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Chapter 1003: Slaying the Guardian

Translator: CKtalon

Zhou Wen's movement techniques and saber techniques were pleasing to the eye and looked extremely elegant.

Even with the help of the Guardian's powers, Joseph's Speed and Strength were stronger than Zhou Wen's in all aspects; yet, he was ultimately unable to injure him.

Even ordinary people who didn't know how strong or weak their combat strength was could tell that although Joseph's Strength and Speed were great, his technique and realm were far inferior to Zhou Wen's.

Zhou Wen relied solely on his technique and combat experience to forcefully make up for the difference in physique between the two.

The Mythical Transcendent Flying Immortal combined with the Mythical Heart Defying Sword made Zhou Wen appear no weaker in his battle with Joseph.

Joseph was alarmed. He believed that after having a Guardian, he was already one of the strongest humans. Ignoring normal humans, even people with Mythical Companion Beasts were probably no match for him.

However, Zhou Wen didn't even use a Companion Beast. Just his strength, skills, and Essence Gold saber were enough to render him helpless. It was rather terrifying.

Joseph made up his mind. Previously, he had that strange sword that prevented the Guardian's Hypocritical Transaction from finding a target to transfer. Now that he can't use Companion Beasts, I don't believe that he can withstand the damage transfer. He can't self-destruct, right?

However, with his previous experience, Joseph didn't dare be careless against Zhou Wen. Although he felt that this move was feasible, he couldn't activate the Wheel of Destiny again anytime soon. If his life ended up in danger, he couldn't use the False God Statue to escape.

To prevent any accidents, Joseph made a decision.

Zhou Wen used the Bamboo Blade as a sword and used the Heart Defying Sword to perfection. The might of his sword moves also became stronger.

As for Joseph, he seemed to be completely suppressed by Zhou Wen. He seemed to be retreating in defeat.

The spectators were already dumbfounded when they saw this. They couldn't believe that an Epic human could suppress Joseph, who had a Guardian.

"Joseph seems to be deliberately luring Zhou Wen into delivering greater might with his sword," Sadie said.

"That's indeed the case. From the looks of it, he still plans on using that damage transfer ability," said Lance.

"He still hasn't learned his lesson after suffering a loss. He just has to do it again," Li Xuan said with a curl of his lips.

"The situation now is probably a little different. Zhou Wen is using an ordinary Essence Gold weapon and not a saber transformed from a Companion Beast. It's impossible for him to let the Bamboo Blade leave his hand to attack Joseph. If the damage is transferred, it can be transferred to Zhou Wen. Even if Zhou Wen were to throw the saber out, Zhou Wen's situation will be very bad if the saber is destroyed," Gulli said.

Lance thought for a moment, but he couldn't think of a way for Zhou Wen to nullify the damage transfer. He pondered and said, "Since Zhou Wen has agreed not to use Companion Beasts, there should be a solution. Let's continue watching."

With Joseph luring Zhou Wen to use greater strength, Zhou Wen's might grew stronger and stronger. This was also what Joseph wanted. He wanted to use damage transfer to kill Zhou Wen.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Zhou Wen's sword stance was like a storm. It was impossible for him to retract his force.

Joseph suddenly retreated, but the armor on his body condensed into a Guardian that looked like a devil. It faced the Bamboo Blade in Zhou Wen's hand.

Bamboo Blade crisscrossed over Lie's body like bolts of lightning, leaving deep marks on its body.

Without the augmentation of Mythical Strength, Zhou Wen's Strength was still a little weak. The injuries he left on Lie weren't deep.

Joseph was delighted when he saw this. Zhou Wen's strength wasn't as terrifying as he imagined. It was completely within the limits of Lie.

However, such a violent sword attack left many wounds in a short period of time. Even if these injuries couldn't kill Zhou Wen, they could reduce him to a heavily injured state.

"Zhou Wen, you're dead." Joseph roared as he excitedly launched Hypocritical Transaction to transfer the Guardian's injuries to Zhou Wen.

However, in the next second, the excitement on Joseph's face froze. He realized that the Guardian's injuries couldn't be transferred to Zhou Wen.

"Impossible... How can this be... You cheated... You used the power of a Companion Beast to withstand the Guardian's damage transfer?" Joseph roared at Zhou Wen with bloodshot eyes.

The people in the spectator stands also felt that what Joseph said wasn't impossible. Otherwise, how could Zhou Wen, an Epic-stage human, suppress the Guardian so badly?

"Do I need to cheat?" Zhou Wen said calmly as the Bamboo Blade's aura suddenly increased.

Instantly, Zhou Wen's aura reached a terrifying level. At the instant he brandished the Bamboo Blade in his hand, he seemed to vanish.

When he appeared again, he was already at the other end of the arena. He slowly returned Bamboo Blade to its scabbard.

Crack!

And in the sky, Lie's body split into two and was killed on the spot.

Not far behind the Guardian, Joseph spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground.

The arena was silent. Those who had doubted Zhou Wen moments ago now felt the coldness deep in their bones.

Is there a need to cheat? It really doesn't seem like there's a need. This thought appeared in everyone's minds.

The strength of humans can really kill Guardians! Apart from that, an unbelievable thought sprouted in everyone's hearts.

"You cheated... You cheated... It's impossible for human strength to defeat a Guardian... It's impossible for you to defeat me, a chosen one of God... You must be cheating..." The wounds on Joseph's body were still bleeding, but he seemed to have gone mad. He ignored his injuries and struggled to get up and shout.

Zhou Wen didn't kill him. After all, he was from the Ultimate Family Clan. It was better to leave him to the Ultimate Family Clan to deal with.

He originally imagined that the matter would end here, but gray smoke suddenly rose from Joseph's body as though his body was turning into dust.

As for the smoke, it condensed into the appearance of Lie above Joseph.

This strange scene left everyone horrified. As Joseph constantly screamed, his body quickly dissipated, and the smoke transformed into the complete Lie.

However, the current Lie looked much more agile and strange than the previous Lie.

"What happened? Aren't Guardians supposed to protect contractors? Why did it devour Joseph?" Everyone felt their blood run cold.

Lie floated in the air as it looked at Zhou Wen with its demonic eyes and said, "You defeated Joseph. Now, you have the right to succeed Joseph as God's chosen one. I will bestow you supreme power."

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Chapter 1004: Frod

Translator: CKtalon

Zhou Wen only looked at Lie without saying a word.

He had plotted to kill the Guardian, but the other party hadn't died. Instead, he had devoured the puppet-like Joseph. This Guardian seemed to be stronger than Zhou Wen imagined.

Seeing Zhou Wen remain silent, Lie continued, "Don't think that defeating Joseph means defeating me. In fact, my true strength far exceeds what you see. It's just that Joseph can't use my true strength. However, you are different. With your ability, you can perfectly unleash my strength. When the time comes, we can defeat many Guardians and become the King of Earth."

With that said, the gray smoke on the Guardian rose and instantly enveloped the entire arena. As for the people in the arena, they realized that they couldn't control their bodies.

All of them began clapping like puppets as they shouted in unison, "Become the Kings of Earth together..."

Everyone was horrified. Their minds were very lucid, but for some reason, their bodies didn't listen to them at all. It was as though they were controlled by a devil.

"Is this the true power of a Guardian?" Everyone was alarmed, angry, and afraid.

"How about it? As long as you contract with me, you will have the supreme divine power to control everything. You will become the true King of Earth." Lie floated in the air and looked down at the entire arena like a god. It was as though the humans in the arena were ants that he could toy with.

"I'm not interested in losers," Zhou Wen said.

"If you have any doubts about my strength, you can use all your strength. Try again and see if you can injure me," Lie continued arrogantly. "Of course, I'm different from trash like Joseph. You can use any Companion Beast or external force as you wish without any qualms."

"Is that so? Then I really want to give it a try," Zhou Wen said calmly.

"Then what are you waiting for? Do it now. Reveal your strongest strength and your strongest Companion Beast. I'll let you know what a true Guardian is. I'm completely different from that trash, Joseph. This is the true Guardian's strength," Lie said.

"Since you think Joseph is trash, why did you contract him?" Zhou Wen asked.

"Humans are mostly trash. There was no better choice. We can only make do by choosing trash with a suitable physique. However, since there's a human like you, I naturally don't need that useless trash," Lie said.

"Is that so? Then let me see how strong you are." As Zhou Wen spoke, he summoned the Tyrant Behemoth boxing glove and threw a punch at the levitating Lie.

"A boxing glove with Absolute Strength? Such strength might be useful against other Guardians, but to me... It's useless... Bam..." Before Lie could finish his sentence, Zhou Wen struck him in the chest.

However, Lie didn't realize that just as Zhou Wen's boxing glove was about to hit him, a crystalline blue thread appeared in the boxing glove. It stabbed into Lie's body with a terrifying icy aura.

In an instant, Lie's body froze. Following that, the Absolute Strength-powered punch blasted the frozen body into ice fragments.

Just like that, Lie was killed with a single punch. He couldn't even use Hypocritical Transaction. The controlled people immediately regained their freedom. The fog in the arena dissipated as warm sunlight scattered down, bathing Zhou Wen in sunlight.

"From the looks of it, you are also trash," Zhou Wen said coldly as he looked at the ice shards that filled the sky.

For some reason, the people who were very concerned about Zhou Wen defeating Joseph felt an inexplicable sense of joy when they heard Zhou Wen's words.

"He's so powerful... Zhou Wen is really so powerful..." Li Benyi was so excited that he was incoherent.

Li Benyu was already dumbfounded. This was the first time he had seen such a person. He didn't know what to say.

"F*ck it. Guardians aren't that impressive. They're just trash. They can't even withstand a single punch from Zhou Wen."

"That's right. What trash Guardians? We humans are the strongest."

"How can I become as strong as Zhou Wen? I also want to kill those detestable Guardians."

...

The beliefs in Frost City seemed to change in an extremely short period of time. The belief that Guardians were invincible was slowly fading.

Although it was impossible for them to completely change because of this matter, at least there was already a seed of restlessness sprouting in their hearts.

"Sorry, I originally wanted to hand Joseph over to you, but I never expected..." Zhou Wen returned to the lounge and said apologetically to Lance, Sadie, and Gulli.

"This has nothing to do with you, but there's something I hope you can help me with," Lance said.

"What's the matter?" Zhou Wen asked in puzzlement.

"My great-grandfather wants to meet you," Lance said seriously.

"I should greet the elders," Zhou Wen said.

"Follow me. This might be a little different from the elder you imagine." Lance only invited Zhou Wen.

Li Xuan, Feng Qiuyan, and Ya'er had to wait outside. They weren't on the invitation list.

Zhou Wen originally believed that no matter how bad Lance's great-grandfather's personality was, he wouldn't bicker with him on account of Lance and Sadie.

However, when he really saw Lance's great-grandfather, he realized that it wasn't what he had imagined.

Lance took Zhou Wen to the depths of Frost City. It was a place that resembled an ice cave that had existed for billions of years. And on the ice wall of the ice cave, there was a humanoid sculpture.

One could see that the sculpture was a very majestic elder, but there were no signs of it being a man-made carving. It was as though the elder's ice sculpture had grown out of the ice wall.

"Great-grandfather... I brought Zhou Wen here..." When Lance bowed at the ice sculpture, his words left Zhou Wen dumbfounded.

"Hello, Zhou Wen. I'm Frod." The ice sculpture actually spoke. Furthermore, the name he said left Zhou Wen even more alarmed.

"Frod? Could it be that you are one of the six heroes, Frod?" Zhou Wen had learned this name countless times in his textbooks, so he naturally wouldn't forget it.

However, according to what Zhou Wen knew, other than the old hero from the Dugu family, the other five heroes should have passed away.

Even if Frod was still alive, he couldn't be an ice sculpture, right?

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Chapter 1005: Flaws of the Six Heroes

Translator: CKtalon

"You don't have to be so surprised. He's indeed our family's hero and pride, my great-grandfather, Frod," Lance said.

"But..." Zhou Wen looked at Frod in the ice wall. No matter how he looked at him, it was just an ice sculpture. Apart from having a humanoid shape, it didn't have any human characteristics.

The ice sculpture-like Frod revealed a smile. "The reason I became like this is because I violated the agreement with the holy temple. If you are interested, I can tell you the story."

Zhou Wen naturally wanted to know. He knew too little about the older generation.

"Back then, Zhang Daotian, Xia Jiuhuang, and I were still very young. We were about the same age as you..." Frod slowly said as he sank into his memories.

When the dimensional storms descended, many unknown mysterious areas appeared in the human world. Many people died because they found themselves in the mysterious areas. Many deranged people obtained powers that were akin to superpowers. Human society nearly collapsed.

At that moment, six youths stood forward and used their strength to defeat all the great devils. They expelled them overseas and established a new order—the current Federation.

The six youths were naturally the six heroes of the past.

However, Frod's story was somewhat different from the legend of the six heroes. According to him, there was no such thing as six heroes because there were many young people who had entered the Holy Land with them.

Among the people who came out of the Holy Land, eventually, six of them were the most famous. Furthermore, they established the Federation government, so they became the legend of the six heroes.

"In fact, many of the people who entered the Holy Land with us back then had talent that wasn't inferior to the six of us. They were even stronger than us. For example, Jing Daoxian's talent far exceeded the six of us. Unfortunately, he didn't obtain the recognition of the six Holy Temples, nor did he obtain a special physique." When Frod said that, his expression turned odd. "However, Jing Daoxian's failure might not be a bad thing. This is because although we were glorious when we obtained the special physiques and Companion Beasts, something unimaginable happened later."

"What happened?" Zhou Wen couldn't help but ask.

"The physiques given to us by the six Holy Temples all have different flaws, but we didn't know about them beforehand," Frod answered.

"What flaws?" Zhou Wen was puzzled.

"For example, Xia Jiuhuang's Connate Sacred Body is an almost undying physique. However, a Connate Sacred Body has to maintain its virginity. Once one loses their virginity, the Connate Sacred Body will be gone. The other five physiques also have various strange flaws, but they aren't as obvious as the Connate Sacred Body."

Frod paused for a moment before continuing, "Due to the existence of these flaws, we had no choice but to think of a way to resolve them. However, no matter what method we used, we were unable to make up for them. Therefore, in order to prevent our flaws from being exploited by others, we had no choice but to think of various methods. The easiest way to resolve them was to seek help from the Holy Temple."

"In that case, the Holy Temple is using these special physiques to threaten you?" Zhou Wen understood what Frod meant.

"That's right. On the surface, the six of us are the six heroes of the Federation, but in fact, we are just puppets of the Holy Temple. During that period of time, many of the things we did came from the Holy Temple's orders, including the establishment of the Federation government." Frod revealed a secret that left Zhou Wen shocked beyond belief.

"Could it be that... the Federation government is actually just a puppet government?" Zhou Wen widened his eyes.

Frod shook his head. "Not entirely. In fact, the six families are secretly searching for a way to resolve their problems in order to escape the Holy Temple's control.

"Furthermore, it's a huge mistake if the Holy Temple thinks that they can completely control us like this." Frod said indifferently, "It's precisely because I disobeyed the Holy Temple's orders that they made use of the weakness in my physique to turn me into this. The other fellows also did the same thing openly or secretly. Therefore, although the Holy Temple has a huge influence on the Federation, they don't have absolute influence because they can't descend personally.

"In addition, Wang Mingyuan had previously used the power of the Holy Temple to weaken the connection between the Holy Land and Earth. This decreased the influence again, but it still can't be underestimated. If the Holy Temple insists on doing something, they will have many ways to achieve their goals. The six hero families aren't completely united," said Frod.

"You didn't invite me here just to tell me this, right?" Zhou Wen asked.

Frod looked at Zhou Wen with an odd expression. After a long while, he said, "I got Lance to invite you here because I wish you to help me and my family do something. If this can be done, perhaps our family can completely escape the control of the Holy Temple."

"Aren't you thinking too highly of me?" Zhou Wen had entered the Holy Land before and had visited a few Holy Temples. He knew that there were extremely terrifying existences there.

In the past, he had only felt that they were strong. Now that he thought about it, the existences in the temple were likely all at the Terror grade or even stronger.

Frod smiled and said, "If you can do it, it will be very beneficial to you."

"Can you tell me what it is?" Zhou Wen was still very curious.

"In the Maze of Lies, there's the mask of the God of Mischief. Only by obtaining that mask can we use the power of the mask to escape the influence of the special physique. I hope you can help us obtain that mask." Frod paused before saying, "In return, I'll tell you a secret regarding the Holy Land. You will definitely be interested in it."

Zhou Wen looked at Frod with an odd expression. Although he was Lance's elder, he didn't have any intention of helping him considering how he was being so vague.

From Zhou Wen's expression, Frod knew what he was thinking. Therefore, he said, "This secret is related to the disappearance of Professor Ouyang Ting and company. You are very concerned about this matter, right?"

"Professor Ouyang Ting went missing in Zhuolu. It has nothing to do with the Holy Land." Zhou Wen frowned.

Frod smiled and said, "Child, the six Holy Temples represent the six strongest races of the dimension. Zhuolu is the battlefield of the divine war between two of the races. And you think it's unrelated?"

Zhou Wen looked at Frod with some hesitation because he wasn't sure if he could believe him.

To others, the six heroes might be extremely lofty existences, but Zhou Wen had seen Xia Jiuhuang's horror and knew that they were actually different from the heroes spoken about in legend.

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Chapter 1006: Don't Board the Ship

Translator: CKtalon

Seeing Zhou Wen hesitate, Frod continued, "Although dimensional creatures appear on Earth in the form of higher-level lifeforms and are very similar to the legendary gods, through the years of contact with them and the things they have done, it's very likely that Earth isn't as low-level as they say. Or rather, there's something they need on Earth. That's why they didn't hesitate to descend to Earth and incite humans to wage war. In the end, it even evolved into a war between gods."

"I once heard that there's a saying in the dimension that Earth is the birthplace of all dimensional creatures," Zhou Wen said after some thought.

"This theory is novel, but it's not impossible." Frod continued, "I've secretly studied it before. I discovered that there have been traces of special forces behind every large-scale war in history. The older the era, the more obvious the forces behind it are. It's just like the Zhuolu battle in your East District. After my research, I discovered the traces of many terrifying creatures from the dimension. Furthermore, this has a lot to do with the race that the two temples belong to. I even discovered traces of the two races appearing in the war. The other families clearly discovered something amiss. Someone seemed to have discovered something and wanted to delve deeper. Therefore, Ouyang Ting's team entered Zhuolu for research.

"After this group entered Zhuolu, many strange things happened. As I was also paying attention to this matter, I once sent people to infiltrate the research team. However, I later realized that the person I sent to the research team had been switched without us realizing it. If it wasn't for the need for the person to contact us through a special channel every once in a while, we wouldn't have known that this person had been replaced."

Frod took a deep breath and continued, "Later on, I sent some people there to test the personnel. Finally, I confirmed that the person was no longer the original him, but even those who were more familiar with him couldn't find any flaws. Therefore, I checked the rest of the team and discovered many problems. Apart from Ouyang Ting, who was the head of the research team and someone I confirmed to be the actual person, I found many suspicious points on the others."

"Did you find out who did all this?" Zhou Wen asked.

"No. Up to now, I still don't know who did all of this. Even the six families will find it difficult to pull it off. It's not difficult to replace one or two people, but to replace most of the experts in the research team, not only do the people have to look the same, but they also need to have similar expertise. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to continue the research. At the very least, I can't think of anyone who can do it," said Frod.

"Which aspect is the secret you mentioned?" Zhou Wen finally believed that Frod might know something.

He already knew what Frod had said, but there was no progress.

"If my judgment is correct, don't you find it strange that everyone else has been replaced except Professor Ouyang Ting?" Frod asked.

"Is it because Professor Ouyang Ting's professional abilities can't be replaced by others?" Zhou Wen asked.

"That might be a partial reason. They only changed the people, but they didn't stop the research from continuing. I'm certain that the mastermind behind this is also very interested in Zhuolu's research, so Ouyang Ting's existence is rather important. However, after my investigations and research, I discovered something even more shocking. This has something to do with Professor Ouyang Ting. Perhaps you will be interested." Frod didn't continue.

"What's the mask in the Maze of Lies? A dimensional creature?" Zhou Wen was already tempted. He really wanted to know the truth of the past. He vaguely felt that the truth of the matter wasn't as simple as the former principal's life and death.

"It's not a dimensional creature. It's an extremely special item. You can treat it as the core of a dimensional zone, or you can treat it as something that suppresses the dimensional zone. If that item is taken away, the restrictions on the dimensional zones will be completely lifted. The dimensional creatures inside will be able to enter and exit freely. Therefore, if you want to take the mask away, the problems with the dimensional creatures inside have to be resolved. We can't leave any trouble behind, so we need your help," said Frod.

Zhou Wen thought to himself, In that case, that mask is probably something like the stone saber in Ancient Sovereign City or the jade box in Chess Mountain.

After some thought, Zhou Wen said, "I can promise to do my best, but I can't guarantee success. I'll consider my safety first."

"That's enough. I believe that with your strength and the strength our family has accumulated over the years, it won't be difficult for you to control the situation," said Frod.

"Also, I need full authority. I'll decide when to enter, when to retreat, and when to take action," Zhou Wen said.

Frod hesitated for a moment before looking at Lance.

Lance nodded slightly. "I believe in Zhou Wen."

Only then did Frod look at Zhou Wen and say, "In that case, I'll entrust my family's lives to you."

After a pause, Frod continued, "Back then, I had been investigating matters related to the six temples. Zhuolu was one of them. Therefore, before the scientific research team went to Zhuolu, my family had already studied Zhuolu and met Professor Ouyang Ting there. That was more than ten years before the Zhuolu project began."

Zhou Wen wasn't surprised. He had always suspected that the former principal had been to Zhuolu before.

Frod sighed softly. "When I met him we chatted a lot. After Professor Ouyang Ting heard about my investigation, he also told me some of his special discoveries in Zhuolu. However, because he needed further research to confirm some of his discoveries, he didn't say much. Not long after that, I became what I am now. Many things can only be done by others, so I couldn't communicate with Professor Ouyang Ting further. Later, I don't know what happened, but Professor Ouyang Ting didn't continue studying Zhuolu. Instead, he returned to his education work until the Zhuolu project started..."

Zhou Wen listened quietly. He knew that Frod was about to get to the point.

As expected, Frod continued, "In fact, after discovering the problem with the people we sent out, I also tried to secretly contact Professor Ouyang Ting. However, at that time, he seemed to realize that his environment wasn't safe, or that he was secretly being controlled by someone. Therefore, he secretly sent me a message."

"What message?" Zhou Wen hurriedly asked.

"Only four words. Don't board the ship," Frod said with a strange expression.

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Chapter 1007: If the Catastrophe Really Existed

Translator: CKtalon

"Don't board the ship? What ship?" Zhou Wen asked in puzzlement, but he had some thoughts.

"I don't know what ship he's talking about either. That's all he sent. However, other than that, he also sent me a piece of paper that came from a diary and a hand-drawn sketch. There should be a connection between the two." Frod gestured for Lance to take out a piece of paper from a box beside him for Zhou Wen.

Zhou Wen took the piece of paper and looked at it. He realized that it was indeed a very ordinary piece of diary paper. It wasn't very big. On one side of the paper was a sketch. It was an anchor with a woman's side profile.

This picture... When Zhou Wen saw the picture, he immediately felt as though he had grasped something, but he couldn't make the connections. It was an extremely uncomfortable feeling.

When Frod mentioned the ship, Zhou Wen had a nagging feeling that it might be related to the anchor woman he had seen before. Now, he was finally certain that this was the anchor woman.

Perhaps the disappearance of the former principal was related to this symbol.

Don't board the ship... Could it be... There's really such a ship... Then, could the missing former principal have boarded this ship? Countless thoughts flashed through Zhou Wen's mind.

Frod continued, "Later on, when I wanted to contact Professor Ouyang Ting, there was a problem with the information network. Before I could deploy more people, something happened to the research team."

"It would have been fine if something had happened during the research, but after my investigations, that wasn't the case. The day before Professor Ouyang Ting and company went missing, a batch of things was transported out, but those things mysteriously disappeared. No matter how I investigated, I couldn't find their whereabouts. If it wasn't for the information left by the people I had previously planted, I wouldn't have known that there was such a batch of things," Frod said.

"What were the items?" Lance was also attracted by the story and couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know. The people I planted were only in charge of supplies. They couldn't enter the core research team. Furthermore, during that period of time, my information network was severely damaged. Only one survived. I only made contact with him a few days after the incident."

Frod said coldly, "After that, I carefully studied the pattern and the Zhuolu research team. Clearly, someone had deliberately erased all the clues and made it impossible to find anything. However, the pattern has been discovered in some places and investigations bore fruit."

Zhou Wen and Lance looked at Frod. They wanted to know what the anchor symbol represented.

After studying it for so long, Zhou Wen still couldn't figure out what it represented.

Frod said, "You should have heard of myths regarding floods, right? No matter which district's myths or a religion's legend, there are similar legends of a flood."

Zhou Wen nodded. "There's indeed a similar flood legend in the East District. Legend has it that the Water God fought the Fire God and slammed into Mt. Buzhou, causing the heavenly pillar to shatter. A huge flood descended from the sky and drowned the entire world."

Frod nodded and said, "Apart from the myths in your East District, there are many similar myths in the other districts. The ones that are more famous are the religious myths—Noah's Ark. There are similar legends all over the world. Don't you think it's very coincidental? What if this really happened and isn't a legend?"

"You mean that the anchor symbol originated from Noah's Ark? Then what does Professor Ouyang Ting mean by not to board the ship? Isn't Noah's Ark a ship that saves humans and various creatures in myths?" Zhou Wen felt that this was somewhat contradictory.

However, Frod shook his head and said, "What I mean is the speculation of the flood, not the existence of Noah's Ark."

"Is there a difference?" Zhou Wen asked.

"Of course. Before the dimensional storms, research found that the continents that are scattered across the oceans might have been a whole. If there was some force that split the supercontinent, it could explain the flood that happened all over the world. It was because the supercontinent was forcefully separated by some force, resulting in a tidal wave that overwhelmed the entire world. What kind of force could split a supercontinent? In the past, someone raised a theory of continental drift, believing that the supercontinent had split because of the centrifugal force generated by a celestial body's gravity and Earth's rotation. However, ever since the appearance of the dimension, I'm more inclined to another explanation." Frod's eyes turned sharp.

"What explanation?" Zhou Wen asked.

"Perhaps a dimensional creature cracked the supercontinent," said Frod.

"But why would they do that? What do they gain from doing so?" Zhou Wen said after some thought.

"Didn't I say that dimensional creatures wanted to find something on Earth? Perhaps that's why they cracked the supercontinent. Of course, this is only my guess." Frod continued, "I've also discovered that symbol in some places, but they are all places related to dimensional zones. Furthermore, they have been discovered all over the world. I don't think it's a coincidence. Perhaps a ship really appeared during the flood, but it wasn't Noah's Ark that saved the world. Instead, it was a terrifying creature from a dimensional zone that descended to Earth. They tore through the waves and ripped through the entire supercontinent with a wave of their hands. They directly entered the continent by ship and might have saved some creatures that looked more pleasing to the eye. This then gave rise to the legend of Noah's Ark..."

Zhou Wen and Lance were dumbfounded when they heard that. To shatter the land with a wave of a hand was a terrifying force.

However, Zhou Wen felt that it wasn't impossible. In the division of the Mythical stage, there was still the Calamity grade above the Terror grade. Perhaps a Calamity-grade powerhouse was capable of that.

If there's really such a ship, is the ship the former principal said not to board the same one? That ship still exists on Earth? Then what about the dimensional creatures on the ship? Countless questions flashed through Zhou Wen's mind.

"I'm not sure, but there's one thing I'm certain of. I've seen creatures in the Holy Temples. I saw the anchor symbol on their clothes." Frod's last sentence reminded Zhou Wen of someone.

Previously, when Zhou Wen entered the Holy Temple, he had encountered an amnesiac named Ah Lai. He said that he had gone out to sea with his father before encountering a storm. However, when he woke up, he found himself inside the Holy Temple.

Now, Zhou Wen suddenly wanted to ask Ah Lai what the captain of the ship looked like.

Although Zhou Wen felt that the Ah Lai family's ship was likely different from the ship in the catastrophe, he had a nagging feeling that there might be a connection between Ah Lai's appearance in the Holy Temple after encountering the storm.

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Chapter 1008: Multiple Dungeons

Translator: CKtalon

After leaving the underground ice cavern, Zhou Wen was still thinking about what Frod had said.

If the Holy Land was really related to that ship, and they had been in operation for so many years, secretly supporting humans to form the Federation, then their goal was clearly not simple.

What's on Earth that even Calamity-grade dimensional creatures drool over? Zhou Wen still couldn't figure it out.

However, he had already realized that Earth was definitely not as inferior as it looked. Many dimensional creatures on Earth had immense potential. Although their levels were relatively low, if they could develop, they might become existences that could make even the dimension tremble.

Ignoring everything else, Zhou Wen was certain that Torch Dragon would be extremely terrifying if it could advance to the Terror or even the Calamity grade in the future.

Agreeing to help Frod didn't seem like a bad thing for Zhou Wen.

He had obtained some information regarding the Maze of Lies from the Ultimate Family Clan. Now, Zhou Wen finally knew why he could only see the Mischief Clown in the Maze of Lies.

This was because the Maze of Lies was actually a very special dimensional zone. This dimensional zone was split into seven different states. From Monday to Sunday, the Maze of Lies would undergo some changes every day.

It happened to be Monday when Zhou Wen cleared the Maze of Lies. This was the weakest day of the Maze of Lies, and there was only Mischief Clown on that day.

After Tuesday, there would be more and more terrifying dimensional creatures in the maze. Before Friday, all kinds of dimensional creatures below the Mythical stage would appear.

On Saturday, Mythical creatures were a certainty. As for the final Sunday, it was the most terrifying day in the Maze of Lies. All kinds of dimensional creatures would undergo huge changes on that day. Even the weakest Mischief Clown would have Mythical powers.

The Maze of Lies that day was no different from an abyssal hell. Furthermore, that was the only day that the mask would only appear.

Even with the Ultimate Family Clan's present strength, it was impossible for them to conquer the maze on that day, much less kill all the dimensional creatures inside.

This was because after the mask was taken out, the seal on the Maze of Lies would vanish. Therefore, not only did Frod want to obtain the mask, but he also wanted to destroy all the dimensional creatures inside and completely have the Maze of Lies under control. Even if dimensional creatures entered through spatial rifts, it would only be a small number. Furthermore, with preparations in advance, the Ultimate Family Clan could deal with them easily.

The only thing Zhou Wen was worried about was that the last time he pulled out the stone saber, it triggered an anomaly in Guide City, causing more high-level dimensional creatures to appear.

If such a situation happened in the Maze of Lies, it would be troublesome. He wondered if the Ultimate Family Clan could handle it.

These weren't problems that Zhou Wen needed to consider. The Ultimate Family Clan didn't plan on immediately attempting the Maze of Lies, so they first got Lance to take Zhou Wen to the Maze of Lies to familiarize him with it. They themselves needed some time to make preparations.

Of course, Lance didn't take Zhou Wen to the Maze of Lies on Sunday. However, it was too long to wait for Monday, so there was no need for that. Therefore, he chose to start on Thursday.

After Zhou Wen returned, he planned on understanding the Maze of Lies in-game before realizing that after he entered the game, it was still the Maze of Lies on Monday. There was only the Mischief Clown inside.

What's going on? It's clearly Wednesday today, right? Zhou Wen suddenly thought of a possibility.

He arrived in front of Maze of Lies and took another picture of the tiny palm symbol. In the end, the loading screen appeared again. Soon after the download was completed, two options—Monday and Wednesday—appeared when launching the Maze of Lies in-game.

Holy sh*t, this actually has multiple dungeons! Zhou Wen entered Wednesday's Maze of Lies dungeon and indeed, he realized that Mischief Clowns weren't the only ones. There were also Witches and Sorcerers.

Furthermore, the buildings in the Maze of Lies looked even more sinister and terrifying. The merry-go-round at the entrance had turned into one with skeleton horses with blood flowing from their eyes.

Therefore, Zhou Wen waited until Thursday before heading to Maze of Lies with Lance and company to download Thursday's dungeon.

Standing in front of the maze, Lance said to Zhou Wen and company, "After entering the maze, make sure you do not speak. If you accidentally speak the truth, you will definitely die. Therefore, the best way is to not to say anything. Our family has a special silencer that can temporarily seal our ability to talk. This is the safest way. Also, to enter the Maze of Lies, there's a very terrifying obstacle. You have to answer the question on the door before you can enter. Furthermore, the answer has to be a lie or you will be killed. This is because the questions are random and there are trap questions. Furthermore, the answers aren't fixed for everyone. Many people died here. If you want to enter, you have to take a huge risk. If there's no need, it's best not to enter."

Lance's words were mainly directed at Feng Qiuyan and Li Xuan. Even if they were powerful, they might die at the door if they answered wrongly.

"It's best I don't enter such a strange place. I'll stay here to take care of Ya'er." Unexpectedly, Li Xuan chose not to enter.

In fact, Li Xuan wasn't as carefree as he usually appeared. He didn't mind because it was built on the premise that he wasn't in any danger. Li Xuan wasn't willing to take the risk for no reason in a place that might prevent him from recovering.

However, Feng Qiuyan said, "Since I'm here, I want to enter to take a look."

Sadie and Gulli didn't plan on entering either. In the end, other than Zhou Wen, Feng Qiuyan, and Lance, there was only a silencer from the Ultimate Family Clan.

"Zhou Wen, go in first. With us around, we can give you some suggestions to prevent any problems. If you really aren't confident, you can choose not to answer and quit. That's the safest way," Lance said to Zhou Wen.

"Alright." Zhou Wen was somewhat uneasy. He had already secretly downloaded Thursday's dungeon, so it wasn't difficult to enter.

However, there would always be some baffling problems from the Maze of Lies. If he wasn't confident, he could only use Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder to gain entry.

Zhou Wen stood in front of the door. A line of text immediately appeared on the ancient door that resembled a clown's front teeth.

Everyone looked at the line of text, wanting to know what the problem was. However, the moment they saw the question, their expressions turned odd.

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Chapter 1009: Sunday Dungeon

Translator: CKtalon

"Choose between one: a friend or a top Mythical Companion Egg. The other will be destroyed. What will your choice be?" Zhou Wen was slightly taken aback when he saw this question.

The definition of friends had a very wide range. Even very good friends would sometimes choose to sacrifice their friends when faced with enough benefits. Human nature often failed to withstand tests.

"Zhou Wen, step back. It's very difficult to have the correct answer to this question," Lance immediately said.

If Zhou Wen was a little tempted by a top Mythical Companion Egg, his choice of friend would result in his death. Also, choosing a top Mythical Companion Egg would make others think that Zhou Wen didn't value friends.

Of course, the choice was the other way around, but this didn't hinder one's comprehension.

"That's right. There are many types of friends. How can we generalize them? This question is a huge trap. Don't answer it. Let's try again tomorrow," Gulli said.

"It's fine. There's no need to wait for tomorrow. It's a waste of time." Zhou Wen secretly activated the Heaven-Opening Scripture and chose top Mythical Companion Egg. Under normal logic, it meant Zhou Wen had chosen 'friend.'

Lance and company didn't know that Zhou Wen had the ability to restrain all sorts of taboo powers. When they saw that Zhou Wen had chosen 'friend,' they broke out into a cold sweat for him. He might die if there was any screw up.

However, Zhou Wen walked into the Maze of Lies unscathed and didn't die.

The silencer on the side said in surprise, "He's actually willing to give up a top Mythical Companion Egg without any hesitation. Such a person is already rare."

"With Coach's strength, a top Mythical Companion Egg is nothing to him. It's normal for him to choose a friend," Gulli said.

However, Feng Qiuyan said, "Even if Coach didn't have a Mythical Companion Egg to choose from, I believe he would choose a friend."

"Regardless, I believe Zhou Wen is a rare friend," Lance said.

Li Xuan knew Zhou Wen well, but he didn't say a word.

Zhou Wen actually wasn't sure how he would choose. After all, it depended on the situation. He didn't dare confirm that he would choose a friend, so for safety's sake, he used the Heaven-Opening Scripture.

Next, it was Feng Qiuyan's turn. Feng Qiuyan's question wasn't difficult, so he easily gained entry.

The silencer and Lance joined in. Their questions didn't have huge traps. All they needed to do was answer accordingly by lying.

After entering the maze, the silencer cast a silencing spell on Zhou Wen and company, preventing them from speaking as a way to stop them from saying anything wrong.

As it was only Thursday, although there were many types of dimensional creatures inside, they didn't discover any Mythical creatures. The few of them didn't take long to clean up the maze.

With Lance and the silencer who were familiar with the area, it wasn't a problem.

After leaving the maze, Lance said to Zhou Wen, "We can continue coming here to familiarize ourselves with the situation on Friday and Saturday. However, don't enter on Sunday for the time being. All of us will enter when we're ready."

"I'll just take a look myself. There's no need for you to specially accompany me. You can busy yourself with your matters." Zhou Wen actually didn't wish to enter in reality. He only wanted to quickly download the Sunday dungeon and enter the Sunday dungeon in-game to figure out the situation inside.

Lance naturally trusted Zhou Wen's strength, so he didn't insist on accompanying him.

Zhou Wen went there on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday alone, but he only looked at the question on the door before returning without answering.

When others asked, he only said that he wasn't confident about the question on the door, so he didn't enter.

He finally downloaded the Sunday dungeon. After returning, Zhou Wen couldn't wait to launch it. He wanted to see what was different about the Sunday dungeon.

After launching the game dungeon, the blood-colored avatar stood in front of the door and he found it a little different from before. The door to the maze that looked like a clown's face had already turned into skull-like material. The skeleton clown's face was still emitting black smoke as blood flowed from its eyes. It looked extremely ferocious and terrifying.

Zhou Wen directly used the Heaven-Opening Scripture to avoid the question on the door, saving him the trouble of wasting time.

When the door opened, the scene Zhou Wen saw was indeed different from the Maze of Lies he had previously seen.

Although the layout didn't seem to have changed much, strange blood flames burned in the maze. The merry-go-round had turned into bones with blood flames burning on them.

Everywhere he looked was filled with bones and blood flames. It was like hell.

A Mischief Clown appeared on one of the horses. Its face looked even more sinister. Furthermore, its originally colorful body had turned black and white. Such purity made it look even stranger.

The three-colored balls also turned black and white. Each ball was half black and half white, completely different from what Zhou Wen had seen before.

When Mischief Clown saw the blood-colored avatar, it immediately flashed and vanished from the horse.

Zhou Wen summoned Tyrant Behemoth to block him. As he didn't know anything about this completely different looking Mischief Clown, Zhou Wen could only choose to first understand its abilities.

The vanished Mischief Clown appeared in front of Tyrant Behemoth like a ghost. It threw the magic ball in its hand at Tyrant Behemoth.

Tyrant Behemoth's reaction was extremely fast as it struck the black-and-white magic ball.

However, the black-and-white magic ball vanished in front of Tyrant Behemoth's fist. Zhou Wen immediately felt that something was amiss as he hurriedly controlled the blood-colored avatar to teleport away.

Indeed, the black-and-white magic ball seemed to pass through Tyrant Behemoth and appeared behind it before flying into the distance.

If Zhou Wen hadn't dodged, the black-and-white magic ball would have hit him.

What ability is that? It's completely different from ordinary Mischief Clowns. Zhou Wen was somewhat surprised.

However, the Mischief Clown didn't give him any time to be surprised. He threw out one black-and-white magic ball after another.

Unlike ordinary Mischief Clowns, it didn't only have three black-and-white magic balls, but a total of six. Every black-and-white magic ball looked identical.

Even if the magic ball that it threw didn't hit its target, it would bounce back after hitting something. The black-and-white magic ball that bounced back would become even faster.

The six magic balls quickly shot out from nearby. Every time Tyrant Behemoth wanted to strike the magic balls, the magic balls would vanish and appear in another spot.

The magic balls only targeted the blood-colored avatar. From the looks of it, not only did Sunday's Mischief Clown's abilities become terrifying, but even his intelligence seemed to have increased greatly. He actually knew the principle of capturing the leader.

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Chapter 1010: Divination House of Fate

Translator: CKtalon

Zhou Wen realized that if he continued dodging, the magic ball would bounce faster and faster. Sooner or later, it would hit him, so he stopped dodging. He pulled out the Bronze Sparrow Sword and slashed at one of the magic balls that was bouncing towards the blood-colored avatar.

Zhou Wen was already prepared for the magic ball to suddenly vanish, but it didn't vanish. It was struck by the Bronze Sparrow Sword.

It was different from what he had imagined. The magic ball didn't seem to be very hard, nor did it have any explosive effects. It didn't have ice or fire, nor did it have the effects of the yellow ball.

Just like that, the black-and-white magic ball was cleaved into two by Zhou Wen before shattering into powder.

In the next second, the devil-like clown appeared to his left. His sharp black fingernails stabbed at the blood-colored avatar's neck.

The clown's speed was very fast; it was definitely at the Mythical stage. However, Zhou Wen's reaction and speed weren't slow either. He extended his hand to block the clown's strike.

He originally wanted to use his left hand to block, but he immediately realized that something was amiss. This was because he was thinking of his left hand, but his right hand ended up moving. Furthermore, when he wanted to block with his left hand, his right hand raised to the right. It was completely opposite from what he had imagined.

In an instant, Zhou Wen reacted and understood what had happened.

Seeing that the clown's dagger-like fingernails had already touched the skin on the blood-colored avatar's neck and were about to stab into it, Zhou Wen's body spun like a top as he barely dodged the strike.

That magic ball actually has the ability to distort thoughts and physical actions. When I think left, I move right. When I think up, it moves down. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't have reacted in time. The more they try to dodge, the more they would slam into danger. Zhou Wen was extremely calm. After figuring out the reason, he controlled his body to circle around the clown.

It was very difficult for ordinary people to not make mistakes after their thoughts and actions were reversed, but Zhou Wen's mind was extremely clear. He didn't make any mistakes as he dodged the clown's repeated attacks.

After the blood-colored avatar was hit by the magic ball, the other magic balls didn't attack him. One of them hit Tyrant Behemoth, and then Tyrant Behemoth revealed a situation where its thoughts and actions were completely opposite.

Tyrant Behemoth clearly didn't have Zhou Wen's powerful thought processes. It immediately became at a loss for what to do. It wanted to rush left, but it ended up charging right. Instead of retreating, it advanced. It nearly tripped on its left leg and fell to the ground.

Sunday's Mischief Clown is so powerful... Just its ability is so strange. I wonder how many Mischief Clowns there are here. If there are as many as usual, it would be very terrifying without even including the other dimensional creatures, Zhou Wen thought as he fought.

Soon, Zhou Wen discovered the secret of the Mischief Clown's magic ball. It turned out that the magic ball couldn't penetrate walls. Instead, during its flight, it caused a spinning vortex to appear around the ball due to its high-speed rotation. Once the vortex stopped, the magic ball would automatically deviate from its trajectory and dodge the fist. It would slide down or sideways, making it look like it had vanished.

In fact, Mischief Clown didn't have spatial abilities. It was just that the technique of throwing the magic ball was very powerful.

The dimensional creatures here are really interesting. I wonder if a Companion Egg will drop? Zhou Wen was extremely interested in the Sunday clown's ability. Be it the method of throwing the magic ball or the ability to subvert one's thoughts with the magic ball, they were very useful. Furthermore, the clown had the ability to move stealthily.

If it were anyone else, they would be doomed if they couldn't control their bodies when their Companion Beasts couldn't be used normally. However, these abilities weren't of much use against Zhou Wen. Soon, he saw an opportunity. When the clown appeared again, he used Light Concealment Sword to kill it.

'Killed Mythical creature, Devil Clown.'

Nothing dropped. Zhou Wen couldn't help but be somewhat disappointed. So this isn't Mischief Clown anymore. It's a true Mythical creature. From the looks of it, I'll have to farm this place a few more times in the future. Even if I can't obtain a Companion Egg, I can still obtain skill crystals.

After finishing off the Devil Clown, Zhou Wen continued walking forward. However, before long, the blood-colored avatar suddenly died and the game screen went black.

How did I die? Zhou Wen carefully recalled, but he still didn't know how he died.

He had no choice but to drip his blood to revive again and enter Maze of Lies. This time, Zhou Wen didn't see the Demon Clown on the merry-go-round, so he walked straight ahead.

Zhou Wen originally imagined that there would be quite a number of Devil Clowns here, but he only saw one. He didn't find a second one.

When Zhou Wen walked into an ancient castle, he discovered another dimensional creature. This time, it was a Divination Witch.

The Divination Witch started appearing in the dungeon on Wednesday. She was also an Epic dimensional creature. She was a terrifying-looking old woman in blue clothes and a blue hat. She even held a crystal ball in her hand.

Her abilities didn't seem to be anything impressive. She could only use the crystal ball to activate some light-attribute waves.

However, the Divination Witch in front of him was completely different. No, it wasn't one, but two.

Two witches sat side by side behind the long table in the ancient castle. One was dressed in white and had a white hat, while the other was dressed in black and had a black hat. Both of them were maidens. They were completely different from the old and ugly witches in the previous few days. They were rather fair and beautiful.

Furthermore, they didn't have a crystal ball in their hands. The white-robed witch held a black poker card in her hand, while the black-robed witch held a white poker card in her hand.

The two witches sat there and silently watched Zhou Wen walk into the hall. They had no intention of attacking.

"Welcome to the Divination House of Fate. You can draw a card from our hands to decide your fate." The white-robed witch and the black-robed witch spoke at the same time. Their voices were completely identical. If one closed their eyes, they would think that only one person was speaking.

"Why should I draw your cards?" Zhou Wen wasn't interested in playing divination games with them. He drew his sword and slashed at the white-robed witch.

The white-robed witch was surprisingly weak. He was already prepared for a fierce battle, but the white-robed witch had fallen to the sword and had her head beheaded by the Bronze Sparrow Sword.

However, at the instant the white-robed witch's head was chopped off, Zhou Wen realized that the blood-colored avatar's head had also fallen. The way it fell was identical to the white-robed witch's head. It was as though it had been chopped off by someone.

The game screen went black as Zhou Wen faced death again.

This dungeon is really sick. What the hell is it? Zhou Wen hadn't died like this in a long time. The Maze of Lies was somewhat different in every aspect.

Thankfully, this was in-game. It wasn't a big deal to die once. If it was in reality, Zhou Wen definitely wouldn't take the risk in such a dangerous place.

I wonder how much Frod and company know about the Maze of Lies on Sunday? Zhou Wen felt that helping Frod this time wouldn't go so smoothly.

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Chapter 1011: Destiny's Draw

Translator: CKtalon

On the cube's rankings, Guardians had already begun challenging each other to obtain a higher ranking.

People believed that Guardians should aim for first place. Rankings other than first didn't seem to be of much use. They should challenge Ya, who was first.

However, in fact, no one challenged Ya. The challenged Guardians were basically ranked above fifth place.

This also allowed people to finally see how powerful Guardians were. Humans with Guardians were equivalent to Mythical creatures. They could have all sorts of Companion Beasts and Mythical skills. They were far stronger than a single Mythical Companion Beast.

The battle between Guardians was far more complicated and interesting than the battle between Companion Beasts.

Once a Companion Beast was defeated, there was no hope of a comeback. However, the battle between Guardians was ever-changing. Any factor could change the outcome of the battle.

Apart from Lie, who had mysteriously vanished from the rankings, there were more and more challenges for the Guardians ranked beyond fifth place. Many new Guardians also joined the rankings.

However, it was obvious that they didn't know each other well. They were also testing the other party's abilities. They didn't really fight to the death, and it was very likely that they were hiding many abilities.

Even so, it was still extremely satisfying to watch. Now, just the battle of Companion Beasts was no longer able to attract attention.

All over the world, people were discussing the problem of Guardians. There were also people secretly searching for Guardian cocoons, hoping to contract one and gain success in one step.

Guardians were just too attractive to ordinary people. As long as one was lucky and obtained the Guardian's recognition, they could ascend to the Mythical stage in a single step. This was more attractive than any treasure.

It was obvious that many new Guardians were on the rankings.

However, the trouble that followed seemed to have just begun. In several places in the Federation, there were incidents of Guardians committing crimes.

Guardians owned by unknown humans had a terrifying propensity to commit crime.

Although the Federation had already tried its best to maintain the situation, its control over the various lands was weakening day by day. Unless the Guardians were suicidal and went to the territories controlled by the six families, the chances of capturing them were slim.

"The appearance of Guardians is really not a good thing for the Federation," Sadie, who was watching the news, said with a frown.

"The Guardians these days aren't actually that terrifying. After all, those who have obtained Guardians didn't have a good foundation in the past. It's not difficult to deal with them even after they obtain a Guardian. However, with the passage of time, these fellows will truly create chaos when they have all sorts of Mythical Companion Eggs," said Lance.

"Isn't the ultimate battle happening in a month?" Sadie said.

"In a month, it will only determine the ownership of the Dimensional Wheel, but the battle between Guardians has only just begun. To truly resolve the problem of Guardians, relying on the King of Earth is useless. They are jackals of the same tribe," said Lance.

"Is there still a way out?" Sadie said after some thought.

"Yes. Just kill all the Guardians like Zhou Wen," said Lance.

"How many freaks like Zhou Wen can you find in the Federation?" Sadie smiled bitterly.

"Fight fire with fire," Lance said slowly.

Sadie immediately understood what Lance meant. Since Guardians were difficult to eliminate, they could only contract Guardians themselves and use Guardians to kill Guardians.

"I'm just afraid that it will leave latent problems for the future," Sadie said.

"It's better than nothing." Lance paused before saying, "After I get the mask from the Maze of Lies, I'll think of a way to contract a Guardian."

Sadie wanted to say something, but she opened her mouth and ultimately didn't say anything.

In this era, the path ahead was filled with fog. No one knew which path was correct. Only by taking one would one know.

However, no one knew if the person who walked out would return alive.

"How's Zhou Wen?" Lance asked again.

"He went a few times, but he rarely entered the Maze of Lies. He hasn't entered the dimensional zone since Friday," Sadie answered.

"That's normal. When the people invited by the family arrive, we can enter the maze together," Lance said with a slight nod.

...

Zhou Wen once again entered Sunday's Maze of Lies. The Devil Clown didn't seem to have respawned. Zhou Wen once again arrived at the Divination House and saw the twin-like witches.

Just like the last time, they extended the cards in their hands and got Zhou Wen to draw them.

Zhou Wen thought for a moment and decided to try it out. He wanted to see what tricks they had up their sleeves. It wouldn't be too late to deal with them after he figured it out.

"How many do I have to draw?" Zhou Wen asked the twin witches.

"One," the two witches answered in unison.

"One card per deck?" Zhou Wen looked at the two different black and white poker cards and asked.

"Just one," the witches answered again.

Zhou Wen thought for a moment and got the blood-colored avatar to draw one from the black-robed witch's white poker cards.

This should be something like a tarot card, right? Zhou Wen thought as he flipped the card over. However, the card he saw had nothing to do with tarot cards.

On the white card was a black symbol. It was a black silhouette. Although it was only a silhouette and its appearance couldn't be seen, one could naturally associate it with a western mythical figure that had a large and long sickle.

"Is this Death?" Zhou Wen asked the witch in puzzlement.

"Yes," the black-robed witch answered with a nod.

"What does drawing this card mean?" Zhou Wen asked again.

"It means that Death will take your life," the black-robed witch answered.

Just as Zhou Wen was about to say something, he suddenly realized that a black shadow, Death, similar to the card had appeared behind the blood-colored avatar. Without waiting for the blood-colored avatar to react, Death slashed down and killed it.

The blood-colored avatar's armor didn't work. It was as though Death had reaped its soul and not its body.

Looking at the black screen, Zhou Wen had no choice but to drip his blood to revive. This time, Zhou Wen drew one from the white-robed witch's black poker cards.

A black Death can be drawn on a white poker card. I don't think I can draw that on a black poker card, right? Zhou Wen thought as he drew a black card.

Zhou Wen was overjoyed when he flipped the card over. There was a white shadow on the black card. Even if he couldn't see its appearance, the wings and the halo above his head undoubtedly meant that it was an angel card.

"This should be an angel, right? What does he represent? Did I win?" Zhou Wen asked the white-robed witch.

"No, this means that he will take you to Heaven," the white-robed witch said calmly.

In the next second, Zhou Wen saw the angel's shadow appear behind the blood-colored avatar. Then, a white light flew out from the blood-colored avatar's head and it collapsed to the ground. The game screen went black again.

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Chapter 1012: One in 54

Translator: CKtalon

Choosing black is death, but so is choosing white. I can't kill the witches either. How can I survive? Zhou Wen thought to himself.

Of course, he could just make no choice. With Truth Listener's Evil Nullification and Heaven-Opening Scripture, he might be able to forcefully break through and kill the black-and-white Destiny Witches.

However, if Zhou Wen were to enter the Maze of Lies with Lance and company in the future, it was best to understand the various abilities of the black-and-white Destiny Witches. If anything happened, he could figure out how to deal with it.

In fact, Zhou Wen's main goal for grinding wasn't to clear the dungeon, but to figure out all the information regarding Sunday's dungeon to prevent any accidents from happening in real life.

After entering the game again, Zhou Wen went in front of the witches. This time, Zhou Wen wanted to see if he could draw a few more cards, but it was useless. After he drew the first white poker card, the other cards would vanish into thin air when he attempted touching them.

Zhou Wen flipped the cards over and saw that there was still a black silhouette on the white poker card. However, this time, it wasn't Death, but a black heart. Furthermore, the middle of the heart had cracked.

After seeing it, Zhou Wen felt the heart in his chest rupture before the game screen went black.

"Do you have any cards that allow for survival?" Zhou Wen asked the two witches when he came in front of them again.

"Yes," the two witches answered in unison.

"How many cards are there in total? How many allow for survival?" Zhou Wen asked again.

"There are 54 cards in each deck. There are 108 cards in total," the black-robed witch said.

"Every deck has a card that allows survival. Your chances are still very high," the white-robed witch said immediately.

Zhou Wen's face immediately darkened. In other words, I only have a one in fifty-four chance of drawing a card for survival?

"In theory, but you can try a few more times. The success rate will naturally be higher," the two witches said together.

"Try my ass. If it was in real life, I would have died a long time ago. How would I have the chance to try again?" Zhou Wen felt that there was definitely some trick to drawing the cards. Otherwise, it would be too difficult to get what he needed with luck.

Luck... Wait... Could it be that to kill the Destiny Witches, one needs someone with a Luck-type skill, like Wang Lu? Zhou Wen thought of Wang Lu, whose luck was virtually invincible. If she were to draw, she would definitely be able to draw the card that meant survival.

If I need luck, I definitely won't be able to draw it. Zhou Wen tried using Truth Listener's ability to listen to the cards and used Doctor Darkness's Light of Penetration, but it was useless.

The cards he saw and heard were blank. He had no idea what the cards were showing.

He thought of all sorts of ways to cheat, but all of them were useless. If he wanted to clear this obstacle, he had to invite Wang Lu over. Otherwise, he could only use force.

This time, Zhou Wen summoned Truth Listener and activated the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder before drawing his card.

However, the first card was an angel. Zhou Wen immediately felt the Truth Listener earring heat up before large amounts of Essence Energy surged into his body.

Although the angel shadow appeared, it failed to take the blood-colored avatar's soul into Heaven.

Seeing that Truth Listener's Evil Nullification was effective, Zhou Wen continued drawing cards. He drew them one by one. The Truth Listener earring kept heating up as Essence Energy surged into him like waves.

Zhou Wen knew that if it wasn't for Truth Listener's ability, he would have died countless times.

When he drew the 37th card, Zhou Wen pulled out a black mask from the white card. This time, the Truth Listener earring didn't heat up, nor did it produce Essence Energy.

At the same time, the wall behind the black-and-white Destiny Witches parted. It was the door that led to the back of the Maze of Lies.

In the previous Monday to Saturday instance dungeons, Witch Castle was the end. There was no such door, so Zhou Wen didn't know what was behind the door.

The black-and-white witches looked at Zhou Wen from the side without any intention of attacking. From the looks of it, they were rather special dimensional creatures and had no intention of fighting him to the death.

Zhou Wen controlled the blood-colored avatar to walk out the door and leave Destiny Witch Castle.

After walking past the door, Zhou Wen immediately saw a garden. In the middle of the garden was a strange tree.

Zhou Wen felt that the tree looked somewhat similar to the Dead Man Tree and the Longevity Tree, but there were some differences.

At the very least, there were no fruits on the tree. Beneath it, an elder sat with his back against the tree. His clothes were tattered, and from the holes, one could see his skin and bones. However, his chest was still heaving slightly. He didn't look dead.

As though he heard the blood-colored avatar's footsteps, the elder opened his eyes. His eyes were deep and looked extremely turbid.

"Young man, it's great to finally meet you. I don't have to die with that huge secret..." the elder said weakly.

Without any hesitation, Zhou Wen drew his sword and slashed.

Who was he kidding? This was a game, not reality. It was impossible for a human to exist in-game. No matter how much the elder looked like a human, Zhou Wen was certain that he wasn't human.

Just as the Bronze Sparrow Sword was about to strike, the zombie-like elder suddenly released a terrifying force. He leaped up and charged into the sky at an unbelievable speed, dodging Zhou Wen's strike.

As for the elder, his body had already changed in midair. He transformed into Zhou Wen and charged at him. His movement technique was extremely strange.

Zhou Wen couldn't be bothered to fight him. He summoned his Mythical lineup and surrounded it.

In the next second, the monster that had transformed into Zhou Wen emitted a white fog before transforming into the Great Might Vajra Bull. When the two bulls stood together, it was impossible to tell which was real and which was fake.

Unfortunately, the Great Might Vajra Bull was Zhou Wen's Companion Beast. It was telepathically connected to Zhou Wen, so he could naturally tell which was real or fake.

No matter how the dimensional creature changed, it was still quickly beaten to death.

'Killed Mythical creature, Shapeshifting Beast. Discovered Dimensional Crystal.'

Zhou Wen glanced at the crystal and was immediately disappointed when he realized that it was only an ordinary stat crystal.

Although there are many Mythical creatures in the Maze of Lies on Sunday, the drop rate isn't very high. Zhou Wen thought carefully and realized that he had only killed two Mythical creatures. One was a Devil Clown and the other was a Shapeshifting Beast. It couldn't be considered a lot.

There was only one Shapeshifting Beast in the entire garden. There were no other dimensional creatures, nor was there any other way out. Zhou Wen glanced at the tree and had no choice but to return via the same path. He then returned, through Witch Castle, to the maze that resembled an amusement park and continued exploring.

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Chapter 1013: Gaiman

Translator: CKtalon

In order to clear the Maze of Lies and obtain the mask inside, other than the experts from the Ultimate Family Clan, they also invited experts with Mythical Companion Beasts.

However, very few of these people were members of the six families. They were basically the leaders of the various wealthy families in the North District. In the East District, they were equivalent to An Tianzuo.

It could be seen that the Ultimate Family Clan was very prestigious in the North District. Furthermore, the wealthy families in the North District were united. They weren't like the East and West District, where there was a lot of internal strife.

Although Frod was one of the six heroes, he was trapped in the ice cave and couldn't move freely. Now, the true leader of the Ultimate Family Clan was Gaiman.

After all the invited experts arrived, Gaiman planned on holding a meeting to explain the general situation and introduce Zhou Wen to them.

As Zhou Wen had already said that he had to have the final say, Gaiman was the leader in this operation, but he still needed to listen to Zhou Wen on how to proceed.

"Inform Zhou Wen about the meeting tomorrow," Gaiman said to his secretary.

The secretary responded but didn't leave immediately.

"What's the matter?" Gaiman looked at Gemar and asked.

"According to our observations over the past few days, Zhou Wen has only entered Friday's Maze of Lies at most. He hasn't entered the Maze of Lies on Sunday at all. Is it really good to give him veto powers? This concerns the fate of our Ultimate Family Clan," Gemar said.

"Old Master naturally has his reasons for making such a decision. Furthermore, Zhou Wen is indeed a person with true talent. You saw the battle between him and Lie. To be able to defeat the Guardian without any external help, how many people in the Federation can do so?" Gaiman said.

"Zhou Wen is very strong, and it's indisputable, but strength is different from being a commander. I'm afraid that problems will arise because of his decisions," Gemar said.

"There's no rush. We still have time to get used to each other and build teamwork. Deliver the news of the meeting." After Gaiman said that, he lowered his head and continued working on his documents.

Gemar had no choice but to leave the office and arrange for someone to inform Zhou Wen of the meeting tomorrow.

After Zhou Wen received the notice of the meeting, he agreed readily. He already had a more detailed understanding of the Sunday dungeon, but he hadn't found the mask that Frod had mentioned.

The Ultimate Family Clan still had some secret information regarding the Maze of Lies that hadn't been released. The information would likely be announced at the meeting. Zhou Wen wanted to know how much they knew about the Sunday dungeon.

The next morning, Zhou Wen left with Ya'er. Just as he was about to attend the meeting, he saw a girl getting out of a car.

"Wang Lu? Why are you here?" Zhou Wen asked Wang Lu in pleasant surprise.

"Old Mister Gaiman invited me to help, so I came." Wang Lu wore a white fox fur coat, making her baby-like skin appear even whiter.

Upon hearing Wang Lu's words, Zhou Wen knew that the Ultimate Family Clan was very knowledgeable about the Maze of Lies on Sunday. Inviting Wang Lu was most likely to deal with the Destiny Witches.

"This operation is very dangerous. Why did you agree to come?" Zhou Wen frowned.

Wang Lu smiled and said, "Our family has quite a number of business dealings with the North District. Furthermore, Old Mister Gaiman has repeatedly guaranteed my safety. Furthermore, I heard that you are here and will be participating in this operation. What else do I have to worry about?"

"You can't say that. It's best to be careful. This dimensional zone is indeed very strange. You mustn't be careless," Zhou Wen exhorted.

"Sir, Madam, the family head is already waiting for you inside." A staff member came over to welcome them.

The two of them chatted as they walked. Wang Lu was fine and things were very stable at her side. Although Wang Chan still had occasional incidents, with Wang Lu's Life Providence suppressing her, nothing serious happened.

When the two of them entered the meeting hall, many people looked over.

In the entire meeting hall, only the two of them weren't from the North District. Furthermore, Zhou Wen had recently killed Joseph, who had a Guardian. This had caused quite a stir in the North District.

Gaiman introduced the two of them to everyone at the right time. At the same time, he said, "When attacking the Maze of Lies, there are some key areas that require the help of the two of them. They are an indispensable part of this operation. This is because after entering the Maze of Lies, there's no way to communicate with words. Therefore, before we go, there are some things that need to be explained clearly. We also need to practice and train for a period of time to prevent any problems from happening after entering the dimensional zone."

After arranging for Zhou Wen and Wang Lu to sit down, Gaiman explained the detailed plan.

The Ultimate Family Clan knew a lot about the situation regarding Sunday's dungeon. They also knew the abilities of the Devil Clown and the Destiny Witches and explained in detail.

From Gaiman's description, Zhou Wen knew that they had paid the price of many lives to obtain this information.

However, their intelligence wasn't much more than Zhou Wen's, nor was it that detailed.

Furthermore, Zhou Wen realized that they hadn't been able to pass the Destiny Witches' trial to reach the garden at the back.

The reason they had invited Wang Lu all the way here was to deal with the Destiny Witches. Only then could they pass the witches to reach the final garden.

However, there was something that left Zhou Wen puzzled. Gaiman and company had clearly failed to pass the test of the Destiny Witches and reach the final garden.

Yet, they seemed to be very certain that the mask was behind Witch Castle. As long as they defeated the Destiny Witches, they would have a chance of obtaining the mask.

Strange, why didn't I see that mask in the garden? Zhou Wen had already carefully searched the entire garden, but he didn't discover the mask that Frod had mentioned.

As for the plan that Gaiman and the others had set up, it was all for the sake of passing Witch Castle. It would be fun if they couldn't find the mask after entering the garden.

Furthermore, there was a Shapeshifting Beast in the garden. It was fine if Zhou Wen went in alone, and the rest of his team were Companion Beasts. Regardless of who the Shapeshifting Beast turned into, Zhou Wen could tell.

However, with so many people entering, it would be difficult to identify the Shapeshifting Beast if it transformed into anything outside Zhou Wen's sphere of influence.

After explaining the plan, Gaiman asked Zhou Wen, "Zhou Wen, what do you think?"

The others also looked at Zhou Wen.

"I have a question. Since no one has defeated the witches, it means that no one has reached the place outside the ancient castle. How do you know that there must be a mask there?" Zhou Wen asked Gaiman.

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Chapter 1014: The Difference Between Reality and In-game

Translator: CKtalon

"My father reached the back of Witch Castle a long time ago and saw the mask there, so the mask is behind Witch Castle. There's no mistake about that," Gaiman said.

"So Old Hero Frod has been there before. Then there's no mistake about it," a big shot from the North District said.

Everyone nodded. It looked like Frod's reputation in the North District was unparalleled. Just the mention of his name made everyone reveal looks of awe.

"So the old hero has been there before. I wonder in which spot the old hero saw the mask?" Zhou Wen continued asking.

This was because he knew that there was only a garden behind the castle without any mask to be seen, so he had to ask clearly. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time for so many people to risk entering.

Gaiman smiled and said, "Behind Witch Castle is a garden. My father saw the mask there. Unfortunately, my father was alone. He was afraid that taking the mask would trigger a dimensional zone anomaly, so he didn't take it back."

"Which part in the garden?" Zhou Wen was somewhat convinced when Gaiman mentioned a garden. After all, it was impossible to know that there was a garden if one hadn't been there before.

"According to my father, the mask is embedded on a grave's tombstone in the middle of the garden," Gaiman answered.

Zhou Wen couldn't help but frown when he heard that as he thought to himself, That's strange. Why do I only see a tree in the middle of the garden and not a tombstone?

Zhou Wen couldn't figure out what had gone wrong. What he had seen in-game couldn't be wrong, but if Frod hadn't been there, he wouldn't have known that there was a garden.

Zhou Wen had a nagging feeling that something was amiss. After some thought, he asked, "I wonder if you can tell me the details of the situation?"

"Aren't you being a little too rude? Mr. Gaiman has already made it very clear. It's also something that Old Hero Frod saw with his own eyes. What else do you have to doubt? Do you want the old hero to crawl out of his grave and personally explain it to you before you believe him?" Someone felt that Zhou Wen was being too rude by repeatedly pressing for answers.

Furthermore, they had said that because they didn't know that Frod wasn't dead.

Gaiman waved his hand and said, "The stakes are high, so it's good that Zhou Wen is cautious. Zhou Wen, did you notice a problem?"

"No." Zhou Wen could only shake his head. He couldn't say that he had already been there in-game, and there were no tombstones or masks there.

Gaiman continued explaining the plan and even played some 3D animation. There were introductions to the skills of the Devil Clown, the Divination Witch, and other dimensional creatures.

However, this introduction was clearly not comprehensive enough. It only introduced some skills.

After the meeting ended, Gaiman stopped Zhou Wen. "Zhou Wen, if it's convenient, follow me."

"I'll wait for you outside," Wang Lu said when she saw Zhou Wen look over.

"Alright." Zhou Wen followed Gaiman to his office. Gaiman looked at Zhou Wen and asked, "If you have anything to say, feel free to say it now. It's inconvenient to communicate inside the maze. If anything happens, it will be very troublesome."

"Can you let me meet the old hero again? I want to know the details of when he saw the mask," Zhou Wen said.

"You might not know this, but my father is trapped in the ice wall. He can't communicate with others at any time. Most of the time, he's just an ice sculpture. Occasionally, he will regain partial consciousness. When you saw him previously, it was already the last time he was relatively conscious. Not long after that, he turned into an ice sculpture. I don't know how long it will take for him to regain consciousness again."

After a pause, Gaiman said, "However, my father recorded down the situation in detail. If you need it, I can make a copy for you."

"Thank you." Since he couldn't see Frod, he had no choice but to accept.

Gaiman quickly handed a copy to Zhou Wen. "If you discover anything, remember to inform us immediately."

"I will. I'll head back now." Zhou Wen flipped through the documents and realized that there were more than ten pages of content that recorded many things. He probably wouldn't be able to finish them in a short period of time, so he planned on taking them back to slowly read them.

Gaiman got his secretary to see Zhou Wen out. When the secretary returned, he asked, "Do you really believe that Zhou Wen has discovered something?"

"It doesn't matter if I believe it or not. One can never be too careful. This matter can't go wrong. It's best if he doesn't discover anything. If he does, it will be beneficial to us," Gaiman said.

Zhou Wen arrived at the entrance and saw Wang Lu, Lance, and company waiting for him.

"Zhou Wen, did you discover something?" Lance was also present, but because everyone present was his elder, he had no right to speak.

"I keep feeling that there's something amiss about this matter, but I can't put my finger on it. It would be great if I could meet your great-grandfather again," Zhou Wen said.

"Great-grandfather's situation is highly variable. Even if we meet him now, there's no way to communicate," Lance said with a sigh.

"Then I'll think about it again. After all, there will still be a period of time for us to build our teamwork. We won't immediately head to the Maze of Lies. We still have time." Zhou Wen flipped through the document.

According to the records, it had happened not long after the Maze of Lies had been discovered. Back then, Frod didn't know that the state of the maze differed daily. The first time he had entered was on Monday, but he didn't go in again during the next few days. It was Sunday when he wanted to go to the maze again, so the outcome was obvious.

Thankfully, when Frod saw that the situation wasn't right, he released his Companion Beast to resist the Devil Clown. He wanted to escape the maze at full speed.

Unfortunately, there was no such chance. Frod was struck by the black-and-white magic ball and he lost control of his body. The Devil Clown that phased into existence used its dagger-like nails to slice open the aorta on his neck. Soon, he fainted.

Frod originally thought that he was doomed, but to his surprise, he woke up not long after. He was in a narrow and confined space.

Frod pushed the lid for a long time before he crawled out and realized that he was lying in a grave.

On the tombstone in front of the grave, he discovered the mask.

And the spot where the grave was was the garden Zhou Wen had seen in-game.

When Frod escaped from the garden, he saw the twin Destiny Witches and the ancient castle. Only then did he know that the garden was behind the witch's castle.

Strange, how did he enter the garden? Who took him in? Is there really a grave and tombstone in the garden in reality? Zhou Wen was still puzzled when he read the information.

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Chapter 1015: Mysterious Method of Death

Translator: CKtalon

After returning to his residence, Zhou Wen switched on his phone and entered the Maze of Lies on Sunday. He also passed the test of the Destiny Witches and arrived at the garden again.

This time, Zhou Wen searched very carefully. There was definitely no grave in the garden, much less the tombstone and mask that Frod had described.

There was only one tree in the middle of the garden. It stood in the middle of the garden like a huge umbrella.

There really aren't any graves or masks in-game. I can only go to reality to see if there are any. Zhou Wen glanced at the tree and was somewhat unwilling to return. He summoned the Bronze Sparrow Sword and slashed at the tree.

He wanted to dig up the tree and take a look. Perhaps there was a grave under the tree.

The Bronze Sparrow Sword slashed at the tree's roots with terrifying flames. It only managed to slice less than three centimeters into the tree before it stopped. The flames failed to burn the tree.

To be more precise, the tree trunk and leaves became even more vibrant and lively in the flames.

Zhou Wen summoned the Bronze Sparrow Sword back and saw magma-like liquid flowing out of the tree's wound. Furthermore, after the liquid flowed out, it quickly cooled down and turned to dust. The damage to the tree quickly healed.

This is a plant-type Mythical creature? As Zhou Wen was thinking, he suddenly saw the blood-colored avatar collapse to the ground. The game screen went black.

How did I die? Zhou Wen felt that he needed to figure out the true situation in the garden. He had a nagging feeling that the operation wouldn't go so smoothly.

After entering the garden again, Zhou Wen summoned Tyrant Behemoth, hoping to see if he could uproot the tree.

In the Absolute Strength state, Tyrant Behemoth could be considered a peak force at the Mythical stage. After it gigantified, it crouched down and held the tree trunk with both hands before pulling it upwards.

Tree roots tore out of the ground as the entire garden trembled. However, the tree wasn't pulled out.

Seeing that Tyrant Behemoth couldn't do it alone, he summoned Torch Dragon, Black Dragon, Vajra Bull, and other Companion Beasts to pull out the tree.

Under the pull of the Mythical Companion Beasts, the tree's roots snapped one by one as magma-like liquid flowed out. Then, it turned into ashes and vanished, but it still failed to be pulled out.

Suddenly, the blood-colored avatar collapsed to the ground again as the game screen went black.

Could it be that the liquid flowing out of the tree has some special power that kills me? In order to prove this hypothesis, Zhou Wen didn't do anything after entering the garden again. He got the blood-colored avatar to stand in the garden and wait.

This was also to verify another guess because Zhou Wen realized that the time of the blood-colored avatar's inexplicable deaths seemed to be very similar.

Time ticked by. When the blood-colored avatar had been in the garden for an hour, it died without any warning. The game screen went black again.

This time was rather similar to the time of death last time.

Zhou Wen carried out many experiments again. He wanted to figure out what was going on.

The situation was more complicated than Zhou Wen imagined. The few experiments produced different results.

Gaiman sent someone to invite Zhou Wen to participate in the training, but he declined the invitation.

Earlier on, Zhou Wen still had the intention to cooperate, but now, he knew very well that he had to figure out why the blood-colored avatar had died as soon as possible. Otherwise, it was very likely that no one would survive this operation.

Gaiman didn't say anything when Zhou Wen didn't participate on the first day. However, Zhou Wen didn't attend on the second and third day. Ignoring Gaiman, even the rich and powerful personnel that came had negative views of Zhou Wen.

"What's this? Does he think he's impressive just because he has some strength? Does he think it's beneath him to be associated with us?" The people from the North District had a bad temper to begin with. Zhou Wen's actions naturally displeased them.

"He's Wang Mingyuan's disciple. He has a backer. Even if dimensional creatures occupy Earth, he can still live very well. Can you do it? If not, shut up," another local tycoon quipped.

"He doesn't come for training, but he has the final say. What if he gives random orders? Do you want us to listen to him and send you to your death? Mr. Gaiman, do you think that's appropriate?" someone questioned Gaiman.

"Zhou Wen might have some matters to resolve. After the matter is resolved, he will probably come. Everyone, calm down." As Gaiman comforted everyone, he secretly got Lance, Sadie, and company to figure out what Zhou Wen was doing.

Although Lance and Sadie felt that Zhou Wen wasn't an arrogant person, they were very puzzled over his non-participation in the training. Therefore, they went to Zhou Wen's residence.

Before they arrived at his place, they met Wang Lu, who was hugging Ya'er and carrying bags of snacks.

Wang Lu didn't participate in the training either. However, she was only responsible for drawing cards from the Destiny Witches alone, so she didn't need to have good teamwork with the others. Furthermore, she didn't have the authority to make decisions, so no one had asked her to participate in the training.

"Wang Lu, why did you buy so many snacks? Didn't I get someone to arrange a chef for you? Is the food not to your liking?" Sadie asked in puzzlement.

"No, the food is very good, but Zhou Wen is in his room... cultivating... He doesn't want to go out, so he got me to buy some food and drinks for him," Wang Lu said.

"I see. What cultivation is Coach doing?" Sadie asked.

"This... I'm not too sure either..." Wang Lu's expression changed slightly.

Zhou Wen was basically gaming in his room. He didn't cultivate at all. She only felt that it wasn't appropriate to say that Zhou Wen was gaming, so she swapped it to cultivation.

"We naturally trust Zhou Wen's character, but the others have many doubts. Furthermore, it's better for him to familiarize himself with the other's abilities. It's beneficial for combat. I still hope he can participate in training," said Lance.

As they spoke, they went to Zhou Wen's room.

When she arrived at the door, Wang Lu knocked and said, "Zhou Wen, open the door. I'm back from buying your stuff. Lance and the rest are here to see you."

Wang Lu naturally hoped that Zhou Wen would restrain himself a little and not let Lance and company see him gaming.

However, when Zhou Wen opened the door, he was still playing with his phone.

Due to the unexpected complexity of the Maze of Lies, he had yet to completely resolve the problem.

Now, Zhou Wen had to resolve the problem before the team entered the Maze of Lies. Otherwise, apart from him, everyone who entered would die.

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Chapter 1016: Burden

Translator: CKtalon

This wasn't alarmist talk because Zhou Wen had discovered that the Maze of Lies on Sunday had a terrifying taboo power.

Unless one had the ability to restrain taboo powers like the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder, the moment one stepped into the Maze of Lies on Sunday, it was equivalent to activating a death countdown.

According to Zhou Wen's constant tests during this period of time, he realized that if he didn't enter Witch Castle within three hours after entering the maze, he would be killed by the taboo power.

This was the power of the rules. No matter where one was, it was inevitable as long as one didn't leave the Maze of Lies.

Entering Witch Castle within three hours allowed one to obtain a two-hour death countdown inside. If one failed to enter the garden within two hours, they would also be killed by the taboo power.

After entering the garden, the death countdown became an hour. One could only stay in the garden for an hour, or they would also die.

What was even more terrifying was that the death timer in every area wouldn't be reset just because one entered the next area. It wouldn't stop either.

In other words, if he used two and a half hours in the maze before entering Witch Castle after half an hour, the countdown in the maze would have reached zero. He would also die if he returned to the maze.

Therefore, although it looked like the first two regions had a longer time limit, it was actually impossible for him to spend that much time there. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to come out even if he obtained the mask.

Zhou Wen had the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder, so he wasn't afraid. However, if Wang Lu, Lance, and company exceeded the time limit inside, they would die.

Now, Zhou Wen had already figured out these rules, but these weren't all of Sunday's rules. The other problems were still being tested.

"Zhou Wen, are you alright?" Lance and Sadie didn't have any special reaction because of Zhou Wen gaming. This was because they were already used to Zhou Wen gaming and didn't find it strange.

"Me? I'm fine." The blood-colored avatar died again in-game. Zhou Wen put away his phone and looked at Lance and company in puzzlement, unsure why they were asking.

"Coach, don't tell me you have been gaming in your room all day?" Sadie's expression turned even odder as she asked Zhou Wen.

"That's right. Is there a problem?" Zhou Wen looked at Sadie in puzzlement.

As expected... Wang Lu held her forehead helplessly. She knew that Zhou Wen wouldn't lie.

Lance smiled and said, "You're very calm. It looks like you already have a card up your sleeve. However, the others are a little worried that you might give the wrong orders because you don't understand their abilities. If you have the time, it's best you take a look at their training. At the very least, you'd have some understanding of their abilities. That would be a good thing."

Zhou Wen sighed and said, "That's why I feel that it's best I go alone to avoid leading them into trouble."

Zhou Wen's words came from the bottom of his heart. If he were to go alone, he could activate Evil Nullification and the Heaven-Opening Scripture the entire way. He wouldn't need to worry about the group's survival, nor would he need to study the dungeon so clearly. There was no power inside that could kill him.

It didn't seem difficult for a person to rush into the garden in reality to see if there was a mask.

However, the Ultimate Family Clan was definitely worried about letting him enter alone, afraid that he would take the mask for himself. Also, there was no time or opportunity for him to enter alone.

Gaiman had already decided to lead people into the Maze of Lies this coming Sunday.

Lance and Sadie exchanged looks and smiled bitterly. Zhou Wen's thoughts were even more straightforward than they had expected. He had actually treated all the strongmen in the North District as a burden.

They naturally knew that it was impossible for Zhou Wen to enter the maze alone. All Lance could do was say, "It's good to have more people. After all, the maze is strange. If anything happens, even if they can't help, they can spread out the firepower. Why don't..."

Just as Lance was about to ask him to take a look, Sadie beat him to it. "Coach, I suddenly remembered that we have something to do."

With that said, Sadie pulled Lance away quickly.

"What's going on?" When they came to a place without anyone, Lance looked at Sadie in puzzlement.

Sadie said, "You wanted Coach to visit the training grounds?"

"That's right. At least appease the experts from those places," said Lance.

However, Sadie said, "That will probably make things worse."

"Why?" Lance was momentarily taken aback.

"With my understanding of Coach, even if he goes to the training grounds, he will definitely find a place to lie down and game. Do you still think it's a good idea for him to go or not?" Sadie said.

Lance was immediately enlightened as he nodded. "That makes sense."

...

The two of them had no choice but to tell Gaiman what Zhou Wen had said. Gaiman couldn't help but frown slightly when he heard that. "Zhou Wen is indeed very capable, but he's so arrogant. He doesn't take this operation seriously at all. Does he treat this as child's play?"

"Family Head, I think Coach naturally has his reasons for saying that." Sadie was very confident in Zhou Wen.

"What's the reason? He hasn't even entered the Maze of Lies on Sunday. With his arrogance, he will probably suffer greatly." Gaiman was already secretly considering if he should hand the final veto to Zhou Wen.

Although Frod had agreed to give him the veto rights, he couldn't just watch as Zhou Wen made some unreasonable decisions.

Gaiman had already decided that if Zhou Wen's decision was the same as his, he would listen to him for the time being. If it wasn't, he would prioritize his own opinion.

He believed that the members of the Ultimate Family Clan and the experts of those places would listen to his orders.

...

Zhou Wen didn't think too much about it. There were less than two days left until Sunday. He had to figure out the details as soon as possible.

The repeated deaths in-game deepened Zhou Wen's understanding of the Maze of Lies. In the end, he was basically studying the tree and the method to kill it.

Although this tree might not necessarily exist in reality, there was nothing wrong with being careful. It was always better to be prepared.

This tree was extraordinary. It could also kill people, but its method of killing wasn't that obvious. It was even more bizarre.

Time passed quickly. Seeing that there were only a few hours left until Sunday, Zhou Wen suddenly felt a strange energy fluctuation emit from his body.

Neonate's evolution is complete... Zhou Wen figured out the source of the fluctuations and was immediately overjoyed.

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Chapter 1017: Great Demon King

Translator: CKtalon

Zhou Wen had long been looking forward to Demonic Neonate's evolution. Now, she was finally out.

He hurriedly summoned Demonic Neonate, but she didn't seem to have changed much. She wore blackish-purple armor and hugged a Demonic Sword. She didn't even seem to have grown taller.

The superficial details aren't important. Stats are what matters. Zhou Wen hurriedly looked at Demonic Neonate's stats. All he wanted to know was what had happened to her Wheel of Destiny when she returned to the Mythical stage.

Demonic Neonate: Mythical (Evolvable)

Life Providence: Child of Dimension

Life Soul: Supreme True Demon

Wheel of Destiny: One Spin

Terror Form: Great Demon King (S-grade)

Strength: 81

Speed: 81

Constitution: 81

Essence Energy: 81

Talent Skill: Demonic Sword

Companion Form: None

Terror form... Zhou Wen was dumbfounded. Demonic Neonate had just advanced to the Mythical stage. Although the Wheel of Destiny he was looking forward to hadn't changed, she actually had the ability to transform into the Terror form. He was overwhelmed with joy.

Isn't this a little too powerful? She just advanced to the Mythical stage and already has a Terror form? Zhou Wen was very curious about Demonic Neonate's Terror form.

He summoned Demonic Neonate in-game and made her enter her Terror form.

Demonic aura spewed out from Demonic Neonate's body, but in the next second, she vanished in front of Zhou Wen.

Zhou Wen knew that since he hadn't made Demonic Neonate move, she shouldn't have moved randomly. Since she wasn't moving, it should be an invisibility ability.

Is it invisibility? Zhou Wen could vaguely sense that Demonic Neonate was in front of him, but he couldn't see her with the naked eye.

Zhou Wen attempted to use the Demon God Body, but he still couldn't see Demonic Neonate. When he switched to Supreme Hell King, he still couldn't see her. However, he could vaguely see some strange minute fluctuations in space. They were extremely tiny, and even in the Supreme Hell King state, it was very difficult to detect them.

Zhou Wen was somewhat depressed. He wanted to see what Demonic Neonate's Terror form looked like, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't see her. It was as though Demonic Neonate had really vanished.

Zhou Wen extended his palm, but he couldn't touch Demonic Neonate. However, he could sense that she stood there without moving.

Alright, it doesn't matter if I can't see you. Let's give it a try and see what your abilities are like. Zhou Wen thought for a moment. Today was the day the nine black dragons in the underground sea respawned. It was the perfect time to grind there again.

After entering the underground sea, Zhou Wen only summoned Demonic Neonate. He didn't summon any other Companion Beasts.

When the nine black dragons saw Zhou Wen, they didn't break their chains immediately. They just sized up Demonic Neonate in puzzlement.

Whenever the nine black dragons saw a Mythical Companion Beast at the same time, they would definitely break free from their shackles. Now, they didn't do so immediately. There was only one reason—they couldn't see Demonic Neonate. At most, they were about the same as Zhou Wen. They only felt that the space there was a little strange, so they didn't immediately break free from the shackles.

Demonic Neonate, let me see how strong you are. Zhou Wen's heart stirred as he ordered Demonic Neonate to kill the nine black dragons.

In the next second, Zhou Wen suddenly saw dragon blood spew out as a black dragon was beheaded. It died without even knowing how it died.

Then, Zhou Wen saw a very strange scene. The black dragons spun around like headless flies. They couldn't discover what was attacking them. When they sensed something, their heads had already been chopped off.

Clang! Clang! Ding! Ding!

Moments later, the nine black dragons were killed in the sea, dyeing the nearby seawater red. Two dimensional crystals and a Companion Egg dropped.

Too... Too powerful... Zhou Wen was pleasantly surprised.

The Mythical Demon Blood True Dragon was slaughtered like poultry in front of the terrifying Demonic Neonate.

Zhou Wen had seen quite a number of Terror-form powerhouses, but they didn't seem to be as strong as Demonic Neonate.

The dimensional crystal was useless, but the Companion Egg had a Li attribute that Zhou Wen didn't have. Now Zhou Wen had four of the nine Demon Blood True Dragons.

I think I can give it a try. What will happen if I kill the Guardian inside? Zhou Wen stared at the war wagon at the bottom of the sea.

In the past, he couldn't defeat the Guardian, but now, ignoring Zhou Wen's strength, Demonic Neonate's Terror transformation state was already invincible.

Without any hesitation, he opened the war wagon's door and ordered Demonic Neonate to kill the Guardian inside.

Crack! The Guardian cocoon was split into two. The emperor-like Guardian with six fingers appeared in Zhou Wen's vision.

Although he couldn't see her, Zhou Wen could roughly guess that Demonic Neonate hadn't taken action herself. She had only used the Demonic Sword to slice open the cocoon of the Guardian. Unfortunately, Zhou Wen couldn't see the Demonic Sword that had Terror-transformed.

The Guardian seemed to be able to see Demonic Neonate. He stared intently at her as his face turned pale.

The invisible Demonic Sword slashed down again. The six-fingered Guardian seemed to be able to see where the Demonic Sword was. The ring on his finger glowed brightly at the same time as it rapidly spun. His figure also teleported and vanished.

However, when he appeared again, his body was split into two by a sword.

In the next second, a scene that left Zhou Wen dumbfounded appeared. The Demonic Sword suddenly revealed its size as demonic aura surged from it, condensing into Grim Demon's figure. He actually grabbed the Guardian's body and devoured it. In a few mouthfuls, he completely devoured the Guardian's corpse before automatically returning to the Demonic Sword and quickly disappearing.

Grim Demon is still around? Zhou Wen was somewhat surprised. He imagined that Grim Demon would be absorbed by Demonic Neonate.

'Killed Guardian Demon Master.' A notification popped up in-game.

So this Guardian is called Demon Master. Unfortunately, such a powerful Guardian was killed by Demonic Neonate just like that. It didn't get the chance to reveal its abilities. With a thought, Zhou Wen recalled the Guardian of Ant City.

However, on second thought, killing the Guardian didn't seem to be of much use now. It wouldn't be too late to kill it in the future.

The most important thing now was to deal with the tree in the Maze of Lies.

Previously, so many Companion Beasts had failed to kill the tree. The Terror-form Ice Dragon King's items couldn't be taken into the game, so Zhou Wen had been vexed about it.

Now, with Demonic Neonate in her Terror form, it shouldn't be a problem to slice through the tree.

After taking Demonic Neonate to the Maze of Lies and arriving at the garden, Demonic Neonate walked towards the tree before Zhou Wen could give her an order.

As Demonic Neonate approached, the tree, that had formerly remained motionless like a mountain, suddenly moved. Its leaves shook and the tree trembled. Its roots rose up, revealing a tree hole.

Demonic Neonate walked towards the tree hole. Zhou Wen hurriedly controlled the blood-colored avatar to follow and see what was inside.

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Chapter 1018: Wooden Hut

Translator: CKtalon

There was a strange spatial distortion at the entrance of the tree hole. He felt a slight spatial fluctuation when he passed through it.

After entering the tree hole, the scene he saw left him slightly taken aback. Inside was a wooden hut, not the grave or tombstone that Zhou Wen had imagined.

All the tools in the wooden house seemed to be carved from the tree itself.

There was a wooden bed, a wooden table, a wooden stool, and a wooden rack. All sorts of equipment looked ancient and artistic. On the wooden rack were many books.

On the table was an open book, as though someone had been reading it.

However, Zhou Wen didn't see any other creatures despite looking through the entire hut.

This is a game. Logically speaking, only dimensional items can appear in-game. Could these books be dimensional items? Zhou Wen saw that Demonic Neonate had already walked to the wooden table and was looking at the opened book on it.

Zhou Wen also went over to take a look and realized that he didn't recognize a single word on it. It was a mess of words of an unknown language—he couldn't understand a single word.

Demonic Neonate extended her tiny hand and the book flew up by itself. It arrived in front of her and floated above her palm.

Demonic Neonate actually likes to read after her evolution. This is a good phenomenon. Zhou Wen was rather gratified.

Demonic Neonate was good in every way, but she was just too ferocious. She usually didn't say a word and she attacked only when death was certain from a single strike. She didn't give anyone a chance to counterattack. She was like a cold-blooded killer.

Although Demonic Neonate was flawless as a Companion Beast, Zhou Wen felt that she was, after all, an intelligent creature with feelings. It was better to have some humanity.

Reading could enrich people with feelings. This seemed to be a good sign.

"Neonate, what's written on it..." Before Zhou Wen could finish his sentence, he saw Demonic Neonate grab the two sides of the book, open her mouth wide, and eat the book like she was eating a cake.

"..." Zhou Wen looked at Demonic Neonate in a daze, unable to say a word. He realized that he had misunderstood something.

Demonic Neonate didn't stop at all. Her mouth opened and closed as she swallowed the entire book with a few bites.

After she was done eating, she still hadn't had enough. She walked to the bookshelf and devoured the other books one by one. When she had finished, she even licked her lips, looking like she hadn't had enough.

"Why are you eating those books?" Zhou Wen finally reacted and asked Demonic Neonate in puzzlement.

"Food," Demonic Neonate said.

Zhou Wen was helpless. It was unlikely that Demonic Neonate would explain it clearly. He still didn't know what the books were.

Suddenly, the screen went black as the blood-colored avatar died again.

How can this be? The one-hour time limit in the garden shouldn't be up yet? Could it be that there's a different time limit in the treehouse? Zhou Wen guessed as he started the dungeon again.

Now, Zhou Wen was certain that there was no mask in-game. There was only a treehouse in the tree.

Is Frod lying, or is it really different in reality? Zhou Wen was almost confident of bringing Wang Lu, Lance, and company out alive, but there were still some things he wanted to figure out.

After entering the garden again, the tree automatically opened the entrance to the wooden hut when it saw Demonic Neonate. This time, Zhou Wen paid special attention to the time inside the tree hole before discovering an extremely strange phenomenon.

The flow of time in the tree hole's wooden hut was much faster than outside. An hour outside was only a minute here.

Zhou Wen had only discovered the changes in his body after using the Eight Perfections Wisdom and Hell King Supremacy, allowing him to determine that the flow of time here was different.

Even if he used the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder, it was useless against the abnormal flow of time here. This was because such a flow of time was normal in the tree hole's wooden hut. It wasn't a taboo power.

Seeing that the books in the wooden hut didn't respawn again, Zhou Wen hurriedly left the tree hole.

He was afraid that staying inside where time flowed too quickly would affect his true body. That wouldn't be good.

Thankfully, it was only a game and it didn't affect his true body. However, the secret of the garden seemed to end there. There were no graves or masks.

Now, Zhou Wen knew the dungeon like the back of his hand. All he needed to do was wait for tomorrow to head to the Maze of Lies in reality to see if it was different.

While it was still early, Zhou Wen went to the underground sea again. The cocoon in the war wagon hadn't respawned; he didn't know if it would respawn in the future either.

With the underground sea's Guardian gone, Zhou Wen made another trip to Ant City.

After being wrecked by Ant City's Guardian for so long, I can finally do something about it. Zhou Wen was somewhat excited.

Ant City was a dungeon that had come with the phone. Ant City's Guardian was also the first Guardian Zhou Wen had seen. Zhou Wen was still looking forward to killing Ant City's Guardian and clearing the dungeon.

He stormed all the way through Ant City and destroyed the Golden Flying Ant's nest, exposing the Guardian Egg.

"Neonate, kill it." Zhou Wen floated in the air, waiting to see the Ant City Guardian get killed.

After Demonic Neonate transformed into her Terror form, her figure vanished from Zhou Wen's sight. At the same time, he couldn't see the demonic sword as she instantly cleaved open the Guardian cocoon.

Zhou Wen saw the Ant City Guardian again. At that moment, the Ant City Guardian seemed to have grown a lot.

Zhou Wen remembered that the last time he saw her, she still looked like a girl, but now, she looked completely mature. She exuded the charm of a mature woman.

Her lascivious body curves, orange-red pupils, and long hair made Zhou Wen almost not dare look at her.

Zhou Wen discovered that the feelers on the Guardian's head and the transparent wings on her back had vanished. She looked no different from a human.

This is the first time I've seen a Guardian who can constantly grow. What's this fellow's background? I wonder which dimensional race she represents? Just as Zhou Wen was thinking, the Terror-form demonic sword slashed at the Guardian again.

Typical Guardians couldn't even see the attack, much less resist it. Just as Zhou Wen thought that the Guardian was about to be killed, he saw the Guardian's beautiful hands clasp together and clamp down on the Demonic Sword that came slashing down.

At the same time, a strange power fluctuation spread out from the pair of beautiful hands. With a terrifying power fluctuation, the Guardian's figure vanished in front of Zhou Wen.

Not good! Zhou Wen immediately realized something as he quickly retreated.

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Chapter 1019: Final Veto Rights

Translator: CKtalon

Boom!

Zhou Wen sensed that Demonic Neonate was moving at high speeds. In the next second, the terrifying collision produced an unimaginable explosion and shockwave that instantly reduced Ant City to ruins.

The blood-colored avatar used the Shell Dragon armor's Absolute Defense to block the terrifying strike, but in the next second, Zhou Wen felt his heart palpitate. An invisible force struck the blood-colored avatar's body and penetrated the armor, causing its body to explode. The game screen went black.

Terror form... That fellow hasn't come out of the Guardian cocoon... But she already has the ability to transform into the Terror form... Zhou Wen was alarmed.

Zhou Wen knew very well that it was the power of the Terror form. Furthermore, it was one of the stronger ones. At the same time, Zhou Wen's previous guess had been confirmed.

Demonic Neonate's Great Demon King state wasn't an invisibility state. It could even be said that it wasn't invisibility.

It was only because a Terror form's lifeform was too high-level that it couldn't be seen.

However, not every Terror-grade creature could reach such a high-grade Terror form. Up to now, the Terror-grade creatures that Zhou Wen couldn't see were Demonic Neonate and Ant City's Guardian.

It was hard to say who was stronger between Demonic Neonate and Ant City's Guardian, but Zhou Wen's strength was much weaker. Demonic Neonate wasn't a protective Companion Beast, so if the Ant City's Guardian chose to attack Zhou Wen, it was impossible for Demonic Neonate to constantly protect him. As long as Zhou Wen was killed, the game would end. The Ant City's Guardian didn't need to fight Demonic Neonate.

Her growth is really fast. I wonder when she obtained the ability to transform. Zhou Wen was somewhat depressed.

He had downloaded quite a number of dungeons, but this dungeon that had existed from the beginning had yet to be cleared. It looked like he still needed some time.

He didn't attempt it again. He couldn't even see her. He had no right to fight the Ant City Guardian.

Actually, if I use Truth Listener to its limits, I can still sense a tiny spatial fluctuation. However, that level isn't enough to help in a battle. Zhou Wen felt that he needed to advance to the Mythical stage to see Demonic Neonate's Terror form.

Mythical stage. I'm only one step away from advancing to the Mythical stage. How can I raise the Glimmer to a Perfect Body? Could it be that I really have to teleport to other planets? However, I don't have the ability to survive in space as someone who's not at the Mythical stage. I have no way of returning. By the time I could teleport back in a month, I would have long died. After some thought, Zhou Wen had only one solution.

He could use the positioning teleportation ability of the New Era Life Soul to position himself on Earth before using Glimmer to teleport out. Then, he could use the positioning teleportation ability of the New Era Life Soul to return.

The only thing he wasn't sure of was if the positioning teleportation ability of the New Era could teleport between space. If it couldn't, he was dead meat in space.

After some hesitation, Zhou Wen didn't dare continue trying.

He planned to return and think of a way to obtain some space capsules and space suits. After teleporting to other planets, even if he couldn't teleport back, he could still last for a month on them and wait for the teleportation function of the Glimmer Life Soul to finish the cooldown.

...

Finally, on Saturday night, Gaiman got Lance to find Zhou Wen. Everyone who was prepared to enter the Maze of Lies had already gathered at the door.

Gaiman would personally lead the team this time. Among the younger generation, only Lance would accompany them. The rest were middle-aged or elderly.

Basically, anyone who could enter the maze had at least one Mythical Companion Beast.

Wang Lu was considered a unique existence among them. No one knew how strong she was, nor did anyone care. It was enough as long as she could defeat the twin Destiny Witches during the draw.

"Do you want me to accompany you in?" Li Xuan said with a smile.

"There's no need. Take care of Ya'er." Zhou Wen put Ya'er down and stroked her head. "I'll be back soon. Wait here."

"Zhou Wen, are you ready?" Gemar asked.

Although he was somewhat displeased that Zhou Wen hadn't participated in the training, he knew that as a secretary, he couldn't show his emotions, so his attitude remained very good.

Zhou Wen nodded slightly and came in front of Gaiman. "Mr. Gaiman, there's something I need to confirm. Do I have complete say on this operation?"

Gaiman frowned slightly. Gemar hurriedly added, "The situation in a dimensional zone is ever-changing. There are many unexpected situations that require immediate reaction. If there's time to discuss, it will naturally be up to you."

Gemar's words were rather respectful, but the meaning behind them was that everyone would act according to the situation.

"Mr. Gaiman, do you share the same view?" Zhou Wen asked Gaiman directly.

Gaiman pondered for a moment and said, "You haven't entered the Maze of Lies on Sunday. You might not know many things."

"The information you gave me is sufficiently detailed. I don't need to go personally to know what's going on inside the maze." Zhou Wen saw that Gaiman wasn't being certain, so he said, "I have an agreement with your family. I will definitely enter the maze, but if I don't have a hundred percent say, I wish to enter the maze alone. If you are worried, you can get Lance to enter with me. Otherwise, I refuse to participate in this operation."

With that said, it wasn't just the local elites. Even the experts from the Ultimate Family Clan couldn't hold back. Zhou Wen made it sound as though they were a burden.

"Isn't your request a little too demanding?" Gaiman said as he stared at Zhou Wen.

"We agreed on me having the final veto previously. If you can't abide by the agreement, I won't take the risk of entering the dimensional zone," Zhou Wen said seriously.

"Mr. Gaiman, since he's afraid to go, why are you forcing him?"

"He's just a young man who doesn't know better. Ignore him."

"Mr. Gaiman, let's go in. It's fine if he doesn't go. Would we not succeed without him?"

The local powerhouses were already displeased with Zhou Wen, but they were even more displeased now.

However, Gaiman was in a dilemma. This was because Frod had exhorted him repeatedly that Zhou Wen had to be present for this operation to succeed. He had to take Zhou Wen in.

Gaiman pondered for a long time before giving in. "Alright. Since it's an agreement, we'll do as you wish. You have the final say."

Everyone was somewhat displeased with Gaiman's compromise, but since it was Gaiman's decision, they had no choice.

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Chapter 1020: Different

Translator: CKtalon

Although Gaiman had agreed, Zhou Wen didn't relax.

The human heart was unpredictable. No one knew what would happen after entering.

However, Zhou Wen needed to do what needed to be done in exchange for the intelligence Frod had provided him. If they had a death wish, Zhou Wen wouldn't be able to stop them.

"After entering the maze, follow me. Listen to me. Don't believe what others say," Zhou Wen whispered to Wang Lu.

"Alright." Wang Lu nodded slightly.

Everyone arrived in front of the maze and answered the questions in the order they had arranged.

As some questions were questions that couldn't be answered, some could only give up. They couldn't return for another question in a day.

Therefore, the Ultimate Family Clan had prepared many people just in case. Even if a portion of them couldn't enter, it wouldn't hinder their plans.

There were three indispensable people in the team—Zhou Wen, Wang Lu, and Gaiman.

Zhou Wen glanced at the crowd. There were nearly thirty people. Most of the powerhouses in the North District who had Mythical Companion Beasts were here.

However, if they continued answering the questions one by one, it would probably take thirty minutes for everyone to gather inside. It would be such a waste of time.

"Mr. Gaiman, must so many people enter?" Zhou Wen asked Gaiman.

"The maze is too dangerous. It's easier to deal with any accidents with more people," Gaiman said.

"Alright then. What's Wang Lu's place in line?" Zhou Wen asked.

"As no one will be able to pass the test of the Destiny Witches if Wang Lu doesn't enter, she has to be one of the first to enter. We will get the experienced members of the two families to enter before her in case anything happens when inside," Gaiman said.

"Change it. Let Wang Lu be the last to enter," Zhou Wen said.

"That's not good, right? If she can't enter as the last one, wouldn't our previous efforts be in vain?" Gemar said.

"Remember that I call the shots here. If I say she's the last, she's the last. Is there a problem?" Zhou Wen said to Gemar.

Gemar's expression changed slightly, but he couldn't say a word. All he could do was look at Gaiman.

"With Wang Lu's ability, it's unlikely that she won't be able to enter. Then let her be the last," Gaiman said, unwilling to clash with Zhou Wen over such a trivial matter.

With Gaiman's words, Gemar changed the order of entry.

Others believed that Zhou Wen had taken a fancy to the young and beautiful Wang Lu and wanted to show off in front of her, but they didn't say a word. All they did was look down on him. At this moment, Zhou Wen was still only thinking about women. He was ultimately a young man.

How could they know that if by entering half an hour later, the safe period would be decreased by half an hour? If something happened inside and they failed to come out in time as planned, this might save her life.

One by one, everyone answered the questions and entered the maze. Many people had to give up answering because they had encountered questions that meant certain death. Only about half of them could really enter.

Zhou Wen was originally second last, but after some thought, he got Wang Lu to answer the question first.

It wasn't that Zhou Wen wanted to ensure his safety, but he wanted to know what question a person like Wang Lu would encounter.

When Wang Lu walked to the door, a problem immediately appeared on it: Is one plus one equal to two?

Zhou Wen was immediately rendered speechless. There was actually such a question.

Without a doubt, Wang Lu successfully entered.

Zhou Wen went up to answer the question again and saw the question on the door: Are humans born evil or good by nature?

"My life doesn't need simple beauty." Zhou Wen decisively activated the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder and randomly chose one before successfully entering Sunday's Maze of Lies.

Including Zhou Wen and Wang Lu, a total of seventeen people entered. Gaiman and Gemar were among them, and Lance had successfully entered too.

Gaiman had already arranged for people to take action after Zhou Wen entered.

Although he didn't know that there was a time limit, he knew that he couldn't waste time here.

Soon, the group arrived in front of the carousel. There was really a Devil Clown there. When he saw everyone, the six magic balls in his hand shot out.

Gaiman directly summoned an Ice Nightmare. The ice gas that the Ice Nightmare spewed out actually froze the six magic balls, preventing them from bouncing again.

The Devil Clown phased away as one of them summoned a bat-like Mythical Companion Beast. The bat emitted a sound wave that made the stealthy clown appear. He couldn't maintain his stealth any longer.

Everyone joined forces to defeat the enemy and successfully killed the troublesome Devil Clown. No one was injured at all.

Zhou Wen didn't find it strange. This was because they had already sacrificed quite a number of people to figure out the information on Devil Clown. If they couldn't kill it, they would really be letting down the people who had died in the Maze of Lies.

"Keep in line with our previous training. Keep moving forward in this state." Gaiman led the team in the direction of Witch Castle.

Zhou Wen had actually encountered a few dimensional creatures in-game, but their range of activity wasn't in this area. Logically speaking, after killing the Devil Clown, they should be able to reach Witch's Castle without any obstructions.

However, not long after they proceeded, they suddenly saw a white wolf with three heads and two wings on its back tear through the air. One wolf head spewed out flames while the other spewed out ice mist. The wolf head in the middle emitted an aural attack.

"It's a three-headed wolf. Don't panic. Follow the plan according to our training." Gaiman continued commanding.

Although the three-headed wolf was powerful, it was difficult for it to defeat more than ten Mythical Companion Beasts. It was quickly killed.

"Although the Mythical creatures here are powerful, it's easy to enter Witch Castle with our Mythical Companion Beasts." As a local bigshot expressed this statement, he deliberately shot a glance at Zhou Wen.

He seemed to mean that even without Zhou Wen, they could still complete the mission. Zhou Wen was redundant.

Zhou Wen sincerely hoped that he was redundant. Being safe was better than anything else. He wanted to complete the mission quickly and return.

However, just as the person signaled that, he suddenly saw the three-headed wolf's corpse explode. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere.

Many people were stained with blood. At that moment, they suddenly heard strange cries coming from all directions. They sounded like crying banshees.

They could vaguely see some creature in the distance approaching them.

This seems a little different from in-game... Zhou Wen couldn't help but frown, but he had already guessed what creature it was.

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Chapter 1021: Evil Puppeteer

Translator: CKtalon

It was very difficult to communicate in the Maze of Lies. This was because the silencer had used Silence on them. Usually, they could communicate through handwritten words, but in an emergency, it depended on everyone's reaction.

"Retreat now." Gaiman didn't have the time to write too many words. He only wrote two words for everyone to see before retreating towards the door.

Clearly, Gaiman and company didn't know what was about to appear. They had only explored the parts related to Witch Castle in the past and hadn't explored all of the Maze of Lies, nor had they seen all the dimensional creatures.

However, Zhou Wen had explored the entire maze. He had seen almost all the dimensional creatures inside.

Although he had never seen the three-headed wolf's corpse self-destruct, he could roughly guess the dimensional creature that was about to arrive from its sound.

If that thing really comes, those people who are stained with the three-headed wolf's blood won't have it easy. Zhou Wen swept his gaze and quickly confirmed who the people stained with the blood were.

Wang Lu, who was by Zhou Wen's side, wasn't stained by the wolf blood. Zhou Wen was relieved when he saw that Lance wasn't stained with the wolf blood either.

However, nine out of the seventeen people were stained with wolf blood. Zhou Wen couldn't help but frown slightly. The self-destruction of the three-headed wolf was really timely. It happened to self-destruct in the middle of everyone. Could it be that it was a suicide bomber?

Upon thinking of this possibility, Zhou Wen was somewhat alarmed. If the three-headed wolf was really sending itself to its death, the Maze of Lies in reality was much more terrifying than in-game.

The dimensional creatures in the game kept to their own territories. They would only appear when they were triggered.

The three-headed wolf in real life had run over and infected so many people with its wolf blood. This was to pave the way for another dimensional creature to appear.

When everyone retreated to the door, they stood in formation with their backs against the exit. The Companion Beasts were also prepared to fight as they looked in the direction of the strange sound.

Soon, everyone saw blood-colored puppets appear everywhere. They looked like humans and were very well-made. They were even wearing clothes.

However, at their joints, thin threads extended into the distance.

It's indeed the Devil Puppeteer. Zhou Wen knew that his guess was right when he saw the puppets.

However, in-game, the Devil Puppeteer was in the Puppet Hall and wouldn't run out by himself.

Yet, here he was. Furthermore, those people had already been stained with the blood of the three-headed wolf. It happened to match the skill of the Devil Puppeteer. In a while, those who were stained with the wolf blood would probably become puppets.

Of course, this was only Zhou Wen's guess.

If the Devil Puppeteer had tampered with the three-headed wolf in advance, the blood could be used by him. If he hadn't tampered with it in advance, the people who were stained with the three-headed wolf's blood wouldn't be affected.

Gaiman and company ordered their Companion Beasts to attack the puppets, but in the next second, some were horrified at what happened.

Strange threads appeared on the bodies of the people stained with wolf blood. The threads were like puppets that extended deep into the maze.

The people and Companion Beasts with fine threads on their bodies found that they were no longer in control of their bodies. They seemed to be controlled by the threads as they lunged at their companions.

Such an unforeseen event exceeded everyone's expectations. It was a mess.

Before they could meet the Destiny Witches, they were already having in-fighting.

The puppets also rushed forward to join the battle. The scene became extremely chaotic.

Gaiman wanted to sever the threads on those people and see if he could save them. Unfortunately, when their weapons slashed down at the threads, they found the threads akin to flowing water. The threads didn't break under the weapons' slices.

Zhou Wen had long expected this outcome. He pulled Wang Lu back and waited for the Devil Puppeteer to appear.

Killing these puppets was useless. The puppeteer had countless puppets, so it was useless to decrease their numbers. He had to wait for the puppeteer to appear before killing him.

Gaiman and company clearly realized the problem. They also wanted to find the dimensional creature controlling the puppets. One even charged in the direction of the threads.

From Zhou Wen's point of view, these actions were futile. Like Demonic Neonate, the puppeteer was very good at hiding himself. He was a fellow who liked to kill others while in hiding. It was impossible to find him by following the threads. It would only place one in danger.

Indeed, after the person rushed over with his Companion Beast, there was quickly nothing from him. He was nowhere to be seen, not even his corpse.

"Let's follow the threads and rush over together." Gaiman wrote a few words wanting to follow the threads on the puppets.

The puppets revived after being killed. It was useless killing them anymore. They had to kill the person controlling the puppet.

"Do not go over." Zhou Wen wrote on the cardboard.

When he first encountered the puppeteer, he had suffered the same way. He thought that he could find the puppeteer by following the threads, but what awaited him was a death trap.

"If we don't go over, death awaits us. We can only go." Gaiman quickly wrote.

"According to the agreement, I call the shots. Stay here. No one is allowed to go over." Zhou Wen quickly wrote a line.

"Give me a reason," Gaiman wrote as he stared at Zhou Wen.

"I think only by staying here will there be a chance of survival. Going over will only lead to death." Zhou Wen wrote.

"Staying here is the only way to die. Mr. Gaiman, don't worry about him. Let's rush over and capture the fellow who controls Old Liu and the others." One person wrote a line before rushing towards the other end of the threads.

Zhou Wen had no reason to stop others if they were suicidal. After all, their lives had nothing to do with him.

The others were also eager to give it a try. Clearly, they felt that if this continued, unless they killed all their controlled people and puppets, there was no chance of survival.

"Give Zhou Wen a chance." As Lance controlled his Companion Beasts to circle around the puppets, he rushed over and raised the board in his hand.

As communication was inconvenient, many people wanted to say something, but they had no time to write in battle.

Gaiman looked at the spot where the person had gone and saw that he had vanished silently like the previous person. Finally, he gritted his teeth and ordered everyone to continue resisting the puppet's attack. He gave up the thought of following the threads.

However, their situation became worse and worse. This was because nine people had been controlled. When they fought the nine people, it wasn't appropriate for them to kill them. This resulted in them being at a disadvantage.

Furthermore, with a large number of puppets charging at them, it became increasingly difficult for them to deal with them.

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Chapter 1022: Carrying Her Out

Translator: CKtalon

Gradually, even Gaiman felt a little regretful. They could neither retreat nor advance. They were trapped by the puppets and didn't even have the chance to follow the threads.

Someone was already injured. Although it didn't look serious, it was a very bad sign.

Some people had no choice but to be ruthless to their companions who were controlled like puppets. If they didn't do so, they would be killed.

However, killing a companion to survive wasn't a pleasurable thing for anyone.

Therefore, they couldn't help but blame it on Zhou Wen. They would occasionally glare at him angrily.

If they could speak, Zhou Wen would probably be drowned by their saliva.

However, Zhou Wen didn't care about their expressions. He had been using Truth Listener to monitor the commotion nearby, hoping to discover the puppeteer as soon as possible.

This only made it appear as though he was ignoring their angry gazes. What was even more infuriating was that Zhou Wen wasn't participating in the battle. All he did was watch from the back with Wang Lu, like a scion who had brought a beautiful lady out on a vacation.

We didn't invite you here to hit on chicks... If he could speak, Gemar would have reprimanded Zhou Wen loudly.

Unfortunately, he could only keep it to himself. The situation was getting worse. A large number of puppets had surrounded them, preventing him from having the time to write.

More and more people were getting injured. Gaiman was already considering a retreat. Otherwise, not only would he not be able to save the nine people controlled by the puppet, but everyone else would also die here.

However, to sacrifice nine people just like that without having done anything after entering was unacceptable.

In fact, many people already had the intention to retreat. The present situation didn't seem to allow them to continue.

Suddenly, Zhou Wen, who hadn't participated in the battle, moved. Everyone saw him pull out the Bamboo Blade at his waist and vanish.

Where's Zhou Wen? Everyone looked around but didn't find Zhou Wen.

Crack!

A black-robed dimensional creature fell from the bell tower beside them. When it fell to the ground, its body had already been split into two.

The puppets also stopped when the dimensional creature fell to the ground. The threads on the nine people who had been controlled fell off, restoring their control over their bodies.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The string puppets shattered one after another. Everyone couldn't help but look up and see Zhou Wen standing on the bell tower, sheathing his Bamboo Blade.

"To Witch Castle." After Zhou Wen came down, he wrote three words on a board.

"Everyone is injured. Shall we rest for a while?" Gaiman also wrote on the cardboard.

The previous battle had injured most people, especially the nine controlled people. Their injuries were rather serious.

This was because they weren't afraid of death when they were controlled. They had been risking their lives without any regard for themselves. Therefore, they were severely injured.

"Send back all those who are injured. The rest will follow me." Zhou Wen wrote.

"Our injuries aren't serious. We can continue fighting after some rest." The big shots who had come from those places changed their impression of Zhou Wen.

However, when Zhou Wen said that, it was as though he treated them as a burden. It displeased them greatly.

"Time is life in such a place. We have to make the best use of every second. I don't have the time to wait." After Zhou Wen wrote the words, he pulled Wang Lu towards Witch Castle.

"Old Zhao, go back now. We'll be out soon." Gaiman thought for a moment and decided to let them return first.

"Go ahead. We'll recuperate here before chasing after you. Or we can meet you guys back here." Old Zhao wrote.

"Alright." Gaiman thought for a moment and wrote again, "However, you have to be careful. If any dimensional creatures appear again, leave immediately."

"Alright." Old Zhao agreed.

Gaiman chased after Zhou Wen with the uninjured Lance, Gemar, and two other members of the Ultimate Family Clan who were slightly injured.

Fortunately, there were no more accidents along the way. The group successfully entered Witch Castle.

Zhou Wen had only seen cartoon versions of the witches in-game. Upon comparison, he realized that these witches were indeed rather beautiful and weren't as cute as in-game.

"Welcome to the House of Destiny..." The black-and-white witch began explaining the rules of the game just like in the game.

"Wang Lu, thank you." Gaiman looked at Wang Lu and showed her the words on the board.

Wang Lu nodded and was about to draw a card when she was stopped by Zhou Wen.

"Are you sure you're fine? If you aren't 100% confident, you don't have to draw. I have a solution," Zhou Wen asked as he wrote a few words on her palm.

"No problem. Don't worry." Wang Lu also wrote on Zhou Wen's palm.

"That's good." Only then did Zhou Wen feel relieved.

Since Wang Lu was so confident, there shouldn't be a problem.

Wang Lu walked in front of the white-robed witch and reached out to draw a card. When she flipped it open, it was the mask card.

Her luck sure is good. Zhou Wen couldn't help but feel mixed emotions when he saw the door behind the twin witches open.

We've finally come this far. Gaiman looked at the space behind the door. He was somewhat nervous as he led his men towards the door.

"Go back now," Zhou Wen wrote on Wang Lu's palm.

"We're already here. Can't I go in and take a look?" Wang Lu wrote.

"No, you have to leave immediately. It will be troublesome if there's no time." Zhou Wen urged her to leave the maze.

"What do you mean there's no time?" Wang Lu asked in puzzlement.

"I'll explain it to you later. Now, you have to leave the maze immediately. You definitely can't wait for me inside," Zhou Wen exhorted again.

However, seeing Wang Lu's curious expression, he knew that she definitely wouldn't leave so easily.

Zhou Wen pondered for a moment before lifting Wang Lu up. Ignoring her objections, he carried her and sped off.

After running all the way to the entrance of the maze, Zhou Wen threw her out before turning to head for Witch Castle.

"Damn it!" Wang Lu looked hatefully at the maze door in front of her, but she wasn't really angry. She couldn't help but laugh when she thought of how Zhou Wen had carried her out.

Seeing that Old Zhao and company were still inside, Zhou Wen wrote. "All of you can leave. There's no need to stay here. Otherwise, there will be danger."

"We are willing to stay. There's no need for you to worry." Old Zhao was very stubborn and refused to leave.

Zhou Wen couldn't be bothered to say anything else as he headed for the garden.

I hope Gaiman and company are fine. When Zhou Wen rushed to the garden, Gaiman and company had already entered without waiting for Zhou Wen to return.

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Chapter 1023: Something Happens Again

Translator: CKtalon

Zhou Wen passed through Witch Castle and arrived at the garden. He saw Gaiman and company standing motionless in the garden as though they were possessed.

What happened? Zhou Wen was alarmed.

Although there was a Shapeshifting Beast in the garden, with Gaiman and company's abilities, it wouldn't be easy for the Shapeshifting Beast to kill them. He had only taken about ten minutes to take Wang Lu out and return.

Zhou Wen didn't believe that Gaiman, Lance, and company had been tricked by the Shapeshifting Beast in such a short period.

Furthermore, Gaiman and company were only standing in the garden. There were no wounds on their bodies, and there were no signs of battle around them. It didn't look like a battle had just happened.

However, Gaiman and company stood there motionless like statues.

Zhou Wen looked towards the center of the garden, where Gaiman and company were facing.

There's no tree... Zhou Wen was immediately alarmed.

The other parts of the garden looked identical to the ones in-game, but there was no tree in the middle.

There was a grave at the spot where the tree was supposed to be. In front of the grave was a tombstone, and on the tombstone was a strange mask.

The mask was like a ghoul, but it looked a little like a clown. It was strange and comical, different from any mask Zhou Wen had seen before.

Gaiman, Lance, and company stared intently at the mask on the tombstone. They didn't even blink. Their breathing seemed to have stopped.

There's really a grave and mask. Frod wasn't lying. Zhou Wen sized up the mask. He activated Truth Listener and the Heaven-Opening Scripture to their limits.

However, as he watched, he realized that he couldn't move his gaze away from the mask.

The eye sockets of the mask seemed to be two black holes that wanted to suck away Zhou Wen's soul.

Not good! Zhou Wen was alarmed. His first reaction was to summon Demonic Neonate, but he realized that he couldn't even summon his Companion Beast.

It was as if there was some mysterious force blocking his thoughts, preventing him from contacting his Companion Beasts.

Damn it, what's going on? Zhou Wen didn't have time to be shocked and angry. He first attempted to switch Essence Energy Arts. They could be used, but his body still couldn't move.

Regardless of which Life Soul or Life Providence he used, his gaze was firmly fixated on the mask, and his body couldn't move.

It's over! Zhou Wen became disheartened.

Now, there was really nothing he could do.

Zhou Wen was only glad that he had forcefully sent Wang Lu out. Otherwise, she would have died here as well.

He switched his Life Soul to the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder. The garden had an hour limit. By only being able to stand there immobile, he would definitely die once the hour was up without the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder.

Even with the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder, Zhou Wen didn't know how long he could live.

He didn't believe that the mask only mesmerized people into standing there. It definitely had other abilities. It might even eat people.

I can still last for a period of time with the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder, but Lance and company don't have it. If they can't leave this place within an hour, I'm afraid they'll die immediately. Zhou Wen estimated that there was only about forty minutes left until the hour limit in the garden.

What can I do? Countless thoughts flashed through Zhou Wen's mind, but he couldn't think of a solution.

He couldn't move his body or contact his Companion Beast. Although he could use his Essence Energy Arts, they weren't enough to free him from the strange power of the mask.

As time ticked by, cold sweat broke out on Zhou Wen's forehead. As the hour was getting closer, he still couldn't think of a way to save Lance and company.

Knock! Knock!

Suddenly, Zhou Wen heard a strange sound coming from the grave. It was a very dull knocking sound.

He kept hearing the sound because the Truth Listener earring had been on his ear the entire time. Its ability was still working, allowing Zhou Wen to hear that the sound came from the grave.

The soil above the grave trembled and with a dull sound, the pile of soil rose as though something was about to drill out.

I knew it. Something happens every time I enter a dimensional zone in real life. Will I be eaten by the dead this time? Zhou Wen was extremely depressed.

He wasn't afraid because there were no such things as supernatural beings in this era. All of them were dimensional creatures. Since ghosts and gods were dimensional creatures, what was there to be afraid of?

Knock! Knock!

The sound from the grave continued to sound, becoming clearer and clearer. It was no longer as dull as before.

Soon, Zhou Wen realized that in the grave, a strange box appeared as though some force was pushing it from beneath.

That's a coffin? The coffins Zhou Wen had seen in the past were squarish, but the style of this coffin was somewhat strange. It was a hexagon.

Knock! Knock!

The sound came again, and the coffin trembled with the sound. Now, it was certain that the sound came from inside the coffin. It looked like something was about to rush out.

Clang!

Just as Zhou Wen was thinking about it, he suddenly heard a loud bang. The coffin lid flew up and Zhou Wen saw a hand reach out from the coffin and grab the edge of the coffin.

It was a pale hand with slender fingers, but it was very thin as though it was malnourished.

The fingernails weren't long, but they showed a strange jade color. They didn't look like normal cuticles.

Soon, another hand extended out. A pair of hands pressed down on the sides of the coffin. It looked like it was using a lot of strength. Even the tendons on the back of the hands protruded.

Then, Zhou Wen saw a head slowly rise up.

Long hair covered his face, making it impossible to see what he looked like. From his figure, he should be a man.

The man stood up from the coffin. His figure was about the same as Zhou Wen's. He might be slightly taller, but not much taller.

From its appearance, it was actually a human.

It's impossible for it to be a human. Why would a human sleep in such a place? As Zhou Wen was pondering, the person pulled back his hair with both hands, revealing his face.

The moment he saw the face, Zhou Wen was so surprised that he nearly escaped the mask's control. This was because the face looked identical to Lance's.

Zhou Wen used Truth Listener to observe his figure again and realized that his figure was identical to Lance's. It was as though he was carved from the same mold.

However, he was thinner than Lance and looked a little malnourished.

He can't be Lance, so who is he? Zhou Wen was very sure that he wasn't Lance because Lance was just like him, standing there in a daze.

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Chapter 1024: Masked Man

Translator: CKtalon

After the person came out of the grave, he looked no different from a living person. With Truth Listener's ability, it was impossible to tell if he was human.

Crack!

The tombstone shattered. The mask embedded in the tombstone floated up and floated in front of the man.

The man glanced at the mask and muttered to himself, "Is it finally starting again?"

With that said, he picked up the mask and slowly placed it on his face. The strange mask stuck to his face as though it had fused with it.

It didn't look like he was wearing a mask. Instead, it looked like the mask had grown on his face. It was an extremely strange feeling.

After the man put on the mask, Zhou Wen immediately felt his body regain its freedom. It was the same for Lance and the others.

"I'll ask, and you answer. Now, you can speak. The rules here won't kill you because you speak," the masked man said calmly.

"Who... Who are you?" Lance stared at the masked man and asked.

Although he couldn't move previously, he clearly had the ability to observe the masked man's face. He was more puzzled than anyone else why the masked man's appearance was identical to his.

The masked man didn't answer his question and instead asked, "Are you a descendant of Frod?"

"That's right. We are all Frod's descendants. Who are you, Sir?" Gaiman asked the masked man.

"None of you are. Only he is." The masked man slowly raised his hand and pointed at Lance with his index finger.

"Sir, what do you mean?" Lance stared intently at the masked man and asked.

"Frod has an agreement with me. He will give me his descendant, and you are his descendant," the masked man said.

Although his words were odd, Zhou Wen believed them a little. This was because Lance shouldn't have been part of this operation.

Lance had never contracted a Mythical Companion Beast before, and he had just been injured. Furthermore, with his special identity, he shouldn't have come here to take the risk.

However, Frod had made Lance participate in this operation. For this, he had specially contracted a Mythical Companion Beast for him.

Zhou Wen originally imagined that it was because Frod wanted to train Lance and give him more experience that he was allowed to carry out this mission.

From the looks of it, it wasn't that simple. Perhaps the masked man's words were true.

"What are you talking about? There's no such thing. We are all Frod's blood relatives. Even if he really has a deal with you, it shouldn't be Lance." Gaiman shielded Lance behind him, but his expression was somewhat odd.

Although Gaiman's words were firm, he was just as suspicious as Zhou Wen.

"No, you aren't. The bloodline in you is only Frod's bloodline as a human. That means nothing to me. Only he has the bloodline of the non-human Frod—the body I need," the masked man said.

"Nonsense. He's my grandson, and I'm Frod's son. In terms of bloodline, I'm naturally closer to Frod. Who are you? Why are you making up these lies?" Gaiman summoned his Companion Beasts and gestured for Lance and company to retreat out of the garden.

"The bloodline I'm talking about might be a little different from what you understand, but it doesn't matter. From the looks of it, Frod doesn't plan on offering him to me," the masked man said as his gaze shifted to Zhou Wen. "From the looks of it, he prepared a better body for me in order to redeem the one of his bloodline."

When the masked man first spoke, Zhou Wen realized that he might have been scammed by Frod. Now that he heard the masked man say that, he no longer had any doubts. He had indeed been scammed.

"Who are you?" Lance stared at the masked man and asked again.

The masked man answered unhurriedly, "I'm not a human. I'm a Guardian, the Guardian of the Maze of Lies."

"How is that possible? You are a human. Besides, the Guardian of the Maze of Lies has already been killed." Lance naturally didn't believe it.

The mask on the masked man's face was like a human's face. He revealed a somewhat evil expression. "I only said that I'm the Guardian of the Maze of Lies, but I didn't say that I'm the current Guardian."

"You aren't wrong to say that I'm human. This is because only by fusing with a human's body can I obtain the possibility of growth in this world. However, contracting a human is too troublesome. I still need to take care of the weak human. I hate trouble, so I chose to fuse with a human's body and wield everything at my control," said the masked man.

Zhou Wen immediately understood that the masked man was the opposite of Wang Mingyuan. Wang Mingyuan had fused a Guardian with his human body.

As for the masked man, he had absorbed a human with a Guardian's body. The foundation was the same, but things were reversed.

"Are you a Guardian from the last Guardian battle?" Zhou Wen interjected.

"Sort of." The masked man continued, "Although fusing with a human's body allowed me to escape the restrictions of this world's powers on aliens, I had no choice but to face another problem. A human's body is different from a Guardian's. A Guardian's body won't age, but a human's body will age and die. I didn't want to die, so I had to change my body before I aged. Therefore, I made an agreement with Frod. I helped him obtain what he wanted. And in return, he will offer a child of his bloodline to me for my new body. According to the agreement, you have finally arrived in front of me."

With that said, the masked man's gaze looked at Lance before landing on Zhou Wen, not moving it away again. "Frod has put in a lot of effort. His bloodline was originally the most suitable for me, but I never expected such a body to exist among humans. I'll accept his painstaking effort. Go back and tell Frod that I'll take this body. The agreement between us is over."

Lance, who was retreating, stopped when he heard that. He stared at the masked man and said, "Ignoring the fact I don't believe such a thing exists, even if it does, this matter has nothing to do with others. This is an agreement between you and our family. Don't implicate others."

The masked man laughed when he heard that. "Are you going to destroy Frod's hard work? In order to save you, he invited so many people in, hoping that I would choose another body. This is your only chance of survival. If I don't choose him, you will definitely die."

"Lance, let's go." Gaiman pulled Lance back.

However, Lance suddenly summoned his Companion Beast. Wearing his Companion Beast armor, he threw a punch at the masked man. "Then give it a try and see if you can snatch my body."

Gaiman was alarmed. It was too late to stop him, so he could only cooperate with Lance in an attack.

Gemar and the other two members of the Ultimate Family Clan also attacked. Their Mythical Companion Beasts mostly had freezing abilities. All sorts of freezing beams blasted at the masked man.

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Chapter 1025: Clue

Translator: CKtalon

However, the freezing beams passed through the man's body as though his body was an illusion. They didn't do a thing.

"It's useless. Your strength is too weak. You don't have the right to touch me." The masked man watched as Lance's fist and person passed through his body. He stood there and continued, "If it wasn't because this body is too old, you wouldn't even have the right to see me."

As he spoke, the masked man's eyes focused. Just like before, Lance, Gaiman, and company immediately recovered their dazed states and were completely unable to move.

"Seeing that Frod did a good job, I'll forgive your rudeness this time, but don't do it again." After the masked man said that, Lance and company immediately regained their freedom.

"This is your deal with our family. If you want a body, take mine. Don't implicate others," said Lance.

"Lance..." Gaiman wanted to drag Lance away, but Lance dodged him.

"Are you really willing to let me take away your body? Do you know that although your body can continue living, your consciousness will be completely wiped away? I don't need your consciousness," the masked man asked Lance with interest.

"I'll settle my own matters. There's no need for others to replace me. It won't be that easy for you to occupy my body," Lance said calmly.

"From the looks of it, humans nowadays seem to have more backbone than before. Unfortunately, I've already changed my mind. I want his body, and your body is already useless to me. I won't change my mind. It's up to you whether you leave or stay, but I want his body," the masked man said as he looked at Zhou Wen.

"Sorry, I didn't know this would happen," Lance said to Zhou Wen.

"It's fine. It's not your fault." Zhou Wen shook his head slightly.

He was already used to being in the middle of a conspiracy. If a person didn't have any wealth, even if he appeared in front of an evil person, the evil person wouldn't scheme against him. That was because there was no profit to be had.

However, if a person had a huge treasure, no matter how far they hid, there would still be people targeting them. This was probably the reason why it was said that a man's wealth was his own ruin.

As Zhou Wen's abilities became stronger, no matter how much he restrained himself, people would still target him. It was inevitable.

Of course, Zhou Wen could accept it, but it didn't mean that he would forgive Frod.

"Since my life should have ended here, I'll still stay behind. Even if we really go to hell, we probably won't be lonely," said Lance.

"I don't care if you want to go to hell, but I haven't lived enough. I still want to live a few more years." As Zhou Wen spoke, his figure suddenly vanished. He used teleportation and headed for the exit of the garden.

However, Zhou Wen soon realized that the garden's door had vanished. There was nothing beyond the garden. There was no way out.

"Only people with my permission can walk out of here," the masked man said with a smile.

"Then, can I leave after killing you?" Zhou Wen asked bluntly.

The masked man laughed. "Of course, you can kill me and leave this place. Unfortunately, even the strongest human is as insignificant as an ant in front of me."

"How would I know if I don't try?" Zhou Wen continued pulling out the Bamboo Blade.

"I'll fight with you," Lance said as he leaned over.

"Alright, I'll attack the top while you attack the bottom," Zhou Wen said.

"Alright." Lance rushed over.

Zhou Wen was behind him, but he struck the back of Lance's head, knocking him unconscious.

"Take him back. Don't get in the way here." Zhou Wen carried Lance and threw him at Gaiman.

Gaiman hurriedly caught Lance and looked at Zhou Wen with a complicated expression. "Our family has let you down. I never expected you... Tell me whatever wish you have. As long as I can do it, I'll definitely help you."

Gaiman didn't know, but no matter who it was, it would be impossible for them to be as carefree as Zhou Wen. He had even taken Lance into consideration and wanted to send him out.

"Don't thank me. I'm a person who distinguishes kindness and hatred clearly. This matter has nothing to do with Lance. He doesn't need to die with me, but go back and tell Frod that I'll definitely take back what he owes me," Zhou Wen said.

Gaiman didn't say anything else as he bowed deeply at Zhou Wen before leaving the garden with Lance.

From his point of view, it was impossible for Zhou Wen to leave alive. In front of the masked man who was as invincible as a god, they didn't even have the ability to resist. All that awaited them was death.

I wonder if Demonic Neonate is a match for the masked man? However, at this point in time, I can only give it a try. However, I don't think there's a big problem. I can't even see Demonic Neonate's Terror form, but I can at least see this masked man. Zhou Wen closed his eyes, preventing his gaze from coming into contact with the mask, hoping to prevent his body from being unable to move.

"It's useless to close your eyes. The influence of this mask doesn't target your eyes, but your soul," the masked man said with interest.

He looked at Zhou Wen as though he was looking at a new car or house. He was filled with curiosity, but he didn't treat Zhou Wen as a person.

Zhou Wen still didn't open his eyes and after some thought he said, "Can I ask you a few questions?"

"On account that you are about to donate your body to me, I can try my best to answer you." The masked man wasn't in a rush to take action, as though he was waiting for something.

"You participated in the last Guardian battle. Then, can you tell me what the Guardians are looking for?" Zhou Wen wanted to take the opportunity to pry into some secrets.

Many powerful creatures in the dimension wanted something from Earth, but up to now, Zhou Wen still didn't know what they wanted.

"If you ask the other Guardians this question, even if you ask 99 of them, I'm afraid none of them will know. However, you are asking the right Guardian by asking me. I'm the only Guardian among a hundred who knows." The masked man's answer delighted Zhou Wen.

"What is it?" Zhou Wen pressed.

"I don't know what it is," the masked man answered.

The corners of Zhou Wen's eyes twitched as he had the urge to slap him.

The masked man seemed to appreciate Zhou Wen's expression as he said with a faint smile, "Of course I wouldn't know. This is because even the big shots of the dimensional races don't know what they are looking for. However, there's a clue. There aren't many Guardians who know this clue, and I'm one of them."

"What clue?" Zhou Wen pressed.

"Companion Beast, the strongest Companion Beast," said the masked man.

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Chapter 1026: Time's Up

Translator: CKtalon

"Companion Beasts? Aren't dimensional creatures unable to use Companion Beasts? Why do they need them?" Zhou Wen was puzzled.

"Who told you that dimensional creatures can't use Companion Beasts?" The masked man curled his lips and said, "They just can't use Earth's Companion Beasts. In dimensional zones, there are many powerful Companion Beasts, but they are just a little different from Earth's Companion Beasts. Furthermore, they are far stronger than Earth's Companion Beasts."

"Since dimensional Companion Beasts are stronger than Earth's Companion Beasts, why are they searching for a Companion Beast on Earth?" Zhou Wen was even more puzzled.

"This world is unique so no dimensional creature can understand it." The masked man pondered for a moment before continuing, "In any dimension, creating something out of nothing is impossible. Even in theory, it's impossible to do such a thing. However, humans have done it on Earth."

"Humans can create something out of nothing? Why don't I know?" Zhou Wen thought for a moment. There didn't seem to be such powerful technology on Earth.

"Yes, every human can do it." The masked man smiled at Zhou Wen. "You can do it too."

"What's that?" Zhou Wen still couldn't figure out how he could make something out of nothing.

The masked man raised a hand and pressed it against his head with his finger. "It's the imagination of the brain. In the dimension, there's no such thing as ghosts and gods. Only Earth has those imaginary entities. Isn't that creating something out of nothing? What's even stranger is that the ghosts and gods in human imagination can actually result in the appearance of the corresponding creatures in the dimension. It is a mystery that has yet to be explained."

"The saying of ghosts and gods originated from humans' fear of nature. It's just that humans have a richer imagination. Perhaps it doesn't mean anything. Or perhaps, it's the dimensional creatures that descended to Earth in the past. Humans saw them and treated them as ghosts and gods, so they had their legends. It's not strange to find the corresponding creatures in a dimension," Zhou Wen said.

"No, that's not the case. In fact, you don't know that outside this world, there's another area between this world and the dimension. That area gives birth to many dimensional creatures. The dimensional creatures in Earth's dimensional zones come from there, not from the dimension."

The masked man continued, "What's even stranger is that some powerful dimensional creatures once spent a lot of energy and effort to study the region where dimensional creatures were born. They discovered something very strange."

"What was that?" Zhou Wen naturally knew of such a place. Not only did he know about it, but he had also been there.

"The dimensional creatures born there are highly compatible with the creatures you humans imagine. Furthermore, the dimensional creatures that originally didn't exist there were actually born there after you humans used your imagination to create them."

"How are you sure that dimensional creatures were born after humans used their imagination to create them? Perhaps humans have long imagined them, but you didn't discover them in the past." Zhou Wen attempted an analysis.

"This isn't difficult to prove. This is because a thousand years ago, humans didn't have firearms, and the dimensional creatures born in that area didn't have firearms. When something like a pistol appeared among you humans, dimensional creatures were actually produced that wielded pistol-like weapons. Although there were very few of them and they were very rare, this is a concrete fact."

"Really?" Zhou Wen was somewhat surprised.

"I don't know if there are many instances of this in the modern world, but before I fell asleep, such a situation had already happened." The masked man continued, "There are still many strange things about Earth. For example, even powerful existences at the Apocalypse grade will have their strength weakened to the level of ordinary Mythical creatures when they descend upon this world. Another example is that only human bodies can break through to a level above the Terror grade in this world. These are all very unscientific. In theory, this world is a low-level world relative to the dimension. Low-level creatures have no way of limiting high-level creatures. Even if they can't withstand the descent of high-level creatures, they can only be destroyed by high-level forces, not restrict high-level creatures. However, until I fell asleep, no expert has been able to break the rules of this world. What does that say?"

"It means that Earth isn't a low-level world? It could be higher than the dimension?" Zhou Wen asked.

"That's right. The dimensional experts also had such considerations, but if this world is a high-level world, there will definitely be high-level lifeforms. However, there aren't such lifeforms on Earth. And other than Earth, there aren't any lifeforms on other planets. Therefore, those big shots want to find the answer." The masked man revealed a strange smile.

The smile sent a chill down Zhou Wen's spine as he had an ominous feeling.

"Have they found the answer?" Zhou Wen asked nervously.

"Almost. According to their speculations, this world might give birth to a very powerful Companion Beast. As for you humans and the other dimensional creatures, you are just companion creatures of that Companion Beast," the masked man said with a smile.

When Zhou Wen heard that, he frowned and asked, "Why would it be giving birth to a Companion Beast instead of a dimensional creatures"

"I don't know about that. You have to ask the big shots of the dimension. These ideas were speculated by them. Furthermore, they guessed that once the Companion Beast appeared, this world would be destroyed," the masked man continued.

"Why?" Zhou Wen was even more puzzled.

"I don't know either, because I only heard the news, but didn't know their inference process. However, this matter has already reached the consensus of the various races in the dimension. They are vying for control of this place because they want to find that Companion Beast and take it for themselves. Once that Companion Beast is found, this world will be doomed." The masked man looked up into the sky and said, "Times up. You should be on your way. I hope you had a good time before you died. After all, I don't wish for this body I'm using to have any unpleasant memories."

"What do you mean time's up?" Zhou Wen asked the masked man.

"Time of death." The masked man didn't look at Zhou Wen. He continued looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, waiting for the moment Zhou Wen died.

However, as time ticked by, Zhou Wen remained standing there without any changes. He didn't show any signs of dying. As for the masked man, his neck seemed to ache as his expression stiffened.

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Chapter 1027: Battle of Terror Creatures

Translator: CKtalon

Zhou Wen knew what the masked man meant when he said the time was up. He had already been in the garden for an hour. Under normal circumstances, he would have been killed by the garden's one-hour time limit.

Although Zhou Wen didn't know how he would die in reality, the masked man only wanted his body. A complete corpse was most suitable.

Unfortunately, Zhou Wen had the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder, so the time limit here couldn't kill him.

The masked man looked cool by looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, but after a while, he couldn't maintain it.

"You actually have the ability to restrain taboo powers. How surprising. This is a very rare attribute. I'm increasingly satisfied with your body," the masked man said.

"Thank you for your affirmation of my body, but I'm sorry. I also find this body pretty good. I have no intention of giving it away." As Zhou Wen spoke, he suddenly summoned the Invisibility Cloak and put it on. At the same time, he released the ice maiden in the Chaos Bead.

Demonic Neonate was also summoned by Zhou Wen. He hugged her and quickly retreated.

As he had to maintain the Heaven-Opening Scripture state to prevent himself from being killed by the taboo powers here, Zhou Wen couldn't teleport.

The ice maiden had been trapped in the Chaos Bead for days. She was already gnashing her teeth in hatred. Now that she was suddenly released, she immediately felt a strange force descend on her, oppressing her body and strength.

Sweeping her gaze, the ice maiden immediately understood something. She summoned the ice castle and used its power to provide herself protection, preventing her Terror-grade powers from being directly weakened by Earth.

The ice castle fell and immediately smashed the garden.

When the masked man saw Zhou Wen suddenly vanish only to have the ice maiden and the ice castle instantly appear and flatten the garden, he imagined that the ice maiden was Zhou Wen's helper.

The masked man's eyes turned cold. The eye sockets of the mask seemed to have a strange magical power that attracted the ice maiden's soul.

The ice maiden's gaze involuntarily looked into the masked man's eyes. However, she knew that this wasn't her wish.

The ice maiden was alarmed as well. She imagined that the masked man had been sent by Zhou Wen to kill her, so she immediately entered her Terror form. Her entire body turned into an ice crystal as a terrifying cold wave emitted from her. Instantly, the entire garden turned into a world of ice and snow, freezing the masked man in ice.

"How dare you show off your ice-elemental Terror powers in front of me?" The masked man's cold voice sounded from the ice. Cracks appeared on the ice as it quickly shattered.

In the next moment, the masked man's figure vanished.

The ice maiden immediately erected an ice barrier to protect her body. As for the terrifying invisible blades, they crisscrossed and slashed at the ice barrier, quickly shattering it.

The masked man's mask kept appearing in her mind, making her have the desire to look at it.

The ice maiden was alarmed. The masked man's strength was terrifying, exceeding her expectations. She never expected Zhou Wen to find such a terrifying figure to deal with her.

Without any hesitation, the ice maiden took out the Heaven Shrouding Bell from the ice castle and shook it in her hand.

The hidden masked man revealed himself due to the Heaven Shrouding Bell's sound. He staggered a few steps and revealed a solemn expression.

A strange gray light suffused the mask, making his face look even more ferocious.

Zhou Wen couldn't rush out of the garden and could only hide far away. However, the Invisibility Cloak only had three minutes. After three minutes, the masked man and the ice maiden would be able to find him.

"Little Neonate, find an opportunity to kill that fellow with the mask now." Zhou Wen used his mind to communicate with Demonic Neonate.

Demonic Neonate remained motionless in his arms. She also felt that the masked man wasn't easy to deal with, so she had to wait for an opportunity.

During the ice maiden and the masked man's fight, the Heaven Shrouding Bell and the mask emitted strange powers. Zhou Wen only saw flashes of light, preventing him from seeing their battle clearly.

This situation was similar to the situation after Zhou Wen entered the dimension. He could only use Truth Listener and could vaguely hear the battle situation.

The Heaven Shrouding Bell was very powerful, but the ice maiden's strength seemed to be lacking. After shaking the Heaven Shrouding Bell twice and failing to kill the masked man, her strength began to weaken.

As for the masked man's strength, it showed no signs of weakening.

Is the masked man that strong? Zhou Wen was alarmed.

He originally imagined that the ice maiden was a dimensional creature and should be sufficiently powerful. He never expected her to fail to suppress the masked man with the Heaven Shrouding Bell.

"Although the Heaven Shrouding Bell is very strong, you are too weak. You are unable to truly use its might. It's best you give it to me and I'll spare your life." The masked man actually had the intention of snatching the Heaven Shrouding Bell.

The gray light on the mask intensified as though there was an endless abyss in its eye sockets.

The ice maiden's mind was gradually attracted by it. She could barely restrain her desire to look at the mask.

The ice maiden clearly saw that the masked man had the bloodline of a human and a Guardian as she said coldly, "How dare a hybrid scum have designs on the Heaven Shrouding Bell?"

"As an ice demon, you might not have any noble bloodline. At the very least, my strength is above yours. If I want you to live, you will live. If I want you to die, you will die." The masked man swam through the world of ice like a phantom. When the ice maiden's frost power struck him, it only hit an illusion.

The ice maiden's eyes became less and less resolute.

"If you hand over the Heaven Shrouding Bell now, you still have a chance of survival." The masked man's figure appeared on the ice surface as though he had appeared in a mirror.

The ice maiden's gaze began to uncontrollably look at the masked man's figure on the ice surface. Her frost powers also began to weaken.

Ice Maiden is not going to make it... Zhou Wen couldn't help but worry when he saw that Demonic Neonate hadn't taken action. This was because his three minutes of invisibility was almost up.

At that moment, an ice beam erupted from the ice maiden's body. An ice crystal crown formed above her head. Her figure became increasingly transparent, almost invisible.

At the same time, the ice maiden shook the Heaven Shrouding Bell in her hand.

"Ice Demon Monarch's bloodline?" The masked man wore a look of surprise. Just as he finished speaking, everything in the garden was shattered by the Heaven Shrouding Bell's power.

The masked man, who was the first to bear the brunt of the impact, slid backward in the garden before slamming into the garden's wall. The wall collapsed and he was buried inside.

After this strike, the ice maiden's body immediately entered a weakened state. She was unable to maintain her Terror form and she returned to her normal appearance.

However, there was no joy on the ice maiden's face. The masked man slowly stood up amidst the rubble of the collapsed wall.

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Chapter 1028: Ice Maiden's Disbelief

Translator: CKtalon

The masked man's face looked intact, but his clothes were tattered like a beggar's.

However, from the torn parts of his clothes, one could see that his skin was crystalline like jade. There were some strange red spots that quickly vanished.

"From the looks of it, my body has really aged. If I were at my peak, such strength wouldn't even be able to damage my clothes. I actually suffered injuries. A human's body is indeed too weak..." The masked man walked out step by step. The mask on his face seemed to be enveloped by a mysterious fog as it emitted a terrifying aura.

He was like a devil that had walked out of hell. Even the ice maiden's expression changed.

The ice maiden stared at the masked man and asked through gritted teeth, "You have an S-grade Terror form?"

"As expected of the Ice Demon Monarch's descendant. You do have some keen eyesight. If it wasn't for my body being too old, your strength wouldn't have been able to injure me," the masked man said indifferently, but he still walked towards the ice maiden step by step. The closer he was to the ice maiden, the more her eyes couldn't leave the mask.

"Ice Maiden, give me the Heaven Shrouding Bell." Zhou Wen suddenly appeared not far from the ice maiden. Three minutes of invisibility had passed, and he couldn't hide his body any longer.

When the ice maiden heard Zhou Wen's voice, the hate for him exceeded the influence the mask had on her. She subconsciously turned to look at Zhou Wen and raised the Heaven Shrouding Bell in her hand.

She meant to use the Heaven Shrouding Bell against Zhou Wen, but in the masked man's eyes, it was as though she was obediently giving the Heaven Shrouding Bell to Zhou Wen.

The masked man instantly arrived in front of the ice maiden and reached out to grab the Heaven Shrouding Bell. Before the ice maiden could react, he had already grabbed the Heaven Shrouding Bell.

The ice maiden wanted to resist, but her strength was ultimately inferior to the masked man. The masked man forcefully snatched away the Heaven Shrouding Bell.

At the instant the masked man succeeded, his expression changed drastically. In her Terror form, Demonic Neonate had appeared above him with the demonic sword in hand. It slashed at the mask.

Crack!

The mask was split apart by the demonic sword, leaving a crack in the middle.

Pfft!

Blood spewed out of the masked man's mouth as he was sent flying. The Heaven Shrouding Bell he had just snatched was snatched back by Demonic Neonate.

Demonic Neonate held the Heaven Shrouding Bell in one hand and the demonic sword in the other as she charged at the masked man.

Zhou Wen couldn't see her figure at all, but he could see the mask on the masked man's face being slashed open. It was about to shatter.

Crack!

The mask finally couldn't withstand the terrifying destructive force and shattered into pieces. The masked man's face, that was extremely similar to Lance, was revealed again.

However, his face was devoid of color. Instead, blood spewed out of his mouth as his body rapidly aged. In the blink of an eye, he went from a young man to a middle-aged man. Then, the wrinkles on his body increased. Soon, he became an old man.

"Companion Beast... A Terror-grade Companion Beast... How is this possible..." The masked man's body slammed into the wall, creating a dent. His body sank in, but his eyes were filled with disbelief as he looked at Demonic Neonate, who had stabbed her sword into his glabella. It was as though he had seen a ghost.

"From the looks of it, you have no use for my body. Do you have anything to say before you die? If you have any unfulfilled wishes and it's not too troublesome, I don't mind helping you," Zhou Wen said to the masked man from afar.

Although the mask had been shattered and the demonic sword had stabbed into his skull, the masked man didn't die immediately. Zhou Wen didn't dare approach him to prevent himself from suffering a counterattack.

The masked man didn't move, but the ice maiden suddenly moved. With a terrifying ice beam, she struck Zhou Wen.

However, just as she moved, a huge creature rushed out from the calabash in Zhou Wen's hand. Seven strange dragon-like tentacles spewed out white liquid that blocked the ice maiden's ice beam. At the same time, it wrapped around her body.

Another Terror-grade! The ice maiden was already speechless from shock.

She already understood that she had been tricked by Zhou Wen and had helped him fight. However, while Demonic Neonate was dealing with the masked man, she believed that it wouldn't be difficult to kill Zhou Wen with all her remaining strength.

However, she never expected Zhou Wen to have another Terror-grade creature on him.

Originally, the Seven Seas Dragon King wasn't the ice maiden's match. Furthermore, the ice element was more effective against the Seven Seas Dragon King. However, the ice maiden had expended too much of her strength, leaving her with less than thirty percent of her combat strength. She was no match for the Seven Seas Dragon King.

Is this really Earth? The ice maiden found it unbelievable. A human actually had a Terror-grade Companion Beast and had a Terror-grade creature loyal to him. It was unimaginable.

Seeing that the ice maiden was restrained, her body was entangled by the Seven Seas Dragon King's tentacles and that she was covered in the white liquid, Zhou Wen finally heaved a sigh of relief.

However, the masked man suddenly laughed strangely. As he laughed, he said crazily, "Interesting. It's really interesting. A mere human actually has a Terror-grade Companion Beast. Furthermore, he can order a Terror creature to do things. This is really interesting. Only such a body is worthy of me, the Bizarre God. I want your body."

"Are you dreaming?" As Zhou Wen spoke, he ordered Demonic Neonate to quickly kill the masked man.

Demonic Neonate pulled out the demonic sword mercilessly as blood and brain matter spewed out from the masked man's head.

Without any hesitation, Demonic Neonate brandished her sword again and cleaved open Bizarre God's head. As for the Grim Demon in the demon sword, he rushed out and opened his mouth in excitement, swallowing Bizarre God's corpse. With a few chomps, it swallowed everything.

After swallowing Bizarre God's corpse, the demonic aura on Grim Demon's body surged. It looked like he was about to evolve.

Demonic Neonate waved her hand and Grim Demon returned to the demonic sword. The demonic sword automatically returned to its scabbard and returned to her hand.

That's a... Guardian... A Companion Beast's Guardian... The ice maiden was already dumbfounded. She couldn't believe what she had seen today and felt like she was dreaming.

An Epic human had a Terror-grade Companion Beasts; yet, this Companion Beast actually had a Guardian. What was this? It was like a fantasy story.

Even in her dreams, the ice maiden had never imagined that something like this would happen.

Is this fellow really human? The ice maiden had already given up struggling and looked at Zhou Wen in a daze. However, no matter how she looked at it, Zhou Wen was only an Epic human.

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Chapter 1029: Day of the Reborn

Translator: CKtalon

Deep underground in Frost City, a white-haired man with a white beard walked out of the ice cavern.

"I've finally had the agreement annulled!" Frod was so excited that he almost roared at the sky.

Although he had obtained what he wanted from the deal with the Bizarre God, he still fell for a trap in the end. His body fused with the ice, turning him into an undead iceman.

Now that Bizarre God had obtained the body he wanted, the agreement was finally completed. Frod had finally regained his freedom.

Suppressing his excitement, Frod walked out of the ice cave immediately. The moment he saw the sky and the sun, he narrowed his eyes. The long-awaited sun made him so excited that he almost cried.

"How many years has it been... How many years has it been... I'm finally back... I, Frod... can finally stand at the peak of the earth again..." Frod suppressed the excitement in his heart and muttered to himself with a trembling voice.

"Father... You... You..." Gaiman couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Frod.

Gaiman had rushed back to Frost City with his men because he wanted to ask Frod about the things he had heard as soon as possible. However, now that he saw Frod had returned to his human form and walked out of the ice cavern, there was no need for further questions. It was obvious that the masked man was right.

"Gaiman, where's Lance? Has he returned?" Frod immediately grabbed Gaiman's arm and asked.

"He's back... That masked man chose Zhou Wen..." Gaiman said with a complicated expression.

He was naturally happy that Lance hadn't died, but Zhou Wen had sacrificed himself as the price. Gaiman wanted to be happy, but he couldn't. Frod's actions were at odds with his beliefs.

"I knew it. I knew that the fellow would choose Zhou Wen. That's good. That's good. Lance is safe, and I've regained my freedom. This is a joyous occasion for our family. Prepare the alcohol. I want to drink..." Frod was even more excited.

Gaiman thought for a moment and sighed. "Father, Zhou Wen said that he's a person who distinguishes kindness and hatred clearly. He will come for you."

Frod laughed. "Come for me? I'm afraid it's going to be in his next life. He has no idea how terrifying that Bizarre God is. Even the most top-notch humans are like ants in front of Bizarre God. Bizarre God only needs a mere thought to kill as many people as he wants. Although Zhou Wen is indeed very strong, he's still far from that level. Or rather, it's a power that humans can't reach.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Go prepare the alcohol. It's been so many years since I've tasted alcohol. Now that I've finally recovered my human form and saved Lance, I have to celebrate today." When Frod thought of the fragrance of the alcohol, he felt a little light-headed as his saliva kept secreting.

After he became an iceman, he no longer had any sense of taste, nor could he eat. Furthermore, he was trapped in the ice cavern. His range of movement was limited to the ice cavern.

Although his family would occasionally visit him, the feeling was still unbearable. It almost drove him crazy.

Frod was an alcoholic. After enduring so many years without alcohol, he only wanted to drink to his heart's content.

As for Zhou Wen, he wasn't part of his considerations. After all, Zhou Wen wasn't his descendant. It didn't matter if he died.

Gaiman sighed inwardly and didn't say anything else. He went to prepare food and drinks for Frod. After all, it was indeed a good thing for the Ultimate Family Clan that Frod had been revived.

Zhou Wen... What a pity... Gaiman shook his head inwardly.

Under those circumstances, Gaiman felt it was a blessing for Lance to have a friend in Zhou Wen. Zhou Wen had saved Lance.

Gaiman ordered people to prepare the best dishes and alcohol for Frod. At the same time, he arranged for the core members of his family to meet him.

As the news of Frod's revival still needed to be kept secret, he couldn't tell all the members of the Ultimate Family Clan. He only wanted a few core members to know about it.

Frod sat in front of the table and watched as all sorts of roasted meat and fish were served. His gastric juices were secreted crazily, almost melting his entire stomach.

"Where's the alcohol? I want alcohol. Quickly bring it over," shouted Frod.

"Coming." Gaiman took out the hard liquor he had kept.

"That's the smell. That's the smell. How many years has it been? I can finally drink again." Frod took the alcohol and immediately opened it to smell it. Even without drinking it, the smell of the alcohol made him so happy that he almost felt inebriated.

"Where's Lance? Why don't I see him?" Just as Frod was about to drink, he suddenly thought of Lance. Lance was the descendant he valued the most. It was only right for him to be present at such a joyous occasion.

"Lance was slightly injured and is resting." Gaiman didn't mention that Lance wasn't willing to leave and wanted to pay back Zhou Wen with his life.

It was rare for Frod to be so happy. Furthermore, Zhou Wen was already dead. It was only a matter of time before Lance got over it. There was no need to make Frod unhappy.

"Are his injuries serious?" Frod asked with a frown.

"It's fine. He'll be fine after resting for half a day," Gaiman said.

"That's good." Frod was already starving when he smelled the fragrance of the roasted meat and alcohol. He couldn't wait any longer. Without any hesitation, he held the bottle and couldn't wait to pour it out. He immediately wanted to drink it.

"Today will be the day I, Frod, am reborn..." Frod was overjoyed, but he suddenly felt the bottle in his hand being pulled away by a huge force. It left his palm open, and he didn't even taste a drop of alcohol.

"Who is it?" Frod was extremely furious. He slammed his palm on the table and glared over.

However, when he looked over, his eyes widened and his pupils constricted. His body suddenly trembled.

Gaiman and company also turned their heads. With a glance, Gaiman exclaimed, "Zhou Wen... You... You aren't dead..."

Zhou Wen held the bottle in Frod's hand as he stood in front of the door with a calm expression.

"Bizarre God... You are Bizarre God, right? From the looks of it, you have been reborn. Congratulations..." Frod stood up and changed to a smile as he bowed at Zhou Wen.

He naturally believed that Zhou Wen's body had been occupied by Bizarre God.

Only then did Gaiman come to a realization. He carefully sized up Zhou Wen and thought to himself that it was a pity.

However, Zhou Wen didn't look at the respectful Frod. He looked at Gaiman and said, "Did you deliver the message I asked you to deliver to Frod?"

"I've already conveyed your words to Father. The agreement between you and him has been completed..." Gaiman said.

"That wasn't what I said," Zhou Wen said.

"That was what you wanted me to..." Gaiman was about to say something when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. Although he couldn't believe that such a thing would happen and believed that it was a delusion, he couldn't help but have one thought when he looked at Zhou Wen.

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Chapter 1030: Frozen Period

Translator: CKtalon

"Bizarre God, if you have anything to say, you can tell me directly now. There's no need to go through another person." Although Frod felt that Bizarre God was somewhat odd and had some doubts, he never expected that Bizarre God hadn't obtained Zhou Wen's body. The person who had returned was the real Zhou Wen.

It wasn't that Frod wasn't sinister and cunning, but that he understood the power of Bizarre God too well. He had long formed the belief that Bizarre God was invincible, making it difficult for him to immediately accept anything else.

"Mr. Gaiman, did you pass on my message to him?" Zhou Wen ignored him and continued speaking to Gaiman.

When Gaiman heard Zhou Wen's tone, he was even more certain of his guess. His voice trembled as he looked at Zhou Wen and said, "You... You are Zhou Wen..."

Frod jolted when he heard Gaiman's words. Before this, he had never thought of such a possibility, but Zhou Wen's tone and demeanor seemed to be different from the Bizarre God he knew.

Impossible. How can a human defeat Bizarre God? It's useless no matter how many Mythical Companion Beasts one has. It's impossible for humans to win... Frod couldn't accept such a possibility deep down.

"If I'm not Zhou Wen, who else can I be?" Zhou Wen said calmly.

Everyone was alarmed when they heard that. Frod's body trembled as he looked at Zhou Wen with a strange look.

"How did you escape?" Frod asked Zhou Wen in surprise. He naturally refused to believe that Zhou Wen could defeat Bizarre God. He only believed that Zhou Wen had used some strange ability to luckily escape the maze.

However, Zhou Wen continued ignoring Frod. He looked at Gaiman and continued asking, "Did you give him the message I asked you to pass on?"

"Yes," Gaiman answered with a strange expression.

"That's good." Zhou Wen nodded and looked straight at Frod. "Frod, since you've received the message, I don't need to say anything else. Do you want to end it yourself, or do you want me to do it?"

Frod's expression darkened as he stared at Zhou Wen and said, "I did let you down regarding this matter, but since you escaped, I can give you some compensation to end this."

"From the looks of it, you want me to do it?" Zhou Wen said to Frod.

"Zhou Wen, this is the Ultimate Family Clan. There's no benefit in fighting me here. You didn't suffer any losses anyway. I can give you a Mythical Companion Egg as compensation. Let's end this matter. This will be beneficial to both you and me," Frod said indifferently.

Zhou Wen pondered and didn't say a word. Frod thought that he was already tempted and continued, "You don't need to pay any price to obtain a Mythical Companion Beast and my friendship. This will be of great help to you in the future..."

"Frod, you sold me out, and even your blood descendant, to Bizarre God to escape the ice cavern, right?" Zhou Wen suddenly interrupted Frod.

Frod's expression turned somewhat nasty, but he still said, "Even if I didn't send someone in, Bizarre God would still rush out of the maze when the time came. When that happened, it would only bring about an even greater disaster."

"In other words, you used me to exchange for a chance to escape from the ice cavern and regain your freedom?" Zhou Wen asked again.

"What are you trying to get at?" Frod was getting impatient.

"I'm a very fair person. Since you used me to exchange for your freedom, I'll take back what belongs to me and send you back into the ice cavern," Zhou Wen said calmly.

"Who do you think you are? You are only a human, not Bizarre God. Apart from gods, no one can defeat me. Not even the Hero King from the past." Frod found it difficult to control his emotions when he heard the words 'ice cavern.'

He had endured the ice cavern for so many years before finally escaping and being restored to a normal person. He hadn't even taken a sip of alcohol. He definitely wouldn't return to such a place.

Frod knew that Zhou Wen was very strong. From his point of view, the fact that Zhou Wen could escape from Bizarre God was a terrifying testament to his abilities.

However, no matter how strong Zhou Wen was, he was only a human. He still had a limit. With his strength and the Ultimate Family Clan's present heritage, there was no need for him to be afraid of Zhou Wen.

He had even secretly decided that even if he had to pay a price, he would kill Zhou Wen here and eliminate this future threat.

"Ice Maiden." Zhou Wen had no intention of wasting his breath on Frod. All he did was call out the ice maiden's name.

At that moment, everyone realized that there was a beautiful young woman standing outside the door. Her face was as cold as ice, as though someone owed her a lot of money.

"Yes, sir." Ice Maiden walked in and bowed at Zhou Wen.

In the Maze of Lies, Ice Maiden had been forced to sign an unfair contract with Zhou Wen. All she could do was obey his orders.

"Throw him into ice, but don't let him die. Don't let him escape either. Furthermore, he has to have his consciousness maintained. Can you do it?" Zhou Wen said.

"Yes," Ice Maiden answered with certainty.

"Then do it. He owes me. Don't you agree, Mr. Gaiman?" Zhou Wen asked Gaiman.

Frod was already enraged. Zhou Wen had a powerful Companion Beast, so he didn't dare underestimate him. It would have been fine if Zhou Wen were to do it himself, but now, Zhou Wen had actually made a servant do it. Furthermore, she was such a young woman. This wasn't contempt, but an insult to him.

"From the looks of it, I have been out of the limelight for too many years. The world has already forgotten how powerful the former hero of ice is," Frod said before Gaiman could answer. At the same time, a terrifying ice aura erupted from his body. He summoned a frost dragon that prostrated under his feet. Its body suffused with an extremely terrifying ice aura.

The Frost Dragon was a top ice-type Mythical Companion Beast. It was perfectly compatible with Frod's ice-elemental Essence Energy. With the mutual augmentation, their strength increased greatly.

"Back then, Bizarre God only turned me into an iceman by using a trick to trigger my own power of ice. It wasn't his power of ice that surpassed mine. I want to see how you will seal me back into ice," Frod said coldly.

Ice Maiden wasn't in the mood to speak to Frod. She glanced at him and shot out an ice beam that instantly landed on Frod and the Frost Dragon.

In an instant, Frod and the Frost Dragon beneath him were frozen into ice sculptures.

The entire process was too fast. It was so fast that Gaiman and company had no time to react. They watched as Frod and the Frost Dragon turned into ice sculptures.

Even Frod himself remained standing there proudly, but his eyes were filled with boundless horror.

How is that possible? A top ice-elemental Mythical creature, Frost Dragon, was frozen into an ice sculpture? Gaiman and the other members of the Ultimate Family Clan knew how powerful the Frost Dragon was.

It wasn't surprising if a Mythical creature defeated Frost Dragon, but to use the power of ice to freeze Frost Dragon was too terrifying.

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Chapter 1031: Time to Collect the Debt

Translator: CKtalon

Who is that woman? She actually has such terrifying ice powers. Could she be the legendary Goddess of Ice? Otherwise, how could she freeze a top ice-type Mythical Companion Beast like the Frost Dragon into an ice sculpture with a single glance... Such a woman is actually Zhou Wen's subordinate... Father... What kind of person did you plot against... Gaiman's heart was filled with bitterness. He wanted to save his father, but he was afraid of bringing disaster to the Ultimate Family Clan.

Even the Frost Dragon had been frozen into ice by the woman's casual glance. If he angered Zhou Wen, Gaiman really didn't know what the outcome would be. However, he knew very well that the outcome wasn't something he could bear. Neither could the entire Ultimate Family Clan bear it.

The few core members of the Ultimate Family Clan present were dumbfounded. They were momentarily at a loss.

If they had reason on their side, they might have had the courage to fight to the death, but now, they couldn't convince themselves.

Zhou Wen looked at the frozen Frod and asked Ice Maiden, "Is it possible for the ice to melt or shatter?"

"His body has already been frozen by me. If someone's strength is stronger than mine, it's possible to melt or shatter the ice. However, in that case, the person inside will also melt or shatter. As long as the ice isn't destroyed, he won't die," Ice Maiden answered.

"Very good." Zhou Wen was very satisfied with this answer. On Earth, it was very difficult to find a creature stronger than Ice Maiden.

Furthermore, even if the person was stronger than Ice Maiden and could shatter the ice, that wasn't sufficient to let Frod live.

"Zhou Wen, on account of Lance and Sadie..." Gaiman knew that it was impossible to use force, so he could only persuade Zhou Wen.

"If it wasn't for them, do you think he would be the only one in the ice?" Zhou Wen looked at Gaiman and cut him off.

Gaiman felt his heart turn cold. He couldn't bring himself to say what he was about to say.

Zhou Wen poured the alcohol from the bottle in his hand in front of Frod's ice sculpture and said indifferently, "Continue living the rest of your life in the ice. I hope you can live a little longer."

With that said, Zhou Wen turned around and left. Ice Maiden followed behind him like a maid.

The top experts of the Ultimate Family Clan were here, but no one dared to stop Zhou Wen. All they could do was watch as they left.

No... Don't leave! Let me out! I beg you, let me out... Bastard... Kill me if you have the guts... Don't leave... I beg you... Let me out... I haven't even taken a sip of the alcohol... Let me out... Frod roared and pleaded inwardly.

In the past, when he had been transformed into an ice statue, he could still move around in the ice cavern, but now, he couldn't even blink. He was like a statue with a will. It was more torturous than killing him. He would rather die than live like this.

Kill me... Kill me... Frod was on the verge of madness, but no one could hear his thoughts.

Gaiman and the others had gathered all the experts in the Ultimate Family Clan who were proficient in ice-elemental powers. They wanted to dispel the ice, but no one was able to melt it.

How could they know that this was Terror-grade frost powers? Unless one reached the Terror-grade, even if they threw the ice into the flames, they wouldn't be able to produce even a drop of water.

Zhou Wen didn't meet Lance, Sadie, and company. He directly contacted Wang Lu, Feng Qiuyan, and Li Xuan and left Frost City with them.

Although Zhou Wen had avenged himself, the other party was, after all, a relative of Lance and Sadie. If he were to meet them under such circumstances, it would only make both parties awkward. It was better not to meet them.

However, Zhou Wen didn't know that a strange change was happening to the unconscious Lance.

A strange force surged out of his brain, causing his body to undergo a strange change.

Bizarre God had previously said that only Lance had Frod's bloodline. This was contradictory and complicated to begin with.

There were many people in the Ultimate Family Clan, and in fact, many of them were directly related to Frod. Lance wasn't very special among them, and he was already three generations from Frod.

Logically speaking, in terms of purity, a first-generation descendant like Gaiman should be closest to Frod's bloodline.

However, Bizarre God's so-called Frod bloodline wasn't determined by such ways. In fact, the human body that Bizarre God had fused with had belonged to Frod.

It just wasn't the present Frod. Instead, it was a genetic replica created by Bizarre God using Frod's genes and humanity's gene technology.

Although he was a genetic clone, through some means of Bizarre God, the genetic clone's body was even more perfect and outstanding than Frod's.

However, such a genetic clone still couldn't meet the requirements of Bizarre God. Therefore, he had done something to Frod and left something in him, waiting for the perfect human body that was truly suitable for him to be born into.

Lance was the perfect human body that Bizarre God had been waiting for. This was why he looked so similar to Bizarre God. Unfortunately, he had chosen Zhou Wen and abandoned his initial plan.

However, Bizarre God had left something behind in Lance's body.

...

Zhou Wen and company headed for the East District. Now, Zhou Wen was roughly certain that he wouldn't be able to evolve the Glimmer Life Soul simply by going to new places.

He planned on returning to buy some necessities for survival in space before teleporting to another planet. This might be the final condition for Glimmer to break through to the Perfect state.

After some thought, Zhou Wen felt that it was likely the case. Otherwise, it wouldn't be realistic for him to advance to a Perfect Body without using Glimmer's interstellar teleportation ability.

After the dimensional storms, space technology had stopped advancing. Although many satellites were launched later, they were basically used for information transmission.

Humans had stopped exploring the universe. It had been a long time since humans had been able to land on the moon, much less Mars.

It wasn't an easy task to obtain space equipment, but with Zhou Wen's present strength, it wasn't too difficult to obtain it.

After Wang Lu's analysis, Zhou Wen decided to make a trip to the Special Investigation Bureau. It was time to collect some payment for the debt. He could also get some spaceflight equipment as interest on the debt.

According to Wang Lu, the Special Investigation Bureau had participated in quite a number of rocket launches. This was because satellites were basically unaffected by the anomalies on Earth. They were very useful for observing various parts of the Earth. Much of the intelligence was obtained through satellite imagery.

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Chapter 1032: Shen Yuchi in a Great Mood

Translator: CKtalon

Shen Yuchi had been in a good mood recently. Although he had suffered heavy losses previously, the bureau was still the eyes and ears of the Federation.

As the anomalies in the Federation intensified, Shen Yuchi made up for a lot of losses using various channels of intelligence.

However, the main reason why Shen Yuchi was in a good mood wasn't because of this, but because of their recent discovery on the Moon.

Although the Earth's anomalies were getting more and more serious and it was detrimental to the development of technology, it wasn't completely without benefits.

The physique of humans had greatly improved. With a powerful Companion Beast, their survivability in space had greatly increased.

Humans with Mythical Companion Beasts equipped with equipment like space suits could do much more in space than before.

However, there were very few people who were willing to develop the space business. Shen Yuchi was one of the more determined ones.

He had always believed that even in this era, technology would one day occupy an important position. In particular, Shen Yuchi had invested a lot in aerospace technology.

Two months ago, humans had landed on the Moon again and made a major discovery.

A dimensional zone was discovered there. Furthermore, a large number of Essence Crystals were discovered in the dimensional zone. Apart from that, they also discovered something very strange. Shen Yuchi felt that this discovery might change the Federation's present situation.

This was because the moon landing operation was mainly pushed by the bureau. Most of the astronauts on the moon were from the bureau, so Shen Yuchi quickly enforced a news blockade.

This will be the underlying reason for the bureau's comeback. We mustn't make any more mistakes. Shen Yuchi thought through the key details again. After confirming that there were no mistakes, he felt relieved and poured himself a cup of tea.

Just as he picked up the teacup, but before it touched his lips, someone reported, "Director-General... We found... found it..."

These words were unclear, but Shen Yuchi was overjoyed when he heard them. He immediately got up and walked out of the office to the main control room of the moon landing project.

"Director-General Shen, we just received a message from the Moon. We've finally found it," an old professor said excitedly.

Shen Yuchi held back his excitement and said, "Establish comms. I want to see that thing."

"Yes." The staff member quickly connected to the communication device on the Moon. Soon, an image of a certain part of the Moon appeared on the big screen.

A few people in space suits were inside a pit on the Moon. In the pit, there were many Essence Crystal ores.

Shen Yuchi's gaze wasn't on the Essence Crystal ores at all. Although the reserves of the Essence Crystal ores here weren't lower than the ones in the bureau, mining and transporting them was a problem. There was no easy solution for the time being.

Even if all of them were dug out, they weren't something that could be transported back in a short period of time.

In comparison, something in the Essence Crystal ore was the focus of Shen Yuchi's gaze.

It was a tree root with a tip as thick as a finger. It twisted and extended all the way into the Essence Crystal ore. The roots were as black as ink, but there were no signs of foulness.

It was clearly black like charcoal, but it gave off a holy feeling.

"That's right. This is it. Dig it out." Shen Yuchi suppressed the excitement in his heart and gave the order.

"Roger that." After the astronaut received the order, he summoned a Companion Beast that looked like a rat but was as large as a bull. It continued digging towards the root.

The Companion Beast was at the Mythical stage. Among all the astronauts, it was only one. It was also because of its existence that these discoveries had been made.

Only Mythical Companion Beasts could survive in ordinary space environments and work normally.

Although some Epic creatures could just about survive, it was very difficult for them to work normally.

In the beginning, Shen Yuchi only wanted to know if there had been any changes to the Moon.

If the Moon hadn't undergone any anomalies, perhaps he could build a base on it to prepare for a large-scale break-out of Earth's dimensional zones in the future.

If the Federation really couldn't hold on, there was still a way out.

With humanity's present physique, as long as they could build a sealed base, it wasn't impossible to live on the moon.

Of course, many resources still needed to be obtained from Earth. That was only a final form of insurance.

In the beginning, they didn't discover any anomalies or dimensional zones on the Moon. Later, when they were exploring and taking samples, they discovered an Essence Crystal mine. That wasn't much to speak off.

While excavating for samples from the Essence Crystal mine, the Mythical Companion Beast dug up something different.

It was a petal. It was white like snow, without any impurities. It was holy like snowflakes.

The petal was like a fossil that was enveloped by the Essence Crystal mine, but it didn't petrify or wither. It remained bustling with vitality.

Discovering Essence Crystal ores on the Moon and some plants was nothing.

However, when the petal wrapped in the Essence Crystal mine was extracted, something shocking happened.

As they didn't know what the petal was, they handled it through a Companion Beast in a sealed environment.

The Companion Beast was a Legendary Nature Elf. Although the level of a Nature Elf wasn't high, its appearance was similar to a human's. It could do precision work, so there were many similar Companion Beasts in a typical laboratory.

The moment the Nature Elf touched the petal, the petal melted and was absorbed by the Nature Elf. In a few hours, the Nature Elf advanced to the Epic stage.

This discovery shocked everyone.

Shen Yuchi immediately ordered a news blockade and continued digging the Essence Crystal mine.

Indeed, they dug up a few more petals and carried out some experiments. The results of the experiments confirmed that these petals could indeed advance a Companion Beast.

With just one piece, a Companion Beast could easily advance to the Epic stage.

However, as there were too few petals, there was no way to test if the petals could advance an Epic Companion Beast to the Mythical stage.

They did some simple research on this petal and realized that it resembled the petals of an osmanthus, an evergreen tree. However, it was unknown why such petals existed on the Moon.

Shen Yuchi and many people from the East District immediately thought of a legend of the East District. In that legend, there was indeed an osmanthus tree on the moon.

In order to determine if there was really such an osmanthus tree, the Mythical Companion Beast had been diligently digging over the past few days. It had finally found something.

Just a petal is already so magical. Then what about a tree? Just the thought left Shen Yuchi's heart beating especially fast.

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Chapter 1033: Osmanthus Tree

Translator: CKtalon

More and more black roots were dug out. They were already more than two meters long, but there was still no end to them.

This made Shen Yuchi excited and nervous. He originally thought that he had dug up a broken root, but now, it looked like they had really dug up the osmanthus tree.

However, there was something that caught Shen Yuchi's attention. When the Mythical Companion Beast was digging, it would occasionally come into contact with the roots. However, the roots weren't absorbed like the flower petals, nor did anything strange happen.

Could it be that only the flower petals have a magical effect? Shen Yuchi was somewhat worried. If only the flower petals had an effect, how many flower petals were on the buried osmanthus tree?

However, everything was still unknown. He had no way of confirming that the osmanthus tree was useless. He didn't know how many petals there were, so he could only continue waiting for the outcome.

A professor wanted an astronaut to cut off a portion of the roots and conduct a simple test in the space station, but even the Mythical Companion Beast couldn't damage the roots at all.

The result was the same when using high-tech cutting equipment. The hardness of the roots far exceeded any known matter.

This outcome alarmed everyone, including Shen Yuchi. After all, a Mythical Companion Beast couldn't even damage it at all. What kind of existence was that tree? It was truly shocking.

Now that there was no other way; they could only continue digging. More and more roots were dug out, and the crisscrossing was very complicated. It looked like they had really dug up the osmanthus tree.

During the excavation, they dug up quite a number of petals. Apart from a small number used for experiments and research, most of them were stored away.

As he saw more and more petals gathered, Shen Yuchi hated the fact that he couldn't be on the Moon himself. He wanted to be a miner and dig up all the petals.

Such petals could bring immeasurable wealth to the bureau. Even if they couldn't be used to advance an Epic creature to the Mythical stage, the ability to advance a Legendary to the Epic stage was enough to create unimaginable wealth.

After some research, they realized that repeated usage of the petals on the same Companion Beast had reduced effects. Different Companion Beasts underwent different levels of evolution using the same petal.

Epic Companion Beasts would have their stats enhanced to a certain extent—something which could be seen from the experiments.

The Mythical Companion Beast kept digging. After a period of time, it finally dug to the trunk of the osmanthus tree. The trunk was also pitch-black like ink. Based on what had already been dug out, it was probably more than ten meters in diameter.

A giant tree with a diameter of more than ten meters. When it's in full bloom, how many osmanthus flowers will it produce? Everyone was pleasantly surprised when they saw the tree's size.

Even if only one-thousandth of the flowers produced by the osmanthus tree was preserved, it was still an unimaginable number.

They impatiently ordered the Mythical Companion Beast to continue digging, but not long after, they realized that the tree trunk had reached its end.

"That's all... How can there be nothing..." Shen Yuchi's expression was somewhat ugly.

From the communication video, one could see that the huge osmanthus tree was in fact only a stump. The parts above seemed to have vanished.

The Companion Beast continued digging in the vicinity, but it only discovered sporadic petals. It didn't find the snapped trunk.

On the tree stump, there were also obvious signs of cleaving. It proved that this mysterious and huge osmanthus tree hadn't been cut off by a natural disaster. Instead, some creature had chopped it down.

Even the strength of a Mythical Companion Beast can't injure the tiny roots at all. What kind of creature can chop through such a thick tree trunk? Shen Yuchi was alarmed just thinking about it.

Thankfully, there were no traces of dimensional creatures nearby. Furthermore, even if the main trunk was gone, there were still some scattered petals nearby. To the bureau, being able to gather these scattered petals already meant a huge fortune.

Furthermore, the tree stump might be of great value. Otherwise, there was no need for the mysterious creature to have taken it away. All he needed to do was remove the petals. There was no need for him to have gone through the trouble of chopping the tree.

The excavation continued. Every day, they would dig out at least ten petals. Sometimes, they would dig out dozens.

This excited the bureau and the researchers. After all, these petals didn't just represent Epic Companion Beasts.

Some Legendary Companion Beasts with very useful skills or Life Providences couldn't be used due to their low levels and poor stats.

With these osmanthus flowers, they could raise these select Legendary Companion Beasts to the Epic stage and make up for their stats. They could even give birth to powerful Life Souls.

Having the osmanthus flowers was equivalent to having infinite possibilities.

Everyone felt that they would gain a huge harvest from this lunar expedition, but on this day, as the Mythical Companion Beast continued digging the tree stump in the bid to dig out all the parts of the tree stump and think of a way to transport it back to Earth—

The communications between Earth's command center and the lunar space station came to an abrupt halt. No one knew what had happened. The researchers tried everything they could to contact the Moon, but there was no news from them. They had no way of knowing what had happened.

"Professor, can you think of a way to use the existing satellites to record the situation of the space station and the tree stump?" Shen Yuchi asked the old professor beside him.

The old professor said with a heavy expression, "It's easy to use satellites to scan the space station, but the tree stump is in a position that can't be captured."

"Use the satellite to scan the space station first," Shen Yuchi said.

"We're already trying, but we need to wait for our satellites to reach a predetermined orbit. Otherwise, we can only rely on other satellites... I'm afraid it will leave traces..." the old professor said.

"How long will it take for our satellites to capture the space station?" Shen Yuchi asked with a frown.

"It should be around three hours and forty minutes," the old professor answered.

Shen Yuchi pondered for a moment before saying a word. He didn't wish to attract anyone's attention. "Wait."

Time ticked by. Everyone waited nervously. When the satellite reached the required orbit, they immediately got busy.

Soon, the picture near the space station was sent back.

When they saw the picture, everyone was horrified. The entire space station base had sunk into a deep pit, and the deep pit looked like the footprint of some animal.

The space station seemed to have been flattened by a creature.

There's a terrifying dimensional creature on the Moon... Everyone had ominous thoughts.

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Chapter 1034: Space Suit

Zhou Wen, Wang Lu, and company headed for the Imperial Capital. Along the way, they encountered quite a number of break-out creatures. Unfortunately, their levels weren't too high. Without needing him to do anything, they were easily dispatched by Feng Qiuyan and Li Xuan.

The last time Zhou Wen had gone to the Imperial Capital, he was nearly killed by Xia Jiuhuang and the Guardian in the log. He had even fled from Forbidden City in a sorry state. He hadn't even dared stay in the Imperial Capital for long as he fled back.

Now, it was different. Ignoring Demonic Neonate and the Seven Seas Dragon King, with the Terror-grade Ice Maiden around, it wouldn't be easy for the Guardian in the log to touch him.

After Ice Maiden was restrained by the Seven Seas Dragon King, Zhou Wen used Explosive Fiend Man's Death List to get Ice Maiden to sign her name.

Although it wasn't easy to use Death List on the Terror-grade Ice Maiden, Zhou Wen wasn't worried that she would go back on her word and attack him.

The sole reason was because the Heaven Shrouding Bell had been taken away by Demonic Neonate.

Zhou Wen had tried to get the Heaven Shrouding Bell back, but to his surprise, he realized that the Heaven Shrouding Bell had been devoured by Demonic Neonate just like the Demonic Sword. It became Demonic Neonate's skill, which also meant that it was a part of her. He couldn't retrieve it at all.

As long as Demonic Neonate shook the Heaven Shrouding Bell, no matter how ferocious Ice Maiden was, she would obediently surrender without any chance of resisting.

As for Grim Demon inside the Demonic Sword, he had actually begun evolving independently after devouring Bizarre God. Zhou Wen didn't know what changes he would undergo after his evolution.

Logically speaking, when Demonic Neonate evolved, as a part of the Demonic Sword, Grim Demon should already have gained the ability to transform into a Terror form. Now that it had evolved alone, it was unknown what its outcome would be.

Ice Maiden didn't wish to be trapped in the Chaos Bead, so Zhou Wen didn't force her to enter. Since she couldn't escape, he decided to let her move freely.

...

When he arrived at the Imperial Capital again, Zhou Wen swaggered into the city with Wang Lu without deliberately hiding his whereabouts.

"Director-General... Zhou Wen... Zhou Wen has come to the Imperial Capital..." Before Zhou Wen entered the Imperial Capital, the bureau had already been made aware.

"What's he doing in the Imperial Capital?" Shen Yuchi felt a headache when he heard that.

In the past, he had yearned for Zhou Wen to come to the Imperial Capital so he could capture him.

But now, there was no point in capturing Zhou Wen. Even if there was meaning, how many people in the world could capture him?

Based on the information the bureau had, even a ranked Guardian might not be able to capture Zhou Wen if they wanted to. Furthermore, the bureau didn't have such a figure.

"Pay attention to his whereabouts, but don't follow him directly. You just need to use the surveillance equipment network on Imperial Capital Street. If he wants to leave your line of sight, there's no need to determine his whereabouts," Shen Yuchi said after some thought.

Not long after, the inspector ran back and said with a strange expression, "Director-General... He seems to be heading for our bureau's headquarters..."

"Are you sure he's coming to the bureau?" Shen Yuchi frowned.

"He's already passed Sky Street and is heading east. If he's heading this way, the chances of him coming to our bureau are the highest," the inspector said.

"East of Sky Street... It looks like he really wants to come to the bureau. Is he alone? Is there anyone else with him?" Shen Yuchi asked again.

"He's also carrying a girl who looks about two years old. Wang Lu, Feng Qiuyan, and Li Xuan, who entered the Imperial Capital with him, went to the Wang family residence. They didn't join him," the inspector hurriedly said.

...

Zhou Wen headed for Sky Pass. Sky Pass was a dimensional zone in the Imperial Capital, as well as the location of the bureau's headquarters.

As Sky Pass was protected by powerful dimensional zone taboos, outsiders had no way of entering it alive. Even if the inspectors wanted to enter the Sky Pass, they needed permission from the higher-ups. They couldn't enter freely, or they would be killed by the taboo power of the Sky Pass.

Zhou Wen arrived at a fork in the road and saw a middle-aged man passing by. He went over and asked, "Uncle, is Sky Pass ahead?"

"You want to go to Sky Pass? Do you know what kind of place it is?" The middle-aged man sized up Zhou Wen in surprise.

"I heard that it's the bureau's headquarters. I want to buy something there," Zhou Wen answered.

"Buy something from the bureau's headquarters?" The middle-aged man was even more surprised. He looked at Zhou Wen and asked, "Do you know what the bureau does?"

"I'm not too sure. I heard that there are quite a number of good things there that I'd like to buy." Zhou Wen asked again, "Do you know which way the bureau is?"

"I'm about to head to the bureau. If you want to go, come along," the middle-aged man said with interest.

"Thank you," Zhou Wen said gratefully.

"You're welcome. It's on the way. What do you want to buy from the bureau?" The middle-aged man was very curious.

The bureau's headquarters wasn't a good host. It was difficult to enter, but it was even harder to leave. No one would go to such a place for no reason. If it wasn't necessary, the middle-aged man wouldn't have gone to the bureau.

"I want to buy some space equipment," Zhou Wen said.

The middle-aged man was even more interested when he heard that. He said to Zhou Wen, "Are you interested in space exploration?"

"I'm not too interested. I just want to go into space on a tour," Zhou Wen answered.

"Tour?" The middle-aged man shook his head and said with grimace, "Current space technology hasn't developed to the point where we can travel freely in space. However, as the human physique improves, what was only possible for highly-trained astronauts is now possible as long as they are at the Legendary stage even without any training. However, it would be a waste of manpower and resources just for traveling."

"Are you an expert in this area?" Zhou Wen sized up the middle-aged man and asked.

"I can't be considered an expert. You can call me a businessman. My company specializes in producing space suits for astronauts," the middle-aged man said.

"Space suits? Then does your company sell equipment like space cabins that can allow ordinary people to survive in space for a period of time?" Zhou Wen asked in surprise.

"No, that kind of thing involves too much technology. It can't be done. Our company's space suits are alright. If you are interested, you can visit our company later. It's best not to go to a place like the bureau," the middle-aged man said.

"Uncle, how may I address you? Why are you going to the bureau?" Zhou Wen sized up the middle-aged man and asked.

The middle-aged man roughly explained his situation as they walked. His name was Tang Zhizhong. Previously, the bureau had been in a partnership with their company. The space suits used were all products customized by their company.

Over the years, their space suits had never had any problems. Their research team had also been researching and developing better and more practical space suits. They could be said to be the top space suits manufacturers in the Federation.

However, some time ago, the bureau's partnership with them ended and they switched to using another company's products. Even the batch of space suits they had previously ordered were rejected for various reasons.

Tang Zhizhong originally thought that there was a problem with his product, but after asking around, he realized that it wasn't the case.

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