Chapter 192: Pure Land (66 Extra 31)

"I can't guarantee that you'll survive after following my command, but if you don't listen… you will definitely die."

As he said this, Shi Diwen glared wide-eyed, staring furiously at the remaining three people.

"Don't ask, don't speak, take their gear, and follow me!"

Shi Diwen took out an ancient, worn book—this was the notebook left behind by his Ceng Zufu years ago.

He told his frightened companions about his origins, and what this notebook meant here?

He said:

"This is our only hope."

In the end, Shi Diwen relied on this notebook to barely calm the other three down, and they silently followed behind him.

The situation seemed to have been brought under control at that point.

But in truth, Shi Diwen had already read through that notebook from childhood to adulthood, and there was no useful information inside at all.

But it was still the only thing the four of them could pin their hopes on at that moment.

He kept praying in his heart, hoping Ceng Zufu could give him guidance, so that he too could escape from this godforsaken place.

And after that, perhaps it really was Ceng Zufu manifesting his spirit, or perhaps the god he believed in finally began to shelter him for the first time—they didn't encounter any problems along the way.

All danger seemed to have vanished; they walked through the fog yet didn't encounter any ambush.

But no one let down their guard—the companions' gruesome fate was still fresh in their minds.

And this walk lasted an entire day.

Shi Diwen and the others entered a special state, completely abandoning thought, charging forward with heads down after choosing a target.

It wasn't until they saw the first unusual place that they stopped, waking as if from a dream.

They saw an enormous lake!

And after seeing nothing but similar trees, this was undoubtedly a tremendous encouragement!

The companions couldn't wait to rush to the lake's edge to replenish their drinking water and wash up properly, but were forcibly held back by Shi Diwen.

As a ranger, he knew one thing very well—such a water source in the forest was surely a drinking spot for all kinds of creatures.

Here, some ferocious beasts would coexist peacefully with their prey, sharing the water source together.

But at this moment, he didn't see a single creature.

Not a single one!

What did this mean?

It meant this place was extremely dangerous!

Of the remaining three companions, two hesitated but chose to half-believe him, while the only female companion did not heed his warning.

She could no longer care about anything else; after breaking free from Shi Diwen's grasp, she charged toward the lake and dove straight in.

……and never came back.

The lake water was calm, but there was no sign of that companion ever appearing again.

Just as Shi Diwen had thought, they had lost another companion.

After waiting an hour, they chose to leave, following the outer edge of the lake around to the opposite side.

But after going around the lake, then what?

Logically speaking, they should have realized they were going the wrong way upon encountering the first landmark, and should have retraced their steps.

But they didn't, still walking on blindly as before.

Where were they going?

No one knew the answer; they simply kept moving forward.

As if there were a voice calling out in their hearts.

Walk forward, don't look back.

And after walking for who knows how long, changes finally appeared in the surroundings.

The fog had thinned somewhat.

They excitedly raised their heads, looking at the full moon in the sky—a blood-red moon, crimson as blood.

The Mist Mountains themselves were already terrifying; the Mist Mountains under the blood moon offered absolutely no chance of survival!

But compared to the fear of already being in a desperate situation, the three of them realized something even more terrifying.

They hadn't been in the fog for two days, but for a full week!

And at the very moment they realized the passage of time, the three of them suddenly felt an immense hunger, and, a strange sense of fullness.

One of them fell to his knees and began vomiting wildly, expelling all the food eaten during this time.

Completely undigested bread, dry hard leather, a metal pocket watch……and two human fingers.

And after vomiting these out, that person looked at those two fingers, as if suddenly recalling something terrifying, and let out a piercing scream.

Then, he was scared to death on the spot.

The group……was down to the last two.

Perhaps they had grown numb to what had happened, Shi Diwen and the other person felt no emotion at the companion's death.

After exchanging a glance, they silently continued forward.

The two walked under the glow of the blood moon, able to feel the greedy gazes from the darkness watching them.

But for some unknown reason, those beings in the shadows merely watched them with cold, sinister eyes, yet not a single one dared step before them.

They watched them all the way, until they arrived before a magnificent, ancient, austere temple.

Memory cut off here.

When Shi Diwen came back to his senses, he was already standing outside the temple, clutching a huge bundle.

And his only remaining companion……had been decapitated, had his limbs cut off, and had become a Sacrifice on the altar.

Who did this?

Shi Diwen lowered his head to look at the wounds on his body and did not think about it any further.

But just as he was preparing to continue walking, the bundle in his arms suddenly trembled.

In that instant, Shi Diwen's entire being snapped awake.

Recalling everything that had happened over this stretch of time, the fear in his heart nearly crushed him, and he almost dropped to his knees on the spot.

What on earth had happened here?

But before Shi Diwen could think further, his body moved on its own… and began to run!

He did not know why he was running, nor where he was running to, but he still ran like a madman.

And after running for who knows how long…

At last, he saw his destination.

Within the thick fog, beneath the blood moon, he saw a patch of pure land utterly out of place with its surroundings.

In the chillingly cold forest, there appeared a stretch of land that had been scorched by raging flames.

And at the center of the scorched earth, a wooden stake stained with golden fresh blood was driven into the ground, radiating a golden glow that silently drove back the darkness and the thick fog.

What is that!!?

Shi Diwen could not tell whether everything before his eyes was an illusion, a true miracle, or a divine feat wrought by the gods.

What kind of mighty power could possibly carve out a patch of pure land in this forbidden zone of life?

Shi Diwen did not know, but he knew that this was very likely his only hope of surviving.

Driven entirely by instinct, he charged into it without a care for anything else.

And the instant he stepped into the shroud of light, he felt the bundle he was holding in his arms tremble for the second time!

At the same time, he seemed to hear a crisp sound.

That sound was as if… something was breaking out of its shell.

Crack.

Extra chapter (31/152), still five… one-fifth!

……

The person was dizzy all afternoon, but finally finished writing.

Waaah, I'll never eat KFC again……

As for the extra chapters, I really do plan to keep up ten-thousand characters a day long-term, I'll definitely be able to pay them all back.

Paying off debts, you know — I'm very good at it (bushi)

By the way, after finishing today's writing, it just happens to be exactly four million characters written on Qidian.



(End of chapter)