131: Chapter 131 First Kill Upon Landing, Eerie Qin Music in an Ancient Town

Heatwaves distorted the vision, and the air was thick with the suffocating scent of sulfur.

The moment that giant skeleton, dripping with molten iron, crawled out of the magma, a crimson fire ray shot out from its eye socket without warning, aiming straight for Qin Ji's forehead.

"Decent reaction, but too slow."

Qin Ji tapped his toes lightly on the scorched earth, his figure pulling back into an afterimage. The ray, powerful enough to melt through steel, grazed the tips of his hair and struck the rock wall behind him, instantly blasting a bottomless black hole.

Only at this moment did the monster's attribute panel fully flicker into view.

【Blazing Zombie (Bronze-tier BOSS)】

Rank: 50

HP: 10,000,000 / 10,000,000

Attack: 59,850

Skills: Blazing Ray, Corpse Mountain Fire Sea, Heart Incineration...

"The first mob is a Level 50 Bronze BOSS with nearly sixty thousand attack?"

The corners of Qin Ji's mouth curled slightly. Not only was there no fear in his eyes, but a glimmer of excitement ignited instead. This meant the rewards here would far exceed expectations.

“Swish swish swish—!”

The longbow was drawn to its limit, the vibrating sound of the bowstring forming a continuous line.

Twenty arrows per second!

At this moment, the longbow in Qin Ji's hand seemed to transform into a Gatling machine gun. Pitch-black feathered arrows, carrying the shriek of tearing air, wove an airtight web of death in the sky.

-425,800 (True Damage)!

-425,800 (True Damage)!

-851,600 (Critical)!

Densely packed golden damage numbers instantly exploded above the Blazing Zombie's head, like a brilliant display of digital fireworks.

In just over a second.

That Blazing Zombie, which had just crawled out of the magma and hadn't even had time to release its second skill, suddenly stiffened its massive frame. Then, like a collapsing gold mountain or a toppling jade pillar, it crashed down, turning into flying ashes that filled the air.

"You can be proud enough that you weren't insta-killed by a single arrow of mine."

Qin Ji casually lowered his longbow and glanced at the combat log.

With the Hell difficulty buff, this BOSS's tankiness was indeed staggering. For an ordinary player, even a top-tier tank on the server, facing that nearly sixty thousand attack would mean instant death upon contact. But before Qin Ji, its only value was contributing a bit to his maximum HP.

“Ding! You have killed a Blazing Zombie, Max HP +75.”

Only 75 points?

Qin Ji frowned slightly. This was even without triggering the field-clearing effects of Death Reincarnation and Heavenly Fire Meteor. If those large-scale insta-kill skills were triggered, he feared even this small gain would be discounted.

He had to speed up.

“Roar—”

“Roar—”

It seemed the death of their companion had enraged the beings beneath the magma, as the boiling pool exploded once more. A second, third, and fourth Blazing Zombie crawled out one after another, lunging at Qin Ji with a nauseating stench of death.

"Good timing."

Qin Ji advanced instead of retreating, the feathered arrows in his hand like meteors chasing the moon.

With four hundred thousand true damage per basic attack, combined with the passive of [Double True Damage] and the occasional trigger of [Lightning Leap], the entire magma tunnel instantly turned into a one-sided slaughterhouse.

Those terrifying monsters that could cause a total wipeout for a guild raid in the outside world were now like fragile paper toys.

Lightning jumped among the crowd of corpses, each flash taking away a large chunk of their health bars.

Qin Ji maneuvered to avoid the hundred thousand environmental damage per second while using his high lifesteal attribute to keep his health bar locked at full.

Nine Blazing Zombies fell.

His Max HP stacked by over six hundred points.

"Efficiency is too low."

Qin Ji calculated in his mind. Although this stacking speed would be a miracle to ordinary people, he knew very well that what could truly bring him a qualitative change was that legendary [book of light and darkness].

Only by obtaining that could he maximize the benefits of his passive skills.

As he went deeper, the refresh frequency of the monsters began to change.

From sending themselves to death one by one, it became groups of two.

But this did not change the outcome of the battle. Qin Ji didn't even need to maneuver; relying solely on the lifesteal from his overflowing damage, he was enough to tank and kill these two BOSS-level monsters while standing still.

Another nine groups fell.

His Max HP increased by over ten thousand.

"Better than nothing."

Qin Ji shook his head. Just as he was about to continue deeper to find more monsters, the scene before him suddenly opened up.

The originally narrow and oppressive magma tunnel reached its end, replaced by an ancient town floating in a dark red Void Realm.

Black bricks and green tiles, with upturned eaves and corners.

The entire ancient town exuded a sense of vicissitude settled by time. Dragons and phoenixes were carved among the pavilions and buildings. Even in this hellish dungeon, it remained eerily intact and clean.

Qin Ji stepped onto the bluestone path of the ancient town.

There was no expected monster ambush; instead, the irritating '-100,000' red damage numbers above his head instantly disappeared.

"A safe zone?"

Qin Ji's gaze swept across the surroundings.

The doors of the shops on both sides of the street were tightly shut. Red lanterns hanging under the eaves swayed gently in the windless environment, making faint 'creak, creak' sounds.

The entire ancient town was terrifyingly silent, as if it were an empty tomb long forgotten by time.

Qin Ji gripped his longbow, lightened his footsteps, and slowly walked towards the center of the town.

The layout and structure here reminded him of the [Snow Corpse Footprints] he had cleared before. Logically, such a special scene would inevitably have a key NPC to trigger the plot.

“Zheng—”

Just then, a clear and resonant zither sound abruptly pierced the silence.

Qin Ji paused and looked towards the sound.

He saw a three-story pavilion to the left with its window screens half-closed. A woman dressed in a green sheer ancient costume was sitting at a table, her slender hands playing the zither.

She had her back to the dim candlelight, her face hidden in the shadows, yet it could not hide her graceful figure. Her profile, lightly touched with makeup, was stunningly beautiful. In this grim ancient town, she appeared out of place, yet carried a fatal allure.

Qin Ji raised an eyebrow, about to speak and test the waters.

The green-clad woman's fingers on the zither suddenly changed, and the originally melodious music instantly became sharp and murderous.

“Zheng! Zheng!”

Visible sound waves distorted in the air, transforming into two translucent wind blades that tore through the air, heading straight for Qin Ji's throat!

No nonsense at all; a killing move right at the start.

“Swish!”

Qin Ji's reaction was extremely fast, raising his hand to fire an arrow.

The feathered arrow and the sound wave wind blades collided violently in mid-air, producing a crisp metallic clang. The two forces exploded simultaneously, stirring up a visible ring of airwaves.

The woman in the pavilion showed no surprise at her attack being blocked. Her fingers flew across the strings, and the zither music became increasingly hurried.

In an instant, the sky-filling zither notes transformed into countless blades, spears, swords, and halberds, pouring down like a torrential rain!

"A bit interesting."

Qin Ji stood in the middle of the street, his feet steady as a mountain, while the longbow in his hand turned into an afterimage.

Every feathered arrow precisely intercepted a sound wave attack. No matter how dense the zither music was, it could not break through the three-foot space in front of him.

A moment later.

The zither music stopped abruptly.

The overwhelming killing intent receded like a tide, as if it had never appeared.

The green-clad woman in the pavilion slowly stood up and bowed gracefully to Qin Ji through the window screen, her voice soft and alluring: "I am Qiu Shuiru, greetings to the Young Master. Your archery is truly superb, and I am filled with admiration."

Qin Ji did not put away his weapon, only looking at her with a half-smile: "Miss, in this vast ancient town, are you the only living person?"

"Living person?"

Qiu Shuiru covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes rippling with light. "There are no living people in this place. But... since the Young Master has come, now there is one."

She gently pushed open the window lattice, her figure drifting down onto the street like willow catkins, stopping just five steps away from Qin Ji.

"Since the Young Master could make it here, you must be a dragon among men. Seeing me, do you not wish for something to happen?"

As she spoke, she waved her hands gently.

The green sheer fabric on her shoulders slipped down, revealing a large expanse of skin as white and smooth as fat, with deep collarbones gleaming like ivory under the dim light.

"The Young Master's shots were so accurate just now. I wonder if you would be willing to enter my bedroom and teach me personally... how to shoot?"

Qiu Shuiru's voice carried a strange magic, as if it could directly stir the most primal desires in one's heart. Her eyes were hazy as she approached Qin Ji step by step, the fragrance on her body sweet and dizzying.

Qin Ji looked at this beauty, comparable to a top female star, with a hint of playfulness in his eyes.

Playing ghost stories in a Hell-level dungeon?

If it were a player with less self-control, they would have probably rushed over with their head full of lust.

"Teach you how to shoot?"

Qin Ji sized her up, the corner of his mouth hooking into a wicked arc. "My archery is an ancestral secret and is not taught to outsiders. If you truly wish to learn, you must first let me see if your... heart and chest are broad enough. Otherwise, I fear you won't be able to contain my Dao of the arrow."

Qiu Shuiru paused, her brows furrowing slightly. "See it here?"

"What? Is that not allowed?"

Qin Ji grinned, revealing a row of stark white teeth. "In the middle of nowhere, a lonely man and woman, isn't this the perfect place for us to be honest with each other?"

The seductive expression on Qiu Shuiru's face instantly froze.

She stared fixedly at Qin Ji's eyes, which were clear and devoid of any Impurities, finally realizing that the man before her had not fallen for her charm spell at all.

"Does the Young Master look down on me that much?"

Qiu Shuiru's voice suddenly turned cold. Her originally charming face instantly became hideous and distorted, and two lines of bloody tears flowed from her beautiful eyes. "Since you refuse the easy way, then I can only ask the Young Master to go to his death!"

"Can't keep up the act anymore?"

Qin Ji sneered, the longbow in his hand instantly drawn to its limit, lightning exploding on the bowstring. "Bold Prodigy, how dare you play tricks before me. Show your true form!"

“Boom—!”

The thunderbolt arrow flew from the string, piercing straight towards Qiu Shuiru's forehead.

However, Qiu Shuiru's figure dissipated into a cloud of black mist the moment the arrow reached her.

The next second, the eerie zither music sounded again.

But this time, the music did not come from the pavilion; it exploded directly in the depths of Qin Ji's mind!

“Zheng—!!!”

The zither music was mixed with wisps of ghostly cold Qi. Qin Ji felt the scene before his eyes distort, and the originally silent ancient town street instantly fell apart.

When his vision cleared again, he found himself unexpectedly in a magnificent grand hall.

Beneath him was a dragon throne symbolizing supreme power, and under his feet was a red carpet embroidered with five-clawed golden dragons.

Below the hall, civil and military officials were knelt in a dense mass, their voices like a mountain tsunami making the hall hum:

“Long live the Emperor! Long live, long live!”

Before Qin Ji could react, the shrill voice of a eunuch came from outside the hall doors:

“Announcing! The envoys from the Western Regions seek an audience—! Presenting the nine peerless beauties of the Western Regions and rare treasures!”

As the words fell, nine stunning women dressed in exotic attire with veiled faces walked gracefully into the hall. Their exquisite figures danced to the music, every glance seemingly telling of endless love and submission.

All of this was outrageously realistic.

Even the faint scent of ambergris in the air and the cold touch of the dragon throne's armrests were telling Qin Ji—this was reality.

However, sitting high upon the dragon throne, Qin Ji's purple-gold pupils held not a hint of intoxication.

He slowly raised his right hand, looking at the non-existent calluses on his palm. His gaze pierced through the vanity of this prosperous age before him, like a lone wolf lurking in the dark night, coldly watching this meticulously woven hunting trap.