Chapter 66 Victory

Gu Yunqing and Jun Xiangbei were like two sharp blades, ruthlessly cutting into the surging tide of ghosts and monsters. Wherever they passed, low-level ghosts and monsters fell down like harvested wheat stalks.

But the surrounding pressure was immense. Countless twisted arms, claws, and mouthparts attacked from all directions, their roars deafening, and the dense, chilling aura of death almost froze the blood.

Each step forward was like wading through a swamp, requiring tremendous effort.

Jun Xiangbei always kept Gu Yunqing at his side, slightly behind him, his sword flashing so tightly that it was impenetrable, and he bore most of the pressure.

His profile appeared even more stern in the flickering light of the attack, and his breathing became slightly rapid, but his eyes remained as firm as ice.

Gu Yunqing was fully utilizing the power of the Zhuge Jin card, her eyes seemingly seeing through the chaos and guiding the way forward.

"To the left front, at the three o'clock position, that distorted shadow node! Its mental fluctuations are the strongest, and it has subtle energy connections with other ghosts." Gu Yunqing's voice clearly entered Jun Xiangbei's ears amidst the deafening roar.

Without hesitation, Jun Xiangbei shifted his sword stance, unleashing a chilling, icy sword aura that surged forth like an angry dragon from the sea, forcefully tearing a gap through the dense array of monsters ahead, pointing directly in the direction Gu Yunqing had indicated.

The two of them struggled forward under immense pressure.

The closer you get to that shadowy node, the more frenzied the surrounding monsters become, and the more ferocious their attacks become.

Some elite units with special abilities have even begun to emerge, attempting to stop them using methods such as mental attacks, curses, and binding.

Jun Xiangbei's pressure increased sharply, and his sword energy shield flickered violently under the relentless attacks.

Just then, a shadow arrow carrying a strong corrosive power shot towards Gu Yunqing's back from a tricky angle.

Jun Xiangbei was entangled by three elite skeleton warriors and couldn't return to help in time!

"Watch out!" he shouted sharply, his heart suddenly tightening.

As if she had eyes in the back of her head, Gu Yunqing slid to the side with incredible flexibility just before the Shadow Arrow was about to hit her. At the same time, she flicked out her psionic blade and precisely struck the Shadow Arrow, shattering it.

However, in order to avoid this attack, his footwork faltered, and his breathing became momentarily disordered.

The continuous high-intensity simulations and battles took a huge toll on his mental energy.

"I'm fine." Gu Yunqing quickly steadied herself, her face slightly pale, but her eyes remained sharp. "Keep moving forward, it's just ahead."

This is the second time...

Jun Xiangbei gave him a deep look, suppressing his worries and the regret he felt for failing to protect her in time. He swung his sword even faster, forcefully carrying Gu Yunqing forward.

Finally, they broke through the last barrier formed by the monsters, and a bright and clear view opened up before them.

It was a relatively open area, with a dense, twisting, and rolling black shadow suspended in the center. It had no fixed shape and seemed to be formed from countless tormented souls and pure malice, radiating a suffocating mental pressure.

It is this continuous stream of commands that coordinates the actions of the entire monster army.

“Nightmare Beast…” Gu Yunqing murmured, revealing its true name.

Seemingly sensing the threat, the Nightmare Beast let out a silent shriek, and a visible black mental shockwave swept towards the two like a tsunami.

At the same time, four powerful guards of different shapes, but whose auras were comparable to the elite monsters in the stone house, instantly condensed in the shadows around it.

"Leave its mental attack to me!" Gu Yunqing stepped forward, his eyes flashing with silver light. The power of the Zhuge Jin card was pushed to its limit, and a mental barrier containing profound hexagrams unfolded in front of him.

"boom--!"

The invisible spiritual forces collided violently, causing Gu Yunqing's body to tremble violently. He let out a muffled groan, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. However, the spiritual barrier he had built stubbornly withstood this violent impact.

"Make your move." He shouted at Jun Xiangbei, enduring the stinging pain in his mind.

Without a word, Jun Xiangbei transformed into a blur and charged straight at the four Nightmare Guardians. He knew that Gu Yunqing wouldn't last long.

Sword energy crisscrossed, and frost filled the air.

Jun Xiangbei unleashed his full power, his swordplay ruthless and fierce, each strike aimed directly at vital points. He fought against the four powerful Nightmare Guardians, holding his own for a short time and keeping them firmly entangled.

Gu Yunqing, on the other hand, faced the Nightmare Beast at its core alone.

Seeing that the mental attack had failed, the Nightmare Beast rolled its shadow and instantly split into dozens of twisted tentacles, like venomous snakes from the abyss, attacking Gu Yunqing from all angles. At the same time, an even stronger mental pollution spread like poisonous fog, trying to erode his will.

Gu Yunqing's eyes were icy cold; he held nothing back.

With his left hand, he maintained a mental barrier to resist mental pollution, while with his right hand, he wielded a psionic light blade like the wind, severing the incoming shadow tentacles one by one.

But his life force was fading at a visible rate.

Maintaining high-intensity simulations, mental defense, and physical attacks simultaneously is too much of a burden for him.

"Its core keeps moving... three inches to the lower left of the shadow... no, it's moved to the upper right... damn it." Gu Yunqing's forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat. Deducing the constantly changing core position of the Nightmare Beast was extremely mentally taxing.

On the other side, although Jun Xiangbei was powerful, he was under great pressure facing four strong guards at the same time. He suffered several wounds and slowed down his movements. One of the guards seized the opportunity and attacked his back with its sharp claws.

"Jun Xiangbei, watch out for your right rear!" Gu Yunqing shouted suddenly. At the same time, disregarding his own safety, he forcibly separated a wisp of his spiritual power, condensed it into a weak impact, and crashed into the guard who was attacking him, slowing his movements by half a beat.

Jun Xiangbei managed to turn around and block, but Gu Yunqing was distracted and was slapped hard on the shoulder by a shadowy tentacle.

"Ugh!" Gu Yunqing staggered backward, a sharp pain like a bone cracking came from her left shoulder, her psionic light blade dimmed instantly, and her mental barrier fluctuated violently.

"Yun Qing!" Jun Xiangbei's eyes were bloodshot, his sword energy surged, and he forcefully forced back the two guards in front of him, trying to rush over.

"Never mind me! Attack! Its core... It's right in the center now, right now!" Gu Yunqing shouted hoarsely, ignoring his injuries and pouring his last bit of mental energy into the deduction, locking onto that fleeting opportunity.

Jun Xiangbei gritted his teeth, knowing that this was an opportunity Gu Yunqing had gained by getting injured.

Without further hesitation, his spiritual power circulated at an unprecedented speed, and his sword energy condensed to its extreme, making him seem like a divine ice sword that could pierce through heaven and earth.

"break!"

With a cold shout, the sword light poured down like the Milky Way from the heavens, carrying an unwavering determination, ignoring the attacks of the other three guards, and piercing straight into the center of the Nightmare Beast's shadow.

"puff--"

Like a hot knife cutting into butter, the sword energy, refined to its utmost, precisely struck the briefly stagnant core.

The Nightmare Beast let out a silent yet soul-tearing scream. The rolling black shadow suddenly froze, then shattered like a broken mirror, turning into the purest dark energy and dissipating into the air.

As the core was destroyed, the four Nightmare Guardians also let out a mournful cry, their bodies twisting and turning into black smoke.

It was a success.

However, almost at the same moment the Nightmare Beast was killed, Gu Yunqing, who had forcefully used her last strength to complete the deduction and reminder, could no longer hold on. Her vision went black, and her body slumped forward.

His constantly tense nerves and severely depleted mental energy completely collapsed at this moment.

"Yun Qing".

Jun Xiangbei panicked and, without even taking a moment to catch his breath, immediately rushed forward to catch him.

But there was another figure who was faster than him.

Like a ghost, Wu Jueji, who was supposed to be guarding the stone house, somehow broke through the outer ghosts and appeared beside Gu Yunqing.

The moment Gu Yunqing fell, Wu Jueji's seemingly lazy figure burst forth with astonishing speed. He stretched out his arm and steadily pulled Gu Yunqing into his embrace, preventing him from falling to the ground.

Wu Jueji looked down at Gu Yunqing, who was pale, with her eyes closed and her breath weak, in his arms. A trace of anxiety, which he himself did not notice, flashed beneath his always drooping eyelids. It then turned into cold anger as he scanned the ghosts around him, which were gradually losing their command and beginning to fall into chaos.

Jun Xiangbei's outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

He watched as Wu Jueji held Gu Yunqing tightly in his arms, and as Gu Yunqing leaned against his chest without any defenses. A strong sense of anger and bitterness welled up in his heart instantly.

Why...not him?

It was clearly he and Gu Yunqing who fought side by side and killed the Nightmare Beast.

He was clearly closer...

Why was it Wu Jueji who hugged him?

This emotion came so suddenly and so intensely, completely contrary to his usual calm and composed demeanor; he could even feel his fingertips turning slightly white from the force he exerted.

He hated this feeling.

People in Gu Yunqing's live stream are cheering:

"The Nightmare Beast is dead! We won!"

"Gu Yunqing fainted, oh my god, I feel so sorry for her."

"Uncle Wu hugged him! When did he arrive?!"

"The god's hand froze... Did he want to hug me?"

"That look in her eyes... I can smell jealousy!"

"Jun Xiangbei: How come my wife was being hugged by someone else? (Angry)"

"Don't slander their innocence!"

With the death of the Nightmare Beast, the ghost army, now without unified command, visibly became chaotic and sluggish in its offensive. Finally, like the receding tide, it slowly dissipated into the deepest darkness before dawn, accompanied by unwilling roars.

On the horizon, the first faint rays of dawn pierced the heavy night.

The seventh night, this long and cruel night, has finally... come to an end.

The surviving players, whether it was Wuyan and Wang Hu in the stone house, or Ji Changyu and his equally exhausted companions in the [Beautiful] room who had exhausted themselves watching the unconscious Ji Changyu, all collapsed to the ground as if they had collapsed from exhaustion. Looking at the gradually brightening sky, their eyes were filled with bewilderment and relief at surviving the ordeal.

Wu Jueji scooped up the unconscious Gu Yunqing in his arms, not even glancing at Jun Xiangbei's grim face, and headed straight for the dilapidated stone house.

Jun Xiangbei stood there, watching Wu Jueji carry Gu Yunqing away. The morning light fell on him, but it could not dispel the low mood around him and the complex and unfathomable emotions surging in his eyes.

The joy of victory was overshadowed by a more turbulent and unfamiliar emotion.

His obsession with Gu Yunqing, stimulated by the scene of her catching him as he fell, quietly changed and fermented into something even more possessive.

Gu Yunqing, who was in a coma, was completely unaware of all of this.