Chapter 622 - 381: Haunted

Chapter 622: Chapter 381: Haunted

"Lu Luwei, meow."

"That kid you brought along, is he really that amazing, meow?"

Xiumi walked down the street nonchalantly, her hands clasped behind her head.

Lu Luwei puffed out her chest and replied with absolute certainty, "Of course. Everything I said is true."

"He’s incredibly strong. At this point, I have no idea what the full extent of his power is."

"But I’m certain that even a Level 7 Reincarnator would be no match for him now. If it’s him, he should be able to handle it with ease..."

"Level 7, meow..."

The higher the Level, the greater the genius.

Essentially, Level 7 Reincarnators were all considered prodigies in their youth. Challenging them as someone of a lower level is basically impossible.

But now Lu Luwei was saying that Lu Cang, a Level 5 Reincarnator, could defeat a Level 7 Reincarnator without much trouble.

It sounded utterly absurd.

However... ’Lu Cang not wanting to come along might actually be a good thing. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to split the spoils later.’

’After all, if his contribution was too large...’

’it would feel wrong to give him too small a share.’

She had invited Lu Luwei and the others because she felt her own group might not be able to handle this Abyss Rift alone. The hunt was divided by area.

After opening the rift, you could only hunt Abyss Creatures within a designated zone.

Any Abyss Creatures that escaped the designated zone would be confiscated.

Powerful individuals would also be supervising the process.

Therefore, it was best to let as few slip through the net as possible to make the most of the opportunity. This was why Xiumi had decided to share it with Lu Luwei and Leng Qingying.

The seven of them were chatting when suddenly, a wave of sorrowful thought emanated from the distant White Tower, spreading in all directions.

Xiumi gazed in that direction, her eyes narrowing slightly.

As the thought washed over them, they all immediately felt a sense of shared empathy with it.

’Yinda?’

The Level 8 Scholar had committed suicide inside the White Tower...

Those who had not known Yinda now learned his identity. At the same time, countless fragments of information about the Abyss flooded their minds.

Yinda’s knowledge spread like a tidal wave.

Lu Luwei also looked toward the White Tower, but she couldn’t penetrate its Restriction to see inside. ’A Level 8 Scholar was actually in this city.’

’And he actually died.’

’This was a figure who commanded great power in the world...’

’To die so suddenly.’

’Lu Cang...’

Lu Luwei tried to contact Lu Cang in her mind, but she couldn’t find any trace of him with her Perception.

He was already gone.

Yinda’s death had nothing to do with Lu Luwei and her group. They only felt a bleak atmosphere descending as Scholars continuously streamed in and out of the White Tower’s entrance.

Although it had nothing to do with her, Leng Qingying couldn’t help but clench her fists upon seeing the scene.

Yinda’s death gave her an inexplicable sense of oppression, as if something unsettling was about to happen.

...

Lu Cang touched the entrance to the ruins before him.

It was a spiraling, distorted entrance, like a snail’s shell. It extended inward, growing narrower and narrower.

Through the Lighthouse of All Laws, Lu Cang could see what Magic was hidden within.

Original Forbidden Magic — Time

One of the ten great Forbidden Magics.

The only Forbidden Magics currently known to exist for certain were Element, Mind, and Space.

Beyond those, the other seven Forbidden Magics were only matters of speculation and prototypes.

Now, having arrived here, Lu Cang learned of the existence of the fourth Original Forbidden Magic: Time.

"Kid."

"The aura inside this place is unusual. How did you find it...?"

"Got lucky, that’s all."

Lu Cang didn’t say much more to An Su.

Instead, he stood before the entrance.

Future Preview

VMMM—

Back at the Ancient Ruins, Lu Cang had also used Future Preview to see the future he would experience inside them.

Future Preview could indeed only simulate one day at a time, but the total period it could simulate spanned the next thirty days.

But...

This ruin was incredibly special compared to any Dungeon he had encountered before.

Whether he simulated the first day, the tenth day, or the thirtieth day, what happened inside was always the same.

It was always as if he were entering for the very first time.

That was why, back on the ship, he had originally wanted to use the preview to obtain this Original Forbidden Magic directly. But because of this peculiar property, he had gained nothing at all.

And the strangest part was...

...if he chose to enter the ruins, even when he simulated the thirtieth day, he still hadn’t obtained the Original Forbidden Magic.

In other words, Lu Cang currently had no future in which he could obtain this Forbidden Magic.

All he knew for now was that inside was a corridor shaped like a square frame.

No matter which way he walked, he could never get out.

This had to be a puzzle that needed solving, and based on his experiences inside the ruins during his Future Previews, Lu Cang had formed a hypothesis...

...which was...

...this ruin did not exist within simulated time.

If he truly wanted to witness the ruin in its entirety, he had to enter it in the real flow of time and space.

This was Lu Cang’s answer.

But at the same time, this also meant he couldn’t foresee the risks inside.

Lu Cang slowly closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he had entered the preview state once more. What he saw in the simulation was the same unchanging corridor.

Once inside, the exit was nowhere to be found.

...

He opened his eyes again.

He had used up another charge of Future Preview for the day, leaving him with only two.

Even though he had physically arrived at the entrance, the preview was still of no use...

’In a few more days, I should be able to advance to a Level 6 Decryption Scholar.’

’It’s better to be cautious and wait until I’m fully prepared before attempting this venture.’

The reason he was even considering the risk was because he still had wishes left... Plus, he had already wished to obtain an Original Forbidden Magic, which destined him to be able to get out of there.

On top of that, he had the power from the Deep Land, which could turn illusions into reality.

’As long as I firmly believe I can get out, there shouldn’t be a problem...’

’A wish, plus turning illusion into reality.’

’These two metaphysical ways of making wishes come true gave Lu Cang a fair bit of confidence.’

’He just lacked more thorough preparations.’

Just as Lu Cang finished scouting the area and was about to head back for now to regroup...

...he turned around and saw a dark figure brush past him.

’A dark figure?’

The figure wore a hood and brushed past him in an instant.

Lu Cang’s reaction speed was fast and his Perception extremely keen, yet he had only noticed it in the split second it brushed past him!

SWOOSH!

His Perception instantly focused to its peak!

At the same time, Lu Cang entered a combat stance in a flash!

His body tensed abruptly.

BOOM— Even the ground sank slightly from the force.

But in the periphery of his Perception, he saw the dark figure walk directly into the snail-shell-like ruin and disappear into its depths.

He stared at the empty entrance.

There was no one else around.

The dark figure from just a moment ago seemed as unreal as a phantom.

"An Su, did you see that?"

An Su paused for a moment before replying, "I saw it."

"What was that thing?"

’To be able to appear beside me so silently, without any warning, and completely undetected...’

’Even a Level 8 Reincarnator couldn’t do that right in front of me, could they?’

"You didn’t get a clear look, so how could I?"

"If you force me to say, I’d say it feels like we’re being haunted."