Chapter 658: Song Shuhang

My name is Song Shuhang.

I am a man with seven Dao titles.

Though I hate to admit it, I am a man with the trait "When trouble comes, I bear it; when fortune arrives, everyone shares it."

Especially when adventuring with Elder Bai, Elder Bai's "Fortune lies in danger" trait activates, creating a combined skill effect…

All of the above are known information.

Right now, I am a man who has foreseen that I can transcend in one year, but to fit in better, I am deliberately suppressing my cultivation progress.

However, to keep pace with the prevailing environment, I have decided from today onward to train hard, using the purest possible Qi to break through the Fifth Rank and become the strongest Spirit Emperor!

After the Tiancheng incident, upon Elder Su Lin's advice, he changed his lifelong rival "Young Master Hai"'s ID to Zheng Zha, and joined Zhang Heng's team using his true appearance.

I originally planned to return to my own world to advance the plot after this instance ends, but fate is unpredictable.

Well, actually, it was a sunny and calm day.

A bus packed with foreigners was slowly climbing along a winding mountain road, while a truck loaded with timber—Optimus Prime—passed by, its engine rumbling low and deep.

Song Shuhang stared blankly out the window; sunlight filtered through gaps in the treetops, casting dappled shadows on the winding mountain path.

The vehicle was about to reach a large bridge.

"Final Destination 5"

"Damn it, why is this the badge for the instance's opener…?"

Zhang Heng's forehead dripped with sweat as he said: "This rule-based instance is known as the King of Crashes—even A-rank and S-rank teams have crashed here!"

Seeing Song Shuhang's bewildered, innocent eyes, Zhang Heng's teammate Chu Lingyun solemnly explained to the group.

In this instance, the "Grim Reaper" is merely a part of the world's natural operation; under normal circumstances, any Reincarnator with even slight power could avoid or ignore this lethal program mechanism.

After all, you can't expect a fuel tanker or a fall from height to kill a Reincarnator with transcendent power.

If they could, that Reincarnator was either a rookie or a favor-broker.

But since this instance world was confirmed dragged into the Abyss, things have changed.

Through accounts from surviving teams that returned, and investigations by powerful Reincarnators who used badges to open the instance, it was confirmed that the "Grim Reaper" has undergone some degree of mutation.

If one excessively uses transcendent power to interfere with the Grim Reaper's harvesting of lives, the world's will suppresses or even strips away one's power, and the Grim Reaper gradually goes berserk, creating supernatural events to achieve its goal.

Thus, despite being an instance world where even planetary technology hasn't been left behind, it is classified as a B-rank team battle instance world.

This information is recorded in the personal publication "Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls in the Reincarnation Space," worth one Reincarnation point.

"." Zhang Chuyan swallowed hard.

He wanted to flee right now, but bearing the name Wu Gen Sheng, to preserve his character's image, he still maintained a facade of calm.

We're counting on you, Shuhang.

Ziraa!

The bus braked sharply and came to a stop.

A young man with brown hair, after his finger was pierced and bled from the chair, suddenly stood up, shouting that the bridge was collapsing.

The driver helplessly opened the bus door and let the man and his girlfriend disembark.

"Hurry!" Chu Lingyun immediately used Mind Communication to call the other teammates: "Watch your surroundings—there may be other Reincarnators!"

The immediate priority is to escape the first wave of danger.

"What about these people?" Song Shuhang frowned, staring at the traffic jam on the sea-crossing bridge.

"We can't help them!" Zhang Heng exclaimed anxiously: "These are all people already on the list—if we save them, we'll be in mortal danger ourselves!"

As a Reincarnator who survived the apocalypse and represents the most promising type.

Zhang Heng could handle a comet hitting Earth, but he's no saint—he won't risk his life for a group of plot characters in an instance world.

The Reincarnation Space is a place…

Fusu

A stronger wind, rising from nowhere, gave Zhang Heng a sense of dread.

Saintly… Speaking of saintly, Zheng Zha from Infinite Horror seemed saintly too—this guy who claims he's just sharing a name and nothing else should…

Boom!

The bridge began collapsing; people panicked and fled, but Song Shuhang formed the Taiji Seal and suddenly slashed his long blade into the ground.

"Sword Blade Storm Hun Sheng Method!"

Song Shuhang channeled all his spiritual power and roared: "Rise!"

Waves of sword qi shot out, inspired by Bai Zunzhe's disposable flying sword, combined with a spiral Hun Sheng fixed pattern—each qi lifted and supported every falling or running person, forming a shield that carried everyone off the collapsing bridge.

The broken steel cables, asphalt, and steel frames—all mundane materials—could not pierce the defense!

Zhang Heng was also lifted by a solid blade of qi; he gaped, stunned, staring at the man who clearly looked like a good guy—"Zheng Zha."

"If not me, then who will descend into hell?" Song Shuhang clasped his hands together, a satisfied smile on his lips.

He felt an icy, chilling force enveloping him at an exponential rate; his spiritual power dried up like water evaporating under summer sun.

Doesn't matter—I'm already here; dying once to save so many…

"Worth it!"

He raised his thumb; the instant his body reverted to mortal form, he plummeted violently from hundreds of meters into the sea.

Agony surged through every part of his body, but it lasted only a fleeting moment—then Song Shuhang plunged into darkness.

Moments later.

"So jumping into the sea feels like hitting concrete," Song Shuhang crawled onto shore, coughing as he swam out:

"Good thing I just bought a pile of resurrection artifacts."

【Resurrection Artifact x100】→【Resurrection Artifact x99】

Because of its connection to Tiancheng and the Simulation Universe, acquiring materials and substitutes has become easier, and ordinary resurrection artifacts have grown steadily cheaper.

Not long ago, an eighth-rank Holy Monarch known as the Mad Daoist, in his youth, went mad from cultivation deviation and wiped out an entire minor sect.

When the sole surviving cultivator from that sect, after enduring countless hardships and gaining various miraculous encounters, came seeking revenge, the Mad Daoist had just stepped out of the Heavenly Commerce Guild's factory, having saved up enough to afford five high-grade Resurrection Artifacts—and used them to resurrect the survivor's master, senior brothers, and junior sisters.

Then, right before the survivor's eyes, he slashed his own throat and used a Resurrection Artifact to come back to life.

The outcome was good, but the surviving cultivator's beliefs shattered; he went mad from cultivation deviation and is now undergoing treatment at Doctor Adam's clinic.

"Even with many Resurrection Artifacts, you still must cherish life," Song Shuhang sighed, then asked the teammates arriving: "Is everyone else temporarily safe?"

Zhang Heng's temple veins bulged; he looked at Song Shuhang and forced a smile:

"Don't you know you shouldn't use Resurrection Items in this instance?"

"Why?" Song Shuhang asked.

"Those who die and return are specially targeted by the God of Death!" Zhang Heng took a deep breath and said: "You're marked by the God of Death!"

No sooner had he spoken than a piercing whistling sound tore through the air.

In Zhang Heng's perception, steel rebar, flung skyward by the oil tanker's explosion on the bridge, was plummeting straight toward Song Shuhang's forehead.

"Get out of there!" The warning had barely left his lips when he realized his perception had been sealed.

Has this instance become this bizarre?!

Suddenly, without warning and before anyone could react, Huiye appeared beside Song Shuhang.

"Move aside."

"Oh."

As soon as Song Shuhang stepped aside, Huiye stepped into his place and looked up toward the sky, as if sensing something.

Pā jī

Her neck was pierced; she died.

Song Shuhang: "."

He was already mostly used to it.

He grabbed the steel rebar with both hands and yanked hard; blood sprayed everywhere, yet Huiye's neck wound healed visibly before their eyes.

"So this is how you die," Huiye shook her head, curious: "What happens when the God of Death targets you?"

Zhang Heng was stunned: "The instance's difficulty increases—the more times you resurrect, the more bizarre and illogical things become…"

Pēng!

Huiye's arm dropped limply; her smoking pistol fell to the ground, blood and brain matter splattering across Song Shuhang's face.

Again, she resurrected quickly.

Pēng!

Resurrected.

Pēng!

In Zhang Heng and the others' numb gazes, gunshots rang out—until the seventh time, when Huiye raised her pistol once more.

Bōng!

A massive octopus tentacle erupted from beneath the sea, piercing Song Shuhang's chest and wrapping around Huiye beside him.

Huiye's eyes widened in disbelief as she screamed: "Why is the hatred still focused on you?!"

Song Shuhang glanced at his chest; his eyelids twitched violently twice, spat out blood, and slumped over—dead.

【Resurrection Artifact x99】→【Resurrection Artifact x98】

"What are you daydreaming about?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"I was thinking about Huiye's instance access pass…" Su Lin fell into memory and said:

"It was from our last trip to the Western Heavens—we traded for it from the reincarnated players portraying Qingfeng and Mingyue."

As payment for guiding them through Wuguan Village, "Qingfeng and Mingyue" gave them an access pass, saying it was worth roughly 7,000 points and a B-rank medal.

It was indeed worth that much—but no one bought it after it was listed.

"The God of Death?" Lu Mingfei's expression turned strange.

Is it really respectful to bring a Penglai person into an instance like this?

"I hope Shuhang is okay."

Xiao Yan, who had just arrived and heard this, said.

【Behind him followed Feng Xiaoxiao's mother and several other mothers—Lady Yan Di's consorts.】

Xiao Yan's earlier teasing smile froze; Cai Lin gave him a cold glance; Xiao Xun'er's expression remained calm, but Xiao Yixian and the others avoided his gaze.

Su Lin blinked, realized what he'd said, chewed his melon, and exclaimed: "Did I just say that out loud? Sorry—I've got such a loose mouth."

"You! @#" Xiao Yan gave up on using the microphone.

His daughter was coming home soon—he had to mind his manners picking her up from school.

During the wait, Han Li—possibly not his true body—emerged from the herb fields behind Shuijing Peak, followed immediately by Li Changshou—who definitely wasn't his true body.

Not long after, Teacher Yan Sen stepped out of the portal first, followed by a blonde witch, then two rows of young men and women in identical white ritual robes.

They followed closely, their eyes darting everywhere, unable to hide their curiosity and instinct to explore this unfamiliar environment.

Xiao Nannan, holding Feng Xiaoxiao, searched around, spotted Xiao Yan and Ye Fan in his wheelchair, beamed, and ran toward them excitedly.

Su Lin watched for a while.

Emperor Yufeng and Congniang walked obediently behind, their gazes vacant—less lively than before.

As if worn down by years of hardship, crushed by life's weight.

"You two, gone dumb?" Su Lin couldn't help speaking up.

Hearing this, Emperor Yufeng and Congniang snapped back to awareness, startled, looking around at their surroundings.

Tears

It flowed down with a rustling sound.

"Su Zongzhu!"

The two moved like lightning, arriving on either side of Su Lin, tightly hugging his legs as he sat in the wheelchair.

"We never want to leave Tianyi Sect again! Waaah!!!"

Their heart-wrenching wails were so piercing that listeners wept, unable to avoid feeling pity.

Those who didn't know would think the teacher-student bond between them was incredibly deep.

Su Lin ate a bite of melon with a blank expression, then looked at Teacher Yan Sen, his eyes asking a question.

Teacher Yan Sen stood frozen, hands behind his back, utterly baffled; after thinking for a moment, he shook his head, indicating he didn't understand either.

"Seal your cultivation, and copy thirty-six thousand sect rules using mortal memory and physique."

Emperor Yufeng sniffled, shivering all over: "After finishing, you still have to recite them backward!"

"Even the secret manual for all demons in the world uniting as one family doesn't have this many."

Green Girl clutched her head as if something were about to sprout from it: "Because I'm a plant demon, I have to memorize hundreds of thousands of medicinal herbs, tens of thousands of array formations, and over a thousand puppet-making techniques!"

Su Lin: "."

Stop. My brain already hurts from exam prep hallucinations.

"Isn't this just the standard entry-level study every disciple does?"

Teacher Yan Sen asked in confusion: "Besides, as a reincarnation of the Dao, your talent is undoubtedly the best—it would be a waste to let it go unused."

Hearing Teacher Yan Sen's words, their fear grew even deeper.

Life in Tianyi Sect was utterly different from life in Tianshen Sect—yet a child of hundreds of thousands of years and a green onion demon of three hundred years were now forced to endure this.

The students of Tianshen Sect watched this scene curiously, whispering among themselves.

"Monitor, why are so many of our new teachers and the new headmaster sitting in wheelchairs?" asked Sun Xiaolu.

Wu Mengqi, the black-haired, blue-eyed monitor, shook her head in bewilderment.

That day, Teacher Yan Sen announced self-study during the array class; when he returned, he informed Tianshen Sect and Tianyi Sect from another realm of their impending merger.

A group of new teachers would be giving them lessons.

Then he brought several people into the class, saying they were students from Tianyi Sect.

They had been wondering whether such young children could keep up—until they saw the boy named Emperor Yufeng, during the Sword Immortal King's array-design class, being called up to use his full strength.

He grabbed a cluster of galaxies and slammed it onto the teacher's array.

Heavy brick throw.

"Is that the Su Zongzhu of Tianyi Sect?" Wu Mengqi asked Teacher Yan Sen.

"Yes, your new teacher."

Teacher Yan Sen pulled out a schedule, glanced at it, and said: "Let me see… your next class is: Facing Mythical Beings in Their True Forms."