An invasion from the Abyss? I, a demonic cultivator, laughed.

Chapter 250 Celestial Machinery Guild
Chu Xiu hovered in mid-air, his gaze lowered, quietly staring at the four people in front of him.

The leader was a lean middle-aged man whose left arm was covered with a strange substance that shimmered with silver light. This light was like a living thing, constantly flowing and changing shape, sometimes turning into sharp spikes, and sometimes transforming into flowing mercury.

Beside him stood an exceptionally burly man, wielding a shield over two meters tall, clad in heavy armor, and wearing a massive helmet covering his face, completely covered from head to toe, resembling a human-shaped heavy fortress.

Behind her was a woman in a white robe. She was a Westerner with light golden hair and sky-blue eyes. She held a long staff and, like Jiang Miaoyin, had a full figure, but her face had a cool and holy quality.

The last person stood in the center of the three. He was a young man standing on a long, silver-white suspended board. Behind him floated six uniquely shaped floating cannons that emitted a faint blue light. These floating cannons slowly rotated around him like satellites, emitting strong energy fluctuations.

"A common combination of warrior + tank + mage/support + ranged."

With just a glance, Chu Xiu knew that these four were not a hastily assembled team, but a veteran team with many years of experience in actual combat and teamwork!

"And each of these four is extremely strong!"

Judging from their aura alone, each of them is a top-tier King-level being no weaker than Qin Xiang, and their professional talent is at least S-rank.

Especially the man standing in the middle, if Chu Xiu's guess is correct, he should be the same [Mechanic (A)] profession as Guan Ke!
However, it is highly likely to be a higher-level [Mechanical Lord (S)], [Mechanical Martial Master (S)], or [War Fortress (S)], or even a higher SS class!

A late-game class like the Mechanic can easily gain more power than other classes of the same rank once they reach the King rank, and they also have a large number of support and general skills, enabling them to take on secondary tasks such as reconnaissance, healing, construction, and transportation.

It can be said to be a profession that excels in both strength and functionality.

This is why Guan Ke was so highly regarded at the time.

Furthermore, the fact that these four individuals were able to obtain four anchor points clearly indicates that they are all scions of powerful families, and their equipment is at least on par with Qin Xiang's! Each of them is guaranteed at least one legendary king-tier item!
If these four work together, even if they are not as good as [Heroic Spirits], they are probably not far off.

"Jiang Miaoyin, is this the helper your Jiang family hired?"

Just as Chu Xiu was sizing up the four people, the lean man at the head spoke in a deep voice.

“Brother Chen is too kind,” Jiang Miaoyin said with a light laugh, covering her mouth. “With Senior Qin’s status and strength, how could I possibly ask him to come? He’s just traveling with me.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of the four men darkened.

They naturally couldn't believe Jiang Miaoyin's nonsense. The only question was, just how capable was this helper they had brought in?

When Jiang Miaoyin calls him "senior," is she truly a "heroic spirit," or is she just bluffing?

"Jiang Miaoyin, this world of the Hundred Ghosts Furnace is so vast. Do you think we're fools that we could find our location so easily just by traveling together?"

"Did you fucking cast a curse on us???"

"Let me tell you, don't push your luck. Your Jiang family may be riding high lately, but do you think the four of us are easy to mess with?"

The lean man had a hostile expression but showed no fear whatsoever.

However, Jiang Miaoyin did not react at all to the other party's aggressive accusations. She just smiled and said, "Brother Chen, you are overthinking it. Sometimes fate is just that wonderful."

"Since fate has brought us together, why don't we continue our journey together?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the four men's expressions turned ugly. After hearing this, no one could tell that the charming woman in front of them had been given a powerful backer and was determined to steal their map.
The lean man at the head of the group exchanged a glance with the Western woman behind him. The latter nodded, a faint silver glow shining in her sky-blue pupils as she looked at Chu Xiu.

However, just as the radiance began to rise, a cold snort was heard. A majestic golden light rose in Chu Xiu's eyes, instantly suppressing all the silver light. The woman screamed and staggered back several steps, with two lines of bloody tears streaming from her eyes!
The other three men's expressions changed drastically. They drew their weapons and shielded the woman in front of them. The lean man said in a deep voice, "Senior, what is the meaning of this?"

Chu Xiu said indifferently, "You used your skills to probe me, and then you ask me what my intentions are?"

"That was just a small punishment. If I were truly angry, this woman would already be blind."

He wasn't bluffing. With his fully activated Blood-Burning Golden Eyes at its peak, he could suppress most King-level opponents even at the Fierce Rank, let alone now that he's reached the General Rank.
This difference stems from their respective status. After cultivating the foundation of gods and demons, Chu Xiu, though not a god at this time, already possesses a status close to that of a god!

The lean man's expression shifted several times, at which point the woman behind him pulled him back: "Brother Chen, this [Heroic Spirit] senior is right, I was presumptuous."

The woman emphasized the words "Heroic Spirit," causing the remaining three to become even more serious. After a moment's hesitation, they sheathed their weapons and said, "I apologize for my teammates. I hope you won't hold it against me, senior."

Chu Xiu nodded: "I don't like wasting time beating around the bush, so I'll just get straight to the point. I'm here for the map. Will you hand it over yourselves, or should I go and get it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the four men's expressions turned even uglier. The lean man said in a deep voice, "Senior, it is forbidden for awakened beings to kill each other in the Abyss. Besides, we four are not nobodies. Our clan also has [Heroic Spirits] guarding us!"

"Even if you are not a match for your senior, are you confident that you can capture all four of us at the same time?"

"If even one of us sends out a message, Senior will have to face the wrath of the four major families and the Chinese government at the same time!"

These high-level awakened individuals mostly possess communication methods similar to those of [Yuancheng] and Blue Star. Some of these methods can be activated in less than half a second, truly allowing messages to be transmitted with just a moment's relaxation.

It is precisely because of this that the Abyss did not completely degenerate into a cruel jungle where big fish eat small fish. In the dark era when there were no external social constraints, any encounter between awakened individuals in the Abyss was a fierce battle. There were even high-level awakened individuals who guarded the [anchor point] teleportation locations to specifically snipe newcomers.

However, Chu Xiu was not bothered by the threat. He simply waved the Soul Banner, and the leading ghost general appeared beside him instantly!
At the same time, a blood-red figure emerged from behind him, its chilling, bloodthirsty eyes staring at the four people below, emitting a sharp, sneer.

"I wonder if my two subordinates can each hold one person off?"

"As for the remaining two, I am still somewhat confident in myself," Chu Xiu said calmly.

Jiang Miaoyin also smiled and said, "Although I am not as good as you, senior, I am not entirely useless either."

"you."

Looking at Chu Xiu and Jiang Miaoyin, who didn't take the four of them seriously at all, the lean man felt a surge of anger.

As the four leaders of the Celestial Machinery Guild, they are well-known among the Awakened. When have they been ignored like this?

But looking at the two figures beside Chu Xiu, he forced himself to suppress his anger.

Needless to say, that blurry ghostly creature was radiating boundless energy, making it nearly as powerful as a Heroic Spirit!

That blood-red monster was even more bizarre; even though it concealed its aura, one could still sense that it was a being of extremely high status!

With these two monsters assisting, holding off and killing the four of them would be more than enough.

Not to mention Jiang Miaoyin.
Although the lean man spoke toughly, he never underestimated this top genius of the Jiang family! This woman possessed terrifying strength that was completely inconsistent with her charming appearance. He could even say that any one of the four of them would suffer a merciless and brutal death if they faced her!

"Then, senior, isn't your behavior a bit too domineering?" Although the lean man didn't back down on the surface, his attitude softened inwardly.

"I'll give you ten minutes to record the map; that's enough of a concession," Chu Xiu said firmly.

The lean man exchanged glances with the three people behind him, then said nothing more, took out a jade token and tossed it to Chu Xiu. Chu Xiu caught it, his expression still blank, but inwardly he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He was just bluffing to scare the four of them.

His leading ghost general and blood demon incarnation, the ghost army had only recovered less than a quarter of its strength, and the blood demon incarnation was extremely weak, all of them were paper tigers that were strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

He himself lacked the means to move quickly, so if these four kings were determined to run away, Chu Xiu would not be able to catch up at all.

Getting the item without bloodshed is already the best possible outcome.

A surge of spiritual energy overflowed from his palm, and the jade tablet in his hand immediately glowed faintly. The next moment, a large cloud of black mist suddenly spewed out, transforming into a huge map in the air.

Chu Xiu was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up. After examining it carefully, he couldn't help but show a look of amazement in his eyes.

This [Exorcist Civilization] actually used some extremely mysterious method to transform the soul of a powerful ghost into a map!
Through the ever-changing nature of the soul, this map can be zoomed in and out at will, just like a modern electronic map, and contains a massive amount of information!
Even more impressively, it can also connect with the landmarks established by the Exorcist Civilization around the world, correcting the accuracy of the map in real time.

Chu Xiu was also a master at manipulating ghosts, and seeing such a mysterious technique, he couldn't help but marvel.

"No wonder these four people were unwilling to hand over the map; this kind of map is indeed impossible to replicate."

“Even if you memorize it by heart using the memory of a King-level being, without the correction of [landmarks], it is easy to get lost in this extremely complex underground world.” Chu Xiu stroked his chin, revealing a thoughtful expression.

"After you've confirmed the map's authenticity, please return it to the four of us," the lean man said with a wry smile.

However, Chu Xiu did not make any move after hearing his words, which made the four of them freeze in shock.

Just when the four of them thought Chu Xiu was going to go back on his word, Chu Xiu suddenly grabbed at the air and a soul appeared in his hand. Then he cast spells and the soul's body was stretched and expanded. Before long, it became exactly the same as the ghost on the map!
Chu Xiu casually tossed it, and the ghost transformed into a cloud of black mist, landing in the hand of the lean man.

Amid the four people's puzzled gazes, Chu Xiu said calmly, "This method of creating the map is quite ingenious. I was delighted to see it and casually made a copy, which I will now give to you. Although it cannot connect to the [landmarks] and is not as good as the original, it is still better than you memorizing it by rote."

Upon hearing this, all four were taken aback. The lean man quickly looked down to examine it. After confirming that the counterfeit map was indeed usable and almost identical to his memory, he couldn't help but show a look of joy.

But then came immense shock. This senior had almost instantly deciphered the secrets of the [Exorcist Civilization] and casually created a replica using a soul. His understanding and mastery of souls had truly reached an unbelievable level.

He quickly clasped his hands in greeting: "I am Chen Lengqiang, leader of the Heavenly Machinery Guild. I thank you, senior."

Chu Xiu nodded. He had also heard of the Heavenly Mechanism Guild. It had over a hundred Awakened Fierce-Rank members and ranked 47th among all guilds, making it a very strong force.

With his [Perfect Refinement], replicating a map is not difficult for him; it only requires one vengeful ghost. Befriending four powerful kings is an extremely worthwhile endeavor.

Reality is cruel. When you are powerful, plundering becomes a matter of course, and giving away some benefits is considered making friends.

In the eyes of the four, Chu Xiu clearly possessed overwhelming strength, yet he did not attack immediately, which was considered mild among the [Heroic Spirits].

Chu Xiu said, "You should go to another city."

Having said that, he said no more, and with a swift movement, he led Jiang Miaoyin deeper into the passage.

Having obtained the map, he no longer intended to forcibly break through the ground and waste the power of the Heavenly Dragon Golden Pill.

Although the power of this mythical item has not even been used up by one percent, Chu Xiu still does not want to waste it.

After hearing his words, the remaining four gave a wry smile and had no choice but to temporarily choose another map.

"Don't look so gloomy, everyone. Although we wasted half a day, we were incredibly lucky to escape unscathed after encountering a Heroic Spirit, without even having to use our prepared trump cards," said the burly man.

“That’s right,” the young mechanic said. “This senior should be considered a lawful faction. If we had encountered those guys on the disguised wanted posters, we would probably be dead by now.”

"If anyone is to blame, it's our own carelessness. We were cursed by that woman Jiang Miaoyin at some unknown time."

Chen Lengqiang said, "We were extremely fortunate to obtain four anchor points at a cost of hundreds of billions each, and we also got a map at the start. From now on, we just need to explore steadily and not let the profit go to our heads."

After he finished speaking, the four of them nodded in unison.

But just as the four of them had composed themselves and were preparing to choose a new destination, a woman's voice suddenly rang out: "You guys had a map all along?"

As the sound faded, the air seemed to freeze.

The next moment, the four of them suddenly drew their weapons and looked at the large hole that Chu Xiu had just rushed out of!
There, a rather shy-looking girl wearing a strange bright red cotton coat was clinging to the edge of the hole in an odd posture, peeking at the four people with only half of her body showing.

Noticing the four people staring at her nervously, the girl smiled shyly and asked, "Could I borrow that map?"

Chen Lengqiang stared at the strange woman who had suddenly appeared, his eyes full of vigilance: "Who are you?"

"Me?" The girl pointed to herself and scratched her head. "What's my name again?"

Her voice was strange, as if she were speaking with a strained voice, indescribably eerie.

The Western woman in the white robe had a faint silver glint in her eyes, and then she uttered, her lips barely moving: "He's a King-level being."

Upon hearing this, the other three breathed a sigh of relief.

However, they did not let their guard down. The most dangerous thing in the abyss was this kind of abnormal-looking creature.

Chen Lengqiang frowned as if he had discovered something, and said incredulously, "Wait, have you been following that [Heroic Spirit] senior all along?"

This strange girl emerged from the large hole where Chu Xiu had come from. If it was a coincidence, it would be too much of a coincidence. The Hundred Ghosts Furnace World is three-dimensional and incredibly large. How could such a coincidence happen?
More likely, this guy has been tracking Chu Xiu and his companion from the very beginning!
But... a King-ranked Heroic Spirit tracking?
This is too incredible.

However, the girl didn't seem to think it was a big deal, and just smiled shyly and said, "What's wrong? I don't know anyone here. I just wanted to follow that older sister. I didn't know a senior would come."

Upon hearing his admission, the four men's expressions changed once again. Chen Lengqiang said coldly, "Madman, I don't care what your purpose is. Leave now, or don't blame us for being ruthless."

"Ah," the girl paused, seemingly muttering something, when suddenly the rocks around her vanished without warning! She cried out in surprise and fell from the hole, landing heavily on the ground, looking quite disheveled.

However, this comical scene did not make the four of them laugh. Instead, they all stared at the spot where the girl had just fallen, looking at the neat flat surface around her where the rocks had been cut away, and their expressions showed fear!

"It turned out to be you!"

Chen Lengqiang said, his voice trembling slightly.

(End of this chapter)