Damn it! Let’s smash the darkness together!
Chapter 97 - 76 Get Rid of Tang Sanzang and His Disciples (Please Follow and Vote for the Month)

Chapter 97: Chapter 76 Get Rid of Tang Sanzang and His Disciples (Please Follow and Vote for the Month)

"Mother Goddess, damn it! Keep your Believers in line!"

——

Xu Shu didn’t dare to challenge the possibly non-existent Life Mother God.

But with a great enemy before him, there was no time for idle pleasures.

Moreover, although the mother retained some charm despite her advancing years, her skin was lackluster, her cheeks sagged, and her breasts had drooped.

Xu Shu, who according to legend possessed innumerable delicate beauty paper doll wives, had become quite fastidious in his tastes and couldn’t care less about her. Perhaps Gu Pan in drag could barely catch his eye.

Most importantly, this was all happening in public—if you have no shame, that’s on you, but I do!

"Move, move, move, get out of the way."

Xu Shu pushed aside the ignorant woman and stepped outside to signal Gu Pan, calling her back.

"What’s up? Aren’t we lying in ambush anymore?"

Wasn’t there still an Unclean monster fused with a Demon, and wasn’t the Primordial Spirit also on its way here?

Gu Pan came over with a puzzled face but obeyed.

She could joke around at other times, but she knew how to differentiate during crucial moments of combat.

Now, as an auxiliary to Xu Shu, the main force Transcendent, her job was to follow his lead without question.

That was the mindset instilled in all those who had undergone special training to qualify.

Never think that a bit of skill or knowledge could put you in charge.

"The Unclean and the little demon will show up soon, follow me!"

Xu Shu glanced around and, not bothering with the other survivors, led Gu Pan through the safest routes in his memory to avoid quicksand traps.

Shortly, they arrived near the narrow area where they had previously fought.

From a distance, they could see that the buildings on either side had collapsed and tilted, hitting each other and creating an ’H’ shaped narrow entrance.

Around them, people panicked and occasionally fell into quicksand traps, dying untimely deaths.

Actually, Xu Shu had already taken down two attacking monsters, and there likely wouldn’t be any more monsters coming for a while, except for that hidden trap-making creature.

But the crowd was already scared witless, with many still fleeing for their lives.

Xu Shu had advised them that staying inside was safer.

But could they be persuaded?

When they saw Xu Shu heading this way, they even thought he was trying to escape first, and one by one they rushed over, all thinking of leaving the shelter.

Nice words wouldn’t change the damned, and Xu Shu had his own safety to consider, so he didn’t bother with further talk.

Then, he patted Gu Pan on the shoulder and said, "Come with me."

The two went back and hid behind a few collapsed giant walls, which provided a good view of the narrow passageway.

Xu Shu pointed at the lower half of the ’H’, an ominously narrow spot, and solemnly instructed:

"Brother, it’s do or die now. There’s something I have to tell you. I didn’t say it before because I was afraid it would affect your performance, but now you need to know."

Gu Pan looked serious when she saw his grave expression: "Spill it!"

"It’s like this. The little demon and the Unclean will appear at the upper half of the ’H’, there", Xu Shu said as he pointed to the corner spot, adding, "It might already be lying in ambush there for all we know, but that’s not important.

"The important thing is you need to remember three points. It has abilities that can make one’s head explode with vile words, it can shoot filth that causes intestines to burst, and its prowess in close combat is also very strong.

"But it doesn’t matter, none of its abilities can harm you. In short, when it appears, you just go and wallop it hard, and that’s that."

Gu Pan confidently patted her sniper rifle on her back: "Got it, don’t worry, I’ll handle it! I won’t let you sacrifice yourself!"

The power of her sniper rifle gave her great confidence, emboldening her to challenge Extraordinary Beings despite her mortal frame.

However...

"It’s not with this rifle."

Xu Shu took off her sniper rifle, setting it aside.

"It’s with this—this one works better. The little demon isn’t afraid of bullets."

Saying so, Xu Shu dismantled two of his steel bars and handed one of them to Gu Pan with gravity.

Gu Pan felt its weighty significance, as if what she was being handed was not simply a rusty but sturdy iron rod, but a crown of sin made of Gold.

"...Huh?"

Gu Pan gave Xu Shu an inquiring look.

So, what the hell are you talking about, brother?

Whoo—after a few seconds of reflection, her eyes slowly widened.

"Does that mean Your Excellency is suggesting that I—", she pointed at herself, took a deep breath, paused for a moment, and then cautiously continued:

"Go mano-a-mano with the monster, right?"

Xu Shu nodded, as if it were the most natural thing: "Exactly, everything is according to my plan. You take it down, and I’ll support you."

"Great, a perfect plan."

Gu Pan nodded and said no more.

Side by side, the two fell silent together, both watching the lower end of the ’H’.

They appeared harmonious, like two sparrows perched side by side on a power line.

After a moment.

"Alright, stop joking now. What’s the real plan?" Gu Pan asked.

Xu Shu glanced at her: "It seems you still don’t understand what I mean. The plan is for you to take down the Unclean."

"Me?" Gu Pan pointed to her own deliberately dirty, somewhat rough, yet inherently fair and tender chin.

"That’s right."

"On what grounds?"

"Huh? You’d defy me?"

"No, I mean, what makes me qualified to take down the Unclean? It’s a Transcendent, and it’s accompanied by one of Nagoul’s little demons, right?"

Xu Shu nodded: "Of course, it’s all thanks to this unyielding steel bar. If you prefer another cold weapon, that’s fine too, like the military dagger in your boot."

"Oh, I understand. I go in for hand-to-hand combat and wipe it out, right?"

"You’re quick on the uptake. Yes, that’s the plan. Don’t worry, I’ll lend you my strength."

"..."

Gu Pan fell silent again.

She couldn’t help but turn her head and examine Xu Shu’s profile over and over, seriously.

He was handsome.

It was serious.

No joking around.

Great, really great, this no-nonsense expression when you tell a joke is so humorous.

Hehe!

"I never expected Brother Xu Shu to be not only righteous and honorable but also youthful in spirit, still playing around by offering to lend me your strength? How mischievous!" Gu Pan chuckled dryly to herself.

"Thump thump thump..."

For some reason, even though she knew Xu Shu was joking, her heart couldn’t stop pounding.

She took a few deep breaths, attempting to calm her erratic heartbeat, to no avail.

Minutes of silence passed.

Suddenly, faint screams could be heard in the distance.

They came from several young people who had ventured deep into the H-shaped ruins.

"Here it comes!"

Gu Pan tensed up, guessing they must have been killed.

That meant the unholy fusion of the Unclean and the Demon that Xu had mentioned was about to appear.

Following that, a bizarre and deep hoarse roar came from inside, barely discernible:

"Ao Yaolin! Come out and face me!"

With the thumping vibrations of the earth, something was getting closer to the entrance of the passage.

"That thing is about to come out! How exactly are we supposed to fight it? You should tell me now, right?" Gu Pan was genuinely nervous this time.

Xu Shu turned to look at her once again: "Haven’t we agreed? I lend you my strength, and you take on the monster alone. Didn’t you say that your physical combat skills are very strong? ’Six Sciences Grade A’?"

"?" Gu Pan twitched the corners of her mouth.

Brother, you weren’t serious with what you just said, were you?

I’m still human, for goodness sake!

I’m here to support you!

My combat skills aren’t for brawling with monsters!

At that moment, countless thoughts flashed through Gu Pan’s mind.

But the thumping sounds from the passage were getting closer, like the ticking of a death clock.

Listening, it was clear that whatever it was, it wasn’t many steps from the entrance now!

Finally, Gu Pan heard Xu Shu say something reassuring.

"Okay, it’s about time to begin!" Xu Shu took something out.

"That’s good, we... what the fuck are you doing?!"

Gu Pan almost screamed.

Because right after Xu Shu spoke, she felt her clothes at the waist being lifted from behind, and a large hand roughly slid in, kneading her sweat-moistened and smooth back...

Being massaged so directly on her back, every inch of Gu Pan’s skin tensed, and her shoulders rapidly turned pink.

She blushed, pressed down on Xu Shu’s misbehaving hand, trying to push it away, and with a trembling voice said, "Brother, don’t do this..."

Xu Shu firmly pressed her down, rubbing her back repeatedly: "Don’t move around, accept my strength."

"Oh, okay then."

Xu Shu’s serious demeanor gave Gu Pan a bit of relief.

She had almost died of fright, thinking the guy had lost his senses and was taking advantage of her.

In reality, Xu Shu had only massaged for a while, and his technique was pretty good, it was actually quite comfortable, and he didn’t do anything inappropriate before withdrawing his hand.

At first, Gu Pan felt like something thin was stuck to her back, it was sticky, and quite uncomfortable.

But as Xu Shu massaged her, waves of warm strength seemed to penetrate her body, calming her down.

Of course, Xu Shu wasn’t about to take advantage of her at such a critical moment; he was worried that the "Fugitive mandarins (excellent)" would fall off during the fight.

It was only when the texture of that small kite disappeared, merging into Gu Pan’s body, that Xu Shu felt at ease.

Success!

The two effects of the Fugitive mandarins were "Mandarin’s Chorus, Mandarin’s Grief."

Xu Shu had already experienced the effect of "Mandarin’s Grief" once—it could directly substitute one’s death for the other’s.

As for the effect of "Mandarin’s Chorus," it would temporarily grant the weaker party a portion of the stronger party’s power, equalizing their strengths, up to 100%!

This meant that with this buff, Gu Pan would temporarily possess the same strength as Xu Shu.

This included bodily toughness, strength, and more.

Having her fight in his place while he stayed back to activate the "Double Injury Bearing" effect could allow a damage-free defeat of the little demon, avoiding a tit-for-tat end!

Moreover, if it really came down to a fight, Xu Shu believed that Gu Pan, bolstered with his strength, should be able to outperform him.

After all, she had given him a very dangerous feeling even when she was still human; she couldn’t be compared to any regular Patrol Soldier.

And to think about it, this guy had said herself, she came from no small background!

With this in mind, Xu Shu gave her a fist bump, his eyes revealing a steadfast spirit:

"Listen to me, brother, this is a treasure for transferring power. It’s stuck to your back, you’ve been enhanced.

"You will have the same power as me, and right now, you are invincible. Nothing can hurt you, so go ahead with confidence, I will protect you!"

"..."

Really?

A skeptical expression crossed Gu Pan’s face, as she now had guessed Xu Shu’s profession.

That day when Xu Shu showed her the Promotion Drive panel, he only revealed a name, covering up all the other information.

But today, by observing Xu Shu’s fighting style, Gu Pan had deduced that his Curse Seal profession must be that of a Warrior.

So, a Warrior, how could you possibly have the ability to lend me strength?

Martial Arts is the most straightforward path, without the strange and varied abilities of other professions.

But there really was a warm feeling just now.

Could it be, this also stemmed from that Cult’s secret book?

Indeed, that secret book is very bizarre, possessing such abilities wouldn’t be a surprise!

At this moment, Gu Pan suddenly had a revelation, the more she thought about it, the more it seemed plausible.

——Just then.

"Ao Yaolin!!!"

"Come out and face me!!!"

A roar finally erupted at the front of the passage, interrupting Gu Pan’s train of thought.