133: Chapter 133 Unveiling the Truth

"An inter-planar teleportation array?"

Xu Qin's expression did not change, but he revealed a hint of curiosity.

"Where does it teleport to?" Xu Qin asked.

"I do not know, but it must be a much more dangerous world."

Lord Ta Lun's tone became grave.

"A high-level plane where the resource density, monster strength, and the intensity of competition between lords far exceed the level we are currently in."

Hearing this, Xu Qin began to ponder.

Isn't this just... a graduation teleportation point from the novice village?

Xu Qin maintained his look of curiosity.

"Continue."

"Very well."

Lord Ta Lun nodded.

"To activate the teleportation array, there are three conditions. First, clear all guarding monsters inside the ruins. Second, occupy the core console. Third, invest a massive amount of resources to activate the array."

"Have you tried it?"

"Yes."

Lord Ta Lun's tone became bitter.

"The fifteen of us have launched joint attacks three times."

"And the result?"

This time, Tie Ge took the initiative to speak, quite frustrated.

"Total annihilation."

"We fought our way to the third level at deepest, only to be blocked by the elite Void Rift Demons inside."

"Those things get stronger with every level, and they keep respawning."

"We kill one batch, and ten minutes later, another batch pops out."

The more Xu Qin listened, the more interesting he found it.

He hadn't expected that the teleportation array couldn't be passed through directly, and that it was actually divided into levels.

No wonder these people could only squat outside and pick up scraps.

"So you just block the door outside and only fight the stragglers that run out?"

Lord Ta Lun took over the conversation and replied, "Yes. Every once in a while, the ruins will emit a wave of monsters."

"We utilize this mechanism to eliminate the escaping Void Rift Demons and obtain void soul crystals."

"But the scale of today's wave exceeded expectations?" Xu Qin asked.

"Yes."

Lord Ta Lun's bark-like face was pained.

"In the past, there were at most two waves a day, with three to four thousand in each wave."

"Today, a third wave suddenly erupted, and the number directly exceeded ten thousand."

Another question popped into Xu Qin's mind, and he raised his hand to interrupt.

"Wait."

"You said the ruins periodically emit monsters?"

"Then, based on the forty-three days you've been squatting here, has it always been a frequency of two waves a day, with three to four thousand per wave?"

"Yes."

"Then where do these monsters come from? Infinite respawning?"

"We speculate that there is some kind of generation mechanism inside the ruins."

Lord Ta Lun replied.

"Although the teleportation array is not fully activated, it is already operating at an extremely low power."

"These Void Rift Demons... are essentially products that have infiltrated from the upper world."

Xu Qin narrowed his eyes and began to ponder.

Something about what this tree-man said felt off.

It felt like a link was missing in the logic.

Thus, he continued to ask, "One more question."

"How have you been able to squat here for forty-three days?"

"If the ruins were constantly spawning monsters, you should have been steamrolled during the early novice stage."

"What about before? This thing wasn't spawning from the very beginning, right?"

Lord Ta Lun's expression became visibly awkward.

"...The ruins were previously in a sealed state."

"Later, a lord, out of curiosity, touched the sealing structure on the periphery of the ruins."

"After the seal was lifted, the monsters began to pour out."

It seemed Lord Ta Lun was hiding something.

"Out of curiosity" and touched the seal?

Who would have nothing better to do than touch something that was clearly a seal?

It was highly likely that Lord Ta Lun and the others had done it themselves.

Or perhaps one of them did.

But that didn't matter.

Xu Qin didn't care who broke the seal.

He only cared about one thing.

Whether the teleportation array could be opened.

And what he could get after it was opened.

"Understood." Xu Qin nodded without further questioning.

Upon hearing this, Lord Ta Lun breathed a sigh of relief instantly.

It spoke again, probing, "Undead Lord... with the strength of your army, perhaps you could penetrate deep into the ruins."

"The fifteen of us are willing to cede this area and offer all the void soul crystals and abyss marrow we have accumulated to show our sincerity."

"As long as you are willing to stay."

Tie Ge chimed in from the side, "Right! Those monsters are nowhere near enough for you to fight!"

Xu Qin looked at them without agreeing immediately.

"Let me think about it." He said.

Lord Ta Lun and Tie Ge retreated tactfully.

"We will be nearby. Waiting for your decision at any time."

After speaking, they turned and left.

...After they walked away.

Xu Qin turned and stepped onto the elevator, returning to the Lords Hall.

Sitting on the bone throne, he began to organize the information he had just obtained.

If what they said was true, this ruin was a portal to the upper world.

Then, could the other blue ruin light spots he had detected through the wasteland saint stele also be teleportation arrays?

Most likely.

This meant that the current level of the entire continent... was actually just a "novice area."

All lords, regardless of race, would eventually have to pass through these teleportation arrays to enter the upper world.

Of course, one didn't have to enter.

The upper world would also send monsters to invade this world.

"So..." Xu Qin muttered to himself.

"Am I just an insect being raised in a novice village?"

He came to the Watchtower and examined the outline of the ruins in the distance.

Finally, his gaze rested on the base of the outer perimeter of the ruins.

As a lord who had repaired two ruins, Xu Qin could recite the repair process with his eyes closed.

Therefore, the outer foundation of the ruins before him was not the material that came with the original ruins, but building resources invested by people later.

"...These people weren't defending before." Xu Qin laughed, "They were actually constructing."

At this point, the problem was completely solved.

Some lord discovered these ruins first and tried to occupy and bind them directly like he did.

As a result, just as they invested resources to lay the foundation, the teleportation array was successfully activated.

Monsters began to pour out.

Construction was forced to stop.

The lord also changed from a "developer" to a "defender."

The news spread, and other lords came upon hearing it; some wanted a share of the spoils.

Others were simply threatened by the monsters that appeared, which endangered their own territories.

The fifteen parties gradually formed a joint defense pattern, relying on blocking the door and farming monsters to survive until now.

"Out of curiosity and touched the seal?" Xu Qin sneered.

Simply put, it was pure greed; they didn't understand the mechanism of the ruins.

Because some have holy objects, and some have guardian spirits.

If there were no holy objects or guardian spirits, then the ruins themselves were the problem.

Lord Ta Lun hid it well.

But to Xu Qin, such things were not important at all.

Because what mattered was whether these ruins had any value to him at the current stage.

Xu Qin returned to the Lords Hall and began to think about the action plan for the next steps.

The activation of the teleportation array required three conditions: clearing monsters, occupying the console, and dumping resources.

Could he do it? Of course he could.

With his current military strength, pushing in by force was not a problem.

But was it necessary? Absolutely not.

The teleportation array led to a higher-level plane.

The monster strength there far exceeded the current level.

His Lords Hall was only upgrading to level 9, troop reinforcement was still in progress, and he had only collected two holy objects.

Running to the high-level plane to get beaten up at this time? Doing that would be purely brain-damaged.