36: Chapter 36 Zhuangxingjiu

The twilight over Luofeng Mountain had no sunset glow, only endless churning, dark red blood clouds that looked like a massive wound torn across the firmament.

The banquet was not held in the warm and cozy Imperial Kitchen Hall, but rather set up on the edge of a cliff overlooking the abyss.

There was a black jade table, a few stone chairs covered with animal hides, and right beside them, the bottomless, gale-howling chasm of ten thousand feet.

There were no delicacies; the table held only a few cold platters and a clay-sealed wine jar that looked quite old.

"Sit."

Pei Fei lifted the hem of his profound black robes and took his seat first.

Against the backdrop of his dark gold black robe, his eyes and brows seemed covered in a layer of frost—the solemnity cultivated from long years of holding a high position, making one afraid to even breathe deeply upon looking at him.

The surroundings were no longer filled with meek palace maids, but two full rows of fully armed Dark Armored Yin Soldiers.

Their hands rested on their sword hilts, silent as statues, emitting a chilling aura of iron and blood that forcibly suppressed the temperature at the cliff's edge to freezing point.

This atmosphere felt wrong.

Even the simple-minded Lin Sa sensed it. The hand she had just raised to grab chopsticks froze mid-air, then quietly retracted, looking toward Xu Mo as if seeking help.

Xu Mo kept his head down, his gaze behind his lenses uncertain and suspicious, only daring to perch on the edge of his chair.

"Pour the wine.", Pei Fei spoke faintly.

Black Impermanence, like an emotionless iron tower, lifted the wine jar.

"Gurgle—"

The wine poured out; it was scarlet like blood and faintly boiled in the cup, emitting a pungent, acrid fragrance that shot straight to the crown of the head.

"This is 'Farewell Wine'."

Pei Fei's long fingers gently stroked the rim of the wine cup, his voice slightly scattered by the wind from the cliff, "After today, this trip to visit relatives in the Underworld will be considered concluded."

Pei Duo looked at the substance in the cup that resembled blood plasma and was about to crack a joke to liven the mood, perhaps something like, "Brother, is this wine expired stock from before the Common Era?"

But the words caught in her throat. Looking at her brother's bottomless eyes, her heart inexplicably tightened.

All her witty remarks were choked in her throat.

It was the dead silence before a storm.

"There were some things I didn't fully explain in the Inner Treasury just now, fearing I might frighten you."

Pei Fei raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping past everyone, landing on the churning darkness in the distance.

"This time, I forcibly tore open the rules to bring you over. The commotion was too great. That brainless main control unit of the System is stupid, but those scoundrels watching this piece of meat in the West are not."

"The Thriller Game is about to change."

Pei Fei's tone was calm, yet he dropped a bombshell: "The previous instances, even S-rank ones, were at best high-difficulty puzzle survival games. But going forward, the rules will change."

"In instances above S-rank from now on, you will encounter not only ghosts and monsters, but also 'Gods Chosen Ones' from the Western mythological system."

"Those fellows carry divine artifacts, and might even allow so-called gods to descend and possess them."

"God... God-descended?!"

Xu Mo felt his scalp tingle. His hand holding the wine cup shook violently, spilling a few drops of scarlet liquid onto the back of his hand.

How could mortals fight that?

"Your Majesty..." Xu Mo's throat was dry. He tried to find a shred of confidence from the 'underworld emissary token' he had just obtained, "Your subjects already possess the legacy of the Underworld Division, and hold the Soul Hook. Even against Western Gods Chosen Ones, a fight might not be impossible..."

"A fight?"

Pei Fei let out a light laugh, as if he had heard a joke.

There was no mockery in that laughter, only a pity that inspired despair.

"Old Eighth, show them what a 'God' looks like."

Black Impermanence stepped forward expressionlessly and waved his large hand.

"Buzz—!!"

A massive phantom projection appeared above the cliff.

The image was extremely shaky, clearly a real-time recording. The background was a dilapidated European-style castle, where a dozen well-equipped players, clearly seasoned veterans, were forming a defensive formation.

Just then, the sky ripped open.

A rotting giant hand, large enough to blot out the sun, emerged from the clouds. The hand was covered in eyeballs that were still rotating.

With just one downward press, those dozen players along with the castle were instantly flattened like putty, turning into an indescribable smear of bloody flesh graffiti.

Then, a three-headed Hellhound, drooling lava-like saliva, leaped out of the rift and swallowed the residual souls of the players one by one, like eating snacks.

The projection dissipated.

The edge of the cliff fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the mournful sound of the wind.

Lin Sa's face was as pale as paper, and Xu Mo felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. The ambition that had risen from obtaining the 'cheat' moments ago was crushed to dust before that giant hand.

"This is the world you will face when you return."

Pei Fei's voice was like a judgment, "Without the suppression of the Underworld's rules, on the Westerners' home ground, you are merely live targets."

A sense of powerlessness that reached the bone marrow spread in Xu Mo and Lin Sa's hearts.

"However..."

Just as the two were about to have a mental collapse, Pei Fei suddenly stood up.

When he stood, it was as if a majestic mountain had erupted from the ground, blocking all the howling Yin winds behind him.

"Since they are My people, there is no reason to let outsiders bully them."

Pei Fei walked in front of the two, forcing a drop of imperial blood shimmering with pure golden light from his right index fingertip.

"Look up."

It was an undeniable command.

Xu Mo and Lin Sa instinctively looked up.

Pei Fei's fingertip, stained with blood, rapidly drew a complex and ancient rune on the center of both their foreheads.

"Hiss—"

It was like a branding iron searing flesh.

The intense pain made both of them tremble all over, but they dared not move, gritting their teeth and enduring it.

As the final stroke fell, the blood rune sank into their skin and vanished, leaving behind only a warm current protecting their spiritual consciousness.

"This is the Lord's Edict.", Pei Fei withdrew his hand, his expression calm. "With this talisman, as long as a Western chief god does not personally arrive, no spiritual contamination or soul control can invade."

He picked up the cup of scarlet Farewell Wine from the table and handed it to Xu Mo.

"This wine is brewed using the base ingredients of Lady Meng's Potion, but without the 'Forgetfulness Grass'." Pei Fei looked into Xu Mo's eyes, "Drink it. Although I cannot grant you strength, it will allow you to maintain absolute clarity when facing the unspeakable, great terror."

Xu Mo looked at the cup of fierce wine, red as blood.

He knew this was a road of no return, but he had no other choice.

"Your subject thanks Your Majesty for the wine!"

Xu Mo accepted it with both hands and drained it in one gulp. The spiciness burned down his throat, exploding like a fierce fire in his chest, making his eyes red, but also burning away the last bit of fear in his heart.

"Cheers!" Lin Sa also grabbed her wine cup and downed it boldly, "At worst, it's death. Let's taste what it's like to fight against Immortals!"

Pei Fei looked at the two, and a hint of approval flashed in his eyes.