CHAPTER 151: CHAPTER 59: WHEN YOU GAZE INTO THE ABYSS, THE ABYSS GAZES BACK AT YOU_2

Enjoying the tasty food, Lin Rui asked, "We should be leaving Blood Maple Forest soon, right?"

"Soon, soon. If all goes well, we should be out of Blood Maple Forest by the first half of the night, cross Ruins River by the second half, and by daylight, after pushing forward a bit, we can camp at Glacial Abyss and wait for our caravan partners for trade."

"Is Ruins River safe?"

"Generally speaking, it’s very safe because there was once an Abyssal invasion there. Humans won the war, but the horrific abyssal corrosion turned the entire valley into a corrupted land full of mutated abyssal monsters. No one wants to venture there, and the monsters remain undisturbed. But if they ever come out, it would be a terrifying catastrophe."

Lin Rui was speechless, wondering what kind of place his domain truly was.

How is it that disasters are everywhere: Undead Catastrophe, Dragon Race calamity, Beastmen Green Tide, and here, an abyssal mutation zone.

Is this a disaster brawl?

Might as well shut the domain in on itself, give the land to these disasters, and let them fight it out.

"So the next stretch of the journey shouldn’t encounter much danger?"

"Well... not necessarily, sometimes there are treacherous Beastman warbands lying in ambush around, with clear targets to rob just before caravans enter or exit. Whenever you meet such a warband, it’s definitely a sizable army."

To sum up, no place is safe!

Lin Rui felt helpless, quickly finished his meal, and then ordered the whole army to swiftly march towards the river mouth.

But perhaps due to Lin Rui’s presence, Blessed Star was shining upon them. Apart from encountering a few Unclean ones and evil spirits seduced by the Evil God, they only ran into a few Roaring Beast Swarms throughout the night.

With the massive scale of the Undead, Lin Rui didn’t even need precise maneuvers; the Golden Pansy Domain could already confront the monsters head-on with a proper formation, turning the battle into a mini-war.

Audrey, riding on Xiaoxiao’s shoulder, surveyed the whole team from above, with a clear view of the battlefield situation. Under Terion’s command, the battle was won with a crushing force. Evil spirits mixed into the team were easily marked by Audrey, as the Other Shore Flower Mark with golden patterns and ghostly red hues lit up. The spirits were like fat sheep among a pack of ravenous wolves, torn apart directly by the dense surrounding Undead.

Upon reaching Ruins River Valley, Lin Rui acquired six Knight’s Heart Scrolls, over a dozen pieces of Fine-level Equipment, and more than thirty pieces of Ordinary-level Equipment.

The drop rate had noticeably decreased, not because Lin Rui’s luck was worsening, but due to a diminishing returns curve. It’s akin to high-level characters gaining less from defeating lower-level monsters.

Now that Lin Rui’s strength had clearly increased, fighting those ordinary monsters was evidently lacking in combat excitement in the eyes of the gods, and not worth encouragement.

However, Lin Rui’s biggest advantage was his outstanding Luck Value. While official rewards became scarcer, as long as he slew enough monsters, he could keep fleecing the gods.

Amidst the blast fall, Lin Rui harvested countless bits and pieces of small components.

For example, seed of emerald green, over these two nights, Lin Rui collected more than twenty pieces, granting an additional five hundred Life Value to Knights Roger and Lusen respectively.

During this period, a refined grain level item dropped, boosting Lundestadte’s Physique Value by one point. A Book of Wisdom, which Lin Rui used for himself.

The most numerous were the Experience Books, with eight in total dropping, all given to Terion by Lin Rui.

He’s the hero of the domain, a hero unit extremely rare and scarce across the entire race.

His strength boost will grant Commander Bonuses to all soldiers. With incredibly powerful strength himself, he’s the muscle bully most capable of fighting within the domain. Once he burns with crimson blood, he morphs into a frontline slashing king, an uncontrollable rampaging bull.

With fifty percent damage immunity and additional Divine Damage, he becomes the ideal Priest in Lin Rui’s heart, both sturdy and strong, capable of both tanking and hitting hard, able to heal across the four seas with a shake of his large chest, also buffing the entire army.

No wonder he’s a Rare Level hero!

He’s practically tailor-made for Lin Rui’s preferences.

The only regret is that such a perfect hero is currently only affiliated with Lin Rui.

To formally make him a member of the domain, he must complete the Divine Spirit’s command to oppose the terrifying Undead Catastrophe.

As Lin Rui thought of these things, he finally entered Ruins River Valley, a vast range of over a hundred miles, with collapsed ruins and giant fallen statues, evidence of a prosperous river valley city that once stood here. But now everything had perished, leaving only black-red land and absolute stillness.

The roadside was barren, with lots of dirt stained by the turgid brown-green blood of monsters, some growing disgusting tentacles that automatically attacked any creatures passing by.

This is certainly no habitable land for humans or ground for production.

Lin Rui asked, "Can’t this corrupted land be cleansed?"

Having a clearer understanding, Terry said, "I read in the Divine Scripture that to clean such corrupted land, one must first purge the evil forces within, as their presence constantly raises the corruption level. Once the forces are purged, a hero with purification traits can be sent to slowly cleanse the area bit by bit."

"Why not come to cleanse them?"

Lu Weite from the Lusen Chamber of Commerce spoke helplessly, "Lord Lin Rui, heroes are rare super units throughout the empire. It’s rare enough to have two appear within your domain simultaneously. The empire’s heroes are burdened with important tasks, and those capable of purifying lands are even scarcer. They’re stationed in more crucial places and can’t leave. How could they possibly remain at this remote land continuously to clear corruption?"

Indeed, the rarity of hero units can be seen from the Blue Star Explorer.

On the vast Blue Star, with a population of eight billion, the number of heroes is a single digit, possibly less than five. Hence, once Lin Rui transformed into a hero, he directly soared on the military strength ranking list.

He shattered the worldview of most Blue Star Explorers, disarming countless others. His climbing rate on the military strength list seemed as if skyrocketing during play.

Lin Rui’s luck truly was extraordinary, leading everyone in the caravan to marvel at the most peaceful journey they ever had, crossing over a hundred miles of this corrosion zone without encountering any troublesome monsters, smoothly passing through this dangerous area.

They arrived at Glacial Abyss over two hours ahead of the scheduled time.

In the dim light of dawn, as the sun rose, Lin Rui finally got a clear view of Glacial Abyss’s appearance.

After a night of traversing the corrosion zone, now everyone was at the bottom of an abyss with cliffs rising overhead, flanked by ice mountain prisms. In the hazy fiber optic light, shadowy figures could be seen within the ice crystal, though they vanished when looked at attentively.

Lu Weite from the Lusen Chamber of Commerce approached Lin Rui and asked, "Lord Lin Rui, are you looking at the shadows on the ice mountain?"

"Yes. It’s strange, I’m sure I saw shadowy figures out of the corner of my eye on the ice mountain, but when I focused, it turned transparent with nothing there."

"Such eerie occurrences have long existed in Glacial Abyss. The caravan has an old horror story that anyone consistently seeking those shadows would meet a dreadful and ominous fate. After all, as you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

Listening to Lu Weite’s eerie explanation, Lin Rui felt a chill all over, as if countless Evil Ghosts were hiding within the Glacial Abyss, staring greedily and bizarrely at the living souls inside.

But Lu Weite didn’t intend to stop there, continuing, "Some say those shadows are our own shadows captured by the abyss. Others say those shadows are hidden Evil Ghosts, subtly replacing living people when no one notices."

"Why would such a theory exist? Is there any evidence?" Lin Rui asked with a frown.

"Of course, it’s not baseless. Every year, after the caravan returns from Glacial Abyss, several workers mysteriously disappear. It’s bizarre as if they never left Glacial Abyss, leaving no trace of ever exiting the abyss. Everyone knows, clearly, that they were once right among us."

This broken world really feels like a sieve that leaks on all sides, with every conceivable creature wanting a share!

Feeling deeply uncomfortable staying in this miserable place, Lin Rui asked, "Are we camping here waiting? How do we communicate with the target caravan? Let’s conclude the trade swiftly; I still have many things to do back in the domain."