Having brushed past death once more, Ji Xun sighed inwardly, "This guy is truly troublesome..."
But then he wasn't surprised anymore.
Killing comes with risks.
If you want to kill others, you have to be prepared to be killed yourself.
Without such resolve, he wouldn't have survived the Golden Oak ambush and come looking for trouble with him again.
He didn't dare linger and quickly used Shadow Stealth, blending into the darkness.
...
Seeing Ji Xun's shadow disappear into the darkness, the scorched doctor also stood up.
He was evidently surprised that Ji Xun had escaped.
By all accounts, that knife should have severed the leg bone, especially with the potent paralysis toxin. How did he manage to run away?
"Carrying high-grade antidote, huh..."
Black Forest pondered, surprised that Ji Xun possessed such a top-tier antidote.
But then he smirked.
That flying knife wasn't just coated with paralysis toxin; it also carried special bacteria that antidotes couldn't remove.
These bacteria were undetectable to others, but he could clearly sense them.
Even without the medium, Ji Xun's location was now traceable.
With this thought, he pursued unhurriedly.
...
Ji Xun leaped through a broken floor slab, using the mechanical grappling hook on his arm to swing down, landing lightly in the dark space below.
Shortly after he landed, the bombs he left behind detonated.
Ji Xun wasn't surprised the doctor had followed; he just couldn't understand why the bombs had no effect.
Hearing the explosions above, Ji Xun wondered if he had bought defective goods.
But the power of the blasts felt very real.
Yet, they hadn't killed him?
Moreover, Ji Xun realized from the explosion's direction that the doctor was following his exact path.
This meant he was being tracked.
With the medium discarded, there was only one possibility.
As thoughts raced through Ji Xun's mind, he looked at his wound and concluded, "Bacteria left in the wound for tracking?"
Plague Doctors were not just skilled in poisons but also in various plagues.
To most in this world, "plagues" were like divination, a mysterious technique with no trace.
But to Ji Xun, a transmigrator, "plagues" were just invisible viruses and bacteria.
**[Special Antidote]** was a high-level noble-exclusive medicine, almost impossible to find on the black market.
It was a potent detoxifier, capable of clearing almost all conventional toxins.
Since it hadn't worked, the bacteria weren't dangerous to his body.
With this realization, Ji Xun decided not to use the cleaning agent from his storage ring.
After all, the enemy no longer had a chance.
From the beginning, when the doctor failed to sever his leg bone with the scalpel, his only chance of capturing Ji Xun vanished.
After absorbing the extraordinary properties of the second medium, Ji Xun's physical attributes weren't just strong in one area.
He was strong in all dimensions!
Not only did he have a strength of 7.1 and a constitution of 6.9, but his agility had also reached an astounding 7.2.
Now, he felt as light as a feather, capable of leaping twenty to thirty meters in a single bound. With such complex terrain, unless faced with an agility-based assassin from the [Path of Corruption], even a third-tier spell card user would struggle to keep up.
Especially not a lone second-tier Plague Doctor.
Although he had taken a hit, it wasn't all bad news.
At least Ji Xun had confirmed the doctor's throwing knife range—within a hundred meters.
As long as he maintained this safe distance, he wouldn't be in much danger.
Now, he feigned a limp to further assess the situation.
Not only was he reluctant to abandon the remaining third of the medium, but he also wanted to see if there was a chance to kill the doctor.
Moreover, one thought nagged him: "That guy was scorched by the blast, yet he's still alive and kicking?"
Not long after Ji Xun jumped down, a figure glowing green followed suit.
In that instant, the truth became clear.
The green glow was the key to why this guy hadn't died.
This time, the doctor didn't disguise himself anymore.
Visibly, the scorched skin on his body shed like a molting snake, revealing fresh, pink flesh that quickly turned a toxic green.
It was as if he had an immortal body. Within moments, his body looked fully restored.
So that's it!
Seeing this, Ji Xun was immediately intrigued, thinking, "This spell is amazing..."
Earlier, the telekinetically controlled scalpel was impressive, but this bone-regenerating spell was truly shocking.
Was this the method he used to escape the Golden Oak's experts?
If he could learn this secret technique himself...
A Plague Doctor with near-immortality; with his physical abilities, who could kill him?
Ji Xun's thoughts raced.
Now he had another reason to continue this fight.
Even though he watched the doctor regenerate his flesh several times after being hit by explosions and cured by that eerie green glow, Ji Xun felt more confident.
Before, he was puzzled, thinking it was some incomprehensible mystical technique.
Now he understood.
He believed in science and the conservation of energy.
This healing method was indeed outrageous, but in Card Masters' battles, energy consumption came from spell power. It couldn't be infinite, right?
A second-tier professional couldn't possibly have an "immortal body."
If he kept depleting his opponent's spell power, he might be able to kill him.
Ji Xun was certain of this.
He carried seven or eight storage rings, with plenty of bombs and mines.
Now he was betting that his stockpile could exhaust the doctor's spell power and create an opportunity for a counterattack.
He didn't bother hiding his tracks anymore, occasionally firing a few shots and throwing grenades at the doctor.
While the annihilation bullets weren't a significant threat to a second-tier professional, firing them consumed minimal energy, whereas the doctor would have to use more spell power to block the bullets.
The only downside was the cost. This strategy was expensive, each "bang" costing thousands or tens of thousands.
But if he won, he would not only break even but also profit!
If he could obtain the bizarre self-healing spell and the medium, the risk would be worth it.
He just needed to stay out of the range of the doctor's throwing knives and avoid walking the same paths.
Ji Xun was no longer the clueless Card Master he was when he first crossed over. He knew a lot about the combat methods of various spell card users.
Keeping a safe distance was key.
As a professional actor, he could skillfully give the enemy hope of catching up without actually allowing them to.
He managed this balance well, kiting and depleting his opponent.
They continued this cat-and-mouse game in the dark underground city for some time.
...
It was evident Ji Xun's strategy was working.
Following him, the green glow on the Plague Doctor Black Forest had noticeably dimmed.
He gradually realized something was off.
After chasing for a while, he noticed that every time he was about to catch up, Ji Xun would use his mechanical grappling hook to leap away, creating a safe distance.
This cycle repeated.
Even though Ji Xun appeared to have a leg injury, the reality was he hadn't been caught.
Black Forest wasn't stupid; he guessed his earlier knife hadn't hit the leg bone at all.
He kept chasing out of stubbornness.
Ji Xun wanted to kill him, and he wanted to capture Ji Xun just as badly.
His intuition told him that capturing Ji Xun would unravel the mystery behind the raid on his hideout and the discovery of the medium.
Black Forest was betting on cornering Ji Xun or forcing him back into previously traversed paths where he had left plague traps.
But that guy, like an agile monkey, kept darting around, never getting caught.
Black Forest figured out Ji Xun's intention.
Maintaining the spell consumed a lot of spell power and life essence. If he couldn't take down the enemy quickly, the situation would become increasingly disadvantageous.
After chasing for a while longer without success, Black Forest cursed under his breath, "Damn it, how deep does this underground labyrinth go..."
As soon as he stopped, he felt the urge to retreat.
...
"Not chasing anymore? What a pity..."
Ji Xun, seeing the glowing green figure hundreds of meters away come to a halt, also felt a bit helpless.
The gap in their ranks was too large, and he didn't have an effective method to finish the opponent off.
He had just wanted to test his luck.
Unexpectedly, the attempt proved fruitless.
What a waste of my million worth of ammunition.
Sigh...
Ji Xun had planned to wear the opponent down using the terrain, setting up what he thought were perfect booby traps, but the results were less than satisfactory.
If it were any other second-tier professional, he might have succeeded in killing them.
But this guy's bizarre self-healing was too absurd; even after seeing his bones, he still wouldn't die.
After exhausting a lot of ammunition, the enemy remained vigorous.
Seeing the guy seemingly about to turn back, Ji Xun dared not pursue.
Returning the same way would likely mean running into the opponent's toxic traps.
There's a saying among Card Masters: never get close to a Card Master who uses poison, and never fight them when at a disadvantage.
Any air such a Card Master has breathed might be toxic.
So Ji Xun had been cautious, just running ahead, never giving the guy behind him a chance.
But this meant that while he wouldn't die, he also couldn't kill the opponent.
Just as Ji Xun thought the situation would end in a stalemate, with his ammunition wasted, a divine reversal occurred.
A divine spear descended from the heavens!
Out of nowhere, a lightning-like, glowing white spear shot out from the darkness.
The timing was impeccable, striking just as the doctor was turning to leave, piercing his chest with a flash of lightning.
The force was so great that it carried the doctor backward several meters, pinning him to a stone pillar with a clang.
Ji Xun's pupils contracted sharply, "There's someone else here!"
He was startled by this sudden turn of events.
So there was a third party following them all along?
However, his attention was quickly drawn to the spear.
**[Artifact: Cursed Spear]**
Details: Tier III ancient artifact; Sharpness +3, Hardness +9, Holy +2, Armor-Piercing +35%; a replica of the Dragon Slayer, it has the magical ability to prevent a dragon's wounds from healing; inflicts a 90% healing inhibition effect on the target.
...
"Healing inhibition?"
Seeing the artifact's effect, Ji Xun vaguely guessed that these people were specifically after this ancient cultist.
As the spear pierced the doctor's chest, the white light surged, its aggressive brilliance quickly overpowering the healing green glow.
With just that one spear, the doctor's previously robust self-healing ability was suppressed; the wound didn't heal but instead gushed blood.
Seeing this, Ji Xun knew it was his chance.
Regardless of who these newcomers were, it was best to eliminate one enemy first.
His expression hardened, and he fired two precise shots.
The doctor, pinned to the wall and unable to break free, had most of his protective spell power shattered. The two shots hit their mark, right in the eye sockets.
This time, blood splattered everywhere.
The doctor died instantly.
No matter how strong the newcomers were, Ji Xun wouldn't be afraid.
After firing, he didn't look at the body but raised his gaze to the three mysterious figures that had suddenly appeared on the upper floor.