Chapter 81

Time rewound ten minutes.

On a hillside several kilometers away from the Lanruo Temple, a patch of grass suddenly split open, and a figure emerged from it. It was an old woman with white hair, holding a cane, who was none other than the tree demon that had escaped from the Lanruo Temple.

"Really, what bad luck. I finally managed to trick a beautiful girl, but that stinky Taoist ruined everything." The old woman sat on the grass, muttering to herself.

Not only was Xiaoxian beautiful, but most importantly, she had a simple and naive personality, making her easy to manipulate. She had originally been very trusting of the old woman, helping her seduce men with all her heart. In just a few years, the old woman's demon powers had quietly risen from level one to level two. Such a useful tool, and now it was taken away from her—she was filled with hatred!

But despite her hatred, the tree demon never considered going back to confront the Taoist. The Taoist had been attacked by over a dozen high-level demons from the Poison Scorpion Mercenary Group near the river, and it was said that even a level four demon cultivator had been involved, yet the Taoist still emerged victorious. Such a formidable figure, she naturally stayed far away, not daring to provoke him.

She sat on the grass for a while, preparing to run away. When she looked up and saw the clear night sky, she felt a wave of fear. With a roar, the sky within ten miles turned clear, demonstrating the power of her Daoist arts. She had truly lost her mind, foolishly thinking of confronting the Taoist. Fortunately, she ran fast, or her demon body would surely have been lost.

Now, it seemed she couldn't stay at the Lanruo Temple anymore. She would have to find another girl elsewhere.

Just as she stood up, she suddenly noticed a dark figure watching her nearby. Her heart trembled. Who was this? She hadn't even noticed him. If he had attacked her just now, she would have been finished.

Why was she so unlucky tonight, encountering one expert after another?

The dark figure approached, and under the moonlight, his appearance became visible. He was about 1.7 meters tall, dressed in black, with a completely ordinary and forgettable face.

"Who are you?" the tree demon asked in shock.

"Others call me the Black Mountain Old Demon." The black-clad man replied.

The tree demon was greatly alarmed. The Black Mountain Old Demon, a level four demon cultivator, was said to be a key decision-maker in the Poison Scorpion Mercenary Group, with unfathomable cultivation.

The black-clad man stopped ten meters away from the tree demon and asked, "Do you want to kill that Taoist?"

The tree demon nodded but then shook her head. "Forget it, I don't want to invite trouble."

The black-clad man sneered, and a flash of light appeared in his hand, revealing an unusually large sniper rifle. He was the third member of the Poison Scorpion Mercenary Group.

He had more than one body in this Confucian world. The one he had abandoned in the river county was just a clone. This current body was also level four, and he had been in seclusion for cultivation. Now it was just in time to use it.

He pointed the gun at the tree demon. "So, you want to die?"

The tree demon was taken aback. She hadn't expected to encounter someone even more ruthless than herself. From the glow emanating from the weapon, this thing was at least level three. If she were hit by a shot, she would definitely die.

After assessing the power difference, the tree demon quickly nodded. "Yes, I do want to kill that Taoist. I want to so badly, but I'm no match for him."

"You're smart." The third member sneered, and a fist-sized black sphere appeared in his hand. The surface of the sphere was engraved with complex patterns, which glowed with a faint golden light.

"Go back and take revenge. When he makes a move, throw this thing on the ground."

"What is this? It's not a super bomb, is it?" The tree demon carefully took it, her wrinkled face showing distress. "If it's a bomb, I won't throw it."

Such a powerful bomb could cause brain damage if she didn't dodge in time. She wouldn't do something that harmed herself.

The third member snorted. "Don't worry, I won't let you die. It's just a data exclusion sphere, also known as a silence sphere, which silences Daoist arts. You lure him out, silence him, and I'll ambush him."

The Taoist's Daoist arts were quite abnormal, and his adaptability was terrifying. Even 30 kilograms of C-4 couldn't kill him, and long-range sniping was ineffective. They could only use this kind of strong attack.

The silence sphere was made by the first member. The old man, fearing death, created this thing and then went into seclusion. Now, by having the tree demon act, they could achieve a surprise effect. Once the Taoist was silenced and couldn't use his arts, he would be an easy target.

The tree demon, upon hearing it wasn't a bomb and understanding the plan, carefully weighed the risks and realized she wasn't in much danger. She immediately promised, "It's a small matter, I'll take care of it."

The Taoist was a maintainer, and his mission was to protect Xiaoxian. Although the soul-binding and soul-destroying spells on Xiaoxian had been broken, she had a deep understanding of psychology and had left a mental knot in Xiaoxian's mind, which could easily lure her out.

She hadn't used it before because she feared that if Xiaoxian were killed, the Taoist would fight to the death with her. Now that someone was helping her get rid of the Taoist, she had no qualms.

The third member's face twitched, and he forced a smile. "Very good, go. I'll be waiting behind you."

The tree demon nodded and once again used earth遁 (earth escape) to return to the direction of the Lanruo Temple.

Thus, Sun Ran heard the wailing outside the temple again.

He was puzzled by Xiaoxian's strange behavior when the central AI's reminder suddenly echoed in his mind.

"The third member has moved." The central AI directly broke into the virtual world, evading the administrator's detection, and contacted Sun Ran.

"Again?"

Originally, the hall had returned to peace, and everyone had lain down again. But after tonight's events, most people probably wouldn't be able to sleep.

The central AI relayed the information he had observed to Sun Ran. It was easy for him because he knew the third member's real name and could track him. Sun Ran's real name had also been leaked, and he had inadvertently fallen into the central AI's trap.

Finally, the central AI reminded, "The opponent has a level five silence sphere. Can you handle it?"

Sun Ran smiled. "If I don't care about the impact, there's nothing I can't handle."

"I know you're capable. But try not to make too much noise, or it will be hard to wrap up." The central AI trusted Sun Ran's strength.

"Understood. Wait, don't go yet. Have you taken care of my house?"

"Easy. A 280-square-meter apartment in the Secret Garden of District 55, with five bedrooms, two living rooms, a balcony, a garage, and an indoor mini swimming pool. How's that?"

"The Secret Garden? That's great. Thanks."

The Secret Garden was a high-end apartment complex in District 55, with excellent security and many entertainment facilities. The air was specially purified, much cleaner than in other areas, and there was no rust smell.

The central AI left, and Sun Ran contacted the game administrator. "Chang'e, create some clouds and prepare for the heavenly punishment. I feel something will happen tonight."

"Sure? Where did you get the information?" Chang'e perked up.

"I have my sources. The information is reliable. It might be the one who ambushed me in the river county. Get ready to strike him." Sun Ran said.

"Alright, I'll start creating the clouds now." Chang'e was excited. A level four destroyer was a significant achievement, and the bonus would be substantial.

As she spoke, dark clouds drifted over from elsewhere, covering the clear sky that Sun Ran had created. The moonlight disappeared, and the sky darkened.

The process was very natural, and even the third member only glanced up at the sky, not suspecting anything. Daoist arts, no matter how powerful, couldn't last forever. Once the Daoist power waned, the world would return to its normal state.

He assumed this was the natural result of the Daoist arts fading.

He thought the darker weather was better for hiding, as he had night vision and didn't have to worry about losing his target.

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