Wu Xiujie's sudden attack caused the guests in the originally cheerful tavern to panic. The father of the little girl opposite turned pale and immediately fell to his knees, shouting, "Please, don't hurt my daughter!"

Facing the man's plea, Wu Xiujie's eyes grew colder: "I'll count to three. If I don't hear a satisfactory answer, you and your daughter's corpse can beg for mercy."

"Wu Xiujie, let the little girl go!" Chai San shouted as he was about to step forward, but a hand covered in Bone Armor stopped him.

It was Chu Xiu.

He was also dissatisfied with Wu Xiujie's sudden attack. The half-hearted ruthlessness was fine, but it didn't consider maximizing benefits.

What high-value intelligence could be obtained by threatening these villagers?

But since he had already acted, Chu Xiu wouldn't let others interfere; otherwise, everything would be for naught.

Chai San tried to shake off Chu Xiu but was shocked to find that the figure cloaked in black robes had terrifying strength! He couldn't break free at all!

At this moment, two other Trial Takers approached, blocking his path.

"Don't you... don't you fear him really killing the little girl?" Chai San whispered in Chinese.

"Killed is killed." Chu Xiu's altered voice came from beneath the mask.

As for the others, most remained unchanged, although a few felt a pang of sympathy but knew Wu Xiujie was helping them pass the trial, so no one intervened.

For most people, killing a little girl for profit might be too heartless to do themselves, but it's much easier to let someone else do it.

Not to mention, these people were quite abnormal. If considered mentally disturbed, the burden of action felt much lighter.

Chai San looked disappointed, knowing he couldn't change anything. At this point, the girl's cries grew louder, while her father trembled, tears and snot flowing, his whole face shaking, struggling to say something but unable to speak!

"One."

Wu Xiujie leisurely counted the final number, then raised his dagger without hesitation, aiming for the girl's chest!

"I'll speak!"

At the last moment, the man finally blurted out.

The dagger stopped less than three centimeters from the girl's chest.

The man collapsed to the ground like a deflated balloon, gasping, "Go near the statue at the square; you'll find what you want."

As his words fell, the Trial Takers exchanged glances and gradually left the tavern.

Behind them, the little girl's wailing pierced the air.

...

"So, what exactly is wrong with them here?"

On the way to the square, Jiang Xue asked uneasily.

No one could answer her.

Normal certainly wasn't normal, just thinking about how the little girl could smile while holding a boiling iron bowl made everyone's scalp tingle.

Ordinary people might withstand unimaginable pain, but physiological reactions would reflexively loosen their grip, something not settled by willpower alone.

But to say entirely abnormal seemed exaggerated; at least they cared about family and had a degree of fear of death—at least some people did.

Along the way, the group remained silent, a tense atmosphere pervading the team, while Chu Xiu pondered on the local [Rule].

Several guesses already formed in his mind.

As he mused, the square appeared ahead, quiet and still, with the burnt corpse of a boy lying on the ground, emitting a foul stench, the statue shrouded in darkness, only the man's pained face prominently haunting.

Several bold Trial Takers moved forward to investigate while Chu Xiu observed and deliberated.

"Our task is to disrupt the ritual, but only this burnt boy seems related to a ritual."

"But the so-called ritual seems concluded."

"Only this eerie statue seems suspicious."

Yet, circling the statue yielded no clues, the man's aggrieved visage strangely unsettling, tempting one to smash it with a punch.

The solemn expressions on others' faces suggested they hadn't found anything either.

"Could that scoundrel have deceived us?" Zhou Juncai's face darkened.

Just then, Chu Xiu sensed something amiss, quickly looking back to discover the villagers, normally indifferent to them, crowded at the windows secretly watching, hidden beneath their robes, hints of schadenfreude on their faces.

The bizarre expressions sent chills down Chu Xiu's spine, an ominous feeling creeping in, but before he could ponder further, a horrifying scream rang beside him!

Turning quickly, Chu Xiu saw the charred corpse on the central platform suddenly rise, its fully carbonized arm reaching for him!

Chu Xiu dodged swiftly, but a Trial Taker nearby wasn't so lucky, the abrupt corpse grasping his arm!

"Ah!!!"

The captured Trial Taker had been searching the scorched boy's body for clues, unsuspecting of its sudden animation, leaving him unguarded and caught!

Instantly, flames erupted from the corpse's palm, eliciting even more agonizing screams from the captive!

Chu Xiu reacted swiftly, but only narrowed his eyes, making no move.

"Step aside!"

Chai San shouted, appearing with a single-handed hammer, crushing down on the corpse's right arm!

With a "cack" sound, the carbonized shell covering the corpse cracked, revealing the red, blister-covered flesh beneath, enormous force shattering its right shoulder blade, releasing its grip.

Despite the severe damage, the corpse didn't retreat, instead emitting a pleasurable moan, the crackling of shattering shell exposing the boy's gruesome face, tendons clearly visible beneath its broken visage.

It let out a maniacal giggle, lunging backward into Chai San's Great Shield!

The impact reverberated, forcing Chai San back several steps, astonishment in his eyes, while under the collision, the boy's skull shattered, yet he seemed unfazed, jaw working as if speaking, incapable of sound due to burned vocal cords.

Meanwhile, within the boy's body, masses of flesh visibly grew, somehow unrestrained, wildly expanding, displacing the carbonized shell entirely, transforming him into a veritable creature of flesh!

The grotesque scene made everyone's scalp crawl, Chu Xiu's expression grim, Nether Demon Eyes' Spiritual Light flickering, scanning the creature's Attributes.

[Fire Worshiper (Elite)]

[Tier]Mortal Tier Level 9

[Attributes]Constitution 21.5, Spirit 5.8, Energy Level 22.22

[Skill]Flame Manipulation, ???

[Traits]???

[Talent]???

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