Finally.

Hong Jun squinted her eyes, pursed her lips, and took the lead in breaking the silence, saying, "I’ve long heard of the fame of the enigmatic path, and today I see it truly lives up to its name! You saved little Yan, thank you, I owe you a favor. Unfortunately, I’m currently tied up with urgent matters; once I’m done here, I’ll formally thank you."

She paused, reached her hand to her forehead, opened a light screen, and added:

"Let’s add each other as friends first."

Boom!

Thud!

As soon as she finished speaking, the Hong Family members instantly fell to the ground like a flood breaching a dam, all in a red haze.

"..."

Xu Shu’s facial expression twitched, filled with question marks over his head.

Are you kidding me?

You create such a tense atmosphere, and after all that, you just say...

"Add as a friend"???

No way, girl, is your brain malfunctioning?

Fuck you, stupid bitch!

Xu Shu nearly cursed her out loud.

Heaven knows, the moment Hong Jun spoke, he almost threw the "Extermination of Immortals 24" out!

Just a second away!

"I get it now, isn’t this woman trying to intimidate me?"

"The bad temper of someone in high places!"

Xu Shu took a deep breath, moved his fingers away from the Tai Chu scroll in the inventory.

"Hey, it’s no big deal, little Yan’s issues are my issues; I’m ready to risk life and limb!"

Saying this, Xu Shu shifted his pelvis, simultaneously opening the light screen and smiling insincerely as he spoke.

This made Hong Yan next to him flush with embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Xu Shu successfully exchanged upgraded network account friend requests with Hong Jun—of course, he used his "real name" instead of his "nickname."

[Notification: "Sword Qi Close" has requested to add you as a friend.]

[You have accepted "Sword Qi Close’s" friend request, you can now start chatting!]

Xu Shu glanced at the above notification.

Sword Qi Close... looks like that’s Hong Jun’s "poetic name."

Blood and Fire Platform Sword Qi Close? Ha, sounds quite impressive.

Strange, seems like I’ve seen this nickname speaking somewhere?

Xu Shu suddenly froze.

Hong Jun had already cupped her fist to him, indicating she would take her leave first and later invite Xu Shu to the Blood and Fire Platform for a good feast and hospitality.

Xu Shu had no objection, thinking since Hong Jun couldn’t associate the aura on the note labeled "3." with him, she probably couldn’t discover anything from the underground palace he destroyed—she’d likely make the trip for nothing.

Of course, he wouldn’t say this but chose to wish them a safe journey, waving goodbye to Hong Yan and her sister.

It was only then that a large group of Hong Family members finally felt the cold sweat soaking their backs, grateful they escaped unharmed.

They truly felt if a fight broke out, they would likely die in the aftermath of the battle!

For a moment, several Hong Family elders, uncles, and grandfathers came over to shake hands with Xu Shu, a rising star in the community, praising him profusely, their tongues as eloquent as lotus flowers, lauding him as if he were unparalleled. They even considered matching Hong Yan with him based on his demeanor.

Xu Shu politely declined on the spot.

Hong Yan had been shyly refusing, but seeing this scene, she was left dumbfounded.

After much back and forth, the two-and-a-half-minute friendly meeting finally concluded, and Xu Shu watched as the Hong Family members departed.

Saying goodbye to everyone, soon the crowd that had fainted earlier started rubbing their heads and waking up.

They wore perplexed expressions, not understanding what had just happened, but the more they dwelled on it, the more scared they became. Eventually, they didn’t linger at the station but nervously ran away.

Making the station suddenly a lot more deserted.

Leaving only Xu Shu and a few newcomers waiting for the train here, lonely.

Fortunately, for Xu Shu, he had the internet to keep him company.

He shrank the interface to the size of his glasses lens, delightfully browsing forums and checking out various hot topics, alleviating mental stress.

And it wasn’t long before a spark of inspiration hit Xu Shu, finally recalling why Hong Jun’s ID seemed so familiar.

"Wait a moment, I remember now, Sword Qi Close... wasn’t she the one selling her master’s nude photos on the world channel?" (Vol. 2, Ch. 60)

"Wow, unexpectedly, this one with thick brows and big eyes, behaves so outlandishly online, so flamboyant?"

"It feels a bit off... perhaps this was actually Hong Yan’s doing? Hmm, very likely! I remember Gu Pan often driving her aunt nuts!"

While marveling, Xu Shu closed the world chat.

After a while, today’s upgraded network was peaceful, with nothing much worth noting except for two news items.

The first still concerns the Eastern Extreme Zone due to the ’two forbidden existences fighting for the fog’ causing the Sea of Death’s deep-sea mutant riot, the matter is gradually losing heat but hasn’t ended yet. However, rumors say the riot’s scope has shrunk significantly.

They use corpses as filler along the Eastern Extreme Zone’s boundary, nearly turning the whole Penghu Bay Strait red like the Dead Sea’s black is about to turn red, yet they’ve already withdrawn the battle line, unclear for what reason.

Due to the eeriness of this situation, some conspiracy theorists suspect it’s because the mutants face too much life pressure, needing to clear out some old, frail, and sick, and make room for their newborns.

Even so, within a hundred kilometers from the coastline at sea, it’s still surrounded by these frenzied mutants.

That suspected newly appearing super-large relic remains yet to fall into place.

But Xu Shu suspects this is a sign the two forbidden existences are about to reach a conclusion. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"I wonder who will win, if I’m not mistaken, one should be the ’Dark Mother Goddess’! Who could be competing with Her?"

"In the Sea of Death area, nearby are High Heaven, Japan, and many other relics..."

"Hiss! Could it be Yishenami?"

"After all, looking at legends, She’s also a forbidden existence, and the area on the Sea of Death is evidently Her home turf..."

"But not necessarily, because in today’s reality, Her existence is also debatable; perhaps She’s a god that has been long fallen?"

"Oh, it’s all that Tailed Ksitigarbha’s fault, taking my benefits while playing the mystery man! Why can’t he just say? Afraid I’ll die from knowing too much? Have I ever feared encountering all those forbidden gods in my life? Stingy!"

Xu Shu griped with dissatisfaction.

Of course, if "Tailed Ksitigarbha" actually told him these things.

He wouldn’t dare listen.

Oh, not that he wouldn’t dare, but wouldn’t bother. Yes! Wouldn’t deign to listen!

As for the second piece of still somewhat popular news, it’s rather away from Xu Shu, its location is in the Northern Combat Zone, concerning the Beiji Ice Palace, a super force.

According to online rumors, Beiji Ice Palace discovered a treasure mountain in the Ice Sea, suspected to be the legendary Divine Ruins, attracting numerous demigod-level experts to explore, sparking numerous netizens’ curiosity and discussion.

Such matters, regardless of proximity or level, are quite distant from Xu Shu, thus he has little interest, merely gaining a basic understanding, then stopping and counting his gains this time.

"Haha, besides not having the Seven Treasures Lotus, actually the gains are decent!"

Xu Shu thought contentedly.

A month of continuous cultivation, while his strength skyrocketed, came at the cost of his net worth shrinking significantly.

Having downgraded from Five Hundred Million Detective Chief to 2.5 billion detectives.

No choice, lately Penglai hasn’t been dangerous enough, occasionally having some mosquito legs to eat simply isn’t enough.

Today, however, made a small recovery!

A half-hour.

An hour...

Two hours have passed.

The train.

Is still delayed!

"..."

Could it be something happened?

Xu Shu raised his head to observe the gradually gloomy weather, feeling a bit uneasy.

Without overthinking, he chose to travel on foot immediately, leaving the station, and sprinting east along the railway.

Soon, a township platform ahead gradually came into view.

It bore three large characters.

——Luling Platform!

And above Luling Platform in the sky, like rolling backward, there were four large characters, descending.

"This..."

Xu Shu’s pupils instantly shrunk.