181: Chapter 181 Jin Nihuang and the leader of the Shadow Skeletons join forces; Lu Chen's deal with the Hunter Headquarters!

The West Sea Overlord led the remaining army of sea monsters and vanished into the ink-blue deep sea like a receding tide, leaving behind a devastated coastline and floating debris and severed limbs that silently spoke of the brutality of the earth-shattering battle just now.

Outside Hunter Headquarters, the smoke had not yet fully dissipated, but the suffocating pressure had already vanished.

The battle was over.

With his own strength, he shook the elites of three Nine-Star Guilds, forced back the West Sea Overlord, beheaded two members of The Five Elders, and slaughtered countless Rank 8 experts...

After this battle, the name Lu Chen was no longer just a simple up-and-comer, but a codename for a true powerhouse standing at the global Peak, enough to make any faction shudder upon hearing it!

...

In the distant horizon, the wanbao glazed chariot (Damaged Version) was flying at a wretched speed; the jewelry-like luster from when it arrived was long gone, leaving only charred marks and damage.

Inside the chariot, Jin Nihuang no longer possessed any grace or luxury. Her hair was disheveled, her beautiful dress was charred and torn in many places, and her originally charming face was twisted to the point of being hideous. In her beautiful eyes burned a resentment and madness that seemed ready to burst forth.

"Lu Chen, you little beast! I will tear you into ten thousand pieces!!!"

Her shrill roar echoed inside the chariot. Her jade hand slapped heavily on the low table beside her, and the priceless spiritual wood table instantly turned into powder.

This time, Jinbao Pavilion had suffered too heavy a loss!

The core Elders and deacons she brought were nearly all dead or injured, the Rank 8 elites she had carefully cultivated were almost completely slaughtered, not to mention that wanbao glazed chariot which had cost countless resources to build, now half-ruined, along with those legendary items damaged during the battle...

Thinking of every single thing was like cutting flesh from her heart!

Jinbao Pavilion's strength was greatly damaged, and its position was in jeopardy!

All of this was thanks to Lu Chen!

Just as she was so angry she was about to vomit blood, the Leader of Haiying sent a video call.

A virtual light screen popped up, and on the opposite side appeared a figure shrouded in deep shadows, with even her face blurred. Only a pair of eyes, like two bottomless ancient wells, emitted coldness and dead silence.

It was none other than the Leader of Haiying!

"Madam Jin, it seems... your Pavilion has suffered significant losses this time."

The voice of the Leader of Haiying was hoarse and flat, devoid of any emotion.

Seeing it was her, Jin Nihuang forcibly suppressed her anger, but her tone remained icy cold: "Are you here to watch me make a fool of myself?"

"Not at all."

The Leader of Haiying said slowly: "I am here to inform you of good news, and at the same time, to discuss a collaboration."

"Good news?"

Jin Nihuang frowned.

"Lv Hai has successfully captured Yu Linglong and is secretly escorting her. She will arrive at your Pavilion's headquarters in a few days."

Hearing this, a trace of pleasure and viciousness finally flashed across Jin Nihuang's twisted face: "Good! Finally, some news that pleases me! I will definitely make that little bitch taste every punishment of my Jinbao Pavilion!"

Jin Nihuang changed the subject: "What collaboration?"

"Lu Chen regards this woman as family. Given how much he values his family, once he gets the news, he will definitely go to the rescue at all costs."

"At that time, using your Pavilion's headquarters as a base, we can set up a net, and by combining the strength of our two major guilds... it is not impossible to trap and kill this true Dragon!"

The Leader of Haiying paused and continued: "Every secret Lu Chen possesses is worth a fortune. Once we succeed, we will split everything we obtain equally!"

"Split equally?"

Jin Nihuang was tempted. Her hatred for Lu Chen was already monstrous. If she could capture him, interrogate him for all his secrets, and then torture him to death slowly, only then could she vent the hatred in her heart!

Moreover, those secrets themselves represented supreme power and wealth!

She hardly hesitated, her scarlet lips curling into a vicious arc: "Deal!"

"At that time, my Skeleton Shadow guild will naturally send experts to assist."

After the Leader of Haiying finished speaking, she cut off the communication.

The light screen disappeared. Jin Nihuang's nails almost dug into her flesh, but a morbid and excited smile appeared on her face.

"Lu Chen... this time, let's see how you die!"

...

Skeleton Shadow guild headquarters.

The Leader of Haiying sat on the throne of shadows. Below, the returning Bone King Jin Hai, Red Bone, and Bai Hai stood respectfully.

The Leader of Haiying let out a low laugh: "The three of you, depart immediately for the Jinbao Pavilion headquarters. Your primary goal is to obtain the secret of Lu Chen's resurrection... you must secure it in our hands at all costs!"

"Yes! Leader!"

The three Bone King-level assassins replied in unison.

After the three figures merged into the shadows and disappeared, the Leader of Haiying slowly leaned back on the throne. In the shadows, her gaze seemed to pierce through the endless Void Realm.

"The nameless temple... will descend in a few days! The old monsters of the three quasi-Divine-Grade guilds will probably all return one after another..."

She whispered to herself, with a hint of irrepressible desire: "If I can obtain the ability of immortality... in this temple competition, I will have a greater chance of success... and even, ascend to become a god in one go!"

...

Hunter Headquarters.

In the villa where Lu Chen's family was temporarily staying.

The atmosphere was heavy.

Lu Chen had returned to his human form, but the biting Evil Qi still lingering around him kept the temperature in the living room lower than usual.

"Xiao Chen!"

Lu Sen's face was pale, and he had internal injuries. He spoke with a heavy voice: "Linglong... she was taken away by the assassins of Skeleton Shadow, and her whereabouts are unknown..."

Chen Rou held her husband's hand tightly, her eyes filled with worry and self-blame.

"Dad, Mom, this is not your fault."

Lu Chen shook his head, his eyes as cold as ten-thousand-year ice: "Skeleton Shadow... they dare to touch my family, I will definitely root them out! Leave no one alive!"

That grim killing intent made even Ophelia shiver involuntarily.

Just then, Elder Dong Tian walked in quickly from outside, his face looking extremely ugly.

"Young Friend Lu! Jin Nihuang of Jinbao Pavilion sent a message with a photo of Yu Linglong."

Dong Tian opened the message: [Tell Lu Chen for me, if you want to save Yu Linglong, come to Jin City in the Southern Territory in person in a month! Don't be late! Remember, only he is allowed to come!]

"Young Friend Lu, she intentionally gave a one-month deadline, clearly wanting to use this time to set up a net in Jin City and lure you there!"

Dong Tian said in a deep voice.

Lu Chen looked at the photo of Sister Linglong, his fists suddenly clenched, his knuckles turning white from the force, but his voice was surprisingly calm, calm enough to be chilling:

"Elder Dong, please reply to her and tell her that in a month, I, Lu Chen, will definitely visit in person!"

He bit the word "visit" very heavily, the killing intent within it self-evident.

"Kid, you have guts!"

A lazy voice rang out. The Wasteland Guardian appeared in the living room again, not knowing when, chewing on that unchanging grass root. He looked at Lu Chen and clicked his tongue:

"However, having guts is not enough. Fighting a Rank 9 with Rank 7, relying on Dragon transformation and many trump cards, suppressing or even repelling them is possible, but wanting to kill the opponent and rescue the hostage in their heavily prepared lair is hard, very hard!"

He walked up to Lu Chen, his cloudy eyes flashing with sharp light: "Unless you can advance to Rank 8 within a month!"

"But the problem is, time is too tight. In terms of Rank, you can go and break through a few high-difficulty challenge secret realms, or clear the Gods Game to level up, but the Rank 8 advancement mission is troublesome because of the Materials!"

He counted on his fingers: "Various attribute top-tier crystal cores, rare elemental essences, fragments, Soul essences... there are dozens of different kinds, and the demand for each is terrifyingly large. Collecting them is extremely time-consuming, and the Rank 8 advancement mission process itself is complex. Even if your talent is peerless and you crush everything along the way, it won't be done in less than ten days or half a month. Calculated, one month... is very risky!"

Lu Chen frowned slightly: "Is there no shortcut?"

"Hehe!"

The Wasteland Guardian grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth: "As for a shortcut, it's not that there isn't one, unless..."

"Unless what?" Lu Chen pressed.

"Unless our Hunter Headquarters uses the full strength of the headquarters to mobilize global channels to help you collect those massive amounts of basic Materials and auxiliary Materials!"

"And you only need to focus on reaching full Rank 7, then go and handle the main Materials that are hardest to obtain, so you can receive and complete the Rank 8 advancement mission at the fastest speed!"

The Wasteland Guardian spread his hands: "This way, perhaps you can make it before the agreed time, kill your way to Jin City, rescue your little sweetheart, and by the way, wipe out that big-breasted, brainless stupid woman, Jin Nihuang!"

A sharp light flashed in Lu Chen's eyes: "What conditions are needed for Hunter Headquarters to be willing to help me with all its strength?"

He knew there was no free lunch in the world, especially in a huge organization like Hunter Headquarters.

The Wasteland Guardian chuckled and rubbed his fingers, looking like a treacherous merchant: "The conditions, they aren't hard! Our Hunter Headquarters just happens to control two Gods Game maps, so you just need to bring me along, and we will go and clear them together!"

"Just this condition?"

Lu Chen was a bit surprised.

He thought it would be some harsh requirement.

"Just this condition!"

The Wasteland Guardian crunched the grass root: "Kid, don't underestimate this Gods Game, it's very hard! If things go wrong, this old man might even get stuck in it! However, if we can clear it, the benefits are also huge!"

Lu Chen looked at the Wasteland Guardian's seemingly lazy but actually bottomless eyes and instantly understood. Senior Wasteland Guardian wanted to use the Gods Game to quickly reach full Rank 9.

However, this suited him perfectly; each taking what they needed!

Lu Chen nodded: "Okay! No problem! But I hope the Hunter Organization will step in so that Jin Nihuang cannot harm Sister Linglong within a month!"

The Wasteland Guardian grinned: "That's easy to handle!"

To rescue Sister Linglong as soon as possible, let alone the Gods Game, even if a real god stood in his way, he would cut a bloody path through it!

In a month, in Jin City of the Southern Territory, he would definitely arrive in person. At that time, he would make Jin Nihuang regret using Sister Linglong as a pawn!