Alien Species Invasion? I Kill Them Back.

Chapter 109: Chapter 107: The Three Pure Ones

"And the third?" Feng Ling asked.

Li Qing, however, didn’t rush to write down a "3." Instead, he turned to look at the three Divine Statues enshrined within Sanqing Hall.

Yuqing Primordial Heavenly Venerate.

Shangqing Lingbao Heavenly Venerate.

Taiqing Taoist God.

These were The Three Pure Ones, the highest gods of Taoism.

Within the Taoist system, no god, devil, or monster would dare be irreverent before The Three Pure Ones.

Li Qing spoke slowly. "At the end of the Han Dynasty, as Taoism began to flourish, The Queen Mother of the West was absorbed into the Taoist pantheon. She came to rule over all female immortals of the three realms. Later, as popular fiction spread, her image became more secular, and she transformed into the dignified and benevolent Queen Mother. She went from an ancient, omnipotent mother goddess who held power over life and death to the consort of the Jade Emperor. Her divine duties shifted to marriage, relationships, and blessing supplicants with children—which is the version you saw in that clay statue."

Feng Ling recalled the clay figure’s appearance and gave a sarcastic laugh. "That thing outside... I wouldn’t call it benevolent."

"The game system extracts cultural elements to construct the Maze, but the process of biological evolution is completely random. It won’t be exactly the same as the myths; it will conform more to a creature’s survival instincts." Li Qing paused, then lowered his voice. "I think it’s because benevolence is useless for survival. That’s why this ’Queen Mother of the West’ is left with only intimidation and terror."

"Everything for the sake of survival. I like that theory." Feng Ling smiled faintly. As she looked back at the clay figure beyond the archway, she saw it in a slightly different light.

Li Qing wrote a "3" on the ground.

"If we follow that logic, the Spiritual Suppression and the plague are both abilities that aid survival, so they were preserved," he said. "That means The Queen Mother of the West’s earliest form is bound to appear."

Feng Ling nodded slightly. "True. ’A leopard’s tail and a tiger’s teeth, with disheveled hair and a ’sheng’ headdress.’ That form sounds very well-suited for survival in the Maze. I wonder if there’s a pattern to how it changes between its three forms. If it can change its form and abilities completely at will, it’ll be incredibly tricky to deal with."

Li Qing fell silent at her words.

’Tricky is an understatement. It’s going to be incredibly difficult. We’ve suffered heavy losses, and only Feng Ling has any fighting strength left.’

Li Qing looked up at Feng Ling and asked, "How’s your injury?"

"Injury?" Feng Ling paused for a second, then realized Li Qing was asking about the section of her Bone Blade that had been snapped off.

"I ate half of that fruit earlier, and I’m healing much faster now." To prove she was all right, she unsheathed the newly grown Bone Blade.

But it was only a meter long.

Feng Ling: "..."

She silently retracted the Bone Blade and said nonchalantly, "It should be fully grown back by tomorrow."

"Don’t rush," Li Qing said. "As long as our food and water are secure, I want all of you to get a full rest. You need to be in peak condition to face the Maze Master."

There was something about his words that felt strange to Feng Ling.

But the way Li Qing spoke and acted, the stance he always seemed to take, had always been disorienting. She was more or less used to it by now.

Just then, the unconscious Pei Xianjue began to murmur, as if trapped in a nightmare.

Her lips parted and closed, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead. One moment she cried out for her father, the next for her mother, her expression one of extreme pain.

Upon seeing her state, Li Qing said, "Their minds were subjected to The Queen Mother of the West’s Spiritual Intimidation, and their bodies are fighting off the plague. With their immune systems weakened, nightmares are common."

Feng Ling walked over and tried to wake her. "Deputy Pei? Deputy Captain Pei?..."

Li Qing reminded her, "If you want to wake someone from a dream, it’s best to use a name they’re more familiar with."

Feng Ling thought for a moment, then asked Li Qing, "What’s her name?"

’What was it... Flame Princess something or other?’

"Pei Xianjue," Li Qing said. "She introduced herself when you first met and told you to call her Little Yu."

"You have a good memory," Feng Ling complimented.

The corner of Li Qing’s eye twitched almost imperceptibly. ’It’s not that my memory is good,’ he thought. ’It’s that you weren’t paying attention at all, were you?’

"Little Yu, hey... Little Yu, wake up..." Feng Ling called out while reaching over to feel Pei Xianjue’s forehead.

’Not bad. The high fever has broken. Her forehead is cool to the touch now.’

Pei Xianjue’s eyes were squeezed shut as she panted and murmured, "Dad, believe me... I can do it. I’m just as good as anyone... Dad, I can do it... I can do it..."

Feng Ling was a little curious. ’Are the aftereffects of Spiritual Intimidation really this severe? Does it specifically attack a person’s vulnerabilities?’

’If I were to fall asleep now, I wonder what I’d dream about?’

Feng Ling thought for a moment, then quietly walked over to Huangfu Miaomiao’s side, stooping down to listen to what she was muttering.

Huangfu Miaomiao: "Waaaah... I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die... Don’t make me fight the hidden Boss, I don’t want to die, waaaah..."

Feng Ling: "..."

Before long, Baozi started reacting as well. He was panting with his mouth wide open, muttering gibberish, though occasionally the words "Hero" and "Liang Zhou" could be heard.

Perhaps their immune systems had mounted one last, stubborn resistance. After a bout of sleep-talking, the three of them woke up one after another.

Their reactions were also surprisingly identical. After sitting up, they all wiped the sweat from their faces, still shaken.

It seemed they had all dreamed of their deepest fears.

Huangfu Miaomiao sat there dazedly for a long while, her mind blank. When she came to her senses, she found Feng Ling looking at her with a meaningful expression.

She touched her face and asked, "What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?"

"Nothing," Feng Ling smiled. "Get our luggage out. We’re spending the night here. The Maze Boss is waiting outside, and it won’t leave. It’s got its eyes on us."

"Ah!" Huangfu Miaomiao shivered in fright.

She immediately went to the doorway, her limbs weak, and pressed herself against the doorframe to peek outside.

From this angle, she couldn’t see the entirety of the clay figure, but one glance at the blood-red mist pervading the air outside was enough to know something was wrong.

"It really is the Maze Boss..." Huangfu Miaomiao’s face turned completely white. Then she felt something wasn’t right and turned back to ask Feng Ling, "How did you know it’s the Maze Boss?"

"The Daoist said so." Feng Ling jutted her chin toward Li Qing.

Huangfu Miaomiao’s face fell, and she stared gloomily at Li Qing—ever since they’d met this administrator, Feng Ling had stopped asking her about things, always going to the Maze Administrator for answers instead.

This really pissed her off.

Pei Xianjue and Baozi also came to the doorway. The Spiritual Suppression from the clay statue seemed to still linger in their bodies. Their first reaction upon seeing the vast red mist was fear, and it took a moment for them to slowly regain their senses.

Pei Xianjue stared at the mist outside and said in a low voice, "We have to find a way to deal with the Spiritual Suppression. Otherwise, we won’t be able to use our abilities, and all our efforts will be for nothing."

Feng Ling asked Baozi, "Can you deal with it?"

Baozi looked troubled. "I can only buy you a few seconds."

"A few seconds is enough," Pei Xianjue said fiercely. "We’ll use grenades to blow up that Divine Statue!"

Huangfu Miaomiao’s eyes went wide at the suggestion. ’That’s completely reckless!’ she thought.

Feng Ling said, "Good idea. Let’s do it!"

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!