"Here, take this with you at that time."

Old Hong tossed a small black stone to Fang Qingyu.

"This is called the 'Fixing Stone'. It was concocted back in the day during the siege of 'The Shadow Erosion', using its residual aura and shattered divinity as well as some special materials."

"As long as you can touch him..." Old Hong stretched out his withered finger, pointing lightly in the air, "even if it's just a scratch on his skin, by touching him with this stone, you can temporarily stabilize the spatial waves around him, sealing off his escape technique!"

"However..." Old Hong changed his tone, his gaze becoming extremely serious, "this thing only has one chance! And it must be activated instantly upon contact with his main body to be effective!"

"As for whether you can defeat him..." Old Hong looked at Fang Qingyu, a faint glimmer of stars seemed to flicker in the depths of his cloudy eyes, "that's your own problem."

"He's very alert and wouldn't act without absolute confidence. So, what you should worry about is not whether he will run, but rather if, by then... you'll be enticing enough as bait for him to willingly take you on."

Fang Qingyu silently listened, his fingers rubbing the ancient, worn volume and the chilling Fixing Stone.

Old Hong's meaning was clear.

This was a "hunting" task specially tailored for him.

The target, the divine reincarnation "The Shadow Erosion".

The purpose, to eliminate him, allowing Tier Three powerhouses to re-enter 'the Abyss' and restore order completely.

Key item, the Fixing Stone.

Prerequisite, to break through to Tier Two and possess enough allure for 'The Shadow Erosion' to make the first move.

Risk: Extremely high. The opponent is a Tier Two divine reincarnation with bizarre abilities.

Fang Qingyu was just about to open his mouth and ask for more details about 'The Shadow Erosion'.

But Old Hong seemed like he had opened a treasure chest, or more like he had finally removed some guise, his tone carrying a faint trace of heaviness.

"Actually." He looked up slightly, gazing at the cloudless sky.

"According to the original plan of our group of old folks..."

"This 'Abyss',"

Hong Qitian's voice turned low, each word felt as though it weighed a thousand pounds.

"Although no one knows if there will really be such a day..."

"But just in case..."

Old Hong's voice had a cold, prophetic quality to it.

"If ever there comes a day..."

"When the Life Ghost... fully descends."

"We would make 'the Abyss' the first... and also the last line of defense against those ghostly troops."

Fang Qingyu's heart suddenly tightened.

The full descent of Life Ghost?!

Turning 'the Abyss' into a defensive line against the Life Ghost?!

Fang Qingyu only felt a chill rushing from his tailbone to the top of his head.

His mouth twitched hard, almost reflexively waving his hands repeatedly, his tone somewhat urgent:

"Stop! Stop it, old man!"

"Don't escalate it to this level!"

Fang Qingyu pointed at the ancient volume and Fixing Stone in his arms.

"Isn't this just a simple 'cleaning the house' task?!"

"At most, it's a high-difficulty commission!"

"Nothing to do with defensive lines or whatever!"

Hong Qitian listened to Fang Qingyu's eagerness to sever ties with his "explanation", slightly stunned.

Then, as if amused by Fang Qingyu's reaction, or as if he finally broke free from some heavy thoughts,

wrinkles quickly faded away, replaced with an undisguised, somewhat self-deprecating smile.

"Haha... hahahahaha!"

Hong Qitian suddenly burst into laughter, the sound echoing in the silent alley, startling a few sparrows across the river.

He laughed while suddenly bending over, roughly rolling up his pant leg to reveal his scrawny, age-spotted calf.

That posture instantly transformed from the mysterious old man who spoke surprisingly just now,

to the familiar, street-smart old martial arts hall head that Fang Qingyu knew.

"Damn it! I've attended too many high-level meetings recently!" Old Hong laughed and cursed, his tone casual, almost spitting saliva, "Caught the hygiene-obsessed worries from those old folks always concerned about the state! Talking endlessly about future and humanity! It's irritating!"

He slapped his own thigh forcefully, making a crisp "snap" sound.

"Right! Kid, you're right!"

Old Hong pointed at Fang Qingyu, his murky eyes flickering with a sly light.

"This is just an ordinary task! Clean up a pest troubling 'the Abyss', breaking rules! It's that simple!"

"So, how about it?"

Old Hong leaned forward slightly, with a market trader's tone as if bargaining in the open market:

"This job, kid... will you do it?"

Fang Qingyu didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he looked down, opening the ancient hide-bound volume in his hand.

The first page of the volume had no words at all.

Only a monster's portrait drawn with extremely delicate dark red lines!

It wasn't a ferocious Life Ghost.

But rather a humanoid creature!

His body proportions were extremely bizarre, with limbs grotesquely elongated, the joints at unnaturally twisted angles.

The skin was a lifeless gray, like dried bark.

The most unsettling thing was his face!

No facial features!

Just a smooth, poor-quality porcelain-like surface!

In the very center of this "face", an ugly twisted symbol seemed to flow with filthy pus and blood, constantly changing shapes!

Just this portrait exuded a malicious intent that made one's soul feel rotten and hollow!

Below the portrait, written in ancient tadpole-like scripts, were two gruesome words:

[The Shadow Erosion]!

Fang Qingyu's gaze was locked on that faceless face and the perpetually shifting filthy symbol.

A cold, decaying battle intent quietly ignited in the depths of his eyes.

Fang Qingyu slowly closed the volume.

Looked up at Hong Qitian, who was still rolling up his pant leg.

His mouth slowly curled into an arc.

"Old man..."

Fang Qingyu's voice was calm, yet carried an indisputable determination.

"I'll take this job."

"However..." He paused, his gaze serious and earnest, "the pay needs to be increased."

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