I transmigrated to a chaotic world and became the sole player.

As dawn broke and the dew still clung to him, Lu Zhao quietly departed from "Wang An Ju" and embarked on his journey to Beiling Village once more. This time, he traveled light, carrying only the necessary equipment, talismans, and pills. His steps were steady, his eyes calm and serene, devoid of the initial tentativeness and unease he had shown upon first entering. In its place lay an almost ruthless resolve.

The forty-mile mountain path was covered in less than an hour with his all-out effort. The familiar, sweet-smelling, rotten fog reappeared, like the breath of death, shrouding the forest ahead. Lu Zhao stopped at the edge of the forest, put the last antidote pill into his mouth, and placed the array plate of the [Miasma-Avoiding Talisman Array] and four talismans in an easily accessible location. He didn't activate the array immediately, as that would reveal his position. He wanted to save these for the most crucial moment.

Stepping into the forest, the stillness remained. But unlike last time, this time, he didn't deliberately conceal himself. He activated the [Turtle Breathing Technique], but didn't suppress his aura to the extreme. Instead, he covered his body with a very faint layer of "living" aura. He wanted to test the waters—to confirm the plague mother's sensitivity and reaction mechanism to "fresh prey."

Sure enough, they hadn't gone far when several staggering figures appeared indistinctly in the mist ahead. The mutated villagers, ranging from level 2 to 4, were drawn by the "alluring" life force emanating from Lu Zhao and gathered around from all directions, making strange "hoarse" noises and staring intently at him with their grayish-white eyes.

"Six..." Lu Zhao counted silently in his mind, his pace quickening slightly as he stepped forward to meet them. He didn't use any talismans or his newly bought short knife, but instead drew his wood-chopping knife. Facing these low-level plague-infected villagers, he wanted to eliminate them as quickly and quietly as possible, without disturbing their nest.

"kill!"

He propelled himself forward like an arrow, his woodcutter's axe flashing like lightning, precisely cleaving the throat of the foremost level 4 infected villager! The moment the blade sliced ​​into the rotting flesh, a flick of his wrist brought the wound to a swift, horizontal slash, claiming most of the villager's life. Simultaneously, his left hand held a short crossbow, already cocked, and as another infected villager lunged from the other side, he pulled the trigger!

"puff!"

The crossbow bolt, carrying a powerful gust of wind, pierced his eye socket! A villager nearby fell to the ground in response.

[Successfully defeated the 'Plague Villager' (LV4), gaining 80 experience points!]

[Successfully defeated the 'Plague Villager' (LV3), gaining 60 experience points!]

He moved swiftly, weaving among the zombies like a ghost, his machete flashing, each strike precisely hitting vital points like joints, eye sockets, and the back of the neck, never lingering. He nocked another arrow with his crossbow, and fired again. The increased strength and agility from his upgrade allowed him to handle these ordinary, mutated villagers with ease.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all six infected villagers collapsed, turning into experience points. Lu Zhao remained calm and composed, merely adjusting his breathing slightly. He carefully examined the corpses, finding no valuable items, only an even denser layer of plague fumes. It seemed the zombies controlled by the Plague Mother were merely cannon fodder, lacking the ability to "drop" themselves.

"Passage cleared, warm-up complete." Lu Zhao's eyes sharpened. He ignored the corpses on the ground, quickened his pace, and headed straight for the ancestral hall in the west of the village. This time, he took the route he had explored before, a relatively safe one that avoided most of the wandering plague corpses.

Soon, the eerie silhouette of the ancestral hall reappeared in the mist. Unlike last time, observing from the distant hillside, Lu Zhao could clearly sense that the evil aura emanating from the ancestral hall was much denser and more active than before. The dark red mist churned within the grayish-white plague miasma, like a living thing. Inside the ancestral hall, low, heart-beat-like "thump...thump..." sounds emanated intermittently, along with subtle, rustling sounds like insects gnawing. That was the plague mother "breathing," "gestating."

"It's getting stronger?" Lu Zhao's heart skipped a beat. This was definitely not good news. He had to act quickly!

He didn't approach the ancestral hall rashly, but first carefully surveyed the terrain around its perimeter. The ancestral hall faced south, backed by a hillside, with only doors on the front and sides. The front was the main entrance, and there were smaller doors on the sides, but both were boarded up and nailed shut. The surrounding wall wasn't high, made of brick and stone, but it was covered with a thick layer of grayish-white moss, emitting a foul stench. The entire ancestral hall resembled a huge, slimy tumor.

"A frontal assault won't work; we must flank from behind, approaching from the hillside and taking advantage of the terrain," Lu Zhao quickly finalized his plan. He circled around to the back of the ancestral hall, where the terrain was slightly higher and the trees sparse, about thirty paces from the back wall of the hall. There was a small ventilation window in the back wall of the ancestral hall; the window frame was already rotten, but the opening was mostly sealed off by mycelium and moss.

"This is the breakthrough point, and also the best ambush location." Lu Zhao selected a spot, twenty steps from the back wall of the ancestral hall, behind a dead but sturdy tree. The view from here was unobstructed, making it easy to observe the movements of the ancestral hall and also to facilitate an escape.

He immediately began setting up the array. He took out four talismans from his robes, carefully buried them under the withered leaves according to their positions, and arranged them around the open space about ten feet in diameter behind the tree, forming a simple quadrilateral. He then embedded the array plate into the center of the ground and slightly covered it with withered leaves. The array's range was limited, but it was enough to protect him and provide a temporary, safe casting point.

"First step, the formation is complete. Second step, lure the snake out of its hole."

He took out the [damaged evil cultivator's soul core]. The soul core was cold to the touch, and the vast, mixed, and ferocious soul power and yin energy contained within it, even through the cloth strips, still faintly emanated, resonating somewhat with the surrounding plague energy, and subtly stirring.

"Soul power... is a great tonic for evil creatures. This soul core contains far more soul power than ordinary plague corpses, and it also carries the aura of a heretical cultivator. To it, it is an irresistible lure." A cold glint flashed in Lu Zhao's eyes. What he needed to do was use this soul core to lure the Plague Mother out of the ancestral hall! At the very least, he needed to divert its attention from the core area and create an opening for attack!

He carefully placed the soul core on a rock, untied the cloth strips, and allowed its aura to slowly dissipate. At the same time, he retreated into the range of the rune array, held his breath, and activated the [Turtle Breathing Technique] and [Spirit Refining Technique], merging himself with the environment, leaving only a trace of spiritual power to firmly lock onto the soul core, like an angler holding the end of a fishing rod, sensing every movement underwater.

Time passed, second by second. The heartbeat within the ancestral hall continued, as did the rustling sounds. The aura of the soul core, like drops of blood falling into an inkwell, spread slowly but steadily.

Lu Zhao's heartbeat was steady, his breathing long and deep. He was waiting. Waiting for the deadly bait to take effect.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea passed. The "heartbeat" inside the ancestral hall suddenly stopped! Then, the heartbeat abruptly quickened, becoming more powerful, like a pounding drum! The rustling sound also became more frequent and rapid! A mental wave, several times stronger than before, filled with greed, desire, and rage, surged out of the ancestral hall like a tidal wave, sweeping across the entire back mountain!

"It's here!" Lu Zhao's heart skipped a beat. He immediately withdrew his spiritual power and guarded his mind. He activated the [Refining Spirit Technique] to its limit to resist the nauseating and dizzying pressure.

"Boom!"

The sealed window on the back wall of the ancestral hall suddenly blew open! The rotten wooden window and thick mycelium and moss were torn apart from the inside by a tremendous force! Immediately afterwards, dozens of huge, grayish-white tentacles, as thick as a child's arm, covered with slime and pustules, emerged like venomous snakes from their holes, suddenly reaching out from the window, wall cracks, and even the roof, writhing wildly, stretching and scratching towards the soul core! Countless tiny, maggot-like mycelium danced on the tentacles, emitting a stench that made one's scalp crawl.

At the same time, the front and side doors of the ancestral hall were also smashed open! A dense swarm of higher-level mutated villagers, mixed with several larger, more powerful, and purplish-black mutated guards, surged out like a tide, roaring as they charged towards the location of the soul core! There were at least twenty or thirty of them! Two of the mutated guards were even at level 5!

"hiss--!!!"

A sharp, piercing cry, a mixture of anger, greed, and madness, like the wailing of countless wronged souls, came from the depths of the ancestral hall! The sound penetrated straight to the soul, making Lu Zhao's eardrums ache and his mind tremble violently! The [Tranquility Talisman] automatically activated, forming a thin protective shield in his mind, which barely managed to withstand most of the mental impact.

But even more mental shocks, like tangible waves, surged higher and higher, assaulting his sanity! The control panel frantically displayed alerts:

[Strongly impacted by the "Plague Mother"!]

[The calming talisman is effective, resisting some mental damage! Mental resilience is being assessed...]

[Judgment successful! Not in a state of 'confusion' or 'fear'! However, mental state is continuously suppressed, and all attributes are reduced by 10%!]

"It really came out!" Lu Zhao endured his headache and stared intently in the direction of the ancestral hall. Surrounded by countless tentacles, a huge, bloated, indescribable monster slowly "squeezed" out from the broken window!

That was the same chunk of flesh he'd seen before, formed from countless fragments of blood, bones, and mycelium! But now, exposed to the air, its form was even more grotesque! The surface of the chunk was covered in pulsating blood vessels and pustules, and the central "heart"-like organ was now radiating a dark red, eerie light, throbbing wildly! Countless tentacles, like its limbs, supported its massive body, slowly writhing towards the soul core! Its aura was even more powerful and violent than before! Its level… was at least level 8!

【Unnamed Plague Mother (Core Status), Level: ??? (Estimated LV9-LV10)】

Health Points: 100%/100%

[Status: Extremely active, frenzied, core exposed, extremely thirsty for high concentrations of soul power!]

"Target spotted, core exposed! Decoy activated!" Lu Zhao's eyes flashed with a sharp light. Without hesitation, he suddenly activated the miasma-avoiding array disc he was holding!

"Buzz—!"

Four soft yellow beams of light shot into the sky from where the talisman was buried, instantly intertwining in the air to form a hemispherical, pale yellow light shield that enveloped Lu Zhao and a ten-foot radius around him! Inside the light shield, the plague gas, poisonous fog, and even the nauseating stench were instantly expelled! Even the Plague Mother's terrifying mental pressure was weakened by at least thirty percent!

"What a powerful purifying effect!" Lu Zhao's spirits lifted. Within the range of the talisman array, the air was fresh, his mental stress was greatly reduced, and he felt that his condition had recovered considerably.

"Now, the time has come!"

He didn't look at the surging plague-infected villagers, nor at the terrifying plague mother crawling towards him; his gaze was fixed on the evil cultivator's soul core placed on the stone.

Just as the Plague Mother's tentacles were about to touch the Soul Core, Lu Zhao moved! He suddenly rushed out of the rune array, grabbed the Soul Core with lightning speed with his left hand, and then, with all his strength, threw it hard at the Plague Mother's frantically throbbing "heart" core, which was emitting a dark red light!

"roar--!!!"

The moment the Soul Core left his hand, the Plague Mother seemed to sense something, letting out a furious roar. All the tentacles, and even the plague villagers rushing towards him, froze, their gazes (if they had any) turning to the Soul Core flying towards the "heart"! It was their instinctive desire, a deadly temptation!

"Now! Detonate!"

A fierce glint flashed in Lu Zhao's eyes. The [Evil-Slaying Talisman (Mid-Grade)] that he had prepared beforehand and infused with all his spiritual power shot out from his fingertips. It struck the evil cultivator's soul core, which was about to collide with his "heart," with perfect accuracy!

"Buzz—!!!"

The instant the Soul Core came into contact with the light of the Exorcising Talisman, there was no earth-shattering explosion as expected. Instead, the Soul Core suddenly erupted with an unprecedented, dark and profound black light! Within the light, countless twisted, venomous, and tormented phantoms of souls screamed and struggled to emerge! This was the chaotic and ferocious soul power and resentment contained within the Soul Core, which, under the impact of the Exorcising Talisman's power, had been completely detonated and spiraled out of control!

A violent, chaotic storm of soul power, filled with all sorts of negative emotions such as death, plague, evil, and resentment, erupted suddenly before the core of the Plague Mother's "heart" like a black sun! It instantly devoured the pulsating core!

"hiss--!!!"

The Plague Mother let out an unprecedented, indescribably shrill scream! The scream was filled with pain, madness, and disbelief! Its core, as if branded by a scorching hot iron, convulsed and twisted violently! The dark red light on its surface flickered erratically, even dimming and cracking! Its massive, fleshy body convulsed and rolled wildly, countless tentacles pounding the ground frantically, smashing nearby soil and rocks to pieces! The mutated villagers, too, seemed to have their power drained, their movements becoming sluggish and listless!

[Using the 'Evil Cultivator Soul Core' + 'Exorcising Talisman (Mid-Grade)' to inflict a devastating mixed-attribute (Yin Sha/Exorcising) attack on the 'Plague Mother' core!]

[Mother's HP plummets!]

[The core of the Plague Mother has been damaged, entering a state of "extreme chaos" and "severe injury"! Energy output has been greatly reduced! Mental impact has temporarily ceased!]

Success! The immense soul power within the soul core is both a tonic and a poison! Detonated by the power to ward off evil, it also inflicted terrifying, internally chaotic damage on the Plague Mother herself! Strike while the iron is hot!

Lu Zhao's eyes flashed with killing intent. Without the slightest hesitation, he leaped up from the talisman array, another [Evil-Breaking Talisman (Mid-Grade)] already in his palm. He transformed into a sharp arrow, rushing straight towards the convulsing, tumbling, exposed, and dimming core of the Plague Mother!

"Go to hell!"

(Please give good reviews, urge me to update, and give me your support! I'm writing a long chapter of 4,000 words in a row, and I'll continue to update frequently.)