Chapter 180 You Understand Nothing

"Hmph…" Miao Xuzi's face was contorted in a grimace, as he coldly snorted, "You think that blocking just one blow from my staff is something to be proud of?"

"What? Isn't that enough?" Feng Bujue sighed. "Alas… it seems you won't understand if I just talk."

"Understand what?" Miao Xuzi asked tentatively.

"What you don't understand is…" As the first half of that sentence left his lips, Feng Bujue was still several meters away from Miao Xuzi, "...that the barrier's influence on us has disappeared." And as the latter half of that sentence reached Miao Xuzi's ears, Feng Bujue had already closed in on his flank and unleashed the shameless divine skill, [Brat's Low Sweep Kick]…

"Aaaagh—oof—" Accompanied by that familiar and inexplicably hilarious scream, Miao Xuzi fell…

Even in death, he couldn't figure it out… he was clearly standing firmly on flat ground, his hands supporting his meditation staff… so why did he trip?

Fortunately… that question didn't plague him for too long, because his life was quickly ended by a cleaver.

Only after Miao Xuzi's corpse had collapsed on the ground and gradually dissolved into pus and blood did Ruoyu speak, asking Feng Bujue, "Your skill restrictions are gone?"

"Yep, all three of our restrictions are gone," Xiao Ling replied as she walked over, even before Brother Jue could answer.

"It's just…" Xiao Tan frowned beside them, looking dejected, "…that it came at a price… to be exact… we ate some pretty disgusting stuff."

"I won't ask you what exactly you ate," Ruoyu responded calmly.

"Then let's continue our mission," Feng Bujue took over Ruoyu's words. "I'll tell you about the information we got from the Xiangji Kitchen as we go." As he spoke, he casually squatted down to pick up a stone key, about the size of a toothbrush, from the blood of Miao Xuzi. "So far, everything is going according to my predictions and plans." He stood up, shrugged, "Though I don't know what's up with the Corpse Blades bunch, it's safe to say… they're all 'out of it' today and pose no threat to us." He turned his head, gesturing with his eyes toward the distant pagoda, "We'll split into two groups; you, me, and Xiao Ling will explore the final boss and ultimate treasure of this script." He then looked at Wang Tan Zhi, "Xiao Tan, you're responsible for tracking Xian Ye Wei Wang and Zui Zhong Qiang Xi."

"Eh? You want me to go alone?" Xiao Tan pointed at his nose, asking, "Won't a one-on-two fight just turn into feeding them kills…"

"How could it?" Feng Bujue chuckled softly, leaning in to whisper in Xiao Tan's ear, "In this script, you already have an innate advantage. The fixed effect of [Shadow of the Doomsday Bell] means that your Fighting and Investigation skills aren't affected by the barrier; that's why you could instantly kill the 'Human Path' vengeful spirit." He paused for a moment, "And now, you've got the buff from Oink's bowl of meat soup, which not only completely negates the barrier's negative effects but also gives you an extra 1% recovery of Survival Value every five seconds. Beating up two injured guys who can't use their skills is more than enough for you."

"Hmm… I see…" Xiao Tan always unconditionally trusted Brother Jue, and that explanation put his mind at ease.

Feng Bujue then resumed his normal speaking volume, continuing, "Anyway, all the ghosts in town will be moving in the direction of those two Corpse Blades, and you have Eagle Eye Vision, so tracking them is a piece of cake. Once you find them, just follow them from a distance. Don't rush to attack. Wait until we've taken care of things here, and we'll give you a signal."

"What's the signal?" Xiao Tan asked.

"'Magatama' activation is the signal," Feng Bujue immediately replied.

The "Magatama" he was referring to was undoubtedly the [Blood Corpse God's Magatama]; every member of the Inferno Front had a Blood Corpse God's Magatama, and when anyone activated the summon effect, everyone else's Magatama would go into cooldown. They could check the item status in their inventory to confirm.

"Pay attention," Feng Bujue said. "Fifteen minutes after the Magatama is activated, you can make your move." He paused for two seconds, adding, "Oh… of course, if you encounter any danger… say, if they discover you and try to fight you, you can ignore the signal. Your priority is to ensure your own safety. We can teleport over early if necessary."

"Okay, I got it," Xiao Tan nodded. "Then I'll set off now. It'll be easier to follow them if they haven't gone too far."

"Go, go," Xiao Ling said, walking over to pat him on the head. "Be careful out there."

"Mm-hmm," Xiao Tan gave his girlfriend a gentle smile and nodded.

That brief exchange, devoid of any ostentation, dealt a certain amount of true damage to many single viewers watching the livestream…

…………

Five minutes later, Stone Courtyard Pagoda.

At this moment, Feng Bujue had used the Stone Courtyard Key (consumable item) to open the entrance door and stood at the foot of the pagoda with his two teammates.

The pagoda had six tiers, with towering iron eaves, narrower at the top and wider at the bottom, octagonal eaves, latticed windows facing each other, gray pillars, and plain walls. Apart from the small windows on the pagoda, even the pagoda door was square, making the entire pagoda angular and exuding a sense of fortitude.

"Just standing here, I can sense an ominous aura…" Feng Bujue muttered, gazing up at the tall pagoda, sounding listless.

Both Ruoyu and Xiao Ling understood that he was subtly indicating that he had detected the danger inside the pagoda through his data perspective.

"Whatever," Ruoyu coldly replied. "You're the one leading the way anyway. If there's any trouble, just shout, and we'll act accordingly."

"That's right, we're counting on you, Captain," Xiao Ling echoed jokingly.

"Hey, hey… do you even remember that I'm the captain?" Feng Bujue couldn't help but turn back to retort. "You've unilaterally decided on the course of action?"

"The terrain inside the pagoda is narrow, which is disadvantageous for Xiao Ling. I didn't drink the meat soup, so my skills are still restricted," Ruoyu immediately stated. "Only you have comprehensive abilities and are in top condition."

Her words were reasonable and well-founded, leaving Brother Jue speechless.

"Tch…" Feng Bujue spread his hands and shook his head before stepping forward to push the wooden pagoda door.

The door of the pagoda was heavy, but there was no bolt on the inside, so Brother Jue pushed it open with some effort.

If the stench of blood in the Six Harmony Temple was several times stronger than that in Lotus Moon Town, then the stench of blood in this pagoda was several times stronger than anywhere else in the Six Harmony Temple. This smell… undoubtedly challenged the limits of the human olfactory system. It wasn't something that could be overcome with willpower; it was true physiological damage.

Sure enough, a dozen seconds after the pagoda door was opened, Ruoyu discovered something… and then quickly retreated five or six meters.

"It seems I have to stay here and wait for you guys," Ruoyu said after stopping.

"Eh? What's wrong?" Xiao Ling asked, puzzled. She knew that her cousin wouldn't retreat out of fear, so there must be a reason.

"The smell inside the pagoda is causing my Survival Value to continuously decrease," Ruoyu replied, "At a rate of about 1% every five seconds…"

"No wonder…" Feng Bujue understood as soon as he heard that. "So the extra buff from Oink's meat soup is meant for this."

"If I had known this, I should have gone with Xiao Tan to track them," Ruoyu said. "Or… should I try to catch up to them now?"

"No need," Feng Bujue said. "Just wait for us here." He revealed a meaningful smile. "Heh… I estimate… in ten minutes at most, you'll be able to help."

"Is that so…" Ruoyu replied. "Alright, I'll wait here then."

"Mm," Feng Bujue responded, then turned to Xiao Ling, "Let's go." With that, he took out the [Composite Anti-Gravity Ejection Device], turned on the headlight at the front, and stepped into the pagoda.

Hearing that, Xiao Ling quickly took out her [Perpetual Flashlight] and followed closely.

Led by Feng Bujue, the two advanced rapidly, all the way up. First floor, second floor, third floor… they reached the fourth floor of the pagoda almost without hindrance. Of course, that didn't mean there were no obstacles on the first three floors; it was just that all the trigger-based traps and negative events were directly bypassed by Brother Jue.

However, things were different on the fourth floor.

Even if someone in the team could observe data, it was useless, because from here on, all events were guaranteed to be triggered. Unless you didn't come, you had to deal with them if you did.

Squeak—squeak—

Stepping on the creaking wooden steps beneath his feet, Feng Bujue ascended to the landing of the fourth floor of the pagoda.

The first thing that caught his eye was a figure…

Unlike the three floors below, this floor had no partition walls, pillars, screens, or furniture; simply put… it was empty. Apart from the ascending and descending stairs at both ends of the floor, all that remained… was the "person" standing in the very center.

"What's this all about?" Two seconds later, Xiao Ling also came up the stairs. She glanced ahead and asked in a low voice.

"NPc and Boss…" Feng Bujue also lowered his voice, turning his head to reply, "It should be possible to avoid fighting… let me try to negotiate."

Before his words could fade away, he had already stepped out and walked toward the shadow.

Looking closer, one could see that this "person" did have a nose and eyes, but the problem was that the number of noses and eyes was wrong…

This guy… had an oval-shaped winter melon head, topped with a skyward pigtail hairstyle that looked like a lightning rod; around his head, at varying heights, grew a circle of—six eyes and eight ears. On the "face" side, there were also three noses growing relatively close together, with two large mouths below the noses.

Apart from the head, the other parts of this NPc were relatively normal. Overall, he was an adult male wearing a black round-necked robe (similar to the Hanfu style), about 1.7 meters tall, and on the thin side.

"This brother…" Feng Bujue said to him in a relatively slow tone as he walked up to him, "I wonder…"

Before he could finish speaking, the mouth on the left side of the NPc quickly interrupted him, "To know is to know."