Chapter 250: As a Man Dies, the Light Goes Out
With a rapid sound of breaking through the air, a gray figure caught the attention of many players before stopping at the entrance of Fox Cave. Amidst waves of exclamations, countless gazes turned to this NPC, who was not entirely unfamiliar to them, with a mix of surprise and delight:
“Huh? Why is she here?”
“Isn’t she the NPC who always stands in Fox Fairy Village, selling medicinal herbs?”
“Could it be a hidden quest?” To the players’ surprise, this seemingly unremarkable NPC, the Fox Mother, appeared at the entrance of Fox Cave. To their joy, it might be a hidden task—if triggered…
Many players gathered there immediately.
At the same time, the loud sound of hooves approached rapidly. Numerous players rushed into the forest on horseback, arriving first at the Fox Mother’s side, anxious in expression, and asked in surprised tones, “May we help you with anything?”
“…”
The Fox Mother ignored them, standing at the entrance with a frown, staring at the fierce beast’s head and its flame-like eyes. Far from her usual simple demeanor from Fox Fairy Village, her eyes sparkled with an unknown intensity and anger.
“Is something wrong with your relatives inside Fox Cave? Let us help you search!” More and more players gathered around her, forming layers upon layers, constantly asking questions in hopes of triggering her hidden task as soon as possible. But the Fox Mother seemed utterly uninterested.
Still, the enthusiasm of the surrounding players did not wane; they kept talking nonstop…
Time passed slowly…
…
Third level of Fox Cave.
Inside Yao Hua’s secret chamber, over ten skilled fighters had already fallen. Members from the Heroic Gate, First-Class Hall, and Lingxiao Palace were all there. Around Yao Hua, only Meng Yun, Mo Feng, Qin Yun, along with Lin Xiao, Hong Chen, Huang Sha, Xue Yi, Shangguan Lian, and Hai Dongqing remained.
Yao Hua’s attacks were truly devastating. Even top-tier experts found it hard to defend against her. With just one strike, a person would be sent flying, with no chance to block at all. Even worse, some died before they could even see Yao Hua’s attack. Only the nine top experts, working together in shifts, could barely hold her off. Eventually, they formed groups of three—one group to draw enemy fire while the other two searched for opportunities to kill Yao Hua.
After half an hour, bloodstains appeared all over Yao Hua’s fox fur, and blood trails covered the ground beneath his feet. His complexion grew increasingly pale, and with each attack, he gasped heavily, even coughing up blood—his weakness was evident!
“It’s almost done!”
“Push harder!”
Swallowing another Jade Dew Pill, Hong Chen shouted loudly. With his swords connected, his momentum surged dramatically, and his attack range increased significantly. In a short time, he delivered several blows, creating several wounds on Yao Hua like lightning strikes. Yao Hua staggered repeatedly, barely able to hold his weapon steady…
The other eight people’s eyes lit up:
The attack stopped! A great opportunity!!
They attacked simultaneously, unleashing a barrage of attacks on Yao Hua’s already severely weakened body. Yao Hua crashed heavily against the back wall and slid to the ground, spewing mouthfuls of blood. Yet instead of screaming in pain, a look of relief appeared on his face—something utterly unusual.
Inside the secret room, the candlelight on the table trembled violently, as if signaling:
When a man is about to die, does the light go out?
While everyone’s attention was focused on Yao Hua, they failed to notice that the environment of the secret room was undergoing significant changes.
The smooth floor was gradually turning gray; the walls around them, like paste, were slowly losing their smooth surface and sliding down unnoticed by the three factions. Soon, the secret room began to shake violently!
The group finally realized the changes around them. Amidst the roaring noises, the members of the three factions paled:
“What’s going on?”
“An earthquake?” “Damn! That can’t be!”
“It’s not an earthquake—it’s the effect of a illusion!” Qin Yun shook off Hai Dongqing’s hand trying to help her and calmly warned everyone, “It’s possible that the entire area around Fox Cave is under an illusion. We’re in trouble! We forgot about Yao Hua’s wife!” At these words, everyone’s expression changed drastically.
Rumors only mentioned that Yao Hua was severely injured, and his wife was described as having gone mad. Since she wasn’t here, did that mean her strength hadn’t diminished…
“Don’t worry about that—capture Yao Hua first!” Meng Yun’s gaze was resolute. Staring at Yao Hua, who was barely alive but wore a look of relief, she summoned courage, drew her long sword, and created a brilliant sword glow in the air. Suddenly, waves of heat surged in the room, with red flames rushing toward Yao Hua like molten metal.
At the same time, the powerful members of the other two factions, fearing more accidents, also unleashed their strongest attacks, aiming to force Yao Hua to reveal his divine artifacts first.
However!
Just as the group hit Yao Hua, the entire space seemed to collapse, and the environment changed abruptly—the walls around them vanished, as did the ceiling! The confined space suddenly opened up, with night breeze blowing in strongly. The entire group found themselves beneath the empty woods under the moonlight…
An entrance!
Was this the entrance to the Fox Cave?
Under the dim moonlight, they barely realized that the woods around them seemed familiar. Wondering how they ended up at the entrance to the Fox Cave, they detected a strong, almost overpowering scent of blood. The ground beneath their feet felt sticky, as if it had been soaked.
When they looked down…
Shouts of shock rang out from the woods, mixed with the hysterical screams of some female players.
The screams attracted the attention of a monstrous beast outside the woods. Its cruel, merciless eyes quickly turned red, and nine fiery red tails shot into the air!
Whoosh!!
…
The moonlight shone into the woods, illuminating Yao Hua’s pale, emaciated corpse. Despite being surrounded by numerous player corpses, it appeared eerily calm and peaceful. The divine weapon, radiating nobility, dominance, and icy coldness, was weakly clutched in Yao Hua’s hand—strikingly visible. Yet not a single member of the three major factions dared to step forward and take it.
Whether it was the charming Meng Yun, the valiant Mo Feng, or the intelligent and gentle Qin Yun, they all stayed far away from Yao Hua’s corpse, staring at the dark edge of the woods, not daring to breathe, as if they hadn’t noticed the divine weapon in her hands at all.
No one moved!
Thousands of corpses of different players turned the entire woods into a hellish place that made people turn pale at the sight. The eeriness here exceeded what the three major factions could bear. Even their leaders and vice-leaders realized they had fallen into an extremely dangerous environment.
Just then, another group appeared out of nowhere from another direction, with more shouts of shock as they approached…
“Wow!”
“What’s going on?”
“Haha! We’re rich! No one’s touching these corpses!”
“Look over there! That sword…”
Yao Hua’s weapon emitted a mesmerizing blue glow under the moonlight, making it extremely dazzling. It quickly caught the attention of the players over there, with the sound of clothes fluttering as they rushed over.
The members of the three major factions paled at once!
Because the moment those people flew near Yao Hua’s corpse, two lantern-like red lights suddenly appeared at the edge of the woods! Their fierce, brutal eyes resembled those of a king of the underworld suddenly appearing in the moonlit night!