Chapter 312: Exploring Ruins, the Former Overlord (Requesting Monthly Votes)

Emperor's Tomb Village Library.

The Explorer sat in the reading area, three books piled before him, flipping through materials related to the Cang Star Sea.

Although he could directly ask the Guide to investigate which specific island in the Cang Star Sea appeared in the reflection image.

But compared to using cheats, he preferred the process of solving the puzzle himself.

This was also one of the ways he gained happiness in the game.

Just like in ancient times, some players liked to use cheats to modify attributes directly, while others focused more on their own exploration and growth.

The Explorer's fingertips brushed a line of text on the parchment page of the "Chronicles of the Cang Star Sea".

According to the book's description, there are three islands in the Cang Star Sea where "Blood Poison Flowers" grow.

The first island is Chao Ge Island, located to the west of the Cang Star Sea.

This is a layered island formed by stacked coral reefs and sedimentary rocks, which rises and falls with the tides as the Golden Wheel alternates.

Every three years, the island sinks underwater for a period of time.

On the east side of the island is a crescent moon lake, but it is actually a lake made of seawater, with the lakebed covered in star sand.

The west side is a group of tidal caves, which produce "Sea Moon Stones".

In terms of vegetation distribution, the main plant on the island is "Star-Spotted Seaweed".

The Blood Poison Flower is a very rare plant on the island; the entire island was once the ancestral land of the "Chao Ge Clan" according to records, but this race has long since perished.

The second island is Jin Hai Island, located to the southwest of the Cang Star Sea.

This island was built by the Descending Faction to adapt to the Monster World environment; the ground is composed of volcanic rock, and the surface temperature remains above 60 degrees Celsius year-round.

The book depicts the environment on the island with an aerial view, showing seven active lava rivers in the eastern part of the island, flanked by cooled volcanic rock plains, with heat waves rising from the entire island.

The main plant is a non-spiritual plant called "Fire-Veined Fern", whose roots can absorb residual heat from the magma to grow; the rest of the area is basically barren.

Near the coastline, there are a small number of Blood Poison Flowers.

The third island is Wu Yin Island, located east of the Colorful Mist Coast, near the Ascension Sea.

This island is shrouded in gray mist year-round, with very low visibility.

The island's surface is covered with honeycomb-shaped cave entrances; inside the caves, sunlight is never seen day or night, and a large number of monsters that like cold, dark environments grow there.

Ah Lan of the Gold Coin Guild, when looking for hunting grounds for the newbie group at that time, had also consulted him on related issues.

At that time, he recommended Wu Yin Island.

This area has a huge number of monsters; different underground rock caves are inhabited by a large number of different types of monsters, suitable for teams and large guilds to hunt and grow.

He even suspected that there was an unexplored underground space beneath the island; otherwise, relying solely on the resources on the surface of Wu Yin Island, it would be impossible to support such a huge monster population.

The strangest thing is that the species on this island increase every year according to the library records.

Under conditions of scarce resources, yet attracting a large number of monsters to inhabit, this does not conform to logic.

Although the monsters on the island do not respawn after being killed, the monster density even surpasses the scale of the Extreme Joy Legion.

So he suspected that there must be abundant resources stored underground on this island.

In terms of the island's vegetation distribution, it is mainly dominated by low-growing shade-tolerant plants.

Such as Bone-Eroding Moss, Mist-Wrapping Vines, and so on.

Among them, a certain number of Blood Poison Flowers are scattered across the island.

He summoned the forum interface and repeatedly checked the reflection images edited by players, and the positions where the Alien stood.

He felt that among the three islands, the location most consistent with the existence of a ruin was Wu Yin Island.

The advertisement image was in a dense forest area; the environment of the first island, Chao Ge Island, sinks underwater every few years, making it difficult for tall trees to grow, and the land shown in the image shows no trace of marine plants.

As for the second island, Jin Hai Island, vegetation is very scarce, making it impossible to form a lush forest.

Although Wu Yin Island also has inconsistencies, compared to the other two islands, it matches the content shown in the image most closely in terms of environment.

He glanced at the live broadcast room, where a player mentioned in the comment section.

Is it possible that the Blood Poison Flowers from these three islands were transplanted to other islands?

Or perhaps the seeds were carried by seabirds to nearby other islands, where they managed to grow.

"The possibility is not great; the Blood Poison Flower is not a spiritual plant, but an ordinary plant in the Monster World with limited value, so it is unlikely that the Aliens would actively transplant it; as for seabirds carrying them, that is possible, but the environment of other islands may not be suitable for the Blood Poison Flower to grow, so the possibility of Wu Yin Island is the greatest."

In the discussion with netizens in the live broadcast room, the Explorer finally decided to set out personally to search.

Leaving the library, it went to the Armed Vehicle Factory and upgraded the endurance of its flying vehicle.

Then, it arrived at the edge of the Colorful Mist Coast through the teleportation array.

He had come countless times, but every time he arrived at the Colorful Mist Coast, his mood would become joyful.

In his field of vision, morning light slanted down, and the entire coast was now shrouded in flowing colorful mist.

The colorful mist rolled lightly with the sea breeze, like thin gauze brushing over the beach, with a large number of player figures vacationing and entertaining on the coast.

The sound of the tide was lazy, and the white sand was like silver.

This is also the reason why the Colorful Mist Coast area has always ranked first on the list of players' favorite areas, and it is the preferred vacation destination for the vast majority of players during their leisure time after hunting.

Summoning the vehicle skateboard, he set off towards the depths of the sea.

Near the coast, one could see a large number of fishing players; they generally sat on homemade rafts, drifting near the coast.

The deeper one went into the sea, the fewer players there were.

The floating skateboard carried him flying at a position 2 meters above the sea surface; the wind and waves cut through the blue water, and from a high-altitude view, it looked like a silver knife cutting through blue silk, leaving a silver trail on the sea.

The wild wind rushed past his ears, and occasionally flying fish from underwater would leap out of the water.

During the flight, the Explorer felt extremely comfortable.

Time reached noon, and the sky and sea changed color.

Thick clouds pressed down from the horizon of the sea, lead-gray like iron.

The sea surface became turbulent, like the back of a giant beast arching up and then collapsing.

It could only raise the flight altitude of the hovering skateboard, weaving between the storm and the raging waves.

Choosing to fly closer to the sea surface earlier was naturally not to view the ocean, but to conserve energy.

When flying close to the water, the airflow beneath the skateboard is slowed by the sea surface's resistance, pressure rises, generating additional lift—known as ground effect.

During long-distance flights, this reduces considerable energy consumption losses.

Before long, the changeable sea surface under a shifting sky began to pour with a rainstorm.

Sky and sea merged into chaos, leaving only a gray-blue roar in the field of vision.

The skateboard engine screamed amidst the thunder, darting through flashes of lightning and rolling thunder.

The sea below resembled a furious beast; dark currents churned, occasionally raising wave walls dozens of meters high, only to collapse in an instant. The skateboard skimmed past the crests of leaping waves, water spray splashing onto his ankles, carrying a slight chill.

Suddenly, a green shadow broke through the water surface.

It was a three-meter-long large fish; its spine cut through the waves like a blade. When it leaped halfway into the air, its fish eye briefly met the Explorer's gaze, then it crashed back into the sea.

"Green Steel Fish!"

Seeing the fish's shape, the Explorer identified the species the very next second.

He then began his explanation mode in the rainstorm, stating this was a highly valuable Spirit Fish, with a trading hall price no lower than 1000 Shou Shou Jili.

As the leader of the Explorer faction, the Explorer's early livestream popularity stemmed from the "Strange Butterfly Beating Incident."

But later, it was through his own abilities that he attracted a massive audience of fans.

His livestream was also one of the forums' universally acknowledged deepest streams.

Players in his livestream could always learn various kinds of knowledge, regardless of whether it was useful.

In the dead of night, the Explorer finally passed through the localized rainstorm area; the sea ahead lay calm as a mirror.

The skateboard continued flying close to the water surface, its wake startling a flock of flying fish.

Player figures were basically invisible nearby, and there were no landmarks on the vast ocean to judge direction.

But as a player, he had a map to use; getting lost was impossible in any region.

By evening, the outline of the distant Mist-Hidden Island gradually emerged.

The gray-white mist writhed like a living creature, wrapping the island into a hazy enigma.

The outline exposed outside the mist resembled a giant whale's spine; black reefs interlocked like fangs, and waves exploded into snow-like foam in the rock crevices.

After the skateboard charged into the mist wall, it descended slowly; the engine sound startled a flock of seabirds, which flapped their wings into the mist and vanished in an instant.

Leaping off the skateboard, the vehicle automatically decomposed into pixel blocks and adhered to his body.

Stepping onto the slippery rocks, the mist coiled around him, carrying a chill that made him feel uncomfortable.

He even generated a strange thought: this mist seemed hostile toward him.

The sound of waves behind him also became blurred at this moment, as if he had arrived in another world.

The area of lush vegetation on the island was not at the landing spot; after summoning the map to check, he advanced toward the southeast direction.

Although he could use the hovering skateboard to travel, the number of monsters on the island was extremely high.

Flying units were too conspicuous and easily targeted by monster attacks.

Walking along the way, he could see countless cave openings with dark fissures beside the coastline.

Glowing moss on the stone walls formed veins with dim green spots, resembling a vast net secretly peering from the darkness.

Along the way, the Explorer also analyzed his conjectures in the livestream:

"Brothers, our landing spot is on the southwest side of the island, while the map shows the dense vegetation area should be in the southeast direction. That area has higher terrain and thinner mist; the advertisement footage showed no mist at all, so the southeast direction will be where I explore next."

This was not his first time here; many plants had already been compiled into the encyclopedia content, so there was no need for popular science introductions along the way.

Just then, a roar echoed from afar; the Explorer immediately and decisively crouched behind a huge rock.

He carefully observed the situation nearby.

Glancing at the teasing comments in the livestream, the Explorer looked somewhat helpless:

"I'm truly not cowardly; I'm just temporarily avoiding the sharp edge due to safety concerns. It's not easy to get here; I don't want to die and return to the small black room."

Hearing these words, a flood of bullet comments surged in the livestream, and the mocking voices grew louder.

This made the Explorer's face redden slightly; he then argued:

"Actually, cowardice is divided into two types."

"Some people tread on thin ice while playing games; essentially, this is the reflection of survival anxiety in the real world projected onto the game world. They are not afraid of monsters in the game, but subconsciously interpret the death penalty as workplace KPIs. Subconsciously, they feel that reckless and arbitrary behavior behind them will be subject to performance assessments, letting the discipline of cowardice in reality permeate into the game world. Playing a game and having to be trembling with fear is essentially the DNA of real-world corporate slaves replicated into the game; this is true cowardice."

"The other type of cowardice is risk assessment based on rationality, also a manifestation of respecting the journey of exploration. This is essentially not cowardice; it is... it is caution."

Hearing the Explorer's emphatic analysis, the players and tourists in the livestream burst into laughter.

Peeking out again, he found no monster figures outside.

After the Explorer's "Courage Bar" accumulated to the action line, he sidestepped out from the rock's cover and set off toward the target location.

Along the way, he could occasionally encounter monster figures, but the handling method differed from ordinary players encountering them.

Even when encountering monsters weaker than himself, the Explorer would temporarily avoid the sharp edge; he would absolutely not fight unless necessary.

After a long time, the Explorer arrived before a dense jungle, where he saw a crystal mountain wall smooth as a mirror.

Just as he prepared to continue exploring forward, a comment that was quickly liked caught his attention:

"Cowardly dog, the ruins might be right nearby. Reflecting on the advertisement screenshot, you can see sunlight piercing through the dense forest and falling on the ground. Based on the direction of the tree shadows, reverse-engineer the sun's position: if the shadows point northeast, the sun is in the southwest direction; if the shadows are short and nearly vertical, it might be around noon. The Monster World has no time zone correction. Then look at the structure of Mist-Hidden Island on the map... so it can be roughly inferred that the time in the advertisement was around 3 to 4 o'clock."

"Natural light passing through leaves should cast fragmented shadows; the outline of a beam of light in the screenshot is too clean, so this is not natural light but reflected light. This proves there is a high point nearby refracting light to the position in the screenshot photo. This crystal mountain is most likely it, so the location is in the dense forest at the foot of the mountain."

There were experts in the livestream.

This tourist's analysis made him feel it was very reasonable.

He immediately decided to explore into the dense forest at the foot of the mountain.

Entering the area with dense vegetation, the Explorer pasted the screenshot of the advertisement in the upper-left corner for comparison.

He discovered that the plants here basically matched the plants in the screenshot photo, but he had not yet found the Blood Poison Flower.

According to the dense forest coverage range shown on the map, he ventured toward the center point.

As he delved deeper, the surrounding light grew dimmer; vines coiled around the ancient trees like giant pythons, and layers of rotting leaves piled beneath his feet, each step crunching with a "rustle."

With the Eagle-Headed Demon's perception activated, the entire scene unfolded clearly in his mind.

With the aid of the Painful Painful Minghun, the efficiency of the exploration improved significantly.

The types of plants appearing in the perception view basically confirmed that the ruin entrance lay within this area.

Half an hour later, the explorer smelled a faint, elusive stench of decay.

This tightened his heart.

The scent reminded him of a passage in the library records:

【The "Blood Rot Essence" secreted by the roots of the Blood Poison Flower smells like a mixture of rust and rotting fruit; as the concentration rises, it carries a hint of blood.】

The scent emitted by the Blood Poison Flower described matched the scent he smelled now extremely closely.

Following the direction of the scent, passing through layers of interwoven spiderwebs and vines, a relatively open area appeared before his eyes.

His gaze fell beneath a towering tree, where a stone slab nearly covered by vegetation came into view.

"Brothers, found it!"

Instantly, the barrage in the live-stream comment section surged, all cheering the complete success of the first step of this treasure hunt.

Although merely spectators, their sense of participation throughout the entire process was maxed out.

The live-stream audience's gaze followed the explorer to the stone slab.

Blood-red patterns were carved on the slab's surface, and in the upper corner of the slab, a gorgeous red flower bloomed wildly, with dark red sap congealed on its petals, like fresh blood.

It was precisely the Blood Poison Flower that appeared in the screenshot.

The explorer took a deep breath, squatted before the stone slab, and observed carefully.

The characters above were already blurred, making it impossible to analyze useful information, so he chose to directly activate the Jie Xi Gong function.

【Mingwu Clan Imperial Tomb】:

Target Introduction: The tomb of the 726th Emperor of the "Mingwu Clan," a hegemonic power that once ruled the three great sea regions (Cangxing Sea Region, Ascension Sea Region 【formerly the Death-Speech Sea Region】, and Death Sea Region); after losing the war against the Death-Speech Clan, it was finally buried on Mist-Hidden Island.

Seeing the Jie Xi Gong information, the explorer immediately became interested.

Pushing the stone stele open slowly, a pit clearly dug out lay beneath, and a fresh scent of earthy mud wafted up.

"This should be the pit dug by the alien race shown in the advertisement; once the tomb was completed, it was sealed, with no passable passages."

Saying this, he ventured into the pit.

He could see numerous traces of destroyed spirit-pattern structures around the cave walls.

A sweep of Jie Xi Gong confirmed his guess: the tomb originally contained a formation that drew external spiritual energy to maintain the operation of the internal nourishment system.

However, the alien race persisted; over 17 years of digging, it was completely destroyed.

Seeing "17 years," the explorer was also shocked.

To dig out this tomb, this alien race employed an ant-moving-the-home tactic, destroying the defensive barriers bit by bit until they were completely penetrated.

Thinking of this, the explorer addressed the players in the live-stream room:

"Their perseverance is commendable, but this action may not yield results; there may truly be no treasure inside the tomb. Not every race includes burial goods after death; in the Monster World, many races are buried naked, likely leaving only a corpse with an incorruptible body."

Seeing the live-stream barrage arguing, asking on what basis he judged the corpse inside to be in an incorruptible state.

He immediately explained:

"The formation originally set up in this tomb served not only to protect the deceased inside from disturbance but also to continuously draw spiritual energy to maintain the incorruptibility of the flesh."

As he introduced this, he bent his body and continued deeper along the narrow tunnel.

Damp soil constantly fell from the ceiling.

As he went deeper, the tunnel gradually widened, finally opening up suddenly.

At this moment, he stopped, his gaze fixed straight ahead: a massive crystal-gem door embedded in the stone wall, its surface covered with complex spirit patterns.

This was obviously the main door leading directly into the tomb.

In the center of the door was a circular recess, surrounded by three layers of metal rings.

Approaching to observe, he found numerous friction marks at the door seam and on the surrounding rock walls. Several broken metal weapons lay scattered on the ground, along with a pile of crystal gems that had exhausted their energy.

Clearly, the alien race had once attempted to force it open violently, but failed completely.

With the assistance of the Eagle-Headed Demon's perception, he could clearly sense the energy dissipation fluctuations on the door.

Before the explorer could even think about how to break open the door, the strategist in the live-stream room began proposing various ideas.

Some players suggested buying explosives to create a sensational island-wide explosion, blasting their way in with the most violent means.

Others, unqualified tourists, suggested digging in from the adjacent rock walls; if they couldn't break the door, surely they could dig through the rock.

But the explorer chose to close his eyes.

When he opened them again, a layer of deep blue halo glowed in the depths of his pupils.

Spirit-Eye trait, activated.

In an instant, the world reorganized itself in his eyes.

On the originally motionless crystal-gem door, countless flowing light veins suddenly appeared, weaving and spreading within like human blood vessels.

These energy flows presented a magnificent indigo-blue, clearly distinguishable in the Spirit-Eye's vision.

The strength of the energy was represented by brightness.

He observed that within the energy core, all light veins finally converged into the circular recess at the door's center, forming a vortex-shaped energy node that circulated with a pulse rhythm of three short beats and one long beat.

Each cycle formed specific light-spot patterns on the outer, middle, and inner three rings.

This corresponded to the three metal rings on the door.

Arriving before the door, he carefully examined the tiny patterns encircling the three metal rings.

Each metal ring bears eight patterns, totaling twenty-four patterns.

This made him frown.

This door's lock is too easy to crack—only five hundred twelve combinations.

The Spirit Eye continued observing the internal pattern structure of the crystal door; he had already found the key to opening it.

Turning the metal rings on the door in sequence to align with the three patterns appearing during the flow of internal energy, the door suddenly trembled.

The Explorer swiftly ran far away.

Doors that can be opened this way carry a high danger rating.

Logically, a tomb should be completely sealed—there should be no entry passage at all; leaving a door makes no sense.

Perhaps opening the door would trigger a death trap, killing the "grave robber" outside.

But the anticipated scenario did not occur.

Once the door fully opened, the Explorer returned to the threshold and peered inside.

As a player, he naturally feared no death—but he feared traveling.

He must avoid death as much as possible.

The Hawk-Head Demon's perception reactivated, revealing the dark environment within his mind.

At the tomb's center, a crystal coffin floated silently in midair.

No chains held it up; perception revealed it was suspended three meters above ground by a spiritual energy field.

Dark blue light patterns flowed across the coffin's surface; in perception, the coffin lacked physicality, as if it existed between reality and illusion.

At this moment, the crystal coffin continuously released surging energy, pouring into the earth.

This energy was even more intense than activating a large teleportation array.

After so many centuries had passed, it still emitted such immense energy—clearly, something unusual was at play.

Before the floating coffin lay a suit of armored remains, its body encased in armor riddled with cracks.

Through the armor, perception revealed a face filled with sorrow.

It placed its left hand over its right chest, kneeling on one knee, gazing upward at the floating coffin.

On the ground beside its feet was inscribed a small array; analysis showed it to be a spatial coordinate marker.

But what exactly had transpired here, analysis could not answer.

With questions lingering, the Explorer turned to the guidance water orb hovering beside him:

"Guidance Brother, I want to know what happened here."

In response, Guidance opened its eyes:

【To learn the details, you must use a rewind view. Pay thirty thousand Shou Shou Jili.】

Hearing this price, players in the livestream all shook their heads.

Guidance's analysis had two tiers: basic and deep; rewind was one form of deep analysis, and the cost was truly steep.

The older the event, the higher the price—ordinary players simply couldn't afford it.

But as the author of "Wind and Landscape Poem," the Explorer, after brief hesitation, gritted his teeth:

"Guidance Brother, deduct the fee—I want to see."

【You really are a distinctive player.】

Guidance glanced at the Explorer, then activated the rewind mode.

As Shou Shou Jili burned, a light-and-shadow image appeared.

Darkness receded; decaying dust rose back into the air, fallen stones reassembled themselves into pristine condition, and the kneeling figure rose to its feet, cloak billowing, armor gleaming coldly.

In the scene, its helmet hung low; inside the half-open crystal coffin lay a withered man.

This was the last Emperor of the Mingwu Clan; a coral longsword pierced his chest, dark blue blood dripping along the blade, vanishing into mist the instant it touched the coffin's base.

The Emperor's eyelids trembled slightly; his cracked lips moved:

"General… have the Wuyu Tribe retreated?"

The General remained silent; the scene shifted outside the tomb, where Mingwu Clan subjects fell one by one, dissolving into mist that swirled around the island.

The Emperor slowly raised his hand, his withered fingertip touching the General's shoulder armor.

"Return. Inherit my position. Never come back again."

Upon hearing these words, the one called General dropped to one knee with a heavy thud, his helmet bowing so low it nearly touched the ground.

His voice, as if ground by gravel, was hoarse and trembling:

"Your Majesty… your servant… is powerless. I could not save you."

Saying this, he clenched his fist tightly; knuckles creaked under the iron armor as he recounted the tragic outcome of the battle.

His voice grew quieter as he spoke, finally devolving into something like the whimper of a beast.

"I have betrayed your trust… I am unworthy of inheriting anything."

The Emperor's hand trembled slightly, as if to speak again—but he burst into violent coughing, dark blue blood frothing from his lips.

The General hastily looked up, only to see the Emperor shake his head, a serene expression appearing on his withered face:

"No need for this. We chose our own path. Lost, we lost." He sighed deeply:

"We foresaw this end before we came. We have seen this world… it was not beautiful. I have merely reached the end we anticipated."

"I am unwilling. I wanted to save the Mingwu Clan."

The Emperor's voice was as light as a sigh:

"The Mingwu Clan… never needed anyone to save us. We have existed for three thousand years—coming and going, drifting with the tide. Why be bound in the cage of redemption and revival?"

The General's armor rang with a metallic hum:

"The people of our homeland world still await your return."

"Waiting for a ruler?" The Emperor's withered fingers brushed over the crystal coffin, his voice raspy as he spoke:

"We mistook continuation for a mission, yet forgot that the end of racial continuation is withering itself. How many races can truly be eternal and immortal?"

"We were not defeated by any enemy; we simply grew weary of endless war."

Having spoken, the Emperor's aura grew even fainter.

It cast one last glance at the General standing before it:

"Born at dawn, dying at dusk, only then do you see the galaxy."

At that moment, the Emperor closed his eyes.

The General stood before the crystal coffin, his face filled with anguish.

He knew that in his final moments, the Emperor had grown weary of everything and abandoned the future of the Mingwu Clan.

This was also why the Emperor had said, once returned, never to come back again.

The Emperor hoped he would abandon the expedition, abandon the ambition to ascend to the peak of the Monster World, and return to the ordinariness of his homeland world.

The General reached out and slowly closed the coffin lid, sealing the Emperor's remains forever.

He then staggered back a few steps, knelt on the ground once more, and bowed deeply toward the suspended coffin.

"Your Majesty, you are weary, but your subordinate is not yet."

"You said the Mingwu Clan needs no saving, but if we abandon even the last hope, what difference is there between us and dissolving dust? You are negating our past struggles."

"This is the Monster World; everything is possible. I will surely find a way to crush the Death-Whisper Clan, seize their rules, and then bring you back."

At that moment, the light-and-shadow scene accelerated rapidly, time rushing by in a flash.

A figure returned through a spatial coordinate; it was the departing General.

In the scene, his armor was tattered beyond repair, half his body constantly eroded by some power, turning a dark purple.

Clutching a glowing physical brand in his hand, he trembled as he pushed open the crystal coffin, then closed it again, before kneeling on one knee before the coffin and looking up at the suspended crystal coffin:

"Your Majesty... your subordinate has returned."

His voice was hoarse and broken; with every word he spoke, dark, turbid purple blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes grew hazy:

"Perhaps you were right. We are ultimately mist; why cling so deeply to obsession?"

In his final moment, just as when he first pledged loyalty to the Emperor years ago, he placed his left hand over his right chest:

"Born at dawn, dying at dusk, only then do you see the galaxy. Your subordinate will guard your tomb for you."

Having spoken, his aura ceased entirely.

The receding light-and-shadow shattered, and everything returned to reality.

The crystal coffin still floated, and the General's skeleton remained in a kneeling posture.

"Hey, although everything is possible in the Monster World, obtaining what you want is not as easy as you think."

After watching the scene of the Mingwu Clan's final moments, the Explorer couldn't help but shake his head.

It could be confirmed that the General had failed in the end.

But what he was curious about was what the General had stuffed into the crystal coffin at the very end.

Also, why did this crystal coffin continue to release energy into the earth under the Eagle-Head Demon's perception? What was the reason for that?

Driven by curiosity, under the urging of players in the livestream, he summoned a flying skateboard and ascended.

The coffin lid the General could push open easily required him to exert every ounce of strength just to move it slightly.

With a sudden surge of force, the coffin lid slowly slid open amidst a grating, ear-piercing friction sound.

In an instant, light burst forth.

The Explorer leaned in to look and saw the Emperor's withered forehead, where a diamond-shaped brand floated, its entire surface swirling with dark blue light patterns, like a compressed galaxy.

The moment it contacted the outside air, the brand suddenly trembled violently, erupting in brilliant light.

The entire island suddenly roared.

The ground cracked, and the thick fog surrounding Mist-Hidden Island, like a thousand summoned armies and ten thousand cavalry, howled as it surged toward the tomb.

Countless blurred figures emerged from the mist; they were the lost souls of the Mingwu Clan, clad in tattered armor, wielding rusted weapons, with ghostly blue soul fires burning in their hollow eye sockets.

"Click."

Beside the crystal coffin, the General's skeleton suddenly moved.

Before the Explorer's bewildered expression, he slowly raised his head; dark blue mist-light seeped through the gaps in his armor, and his rotting cape fluttered without wind.

He reached out to grasp the sword planted in the ground; upon the rust-stripped blade, a rule brand identical to the one on the Emperor's forehead suddenly appeared.

"Your Majesty, the mist... has gathered again."

The General's voice seemed to come from the depths of an abyss.

Outside the tomb, the mist had condensed into a sky-obscuring vortex, beginning to devour the monsters on the island, with flesh and blood gradually forming within the mist.

One by one, the departed figures gradually became clear amidst the frenzied slaughter.

At this moment, the Explorer inside the tomb suddenly sensed something was wrong, instantly activated Analysis, and scanned the floating brand:

【Death-Whisperer】:

Rule Introduction: Possesses the power to resurrect the dead, transforming them into Death-Whisper forms. The longer the time since death, the stronger the power. Every resurrectee through the Death-Whisperer retains their memories from life. Activation of the resurrection process requires power from someone other than the holder.

"Holy crap, a Rule!"

After reading the analysis introduction, the Explorer suddenly turned his head to look at the Guidance Water Sphere:

"Brother Guidance, was I set up?"

The Guidance Water Sphere opened its eyes and nodded calmly:

【It is obvious. Why do you think a conspicuous stone tablet was placed outside the tomb? Secondly, did a weak alien race truly have the ability to know there was treasure underground the moment they saw the stone tablet?】

【In fact, there are too many implicit hints on this island about treasures buried underground. The tomb's discovery was only a matter of time; inevitably, an alien race driven by greed would dig here. A large door leading directly to the tomb was a flaw within a flaw. Just as you analyzed earlier, the tomb did not need a door that could be opened and closed unless there was a necessity for entry and exit.】

【Finally, why do you think this island gathered such a massive number of monsters? Why were vast resources stored underground to sustain these alien races and monsters? All of this was blood food prepared for the moment of resurrection, all part of the General's scheme after obtaining the Rule.】

"But when the General returned in the flashback, didn't he give up?"

Facing the question, the Guide looked at him like a child and said helplessly:

【You just said that in the Monster World, anything is possible. So is it possible that the General guessed certain races possess the ability to rewind past scenes? To ensure absolute safety, putting on a final act was necessary... However, he did indeed exhaust his life force and die; this time, he has revived following the rules of the Death Speaker.】

"Damn it, Guide, why didn't you tell me beforehand?"

【I only analyzed the specific situation when you asked me. If you had asked earlier, I would have said it earlier. So the essence of the problem is: you didn't ask.】

Explorer:...

Realizing the situation was dire, the Explorer leaped from his floating skateboard and dove straight at the suspended Death Speaker rule.

Just then, the General suddenly waved his hand.

Boom!

The Explorer was instantly blasted into mist. The live stream immediately flooded with comments: Pathetic. You had the chance to take the rule, but you're useless.

Afterwards, the blacked-out live stream began discussing the reviving "Mist Fog Clan."

On the other side, the Death Speaker rule imprint merged into the forehead of the Mist Fog Emperor. Its figure slowly hovered in mid-air, its withered face shrouded in the light of the rule imprint, its rotting imperial robe rustling loudly.

Having slept for a long age, it slowly opened its eyes, its pupils reflecting the General kneeling on one knee.

"Welcome back, Your Majesty," the General said in a low voice, bowing his head.

Rule power continuously poured into its body, wounds healed rapidly. The floating Emperor looked down at the kneeling General, a trace of helplessness appearing in its eyes:

"Can the ending be changed?"

The General slowly straightened his body, raised his eyes to look directly at the Emperor, his voice hoarse yet firm:

"Yes."

A simple word, taking root upon landing.

"Even if the path ahead remains a dead end, we must try to carve out a living path. Go all out, leave no regrets."

Hearing this, the Emperor could not help but sigh; then the helplessness in its eyes turned to determination.

With a raised hand, Mist Hidden Island trembled, and more lost souls appeared within the mist surrounding the island.

Ascension Sea, Ancient God Arena.

A figure that had been silent beneath the ground suddenly opened its eyes. A golden body composed of runes floated into the air, looking up toward the direction of the Starry Sea.

Sensing the surging energy fluctuations coming from the Starry Sea, a Solemn expression appeared in his eyes.

In the Ascension Sea, the Ascended Clan and the Shu Yan warriors, who were engaged in fierce battle, immediately stopped and retreated.

Shu Yan and Leader Chi Yan simultaneously turned their heads to look toward the Starry Sea; they both felt the terrifying life fluctuations.

At this moment, the overlord who once commanded the three great seas returned, bringing the Death Speaker Legion.

And the Ancient God Clan, the Ascended Clan, and the Shu Yan Domain, these three emerging powers, were precisely built upon the sea territories once ruled by the Mist Fog Clan.

9500 words presented~ Asking for monthly tickets~

(End of this chapter)