On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

There was no way around it; the elf's fingers always managed to reach the most tingling spot in his ear, giving it a full-body massage.

Lost in this tranquility and peace, with his head resting on Anno's lap and feeling the service from the elf, Liao Ji had never felt so relaxed since entering the "second playthrough".

This sense of relaxation and security can only be provided to him by Anno, who is part of the "protector class".

Yes.

Previously, he had always tried his best to maintain a composed image in front of others, after all, he was the "Emperor of Ashes". But the more he experienced, the more tired and weary he felt. After all, he was Ashes, but not real Ashes.

Liao Ji felt confused in many ways, unsure of what to do. For example, how to deal with the old alliance, how to treat those characters who had been abandoned, and what to do when they caused other disasters because of their hatred for him.

Besides, just finding Styutia and Jiuyou had left Liao Ji feeling exhausted. But there were still three more waiting for him. Liao Ji had a premonition that it would only get more and more difficult as he went on, and he couldn't help but doubt whether he could really do it.

For example, in the initial confrontation with the dark-skinned elves, when they said that Anno had contributed her body, Liao Ji appeared calm on the surface, but only he knew the panic deep inside. After all, he could not accept that there were casualties among "them", and he could not accept that he was powerless to do anything about it.

Therefore, with the real Anuo now appearing, Liao Ji's feeling of having regained what he had lost was indescribable; nothing could have relieved him more.

There are actually many other negative emotions like this.

For example, sometimes late at night, Liao Ji would even fall into a state of mind, wondering if he really deserved their love, or racking his brains about how he should act to play the role of "Lord Ash". If he accidentally made a mistake or showed his ugly side, and they found out that he was completely different from the Lord Ash in their memory, would they leave him?

These thoughts were simply kept to himself by Liao Ji, never showing them. After all, to put it bluntly, he was just an ordinary person who stayed at home and was at most good at playing games.

Such negative emotions are a hidden danger. Liao Ji may not have shown them yet, but as they accumulate, they will definitely erupt at some point.

However, at this moment, Anno's lap pillow seemed to have a magical power, allowing people to let down their guard and vigilance, enabling Liao Ji to open up and reveal his most vulnerable side to the elf.

What the elf did next was to gently stroke every strand of the young man's hair and every inch of his face, so that Liao Ji would not keep everything bottled up inside and would vent all his negative emotions. Anuo was willing to accept these feelings and was willing to be his safe haven.

She seems more likely to fall in love with a weak and imperfect Lord Ash than with a strong and perfect one, after all, she is a guard.

It is precisely because the person being protected is not strong enough that she, as the "guardian," has a reason to exist.

Liao Ji felt all his hesitation, confusion, and fear vanish with Anuo's caresses, as if a continuous spring rain had fallen on the parched earth, filling his exhausted body with energy.

Whether it was the incredibly comfortable lap pillow, Anuo's intoxicating fragrance, the softness and warmth of the absolute territory, or something else, a wave of drowsiness began to sweep over Liao Ji. His eyelids started to droop, and his vision became blurry.

Liao Ji didn't last long; soon he fell asleep completely on the elf's lap.

Anno seemed to have been waiting for this moment. The elf behind her bent down towards the young man, and the pair of butterfly-like elven wings on her back began to grow rapidly until they completely enveloped the two of them.

Meanwhile, in the real world, inside the Skull Altar, Liao Ji's body, which had been submerged in the filth of black mud and dragged to the bottom of the pool, began to shimmer with elven light. At the same time, he acted like a giant pump, causing all the black mud in the altar to rush into Liao Ji's body.

These can be seen as black mud condensed from the negative emotions accumulated in the Dragon Kingdom over hundreds of years. They do not directly enter Liao Ji's body. Instead, they first pass through the dark green barrier covering Liao Ji, protected by Anno. The dark green barrier acts like a filter and purifier, removing impurities from the black mud and leaving only the purest turbidity, which is then absorbed by Liao Ji's body.

The Bone Curse Jade at the very center of the altar was also not spared and was sucked into Liao Ji's body. This bloodline curse, which had lasted for hundreds of years, first struck the elf before transforming into a more powerful and pure force that was then infused into the young man on the elf's lap.

In less than a few minutes, it was unimaginable that the massive turbidity that millions of people had spent hundreds of years to form had been drained dry by Liao Ji and the elves, leaving the cursed altar as an empty shell.

And as the final expression of these forces

In Liao Ji's skill bar, there should have been five skills corresponding to the five "them", but at this moment, a new ability has quietly appeared.

After an unknown amount of time, Liao Ji slowly woke up. He felt that he had slept for a very long time and had never had such a comfortable sleep before.

As Liao Ji gradually regained consciousness from his dream, he quickly got up. Seeing the elf still beside him, Liao Ji first breathed a sigh of relief, but soon his expression turned into a deep sigh.

"Have you already left, Anno?" Liao Ji sighed. The elf in front of him had lost its light, just like the soulless shell that had existed at the beginning.

Clearly, the real Anno has also disappeared from this space.

He clenched his fists, but soon chuckled and shook his head. He had already enjoyed the healing effect of Anuo's lap pillow, and now he was full of confidence and energy.

No matter how many unknowns and obstacles lie ahead, nothing can stop him from going to find his wives!

I'll see Anno again next time.

Liao Ji must experience a real lap pillow, not just in a conscious space, but in reality!

As for now

Liao Ji's main concern was how to get out of this place. He had stayed in this space long enough, and it was time to return and face reality. The Dragon Girl was still waiting for him.

Ok?

It was at this moment that Liao Jicai noticed something unusual about his body. He quickly checked his interface and discovered that his skill bar had suddenly gained new skills.

A sixth skill!?

【Touch of Turbidity and Calamity】

[Source: ? ? ?]

[Rank: Calamity]

[Skill Effect: When cast on a Cursed One, using the power of Cursed Calamity, you can touch the deepest part of their soul and temporarily "materialize" them into a special Cursed Calamity item that can only be used by you.]

(Note: Special items formed from the touch of turbidity are absolutely unique. Their form, abilities, and grade depend on the individual affected by the turbidity.)

Chapter 132 Returning to Reality

After quickly glancing through the description, Liao Ji looked at the new gray-brown, crown-like ability icon in the skill bar and quickly realized that Anno must have done something to him while he was asleep.

The first thing that can be confirmed is that this "Touch of Turbidity" is definitely not Anno's ability, at least not the power of the elven knight he used to know.

Naturally, Liao Ji immediately thought of the fake Anno who had previously "occupied" Anno's body, the dark-skinned elf with tentacles on her back.

Judging from the skill names, they seem to fit the characteristics of the dark-skinned elf better.

So

Liao Ji examined the skill effect more closely. The words "utilizing the authority of the turbid calamity" seemed to hint at the identity of the original owner of the skill that was displayed as a series of "???".

Tentacles, the power of calamity, and most importantly, the calamity.

If there were a sixth calamity in this world, besides the five wives he kept, it could only be...

Liao Ji's memory immediately drifted back to the final battle in the "first playthrough," the final boss he had defeated in the "Abyss of Turbid Calamity," who was also the Mother of Turbid Calamity, the embodiment of the will of Turbid Calamity.

Could it be that I didn't kill them all during my first playthrough? Or have new "Wills of Turbidity" been born? And what is the connection between these things and Anno? What is the relationship between Anno and the Mother of Turbidity? Judging from the elves' various actions, everything seems to be Anno's own choice, or even intentional?

One question after another popped into Liao Ji's mind, but unfortunately, with his current information, he was unable to solve any of them.

To find the answers to these mysteries, perhaps the only way is to personally visit the Forest Alliance of Anor.

Shaking his head, Liao Ji decided that since he was powerless to do anything about it, he would stop wasting his energy on pointless mental strain and put these thoughts aside for the time being. After seeing the new abilities, he finally understood why Anuo had left this body in front of him before leaving.

It's like a teacher teaching a problem-solving approach and then assigning a problem for the students to try.

Clearly, the elven husk in front of him was the one Anno had left for him to test his new abilities.

She truly cried.

Liao Ji chuckled helplessly. Anuo was as meticulous as ever, arranging everything for him. Since that was the case, he couldn't let Anuo's good intentions go to waste.

After taking a deep breath, Liao Ji placed his hand on the shoulder of the elf's body. The next second, the "Crown" icon in the skill bar immediately flashed, and a gray-brown light burst from Liao Ji's palm, linking Liao Ji and the elf's body in front of him together.

Liao Ji's hand quickly disappeared into the elf's body, which transformed into a swirling, murky red mist that enveloped Liao Ji. When Liao Ji withdrew his hand, the murky mist frantically condensed in his palm, and the elf vanished, replaced by a form finally shaped in Liao Ji's hand.

A tentacle.

Liao Ji: "."

"Ok."

According to the description of the Turbid Touch, the Turbid Items generated are closely related to the Turbid One. Liao Ji looked at the wriggling tentacle in his hand, which seemed to further confirm his previous guess.

As its owner, Liao Jineng vaguely sensed that this tentacle had many functions. Just by holding it, Liao Jineng felt that he had become the master of the entire Turbid Space. This tentacle was like a signal antenna, constantly sending commands to the surrounding Turbid Space, making all the Turbid Space forces serve him.

For example, with a more sinister ability, if there is a living being in front of him, Liao Ji feels that he can even command his tentacles to choose to devour or corrupt that being. The former involves using the tentacles to entwine it, like the roots of an old tree, absorbing all of its power and making it his own. The latter is even more terrifying and bizarre, directly transforming the other party both mentally and physically, turning it into an existence similar to his "offspring".

Through the tentacles, Liao Ji gained a deeper understanding of the Mother of Turbid Calamity, though it was likely just the tip of the iceberg. This was why Liao Ji felt a chill run down his spine. Fortunately, he had resisted the temptation and identified the dark-skinned elf. Otherwise, if that fake Anno had done something "pleasurable" with him, it wouldn't have been a simple matter of draining him dry. The so-called extraction of his genes and bloodline might have involved some even more bizarre and twisted methods.

Liao Ji had no intention of delving any deeper into the evil tentacle. Even when using it, he simply used it as a whip. After Liao Ji swung it fiercely at the surrounding dark space, the tentacle suddenly extended and struck the space wall like a spike, adding the final straw to the already crumbling space caused by the black elf's mental collapse.

Click. Click!

Countless cracks appeared from the surrounding space, spreading rapidly like a spider web, covering the entire space in the blink of an eye, and in the next second...

Boom!

With a muffled thud echoing around their ears, the entire dark space collapsed completely like shattered glass, and Liao Ji's body in reality began to rise rapidly from the altar pool.

Whoosh!

Liao Ji sat up from the pool and suddenly opened his eyes. He looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was in the forbidden area of ​​the Ancient Wolf Clan. He was sure that he had returned to reality. Moreover, judging from the time, even though he seemed to have experienced a lot in the consciousness space, it was probably only a few minutes in reality.

Speaking of the space just now

Liao Ji looked down at his right hand. The evil tentacle, which was "materialized" from the elf's body, had not disappeared. Instead, it had been brought out with him.

However, Liao Ji immediately retracted the tentacles the next moment. He always adhered to the principle of avoiding such evil things and using them whenever possible.

After leaving the pool, Liao Ji observed the entire altar again and found that it had changed drastically.

The water in the pool inside the altar had changed from being filthy and muddy to being clear and transparent, and it really looked no different from ordinary pool water.

Soon, Liao Ji looked towards the center of the altar pool again. The cursed jade, which was an S-grade item that had gathered the negative emotions of the Dragon Kingdom for hundreds of years and was in the skull's claws, had become dull and lifeless. When Liao Ji walked over and picked it up, he found that the negative power inside had been completely swept away, and it had completely changed from "jade" into the most ordinary stone.

All these changes undoubtedly originated from himself. Moreover, Liao Ji vaguely sensed that it was with the help of the elves that he absorbed such a massive amount of terrifying turbidity into his body. He "drained" the entire altar. It was with this turbidity power accumulated by the Dragon Kingdom for hundreds of years as a foundation that he formed "Touch of Turbidity," his sixth "Calamity" level ability.

Chapter 133 Wings of the Crimson Lotus

Even though the cursed jade had lost its power and become a common stone, Liao Ji, just in case, still kept in mind the principle of finishing off the enemy. He shattered the jade into several pieces before leaving the altar and hurrying towards the outside of the restricted area.

As soon as he stepped out of the restricted area, he saw his maid and Irene anxiously waiting for him outside.

Although the altar at the deepest part of the forbidden zone had been purified by itself, the entire forbidden zone was still permeated with a dense turbidity that had lasted for hundreds of years, and it would not be so easy to dissipate in a short time.

When Yilin and the maid saw Liao Ji emerge safely, they both breathed a sigh of relief. Liao Ji didn't have time to explain and immediately asked the two about the situation with Long Niang. However, it seemed that they didn't even need to speak. Soon, a series of loud fighting sounds coming from not far away indicated that the situation was not optimistic.

The pessimism here doesn't mean that Jiu You is at a disadvantage. For a dragon girl whose individual combat strength is almost at the ceiling level, the only person who can make her fall behind in a one-on-one fight is probably Liao Ji.

What truly makes Jiu You frown is that no matter how many times she kills Ba'er, the high priest always manages to "resurrect" quickly afterward, and with each resurrection, it has an impact on Ba'er himself.

Jiuyou could sense that the previous Ba'er still possessed a rationality that allowed for communication, but now, after dozens of resurrections, Ba'er had almost completely degenerated into a monster controlled by emotions.

Give it back to me.