601-610

Chapter 601: Level-4 Sword Dao

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Congratulations, octuple cross-ranking kill has been completed. You've obtained Reward Card Draw x50!"

As he pierced through the immortal-level rank-5 monster's heart, Lin Huang could finally obtain the cross-ranking reward for the tenth time.

He managed to kill an immortal-level rank-5 monster despite the fact that his combat strength was merely on the crimson flame-level. He could now achieve an octuple cross-ranking kill. However, he was not satisfied with his performance.

"When I'm at immortal-level rank-1, I'll possibly be able to kill an immortal-level rank-9. However, the abilities of those at the imperial-level will be doubled each time they level up. With the current cross-ranking standard that I can achieve, even if I'm on the black gold-rank in future, I'll only be able to level-up four ranks at once and kill those on the violet gold-rank. However, I won't be able to defeat the demigods." From the Eclipse Boa's memory, Lin Huang knew that there would be a big difference in abilities between each level. If he wanted the ability to kill the demigods, it was insufficient for him to just level-up to the imperial-level.

As for the Transformation Card and Provisional Combat Strength Upgrade Card, they were external factors. Moreover, it definitely depended on one's look to determine whether one could draw it or not. It was not a permanent solution by depending on such cards to improve abilities. Cards were only for emergencies.

During the sunset on the first day after the blood sacrifice, Lin Huang was alone for an hour. Since A Double Reward Card was activated, Lin Huang completed 10 consecutive cross-ranking kills and was given 500 card draws.

Since Lin Huang had enough cards to use, he did not draw any cards yet. He accumulated the 500 draws with remaining 100 card draws.

A few days after obtaining the cross-ranking rewards, Lin Huang, Yi Zheng and the rest were approaching the center of the ruins. Lin Huang and the rest managed to wipe out the monsters in the small and medium-sized sites. Not only did they obtain many items, Li Lang and Yi Yeyu had also found a suitable Life Fire monster and had already leveled-up to blue flame-level.

Naturally, both of them had chosen a double mutated Life Fire monster instead of a triple mutated Life Fire monster. Among other reasons, it was because those monsters were rare and they would not even be able to defeat the triple mutated monsters.

After upgrading to the blue flame-level, both of them relied on a large number of Life Crystals for the cultivation of Life Fire.

Lin Huang's Life Fire was growing due to Lancelot's attacks on the monsters. When there were no powerful monsters at the sites at night, Lin Huang would release Lancelot so that it could attack. There were two Life Fires in Lin Huang's body. One of them stopped growing when it reached 50 meters whereas the other had reached 300 meters and was still growing. Both of them were initially parallel to each other but for now, the fifty-meter Life Fire would be set off against another of his Life Fire.

Lin Huang could do nothing since monsters that had gone through a quadruple mutation were mere legends. It was completely out of his expectation when he previously encountered the Regal Sword Killer. The Life Fire monster that he could find would be a triple mutated monster at the very most.

Leng Yuexin and Yi Zheng were rather picky as they could not find a suitable Life Fire monster yet.

At the spacious ruins.

After about a week, Lin Huang and the rest had finally arrived at the center of the ruins.

In the afternoon when the sun was shining high, they could see the big-sized site from afar.

Soon, Lin Huang and the rest landed on the periphery of the site.

"Lin Huang, is this the site that the Saint members always come?" After Li Lang has descended, he looked at the site from afar. However, he found nothing unique.

"Yes, according to the memory inherited from the Eclipse Boa." Lin Huang nodded his head.

"The Saint members will not come here without a reason. Let's look around patiently and see if we can discover anything." Leng Yuexin suggested.

The rest nodded in agreement.

"Please walk together to avoid unknown dangers that could happen. Although the ruins look safe, we don't actually know the exact situation yet." Lin Huang reminded.

The site was big and looked like a huge palace. However, only half of the floors in the ruins remained. By looking at the door of the remaining floors, it seemed to be about 10 meters tall. They could then estimate that the actual height of the palace door which would be more than 30 meters.

"The building is so big. Are giants living in this building?" Yi Yeyu said as she looked at the huge door and windows.

Yi Zheng stopped in front of the wall. There was something etched on the wall and it was made with a saber.

When Lin Huang and the rest were about to leave, they saw that Yi Zheng was stunned, staring at the etches on the wall.

As Yi Yeyu wanted to give her brother a slap, Lin Huang immediately grabbed her wrist and signed her to keep quiet.

"Don't distract him, it seems like these etches have given him some insights." Lin Huang suppressed his voice and told the rest.

Yi Yeyu then retracted her hand.

"The etches on the wall might be remnants of a war. Let's look around and we might possibly gain something." Lin Huang noticed the etches on the wall as Yi Zheng mentioned it.

Leng Yuexin and the rest began observing the etches on the wall.

Lin Huang did not go too far. Instead, he flew up over the door and looked at the etches on the door. Obviously, they were etches made from a sword. Not only did the etches on the door look like this, it seemed like all the etches in the palace were made by a sword.

Lin Huang stared at the sword etches on the door for a moment and felt nothing special. He then told Lancelot to look after the rest as he flew along, following the path of the etches.

He flew around the site for a few minutes and when he returned, he looked at the etches on the door again.

Right this moment, a scene suddenly appeared in Lin Huang's mind.

There was a palace which existed hundreds of years ago, a few hundred meters in height. The palace was ablaze with light, and there were people singing, dancing, drinking, and talking…

One day, a young man suddenly appeared at the door of the palace. He was wearing a white robe and he had a waist-length hair. Although his face could not be clearly seen, Lin Huang could vaguely feel that he was a handsome man.

The man was holding a black sword in his hand but Lin Huang could not figure out its level. Soon after, he suddenly slashed his sword.

The next moment, the entire palace was cut in two. Apart from that, thousands of people were immediately cut in half regardless of the floors they were on…

Lin Huang was stunned at the terrifying scene he just saw. He was pretty sure that the man used only one sword and he wondered how could that happen. He could not figure out why as the man did not use any territorial power.

It was just an ordinary sword and it was deeply imprinted on his mind. After a long while, only then Lin Huang could recover from his thoughts.

"What just happened?!" Lin Huang did not expect that as he snapped out of his trance, there was a breakthrough in his Sword Dao. He had leveled-up to level-4 Sword Dao – Oblivion.

Chapter 602: Underground Treasure

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lin Huang had been at level-3 of the Sword Dao for quite some time now. He was well-grounded, and with the addition of the external trigger, he managed to make a breakthrough.

The level-4 Sword Dao was called Oblivion. Lin Huang could be regarded as an expert in Sword Dao the moment he achieved this level.

Oblivion was when the user and the sword merged.

The sword had become part of one's life and they could not be separated, becoming an extension that was not unlike the limbs of a human body.

Previously, Liu Ming's combat strength was actually on immortal-level rank-9 as he only had a level-4 Sword Dao. His Sword Dao was one of the strongest among the people of that generation. Very few in Division 7 could surpass him in terms of his Sword Dao. This was also the reason why he was capable of killing an imperial-level when he was still an immortal-level.

At this moment, Lin Huang had made a breakthrough, albeit one that was out of Lin Huang's expectation. He thought that it would take him at least a year to level-up.

The moment the upgrade on his Sword Dao happened, Lin Huang slowly closed his eyes, reviewing the various types of sword skills that he had learned in the past, practicing them in his mind to further stabilize his sword skills.

Lin Huang closed his eyes for several hours, and when they opened, the sky had turned dark.

Yi Zheng and the rest had learned something as they waited for Lin Huang.

Seeing that the sky had turned dark as he opened his eyes, Lin Huang immediately summoned the Dimensional Portal. All of them strode over it and returned to the site near them.

Everyone was quietly having their dinner underground.

"It seems like you guys have learned something today." Lin Huang sized them up and noticed that they were behaving oddly.

"I think the etches on the building have something to do with our dao level improving. My Saber Dao has somewhat benefited from that. I'm not going to kill any monsters in the following days as I can feel that my Saber Dao is about to achieve level-3." Leng Yuexin explained.

"I feel the same way too. If we continue observing the etches, perhaps in two to three days, I'll be able to achieve level-3 Saber Dao." Yi Zheng agreed with her.

"I'm not going to kill any monsters too." Although Yi Yeyu was still far from achieving level-3 Saber Dao, she could feel that her Saber Dao was improving.

"I've been looking around the palace for several hours but I can't seem to find any etchings for a spear. I'll try again tomorrow." Seeing that the rest had improved, Li Lang panicked.

"Lin Huang, you've closed your eyes for so long. Was it a good learning experience?" Li Lang asked.

"Yes, I've achieved level-4 Sword Dao." Lin Huang smiled, nodding his head.

"..." Comparisons were odious and the rest were speechless.

"In the following few days, we shall stay in this site to upgrade our skills. I've just made a breakthrough in my Sword Dao. Therefore, it'll take me some time to stabilize my skills. We can hunt monsters after that." Lin Huang agreed with the rest of them.

The next morning, they arrived at the large site through the Dimensional Portal.

Lin Huang was standing at his original position and closed his eyes once more to focus on strengthening his skills. Meanwhile, Yi Zheng and the rest stood still before the etches on the walls.

When it was slightly past one o'clock in the afternoon, Li Lang finally discovered an etching for spears and stood still before the etchings.

In the next few days, Lin Huang and the rest went there during the daytime. They were there when the sun rose and left before sunset.

On the fourth day, Yi Zheng's had achieved level-3 Saber Dao — the Illumination level.

On the fifth day, Leng Yuexin managed achieve level-3 Saber Dao as well.

Yi Yeyu and Li Lang had arrived at the Consonance level.

They then stayed at the site for another few days. Yi Zheng and Leng Yuexin had strengthened their level-3 saber skills whereas Lin Huang's sword skills had been completely stabilized. He was much stronger than he was before.

Both Yi Yeyu and Li Lang were incapable of getting into level-3 as both of them were still lacking experience. It was because of this that they could hardly achieve level-3 within a short period of time.

"It seems like there aren't any entrances to the underground area in this site… After completely stabilizing his level-4 Sword Dao, Lin Huang had been exploring the site in the past few days. However, he could not find an underground entrance.

According to the normal practice of a site, there had to be a big building under the site.

Yi Zheng and Leng Yuexin joined him after their Saber Dao had been stabilized.

Leng Yuexin sized up the surrounding while walking at the center of the hall and accidentally stepped on a crushed stone and twisted her ankle. She immediately grabbed the border of the stone tower and at that moment, the stone tower moved a little.

Leng Yuexin immediately noticed something unusual about the stoner tower and informed Lin Huang and the rest. "It seems like the stone tower here can move."

They immediately rushed over there. Even Yi Yeyu and Li Lang stopped observing the war etchings.

"I accidentally touched the stone tower earlier and I found out that it can actually move." Leng Yuexin said.

"Let me try." Lin Huang took a step forward, pressing against the white stone tower that was more than a meter in height. Soon after, it started moving in an anticlockwise direction. After rotating for 180 degrees, it stopped.

Right this moment, the ground suddenly trembled. The people floated up into the sky and soon, they saw a circular entrance with a five-meter diameter next to the stone tower being activated. The position of the entrance was right at the center of the hall.

There was a stone staircase near the stone tower.

"I was right. There's indeed an underground are here." Seeing the appearance of the underground entrance, Lin Huang confirmed that he made a right guess.

"The site is so big. There must be a lot of treasures there. We're going to be rich!" Li Lang smiled wryly. He wanted to enter rashly but was stopped by Lin Huang.

"Please wait, I'll ask Bloody to investigate the situation first. Twisted around Lin Huang's wrist, Bloody released purple specks of light and spread them throughout the underground entrance.

Soon, several projections created by Bloody appeared in front of Lin Huang.

The few of them looked at the projections as well.

In the projections, as they reached the end of the spiral staircase, there was a big underground plaza. There were coffins in the plaza that were arranged accordingly and neatly. The leech pods were flying in different directions.

There were only coffins in the plaza and there were nearly 10,000 of them. Not a single monster was discovered.

There were four rooms outside the underground plaza where the treasures were stored. Lin Huang and the rest were staring at those treasures greedily.

Aside from that, at the end of the plaza, there was a red wooden box with a length of less than one meter. There were black intricate patterns all over the box that looked like black chains.

"It seems like it's not dangerous in there. Let's go in." Li Lang spoke excitedly.

Lin Huang frowned, seeing the red wooden box. He was afraid that things might not be that simple.

After a moment of hesitation, he nodded his head. "After collecting the items in the palace, leave immediately. Don't touch the coffins and the box."

Chapter 603: The Strange "Red Wooden" Box

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After the inspection was completed and there was no danger detected in the underground, Lin Huang and the rest entered.

They climbed down the stone staircase and soon they arrived at the underground plaza.

The area of the plaza was not small and the height of the ceilings had even exceeded 30 meters.

There were coffins that they saw from the scenes projected by Bloody and the coffins were arranged accordingly. The length of each of the coffins was about three meters and it was at least 1.5 meters wide. The distance between each coffin was about three meters.

The base of the coffin was made of wood and they were still in good condition right until now. The coffin cover was transparent and they could clearly see the skeleton in the coffin.

"It seems like they were chopped off by the waist." After observing few of the coffins, Yi Yeyu said.

The rest of them did notice that as well.

The scene that he saw when he was looking at the sword marks appeared again. A young man in white rope cut the entire palace in half. Everyone in the palace, regardless of whether they were right under the sword or not, they were all cut in half…

"That's not important. Quickly leave after getting what we want." Lin Huang could vaguely feel that the skeletons have something to do with the scene that he saw in his mind.

Few of them flew past the coffins and arrived at the first treasure room situated on the left.

The area of the room was at least 10,000 square meters. There was a variety of relics, crystals, and other items. They occupied almost two-thirds of the room.

Lin Huang and the rest were going to make large sums of money as the number of relics alone was more than 10,000. The crystals of various colors could definitely fetch a good price as well.

"How could it be? There are so many of the God Crashers over here?!" Li Lang was standing on top of the treasure and suddenly, he discovered a cannon barrel. He immediately pulled it out.

Yi Zheng and Yi Yeyu went over to help him out.

A smile that could hardly be seen was plastered on Yi Zheng's face as he checked it. He did not have a poker face. After entering the ruins, he was always nervous and that was the reason why he rarely smiled.

"It's a third generation God Crasher that's still in a good condition. It looks like it has never been used before. It's precious!" Yi Zheng liked the God Crasher a lot.

Yi Yeyu wanted to take it from Li Lang but he did not want to let it go.

"Hey hey! I was the one who found the cannon. Could you please be reasonable?"

"Do you know how to use it?" Yi Yeyu rolled her eyes at Li Lang.

"I don't know how to use but I can keep it with me." Li Lang was not happy about it.

"Go away, don't spoil it!" Yi Yeyu said.

"Let's talk about this later when we get out of this place. I'll keep it with me first."

After a few moments, Lin Huang stored all the items in the room into his storage ring.

Yi Yeyu took the God Crasher from Li Lang as well and stored it in her storage ring.

After clearing the first room, they immediately headed towards the second room.

In the second treasure room, the number of treasures was rather similar to that in the first room.

They then proceeded to the third treasure room after searching through the second room.

Just as Lin Huang and the rest entered the third room, at the end of the underground plaza, the blood mist suddenly spread through the gap on the "red wooden" box.

At almost the same time, Bloody's leech pod exploded on its own.

Bloody noticed the problem and immediately contacted Lin Huang, "One of my leech pods have been destroyed. I don't know how it is destroyed but there might be something hidden underground. I didn't discover anything as I investigated previously. That being said, it might be able to get rid of the investigation of my leech pods."

As Bloody reminded, Lin Huang frowned.

Bloody was now an immortal-level rank-1. The unknown that could secretly destroy Bloody's leech pods, it must be something stronger than Bloody.

After collecting all the treasures in the room, Lin Huang immediately asked the rest to retreat, "Quickly leave!"

The rest were stunned but still, they followed after Lin Huang and rushed towards the underground entrance as they left the room.

"Isn't it there's another treasure room?" Li Lang asked when they left.

"We can't make it. There's an unknown monster hiding underground which has just destroyed Bloody's investigating pods." Lin Huang explained as they escaped.

Their face turned grave and headed towards the underground entrance at full speed.

At the end of the underground plaza, the blood mist released through the red wooden box became thicker. On the surface of the red wooden box, the black intricate pattern started turning into a golden color which resembled a little golden snake wriggling on the surface of the box. The red wooden box was vibrating vigorously as if it was suppressing something at full force.

As the vibration became stronger, the gap between the box became bigger as well. Eventually, a red glow erupted and flashed through the sky, creating a single arm.

After a few moments, a bloody mist spread out from the arm, gradually forming a humanoid creature which was in the mist form. Even the arm itself was shrouded in mist.

The creature that was entirely covered by the blood mist was three of the carrions that they fought in mid-air at the site where they were hiding.

At the back of the misty monster, the red wooden box was completely activated, and golden chains extended from it. The limbs and the neck of the misty monster were instantly locked in it and were being drawn backward.

As it was pulled by an immense strength, the misty monster was slowly falling down. However, it looked at Lin Huang and the rest that had reached the underground entrance at a distance of about 10,000 meters.

"Roar!"

It let out a furious roar and at the next second, its body had completely turned into bloody mist and diffused into the red wooden box. On the red wooden box, the golden pattern gradually faded and ultimately, turning into the black pattern it originally had. The underground plaza became quiet again.

When they reached the underground entrance, the monster roar that sounded very much like the rumbling of thunder was heard. They were frightened and broke out in a cold sweat.

As soon as Lancelot that was at the end of the line entered, Lin Huang who was standing next to the stone tower immediately turned the stone tower back and the underground entrance was closed.

"The growl was terrifying. What's that?" Li Lang had goosebumps when he heard that.

"It's not the right place to talk. Let's go!" It was apparent that Lin Huang did not want to stay there any longer. He immediately summoned the Dimensional Portal and the few of them who were there, entered.

Chapter 604: The Reappearance of the Red Mist

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

At one of the underground floors of a medium-sized site that was thousands of kilometers away from the big-sized site, Lin Huang took out of his Black Ink.

Lin Huang put the Black Ink away in relief.

"What monster was it that just growled loudly? It has a terrifying roar and it gives me goosebumps!" Yi Yeyu exclaimed.

"Me too, I had goosebumps." Li Lang nodded his head in agreement.

"My heart skipped a beat at that instant…" Yi Zheng took a deep breath as he replied.

"If we were only one or two seconds slower, we might've died there." Leng Yuexin could finally calm herself down.

"I've no idea what that was. I only know that it has quietly killed off Bloody's leech pods. In addition to that, the investigation pods did not discover it earlier. I suppose it's stronger than me and that was exactly why I urged you guys to leave." Lin Huang explained. "However, from its growl, the abilities of the monster has to be beyond the imperial-level Eclipse Boa that I killed earlier. Fortunately, we managed to escape in time or we'll all be in great trouble."

Of course, they did not know that the monster that let out a loud roar in the underground had been sealed by the red wooden box. However, after experiencing what they had just been through, they had no intentions whatsoever of ever going to the big-sized site again.

They took out the items from three out of four treasure rooms, seemingly quite satisfied with they got.

"The sky is turning dark soon. Let's stop here. I've aged and I can't take the torture any longer." Yi Zheng took a look at the time and it was just slightly after 4 p.m. There were at least three hours before the sky turned dark but he did not want to go out anymore. He looked for a wall, leaning against it with his legs crossed.

The rest of them were relieved as they sat down.

As Lin Huang sat down, he searched through his storage ring and looked for the items that he just obtained with his mind. After a short while, he grinned. He raised his head, glancing at Yi Zheng and the rest. "Are you guys looking for the God Crasher? Among the items that we've managed to collect, including the one which Yi Yeyu took, we have a total of 12 God Crashers."

Yi Zheng and the rest opened their eyes wide, shifting their gaze to Lin Huang.

"Is that true? Don't joke about this or I'll be pissed." Yi Yeyu shook her fist at Lin Huang.

"I'm not joking. Each of us will get two God Crashers and there are two extras." Lin Huang smiled, as he nodded his head. "Let's divide the God Crasher among us first. We'll discuss the rest of the items as we get out of this place."

Lin Huang took out 11 of the God Crashers he had with him as he said, "Each of you please choose two!"

Each of them then took two God Crashers.

Yi Yeyu took two as well. Yi Zheng frowned and asked, "Don't you already have one with you?"

"Don't bother me!" Yi Yeyu pouted. She then told Lin Huang, "Please deduct the third God Crasher that I took from the other items."

Lin Huang nodded his head, storing three of the remaining God Crasher in his storage space as he replied, "I'll deduct it from the remaining items accordingly as well."

Aside from Yi Zheng, the rest of them had stored the God Crasher.

Yi Zheng looked at both of the God Crasher carefully. He then took out a lot of Life Crystals from his storage space and started inserting them into the power cabin to refill its Life Power.

Right this moment, Li Lang came, "Brother Zheng, since you have nothing to do, can you please teach me how to use the God Crasher?"

Yi Zheng smiled, nodding his head. "It's actually pretty simple. In order to use the God Crasher, the first step is to fill up its power. The latest God Crasher is highly compatible with the energy crystals. Aside from the Life Crystals, many of the energy crystals can be used as a source of energy. However, we now have the third generation God Crasher which can only support Life Crystals and some of the fire element crystals."

"It's easy to fill its power up. You just have to insert the energy crystals into the power cabin behind the barrel. Small crystals can be inserted in bunches but for the bigger crystals, you'll have to cut them into appropriately sized fragments before inserting them. The power cabin will automatically convert the energy within the energy crystals. The scale next to the power cabin shows the ratio of the power. As soon as it reaches 100%, stop inserting energy crystals into the power cabin or it'll explode. Also, the third generation God Crasher can only use a single type of crystal. Don't attempt to mix the powers of various crystals or the power cabin will explode as well."

"As soon as it has been charged, it can then launch attacks. You can stabilize it with a cannon carriage or with your shoulder. However, be aware of its recoil…"

Aside from Li Lang, Lin Huang and Leng Yuexin were paying attention to what he said as well.

Despite Yi Yeyu having never used it before, she was familiar with the God Crasher as she was born into a military family. She took out one of her God Crashers and handled it on her own.

It was about five o'clock in the afternoon after listening to Yi Zheng. Five of them played some card games after their dinner and soon, they were going at it with their own things.

At night, some of them had already fallen asleep while the others were still practicing their skills.

In the ruins, the night belonged to the monsters.

On the ground, many of the monsters started hunting for food. Killing and being killed was something normal.

However, all this had nothing to do with Lin Huang and the rest.

Some of them had slept soundly whereas some of them were still immersed in their thoughts, recalling the etchings that they saw as they continued practicing their skills.

A peaceful night passed.

The next morning, they departed to the next site after having their breakfast.

As usual, no monsters appeared during the daytime in the ruins. Only humans like Lin Huang and the rest were there during daytime.

They went to various sites during the daytime, taking the opportunity to rest inside the sites at night.

Before long, 10 days had passed.

Yi Zheng and Leng Yuexin could finally find their Life Fire monster and had obtained their Life Fire. They had leveled-up, with Yi Zheng now at the gold flame-level while Leng Yuexin managed to achieve the purple flame-level.

They were getting closer to the second blood sacrifice.

"There's another two days before the second blood sacrifice…" At night, on the second underground floor in a small-sized site, Lin Huang gazed upon the rest of them and said, "I'd suggest leaving in the afternoon on the day after tomorrow."

"I've nothing to add since I don't want to experience the blood sacrifice for the second time." Yi Yeyu laughed.

"Since the blood sacrifice will start at night on the day after tomorrow, we can still hunt for some treasures tomorrow in the afternoon." Li Lang nodded.

"I'd prefer to leave tomorrow before sunset. However, it's fine to leave in the afternoon the day after tomorrow as well." Yi Zheng nodded as well.

"What's your plan after leaving?" Leng Yuexin smiled, looking at Lin Huang.

"I'll be going to Division 3. I can hardly find a suitable Life Fire monster in Division 7 to upgrade my combat strength…" Lin Huang finally told them that he was going to leave. "One of the reasons that I invited you guys to enter these ruins is because I wanted to have a gathering before I leave. I thought that it'll be like a vacation, something where we can make some good memories. However, it ended up being a grade-5 ruin where we didn't manage to make any beautiful memories. Instead, we're all frightened…"

"You don't have to feel sorry for that. Being frightened can be very memorable too." Yi Zheng said seriously.

"Brother Zheng was right. It'll remind us of you when we encounter any dangers in the future." Li Lang continued.

Yi Yeyu and Leng Yuexin laughed with their mouth covered.

Few of them chatted until late at night.

However, Lin Huang and the rest did not know that at the city center situated tens of thousands of kilometers away, the bloody mist was spreading out of the red wooden box at the underground plaza again…

Chapter 605: The Appearance of the Misty Shadow

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

At the underground plaza at the large site, the bloody mist escaping from the gaps in the red wooden box got thicker.

The intricate golden pattern on the box began moving quickly and the bloody mist did not stop spreading.

After hibernating for almost half a month, the mysterious creature was struggling in the box and caught the red wooden box off guard on the night two days before the blood sacrifice.

As the red wooden box began vibrating vigorously, the bloody mist finally managed to free itself from the box, forming a human arm in mid-air. It was a man's arm, muscular with its veins bulging.

As soon as the arm was formed, a thicker mist was released. Again, a human-like silhouette was formed in the mist.

Countless golden chains suddenly shot out and tangled around the limbs of the misty shadow. Before its neck was locked in the fifth chain, the misty shadow attempted to break free of the chains and succeeded. It then appeared in the sky in a flash.

It was hanging in mid-air. The misty shadow lifted its head, staring at the red and purple moons in the sky.

With its mouth wide-open, countless monsters that were hunting for food on the ground rapidly turned into a bloody mist, drawn toward the misty shadow.

On this night, every single one of the monsters that were hunting for food suffered. Many of the monsters died without knowing why the blood sacrifice happened two days earlier.

After spending almost half an hour wiping out all the monsters in the ruins, the misty shadow suddenly stood still in its original position. After a few moments, it lifted its head and stared at the mid-sized site that was about 3,000 kilometers away from it. It was the site that Lin Huang and the rest were hiding at half a month ago.

"The ruins… The key…"

The voice was heard coming from its throat and soon, the misty shadow disappeared.

…

Early in the morning, after washing up, Lin Huang and the rest had a chat while having their breakfast.

"Lin Huang, have you chosen the site that we're going to yet?" Yi Yeyu asked while drinking her fruit juice.

"Yes, I've done it last night." Lin Huang nodded his head. "We're going to leave tomorrow so our schedule is full today. Let's see if we can manage to explore three mid-sized sites today. If we can't make it, I can help out when we're at the third site."

"If we're going to explore three sites, we may have to skip our afternoon break." It was obvious that Li Lang wanted to goof around.

"We're leaving tomorrow. We should go to as many sites as we can." Yi Zheng agreed with him. "Since all of us have leveled up, we can make it to three sites if we skip our afternoon break."

"Let's give it a try." Leng Yuexin nodded calmly.

After having their breakfast, they left the site.

Seeing the newly risen sun, Lin Huang felt safe.

"I've been staying in the ruins for a month and the only thing that can make me feel secure is the sun." Leng Yuexin said as she raised her head and looked at the sun.

"I haven't developed any special feelings for this place despite staying over here for an entire month. The only thing I feel is that I smell terrible. The first thing I'm going to do is to take a shower!" Yi Yeyu said with a smile.

"Don't just take a shower, we need a bath in a tub!" Li Lang was a clean freak but such behavior had gone for the past month.

Yi Yeyu laughed and remained quiet afterward.

"If we continue dreaming over here, we can't even finish going into two sites." Lin Huang laughed and stopped them from daydreaming. "Let's start working!"

"Lin Huang, if you were a businessman you'd be a terrible boss!" Li Lang teased.

Yi Yeyu and Leng Yuexin did the same thing to Lin Huang as well.

They were then guided by Lin Huang and headed towards the north.

Bai had been recalled by Lin Huang previously so Lancelot and the five of them began their journey. Just as they were less than 300 kilometers away from their destination, Lin Huang suddenly frowned. He saw the appearance of the red mist from afar that had blocked their way.

"What's that?!" Soon, Yi Zheng and the rest noticed that something was off.

Right this moment, a vivid scene suddenly appeared in Lin Huang's mind.

He could see that there was a human-shaped red mist lingering in mid-air, and it seemed like it was staring at the sky with its mouth wide open. Meanwhile, all the monsters on the ground both alive and dead had turned into a bloody mist. They were then engulfed by the misty shadow.

It was one of the scenes inherited from the Eclipse Boa's memory. It happened hundreds of years ago. According to its memory, the incident had almost turned Eclipse Boa into one of the sacrifices. Fortunately, they were close to the site so they managed to dive underground right at the moment when they noticed that something unusual was happening to escape the danger.

"Run!" At the very next moment that the memory flashed through Lin Huang's mind, his eyes dilated. He could roughly guess what the misty shadow was and immediately instructed the rest of them to flee.

At the same time, he summoned the Black Ink without a moment of hesitation and pulled them into the Dimensional Portal.

The instant when the door of the Dimensional Portal closed, Lin Huang could see the red mist already transforming into the human shape.

At the next moment, Lin Huang and the rest returned to the site where they were at early in the morning.

"What happened?" Yi Zheng frowned as he asked.

"I don't have the time to explain!" Lin Huang summoned his Black Ink again and set a location to a site that was more than 10,000 kilometers away. He then urged the rest to enter. "I can feel that it's not safe enough to stay here. We've to leave immediately!"

Yi Zheng and the rest followed as Lin Huang did not look like he was joking.

Just as they just entered the Dimensional portal to leave, the misty shadow appeared right above the site where they were hiding just now. It entered the site in a flash but noticed that the aura that was blocked by the site reappearing somewhere else. Following that, it went underground but still, it left empty-handed.

Looking in the direction where Lin Huang and the rest disappeared to, the misty shadow mumbled in a deep voice, "The ruin key…"

At the underground of one of the sites that were more than 10,000 kilometers away, Lin Huang and the rest stepped out of Black Ink.

"Can you please tell us what's happening now?" Yi Yeyu felt that what Lin Huang did was ridiculous.

"Did you ask us to escape because of the bloody mist? What's that?" Leng Yuexin could roughly guess why Lin Huang asked them to escape.

"If my guess is right, the bloody mist must be the mysterious monster that fought during the sacrifice with the three demigod remnants in the ruins." After uttering these words, Lin Huang told them about what he saw flashing through his mind.

The facial expression on their faces changed as soon as they heard that.

"How could that be?! Isn't the blood sacrifice happening tomorrow night? Why is it happening today, during daytime?!" Li Lang doubted.

"I've no idea why it suddenly appeared. We don't have time for that though." Lin Huang frowned. "Since the monster has appeared, it's not safe for us to stay here anymore. We have to return to the entrance of the ruins as soon as possible. We must unlock the entrance using the ruin key and leave!"

Chapter 606: Escape

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"It's not important anymore, regardless of whether the mysterious monster is capable of fighting the demigods. For the sake of our safety, it'll be best if we leave the ruins as soon as possible." Leng Yuexin caught a glimpse of Li Lang and she agreed with Lin Huang.

"Under such circumstances, we shouldn't put our faith in luck. We've to be prepared for the worst. According to what Lin Huang said, the bloody mist must be at least on the demigod-level. It's unlikely that we can win the fight. Leaving the ruins is indeed the only choice we have." Yi Zheng agreed with Lin Huang's decision as well.

"Let's leave today. I don't want to die in the ruins." Yi Yeyu said.

Seeing that the rest of them had agreed with Lin Huang's decision after shifting their gaze toward him, Li Lang said, "I don't mean to disagree with leaving the ruins today but I wonder, why did the mysterious monster appear during this particular time? However, it seems like the reason behind its appearance is no longer important. Also, regardless of whether it was the one who managed to defeat the demigod, that's no longer a concern. It's better for us to leave earlier so that I can take a hot shower."

"I can assure you that it's the one." Lin Huang was confident. "Before the Dimensional Portal closed, I saw the bloody mist transforming into the shape of a human, looking exactly the same as the mysterious monster that I saw in the Eclipse Boa's memory."

"I saw that as well…" Yi Zheng reassured.

Since both of them could confirm this, Li Lang was no longer putting his faith in luck.

"Lin Huang, will it discover us if we stay here?" Yi Yeyu was worried about it.

"It won't be able to find us within such a short period of time. Any form of external detection on the sites within these ruins is blocked. To find us, it'll have to follow the aura left on the ground and search through each site in the ruins. The site that we're at is more than 10,000 kilometers away from it." Lin Huang explained. He felt lucky that any form of external detection would be blocked at these sites.

"Have you set the location of the entrance in the Dimensional Portal?" This was Yi Zheng's greatest concern. "If you didn't, the monster will discover us as soon as we reach the ground. We'll definitely die."

"Of course I did. I set the location in my Dimensional Portal as soon as I entered the ruins." Lin Huang raised an eyebrow.

In fact, there were several weak points within the ruins that could be used as an entrance. There were quite a number of weak points where the ruin key could be used to unlock the entrances. This was also the reason why they would be sent to different locations each time they entered with the ruin key. However, Lin Huang and the rest had no time to look for other entrances. Therefore, they had to create a new entrance by relying on the location that they earlier entered from.

"I've already set the location. However, there's another problem that's even more troublesome. We need sufficient time to activate the entrance of the ruins. The rate of Life Power absorption of the ruin key is constant. It'll take me at least five minutes to insert a sufficient amount of Life Power into the key. Then, it's another process for the ruin key to open the entrance. It'll require about one to two minutes." Lin Huang sorted out another problem. "That being said, we'll be on the ground for at least six minutes. The misty monster might sense our presence."

"We have to take the risk. We can't wait here. The longer we stall, the higher the possibility that we'll be discovered." Leng Yuexin analyzed the situation calmly. "Even if we're not discovered today, tomorrow night is the blood sacrifice. This makes the situation even more dangerous."

"Miss Leng is right. We have no way out." Yi Zheng agreed with Leng Yuexin.

Lin Huang remained quiet for a moment but soon, it seemed like something had dawned upon him, "I understand now."

"What should we do now?" Li Lang immediately asked.

"Let's prepare for the worst…" Lin Huang was not relaxed, "Please charge all twelve of the God Crashers with the crystals that we obtained from the large site. Those are Terraflame Crystals. If the God Crasher is charged with those crystals, the effect will be much better than if we were to charge them with Life Crystals."

After he spoke, he took out enough yellow crystals to make them look like a hill, "Take it, I still have more if that's not enough."

They immediately took out their God Crashers, refilling it with the crystals.

"Brother Zheng, could you please help to fix the carriage?" Lin Huang then took out spare parts for the carriage. The items that they had obtained earlier had already been sorted by Bloody. Lin Huang could easily find what he wanted.

Yi Zheng then passed two of his God Crashers to Li Lang and started dealing with his things.

Soon after, all twelve of the God Crashers had been recharged, and Yi Zheng had fixed the carriage as well.

"I'll keep all the God Crashers with me. You guys aren't familiar with it. It'll be faster if I were to use it." Yi Zheng suggested. It was well established that he was an expert in operating the God Crashers. The rest of them were still new to it.

Yi Yeyu wanted to voice her disagreement. However, once she thought it over carefully, it was no longer important regardless of who owned the God Crashers since they were going to use them soon.

Lin Huang and the rest had no objections.

"What else do we need to prepare?" Yi Zheng put away all twelve of the God Crashers and the carriage. He then raised his head and looked at Lin Huang.

"Get ready. We might have to escape at any moment." Lin Huang shook his head with a smile, "When we encounter those on the demigod-level, there's nothing else we can use aside from the God Crashers. As soon as the exit opens, run as fast as you can."

"Haha, I'm good at escaping." Li Lang laughed. He and Yi Yeyu did not think any further.

However, Yi Zheng and Leng Yuexin looked at Lin Huang and instantly understood that Lin Huang intended to be the last to leave.

"Are you guys ready?" After recalling Lancelot into its card form, Lin Huang gazed upon the rest of them.

They nodded their head and as they saw Lancelot disappearing, they knew that even if it stayed, it would not be able to offer any assistance.

"Let's go!" After uttering his words, he summoned the Dimensional Portal once more. After setting up its destination, they pushed the door open.

Both of them strode into it. A few moments after the door was closed, the underground room within the ruins turned silent.

As they left the Dimensional Portal, they found themselves already at the entrance of the ruins that they were at a month ago.

It was a familiar scene… Aside from the dried up ground, there was nothing there.

After Lin Huang put away his Dimensional Portal, he took out the ruin key and immediately began inserting Life Power into it.

Yi Zheng then brought out the God Crashers.

The sun was hanging high up in the cloudless sky and time continued to pass in the ruins.

Yi Zheng and the rest were stressed out. They felt that the time was passing too slowly as each passing minute and second felt like endless torture.

Soon, five minutes had passed. The ruin key was now completely filled with Life Power as it left Lin Huang's palm. Ripples gradually formed in mid-air.

They were relieved. "Two more minutes and we'll be able to leave…" After Li Lang said this, the bloody mist appeared abruptly appeared less than a hundred meters away from them.

Chapter 607: Eh... Success?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Seeing the appearance of the bloody mist, they were stunned.

"Yi Zheng, launch an attack!" Lin Huang immediately shouted. He no longer cared if he was yelling Yi Zheng's name.

Yi Zheng then snapped out of his trance, taking aim at the bloody mist.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three consecutive shockwaves propagated in the air, along with a roar as the attacks struck the fist-sized bloody mist. The bloody mist was shrouded in the golden flares and let out a furious growl.

Right this moment, nine of the God Crashers were directed toward the bloody mist by his psychic abilities, defending themselves against the bloody mist.

The other three appeared in front of the three God Crashers that had been used to launch an attack instantly. They then rapidly refilled the God Crasher with the Terraflame Crystals.

The ruin key could transform into a door on its own and did not need much attention from Lin Huang and the rest. Then, they shot a deadly stare at the bloody mist.

After the smoke cleared, the bloody mist was now in a lighter shade.

Lin Huang noticed that the formation of the bloody mist was somehow affected by sunlight. When sunlight shone on the bloody mist, it faded a little along with a hissing sound. It sounded like oil, dripping off grilled meat before hitting the coals.

He was unsure if this was due to the effect of God Crasher but still, he told Yi Zheng, "Keep attacking. It can buy us some time!"

The exit behind them grew larger. However, they would need another minute before it was completely formed. Otherwise, the incomplete dimensional channel would crush them into pieces if they attempted to break in. They had no choice but to wait patiently.

Seeing that the God Crasher was seemingly effective, Yi Zheng was slightly relieved. Once again, he pushed the launch button on both God Crashers.

The next second, two golden flares shot up into the sky like a spotlight and enveloped the bloody mist again.

A loud explosion was heard again in the air, spreading around them in a radius that was tens of thousands of kilometers. The ground within that area trembled from the force.

The monsters that were hiding underground attempted to figure out where the explosion of the God Crasher came from in fear. The explosion that sounded very much like the rumbling of thunder, resembling a battle between the demigods. The monsters were considering if they should even hunt for food tonight.

After the second attack, Lin Huang and the rest stared at the bloody mist that was still lingering in mid-air. Before the smoke cleared, a bloody glow suddenly flashed in the sky.

After a few moments, the red glow exploded abruptly and released a large number of red clouds. Within a few moments, Lin Huang and the rest had been enveloped by the red clouds. Sunlight was completely blocked from entering and a radius that spanned hundreds of kilometers from where they were was now plunged into darkness, as if night had come early.

"What is it doing?" Yi Zheng and the rest found out that something was off.

"Sunlight will affect the formation of its body. Therefore, it's attempting to create night." Lin Huang frowned as he stared at the sky. It was impossible for the bloody clouds to clear in a short period of time.

In mid-air, the smoke seemed to be clearing.

Without sunlight, a human arm was gradually formed in the bloody mist, looking like an arm that was slowly extending from the mist.

Lin Huang and the rest felt goosebumps run through their skin as they saw what had happened.

"Continue the attack!" Lin Huang shouted.

Yi Zheng immediately launched an attack from three God Crashers.

Golden flares burst into the sky, enveloping the bloody mist like spotlights on a stage.

Right this moment, the arm was now fully extended from within the bloody mist. It managed to deflect the attacks from three of the God Crashers with its palm.

Lin Huang and the rest were stunned at what they had just witnessed.

Its arm was injured from the attack by the God Crasher, exposing its white bones. However, its wounds were soon enveloped by the bloody mist and were healed in just a few seconds.

"Before its body is completely formed, it can't move. It's now a live target!" Yi Zheng heard Lin Huang's voice again, "Continue attacking and stop it from fully forming its body. As long as we have enough time, we can definitely leave this place!"

Yi Zheng nodded his head and launched another two attacks.

Two golden flares blasted off into the sky again…

In mid-air, the arm of the misty monster that had just been healed took on another attack by the God Crasher.

The monster deflected the attacks with its arms again, its body forming rapidly from its successful defense.

Due to the limit on the refill speed for the God Crashers, Yi Zheng could only use two of them at a go. However, the attacks by two God Crashers were unable to break through the defense of its arms. It could only slow down its progress a little.

"What card can I use now?" Lin Huang was thinking about what he could do.

After a few moments, two cards appeared in his hand. They were the Misfortune Card and the Crippling Card.

"I can just try my best!" Right now, Lin Huang could no longer care how many cards he was going to use. Without a moment of hesitation, he crushed his Misfortune Card followed by the Crippling Card.

The effects of both of the cards afflicted the monster one after the other.

The body of the misty monster faded as soon as the Crippling Card was used. At this moment, a hurricane was formed, dispersing the bloody clouds in the air into several smaller wisps of clouds. The sunlight was now shining on them as usual and it had become rather intense. Since the monster had been weakened, the half-formed body of the monster reduced a little in size once the sunlight shone on it.

Yi Zheng thought that this was a blessing and immediately launched another attack. Lin Huang managed to buy them some time by using two cards.

The exit behind Lin Huang and the rest was almost fully formed. It could be stabilized in half a minute at most.

In mid-air, the misty shadow was slowly forming. Initially, they had no idea what the bloody mist was but now, they could finally see that it was a human figure. It was the mysterious monster that managed to fight the three demigod remnants from the Eclipse Boa's memory. Similarly, it was one of them who began the blood sacrifice in the ruins.

Lin Huang and the rest were racing against the clock and each played their own role. Even Bloody created a few of his clones to recharge the God Crashers with Life Power. At this moment, every second counted. All of them might die if they were even a second slower.

Yi Zheng who was responsible for the attacks had his back drenched with sweat. It was not because the weather was too hot, but was because he was nervous.

The God Crasher could no longer stop the formation of the human figure. It could only slow it down. Although everybody was racing against the clock, nobody had given up.

All of a sudden, they could feel a shockwave from behind them. The exit had finally been formed.

"Let's go!" Lin Huang shouted. Yi Zheng attacked with five God Crashers that had been recharged simultaneously.

The human figure was enveloped by the flares once again.

They did not even have the time to take back their God Crashers as the five of them immediately rushed toward the exit with Bloody by their side.

At that moment, a bloody whip suddenly appeared in the air, targetting Yi Zheng. Lin Huang saw it and immediately grabbed Yi Zheng's arm, pushing him toward the exit.

The bloody whip immediately shifted its target towards Lin Huang as soon as it missed its first target. As it twisted around Lin Huang's ankle, it dragged him out of the exit by force…

Seeing that Yi Zheng and the rest had already disappeared through the dimensional channel, Lin Huang turned his body around.

The human figure in mid-air was now fully formed as it stared at Lin Huang.

The bloody whip that entangled Lin Huang's ankle extended toward his body and soon, his body was completely bound. He could no longer move.

The misty shadow then beckoned Lin Huang toward it and stopped when he was a meter away.

"The ruins… Exit…" Again, the misty shadow uttered those words. It looked excited.

Through its shoulder, Lin Huang saw that there was a golden chain that extended behind the misty shadow.

"It kept me alive is because it can't escape!" He could suddenly understand what the misty shadow meant.

Right this moment, the misty shadow transformed into a bloody mist, spreading through Lin Huang's body through his mouth.

"Xiao Hei, help me! I'm going to die soon!" Seeing the bloody mist gushing into his body, Lin Huang immediately contacted Xiao Hei.

"With the current condition of your body, only the Seal Card can help you to escape this danger. However, the level of the monster is too high, and the success rate of the Seal Card is relatively low. You only have two Seal Cards with you now. If you need more, you can only draw it with 10 times of the normal draw rate to draw a specific card that you want…"

"Stop explaining and just use it! If 10 cards are not enough, use 20 of them, If 20 cards are not enough, use 30 of them. If 30 cards are not enough, use 100 of them! You have to seal it!"

"With the number of card draws you currently have, you can't draw 100 of them. With 600 card draws and with 10 times of the normal draw rate, you can only draw 60 Seal Cards."

"Stop it, I'm really dying…"

"Alright, I'll start using the Seal Cards to seal it."

"Using Seal Card x1, sealing the target… Failed!"

"Using Seal Card x1, sealing the target… Failed!"

"Seal Card has been used up. Using 10 card draws to obtain a Seal Card x1"

"Using Seal Card x1, sealing the target… Failed!"

…

"Seal Card has been used up. Using 10 card draws to obtain a Seal Card x1"

"Using Seal Card x1, sealing the target… Eh... Success!"

"Why did you say eh!" Lin Huang's weak voice was heard.

Chapter 608: A Message from Liu Ming

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Congratulations, you've used 29 Seal Cards and succeeded in sealing the target. Excluding the two Seal Cards that you already have, you've used up 260 card draws and 340 card draws remain."

Just as Lin Huang fell onto the ground, Xiao Hei's voice was heard again.

"I almost died…"

Lin Huang became limp, suffering from pain and feeling weak. The weakness he felt was as if he had gone to the toilet eighty times from food poisoning or that he had sex with his girlfriend eighteen times a day… Of course, the pain he suffered was due to the bloody whip used by the monster and it had nothing to do with his girlfriend at all.

"Hey, did you intentionally lower the success rate of the Seal Card? Why did I need 28 Seal Cards to successfully seal it?" Lin Huang grumbled weakly.

"In fact, you're considered lucky. Without the Misfortune Card, the success rate to seal it would be less than one ten-thousandth due to the difference in your combat levels. Even if you've used 10,000 Seal Cards, you might not be able to seal it."

"Well, we can't give all the credit to the Misfortune Card. The monster has been sealed previously but it managed to get rid of the seal. A huge portion of its strength was spent fighting against the seal. In addition to its abilities being suppressed by the sunlight, the crippling effect of the Crippling Card and the continuous attacks from the God Crashers suppressed his abilities. The combination of all that resulted in a substantial increase in the effect of the Seal Card. If you weren't lucky, even if you've used up all 600 card draws, you might not even be able to seal it with 62 Seal Cards."

"I actually doubted what you said. It's just a demigod…" Lin Huang said and took out the card that had been sealed. He was startled when he saw the card.

On the front of the card, there was a picture of an arm with a big red "sealed" word on it. The name of the card was – The Virtual God's Amputee.

Lin Huang immediately flipped to the back of the card.

"The Virtual God's Amputee."

"Rarity: Pseudo mythical-level."

"Combat Level: Virtual God (Broken)"

"Seal Target Description: The arm of the Virtual God. The rest of its body parts and its head has gone missing. Other information remains unknown."

"Warning: With your current combat level and the authorization level of the system, please do not unseal the card unless it's necessary. Once unsealed, you won't be able to reseal it for the second time. The amputee would completely break free of the seal."

"Now do you know why I told you that you were lucky?" Noticing that Lin Huang had finished reading the card's description, Xiao Hei's voice was heard again. "If it wasn't an amputee that has lost its Godhead, causing its rarity to be on the pseudo mythical-level, the Seal Card will have no effect on it at all."

Lin Huang put away his card and asked, "If the card isn't sealed, do you have any other way?"

"No, if the sealing of the card was unsuccessful, you'll be possessed by the amputee. Once you've lost your consciousness, I'll leave your body and be recalled back to the world of the Goldfingers. My memory and all my data will be cleared, waiting to be assigned to another host. As for your body, you'll become a puppet of the amputee."

Lin Huang remained silent, listening to what Xiao Hei just said.

"I forgot to remind you that if you didn't leave the ruins within ten seconds, you'll have to wait until next year."

"What?" Lin Huang was stunned. He just recalled that the ruin key had a time limit on the exit. If nobody closed it, it would close on its own after three minutes. Moreover, the entrance could only be externally activated once a year while the exit could only be internally opened once a year. If he had yet to leave after three minutes, the ruin key could only be used next year.

"10, 9, 8, 7…"

When he heard that Xiao Hei was counting down, Lin Huang immediately stood up and put away all twelve of the God Crashers into his storage. He then took a leap with his Thunder Step, transforming himself into a crimson-colored lightning and left through the exit of the ruins.

The moment he disappeared through the exit of the ruins took less than three seconds, but it caused the air around it to implode rapidly.

At the War Canyon outside the ruins, a shadow suddenly appeared from the black ripples.

"Lin Huang!"

Yi Zheng and the rest shouted in excitement from seeing Lin Huang escape from the ruins at the very last minute. Before Lin Huang could stabilize himself, Bloody twisted around his left arm again while the rest surrounded him as well.

"Are you okay? All of us thought that you have died." Yi Zheng and the rest came up to him, sizing him up to see if something was missing.

"I'm okay. Yes, I almost died." Lin Huang removed the dust on his clothes calmly. The amputee of the Virtual God had been sealed and the exit of the ruins had closed. He was not worried if anything could get out of the ruins.

"From your clothes, I can see that you're really clumsy just now." Yi Zheng teased Lin Huang since his clothes had been torn apart by the bloody whip that tangled him.

"How did you get out of the ruins? My brother told me that you were caught by the monster." Yi Yeyu immediately asked.

"I'm lucky enough. After catching me, something else seemed to have caught its attention. It dumped me and left." Lin Huang hid the truth and told them a story.

Yi Zheng and Leng Yuexin's eyes flashed with a trace of uncertainty. However, they did not ask any further.

Li Lang and Yi Yeyu thought that what he said was true.

"You're really lucky that you can survive that." Li Lang gave him a stare.

"The monster didn't eat you before leaving…" Yi Yeyu smiled evilly.

"It's great that you managed to survive that." Yi Zheng patted Lin Huang's shoulder. He knew that Lin Huang did not want to talk about that topic anymore and immediately changed the topic, "Thank you for taking care of us over the past month. Without you, we'd have died in the ruins."

"Brother Zheng, there's no need to thank me. I was the one who invited you guys to go into the ruins. It's my responsibility to make sure that all of you can leave the ruins safely." Lin Huang smiled, waving his hand. "Although the trip might not be a happy one, it's somehow a memorable one."

"We've been filled with fear every day over the past month but that's quite happy." Leng Yuexin said.

"I don't think that it's happy but it's indeed an exciting one." Yi Yeyu said.

"If there's something like that, don't forget to find us! As for the stuff that we've collected, don't forget to give me once you've done distributing them!" Li Lang did not forget about that.

"I'll have to consider whether to go on a trip like that with you guys since I'm getting old…" Before Yi Zheng could finish his words, Yi Yeyu interrupted.

"Damn, you're just two years older than me. Do you think that you're 20 years older than me?" Yi Yeyu rolled her eyes at him.

"When are you going to leave Division 7?" Yi Zheng ignored Yi Yeyu and asked as he wanted to change the topic.

"I'll leave most probably by the end of March or during the beginning of April. I'll have to deal with the stuff in Division7 first." Lin Huang thought for a while and realized that he had to deal with a few of the things before leaving Division 7. "Before I leave, I'll distribute the items that we have. I'll make a list and send it to you guys in the first place after I'm done with it. However, as for the items in the Emperor's Heart Ring that have to be unlocked, the person who unlocks it will request 30% of the total. Please bear that in mind."

"I understand that." Yi Zheng nodded.

"By the way, I took twelve of the God Crashers with me. I'll give them to you first." Lin Huang said, taking all twelve of the God Crashers out.

"One is enough for me. I don't need it actually." Leng Yuexin only took one of them.

"I only need one as well since it's just for my collection. There's no need to take two." Li Lang took one as well.

"I'll take two then. I'll give one of them to my father. People from the military like this." Yi Zheng took two God Crashers.

"I'll take two of them as well!" Yi Yeyu stared at Yi Zheng, "You give it to daddy, I'll give it to grandfather!"

Lin Huang had no choice but to put the remaining six God Crashers in his storage.

"Why are you guys giving half of them to me?" Lin Huang was speechless but he could roughly guess why Yi Zheng and the rest did that.

"It'll be useful when you go to the core zone. It means nothing to us and it should be given to people who need it more than us. Otherwise, it'll be a waste." Yi Zheng patted Lin Huang's shoulder again.

"None of the auction houses will accept the God Crasher and it's illegal to sell them at the black market. The Union Government will investigate it. My brother doesn't have the guts to sell it." Yi Yeyu said.

"I understand it." Lin Huang knew that Yi Yeyu was just trying to make him feel better.

"You must accomplish something at the core zone for the reputation of Division 7!" Li Lang patted Lin Huang's shoulder. "Next time, if I happen to visit the core zone, I'll brag about you to the others and say, Lin Huang is my brother!"

"Lin Huang, all the best to you!" Yi Yeyu clenched her small fists.

"I hope we get the chance to meet again in the core zone." Yi Zheng did not say any other thing.

"It's dangerous at the core zone, be careful." Leng Yuexin said seriously.

"I'll remember that." Lin Huang nodded, saying goodbye to the rest while waving his hand, "Take care guys. I hope to see you guys again!"

Seeing the dimensional relic send them away, Lin Huang rubbed Boody's head and said, "It's time to for us to leave as well."

After summoning his Black Ink and when he was about to enter, a notification suddenly arrived.

Lin Huang then tapped open the communication page. Apart from a few of the missed calls he received, there were more than ten incoming messages.

The message that he just received was from Liu Ming. Lin Huang read it.

"Please get back to me as soon as possible when you read this message!"

Lin Huang did not pay much attention to it as it was just a simple message. However, his facial expression changed as soon as he closed the communication page. The reason behind this was because Liu Ming had sent 25 to 26 messages like this over the past month. He sent him a message like that almost every day.

Chapter 609: Mr. Fu's Identity

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Liu Ming must not be joking as he had sent him so many messages. Lin Huang immediately called him back.

The video call was answered after it rang once.

"Brother Liu, are you looking for me?" On the screen, Liu Ming looked distraught.

"I've been looking for you for a month. Finally, I got in touch with you." Lin Huang was curious as to why Liu Ming was looking for him. "Just as I opened the communication page, I saw more than 20 messages from you. What happened?"

"Go home first. I'll talk to you face to face." Liu Ming did not say what had happened.

"Okay, I'll send you the address."

"I have your address. You don't need to send it to me. I still have some work to do. I'll be there in about three minutes." Liu Ming hung up the call straight away.

As he closed the communication page, Lin Huang immediately pushed against the dimensional relic, stepping into it.

As he returned home at the Winter City, Lin Xin was not home. The doors and the windows were closed and the house was clean and tidy. She had started school half a month ago at the Martial Hunter College. She must have gone back to the White Capital.

After changing his clothes in his room, Lin Huang heard a knock on the door. He immediately ran down the stairs to open the door.

Liu Ming was standing at the door, wearing a grey wind coat. He looked more distraught than he was in the video call.

As Liu Ming went into his house and sat on the sofa, Lin Huang went to the kitchen. He wanted to brew a cup of tea for Liu Ming. However, he realized that there was no hot water at home. Lin Huang then made him a glass of fruit juice.

"Brother, why are you looking for me?"

Liu Ming took over the glass of fruit juice and simply put it on the tea table. He nodded his head at Lin Huang and said, "Sit down first."

Lin Huan then sat on the comfy chair. Looking at the serious expression on Liu Ming's face, he knew that something serious must have happened.

"It's about Mr. Fu." After finishing his words, he stared at the tea table and remained quiet for a while, organizing his thoughts before proceeding.

'Something happened to him?' Lin Huang was shocked. However, he did not ask that, patiently waiting for Liu Ming to continue with his thoughts.

"I wanted to tell this to you face to face because it might involve some of the top management from the Union Government. Our conversation might be tracked if we communicated through the Emperor's Heart Ring." Liu Ming told him the reason that he wanted to meet him.

Lin Huang nodded and did not interrupt him.

"At the end of the year, Mr. Fu visited one of the ruins and he came back last month. He could not get to you when he came back so he asked me to get in touch with you as soon as possible and bring you to him." Liu Ming explained.

"What's wrong with him?" Lin Huang asked.

"He's injured but his life is not at risk." Despite saying that, Liu Ming did not stop worrying.

"That's great…" Lin Huang felt relieved, "So should we go now?"

"I'll bring you there later. However, I have something else to tell you before that." Liu Ming paused for a moment and proceeded, "Although you're Mr. Fu's true apprentice, I guess that you don't have a good understanding of him. Perhaps he won't tell you about his past but let me do it for him.

Lin Huang nodded his head, patiently waiting for Liu Ming to proceed.

"We're not from the same generation. Mr. Fu is born in ancient times. Not only did he participate in the war due to the opening of the Virtual Eye that happened more than 800 years ago, he's also one of three commanders in the human world. He's also one of the three Virtual Gods that's still alive…"

Lin Huang was stunned. He actually wondered if Mr. Fu was a demigod. However, he never expected Mr. Fu to be the Virtual God.

"Despite the fact that monsters had been sealed, humans suffered greatly in the war that happened 800 years ago. Mr. Fu was severely injured and his Godhead was damaged. The other two Virtual Gods died and half of those on the demigod-level were either injured or dead as well. The human race has indeed suffered a major loss."

"Although the monster hordes have subsided and the Virtual Eyes have closed, the world we now know has become the ruins. Mr. Fu and humans that survived were forced to establish the Union Government. They then gathered all the residents that were still alive and built the No.0 Safe Zone which is now so-called the Land of Origin."

"They recuperated at the Land of Origin for decades before humans were able to have a stable life after the war. They slowly expanded after hundreds of years, constructing the safe zones one by one. That's how we came to have the three core zones with the other safe zones."

"Mr. Fu was the first president of the Union Government in the new era. He took up the position for more than 50 years right until the Land of Origin became prosperous. He then offered the position to the second president. This is also the reason why many of the organizations respected Mr. Fu, including those from the underworld. Not only are they afraid of Mr. Fu's abilities, they also know that without Mr. Fu, the human race might've gone extinct 800 years ago."

Lin Huang was shocked when he heard this. He had never expected that would be Mr. Fu's actual identity and status. He finally understood why Liu Ming, Teacher Li and the rest of them from the Hunter Association would become Mr. Fu's biggest fans.

"You mentioned that his injury might be related to some of the top management from the Union Government. What's that about, then?" Lin Huang asked.

"The ruins that Mr. Fu went into were the place where the war happened 800 years ago. It's also the place where the monster is sealed. He went to the ruins previously because the Union Government informed him that the seal has loosened and they requested him to reseal the monster."

"However, as he entered the ruins, Mr. Fu realized that the seal has obviously been broken by someone else. Fortunately, the monster was not completely unsealed. After that, he only managed to seal it with a great amount of effort. Once the seal on the monster was complete, a few demigods clad in black robes took the opportunity to attack Mr. Fu as a large portion of his Life Power has already been drained."

"After a fierce fight, Mr. Fu managed to escape from the ruins. He went to look for the keeper of the ruin key and discovered that the demigod who's the keeper of the key has gone missing. He was angry and looked for the president of the Union Government. However, after the investigation, they came up with a conclusion, saying that nobody has actually informed Mr. Fu that something was amiss with the ruins. They even told him that the keeper of the ruin key was on leave a week ago as the keeper was going into one of the ruins. Nobody could find him in a short period of time."

"Mr. Fu suspected that there's a spy from the Union Government who's at the senior executive level. There has to be one of them who masterminded the attack and even covered the truth."

"He's now injured and dares not reveal his location. Therefore, he asked me to contact you. Not many know about the relationship between us both. He secretly came to my house that day and nobody even knew."

"I understand. Bring me to his house." After listening to what Liu Ming said, Lin Huang did not want any further delays as he nodded his head.

Chapter 610: Three Years to Live

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The place where Mr. Fu was hiding in was a forbidden land called the Peaceful Ocean.

It was the largest ocean in the war, with an area that covered eight out of the twelve safe zones. Division 7 was one of them.

Aside from that, the opening of the first Virtual Eye that happened 800 years ago was in the sky above the Peaceful Ocean.

The danger level of the ocean was ranked third on the world's forbidden land board. Not only were there a large number of imperial-level monsters in the ocean, even those who were on the demigod level were present there.

As Lin Huang and Liu Ming stepped into the dimensional portal, Lin Huang regained his senses as they appeared on a ship.

As usual, Mr. Fu was fishing leisurely at the edge of the ship.

"Sir." Lin Huang gradually walked towards him.

"My good apprentice, you're here." Mr. Fu smiled, squinting his eyes. He then turned his head around to look at Liu Ming to say, "Thank you. Stay here for dinner tonight."

"Sure." Liu Ming nodded his head respectfully. He did not want to interrupt the conversation between them so he turned around and left for the cabin of the ship.

"Sir, are you okay?" Lin Huang was worried. After knowing Mr. Fu's identity and achievements, his respect for the elder grew.

"They're just some minor injuries. I'm fine." Mr. Fu waved his hand and patted the deck, "Have a seat. I'll get you a big fish."

"Do you still have another fishing rod?" Lin Huang sat with his legs crossed and asked with a smile.

"Yes, I do but this place is not for you. You're my only apprentice. I don't want you to be eaten by the fish." Mr. Fu smiled, shaking his head.

Lin Huang then recalled that he was at the Peaceful Ocean. All the regions in the Peaceful Ocean in Division 7 were classified as forbidden land as imperial-level monsters were present there. It was indeed not suitable those on the holy fire-level like him to fish there.

"You just wait for the food to be served today." Mr. Fu then noticed Lin Huang feeling embarrassed so he said, "We haven't met each other for a long time, let's have a chat."

"Alright." Lin Huang nodded.

"I heard it from Xiao Liu that you've resigned from your job at the Martial Hunter College a year ago?" Mr. Fu asked.

"Yes, I did. I've read most of the resources available in the library. I've even downloaded the reading materials that I haven't read before I left." Lin Huang nodded his head. "It's difficult for me to look for a Life Fire monster in Division 7. Therefore, I've already made plans to go to Division 3 by the end of March or sometime at the beginning of April after I'm done with things in Division 7."

"Great minds think alike. The main reason why I asked you to work as a teacher at the Martial Hunter College is to hope that you can gain some experience there. You've been leveling-up too quickly and that's why you'll be less experienced than those from royalty. You've been doing pretty good over the first half-year. I've been watching the videos of your lectures. I can see that in order to give a good lecture, you've been exploring different areas. In certain areas, you even have your own understanding of the subject matter. There's indeed no longer a need for you to stay in the Martial Hunter College as you've achieved your goal of being a teacher."

"The plan I previously had for you was to be a teacher for one semester. I'd then send you to Division 3. However, I didn't think about the issue regarding the Life Fire monster. I feel that nobody in Division 7 who's in your generation that can go against you. You'll meet many young geniuses in the core zone. By then, you' might be even more motivated to train."

"I've planned it out for you earlier. I'd send you to Division 3 as my apprentice, and the people over there will take care of you. However, it seems like all this is unnecessary now. You'll have to disguise yourself if you're going to the core zone. You've to change into an identity that has got nothing to do with me as well." Mr. Fu said with an apologetic look.

"Does it have to do with the people in the black robes who attacked you?" Lin Huang knew that Mr. Fu did not want him to get involved in that issue.

"Xiao Liu has told you about that?" Mr. Fu frowned as he asked. He was not surprised though.

"Yes." Lin Huang nodded his head. He briefly told him what they had talked about earlier. "Do you have any clues regarding who the demigod in black robes are?"

"No, I don't for now but one thing I can confirm is that there must be a spy in the Union Government. Otherwise, they won't be able to set a trap for me." Mr. Fu frowned and said, "Since they have the guts to provoke me, you won't be safe as well. Therefore, if you're going to the core zone, you have to fake an identity which has nothing to do with me."

"Regarding the incident that you've been attacked, the Union Government found nothing from their investigation?" Lin Huang asked again.

"It has been a month but yet they have no clues regarding the matter. This is also the reason why I can confirm that the people who attacked me must be connected to the Union Government. Somebody has interfered with the result of the investigation." Mr. Fu was helpless.

"Could they be your enemies?" Aside from seeking revenge on him, Lin Huang could not think of any other motives. Supposedly, Mr. Fu no longer held the public's attention. He no longer has a beneficial relationship with anyone else. Lin Huang could not think of a better reason other than them wanting to take revenge on Mr. Fu.

"Most of my enemies have died 800 years ago. Newer enemies would only backstab me." Mr. Fu knew that Lin Huang was trying to identify the reason why Mr. Fu's enemy would attack him. "There are indeed many of them who wanted to kill me but that's not because of hatred."

"Many of them want to kill me because I'm the last Virtual God in the world. Despite the fact that my Godhead has been broken, I'm still a genuine Virtual God." Mr. Fu said as he lifted his head and stared at one of the clouds in the sky, "They wanted to know how to become a Virtual God and that's why, they attempted to kill me. My dead body means a lot to many of the organizations and people. It's an extremely important research material."

Lin Huang kept quiet as he heard that. He suddenly recalled the character, Xuanzang in the story of the Journey to the West. All the monsters wanted to eat Xuanzang's meat. It was not because he had done something wrong but it was because the monsters desire longevity. The desire could only be fulfilled by eating Xuanzang's meat. For this case, Mr. Fu was like Xuanzang. The people attacked him to satisfy one simple yet selfish desire — to become a Virtual God.

"Why did they choose to act now?" Another question flashed through Lin Huang's mind. Mr. Fu had never encountered a problem like that over the past 800 years. Lin Huang wondered why he was attacked at this juncture in time.

When he heard the question from Lin Huang, Mr. Fu remained silent for a long while. After two to three minutes, he then turned his head around, looked at Lin Huang and said disappointingly, "It's because… I have only three years to live."

Lin Huang was stunned when he heard Mr. Fu's reply. He was immersed in his thoughts for a long while.

"My Godhead was broken during the battle that happened more than 800 years ago and I was severely injured. It's not easy for me to live until this very day. It's actually not a secret as many of them know that I'm going to die soon, so most of them are waiting for that day to come. The reason they attempted to trap me this time was probably because they're afraid that they won't be able to get to my dead body after I've passed on. They might also choose to kill me before that happens due to some other reasons."

"I'm sure that the incident of those people attacking me has something to do with the Union Government. It can't be kept secret from the public eye. Once they spread the news to the public, many of them will have the desire to do so. The people do understand that a strong tiger won't be able to defeat its enemies in an outnumbered fight, let alone a strong tiger that's about to die."

"Sir…" Lin Huang had no idea what he should say to comfort Mr. Fu so he secretly contacted Xiao Hei through his mind.

"Xiao Hei, are there any cards that can be used to repair Mr. Fu's Godhead?"

"No. Due to the restriction placed on your authorization, all the Function Cards will only work on the second level creatures. Any creature that possesses a Godhead belongs to third level creatures. These creatures are of higher level than the second level creatures."

Lin Huang was helpless when he got Xiao Hei's opinion. After keeping quiet for a moment, he suddenly thought of the items he had that might be able to help Mr. Fu. He immediately took them out.

"Sir, please take the God Crashers with you. If you're attacked by the demigods, these weapons might be able to save you some energy." Lin Huang took out five of the six God Crashers, reserving one for himself for emergency use.

"I don't need the God Crashers." Mr. Fu smiled, shaking his head. "Thank you for your concern. However, these weapons aren't effective on the demigods. It can only slow them down but it can do no harm to them."

Mr. Fu caught a glimpse of the God Crashers that Lin Huang took out as he said. He was startled, "Is this the third generation God Crasher? Where did you get it?"

"It's one of the items that I got it from the ruins." Lin Huang explained.

"What kind of ruins was that?" Mr. Fu asked curiously.

Lin Huang hesitated for a moment and decided to tell him everything that happened in the grade-5 ruins.

Mr. Fu remained silent for a long while as he heard that. He then said, "I didn't know that the ruin key of the war ruins would have been taken by the Saint members…"

"The war ruins?"

"The war that happened 800 years ago broke the ground into pieces. It was not the protoss who caused this to happen. It was caused by one of the servants of the protoss and a few of his subordinates. We ended up not being able to kill them as they had the blood of the True God in their body. We could only seal them."

"A few of the Virtual God and I sealed the subordinates in one of the spiritual volcanos. The volcano now belongs to Division 3."

"As for the servant who's the strongest among them, I chopped his head, limbs, and chest into six parts. They were sealed in six different battlegrounds. Soon after, a few of the demigods who possessed good dimensional skills and I joined to make six of the battlegrounds into the ruins."

"The ruins that you've been to must be one of the ones where his limbs were sealed in. The Union Government has lost two pairs of keys through all these years. One of them was the one where his left arm was sealed while the other was the ruins where his right leg was sealed. The ruins where I was trapped was the one where the servant's most powerful part was sealed. Because his Godhead could be found in his chest, so it took me a great amount of effort to reseal it."

Listening to what Mr. Fu said, Lin Huang finally knew whose arm was sealed by his Seal Card.