Chapter 104: Collecting Protection Fees! Hand Them Over!
After playing one round of cards, Mu Qingtong lost interest in the game, leaving the other three to continue their landlord game around the silver stump.
Tea Nai Xue observed Xia Feng from the shadows. Her childhood sweetheart was still the same, casual and carefree, enjoying games with no discernible ambition.
“Heh heh~ everyone, you’re all here.”
Gongsun Ze and You Lina slowly emerged from the dense forest.
Daoist Chen looked up, his shadowed eyes narrowing at the man.
Gongsun Ze dangled the golden key in his hand and chuckled, “What? Captain Chen, are you planning to snatch it? I’m happy to oblige.”
Chen Xingdao patted his robes, preparing to stand up, but Xia Feng’s voice echoed in his mind, “Daoist Chen, ignore him, trust me.”
Chen Xingdao glanced at Xia Feng, frowned, and sat back down, transmitting, “Are you sure?”
Cai Kuihua beside him was also restless, “Brother Xia, do you really have a way to capture Wen Zaiye’s corpse?”
“Don’t worry, my luck is incredible today. I found something good.”
Xia Feng gathered the poker cards from the silver stump and stacked them in the center of the round stump, perfectly covering a hole in the center about the size of an index finger.
In fact, as he had returned earlier, he had already sensed information from the silver key. The closer he got to their starting point, the stronger this sensation became.
According to the sensed information, this silver key indeed had no use in the treehouse, but it possessed the ability to forcefully seal off the Calamity Realm! Therefore, he devised a very good strategy, not needing to contend with Gongsun Ze for the gold key at all.
Seeing that the Holy Department members had no intention of plundering, Gongsun Ze sneered, not surprised. After all, these sinecure agents wouldn’t risk their lives for a mission.
Whoosh whoosh—
Just then, Tea Nai Xue and Yin suddenly flashed and attacked him!
“Heh~ you can’t stop me.” Gongsun Ze’s figure dispersed into red mist and reformed in front of the treehouse in the next instant.
He looked back at everyone with a playful glance, a wicked smile on his face, “Sister Nai Xue, beautiful sister Mu, wait for me to come out~”
With that, holding the golden key, he merged into the sealed membrane and disappeared.
Tea Nai Xue stopped, her brows furrowed. To be honest, Gongsun Ze’s greasy smile disgusted her once again.
“Is the Spade Person not showing up yet?” Tea Nai Xue looked around, her heart sinking. Perhaps the future she saw might not come to pass. After all, it was just a future scene with a slightly higher probability. Thinking this, she sighed helplessly.
“Three of Dices.”
“King Bomb!”
“Brother Xia, you’re possessed! A King Bomb right at the start!”
“Do you want it or not? You don’t, huh? Humph hmph~ Four Twos!!”
Xia Feng’s triumphant voice rang out. Tea Nai Xue shook her head, amazed that this guy was still in the mood to play cards.
Soon, before the card game even ended, Gongsun Ze emerged from the treehouse seal carrying a man’s corpse, a smile on his lips as he surveyed them, “Calamity Realm cleared, goodbye everyone!”
Wen Zaiye not only carried the Moon God Tear but also a Divine Object unknown to everyone else – the Ring of Anubi. This ring looked ordinary and possessed no spiritual power, but it was a crucial Divine Object for guiding the descent of the Nightmare God Anubi.
Now, he just needed to wait for the Spirit Awakening Wood in the depths of the dense forest to mature into a Spirit Awakening Tree, then activate the Ring of Anubi to summon the Nightmare God. However, activating the Ring of Anubi required approximately three minutes, during which he could not be disturbed, otherwise, it could lead to backlash and failure. So, he had to get the Holy Department and Tea Nai Xue’s group to leave the Calamity Realm first. According to the plan, his people were already waiting outside. Neither the Holy Department nor Tea Nai Xue would escape. As for any other unexpected circumstances that might arise… impossible! This plan was perfect. He couldn’t possibly summon any other deities, right? Gongsun Ze thought with amusement.
But there was still a problem. As he said goodbye to everyone, the people before him showed no intention of leaving the Calamity Realm, staring at him with blinking eyes.
“…I said, the Calamity Realm has been cleared.” Gongsun Ze’s eye twitched slightly. “Aren’t you leaving?”
…
In fact, when Tea Nai Xue and Yin heard Gongsun Ze say he was going to run, they also immediately thought of leaving the Calamity Realm. But strangely, the Calamity Realm’s seal had not been broken, and they were still unable to leave this space.
Whoosh— Just then, the silver stump beside the four members of the Holy Department lit up with radiance, forming a circular barrier about two meters in radius, enveloping the four of them. Gongsun Ze glanced at the central hole of the stump and saw a silver cylindrical object inserted into it at some point. Taking a closer look, he realized the object was a key.
Clap clap—
!
Xia Feng clapped his hands, “Alright, I assume you all understand now. This Calamity Realm, filled with Calamity Force, has been sealed by me again! Within an hour, your souls won’t be able to withstand the Calamity Force Erosion and you’ll start losing your reason, eventually leading to death!”
His lips curved into a demonic smile. “So! If you want to live, hand over all the good things you have on you~”
The four people on the periphery: “…”
Tea Nai Xue felt a bit stunned. No wonder… no wonder Xia Feng was so relaxed just now. He had already won, right?! The turn of events was completely beyond her expectations. She had thought Xia Feng was only first-stage, and it would be difficult for him to snatch the golden key amidst the competition of many second and third-stage individuals.
Yin subconsciously looked at Tea Nai Xue, her expressionless, mechanical face filled with confusion, “Mistress, it seems you again—”
“Hmm?” Tea Nai Xue turned her head, her expression blank. “Yin, what do you want to say?”
Yin blinked, then looked up at the pitch-black sky, glancing around and sighing, “The sky is so dark. It’s time for dinner.”
“Hurry up, hurry up, everyone, stop dazing. Who’s first?” Xia Feng shouted.
Tea Nai Xue pursed her lips and whispered, “. Little Feng, do I have to pay too?”
“Nonsense.”
“Nonsense means I don’t have to—”
“It means you have to pay too.” Xia Feng rolled his eyes.
Tea Nai Xue: “…”
As the two spoke, Gongsun Ze in the distance twitched his cheek. He forcibly suppressed the urge to curse and said in a deep voice, “I have plenty of Wisdom Fruits. I can last for another two hours.”
“Oh, so what?” Xia Feng blinked.
“…”
Yes, so what? Gongsun Ze stared intently at the silver glowing formation beneath the feet of the Holy Department members. He could clearly sense that the formation was isolating the Calamity Force from the outside, and those inside were unaffected. His expression grew more grim. If he and Tea Nai Xue joined forces to attack this formation, it wouldn’t be impossible, but their Spirit Pressure would certainly be depleted. Chen Xingdao could then annihilate them upon emerging, let alone the subsequent summoning of the Nightmare God.
“Damn it—” Gongsun Ze couldn’t hold back. He hadn’t actually intended to leave the Calamity Realm at all. But if he didn’t leave, Xia Feng and the others wouldn’t leave, and he couldn’t safely summon the Nightmare God.
