68: canyon

Ding~ Main quest activated: Lost Glory (Third Ring).

Quest Description: Under your leadership, our family has become a Seventh-Grade Family, possessing a certain level of strength. Please continue your efforts to advance to a Sixth-Grade Great Family as soon as possible.

Quest Rewards:

1. Experience Points: Awarded based on evaluation.

2. Item: Random Talent Treasure Chest * 1 (unbound), reward quality fluctuates with quest completion evaluation.

Su Chen looked at the new quest that popped up on the panel, his fingertips gently tapping the void.

From Seventh-Grade to Sixth-Grade, it seemed like only one level difference, but the threshold suddenly rose—the family population needed to exceed a thousand, and there must be a Void God Realm battle force to hold the line.

He opened the family panel, his gaze falling on Tantai Qinghuang’s name. The young girl's current cultivation was at the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm, and her battle prowess was comparable to an early Void God Realm, but her realm was still Spirit Sea Realm.

“It’s not difficult, just lacking time,” Su Chen muttered softly.

After all, less than three days had passed since he entered the game.

The reward of the Random Talent Treasure Chest made him look forward to it even more.

Unbound talents meant they could directly reflect reality.

If he could draw top-tier talents like Supreme Bone or Double Pupils, his battle prowess might achieve another qualitative leap.

Closing the panel, Su Chen turned his attention back to reality.

...

The hovercar drove along the winding mountain road, the vegetation outside the window becoming sparser, and a faint smell of rust permeating the air.

Chu Jinghong sat in the passenger seat, occasionally glancing at the thick fog outside the window.

“I say, this godforsaken place, can there really be anything special?” He rubbed his hands, his tone carrying a hint of unease.

Nan Mingde gripped the steering wheel, his brows tightly furrowed: “The Ruiners have put so much effort into this plan; it can’t possibly be a small matter.”

He glanced at Su Chen in the rearview mirror, “Mr. Su, what do you think it could be?”

Su Chen leaned back in the rear seat, closing his eyes to rest: “We’ll know when we get there.”

Just then, a “beep-beep” “beep-beep” alarm suddenly sounded.

The monster detectors carried by Dragon Xuexue, Meng Cang, and Chu Jinghong simultaneously emitted a piercing shriek, exceptionally jarring in the silent car.

“What’s going on?” Meng Cang lowered his head to look at the instrument screen; the needle on it was wildly swinging, and the red warning light was flashing dizzyingly.

As the car continuously approached the coordinates, the alarm grew more urgent, the frequency so fast it almost merged into a single continuous sound.

“Zzzzz—”

After a final sharp electrical sound, all the detectors simultaneously went dark, their screens completely black.

Chu Jinghong swallowed, his Adam’s apple moving particularly noticeably: “What’s happening? Should we just retreat?”

The instruments directly breaking down indicated that the existence within the canyon far exceeded the detection limit of the Spirit Sea Realm, which was beyond their ability to handle.

Nan Mingde, however, stepped on the brakes, pointing to the dirt by the roadside outside the window: “Look.”

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed, only to see a series of clear footprints imprinted on the soft mud, extending deep into the canyon.

“The missing people are in there,” Nan Mingde’s voice was low, “We cannot retreat.”

Silence fell over the car.

Meng Cang pushed up his glasses, saying in a deep voice: “I suggest we first scout the enemy’s situation, to know ourselves and our enemy.”

Dragon Xuexue nodded in agreement, forming a hand seal with her fingertips, and a yellow paper figure flew out from her sleeve, hovering in front of the car window.

Her fingertips moved slightly with spiritual power, but the paper figure seemed to be confined by an invisible force, spinning in place, unable to fly out of the car window no matter what.

“No, my talisman is blocked,” Dragon Xuexue withdrew her hand, her expression solemn.

Su Chen then opened his eyes and took out three yellow talismans from his storage ring. Complex patterns were drawn on the talismans with cinnabar, and a faint glow subtly flowed: “I have three high-grade invisibility talismans here.”

These were retrieved from the Ruiners’ headquarters; judging by the material and runes, they were clearly precious items prepared for infiltration and investigation.

Nan Mingde’s eyes lit up: “Excellent!”

After a brief discussion, they decided that Dragon Xuexue and Chu Jinghong would stay in the car to provide support, while Su Chen, Nan Mingde, and Meng Cang would use the invisibility talismans and their peak Spirit Sea Realm cultivation to infiltrate and investigate the canyon.

...

Outside the car, the cold wind howled, and black mist rolled like a living creature at the canyon entrance.

Su Chen and the two others activated their invisibility talismans, their figures instantly merging into the mist, leaving only faint spiritual power fluctuations.

They flew low, carefully passing through the black mist.

Immediately upon entering the canyon area, the scene before them suddenly changed—the dense black mist disappeared, replaced by a vibrant, lush landscape. Green trees provided shade, flowers bloomed, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of plants, starkly contrasting with the desolation outside.

“Something’s not right,” Meng Cang whispered, “The spiritual energy in this place is too pure; it’s abnormal.”

Su Chen did not speak, his gaze sweeping forward.

Inside the canyon, three small mountains stood in a ‘pin’ shape. The rock formations presented an abnormal dark red, and at the foot of the mountains, three huge iron cages were conspicuously placed. Each cage was the size of a basketball court, filled with unconscious people, men, women, and children, who were precisely the missing individuals.

Their breathing was steady, their chests rising and falling slightly; they appeared only to be unconscious and not fatally injured.

Beside each cage stood a figure.

Beside the left cage was an old man in a black robe, with a faint aura of death swirling around him, which was the aura of a Void God Realm.

Beside the middle cage was a woman in red, with a beautiful face but eyes as cold as frost. Her fingertips occasionally brushed against the cage wall, emitting a harsh metallic scraping sound; she was also a Void God Realm.

Beside the right cage was a burly man, shirtless, with muscles as knotted as rocks, and chains wrapped around his waist. His aura was even more violent than the previous two; the pressure of a mid-Void God Realm caused the air to subtly tremble.

Three Void God Realm transformed monsters!

Nan Mingde’s pupils contracted, and he instinctively held his breath.

The three of them, at peak Spirit Sea Realm, might not even be able to take down one Void God Realm if they joined forces. Now that three were gathered, if they were exposed, it would be a dead end.

Su Chen’s gaze, however, passed over the cages and landed in the center of the canyon.

There was a complex formation there, with array patterns flickering with dark purple light. Three thick iron chains extended from the array core, connecting to the three small mountains respectively.

In the center of the formation, a half-human-tall egg floated in mid-air, its shell covered with eerie patterns.

Whenever the patterns lit up, the three small mountains would tremble slightly, and the faces of the unconscious people in the iron cages would turn a shade paler. Wisps of faint golden airflow, imperceptible to the naked eye, would flow along the chains into the egg, making the eggshell’s luster even brighter.

“This formation... is extracting the vital essence of living people,” Meng Cang’s voice carried an incredulous horror, “Those people aren’t just unconscious; their life force is being slowly drained!”

“This egg...” Nan Mingde’s voice was somewhat hoarse, “Could it be some kind of monster’s egg?”

Just then, the woman in red suddenly turned her head, her gaze accurately sweeping towards their direction, her red lips parting slightly:

“Come out, I smell living people.”