secret dice.

Chapter 820 The Initial Ascension
"you!"

The Celestial Venerable also saw the black flame; with his abilities, he could sense its danger from a great distance.

"What did you do to Agaree?!"

"I gave her a little gift!" Luo Jun sneered. "Don't worry, with her Ascension level, this thing won't kill her immediately, but if it drags on, things might change. Besides, with her mental strength, she probably won't be able to undo it..."

At this moment, the Ice Queen had also arrived beside Luo Jun, her magical power surging.

The Celestial Venerable glanced at the two of them, gritted his teeth, and snorted coldly: "When we reach the hundredth floor, the doors on both sides will open up again. We'll meet again!"

After saying that, he plunged headfirst into the portal.

Although he wanted nothing more than to kill the masked man, he knew from Luo Jun's ability to capture Ajali that this guy was not easy to deal with. Rather than wasting time here, his daughter's safety was more important.

Seeing that the dangerous Celestial Venerable had finally left, Luo Jun secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then he turned to look at the Ice Queen.

"You seem to know him?"

The Ice Queen frowned and nodded slightly: "I thought he was long dead. I never expected to see him again after all these years."

"Is he from the main world?" Luo Jun asked, frowning.

“Yes, and he was once a renowned expert in the main world, the pinnacle of the cultivation world!” The Ice Queen sighed: “If it weren’t for that accident back then, he would be an expert who could be compared to Wan Guiyuan and Jin Di now.”

Upon hearing this, Luo Jun was even more puzzled: "To be mentioned alongside Wan Guiyuan and the Golden Emperor? Who could possibly have that kind of ability?"

"In the entire main world, I'm not sure..." the Ice Queen said slowly, "but in Zhen Dan, he should be the first person to ascend to immortality!"

The first person from Aurora to ascend to immortality?
Upon hearing this, Luo Jun's eyes widened. After pondering for a moment, he uttered a name.

"He is... Ling Yang?"

The Snow Queen nodded.

As students of the Explorers Academy, in addition to cultivating their vital energy, they will also learn some cultural courses, including the basic overview of the various worlds, local customs and traditions, and the history of the development of vital energy in humankind over the past hundred years.

When it comes to this, there is one name that cannot be ignored: Lingyang!

Although Wan Guiyuan is now widely recognized as the number one expert in Zhen Dan, he was not the first person to successfully ascend to immortality a hundred years ago. Instead, it was Ling Yang, the head of the Ling family at the time!

Since ancient times, the Ling family has lived and thrived on Lingyun Island. After a door appeared there, the Ling family was among the first to explore, coming into contact with the abundant spiritual energy of heaven and earth and comprehending the methods of cultivating primordial energy. The head of the Ling family at that time was not only a man of great talent and ambition but also exceptionally gifted. Less than ten years after the "door opened," he completed the cultivation of strengthening his foundation and concentrating his mind, becoming the first person in Zhen Dan, and possibly even the entire main world, to ascend to immortality!
This speed was astonishing, not only in that naive era but even now, in this age where people have a much more thorough understanding of Qi and have developed standardized training systems! Keep in mind that the top experts of his era, including Wan Guiyuan who saw the [Mythical] Stone Tablet, the Pope, and the Golden Emperor, all achieved ascension much later than him. Elder Yuan hasn't even achieved ascension yet…

Therefore, despite the textbook's description, many scholars and experts in the field speculate that when Ling Yang crossed the gate, he did not only see a barbaric world full of monsters, but he may have found an ancient ruin and learned a mysterious cultivation method from it!
In short, for a considerable period of time, the world recognized four great masters. Ling Yang, as the ancestor of the Ling family, held a position in the cultivation world that was on par with Wan Guiyuan, the Pope, and the Golden Emperor.

However, more than ten years ago, this ancestor of the Ling family passed away.

Luo Jun hadn't heard the details of what happened, only that Ling Jue, the younger brother of the current family head Ling Ao and hailed as a once-in-a-century genius, was also among those who perished. He was the biological father of Ling Xin and Ling Yao.

"If he is Ling Yang, doesn't he look far too young?" Luo Jun frowned.

Although there are no photos in the textbooks, there are records about Ling Yang. When this patriarch discovered the gate to another world, he was already middle-aged. After ten years of cultivation, even if his age was locked when he reached the point of ascension, he should have looked at least fifty years old. But this "Celestial Venerable" looks to be only around thirty...

“I don’t know either,” the Ice Queen said. “But I’m sure he is Ling Yang… Maybe he, like me, has also used the kiss of the Goddess of Life, or maybe it’s some kind of mysterious treasure or ability. He does look much younger.”

As she spoke, she shook her head: "Since he can come back to life, he's just become younger, which is nothing to mention..."

"How exactly did he die back then?" Luo Jun pressed.

The Ice Queen looked at him: "I wasn't involved in that incident. If you have the chance, you can ask Wan Guiyuan and Yuan Shouzhen. They witnessed Ling Yang's demise..."

Master? Luo Jun frowned slightly. It seemed there was more to that matter back then than met the eye.

As the two were talking, the others arrived. From afar, they saw a group of unidentified individuals emerge from the gate, and a battle ensued. However, most of the battle was obscured by the Ice Queen's glaciers, making it impossible to see clearly. Moreover, they dared not interfere in a battle between beings of different origins, and only approached to inquire after everyone had left.

"Alright, let's report this to Wan Guiyuan when we get back to the main world." The Ice Queen looked at the others: "The portal has been opened. According to the records, the target world for teleportation is constantly changing and the location is not fixed. Everyone had better be prepared, lest we finally leave this place only to have our car overturn on the way home."

Everyone nodded in agreement and began lining up to enter the portal.

Those official strategists in the distance looked puzzled upon seeing this.

"How did they get in?" a deputy commander asked curiously. "Isn't the other side of the legendary gate supposed to lead to a dangerous otherworld? So many powerful otherworldly monsters just came out. Don't these 'Cerebral Thrombosis Assault Team' guys know they're scared?"

Commander Zoron frowned and didn't say anything. After watching everyone pass through the portal, he suddenly took to the air and rushed over as well!

"Hey, Commander!" The others tried to stop him, but it was too late. They could only watch helplessly as Zoron rushed to the portal and plunged inside!
…………

After passing through the portal, Luo Jun's surroundings changed, and he found himself in a dusty, dilapidated living room. "Where... am I?"

Luo Jun frowned. There was a putrid smell in the air. The living room had a Western-style decor. There were dried fruits of some kind on the dining table. The dining chairs were overturned on the floor, and dried, blackened bloodstains could be seen in the corner.

Judging from the thickness of the dust, it must have been uninhabited for a long time. Some of the wooden structures showed signs of rot, and the curtains and tablecloths were obviously faded and full of holes...

Luo Jun tried to mobilize the magic power within his body, but there was no reaction at all. It seems that the magic learned in the [game] really cannot be brought to other worlds, not to mention things like character interfaces.

But the good thing is that the treasure box can be used again.

Luo Jun opened the treasure box, took out the Extreme Underwear and some clothes and put them on.

Although it seems that Ling Yang's intruders did not remove his clothes, Luo Jun was wearing equipment from the [game] world, which has now all disappeared, leaving him naked.

"First, we need to determine which world this is."

I glanced at the entrance to the house; it was blocked by haphazardly placed objects, and the windows were reinforced with wooden planks.

Luo Jun came to the bedside, reached out and removed the wooden board, and glanced out the window.

This appears to be a secluded detached house, with overgrown weeds in the yard. Looking further into the distance, a few scattered houses can be seen, suggesting a small suburban village.

Just as Luo Jun was observing, he suddenly heard a noise behind him.

He turned around and saw the bathroom door slowly open, and then a strange man with tattered clothes, dry skin, and rotten teeth walked out.

"Zombies?"

The strange man's slow movements and whimpering sounds immediately reminded Luo Jun of this term, and at the same time, he realized which world he had entered!
This place must be a wasteland ravaged by the eternal virus, which has nearly wiped out humanity!
This zombie was likely the original owner of the house, and he was probably responsible for all the security measures. However, he was infected for unknown reasons and became trapped here. Now, after a long period of hibernation, he was awakened by Luo Jun's sudden appearance in the house and pounced on him driven by his bloodlust.

It's been dead for so long and hasn't evolved into stage two. It's a pitiful zombie.

Luo Jun waved his hand, sending the guy to the afterlife, then broke through the wall and came outside.

The air outside is much better; the faint stench of decay inside the room is gone, and you can even smell the fragrance of grass and earth. It seems that the environment has actually improved since the number of humans has decreased.

According to the information Luo Jun possessed, the main threat to the [Wasteland] world should be the mutated zombies at various stages after being infected by the Eternal Virus. He had once witnessed a third-tier zombie in Shannan Town of [Martial World]. Theoretically, this thing could naturally evolve to the fourth tier, and legend has it that it was almost comparable to the monsters of the [Catastrophe] world.

I don't know how many there are around here, or if I'll even run into one... but that's not important. The most urgent thing is to find the door to this world and get back to the main world!
With that thought in mind, Luo Jun took to the air and flew off in a random direction.

Even without using the moon-walking technique, his normal flight speed can reach Mach 10, and circling the Earth would only take a few hours. He doesn't believe that even after circling a few more times, he still won't find a human settlement.

…………

Kohler Island is a small island located in a bay on the eastern coast of the Northern Continent, only three kilometers from the nearest land. Separated by the sea, it became one of the few havens when the Eternal Virus ravaged the world. Many human survivors gathered on the island, establishing a secluded paradise where they have lived and multiplied for many years.

Of course, this so-called paradise is relative to the wasteland world teeming with monsters and viruses. Compared to other peaceful, stable, and resource-rich worlds, survival here is still very difficult. For one thing, on a small island of only a few square kilometers, even basic necessities are a problem.

There are currently about two thousand survivors living here. The amount of food these people consume every day is not small. Although crops are grown on the island, it is far from enough to meet the daily needs of the people. Fortunately, the Eternal Virus seems to only be effective against relatively advanced mammals and reptiles. No signs of infection have been found in the fish in the sea, and fishing can solve part of the food problem.

Even so, the island still needs to regularly send exploration teams to the mainland to collect supplies in order to ensure the survival of its people.

"Joel and the others have been gone for almost a week, haven't they?" On the lighthouse on the west coast of Kohler Island, an elderly man with a large beard held up old binoculars, looking at the mainland coast a few kilometers away. "They haven't returned for so long, could something have happened to them?"

"After so many years of looting, although Gough Harbor was once a bustling metropolis, there probably isn't much left of their supplies. They said last time that they planned to go ashore again to explore even more distant areas." Next to the bearded man sat an old bald man who struck a match, lit his pipe, took a few deep drags to ignite it completely, and then took a satisfying puff.

"Ugh... this damn virus!" The bearded old man put down his binoculars and shook his head. "I wonder when this will ever end..."

"Do you still have any hope?" The bald old man asked, holding his pipe. "The continent is now in the hands of those monsters. We might be the last surviving humans. Once we're all dead, the human era will be over."

“Jenny died of pneumonia a few days ago. Back then, that wouldn’t have been a big deal, but now there’s a lack of antibiotics on the island, and any disease can kill someone. We’ll just have to take it one day at a time. We should thank God that we’ve survived today.”

"Something's wrong, there's movement!" Just then, the bearded old man raised his binoculars again: "Look at the shore, that boat is moving!"

The bald old man could see with his naked eye a large ship slowly moving on the opposite bank, heading this way.

"Looks like they succeeded!" the bald old man said with a smile. "A ship full of supplies should last for a while..."

"But that's strange, why didn't I see them loading supplies?" the bearded old man asked, puzzled. "I've been watching the dock across the way. Joel took over fifty men there. If they were loading supplies, I couldn't have missed it. Could there be something wrong?"

"Don't think too much about it," the bald old man chuckled. "It's good that people are back. Those zombies can't even sail a boat..."

(End of this chapter)