Chapter 2754 – Forbidden Land for Humans
“Everyone’s here?” Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart turned to Shi Feng in astonishment. “Could it be them?” Not only did the Asura adventurer team possess a reputation on the eastern continent of God’s Domain, but according to rumor, the adventurer team also controlled more than half of the Ice Crystal World. All of the adventurer team’s core members were incredibly mysterious. From time to time, unheard-of powerful geniuses would also appear in the adventurer team.
It was also bruited about that the Asura adventurer team had an incredibly powerful commander. This commander was elusive and mysterious. Rumor had it that even Lifeless Thorn couldn’t survive one hit from this commander and that Lifeless Thorn was challenging the various superpowers’ experts so crazily because he wanted to challenge Asura’s commander once more.
This situation instilled fear in the various superpowers.
For this reason, God’s Domain’s superpowers suspected that the Asura adventurer team had the backing of a mysterious and powerful force. In fact, they even suspected that this mysterious backer was someone from the Upper Zone’s top layer.
The Asura adventurer team had arrogantly rejected many of the powers that wished to recruit it. This, in turn, resulted in many clashes between Asura and the various powers. And the more Asura fought, the more famous it became.
Now, however, it was actually revealed that Asura had a good relationship with Zero Wing.
“Mhm. They’ll be moving with us later on,” Shi Feng said. He then nodded at Lifeless Thorn and the others in greeting
Actually, even Shi Feng was somewhat surprised when he saw Lifeless Thorn and the others. He never thought that they would improve so much in the time he hadn’t seen them.
Now, Lifeless Thorn and the others surpassed Fire Dance and Zero Wing’s other main force members in levels. Moreover, Lifeless Thorn’s aura suggested that he was half a step into the Domain Realm already. Shi Feng had to admit that the man was truly a battle maniac. Although his frenziedly challenging God’s Domain’s various experts had earned him a lot of enemies, the experience he racked up allowed him to improve rapidly.
As for Solitary Nine, Yan Ya, Cleansing Whistle, and the others standing beside Lifeless Thorn, they, too, had made significant improvement. It was evident they were at the Flowing Water Realm already. Moreover, they weren’t all that far from reaching the Void Realm, either. If they received enlightenment now, they might very well break through to the next level immediately. Meanwhile, Shi Feng’s introduction of them rendered Lifeless Thorn and the others momentarily speechless. They nodded at Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart in acknowledgment, none of them showing any intention of speaking to the two strangers.
At this time, Solitary Nine spoke to Shi Feng excitedly through a private conversation, asking, “Commander, what do you think of the people we brought this time? Everyone’s combat power is on par with peak experts. We didn’t shame you, right?”.
“Indeed. I never thought you would manage to recruit so many talents,” Shi Feng said in astonishment as he studied Asura’s team members.
Quite a few of the Asura members present were people he was unacquainted with personally. However, he had heard of a few of these people in his previous life. All of them had been well-known solo experts in the game. Two of them had even reached Tier 5, only slightly inferior to Lifeless Thorn, who had reached the Demigod standard.
Shi Feng truly had not imagined that Lifeless Thorn and the others would be able to recruit all these people into the Asura adventurer team.
Following this, Solitary Nine told Shi Feng about recent events, mentioning that they had accidentally strayed into a magical place where time flowed at a completely different rate, and the players residing there were incredibly strong. In that magical place, Refinement Realm experts were considered third-rate; they were no big deal whatsoever.
The players there were also very high-leveled, with some having even reached Level 130 already. When Solitary Nine and the others visited that place, they had been utterly dumbfounded.
During their stay in that magical place, they had frequently fought with the experts there. This allowed them to gain a lot of inspiration and improvement. Unfortunately, the system abruptly brought them back to the main continent for some reason. When they returned, their levels surpassed that of the superpowers’ peak experts by a large margin.
Solitary Nine’s tale surprised Shi Feng. He never thought that God’s Domain would actually have such a magical area.
However, when he remembered that Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose had fought in a different world for eighty years, he concluded that the situation Lifeless Thorn and the others had found themselves in was nothing to fuss about.
Meanwhile, Crimson Emperor’s and Unyielding Soul’s members also finished their preparations to set off. Following which, everyone got on their Flying Mounts and flew toward the Ruined Mountain Range.
The Ruined Mountain Range occupied a huge area on the continent of God’s Domain.
According to players’ estimates, the entire Ruined Mountain Range could rival the combined area of five or six empires and connected many places. The neutral map’s Level 120 region was only the periphery. If players wished to survive in the map’s inner region, they would have to reach Level 150 at the very least.
As for the Ruined Mountain Range’s core area, only Level 180-plus, Tier 5 experts could enter there; even Level 200, Tier 4 experts wouldn’t survive.
After flying for seven hours straight, Shi Feng and the others finally saw a stretch of majestic mountains on the horizon.
Just the mountains in the Ruined Mountain Range’s periphery already reached heights of more than 30,000 meters. The sky of the mountain range was also shrouded in thunderclouds, and purple lighting arcs frequently appeared, bombarding the mountain range.
CS
Those seeing the Ruined Mountain Range for the first time were inevitably stunned by the magnificent and destructive scene before them.
“We’re descending!” Shi Feng instructed everyone after taking a look at the mountain range ahead.
Flying Mounts couldn’t fly into the Ruined Mountain Range. If players wished to enter the neutral map, they had to rely on their own two feet.
This was because even Tier 5 experts couldn’t withstand the purple lightning. Even a Level 200, Tier 5 Guardian Knight would fall after suffering three to five lightning strikes. Anyone who wished to fly inside the Ruined Mountain Range would have to reach Tier 6 first. Only then could they endure the purple lightning
Shortly afterward, Shi Feng and the others arrived in a forest near the Ruined Mountain Range. They then stored their Flying Mounts one after another.
“Once we enter the Ruined Mountain Range, everyone must stick to the team as closely as possible. You must not split off from the team under any circumstances. Otherwise, you’ll be responsible for the consequences,” Shi Feng said after everyone had finished organizing themselves. “Remember! Even if someone beside you is asking for help, or I tell you to run for your lives, ignore everything! You must continue sticking to the team and advance! We also need to move as fast as possible!”
Upon hearing Shi Feng’s command, everyone present was surprised and puzzled. “Guild Leader Black Flame, are we supposed to ignore even your commands after we enter the map?” Blue Gown asked, her eyes filled with questions as she looked at Shi Feng.
Shi Feng had clearly stated before that they needed to listen to his every command. Yet, now, he was telling them to ignore his commands once they entered the Ruined Mountain Range. His instructions were simply incomprehensible.
“Yes. Once you enter, you can ignore any of my commands temporarily. You can also ignore everyone around you until the team comes to a halt,” Shi Feng said, nodding.
“Why?” Illusory Words was also slightly confused by this situation. “Is there an illusion inside?”
“I’m not sure, either. In any case, the environment inside is very special. You will suffer from hallucinations once you enter. However, despite being hallucinations, everything you see isn’t an illusion, but real instead. Nobody can tell what is real or fake once inside. You can treat everything as real, and you can also treat everything as fake,” Shi Feng said calmly. “The only thing I am certain of is that stopping inside means death!”
This was also why he had Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul dispatch only peak experts for this expedition. Anyone capable of becoming a peak expert would possess a firm mindset. Meanwhile, only with a firm mindset could one pass through the Ruined Mountain Range’s periphery. “How can there be such an environment?” Blue Gown was shocked at Shi Feng’s explanation.
As far as she knew, forbidden lands were merely places with harsh environments and strong monsters. Yet, the Ruined Mountain Range was actually a place that subjected players to hallucinations?
At this moment, let alone Blue Gown, even Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart had grim expressions on their faces. Suddenly, they understood why the various superpowers’ experts had died unawares after entering the Ruined Mountain Range.
In fact, it would be strange if they knew how they died!
In this world, the scariest thing was the unknown.
Meanwhile, the Ruined Mountain Range undoubtedly fulfilled this condition.
Although they didn’t know whether there were any monsters in the Ruined Mountain Range’s periphery, just the unique environment alone made it a scary place. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the scariest place they had visited since entering God’s Domain.
The Ruined Mountain Range truly deserved its reputation as a forbidden land for humans!
“Alright, let’s head inside,” Shi Feng said after seeing that everyone had digested his words. “Remember! Stick to the team!”
Afterward, Shi Feng led the team to a mountain path that led into the Ruined Mountain Range.
The mountain path was relatively close by. Tier 3 players would take only a few minutes to cross the distance on foot.
Less than ten minutes later, the team of 100-plus players entered the Ruined Mountain Range’s perimeter. The moment everyone set foot into the neutral map, their mood grew solemn. They also followed Shi Feng’s command and stuck close to each other.
The team advanced at a slow pace. Even the Tier 3 magical-class players of the team managed to keep up easily. The Ruined Mountain Range’s environment was surprisingly better than everyone imagined; the map did not constantly sap their Stamina or Concentration. In fact, very little foreign energy invaded their bodies here.
Around half an hour later, the team still had not come across a single monster. The whole mountain range was surprisingly safe and peaceful. Unlike what they imagined, the map wasn’t infested with monsters that could easily trample over Tier 3 players.
“It seems the Ruined Mountain Range isn’t a big deal, after all,” Blue Gown said as she observed her surroundings. Under the circumstances, her initial expectation had disappeared completely.
At Blue Gown’s words, everyone in the team also started to feel that Shi Feng had blown things out of proportion. He had only made them needlessly anxious. “Blue, I’ll have to rely on you once monsters start appearing later on,” a Level 119 female Summoner said to Blue Gown.
“Sure, no problem. I’ll make sure no monster gets near you,” Blue Gown said confidently.
The female Summoner felt relieved at Blue Gown’s assurance.
Ci!
The next moment, the sound of something splashing suddenly entered everyone’s ears. The smell of blood also quickly spread into the surroundings. Meanwhile, everyone in the team stared at the female Summoner and Blue Gown in shock.
“You... Why?” The female Summoner stared at Blue Gown in consternation.
Before anyone realized it, Blue Gown had stabbed the female Summoner with her longsword, causing the latter to lose HP continuously.
Blue Gown stared at the female Summoner in confusion. A bright smile appearing on her face, she asked in a dissatisfied tone, “What why?”
After saying so, Blue Gown slashed the female Summoner’s throat, killing her.
“What’s going on?”
Immediately, the people standing behind Blue Gown stared at her in shock and confusion. They couldn’t understand why Blue Gown would suddenly attack a fellow teammate.
Moreover, the smile on her face was unspeakably strange. The gaze she used to look at them also seemed as if she wasn’t looking at humans.
“What’s the matter with you guys?” Blue Gown asked in confusion when she saw everyone looking at her warily. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
However, despite her words, Blue Gown had an indescribably calm expression on her face. As if she had just stepped on an ant by the roadside, she was completely oblivious to the fact that she had just killed one of her teammates.