Chapter 109: Total Defeat or a Miraculous Comeback?

Blood dripped onto the ground, slowly spreading like blossoming plum flowers.

On the brass-colored suona, Li Yan’s head drooped, his neck completely pierced through.

The two remaining teammates stared in shock at the scene, their minds buzzing.

“Old Li! Ah, Old Li… Ahhh!” Imperial Inspector Liu snapped out of his daze, his ability to form coherent words completely breaking down. He pounded his right fist against the ground, wailing uncontrollably.

“Stop wailing!”

Tang Feng came to his senses and immediately grabbed the Soul-Binding Rope.

“Old Li! Ah, you fool, why would you commit suicide like this…”

“Stop wailing.” Tang Feng turned his head toward him, his voice sharp and urgent. “That guy is sharper than a monkey, smarter than anyone. He must have a reason for doing this. Shut up and hold it in.”

“Gah!”

Hearing this, Imperial Inspector Liu took a sharp breath and wiped the snot that had just dripped from his nose. “You…?”

“Shut up!”

Tang Feng cut him off, swiftly binding Li Yan’s soul with the Soul-Binding Rope and tossing it into the Path of Rebirth.

For some reason, Li Yan’s soul seemed to have lost all consciousness at that moment. There was no struggle, no “agonized wailing of a ghost.” After being thrown into the Path of Rebirth, it simply drifted away and vanished.

[Congratulations to the three Grave Keepers of the Prince Huai Faction. You have successfully cleared the stage. To commend your courage in facing ghosts and toxins without fear, the Star Gate has decided… to resurrect your fallen teammate.]

A voice echoed in their ears. Imperial Inspector Liu was dumbfounded, while Tang Feng’s eyes lit up.

“Looks… Looks like Old Li guessed correctly.” Tang Feng pumped his fist excitedly. “As expected, he was the ‘I’ all along.”

…

Inside the mirror space.

Upon witnessing Li Yan’s “suicide,” Ren Ye initially felt a chill of fear and confusion. But after a moment of thought, he arrived at the same conclusion as Tang Feng.

Li Yan was a cunning, experienced player with a sharp mind. His abrupt actions must have had deep significance—there was no need to worry too much.

[Congratulations, Prince Huai. Your teammates have successfully placed 108 ghosts and 3,600 malevolent entities into the Path of Rebirth, completing the final stage of the Princess’s Tomb for you.]

[You must now retrieve the fourth wooden plaque from the peddler’s cart and demonstrate the courage of ‘Though thousands stand against me, I shall press forward.’ Alone, you must traverse the Path of Rebirth, reach its end, and cleanse the dusty Rebirth Talisman with your own blood. Whichever faction clears the stage first will claim the final victory and enter the eighth level of the Princess’s Tomb with their teammates.]

After these announcements, a fresh set of garments suddenly appeared on Ren Ye’s body, and in the next instant, his figure vanished from the mirror space.

A flash of white light followed.

Ren Ye appeared before Tang Feng and Imperial Inspector Liu.

Silence. A brief moment of silence.

Then, Imperial Inspector Liu raised both hands and rubbed his eyes vigorously, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Li Yan’s sudden suicide, Ren Ye’s sudden resurrection—these events were simply too overwhelming for Imperial Inspector Liu. His mind felt like it had crashed.

“Ho—holy crap, holy crap, you’re alive?! You actually came back to life?!” Imperial Inspector Liu, struggling to articulate his emotions, could only string together a string of expletives.

“You’re alive! Old Li is amazing, he saw right through it.” Tang Feng excitedly hugged Ren Ye.

Ren Ye ignored Tang Feng’s enthusiasm and simply frowned in thought. “Whichever faction clears the stage first… So this is a race against time?…!”

Realizing something, he suddenly turned to Tang Feng and Imperial Inspector Liu. “Did your mission instructions mention anything about a time-based competition?”

Tang Feng paused for a moment. “Yeah. The Star Gate said that whoever finishes placing the ghosts into the Path of Rebirth first will gain a massive advantage.”

Ren Ye immediately understood. “Court Faction placed the last ghost before you guys, meaning they completed the final setup ahead of us. That means… their sacrificed player has already started the challenge and has a significant head start.”

“The person they sacrificed… will they also be resurrected?” Imperial Inspector Liu asked as he stood up.

“Of course.”

Ren Ye remained still, staring at the Path of Rebirth.

Imperial Inspector Liu panicked upon hearing this. “Then what the hell are you waiting for?! Sprint like crazy, or we’re going to lose!”

Ren Ye didn’t respond. His brows were furrowed in deep thought.

Shhh!

At that moment, the entire copper mirror wall on the left began to change. It gradually turned transparent, revealing the scene behind it.

Tang Feng and Imperial Inspector Liu looked over, seeing that behind the now-transparent mirror was an identical tomb chamber.

Inside that chamber stood the three players of the Court Faction—Scholar, Guo Cai’er, and Horsekeeper—who were also looking at them with strange expressions.

“Holy crap, they’re right next door,” Imperial Inspector Liu muttered in shock.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the Scholar and Horsekeeper from the neighboring burial chamber stepped forward, quickly arriving at the bronze mirror.

The two sides were separated by the mirror, unable to communicate or hear each other.

Horsekeeper clasped his hands behind his back, surveying Ren Ye and the others’ burial chamber. His gaze instantly locked onto the self-slain Li Yan. “Heh, so they sacrificed someone to complete the final soul. But… why was it Li Yan who had to die, instead of that idiot Imperial Inspector Liu?”

“Sacrifice or not, it’s useless. Xing Tao went in ages ago—we can’t even see his silhouette anymore.” The Scholar sneered. “They’re lagging so far behind. How are they supposed to catch up?”

“Hah.” Horsekeeper smirked, looking smugly at the bronze mirror. He slowly raised his hand and flipped off Tang Feng and Imperial Inspector Liu on the other side, his mocking intent unmistakable.

Tang Feng frowned but ignored them. However, Old Liu couldn’t tolerate such provocation. He turned around, stuck out his bare rear, and let out a loud fart at the two, making his own response.

Beside the Path of Rebirth, Tang Feng looked at Ren Ye, visibly anxious. “What are you staring at? Why aren’t you moving?”

Ren Ye remained fixated on the Path of Rebirth, his expression focused. “I had the privilege of observing your entire process while waiting. I’m trying to figure out why the Star Gate set it up this way—why it had to let me watch…”

“What the hell are you still thinking about?!” Imperial Inspector Liu rushed over. “The other side has at least a five-minute head start! If you keep stalling, they’ll clear the trial before you even step in…!”

Ren Ye ignored him.

Tang Feng immediately gestured for silence. “Don’t interrupt him.”

Like a statue, Ren Ye stood unmoving, his mind working at high speed, recalling every detail of their setup for the Path of Rebirth.

He felt that Star Gate’s task design, mechanics, and structure were all meticulously laid out and interconnected. There had to be a reason for granting him an observer’s perspective.

From their current position, they were at a severe disadvantage. The Court Faction’s revived player had already entered the Path of Rebirth and gained a significant lead…

Would conventional methods even allow them to catch up? Everyone had to face the same 108 souls and 3,600 malevolent entities. Without supernatural abilities or tools, Ren Ye saw no clear advantage… catching up to Xing Tao seemed nearly impossible.

Furthermore, the Path of Rebirth was packed with dangerous entities. He had noticed earlier—just five or six ghosts were enough to force Tang Feng to his knees, and a single venomous snake had nearly killed Guo Cai’er…

Could brute force alone really get him through?

Beside him, Imperial Inspector Liu and Tang Feng, though anxious, refrained from interrupting his thoughts.

After nearly thirty seconds, Ren Ye suddenly sprang into action. The first thing he did was pick up the Soul-Binding Rope and attempt to sense it with his mind.

[Soul-Binding Rope (Deprived of Supernatural Power): Currently unusable. Cannot be brought into the Path of Rebirth.]

“Clang!”

Ren Ye threw the iron chain to the ground and turned sharply. “Quick, help me dismantle the peddler’s cart!”

“Dismantle it? Why?!” Imperial Inspector Liu was baffled.

“Just do it! Hurry!” Tang Feng didn’t even question it—he simply smacked Imperial Inspector Liu’s rear hard and rushed over to help Ren Ye.

Reaching the peddler’s cart, Ren Ye first grabbed the fourth wooden plaque and glanced at it. It bore three words—The Courageous One.

He swiftly tied the plaque to his waist and turned back. “Listen carefully—I only need the longest, thickest wooden beam from the cart. Don’t break it!”

“Understood!”

Without wasting a moment, the three worked together to tear apart the peddler’s cart, kicking at support joints and dismantling its framework with force.

In the adjacent burial chamber, the Scholar, Horsekeeper, and Guo Cai’er all stared in utter confusion at their actions.

“What the hell are they doing? Instead of rushing into the Path of Rebirth, they’re dismantling that cart? What’s the point of that?” The Horsekeeper asked, bewildered.

“More tricks up their sleeve.” The Scholar feigned an insightful look, but his perplexed eyes betrayed his true confusion.

Not far away, Guo Cai’er furrowed her brows, recalling the details of the fourth trial’s setup. Her expression grew solemn—perhaps even a little fearful…

“Crack! Snap!”

Inside Prince Huai’s chamber, Imperial Inspector Liu delivered a powerful kick, knocking loose a connecting board and completely extracting the cart’s longest structural beam. “This thing’s long, and thick—nearly two meters.”

Ancient wooden furniture was often crafted using mortise-and-tenon joints rather than nails, meaning that with the right approach, disassembly wasn’t too difficult.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ren Ye picked up several small pieces of wood and ran directly toward the Soul Chamber on the left.

Imperial Inspector Liu held onto the support beam and shouted, “Just this one?”

“Yes!” Ren Ye’s voice echoed from the tomb passage.

Seeing him run toward the Soul Chamber, Tang Feng suddenly had a realization. “I… I know what he’s planning. Damn, he really is a criminal investigation expert.”

Imperial Inspector Liu, despite not fully understanding, refrained from asking further questions. He didn’t want to keep looking like an idiot in front of his teammates by constantly asking about things.

“…His intelligence is decent. He actually managed to think of this,” Imperial Inspector Liu mused, even though he wasn’t quite sure what was happening. He stood by the Path of Rebirth, speaking with an air of authority.

Tap, tap!

Soon, hurried footsteps approached.

A dim blue flame flickered in the tomb chamber.

“Holy shit!”

The Scholar saw the blue flames appear and instantly lost his composure. “He… he could see his teammates’ actions while he was waiting?!”

As soon as he said that, Ren Ye rushed back, holding three pieces of wood ignited with blue flames.

Indeed, these blue flames came from the Soul Chamber’s trenches—the barrier separating the two factions, preventing ghosts from crossing over.

This was a fire capable of incinerating everything—something that ghosts feared immensely.

And not just ghosts—evil entities feared it as well!

Back when they were fighting over the last ghost, Guo Cai’er had let the venomous snake bite her arm, and Horsekeeper, in his haste to save her, had thrown the snake into the fire pit, where it was instantly incinerated.

Ren Ye had observed these two details while in the observer’s position. He realized this might be his only chance to overturn his disadvantage and reclaim lost time.

However, he hadn’t expected the blue flames to be so excruciatingly painful.

As the flickering flames neared him, it felt as if they were burning his very soul.

A bone-chilling coldness swept over him, and his right arm—the one closest to the flames—felt like it was about to crack apart…

Plop!

Ren Ye reached the Path of Rebirth, quickly discarding the three burning wood pieces. He turned and shouted to Imperial Inspector Liu, “Give me the long one.”

“…Damn, kid, you’ve really got something!” Imperial Inspector Liu exclaimed, finally realizing Ren Ye’s plan. Without hesitation, he handed over the longest support beam. “I risked getting teamed-up by lizards and a pythons to bring you back to life, and you didn’t disappoint.”

Ren Ye took three steps back, placed the beam over the flickering blue flames on the ground.

Why hadn’t he ignited the beam in the Soul Chamber earlier? Because he wanted to maximize its burn duration. If he had set it on fire there, it would have burned down partially while he ran back with it.

He was meticulous—he thought of everything.

Whoosh!

The moment the beam touched the blue flames, it ignited instantly.

Ren Ye didn’t hesitate. He charged straight into the Path of Rebirth, shouting, “The rest is up to fate!”

As he ran alone, facing 108 ghosts and countless malevolent spirits, he looked just like that summer when Li Mu charged north alone, storming into an enemy camp of 50,000 troops.

The moment he stepped onto the Path of Rebirth, he gripped the burning beam with both hands and sprinted forward without stopping. “Come at me, you ghosts and monsters! If you’re not afraid to die, bring it on!”

Tap, tap…!

His legs moved at full speed, faster than he had ever run in his life.

The burning support beam in his hands was like a blazing spear. The ghosts and evil spirits didn’t dare to face its searing flames. Instead, they shrieked in terror and scrambled backward.

In the adjacent tomb chamber…

Horsekeeper swallowed nervously. “Shit… shit. This is cheating! Why isn’t the Star Gate punishing him?! How the hell is this courage?! Fuck this!”

The Scholar, drenched in sweat, waved his hands to calm him down. “Don’t panic. I observed that the wood burns extremely fast… It definitely won’t last until he reaches the end.”

“But even so, he might still catch up to Xing Tao!” The Horsekeeper clenched his fists.

“…!” The Scholar’s expression grew somber. He didn’t respond.

On the other side, Imperial Inspector Liu and Tang Feng also fell silent.

The tension in their hearts was no less than that of their rivals.

Eleven players had entered the tomb. By this point, two were dead, one had disappeared. They had tasted despair several times, only to reignite their hope again and again. At this stage, even if it wasn’t just for the generous rewards—no one wanted to lose.

Making it this far, it was about more than just survival. It was about pride.

The silence stretched on, lasting an eternity…

Imperial Inspector Liu clutched his chest, screaming internally, Damn it, just end already! I’m about to drop dead from the stress!

No one knew how much time had passed.

Boom!

A blinding white light erupted from the Path of Rebirth.

A voice rang out.

Some faces lit up with ecstatic smiles, while others had their pupils dilate in shock, standing frozen in disbelief…