Damn it! Let’s smash the darkness together!
Chapter 139 - 1 The Expedition: Beyond the Frontier, I Reign Supreme! (Thanks to the Silver Alliance AdenJ!)_2

Chapter 139: Chapter 1 The Expedition: Beyond the Frontier, I Reign Supreme! (Thanks to the Silver Alliance AdenJ!)_2

All five of them were Second Rank; if they wanted to do something harmful to him, they could have done it already, and there would be no escape for him.

The scene before him was that of a group of people gathered just within the edge of the border line.

This was Xu Shu’s first time seeing the border line look so plain and unadorned.

He also took note of the other individuals’ distinctive features.

There was no need to mention Xie Xiaochan. Last night, he had looked at her photo several times; the Seven-color Taoist truly was a peerless beauty, stunningly gorgeous. Her weapon must be the peculiar brush on her back.

Then there was Song Nianhui, a Weapon Master, which is one of the three paths in Martial Arts. When Xu Shu saw his heavy Eight-sided Han Sword, he roughly guessed that his style would be direct and forceful.

The other three people included a Witch with a somewhat indecent aura, Zheng Qianrou.

One was a young Taoist, carrying a peach wood sword and holding an Eight Diagrams Seal cymbal in his hand, with two strings of Copper Coins hanging at his waist. This was indeed the Second Rank of the Taoist path: the night watchman.

Needless to say, he looked very adept at catching ghosts.

The last one was Li Fengtian, who had posted a selfie of his muscles on the team assembly channel last night, but nobody clicked on it; his occupation was that of the Warrior path’s Second Rank: Iron Armor.

He was almost two meters tall, with exaggerated muscles, a complete muscle-head type.

"Brother, your body isn’t strong enough! You need to train more. As a Warrior, you’ve got to be resistant and enduring to be liked by the ladies," Li Fengtian said to you, striking a pose to show off his muscles.

"Damn, heavenly defiance. Could this trigger an evaluation promotion?" you muttered softly.

"What are you thinking? You don’t really believe that simply saying ’heavenly defiance’ will trigger the Heavenly Defiance evaluation, do you? You’re really underestimating the Tai Chu Scroll..."

"Damn it, fooled again! You son of a gun are truly heavenly defiant. Don’t you dare do that again!"

"Now that everyone is here, let’s start the ritual and open the ruins," Xie Xiaochan ordered.

The nominal team leader, Song Nianhui, took out the Heart Fire Incense Burner needed to enter the ruins and said to you all: "Let’s begin, a drop of blood each."

Everyone pricked their fingertips, dripping blood into the burner; you followed suit and did the same.

The Eight Diagram symbols around the burner lit up one by one as Song Nianhui inserted incense into the burner, then he carefully looked around, stepped out of the border line, and walked sixteen meters away to a bulging, pregnant-woman-shaped peculiar stone where he inserted the incense burner into the ground. Afterward, he started to step in ritualistic dance on the spot.

"?"

Watching the Swordsman on the screen begin the spirit dance, Xu Shu was stunned.

How could the style feel so strange?

That incense burner, naturally, was the ticket.

Xu Shu had already learned about the concept from Mr. Gu.

First about the "ruins," in Xu Shu’s view, the ruins were akin to "little worlds."

On the eve of the Great Catastrophe, Earth Star began to witness the emergence of some ruins that appeared ancient, yet they were not recorded in historical books, like "added history."

And the ruins were full of monsters.

Evil Spirits, Demons, foreign entities, during the early stages of the Catastrophe, it was the monsters emerging from the suddenly appearing ruins here and there that caused trouble.

The ruins were repellent to humans; humans could not enter them in reverse.

It was also from that time that the Curse Seal Transcendents began to emerge among humans—initially, the erosion of the Curse Seal was very low, and containment could be achieved without the need for Promotion Drive, a situation that continued until the Great Catastrophe underwent changes.

And after the Catastrophe, under the protection of Lie Zhenzi, the "ticket," the Heart Fire Incense Burner, appeared.

Light it, and you could receive Lie Zhenzi’s blessing to enter the ruins in reverse, to hunt monsters, and plunder resources. Depending on the quality, a burner could protect a few to over a dozen people.

Once the incense was exhausted, they would be repelled out of the ruins.

Xu Shu had then asked her, what if you were killed? Would you be repelled out?

He received scorn from Gu Pan in response, the answer was—

"When a person is killed, they die."

Of course, all of this was beside the point.

The question was, they had the ticket, but where the heck was the entrance to the ruins?

Could that pregnant-woman-like strange stone be the entrance to the ruins?

Xu Shu continued on his journey; by now, Song Nianhui’s ritual dance was complete, and he was kneeling on the ground, bowing towards the incense burner, then raising his clasped hands above his head as he chanted, modulating his tone:

"Burning incense to worship the East Emperor, raising the burner to honor the Supreme!"

"In azure garments and white rainbow attire, may the three souls be forever firm and the spirits untarnished—"

["Lie Zhenzi, aid me!"]

[Suddenly, endless arrows fell like rain, countless metallic glimmers appearing out of nowhere, as if you were facing a charge of thousands of troops. Each of these abruptly appearing arrows bore strange symbols, every one unique, dreamy and obscure.]

[The arrows overlapped and merged, forming a mysterious gate, a path through the woods, the golden light restrained and dim.]

[Above, there seemed to be a placard with eight characters you didn’t recognize, but no worries, the Tai Chu Scroll translated it for you—]

[Yin Gold·You Dui Zhao Ji: Qingming]

"?"

Ah?

Yin Gold?

What is that?

Why does it feel like it’s not something good?

Xu Shu couldn’t help but glance at his manhood.

It’s just a coincidence, not a homophone, right?

["Let’s enter, everyone join hands, make a circle, and don’t let go," Song Nianhui called you over.]

[Whose hand do you choose to hold?]

[You firmly grasp Xie Xiaochan’s soft and boneless hand, acting out of a certain selfishness, you arrange Zheng Qianrou, a witch, to be on her other side, so that you are the only male who can hold her hand. Damn you, such a strong sense of possession!]

[Hadn’t you considered that by doing so, there would be a stout man on your left?]

["Brother, hold on tight!" Li Fengtian stepped forward, his face breaking into a hearty, honest smile.]

[The six of you, holding hands, entered the ruins’ gate amidst the rising thick fragrance from the Heart Fire Incense Burner, as the gate at this place vanished, shrouded by the incense burner.]

[Tip: You have entered the ruins of this place! You have activated Expedition Mode, a whole new gameplay!]

[You have left the real world, the expedition has come to a perfect end, tallying...]

[Rating: Your journey was smooth sailing, with the Bodhisattva’s Blessing along the way, you successfully entered the ruins, now say: Thank you, Bodhisattva.]

[You have received an artifact: Bodhisattva’s Blessing (Ordinary)]

[You triggered the keyword "Heavenly Defiance", and your artifact reward has been upgraded!]

Bodhisattva’s Blessing (Ordinary) "Bodhisattva’s Blessing (Fine)

[Bodhisattva’s Blessing (Fine): Can only be used on targets of the opposite sex, after use, the target will temporarily become a female Bodhisattva who favors you, blessing you once, and you will temporarily gain some luck.]

...

"Uh?"

Xu Shu felt a moment of trance, his spirits lifted.

The expedition may have ended before nightfall, but it was not death; it was a "perfect ending."

The reason was that he had entered the ruins during the expedition.

"So, can’t I directly enter the ruins in Expedition Mode?"

"Added a new gameplay, wonder what it is?"

Xu Shu stroked his chin and opened the Tai Chu Scroll.

[Remaining number of today’s openings: 2/3]

[You may choose freely between the following two modes]

[Legend Mode] {Create/Continue}

[Expedition Mode] {Heavenly Eye/Superdimension}

—

"Heavenly Eye?"

"Superdimension?"

"What’s that?"