The rising sun shatters the darkness!

Chapter 437 The Mystery of the Ruins (asking for monthly tickets)
The aura of death was dissipating, but the scene was quiet.

At this point, Kamiya Goye, the person who played the most important role in Xu Shu's life, "biological father", is dead.

With the disappearance of the third-stage late corpse king, Xie Xiaochan and others finally felt relieved.

A deadly battle ended, but although victory was ultimately achieved, it came at a considerable price.

"Kaishunkan" Hayashi Masayoshi and "Butcher" Ainz, two third-level masters, both died here.

From moving forward cautiously at the beginning, to the almost overwhelming advantage and high morale after changing strategy in the middle, to the victory at the final cost.

In just one hour, everyone experienced the ups and downs of life.

Thinking of the horrific deaths of those two people, even a strong person like the third level couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

At this moment, some people were even thinking, if Lin Zhengxing and Ainz had not proposed to change the battle plan halfway, would it be possible that the two of them would not have died?
After all, although the enemy is strong, our strength is not weak at all.

I believe that if Lin Zhengxing had the chance to do it again, he would not be so confident.

All I can say is what a pity!
As the saying goes, life is like a game of chess, and you should never regret your moves. Every choice you make may have far-reaching impacts, just like the flapping of a butterfly’s wings!

Legend or decay, it all depends on your thought!
Perhaps many years later, Lin Zhengxing will make a comeback. Who knows, the regretful death experience in this life will bring about a change in his destiny as a new person?
Xu Shu: “…”

【You sent out a string of ellipsis, could it be that you feel the same way? 】

"..." The corner of Xu Shu's mouth twitched, and he turned his eyes away from the Taichu Scroll speechlessly.

Maybe it’s because the revolving door failed to be sent, so I started to do a “settlement evaluation” for myself?

If it weren't for the two resurrections, Taichujuan could probably be the atmosphere group this time...

He did not continue to watch the self-directed and self-acted Taichu Volume. Instead, he took two steps, patted his knees, and stood up while holding the mermaid on his waist. He said:

"It was a close call. Thanks to everyone's strong strength, we were able to hold back the corpse king. Otherwise, we would have been in trouble! Alas, it's a pity that Ainz and Brother Lin both died here. I'm sure they would cheer for us if they knew we won."

In fact, most of the five corpse kings this time were killed by Xu Shu alone.

As soon as he said this, everyone blushed.

"Brother Xu, what you said really makes me embarrassed. If it weren't for you this time, we would all have died at the hands of the Zombie King!" Ning Zhaoxuan waved his hands repeatedly without having time to feel sorry for his dead companions.

Xu Shu said: "Brother Ning, what are you talking about? Without you, I can't get over the beauty."

"Me too, me too!" Yan Shan raised both hands in agreement, feeling that Xu Shu was a close friend. Who knew that sometimes it would be hard to suppress one's emotions and feel the bitter pain?

"I said I can't pass the mermaid test." Xu Shu glanced at him and added silently.

"..." Yan Shan's expression froze.

At this moment, the original atmosphere of regret for teammates was swept away, and under the leadership of Xu Shu, everyone began to flatter each other.

"Brother Xu, you are too modest. This time it all depends on you."

"No, no, you are not being too modest. In fact, Sister Biyun also deserves great credit. I think it's all thanks to her."

"Ah? No, no, no, I didn't contribute anything at all. It's all thanks to Sister Rong."

"No, no, no, thanks to Sister Yueming."

"No no no..."

"No no no..."

Amidst the noise of flattery, Xie Xiaochan could no longer endure it: "Stop arguing, this is all my credit!"

"..."

Everyone immediately looked at her with squinted eyes.

Your contribution?

Who the hell are you?
At this time, Xu Shu stuffed several crystals into his trouser pockets in front of everyone. These would be distributed uniformly after the end. At the same time, he asked the most critical question:
"What should we say next? With two people missing, can we still go to the special secret place in the ruins?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expressions suddenly became serious and they began to think about this issue seriously, making the atmosphere very depressing.

After a while, Yan Shan looked left and right, and seeing that no one was talking, he was the first to speak with emotion: "Alas, this is difficult. In my opinion, it is difficult to continue the ruins. Who would have thought that the person who should not have died the most would die?"

"???"

After listening to the first half of his sentence, his teammates took over the conversation with some agreement.

Who would have thought that he would say something like this afterwards.

At this point, everyone was offended and said unhappily, “Do you think there is anyone here who should have died but didn’t?”

"No, no, that's not what I meant. I meant, I meant..." Yan Shan hurriedly defended himself, his face flushed red.

"You'd better stop talking for now." Seeing this, the others were too lazy to say anything to him.

But I still feel a little uncomfortable inside.

In fact, what Yan Shan said is correct.

Logically speaking, as a "rogue" in stage three, Ainz is the one who is least likely to die here.

Among all the professions in the Super Alliance, rogues are the most likely to survive.

It is not uncommon to hear of cases where a punitive team was completely wiped out, but the gangster in the team was the only one to survive.

The reason is simple. The "Bloodthirsty" skill in the first stage of "Rogue" can lock the source of danger and the intensity of danger in advance.

With this bug-level ability that can almost be described as "seeking good fortune and avoiding danger", and the fact that the "rogue" profession itself is well-known for being good at running away, the "rogue" has become the standard for all teams whether they are pioneering or conquering ruins.

It would be fine if only Lin Zhengxing died, the ruins can still be cleared without him.

But the third-level "rogue" who was responsible for exploring the way also died, which is a big problem.

Without Ainz as their "guide to seek good fortune and avoid danger", forcing their way through the ruins would be like crossing a river in the dark.

By then, it is hard to say whether you will encounter something more dangerous and terrifying, or step into a cave of tens of thousands of evil spirits!

So even though Yan Shan’s words were unpleasant to hear, that was the truth.

Without Ainz, this ruins cannot be explored properly!

After a few minutes, everyone looked at each other and nodded, reaching a consensus - this expedition to the ruins could be considered to be over, and they had to leave early.

Of course, it is easy to enter the ruins, but it is not so easy to get out.

Especially for large ruins, it is more troublesome to exit.

Because you cannot "pass the level successfully", once you enter, you must wait until the effect of the "Heart Fire Incense Burner" ends before you can leave due to the repulsive force within the ruins.

According to Xie Xiaochan, the incense burner she exchanged this time was of extremely high quality and very expensive, and it could last for two full days and nights.

It is difficult to judge the sunrise and sunset in the ruins, but it can be calculated as 48 hours.

Nowadays, it takes less than five hours at most to use this stove, so it is a huge waste.

The only thing that everyone feels fortunate or unfortunate about now is that this unremarkable hospital is truly a place of hidden talents.

Just the various first- and second-level ghost soldiers killed hundreds of crystals.

Not to mention, there are even five third-level beings.

Among them, this late-stage corpse king is especially so, and is actually at the flawless level.

The income from the third-order crystals alone is enough to offset the consumption of the furnace, and there is even a slight surplus. If we go back and reorganize the staff, it will only take some time, so it is not a loss!

Well, this doesn't even take into account the fact that both teammates have cursed tools and can loot the loot with tears in their eyes... ahem, no, don't think like that, these relics should be returned to their families!
If there is...

While everyone was correcting their greed, they all looked at Xu Shu at the same time.

Xie Xiaochan understood what everyone meant, so she took the initiative to ask, "Xu Shu, what is the level of that evil monk?"

As they were talking, everyone turned their eyes to Xu Shu, and subconsciously looked at the mermaid he was riding.

For some reason, I vaguely feel that this mermaid seems to be different from before... Hmm, why does her head become pointed?
But since it didn't go crazy, it meant that this "Sharp" had never been removed, and it had been reincarnated and had a second-level crystal.

Everyone was thinking this, but then they saw Xu Shu waving his hand: "To be honest, I had the upper hand at the beginning and had a chance to take it down, but it looked bad later and turned into a purple light and fled. I was worried about everyone's safety, so I didn't dare to chase it and could only let it get away!"

"Escaped?" Several people widened their eyes.

Xu Shu nodded. "Yes, it has a very special ability, which is similar to the Gambler's path. It has recovered its body after being beaten to pieces by me several times, and the thorn worm has no restraining effect on it."

In fact, the evil monk Wujie did not run away, but became a member of the Little Jade Buddha Band.

Of course Xu Shu couldn't say such a thing. He couldn't possibly put in so much effort and then have to pay for the crystals and share the profits, right?
That is absolutely not allowed!
"So that's it..."

"Flesh and blood reorganization? It sounds like the ability of flesh and blood to ascend?"

"It must be the esoteric teacher!"

"No wonder! Gangsters are slippery and hard to catch, but once they meet gamblers of the same level, they will be defeated by nature!"

This was beyond Xu Shu's expectations. After a brief moment of confusion, everyone expressed sudden realization and understanding.

In their opinion, the demon monk was terribly powerful. It was reasonable that Xu Shu failed to keep him now. It was in line with everyone's expectations of the "human list goalkeeper".

Before Xu Shu had time to think about how to explain it later, everyone had already come up with excuses for him. Instead, they said, "Brother Xu, don't worry about it," and tried to comfort him.

This made Xu Shu laugh and cry, but also saved him a lot of trouble.

Next, everyone discussed it for a while and finally reached a consensus.

For safety reasons, they camped in this hospital and waited together for the incense burner's protection time to end before being expelled from the ruins.

The hospital was originally a rather scary monster nest, where strong monsters lived there, making other monsters around afraid to approach.

Now it is being used properly as a line of defense.

After the goal was unified, there was naturally a division of labor, with everyone taking turns to take turns on duty.

Even though this place is most likely safe, we cannot be careless and must remain vigilant at all times to avoid being exploited by other monsters without knowing it.

After discussion, there were seven people in total: Xu Shu and "the man of drama" Gu Yueming in one group, the evil apostle and Yan Shan in one group, and Xie Xiaochan and Jiang Biyun in one group.

The "Soul Catcher" Ning Zhaoxuan, relying on his advantage of becoming a fishman, is directly responsible for guarding the underground sewers, focusing on taking multiple aspects into consideration and providing support back and forth.

Everyone had a clear division of labor, and they agreed on signals, preparing to hide in their respective corners and act as "sentinels."

This cautious attitude is even more cautious than when he first entered the hospital.

Xu Shu also sighed in a low voice: "At first I thought that entering the ruins was to kill a lot of people, but I didn't expect that the ruins were no less dangerous than the wasteland.

“Strange, if you know the enemy is powerful and there is such a great risk of casualties, why do you have to take the risk of entering the ruins?

"Can't you just continue to practice and improve your strength first, and then crush me when you are strong enough?"

Everyone turned around and looked at Xu Shu: "Brother Xu, why do you sound like..."

Xie Xiaochan rolled her eyes and said, "You think we are bad, right?"

Jiang Biyun, Yan Shan and others lowered their heads, feeling extremely ashamed.

"Ah, I'm not saying you're not strong enough, I'm just curious, don't get me wrong!

"But I do wonder. This place is full of powerful enemies. If you want to come here to kill monsters and make money, it's not a good place. Why don't you find a small ruin or slowly save money in the wasteland?"

Xu Shu tried to smooth things over and take care of everyone's young hearts, but he found that the way they looked at him became more and more strange. He couldn't help but pause and asked:
"Uh, why are you looking at me like that? Am I saying something wrong?"

Jiang Xiao, Yan Ning and the other two looked at Xu Shu blankly: "..."

After a while, Jiang Biyun, who had been very quiet since entering the ruins, finally asked, "Do you really not know or are you pretending not to know?"

"Haha, Brother Xu is just teasing you." Ning Zhaoxuan chuckled self-righteously.

"No way, no way, there really can't be someone who doesn't know about this? Haha, Brother Xu is afraid that we are too nervous, so he wants to help us calm down." Yan Shan laughed, and the others could only laugh awkwardly.

"No, stop! I really don't understand, is this common sense?" Xu Shu was quite surprised.

"..."The smiles of several people froze and they looked at each other, seemingly not knowing how to answer.

“It’s not common sense, but…” Jiang Biyun pursed her lips, with a weird expression, and closed her mouth.

"But what? Just tell me." Xu Shu was convinced.

Who has spoiled these people's habit of speaking half the words?
Especially you, Jiang Biyun, you can open your eyes wide when you scream, why are you pretending to be mute?
This feeling of "I know there is something I don't understand, and you also know that I don't understand it, but no one tells me what it is" made Xu Shu feel like there were ants scratching his heart.

Xie Xiaochan knew that he was not pretending to be illiterate, but she was still curious and asked: "Don't you have a teacher? Why didn't he teach you anything? This is too incompetent."

Gu Yueming who was standing next to her thought she was talking about Gu Pan. For some reason, she immediately lowered her eyes, walked aside quietly to wait for Xu Shu, as if she didn't want to get involved in the topic.

Xu Shu knew that Xie Xiaochan was referring to the powerful "Taichu" behind him, so he could only look at the bride for help.

Xie Xiaochan could only say: "Well, okay, don't tease him anymore. Although he is strong, he lacks reading. Let's all go away."

Having said this, Xie Xiaochan acted as a teacher herself, performed the work of teaching and educating, explained the reasons, and enlightened Xu Shu - Xu Shu thought this was what she should do.

After hearing what Xie Xiaochan said, Xu Shu finally realized that there was a very strange phenomenon: the more dangers and challenges a transcendental person encounters in the ruins, the more chances they have to gain enlightenment and break through their current bottleneck in cultivation!

This is why, even though the ruins seem to have many restrictions, people still come here in droves and form teams enthusiastically.

The ruins do contain a large number of secret treasures that are difficult to obtain from the outside world. This is also one of the driving forces. However, no matter how precious the secret treasure is, it has a price and can be bought.

The only chance for enlightenment to break through the bottleneck is to enter the ruins yourself to challenge it, which is a priceless treasure!

"How could such a thing happen!" Xu Shu expressed his surprise.

"It turns out that Brother Xu really didn't know about this!" Yan Shan was even more surprised than him.

Xiao Yingrong sighed and said, "You are so naive, brother. Do you really think that everyone is here just for the money? If not, why would I, your sister, be here to fight for my life and death for a chance? Isn't it for that one chance of breakthrough that countless people have fallen here?"

"Alas, Brother An and Brother Lin told me that they also came here to find an opportunity to break through to the middle stage." Xie Xiaochan suddenly sighed with emotion.

"Oh... so that's how it is. I've learned something!"

Xu Shu nodded, thinking that it was no wonder that everyone came in even though they were so afraid of death.

I almost forgot that there is actually a bottleneck in cultivation!
If you want to go further, you have to put your head on your waist and move forward.

However, the ruins actually have such a function?
Xu Shu touched his chin and looked at him, wanting to ask the reason or whether there was some secret hidden.

But after observation, he found that everyone knew the result but not the reason, so he had to give up and followed his aunt's steps, heading to the east side which was the direction their group was responsible for.

Now that everything had been settled, Xu Shu finally had some free time. As he walked, he took out the iron box that Ainz had given him, opened it and took a look.

There was only one fairly well-preserved photo inside, which showed a little girl who looked no more than six years old. She was innocent and cute, with a healing smile.

“He doesn’t look much like Ainz… uh, why does this face look familiar?” Xu Shu looked at him and suddenly his expression froze.

(End of this chapter)