Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

Gao Hai's roar echoed through the mental link and the temporary mental link.

It was clear that Maki's consciousness reacted swiftly; she had already established a perfect mental barrier in that instant, ensuring that she would not hear anything Gao Hai said.

The temporary mental link was also closed at this moment. It seems that even though their bodies cannot move, Tangyuan and Maoge, the two players, still retain their mental abilities and have not been completely suspended.

Fortunately, it's not the worst-case scenario yet.

Overwhelmed by intense pressure and barely able to breathe, Gao Hai clenched his teeth, his lips trembling.

"The seal on the crimson flower has loosened."

Then, he opened his mouth, not through a mental link, but by actually opening his mouth and speaking.

hum-

That overwhelming aura of terror vanished in an instant.

Gao Hai couldn't discern any change in the Fox Queen's expression. Her cold face seemed to have lost the ability to express emotions, remaining stiff as she slowly turned her head to look in Gao Hai's direction again.

But He saw nothing.

Because the moment the pressure eased, Cat Brother immediately summoned a spatial teleportation artifact and teleported himself and Gao Hai, who was closest to him, away.

Following that, Gao Hai, through Andres's blessing, pulled Zhen Fei directly from that dark space to his side, while Cat Brother called out to Chatchai through a temporary mental link. Chatchai then used some kind of spatial artifact to pull Tang Yuan out.

"Huh...huh..."

After catching his breath, Gao Hai immediately used his mental energy to carefully survey his surroundings as soon as he stood up, to confirm whether he had drawn out the power of the blood flower.

A hidden village with many players could be seen in the distance. Compared to the Blood Key, Cat Brother's teleportation artifact had some margin of error, but it didn't send Gao Hai too far. Therefore, he could return to the village immediately if he wanted, without being attacked in the process.

However, Gao Hai did not do that.

He was tense and highly focused, completely oblivious to such matters.

He was certain that when he uttered those words to the Fox Queen, Blood Flower must have sensed them. Given the terrifying nature of that thing, there was no reason for it not to respond in some way; it might even descend upon him simply because he uttered those words.

However, Gao Hai found nothing.

In the previous playthrough, he had been relentlessly pursuing his blood flower, but in this playthrough, it had completely vanished without a trace. No matter how carefully Gao Hai sensed it, he couldn't find even the slightest hint of it.

{Sea King?}

Zhenfei's voice was heard again in the mental link. She was sitting next to Gao Hai. Perhaps because she was being watched intently by the Fox Queen, Zhenfei was pale and unable to stand up for the time being. She could only sit on the ground and talk to Gao Hai.

There was still no trace.

Gao Hai carefully observed his surroundings several times, but couldn't find any suspicious traces. It seemed he was just being a little too nervous.

But that's not how it should be done.

That being shouldn't react like this, should it?

Did He not hear His own voice? Was it because I was too close to the Fox Queen and the sound was blocked? Or was He doing something else, so even if He heard my voice, He didn't show himself? Or perhaps He had already come to my side, but this time He disguised Him so well that I couldn't detect Him at all?

Which guess is closest to the truth?

What I see now, which parts are real and which are fake?

Gao Hai doesn't like overthinking or being suspicious.

But after truly facing the devastating power of the Crimson Flower, and after having two girls taken from him and being unable to save them with the power of the black watch, his sense of security had plummeted to a precarious level, and there was no way to stop this state.

{...I'm fine}

However, even so, Gao Hai's willpower did not allow him to break down.

Even when his inner unease reaches its peak, Gao Hai will not break down, whether he is willing to accept it or not.

Just like now, even if he were skinned, gouged out, had his tendons pulled out, and bones removed, he would only feel some pain at most. When the mind itself reaches a certain limit, even if he wanted to break down, it would be impossible, because this level of stimulation simply cannot reach his physiological threshold.

I'm fine. I was just worried about being tracked down. Looks like I've made it through safely this time.

Therefore, his voice in response to Maki in the mental link remained completely unchanged, and all his emotional changes were deliberately suppressed by Gao Hai without being revealed in the slightest.

{Hmm, that makes it half complete. But Haijun, are you sure you're okay? You seemed very nervous just now. Did you reveal information about "that thing"? Otherwise, I can't think of anything that could distract the Fox Queen in that state.}

However, Maki wasn't stupid. After thinking for a moment, she guessed Takami's plan to save the day, and immediately showed a worried expression.

{Indeed, to be honest, I was prepared to be hunted down, but I didn't expect to attract any attention at all. Perhaps it was because we were too close to the Fox Queen's true form, and the aura of that native deity interfered, preventing me from being targeted by that thing?}

There was nothing to hide about this information, so Gao Hai gave a straightforward answer and then took out the longevity lock from his black watch.

To unite our spirits.

Gao Hai took out the blood-stained pen and began to deeply perceive this core object of obsession.

This time, he didn't get much new information. What he could confirm was that the changes in the Liu family did indeed stem from the fox spirit's transformation. He wondered how the Li family, before they converted to the mountain god, had become immune to these changes. In short, during the gradual distortion, the Liu family members changed, becoming increasingly fertile and gradually going mad. Occasionally, some of them would regain their senses, and during this period, the Liu family could still communicate with the outside world. This continued until the Liu family's sacrificial ritual triggered a rampage of monsters. The monsters emerging from the Bottomless Lake and those from the Water Ghost Lake near the Li family's side caused a horrific tragedy. Then, the old Taoist priest Ge Yuan led his disciples into the village.

During Ge Yuan's process of sealing the strange creature in the lake, the old man clearly came into contact with a lot of hidden information. A key point was that he used some method to briefly awaken Liu Qigui, the patriarch of the Liu family, who had lived for over two hundred years. Then, after some discussion, the patriarch decided to actively continue the Liu family's bloody sacrifice, which was now unstoppable, and guide it towards a more closed state, completely cut off from the outside world—in other words, to self-containment.

To complete this self-sealing, the clan chief even actively transferred his consciousness to his descendants through sacrificial rituals, before sacrificing himself to ensure that everyone in Liu Family Village consumed his flesh and blood. He then used this method to tear himself apart and spread his consciousness, further guiding the formation of the seal. This resulted in a portion of Liu Qigui's own consciousness being incorporated into the core obsession of the Liu family, and this self-containment ultimately succeeded, minimizing the harm caused.

Then, Liu Family Village ceased to exist in this world.

Having observed all of this with detached indifference, the Li family ceased discussing the Liu family altogether, treating them as if they never existed. As for the belief in the Fox Goddess, and any remnants of the Liu family's existence, the Li family either completely destroyed them or stigmatized them as evil cults. However, there's no need to elaborate on this, as the outcome was predictable from the start.

The formation of this core obsession is deeply connected to the Fox Queen; it can be said that the Fox Queen's existence protects and seals this obsession.

After the empathy session ended, Gao Hai spoke very seriously to Zhen Fei.

{you mean……}

Zhenfei seemed to be deep in thought; she roughly guessed what Gao Hai wanted to express.

{The core obsession of the Blood-Red Wedding Dress, having been in prolonged close contact with the flesh and blood statues of the Mountain God and the Fox Queen, can be considered deeply influenced by these two deities. The second core obsession we subsequently obtained was deeply influenced by the Fox Queen. There's still no news about the core obsession that Ichiri is investigating, but Kaguya and Chika have confirmed the existence of the core obsession on the Zhang family's side. Considering the information regarding the Zhang family, I believe that core obsession is likely influenced by both the Mountain God and the Fox Queen simultaneously.}

I'm wondering if it's possible that all our core obsessions are closely connected to the divine. Perhaps they've been in prolonged, close contact with divine artifacts, or perhaps they've been hidden away by divine power. By gathering these objects of obsession, we could say we're building the foundation for this instance, or perhaps we're strengthening our connection with the divine.

{Perhaps after collecting all four obsession items, we can obtain... well, let's say a signal amplifier. Maybe we can get a signal amplifier that allows us to directly contact the gods, to safely reach the mountain god and the fox goddess, and obtain something from them.}

Gao Hai didn't keep them in suspense and solemnly stated his thoughts.

Although this idea only came to him after he had attained enlightenment and sensed the object of his obsession, Gao Hai felt that his guess might be surprisingly close to the truth.

If that's the case, then Goto shouldn't continue her investigation in the village; she should go to the "Onikakuchi" (Demon Cry Cave), the place where the traces of the mountain god were discovered.

Next, following Gao Hai's words, Zhen Fei arrives at another conclusion.

Upon hearing this, Gao Hai's eyes lit up, and he immediately communicated with Yi Li through the mental link. Yi Li, who had already sacrificed more than ten clones for this, did not hesitate and immediately began to try to control the clones to break through the village, shifting the investigation focus from the mass grave to the snow-covered area of ​​Xiao Hei Mountain, attempting to find and enter the [Ghost Cry Cave] located there.

Return to the village and place the newly found core artifact into the slot on the statue.

Gao Hai muttered something like "Shin-no-King Shiba Inu" under his breath, then routinely contacted Kaguya and Chika via their mental link to check on their progress and safety.

"……Um?"

But this time, the two girls were unable to respond to Gao Hai's communication immediately.

Even if the mental link is indeed maintained as usual, theoretically the two of them should be awake now and able to receive Gao Hai's communications, but he has not received any response from them at all.

Something happened?!

Chapter 130: The Wraiths Howling in the Dark, Twisted Land and the People Who Came to Solve the Problem

"Well……"

I could almost hear my own indistinct breathing.

My senses were thrown into chaos at that moment, and it felt as if tens of thousands of people were roaring and screaming endlessly inside my head.

I couldn't see anything, and I couldn't be sure if I had opened my eyes or not. Apart from complete darkness, I couldn't sense anything else in my eyes.

The body seemed to be falling downwards.

It's as if you're in mud, slowly sinking and being submerged.

Where am I now...?

This feeling... what exactly is going on...?

I can't feel anything else anymore.

Apart from the seemingly endless, nerve-wracking howls that echoed in the darkness, I could feel nothing else.

No, that's not right...

There's still something that can be sensed...

Although it was almost gone, I could still feel that aura, that faint, lingering smell of blood in my nostrils... This scent was the scent of blessing...

Kaguya opened her crimson eyes the next second.

A crimson light burst forth from her body, reaching the top just as Gao Hai's crimson domain was about to dissipate, dispelling the malevolent thoughts that were spreading from all around.

Kaguya heard Chika's panting beside her. Turning her head, she could see the pink-haired girl kneeling on the ground, coughing, as if she was about to suffocate.

What on earth happened just now?

Kaguya, who was also having difficulty breathing, took several deep breaths, then frowned because of the stench in the air.

Under the light of the crimson domain, those things that were originally hidden in darkness were now clearly displayed before her.

Dead body.

The desiccated corpses belonged to the villagers of Zhangjia Village.

All the corpses remained standing.

All the corpses bowed their heads and stood silently motionless, as if waiting for something.

Kaguya had no idea what they were waiting for.

She could only clearly sense the twisted spirit emanating from these things, and feel the howling of that polluted consciousness.

"Well……"

Consciousness cannot block out those sounds.

The sounds of those imprisoned in the corpses were constantly wailing and pleading.

Kaguya couldn't discern anything meaningful from these voices. Perhaps at some point, there was something interpretable within them, even the possibility of communication and response. But now, these voices had lost all meaning; only the rampant, spreading frenzied emotions and the pervasive, distorting spiritual pollution were proliferating.

"Um... ah..."