Chapter 124: Undead and Will-o’-the-Wisps, Entering the Catacombs

Chapter 124: Undead and Will-o'-the-Wisps, Entering the Catacombs

[Writing up to this point, I hope readers can remember our domain name: Reading Good Books in Taiwan is Super Worry-Free]

"This world is a cold hell… There is no good… There is no evil… Only pain…"

"Only submit to me…"

Strange whispering voices kept coming from inside the box.

Cao Xing wore a strange expression.

This thing really was quite wicked.

When the black mist dissipated, Cao Xing saw that inside the chest lay a square metal box the size of a palm.

Marita saw the expression on Cao Xing's face and reminded him once again, "Lord Cao Xing, as you must have seen, this box is an evil object. Are you sure you still want to buy it?"

Cao Xing nodded, "Yes."

Marita said no more, and both parties completed the transaction once again.

[Transaction successful: You have obtained Demon-Swallowing Box * 1, you have lost Coins * 600,000]

Seeing that the transaction was complete, a faint smile appeared at the corners of Marita's mouth.

"Then, I will tell you how to use this box."

Cao Xing was slightly stunned, "There's a method of use too?"

"Yes. Because the demon sealed inside is too powerful, whether opening this box or driving the demon within, a specific incantation is required."

A look of sudden realization appeared in Cao Xing's eyes.

Afterwards, Marita told Cao Xing the various incantations.

And Cao Xing quickly memorized them in his mind.

Ever since his spiritual power had substantially increased, Cao Xing felt that his memory and thinking abilities had also greatly improved.

Finally, Marita gave a word of caution, "Lord Cao Xing, remember, you must be careful when dealing with demons."

"Aside from possessing all sorts of bizarre abilities, they are also extremely adept at bewitching people's hearts."

"If you need to drive the demon inside the box, remember not to listen to a word it says, and directly reseal the box after you finish using it."

Cao Xing nodded, "I remember, Miss Marita, thank you for the reminder."

At this point, their transaction this time could be said to have concluded successfully.

The two parties' groups separated.

As for that merchant Yuan, from beginning to end, he knelt on the ice surface and did not dare to get up.

After experiencing this incident, he probably wouldn't be able to stay in the Luna Chamber of Commerce any longer.

Of course, these matters had nothing to do with Cao Xing.

…

The Mammoth charged forward at full speed, running wildly all the way along the downstream area of this wide frozen river.

Because the commotion of their running was too great, flocks of large white birds would fly up from the forests on both sides from time to time, though it was unknown what species they were.

Twenty minutes later.

Cao Xing had already arrived at a place less than 5 kilometers away from Ji Xinyue's territory.

Her territory also seemed to be located near this frozen river.

Thus, he sent a message over, "I'm almost there, are you in your territory?"

The other side replied quickly, "I'm here, Great Lord Cao Xing, I've been waiting for you all along."

"Good."

After a simple reply, Cao Xing didn't waste any more breath and directly continued running wildly.

A few minutes later.

On the bank of that frozen river, Cao Xing saw a territory that was developing quite well.

In the center of the camp, there was a blazing large bonfire that looked like it had been upgraded to at least level 6.

Circling around the bonfire, more than a dozen buildings had been constructed.

A Level 2 Lords Cabin, Level 2 Arctic People cabins, Level 1 blacksmith shop, Tailor Shop, canteen, and so on.

Although it couldn't compare to Cao Xing's territory scale, among Survivors, it could still be considered well-developed.

At this moment, 8 Arctic People were gathering resources in a nearby forest.

In that grove, the ground was covered with bare tree stumps; they had almost logged it completely bald.

Fortunately, every half month, the system would randomly refresh new resource points near the territory.

The locations of these resource points were not fixed, and the resources provided were also of a random type.

It might give you a haunted iron mine, or it might give you a bountiful gold mine; it was all based on luck.

Thump! Thump thump!

Cao Xing continued to lead his subordinates closer.

The heavy footsteps of the Mammoth startled those eight Arctic People.

Seeing Cao Xing and the others with such a grand momentum, they were scared completely dumbfounded.

"Wuwah!"

The 8 Arctic People let out a strange cry, then dropped the tools in their hands and quickly ran back into the territory.

While running, they were also shouting loudly.

"Lord Lord! Save us!"

"There are so many powerful monsters approaching our territory!"

"Lord Lord, run quickly!"

The shouts of the Arctic People alarmed the people inside the camp.

Before long, three figures crawled out from the Lords Cabin.

A middle-aged man, followed by a tall, thin, and rather haggard-looking middle-aged woman.

And in front of them was a female warrior wielding a two-handed greatsword.

This was a family of three.

Although the system's allocation mechanism assigned according to families, if the number of people was insufficient or there was an extra person—

It would be just like Cao Xing and Liu Muxue, two or three people per camp.

This family of three also noticed Cao Xing's group, and their expressions instantly changed drastically.

They even wanted to flee on the spot.

However, that female warrior saw the person sitting on top of the Mammoth waving at her.

For a moment, she didn't act rashly.

Very soon, Cao Xing brought his people to this female warrior's side.

He glanced at the information above the three people's heads.

[Ji Xinyue Lv6], [Ji Zhenbing Lv5], [Wang Shi Lv5]

Cao Xing nodded inwardly. This woman was the Ji Xinyue he was looking for.

Just like other Survivors, Ji Xinyue wore a long dress on her lower body, light armor on her upper body, and draped a wolf-skin coat over the outside, looking rather incongruous.

However, this woman's appearance was quite decent.

Although she couldn't compare to Liu Muxue, she was still very eye-catching in a crowd.

Ji Xinyue was also observing the information of Cao Xing's group. Upon seeing the name above his head, she immediately exclaimed, "Great Lord Cao Xing! You're finally here!"

"The one next to you is Goddess Muxue! Heavens, you really are together."

Cao Xing nodded, then walked down together with Liu Muxue.

At the same time, Ji Xinyue also noticed the batch of recruited creatures behind Cao Xing that varied in appearance but each had powerful auras.

She immediately exclaimed, "Oh my god! Are these all Great Lord Cao Xing's subordinates?"

"Even boss-level Blood Spider Queen, Mammoths, and elite-level Frost Wolf Knights can be recruited? Isn't this way too terrifying?"

Ji Xinyue cried out in amazement.

Even Ji Xinyue's parents were looking at the terrifying creatures behind Cao Xing with faces full of wonder.

What she didn't know was that Cao Xing's strongest combat force, Sarah, was still hidden in the shadows.

That was a Tier 3 boss-level assassin.

After Cao Xing brought Liu Muxue down, both sides exchanged simple greetings.

He didn't dawdle either, cutting straight to the point to ask, "Ji Xinyue, where is that catacomb you discovered?"

Ji Xinyue had already adjusted her excited mood, and pointing towards a forest in the distance, she said, "Great Lord Cao Xing, it's in that forest ahead, about four or five kilometers away from my territory."

"I originally wanted to go there to hunt some rabbits or something, but as a result, I accidentally discovered that catacomb!"

"That catacomb is so huge, its facilities are simply like an underground palace!"

Ji Xinyue explained enthusiastically.

Cao Xing nodded, "Lead us over there."

"Okay."

Ji Xinyue was overjoyed.

Afterwards, she turned around and gave instructions to her parents.

The middle-aged man and woman had worried looks in their eyes, but they also knew that Ji Xinyue was going to do an important thing.

Over these past few days, they had similarly been scared almost to the point of nervous exhaustion by that group of Ascalon undead.

And since Cao Xing had come to help them, a strong feeling of gratitude inevitably rose in their hearts towards him.

That woman, whose appearance was above average and still possessed quite a bit of lingering charm, spoke softly, "Thank you, little brother Cao Xing."

"We heard from little Yueyue that you traveled hundreds of kilometers specifically to come and help us solve the trouble caused by that group of undead."

"Our family feels heartfelt gratitude towards you."

After finishing, the two of them together bowed slightly toward Cao Xing.

"Uncle and Auntie, no need to be polite. I am also quite interested in this quest."

"Besides, whether it can be completed is still uncertain."

"If the monsters inside are too strong, you all better prepare to move."

Cao Xing's joking tone made the tension in the middle-aged woman's heart dissipate a little.

A smile also appeared on Ji Xinyue's face.

At this time, she looked to the side and shouted, "Xiaohu, come out."

Then, a striped tiger with light yellow fur all over its body, looking like it was still in its growing period, rushed out from a residential house.

[Snowfield Tiger: Lv7]

[Affiliated Lord: Ji Xinyue]

[HP: 640 / 640]

[Attack Power: 71 ~ 75]

[Skills: Bite, Fierce Tiger Assault]

[Talent: Cold Resistance]

…

Cao Xing was slightly stunned, "You even have a pet?"

Ji Xinyue smiled smugly, "Hunhun! Of course, I'm very strong!"

"In the current rankings, I'm even in the top ten!"

However, when she saw Cao Xing's Mammoth, she said somewhat dejectedly, "Of course, I definitely can't compare to a big shot like you."

"You actually have a Level 20 elite-level pet. This is too cool and awesome!"

Ji Xinyue wore a look of envy.

However, her pet Xiaohu, upon hearing her praise another pet, seemed somewhat unhappy.

"Wuwu… Wuwu…"

This tiger let out a low sound.

Ji Xinyue walked over, stroked its neck, and tossed a piece of fresh meat into its mouth. Only then did the tiger quiet down.

Afterwards, she sighed, "Xiaohu eats too much. Our family can only eat bread every day, and all the meat is used to feed it."

"However, it can be considered rather capable; it has helped us bite and kill many monsters."

Cao Xing nodded and didn't mind it.

Ji Xinyue mounted the back of this Snowfield Tiger.

Standing over a meter tall, its size was enough for about two people to sit on.

"Let's go, Great Lord Cao Xing, I'll lead the way for you all."

After speaking, Ji Xinyue rode the Snowfield Tiger and galloped wildly across the snow.

That Snowfield Tiger seemed to want to show off its speed to everyone, starting to run wildly all the way with extremely agile movements.

The instantly erupted speed even reached a speed of forty to fifty kilometers per hour.

However, for everyone who was blessed with Queens Will and still under the state of Queens Halo,

catching up was effortless.

Cao Xing and the others followed closely behind, maintaining a certain distance all along.

After rushing for about three kilometers, this tiger ran out of strength.

It slowed its pace and lowered its head somewhat dejectedly.

"Wu…"

Ji Xinyue continued to comfort it, "Xiaohu, you're just a Level 7 little tiger, why would you be so muddled-headed as to compare speed with a Level 20 Mammoth?"

Finding it both funny and helpless, Ji Xinyue reached out and gently comforted it.

The tiger dejectedly nodded, then carried Ji Xinyue as they continued forward.

Very soon, they arrived at the forest she had mentioned.

Rustle… Rustle…

Treading through the snow and frozen, brittle leaves on the ground, they pushed forward.

Before long, they had penetrated deep into the forest.

The light here was even dimmer, resembling a haunted forest straight out of a horror movie.

Coupled with the -50°C low temperature, the forest's environment felt even more eerie.

It was no wonder Ji Xinyue had encountered the undead here.

At this moment, relying on his keen eyesight, Cao Xing spotted some collapsed building walls on the ground, which seemed to be engraved with strange text and patterns.

"What are those patterns?" Cao Xing asked in confusion.

Reinis quickly walked over, took a look, and then said, "Lord, this is the writing of the Ascalon Empire. It seems there used to be a palace here."

"A palace?"

Cao Xing pondered for a moment and asked, "Reinis, have you ever been here before?"

Reinis shook her head, "No, the territory of the Ascalon Kingdom is very large, and I was born in the border region of the Western Continent."

"Not long after I became an adult, Ascalon went to war with the Blood Legion."

"And in the final battle, my heart was pierced, suffering fatal damage."

"I, who should have died, suddenly heard the voice of a deity ringing in my ears."

Cao Xing asked doubtfully, "A deity?"

"Yes."

Reinis nodded and said, "The voice of that deity told me to choose whether to be sealed into the summoning space and wait for the summons of the Chosen Lord in the future, or choose to perish right here."

After listening to Reinis's account, Cao Xing understood something.

So, was this the principle of recruitment scrolls?

Sealing heroes who should have died a thousand years ago, or even tens of thousands of years ago, into the summoning space.

Then waiting for humans from Blue Star to come to this world and summon them back out.

This was the same for Andrew, Assam, and the others as well.

"The power of a deity?"

Cao Xing was pensive.

He continued to ask, "Reinis, do you know the meaning of the text above?"

Reinis glanced at it and nodded, "The text on this seems to be, п a й"

"Translated, it means Hell."

Hearing this, Ji Xinyue exclaimed, "That's right, every time that group of undead appeared at night, they kept saying this sentence. So that's what it meant!"

"Hell?"

Cao Xing's face was filled with puzzlement.

Pondering for a moment, Cao Xing shook his head, not intending to continue dwelling on this issue.

They began to move forward again.

The deeper they went into the forest, the more eerie the surrounding environment became, and the more collapsed ruins there were.

Through these ruins, one could vaguely tell that there used to be a group of buildings here.

But for some unknown reason, these buildings had disappeared.

Or rather, they had sunk into the ground.

At this time, a blue light faintly appeared in the center of the forest.

Ji Xinyue immediately said excitedly, "We're almost there. Ahead is where I discovered the Ascalon Tomb."

Finishing her words, she couldn't help but quicken her pace.

Following her twists and turns, they quickly arrived at the glowing place.

This was indeed the center of the forest.

However, those glowing things were not some kind of light source.

Instead, they were clusters of blue ghost fires floating in mid-air.

[Wraith Will-o'-the-Wisp (Lv. 8)]

[HP: 640]

[Skill: Self-Destruct (After being attacked, it will detonate all energy, dealing damage equal to 50% of its HP to surrounding enemies)]

(Description: A type of will-o'-the-wisp born in places with heavy yin energy. Do not attack it casually.)

…

Seeing the skill description, Cao Xing directly dismissed the thought of touching these ghost fires.

At the same time.

Ji Xinyue had already arrived amidst a pile of ruins.

Stepping on a large pile of scattered stones, this woman holding a greatsword said, "Right here, there is a passage—an underground passage."

"After going down from here, we can reach the Ascalon Tomb."

Hearing this, Cao Xing also walked over.

Sure enough, he saw a flight of stone stairs in the middle of the ruins.

There was also map information on it.

Cao Xing glanced at it.

[Ascalon Tomb]

[Danger: Extremely Dangerous]

[Map Description: This was once the palace of the Ascalon Kingdom. Due to a war, the King of Ascalon, Edeburn, chose to sink the palace underground and bound the restless souls of all the soldiers in the palace. Over time, this place became the tomb of the Ascalon people.]

…

"Extremely dangerous again?"

Cao Xing pondered for a moment, then asked, "How is the strength of the undead inside?"

Ji Xinyue replied, "The levels of those undead are all above Level 20, and there are several elite undead that exceed my Level 20, and their numbers are huge."

"Just the undead I saw already exceed a hundred!"

"With so many Ascalon undead, if they all move out, I feel they could even annihilate a large army of several thousand people!"

Speaking of this, Ji Xinyue paused, "However, those undead will not attack us."

"They just want me to help solve the demon inside that devours the Ascalon undead."

Cao Xing was stunned. Viewed this way, that demon was truly very powerful!

According to Ji Xinyue, over a hundred Tier-3 undead formed a quite massive force.

Of course, it was also possible that the demon had methods specifically targeting these undead.

Cao Xing pondered for a moment and decided to go down and check out the situation first.

"Let's go, let's head down first."

After speaking, he took Liu Muxue and jumped down from Dabai's back.

Given the narrowness of this passage, the Mammoth certainly couldn't get in.

Therefore, Cao Xing could only leave Dabai outside.

Ji Xinyue's tiger was also left outside together.

"Braum, lead the way in front." Cao Xing ordered.

Braum raised his door-wide shield and chuckled, "No problem, respected Lord, you just need to follow behind Braum!"

With those words, he took the lead and rushed into the tunnel.

Then, Assam, Andrew, and the others entered successively.

Cao Xing, Liu Muxue, and Ji Xinyue walked at the very back of the team.

As soon as they entered the underground area, a system prompt appeared.

[You have entered a special area: Ascalon Tomb]

[Notice: Ascalon Tomb is a high-level area. It is recommended that at least 4 Survivors with Tier-3 strength or above form a team to explore.]

Seeing this system prompt, Cao Xing frowned.

Obviously, the difficulty of the Ascalon Tomb was even higher than the Goblin Treasury.

In the Goblin Treasury, they had faced a Tier-3 boss-level creature like the Goblin King.

Although it was only a weakened version, it was enough to reflect its difficulty.

And in this region, they might encounter even more formidable creatures.

However, Cao Xing didn't feel all that fearful.

After all, compared to when he was in the Goblin Treasury, his strength now had also obtained a huge boost, which could be called a qualitative change.

Everyone continued forward.

"Tap tap… Tap tap…"

The dense sound of footsteps rang out continuously.

This stairway leading underground was very long and very dark.

However, with Braum, that loudmouth, clearing the way ahead, it didn't seem all that terrifying.

As he walked, he even hummed a strange ballad.

"Your homeland is shrouded in white snow, frost covers the rivers and lakes~"

"The cold wind steals our language, such things are only natural, so~"

"Do not let diamond tears well up in your eyes~"

The empty singing echoed in the passage.

Cao Xing chuckled and asked, "Braum, what are you singing?"

Braum turned his head and grinned, "Lord, this is a little tune from my hometown. Does it sound good?"

Without waiting for Cao Xing to answer.

Hilda, following behind, said with a face full of disgust, "Tch… It sounds hideous, stop singing!"

Braum smiled, "My beauty, Lady Blood Spider, it seems you do not have the musical cells to appreciate my beautiful singing voice~"

And right at this moment, a blue light suddenly appeared in the dark passage.

Cao Xing looked closely and discovered it was a soul entity that was entirely illusory, pale-faced, and emitting a blue glow!

The temperature in the entire passage dropped rapidly.

Crack! Crack!

A layer of frost rapidly condensed on the stairs beneath their feet.

That blue soul entity just stared at everyone, its hollow gaze seemingly carrying scrutiny and hostility.

"Gods above, what on earth is this?"

Braum let out a ghost-like howl and backed up a few steps, almost bumping into Assam.

And Cao Xing quickly glanced at the attributes of this undead.

[Ascalon Warrior's Undead (Lv. 24)]

[Race: Undead]

[Tier: Tier-3 Common-grade Creature]

[HP: 12540 / 12540]

[Attack Power: 461 ~ 487]

[Armor: 371 ~ 394]

[Skills: Winter Swordsmanship (When attacking, there is a 20% chance to cause the enemy to enter a 3-second freeze state), Soul Slash (Slashes out a sword Qi, dealing 133% damage to the target's soul and causing them to fall into a brief state of fear), Spirit Body (Physical attacks received are reduced by 30%, and causes nearby enemies to feel fear, lowering body surface temperature.)]

[Talent: Undead Body (Can pass through walls ignoring obstacles, movement speed increased by 30%. If there are other restrictions on the wall, it cannot pass through.)]

(Description: Soldier ghosts bound here. The power of the ancient sword – Magdale gave them a second life while also bestowing upon them an eternal curse.)

…

Cao Xing's gaze tightened. Tier-3 monsters had indeed appeared.

The attributes of these undead were quite formidable.

Moreover, there was a [Spirit Body] skill that could affect temperature.

No wonder Cao Xing felt that the temperature in the passage had dropped so much.

At this moment, this undead warrior drew its weapon and questioned in a voice like a soul whisper.

"Who… are you, why have you broken into our resting place?"

Thanks to book friend: Starry Sky's Little Meatball for 2 monthly tickets, thanks to: Lanxue Flying for 2 monthly tickets, thanks to: Entertainment Player J for 2 monthly tickets, thanks to: I Love Eating Guoguo for 1 monthly ticket, thanks to: Olin233 for 2 monthly tickets, thanks to: Infinite Cruelty for 1 monthly ticket, thanks to: Not Knowing Thus for 1 monthly ticket, thanks to: Numb Corporate Slave for 2 monthly tickets, thanks to: Color God Exterminating Demon for 4 monthly tickets! Thanks to: Cangjiu for 2 monthly tickets!

Thanks to: Not Knowing Thus for the 500 point coin tip!!

Thanks to the book friends for their recommendation votes and subscriptions!

The minor author bows and thanks you here!