62: Chapter 62 Secretly Poisoning? He'll Become a Pig's Head First

The strike at the village entrance had nearly crippled the Shadow Elder's leg.

He was pathetically dragged by two Abyss Followers to a grassy slope three li outside the village; his black robes were soaked with blood, and he was still gasping in pain.

"Damn it..."

"Damn human NPC!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, his eyes filled with venomous resentment.

In front of the envoys from the Human Race, Dragon Race, and Heavenly Realm, he had been hit by a shockback from a notice board until his leg bone was exposed, completely losing all face.

Enter the village to see Lin Zhe?

Now, let alone seeing him, he couldn't even stand steadily.

But he was unwilling to let it go.

"If I'm having a hard time, don't think your Luofeng Village will have it easy either."

Shadow Elder gnashed his teeth and pulled a small black bottle from his robes.

As soon as the bottle was opened, a cold, rancid stench wafted out.

Bone-Corroding Poison.

A poison unique to the Abyss.

If it touched plants, they would surely wither.

If it seeped into the soil, nothing good would grow there for three months.

He looked toward the west of Luofeng Village, a sinister smile creeping onto his face.

"Don't you rely on herbs and gathering points for a living?"

"I'll ruin your medicinal area first!"

A moment later.

A dark shadow skirted the edge of the woods, quietly sneaking into the Red Maple Forest west of the village.

He had taken healing medicine, barely stopping the bleeding in his leg, and relying on his Level 20 Stealth techniques, he felt it was impossible for a group of novices and low-level NPCs to discover him.

The edge of the Red Maple Forest was currently the most popular herb-gathering spot.

moonlight grass, Red Maple Berries, and Green Leaf Vines grew in patch after patch.

Many lifestyle players had made a fortune here during the day.

Shadow Elder's eyes twitched at the sight.

"It grows quite lushly."

"Pity it will all be gone soon."

He crouched down, parted a patch of herbs, and raised his hand to pour the Bone-Corroding Poison into the soil.

Sizzle—

As soon as the black-green toxic liquid seeped into the mud, thin wisps of black smoke immediately rose from the ground.

At that very instant.

On the earthen slope, the golden patterns in Lin Zhe's eyes flashed slightly.

The Natural Rules had been touched.

Someone was poisoning his medicinal area.

And it was the Bone-Corroding Poison from the Abyss.

Lin Zhe didn't even move his body; he simply gave a light tap with his fingertip.

Buzz—

A wisp of Rule Light, pale gold mixed with light green, slid silently along the ley lines.

A second later, in the Red Maple Forest, before Shadow Elder could even put the bottle away, the ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled.

His expression changed.

"Hmm?"

The Bone-Corroding Poison that had just seeped in seemed to come alive, suddenly surging backward!

Swish!

The black-green toxic lines coiled back from the mud, wrapping directly around the soles of his boots and frantically boring into his body through the seams of his shoes!

"What?!"

Shadow Elder's scalp tingled with shock, and he raised his hand, wanting to blast it away.

But it was already too late.

Three seconds.

His ankles turned black first.

Five seconds.

His calves began to swell.

Seven seconds.

His old face puffed up like it was being inflated.

Eight seconds.

His eyelids bulged, his lips turned outward, and the tip of his nose became shiny.

Nine seconds.

Yellow-green pustules began to bulge out all over his skin.

At exactly ten seconds.

"Aaaaaargh—!"

Shadow Elder collapsed directly onto the ground, rolling around.

His face was swollen like a pig-head.

His neck had thickened by a whole circle.

The backs of his hands, the back of his neck, and his chest were covered in dense clusters of pustules.

They were itchy, painful, and burning all at once.

Every time he scratched, a pustule would pop, making him tremble with pain.

"The poison! How did the poison come back!"

"Save me! Save me!"

He rolled frantically in the herb patch, no longer possessing even a hint of his previous sinister demeanor.

Not far away, a Casual Patrol Team happened to be passing by.

The five of them heard the screams first, and when they turned to look, they were completely stunned.

"Holy crap, what is that thing?"

"A pig-head monster?"

"Wait, isn't this that old Abyss geezer from the village entrance earlier!"

Looking at the black bottle and the blackened soil on the ground, the group immediately understood everything.

"Dammit, he came here to release poison!"

"Apprehend him!"

Without another word, the group rushed forward and pinned him down.

Shadow Elder was already driven nearly mad by the torture of the Bone-Corroding Poison; he had no strength left to resist and was tied up like a bundle of straw, dragged toward the village entrance like a dead dog.

Along the way, the players were all dumbfounded.

"Who is this?"

"How did his face get so swollen?"

"I recognize him! It's that Shadow Elder from the Abyss!"

"Isn't he the one who was acting all high and mighty at the village entrance? How did he turn into a pig-head?"

Soon, the man was dragged before the earthen slope.

Lin Chen, nestled in Ling Xi's arms, took a look and spoke in a childish voice: "It's you again."

Shadow Elder had a face so swollen it looked like a pig-head, and even his speech was airy.

"I... I didn't..."

"Still being stubborn?"

The patrolling players immediately handed over the black bottle and the poisoned clumps of mud.

"Little Archon Lin, this old geezer was caught red-handed releasing Bone-Corroding Poison in the Red Maple Forest herb spot!"

Lin Zhe raised his hand and made a swiping motion.

In mid-air, a Rule Projection suddenly appeared.

The footage was crystal clear.

Shadow Elder sneaking in.

Crouching down.

Opening the bottle.

Releasing the poison.

And then the toxin surging back, turning him into a pig-head.

The entire process was recorded without a single error.

The surrounding players were silent for a second.

Followed by a burst of uproarious laughter.

"Hahahaha! He tried to poison someone else but ended up poisoning himself into a pig-head first!"

"This is way too stupid!"

"The Abyss has completely lost face today!"

Lin Chen's small face turned serious as he directly pronounced the sentence.

"Shadow Elder of the Abyss, for malicious poisoning and destruction of gathering points."

"Permanently banned from all Novice Area access permissions."

"Effective immediately."

Buzz!

A golden light descended.

A crimson notification instantly popped up in front of Shadow Elder's eyes.

[Penalty: Permanently stripped of access permissions for Luofeng Village, Fengyu Village, and Shiti Village]

[Penalty: Permanently forbidden from entering the range of the Third Beginner District]

His entire body went limp.

It was over.

This time, it was truly over.

Lin Chen added another sentence: "Post the recording to the world channel."

The next second.

A server-wide announcement popped up in everyone's faces.

[World Announcement: Shadow Elder of the Abyss maliciously infiltrated the herb area west of Luofeng Village to release Bone-Corroding Poison. With conclusive evidence, all access permissions to the Novice Areas have been permanently revoked.]

[Attachment: Violation Recording]

The world channel exploded instantly.

"LMAO! He really became a pig-head!"

"Getting poisoned by your own stuff, is this all the Abyss has?"

"Even Big Shot Lin's herb patches are protected, who would dare to mess around!"

Below the earthen slope, the envoys from the three factions—the Human Ministry of Rites Official, the Dragon Silver Dragon Guard, and the Heavenly Holy Knight of Light—had all watched the entire recording.

Their expressions changed one by one.

Especially seeing that from the moment Shadow Elder released the poison to the moment he was afflicted, less than ten seconds had passed; they all felt a chill down their spines.

This place was not just somewhere you couldn't trespass.

Even a single drop of poison in the soil couldn't be hidden from Lin Zhe.

The human official was the first to react, immediately turning back to whisper to his attendant: "Add that Red Gold Orb to the gifts as well."

The Silver Dragon Guard had a grim face as they silently took out another Silver Scale Dragon Crystal.

The Heavenly Holy Knight's mouth twitched, and he gnashed his teeth as he put the backup Light Blessing Scroll into the gift box as well.

None of the three parties were fools.

If they didn't show a bit more sincerity, who knew if the next one to turn into a pig-head would be themselves.

Lin Zhe didn't even look at the wailing Shadow Elder on the ground; he only cast a faint glance at the gift boxes in the hands of the three envoys at the village entrance, which had clearly grown thicker, his expression calm.

Meanwhile, that old face on the ground, swollen like a pig-head, was still oozing pus and trembling, no longer daring to lift its head.