Chapter 319: Xia Tao

You have successfully joined the Flame Squad.

As the name suggests, the members of the Flame Squad are all enthusiastic, and after learning your age and talent, their enthusiasm doubles.

They all treat you like a younger brother.

Including you, the Flame Squad has seven members: five men and two women.

Captain Gu Yan is the strongest, and the vice‑captain is one of the two women, named Xia Tao, who also has a very fiery personality.

Perhaps because you are cute, Vice‑Captain Xia Tao often teases you.

She basically treats you like a child.

Seven days later is the day of the Dark Extinction Squad operation.

Captain Gu Yan, changing his usual style, says gravely: "Before we set out, I'll repeat the route and objective of this operation."

"The passage into the Dark Extinction World is numbered 9527."

"This passage has been opened 9,376 times, and many Dark Extinction Squads have explored the area corresponding to '9527'."

"Therefore there are no usable resources near the passage; we must go a thousand li beyond it to obtain resources."

"The map has already been marked."

The deeper you go, the more dangerous it becomes; this is a line all Dark Extinction Squad members must remember.

There were too many powerful cultivators in the previous world; they have all turned into dark shadow lifeforms, and if those cultivators are awakened, the Flame Squad faces grim odds.

You already know the cultivation realms of the squad members.

Captain Gu Yan is Mortal Dust Seventh Realm complete, Vice‑Captain Xia Tao is Mortal Dust Seventh Realm early stage, and the other members are all Mortal Dust Sixth Realm.

You are the weakest, having only just broken through Mortal Dust Fifth Realm.

But no one despises your weakness; everyone cares for you, and you can even feel their deliberate flattery.

"Let's go!"

Under Captain Gu Yan's lead, you set out.

Entering the Dark Extinction World passage, you feel a powerful pressure, and spatial fluctuations beat wildly on you like a raging storm.

Vice‑Captain Xia Tao wraps you in her arms, letting you hide in her embrace.

The impact of the spatial fluctuations lessens.

What comes toward you is another kind of fluctuation.

After a long time, you reach the end of the passage and arrive at a bleak world in ruins.

Congratulations on unlocking the rare achievement — Little Explorer (complete the first exploration of the Dark Extinction World before age eight).

These past days, Lin Chuan has unlocked many daily achievements, over seventy in total.

But the rare achievements total only five.

The goal of 'ninety‑nine' is still far away.

As for special achievements, not only have they not been unlocked, there's no clue how to unlock them.

He has also never encountered any major events that profoundly affect the world line.

Dark Extinction World, desolate in every direction.

You see countless lives entangled by dark shadows, heads raised to the sky, motionless.

Across the Heavenly Dome hangs a massive black sun.

The black sun's eerie light seems to erode you, but the pure world spirit artifact shields you; if the eerie light continues to affect you, you may become a dark shadow lifeform.

"Shu, this is your first time here; you must have already felt it."

Captain Gu Yan says: "We step here, constantly suffering the erosion of An Ying Zhu, and can only rely on the pure world spirit artifact for protection."

"Therefore, before the pure world spirit artifact's power is exhausted, we must gather enough resources to leave."

"Shu, are you scared? Nervous?"

"Not scared, but a bit nervous," you reply honestly.

Gu Yan laughs: "I hope you truly aren't scared."

Xia Tao takes your hand, "Shu, stay behind me, keep pace with me, and do not cross the Forbidden Line."

The so‑called Forbidden Line is the sensory boundary of dark shadow lifeforms.

Through the investigations of countless predecessors in the Jing Tu world, the sensory boundary of dark shadow lifeforms has been mapped.

Later explorers find it relatively much easier.

Of course, this does not include brand‑new areas.

The discovery of any new area inevitably requires countless drops of blood as sacrifice before the clouds can be cleared to reveal light.

The team advances; our target is a thousand li away.

At your current pace, it will take ten days to reach there.

Retreat time is reserved for fifteen days.

The pure world spirit artifact can sustain sixty days, so you have thirty‑five days for exploration.

Along the way forward, Xia Tao constantly holds your hand.

You can feel the dampness of her palm, along with anxiety and fear.

You ask, "Sister Xia Tao, are you scared?"

"I'm not scared."

Xia Tao says, "I, your sister, have been here many times; how could I be scared?"

You smile faintly and say nothing.

You have seen too many people who say one thing and think another, but their lies are not all malicious.

Under the experienced Captain Gu Yan's leadership, the ten‑day march proceeds without incident, and you safely arrive at the region a thousand li away.

"Arrived."

Captain Gu Yan stopped, "Going further ahead, it's an unexplored area, but after previous scouting, reasoning, and linking clues, we have obtained some information."

The area ahead should be a territory called the Great Hammer Sect.

The number of shadow lifeforms inside should be relatively dense; the good news is that the highest-ranking sect leader of the Great Hammer Sect is only at Mortal Dust Seventh Realm early stage.

After transforming into shadow lifeforms, combat power will be weaker.

If the operation goes smoothly, we can seize all of the Great Hammer Sect's resources, which would be a huge contribution.

Captain Gu Yan gave a brief rundown of the information about the Great Hammer Sect.

The danger level of this operation was classified as Medium.

"Begin the operation."

At Captain Gu Yan's command, Jianfeng charged at the front, Deputy Captain Xia Tao was responsible for scouting the left side, and another Mortal Dust Sixth Realm fully realized cultivator scouted the right.

The three of them advanced in a triangular formation, while you and the other team members stayed in the middle to ensure the Forbidden line would not be crossed.

With the aid of the Pure World Spirit Vessel, your scouting range exceeds the perception limits of most shadow lifeforms.

But danger is usually hidden.

Many things can interfere with the Pure World Spirit Vessel's scanning, leading to accidents.

Or encountering shadow lifeforms with perception limits far broader than the Pure World Spirit Vessel's range, a situation that guarantees death.

"Library?!"

After a while, Captain Gu Yan let out a low exclamation; he had found a hidden cultivation resource spot of the Great Hammer Sect.

In the former world, many sects' places for storing cultivation texts were called Libraries.

This is an important resource point second only to the Sect Treasure Vault.

Your gaze fell there; around the Library, numerous shadow lifeforms lingered, leaving almost no blind spots.

Inside the Library, an invisible formation guards it, and the Pure World Spirit Vessel cannot scan the situation clearly.

It is destined to either march into danger or give up.