Building a sect from scratch.

The red fog was thick, but the archway was very conspicuous.

It is carved from a single piece of white jade. The bottom few decorative bases are decorated with various brightly colored patterns, including flowers, birds, insects, fish, and all kinds of rare and exotic animals, all outlined with gold lacquer. They stand out against the rich dark red surroundings.

The top of the archway was completely hidden in the thick fog, so it was impossible to see anything; only some characters could be vaguely discerned.

Nietzsche, riding the wind, managed to find an angle that allowed him to see the inscription on the jade pillar in its entirety, took a screenshot, and then posted it in the group after authentication.

"Ten continents and three islands, a thousand layers of purple aura, ten thousand swords of eternal life true magic power. Within the Guixu Sea, golden radiance transforms nine times, disciples spread great light far and wide."

"The top two characters are 'Sword Sect'."

The appearance of the archway was also captured in a screenshot. It has five gates and seven eaves. The roof tiles are all golden glazed tiles, and the lintel under the eaves is the same as the base, with rich and colorful paintings painted in very bright colors.

In the very center hangs a plaque with only two characters on it, which are probably the two characters Nietzsche referred to as "Sword Sect".

"What a magnificent aura! This is what a true cultivation sect should look like!"

The human heart transforms into the Tao, he sighed.

"Indeed, but it seems like everyone in this sect has a villainous vibe!"

Guantangbao nodded. She also felt that this archway alone far surpassed all the appearances of the cultivation sects that everyone had encountered in "Ten Continents Chronicle"—except for the later Taiyin Sect, of course.

"Let's keep going, and remember to mark the map!"

As Nietzsche spoke, he continued up the mountain after Wu Ke, who had long since disappeared.

The terrain became increasingly complex, and some low shrubs appeared among the rocks. These shrubs were either similar to the ferns or vines that had appeared before, all in red tones, or they were very pure white.

"Probably because without light, photosynthesis is impossible, so chlorophyll was simply eliminated during evolution..."

"I think it's just a casual remark," said the king bamboo grass.

The soup dumpling nearly choked on her saliva. She coughed twice and exclaimed in shock, "Seriously, sister? Cultivating immortality involves science?!"

Huangzhucao spread his hands: "Rocket launchers and Gatling guns have appeared, which means this has become technological cultivation!"

……

Wu Ke took the lead, leaping and bounding ahead to clear the way. The further they went, the more plants they encountered.

Although the vegetation here is pitifully sparse compared to the dense forests of the Ten Thousand Mountains in Central Continent, it is much better than the barren landscape on the outskirts.

He hadn't run far when he saw a few trees.

However, these trees were clearly dead, with only dry trunks remaining. Moreover, they did not appear to have grown naturally, but rather seemed to have been planted by humans, as they were evenly distributed and arranged in a very regular order.

More importantly, there are clear signs of human habitation near these dead trees.

In a large pit built of stones were some household garbage, which may also have been stored up by former survivors. There were broken hoes, plows, and rakes, as well as shattered pottery and various other miscellaneous items that were too old to be identified.

Beside the large pit, there were two complete skeletons.

They were bound with ropes, their heads completely shattered, and their remains appeared to have been burned, suggesting they had suffered some horrific ordeal before death. Wu Ke marked the area on the map, took a screenshot, and sent it to the group chat before continuing his climb up the mountain.

About ten minutes later, he encountered the first living creature he had encountered since venturing deep into Tiangui Mountain.

It was a beetle, about the size of a fist, with its hard black shell reflecting iridescent colors.

Both the man and the insect were startled when they met. Although Wu Ke was not afraid of the various terrifying monsters and demons in the game, he was still creeped out by such a large insect and couldn't help but exclaim "Holy crap!"

As Wu Ke screamed, the beetle quickly burrowed into a crevice and disappeared.

I have no idea where such a big bug went.

Wu Ke thought for a moment and shouted into the group microphone, "Team leader! I found an animal over here, a huge bug! The kind with armor! It looks a bit like a dung beetle..."

The soup dumpling gasped, then asked somewhat fearfully, "Huge? How big is it? Can I get around it?"

Wu Ke replied, "That's about the size of a fist, anyway! He's already run away, I didn't even have time to take a screenshot!"

Guantangbao hurriedly said, "Then mark it on the map too, I'll go around there in a bit! I'm terrified of bugs!"

"Row!"

However, after this little incident, Wu Ke encountered a bunch of beetles after walking for only a few minutes.

There were hundreds, if not thousands, of them!
The most terrifying thing is that, upon discovering Wu Ke, these beetles, accompanied by his even louder exclamation of "Holy crap!", all burrowed back into the cracks in the rocks.

In the blink of an eye, a large group of beetles appeared as if they had never been there, which was very strange.

Because Wu Ke hadn't muted his microphone, his "Holy crap!" was heard by the other players in his team. Wu Ke, usually bold and reliable, rarely made such a startled sound, so everyone immediately asked, "What happened?!"

"A horde of bugs, all the same size as I just described, a huge horde! At least several hundred! Holy crap! I can't take it anymore, it's disgusting!"

As Wu Ke spoke, he gagged and couldn't help but take off into the air, flying into the sky and staring intently at the cracks in the rocks on the ground, trying to see the beetles inside.

"Oh my god, is it too late to run away now? Should I just kill myself? Help! I'm so scared of bugs!" Guantangbao shuddered and cried out in the chat box. Seeing that the elephant grass next to him was unmoved, he asked curiously, "Aren't you scared?"

Huang Zhucao shrugged nonchalantly and said, "It's alright. I've seen them in the lab before, and I've even touched all sorts of bugs... Oh, by the way, let me tell you a scary story: many common medicines are made from insects, like the famous 'Kangfuxin Liquid,' whose main ingredient is actually extracted from cockroaches!"

"Fuck!!!"

The soup dumpling shuddered again and screamed. She closed her eyes in pain and yelled, "I really did drink this medicine before! Ahhh, I'm dirty, I'm not clean anymore! Ahhhhh!"

Renxin Huadao, with a wicked grin, also chimed in, "Actually, Western medicine is alright, but Chinese medicine is even worse... um... for the sake of your appetite for the next week, I'd better not say anything, hehe!"

Nietzsche, as the guild leader, was quite easy to talk to: "Baozi, if you're really scared, just commit suicide and go back to town. Anyway, it looks like we're just exploring and unlocking the storyline. At most, we won't get any rewards or loot!"

The Jade Emperor added, "It will also hinder your fortune! I feel that all the plants and animals here must be quite valuable!"

The soup dumpling swallowed hard: "Hiss... I think I could bend my back for five pecks of rice too!" (End of Chapter)