Chapter 239: Zhu Xinjue
Zhu Xinjue appeared in this place alone, and when he saw people, he seemed very excited, but when he realized it was Xiang Beifei, he was stunned for a moment, his gaze flickering non-stop.
"Enemies often cross each other's paths!"
Zhu Xinjue looked at Xiang Beifei, feeling another surge of killing intent, but he still managed to conceal it.
"He still doesn't know my identity, which means I haven't exposed myself. There's no need to worry!"
Zhu Xinjue's mind raced as he pondered the current situation.
"We had just planned to kill him, but we didn't succeed, so he probably doesn't know what happened in the abyss. He doesn't recognize me. I can start by building a good relationship with him, and then——"
Currently, Zhu Xinjue was "Zhu Pengfei" from Yanzhou University, with an UR-level disguise. He didn't believe Xiang Beifei could see through him, meaning he could still pretend to fawn over him to gain his trust and then kill him.
"That's great, are you guys from Liangzhou University and Yongzhou University?" Zhu Xinjue forced a look of elated madness on his face, as if he had encountered a savior.
"Who are you?" Cheng Xin'an asked.
"Zhu Pengfei! I am Zhu Pengfei from Yanzhou University!" Zhu Xinjue hurriedly replied.
Cheng Xin'an thought for a moment, then nodded slightly, "I remember, I have an impression of you. How come you are alone? Where are the others from Yanzhou University?"
"We got separated!" Zhu Xinjue replied anxiously, "This withered forest is very strange, all of us got separated, and I was the only one who managed to escape to this mountain for refuge."
Li Zimu was somewhat wary when he saw Zhu Xinjue.
Because he remembered clearly that Zhu Xinjue was the one who killed Hou Chengwu!
He subtly glanced at Xiang Beifei beside him, then turned his attention to Tang He from Qingzhou University.
Tang He didn't say much from the sidelines, even standing behind the others, seemingly not wanting to be noticed by Zhu Xinjue. The reason was simple, they had all just teamed up to deal with Xiang Beifei, so now it wasn't the time to step forward and say anything.
He knew that Zhu Xinjue was a high-level Meridian Opening master, while he himself was only in the late stages of Qi-Controlling, quite inconspicuous among this group, and he sincerely hoped that Zhu Xinjue hadn't noticed him.
Xiang Beifei looked at Zhu Xinjue, this guy sure knew how to act, even managing to stay so calm and collected.
He asked indifferently, "When did you come in?"
"Last night! I got trapped in this withered forest since last night! Been taking refuge ever since," Zhu Xinjue quickly said.
"Last night? You came last night?"
"Yes, last night our Yanzhou University encountered a group of bizarre people attacking us, then we were scattered, and I alone fled to the mountain. Were you also attacked by those treemen?" Zhu Xinjue asked.
"That's correct."
Cheng Xin'an didn't know about Zhu Xinjue's past events, but recognized him as a person from Yanzhou University.
"You said you came here last night, that means earlier than us. When we arrived, the treemen were all fine. So, what's with the darkness here?" Xiang Beifei continued to inquire.
"I don't know, but what I can confirm is that every six hours here, it will become dark on time, and then it will lighten up again after six hours. Every time it gets light, those treemen will find a spot and wither again, but once it gets dark, they come to life!"
Zhu Xinjue, in order to gain Xiang Beifei's trust, spoke sincerely.
After pausing, he added, "Those treemen don't dare to come up the mountain. There are many mountains here, and I've traversed quite a few. At first, I was chased by treemen for a long time and nearly perished. Later, I discovered the pattern: run for six hours, then hide on a mountain, and wait for daylight before moving on. I was just here preparing to rest when you arrived, so that's why I was on guard. I didn't mean to go against you, I'm sorry."
Zhu Xinjue said with a look of apology on his face.
His demeanor was so genuine, portraying himself as an unfortunate innocent person, that except for Xiang Beifei, Li Zimu, and Tang He, none of the others who were uninformed would suspect him.
"Can I follow you guys? I'm really out of options, I can be helpful, and won't hold you back. Strength in numbers, I just want to leave this place; even the Forfeit Talisman doesn't work here now," Zhu Xinjue said urgently.
Everyone turned their eyes to Xiang Beifei, as it was only him they were currently listening to.
Xiang Beifei looked at Zhu Xinjue's interface, pondering for a moment.
"Of course you can," he said.
A surge of joy arose in Zhu Xinjue's heart!
——He really doesn't recognize me, it seems he trusts me now!
"Are you guys also wanting to see where these streams flow to? The streams here flow towards the mountaintop. We've been there, it's just a place where springs congregate, nothing special, just a volcanic crater. Let me take you there to see——"
However, before Zhu Xinjue could finish, Xiang Beifei threw a punch directly at him!
Bang!
Zhu Xinjue seemed to have been on guard all along, and when Xiang Beifei's punch came, he blocked it and quickly retreated!
"Xiang Beifei, what are you doing?" Zhu Xinjue shouted.
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Others also looked at Xiang Beifei with confusion, equally stunned by his sudden attack.
"What the hell are you planning?"
Xiang Beifei stared intently at the forest ahead, where the stream disappeared at its end.
"Xiang Beifei, don't go too far. I kindly came to warn you, why did you attack me?" Zhu Xinjue shouted angrily.
"You said you were here alone, but just now you spoke of 'you guys' having been here; you're not alone." Xiang Beifei fixated his gaze on Zhu Xinjue, a hint of murderous intent gradually appearing in his eyes.
He saw clearly that Zhu Xinjue's system interface displayed:
[New Task: Trade with Shi Renmei, using the Withered Forest as a model to create a new system world. Learn the functional rules of the Withered Forest to incorporate its world into your abilities.]
[Trade Details: You will provide Shi Renmei with ten newcomers; Shi Renmei will in turn inform you of the Withered Forest's functional rules.]
[Current Trade Agreement is finalized, the other party is bound, and neither can renounce without suffering backlash!]
[Current Trade Progress: 4/10]
...
Zhu Xinjue's system is named [SR-grade World Control System], and his usual method of growing stronger involves adventuring through the various worlds created by the system. Once he passes them, he can control the rules of that world.
For instance, after he cleared the space created by the system for the "Isolated Island Cruise," he could set the rules for that world and make couples kill each other in accordance with those rules to survive.
However, his system not only allowed Zhu Xinjue to clear worlds but also permitted him to incorporate real worlds he encountered into the system.
This Withered Forest was very peculiar, possessing some very strange capabilities. It seemed as though Zhu Xinjue's system planned to replicate this Withered Forest and write it into its system world.
That is to say, if Zhu Xinjue figured out the secrets of this Withered Forest, then the [World Control System] would create a system world named "Withered Forest" which Zhu Xinjue could use to bring others into "Withered Forest" next time.
Just like the "Isolated Island Cruise World" Zhu Xinjue created before, he could leverage the characteristics of "Isolated Island Cruise" to deal with others, compelling everyone to follow his will in his world.
If Zhu Xinjue replicated the "Withered Forest," then whenever he encountered an adversary, he could also capture them in the "Withered Forest" and use its features to deal with them!
And now, Zhu Xinjue's system showed that he engaged in a trade with Shi Renmei. Clearly, Shi Renmei must know the secret of this Withered Forest and probably found Zhu Xinjue to strike an agreement.
Zhu Xinjue's task was to capture people, and then Shi Renmei would reveal the secret of this Withered Forest to him.
——
Xiang Beifei observed the information displayed on Zhu Xinjue's system:
[Provided Individuals List: SR-grade Awakener Feng Mao, SR-grade Awakener Xie Lixing, SR Awakener Lin Fan, SR-grade Awakener Liu Ling]
Xiang Beifei remembered these four individuals: Xie Lixing, who came from Jizhou University, awoke with the [Dynamic System], Lin Fan from Yangzhou University had the power of a lightning system, and Feng Mao and Liu Ling—were actually both from his own Yanzhou University!
Was he betraying his own team members for the sake of his system's abilities?
"Xiang Beifei, we have no grudges; why did you attack me? Now that we're both in the same predicament, shouldn't we cooperate first?" Zhu Xinjue still tried to maintain a semblance of composure as he shouted.
"I don't cooperate with dead people," Xiang Beifei retorted coldly.
Zhu Xinjue, also wary of Xiang Beifei, immediately turned to Cheng Xin'an and said, "Cheng Xin'an, with Liangzhou University acting so outrageously, aren't you, people from Yongzhou University, going to speak up for me?"
However, Cheng Xin'an watched Zhu Xinjue cautiously and said, "There's something off about you!"
[Righteousness value assessment of Zhu Xinjue's current actions: Negative]
When Zhu Xinjue suggested leading them to the spring, his [Vast Righteous Qi System] immediately judged Zhu Xinjue's actions as "negative." Seeing Xiang Beifei's assault on Zhu Xinjue, Cheng Xin'an immediately sided with Xiang Beifei.
"Be careful, this person has bad intentions! There must be a catch upstream!" Cheng Xin'an warned his team.
Di Sheng and others quickly realized the situation. Of course, they trusted their captain's judgment. Having Cheng Xin'an as an inner SSR, his judgments were almost never wrong, so they all looked at Zhu Xinjue with heightened vigilance.
Long Guocheng and his group were no different, all regarding Zhu Xinjue with hostility.
Zhu Xinjue was taken aback to see how cautious these people were; he hadn't expected his deception to fail with this group.
But he quickly sneered and said, "Heh, sniffed me out, have you? Well, it doesn't matter anymore."
Gauging the number of people, he then began to laugh, "Eleven people, that should complete my task now."
He snapped his fingers!
Pop!
Suddenly, a ripple emerged in his hand, rapidly spreading up into the air, emitting a howling noise.