surpassed a three-digit count. In addition to the larger ones like venomous snakes, rats, and giant centipedes, the smaller pests were numerous. Tiny cockroaches, about half a finger in length, could fit dozens on just his forehead.

Before long, Li Yan had completely cleaned Old Liu of his grotesque accessories and reported an accurate count: “A total of 159. I’d say that was a success. Next time, you should carry more—play harder, transport faster.”

After finishing his report, Li Yan expected a response. But Imperial Inspector Liu, drenched in sweat, simply kept playing.

“What are you still playing for?! Let’s go!” Li Yan urged.

“Swish!”

Imperial Inspector Liu suddenly lifted his left arm and waved it slightly, shaking his head.

Li Yan’s body tensed.

In his right hand, Old Liu held the suona, continuously blowing a single note. But his left hand suddenly reached toward his backside.

Then—plop!

He pulled out a large, palm-sized centipede, still smeared with blood, and flicked it into the drop-off chute.

Li Yan was stunned. He bent down for a closer look, bewildered.

“Where the hell did that come from?! I just checked—there was nothing there!”

Imperial Inspector Liu paused his suona and gave the other person a resentful glance. “160! Please check more carefully next time. You’re too careless—I almost ended up digesting it in my rectum just now…”

“Incredible, your loading capacity is better than anyone else’s,” Li Yan marveled.

“Let’s go!”

After unloading one batch, the two of them returned to the poison chamber once again.

With their previous experience, they were now loading more and working significantly more efficiently.

As they repeated the process over and over, the dim and eerie Path of Rebirth had become increasingly lively. Success seemed to be just a matter of time.

…

Nearly five hours later.

Inside the mirrored space, a cold voice suddenly rang in Ren Ye’s ears.

[You’ve been watching your companions work busily—are you eager to join them?]

[Get ready. They’re about to complete this stage’s “task assignment.” What awaits you is the trial of the courageous.]

Ren Ye ignored the Star Gate’s notification and instead focused intently on the images projected on the ground—particularly Tang Feng’s trial, which gave him an unsettling feeling.

He didn’t believe the Star Gate would give him a god’s-eye view just so he could sit here and watch for no reason.

There had to be a purpose behind this…

…

Seventh level, Soul Chamber.

The once densely packed vengeful spirits were now reduced to only a few.

Standing by the entrance, Tang Feng stomped his feet on the ground repeatedly, deliberately making noise to lure in three ghosts that immediately shot toward him.

“Whoosh!”

The Soul-Binding Rope swung out, ensnaring a female ghost. Without hesitation, Tang Feng yanked it back forcefully and took a step backward, smoothly exiting the Soul Chamber.

The two other ghosts that had been rushing toward him instantly became disoriented after he left the room, drifting aimlessly once more.

This Soul Chamber challenge was becoming easier as it progressed—the fewer ghosts there were, the lower the risk of being attacked.

“Ah!”

Just then, a shrill scream echoed from the opposite side of the chamber.

Another ghost had been caught by the Soul-Binding Rope and was struggling violently.

Tang Feng looked up, his eyes piercing through the eerie blue flames rising from the chasm in the center of the room. He spotted the Scholar from the Court Faction—he had just ensnared a ghost and was now glancing around in confusion.

Tang Feng showed no surprise at this sight.

After discussing things with Old Liu and Li Yan outside, he had moved into action alone and discovered that the Court Faction Scholar was also “ghost hunting” in this Soul Chamber.

Moreover, he had already sensed something peculiar about this chamber’s structure.

The room was a square space, roughly 400 to 500 square meters in size, with a tomb passage leading in from both the north and south. A wide chasm cut through the center, currently ablaze with blue flames, making it completely impossible for players to cross.

This setup strongly resembled a competitive challenge, so the Scholar’s presence wasn’t unexpected.

After all, he had also eaten human flesh back at the Wilderness Inn, so it was only natural for the Court Faction players to choose him for soul-reaping duties.

During the ghost-catching process, neither Tang Feng nor the Scholar had paid any attention to each other. The chasm between them prevented either from crossing over, and making unnecessary noise would only attract ghost attacks. So instead of interfering with each other, they focused on working as quickly as possible.

But at this very moment, both of them felt that something was off.

Bathed in the flickering blue flames, the dimly lit Soul Chamber fell into silence as both men stood frozen.

Tang Feng held onto his Soul-Binding Rope, his gaze sweeping across the chamber as he muttered under his breath, “I’ve captured 103. There should be five more left to meet the quota… So why are there only four remaining?”

On both the north and south sides, Tang Feng and the Scholar had progressed at the same pace. The chasm acted as a dividing line, and in each of their respective zones, only four ghosts remained.

They had each captured 103, and with the four that were left, that totaled 107.

But the required number for the Path of Rebirth was 108.

Why was one missing?

When there were more ghosts, they had filled the entire chamber, swarming like a massive, uncountable tide.

But now that their numbers had dwindled, both Tang Feng and the Scholar had a much clearer sense of the exact count.

At first, they had been too focused on capturing ghosts to carefully examine their surroundings, assuming that some ghosts might be hiding in the shadows, unnoticed.

But now, with only four left, they had taken a closer look—and still couldn’t find the last one.

A sinking feeling crept into their hearts.

Was this… forcing them to fight for it?

Tang Feng hesitated for only a moment before turning and sprinting away.

The Scholar, seeing him flee, didn’t hesitate either—he immediately turned and rushed back toward the Path of Rebirth.

…

“Tap, tap!”

Rapid footsteps echoed through the chamber as Tang Feng sprinted toward the Path of Rebirth, shouting, “How are you two doing?!”

Not far away, Imperial Inspector Liu, who had just been sitting on the ground resting, panted and replied, “The job’s done… I even bared my ass…”

He and Old Li had just finished transporting the “last load” mere seconds ago.

“Something’s off. I need you two.”

Tang Feng didn’t dare waste any time. While depositing ghosts into the Path of Rebirth, he called out, “The number of ghosts in the Soul Chamber isn’t right. Both I and the guy across from me are short by one.”

“Huh?!” Li Yan was momentarily stunned.

“Tsk, No. 9 on the other side noticed it too,” Tang Feng retracted his Soul-Binding Rope and turned to shout, “This round might require competition. You two need to come help me.”

At the mention of competition, the playful look vanished from Imperial Inspector Liu’s face.

He had already put everything on the line and was on the verge of success. There was no way he’d accept failure at this point.

The rules set by the Star Gate were simple—this round required capturing exactly 108 ghosts.

“How do we help?!” Imperial Inspector Liu shouted back.

“I need to capture ghosts as quickly as possible, so I can’t spare any attention elsewhere,” Tang Feng explained while running back, “Ghosts attack on sight. When you enter the Soul Chamber, stand near the chasm and make noise to lure one of the ghosts from the other side over. That way, we’ll have enough.”

“Goddamn, you’re one hell of a woman—can fight, can play dead, and has brains!” Imperial Inspector Liu praised, not daring to delay. He and Li Yan immediately sprinted toward the Soul Chamber.

After their return, Tang Feng swiftly captured another ghost before turning back again.

At this point, only three ghosts remained in the chamber.

Li Yan and Imperial Inspector Liu exchanged glances, swallowed hard, and then charged in with gritted teeth.

The moment they stepped inside, the remaining three ghosts darted toward them.

“Split up and run!”

Li Yan called out as they dashed toward the chasm in the center of the chamber, one heading left and the other right.

The ghosts gave chase, forcing them to zigzag wildly along the edge of the eerie blue flames.

As they got closer, they realized that the flames weren’t burning hot—instead, they were bone-chillingly cold, as if they would freeze them into solid blocks of ice.

Sure enough, as they neared the chasm, four ghosts from the Court Faction’s side also began drifting toward them.

“It… it worked!” Imperial Inspector Liu, still half-dressed, shouted in excitement, “They’re coming over!”

“Whoosh!”

Just then, the Scholar from the Court Faction appeared on the opposite side. He paused momentarily upon seeing Imperial Inspector Liu and Li Yan, then immediately swung his Soul-Binding Rope and snagged a ghost from behind.

“You motherf—!”

Even though he had caught a ghost, the Scholar wasn’t happy. Instead, he cursed in frustration and shouted, “Get over here! They’ve brought in reinforcements and are luring ghosts away!”

Imperial Inspector Liu saw the opposing team react and clenched his teeth, steeling himself. Ignoring the biting cold from the blue flames, he inched even closer to the edge.

“We just need one more… just one!”

As he spoke, the flames flickered violently due to his proximity.

Suddenly, an excruciating pain surged through his body—the sensation of his soul being wrenched out and “burned” spread like wildfire.

This flame… it could “burn” everything, including souls.

“AHHH!!”

A scream of agony pierced the air as Imperial Inspector Liu’s face contorted in pain. His sleeve had already ignited with blue fire.

Seeing this, Li Yan yelled, “Old Liu! Get back! You’ll be completely obliterated!”

“Fuck it! I’ve been a dead man walking my whole life—I didn’t fear the cops, so why would I fear some damn flames?!” Imperial Inspector Liu’s forehead bulged with veins as he roared defiantly, “We’ve come too far… The price we’ve paid is too steep. We can’t afford to lose now!”

As his words fell, the ghost on the opposite side locked eyes with Imperial Inspector Liu, separated only by the chasm.

Then, suddenly, it leapt forward—straight into the Prince Huai Faction’s territory.

“We’re screwed!”

The Scholar’s heart sank as he witnessed this.

At this point, he already had a ghost caught in his Soul-Binding Rope, and there was no time to release it and capture another. Worse yet, he had already tried his best to lure the ghosts over, but Imperial Inspector Liu was simply positioned closer to the chasm.

With one ghost missing, it was unlikely they could clear this stage…

…

Mirror Space.

Ren Ye watched, dumbfounded, as the scene unfolded. Though he couldn’t hear what the players were saying—

He could read the expressions on Imperial Inspector Liu’s face.

The two sides were clearly fighting over the last ghost.

“…Old Liu… that was badass!”