Chapter 360

Creatures from another world?

Lu Jing furrowed his brow slightly.

Yes, demon beasts come from another world; you should know that much—these creatures could not have evolved on Blue Star.

Zheng Xuelan continued: "Actually, the Yuanxi is more like a sub-cave of the Cave, layers within layers, but the creatures inside the Yuanxi are even more dangerous than the demon beasts of the mother cave."

Lu Jing thought for a moment, then asked: "Why use the word 'creatures'? Aren't the things in the Yuanxi demon beasts?"

Not entirely.

Zheng Xuelan nodded, her expression grave.

"The creatures in the Yuanxi are diverse—there are unknown humanoid demon beasts, and terrifying monsters with considerable intelligence—but they differ greatly from demon beasts; they do not feed on human flesh and blood, and some even have their own civilizations..."

And civilizations?

Lu Jing doubted his ears; on this land, aside from humans, there actually existed other civilizations.

You must be surprised—this news isn't reported online; only some old-timers in the military know about it.

Zheng Xuelan took a deep breath: "Whenever a new Yuanxi is discovered, the military organizes personnel to explore it; the Yuanxi is rich in minerals, and rare ores like the mithril ore in our military merit shop mostly come from there."

I see, that's actually interesting.

Lu Jing felt a stir in his heart, a spark of interest.

As a Talent Endowed of the mental system, he had a natural immunity to that mind-bewildering blood mist.

If he could go to the Yuanxi, he might be able to retrieve a few of the otherworldly demon-blade shadow servants...

Zheng Xuelan saw Lu Jing's thought: "Lu Jing, entering the Yuanxi as a Talent Endowed isn't too dangerous, but don't go too deep—those alien races' attack methods are strange and hard to defend against."

Don't worry, I know what I'm doing.

Lu Jing nodded.

Seeing Lu Jing determined to go, Zheng Xuelan said solemnly: "If you really want to go, I suggest you team up with others for mutual support—if I recall correctly, the last Yuanxi exploration team was wiped out, and their leader was a Martial Lord powerhouse."

Even a Martial Lord died?

Lu Jing was somewhat surprised.

Above the Warrior Realm is the Martial Lord Realm.

Martial Artists at that level have basically transcended human limits, yet such beings also perished in the Yuanxi.

"Well, the exploration team sent back then consisted of thirty people: twenty at the Warrior Sect Realm, five at the Warrior Marquis Realm, four at the Warrior Lord Realm, and one Martial Lord; after entering the Yuanxi, they vanished completely."

It was like throwing a small stone into a dark pool—no ripples at all.

This incident wasn't reported online; the military outwardly claimed these people died on the battlefield...

Zheng Xuelan added, her expression complex.

It seems the Yuanxi is indeed perilous.

After their discussion, Lu Jing gained a preliminary understanding of the Yuanxi.

Eastern Military Region headquarters.

Inside the mission hall.

Unlike usual, the mission hall today was unusually noisy.

Many squads that rarely go on missions also gathered here.

On the large screen in the center, a bold, enlarged task scrolled.

【Yuanxi Exploration Mission, no limit on number of participants, no limit on realm or combat power.

Mission requirement: explore ten kilometers deep into the Yuanxi, or persist for one hour of exploration time.

Mission reward: those who meet the condition receive five million military merits each.

Note: headquarters will dispatch a mental-system Talent Endowed to accompany the team, to counteract the influence of the mist inside the Yuanxi...

Tsk tsk, another Yuanxi has appeared...

If I recall correctly, everyone who participated in the last Yuanxi exploration mission died.

Yeah, but this time the military merit reward is five million—so tempting...

Five million military merits would last me over ten years; honestly, I'm kinda tempted to go.

People die for wealth, birds die for food—just fear having money but no life to spend it.

Everyone chatted among themselves.

Lu Jing was also not far away, reading the mission details.

Five million military merits is no small sum.

Lu Jing had previously slain a lord-level demon beast single‑handedly, and killed many demon beasts, accumulating five million military merits.

Taking on a lord-level demon beast alone is something only Lu Jing can do; normally such beasts require a dozen or even hundreds of people to defeat, with the military merits split among them.

An ordinary Warrior Realm foot soldier, after a year of hard work, earns at most tens of thousands of military merits, and if lucky maybe a hundred thousand.

Those at the Warrior Sect Realm earn a bit more, but even a year's accumulation won't exceed eight hundred thousand military merits.

The five million military merits reward for the Yuanxi exploration mission is enough for them to toil for about ten years.

Where there are heavy rewards, brave souls will appear.

Soon, Lu Jing saw three or four people take on the mission.

Whenever someone accepted it, the participant count on the large screen updated in real time.

Indeed, someone dares to accept it—truly fearless of death.

Exactly, it's better to honestly take ordinary missions; entering the Yuanxi is no different from gambling with one's life.

Hey look, another person just took it.

At the counter window, a handsome youth accepted the task certificate handed over by the staff.

He looks so young, yet he seems somewhat familiar.

Holy shit, isn't that Lu Jing the General Star!

Turns out it's him; I never thought he'd be so unable to cope...

He's still too young, thinking Yuanxi is too simple.

What a pity, such a radiant new star—he's likely to fall prematurely.

Their voices were soft, and their eyes were filled with surprise and regret.

Xiahou Jie paced back and forth in front of the long office desk, his face full of worry.

He had been keeping an eye on Lu Jing's mission progress, but he never expected Lu Jing would give him such a 'surprise'!

Did that brat Lu Jing take the Yuanxi mission?

Xiahou Jie seemed to be confirming something, asking the deputy officer beside him.

Yes, Commander.

Call him over; I want to give him a good talking-to, make him withdraw the mission—worst case, he'll just pay a penalty!

Report, Commander: Lu Jing has already departed; he should be arriving soon...

What?!

Xiahou Jie furrowed his brows, and his aura instantly burst forth.

Creak—

A large crack appeared in the ground, scattering the documents on the long table in disarray.

Eastern Third Military District.

Lu Jing, how did you suddenly come back!

Zhu Xingyao opened her arms and gave Lu Jing a big hug.

Because of the height difference, Zhu Xingyao seemed to be hanging on Lu Jing.

Dong Ningxue glanced at the embracing pair from the side, pursing her lips in disdain.

Xingyao, can't you show a little maidenly restraint? Hugging like that in public.