Chapter 162: Chapter 162

What came before was merely sightseeing. The next entry into the Forest of Corpses would be a real attempt to breach the front hall.

But before entering, the Bunny Heroine turned to ask Medicine Master Wen:

『Big Sister, do you really have a method to ensure your safety?』

『Of course. I wouldn't lie about something this important. If we ran into danger and you could've saved me but didn't because you misunderstood, not only would I have died in vain, but it’d also make you feel guilty for the rest of your life.』

『Not the rest of my life, maybe just half a month. Because my brother lets me eat ice cream once every half-month.』

A flicker crossed Medicine Master Wen's mind. Ice cream was only produced in the secret realms of the Court of Liang. Could this girl be from one of the Liang aristocratic clans? The Qun Family? The Jie Family? She possessed the Hands of Hundredfold Refinement... Could she really be of the Shao Royal Clan?

If she was from the Shao Royal Clan…

『Then, Big Sister, does your method work inside a secret realm?』

Medicine Master Wen blinked and hesitated: 『Not entirely sure. After all, this kind of life-saving method is only used in desperate situations. Who would deliberately test it in a secret realm—』

Medicine Master Wen fell silent and reached out to rub the Bunny Heroine’s head.

She had, of course, tested it already. Outside, she could teleport to the Thieves’ House anytime. But inside a secret realm, she couldn’t. Perhaps because the Thieves’ House was itself a secret realm—one could only enter from the outside, never from one secret realm into another.

Once inside the Forest of Corpses, even ignoring how ferocious the demon monsters were in the legacy realm, just a surprise attack from the Three Guardians could easily cost her life.

『They follow the Demon Path—no kin, no home, no country. Their only lifelong goal is Foundation Building,』 she said. 『I, on the other hand, walk the righteous path. I do have kin, home, and country. Which is why... I must build my foundation.』

『That I’ve survived to the third-stage is all thanks to my father’s doting love. To go any further, I have to take risks. The path to Foundation Building has always been perilous. Even those with strong bloodlines struggle to escape calamity, let alone a fallen princess like me? But I'm still really happy that you care this much about me, little sister.』

The Bunny Heroine was quiet for a moment: 『If you’re in danger, stay close to me. This heroine will think of something.』

『Thank you.』 Medicine Master Wen bent down and hugged the Bunny Heroine, rubbing her face against hers. 『I’m so jealous of your brother. If only you really were my little sister.』

『My brother’s probably jealous of me right now too. But your armor is kinda poky.』

『Heehee.』 Medicine Master Wen looked at the Bunny Heroine seriously. 『No matter whose little sister you are, from now on, you’re also my little sister!』

『I’m the one recognizing you as my sister. Doesn’t matter if you accept it. Your brother has no say in it.』 Medicine Master Wen huffed, grabbing the Bunny Heroine’s hand. 『It’s settled!』

What a self-serving woman. Yan Qing guessed she’d already made up her mind to abduct the Bunny Heroine with candy and ice cream. She was the type who always got what she wanted, a sovereign in her own right. Anything that belonged to her, she would never let go—like a food-guarding wolf baring its teeth at anyone who dared covet her things.

Yet, the Bunny Heroine didn’t seem to dislike her. Yan Qing didn’t either.

Upon re-entering the Forest of Corpses, the zombie demons had all returned to their positions. Even when the five of them approached the front hall’s boundary, the creatures ignored them. As long as the triggers weren’t activated, they didn’t react. Strange as it seemed, wasn’t that how most people were? Living like gears in a machine, day after day in the same stability.

Only Messengers could break free from that bondage. Secret realms were games for the brave, where life and death held the chance for greater destiny. Walking beside them, Yan Qing felt as if he had become a seeker of the Dao himself.

Seek the Dao with a heart of iron until death!

Yan Qing leapt onto the bed and lay down, wiping his sweaty palms on his clothes.

『Remember, we’re not aiming for a head-on fight. We just need one good strike.』 Boreuo said grimly. 『Whether we succeed or not, we retreat immediately. No need to rush it.』

Boreuo meant it. Third-stage fighters from Shu Mountain were already rare, and those able to enter the Forest of Corpses were limited to the Three Guardians. Others like Fu Nan or Zhong Ji lacked the necessary tokens. They were good at killing people, but fighting demons? Not so much. They weren’t used to enemies that their tokens couldn’t instantly kill.

The Bunny Heroine aside, Medicine Master Wen was a fully-equipped third-stage Messenger with a rare long spear and precious armor. Fighters from military towns were typically more adept at battling demons—they were the ideal allies.

Their willingness to give her the fourth seat as a Guardian wasn’t just because of the Bunny Heroine or the Return Token.

『Six demons. With five of us, we can just slip through. Beiyou and I will each draw off two. Boreuo and the brat will trigger Thunderstorm. Wolf Demoness, watch for an opening to attack, and cover Boreuo and the brat afterward,』 Blood Minister restated the plan solemnly.

Being the fastest among them, Blood Minister had been designated the key role. But with his rocky history with the two girls, calling their enmity "deep as the sea" wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Could he really fight side-by-side with them?

As if seeing through the doubts in Medicine Master Wen and the Bunny Heroine, Beiyou said calmly, 『Suffering together is easy. Sharing fortune is the hard part.』

Yes, even if a betrayal was coming, they’d at least need to pass the front hall first.

Medicine Master Wen exhaled deeply, glancing toward the nearby Skull Tower, forcing down her disgust. Just then, the Bunny Heroine gently touched her hand. Startled, Medicine Master Wen’s eyes curved into a sly smile: 『Don’t worry.』

『On three, we go. Three, two, one!』

With Boreuo’s thunderous shout, the five of them crossed the boundary and stepped into the front hall! The six zombie demons immediately awoke, and the Undying Skull Tower began to wail—a piercing shriek that sliced through eardrums and straight into the brain!

Blood Minister slashed at the two demons to the right, leaving deep gashes in their dry corpses—but no blood spilled; it had long dried up. As the two demons struck from both sides, Blood Minister moved like a stroll through a courtyard, not even brushing his sleeves.

Beiyou, in contrast, was pure violence. They’d expected him to use agility to lure the demons—but he kicked!

Yes, Beiyou practiced the rare leg-based martial art. His boots were third-stage rare gear, wrapped in black-red demonic light. With a spinning kick, he sent a zombie demon flying five or six steps away!

Landing, he spun like a top and floored a second zombie with another kick!

This was the advantage of blunt-force weapons over cutting ones—chances of causing displacement, stun, or even knockdown. But it required vastly superior Vital Energy and Dexterity. Beiyou was no liar. He was likely a peak level-39 third-stage. His stats had reached mortal limits!

With four demons drawn away, Boreuo, Bunny Heroine, and Medicine Master Wen approached the Skull Tower. When the zombies struck, Boreuo and the Bunny Heroine dodged perfectly and triggered Thunderstorm—then all three launched a flurry of ultra-fast strikes on the Skull Tower!

Seven-Star Sword, Hands of Hundredfold Refinement, Thunderstorm—activated!

To land massive burst damage, Yan Qing didn’t trigger Shining. But thanks to two attack-speed tokens Boreuo had given her, the Bunny Heroine could now strike fourteen times in 0.35 seconds during Thunderstorm!

Boreuo wasn’t to be outdone either. Despite the typically slow nature of long staves, he spun his weapon like a river of sticks. In this moment, his power as Shu Mountain’s Guardian was undeniable—revered by even the Demon Path Messengers. Fierce as a wrathful Vajra, his fury held no mercy.

Time was short and secrecy was key, so Medicine Master Wen didn’t use her killing move, Spinning Lamp Flow. Instead, she pulled aggro from a zombie demon to stack damage on her Vajra Armor—meanwhile completing half her cover duty, since that demon had just been chasing the Bunny Heroine.

Blood Minister and Beiyou soon joined in. The combined might of five third-stage fighters poured their damage into the Undying Skull Tower! Cracks exploded, skulls flew—collapse seemed imminent!

But it didn’t collapse!

Worse, it rapidly regenerated. A golden Buddhist light rose from the lotus dais beneath it, restoring dozens of shattered skulls!

Boreuo shouted, and the group withdrew from the Forest of Corpses secret realm.

Chilly night winds blew. In the distance, the clamor of Demon-Path Messengers rang out—someone had puked, and the others burst into laughter. The five of them sat nearby, each replenishing Spirit with Spirit Jade. Their gazes met, expressions finally beginning to ease.

『Not bad,』 Boreuo encouraged. 『That was just our first try, and we nearly shattered the Skull Tower. A few more tries and we’ll make it.』

『After all these years, there’s finally hope,』 Beiyou chuckled. 『Blood Minister, don’t you think your brother deserves to die?』 Newest update provıded by ɴovelfire.net

The smile that had started to form on Blood Minister’s lips froze. He glanced at Medicine Master Wen and the Bunny Heroine, grinding his teeth in silence.

Medicine Master Wen found Beiyou more and more unreadable. He seemed intent on keeping the team together until they cleared the secret realm, yet now he deliberately stirred the pot. Was it to warn Blood Minister, or to remind them not to let their guard down?

Rational yet whimsical, principled yet reckless—perhaps only the Demon Path could raise such a man.

As optimism swelled among them, a crisp voice splashed cold water on them.

『If you don’t change something, you’ll fail no matter how many times you try,』 the Bunny Heroine said calmly. 『The Skull Tower will never shatter. No matter how hard we hit it, it’ll regenerate instantly.』

『How would you know? You’ve only tried once,』 Blood Minister sneered. 『Do you know how many times we’ve challenged the Forest of Corpses?』

『My brother says, a dog eating shit for the ten-thousandth time still doesn’t change the fact it’s eating shit. Even if you think it tastes good, it’s still shit.』

『Why are you so sure?』 Boreuo wasn’t angry. He asked instead.

Why? Because I saw its Health Bar hit zero!

It might’ve been just a sliver left, sure. But Yan Qing didn’t believe in such coincidences. And the Karmic Force meter hadn’t budged as the HP dropped. That clearly meant the HP bar was fake—reducing Karmic Force was the real key!

『Try again if you want,』 the Bunny Heroine said lazily. 『This heroine will just mock you when you fail again.』

The Three Guardians exchanged glances, emotions swirling. Though their time together was short, they didn’t think the Bunny Heroine was bluffing. And honestly, that Skull Tower should have shattered.

『Then do you have a plan, brat? Or are you just looking for an excuse to give up?』 Blood Minister asked.

『Since you’ve got the nerve to ask, I’ll be kind and tell you,』 said the Bunny Heroine. 『Didn’t Boreuo say we shouldn’t use Buddhist tokens to attack? He was wrong. Only with Buddhist weapons can we break through the front hall!』