Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 540 "Reunion" [8.6k words]

"Laila, is this really okay?"

In the darkness, the two walked side by side. After the scene behind them completely disappeared from their sight, Ling Yuzi turned around to glance behind him, then looked at Xin Lailai and said.

"To be honest, I don't know either."

Xin Lailai stopped, looked up at the maze dome shrouded in darkness above his head, and murmured:
"Perhaps, we misunderstood the meaning of the last divination. Or perhaps, there is actually a better solution. Or perhaps, he does not actually have the ability to respond to our expectations..."

As Xin Lailai spoke, he slowly lowered his head and looked at the thing in his hand:
——It was a broken pendant. The starlight on it had completely dissipated at some point, leaving only a cracked crystal embedded there.

In fact, they had already performed the final divination when they were testing the effects of the White God Guardian and Oath Set.

This divination was the most ambiguous of all the divinations they had conducted. There were only five fleeting images from beginning to end:

The scarlet cards and scarlet treasure chests, the maze where the faction store is located, Bell Crany who is driving a dark steel mecha, the exit of the space battlefield where only a group of abyss creatures are wandering, the Death Bearer, Yamu and Dao Ji who are standing in different backgrounds but appear in the same frame.

Yes, these are the final divination results of the Starlight Pendant.

It was clearly a divination based on how to get them back to paradise alive, but in the end, neither he and Ling Yuzi appeared, nor did Ji Ren Yuan Ying, who they regarded as the biggest threat. Instead, only these five pictures were left, with no apparent direct connection between them.

It was as if... their fate and that of Ji Ren Yuan Ying had fallen into a bottomless abyss, where even the light of the stars could not illuminate them.

And if we just look at these five pictures, there are so many possible interpretations.

For example, the scene where Bell is driving the Dark Steel Mech can be interpreted as the other party driving the Dark Steel Mech alone to rush to the exit without the Extreme Blade Abyss Shadow, or it can be understood that the other party is driving the Dark Steel Mech to fight with them, or even it may mean that Bell should stay in the maze where the camp store is located to buy time for them with his life...

For example, the last image of the Death Carrier and others may mean that their chance of survival lies in whether they can pass the message to the Death Carriers and others who seem to be in different areas, or it may mean that the Death Carriers and others are on the way, and they just need to hold on until the three arrive.

That's why Xin Lailai said that.

Because he really didn't know whether his choice was correct, or... there was no so-called "correct answer" in this confusing divination from the beginning?
"but……"

Xin Lailai stared at the palm of her hand, only to see that the starlight pendant that had just been placed on it had disappeared at some point, and in its place was a blood-red eyeball-like object the size of a fist and a fiery red crystal:
“My instinct told me this was the best option.”

……

[Lord's Eye (severely damaged)]

Origin: Second Era, Lord Continent

Quality: Overlord level
Category: Reconnaissance Equipment/Special Items
Durability: 17/35 (Due to severe damage, the durability of this equipment has been greatly reduced)
Equipment requirements: Willpower no less than 50 points

Equipment Effect 1, Lord's Authority (Active): When used, you can immediately obtain a God's vision within a 5km radius area and detect any unit in the area. This detection judgment will randomly select one of the three attributes of intelligence, charm, and soul strength as the judgment attribute, and will gain a judgment bonus equal to willpower × 0.5 points.

Equipment Effect 2, ???: (Because the Pioneer is not a lord system inheritor, this effect cannot be activated)

Equipment Effect 3, ???: (Because the Pioneer is not a lord system inheritor, this effect cannot be activated)

Equipment Effect 4, ???: (Because the Pioneer is not a lord system inheritor, this effect cannot be activated)

Rating: 467 (Due to severe damage, the rating of this equipment has been greatly reduced)

Introduction: The few remnants of the former Red Lord's lord core are in a severely damaged state.

Price: 3 Overlord Essence

*Warning: Since Pioneers are not inheritors of the Lord system, they must pass a willpower judgment before they can use this equipment.

*Tip: Because the pioneer's willpower greatly exceeds the current level, this equipment has given up on judging the pioneer's willpower.

……

[Elemental Crystal·Fire]

Origin: Any area with abundant elements

Quality: Special

Category: Valuables

Introduction: A product that uses a special secret method to seal a large amount of pure fire elements in a soul crystal. It can be used for trading, or it can be broken to release the trapped fire elements.

*Tip: Based on the Pioneer’s current elemental affinity, there is a high probability of obtaining the “Elemental Thank You Gift” after breaking it.

Price: None
……

Overlord-level equipment: Eye of the Lord.

Elemental crystal: Fire.

These two items were the only useful items they found after receiving the divination hints from a large pile of scarlet cards and the scarlet treasure chest obtained from killing the scarlet lord.

As for the other scarlet cards? Some of them were empty cards, some were explosive and cursed, and some were stuffed with dog or bird shit to disgust people.

This was also the reason why Xin Lailai had no interest in opening these things before. After all, even a pioneer like him knew that he had to sign a contract to unconditionally sell the resources in the storage space to Paradise as soon as he died, and mail all the proceeds to Xiaobai and Xiaopu, not to mention those violators who were at risk of death at any time.

Nowadays, instead of hoping to get rich by killing people and getting scarlet cards, you might as well find a shovel and dig a few more pieces of ore to bring home and sell.

It can be said that if the results of divination had not been shown this way, he would have never been interested in touching these things in his life.

As for what the two items can be used for, there is no need to interpret it further, after all, the item description has already given a clear enough hint.

A reconnaissance equipment that can greatly increase the strength of judgment based on willpower and an elemental crystal that contains enough elements to support him in using at least three fourth-level large-scale magics. The uses of these two things do not require much explanation to understand.

The former might give a glimmer of hope to Jiren Yuanying's reconnaissance result, whose health bar even showed ? ?, and the latter's usefulness in battle is self-evident.

At the same time, this was also one of the important reasons that prompted him to decide to let Bell escape from the dungeon on their behalf.

Xin Lailai was not sure whether his choice was correct, but from the last time he used divination, he had a vague intuition in his heart:
——They cannot avoid the shadow of Jiren Yuan.

——If they want to leave here alive, they must face this death that may have been predetermined.

No matter what means they use, no matter what ideas they hold, Ji Ren Yuan Ying will definitely confront them again, start a life-and-death battle, and decide the winner. And until one side is clearly dead, they will not be able to leave this "cage".

Although this assertion is not supported by any substantial theory or evidence, Xin Lailai has a strong premonition in his heart.

Especially when they opened the [Eye of the Lord] and [Elemental Crystal·Flame], this premonition was so strong that he had the illusion that he was having some kind of fateful resonance with the dark humanoid creature who was doing something unknown.

Therefore, even though there was no actual evidence to show the correctness and success rate of their choice, Xin Lailai still chose to let Bell drive the Dark Steel Mech to escape and deliver the message, while he and Ling Yuzi stayed here to face Ji Ren Yuan Ying.

And this is why he told Bell that he needed some time to prepare. After all...

"Zero, let's get started."

"Ah."

[Prompt: has entered the "Elf Assimilation" state]

[Tip: The current title has been changed to "The One Favored by the World"]

The doll that looked like a mecha girl disappeared on the spot, and a pure white shadow emerged. The fiery red crystal in the young man's palm seemed to sense something and suddenly became unusually bright.

The next second—

Click——! !

[Tip: The trapped pure fire element has been released, and the pioneer has received the "gift of gratitude from the element". When in this world area, the element affinity is +5 points, and the fire element affinity is additional +10 points. When using all fire spells and magic, they will gain the benefits of the fire element, randomly reducing the difficulty of casting or increasing the casting speed and power, etc.]

The special crystal shell formed by soul energy shattered, and a brilliant and dazzling red light suddenly bloomed from Xin Lailai's hands, dispelling the surrounding darkness and surrounding Xin Lailai with joy and dance.

Not only that, as the fire element danced, a large number of firefly-like star-like lights began to gather, and as time went on, they became larger and larger, from thousands of fireflies gradually gathering into streams, then rivers, and finally the range as far as the eye could see was covered by colorful elements.

[Tip: The pioneer is detected to be in a high concentration element area, meditation efficiency increased by 71%]

A cold reminder sounded, and Xin Lailai looked at the scene in front of him and just nodded with satisfaction. There was no surprise in his eyes, as if he had expected this scene.

In fact, as early as when they stepped into the maze where the camp store was located, he and Ling Yuzi noticed that the concentration of the abyss energy and elemental power in this maze was obviously abnormal.

——To be more specific, the concentration of elements in the maze under their feet is far higher than the concentration of abyss energy.

You have to know that this is in the abyss erosion zone. Not to mention the area with rich elements, you shouldn't even be able to see the shadow of the elements.

Is it because the existence of the camp store has changed the environment here?

This is obviously impossible, or it is fundamentally wrong in logic. The faction store does not have the functional ability to improve the environment. On the contrary, according to the rules of faction store transfer, it should be said that it is precisely because there is such a safe area with extremely rich elements in the dungeon that all the faction stores in the dungeon will be moved here.

So, what exactly caused the formation of this element-rich area?
The answer is actually very simple:
——That is the Abyss Erosion Zone itself.

To be more precise, it was the power of the abyss that invaded the dungeon and forced out such a safe zone.

It sounds a little unbelievable, but in fact, according to the cases of erosion by the abyss that Kagus told them, such situations are very common in worlds that are severely eroded by the abyss.

As for the reason for this phenomenon, as mentioned above, it is caused by the abyss power's own suppression of the elements.

The first thing to understand is that although the abyss energy is highly corrosive, it cannot truly destroy the structure of the elements. Instead, it can only suppress the power of the elements, preventing them from playing their due role.

In other words, if 100 units of elements are put into a world, then whether 100 units of abyss energy, 1000 units of abyss energy, or even 10000 units of abyss energy are put into this world afterwards, these 100 units of elements will never disappear or decrease out of thin air, but will exist in this world in their own way.

It’s just that, just as people will unconsciously huddle together for warmth during the cold winter, the same is true for the elements.

When there are 100 units of elements and abyss energy in a world, these elements and abyss energy are probably randomly scattered throughout the world, restricting and balancing each other, without interfering with each other.

But when the amount of abyss energy gradually increases, things are different. Although elements do not have the intelligence of living beings, they are by no means dead things that do not know how to adapt. When the concentration of abyss energy around them is too high, the elements of this world will tend to gather together spontaneously to form a small elemental area that can compete with the abyss energy in terms of concentration, becoming the last pure land in the world eroded by the abyss.

Not only that, if that world persists a little longer, certain creatures with extreme qualifications will often be born in this extreme elemental area, such as extreme elemental affinity, or extreme abyss resistance. Among these creatures, there may be someone who successfully takes advantage of the fact that the elemental resources of the entire world are concentrated in one place by the abyss energy, and becomes stronger at an unimaginable speed, and even breaks the original upper limit of a world, attracting more elemental power from the outside world, and finally leading the elemental side of this world to suppress the power of the abyss in turn, and restore the balance of the entire world.

And as time goes on, the elemental power of that world may not be able to stably cultivate the next strong person who can suppress the power of the abyss due to the expansion of territory and the decrease of elemental concentration. Instead, it will be defeated by the creatures born from the extreme abyss environment that is suppressed in one place, and will return to the days of eking out a living in a small corner, waiting for the next opportunity for counterattack. Just like the theory of yin and yang rotation followed by the Three Thousand Gods, the extreme yin symbolizing the power of the abyss and the extreme yang symbolizing the elemental power appear in cycle, one grows while the other declines, one grows while the other declines, over and over again, forming a complete cycle.

This is one of the theories of the abyss and elemental forces in the astral world. It is also the most perfect dynamic balance in the eyes of many scholars. Many scholars even believe that before the First Era, the astral world had actually always maintained this balance. Even if there were occasional deviations, they would gradually return to normal with the passage of time. It was not until the arrival of the Third Era that this balance was completely broken.

Of course, these theories don't really have much to do with them now. Given the situation in the dungeon space, it is obviously impossible for them to hold on until a creature born in an extreme elemental environment brings the elements to counterattack the abyss as in the theory. Instead, before that, they will be oppressed by the endless abyss energy from the outside world until the entire space completely collapses and turns into another piece of wreckage in the abyss erosion zone.

The point is, with such an elementally rich environment, as mages, they can suddenly do a lot more things.

such as……

Buzz, rumble—! !

In the maze illuminated by the ocean of elements, Xin Lailai, with a pure white shadow floating on his body, slowly raised his arm, overlooking the scene in front of him like a god. With his action, the earth element, which accounted for the second largest proportion among the surrounding elements, immediately became restless. A large amount of earth elements gathered towards him, and even caused pieces of broken rocks of various sizes to appear out of thin air in the surrounding space. The ground under his feet and the dome above his head also began to tremble constantly, as if the entire maze was coming alive.

After receiving the 5-point elemental affinity bonus from the "Elements' Gift of Thanks", combined with the 5-point elemental affinity that came with the "Blessing of the World's Will" he had previously obtained, as well as the 20-point affinity provided by [The World's Favored One] and [Grimoire·World], his and Ling Yuzi's basic elemental affinity now reached a full 60 points. When they entered the elf assimilation stage, this value directly reached a terrifying level of 80 points.

It is precisely because of this that they can cause such a spectacular scene at this moment. After all, for the elements suppressed here, they have 80 points of elemental affinity and are the most dazzling and charming "savior" in this space. With just one order, they will automatically release elemental phenomena equivalent to third-level magic.

As for what they were going to do after receiving such a huge amount of elemental protection, it was naturally obvious -

"Gather!" A cold word came out of Xin Lailai's mouth. With a wave of his hand, the surrounding earth elements gathered together and formed a specific structure according to the guidance of his mental power. Then they went to the ground below and the rock dome above in an orderly manner.

Buzz, rumble—! !

The next second, the surrounding rock walls began to come alive and began to wriggle rapidly. The originally rugged land began to quickly become flat, and the stalactite-like rock cones hanging on the dome began to shrink into the interior of the dome. Not only that, one huge rock pillar after another began to rise from the ground, and the pale yellow light on them kept flickering, and finally a little bit of it was retracted into it, making it look like an ordinary stone pillar.

A huge roar continued to echo from the maze. Xin Lailai continued to consume the magic power in his body, controlling the surrounding rock walls to change little by little, hiding one earth element after another in them.

At this moment, if other wizards of the same level saw what Xin Lailai was doing, they would definitely widen their eyes and wonder if they were having an illusion or had encountered some mentally ill lunatic.

Because what Xin Lailai is doing at this moment is actually not unfamiliar to many mages... especially those with higher levels. Many mages even choose to do this when they encounter a positional battle that needs to be delayed for a very long time.

Home layout.

That's right, just like what he had prepared when he first defeated a powerful enemy across levels in the Black Fourth World, Xin Lailai is now using his high elemental affinity and the rich elemental environment around him to set up his own home court.

However, unlike the minor fight in the Black Fourth World, this time he...

——He was planning to transform this underground maze, which was hundreds of square kilometers wide and more than a thousand meters deep, into his own home ground! !

……

……

after one day.

[Hint: The "Elf Assimilation" status has been lifted]

"call……!"

A soft light emanated from the abyss suppression device. Under the maze, Xin Lailai, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, slowly opened his eyes and let out a long sigh.

With that, it's officially done.

Xin Lailai raised his head and glanced at the dome above his head, then his eyes drooped slightly, and a hint of deepness flashed across his dark pupils.

30 hours and 18 minutes.

Except for the eight hours spent on rest in the middle, he and Ling Yuzi worked almost non-stop for the past thirty hours to transform the entire maze, and finally turned it into a huge home stadium in less than two days.

The final result is that every stone and piece of soil in the entire maze has now become a weapon in their hands.

"What a shame. I didn't expect that I couldn't refresh Zagnath in the maze anymore."

Xin Lailai glanced at the map at the edge of his vision, and a hint of regret flashed in his eyes.

After completing half of the preparations, he had actually already thought about the Overlord-level Abyss derivative that he had seen before. After all, it was a thing that could drop Overlord-level treasure chests. If he was lucky enough to get a powerful Overlord equipment that he could use, it might be of great help in their battle with the Extreme Blade Abyss Shadow.

But unfortunately, even though he specifically asked Bell to smash the upper and lower levels of the maze adjacent to this level with the Dark Steel Mecha, in the end, not a single Jagnate was refreshed. As for the specific reason, Xin Lailai couldn't guess.

Perhaps it was because the damage they caused was too small to attract the attention of the dungeon, or perhaps it was because the dungeon space was on the verge of collapse, causing the rules related to the birth of Jagnate to become invalid, or perhaps the abyssal energy in this area was simply not enough to give birth to a Jagnate...

There are many possible outcomes, and they obviously don't have the energy to study the deeper relationships involved. Therefore, after discovering that he could not lure Jagnateh, he directly let Bell return to the ambush location he had prepared, and he continued to devote his energy to building the home court with Ling Yuzi.

It is a pity that they missed an opportunity to gamble for the Overlord-level equipment, but Zagnat himself, who was eroded by the power of the abyss, was not easy to deal with. Unless he was willing to use the abyss suppression device at full power, it would inevitably cause certain damage and consumption to the home field that they had worked so hard to set up.

From this perspective, it might be a good thing for them that Zagnath will no longer refresh. After all, this means that they can concentrate all their resources on dealing with the Extreme Blade Abyss Shadow, and they don't have to worry about a third-level overlord-level abyss suddenly appearing to disrupt the battle with the Extreme Blade Abyss Shadow.

"Lai Lai, I'm ready here."

"Well, thank you for your hard work."

Ling Yuzi's voice sounded in Xin Lailai's mind. Upon hearing it, Xin Lailai's eyes moved slightly, and he immediately closed his eyes again, his mind moving.

Om-! !

The next second, an invisible soul wave spread out, and Xin Lailai's soul suddenly flew out of the body and floated in the air.

Then, he was seen looking at the dome above his head with his eyes slightly fixed. Without any hesitation, his soul instantly turned into a shadow and rushed straight to the top of the maze at an unimaginable speed.

Equipment, puppets, home field...

They have already prepared everything they can, and now...

——It’s time to invite the real master to come on stage!!
……

Native world layer, somewhere.

“Hmm~Hmm~Hmm~Hmm~! Hmm…!”

An extremely unpleasant humming melody sounded from the simple theater with the curtains tightly closed. The playwright sat in the audience with his brows slightly lowered. He silently increased the intensity of his earplugs by two levels, glanced at the black shadow beside him, and said with a bad look:

"If you want to sing, I suggest you go outside and sing."

Ever since the other party suddenly said "it's coming" as if he had a seizure half an hour ago, he has been "creating art" on his own with a sound even uglier than when he wipes the toilet with a newspaper.

"Don't say such harsh words, my dear old friend! You are now admiring a unique work of art in the world! Hahahahaha~!"

When the black shadow heard the playwright's criticism, there was no dissatisfaction on his face. Instead, he showed a playful smile, shrugged his shoulders, and laughed loudly. His smile was as sharp and harsh as the friction of sandpaper.

"Really? Then just treat me as a boor who doesn't know how to appreciate art."

The playwright answered expressionlessly, glancing at the tightly closed curtain on the stage with a slightly fixed gaze.

"Let me make it clear in advance. Right now, there is a tough guy leading a group of troublesome guys coming here. If they get here, given the layout of this place, they won't be able to hide it from the leader for long. Or is this also part of your 'experience'?"

He had a perception of cause and effect that was different from that of ordinary powerful people, so he could see clearly that an extremely huge group of cause and effect was converging here. A cause and effect of that size meant that even if there was no guy at the same level as that bastard Meimu, there must be someone who was only half a step away.

"Don't worry, my dear old friend. Didn't I tell you that at this time, we just need to wait patiently..."

Facing the playwright's questioning, the black shadow simply grinned, stretched out an index finger, and gently shook it twice. Then his expression suddenly changed, and with a crisp click, he turned his head 270 degrees, looked at the curtain on the stage, and suddenly laughed excitedly:
"Haha! Here it comes! My dear old friend, look, it's almost here, isn't it?!"

Wow——! !

As the words fell, the curtain on the stage suddenly opened, and the blood-red sky and the shattered earth instantly appeared in the eyes of the two.

"Haha, hahahaha! Great! Look at the look in that guy's eyes, how pitiful? How perfect? ​​He's left with only determination, but not the slightest desire to win. He's like a wild dog who just wants to return to his den alive~! Haha! Hahahaha!!"

In the audience, the black shadow laughed crazily, while the playwright lowered his eyes slightly, looking at the scene on the stage in silence.

In his pupils, he saw two completely different figures facing each other.

One of them was completely black with black threads floating on its body, and was sitting cross-legged in mid-air in meditation. The other one was illusory and floating, and it looked like it would disappear in the next second.

As the two of them appeared on the same stage, a blood-red lightning suddenly fell from the sky and landed squarely in the center of the stage.
Boom!

A deafening roar exploded from the stage. Lightning arcs flew all over the sky, briefly illuminating the entire stage in blood red. In this blood-colored lightning, the dark humanoid creature that was sitting cross-legged in the air a moment ago suddenly opened its scarlet eyes.

Om-! !

The next moment, a surging bloody energy burst out from the stage, and along with it, there rose a hoarse and piercing roar that gave people a sense of fanaticism:

……

"My...enemy!!"

On the space battlefield, a harsh sound made up of thousands of voices exploded in Xin Lailai's mind.

"Now that you... have returned, I will... fight you... until I die... Come!!"

Ji Ren Yuan Ying suddenly opened his eyes, looked in his direction with a fanatical expression, and let out a creepy and excited laugh.

It really hasn't changed at all...

Xin Lailai looked at the Extreme Blade Abyss Shadow in front of him, narrowed his eyes slightly, stared at the humanoid abyss creature in front of him, and spoke calmly using the soul secret method:

"This is just a spiritual shell of mine. My real body is not here."

The voice carrying the soul fluctuations spread, and suddenly something like a scroll appeared in Xin Lailai's hand, and then it was crushed in an instant.

Om-! !

The next moment, a silver-white light bloomed, and a space teleportation array suddenly formed around it, enveloping Xin Lailai.

"If you want to fight, come here yourself. I'll wait for you down below."

As the cold words fell, Xin Lailai's soul, which was swaying like a candle in the wind, suddenly collapsed, leaving only a teleportation array that was about to be activated.

Ji Ren Yuan Ying, who was standing in mid-air, faced this scene. He looked at the soul energy dissipating in the air and the space teleportation array that was about to be activated. He paused slightly, then laughed wildly, and an incomparably pure fighting spirit rose in his scarlet pupils.

Pong!
Jiren Yuanying took a quick step, and his body instantly turned into a black and red afterimage with a sharp sonic boom, rushing into the range of the teleportation array, leaving only the crazy and piercing fanatical voice remaining in place:
"In that case, I... accept the challenge!!"

……

In the dungeon, the maze level where the faction shop is located.

[Hint: Because the "Soul Shell" has died, the pioneer consciousness has been forced to return to the soul body! ]

A cold reminder exploded in Xin Lailai's mind. Under the maze, Xin Lailai, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes.

"Ling Yuzi, take action!!"

Om-! !

Without any delay, almost the moment Xin Lailai regained consciousness, Ling Yuzi in the soul space immediately began to act.

The soul energy on the status bar was consumed rapidly, and at the same time, a new soul shell began to take shape quickly.

In the real world, Xin Lailai quickly stood up and instantly expanded his psychic field to its maximum. The magic power in his body surged, and a circle of ochre light rose under his feet.

The teleportation array he left for Ji Ren Yuan Ying was not the one leading to the level where he was, but a spatial crack in the subspace of the middle level. Theoretically speaking, if Ji Ren Yuan Ying really dared to step on that teleportation array, the biggest possibility was that he would be directly blown away by the spatial turbulence, but...

Zheng——! !

"Come…!!"

The piercing sound of the blade clanging exploded, and a dark space crack suddenly appeared above Xin Lailai's head. Then the figure of Ji Ren Yuan Ying rushed out in an instant, and with a fanatical look, he slashed at Xin Lailai below.

——His intuition told him that the Extreme Blade Yuanying, who was their 'death penalty', could not be stopped by such a simple trick!
"war!!!"

……

(End of this chapter)