Chapter 2 Emergence

The shock was followed not by panic, but something else.

Some people collapse under extreme pressure, but others… awaken.

The moment Xiao Ling was snatched through the doorway, Wang Tanzhi didn't break down. On the contrary, his fear level rapidly decreased, and his mind began to race.

A second later, he stepped forward two paces and grabbed the copper handle on the door, pushing it forward with all his might.

But the door… didn't budge.

"Something's not right…" Xiao Tan immediately activated [Eagle Eye Vision] to observe. He wouldn't have discovered it without doing so, but upon activating it, he realized… that not only the temple door, but the entire temple was shrouded in a hazy, ghostly aura that was difficult to see with the naked eye. From this, it could be seen… that even if he chose to climb over the wall now, he still wouldn't be able to get in.

"I see…" Xiao Tan murmured, "Logically speaking, this door cannot be pushed open. Xiao Ling was able to push it open because 'something inside the door' did it on purpose. To put it bluntly… it's a trap."

Thinking of this, his mind stirred, and in less than half a second, his spiritual energy weapon [Tan] was already in his hand.

Then, Wang Tanzhi didn't say a word and swung his arm in a series of slashes. Relying on the weapon's special effect, "Flame Devour," he actually cut out a rectangular "doorway" in the large door.

As the thick door panel that was cut off fell to the ground, a thick, bloody stench also poured out from within.

But Xiao Tan didn't care about these things at the moment. His mind was entirely focused on how to rescue Xiao Ling. This kind of discomfort at the olfactory level could be completely ignored with willpower.

"She definitely hasn't run far… where is she…" Xiao Tan passed through the Sanmen Hall (also known as the "Shanmen Hall," which is the main gate of a Buddhist temple. It is usually three doors standing side by side, hence the name. Another theory is that the three doors symbolize "emptiness, formlessness, and desirelessness," which are the "three doors to liberation"), muttering to himself.

He maintained his Eagle Eye state, his gaze rapidly sweeping across the courtyard behind the door. Soon… he found the ball of bloody mist from before.

Because Xiao Ling, trapped in the mist, was constantly struggling, the movement of the mist was greatly affected. Therefore, at the moment when Xiao Tan broke through the door, the blood mist had barely moved to the incense burner in front of the hall.

Chi—

A sharp sound rang out, and a figure appeared.

Wang Tanzhi took a quick step, his momentum like lightning, and in the blink of an eye, he had circled around to the front of the blood mist.

"Stop." The cold, icy words and the firm, determined gaze actually made the monster holding Xiao Ling dare not move for a moment.

After a brief confrontation, the blood mist dissipated.

What appeared… in the mist, was an extremely beautiful woman.

This woman had skin as smooth as cream and a face like a peach blossom. She had bright teeth and eyes, and her red lips were like cherries. Her pale face had a faint blush, and her features were so delicate that it was impossible to find any flaws.

She wore a red dress, like a bride waiting to be married. Even though the dress didn't show off her figure very well, her posture still appeared slender and elegant, and her proportions were just right.

"Yo~ Where did this young man come from~ He's quite handsome, isn't he~" After the woman "materialized," she pinched Xiao Ling's neck with one hand, turned sideways, and sized Xiao Tan up and down with her beautiful eyes. "What brings you here to find me…?"

Wang Tanzhi stared at the other party coldly, silent for several seconds…

Through Eagle Eye Vision, Xiao Tan suddenly realized that this was a very strong monster (due to the special effect of [Shadow of the Mourning Bell], the effect of [Eagle Eye Vision] had been upgraded to S-rank)… at least a mini-boss level. Therefore, in these few seconds, he had made preparations to fight with all his strength.

Several seconds later, he responded with two words: "Let her go."

"Heh…" the woman smiled charmingly, "What… is this girl perhaps your lover?"

"Yes," Xiao Tan gave another concise response.

In this second, all the single dogs watching the live broadcast suffered a lot of real damage…

"Is that so…" the woman tilted her head slightly, pretending to look at Xiao Ling, "Looking closely… this girl is quite delicate, and she matches you quite well… heh heh…" She smiled sinisterly, "But I wonder… if she lost this face… would you still be fond of her?"

Before she finished speaking, a sudden change occurred!

The woman's cherry-like mouth suddenly split open in a second, widening to an unbelievable size. And her face, at this moment, became ugly and terrifying, inhuman due to the expanding mouth.

"Gua—" She opened her bloody mouth and bit towards Xiao Ling's face.

At this moment, Xiao Ling was unable to mount an effective resistance to this attack… because when Xiao Ling was swept into the blood mist, the status bar had already shown that she had a debuff. Unless the other party was willing to let her go, she could neither take things from her inventory nor activate skills.

Furthermore, Xiao Ling's close combat skills were already poor, and in terms of brute force, she was definitely no match for this boss-level monster. Therefore… at this moment, she could only endure this face-biting attack.

However… Wang Tanzhi would not let this happen.

Although the monster's attack was sudden and fast, Xiao Tan's reaction and movements were even faster.

[Name: Soul of the Wolf - Speed]

[Type: Other]

[Quality: Perfect]

[Effect: When this magic item is in your inventory, you can obtain a special ability of the Soul of the Wolf.]

[Note: This item can be activated once every ten minutes, consuming 300 Stamina Points each time. Within three seconds of activation, the user's speed can be increased to three times the original.]

This magic item was the second "treasure" that Xiao Tan had obtained from Blackbeard's treasure. This was equivalent to giving him an extra skill, and this skill did not occupy a skill slot and could be activated successfully 100% of the time.

Of course, since it was an item effect, this skill did not belong to any specialization and would not enjoy the effect bonus of [Shadow of the Mourning Bell].

Whoosh—

In an instant, a strong wind rose, and Wang Tanzhi's figure suddenly blurred, turning into a phantom and rushing towards the monster's location.

The blade of Tan passed, and black flames soared.

In an instant, the monster's head was directly split in two from the middle, and the upper and lower parts of the lip line were completely separated.

Seeing that most of her head had flown away, it was naturally impossible for her to close her mouth again…

At the same time, Xiao Ling suddenly felt the pressure on her body lighten, which was undoubtedly a sign that the debuff had been removed. She immediately twisted her body and pushed away, breaking free from the monster's grip.

Immediately afterward, the monster's body fell to the ground… This was also expected, because before her body fell, her soul was already gone.

"Are you okay?" Xiao Tan sheathed his weapon and turned his head, asking Xiao Ling with concern.

"I'm fine…" Xiao Ling replied, then continued with some frustration, "But… what a disgrace, one mistake… and I almost died in the hands of a monster."

"This isn't your fault…" Xiao Tan replied, "Judging by the standards of survival mode, the difficulty of this script should already be team nightmare level, so there are these almost unannounced, instant-death events." He paused and glanced at the monster on the ground, "Don't think I killed her easily, she's actually very strong…"

As he spoke, the monster's "corpse" was slowly turning into blood and seeping into the cracks in the stone slabs on the ground…

"I know," Xiao Ling quickly replied, "Whether it's strength, speed, or abilities… this guy has already caught up with the big boss in a normal script." As she spoke, she seemed to have thought of something and muttered, "And judging from her few lines and performance… her personality is also quite nasty."

"Well… in short, we have to be more careful next." At this time, Xiao Tan had unconsciously returned to his usual gentle and polite, dazed and cute state, and the aura of arrogance and coolness had disappeared.

"Hmph… you're getting arrogant after saving me once~" Xiao Ling made a face at Xiao Tan, stuck out her tongue, and then continued, "Then you go first this time."

Xiao Tan swallowed and showed an undisguised look of fear on his face: "Uh… but… I'm afraid of ghosts…"

"Hehe." Xiao Ling chuckled twice, "Then who do you want to lead the way?"

This was not supposed to be a problem, but Xiao Tan really thought about it, and he actually came up with an idea: "Eh~ I've got it!" With that, his eyes lit up and he took out the [Dog Whistle] from his inventory and held it in his mouth…