Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 504 Times and Changes

Boom——! !

A dull roar was heard, and a magic core half the size of a human fell heavily to the ground.

So… so strong…

The LV.4 and newly promoted LV.5 adventurers at the entrance were so shocked that they were speechless when they saw the young man in white robe standing in the air with his sword.

"Brother Daoji is really amazing. He solved this guy with just one sword."

Xin Lailai glanced at the prompt information at the edge of her vision, looked at Dao Ji standing in mid-air, and praised with a smile.

"Fellow Daoist Black Sword has already said that if you had not killed all those extra demons and evil spirits along the way, I would not have been able to accumulate this sword with peace of mind."

Dao Ji shook his head slightly and said modestly, while using his magic power to pick up the magic core and materials that had fallen on the ground and sent them to Xin Lailai.

"Just like before, these things are not very useful in my hands, so I'd better give them to Fellow Daoist Black Sword for safekeeping."

"Well, thank you, Brother Daoji."

Upon hearing this, Xin Lailai did not refuse and directly put the dropped items handed over by Dao Ji into the storage space.

Before setting out on the expedition, he specially borrowed two storage tools from Yamu. Now there was plenty of storage space. He and Ling Yuzi were the only two of the four who were proficient in alchemy, so naturally all the materials were kept with them.

"Let's go. We've been traveling for a whole day and night. It's time to rest."

After putting away his things, Xin Lailai looked at the adventurers behind him and spoke.

If you look closely, you will find that compared to when they set out, the conditions of the adventurers behind Xin Lailai have obviously changed a little. Many adventurers' armor has obvious wear and tear and cuts, and there are also obviously fewer people than when they set out.

Just like the information that Xin Lailai sent to the Death Keeper and others before, starting from the 29th floor, some abyss derivatives affected by the breath of the abyss have begun to appear in the maze.

Although these are just ordinary abyss derivatives mutated from ordinary labyrinth monsters, Xin Lailai has already shared the information with Freya's family and other adventurers.

However, the aura of these monsters that have turned into derivatives of the abyss is much more terrifying than that of ordinary monsters. Even with Xin Lailai's reminder, it still cannot change the fact that some LV.4 adventurers make serious mistakes when facing derivatives of the abyss due to lack of willpower, and eventually die in the maze.

——Although this was also because Xin Lailai deliberately concealed some of his tricks and leaked more abyss derivatives.

It's not that he has any special hobbies, but if he doesn't let these adventurers understand and get used to what kind of battle they are facing in advance, after reaching the 39th floor, these adventurers who rushed down with them based on their passion may not only be unable to help them share the pressure, but there is a high probability that they will hold them back because of their lack of firm will.

This approach may sound a bit cruel, but in a place like a dungeon where the slightest negligence can lead to life-and-death crisis, those who cannot adapt quickly are destined to be eliminated.

——Mistakes made by teammates are far more fatal than exceptional performance by the enemy.

Whether it was Xin Lailai, Dao Ji, or Zhisi Zhe, they all understood this truth very well. Therefore, after noticing Xin Lailai's style, they did not object, but acquiesced in it without any prior agreement.

After all, their mission is to rush to the deepest part of the dungeon and kill the source of the anomaly. From the perspective of work distribution, it should be the adventurers who escort them, not them who act as babysitters for the adventurers. Being too kind in such a place will only hurt themselves.

Buzz, rumble—! !

The obsidian gate, which was dozens of meters high, slowly opened, and a wave of heat suddenly gushed out from it, hitting the faces of the adventurers.

Behind the gate, the charred black ground extended all the way to the end of the sight. Dark red magma slowly flowed from the cracks in the earth, becoming the only source of light in this vast space before one’s eyes.

"This is... the 39th floor."

In the square formation, each adventurer showed a different expression as they looked at the scene before them that gave them an inexplicable sense of oppression.

因为在场不少LV.4的冒险者都是靠参与讨伐黑龙积攒的伟业一股脑从LV.3升到LV.4的缘故，在此之前别说第39层了，甚至有不少人连第28层都没见过是什么样子的。

For these adventurers, stepping onto the 39th floor can be said to have directly brought their adventure career in the dungeon to a new milestone.

[Hint: You have entered the safe area of ​​this world, the 39th floor of the dungeon]

After the cold reminder sounded, Xin Lailai and the others walked behind the gate. After looking around, they saw Dao Ji, who had been here twice before, staring at the thick black intent in the distance, and said in a deep voice:

"The situation here has gotten worse than the last time I came here. If it continues like this, I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before this place falls."

Upon hearing this, Xin Lailai and others also showed a solemn look in their eyes.

They had already learned about the situation in the underground city from Dao Ji, who had fought his way back from the 69th floor with Loki's followers.

According to Dao Ji, the dungeon is currently deteriorating at a very fast rate. When he first entered the world of Dicuo, there was no sign of erosion on the 39th floor, and those abyss derivatives only appeared on floors above the 50th floor.

But by the time Dao Ji and Loki's followers came back, the 50th floor was already half-collapsed, and the 39th floor also showed obvious signs of erosion, but it was not very serious.

According to Dao Ji's original plan, it would take at least half a month for the 39th layer to enter a state of severe erosion, but now it has become like this in less than a week. What this means is self-evident.

"It seems that the world will of the Earthly World is suppressing the things in the deepest part of the dungeon, and it is almost reaching its limit."

"I guess so. Tsk, you are really impatient. Can't you wait another ten days or half a month?"

"Perhaps it has sensed something."

"It's possible, but it's not a happy thing."

A brief conversation rang out in the minds of Xin Lailai and the others. This was a team communication function when they were in a team. As long as the range was not too far, they could directly communicate in real time.

"Rest for half a day, then set off immediately."

Xin Lailai glanced at the adventurers who followed behind him and spoke quickly. The few people in charge of the dead nodded slightly, agreeing with Xin Lailai's proposal.

Originally they planned to rest on the 39th floor for a day or two before leaving, but given the current situation, they could only compress the time to half a day.

Otherwise, no one can guarantee that if it is delayed any further, this safe floor will suddenly become a high-risk area that can produce a large number of abyss derivatives. Therefore, the best choice is to take a rest as soon as possible, and then continue to go deeper and deal with the abyss anomaly at the deepest level as quickly as possible.

"Then the camp store will be handed over to you? I and the Death Keeper will go and notify them?"

"Well, I'm sorry to bother you."

After quickly completing the distribution of work tasks, Xin Lailai's mind moved, the scales and feathers on his back spread out, and he rushed out with a bang, flying straight towards the direction of the camp store.

In fact, Dao Ji had already visited the camp stores on the 39th and 28th floors. However, due to his insufficient reputation and limited demand at that time, he ignored the remaining items after exchanging the soul crystals. What he had to do was to take out all the remaining high-value rare materials and make equipment or props that could equip them with strength.

……

……

Meanwhile, the void, somewhere.

"Report, the 19th to 24th divisions have all assembled. Do we need to start the next space transmission immediately?"

In a pitch-black warship that looked full of murderous intent, a soldier in black armor looked at the tall figure in front of him who was a head taller than him, with a bloody word "肆" branded on the armor on his chest and a ferocious mask on his face, and reported in a sonorous voice.

"How are the other legions doing?"

A somewhat indifferent voice came from under the ferocious visor. Upon hearing it, the black-armored soldier said:

"Report, the First, Second, Fifth, and Sixth Legions have all arrived at their designated locations. The Third Legion has been affected by the space storm and is temporarily stuck near the Void Corridor."

"Then let's wait until all the legions are gathered. Is there anything else?"

"Report, there is no news about the army's movement, but two minutes ago, Lord Bai Jue of the Holy Land sent us a message saying that they are preparing to cross the space storm and want to inquire about our marching route to avoid space collisions."

"White Zetsu...oh, it's him? I almost forgot, the front seems to have settled down recently. Tell him that we will take routes 07 to 14, and there will be no problem as long as we avoid these routes."

The tall figure with a ferocious mask heard this, thought for a few seconds, and then spoke to the black-armored soldiers.

"Roger that!"

The black-armored soldier responded, stepped together, saluted, and was about to leave when the white bell on the waist of the masked man suddenly shook violently, and fourteen of the fifteen layers of lines on it lit up instantly.

Jingle Bell--! !

"Hmm? Discovered an unknown powerful person?" A pleasant bell sounded from the battleship's control room, and when the tall man heard the words, a faint light instantly flashed across the eyes under the ferocious mask, and an extremely terrifying sense of oppression rose from his body.

"Please notify the other commanders and tell them that I have encountered an unknown powerful person. Ask them to prepare for support."

The masked man looked at the black-armored soldier beside him, said something indifferently, then raised his right hand and pulled it casually, and the space on his body surface began to distort rapidly.

Om-! !

The next second, a strong spatial fluctuation broke out, and the body of the masked man disappeared on the spot.

When the distorted space in front of the masked man returned to normal, the scene in front of him had changed from the inside of the battleship to an endless dark void.

Next to him were black sword soldiers wearing the same style of black armor, forming a team to guard this area.

"How's the situation?"

The masked man glanced at the soldier beside him and asked.

"Report, Her Excellency the Sister said that she detected the existence of the strongest level of fluctuations in the deep space of this area, but because the distance is too deep, the specific level cannot be confirmed."

Hiding deep in subspace?

The masked man frowned slightly when he heard this.

"Pass the order down, have the 19th and 24th divisions come over and start the space blockade. The rest of the divisions retreat to a safe distance and be ready to evacuate at any time."

"Yes!"

A cold command came from under the visor, and the black-armored soldiers standing beside him immediately began to move. After a while, two dark legions of a thousand men, each emitting a strong murderous aura, quickly appeared on both sides of the visored man. Without any orders, they directly deployed their formations around him, and then shouted in unison:
"town!"

Peng——! !

An extremely powerful blockade force suddenly descended, and the spatial intensity of the surrounding space was instantly enhanced to an extreme, with even faint signs of causing the entire space to solidify directly.

When the masked man saw this scene, he nodded slightly, didn't say anything more, but took a step forward and stretched his arms out in front of him!
Om-! !

In an instant, an extremely violent space fluctuation broke out, and the space in front of the armored man was instantly torn open into a space crack that was thousands of meters long and over a hundred meters wide, revealing a strange subspace full of bizarre scenes.

Immediately afterwards, the armored man took a deep breath, and the whites of his eyes were suddenly covered with darkness. He pointed his hands at the subspace in front of him and tore it apart again.

Buzz, rumble—! !

This time, the entire subspace began to tremble constantly, and the dark space cracks continued to expand, spreading out spider-web-like tiny gaps in this space that was suppressed to the point of being almost solidified.

found it!
Just when the entire space was showing signs of collapse, a faint light flashed through the masked man's pupils, which had turned completely black with only two sparkling scarlet dots. Then he took another step forward and punched towards a certain location in the subspace.

In an instant, a terrifying force erupted, followed by a furious roar:
"Fuck it, who is this bastard who dares to disturb my sweet dreams!!"

boom--! !

At the place where the masked man's fist landed, a huge human face that was tens of thousands of meters wide appeared, suddenly opened its eyes, and roared towards the front.

"Hmm? Wait, where is this? Wasn't I in the Netherworld? How did I get rushed here?"

"Hey, you brat over there, since you are also very strong, tell me what year and month it is now, and where in the world this is? I don't mind you disturbing my sweet dreams."

A self-sealed supreme being?

And this breath...

The masked man looked at the huge face in front of him, frowned slightly, put his hand on his ear, and said:

"Notify the other commanders that they don't need to come over. There is no threat here."

After saying that, he looked at the huge face in front of him and said indifferently:
"It is now the beginning of the Third Epoch, after the second great invasion of the Abyss. This is Void Route 09, used for wartime transportation and dispatch. Our people detected your presence, and because we couldn't tell whether you were an ambusher or something else, I dug you out."

"The Third Epoch? I see. I actually slept for so long? Haha, thank you so much, little brat. Okay, since it's just a misunderstanding, come and help me plug this hole. I'm going to go back to sleep!"

After hearing this, the giant human face muttered a few words and then spoke to the masked man, but this time, the other party just stood there calmly, looking at the giant human face in front of him, with no intention of going over.

"Hey, you don't understand what I'm saying, I'm telling you..."

"How does it feel to use the life energy of other powerful beings as nourishment to sleep and avoid the invasion of the abyss?"

Before the giant human face could react, an indifferent voice suddenly came from the mouth of the man in ground armor. When the giant human face heard the words from the other party, his expression suddenly changed, and then a ferocious look appeared on his face.

"Great, I didn't expect to meet someone who knows what he's doing! In this case, there's nothing we can do!"

Rumble——! !

A deafening grin came from the mouth of the giant human face, and the surrounding space began to tremble continuously. Its body began to grow rapidly, and in the blink of an eye it turned into a terrifying blood-red giant that was thousands of kilometers tall. Its facial features were full of ferocity, and just standing there gave people a huge sense of oppression.

The man in the mask still had no intention of taking action in the face of this scene. He just said indifferently to the communication device beside his ear:

"Your Majesty, the target is about to take action. Do you want to kill him?"

Kill?
The blood-red giant was startled when he heard the man's words, and then a sneer appeared on his ferocious face:
"Haha, hahaha, interesting! After sleeping for so long, has the strongest person of this era lost even this little bit of judgment?"

The blood-red giant sneered. In his perception, the man in front of him posed no threat at all to him, the most powerful super-powerful man who was once only half a step away from the peak.

Then, he spread out his five fingers, and a terrifying sense of oppression rose from his body, causing the entire subspace to tremble continuously, and then -

A huge black hand spanning the entire subspace suddenly appeared, grabbed the bloody giant's body, and then squeezed it hard.

Bang!
The next second, a blood-red giant as huge as a star exploded, turning into a blood mist that filled the sky. It was swallowed by cracks in space, and it didn't even have time to leave a single word of last words.

"It has been dealt with as you requested, Your Majesty."

"Injured? Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty, but as a newly arrived senior and most powerful defector, I won't get hurt."

An indifferent conversation sounded from in front of the space crack. The man in armor calmly loosened his palm, closed the space crack casually, and walked directly into the phalanx of black-armored soldiers.

"Commander, what did that just now...?"

"He's just a scum who doesn't even have the courage to face the abyss. Don't worry about him."

"Also, notify the nun to register. The threat level of the aura just now has been confirmed. The level is senior and strongest."

The masked man said indifferently, glanced at the gradually dissipating space fluctuations behind him, shook his head, threw down two words, and walked towards the direction of the fleet.

"sad."

The development of the times will bring about many changes, especially in this era when the abyss is about to invade in an all-round way. It is no longer a new thing for the strongest people from ancient times to be forced to surface like what just happened.

However, for the vast majority of ancient and powerful beings who survived from the first era or even earlier, there are many things in this era that they cannot understand.

For example, with the development of the times and the changes in the number of the strongest people, the division of the levels of the strongest people in this era has undergone earth-shaking changes.

In other words, there is an upper limit to the "throne" called the "peak", but this is an inevitable result as the number and overall strength of the strongest in the star realm are constantly rising.

The threshold to "peak" has been continuously raised, and those who once had the potential to reach the "peak" have been squeezed off the throne and become "super-top supreme", and the fall of these strong men has in disguise raised the threshold to "super-top supreme". Finally, under this chain reaction, the guys who could be called "senior supreme" in the last era can now be regarded as "pseudo-strongest" who have not even stepped into the threshold of new supreme. And the threshold of "super-top supreme" that people used to think of, at best, is just a distance on the road to "senior supreme" in this era.

This was also the reason why no one reacted when he heard the words of the blood-red giant. He could actually guess what was in the other person's mind, but because of this, he felt even more pitiful for the other person, even to the point where he couldn't help but want to laugh.

This is because the other party simply does not understand what the term "super top-notch" means in today's era, and what the word "peak" means.

Being able to reach the "peak" in this era, no matter in any "era" of the past, no matter compared with any powerful person in the past...

——They are all truly "peaks" that are well deserved!!

……

(End of this chapter)