Eldritch Horror Theatre

Dyeing the prison with blood?

The severe punishment for breaking the rules was just another manifestation of the laws. This concept had certainly been executed to perfection.

Sanxun's explanation was abstract, but Fu Qian found it easy enough to understand.

This entity had made a sudden, high-profile appearance, thrown his weight around as a show of strength, and then introduced his own transcendent life. As expected, he hadn't done it to save someone from a sea of suffering, or to make a lost lamb like Fu Qian convert to the Truth.

Both his words and Sha Ming's explanations revealed a very clear point: advancing this far meant the invisible laws had already undergone a qualitative change brought on by quantitative accumulation.

It was just like the streaks of light continuously reflecting in his eyes with Sanxun's every movement.

Immortal and supreme, yet densely woven together, they converged to define this place and turn it into a "holy" land.

And he was already a prisoner in a cage, bound far more tightly than the words implied.

According to Sanxun, this place didn't even restrict him from taking off his mask and leaving.

The implication was easy to understand. No matter how long he stayed in the Warehouse after taking off his mask, or even if he returned to the Real World to eat, drink, and make merry with Young Master Qin and the others, the moment he put on the Emissary again and synced with this world, he would still appear right here.

Even not wearing it would be useless, because the Warehouse would eventually force a task on him and send him to this world anyway.

Sanxun was clearly well aware of this, and highly confident that the Warehouse couldn't bypass this cage.

To put it simply, this cage had deadlocked his career. Even if he escaped, he wouldn't be able to do his job.

The Warehouse would never allow that. When the time came, he would be a rat dragged by a string while locked inside a cage. There would be only one possible outcome: smashing himself until his bones broke and his flesh tore, dyeing the cage red with his blood.

And that was exactly what Sanxun wanted him to do. The same went for Sha Ming.

...

Perhaps the nature of their existence was different, but looking at the big picture, Sha Ming and Sanxun's actions clearly shared the marvel of different tunes played with equal skill.

Neither of them was in a rush to kill, and neither minded sharing secrets step by step.

The final result was that this exploration team, despite their lack of strength on paper, had successfully penetrated all the way here.

Why had Sha Ming lured the Huang Clansmen inside? Their strength made them little more than a disorganized rabble.

The answer was that he had never needed them to cut a path through the thorns to find the Blood Lion.

What he wanted was the process of them walking through those thorns.

It was exactly as Sanxun had said: discovering the rules and obeying them, or violating the rules and facing Chastisement.

They wanted the laws to manifest themselves, just like the streaks of light reflecting off Sanxun as he walked right now.

Huang Leji and the rest had clearly reached the dead end of those thorns, but in the eyes of Sha Ming and Sanxun, Fu Qian could still do more.

Like trying to tear open a path with his bare hands, and smearing his blood all over the thorns as he failed.

From that perspective, his arrival had to be an unexpected windfall for Sha Ming.

Faced with Fu Qian's lack of enthusiasm, Sha Ming—who knew the Followers intimately—had decisively chosen to sit back and watch the show, letting Brother Sanxun give Fu Qian "a reason he couldn't refuse."

And the latter had indeed done so.

"SAN Value -1."

He was even still doing it.

[SAN Value -5]

Having finished his explanation, Brother Sanxun paused to give Fu Qian some quiet time to think, though he didn't forget to add a little pressure.

Taking another frontal backstab, Fu Qian's SAN Value dropped by another 5 points.

"...How do you have so much?"

Yet, seeing Fu Qian not even bat an eyelash at the loss, it was actually Sanxun who couldn't help but feel shocked in the next moment.

...

'Hmph, that goes without saying.'

'Did you think I was a weak traitor like you, unable to handle a measly 29 points?'

'Not to mention, the loss was well worth the price. I even managed to catch a glimpse of the true nature of SAN Value.'

Fully understanding where Brother Sanxun's reaction came from, Fu Qian only snorted coldly in his heart.

He clearly remembered the exact amount he had lost after entering this place.

For someone like him who held a three-digit SAN Value, the toll was heavy but far from unbearable. For these seniors, however, it must have looked terrifying.

It was still hard to say exactly how Brother Sanxun had confirmed his identity as an administrator the moment they met.

But the SAN-draining mantras he casually spouted were undoubtedly a highly targeted measure.

They would be enough to inflict immense psychological pressure on any administrator.

Like himself.

In the face of his continuous losses, Fu Qian's earlier reactions had clearly been taken as false bravado, prompting Sanxun to tirelessly pile on the pressure.

However, everyone had their limits. When the scene Sanxun had envisioned—of Fu Qian finally buckling and breaking down—failed to materialize, Sanxun was the one who broke first.

"How is that a lot?"

And as everyone knew, Fu Qian had spent years honing his ability to twist the knife. He immediately let out a contemptuous laugh.

"Did you think I couldn't even afford to pay this little bit of a price? Then you might need to take some time to reflect on yourself."

"I don't know how things were back in your day, but you clearly chose the wrong method. In this regard, I am equally immortal."

As he said the last sentence, Fu Qian lowered his hood and lightly brushed his hand across his face.

His previously mummified face recovered inch by inch beneath his palm, giving his words an even more imposing air.

Since his identity as a High-Tier Transcendent was already exposed, there was no point in continuing to play along with the common folk. He might as well use it to rile up the mood.

"Bullshit!"

As it turned out, riling up the mood worked exceptionally well.

Although his face remained unseen, a deep resentment toward fate could be heard in Brother Sanxun's furious shout.

It was clear that during a certain period of his life, the concept of SAN Value had held immense importance to him, so much so that he still couldn't completely let it go.

"You have no idea what it represents! Otherwise, you would know that linking it to immortality is just as laughable as your current disguise."

"Oh? So what does it represent?"

"Heh, there's no need to try and fish for information. Some things can only be experienced for yourself... The only thing I can tell you is that I am the truly immortal one, because the lifeline tied around my neck has already been untied."

Unfortunately, it seemed Sanxun had no intention of sharing anything else.

'SAN Value is a lifeline tied around the neck? What a fascinating metaphor.'

Even so, Fu Qian was quite satisfied. He deeply felt that this trip hadn't been in vain.

"Ah—!"

Unfortunately, because they had only heard half the conversation, the audience clearly found it hard to empathize with the mood.

The next moment, a shrill scream from below shattered the silence.

Looking toward the sound, he saw a member of the rescue team tumbling rapidly down the long staircase, spraying arcs of brilliant crimson blood.

It was as if the man had fallen into an invisible meat grinder.

Clearly, the Third Follower wasn't the only one with ways to rush people.

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