Chapter 40: First Entry into the Strange Domain

He did not hesitate for too long, grabbing a handful and stuffing one into his mouth first.

The moment he began to chew, his entire face twisted, followed by a look of surprise mixed with pain.

"It can restore Qi and blood, replenish nutrition, and has healing effects similar to golden sore medicine."

"But it tastes like foot odor; what bad luck."

"One more!"

"The spiritual efficacy is exactly the same; this time it tastes like chicken droppings."

"Again!"

"The effect is no different; this time it’s a proper beef flavor."

"The fourth one, spiritual efficacy unchanged, spice flavor; this one is not bad."

"The fifth one, mud flavor?"

"The sixth one, hmm? What is this taste? Cold, slippery, and fragrant; could it be the natural meat flavor of that strange eel from outside the city?"

Finally, at the sixth one, Li Yu stopped.

It was not that he could not handle these strange tastes, but that he was getting full, and the spiritual efficacy had already been verified.

He swallowed the meatball in his mouth with difficulty, then took a giant yellow-skinned gourd he had scavenged from somewhere and stuffed all the [Hundred-Flavor Meatballs] into it.

After finishing this, Li Yu carried the gourd on his back and, with Hong Dou in tow, returned to the main room.

While applying his disguise and taking stock of all his preparations, he waited silently for something.

"The fifth bubble is fully charged; it is my greatest reliance."

"One Compassionate Heart Pill; eating it entirely will allow me to maintain combat power comparable to Yi Ya for at least one stick of incense."

"Twenty-eight Explosive Flame Pills; throwing one probably won't hurt any cultivator, even if they are only Sequence 8, but if I throw a handful unexpectedly, there is a chance to kill one or two."

"Five Divine Foot Pills, specifically for escaping; after taking one, I can move like the wind, covering a thousand miles in a day."

"A gourd of Hundred-Flavor Meatballs, for healing and keeping full, restoring Qi and blood."

"If Hong Dou could also be brought in, then it should be stable."

"Logically speaking, in this kind of life-or-death game similar to the infinite reincarnation genre, no matter how high the mortality rate is, the first dungeon secret realm should provide some chance of survival. If I can't survive or even gain something with such complete preparations, then there is truly no justice."

Almost exactly as Li Yu finished muttering, inside his mind.

The familiar voice of the Demon Star Order rang out without warning:

"The time has come!"

"Please, Order Master with the code name 'Calamity Star', prepare yourself; this summons will take effect in ten breaths."

"Ten!"

"Nine!"

"Eight!"

The countdown began. Li Yu, who had already put on several layers of human-skin masks, took another comical fox-face mask and put it on.

At the same time, not caring that it looked unsightly, he stepped forward and hugged Hong Dou's mechanical body; he was still greedy and unwilling to give up such a great helper.

The latter, likewise, had already fully armed herself after receiving Li Yu's instructions.

"It really is airtight; not a single relevant rule was leaked. Must I go and test it out through experience myself?"

"It wouldn't really be disgusting enough to make all my preparations fall through, would it?"

Just as he finished this sarcastic worry, the countdown ended.

Without giving him any chance to observe or feel, Li Yu only felt a trance.

When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer in his own home, but inside a protective shield made of eerie starlight.

Li Yu scanned the surrounding environment with his eyes to see if there was any danger, while simultaneously confirming how much he had brought in.

The yellow-skinned gourd filled with Hundred-Flavor Meatballs, present.

The two wooden boxes containing the Explosive Flame Pills and Divine Foot Pills, tucked in his bosom.

The Compassionate Heart Pill, also in his bosom.

The Compassionate Heart Blade, not brought.

Hong Dou, also not here.

Feeling this, in just a blink, Li Yu had a guess in his heart:

"A Demon Star Order Master can indeed bring things from the outside world into the Strange Domain Spirit Realm."

"But in all likelihood, one can only carry items related to one's own cultivation path and sequence, which is why these spiritual pills and medicinal meals passed, while only the Compassionate Heart Blade and Hong Dou were excluded."

"If that's the case, wouldn't cultivators from the Heavenly Craft Sect have a huge advantage? Wouldn't they be able to slaughter their way through every Strange Domain Spirit Realm by bringing a bunch of Heavenly Craft wonders?"

"Hmm, no, it’s those cultivators with powerful backers of the same path and deep pockets who have the biggest advantage."

"Damn, it’s already this kind of horrific, strange world, and they’re still playing this game."

These thoughts sound complex, but in reality, they flashed through his mind in an instant.

Although his weapons for slaughter and his cute maid were not brought, with several items for self-preservation on his person, Li Yu felt much more at ease.

Until the next breath, when the environment he was in entered his sight:

Before him appeared to be a filthy ancient street, with excrement flowing and trash everywhere.

That was not all; the terrifying part was that there were a large number of strangely shaped "zombies" walking back and forth with dull steps.

They seemed to be ancient commoners, ragged, skin and bones, rotting terribly; many zombies were covered in bite marks, their skin completely rotted away, revealing the decaying internal organs inside, as well as bloody intestines dragging on the ground. Looking further into the distance, the number of zombies did not diminish at all, wandering either singly or in groups.

The strange thing is!

These zombies seemed unable to see or smell Li Yu's existence.

They walked around the protective shield, completely ignoring Li Yu, who had fresh flesh and blood inside.

"Is this a Strange Domain?"

"Am I the only Demon Star Order Master? Where are the others...?"

Just as Li Yu's doubt arose.

The next breath, a notification full of cold, murderous intent suddenly rang out in his mind:

"Mission start!"

"In the Warring States period, there was a small country near the East Sea called 'Sui'... One day, the country's fishermen accidentally caught a female immortal's corpse at sea, lifelike as if alive, and even accompanied and protected by sea whales. The fishermen presented it to the monarch under the name [Remains of the Penglai Female Immortal]. The monarch was very pleased; initially, he only regarded it as an auspicious sign, but later he gradually became obsessed with it, even giving birth to the thought of marrying the female immortal's corpse as his wife."

"Who would have expected that on the day of the grand wedding, no one knows what kind of change occurred, but fragrant clouds and poisonous mist overflowed from the female immortal's body, turning everyone in the entire imperial palace and the capital into a type of monster called 'Medicine Corpse'."

"Immortal and indestructible, tireless, and addicted to gnawing on the flesh and blood of the living."

=9+Shu_ba

Just after hearing this, the urge to complain in Li Yu's heart could no longer be contained.

What kind of necrophiliac?

What kind of zombie plot?

Are they not going to make me snatch the bride?

Before these strange thoughts of his could settle, the murderous voice from the Demon Star Order continued:

"A total of seven Demon Star Order Masters have been deployed this time."

"The side that peeked into the Reincarnation Heavenly Net in advance has thirteen reincarnators."

"Main Mission 1: Seize the [Remains of the Penglai Female Immortal] for sacrifice; you can obtain 1,000 merit points alone."

"Main Mission 2: For every reincarnator killed, depending on the opponent's path and sequence, you can obtain different merit points. For example, killing a Sequence 8 [Taoist with a Register] of the Heavenly Monarch path under the Haotian command will earn you 100 merit points."

"For other side missions, please explore them yourself."

"For the function of merit points and other rules, please explore them yourself."

"Anything obtained by a Demon Star Order Master during the mission can be brought out of the Strange Domain."

"If, when this expedition ends, the Demon Star Order Master has failed to complete any main or side mission, they will be erased."

"Their Demon Star Order will be returned to the furnace to be recast and a new master will be chosen."

"The Demon Star protective shield will disappear in thirty breaths; please, all Demon Star Order Masters, prepare yourselves."

When these cold voices finished bombarding him, a strong sense of déjà vu began to emerge in Li Yu's heart.

He was now absolutely certain that the Craft God [Fuxi], whom the Heavenly Craft Sect followed and worshipped, even if he was not his fellow countryman, had in all likelihood been to his hometown.

Everyone knows that these "rules" of the Demon Star Order are set by a group of evil gods imitating the Reincarnation Heavenly Net; they are secondary creations, they are plagiarism.

And these, clearly, were all common rules in a certain type of novel he often read in his previous life.

If he guessed correctly, those merit points should be redeemable for various rewards from the Demon Star afterwards.

Perhaps that thing would even be set as a giant ball of light.

"What a pity, what a pity, the spawn point is too wrong."

"The Heavenly Craft Sect is the... hmm?"

Li Yu's muttering stopped in time; since it was already wrong, surviving on his own was the right principle.

Judging from those two main missions!

The hatred between the righteous and evil sides had already reached the point of life and death.

So much so that the Demon Star Order started by offering merit rewards, encouraging Order Masters to hunt down those reincarnators of the righteous god sects.

Li Yu looked at the thirty-breath countdown and the considerable number of so-called Medicine Corpses around him, quickly pondering in his mind what he should do.

"Two main missions; the first one is likely the most difficult. To complete it, one must go to that most dangerous imperial palace. I just don't know if the final boss is that monarch with the perverted hobby or that remains of the Penglai Female Immortal?"

"Second, as for the personal vendettas of the pure evil gods, if they want to carry out a blood feud, they should at least arrange for a balanced match."

"Seven against thirteen, is there any need to ask who has the advantage?"

"As the saying goes, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down; since I am a newcomer, hiding and watching the show is the best policy."

"It’s just that these medicine corpses are truly troublesome; wait, hold on, medicine corpses...?"

When half of the thirty breaths had passed, Li Yu, who had been calculating, seemed to have made a pleasant and unexpected discovery.

Regardless of the disgust, he suddenly leaned his entire body against the edge of the protective barrier, just in time to "lock eyes" through the radiance of the demon star with a female zombie, who was dressed like a village woman, still retained some charm, and had no bite marks on her body, but instead had blood all over her mouth.

This female zombie naturally could not see him, but that did not prevent Li Yu’s gaze from piercing through her tattered clothing to see clearly the object protruding from the side of her heart on her chest.

A spirit mushroom!

It was incredible, but Li Yu saw it clearly.

A spirit mushroom stained with filthy flesh and blood was indeed growing there; as the female zombie moved, this spirit mushroom trembled, releasing some spore powder.

Li Yu suddenly understood why these zombies were called medicine corpses.

(End of this chapter)