97: Chapter 97: Everyone's an Oscar-winning actor, performing a special skill for the top guy on the Abyss Ranking.

Heavenly River Sword Sect, back mountain construction site.

A strange meaty aroma wafted through the air. It was a unique scent—a blend of cumin, chili powder, and highly concentrated dark energy.

"Burp—!" A Black Armored Army soldier let out an earth-shattering belch, a puff of pale purple smoke escaping his mouth. "Such kick! This Void Realm Demon Pig meat is too intense! I feel like I could punch a bull to death right now!"

It wasn't just him; after enjoying the "Abyssal Specialties," the entire army of a hundred thousand showed various degrees of "Buff" reactions. Some soldiers' eyes glowed green (Night Vision +10), some developed hardened skin (Armor +5), and even Butcher Xiao, a half-step Golden Core powerhouse, found his cultivation—stagnant for years—actually loosening after devouring three large bowls of braised pork.

"Brothers! Have you eaten your fill?" Wearing a hard hat, Butcher Xiao stood on a high platform, his face flushed as he roared. "We're full!" a hundred thousand men roared in unison, the sound waves making the leaves rustle. "If you're full, get to work! Today, we're digging through the drainage ditch on the back mountain!"

However, just as the army was preparing to continue hauling bricks with fervor, an untimely voice interrupted them.

"Hold on, hold on." The voice of that "fraud... oh no, Saint" from the Scripture Pavilion drifted over through an amplification Formation. "Fellow workers, an emergency announcement." "I just received a video call request from 'Party A' (the Abyssal Lord). The other party suspects we aren't actually fighting over here, so... we need to stage a temporary play to fool... cough, appease them."

Li Mo stood on the second-floor balcony, holding a script (just written on scratch paper), and waved to Butcher Xiao below. "Director Xiao... ah no, Foreman Xiao, take your brothers and stop digging." "Pick up your swords, put on your fiercest expressions, and slash at the air. Remember, scream tragically; it's best if you put some emotion into it."

Butcher Xiao was stunned: "Slash at the air? What kind of military tactic is this?" Li Mo: "This is called 'objectless performance.' Quick, the signal is about to connect, everyone to your positions!"

...

Above the Northern Border, that pixelated screen lit up again. The Abyssal Lord's oppressive face, carrying a hint of suspicion, filled the screen. "...Hello? ...Hello? ...Why... is there... no... sound... at all?" It had just sent several thousand vanguard troops over; logically, it should be a river of blood and a field of lamentations by now. Why was it as quiet as a graveyard?

"Bad signal! Bad signal!" Li Mo's "communications officer"—The Faceless One in the bottle—was forced into business again. It screamed into the transmission stone with all its might: "Lord! The battle is too intense! The sound card was just blown up! I'm switching you to 'Battlefield Live Mode' now!"

With that, Li Mo snapped his fingers. [Lighting technician (Formation light effects): In position.] [Sound technician (Suona team): Start.] [Extras (hundred thousand army): Action!]

Boom! Boom! Boom! On the back mountain of the Heavenly River Sword Sect, dust suddenly exploded into the sky (Li Mo had people detonate several discarded Pill Furnaces). Immediately after, the hundred thousand Black Armored Army began their "performance."

"Ah! Kill! These humans are too stubborn!" "Heavens! That Sweeping Monk is too terrifying! I was sent flying by one swipe of his broom!" "Help! My tentacles are broken!"

The soldiers slashed at the air while gnawing on leftover pig trotters. To make it realistic, Butcher Xiao even found a few loud-mouthed guys to mimic the screams of monsters: "Awoo—! Oink oink—! (mimicking a pig)"

On the other end of the screen, the Abyssal Lord saw a truly shocking scene: Because Li Mo had intentionally lowered the image quality, it could only see fire filling the sky, blurry figures in a frantic melee, and various bits of "flesh and blood" flying everywhere (actually pig bones thrown by the soldiers).

"...Good! ...How tragic!" The Abyssal Lord was excited. It saw it! It saw its subjects fighting a bloody battle! Although the image was a bit blurry, that atmosphere of "beating the brains out of each other" couldn't be faked!

"...It seems... the humans... are still... resisting..." the Abyssal Lord mused. "...9527 (The Faceless One), what... support... do you... need?"

The Faceless One glanced at the teleprompter board Li Mo held up and shouted with a long face: "Lord! We need heavy units! Although the human Cultivators here aren't very bright, they have thick skin! The previous Demon Pigs didn't have enough impact! We need... the kind of big guys with good eyesight, who can fire lasers, and preferably provide lighting!"

Li Mo nodded frantically beside it. He had recently wanted to set up an all-around surveillance System for the Scripture Pavilion and just happened to be short a few high-quality "cameras."

The Abyssal Lord fell silent for a moment. "...Good eyesight... you say?" "...Understood." "...This seat... will send... the 'Evil Eye Tyrant'... legion... over..."

"Evil Eye Tyrant?!" The Faceless One almost swallowed the transmission stone in fright. Those were mental-type monsters at the Golden Core Peak or even Nascent Soul level! A single glance could drive a person insane! It looked at Li Mo in horror, wanting to ask "You can even eat this thing?", but there was only excitement in Li Mo's eyes.

"Great." Li Mo rubbed his hands together. "Just right, the Restricted Book Area is still missing a few ceiling lights."

...

Ten minutes later. The teleportation Formation flashed with pink light once more. That familiar "siphon" effect appeared again.

But this time, what came out were no longer simple-minded wild boars, but giant eyeballs floating in the air. Each one was as large as a millstone, covered in tentacles, with a single eye containing a violent ray of destruction.

"Roar! For the glory of the Abyss!" The first Evil Eye Tyrant had just rushed out of the rift and was preparing to release its "Death Gaze."

However, as soon as it opened its eye, it saw a giant talisman paper covered in formulas stuck right onto its eyeball. [Potent Eye Drops (Physics Version): Blindness for one minute.]

"Ah! My eye!" The Evil Eye Tyrant screamed in pain. Before it could fire lasers randomly, it felt its tentacles tighten. That "Super Slide" proved its worth again. Hundreds of giant eyeballs rolled down the slide like marbles, clattering and tumbling.

At the end of the slide, Butcher Xiao was already waiting with an "Elite Fishing Team." What they held were not swords, but... giant nets.

"Quick! Net that big one!" "Don't let it get away! The Saint said this one isn't for eating; handle it with care! This is a high-tech product!"

Plop! Plop! One by one, the overbearing Evil Eye Tyrants were accurately netted like goldfish, then quickly slapped with Seal talismans and stuffed into specially made... lampshades.

...

Half an hour later. Heavenly River Sword Sect, Scripture Pavilion.

The once dim second-floor Restricted Book Area was now brightly lit. On the ceiling, a giant "fleshy chandelier" hung every five meters. Those Evil Eye Tyrants, sealed within the lampshades, were being forced to keep their eyes wide open, emitting a soft (weakened) light that illuminated every corner.

"Not bad, it's even voice-controlled." Li Mo snapped his fingers. "Brighter." The Evil Eye Tyrants trembled in fear, and the light immediately intensified. "Dimmer." The light immediately became soft.

"Perfect." Li Mo nodded with satisfaction. "It's both energy-saving and environmentally friendly—biological power generation."

At this moment, although the System panel was still gray, that "Abyssal Creature Illustrated Handbook" automatically flipped to a new page, adding a new entry: [Recorded: Evil Eye Tyrant (Furniture Type).] [Usage: Panoramic surveillance, reading illumination, atmosphere enhancement.]

Just as Li Mo was immersed in the joy of "renovating," a hurried sound of footsteps came from downstairs. The Emperor of Great Zhou, Emperor of Great Zhou, ran up in a panic (shouting from below): "Saint! This is bad!" "The 'acting' just now was too realistic, the news wasn't contained and leaked out!" "Now the entire Cultivation World is saying that the Heavenly River Sword Sect is fighting a life-and-death battle with the Abyssal Demon Race! Every major Sect, Holy Land, and even those reclusive old monsters are heading this way under the banner of 'Exterminating Demons and Defending the Dao'!"

Li Mo paused. "Exterminating Demons and Defending the Dao?" He walked to the window and looked at the countless streaks of light lighting up the distant horizon. Those were the flying boats and sword lights of the various powers in the Cultivation World.

"It seems this play... is going to turn from a 'one-man show' into an 'ensemble drama'." Li Mo pushed up his glasses, a playful curve hooking the corner of his mouth. "That's fine too." "Since everyone wants to come 'exterminate demons,' then... let's charge some admission fees."

He turned to look at the Evil Eye Tyrant hanging overhead, which was working hard to emit light. "Little Eye, send a signal to the Abyss side." "Say... to celebrate our victory, we need more 'spectators' and 'tips'."

A **"Super Scripted Murder Mystery"** sweeping the entire Cultivation World and connecting both the Abyss and the human realms was slowly raising its curtain under Li Mo's direction.