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Chapter 367: 367, [Dead on Touch] (Seeking guarantee monthly votes!)
“Why is the Second Priest’s Red Jade Ring here?” This question flashed through Lu Xun’s mind rapidly.

Meanwhile, he looked at the man who seemed to be half embedded in the statue and found his answer.

“No wonder I didn’t sense his presence from the start.”

“It’s not a problem with the Primordial Power. It’s because he is very skilled at hiding, and this three-eyed statue seems to have mystical aspects too.”

“If I’m not wrong, this person could be the right-hand man of the Second Priest – You Ying!”

A figure like a shadow.

Until Lu Xun crossed over, the players knew that this Foreign Race had such a character, yet no one knew his true appearance.

All that was known was his short stature and a constant black cloak attire.

Both aspects matched.

You Ying’s abilities were peculiar; wherever there was a shadow, he could hide, and he could move freely in the shadows.

He always harvested his opponents’ lives silently.

— He was a sly old dog.

Lu Xun was fairly certain about his deductions and believed he was mostly correct.

You Ying was the person Second Priest trusted the most, and this Red Jade Ring was the symbol of Second Priest. The Priest would not lend it easily to his foreign race subordinates, unless it was someone close and trusted.

And within this Red Jade Ring, there was something that made Lu Xun shudder even now – the Soul Devouring Flame!

The name of this flame seemed unsophisticated. It was clear that the person who named it was either incompetent or lacked the heart to think of a better one.

However, don’t judge this flame by its ordinary name. Its effects were horrifying.

In a previous life, after the great war began, the sculpted players were terrified at the sight of this Red Jade Ring and the Soul Devouring Flame.

Ordinarily, players had multiple lives, and they were quite reckless, relying on their ability to resurrect.

But once this Soul Devouring Flame touched them, it clung onto them and could not be shaken off!

It wouldn’t leave until it had completely consumed you.

Resurrection was useless against it. It would continue burning!

It would burn until you ran out of resurrection counts and forced you to go offline!

Since Lu Xun’s crossover, all players had avoided provoking it, because up till now, no player had been able to withstand its burn.”

——Touch and die!

Fortunately, a small wisp of this flame was not the kind of Area of Effect damage type. It only had a single-target attack effect and wouldn’t attack multiple players at the same time.

At the same time, its feature was that it wouldn’t stop until it completely consumed its target. It would not change its target midway.

——It wouldn’t divert its attack midway through.

Lu Xun was wary of this thing because he had been burned once before…

Back when he was playing as the Explosive Temper Great Cane Hero, he was flamboyant and eye-catching on the battlefield.

He couldn’t help it, he needed to stand out, to attract attention so he could get orders and earn money.

After all, he needed to make a living. It was definitely not because he enjoyed being a show-off.

Because he was too flashy and his big stick was noticeable as he waved it around, during a big battle he successfully attracted the attention of the Second Priest.

“Young lad, you’re quite conspicuous.”

Then he was burned.

Not only were all his resurrection counts burned, causing a massive loss of experience points and forcing him offline, but the durability of his signature equipment “First Encounter” and his big stick was also burnt out, rendering the equipment useless.

Luckily, he had accumulated a fair amount of Contribution Points by then, and exchanged them for two Blue Level repair coupons, thus managed to repair “First Encounter” and his big stick.

At that time, Lu Xun was so pained that he could not breathe.

If it wasn’t for him being unable to overcome the Second Priest or do anything about the Soul Devouring Flame, he would have resorted to any means to grind them into the ground.

At this moment, as he faced the Red Jade Ring again, Lu Xun’s rationality prevailed over his emotion. He came to a decision, and said: “Retreat.”

However, just then, red rays of light began to flicker on the Red Jade Ring. A wisp of flame was produced out of thin air, then swept towards Lu Xun’s team at a breakneck speed.

…

…

“Damn!” Lu Xun, unusually, let out a curse in his heart.

He knew very well, this flame wasn’t inanimate, it was alive!

He was not clear what the foreign race inside the statue was up to, might be to restore this altar or for some other unknown purpose.

But it was clear that before he merged with the statue, he had issued a command to the Soul Devouring Flame.

This flame was on guard duty for him!

And at present, Lu Xun and his team were too close to it.

Just as Lu Xun didn’t know what to do, Wang Gangtie, standing next to him, was the first to rush out.

“It’s time for me to prove my loyalty!” Wang Gangtie hollered in his heart.

Despite losing the [Detection], they have already received information in an instant, this small flame might not look big, but its danger level is [Extremely Lethal]!

Wang Gangtie’s thought was clear cut, if he was going to die, so be it. It was just going to cost him a respawn.

“I’ve got the Purple Palace’s favorability all locked up!” he proclaimed.

Perhaps at this moment, watching Wang Gangtie rushing out, Cai Jiangjiang and the others might be feeling regretful.

“Damn it, that fool has beaten me to it!”

Lu Xun extended his right hand, intending to use his spiritual power to pull him back, yelling, “Wang Gangtie, back off!”

But that fool moved quite swiftly.

Most importantly, the Soul Devouring Flame had already targeted him, and the speed of this little flame was incredibly high.

In an instant, the flame touched his body.

Watching this, Lu Xun’s lips twitched as he thought, “Brave man, rest in peace.”

He then spoke solemnly, “Everyone disperse and leave this place quickly.”

Everyone paused momentarily, then watched as Wang Gangtie was burnt to ashes in a blink of an eye.

Then, he respawned on the spot, only to be burnt to ashes again…

Until his respawns ran out, and he was forced offline.

“Shit! This flame is ridiculously relentless!” Li Zuole and the others thought.

They had only now become aware of the severity of the situation.

The Purple Palace had probably known all along, which was why he called for everyone to retreat and stop Wang Gangtie from running into the flames.

The World Protagonist was indeed exceptional.

As professional gamers, they immediately realised that they had triggered a hidden plot, and it’s the kind they couldn’t get out of.

“Run!” The crowd began to scatter and flee.

Lu Xun quickly coded a mission and issued it to Li Zuole and the others.

The mission required them to try and flee from here as quickly as possible. If anyone had the fortune to find an exit, they should report the situation inside as soon as possible and request the Qingtian Sect to forcefully destroy this place and provide support.

As of now, who knows where the exit of this altar is, Lu Xun didn’t know where to go either.

He was essentially a key to the altar, but a key first needed to find the door to work.

If he couldn’t find the exit, how could he unlock it?

Without hesitation, Lu Xun took out the Godspeed Talisman that his third senior brother had given him. After exchanging looks with Jiang Nan’an, he grabbed him and took him on the run.

Jiang Nan’an was the World Protagonist and an important plot character. He couldn’t let himself die halfway because of this variable. He had to protect him as much as possible.

Besides, Jiang Nan’an had [Luck 10]. Keeping him close might have a talisman-like effect.

Who knows, maybe he would end up preserving his life with this human-scale talisman!

After being picked up by Lu Xun, Jiang Nan’an was deeply moved.

Even at this critical moment, Elder Lu was considering the safety of others.

He understood very well the Godspeed Talisman, he knew that having him around would greatly reduce the talisman’s effectiveness.

“So, what can I do for Elder Lu at this moment?” Jiang Nan’an began to ponder.

Lu Xun, however, was not thinking that much. He just wanted to survive.

The most frustrating part was, despite there being so many people present, and despite everyone scattering and fleeing at Lu Xun’s command, this Soul Devouring Flame, which only has single-target attack effectiveness, was specifically targeting the fastest runner, Lu Xun!

Oh hell, I’ve activated the Godspeed Talisman, running super fast, yet you still stubbornly chase me down!

The others are running so slowly, why don’t you burn them instead?

Since it’s come to this… Lu Xun had a thought and instantly modified the mission he had issued to Li Zuole and the others.

They all saw a prompt for a mission update appear before them.

“[Ding! There has been a deviation in the mission progress.]”

“[Lu Xun is sacrificing himself as bait, drawing the attention of the Soul Devouring Flame, creating an opportunity for you to escape. You need to find the altar exit in the shortest possible time.]”

“[Mission reward: 100,000 experience points, as well as favorability from Lu Xun.]”

Seeing the prompt, Li Zuole and the others were filled with mixed feelings.

Perhaps, this is the responsibility of being both the [Junior Uncle of the Demon Sect] and the [World Protagonist].

…

(First update of the day. It’s my birthday today, and I had to go out for a meal with friends and family. Just got back to my writing. I’m still aiming for three updates today, but they might be a bit late. I appreciate your votes!)