344: Chapter 344 seems to have brought something extraordinary.

"You, that 'road of injustice' line you just roared sounded like a screaming chicken getting its neck squeezed. Get out."

Chen You pointed expressionlessly at an Orc.

The Orc felt so wronged he almost dropped his totem pole. "God You, that's my Battle Shout talent bonus..."

"The formation doesn't need talent, it only needs pure emotion. Carry him away."

Super Meng immediately led several Berserkers to rush up, hoisting the Shaman and throwing him out.

"Next! Those queuing outside, fill the gap!" Super Meng shouted at the top of his lungs.

Outside the moat, players covering the mountains and plains craned their necks in anticipation.

As soon as they heard there was a vacancy, they surged forward like a zombie siege.

"Let me in! I'm a vocal music graduate student! I know Bel Canto!"

"Bel Canto is crap! My grandfather was an opera singer, I know this song well!"

"Don't push! For God You, I will sacrifice my Yang energy!"

Unqualified players were continuously filtered out, and fresh blood quickly filled the gaps.

The fifty-thousand-man phalanx remained at full capacity.

Chen You watched the numbers on the system panel tick up slowly.

[Emotional Compatibility: 85%]

[Emotional Compatibility: 93%]

"One last time!" Chen You raised a battered megaphone and took a deep breath.

"Give me all your passion, all your conviction! Sing for me!"

"The great river flows to the east—"

Fifty thousand people roared in unison.

This time, there were no trills, no whistle notes, and no fancy techniques.

They strained their throats, veins bulging, pouring their hot blood and chuunibyou souls unreservedly into this old song.

It was all emotion.

The deafening waves of sound shot straight into the clouds, even shattering the falling snowflakes in the sky.

[Emotional Compatibility: 100%!]

[Conditions met. Yellow Springs Yin-Gathering Formation is operating at full power!]

The gravel at the bottom of the moat vibrated violently.

Black formation lines spread out from beneath Chen You, instantly outlining a massive formation diagram covering fifty thousand people.

A dark red light shot into the sky, tearing through the gloomy heavens.

The players only felt a chill on the tops of their heads.

Wisps of visible white mist drifted out from their crowns, gathering in mid-air.

The system notification sounded in every player's ear.

[Ding! You are affected by the 'Yellow Springs Yin-Gathering Formation' and have gained a temporary negative status: Yang Energy Depletion.]

[Yang Energy Depletion: All attributes decreased by 5% for 1 hour.]

There was no panic among the crowd; instead, a carnival-like commotion broke out.

"Holy crap! There really is a debuff! God You didn't lie to us, the formation is actually drawing our power to suppress the Evil God!"

A Knight looked at his status bar, trembling with excitement.

"Only a 5% attribute reduction? God You is too kind! He'd rather suffer himself than draw more from us!"

A Mage spread his arms and looked up, shouting with a face full of intoxication.

"God You! Don't be polite! Increase the intensity! Drain me dry! I can take it!"

Beside him, a female Elf player pressed her legs together and held her hands to her heart. A weird flush rose to her cheeks as she spoke in a high-pitched, coquettish voice:

"Oh my... God You is sucking me... It feels so good, so secure~"

Chen You stood at the center of the formation eye. Hearing these wild words from all around, his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

This group of players was truly beyond saving.

The white Yang energy gathered in the air into a vast sea of clouds.

Directly beneath the formation, the entrance to the Yellow Springs was forcibly torn open, and thick black Yin energy gushed out like a fountain.

One Yin and one Yang, one black and one white.

The two forces collided and intertwined in mid-air.

According to Old Mo, once these two forces neutralized each other, they would condense into the purest Huangquan Essence, which was exactly the key material Chen You needed to complete his mission.

Chen You stared intently at the energy mass in the air.

The black and white energies began to rotate, faster and faster, gradually forming a massive Taiji vortex.

However, just as the vortex was about to shrink and take shape, the system's piercing alarm suddenly exploded in Chen You's mind.

[Warning! Abnormal energy injection detected!]

[Warning! The Yang energy is mixed with excessive fanaticism, chuunibyou, infatuation, self-indulgence, and other complex emotions. The Laws of Yellow Springs have undergone severe distortion!]

[Essence condensation failed! The formation has undergone an unknown mutation!]

"Quack?" Big Yellow Duck, who had been squatting beside Chen You watching the show, suddenly stood up.

Its yellow downy feathers puffed out as it stared fixedly at the vortex in the sky.

Chen You's heart skipped a beat.

Could this crappy formation get food poisoning just from drawing some Yang energy?

The vortex in the air didn't condense into a droplet; instead, it expanded further and further until, with a 'boom,' it exploded into a cloud of pitch-black smoke.

The wind howled, and a pungent smell of low-quality alcohol wafted from the smoke.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

A series of violent coughs came from within the smoke.

The fifty thousand players instantly fell silent, drawing their weapons and staring intently at the sky.

"Evil God! It must be the Evil God coming out!" Super Meng raised his large axe and roared excitedly, "Brothers, prepare for battle!"

The thick smoke gradually dissipated.

A large foot wearing a tattered black official's boot stepped out from the void.

Following that, an extremely stalwart figure crashed heavily onto the ice, making the ground shake.

This man was a full ten meters tall, wearing a faded and tattered crimson robe.

With a leopard-like head, bulging eyes, a dark face, and a curly beard, his appearance was incredibly fierce, looking exactly like a malevolent ghost that had just crawled out of hell.

He held a tattered folding fan in his hand, and a purple-red wine gourd larger than a head hung from his waist.

This look... Chen You was stunned.

Isn't this freaking Zhong Kui?

The giant let out a loud belch, exhaled a puff of black smoke, and rubbed his messy hair with a hand as large as a palm leaf fan.

He looked around, first at the fifty thousand players standing ready, then down at Chen You, whose lower half was still buried in the rock pile.

Finally, his gaze landed on the bristling Big Yellow Duck.

"How strange..." the giant muttered.

He folded his fan and pointed at Chen You, his eyes wide with anger.

"What manner of monster are you! How dare you gather a crowd in broad daylight to... to sing?!"

Chen You blinked and didn't respond.

Was this a case of the system triggering a hidden event? Or some other side quest?

The giant was so angry his beard curled up. "Singing is one thing, but to sing such nonsensical, rhythm-less trash!"

"You've woken this True Lord from his afternoon nap!"

"And who might you be?" Chen You asked tentatively.

The giant sneered and suddenly puffed out his chest. A terrifying pressure instantly swept across the field.

That pressure was several times more powerful than the previous Star Sea King Projection!

The fifty thousand players were forced back a step in unison by this aura.

"Prick up your ears and listen well!" The giant's voice was like a booming bell.

"I am the Yellow Springs Demon-Subduing True Lord, Zhong Bukui! I specialize in curing all forms of defiance and slaying all kinds of demons!"

Zhong Bukui?

Chen You's mouth twitched.

As expected, it was another "plagiarized" creation by the system.

Zhong Bukui glared with eyes as large as bronze bells, scanning the crowd.

"Speak! That trashy song just now—which blind fool led the singing? Step forward, and this True Lord promises not to beat him to death!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen You didn't hesitate for a second. His exposed right hand snapped up.

His index finger pointed with unerring precision at the Orc Berserker standing at the very front.

"Him." Chen You's tone was firm and devoid of emotion.

Super Meng was stunned for a moment, but then a massive sense of honor surged in his heart.

God You is giving me a chance to show off!

He took a large stride forward, thumped his hairy chest hard, and lifted his head proudly.

"That's right! It was I! For God You, for the sake of suppressing the Evil God, I, Super Meng, will not shrink from my duty!"