252: Chapter 251 No Turning Back

"Will I return once the mission is completed..."

Knowing how to escape the certain-death situation, Chu Xuan felt a bit more relaxed. Compared to this unknown world, he was still more willing to return to his original world.

He didn't have grand ambitions to save the world, but he always repaid kindness and debts.

The Haicheng Night Watchers had helped him, as had Qin Shaowu and Li Guifen, so he voluntarily used his precious Dream Return skill once.

This world had ultimately chosen him, and regardless of the reason, it had allowed him to smoothly embark on the path of a Purifier.

This didn't just solve the hidden danger of the Phantom Demon; it also brought him a leap in power.

Naturally, he wouldn't let it down; he would do his best to purge Specters, and this was already his own subjective intention anyway.

Amidst his thoughts, Chu Xuan mentioned obtaining a one-time Copy ability after slaying Azure Dragon.

He had originally wanted to try copying Fighting God in the dream, but it failed.

Later, when he woke up and faced the S-Rank Night Fiend for the first time, he used Copy again just to be safe.

The result was still failure, and he obtained Teleportation instead.

To this, [Future Tang Zheng] replied that it might be because some people's Talent abilities cannot be copied.

For example, the reason Azure Dragon hadn't killed you back then might have been because he wanted to Copy a Talent ability from you.

And later, when he fought me, he used Death Mark, which showed he had been guarding against me for a long time.

But he never displayed Fighting God's abilities, which clearly meant he failed to Copy them.

Next, [Future Tang Zheng] suggested that Transcendent Skills aren't necessarily better in greater numbers, as upgrading them requires a large amount of spirituality value.

And increasing basic attributes also requires spirituality value.

Everything must prioritize increasing combat power.

[Future Tang Zheng] stated that although the Copy ability had already been used, there might be chances to regain it in the future.

However, when asked how to regain it, the other party said they couldn't disclose it yet.

Finally, Chu Xuan asked: [How is the future world?]

[Tang Zheng: The situation is very grim, and our space is being squeezed smaller and smaller, but compared to the original timeline, it's already many times stronger.]

[There are two key nodes: one, Azure Dragon is dead, saving the world from the descent of an Evil God; two, you became a Purifier, causing the world will to awaken early.]

[Tang Zheng: The awakening of the world will makes it impossible for S-rank Specters to easily open large-scale Forbidden Domains. Furthermore, according to the Domain rules, no Specters can come over at will during the initial stage.]

[But on the other hand, some Specters have obtained certain-death killing rules, which are similar in nature to the Death Mark of Hunting and are very troublesome.]

Chu Xuan's pupils constricted slightly.

[Tang Zheng: So in the future, having a Death-substitution item, or similar armor and skills, will be very important.]

[Tang Zheng: The trend of the Gloom Invasion is unstoppable, and humanity's living space will be continuously compressed. In the game of worlds and the collision of rules, the world's will has already become twisted and crazed.]

[And shortly after, System binding restrictions will be further lifted. At that time, it won't just be Transcendents who have stepped into the God-Ascension Sequence who can bind with the System, but the entire population!]

[For all those bound, the System will issue mandatory missions. Everyone must contribute to resisting the Gloom Invasion; failure to complete them results in forced obliteration!]

Chu Xuan couldn't help but be startled.

[Tang Zheng: The rules of the Dark World and our reality have become deeply intertwined and are constantly evolving. In the near future, a peaceful life will become a complete luxury.]

[Tang Zheng: More Paths of Salvation will appear in the future, but in the process of confronting the Dark World, these paths will also be continuously destroyed.]

[Tang Zheng: Although the future is still not optimistic, the early awakening of the world will has brought new possibilities. Humanity has nurtured more experts to draw strength for the world, and everyone is trying to save it.]

[Tang Zheng: However, there will always be some people who, whether by choice or chance, are selected, interfered with, or tempted by the Dark World under various factors, ultimately becoming World Traitors.]

[The harm they bring is no less than that of the Specter invasion. Even existences like Azure Dragon nearly became a tumor that destroyed the world.]

[Since you have become a Purifier, it means the world has placed a heavy bet on you, and there is no turning back for you.]

[The obliteration rule doesn't just stem from the three-year cross-time communication we've established; it's also because the rules of the Dark World do not allow the Transcendent Paths of upward advancement in our world to continue existing.]

[Slaying Specters, exterminating World Traitors, and continuously completing System missions are the prerequisites for your survival.]

Chu Xuan's heart stirred: [You seem to know a lot about the Purifier sequence? According to what you said, although the five prerequisites for becoming a Purifier are harsh, they aren't too difficult for high-level people. Has no one met the conditions before me?]

[Tang Zheng: Because there is one more crucial prerequisite: one must know about this path.]

[In the original timeline, it would have been a long time before someone learned about the Purifier path through a Path of Salvation.]

[But unfortunately, by then it was too late. A large number of terrifying Strange Creaturess had already come to our world. Tempted by the guidance of the Evil God and completely disregarding their own lives, they sought to devour and kill the Purifier.]

[That person's strength wasn't in the first tier, and they didn't have time to finish developing before they perished directly after triggering multiple certain-death rules. It was a mere flash in the pan.]

[And because of that, the last Transcendent Path of our world was severed, and the world will sank once more. Amidst the changing rules, the rewards for others Hunting Specters also decreased, and compared to the gradually invading Strange Creaturess, the gap grew wider and wider.]

So that was it.

Chu Xuan immediately thought of his "Specter-Attracting Physique" and couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency.

He might have killed the Night Fiend easily, but he knew very well that it was actually because the Night Fiend had already crippled itself halfway at the start.

First, to accelerate the process of the Assimilation of Haicheng, the Night Fiend split into 100 Clones at the start, making that skill basically useless in the Early Stage of the battle.

Second, it was too overconfident, restricting itself to the Central Plaza with nowhere to run.

But ultimately, the Night Fiend wasn't cautious enough. It had hidden for so long in the Early Stages, yet it dared to play so big right after advancing to S-Rank, before even fully converting its real attributes or assimilating any powerful experts.

If it had even half of Azure Dragon's craftiness, it wouldn't have ended up so miserably.

[Tang Zheng: Anomalies have already appeared, and Dark Areas are descending all over the globe. You must increase your strength as quickly as possible and advance your Rank soon. Only by keeping your strength in the first tier forever can you complete more Death Missions; otherwise, even just staying alive will be a luxury.]

[Tang Zheng: Time is almost up. We are about to enter the Mysterious Land; your Precognitive Dream Talent probably won't hold up much longer...]

Chu Xuan was slightly stunned.

He glanced at the time; it was 6:49. Logically, it hadn't reached the one-hour limit of his Talent yet, not to mention he could extend it by consuming spirituality value.

However, in the next second, the plane suddenly jolted as lightning flashed outside. Then, an extremely bright and piercing white light appeared, and Chu Xuan's consciousness abruptly sank into a stupor.

...

...

Chu Xuan snapped his eyes open.

[spirituality value: 820]

Time—

6:30.

There were no chat records from [Future Tang Zheng] on his phone.

I really have woken up!

"A forced awakening, something that has never happened before... How could Future Tang Zheng know my Talent so clearly when even I didn't know?"

Chu Xuan pondered, instinctively feeling that this matter was probably not that simple.

"You're awake! Chu Xuan, you probably can't even imagine what we are experiencing..." Tang Zheng's voice sounded in his ear.

Chu Xuan raised a hand: "Don't say it, I know we are traveling between worlds. There are pterosaurs, tentacles, vines piercing the clouds, and demon phantoms even more exaggerated than Ultraman."

Tang Zheng's face stiffened, and the words he was about to say were all choked back. His expression was very uncomfortable as he asked, "Then what do you think we should do next?"

"Call Xu Shuya and Tan Ziming. From now on, follow my lead!"