Chapter 79

Seeing today's seventeen ten-thousand-yuan update tickets, Xiao Mo was speechless, tears streaming down his face, unable to eat at all.

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As the black long rope was about to hit his body, Li Yan could already smell a strong earthy smell. In the moment of despair, a clear light appeared in front of his chest, and then the long rope collided with it.

A deep, heavy sound like the tolling of a bell at dawn or dusk appeared, shaking the entire hall, and dust fell from the beams and walls.

The clear light exploded, and the black long rope seemed to be injured, retreating quickly.

Li Yan turned his head and saw that the Taoist he had always looked down upon was now surrounded by a faint golden light, dazzling and impossible to look at directly.

"Mother, it's actually a real Taoist!"

Li Yan was shaken to his core, feeling his legs go weak, wanting to kneel down.

He was a Jinyiwei, well-informed, and deep down, he believed in the existence of Taoist practitioners and held a certain reverence for them. The reason he didn't believe before and often mocked them was not only because he had never seen a real Taoist but also because he never imagined that such a great Taoist would be content to serve as a common clerk by Yang Tingyong's side.

"Retreat and protect Lord Yang." Sun Ran's tone was calm.

Li Yan had nothing to say and immediately retreated into the hall.

"It's Grandma." A panicked voice came from beside him; it was Xiaoqian.

The tree demon did not continue its attack, seemingly observing its opponent. Sharp, ethereal voices kept coming from the night sky: "Xiaoqian! Come back~ Xiaoqian! Come back to Grandma~"

This call, combined with the wind and rain, sounded particularly eerie, making people's hair stand on end.

For some reason, with this voice, Xiaoqian's face showed a look of confusion, and then, disregarding her shame, she tried to crawl out of Sun Ran's bedding.

This was the effect of the soul-binding technique, a form of hypnosis. In other words, the tree demon was not only a destroyer but also a master of hypnosis, hypnotizing Nie Xiaoqian.

"Rose Tree, think of a way quickly." Administrator Chang'e urged anxiously. Xiaoqian was a victim and a consciousness entity; she must not be harmed in any way, or there would be big trouble.

Sun Ran, of course, would not let Xiaoqian go back. His mind raced, and a true word spell to counter such soul-binding techniques surfaced in his mind.

Esoteric Dragon Roar: Clear Sky Spell. Using the true word of the Esoteric School, it commands the power of heaven and earth to obey the will of the caster. The true word consists of three syllables, each containing the meanings of creation, purification, and clarity. (Note: This spell originates from the ancient five.)

Within a second, Sun Ran gathered enough data, took a deep breath, and shouted the Esoteric true word into the night sky outside the hall.

To those inside the hall, at first, they didn't hear any sound, only seeing a transparent force take the shape of a dragon, forming in the air in front of Sun Ran, then rushing out and merging into the dark night sky.

Immediately after, a series of thunderous explosions echoed from the sky, the sound growing louder as it approached, like the blooming of spring thunder, shaking the entire world and shattering the tree demon's call, waking Xiaoqian from her confused state.

This was not all. After the spring thunder, the rain stopped, and the sky cleared, becoming bright and clear. Silver moonlight shone down, illuminating the world. If it weren't for the puddles on the ground, no one would have thought it had been raining heavily just moments ago.

Li Yan was dumbfounded, and after a long while, he said, "This Taoist is so powerful. Why did he just stand in the rain with us?"

Yang Tingyong explained, thinking he understood: "You don't know. Unless facing demons or ghosts, Brother Renyuan will never easily use his Taoist powers to avoid offending heaven."

This explanation made sense. If "heaven" were replaced with "game company," it would be the truth.

Li Yan half-understood, but his gaze toward Sun Ran became extremely reverent. Thinking of his previous contempt, he was drenched in sweat, feeling that his actions were tantamount to playing with fire.

Outside the hall, the wind and rain ceased, and the demonic aura created by the tree demon was naturally swept away. The tree demon could no longer bear it and walked into the temple, appearing as a hunched old woman with white hair. She pounded her wooden cane heavily and shouted angrily, "Who are you? Coming to ruin my plans?"

Sun Ran laughed, "I am a demon hunter. We are natural enemies."

He saw through it; it was just a second-level minor demon, not worth mentioning, and could be eliminated with a wave of his hand.

"I'll see what kind of natural enemy you are!" The tree demon was extremely indignant. She thrust her cane into the ground, and it rapidly grew into a tree trunk, her body merging with it, her white hair turning into countless branches and vines, moving like whips.

In an instant, the old woman transformed into a large tree.

Nie Xiaoqian, seeing the tree demon about to attack, hurriedly shouted, "Grandma, this Taoist is a good person. Don't hurt him."

Although the Taoist had deceived her, he indeed possessed pure yang energy, and according to Grandma's teachings, those with pure yang energy were good people.

The tree demon laughed at Xiaoqian's naivety. She knew this hostage was no longer useful and revealed her true form, cursing, "You wretch! Good person? A good person would strip naked and crawl into someone's bed? I think you're just a fool!"

Xiaoqian was struck as if by a heavy blow, her face showing disbelief. She had always thought Grandma was just a bit extreme in her actions but fundamentally good. She never imagined that Grandma's image would change so drastically, becoming this terrifying form.

Sun Ran turned and smiled, "Still not clear? She's just a demon that sucks people's essence."

Xiaoqian lowered her head, silent. She was just inexperienced, but she wasn't stupid; she understood in her heart.

The tree demon pointed at Sun Ran, "You're too meddlesome. I'll teach you a lesson today. Let you know that credit points aren't so easy to earn!"

Credit points? The faces of those in the hall showed confusion. What was this?

"Using the word 'earn,' it sounds like silver or something similar?" Yang Tingyong guessed correctly. Credit points were indeed the modern equivalent of silver.

Chang'e, seeing the situation, hurriedly said, "Quick, deal with her. Don't let her talk nonsense."

Yang Tingyong was a VIP; his gaming experience couldn't be affected.

Sun Ran understood and snapped his fingers, casting a sound barrier. Then, a Taiji diagram appeared in front of him, activating the most useful second-level Taoist spell: Dragon Trapping Diagram.

A clear, shimmering Taiji diagram appeared, enveloping the tree demon.

The tree demon was not to be underestimated. Her branches turned into iron whips, lashing at Sun Ran, trying to break the Taiji diagram.

But she was just a second-level demon. The Dragon Trapping Diagram could even trap a third-level dragon, let alone her.

No matter how the tree demon lashed, the Dragon Trapping Diagram only showed slight ripples, but it was not damaged in the slightest. Instead, its power grew, enveloping the tree demon in an irresistible manner.

"Damn, you're the Taoist from Hebian County. Indeed powerful!" The tree demon finally realized. She had heard of Hebian County and knew she was no match for him. Her body immediately sank into the soil, using earth escape to flee.

She didn't want to exit the game directly because this body was hard-won, and giving up without a struggle would be too regretful.

After the battle in Hebian County, Sun Ran had changed his identity, so he was still unknown among the locals. However, in the circle of maintainers and destroyers, Sun Ran's reputation was at its peak, especially his Dragon Trapping Diagram, which was known to all demons. The tree demon naturally dared not challenge him.

Sun Ran instinctively wanted to chase after her; the demon was credit points. But he only took a few steps and then retreated. It was fine; the hall had Yang Tingyong and Xiaoqian, both worth a lot, and he couldn't afford any mistakes.

Back in the hall, Sun Ran bowed to everyone, "The demon has fled. With me here, it will not dare to return. You can rest assured."

Everyone in the hall, except Li Yan, had seen Sun Ran's abilities. The awe-inspiring power of his spell was still fresh in their minds. He had defeated a dozen demons, so this one was no problem. They all breathed a sigh of relief.

The question now was how to handle Xiaoqian.

Yang Tingyong looked at Xiaoqian on the ground and asked, "Who is this?"

Sun Ran explained, "A human soul imprisoned by the demon. I saw her and rescued her. Please do not blame me, Lord."

Since it was a rescue, Yang Tingyong would not blame him. He understood the principle that saving a life was better than building a seven-story pagoda. He nodded, "Brother Changqing is noble. Since it's a human soul, it should be saved."

"Will she harm us?" Li Yan was still uneasy, asking cautiously. In front of Sun Ran, he had lost all his pride.

"She is a pitiful soul and will not harm anyone. There's no need to be afraid." Sun Ran smiled and then said to Ke'er, "Little Sister, bring some clothes for Xiaoqian."

Ordinary clothes would not fit Xiaoqian, but with Sun Ran, this was not a problem.

Ke'er did as instructed but still had a puzzled look on her face. When she brought the clothes, Sun Ran whispered, "This is a quest worth ten thousand credit points."

A quest, and ten thousand credit points? Ke'er's doubts vanished, her eyes sparkling. She was inwardly delighted. Her husband was truly capable.

Xiaoqian was very compliant, taking the clothes from Ke'er and putting them on. Seeing her in this state, and with Sun Ran, the great Taoist, everyone's suspicion of her decreased significantly.

Now that the person was saved, Sun Ran could only contact the game administrator for further instructions.

"The quest isn't over. You still need to help her return to the living and cast a body." Chang'e said.

"What?!" Sun Ran was greatly surprised. Wasn't it supposed to be exiting the game? Why was it about returning to the living?