Chapter 365: 365, [The Key to Unlock All Altars]
Jiang Nan’an had a dream.

He dreamt of a man with a benevolent smile on his face, exuding an extraordinary charisma that gave a sense of warmth and security.

It was only when he woke up that he realized, to his surprise, that it wasn’t just a dream.

Because this man was standing right in front of him.

Jiang Nan’an had never imagined that such a perfectly handsome man could exist in this world.

If beauty truly lies within the essence of all things, then the man’s appearance must be aligned with the Heavenly Dao, right?

However, it wasn’t until he was formally introduced to the man that he learned who he actually was.

He was Lu Xun of the Demon Sect, a name he had heard so many times over the years that it had practically become music to his ears!

This is a name he heard countless times from many people, including his mentor, the Sect Master of the Qingtian Sect, who occasionally mentioned him in his presence too.

In other words, Lu Xun could be thought of as an extraordinarily accomplished child raised by others…

According to the hierarchy within their Sect, due to Lu Xun’s unique status, he should be addressed as Elder Lu in public.

Jiang Nan’an had, on previous occasions, wondered if he could bring himself to address this young man known as Lu Xun, as “Elder Lu” if he ever met him.

He thought he couldn’t do it.

At least, such an utterance of “Elder Lu” would be out of mere decorum, and not from the heart.

However, in reality… after being introduced by Mo Yurou, Jiang Nan’an found saying “Elder Lu” quite smooth, without any resistance from within!

“I, Jiang Nan’an, thank Elder Lu for your help!”

Seeing that Lu Xun was momentarily unsure of how to address him, Jiang Nan’an kindly suggested, “Elder Lu, you can call me Little Jiang, as my mentor does. Or you can call me Nan’an if you prefer. Please use whichever you find more comfortable.”

Lu Xun slightly nodded, wondering whether this was because he received the task reward of [Friendship from Jiang Nan’an], or because he saved him, making Jiang Nan’an grateful to him?

Or was it because of his irresistible charisma of 10?

Initially, Jiang Nan’an appeared to be a spoilt youngster born with a silver spoon in his mouth who had not yet been hardened by the harsh realities of society and the trials of Heavenly Dao.

The most recognizable feature on his ordinary face was his signature, devilishly charming grin.

His smiling face had been turned into memes by the game players, and it was one of the most frequently seen images in the forums.

The captions added to his image were almost always in jest, like “How about a date?” “Am I handsome?” “Do you dare to beat me?” and so forth.

However, after witnessing death and struggle first hand following the mass arrival of the foreign race, Jiang Nan’an matured, becoming a true man worthy of the title of [World Protagonist].

“He looks quite polite and easy to talk to, doesn’t he?” Lu Xun thought to himself, quite pleased.

And so, he asked, “Would you like to rest for the night and recuperate? There’s no rush regarding the matter of the ancient relic.”

Jiang Nan’an shook his head, saying, “Elder Lu, I am fine. With your assistance, it seems… my cultivation base might have improved a little.”

And with that, he flashed his devilishly charming grin.

Lu Xun’s lip twitched, regretting not hitting him a few more times during their battle.

However, since Jiang Nan’an had expressed that he did not need a rest, Lu Xun was pleased to save additional time.

“Alright then, let’s be on our way,” he said.

…

…

Soon, all their members gathered in front of the crooked-neck tree. Including Lu Xun, there were seven people from his side, and with Jiang Nan’an, there were thirty disciples.

The Demon Sect was just here to hitch a ride on the discovery of the “Ancient Relic”, naturally they couldn’t afford to bring a large team.

The Qingtian Sect, however, intended to fully explore the relic, and these thirty disciples were just the vanguard.

Before entering, Jiang Nan’an told Lu Xun, “Elder Lu, once we enter the relic, we’re likely to be separated and transported to different locations. I’m not sure if we’ll have the chance to meet inside.”

In his head, Lu Xun thought, “Of course not.”

You will be randomly teleported to the outskirts of the altar, not on the altar itself. I embody the [Primordial Power], so the altar treats me as one of its own, teleporting me directly into the altar. How could it be the same?

“And if there are no surprises, by the time you find the altar after painstaking efforts, I would have probably already dismantled it,” he added silently.

Since everyone was ready, they prepared to set off.

Jiang Nan’an extended his hand and said, “Elder Lu, guests first. You may proceed.”

As he spoke, that devilishly charming grin spread across his face again.

His face seems to be unable to display a straight-forward smile, something’s genuinely wrong with his grinning face!

Lu Xun gave him a glance and did not refuse.

With a wave of his hand, a mist formed around them, enclosing the six Sword-Serving Children.

Enveloped in Sword Intent, a connection was made with them.

After all, Lu Xun himself was comparable to a sword, and the Sword Intent was like his extended tentacle.

Then, Lu Xun headed towards the crooked tree.

As soon as he approached it, the restriction was activated immediately.

This large altar greedily sucked him in without delay.

At the same time, even those standing beside Lu Xun like Mo Guanji, were instantly absorbed in!

This was the experiment Lu Xun wanted to conduct!

He wanted to test whether he could bring others into the altar if a degree of connection was established between himself and others.

The answer was affirmative!

However, the sad part was that there was a price to be paid.

Although Mo Guanji and others were teleported into the altar, their physical body turned into fly ash and then resurrected on the spot within the altar, consuming their resurrection count once.

“It seems that when I enter, the restriction does not cause any harm to me, but people like Mo Guanji, who do not have the protection of Primordial Power, although capable of teleportation, would be blasted into fly ash in an instant by the restriction during this process.”

“I intended to bring humans in, but by the time they could steady their feet, they would have turned into ashes.”

Landing in a box, literally.

Fortunately, the players are capable of resurrection, which is equivalent to using an extra life as an admission ticket.

This was only due to the fact that the process of passing through the restriction had just taken a moment. If it had taken ten or so seconds, the players would probably constantly toggle between “life and death—resurrection and demise—”.

For Lu Xun, this was good news.

This meant that he could henceforth lead the players directly to the altar!

He was the key that the silly players needed to open every altar!

The restrictions that the Foreign Race had painstakingly set up would be useless against them.

It was a pity that Lu Xun’s ability was limited, and it was not possible to use his Sword Intent to encapsulate hundreds or thousands of people.

But as his ability increased, the number of players he could bring in at once would definitely increase as well.

At this moment, Lu Xun and the others were standing in front of the steps.

As long as they climbed up, they could reach this immense altar.

This altar was absurdly large, at least ten times larger than the altars that Lu Xun had dismantled earlier!

Furthermore, it carried a primal, ancient aura.

Unfortunately, it was severely damaged with many places reduced to ruins and debris, resembling an ancient, dilapidated structure.

This altar had been abandoned for thousands of years.

The six players looked up at the towering altar, too shocked to speak.

The platform was at least seventy to eighty meters high, they were unsure of the diameter, yet the visual impact was strong.

It looks so majestic!

Without a word, they cast a Detection spell on the altar to check its basic information.

That’s how players are, always casting Detection spells.

Naturally, they were met with a screen full of question marks.

Although the basic information was not displayed at all, the question marks in the name field were red!

This meant that it was a key building of the hostile faction, and it could be destroyed!

“Are we sure this is an Ancient Relic? Could it be the ruins of a sect from Ancient Times?” they wondered.

Then, their eyes collectively landed on Lu Xun.

Next, they saw Lu Xun take a few steps forward, and gently touched the stone wall of the altar. Then, with a solemn look, he voiced out,

“This place, it’s an altar of the Foreign Race.”

…

(Second update, there will be a third update later.)