Since all these rules and superstitions are outdated, what's wrong with me indulging in some me

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The black pill melted in her mouth, a bitter taste spreading along the back of her tongue. Her pupils turned pure black in an instant, like two bottomless wells. Her speed and strength surged, and the sword in her hand was no longer a sword, but a silver lightning bolt.

An Zhiyu sprang up from the ground with incredible speed. The sword emerged from the stone slab, its silver blade tracing a dazzling arc in the moonlight, heading straight for Xiao Yuheng's throat.

Xiao Yuheng turned his head, the blade grazing his ear, blood splattering and drawing a dark red arc in the air. His body instinctively leaned back, his right hand retracting from Lu Changsheng's direction, fingers together, palm facing An Zhiyu.

An Zhiyu didn't dodge. She drew a short blade from her waist with her left hand and parried. The metal struck her palm with a dull thud. She was thrown back three or four steps, her toes leaving two white marks on the ground. But she didn't fall; she steadied herself and charged forward again.

Xiao Yuheng frowned. Looking into An Zhiyu's pure black eyes and at the reckless expression on her face, he suddenly understood something.

What did you eat?

An Zhiyu did not answer. Her sword thrust again, this time not towards his throat, but towards his face.

"Certainly."

The power of the rules surged from her palm, like an invisible wall crushing down on An Zhiyu. But this time, the wall did not stop her. An Zhiyu's sword pierced into the rules, black patterns spreading across the transparent wall, and the rules began to shatter.

Xiao Yuheng's pupils suddenly contracted.

"you--"

An Zhiyu didn't give him a chance to speak. Her sword pierced his right shoulder, the blade passing through the gap between his shoulder blade and collarbone, lodging itself in the bone. With a sharp twist, Xiao Yuheng's right arm drooped, the short blade slipping from his hand and falling to the ground with a crisp clinking sound.

Xiao Yuheng's face twisted in pain. He tapped his toes twice on the ground and retreated nearly five meters, putting distance between himself and An Zhiyu.

Meanwhile, Lu Changsheng knelt on the ground, his eyes tightly closed, his lips moving incessantly.

The black talisman burned between his fingers, and golden flames danced on it.

Xiao Qingniao. Xiao Qingniao. Xiao Qingniao.

The spiritual energy, like an invisible thread, extended out from Lu Changsheng's body.

Countless bodies of Xiao Qingniao lay in the coffin. Not just one, but countless. Each one had its eyes closed, each one bound by chains. But their souls were connected, like the roots of a tree.

Lu Changsheng's spiritual power touched the net, and he sensed her presence.

She is everywhere because she never leaves.

The temperature in the lobby plummeted.

Xiao Yuheng sensed it. His body stiffened for a moment.

At the entrance to the lobby, the air seemed to distort.

At the center of the distortion, a ball of light was gathering, growing brighter and more concentrated, until it finally coalesced into the shape of a person.

A white dress, black hair, and a porcelain-white face. Her body was translucent, and her feet hovered an inch off the ground.

There was a number on her forehead—99. It was golden, radiating a soft light in the darkness, like a small sun that had been lit up.

Xiao Qingniao has returned, bringing with her complete and unaltered soul.

She looked at Xiao Yuheng.

Xiao Yuheng's body began to tremble.

"Sister." His voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

Xiao Qingniao didn't speak. She just looked at him for a long time. There was a deeper sadness in his deep brown eyes.

She raised her right hand, fingers spread, palm facing Xiao Yuheng.

"Little brother." Her voice was soft and gentle, like a leaf floating on water, "That's enough."

He knelt before Xiao Qingniao, head bowed, his shoulders heaving violently. Blood flowed from his right shoulder, dripping onto the stone slab with a soft, pattering sound.

"Sister," he managed to squeeze out of his throat, "I was wrong."

Xiao Qingniao stared at him for a long time.

Then she walked up to him, knelt down, reached out, and gently touched his head. Her hand was translucent, running through his hair.

Light seeped from her palms, and when it touched Xiao Yuheng, his body began to glow. But then his body disappeared, becoming transparent from the edges.

The next second, Xiao Yuheng's body stiffened abruptly, then went completely limp and slowly collapsed to the ground.

This is Xiao Qingniao, with 99% of her power. When she returns, even as a soul, she will be able to control everything.

Xiao Qingniao withdrew her hand, stood up, and looked at Lu Changsheng.

"Thank you," she said softly. "Thank you for taking Ah Shen out. Thank you for calling me back."

Lu Changsheng opened his eyes. The black talisman had burned out, and ashes drifted from between his fingers.

His face was as white as paper, his forehead was covered in sweat, his lips were purple, and he looked completely drained. The summoning of the spirit had clearly taken a toll on him.

An Zhiyu stood beside him, her sword already sheathed. Her pupils had returned to their normal color, but her face was paler than Lu Changsheng's, blood was still flowing from her right shoulder, and she looked as if she might collapse at any moment.

But she still walked up to Lu Changsheng.

"Can you stand up?" she asked.

Lu Changsheng looked up at her and smiled.

"able."

He pushed himself up from the ground. His knees were a little weak, and his legs were trembling, but he stood firm. He stood next to An Zhiyu, the two of them side by side.

"You should go," she said.

Lu Changsheng looked at her without saying a word.

He knew what she was going to do, but the depletion of his spiritual energy prevented him from saying anything more.

Xiao Qingniao turned around and looked at Xiao Yuheng lying on the ground.

Then she raised her hands, spread her fingers, and faced Lu Changsheng and An Zhiyu.

Lu Changsheng felt a force supporting his body. It was Xiao Qingniao's soul power, the last thing she left in this world. She used this last thing to send them away.

"Miss Xiao," Lu Changsheng's voice was a little hoarse, "what will you do after you use your power to send us out?"

Xiao Qingniao looked at him and smiled. The smile was deeper than before, carrying a sense of relief.

"I've been dead for seven years, Mr. Lu. Living these extra few minutes is already a bonus."

Xiao Qingniao saw An Zhiyu's hand holding the sword, and the smile on her lips widened even more.

"You're a lot like me when I was young," she said to An Zhiyu. "Not in appearance, but in the eyes. That fearless, reckless look."

An Zhiyu didn't speak, but she tightened her grip on the sword.

Xiao Qingniao withdrew her gaze and looked at Lu Changsheng.

"Mr. Lu, please tell Ah Shen for me—I'm fine. Tell him not to come looking for me."

Lu Changsheng nodded.

The light swallowed them up.

Xiao Qingniao's power, like a pair of gentle hands, lifted them through the ceiling of the hall, and they saw the entire castle.

Looking down from above, the castle resembles a dying giant, curled up on the ground, its body slowly collapsing.

The cracks in the walls are widening, the spires of the towers are tilting, the flowers in the gardens are withering, and the water in the lake is drying up.

The castle is dying.

Xiao Yuheng is gone, and Xiao Qingniao is leaving too. With the two souls supporting this ancient castle departing at the same time, it can no longer hold on.

Players Lu Changsheng and An Zhiyu have been detected leaving the instance area.

[Settling dungeon rewards...]

[Instance Name: Ninth Tier]

[Dungeon Difficulty: S]

[Player An Zhiyu achieved a perfect completion. Lu Changsheng also achieved a perfect completion.]

[Individual Points Rewards: An Zhiyu 50, Lu Changsheng 50.]

China's current points: 152, ranking 54th globally (previously 98th)

[Bonus Rewards:]

Anzhiyu – The Shuttle of Cause and Effect: At any moment in the instance, the causal connection between two things can be “cut off” or “connected”.

Usage restrictions: Each copy can only be used once. After severing causality, the two severed items will have no further connection; after reconnecting causality, the two connected items will have a necessary sequential relationship.

Lu Changsheng - Spirit Communication: Can freely communicate with any spirit in the dungeon.

Special Reward: An Zhiyu and Lu Changsheng's Life Chains (Shared Damage)

[Customized Dungeon Reward: Mysterious Clue*1, allows you to select a specific person to enter the dungeon (randomly drawn each month and expires)]

[Instance complete, teleportation in progress.]

A familiar feeling of dizziness washed over me.

The surrounding scenery began to distort.

Lu Changsheng felt his consciousness returning to his body.

The dizziness came like a tide, and then receded like a tide.

Lu Changsheng opened his eyes and saw the familiar ceiling. It was white, smooth, without any cracks or dust. He was lying on his bed, still wearing the same clothes he had worn before entering the dungeon.

I picked up my phone. The screen was piled high with messages, mostly from Yan Xiangming. The last one was from 7 a.m. this morning:

"Mr. Lu, please contact me immediately after you wake up. We received an unconventional item from China as part of the S-rank dungeon rewards, and we need your participation in an emergency meeting."

Unconventional items. Looking at these four words, Lu Changsheng felt a strange, indescribable feeling. He dialed Yan Xiangming's number, which was answered after one ring.

"Mr. Lu," Yan Xiangming's voice was more urgent than usual, "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"It's alright," Lu Changsheng said. "What kind of unconventional item are you referring to?"

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone. "A blueprint for a cauldron," Yan Xiangming said. "The system is directly placed in the core warehouse of the Chinese headquarters, without any instructions or usage guidelines. The blueprint only shows the cauldron and its name—'The Nine Provinces Cauldron'."

Lu Changsheng's fingers tightened slightly.

The Nine Tripods, also known as the Nine Tripods, are the nine tripods cast by Yu the Great in legend. They symbolize the nine provinces of the world, are symbols of royal power, and are objects used to protect the mountains and rivers.

But that was a legend, a myth, a story from thousands of years ago. Now, the system has materialized this legend and placed it in the warehouse of the Chinese headquarters, without any explanation.

"I'll be there right away," Lu Changsheng said.

He hung up the phone, changed into clean clothes, and left the room.

He glanced at his phone and saw that it was a message from An Zhiyu:

"Arrived at headquarters."

Not far from the headquarters of the Strange Zone, just behind the Strange Zone, is an inconspicuous gray building with two security guards in black uniforms standing at the entrance.

Lu Changsheng showed his ID card and was taken to the basement level.

Yan Xiangming was waiting for him at the end of the corridor. He looked unwell, with dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept all night. When he saw Lu Changsheng, he nodded, said nothing, and turned to push open the heavy metal door behind him.

The metal door closed slowly behind me with a dull thud.

Lu Changsheng entered the room and paused for a moment; there were far more people in the room than he had expected.

The huge circular conference room was filled with people sitting on both sides of the long table; a rough count revealed at least thirty people.

Yan Xiangming walked to the head of the long table, pulled out a chair, and sat down, gesturing for Lu Changsheng to sit to his right. That seat was empty, as if it had been reserved specifically for him.

Lu Changsheng calmly sat down, raised his head, and looked ahead.

A huge screen occupied the entire wall, stretching from the ceiling to the floor. The screen displayed a drawing—

The blueprints for the Nine Tripods.

Lu Changsheng looked at the blueprint, his pupils slightly contracting.

When Yan Xiangming mentioned "the blueprints of the cauldron" on the phone, what came to his mind was a rough black-and-white line drawing that looked like it had been copied from an ancient book.

But the blueprint in front of us is completely different; it's alive.

The patterns on the ding (a type of ancient Chinese cooking vessel) flowed slowly, like tiny rivers meandering across the bronze surface. Mountains, rivers, cities, figures—all the patterns were in motion, breathing, operating in a way that humans could not comprehend.

The Nine Tripods.

Zhenshanhe.

Collect the fragments of the Nine Cauldrons to summon this cauldron.

On the day the tripod is completed, the mountains and rivers will be forever secure.

The conference room was so quiet you could hear the faint hum of the air conditioning system. Everyone was staring at the cauldron on the screen.

Yan Xiangming cleared his throat and began to speak. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clearly audible in the quiet conference room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the reason I've gathered you all here today is to discuss one thing—the true intentions of the system."

He stood up, walked to the screen, and pointed his finger at a spot on the cauldron. The pattern at that spot was magnified; the lines of the mountains and rivers became clearer, and the veins of the rivers became more intricate.

"For the past three months, we've been speculating about why the system allows players to enter dungeons, why it sets up rankings, and why it rewards mysterious fragments. Now, the answer is here."

He turned around and faced everyone.

"The system isn't for us to play a game. The system is for us to find things. Dungeons are the filtering mechanism, points are the incentive, and fragments are the clues. And the ultimate goal is this cauldron—the Nine Provinces Cauldron."

"The system hasn't provided any explanation," Yan Xiangming's voice came from behind. "We suspect this is related to the mysterious fragments rewarded in the previous dungeon."

Lu Changsheng turned his head and looked at Yan Xiangming.

"A mysterious fragment?"

Yan Xiangming nodded.

"The bronze fragments you obtained earlier are made of the exact same material as the rust on this cauldron. The system has checked, and the composition is completely identical."

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