I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

Chapter 138 The Perilous Ritual, Promotion (4K)

Li Feng is the only one of the Four Heavenly Kings who can speak human language.

But Li Feng is also an eccentric man who is taciturn.

Its eyes only glow when it is cultivating; it is a true cultivation fanatic.

Li Feng was also the first Gui to cultivate his three innate skills to the pinnacle of mastery.

"Perhaps, reaching the pinnacle is one of the thresholds for this bizarre advancement to the extraordinary realm?"

Shi An pulled himself out of his thoughts and asked Li Feng how he had felt the revelation from the unseen world, and what his extraordinary ritual was.

Li Feng spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Not long ago, I went to the depths of the nightmare to fight and hone my skills. After killing about thirty or forty strange beings, I suddenly realized that if I continued down this path, I could reach my extraordinary ritual."

"This path is—slaughter!"

Yes, when Lifeng is training, it doesn't just bury itself in the training room. It will seek out strange sword tests, hoping to break through its own limitations through external pressure.

Not long ago, Li Feng directly confronted dozens of strange beings and killed them one by one.

Only its bizarre form could accomplish this. If it were a human, even a top expert in the Third Refinement Realm would be submerged in the bizarre tide in an instant.

It was no easy feat for Lifeng to cleave through the eerie tides, and it was precisely because of this that it sensed a revelation from the unseen world.

It also gave a general understanding of the contents of the "extraordinary ritual".

It is killing: but it is far more than just the ordinary, bizarre slaughter of some small fry.

"We need to break through a group of strange beings, and this group must have at least three leaders among them."

Li Feng said so.

Shi An's expression changed slightly.

"Is this the real difficulty one faces when advancing to the extraordinary realm? That makes sense. If the extraordinary ritual were merely about swinging a sword a thousand times, it wouldn't have trapped so many exceptionally talented Dream Fallers."

Lifeng itself is only a leader-level monster. It is extremely difficult for it to kill three monsters at once and deal with other ordinary monsters at the same time.

Even though there are differences between the leader-level units, and Lifeng itself is among the top-tier units, if it wins such a major battle, it will be a Pyrrhic victory.

"However, completing this battle also means that the extraordinary ritual has been completed, and the Dream Fallen or the Strange will advance in a short period of time."

"To attempt promotion or transformation while in a slump inevitably carries risks several times, even ten times, higher!"

Shi An pondered.

He discovered that the difficulties in the process of universal upgrading were far more than these.

After the peak of the Third Refinement Realm finishes this battle, if one wants to advance or break through, then there must be a safe place for breakthrough, right? Breakthrough takes time, and if one remains in the Nightmare World, the breakthrough seeker will become the monster's food in no time.

The nightmare world, filled with a chilling atmosphere, is not a suitable place for breakthroughs.

"However, this obstacle is not a problem for my safe zone. Lifeng can quickly return to the safe zone after the battle and come to the training room to make breakthroughs."

"In addition to these, there are also information barriers."

"Finding such a perfectly timed and eerie group takes time and manpower."

"To ensure that the extraordinary ritual is conducted without interference, a powerful person must be present to protect it; otherwise, the slightest accident could disrupt the ritual and cause it to be interrupted."

Shi An listed out all the problems that might be encountered during the process.

Fortunately, many of the seemingly unsolvable problems were minor issues for him.

Looking for a strange group? He can just issue a task.

Ritual protectors? We can just call on Little Blood Turbid Mio and the others when the time comes.

Shi An also realized that it was almost impossible for lone wolves and lone warriors to advance to the extraordinary level. The process of advancement required assistance from others in too many ways.

Fortunately, he wasn't a lone wolf; the vast safe zone was his wings.

Shi An began preparing for the Lifeng ceremony.

Finding targets, setting up venues, preparing recovery supplies and various auxiliary medicines, and so on.

He carried all of this out in an orderly manner, striving to ensure that nothing went wrong.

At the same time.

In the present world, the Baijiang Countermeasures Bureau, Headquarters.

More than a dozen team leaders and deputy team leaders came into the meeting room and took their seats one by one.

Ninth Captain Xia Yuxiu spoke up: "Regarding the intelligent anomaly, we obtained concrete information from the safe zone. It's an anomaly called 'Pseudo-Human'!"

Xia Yuxiu recounted the story of the fake man in detail.

Some of the captains and vice-captains present were already aware of the situation, while others were either in seclusion for years or had just returned from a nightmare world.

They all stared wide-eyed and gasped.

"Such a bizarre thing exists? Holy crap!"

"Could these imposters have already infiltrated our Baijiang City? This strange phenomenon is terrifying; we must not allow them to remain!"

"The question now is, do we have a way to detect fake people?"

-

"I heard that the research institute is already working on it."

"What we understand so far is that the higher the realm, the stronger the vitality and spiritual power, and the longer it will take for the pseudo-humans to erode and replace us. However, there are also transcendent beings among the pseudo-humans, and there may even be more than one, which we need to be careful about."

The team leaders all looked solemn.

They had no idea how many extraordinary beings were among the pseudo-human race.

There might only be two or three, but there could also be twenty or thirty! They knew almost nothing about the fake humans. If it weren't for the safe zone informing them, they would only have noticed that there were intelligent and strange people spying on them, but they had no idea what the enemy was or where they were.

The imposter's ability to conceal himself was too strong!

"Fortunately, we are now aware of the existence of these fake people, so we can take targeted precautions."

But the captains felt uneasy at the thought that the fake humans were not only extremely good at hiding, but also a powerful and intelligent, bizarre race.

You should know that once a strange entity gains intelligence, it will seek ways to become stronger and break through its limitations.

These strange creatures, possessing the same cultivation methods as humans, are born powerful.

Thinking about it this way—the more the captains thought about it, the more troublesome it seemed.

"We need to call back the battalion commander who is away, otherwise, we may not be able to handle it on our own."

"The Commander-in-Chief is in seclusion in the base deep within the nightmare. In a real emergency, we'll have to call him out of seclusion."

The entire headquarters of the Baijiang Countermeasures Bureau, including the director, the two deputy directors, the captain of the action team, and Captain Long of the First Brigade, are all extraordinary beings.

In fact, there are more than two deputy directors in the Countermeasures Bureau, but there are also two ordinary people who are responsible for daily affairs.

Deputy Director Yan Xiangtian is in charge of the present world, mainly responsible for matters related to nightmare invasion and crimes committed by those who fall into dreams.

Another deputy director is in charge of the three nightmare camps.

The chief commander was in charge of the action team, but in reality, he rarely did anything; he was a cultivation fanatic.

In the eyes of some captains who knew the inside story, the captain's strength was probably even above that of Director Yan, and he was a strong person in the extraordinary realm!

However, there are only a handful of extraordinary beings in the entire Baijiang Countermeasures Bureau.

Basically, they are either not in Baijiang City, or they are busy with other matters.

If a fake superhuman were to infiltrate the city, who would intervene?

Team leader Bai Yu said, "Or, let's take a gamble and advance to the extraordinary realm!"

He touched upon the extraordinary ritual more than half a year ago, but he still has no confidence in it.

Bai Yu was not the captain of the second team before.

He was just the vice-captain.

The previous captain failed to advance to the extraordinary realm six months ago and died on the spot.

Although the bureau possesses the "Return to One Secret Elixir," a life-saving elixir for the advancement process, its effectiveness depends on the individual's intact condition. If a peak expert is already severely injured during the advancement or transformation process, and is further interfered with by external forces, no secret elixir can save their life!

Xia Yuxiu, the captain of the Ninth Team, said: "In the period after the city fell, our Strategy Bureau changed captains nine times."

"Two of the captains died in accidents while experiencing nightmares, and three captains sacrificed themselves while fighting against the nightmare tide. The remaining four either failed to break through, died on the spot, or were seriously injured and resigned."

Did anyone get promoted?

Have!

There is only one captain, Long Xingzhou, of the First Brigade!

A success rate of 25% is frighteningly low!

After the city's collapse, the environment became harsher, and supernatural rituals became much more dangerous.

Otherwise————

Currently, more than half of the twelve captains of the Countermeasures Bureau have met the breakthrough conditions.

Lu Qing said, "My extraordinary ritual is relatively simple; it only involves conquering a deep nightmare area."

This is actually not simple.

Even in the deepest nightmares, the lowest level will contain a leader-level monster and several ordinary monsters. To conquer it all by oneself? That's extremely difficult.

After completing the strategy, she had very little time to rest and was about to begin her transformation.

Transformation and ascension to the extraordinary in the nightmare world will inevitably attract the attention of the strange surroundings, fraught with danger.

Those who fall into dreams must either complete their transformation quickly, before the crisis arrives.

Alternatively, one could find a campsite for shelter.

"The captains of the Countermeasures Bureau are promoted to Dragonfire Camp, one of the three major camps."

However, the ritual sites for the powerful are often far from the Dragonfire Camp, and it is often too late to get to the camp after the ritual.

In the past, two captains in the bureau had died on the way.

Two more? They died during the ceremony.

Among the eleven team leaders, the second team leader Bai Yu, the third team leader Li Yunfeng, and the fourth team leader Lu Qing are the three with the most experience.

They weren't really afraid to break through and get promoted; they just wanted to have more experience and a better grasp of the situation.

Now, with the threat of the false people looming, it's probably time to break through.

Lu Qing said, "Some time ago, I studied the spellbook in the safe zone and made a small breakthrough. Let me try to advance first. I have an idea—what if we use this safe zone as our place of transformation?"

After the ceremony, head immediately to the safe zone!

The gates to safe zones are often located in areas with relatively low risk.

The nightmares she can conquer are precisely the most ordinary ones.

As long as the safe zone gate opens within an area she can conquer, she can immediately and safely advance after the ceremony.

Bai Yu originally wanted to say that the safest and most secure place for Pusheng to play is definitely at home.

But after thinking about it carefully, he realized—

The wonders of the safe zone really do help with advancement and transformation.

As for Captain Bai, well, he hasn't been lucky enough to encounter the safe zone yet.

Damn it!

"A team leader from the Countermeasures Bureau wants to be promoted and advance within the safe zone, and asked me if I allow it?"

"It's a small matter, agree to it."

Shi An desperately wanted the Countermeasures Bureau to produce more powerful individuals, so that he wouldn't have to worry about Baijiang City every day.

After thinking for a while, he realized that the most suitable place to break through was neither the training room nor the quiet room of the library.

Instead, it was a hotel room.

-

The inn has restorative effects such as calming and buffing.

Peak experts are often in poor condition after completing the ritual, and what they need at this time is to recover their strength. Moreover, the tranquility of the inn can help calm agitation and facilitate the breakthrough of the Underworld God realm.

The countermeasures bureau also considered this point, so they wanted to book a top-tier room with him long-term.

"Great minds think alike!"

"I wonder which captain the Countermeasures Bureau is targeting this time? Currently, only Captain Li, Captain Lu, Captain Fen, and Captain Xia have members in the safe zone."

Shi An had ideas and wanted to see what breakthroughs the Countermeasures Bureau could make, and then learn from their experience.

However, when will the leader of the countermeasures bureau make a breakthrough? It's hard to say.

For top-tier experts, preparing for a month or two is not considered long.

For Shi An, even half a month felt like a long time.

The bizarre way they broke through is ultimately quite different from what humans do.

"Then let's begin."

Most importantly, he has found the "strange group suitable for the extraordinary ritual of sharpening the blade".

Three leaders and more than a dozen ordinary, eerie beings.

There was nothing terrifying or supernatural around.

In the depths of this nightmare, there is no more suitable place than here.

Shi An murmured.

The shadow beneath his feet stretched out, and at its end emerged a dark-skinned youth with a completely different appearance from his.

The shadow figure walked out of the safe zone.

At the same time, Shi An anchored in that area and locked onto the passageway door through which the member was passing.

Lifeng, Xiaoxue, Zhuoling, and several other strange figures emerged one after another.

There is also a shadow.

Two kilometers away.

Shi An, the Shadow Avatar, stood atop a dilapidated building, overlooking a small park square in the distance.

There, a group of extremely dangerous and bizarre creatures are roaming.

He looked around.

"These strange creatures are the biggest source of danger in the surrounding area."

"The downside is that this area is quite far from the gate of the safe zone."

But that's not a problem.

Shi An has his own methods.

Xiao Xue and Zhuo Ling flew to different locations, both far from their target areas.

They can block interference from the outside.

However, if the internal conflicts have even the slightest impact, they could cause the ritual to fail.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Li Feng walked to the front of the square.

The next moment, it vanished, appearing before the group of strange creatures.

"Rising Dragon Slash!"

Black magical energy swirled around the blade of the greatsword, transforming into a powerful black dragon.

As the greatsword slashed down—

The black dragon soared into the sky and instantly swallowed several strange creatures, including one of the leader-level creatures.

The rising black dragon exploded in mid-air, and bizarre pieces of flesh fell from the sky.

But this is still not the end.

Li Feng's magical power surged, and in the blink of an eye, he was draped in a ferocious black armor.

The eerie horde engulfed it.

The next moment, a surge of magical power erupted, sending all the strange creatures flying.

The battle quickly escalated to a fever pitch.

Lifeng didn't engage in maneuvering or backstabbing; it chose the purest form of head-on confrontation.

This is not stupidity.

This is its path, its universal ascension ceremony!

Shi An stood on the rooftop of a high-rise building, overlooking the fierce battle below.

A rumbling sound spread out.

A strange roar came from the gray fog in the distance.

Shi An glanced at it.

Dozens of meters away, the shadow transformed into sharp spikes, piercing through the eerie sight.

Battles also broke out one after another in the areas of Xiaoxue and Zhuomiao.

Fortunately, the number of strange entities attracted by the passive and passive was not large, nor were they powerful; at most, there were only a few elite-level strange entities.

One person, two tricks, easy cooking.

The key remains the battle below.

Li Feng used a cunning strategy to fight and kill the three leaders.

Ten minutes!

Twenty minutes!

half an hour!

The armor of the sharpened blade was tattered and broken, and the strange body had become somewhat transparent.

However, around it, there was no longer any strange object whose complete shape could be discerned; only a dozen or so cursed objects gradually emerged, spreading out a faint halo.

The ceremony has been completed.

In the darkness, a mysterious power of rules is about to descend.