Chapter 169 - 129: Corpse Shell, Ritual Array

"Holy shit, Miaozi! You’re a real bastard! What good stuff is down in this well? It’s nothing but corpse chunks and shit!"

"I’m gonna get you when I log off, you bastard! Fuck!"

"Ugh... Argh..."

Amid the piles of corpse chunks and dung, Shore cursed Li Miao for being less than human, pinching his nose and grimacing as he pulled his feet from the sticky heaps of filth.

Li Miao’s post in the Prison Players group chat had clearly worked, attracting a fair number of victims.

Shore was one of them.

After a lonely journey, Shore landed on the peninsula and made a beeline for this well, then jumped down with great anticipation.

The result was predictable.

After the horrifying experience of wallowing in shit- and corpse-infested water, Shore actually managed to defeat the [Fecal Corpse Adhesive] on his first try.

It was hard to say whether it was because the Mage class had Remote Skills that made the fight easier, or if the horrifying experience had unlocked his latent potential...

After shaking the sticky, indescribable substance off his feet, Shore finally arrived before his spoils.

[Acquired: Wax Oil ×55]

[Acquired: Fire Seed · Fecal Corpse Adhesive (Initial Stage)]

[Acquired: Magic · Explosive Flame]

[Acquired: Corpse Shell (Excellence)]

DRIP. DRIP.

Shore picked them up with a scowl, murky water still dripping from them.

The Fire Seed was a write-off. Not only had Shore already undergone Fire Ignition, but even if he hadn’t, his evaluation of this particular Fire Seed would be—

"Not even a dog would use this!"

Spitting, Shore put it away.

His scowl finally eased a bit when he saw that a Magic had dropped.

[Magic · Explosive Flame]

[Type: Skill Book]

[Quality: Molten Slag]

[Effect: Consumes Spirit to unleash an instantaneous flame, dealing extremely high damage in a small area.]

[Explanation: The ugly creature dwelling at the Bottom of the Well would often gaze up at its opening, yearning for the beautiful world outside. But the only reply it ever received was chunks of corpses and piles of dung. And so, it transformed its repressed anguish into this Explosive Flame...]

"Not bad, not bad."

Shore gleefully tucked it away. A Molten Slag-Tier Skill Book—a crappy first, but a first nonetheless!

Then, when he saw the next item, his face fell again.

[Corpse Shell (Excellence)]

[Type: Chest Armor]

[Effect: Provides a large boost to Defense, but greatly increases Fire-type damage taken.]

[Explanation: The blood from the corpse chunks and the filth from the dung heaps have combined and solidified into a hard shell. Are you willing to wear this piece of equipment and experience its inner beauty?]

"Inner beauty, my ass! Did the devs get their brains squeezed in a vise or something? This is disgusting and absurd..."

It had to be said... the appearance of the Corpse Shell was nothing short of horrifying. The Chest Armor was streaked with yellow, green, and brown, with flecks of reddish-black. Its surface was lumpy and uneven, with bits of dried grass and... enoki mushrooms... embedded in it.

If Shore were to put on this piece of equipment, he would surely feel as if every pore on his skin was being repeatedly violated...

"The developers have definitely gone insane."

Shore closed his eyes and tossed it into his inventory. Out of sight, out of mind.

’I’ll sell this thing later.’

After one last look at the disgusting surroundings, Shore couldn’t stand it anymore. He quickly pushed aside a pile of corpse-filth, entered the tunnel behind it, and lit the Milestone Spirit Candle.

He had no intention of digging through this crap anymore.

’Maybe if someone finds something really good, I’ll think about it...’

...

SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!

BOOM—

A small, rat-like monster came scurrying over at high speed, its body swelling as it ran. It finally exploded in front of its target, splattering guts and flesh everywhere.

Li Miao lowered the Law Knight’s Shield before him and calmly shook off the filth.

The cavern behind the well wasn’t very large. There were some chunks of corpses stuck to the walls, but compared to before, the element of "dung" was noticeably less prevalent.

The path was also filled with small, rat-like kamikaze monsters that crawled out from crevices in the cave.

And besides this type of monster, there were others as well.

SHUFFLE... SHUFFLE...

An unsettling sound came from a pile of corpse chunks. A moment later, a bloated monster made of haphazardly pieced-together limbs squeezed out and began crawling slowly toward Li Miao.

Li Miao finished it off with a single Frost Piercing.

[You have killed a Soulless Corpse]

Before long, a few foul-smelling but intact Living Corpses attacked Li Miao, and he killed them one by one as well.

[You have killed a Lost Soul Living Corpse]

[...]

After a period of exploration, Li Miao gradually got a handle on the general layout of the caves at the Bottom of the Well.

The caves were a complex, interconnected system divided into several levels, like a three-dimensional underground labyrinth where one could easily get lost.

Players with a poor sense of direction would probably suffer here.

During his scouting, he was constantly harassed by some Low Level small monsters or Living Corpses, with a couple of stronger monsters appearing occasionally, but they posed no real threat.

Li Miao had a strong sense of direction and made note of some distinct features as markers along the way. As a result, not only did he not get lost, he quickly found three paths that were different from the others and led to dead ends.

One of them was located between the ground floor and a lower level.

This... seemed to be a basement.

CLANK... CLANK...

The heavy Knight’s Boots clanked on the solid floor. Li Miao used the illuminating Candlefire he emitted to get a clear look at the room.

The floor and ceiling were unremarkable, just damp stone slabs with a bit of moss growing on them.

The only thing worth mentioning was the strange pattern carved deeply into the wall in front of him. It emitted a strange, alternating red and blue light that even seemed to faintly extend outward.

’Is this some kind of Ritual Array?’

Li Miao stared at the Ritual Array, his mind going blank for a moment. The array seemed to be luring him, tempting him to touch it.

’Wait!’

He quickly snapped out of it, his unfocused gaze sharpening as he looked ahead with a grave expression.

’Something’s off about this Ritual Array!’

It seemed to possess a strange, indescribable pull...

Li Miao averted his gaze and looked around warily.

’Usually, in a place like this, a boss is likely to pop out for a jump scare or something. Better be careful.’

Thinking this, Li Miao began to explore cautiously.

But strangely, after a thorough search, he didn’t encounter any monsters or jump scares. The only discovery was a set of stone steps on the left and right, one leading up and the other down.

Li Miao pondered for a moment.

’Since there are no monsters... I think I’ll touch this Ritual Array and see what happens.’

Li Miao was very curious.

’This thing is definitely no ordinary object. There’s probably danger lurking within it.’

’But... as a player, how can you call yourself a player if you don’t live on the edge?’

’My spawn point is active, so what’s there to be afraid of? The worst that can happen is a long corpse run.’

With that thought, Li Miao boldly reached out and touched it.

WHOOSH—

In an instant, the Ritual Array flared with brilliant light. Illusory flames of intertwined red and blue burned fiercely, woven with countless Spells and Power. Then, the two colored flames began to struggle and sway, as if repelling each other.

And at that moment, something strange happened to Li Miao’s body.

"Huh? How am I floating?"

Feeling himself rising, a surprised Li Miao looked around. When he looked down, his jaw dropped in utter shock.

"Holy shit! Am I having a Soul Emergence?"

He saw his body standing motionless below, while his Soul was being driven steadily upward by some unknown force.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s going on, wait—"

Just as he was about to hit the ceiling, Li Miao subconsciously raised a hand to block it, but to his astonishment, his soul passed right through it...

THUMP.

Li Miao’s Candle Spirit Body, holding the Frost Riding Spear, weakly dropped to one knee, its head bowed before the strange Ritual Array.

A moment later, the Candle Spirit Body began to move slowly toward the downward steps...

"What the hell is going on?"

Li Miao, now traveling through the earth, was completely shocked. He could easily see the intertwining layers of dirt and rock, and even earthworms and broken tiles...

Just as he was completely bewildered, a game prompt made his soul tremble.

[Attention: Due to the influence of an unknown power, your Soul has been separated from your body.]

[Once the power of the Ritual Array dissipates, you will control your Soul to fight. In this state, you cannot use your inventory or Warfire Abilities, and your physical damage abilities will be significantly weakened.]

[Correspondingly, your body possesses all your Abilities but can only act on instinct.]

[The Soul and body are closely linked. If one is injured, the other will also receive feedback.]

[Return to your body’s location as soon as possible.]

"Huh?"

Li Miao was a little dumbfounded. ’What is this? A special combat mode?’

’I can’t believe this Ritual Array is so bizarre!’

Thinking this, he felt a bit dejected. ’My body should be fine for now... right?’

Li Miao suddenly thought of the force acting on his soul, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

’Yeah, right. It’s definitely in trouble.’

"Can’t souls pass through walls? As soon as this weird power wears off and I regain control of my Soul, I’ll phase right back!"

Li Miao made up his mind.

Just as he was thinking, the view before him suddenly opened up.

A spacious palace hall appeared before his eyes.

Greeting him was an enormous monster, its entire form a translucent blue Soul Body, with a Chain Hammer resting on its shoulder.

「At the same time.」

Li Miao’s Candle Spirit Body, after descending the steps, had finally arrived at a lower level.

The area was littered with casually discarded corpses and remains.

SPLASH...

The corpse-water sloshed, and chunks of flesh fell away as a massive figure emerged from within...

[Soul Giant Soldier (Soul Body)]

[Tier: Molten Slag]

[Level: 27]

[Talent: Giant’s Remnant Power (A small amount of a Giant’s residual power, slightly increasing its own Power and Attack Power)]

[Skills: Giant Soldier Hammer Strike, Hard Soul Lock Chains, Rupture of the Strong Wall, Tearing.]

[Explanation: A Soldier that absorbed a trace of a Giant’s remnant power. Unable to withstand this power, its body collapsed into a terrifying form. Despite being in a Soul Body state, it still poses a significant threat.]

Li Miao felt that even without looking at its Blood Volume, he could guess just how tanky this Soul Giant Soldier was...

RATTLE...

The Chain Hammer, also formed from Soul Power, swung silently. The opponent seemed to have sensed something and was about to turn.

Seeing this, Li Miao swallowed nervously, then suddenly leaped, trying to dive straight into the ground.

But things didn’t go as he wished.

He didn’t know if it was because a Soul Body couldn’t pass through walls or because there was some kind of ward here...

Li Miao could only manage a comical, powerless little hop on the ground, leaving a faint blue soul afterimage...

Unwilling to accept it, he tried again with more force, but it was still useless...

Meanwhile, the Soul Giant Soldier on the other side had already started swinging its Chain Hammer without a word.

Li Miao was speechless.