345: Chapter 346 Stop acting, I know exactly what time you guys eat!

When Lin Qi reached the third step of the mine pit, he felt a fluctuation coming from the leyline beneath his feet.

The fluctuation didn't come from his own Dao Source detection, but from the faith channel deep within the pit increasing its power.

"Oh?"

He stopped in his tracks and tilted his head to sense it.

The energy output of the faith channel had increased at least fivefold in just thirty seconds. What did this mean?

—Someone was buffing their subordinates.

Lin Qi looked up at the purple pillar of light at the bottom of the pit. The pillar was indeed significantly brighter than before.

"Quite well-prepared."

He continued walking down.

After walking about fifty meters, the first unusual thing appeared in the Earth Erosion ahead.

A wall.

It wasn't a physical wall in the literal sense—it was a translucent barrier condensed from concentrated bone-eroding energy. Dark red liquid energy flowed slowly inside the barrier, like a vertical curtain of blood.

The barrier was about ten meters high and spanned the entire width of the pit's steps, leaving no gaps.

This was a defensive line set up by an inner deacon.

Lin Qi walked up to the barrier and poked it with his index finger.

The moment his finger touched the surface of the barrier, the dark red energy began to frantically corrode his fingertip. The speed of the corrosion was very fast—if it were an ordinary Third-Turn professional, their finger would likely have been completely corroded away within two seconds.

But on Lin Qi's fingertip, the corrosion was decomposed in reverse by the Dao Source as soon as it began.

The dark red energy and the dark gold Dao Source collided at his fingertip, producing a series of faint "pop-pop" sounds.

"The level is quite a bit stronger than those meat chunks outside," Lin Qi commented, "but that's about it."

He withdrew his index finger and pressed his entire palm against it instead.

The Dao Source surged from his palm.

The barrier began to crack outward from his palm. The cracks spread rapidly along the dark red liquid energy, and just five seconds later—the entire barrier shattered.

Fragments of dark red energy drifted in the air and quickly dissipated upon contact with the Dao Source field surrounding Lin Qi.

A person was standing behind the barrier.

It was "Shi Gu."

His iron-gray full-body armor glinted with a dull metallic luster under the reflection of the purple light pillar. He was nearly two meters tall, much taller than Lin Qi. A new layer of dark red patterns had appeared on the armor—the empowerment the High Priest had just infused through the faith channel.

Most of Shi Gu's face was covered by the armor, leaving only his eyes visible. There was a very complex light in his eyes—vigilance, restraint, and a hint of tension he didn't want to admit.

"You're the one who took out the Eye of the Abyss?" Shi Gu's voice came from within the armor, carrying a metallic resonance.

Lin Qi glanced at him.

"You know him?"

"He was from the outer circle."

"Oh, so he was a colleague," Lin Qi nodded. "Is your company having a team-building event? You chose a pretty remote location."

Shi Gu didn't take the bait. He wasn't good at chatting, nor did he want to.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the other two to get into position.

But he couldn't let the person in front of him see that he was stalling for time.

"Coming here alone, you've got guts," Shi Gu said.

"Dividing the loot is a hassle when there are too many people."

"Aren't you afraid of dying here?"

"I am," Lin Qi gave an answer that caught Shi Gu off guard.

Shi Gu was stunned for a second.

"If you're afraid—"

"I'm afraid you'll die too quickly." Lin Qi took the entrenching tool off his shoulder and gripped it in his hand. "It's better if the four of you attack together, otherwise I'm afraid it'll be over before I've even warmed up."

Shi Gu's eyelid twitched.

Four?

He didn't correct the number to "three"—the fourth deacon, "Abyssal Fang," was indeed not in the mining area. But how did the opponent know there should be four of them here?

Had intelligence been leaked?

Shi Gu quickly ran through the possibilities in his mind. Those three outer deacons captured three days ago... Ashes knew the general layout of the mining area, but didn't know the exact number of inner circle members.

Unless—

"Did you soul-search Ashes?" Shi Gu asked.

"You mean that lighter who only knows how to raise the temperature?" Lin Qi's tone was casual. "It took a bit of effort. The encryption in his memory was decent, but unfortunately, it still used your church's standard protocol. To me, that protocol is about the same as having no password at all."

Shi Gu's fist clenched.

A muffled sound of metal squeezing came from the armor's joints.

"How much information did you extract from him?"

"Everything."

"Including—"

"Including the location of your mining area, the layout, personnel configuration, the High Priest's habits, the operation of the faith channel—"

Lin Qi looked into Shi Gu's eyes and smiled.

"And what time you guys eat every day. That Ashes guy was quite particular about his eating schedule."

Shi Gu didn't want to talk anymore.

He took a step back and planted his feet firmly on the bone-eroding ground. The dark red patterns on his armor suddenly lit up as his entire Law-based empowerment entered a combat state.

But he still didn't strike immediately.

Because the people he was waiting for were not yet in position.

Silence needed to circle behind him from the west, and Rift needed to dive underground to flank from below. A three-sided pincer attack to leave the opponent no way out—this was the tactic set by the High Priest.

He only needed to stall for another twenty seconds.

"You're blocking the way just to stall for time, aren't you?" Lin Qi said.

Shi Gu's pupils constricted.

"Your two colleagues, one circling from the west and one burrowing from underground—" Lin Qi pointed the entrenching tool to the bone-eroding ground on his right, then pointed at his feet, "Right?"

Shi Gu didn't answer.

Because answering was no longer meaningful.

Lin Qi wasn't guessing.

He was stating facts.

The Tongshen Realm's ability to sense the leylines allowed him to pinpoint the location of all Law fluctuation sources the moment he stepped into the mining area. Where the three deacons started, which direction they were moving, and at what speed—he knew it all clearly.

"The one from the west will arrive behind you in about fifteen seconds. The one underground is a bit slower, probably another twenty-five seconds." Lin Qi shouldered the entrenching tool again. "See, I can even wait for them all to arrive before we fight."

Shi Gu's Adam's apple bobbed.

He was speechless.

His mouth wasn't sealed—he was just choked with shock.

A person breaks into a stronghold guarded by four inner deacons and a High Priest, and not only shows zero tension but even helps you with the countdown.

Just who was this person?

"Then I won't wait."

When Lin Qi said this, Shi Gu didn't react in time.

Because he had just said he could wait—

The next second, Lin Qi's figure vanished from the spot.

Ghost Shadow Yu Step.

Shi Gu's combat instinct took over his body the moment Lin Qi disappeared. The armor contracted fully, defense was maxed out, and his arms crossed to protect his chest—

But his defensive direction was wrong.

Lin Qi didn't attack from the front.

He bypassed Shi Gu directly and charged toward the bottom of the pit.

—He wasn't here to fight the deacons at all.

He was here for the High Priest.

Shi Gu turned around within a second of realizing it, only to see Lin Qi's back already sweeping past the fourth step of the pit.

"Damn it—"

He stepped out to give chase. But his speed was far inferior to Lin Qi's. The iron-gray armor enhanced defense but sacrificed mobility.

Before he could chase for even fifty meters, he was left in the dust.

"Silence! Rift! Stop him! He's heading straight for the boss!"

Shi Gu's roar echoed through the pit.

To the west, Silence, inside a semi-transparent membrane, suddenly opened his eyes.

To the north underground, the formless Rift accelerated toward the bottom of the pit.

But they were all a step too slow.

Because Lin Qi—

Had already landed at the bottom of the pit.