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

Just like now, the reason he chose not to escape upwards or try to explore the surrounding dark vortex, but instead led Li Ziyong downwards, was yet another "gamble" on his part.

“You looked down several times just now. Unlike the others, you deliberately started crawling down after realizing you couldn't escape from up there. Is the aura of the mountain god you worship down here? If you can find it, can you form a contract with it again to gain power?”

Chen Qiu grabbed Li Ziyong's head and asked him in a serious tone.

"What...what do you want to do?"

Li Ziyong looked slightly flustered, but refused to answer the questions honestly, seemingly trying to brush it off.

"Don't play dumb. If you don't behave, I'll just leave you here. Think about how many things up there want your life. Hehe, as long as you let me also obtain the power of the gods, I'll find a way to take you to see your god and find a way to help you survive. Otherwise, you'll have to face those monsters yourself. Anyway, I'm not the one who owes them my life. So, how's your answer? Have you thought it through?"

But Chen Qiucai just grinned and deliberately made a gesture as if he wanted to throw Li Ziyong back.

"...Tsk, then come with me."

Upon hearing this, Li Ziyong frowned, looking as if he was deep in thought, and after a while, he gave this reply.

"Don't be ambiguous. Do you think I don't know you're trying to circumvent the contract with vague sentences? Give me an honest answer. Unless my cursed object takes effect, I won't believe you."

However, Chen Qiucai was not fooled by Li Ziyong's reaction. He laughed and flippantly exposed Li Ziyong's ulterior motives. Helpless, Li Ziyong glared at Chen Qiucai several times before finally giving in.

"I, Li Ziyong, the clan chief of Li Family Village, guarantee to lead the members of the [Treasure Hunter] team to the Mountain God of Xiaoheishan Mountain, so that they may establish a connection with the deity and obtain divine power. I pledge my soul and the name of Li Ziyong as my oath."

After Li Ziyong finished speaking, a certain force truly established a connection, and Chen Qiucai finally felt relieved, leading his teammates to escort Li Ziyong forward.

Surrounded by several Treasure Hunter players, Li Ziyong secretly revealed a venomous and hateful expression. Clearly, this man hadn't truly accepted the contract; he was determined to find a way to make things difficult for these players in the upcoming operation, intending to bypass the contract and teach them a lesson.

Only I, Li Ziyong, am qualified to be the spokesperson for the Mountain God! Only members of the Li family are qualified to obtain the power of the Mountain God! You lowly outsiders, you filthy and lowly offerings of flesh and blood, what do you think you are, daring to covet the power of the Mountain God? Thinking this, Li Ziyong gritted his teeth, his heart overflowing with hatred.

However, Li Ziyong quickly lost interest in venting his negative emotions.

Because Gao Hai, with his blood-soaked aura, had already caught up from behind.

"Old Chen, something's coming from behind."

One of Chen Qiucai's teammates spoke first, but Chen Qiucai himself had no intention of stopping. Instead, he sped up and ran with Li Ziyong.

So the others, realizing what was happening, also sped up. For the treasure hunters, who had no team spirit whatsoever, it was impossible to get one of them to sacrifice themselves for the others. Therefore, at this moment, these guys could only decide who would fall behind and die in a race-like manner.

boom!

A gunshot suddenly rang in their ears, but no one saw the trajectory of the bullet.

Then a team member screamed in agony as a hole was punched in his chest, and blood was gushing out.

The crimson light gradually became more dazzling in the background.

As Gao Hai approached step by step, everyone felt an extremely terrifying aura, even surpassing the terrifying aura of a Red Moon-level core obsession.

Chen Qiu suddenly waved his hand, and the player who had just been shot screamed in agony, his body rendered immobile and forced to stop moving. He was quickly overtaken by the trail of blood and fell lifeless amidst the roar of the chainsaw and Gao Hai's low laughter. Gao Hai, having dealt with the player, wasted about three or four seconds before continuing his pursuit.

The remaining players did not hesitate to take out various items they were obsessed with and began to attack, but instead of attacking Gao Hai who was chasing them, they attacked each other.

The reason for this choice is quite simple. Judging solely from their aura, everyone realized that their methods were completely ineffective against Gao Hai behind them. Therefore, using their techniques against their own comrades and trying to keep them behind to buy time for their own escape was clearly the more sensible choice.

So, before Gao Hai could actually catch up with the group of players and Li Ziyong, they started fighting amongst themselves right in front of Gao Hai.

To be honest, Gao Hai felt somewhat disheartened after witnessing the Treasure Hunters' incredibly low performance. Especially considering that the Treasure Hunters were supposedly a team of players with high ideals, the contrast with their current state made it all the more laughable. So, he quickened his pace slightly, and the players who had lost in the infighting and were now pinned to their spots soon awaited Gao Hai's arrival with terrified expressions.

"No...don't kill me, I can help you..."

buzzing-

"I'll give you anything you want, just don't kill me!"

buzzing-

Amidst the roar of the blood saw, Gao Hai carefully ensured the survival of these players. To prevent them from faking their deaths and escaping using some kind of ability, he even used his mental power to shred their souls.

With the deaths of several enemy players, Chen Qiucai and Li Ziyong, who were the last survivors, had already entered a completely still, pitch-black world.

Gao Hai didn't hesitate and followed the two people's movements, accelerating all the way until he quickly entered the area.

The aura of the mountain god intensified in an instant.

Along with this, the aura of the Fox Queen also became more prominent, as well as other auras that clearly belonged to the gods and showed signs of weakness and fragmentation.

In this boundless darkness, Gao Hai understood that after the [Infant Cry Village] instance disappeared and the [Essence] left behind by the gods was completely consumed, the remaining remains of the Mountain God and the Fox Queen also lost their life force. After all, [Essence] was the last thing they left behind, and the true foundation that sustained their existence. Therefore, when [Essence] ceased to exist, all the gods died completely. This was also why Gao Hai could no longer hear Alice's voice, because this false existence born from his consciousness ultimately relied on the power of the Mountain God to maintain itself; after the Mountain God's complete death, Alice died along with him.

Even so, there are still things left behind by the gods, namely, the obsessions that the gods have not yet found answers to.

Did the depletion of the "essence" truly bring salvation to life on this planet?

Has the threat that threatened this world been eliminated? If they couldn't defeat it, then at least let them know whether the essence they left behind brought hope to this world and successfully changed what was originally a dark future.

Like restless, restless spirits, even in death, gods who cannot find answers cannot completely vanish; something remains. Therefore, even though this instance is so chaotic it's on the verge of losing all rules, and might even lead to [Disorderly Chaos], it is still forced to maintain its original existence. Thus, Gao Hai, who has personally used [Essence], must go to contact these gods' final obsessions, letting them know their ultimate fate, so that this instance can truly come to an end.

However, it seems that some unclean things have already come into contact with them.

In a world of darkness, Gao Hai could already see the faint light, and he saw Li Ziyong, who had gone deep inside and touched something, and Chen Qiucai, who was next to Li Ziyong, who was so clever that he thought he could steal divine power, and who was now almost turning into a lump of rotting flesh.

"Haha, I've gained divine power again. You damned outsider, this time no one can help you!"

Li Ziyong, laughing wildly like a smug villain, stretched out his hand, and the twisted power condensed and roared towards Gao Hai.

It was indeed an extraordinary power; if it were released in the real world, it would be a terrifying force capable of easily destroying a first-tier city.

However, Gao Hai did not hesitate at all.

He simply continued moving downwards, heading towards Li Ziyong's location, and casually released an aerial bomb.

boom--

A violent explosion burst into brilliant flames in the dark space.

The power that had been gathered under Li Ziyong's control shattered, but it was not truly destroyed by this attack. Instead, it continued to advance upwards, attempting to reach Gao Hai's location.

Thus, the second and third aerial bombs were released at Gao Hai's behest.

Boom—boom boom boom boom boom—!!!

The raging flames overlapped each other, blooming like a giant, fiery red tree.

The power that had been gathered in Li Ziyong's hands finally shattered completely, turning into dust along with Li Ziyong's outstretched arm.

Gao Hai finally reached the bottom of this collapsed world and truly set foot on the ground. Although in this dark world, what he was standing on was nothing more than a black spatial barrier, merely an invisible boundary separating the real world from the empty void.

"Uh...no way...this can't be possible!"

With his hand severed, Li Ziyong knelt on the ground, clutching the bleeding wound and screaming pitifully.

Gao Hai, carrying the chainsaw, slowly walked towards him. Li Ziyong, noticing Gao Hai's movements, became even more hysterical, his eyes filled with endless madness and resentment.

"It's all because of you, it's all because of you, you bastard!"

Li Ziyong, still roaring, struggled to his feet again, his voice trembling with a hint of tears.

“My Li family has existed for a thousand years! A true thousand years! Even if we have harmed some people, it was only because we were trying to survive. You deserve to be exterminated, don’t you know what compassion and mercy are? Why must you exterminate us? Why must you—”

boom!

A bullet pierced Li Ziyong's mouth, silencing all the foul language he was about to utter.

"Survive? Are you kidding me? With all the heinous things your Li family has done, you dare to use that as an excuse?"

As Gao Hai spoke, he slowly walked toward Li Ziyong, who was covering his mouth, which was bleeding profusely, with a hint of emotion on his face.

"In the three months since I became a player, I have seen more heinous criminals than many veteran detectives would ever see in their entire lives. And each one of them has completely crossed the line of morality and law. They can be described as irredeemable trash that cannot be tolerated by the world."

As he spoke, Gao Hai's expression turned to one of reminiscence, and he quickly showed a look of disgust at what he was recalling.

"As for you, Li Ziyong, and your Li Family Village. Among the villains I've ever seen, you are definitely among the worst. To be honest, you should apologize to everyone in the world with the surname Li. Just thinking about how ordinary people with the surname Li share the same surname as you scum makes me feel incredibly wronged."

Gao Hai grinned and laughed as he spoke. Of course, this immediately made Li Ziyong's eyes widen. He was furious and could not accept such an insult to the Li family, but because his tongue had been pierced by a bullet, he could not speak to refute Gao Hai for the time being.

"So, I really don't want to hear your garbage anymore. Do you think I don't know what you're trying to say? That whatever the Li family does is right, whether it's murder, arson, sacrificing flesh and blood, or plotting against others? As long as it's what you do, it's right, and anyone who opposes you is wrong. Is that what you're trying to say? You idiots who have nothing but yourselves in their heads, no bottom line whatsoever, and yet you're so smug about it, I know what kind of shit you're going to spew out before you even open your mouth, so I really can't be bothered to listen anymore."

After he finished speaking, Gao Hai stopped in his tracks, and a twisted power also emerged from Li Ziyong, who was so angry that his veins were bulging and his whole body was trembling.

That was the last connection between the Li family and the mountain god, built over thousands of years through countless bloody sacrifices by the Li family. Now, it was constantly crumbling, but a remnant of the divine incarnation's power remained. Originally, Li Ziyong wouldn't have had time to awaken this power, but Gao Hai deliberately gave him time, intentionally delaying until he finally pulled it out of the god's lingering obsession. Gao Hai's reason for doing so was simple: he hoped that when he freed himself from the god's obsession later, he could cleanse that obsession of its defilement, allowing those remaining wills to peacefully slumber.

In addition, he also wanted to see if the never-used fourth bomb would undergo any changes after his life force received the blessing of the blood flower.

“Garbage should go where it’s supposed to go. The people in your village have already started being tortured, and you’re next. Are you ready? I’ve been waiting for you to get ready for a long time.”

Gao Hai gazed at the blood energy emanating from Li Ziyong and spoke calmly.

"You're dead! The mountain god I've been waiting for is here to punish you!!!"

After his body was repaired by the last remaining divine power, Li Ziyong let out a roar, and then an endless mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood rushed towards Gao Hai.

It was as if all the corpses and resentments that had died at the hands of the Li family over the past thousands of years had launched an attack on Gao Hai at the same time.

The endless river of blood was filled with screaming, mangled limbs; chaotic wails and cries mingled into a piercing cacophony. This power was both evil and immense. Gao Hai was certain that if this thing were allowed to remain in the outside world, it would likely cause irreversible and devastating damage to the entire ecosystem.

Fortunately, this place is currently under the control of the power of the gods' obsession, and there is still a separation between it and the real world.

So I decided to give it a try. It wasn't a temporary boost in essence, but rather a blessing that granted me the ultimate power that truly belonged to me.

Fourth bomb, activated.

Complete the blood draw from 100% of the body.

The power of blessings and bestowals has been gathered and is complete.

Specify the release point and confirm.

hum-

A second streak of blood-red light bloomed in the endless river of blood.

No sound.

Because the air was directly displaced by the enormous impact the moment this power was released, creating a brief vacuum in the dark space at the bottom.

Then, the River of Blood evaporated.

The unparalleled crimson flames illuminated all darkness, their brightness steadily increasing until they transformed into a terrifying white sun, engulfing an area spanning several kilometers, then tens of kilometers, and finally over a hundred kilometers in radius. The endless flames repeatedly swept across this hundred-kilometer area, and even at the very moment the explosion began, the temperature at its core exceeded one hundred million degrees Celsius. And this was merely the physical effect of the attack itself, not even taking into account the suppressive effect on extraordinary powers it served as a blessing.

The last divine illusion that Li Ziyong had painstakingly created had shattered.

The divine figure, which he believed could never be defeated by mortals and represented the source of the Li family's absolute pride, and the endless wailing phantoms of the dead, were all shattered by this one blow, leaving nothing behind.

In fact, logically speaking, he should have been vaporized by that attack as well. Even with the protection of immortality, Gao Hai's attack was powerful enough to kill Li Ziyong completely. Keep in mind that this was the final attack released after the Blood Flower Blessing strengthened his life force and drained all of Gao Hai's blood. Even the protection of the strange creature's power was meaningless in the face of such power.

But doing so would truly benefit the enemy. Therefore, Gao Hai specified during the attack that the fourth bomb should only target the filthy things summoned by Li Ziyong, and nothing else should be harmed. Because of this order, the bomb's power was effectively weakened, and its final burst of power did not reach its true limit, leaving considerable room for improvement.

However, that kind of thing is not important now. What Gao Hai really needs to care about is to bring the current situation to a final conclusion.