Chapter 556: Paying Tribute to the Legendary Thunder-Struck Wood

This mystery, shrouded in historical shadows for a full five hundred years and having fooled nearly everyone, was finally solved this winter morning.

Its process was complex, the situation perilous, making Ji Ming and Giuseppe unable to help but let out a sigh.

Still, even at the most dangerous moment Giuseppe did not give up, but boldly gambled against the unknown enemy.

The fact proved he won in the end, not only successfully using Death Golden Cicada Shell-shedding, but also smoothly secretly burying the corpse in the civilized wilderness, transforming it into a Death Knight.

The only regret was probably that when he saw sunlight again, it was already five hundred years later, after the dust had settled.

Although Deep Forest remained Deep Forest, the northern border remained the northern border, and even the Long Peace City he personally built still stood, but the specific things had long since changed.

After a long silence, it was Giuseppe, whose voice grew increasingly hoarse, who spoke first.

"Since the world's will has already abandoned me, there should have been other saviors coming during these five hundred years, right? Have you encountered any? What became of them?"

"I only know one, my predecessor, who is still alive and well, the current Hui Guang Wang Hou."

"Mei Li Er Wang Hou? Indeed, the Sun Moon's magical genius of nearly ten thousand years is probably largely from another world."

"Yes, but unfortunately the queen is old and weak, lacking the strength and will for this matter; otherwise we could have another helper."

"Hmm..."

Giuseppe pondered briefly, then asked.

"Speaking of this, saviors have the right to choose cheats; I chose the Daily Information System back then. What's yours?"

"Obviously it's the Fourth Calamity System that can shout for more fellow villagers to come to another world; otherwise where would all these Pioneers come from?"

Pioneers?

Giuseppe compared the image of Pioneers with the players from his own memory, and shockingly discovered……

"What a bunch of fellows, they really are! All are fearless lunatics!"

However, in spite of his feelings, having also been born of a technological civilization and having read modern web novels, he still let out a sigh.

"I actually considered this as well back then, but unfortunately I come from a parallel universe, lacking the ability to launch this plan, and was rejected by the world's will."

【From a certain perspective, this is also one of the reasons I chose to embark on an adventurous ascension to higher dimensions, seeking help from the Upper God.】

Because Giuseppe, even if he had lost his qualification as a savior, would surely want to ferret out and avenge the mastermind behind his murder, so another commander joined Ji Ming's pirate ship.

According to Ji Ming's plan, he intended to have the werewolf Cloi resign from the position of chief of the Soul Spirit Council, and let the similarly strange Shizi Ge inherit this small group of defeated defectors.

But Giuseppe obviously had his own idea, because after a discussion, his proposed plan turned out to be……

"What, you want to go to the Lingxi Kingdom?"

"Not going to improve himself at the Soul Spirit Holy Hall arranged for him, nor delving into the mainland populace to investigate and track down the culprit, he actually wants to go to the subcontinent?"

The first thought that arose in Ji Ming's mind was——'Have we avoided the sand and wind?!'

But after listening to Giuseppe's careful analysis, he felt that this rather bold plan might not lack merit.

First, with the passage of time, the Hui Guang Server has almost been fully opened, and half of the Sun Moon mainland has already become a playground for players.

To accommodate the influx of up to two hundred thousand players arriving each week, it is necessary to open up a new plot of land for the players to wreak havoc.

The first candidate, naturally, is the Shen Lin Wang Guo closest to the Hui Guang Kingdom.

But considering the complex situation within Shen Lin Wang Guo, the layers of clouds behind it, and the recent international situation.

If players were rashly placed there, it would very likely cause world tension to spike suddenly, prematurely triggering the World War version.

... No matter how Ji Ming puts it, he came to be a savior, so if possible, let's still keep the killing and arson to a minimum.

The second candidate is the Beimosi Khanate located to the north of Shen Lin Wang Guo,

But while the khan is friendly to players, for the current players that land really has no need for development; on the contrary, it's a bottomless pit requiring huge upfront investment.

Therefore, under the current circumstances, the only new map worth developing is the Lingxi Kingdom, which, although somewhat distant from the Barbaric Plains, is at least not as far as the Khanate.

Ji Ming believes that, with the players' business acumen, this profit-driven commercial state will surely become the grand stage for Earth's people.

——Lingxi people, are your streetlights still sufficient!?

Under these premises, Giuseppe wanting to take a trip over to the Lingxi side wouldn't be bad either; perhaps at a critical moment they could mutually support each other.

Furthermore, in Giuseppe's universe, when the Southern Ming dynasty was on the verge of collapse, it was only by running southeast maritime trade that they regained their footing and reclaimed the realm.

Therefore he set his sights on the sea from the very beginning, even hiding a treasure on the far side of the ocean in Lingxi as a backup.

Although five hundred years have passed, considering that the Sun Moon is a magical world with plenty of long-lived species, it might still be usable.

Ji Ming warned: "Very dangerous!"

Giuseppe nodded: "We have to go check it out."

Thus Ji Ming contacted some connections, made arrangements all around, and on the morning of the second day successfully helped Giuseppe obtain a pardon.

"Holy cow, your efficiency is this high? Just a little fuss and you can just leave?"

"Ha, the people here have all received my favors; if even this bit of face isn't given, that would be too undignified."

……

"Why are you still here?"

"Haha, otherwise why would I rush to Lingxi to get money? I had also joined the Strange Council before—because my burial goods have long been spent!"

"So……"

"I have no funds."

……

"Ah, then let's do this: these travel expenses and potions are my investment in you; just remember to repay me when you return."

"Good, good, good! Uh…… you're not a Chosen One and also have a part-time job? You should be wealthy, so why give only this little?"

"No, how can a lazy dog that's been idle for five hundred years have the nerve to complain about it being too little?"

"Come on, come on, buddy really has no money to eat."

"Tsk."

Ji Ming roughly guessed what Giuseppe meant, so he could only break off a piece of wood from the table on the spot and carve it into a token using thunder light.

"This is my token; take it to Yangguang City and say you're going to the Lingxi Kingdom, and someone will come to help you."

"Easy! Easy!"

"Now Giuseppe burst into smiles, having no objections at all."

"Ji Ming couldn't be bothered with him, gave a cold snort, and left right away."

"Seeing JiMiYin already flying off on a celestial horse from this mountaintop, Giuseppe looked left and right, then spat fiercely in the direction he'd disappeared."

"Pah! You little female imp!"

"Having said that, he cheerfully went back to the parlor, wanting to put away the talisman he'd finally obtained."

"Who would have thought that the moment his hand touched the token, it instantly burst into raging flames, and a tingling, numbing sensation spread through him."

"In a moment, half his arm was burned away."

"Holy shit, legendary thunder-struck wood!!!"

"After leaving Giuseppe a big surprise, Ji Ming mounted the celestial horse and headed back to his mountain residence to rest."

"But not long after flying, he noticed that the holy mountain was bustling for some reason, with all kinds of people constantly coming and going."

"Ji Ming was nearly driven to PTSD by their commotion, as if something big had happened, so he quickly stopped a squad of knights to ask what was going on."

"Don't you know, Divine Chosen? The archbishop from the Deep Forest Church wants to come visit our Holy See, and everyone's preparing a welcome ceremony!"

"So-called Deep Forest Archbishop is merely the public identity of the Flower-rank Envoy, Dandelion."

"Since he also counts as part of the 'face' and has to show up for duties daily, he looks rather well-behaved, like a normal person."

"But given Ji Ming's understanding of this group, he can be sure that at this time, heading up the mountain definitely isn't to hold back a good fart—he's probably planning to plant a bomb somewhere!"

"Therefore……"

"You all know, the old sun is my good buddy."

"I absolutely cannot let that Deep Forest bunch of BYD swagger into his stronghold and hurt his followers!"

"Well, that……"

"The Holy Light followers naturally had no objections to the Divine Chosen joining the welcome ceremony, and the Pope happily announced that he'd hand over the ceremony's management to the Divine Chosen."

"Ji Ming:???"

"Thief ship! I'm going, thief ship!"

"But the Pope's choice to avoid seeing him actually fits the rules, after all he's just an archbishop, still two ranks below his status."

"And since tomorrow is the proper day, the reception arrangements are basically set; we just temporarily tweak the reception staff list to give him a nominal post."

"Oh no, the way you put it makes me feel even more nervous—am I going to become a scapegoat intern?"

"But jokes aside, when the Deep Forest Church tour group arrived at the Holy Light Holy See, Ji Ming still attended as a representative of the Holy Light Church."

"Just like when they met in Qixia City before, Dandelion remained as calm as an ancient well, so still he seemed like a corpse."

"If it weren't for the other's palm still warm when they shook hands, Ji Ming would suspect the Deep Forest God had also found some weirdo to serve as archbishop to show magnanimity."

"\"JiMiYin, Divine Chosen, we meet again. \""

"\"Yes, Archbishop Costa, welcome to the Holy See. \""

"Since it's about 'face,' Dandelion naturally also has a vulgar name—Costa Feiyu."

"It's said he comes from the western part of the Deep Forest Kingdom, and was once a noble young master born in Rome."

"Perhaps the wealthy life suffocated him, so he turned to the Deep Forest God and gradually became a noble Flower-rank Envoy."

"To be frank, maybe because he just reconnected with his fellow villagers these two days, and because the guy is truly despicable, Giuseppe, who'd been downgraded from 'Lion Brother' to 'Little Lion,' chatted about too many interesting topics."

"Chatting with Costa, who looks as stiff as a board, dull and boring, possibly incapable of ever cracking a joke in his whole life, makes Ji Ming feel like he's in prison!"

"Although Ji Ming thinks that way, it's admittedly a bit nitpicky—after all, Giuseppe is the eternal emperor of Yangyue, his charisma, or rather his ability to chat and shoot the breeze, is maxed out; ordinary people can't compare."

"But Costa is certainly no ordinary person either, since throughout this whole tour it can be said that he's entirely relying on Ji Ming to find topics."

"Just having said that, now he's saying this, afraid to let the atmosphere go cold, busy as a gold-medal tour guide."

"\"Haha, and he's also a guide for a mausoleum-type museum, because the one listening to my speech is literally a dead·person·ah. \""

"……"

"\"Yeah, what if he really is a dead person, just a different kind of dead person? \""

"Ji Ming, muttering to himself, seized that idea that had popped up out of nowhere and began covert observation."

"Perhaps because he was making a presumption of guilt, the result was that the more he looked, the more he felt Costa was off."

"His speech is weird, his gait is weird, even his reaction speed is weirdly laggy—like playing an FPS with a cheap knockoff, the delay is deadly!"

"What's more, he seems unusually fond of sunlight; although not obvious, whenever he chooses a position or route, he always prioritizes places with sunshine."

"Not right! It's seriously off—maybe even ninety percent off!"

"Especially as the tour went on, after passing a monastery built on a hillside, the holy mountain behind it loomed into view."

"Faced with the incoming holy light, Costa unconsciously raised both his hands."

"???"

"I'm receiving the Deep Forest Church archbishop, right? Why do I feel like I'm receiving Dengzi from a parallel universe in Gaul?"

"Everyone just stood there dazed for a while, until a young man who seemed to be the head of the Deep Forest Church's guards walked over from their side."

"\"Archbishop Sir? Archbishop Sir? \""

"But after shouting it several times, they finally heard their archbishop's meaningless muttering elicit a response."

"\"Uh, oh, aba aba… It's fine! I just think the Holy Light Church's divine mountain is really too beautiful… too beautiful. \""

"Ji Ming, who had been watching the whole time, finally stepped forward and walked over quickly."

"\"Archbishop Sir, don't panic; this is my first time coming to the Holy See, and I also lost my composure when I first saw our church's holy mountain. \""

"Costa: \"Haha. \""

"Hiss~"

Ji Ming almost froze to death from this robot-like calm laughter, but he could only steel himself.

You are our honored guest; since you like to look, there is a viewing platform with a better view over there—I can take you to see it.

The viewing platform does exist, but because the terrain is steep and the path is narrow, ordinary people wouldn't just stand around staring at the sun to strengthen their eyes, so at most only two people can go up at once.

If it were anyone else, having now gone deep into the enemy camp, such a dangerous invitation would certainly be refused, but brave Ke Si Te still nodded after a brief hesitation.

Everyone:???

After two minutes, Ji Ming and Ke Si Te stood on the small platform at the highest point under everyone's gaze.

Of course, now that the conditions for being alone have been met, then……

Ke Si Te, stand still and don't move.