Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 73 - 71st - : Courtesy Demands Reciprocity

Chapter 73: 71st Chapter: Courtesy Demands Reciprocity

"Tomb raiding is unjust, taking without asking, a violation of propriety! You shall be executed!"

A chilling voice that seemed to emanate from decayed vocal cords suddenly rang out behind Wang Yuan.

An invisible Nightmare Suppressing Power descended abruptly.

Roar—!

After partially transforming into a tiger, the senses of Wang Yuan, who had become extremely sharp, had already formed the "Ghost King Altar Sealing Seal," his body covered with tiger stripes.

In an instant, he broke free from the Nightmare Suppressing Power that sought to keep him rooted to the spot, obediently awaiting execution.

Immediately, countless hissing noises of serpents suddenly intensified behind him.

Hiss, hiss, hiss...

Fierce streams of flame suddenly swelled, sweeping out along the passageway.

The yin wind exploded, and Wang Yuan, who had been picked up and carried off by Mr. One-Eyed, had already arrived like lightning fifty steps away.

If there weren’t measures like those in the Dao General’s "Heaven and Earth Furnace," capable of disrupting the Yin Road.

No one could stop Wang Yuan from running away.

His feet once again touched the ground through the yin wind, he turned back to look.

He saw, across the tomb passage that was ablaze with Corpse Oil as fuel, a large group of bizarre black snakes shaped like humans.

Entirely pitch-black, with a sucker at the end of their tails, almost merged with the Corpse Oil on the ground.

Each had a triangular head and opened its mouth to spew out large swathes of sticky flame stream.

The most terrifying aspect was that instead of snake eyes, they each had a crimson human eye at the center of their heads, shriveled and hollow, as though it had been burned by flames.

"Is this... the ’Winged Fire Snake’ that represents Yisu? There won’t be any Jing Mu’an, Ghost Golden Sheep, Willow Earth Deer, Star Sun Horse, or Zhang Yuelu coming out later, right?"

But even if they appeared, Wang Yuan believed they would present themselves in the most bizarre and absurd forms.

This was the normal style of "Weird."

After the initial attack missed, the cluster of human-shaped snake balls that were the "Winged Fire Snakes" dispersed to either side.

They revealed a terrifying figure robed in an official robe with an Owl Head and a human body, covered from head to toe in filthy black feathers.

It was precisely Jishan who he had glimpsed once before at the entrance of the tomb!

However, its appearance had greatly changed since entering the tomb; its body proportions were somewhat distorted, with the left side swelling tremendously, and it seemed like there were countless living things writhing under its robe.

Covered in black scales in addition to the pitch-black feathers soaked in Corpse Oil, its degree of mutation had skyrocketed.

Seeing Jishan in his current state, Wang Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"This is assimilation!

When a Magician who was already a Craftsmen Director during his lifetime is revived as a ’Weird,’ he turns the Underground Palace into an extension of his body.

And prepares to assimilate bit by bit the ’things in the belly’ into his own part. Jishan and the Judge are just the beginning."

The knowledge at the core of these Weird transformed from Heavenly Facing Householders all originated from the Owl God Tomb, and in essence, there was no compatibility issue.

Wang Yuan, thinking of these "Heavenly Facing Householders" and recalling the numerous Craftsmen and three Tomb Guardians he encountered previously, suddenly changed his expression:

"The Craftsmen turned into Corpse Oil, the Tomb Guardians into a vermin nest, Jishan merged with the ’Winged Fire Snakes’...

Assimilation! Assimilation!

It’s a good thing for those still alive; they must be killed before they can be assimilated. Those who already became dried corpses like the Craftsmen stand no chance of fighting back.

What about the ’Elixir,’ which is likely hidden in some corner of the tomb?

Could it be directly swallowed and also turned into worms...

I can’t delay any longer!"

Just as he thought this, the Qi Fortune on the "Small Book of Life and Death" inside him jumped once again.

"Here we go."

Wang Yuan’s expression eased slightly.

Passing the "Rashamon Bone" to a Magician wouldn’t cause an immediate Qi Fortune burst.

But the residual effects were long-lasting, and the temporary boost in strength endured far longer compared to when held by an ordinary person.

At this moment, his Qi Fortune finally increased slightly, moving up from "−2," where it had stood since yesterday when it reached the "White Smoke Surrounding the Beam," to "−1."

It is known that the normal fortunes of ordinary people range between −1 and 0, enough to live a stable life with occasional blessings.

When facing the less skilled, even bad luck is enough to crush them, but against formidable opponents, carelessness could easily lead to a deadly downfall.

Now that his Qi Fortune was roughly that of a normal person, it was enough to allow Wang Yuan to demonstrate his full strength!

Therefore.

When Jishan, who had already merged with the "Winged Fire Snake," charged at him again, enveloping itself within the range of the Nightmare Suppressing Power, Wang Yuan didn’t panic at all.

He just watched the 248 points of Yin Morality on the Small Book of Life and Death flow away like water, which made him feel particularly heartbroken.

Against other abnormities, simply activating the Ghost King Altar Sealing Seal would make one completely immune to the effect of the Nightmare Suppressing Power, seizing the opportunity to kill them directly.

But that wasn’t quite feasible when facing the Construction Director and its henchmen.

The Construction Director was the strongest abnormality he had faced head-on, almost equivalent to a weakened version of the Owl God Tomb.

Before killing this source, the power of Nightmare Suppressing within the tomb was seemingly endless; good steel should be used on the blade’s edge and not wasted too much on Yin Morality in hand.

Wang Yuan’s brain was whirring rapidly.

Even though Jishan appeared to speak, that was just a part of the Murder Taboo, similar to a voice-over, and it fundamentally could not communicate.

However, this abnormality revered ancient rites, master of sarcastic guidance in rituals, opening ancient friendships, and the great principles of national grace and benevolence to edict good deeds.

Normally, when fighting it, the first problem to be resolved was:

— Are you polite?

As far as Wang Yuan knew, according to the war etiquette during the Spring and Autumn Period in both worlds, the main ancient rites could be summarized in five points:

First, one must have a just cause; second, no drumming no formation, the opponent must not be ambushed before they’re ready;

Third, it is forbidden to attack the national monarch during battle; fourth, turns are taken to attack rotationally, not taking advantage of someone in peril;

Fifth, the winner can only pursue a fleeing opponent for a maximum of fifty steps.

Even Jishan itself adhered to the "etiquette," having a just cause, instead of ambushing Wang Yuan silently.

So, if Wang Yuan wanted to avoid a protracted fight and cleanly take care of it, it was best to adhere to this battlefield etiquette.

Thus, he shouted at Jishan:

"I am a righteous force, punishing the wicked to console the people, death to those aiding tyranny!"

This was his declaration of a just cause.

Grave robbing is a crime, and helping the Owl God Tomb eat people is equally a crime.

We are but pot calling the kettle black, all the same.

Jishan’s rule-like ability was a double-edged sword, seemingly invincible, but as soon as the pattern was recognized, it could be turned against it to restrain it!

In an instant.

The force of Nightmare Suppressing on Wang Yuan’s body was greatly diminished, and the rate at which Yin Morality was consumed also suddenly slowed down.

Feeling secretly pleased, he had found another method to save and generate resources—using "magic" to fight "magic."

An ordinary person might escape a predicament with the help of a murder rule from an abnormality.

And this time, he might be able to use the rules constructed by the opponent to quickly counterkill the abnormality.

Seizing the chance provided by the turn-based attacking system, Wang Yuan flung out three Mixed Element Thunderbolts that could kill a Daoist Soldier within a ten-meter radius!

Jishan was about to dodge.

But then he saw Wang Yuan give a sly smile and call out again:

"Not to return what you receive is against etiquette. Sir, please accept my ’reciprocal courtesy’!"

The snakelike heads sprouting from the humanoid body suddenly faltered for a moment.

Facing the difficult task it had once asked of others, it felt equally disgusted.

If it accepted, it would surely be nothing good, but if it didn’t, it would be breaking courtesy.

Therefore.

The next moment, one of the serpent heads on this increasingly bizarre and chaotic abnormality instinctively swatted away one of the thunderbolts.

But the other two serpent heads bit down on the remaining two Mixed Element Thunderbolts, accepting Wang Yuan’s "return gift" according to the etiquette.

Without a doubt.

"Winged Fire Snake" plus "Thunderclap" equals:

BOOM—!!!

After the brutal explosion, Wang Yuan lunged forward, slamming his tiger-striped palm brutally onto the remnants of Jishan.

The abnormality vanished into smoke.

When Wang Yuan lifted his hand again, he already held a semi-transparent heart in it.

Previously, when dealing with other Heavenly Facing Household members, there were others present, but this time he was alone, naturally he could enjoy it all by himself.

"Not bad, a Deceit Heart, weighing exactly five taels and two qian, perfect to go with a drink!"

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