Chapter 72 Ruined Monastery

The mist dispersed. The scenery before Feng Yin’s eyes shifted, bringing him to an unfamiliar area. He looked around to confirm his surroundings.

He was deep in a secluded mountain, surrounded by cliffs on three sides. Behind him was still the luxurious carriage pulled by white and blue Ghostly Steeds, and beyond the carriage lay a profound darkness.

The White Crow flew out of the carriage and landed on his shoulder, squawking noisily, “Whoa! A mysterious, isolated Monastery. Since it has already been corrupted by filthy power, it means there is a cursed Life Wedge inside that locks away your strength.”

Feng Yin silently raised his head and looked ahead. Before him was a large architectural complex enclosed by two iron-gated doors. Illuminated by the massive, eerie blood moon in the sky, the entire area was shrouded in a scarlet, ghostly gleam. It did not look like a Monastery at all. Instead, it resembled a castle sealing away bizarre entities.

At this moment, the White Crow took flight from Feng Yin’s shoulder, flapping its wings and squawking loudly, “Let’s set off! Start by clearing out the cultists corrupted by filth in the outer plaza. I can feel that there is more than one Life Wedge in this Monastery.”

Several lines of information formed by mist appeared before Feng Yin’s eyes.

[Destination reached. Mission starting.]

[Objective: Clear the “Monastery Outskirts,” eliminate the “Knight Commander of Filth,” and pull out the “Life Wedge.”]

…

The misty information then dissipated.

As Feng Yin kept up with the White Crow, he quickly recalled the game’s contents. Unlike the three stages and three areas of the Prison Line, the three stages of the Monastery Line all took place within the bounds of this massive Monastery. If he remembered correctly, it was divided into three areas: the outer plaza, the underground forbidden room, and the central church.

Moreover, the game itself had a “dynamic difficulty” setting, where enemy Strength would change as his Armor Liberation Level increased. For example, clearing the prison first before coming to this Monastery would result in different enemy numbers and Strength compared to choosing the Monastery as his starting point. However, it was still the “early stage,” so even if there was a difference, it wouldn’t be too significant.

Most importantly, he had obtained the Wolf’s Badge in the previous round, securing a god-tier, overpowered start. Judging from his Attributes, he could absolutely crush the early stages. There was no need to panic!

Gathering his thoughts, Feng Yin followed the White Crow, pushed open the iron gates that weren’t fully closed, and slowly walked into the plaza. Under the red Light of the blood moon, the entire front area of the outer plaza came into view. The ground was paved with moss- and blood-covered stone bricks, with occasional web-like cracks. Over twenty towering stone pillars were arranged around the perimeter in a mysterious Array. Right in the center of the plaza stood a dilapidated stone fountain, long devoid of flowing water.

Most notably, a single glance across the area revealed nearly ten guards stumbling about. They wore full sets of Armor, wielded swords and shields or long spears, and emitted red Light from the eye slits of their Helmets. They seemed to still be following their habits from when they were alive, or perhaps they were driven by some entity, as their movements followed a clear patrol pattern.

The White Crow landed on a stone pillar and squawked, “Pay attention! Under the corrosive curse of the Life Wedge, the strength of these guards has long surpassed typical human limits. If you accidentally attract too many of them and get surrounded, you’ll suffer a massive loss!”

Feng Yin immediately hid behind a stone pillar and silently watched the crow chatter, feeling somewhat speechless. In the game, the crow would always squawk like this without being noticed by enemies. But now that the game had undergone Materialization, he wondered if its undisguised SQUAWKING still possessed those stealthy Traits.

He waited for a moment until the nearest patrolling guards showed no signs of noticing the commotion. Feng Yin breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that even with the game’s Materialization, the White Crow remained some sort of special entity. Perhaps only he could see and hear it. In that case, he could confidently begin his walkthrough.

At this moment, a patrolling guard wielding a sword and shield stumbled toward the pillar where Feng Yin was hiding. With a simple dodge from Feng Yin, the guard failed to notice anything amiss and slowly paced past him.

Feng Yin slowly drew his Canfeng Sword, gripped it with both hands, and silently stared at the back of the enemy’s neck. He charged and swung his sword in a horizontal sweep! A heavy, powerful slash instantly sheared across the neck of the oblivious guard.

The monster’s head rolled off, and its mutilated body collapsed to the ground. A plume of black smoke billowed out, and along with the Armor and equipment on its body, it completely turned into ash.

[Corrupted Guard banished. Gained 4 units of Spirituality.]

He thought that since he could kill them instantly, things would be easy. Feng Yin hesitated no longer. After briefly observing the distribution and patrol routes of the guards in the plaza, he used the massive stone pillars for cover and flanked them, quickly arriving behind another corrupted guard.

Another horizontal sword strike, beheading the target!

Feng Yin didn’t stop for a moment, immediately seeking out his next target. One by one, in quick succession, all ten guards in the front plaza were stealthily assassinated by Feng Yin.

[Ten targets killed. Triggered Bloodthirsty Traits.]

[Durability: 12/19 → 14/19]

[Corrupted Guard banished. Gained 4 units of Spirituality.]

…

Amidst the simple informational prompts, Feng Yin pulled his Canfeng Sword from the back of the final guard and watched as it turned to ash. His emotions experienced no Fluctuation whatsoever.

All ten foot soldiers had been ambushed and assassinated by him, with not a single one able to mount a Counterattack. If he were actually playing a game, even without the god-tier start from the Wolf’s Badge, he wouldn’t have been this cautious when dealing with such low-level mobs. He would have just aggroed them all head-on and slaughtered them. But this was reality. Even if there was only a miniscule chance of failing, he wouldn’t take the risk. It just cost a bit more time. He had turned a perfectly good hack-and-slash action game into a Soul Travel game.

Through this round of clearing, not only did he trigger the Wolf’s Badge’s Bloodthirsty Traits once, restoring a portion of the Blood Volume he had lost during his previous battle, but he also obtained an additional Micro-Durability Crystal—also known as Blood Medicine. This brought his Reserve of Blood Medicine to two. These items allowed him to replenish his health at any time during a fight, making them entirely equivalent to extra Blood Volume.

Feng Yin reined in his thoughts and looked up. His gaze crossed the entire plaza and landed on the Monastery doors at the very end. Standing there was a tall knight clad in thick, high-quality Armor, wielding a long-handled Gun Blade.

Feng Yin knew that this was the gatekeeping boss of this stage, the “Knight Commander of Filth,” which was considered a minor Elite. If he remembered correctly, if his luck was good, killing this guy had a chance to drop a rather important Engraving.

There was no need to wait any longer; it was time to farm!

Wasting no more time, Feng Yin gripped his sword with both hands and marched toward the Knight Commander, quickly arriving before the Monastery doors. The Knight Commander swiftly noticed the arrival of the intruder.

However, he merely stood upright with solemn dignity, holding his weapon vertically, and then slowly bowed to Feng Yin. Only then did he grip his weapon with both hands and assume a majestic, intimidating stance. The tip of his Gun Blade, which was longer than that of an ordinary long spear, pointed squarely at Feng Yin, glinting with a cold, piercing Light under the reflection of the blood moon.

***

*(Anyway, even though the chances are slim, if everyone could help keep up with the reading and cast some votes, there might just be a tiny glimmer of hope for us to make it onto the Three Rivers recommendation list.)*