Chapter 222: Chapter 216: Let the Dawn Return, or Send You West
After a wave of weightlessness passed, Lin Qingfeng’s consciousness returned.
He snapped his eyes open.
"This place..."
Lin Qingfeng quickly surveyed his surroundings.
They were in the middle of a primeval jungle.
Dozens of Guixi Sect disciples were waking up from the ground around him in twos and threes, each with a similar look of confusion and shock.
And behind them stood a colossal, ancient tree that defied description.
Looking up, it became clear this was not the only such giant tree; they seemed to be scattered throughout the sea of forests.
Just as all the players were still adjusting to this new environment, a screen of light unfolded before each of them.
It was a three-dimensional, top-down map, clearly marking the location of the giant tree they were at, as well as other points of light scattered across it.
These represented the other members of the guild.
All the points of light were connected by a line leading to the centermost region of the map.
The map only appeared for a few short breaths before it quickly retracted and vanished.
Immediately after, a voice belonging to Mr. Qian echoed within their Divine Sense:
"Xihe rides the sun across the heavens, her body a divine tree to suppress the ages."
"Vile beasts’ foul qi taints the forest floor, should dawn not return, to dust you shall fall."
"Legend has it that the divine bird Xihe drove the Golden Crow Divine Vehicle across the sky each day, rising in the east and setting in the west, bringing light and life to the world."
"However, during the great war of gods and demons in ancient times, to protect all living things, Xihe sacrificed her own divine soul along with her Golden Crow mount, transforming into a ’Guixi Divine Tree’ to suppress the ancient beasts and causing them to fall into an endless slumber."
"Countless years have passed, and the Divine Tree’s power has gradually weakened, causing the seal to loosen."
"The evil power of the suppressed beasts is now seeping out from underground, attempting to corrupt this vast forest and devour the Divine Tree’s radiance."
"Eerie whispers have begun to echo through the woods, and twisted shadow creatures have started to spawn in their wake."
"As disciples of the Guixi Sect, you must enter this Guixi Secret Realm, which is about to be shrouded in darkness, to purify the corrupted forest and awaken the final will of Xihe."
"Bring about the return of the morning dawn... or else, be sent to your graves..."
The moment the backstory concluded, a series of rule notifications appeared in every player’s field of vision.
[Guixi Secret Realm Rules Announcement]
[Mission Objective]: All disciples must depart from their respective Divine Tree starting points and reach the "Heart of Xihe" region in the center of the Secret Realm. Only disciples who reach the central region may proceed to the next event.
[Map & Divine Sense]: During the mission, the minimap function will be completely disabled. Flight is prohibited. The Divine Sense detection range of all disciples will be compressed. Upon reaching the central region, features will be progressively unlocked based on event progress.
[Monster Damage Mechanics]: Normal monsters outside their aggro range will gain adaptive damage reduction. Bosses outside their aggro range are immune to all attacks.
[Death Penalty]: If you die in the Secret Realm, the residual power of the Divine Tree will protect your soul, allowing you to resurrect at your respective starting Divine Tree.
Each death will result in a fixed loss of 1% of your current level’s experience points.
There is a chance to drop equipped gear or items upon death. Please travel in groups to avoid losing them.
The time required for resurrection will progressively increase with the number of deaths.
NPC deaths will result in them being directly ejected from the Secret Realm.
[Communication Restrictions]: During the mission, the Sect channel will be closed. Only the [Guixi Secret Realm (Team)] channel and the "Nearby" channel will be available.
[Special Rule]: Logging off is not permitted during the mission. If you force a logoff, upon your next login, you will be considered to have forfeited the opportunity and will be automatically removed from the Secret Realm.
The last line of the rules announcement, tinged with an ominous blood-red color, slowly faded away.
[Guixi Secret Realm Channel (Team)]
[Shen Nong]: Holy crap! We can drop gear with the death penalty? A team wipe would really hurt!
[Ji]: It’s only 1% EXP, that’s nothing. If you drop gear, just have a teammate remember to pick it up.
[Yan Buliu]: The main thing is the longer respawn time! If you die too much, we’ll all be at the finish line while you’re still counting down at the start!
[Wang Xian]: Anyway... the flow of time... in the game is different... from real life... I’m gonna slack off...
Lin Qingfeng considered this. The guild, with nearly a thousand members, had been forcibly split into dozens of small teams by the system and scattered throughout the Secret Realm, obviously to increase the mission’s difficulty and add more variables.
Lin Qingfeng’s gaze returned from the void, falling upon the four NPCs behind him.
A trace of relief washed over him.
’This sect advancement mission... full-member teleportation, random dispersion... it’s a huge test of the guild’s organization and the members’ individual abilities. As the guild leader, the system assigned these four crucial mission NPCs to my team. Maybe it’s a perk of my position, but that’s not important. What’s important is that my walking Treasure Detector with the [Immense Luck] trait is still here. I forgot to leash him before, but it’s not too late now. With his knack for stumbling into dog-shit luck wherever he goes, he might just wander into some hidden realm and hog a massive opportunity all to himself. Then, I, the guild leader, would be out here toiling away on the main quest with the main force, while he’s inside living it up. What kind of deal is that? No. I absolutely cannot let that happen. To prevent my "Treasure Detector" from accidentally wandering off, I have to take out some insurance.’
At Lin Qingfeng’s thought, a streak of light emerged from his palm.
The light condensed, forming a leash woven entirely from moon-white silkworm threads.
The body of the leash was soft, and every strand of silk contained points of light. As Lin Qingfeng moved, these specks of light flowed silently between his fingers.
At the head of the leash was a slipknot-style clasp made of an unknown metal. Its surface was engraved with fine, intricate runes.
[Fate-Seeking Silk]
Grade: Special Spiritual Treasure
Verse:
Opportunity has no master; fortune and misfortune are found by the heart.
A single thought binds the silk into a lock; ten thousand miles apart, yet still side-by-side.
Legend tells of a Celestial Fox skilled at concealing its tracks, capable of sniffing out the world’s fortune and finding unrevealed opportunities. To capture this fox, a great power took the spiritual silk spun by its companion, the "Unity Silkworm," and refined it into this treasure. Though the Celestial Fox could hide in the void and conceal itself within the river of fate, it could not escape the bonds of this silk.
Functions:
[Unity Contract]: This treasure can only bind one target at a time. Unless actively unbound, the contract is permanent.
[Ten-Thousand-Mile Tracking]: The wielder can perceive the exact location of the bound target at any time, ignoring all spatial, distance, and Array-based obstructions. By channeling Spiritual Qi, the wielder can even observe the bound target’s surroundings.
[A Single Step to the Horizon]: The wielder can consume Spiritual Power to instantly teleport to the bound target’s side. This process can bring along up to ten companions.
[Like a Shadow]: The wielder can consume Spiritual Power to forcibly pull the bound target from any location to their side. (Note: This can also apply to items on their person.)
[Formless and Shapeless]: Can render the item invisible and undetectable by any Divine Sense, Pupil Technique, or Magic.
[Note]: This treasure possesses no offensive power.
This was the special Spiritual Treasure that had dropped when he got the first kill on the "Tracking Celestial Fox" during the event before last.
Its functionality was top-tier; it was practically a custom-made "anti-loss leash" for Dong Changsheng.
Lin Qingfeng no longer hesitated.
Dong Changsheng had just woken up. Just as he was about to open his eyes to look around and ask some questions...
"Where—"
His words were cut short.
Because Lin Qingfeng was already standing in front of him, and with a CLICK, he fastened the leash in his hand around Dong Changsheng’s neck.
The metal clasp tightened on its own, fitting perfectly.
Dong Changsheng: "???"
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