117: Chapter 109 A Game Within a Game? The System Plays Dirty Tactics, and the Eldest Princess Flips the Table!

"The fourth quarter of the Hour of the Rat, the gates of the underworld open wide—"

The Night Watchman's voice stretched long in the thick fog, carrying a chilling aura of death.

Xu Mo pushed up his glasses, his words coming out so fast they seemed to burn his mouth: "The southwest corner of the West Market! Historical records call the Tang Dynasty execution ground 'The Lone Willow Tree,' but it's actually a centuries-old Locust Tree. Hurry!"

Pei Duo carried the blood-lettered lantern and plunged into the deep alleys of the West Market. Lin Sa followed closely behind, her dagger held in a reverse grip, ready for action at any moment.

The thick fog receded rapidly on both sides.

After crossing three alleys, the fog ahead turned a piercing dark red. A stench of blood so thick it wouldn't dissipate rushed straight to their heads.

A towering old Locust Tree, thick enough to require three people to encircle it, appeared at the end of their sight. Its massive canopy and twisted branches were densely hung with withered corpses.

In the very center of the trunk hung a man dressed in the black robes of the Underworld.

Two rusted iron hooks crudely pierced through his collarbones, suspending his entire body in the air. Beneath the man's feet was a massive bronze blood trough, already filled with a thick layer of blood.

Standing beneath the tree was a withered old man wearing a Tang Dynasty scarlet official's uniform and a Futou cap.

The old man held a sharp boning knife in his hand. The blade was extremely thin, and he was slicing it down the back of the black-robed man's neck.

The "sizzle" of flesh separating from bone made their scalps tingle in the dead silence of the night.

The black-robed man convulsed violently, but he couldn't even let out a scream. His mouth was wide open, but it was completely empty inside.

Half of his tongue had long since been brutally torn out.

This was the true Sun Ce, the Sun Ce.

Pei Duo's breath hitched for a second when she saw this scene.

In the next second, a surge of extreme, violent rage rushed to her head. This damn system really wanted to flip the table today!

"Touching my brother's people." Pei Duo's voice was so cold it could drop ice shards. "You're looking for death."

Lin Sa didn't waste words and flicked her wrist.

"Swoosh!" The S-rank dagger turned into a streak of silver lightning, heading straight for the scarlet-clad old man's throat.

Clang!

Three feet from the old Locust Tree, the dagger struck an invisible barrier. Sparks flew as the dagger was forcefully repelled, stabbing backward into the bluestone pavement.

The old man paused his movements and turned his head mechanically.

His eyes were entirely white, and his face showed a sickly excitement.

"The Great Tang execution ground—bystanders, stay away." The old man's voice was sharp, like nails scraping against an iron pot. "Disturbing the executioner is punishable by Skinning and Stuffing with Straw according to the law."

Xu Mo quickly scanned the surroundings, his face turning pale: "Absolute Rules! This old Locust Tree is an SSS-rank formation eye, and the surrounding barrier is connected to the entire ley lines of Chang'an City. Forcing our way in will trigger a backlash from the city-wide formation!"

"Tang Dynasty laws?" Pei Duo laughed out of sheer anger.

She stroded toward the old Locust Tree, her right hand pressing firmly against the black jade pendant on her chest.

"All under heaven is the King's land. The land of the Great Tang was built on the foundation laid by the Great Qin!" Pei Duo's gaze grew fierce. "Talking to me about Tang laws? Today, I'll show you what the law of the Eternal Emperor looks like!"

A black-gold light erupted violently.

The broken corner of the imperial seal of china within the jade pendant vibrated wildly, and the phantoms of nine black dragons circled around Pei Duo.

Pei Duo raised her right hand and slammed a fist hard against the invisible barrier of the execution ground.

Boom!

Two completely different forces of rules collided head-on.

Countless cracks instantly exploded across the bluestone ground. The old Locust Tree shook violently, and the withered corpses on its canopy fell like dumplings into a pot.

The local rules of the Great Tang were indeed strong. But in the face of the First Emperor's jade pendant, which was "ordained by heaven," the imperial rules of later generations suffered a natural suppression of hierarchy!

The surface of the barrier cracked inch by inch, visibly on the verge of collapse.

The old man's withered face finally contorted. It was a terrifying pressure originating from the depths of his soul, a bloodline suppression. It was an imperial aura even more ancient and domineering than that of the Great Tang emperors.

But he didn't retreat.

The system's hard-coded command was execution. The old man suddenly raised his boning knife, abandoning the slow skinning process and stabbing directly at the Sun Ce's heart. He wanted to force a "trade"!

"You dare!"

Pei Duo shouted in anger. The black-gold light transformed into a physical chain, shooting out from the jade pendant and accurately wrapping around the old man's wrist holding the knife.

Words become law, absolute suppression.

The old man's movement froze in mid-air. The boning knife was only half an inch from the Sun Ce's heart, but it seemed welded in place, unable to move down even a fraction.

"Lin Sa!" Pei Duo roared.

"Coming!"

Taking advantage of the crack Pei Duo tore in the barrier, Lin Sa slid across the ground into the execution ground. She pulled the dagger from the ground and leaped up with a burst of power from her legs.

A flash of blade light.

The rusted chains hanging the Sun Ce were cleanly severed. The Sun Ce's massive body fell straight down.

Xu Mo had already rushed under the tree. Holding up the underworld emissary token with both hands, he deployed a ghostly green shield and steadily caught the falling Sun Ce.

The Sun Ce was covered in blood, barely breathing. He struggled to open his eyes, seeing Pei Duo's face through his blurred vision.

"Eldest... Princess..." The Sun Ce let out a leaking gasp from his throat, blood-tears seeping from the corners of his eyes.

Looking at the large patch of flayed flesh on his back, Pei Duo's gaze turned completely cold.

"Xu Mo, give him medicine. Lin Sa, guard them."

After giving her orders, Pei Duo turned her head and stared fixedly at the scarlet-clad old man.

The old man's wrist was bound by the black-gold chain, and he was struggling desperately. He opened his mouth and let out a sharp howl, his body erupting with thick corpse qi as he tried to use his SSS-rank stats to forcibly break the rule-based chain.

"You like skinning people, don't you?"

Pei Duo walked over step by step, the light of the black jade pendant enveloping her entire body.

She didn't bother with any fancy spells. Pei Duo strode forward, her left hand death-gripping the collar of his scarlet official's uniform, her right hand forming a fist.

Her fist, carrying the laws of imperial power, slammed solidly into the old man's face.

Bang!

The old man's nasal bone instantly collapsed, and black blood sprayed everywhere.

"This punch is for my brother's person."

Pei Duo didn't stop. She grabbed the old man's collar, swung him around, and slammed him heavily against the rough trunk of the old Locust Tree.

Bang!

The tree trunk vibrated violently.

"This punch is to teach you who the master is. Trying to play Absolute Rules with me through a bug? Who do you think you are!"

The SSS-rank defense the old man took pride in was as fragile as paper under the physical empowerment of the First Emperor's jade pendant. He discovered in terror that the yin energy in his body was being suppressed by the black-gold light, and he couldn't mobilize even a shred of it.

He opened his mouth, wanting to bring up the Tang Dynasty laws for one last rule-based resistance.

Pei Duo didn't give him a chance to speak at all.

She snatched the boning knife from the old man's hand and, with a reverse strike, stabbed it straight through his right palm, pinning him firmly to the old Locust Tree!

"Ah—!" the old man let out a shrill scream.

Pei Duo's eyes were indifferent as her right hand pressed the knife handle and her left hand pressed the jade pendant on her chest.

"Ordained by Heaven, may he live long and prosper."

The eight words were uttered softly.

The black-gold imperial laws flowed along the boning knife, pouring into the old man's body without reservation. This wasn't physical damage; it was an absolute erasure from the underlying logic!

The old man couldn't even make a sound to beg for mercy. His entire body was like a wax figure thrown into a crematorium, melting rapidly from the inside out.

Three seconds.

An Executioner Ghost King from an SSS-rank instance was directly physically exorcised, turning into a pool of black water that seeped into the bluestone. Not even a speck of dust was left for the system.

The rule-based barrier of the execution ground shattered completely as a result.

Xu Mo let out a long breath, pushed up his slipping glasses, and quickly stuffed a specially-made Underworld Soul-Returning Pill into the Sun Ce's mouth.

"His life is saved." Xu Mo looked at Pei Duo. "But he's too badly injured; he's lost his combat capability."

Pei Duo walked back and crouched down.

Having swallowed the Soul-Returning Pill, the Sun Ce's complexion improved slightly. He struggled to raise his hand and tightly grabbed Pei Duo's sleeve.

"Eldest... Princess... leave quickly..." The Sun Ce's eyes were full of anxiety. "This execution ground... is a bait..."

Pei Duo frowned. "Bait?"

"The system... has trapped His Highness and the others... in the Daming Palace..." The Sun Ce squeezed out words while spitting blood. "This tree... is the formation eye connected to the Daming Palace's dragon vein... It deliberately had me tortured here... just to lure you here... to break the formation..."

Xu Mo's expression changed drastically.

"It's using our hands to open something!" Xu Mo suddenly turned to look at the old Locust Tree.

Before he could finish his sentence.

Crack!

A deafening boom echoed from underground.

The centuries-old Locust Tree actually split straight down the middle! It wasn't cut down; it was being torn apart from the inside by some terrifying force.

The ground began to shake violently, and the bluestone pavement collapsed over a large area. A thick surge of black dragon qi, mixed with a nauseating stench of corpses, erupted from the crack in the ground.

The surrounding thick fog was instantly dispersed by this black aura.

"Retreat!" Lin Sa hoisted the Sun Ce onto her shoulder and retreated rapidly.

Pei Duo and Xu Mo retreated a dozen meters at the same time. The four of them stared fixedly at the crack in the ground.

The black dragon qi circled and condensed in mid-air. Then, a withered hand wearing a bright yellow dragon robe suddenly grabbed the edge of the crack.

The five-clawed golden dragon embroidered on the dragon robe was already soaked in black blood.

A tall figure slowly rose from the ground.

He wore the Twelve-tasseled Mianfu of a Tang Dynasty emperor and carried the sword of the son of heaven at his waist. The terrifying pressure he emitted was enough to instantly crush every living person in Chang'an City.

But he had no head.

The stump of his neck was smooth as a mirror, with black corpse qi constantly erupting from it.

Xu Mo swallowed hard, his voice trembling.

"A headless emperor of the Great Tang? This entrance is truly over the top..."

The headless emperor stood atop the ruins. Although he had no head, Pei Duo clearly felt a cold, violent gaze locked onto the black jade pendant on her chest.

Clang—

The sound of the Night Watchman's clapper echoed from afar again, this time with undisguised madness.

"The fifth quarter of the Hour of the Rat, the Pilgrimage of a Hundred Ghosts—"

At the end of the long street, a dense phalanx of underworld soldiers was marching toward the West Market with synchronized steps.

Pei Duo stood her ground.

She did not retreat.

The imperial seal of china within her jade pendant emitted an unprecedented, searing heat. It was the extreme excitement of encountering a challenge from imperial power of the same level.

Pei Duo slowly raised her right hand and clenched her fist.

"Then let's see whose pilgrimage it really is tonight. This time, we're going head-to-head!"