Returning from the foot of the peak, Qi Yuan let out a sigh of relief.
"Fortunately, no one suspects me!"
"Lingtian Pavilion is way too awesome. Powerful cultivators already flattened the Black Mountain Sect's peak last night!"
"I wonder which old Divine Infant monster made a move. Did anyone from our Divine Light Sect go?"
"Sure enough, most people's attention is focused on the Purple Bamboo Physique right now!"
"Even if Old Demon Black Chicken emerges, he probably won't be able to find the culprit."
Qi Yuan muttered to himself.
Night fell.
Qi Yuan entered the game world once more.
The first thing he did was chat with his online friend, Jin Li.
In Southern Qian, Aunt Qin had revealed Sovereign-rank strength on the day of the duel, utterly defeating the National Preceptor of Southern Feng.
The powerful chancellor of Southern Qian, Sima Ting, wore an extremely grim expression.
Jin Li's short-term quest was complete.
Yet the crisis was far from over.
"I've never been a qualified emperor."
"Once the turmoil in Southern Qian settles, what do you think if I... leave Southern Qian?"
Through the Exquisite Jade Tide, Jin Li sent these words to Qi Yuan.
Clutching the Jade Tide tightly, her heart fluttered with nervous apprehension.
This time, Qi Yuan's message arrived only after a dozen breaths had passed.
Jin Li hurried to read it.
"What's the point of being an emperor? Once the quest is done, just walk away!
Why not come grind mobs with me instead? It's way more fun!"
Seeing that last sentence, a faint smile curved at the corners of Jin Li's lips.
"All right. Together with you."
Tonight, this unqualified empress suffered from insomnia once again, tossing and turning in bed.
Meanwhile, the instigator of it all, Qi Yuan, was already holding his great sword, beginning his hunting hour.
However, the moment he stepped into the depths of the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground, Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes.
"Something's off."
He sensed that today's Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground was slightly different from usual.
On a crooked tree, most of a branch had snapped off, leaving a jagged, barbed break where a torn section of a gray trouser leg hung.
"This isn't... something I damaged."
"Is someone else here?"
The monsters Qi Yuan killed would ultimately turn to ash and become his experience points.
Under no circumstances would something like this happen, where more than half of one was torn apart.
His gaze turned solemn, and he grew even more cautious.
After all, this world still had treacherous ministers like Sima Ting, so there were bound to be other human NPCs.
Perhaps there was such an NPC in the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground as well.
Qi Yuan was exceptionally careful, surveying the surroundings.
Yet he only discovered a few severed robe monsters.
The rest of the robe monsters were just as they always were.
Qi Yuan hesitated. "Should I keep killing them or not?"
Without getting to the bottom of the situation, he felt somewhat uneasy.
Unfortunately, after sneaking around the entire night, he still failed to discover anything out of the ordinary.
The robe monsters of the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground hung from the trees just as before, quiet and eerie as specters.
"Could it be that I'm just scaring myself?"
Qi Yuan backed out of the depths of the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground and decided to dig a hole.
After all, whenever he felt scared, ducking under the covers made the fear vanish.
According to the First Principle of Ghosts, ghosts cannot harm someone hiding under a blanket.
Qi Yuan decided to hide in a hole first.
The hole was cramped and airtight on all sides, just like certain special spots in battle royale games that offered a false sense of security.
Chilly moonlight coated the trees. Not far away, half of a teal robe hung suspended, shredded as if torn apart by an animal's claws, fluttering whenever the wind blew.
Wielding his great sword, Qi Yuan quickly dug a hole.
He slipped straight inside.
Looking at the dirt enclosing him on all sides with no extra room, Qi Yuan murmured, "It really does feel much better. All that's left is blocking the entrance."
He stood up, preparing to seal the opening and bury himself underground.
Only, as he lifted his head, he immediately met a pair of deep, hollow eyes!
At the mouth of the hole, a head was silently staring down at Qi Yuan.
The head seemed to be wearing a mask composed of black and white—half black, half white. The white portion looked as if a rookie mortician had smeared three layers of powder over a cold corpse in an attempt to recreate the deceased's facial expression, yet it remained utterly chilling.
"You fucking lack martial virtue!"
Qi Yuan jumped in fright!
Anyone getting ready to sleep who suddenly looked up to find a pair of eyes staring intently at them in dead silence would have the exact same reaction as Qi Yuan.
Tyrannical Strength!
The instant he saw this creature, Qi Yuan's first reaction was to unleash Tyrannical Strength.
In a flash, Qi Yuan's power surged wildly.
Double, triple, quadruple, quintuple!
Tyrannical Strength—truly tyrannical strength.
Channeling Tyrannical Strength, he charged straight at the unknown creature.
"Die!"
His great sword slashed forward.
Beneath the mask, Qi Yuan caught a glimpse of red.
The unknown creature continued to stare at Qi Yuan.
An eerie glimmer flickered in its eyes.
A burst of red gas surged toward Qi Yuan like chemical fumes released from a gas cylinder.
Only now did Qi Yuan get a clear view of the creature's full appearance.
A black-and-white masked face, cloth strip robes intertwined in white and red, and protruding from one sleeve, a pale human arm whose hand bore long, ink-black nails.
[Lord of the Fallen Forbidden Zone, Ugly Robe Monster Sovereign, Level 95.]
A big boss?
Ah!
Qi Yuan thrust his great sword forward.
Empowered by Tyrannical Strength, this strike was sufficient to injure a Level 90 monster.
Yet the blow merely forced the unknown creature half a step back.
Meanwhile, the red gas merged into Qi Yuan's body at that exact moment.
Qi Yuan instantly felt his body stiffen.
The red gas seemed to turn into crimson threads, binding his internal organs to turn him into a marionette.
"Tough mark, run!"
Level 95!
He was only Level 88, a full seven levels below this Lord of the Fallen Forbidden Zone, including a major realm gap.
Of course he had to run!
Yet upon realizing that the opponent was the Lord of the Fallen Forbidden Zone, Qi Yuan actually let out a sigh of relief.
An NPC with a visible health bar was something he could kill!
Of course, he still had to run for now!
Qi Yuan sprinted away, pushing Tyrannical Strength to its limit.
Meanwhile, the Ugly Robe Monster Sovereign merely trailed far behind, seemingly in no rush to catch him.
After running for who knew how long, Qi Yuan's body was depleted, feeling utterly drained.
He also noticed that the Ugly Robe Monster Sovereign was no longer giving chase.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
He ran for another few hundred li.
"No good, gotta dig a hole and sleep. My body's completely hollowed out, I can't take this anymore."
He hurriedly grabbed his great sword, preparing to dig.
Then he paused.
"This is a graveyard?"
"A mass grave?"
"Whatever. If I don't dig now, I'll be forced to log off!"
"Venerable elders, pardon me for borrowing your treasured geomantic ground. Let's just be neighbors for a night."
A thin mist drifted through the mass graves. Derelict tombstones lay toppled, and lush crown daisies grew over a burial mound, beneath which was a burrow where white centipedes with densely packed legs squirmed.
Qi Yuan found a spot slightly farther from the graves and dug a large pit.
To his relief, he didn't dig into his neighbors' homes.
He quickly covered the hole back up and settled into a comfortable position to lie down.
Only, as he closed his eyes, he felt his hand brush against something slick and greasy.
"Don't tell me I just touched some old fellow's skull?"
Harboring such thoughts, Qi Yuan logged off.
And back on Seven Colors Peak, he could no longer hold out, sinking into deep sleep.
Half an hour later, in the graveyard of the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground.
The sound of firecrackers and clanging gongs erupted.
It sounded like a funeral procession, yet also like a bridal send-off.
A crowd of robe monsters emerged in droves from the dense fog, dancing and waving their limbs as they set their own clothes on fire.
The graveyard was brightly illuminated, and the robe monsters were having a rave.
Chapter 40