Facing the toxic mist rolling in like dense smoke, Xiao Yuan took the initiative to step forward. Standing at the perimeter of the poison fumes, she took a deep breath. As the yellow-green fumes drifted into her nostrils, red patches quickly erupted across her fair face, breaking out into swollen pustules and blisters. Her bright, dewy eyes turned cloudy and began streaming tears of blood.
In an instant, a mature, aloof, and glamorous older sister was transformed into a hideous, terrifying figure.
"Xiao Yuan..."
Zhang Yuanqing's expression shifted slightly. Taking out the Jade Belt of the Azure Thearch, he rushed toward her.
"Don't come over!"
Xiao Yuan snapped coldly to stop him, retreating from the poison mist.
With her face covered in blisters and pustules, inflamed and ulcerating, she said flatly, "None of you can withstand this poison. Even with antidote pills and healing items, once enveloped in the poison fumes and continuously eroded, you will surely die. And without antidote pills or healing items, Fire Masters and Swordsmen would perish on the spot."
The expressions of the Fire Masters and Swordsman subtly changed.
Sun Miaomiao and the others didn't look much better. With the toxic mist sealing off their retreat, their only option was to brave the trial ahead. Guan Ya's deduction had been spot on: the mechanist city was indeed designed with an entrance but no exit.
Clear the trial, or die.
"I am a yin corpse; I fear no poison," Commandery Princess Yinyao announced, lifting her mini-megaphone like a proud elementary schooler.
*Bzzz...* The Elvis speaker in her pouch chimed in, playing music: *"You are electricity, you are light, you are the only legend~"*
"Shut up!" Zhang Yuanqing's blood pressure spiked in irritation. He thought to himself that these two clowns had paired up; once they got out of this dungeon, he was definitely separating them.
"He is angry. Show some respect," Commandery Princess Yinyao said, patting the waist bag.
The music instantly cut out.
Zhang Yuanqing glared at Zhu Huiyao, then took out the Mountain God Scepter. "How's your face? Do you need healing?"
"No need. It will recover within five minutes. Gu poison at the Saint stage cannot kill me." Xiao Yuan acted very aloof, refraining from provoking Guan Ya this time.
If it were Xie Lingxi, she would have cried, *Brother, I'm disfigured! Brother, it hurts so much! Brother, hug me~*
"Let me see..." Still worried, Zhang Yuanqing observed her closely. He saw that the redness and swelling on Xiao Yuan's face were already subsiding, and the pustules were drying up.
The Witch Doctor's poison-resistant constitution was taking effect, rapidly breaking down the toxins inside her body. A poison that could easily kill a Level 4 Saint would be completely broken down by Xiao Yuan in a matter of minutes.
Only then did Zhang Yuanqing breathe a sigh of relief. Putting away the Mountain God Scepter, he donned the blue gloves and thrust both palms outward.
*Whoosh!*
A gale whipped up within the corridor, tearing the oncoming yellow-green toxic fog to shreds.
The poisonous mist was forced back.
Zhang Yuanqing calmly and swiftly took off the gloves, glanced around, and tossed them to Brother Red Chicken.
"Red Chicken, hold back the mist with the wind!"
Handing the gloves to Brother Red Chicken was a rational allocation of human resources; Brother Red Chicken didn't need to use his brain in strategy meetings—he just needed to follow orders.
"Over here, everyone," Zhang Yuanqing gathered the team. "Let's put our heads together and brainstorm how to clear this stage."
Speaking rapidly, Guan Ya summarized the rules of the grotto with crisp brevity:
"First: skills cannot be used.
Second: the faster you move, the faster the attack comes.
Third: both spirit bodies and physical bodies will be attacked.
Fourth: the attack strength can easily shatter a Soldier Puppet with Level 5 defense."
Sun Miaomiao frowned. "We don't have an Earth Monster in the team. Defense is our weak spot; we can't tank our way through."
"If the three of us pool our yin corpses together, we might have enough for a human wave tactic, but the cost would be far too high," Zhao Chenghuang said in a deep voice.
The Disgrace of Fire Masters said, "No need to make it so complicated. I already have an idea. We hide inside Little Red Riding Hood. As long as you pass through the grotto, it's equivalent to all of us passing through."
Xiahou Aotian's eyes lit up. "Exactly! The difficulty of this trial shouldn't be much of a problem for Yuanshi."
World Returns to Fire's idea gained unanimous approval from the team.
"Have you guys thought of something yet?" Brother Red Chicken suddenly shouted. "The wind doesn't seem to be working very well anymore!"
Everyone whipped their heads around, only to see the yellow-green toxic fumes swirling chaotically through the passage. The wind currents had indeed pushed the fumes back, but wind rebounded.
The gusts Brother Red Chicken whipped up were obstructed by the corridor's walls and corners, causing part of the airflow to bounce back—bringing the poisonous smoke along with it.
Moreover, the toxic fumes were growing thicker and continuously increasing.
Time was running out.
Zhang Yuanqing took out Little Red Riding Hood.
"Wait!" Guan Ya curbed her impatience. After reviewing the plan once more, her Insight caught a flaw, and she frowned. "The premise of this plan succeeding is that Yuanshi can make it across the grotto. You estimated the demon statue's attack power to be around Level 5, but that's only because Zhao Chenghuang's Soldier Puppets were at that level. We haven't tested it with defenses above Level 5. If Yuanshi can't withstand it either, every single one of us will die in there."
Everyone's hearts sank.
Zhang Yuanqing looked ahead, visually measuring the diameter of the grotto, and quickly calculated in his mind:
*Five slides from the Sliding Tackle Shoes should get me to the center of the grotto. The Yin-Yang Robe's Water Ghost passive can block one attack, and I can endure the rest with the Purple-Gold Shield. Plus, the Bestialization from the Jade Belt of the Azure Thearch effectively gives me an extra life... Let's first test the demon statue's upper attack limit.*
He took out the slender-barreled Thunderstorm Cannon and switched it into a small circular shield.
"Then let's test the demon's attack strength first."
Holding the small shield, under the slightly nervous gazes of everyone, he stepped into the grotto.
With that first step, the yin-yang fish immediately rotated by a third.
Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the statue and the Taiji fish, then took two consecutive steps forward.
The yin-yang fish instantly completed its cycle. In the next second, two beams of white light shot out from the demon statue's eyes, illuminating the dim grotto.
*Bang!*
The circular shield in Zhang Yuanqing's hand shattered into pieces. Metal fragments splattered onto the ground, softening on their own and melting into droplets of liquid metal.
A top-tier Saint-stage item, the Purple-Gold Shield boasting astonishing defense...
Could only withstand a single blow.
Behind him, World Returns to Fire and the others turned pale with shock.
"My right arm has a comminuted fracture..." Zhang Yuanqing stood stiffly in place without moving.
"Fall back, quickly!" Xiao Yuan and Guan Ya spoke almost simultaneously.
"It won't attack if you retreat," Sun Miaomiao added.
Only then did Zhang Yuanqing swiftly back out. The liquid metal scattered across the floor flowed back together, fusing into the broken shield to repair the item.
"We're in trouble," Zhang Yuanqing said gravely. "Ordinary Saints couldn't dream of shattering this shield. The demon's attack power can kill every one of us. Besides, there's an even more troublesome issue."
"What is it?" A bad premonition welled up in World Returns to Fire's heart.
"Just now, I discovered that the item's ability to switch forms and the electric arc deflection were suppressed. In other words, using item functions inside the grotto... 'Frugal Expenditures' restricts not only skills, but items as well," Zhang Yuanqing said.
This news was undoubtedly rubbing salt into the team's wounds.
If item functions were also restricted, wouldn't they have to tank it with their bare flesh? In that case, everyone present would die, and Yuanshi Tianzun was no exception.
The corner of World Returns to Fire's mouth twitched violently.
Sun Miaomiao's brows knitted tightly into a knot.
"Have you guys thought of a way or not?!" Brother Red Chicken yelled from the corridor.
"Stop shouting!" Xiahou Aotian turned his head and barked in irritation. But in the next instant, his pupils contracted slightly.
Earlier, Brother Red Chicken had been ten meters away from them; now, only five meters remained.
The toxic mist was snaking along the stone walls, steadily encroaching on their safe space, and would soon envelop them completely.
"We have to think of something, we must find a way..." With a grim expression, World Returns to Fire paced back and forth.
"We can all hide in the hat together. That is our last resort," Commandery Princess Yinyao raised her mini-megaphone.
"There is no food or water in the hat. That's just drinking poison to quench thirst," Guan Ya said softly.
"Fuck, I can't hold it back anymore!" Brother Red Chicken yelled, sprinting back to them.
The toxic fumes rolled toward them steadily, already right before their eyes.
At this critical juncture, Xiao Yuan, whose face was still swollen, stepped forward. Reaching into her inventory, she grabbed a handful of yellowish-brown powder. The powder glittered faintly; upon closer inspection, it consisted of tiny insect eggs resembling fish roe.
Xiao Yuan scattered the eggs forward.
The yellow-green fog suddenly dipped, then thinned and slowed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The immediate crisis was temporarily averted.
Xiao Yuan said hurriedly, "The eggs need gu poison to hatch, but I have a limited number. They will only last thirty seconds at most. Yuanshi, what do we do next?"
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking..." Zhang Yuanqing grew frantic.
He didn't know much about mechanist arts or the Mohist school. Without sufficient information, even the cleverest mind was helpless.
Suddenly, a thought struck Zhang Yuanqing. Pulling Xiahou Aotian aside, he whispered, "You're a Scholar; you should know about Mohist mechanist arts. You're the protagonist—you can crack this."
Xiahou Aotian thought to himself, *Even if I am the protagonist, I'm not an omniscient, omnipotent god.*
Just then, however, he caught Yuanshi Tianzun glancing toward his thumb.
The brilliantly sharp protagonist had a sudden epiphany. *Right! I'm the protagonist; I have an old grandpa in a ring by my side!*
The old grandpa was a high-status Scholar, an ancient cultivator from the same era as the Mohists. Same profession, same era—he had definitely dealt with the Mohists before.
Moreover, the founding patriarch of the Mohist Sect was a disciple or descendant of the Mohist school.
Xiahou Aotian gripped the black iron ring and called out silently in his mind, *Master, emergency! I need your help!*
The ancient laugh of the Qin Dynasty fangshi rang in his mind. *"Heh. When you need something, it's 'Master'; when you don't, it's 'dead old man.'"*
*I wasn't wrong, you really are an old man who's been dead for thousands of years... Ahem, Master, I was wrong.* In critical moments, Xiahou Aotian was always remarkably adaptable.
The Qin Dynasty fangshi chuckled. *"This path is the only route to the inner sector. In normal times, Mohist Sect disciples had to pass through here as well. If it were this deadly, every single disciple would have died long ago. Have you considered why?"*
Xiahou Aotian's heart leaped with joy. *"You mean what we're seeing is an illusion? The Mohist Sect's illusions are so profound that even Yi Chuanmei couldn't see through them?"*
*"No. It's because the Mohist Sect activated the mechanisms, which is why it became so dangerous."*
*"...Do you always have to talk in such a punchable way?"*
*"I learned it from you."*
Xiahou Aotian's face twitched. Forcing himself to swallow his irritation, he humbled himself. *"Is there a way to crack it?"*
The Qin Dynasty fangshi chuckled. *"Do you still remember the meaning of 'Clarifying Ghosts'?"*
*"Believe in ghosts and gods, hold awe in your heart, and do no evil."* Xiahou Aotian glanced at the once-again surging toxic fumes and his flustered teammates, answering swiftly.
The Qin Dynasty fangshi gave an *"Mm. A pure and upright gentleman can pass through directly; the ghosts and gods will not attack. If the ghosts and gods attack, it means one's conscience is not clear."*
Understanding dawned on Xiahou Aotian.
*"Th-then what about someone whose conscience isn't clear? How do they pass?"* Xiahou Aotian hurried to ask.
The Qin Dynasty fangshi chuckled merrily. *"Didn't I just say? Believe in ghosts and gods, and hold awe in your heart. Whatever wrongdoing you've committed, simply confess it before the ghosts and gods."*
Xiahou Aotian's spirits lifted, and he shouted, "I know how to get through the grotto! I've figured out the solution!"
The team members were filled with pleasant surprise. Who would have thought this unreliable, chuunibyou youth could actually be so dependable in a crisis?
Zhang Yuanqing smiled. "Spit it out, quickly!"
Without answering, Xiahou Aotian strode toward the grotto. The yin-yang fish immediately began to spin.
As he took his third step, Xiahou Aotian yelled at the top of his lungs:
"I shouldn't have stolen my dad's secret stash of money to pay off my debts!"
His third step came down.
The demon statue stared at him silently. No attack descended.
Xiahou Aotian turned his head and said, "You must believe in ghosts and gods, hold awe in your heart, and do no evil. Those who have done bad things must confess before the ghosts and gods."
The smile on Zhang Yuanqing's face slowly vanished.
Confession...
The joyous expressions on the team members' faces instantly froze, stiffening like figures in an oil painting.
Chapter 533