Chapter 46
“Th-That’s all I know… I swear, ancestor…”
With his arms bound in fishing lines, and his face swollen to the point of beyond recognition, Chen Lan, who had finished giving away everything that he knew, looks to Long Hua—with evident dread in his eyes.
“…”
“Hmm.”
Attempting to organize their thoughts, Long Hua and Yu Ji contemplate in silence.
According to Chen Lan, the interior structure of the Ashen River Hall is divided into five ranks.
The first is just an ordinary member, who is mainly in charge of logistics and odd jobs.
The second are the inner members, who are made to fight Immortals, and perform hunting and gathering tasks throughout the lands of the inner domain.
The third are core members, the ranks that Shao Tianming and Wang Yongning are a part of. These individuals are the ones who have been sent over to the outer domain to oversee the different branches of the hall in this world.
The fourth are the executives of the hall, who are charged with maintaining order and making important decisions.
Finally, there is the hall master, who has the final say in all major decisions.
Other than that, Long Hua, and Yu Ji had both acquired more information on the inner domain’s land itself.
The lands of the inner domain are divided into five levels as well, and throughout its four seasons, the world is always filled with snow and ice—making it a world that is difficult to survive in; hence, hunting and gathering of wildlife had become a necessity for human civilization to thrive.
That is why—Sinners are looked upon with a higher amount of respect in the inner domain, because they are the main forces that keep their civilization functioning, whereas the ordinary are no better than trash.
(A world that is always basked in the winds of winter, where the closer one is to the center—that is occupied by a pillar of golden flames that pierces into the heavens, the warmer the temperature becomes… Yeah, sounds like a very different world from where we are.)
As Yu Ji thought of this, Long Hua thought—
(Just as Lao Bai had said, that rift—that lets them into the outer domain, it isn’t able to be used to send them back, since it’s gotten pitifully small.)
This is the main thing that Long Hua had wanted confirmation on, as he couldn’t trust Bai Wen’s words fully.
(This surnamed Chen is only an inner member of the hall. If I wanted to know more, I’d need to pry open the mouth of either that surnamed Shao, or this surnamed Wang. Still, so long as their objectives in the outer domain don’t involve me, it’s not my concern.)
Finished smoking the spirit herb cigar, Long Hua flings it to the side before standing back up.
Mustering up his courage, Chen Lan asks—
“An-Ancestor, just who are you really?”
“Hm?”
Perking up her ears, Yu Ji is just as curious about Long Hua’s identity, to which, the latter replies—
“Who I am is none of your business, little descendant, Xiao Chen Chen.”
“X-Xiao Chen Chen…?”
“Chen Chen…?”
Addressed with such a humiliating nickname—that befits a dog more than a person, both Chen Lan and Yu Ji’s mouths twitched.
Shrugging his shoulders, Long Hua picks up his bag, and continues on his way—with Tian Cheng being the first to follow suit.
Exchanging a look between themselves, Yu Ji and Chen Lan go after the two.
Without turning his head back, Long Hua asks—
“In any case, this surnamed Shao and this surnamed Wang, they agreed to designate this ruin as a grade five, correct?”
“That’s what they said before we got swept away by that pillar.”
“What are their plans after finding a teleportation magic array?”
Making an attempt to shrug his shoulders with his arms still bound, Chen Lan replies—
“They’ll probably take a look at the inner area, then bail out. Considering how many people must have died during the pillar incident, we simply don’t have enough people to go any further.”
Blinking her eyes, Yu Ji asks—
“Chen Lan, you mentioned how the people of your world would use these ruins as training grounds to better hone their skills, what exactly did you mean by that?”
Towards Yu Ji’s question, Chen Lan can’t help but tilt his head, and asks—
“Have you not seen other Sinners use Partial-Apotheosis?”
“Partial-Apotheosis?”
“It’s a state that Sinners are able to achieve once they reach Hazard Level 1,800.”
“…”
Searching through several confidential files under the two keywords, Tian Cheng answers—
“Partial-Apotheosis is only seen on the frontlines. Under this state, the Sinner is covered in armor—that greatly enhances their combat capabilities.”
Nodding his head, Chen Lan replies—
“Nicely said, young lady. It’s been shown on our side—that prolonged exposure to danger can aid a Sinner to greatly increase their Hazard Level.”
“But having to deal with the risks of Apotheosis is a bit…”
“Yu Ji, our world isn’t as peaceful as yours. We do whatever we can to survive, as for the risks—that’s something that we just need to live with.”
Listening in on this conversation, Long Hua thought—
(Partial-Apotheosis, I was just thinking that Sinners cannot possibly be worth much in a fight against Immortals, but it turns out there’s something like this? I guess without going to the frontlines at least once, it would be impossible for me to gauge the full strength of this world?)
Chapter 47
“Ai, how long is this tunnel going to go on for?”
Having walked in a straight for well over an hour now, Yu Ji can’t help but sigh.
The only bit of relief to be felt by the entire group is that the feel of the wind has gotten stronger, which translates to them being closer to an open area.
“Xiao Chen Chen, how far did your group get—in mapping out the desert?”
“Reporting to ancestor, not very far. Personally, I don’t think it even matters at this point…”
“…Found any buildings?”
“None, not even a cactus…”
Hearing this, Long Hua frowns, and asks—
“In your group’s experience is this ruin normal?”
Thinking for a bit, Chen Lan answers—
“Not at all.”
“I don’t know if I should be relieved, or worried with that answer…”
Agreeing with Yu Ji’s remark, Long Hua’s frown deepens, as he asks—
“What’s considered unusual about this ruin—according to your group’s past experience?”
“Just about everything. Excavation procedures—under normal circumstances would be to map the entire place out, and if we find the inner area before that, we’d let scouts head in first to see the situation. From there, we would make plans, and organize a specialized group. Normally, death counts only begin to rise at an exponential rate upon reaching the inner area, or the core area. However, in this situation, it’s as if the entire ruin was designed right from the get-go to eliminate as many people as possible.”
Taking this information in, Long Hua goes on to ask—
“…Is it guaranteed that there would be Immortal tech, or other such treasures to be found at the end of a ruin?”
Realizing what Long Hua might be implying, Chen Lan asks—
“…Ancestor means to say, this ruin is never meant to be excavated, but is instead used to seal something away?”
“Has there been a precedent?”
Shaking his head, Chen Lan, with a tone of uncertainty, answers—
“…Not that I would know of. The people who go beyond the core area are the executives and their chosen few.”
“Has that surnamed Shao ever been past those core areas?”
“That’s-”
“We’re out, Long-shao.”
Simultaneously, everyone faces forward, and upon seeing an open area up ahead, they immediately begin to run towards it.
Emerging out of the tunnel, Long Hua sees a round area surrounded by a ring of flowing waters. And on the opposite side of where they are is another tunnel.
“Is this…?”
“An arena of some kind?”
Hanging above the ceiling of this arena is a cluster of crystals. The white radiance that emanates from these crystals serves to keep the arena brightly lit.
“Oh? Seems like we’re not the first ones here.”
On the opposite tunnel, four figures emerge.
Aside from the two that he doesn’t recognize, the other two are Shao Tianming and Li Zi Xiang.
“Hm? That guy in the fishing lines…?”
“Chen… Lan?”
Seeing Chen Lan, whose face is beyond recognition, both Shao Tianming and Li Zi Xiang are somewhat speechless. If it wasn’t for the clothes that Chen Lan is wearing, they definitely wouldn’t be able to recognize him.
“Boss! Big sis Zi Xiang!”
Being able to meet up with his allies, Chen Lan’s eyes moistened with tears.
Turning towards Long Hua, Shao Tianming says—
“Enemies meet on a narrow road, as they say.”
“Is that so?”
Taking out a kitchen knife, Long Hua presses it to Chen Lan’s neck.
“Surnamed Long, you dar-?”
Before Li Zi Xiang can ask, Long Hua cuts her off by pressing the knife closer to Chen Lan’s neck—causing fresh blood to flow.
“I do dare.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Answering as such, Long Hua takes off his sunglasses, while Shao Tianming says—
“Surnamed Long, give it up. You’re completely outnumbered.”
“You only have one additional person; I wouldn’t be too certain of the outcome if we fought.”
“…”
Silently, Shao Tianming summons out his Relic—which takes on the form of a halberd with two crescent blades attached to its spearhead. The entirety of the weapon seems to be seven feet in length.
Similarly, Li Zi Xiang does the same. Her Relic is a black chain whip with thorn like spikes on each link.
Taking one step forward, Yu Ji draws out her bow and quiver, whereas knives attached to threads fall out of Tian Cheng’s sleeves.
Reading the mood, the other two Sinners on Shao Tianming’s side draw out their Relics as well. One of them is a sword and the other is a blade.
“…”
Likely to be the first one to die, Chen Lan can’t help but sweat as he says—
“Umm… Everyone, we can talk things out peacefully, can’t we?”
Just as Shao Tianming and the others bend their legs in preparation to charge—
*Kakaka!* the sound of something cracking comes from the ceiling of the arena.
Momentarily, shards of crystal rain down from above, and in response to this, both sides chose to leap backwards.
“Uh?”
Raising her head, Yu Ji sees the crystal shards that have landed expanding in volume, and within the blink of an eye, it takes on a humanoid form.
“A crystal golem?”
Recognizing this humanoid to be a golem, Shao Tianming frowns.
As more crystal golems appear, their number quickly reaches twenty, with more to come.
Chapter 48
“An-Ancestor, I beg of you, cut these lines off!”
Seeing the alarming number of crystal golems, Chen Lan looks at Long Hua with pleading eyes, while Shao Tianming says—
“Surnamed Long, let’s call for a temporary truce.”
“Ai…”
Raising a sigh, Long Hua shrouds the kitchen knife in sword Qi, and severs the bindings on Chen Lan.
As Chen Lan summons his Relic as well, Long Hua ties his fishing line around the kitchen knife’s handle without a hint of being rushed.
As soon as the kitchen knife is secured, a crystal golem approaches him, and towards it, Long Hua swings the fishing rod.
*Klang!* in an effortless manner, the kitchen knife—that is cast outwards, slices through the crystal golem’s body like butter.
In the same instance, another crystal golem charges towards Long Hua from behind him, but just as it is about to swing its fist, Tian Cheng casts her knives outwards, and pierces through its body from behind.
With her knives acting as hooks, Tian Cheng swings the crystal golem around like a wrecking ball, and smashes it onto a group—causing shards to fly.
“…”
Narrowing his eyes, Long Hua extends the fishing rod fully, and in a single swing, he divides the body of the crystal golems in front of him.
(Surnamed Long doesn’t seem to be joking when he said that—that fishing rod is an Immortal’s magic treasure… Lady Cheng, also seems quite capable.)
Firing off a few blast arrows, Yu Ji occasionally glances at Long Hua and Tian Cheng, who are dispatching everything that comes near them with ease.
(That guy, he isn’t even using his Relic…?)
Noticing this, the thought of the fishing rod being Long Hua’s actual Relic crosses Shao Tianming’s mind. But the idea feels far too ridiculous to be true.
Slicing and smashing apart the crystal golems that are being generated by the falling shards, the group continues to fight for another ten minutes, and as the enemy numbers begin to show a sign of dwindling—
(The crystal over our heads has become smaller in size.)
Glancing at the shrinking crystal, Li Zi Xiang turns her attention towards Long Hua.
As ridiculous as this might sound, the strength that Long Hua had been able to demonstrate—with a mere fishing rod, isn’t something that could be underestimated.
With that being the case, the words that he had said previously—about it being uncertain as to who would come out on top in a genuine fight between their parties, must be reconsidered.
“…”
“Uh…”
Being stared at by Long Hua’s azure-colored eyes, Li Zi Xiang, who had been thinking of going for a surprise attack, flinches.
“Forget it. I was thinking the same a moment ago.”
Appearing by Li Zi Xiang’s side, and splitting a crystal golem apart, Shao Tianming smiles with a hint of bitterness.
*Guuuuuu!!!!!* the moment another crystal golem is cut down by Chen Lan, the ground they’re on trembles.
“What now?”
“Don’t tell me, it’s more piranhas?”
“…”
“…”
Simultaneously, Long Hua and Tian Cheng turn their attention towards the far edge of this round platform—that is rising upwards at an angle.
As Long Hua casts his line out, and ends up stabbing the kitchen knife into the platform, Tian Cheng retracts her knives, and wraps her arms around the former’s neck from behind.
Following the two’s preparations—
*Fwoop!* the entirety of the platform tilts abruptly by 60 degrees—causing everyone to lose their footing.
“Shit!”
Try as he might to stab his halberd into the platform, the platform itself is already out of his reach—causing Shao Tianming to curse aloud.
Looking towards Long Hua’s direction, Shao Tianming shouts—
“Surnamed Long, say something if you noticed this stuff!”
As the platform continues to flip, it becomes clear that both Long Hua and Tian Cheng had noticed the platform’s oddity ahead of time.
Towards Shao Tianming’s words, Long Hua raises his middle finger, and replies—
“And why would I help an enemy out?”
“Surnamed Long, you bastard!”
Free-falling downwards through a tunnel of bricks, Yu Ji curses aloud at Long Hua, to which, the latter shouts—
“Surnamed Yu, you have the protection of a divinity; you’ll be fine!”
“Bullshit!”
As the others fall out of sight, and with the platform having completed its flip, Long Hua and Tian Cheng are left to dangle in the air.
“What shall we do now, master?”
“For now… Let’s just head down slowly.”
Fueling spirit Qi into the fishing line, Long Hua causes it to grow in length, while remarking—
“Honestly, I was thinking this fishing rod to be just a joke when I first decided to use it as a weapon. But… Surprisingly, it’s a god tier tool in this ruin.”
(If you like my goods, be sure to leave a five-star review, and spend more resources on my gacha system.)
Towards these words—spoken by the Tai Xuan Emperor, Long Hua clicks his tongue.
Chapter 49
As Long Hua and Tian Cheng descend at a slow rate—
“Hm?”
Seeing a tunnel entrance to the right, Long Hua pauses their descent, while Tian Cheng says—
“No doubt the others have fallen to the very bottom, they couldn’t have been able to take this route.”
Agreeing with Tian Cheng, Long Hua thought for a moment before swinging them towards the tunnel entrance.
Swaying back-to-back like a pendulum, Long Hua and Tian Cheng eventually landed their feet smoothly onto the edge of the tunnel.
“We’re taking this route, then, master?”
“Yeah.”
Severing the fishing line, Long Hua faces forward.
“Hmm.”
*Pah.* snapping his fingers, the clothes on him changes.
“Feels like it’s been a while since I’ve worn these.”
Layering over a black-out attire—that covers him from head to toe, is a honeycomb-patterned black robe with wide sleeves. Further modifications have been made to the full-faced helmet through Tai Xuan, resulting in it having six red eyes and twin horns that jut upwards.
Assuming that they will now be using everything at their disposal to face whatever dangers there are, the Tai Xuan Emperor changes her vessel’s attire as well.
Due to her vessel being a combat body, the swapping of attires doesn’t take long—as the maid attire simply breaks down into liquid metal, and reforms into a similar set of honeycomb-patterned black robes with the same helmet as Long Hua.
Simultaneously, Kun appears in Tian Cheng’s hand.
“Let’s go then.”
Resting his grip on Bai Zhe—that is sheathed inside of his belt, Long Hua speaks through a voice-changer.
………
As golden radiance dissipates from Yu Ji’s body, her eyes twitch in response to the subtle bit of pain that is coming from every part of her.
“Damn that surnamed Long…”
Sitting up with a bit of struggle, Yu Ji is surprised to feel that nothing had been broken, but—
(…I should have had every bone in my body shattered from this fall. Was what surnamed Long said—about there being a divinity protecting me, true?)
“Ach…”
Hearing someone else’s grunt of pain, Yu Ji turns her attention towards the source—which turns out to be Shao Tianming.
“Surnamed Long, screw you to hell…”
Muttering this, a ripped-up talisman peels off Shao Tianming’s body, as he sits up.
“Ugh…”
Waking up as well, Li Zi Xiang presses a hand to her head.
“I’m… Alive?”
With a voice that seems incredibly moved, Chen Lan also wakes up. Beneath him were two bodies that had all the bones beneath their flesh shattered.
“How many shield talismans do you all have left?”
Asking this, Shao Tianming rises to a stand.
“This was my last one, boss…”
Ripping the used-up shield talisman off, Chen Lan answers as such.
“I got two more.”
Saying this, Li Zi Xiang turns to Yu Ji with a complicated look on her face.
“Ai, Chen Lan, take this.”
As Shao Tianming tosses a talisman over, Chen Lan catches it, and in the same instance, the two turn their attention towards Yu Ji.
With an uncomfortable frown on her face, Yu Ji says—
“I’m warning all of you, don’t come near me.”
Shaking his head, Shao Tianming shrugs his shoulders, and replies—
“Relax, we won’t do anything.”
As everyone stands back up, the group faces forward.
“Another tunnel…”
Seeing the same tunnel as before, Yu Ji couldn’t help but sigh, while Chen Lan says—
“Ah boss, anc-… S-Surnamed Long asked, if there’s been a precedent—where a ruin is revealed to be… Not the sort that is meant to be excavated?”
Towards this question, Shao Tianming’s expression turns solemn. Scratching his head, he raises a sigh, and answers—
“Zi Xiang, Chen Lan, there are ruins out there that have been designated as forbidden. The reason for this is because… They’re meant to seal something, or at least that’s what scholars seem to think.”
Pressing her brows together, Li Zi Xiang asks—
“And this ruin is one of them?”
“Hard to say for certain, but with how everything in here seems to be designed to kill as many people as possible, it’s likely. A normal ruin is designed to be a learning experience with the risk of death, but this one… Feels like a death trap through and through.”
“You people… Have hidden quite a lot—even from your own.”
Several reasons for this appear in Yu Ji’s head, but she nevertheless felt the need to voice these words aloud, to which, Shao Tianming replies—
“Some things are hidden from even our own—for good reason. As for hiding even more from the people of this world… Well, you don’t honestly expect us to play along nicely—with a civilization that is so different from our own, right? If our main forces were able to come into this world, I can say for certain that we’d be able to plunder most of the ruins in this world clean. If your world isn’t able to clear out the resources ahead of that, then tough luck, and get ready for a complete civilization reform. Still, since you’re a Sinner, you won’t be treated too badly.”
Towards Shao Tianming’s words, Yu Ji frowns, and asks—
“And if a Sinner isn’t willing, or able to contribute?”
“…Then they’re better off dead.”
“…”
Thinking of Li, her little sister—when Shao Tianming had said those words, the frown on Yu Ji’s face deepens.
“Ai, in any case, chin up for now. Let’s just set our grudges aside, and move on. The sooner we get out of this hellhole, the better it is for all of us.”
Chapter 50
“Hmm. At least I’m not made to walk for as long as I did the first time.”
Emerging out of the tunnel, Long Hua and Tian Cheng arrive at the site of an abandoned city.
Much of the buildings in this city possesses a frame made from white stone—with panels of glass filling in the voids.
If one could restore the entirety of the city back to its original glory, it might have been a captivating sight to overlook from where Long Hua and Tian Cheng currently are, but in the present, most of these structures are damaged, and covered in molds.
And judging by the designs of these buildings, whatever civilization that was once here had leaned towards a taste that is between futuristic and ancient—something reminiscent of an alien civilization.
“…”
Raising his head, Long Hua looks upward.
Looming over the top of this city is the same crystal cluster that was seen in the arena, but the size of this one makes the first look like a joke.
“This city’s structure… Makes no sense. What kind of place was this in the past?”
Just as Long Hua had asked this, Tian Cheng says—
“Master, behind us.”
“Hm?”
Turning towards the direction that Tian Cheng is pointing at, Long Hua sees a sign posted on top of the tunnel that they had emerged from.
Some of the characters on this sign aren’t recognizable, but the bits that Long Hua does recognize give him a hint on what word, or phrase these characters are supposed to form.
“Exit to the surface?”
Taking in the fact that the tunnel network that they had been in was meant to lead up to the surface—that is a desert, Long Hua is even more confused than before.
Assuming the denizens of this city were supposed to be able to head up to the surface, why was the tunnel made so difficult to navigate through?
“Hmm.”
Thinking the same, Tian Cheng approaches what appears to be a computer terminal made from stone.
Pinned to the wall above this terminal is a shattered screen, and to the right of this terminal is a wide staircase that leads into the city.
“Master, if you will.”
Looking to Long Hua, Tian Cheng gestures to the damaged terminal.
Realizing what she meant, Long Hua walks over to the terminal, and presses a hand onto it, while muttering—
“Tai Xuan.”
Immediately, the shattered screen and terminal are covered in a hue of white light, and upon the light’s dissipation, the two objects in question are restored.
Displayed on the restored screen are—
“…These odd shapes, are they all the different ways that the tunnel can be rearranged?”
“The codes next to these shapes, they seem to be command codes.”
Tilting her head, Tian Cheng enters one of the codes that is written beside the rightmost shape.
*Guuuuuuu!* immediately, the sound of a tremor came from within the tunnel.
Judging by the noise—that is reminiscent of stones rubbing against one another, it’s easy for Long Hua to guess that the entirety of the tunnel network might have just been rearranged in accordance with the command code that Tian Cheng had just entered.
Taking a step away from the terminal, Tian Cheng remarks—
“There’s a high possibility that some misfortunate souls within the tunnel network may have just died.”
“…As the cause of their deaths, you really shouldn’t be saying that.”
Ignoring Long Hua’s reply, Tian Cheng says—
“This could mean that there may have been another functioning terminal somewhere.”
“You mean to say that the platform we were on being flipped wasn’t some sort of accident, and that someone actually hit the command codes to attempt to kill us?”
“Only a guess. Also… Those pillars that master had encountered in the desert, they might have been this civilization’s sole means to reduce the burden that their machinery must go through when rearrangements become necessary.”
“Being top heavy in certain areas makes it difficult for specific gears to move, so they sweep the excessive amount to somewhere else, is that it?”
Nodding her head, Tian Cheng replies—
“There’s also the possibility that the tunnel itself may have been preprogramed to change its arrangements at set intervals. If that is the case, my previous thoughts of there being another functioning terminal can be dismissed.”
“That also means to say that the denizens of this city, they aren’t meant to go outside, and the tunnel itself is meant to be a way… To keep intruders from coming in? Were they trying to keep practitioners out? If so, I don’t see the point of this. A powerful practitioner could easily tear through the sand, and descend from above.”
Agreeing with Long Hua’s analysis of the city’s arrangements, Tian Cheng frowns in thought beneath the helmet.
“Hmm.”
Turning in the direction of the city, Long Hua looks towards one of the buildings that stand out to him greatly.
This building is purposefully slanted at an angle, making it look like a blade that is just jutting out of the earth. And with this building being positioned in the very heart of this city, it might have been considered the most important part of this site.
At the same time, the tip of this blade-like building is pierced into the walls; granting it the possibility of being connected to another area.
“Guess we should head down, and take a look.”
As Long Hua moves down the wide staircase, Tian Cheng follows suit.
The journey downwards wasn’t anything eventful, but upon stepping onto the city streets—
“Hm?”
Constricting his eyes beneath the helmet, Long Hua detects the presence of spirit Qi looming a few hundred meters above his head.
“Up there, is it?”
Looking upwards at the crystal cluster—that is giving off an overwhelming amount of radiance, Long Hua sees a swirling mass of spirit Qi inside its body.
Following this, a magic circle manifests beneath the tip of the crystal cluster—to cover the entirety of the city.
The design of this magic circle consists of numerous clockfaces; and as the needles of these clockfaces turn counterclockwise, the damaged buildings are gradually restored.
“They seem to be welcoming us, master.”
With the restoration of the buildings, humanoid figures began to manifest.
Judging by the design differences of these individuals’ attires, they seem to belong to two different factions.
The first faction is made up of those dressed in different forms of full-body armor, while the second faction is formed of people dressed in archaic robes, the common attire of practitioners.
“Those dressed in armor seem to be Sinners in their Partial-Apotheosis states.”
As soon as Tian Cheng says this, all individuals—regardless of their faction, turn their eyes towards their direction.
Raising a frown, Long Hua mutters—
“Not exactly the sort of welcome I was hoping for.”
Not going to bother counting the number of enemies that there are, Long Hua can already tell that this is far more than what he can hope to handle on his own.