Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!

Chapter 1265: Chapter 964: Walking Right Into the Trap

Jiang Yuan’s Soul-devouring Demon Skill had just been upgraded to Level Five, thanks to his recent diligent "disciplining" of Evil Cultivators.

Locking onto the Array and going full firepower, in less than half a minute there wasn’t enough remaining Essence to sustain the Array’s protection for the Evil Cultivators.

And a dozen or so who arrived a step late didn’t get covered by the halo; they stood on top of the extinguished Array, so anxious they spun in circles like ants on a hot wok.

Some were shouting for help; some were yelling at the Evil Cultivators who got protected a step earlier to absolutely not start their Tribulation Crossing, otherwise once the thunderclouds thickened and heavenly thunder rolled, the thunder would sense their Evil Cultivator aura, curve over, and blast them straight into slag.

"Everyone, don’t panic!" He didn’t stop using the Soul-devouring Demon Skill to swallow Essence, yet put on a very concerned look toward his fellow sect members and said loudly, "Whether you call for help from the higher-ups or beg the other fellow sect members not to cross their tribulation, neither can solve the immediate crisis.

Who knows how long we’ll have to wait for the Protectors to come replenish the Energy; and those impatient fellow sect members, I’m afraid they won’t wait and won’t care about others, and are already preparing to release their suppressed aura to welcome the Thunder Tribulation."

As he spoke, sure enough rolling thunderclouds came surging; the thunder hadn’t struck yet, but the situation was already hanging by a thread.

"We’re done for, we’re done for, we’re gonna die here!"

"Daoist friend, if you have a way, spit it out! Teleportation is forbidden here, if we don’t hide now we’re dead!"

"If I can get through this tribulation with your help, Cai will repay this great favor even if I have to smash my liver and brains to pieces!"

......

Evil Cultivators never had any moral bottom line to begin with; while the sect forbids internal slaughter, luring down a Thunder Tribulation to zap a few unlucky bastards to death has nothing to do with themselves.

So when they heard the cries for help, those Evil Cultivators who had already got protection and seized spots on the Tribulation Crossing Platform were gloating, not giving a damn about anything else. They immediately released their aura to draw heavenly thunder and prepare for Tribulation Crossing.

"I have a Divine Artifact that can cover all of you and isolate your aura." Jiang Yuan took the Chaotic Heaven Bell from his Storage Bag and sped up his speech: "But there’s no Spiritual Energy inside, and your Spiritual Power will be somewhat shackled..."

"Rumble~"

"Crack!"

Several auras surged up at once, making thunderclouds blanket Immortal Peak and dim the light; the rolling lightning even drowned out his voice.

Seeing that the lightning was about to strike, the dozen Evil Cultivators turned pale and screamed, "We beg Senior to hurry and save our lives!"

"Who cares about Spiritual Energy or Spiritual Power, staying alive comes first!"

"Quick! Let me in, quick!"

The Evil Cultivators who had protective halos and had seized the Tribulation Crossing Platform saw others begin their Tribulation Crossing and were afraid that if they were left behind they’d be disturbed by someone else’s Thunder Tribulation; unwilling to fall behind, they each released their aura to draw even more thunderclouds and lightning.

At the same time, the Array over the whole Immortal Peak went fully active to assist them in crossing their tribulation.

Furious winds howled and the sky was like ink; only the Arrays on Immortal Peak shone with dazzling light. Amid the lightning and thunder, no one had the time to care about the unlucky bastards who failed to get protection; they focused solely on dealing with the Thunder Tribulation.

And these dozen Evil Cultivators also had no time for anything else; all they could think about was hiding so they wouldn’t be blasted into slag.

Thus, under their urgent urging, the Chaotic Heaven Bell flew up and grew larger and larger.

"Clang~"

The bell’s sound was melodious, and following the flow it clamped down over the dozen Evil Cultivators.

In the pitch darkness even the air seemed to congeal. Someone asked quietly, "Are we dead from the lightning, or still alive?"

"You stupid or what? Even if heavenly thunder zaps you, you don’t die in an instant. You’d definitely be tortured to the extreme and suffer unbearable pain before your path and body both perish. We’re all alive and kicking. Never thought there’d be a big shot with a Divine Artifact among those coming to the Holy Land for Tribulation Crossing!"

"Tsk tsk, worthy of being a Divine Artifact, can’t hear a peep from outside."

"But our Spiritual Power is shackled; we can’t even take out a light source from our Storage Bags."

"We’re lucky enough as it is, so quit nitpicking. It’s those guys doing their tribulation that are really despicable! Isn’t that just openly trying to get us blasted to death?"

"They’re probably people who joined Leisure Sect not long ago with little Merit yet, so they came here to cross their tribulation. With a Divine Artifact in hand, it’s likely it won’t be long before they’re highly valued."

"Good thing, good thing. If not for this Daoist friend, we’d be completely screwed..."

......

Their post-disaster relief and joking about how the Divine Artifact was really badass made them relax, and they failed to notice that among those trapped under the bell, one fellow sect member had quietly gone missing!

"What is this place? Why is it so..." The randomly selected Evil Cultivator looked utterly confused, staring at the vast, empty building resplendent with gold and jade, surrounded by several Divine Statues. Not knowing what had happened, he plastered on a fawning smile and said, "Many thanks to Senior for providing shelter, this junior is endlessly grateful. But wasn’t it pitch-black just now? How come it suddenly got bright? And where did the other Daoist friends go?"

Jiang Yuan grabbed his shoulder and didn’t let go, smiling as he said, "This is another Divine Artifact of mine. Relax, your life is in no danger whatsoever."

The other man was dumbfounded and cried out, "Senior actually possesses two Divine Artifacts?!"

Wild joy slammed into his heart, and greed flared up.

He thought, it’s just me and him here; if he dies, wouldn’t both Divine Artifacts fall into my pocket? But the sect forbids harming fellow sect members. If I use one Divine Artifact to bribe a Protector, could I get away with it?

Just as he was fantasizing, he belatedly realized something was wrong—his Spiritual Power and life force were crazily leaking out!

"D-don’t you know we can’t harm fellow sect members?" Fear gripped his heart, and his voice warped; he thought, I haven’t even made a move to kill him yet, and he’s already trying to kill me!

Too weak to resist, his body trembling uncontrollably, he pleaded, "If you do this you’ll be discovered by the Protectors and suffer the harshest punishment. Stop, quickly stop! I beg you, spare my life, please stop!"

Only after draining him to the last drop did Jiang Yuan release him and smile, "Don’t be afraid, I wasn’t planning to kill you anyway. Next, I’ll ask and you’ll answer. Be obedient, and I’ll give you a chance at undying, imperishable, eternal enjoyment."