Chapter 211-1: Fruit of Malice, Rare Seafood Market Stall (1)

[As you gazed at the black crystal in your hand, fragments of the shell’s memories resurfaced…]

[The Pleasure Quarter was not merely a place to gather intelligence for the General, but also a site where malice was collected. The statue of Ancient Heavenly Enma beneath the Pleasure Quarter served as the vessel for that malice.]

[Every day, countless people came here to vent their malice, it was no wonder this place teemed with it.]

[As one of the Pleasure House’s overseers, the attendant only knew that this statue had existed since the Pleasure Quarter’s founding.]

[Every few years, the malice absorbed by the statue would become tangible. They were ordered to guard the statue and, when the malice matured, to harvest the ‘fruit’ and deliver it to the General…]

[…]

“The General…”

This was the second time Lin Xun had heard that title.

From the ninjas, he had learned that the order for the thieves to search at sea for the Envoy’s ceremonial scepter had also come from the General.

[You stowed the black crystal away and turned to leave…]

[You began climbing the stairs back up. Just as you were about to push the door open, a premonition struck you, and you quickly retreated!]

[A gleaming blade sliced the wooden door apart, slashing straight for you!]

[You drew your tachi across to block, but the impact hurled you down the stairs, forcing a mouthful of blood from your lungs.]

[The web of your hand split open, and a huge notch gaped in your tachi’s blade.]

[You have sustained minor injuries!]

[Looking up, you saw the Fire-Worshipping Pleasure Quarter Proprietor descending the stairs with several attendants in tow.]

[The proprietor glared at you darkly, demanding to know why you had dared steal the Fruit of Malice. If you failed to deliver it to the General at the appointed time, neither of you would escape death.]

[You raised your sword into a defensive stance, silent. The chill gleaming on your blade was the only answer.]

“At a time like this, can we not act cool?!”

Lin Xun hastily shoved the useless attendant shell back into storage and switched in the Dragonkin boss.

[You possess the shell of the Knowledge-Seeking Primordial Hermit!]

[The proprietor saw your new form and suddenly understood. So that was why you had stolen the Fruit of Malice, you had already pledged yourself to the Evil God in secret…]

[Although you looked powerful in this form, you seemed to have forgotten that the Karmic Fire bestowed by the True God was your greatest bane!]

[The Fire-Worshipping Proprietor chanted swiftly: “In all heaven and earth, nothing equals evil. In the ten directions, nothing surpasses it. In all the world, I behold it, none can compare to evil…”]

[Behind you, the stone statue erupted into surging, burning pitch-black Karmic Fire!]

[As the fire consumed the air, endless malice exploded in your heart. Everything before your eyes blurred beneath a shroud of darkness…]

[The proprietor and attendants watched you calmly, waiting for the Karmic Fire to reduce you to ash.]

[You raised your chain blade uncontrollably, and in their shocked gazes, you began to slaughter!]

[The endless malice found its outlet. As your blade swung, blood spattered everywhere…]

[You have defeated the Fire-Worshipping Pleasure Quarter Attendant. Your experience increased slightly.]

[You have defeated…]

[The proprietor stared, aghast, watching his subordinates fall one after another beneath that monstrous blade. The black draconic flames wreathing the edge left him frozen in horror, muttering, “How…how could a demon not fear the Karmic Fire…how could a demon command the Karmic Fire…you, you’re no demon, what are you?!”]

[Chains of bone and flesh coiled around the proprietor, binding him layer by layer. Raging dragonfire flared up from deep in your blood and surged down the chains to your blade!]

[The one bound by the chains let out a shrill, despairing scream. In the next moment, the roaring dragonfire burned him into a foul-smelling pool of rancid pus…]

[You have defeated the Fire-Worshipping Pleasure Quarter Proprietor. Your experience increased significantly.]

[You have obtained the Pleasure Quarter Proprietor’s Token (Item).]

Lin Xun couldn’t help but laugh aloud.

“Bet you didn’t expect this, turns out I’m just a counterfeit demon.”

From the look of things, the proprietor must have mistaken him for a genuine demon and used a secret ritual to stir up the malice inside the statue, igniting the Karmic Fire.

He’d thought he could kill Lin Xun effortlessly, only to discover that instead of burning him to ash, the Karmic Fire triggered a frenzy in the dragonkin shell, like he’d just taken a hit of something potent, turning him into a slaughter machine.

[Even the deaths of these people were not enough to fully vent the malice in your heart. Uncontrollably, you wandered the basement, unable to find any more prey.]

[Malice churned wildly. Eyes crazed, you pressed your chain blade to your throat and sliced it open!]

[Blood gushed forth as you convulsed and collapsed…]

[You have died!]

[…]

[Your powerful wandering soul is reborn in the lifeless port…]

Lin Xun’s face was a mask of exasperation.

“When it comes to absurd nonsense, no game rivals this hellspawn.”

He opened his inventory to check the item he’d just acquired.

[Pleasure Quarter Proprietor’s Token (Item): A token forged from metal. Not only does it signify noble status, it also has some unexpected, wondrous uses…]

[While carrying this item, you can receive the highest-grade courtesan service in the Pleasure Quarter, without paying any Spirit Essence.]

“…What’s the damn point of this thing!”

Lin Xun was thoroughly speechless and could only stow the token away.

Expending a bit of soul strength, he reshaped the little dragonkin shell.

He had finished exploring the Pleasure Quarter. Not only had he gathered a few clues about the No-Illusions Shrine, he had also obtained an epic-grade divine item. Overall, it was a decent haul.

“Next, I’ll go browse the Fish Market…”

He possessed the Chunin shell again to continue.

[You set out for the Fish Market, following the markings on the signboards…]