Chapter 124: Xia Feng’s Three Small Goals
Regarding this God-tier relic called the “Key of Calamity,” a God-tier relic refers to a materialized item formed from the power that does not dissipate after a god’s demise. These relics are usually single-use consumables but possess astonishing effects and are extremely rare.
The Key of Calamity. While its specific function is unknown, a God-tier relic of Seven-eyed Level must be incredibly powerful. Thinking this, Xia Feng suddenly froze. Wait, the clearance rewards in this place are all Seven-eyed Level? Then the difficulty here must be insane?
As the information about the Calamity Realm appeared, terrified cries for help and the sound of terrifying explosions echoed from behind, with firelight soaring into the sky. Xia Feng glanced back and immediately cursed. Those five bald men were actually fleeing towards their direction, with the Fourth-stage brother and sister pair madly chasing them.
Xia Feng didn’t have time to think further. He and Mu Qingtong turned and fled. To be honest, although he and Mu Qingtong were Second-stage, they could cooperate to deal with Fourth-stage opponents. But if there were two Fourth-stage individuals… then it was best to retreat. There was no need to confront this crazy sibling pair head-on.
The two of them used concealment and their Bronze Masks to hide in a house, witnessing firsthand the bald man with the scar eye being effortlessly beheaded by the Gothic lolita. Xia Feng didn’t even see what happened before four more shiny bald heads appeared around the Gothic lolita. In the distance, only the blood-gushing bodies with severed necks remained. The Gothic lolita tossed the five spherical heads into a sack.
“Tsk tsk~ A full harvest!” She grinned wildly, slung the sack over her thin shoulder, and walked towards the TV-faced man in the distance. The TV man, with his Yizhao Lian expression, glanced disdainfully at the sack in her hand and said coldly, “Can you speed up? Being dragged into this damned Calamity Realm has already delayed our schedule. Are we still looking for the Peach Organization or not?” His tone was harsh and full of curses.
“Tsk, I know, I know,” the Gothic lolita replied, her heavily made-up eyes slanting. “You talk too damn much.” “Looking for the Peach Organization? What do these two oddballs want with the Peach Organization?” Being targeted by two Fourth-stage powerhouses was no good. Xia Feng, hiding in the shadows, his expression turned serious. It seemed he still needed to improve his strength quickly. He now had three goals—
The first was to accompany Mu Qingtong to find He Jianzhu. He actually sensed that Mu Qingtong’s attitude towards her mother was a bit off, which made him inexplicably curious about what was going on between this mother and daughter. Mu Qingtong was an oddball, and he wondered what kind of person her mother was.
As for the second, it was to advance to Third-stage. Well, this point wasn’t really important; Mu Qingtong would work hard for him. The last point was the most important: figure out how to complete the Holy Solution, and upon learning the three Holy Solution abilities, at least find the Holy Solution first.
While contemplating, Xia Feng glanced at the Calamity Realm’s rules:
[1. ‘Orphans’ are protected by the Sky God and cannot be harmed.]
[2. When night falls, the outside world will no longer be safe. Please choose to stay in a house with ‘Orphans’ (each house can accommodate a maximum of two outsiders).]
[3. Before 12 AM every night, one must worship the Sky God. Failure to worship will result in the Wrath of the Gods.]
The second rule of the Calamity Realm stated that when night fell, the outside would no longer be safe, and one should choose to stay in a house with ‘Orphans.’ Although he didn’t know what would specifically happen outside after dark, it was always right to act according to the rules.
Xia Feng and Mu Qingtong quickly shuttled through the densely packed small houses. This place was as large as a small town, not at all like an orphanage. However, as they flew past, Xia Feng saw many children, a few years or teens old, peeking out of windows, their faces expressionless as they stared at the Spirit Masters outside.
Soon, Spirit Masters forcibly entered houses with orphans. Xia Feng and his companion didn’t compete with these people. Instead, they arrived outside a courtyard at the end of the street, surrounded by jasmine bushes. Xia Feng vaguely saw a little girl sitting at a desk drawing through a second-floor window.
“Knock, knock, knock—” Landing on the ground, Xia Feng politely knocked on the door. “Coming,” an old, low voice came from inside. The broken door creaked open, revealing an old grandmother with white hair and cloudy eyes. As the old grandmother appeared, information floated before Xia Feng’s eyes.
[Orphan: Ye Ziqiu] Xia Feng didn’t expect that the definition of ‘orphan’ in this place was so broad; adults over 18 who had lost their parents could also be included in the category of orphans. “Hello, can we—” Xia Feng had just started speaking when the old woman’s expression changed, and she slammed the door shut with a “Bang!!” “No! Go to another house if you want to stay! You are not welcome here!” the old woman’s hoarse and gloomy voice declared. But the next moment, the door opened again.
“Mom! What are you going crazy about? If you don’t let them in, are you trying to get them killed!” The man angrily pulled away the old grandmother and appeared at the door with a smile. “Two esteemed Spirit Masters, please come in, come in—” The man had a messy beard, his hair like a bird’s nest, but his clothes were clean, and his small eyes were bright. He bowed and made an inviting gesture, his smile warm. “You two are outsiders, right? Have you eaten? My mom is making chicken soup today, it’s the best in the courtyard…”
“Are you a family?” Xia Feng suddenly interrupted, confused. “Yes, this is my mom. Oh, right! You see, I forgot about this, there’s still a child at home.” The man smacked his head and yelled upstairs, “Xiao Wen!! Come down, we have guests!” As the man shouted, information appeared before Xia Feng’s eyes.
[Orphan: Wen Jing] “My surname is Yun, you can call me Old Yun, or Uncle Yun.” The man with messy hair lowered his head and turned back, smiling. “May I know the names of the two esteemed guests?” At this time, both of them had changed their faces to ordinary ones. After all, fame could lead to trouble, so getting some aliases was always good. Xia Feng quickly thought of a new name: “I’m Fang Pian.” Mu Qingtong glanced at Xia Feng and said softly, “Meihua.”
“…” Uncle Yun was stunned for a moment, but his smile remained full. “Heh heh~ Good names! I assume you two are a couple, a match made in heaven.” “…” “Don’t stand outside. The two esteemed guests, please come in.” The man saw that they still hadn’t entered the door and smiled. “Rest assured, I understand the rules. You must stay in a house with orphans. We have two orphans here, so it’s very safe.”
Safe? Xia Feng was skeptical. The old woman’s unwelcoming attitude earlier was clearly problematic. However, let’s enter first. Although the two were here to find Mu Qingtong’s mother, they needed to find a safe place to hide first. Moreover, Xia Feng guessed that Mu Qingtong’s mother might be closely related to this Calamity Realm, and perhaps he could learn something from these residents.
They entered the house. It seemed like the heating was on inside, making it very comfortable. He wondered where the electricity supply came from in this small Calamity Realm space. In the living room, the kitchen behind the sliding door seemed to be simmering chicken soup, making gurgling sounds. The old grandmother was pushed into the kitchen by the middle-aged man, and they seemed to be arguing, with the man likely reprimanding the old woman for being inhumane.
Xia Feng and Mu Qingtong exchanged glances, then both looked out the window at the completely dark world. The jasmine flowers climbing the outer walls withered and bloomed as darkness descended, and thick gray mist filled the world outside within moments.
“This is evil mist that allows monsters to inhabit,” Uncle Yun walked out of the kitchen and chuckled. “But rest assured, as long as you don’t go out, you’ll be safe. We have enough water and electricity to ensure you have a comfortable stay for the next few days.” Mu Qingtong turned her head and asked softly, “You are so isolated here, where do the water and electricity come from?”
“Little girl, you don’t know this, but before the monsters appeared, this place used to be a Children’s Playground, and it had many power supply devices.” “Power supply devices?” Mu Qingtong continued to ask, “Solar power?” Uncle Yun smiled. “Little girl, you’re too outdated. We generate power with divine power here.”
“…” “The great Sky Lord is omnipotent! As long as we worship and pray to Him devoutly every day, He will not only bestow food upon us but also provide us with all our living necessities.” “Praise the God,” the middle-aged man clasped his hands together, his face full of piety. Xia Feng’s eye twitched. Isn’t that the gesture of Amitabha Buddha? Putting down his hands, the man with messy hair frowned and looked upstairs. “This child, always so slow every day.” Saying this, he shouted upstairs, “Xiao Wen! I told you to come down, did you hear me!”
“Oh, right.” He seemed to suddenly remember something and turned back to remind them, “Esteemed guests, please be sure to abide by the three rules set by the Sky God, or you will die even if you hide inside.” Xia Feng’s expression remained unchanged. It sounded like these natives were well aware of all the Calamity Realm rules. So, was the Sky God here actually the Calamity Beast of this Calamity Realm?
“The rules say we need to worship the Sky God before 12 AM. What does ‘worship’ here mean?” Xia Feng asked, confused. “You’re asking about this? It’s very simple to worship the Sky God.” Uncle Yun turned on the light near the toilet, where there was a dark red altar. There was no statue on the altar. “The Sky God is a true deity, so He has no form,” Uncle Yun said seriously. “You only need to kneel before the altar once before twelve tonight to receive His protection.”
“And if we don’t worship?” Mu Qingtong’s golden eyes narrowed slightly. “Don’t worship the God?” Uncle Yun was stunned and looked at the black-dressed woman sternly, saying in a deep voice, “The rules are very clear. If you don’t worship, you will receive the Wrath of the Gods!” “The reason monsters descended here is because the orphanage violated the taboos of the gods, and they descended their divine wrath to punish us. But the great Sky God, with His mercy, pleaded on our behalf, allowing us to survive!”
“But the Sky God doesn’t protect everyone. Only by becoming His believers…” Listening to Uncle Yun’s narration, Xia Feng and Mu Qingtong exchanged glances. Clearly, neither of them believed this middle-aged man’s nonsense. Mu Qingtong was silent for a long time and suddenly said, “The rules do say that not worshipping the God will result in the Wrath of the Gods—but it doesn’t explicitly state that worshipping the God will result in the Sky God’s protection. So, even if we worship, is there still danger?”
“How dare you!” For some reason, upon hearing Mu Qingtong’s words, Uncle Yun’s expression changed dramatically, and his eyes were filled with extreme anger. “Little girl, are you questioning the great Sky God?! If it weren’t for the Sky God constantly protecting us, protecting you foolish outsiders!! Not only us, but you too, would die under the Wrath of the Gods!”
“Uncle Yun, don’t be nervous, relax.” Mu Qingtong’s gaze was calm as she lightly tapped the table with her fingertips, her voice still soothing and gentle. “We have no ill intentions, we just want to gather more information.” Uncle Yun calmed down slightly, but his face remained grim, and he let out a disdainful cold laugh. “If you don’t worship the God, the gods will naturally descend their divine wrath to bring you death. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
