The silver arrow closed to within a hundred meters in an instant. The man raised a hand to meet it.

An invisible, formless power suddenly erupted from him, rushing toward the long arrow.

As the Power of Rules surged toward the arrow, the smile on the man's face grew wider. It was a grotesque sight, mixed with rotting flesh in the red liquid covering him.

He could already picture the arrow abruptly turning back and piercing through Yang An's body.

"Do you think he'll beg for mercy?"

He seemed to be muttering to himself, lost in a daze. But the next moment, the smile on his face—caked in red liquid—froze. It turned to shock, then to terror.

'What was he seeing?'

'This arrow... The Power of Rules can't affect it!!!'

The slender silver arrow passed through his Power of Rules without any obstruction. It didn't pause, its speed unaffected, and shot straight into his throat.

The man's body stood motionless, as if he hadn't yet processed what had happened.

'Why?'

'Why couldn't the Power of Rules affect this arrow?'

'What kind of arrow is this?'

Before he could figure it out, a brilliant light burst from the arrow, instantly engulfing him and the red robe at his feet.

"You can't kill me! You can't kill me!"

Within the light, the red robe wrapped tightly around the man, his face a mask of madness.

He could escape. The power erupting from these Techniques couldn't kill him instantly, and he could flee the area in a flash.

But just then, the madness on his face came to an abrupt halt. His expression, his movements—everything froze. His gaze seemed to pierce through the light, landing on the arrow that had run through his throat.

He seemed to feel something... the sensation of being stared down by death itself.

'This feeling...'

'A Forbidden Artifact?'

An absurd thought suddenly surfaced in his mind, only to be followed by an even more absurd one.

'How could he have a Forbidden Artifact?'

BUZZ!

The arrow trembled violently, letting out a faint hum that struck the man's ears like a clap of thunder.

RUSTLE—

Countless silver tentacles frantically poured out of the arrow. In just an instant, they piled up as high as a mountain. The mass of tentacles writhed madly, obscuring all the light and covering the man completely.

This unidentified monster, piled up like a mountain of flesh, trembled violently. It was as if something was trying to burst out from within.

But the tentacles were also frantically tightening, wrapping around each other.

Tighter! And tighter!

The mountain of flesh kept shrinking. The man trapped inside struggled, but it was useless.

Hundreds of meters... tens of meters... a few meters...

The mass of silver tentacles shrank and shrank, until it was as small as a grain of rice. Then, as if turning to dust, it vanished without a trace.

CLATTER—

Two objects fell from the void and clattered onto the ground.

One was a slender, silver long arrow. The other was an irregular shard, like the edge of some sharp weapon.

The two items lay quietly on the ground. Everything fell into a dead silence.

「Ten li away.」

'The Qi Seal is gone!'

Yang An's focus sharpened as he fully extended his senses. A moment ago, the Qi Seal he had left on the man had vanished completely, beyond his perception.

"Bow Lady! That guy's soul aura..."

He was about to ask Bow Lady, but just then, a high-pitched, seemingly uncontrollable moan reached his ears.

"Yes! So good! It feels so damn good, I could die! Ahhh—"

"..."

Yang An suddenly didn't have the heart to interrupt her. After all, this seemed to be a rare, once-in-a-lifetime experience for her. Interrupting her now could have unforeseen consequences.

He waited quietly for over a dozen breaths before the Bow Lady's voice gradually softened into a low murmur, like long, drawn-out gasps.

Her voice was weak, as if she had fallen into a state of extreme exhaustion.

But then, she unexpectedly responded to Yang An.

"He's dead... Gone! Gone! Just like that, he's gone! *Sob sob sob*..."

"???"

Listening to her, Yang An felt like she was answering him, but also not. It was as if she were just muttering to herself.

'Why does this sound so weird?' 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Is he really dead?"

Still uneasy, he asked again to confirm.

"*Mmm, sob sob*—"

"..."

It seemed he was truly gone. Yang An finally relaxed, a smile breaking out on his face.

He slung Bow Lady back onto his body. Although his movements were gentle, they still elicited some strange reactions and soft groans from her. He immediately headed for the place where the man had been, his heart reeling with shock.

'Good heavens! So this is the power of an Unidentified Arrow!'

'One arrow to slay a Zombie God!!'