Damn it! Let’s smash the darkness together!
Chapter 409 - 97: The Fall of a Hero, Coming Back Stronger (Vote for Monthly Ticket)

Chapter 409: Chapter 97: The Fall of a Hero, Coming Back Stronger (Vote for Monthly Ticket)

There’s a saying that extreme joy begets tears, and too much happiness leads to sorrow. At this moment, a complete process unfolded, transitioning from happiness to a tragic ending.

Members of the Hunter Association, including more than ten Transcendents; together with the accompanying support staff, formed an impressive team of at least sixty or seventy people.

Yet, no sooner had they left the "wheel mark" boundary of Tailed Ksitigarbha’s terrestrial domain than they perished one by one, turning to ash, completely obliterated without having the chance to celebrate their survival.

Just as Song Qixing had realized at the end of his life, anyone who died even once in that bizarre cyclical illusion was truly dead, their continued participation in the cycle simply a cursed spirit, unable to dissipate or rest.

Such was the horror associated with Tailed Ksitigarbha.

Once you enter the illusion, you fall into an eternal cycle of rebirth, and even in death, you find no release!

Although Xu Shu had not been involved in the cyclical accident that had ensnared these people, he understood everything easily with the information he had mastered, combined with his own conjectures.

But understanding was one thing, and witnessing his own team meet their demise was another. He couldn’t help but open his mouth and after a slight pause, he cursed:

"I save you and you’re still going to die, so what’s the point of my damn rescue?"

"Fucking unbelievable!"

His gaze immediately fell upon the five remaining survivors at the scene, and he frowned, "You lot aren’t about to turn to dust as well, are you?"

"Huh?" Two members of the Song Family gaped in horror at Xu Shu’s question, having lost their elders and being utterly distraught.

Gu Pan, on the other hand, waved his hand and said, "No, no! As Old Song said before he died, as long as you didn’t die in there, you’ll be fine."

Gu Yue Ming also looked deeply at Xu Shu and said softly, "Although it was an illusion, once you die, it’s for real. We were lucky."

As she spoke, she retracted her hands. Tang Rou, whose arms had been severed, had them reattached thanks to her treatment.

The latter moved the arms that had grown back and said, "Trapped in that bizarre cyclical space so many times, most people were afflicted, only a few of us were lucky enough not to die even once. Those who were less fortunate died here, it’s such a pity!"

A predicament that buried so many people was truly cause for grief and sighs.

But perhaps because they had witnessed so much death within the illusion, and their memories had been restored, everyone had grown somewhat numb to their comrades who died over and over again in the illusion, so they were surprisingly stable and not overly grieved.

Tang Rou’s personality was as straightforward as her bombastic figure. Although she was the only one left from the Tang family, she didn’t seem sad but instead grasped Xu Shu’s hand and said, "I owe you a big one for coming to our rescue this time. If we had delayed any longer, we might not have been killed but starved to death... I can’t thank you enough, I’ll keep this act in mind forever... Blargh~"

She was only halfway through her sentence when Tang Rou suddenly seemed to remember something unpleasant, covered her stomach, and started vomiting profusely.

She spewed out a mix of yellow and white mucous filth that seemed like undigested food, and a pungent odor instantly spread through the air.

Xu Shu: "?"

What the hell do you mean?

Did I somehow get shit on my hands that you vomited at a touch?

And it’s not like I asked you to shake hands, right?

Xu Shu was completely befuddled by the situation, hastily stepped back a few paces, covered his nose, and looked utterly confused.

With her own mix of rough yet delicate sensibilities, Tang Rou quickly detected that she had given Xu Shu the wrong impression and hurried to correct it while continuing to heave, "I’m sorry... it’s not because of you... I just remembered something upsetting... gah~"

"Fine then," Xu Shu moved to the side, distancing himself from them.

As is well known, vomiting can be contagious.

For example, on a crowded long-distance bus, if a lady suddenly bends over at the door and vomits all over the place, those unlucky souls "bathed" in the sight and smell around her will most likely share the same fate.

So, when she threw up, the others could not help but start to vomit too, like the two younger members of the Song Family, a young man and woman.

Gu Yue Ming turned pale, quickly covered herself with a layer of greenish glow, and seemed to recover, merely retching a few times without any major embarrassment.

For some reason, she seemed to forget her niece and to care for Gu Pan. Therefore, Gu Pan, after a bout of nausea, clenched her mouth shut tightly, her face turning an ashen hue as if she was about to erupt at any moment.

However, she glanced at Xu Shu and noticed his look of disgust, and suddenly her eyes hardened.

"No! I must not lose my composure before him..." Like a mountain god bearing the weight of heaven and earth, her willpower surged, her fingers tensed, she clenched her jaw, and her body slowly straightened up.

At that moment, Gu Pan, by sheer force of will, suppressed the urge to vomit that would normally be insurmountable for the average person.

"Hisss, that smell... what’s wrong with all of you? Why are you all throwing up?"

Xu Shu covered his nose, his face full of revulsion.

Regaining her composure, Gu Pan sighed, "I just recalled..."

She barely started when Gu Yue Ming already hastily interrupted her, flashing a bashful smile, "It’s just coming out of the illusion, it’s a little hard to distinguish between reality and the illusion, kind of like motion sickness."