Chapter 087: Give Them All to Me
Egu Secret Realm.
A chilling wind swept through, with wisps of ghostly blue flames flickering all around.
A disciple from Linjiang Immortal Nunnery stood amidst a mass grave, his heart filled with growing vigilance and dread.
Suddenly, he spotted his own portrait and name on a tombstone made of strangely piled rocks.
Immediately after, a cascade of scarlet fresh blood and minced flesh flowed down the tombstone. He then heard a series of bizarre sounds of bones twisting and breaking. Lifting his head, he saw a half-human, half-skeletal monster that had emerged from the earth at some unknown time, its mouth dripping with blood.
“What in the world is this?!”
In an instant, the Linjiang Immortal Nunnery disciple felt his hair stand on end, goosebumps erupting all over his body. The fear that had been building up inside him erupted in a single scream… for the skeletal monster’s appearance and clothing were exactly the same as his own.
Nourished by the terrified emotions of this disciple, the skeletal monster, whose cultivation realm was originally not outstanding at all, suddenly experienced a surge in its aura.
“What kind of joke is this? It’s only the first trial, and I’m already facing a monster at the peak of the Li Jiu Realm? You beast! Did this Venerable Egu not intend to leave any survivors?” the Linjiang Immortal Nunnery disciple cursed in fear.
But as his panicked words faded, the skeletal monster, as if it had consumed a powerful tonic, its strength surged once again to the Dao Comprehension Realm, filling the air with despair.
At the same time.
Qin Gou also found himself in a bizarre space that resembled a mass grave. He, too, discovered his name and portrait on a tombstone. However, he almost instantly drew the staff sword at his waist, and his sword light, like lightning, swiftly carved several powerful and striking characters onto the tombstone.
‘Picture is for reference only, the real person is more handsome than the portrait!’
However, not long after he finished writing, a large amount of flowing blood covered his inscription. The skeletal monster, mimicking Qin Gou’s appearance and clothing, let out a mournful roar, continuously spewing scarlet filth from its mouth.
“What in the world is this?” Qin Gou, filled with indignation, delivered a swift kick without question. “You little rascal, have you no common decency? I just finished writing, where are you spitting, you blasted thing?”
For a moment, the Bud of Taihuang, the Impermanence Staff Sword, and the Cloud Treachery Finger were unleashed by Qin Gou in a furious barrage, filled with resentment. The skeletal monster could only let out waves of utterly despairing ghostly wails. Finally, without obtaining any sustenance from fear, it was blasted into渣滓, its corpse utterly destroyed.
It wasn’t that Qin Gou was too fast and didn’t see the monster’s eerie resemblance to himself; it was simply that Qin Gou enjoyed changing his own face for fun. He had seen plenty of such sights. Moreover, comparing this creature’s demeanor to that of Qin Gou’s black-robed brother from before, the difference was stark. It was as if it had come to play, and how could it possibly intimidate him?
With a ‘buzz,’ a rusty, weathered door appeared out of thin air before Qin Gou, as if leading to another world. In his hand, he also held a mysterious, deep red token inscribed with the characters ‘Egu.’
“What does this mean? The first trial is over? This ‘Venerable Egu’ sounds quite intimidating by name, but the trial he set up is so merciful. Could it be that he’s actually a righteous cultivator with a Bodhisattva’s heart?!”
Passing through the door, Qin Gou found himself in a passageway.
Black walls covered with dense, obscure spiritual patterns stretched to the ceiling. The routes around were complex, seemingly forming a giant, deadly maze.
Qin Gou didn’t rush to find his way. Instead, he sat down cross-legged, holding a spirit stone to recover his spiritual power, and quietly waited for something.
Before long, several cultivators arrived together.
“My stomach really hurts.”
“Senior Brother Xu, my leg is cramping for no reason!”
“Bad luck, such terrible luck!”
“I’m the same, brother. I’ve never been this unlucky in my life.”
“Esteemed sirs. Which sect’s disciples are you?” Qin Gou slowly stood up, looking at them with a smile.
“Is that Master Qin?”
“Greetings, Master Qin. We all come from the Dark Holy Land, and we happened to meet here in the second trial area.”
Qin Gou nodded and smiled amiably, “Congratulations to all of you for successfully passing the first trial. However, I heard you exclaim ‘bad luck’ just now. Did you encounter any trouble that was difficult to resolve?”
“This… it’s rather difficult to speak of.”
“Please speak freely.”
“To put it simply, for some reason, all of us brothers have been experiencing extreme bad luck on this journey. Junior Brother Liu is suffering from unbearable abdominal pain, Junior Brother Jia cramps every three steps and sprains his ankle every five. As for Junior Brother Chen… if he doesn’t find a toilet soon, he might die of shame and anger on the spot!” said the leading black-clothed male cultivator, covering his cheek with a dejected expression.
“And you? What happened to your face?” Qin Gou asked curiously. The black-clothed cultivator looked quite normal at first glance, but his speech was slightly slurred.
“Me?”
The black-clothed cultivator blinked, then gave a wry smile. “When I took the spirit medicine earlier, I accidentally bit my own teeth to pieces.”
“What the hell?” Qin Gou looked incredulous. So this fellow was actually the unluckiest one.
The black-clothed cultivator was on the verge of tears. “This is absolutely true. Before today, I genuinely believed that ‘biting one’s teeth to pieces’ was merely a metaphor!”
Qin Gou sighed, looking sympathetic. “This is indeed very abnormal. It’s one thing for a person to be unlucky, but how can so many people be so unfortunate simultaneously? There must be something strange going on.”
Upon hearing Qin Gou’s words, the cultivators exchanged glances. One of them suddenly exclaimed, “It seems all our troubles began after we entered this Egu Secret Realm!”
Qin Gou nodded in strong agreement. To be precise, it was after accepting the thoughtful gift from Qiu Lingyun!
“If that’s the case, it’s highly likely that the laws within the Egu Secret Realm are at play. Do not panic. Let this seat use my Dao-Peeking Eyes to investigate.” With that, Qin Gou’s eyes shimmered with a fatal, venomous aquamarine hue, rippling like waves.
Such mystical divine eyes amazed everyone, eliciting gasps and impressed murmurs. However, in reality, Qin Gou had merely secretly enlisted the help of his precious Xie Yu.
“So that’s how it is!” Qin Gou’s eyes returned to their original color. He pointed at the black-clothed cultivator, confidently stating, “Quickly take off the token at your waist. It’s that accursed object causing the trouble!”
“But this is what we obtained after passing the first trial. Doesn’t Master Qin have one?” The cultivators all produced their deep red tokens inscribed with the characters ‘Egu.’
Qin Gou took out his own token, his expression firm. “This Seat naturally has one too. The reason I wasn’t plagued by bad luck is because I possess an Emperor Weapon and treasure robe, and my cultivation is at the late stage of the Li Jiu Realm. This object is not enough to affect me. But for cultivators of your realm, if you continue to carry this token, it could be life-threatening.”
“What… what should we do?” everyone asked in alarm.
“Give them all to me!”
Qin Gou’s tone was resolute. “This item cannot be stored in a Nas item, and it may be some kind of proof that must not be lost. Therefore, hand them all over to this Seat for safekeeping. I will return them to each of you when the time comes.”
“But Master Qin also said this item carries heavy misfortune. With Master Qin’s cultivation, perhaps a single token is not too much of a threat, but what if multiple tokens are combined? Wouldn’t we be harming Master Qin then?!”
“Idiots! So what?” Qin Gou chided them in anger, unable to suppress his frustration. “Isn’t this precisely why this Seat is here? If I cannot protect promising talents like you, what is the point of this Seat appearing in the Egu Secret Realm?”
With that, Qin Gou forcefully snatched the deep red tokens from everyone’s hands and resolutely stuffed them all into his embrace.
“Master Qin!”
“You gave us elixirs for free earlier, and now you’re taking all these unlucky items upon yourself. You care for us meticulously… In this world, besides a gentleman like you, who else could be worthy of the title ‘Celestial Master’?”
For a moment, the cultivators were overwhelmed with emotion, deeply touched.
Qin Gou, however, waved his hand grandly, his spirit high and his demeanor heroic. “Good children, there is no time for emotion. You few, immediately go and inform as many disciples as possible about this secret. Tell them to hand over this harmful deep red token quickly, so they don’t fall prey to Venerable Egu’s trick!”
“Of course, it’s not necessary to give them all to me. As long as they are all concentrated among the few with the highest cultivation, such as Qiu Lingyun of Fusheng Nunnery, Li Yuanzhen of Sword Questioning Sect, Ao Banwei of the Sea Race, Gu Feiyan, and Qin Yuan… these people will do! I’m asking them, on my account as Qin, to grit their teeth and bear this disaster for the disciples of the Three Sects!”
