Chapter 20: Primordial Labyrinth

The town’s peacekeeping squad arrived quickly.

Seeing the guests cheering, some raised their hands to show off their muscles, others lay unconscious.

At first, they thought it was just another ordinary tavern brawl—something that happened every few days.

But as they recognized the faces of the two people,

They were stunned.

Those were the very faces on the wanted posters their captain had just issued!

Good heavens, everyone else is hiding in corners, but you? You come straight to a tavern to fight.

The peacekeepers suppressed their joy and dragged the two criminals out of the tavern.

“Who is this tavern’s owner?”

Luo De downed his drink in one gulp, deeply curious.

“Valery Valentin, native of Shi Ying Town, worked in the royal capital years ago, returned suddenly a few years back, and opened this Violet Tavern.”

Pete said casually.

He’d been doing business here for years and knew more gossip about Shi Ying Town than the younger boys.

“Military?”

“It’s hard to find out anything about him,” Pete shook his head.

Luo De turned his gaze back to the owner, Valery, remembering Giant’s Wine.

Could it really be that he stole it from the Giants?

Valery suddenly turned his head and locked eyes with Luo De.

Luo De raised his cup in greeting.

The man immediately laughed and walked over.

“Mr. Luo De!”

“You know me?”

Luo De wasn’t a drinker—he spent only half a day a week in town, busy with paperwork and acquiring resources, so he’d visited the Violet Tavern only a handful of times.

“Of course! Who in Shi Ying Town doesn’t know about the forest warden who saved Daphne?”

He waved his hand: “Any Shi Ying resident would’ve done the same in that situation.”

“Well said! Your drinks are on the house!”

Valery laughed heartily.

His broad palm clapped Luo De’s shoulder, squeezing hard enough to hurt.

“When I worked in the capital, the Argyle family helped me several times—you saved Daphne, so you helped me!”

Luo De’s eyes brightened slightly.

He couldn’t help but feel hopeful—Valery was clearly no ordinary man.

Could this be another chance to cling to a powerful ally?

“Next time you want a drink, come to the Violet Tavern—I’ll give you a 95% discount. No, make it 90%! Hahaha, is that not loyal?”

Luo De: _

The three chatted for a while.

Soon they parted ways.

Luo De bought some spell traps from Pete, planning to set them at various entrances to the forest.

Returned to the forest.

Luo De left Tally to cook, then headed toward the Eucalyptus Zone.

Eucalyptus Zone.

Scorpion Woman Hera took the spell sack filled with treasures.

She smiled, her black hair obscuring her eyes—was she even looking at Luo De?

Only then did Luo De notice a sensual beauty mark near her chin.

“For an older woman, such a direct gift truly brings joy.”

She sat atop a tree trunk.

Her snow-white bare feet hung naturally, one hand clutching the spell sack, the other crossed over her chest.

“Speak, young warden—what do you hope to gain from me?”

“I have no desire to gain anything. But every night, thinking of your troubles, I cannot sleep,” Luo De said with heartfelt anguish. “So as soon as the merchant delivered these treasures, I brought them to you immediately—only to ease my insomnia.”

Scorpion Woman Hera laughed loudly, with no decorum.

Luo De saw her full mouth of jagged fangs—and for some reason, instead of being frightened, he found them strikingly distinctive.

She leapt down from the tree.

“I accept you as my junior. Bring me more such treasures in the future—I won’t let you lose out.”

Saying this,

She pulled two small vials from her deep cleavage and tossed them over.

Luo De caught them—transparent glass containers holding emerald green and black-purple liquids.

The bottles radiated a faint, alluring warmth.

“Your human base resistances are too weak—you’re easily countered by powerful spiritual arts. This one is my specially blended venom; after full absorption, it will permanently and greatly increase your resistance to poison and fire.”

“The other is a poison effective against those below the eighth rank.”

Permanent resistance boost!

Such items were already extremely rare—especially for humans, who had low resistance across all attributes!

And this was also a high-rank offensive weapon!

Worth far more than five hundred Jin Along!

Luo De quickly thanked her.

The digestion of the full-resistance venom proved far harder than expected.

Days passed, and only his poison resistance rose slightly.

Luo De simply gave up and returned to his quiet life as a forest warden.

Since the bloody scene at the cabin last time,

Vivian had developed a bad habit: whenever they met, she’d sneak in a kiss—luckily, only on the cheek.

But the half-deer child Ko refused to accept the explanation about milk, and did his best to keep Vivian away from the warden’s cabin.

During this time, Luo De had not used [Spirit of Growth] on Little Band. He was the type who hoarded everything for one big burst.

He fed Band daily and sometimes told stories nearby to lull it to sleep.

His goal: max out its affection before its transformation.

That day, after completing his daytime patrol duties,

Luo De did not return to the cabin.

He packed his gear, mounted his horse, and rode toward Shuangzhi Mountain.

Last night, the Wingcrystal tribe member Xiti sent word: the entrance to the Primordial Labyrinth had stabilized and was now passable.

He had come to invite Luo De.

An hour later,

Luo De arrived at Shuangzhi Mountain.

For the first time in over half a month, he re-entered the abandoned labyrinth.

All the corpses inside had been cleared away.

A thick layer of dust covered the ground; the evening’s fading light carved a “pillar” of floating dust through the air.

Xiti flew out from within.

“Mr. Luo De, please follow this way.”

They walked deeper.

Soon they reached the stone door.

The stone door now had no spiritual glow—it stood open, indistinguishable from ordinary stone.

Yet the space within was smaller than expected.

Roughly twenty square meters.

On the central bookstand sat a golden crystal shaped like a book.

“Mr. Luo De, please touch the Sacred Book and input your spiritual energy—you may then enter the Primordial Labyrinth.”

Luo De pointed behind him at Tally.

“What about her?”

Tally dressed as a human adventurer—wearing leather armor, her long red hair tied neatly behind her, a magic shortsword at her waist.

According to her, today’s persona was a haughty, down-on-her-luck young lady adventurer, her expression disdainful.

“Both of you input your energy.”

Luo De and Tally stood side by side, palms pressed against the Sacred Book.

“Don’t get so close to me, trash,” Tally spat.

“.”

As the Sacred Book grew brighter

A dazzling burst of colored light stole away both of their fields of vision.

Moments later.

Luo De opened his eyes again.

The surroundings had been utterly transformed.

This was a vast forest, but the trees, rocks, and distant hills were all made of mystical crystal.

The pitch-black sky sparkled with stars, and flowing spiritual radiance illuminated every corner.

Xiti darted excitedly before him.

“As the closest human friend of the Wingcrystal Clan, Mr. Luo De! Welcome to the ancestral lands of the Lanbing Clan of the Wingcrystals—the Flawless Crystal Ground!”

(End of Chapter)