Chapter 161: Even If You Answer Correctly, You’ll Still Die

In a certain spot within the Southern Light Abyss of the Northern Forest, two people had been taking turns playing a deadly game for most of the day.

“Your turn now, go ahead…”

“Why is it me again? I’ve already killed three times in a row!”

“You’re my brother-in-law, of course you have to take care of your little sister-in-law. Otherwise, Sister Yun Yin will divorce you…”

“Damn it! Yun Yin’s got such an unlucky junior sister like you… Fine, fine, fine, I’ll kill him. Just move that red-tailed scorpion queen away, quickly!”

Lin Zhan scrambled away from the watchful gaze of the red-tailed scorpion queen, then summoned the might of his Ink Sword and struck down hard at Wu De, who had just been resurrected once again.

How many times had this been now? Dozens, maybe hundreds. Wu De died and revived endlessly in a loop, and Lin Zhan and Shui Xinxin were forced to kill him over and over again. They were utterly exhausted.

Killing the same helpless person repeatedly, taking turns with someone else, and getting tired of it—this was something ordinary people could hardly imagine.

Not only ordinary people, but even the two involved felt a lingering dread, sinking deeper into worry.

If Wu De could keep resurrecting without limit, would their lives be spent trapped here forever?

“Who are you? Who is me? Who am I… Wrong answers mean death, right answers mean death too… No need to answer, just like this…”

Lin Zhan listened to Shui Xinxin's weary question. Before Wu De could answer, Shui Xinxin pressed her finger against his brow, causing him to collapse with a thud and perish once more. Lin Zhan shook his head. “Ah, this is truly uncanny.”

If it weren’t for Shui Xinxin having deployed the red-tailed scorpion queen several times in the meantime, turning Wu De into white foam, they would never have been certain that the red orb was hidden somewhere inside his body.

Indeed, it was this red orb that granted Wu De his resurrection.

Lin Zhan had even tried to have the White Bone Pagoda devour the red orb, but the pagoda never activated its devouring restriction. In other words, the pagoda refused to consume it, which was quite frustrating.

The one thing to be grateful for was that neither Lin Zhan nor Shui Xinxin had ever proposed giving up. Neither wanted to leave Wu De here to fend for himself. An enemy was an enemy; even if they couldn’t kill him, they must keep trying.

Suddenly, Lin Zhan’s right palm trembled, and the nine-star golden emblem glowed. A message was transmitted through it.

“The Nine-Turn Reincarnation Pearl originates from the core of a powerful rebirth beast. Generally, the host will enter an endless cycle of rebirth. The only way to break the cycle is to replace the host with another or to envelop and absorb it with a stronger bloodline aura.”

Though Lin Zhan had felt some form of consciousness within the Nine-Star Space, this was the first time it had conveyed such a clear message.

He slapped his forehead and exclaimed, “Ah, why didn’t I think of Nightingale earlier?”

Feeling a bit annoyed at having wasted so much time and effort, he now recalled the dormant Little Purple Golden Phoenix within the Nine-Star Space. She must need such a Nine-Turn Reincarnation Pearl.

The name itself was perfectly suited to her—Purple Golden Phoenix, reborn through fire, combined with the Nine-Turn Reincarnation Pearl, it would surely double the effect and restore her swiftly.

“Xinxin…” Lin Zhan leaned toward his young sister-in-law and pleaded, “Let your invincible red-tailed scorpion queen go out one more time. This time, we’ll make sure Wu De can never resurrect again!”

Since they had cleared up their misunderstanding, their relationship had become quite friendly relatives, and Shui Xinxin no longer addressed him with such hauteur.

Sniffling, Shui Xinxin muttered, “Don’t trick me again, okay? This is the last time…”

Sigh, it wasn’t trickery—once Shui Xinxin agreed, Lin Zhan beamed with joy.

The red-tailed scorpion queen had already been deployed many times, but at that time Lin Zhan hadn’t found a way to break Wu De’s resurrection cycle, wasting many opportunities. This time, they would send the Nine-Turn Reincarnation Pearl into the Nine-Star Space, which should be effective.

The red-tailed scorpion queen was already very full, and this time, forced into action, her movement was extremely slow. Seeing Lin Zhan’s eager gaze, Shui Xinxin took matters into her own hands and placed the scorpion queen atop Wu De’s corpse, waiting for him to resurrect again so she could command the queen to devour him.

Shui Xinxin’s expression said, “Look, the scorpion queen is like this, and yet you still make her work—so cruel!” Lin Zhan pretended not to notice.

Wu De was no longer quite human, so Lin Zhan and Shui Xinxin bore no psychological burden when killing him repeatedly. This time, it truly was the last.

When the red-tailed scorpion queen devoured Wu De into white foam one final time, leaving only the red orb behind, the two “killers” exchanged a nod.

Lin Zhan sent the Nine-Turn Reincarnation Pearl into the Nine-Star Space. As if by natural law, the pearl was absorbed into the essence of the spirit stone. Lin Zhan’s divine sense entered to investigate and found the pearl frozen, though faint energy still radiated, being absorbed by the sleeping Little Purple.

In Little Purple’s embrace was originally Xiao Hei. When the aura of the Nine-Turn Reincarnation Pearl entered, Xiao Hei seemed disturbed and displeased. His black, round body and head slowly drifted away, detaching from this chunk of spirit stone essence and burrowing into another to continue sleeping.

“I hope you two wake up soon!” Lin Zhan silently wished.

Wu De’s points arrived belatedly, only now depositing with a chime. Lin Zhan stored the Broken Sunset Sword.

The team from Sword Burial Peak likely had the richest point tally among all finalists. Wu Shan had led his juniors on a journey encountering many others, confiscating their points, all of which now belonged to Lin Zhan.

Ready to set out, Shui Xinxin accompanied Lin Zhan.

A mix of regret and relief filled his heart.

Regret that Gu Yuanzhou and Teng Sheng, who had been with him, were gone due to reckless deaths; relief that Shui Xinxin, secretly sent by Ning Wanqing to participate in the disciple competition, was actually there to support him, bringing warmth to his heart.

The closer they approached the center, the more complex the terrain became—cliffs, sheer precipices, and perilous peaks with no path.

The Southern Light Abyss was already the lowest place, but beneath it lay yet another abyss, making the atmosphere all the more eerie and terrifying.

Along the way, they encountered countless wild beasts. Though Lin Zhan and Shui Xinxin had just survived a life-and-death battle, they always found suitable moments to improve themselves.

However, they temporarily set aside alchemy; the elusive Fairy of a Day still left Lin Zhan feeling somewhat embarrassed.

“Hey, your walking posture these days seems to have lost much of that immortal elegance!” one day, the inquisitive little girl suddenly remarked.

Lin Zhan scowled, “Kid, what do you know…”

(To be continued.)