I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

For well-known reasons, Lu Ban's teammates have a low survival rate. Apart from fellow Chosen Ones like Trist and Sia, his companions from other realms mostly die one after another. Those who manage to die are considered lucky, and not turning into monsters is considered a success.

Therefore, since we've brought along a little one this time, it's best to choose a lower difficulty level.

Lu Ban checked the difficulty levels and found that the [Mortal] difficulty was blacked out. Not only the [Mortal] difficulty, but also the [Contamination] and [Erosion] difficulties were blacked out.

Only the [Alienation] difficulty level is available.

"???"

Is there a bug in this task?

Lu Ban looked at it again for a second.

"Oh, I knew it."

Lu Ban finally discovered the problem: apart from the [Alienation] difficulty, there were other difficulty levels to choose from.

Next to the [Alienation] difficulty level, there is an option for an even higher difficulty level, but it cannot be selected because Lu Ban has not been unlocked.

"How thoughtful!"

Lu Ban sighed.

He can only choose the [Alienation] difficulty level.

With tears in my eyes, I earned over 100,000 more Silent Points.

[Enter the Silent Land?]

【whether】

Lu Ban chose "Yes".

The window suddenly opened, and Lu Ban felt a warm breeze.

He was sucked into the window.

Purple light surrounded Lu Ban, making him feel dizzy and lightheaded, as if he had been thrown into an endlessly spinning wheel. Countless points of light formed a starry sky picture on his retina. Suddenly, a soft murmur entered Lu Ban's ears, like weeping and lamenting, like a mournful cry.

The flow of time in the Silent Land is different from that in the outside world.

Number of companions: 0

[On the way to He Island]

When his feet touched the ground again, Lu Ban smelled a faint floral fragrance.

The chirping of birds and the warm, gentle spring breeze reached Lu Ban's ears, and he seemed to hear someone speaking.

"...Please do not have any unnecessary interactions with her. Of course, our guards will take care of her; you are only responsible for guiding the way."

An elderly woman's voice came from behind him, causing Lu Ban to turn his head.

He saw a face full of wrinkles.

The old woman's hair was completely white, tied in a bun. She wore a dark blue silk dress and held a pipe in her hand. She took two puffs and exhaled grayish-white smoke.

"I see."

Lu Ban heard the person next to him respond, it seemed he had fast-forwarded to the time when the journey was about to begin.

Beside him sat an older woman dressed in coarse black cloth. Several strands of white hair, like highlights, were mixed in with her black hair. She was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, and there was a heroic air about her between her brows, like a seasoned hunter or warrior.

Beside the woman was a long sword sheathed.

The knife was very long, exceeding the length of a sword that Lu Ban usually recognized. It was like a clothesline, forming a stark contrast with the woman's figure.

"Bound by the oath, we naturally won't do anything that violates it. I just wonder if we could exchange a few words with her? I think getting to know each other would be more helpful for this journey, right?"

The woman asked, not taking the old woman's words too seriously. In fact, she did not show any humility or submissiveness, but rather appeared to be a winner who had the upper hand.

"...She is practicing her cultivation for today. You can see her in the side hall after it is over."

After saying that, the old woman tapped her pipe, signaling the two to leave.

Lu Ban followed the woman and found that his clothes had also changed to similar coarse cloth clothes, and all the props were put into the bag he carried with him. It seemed that the difference in level between him and the island could be seen from the clothes.

The old woman was dressed in silk, while the guards beside her wore coarse linen clothes. The woman and Lu Ban were slightly better dressed, but only in terms of their clothing.

"She believed that as long as her granddaughter could become the high priestess, her family could also enter the core of the island's political circle."

After leaving the room and the guards, the woman spoke to Lu Ban.

"Of course, many people don't want to see the high priestess as someone who doesn't belong to their sphere of influence, and that's where the conflict begins."

"Shouldn't the high priestess be judged by her abilities?"

Lu Ban asked, loosening his collar. Springtime on the island was very warm, and the coarse cloth was not breathable.

The woman turned around, glanced at Lu Ban, and smiled slightly.

“These officials are not so naive. Indeed, the chief priestess needs to rely on her strength to stand out. In fact, being able to enter the Wajima Grand Shrine and become a candidate has already involved a lot of bargaining and compromise. The major families of Wajima will not allow anyone who surpasses their control to become the priestess.”

"So, what do we do now?"

Lu Ban thought to himself that this was similar to elections in some countries around the world. They seemed intense, but in reality, they were the result of games and compromises between large companies and capital behind the scenes.

"That's the variable. The priestess here is said to be exceptionally talented. There were unusual celestial phenomena at her birth, and she seems to be the destined next high priestess. The only drawback is that she and her family have long been outside the core power circle."

The woman and Lu Ban waited in the side hall. Lu Ban roughly figured out that the woman's name was Changpu, a famous mercenary at sea, and that he was one of Changpu's subordinates.

After waiting for a while, just as Lu Ban had drunk two cups of tea and was about to go to the restroom, a maid entered the room.

"Miss has arrived."

She said.

Chapter 327 The Intruder

Just as the maid spoke and led the people behind her into the side hall, Lu Ban also saw that the characters on the paintings and calligraphy hanging in the room were distorted and crooked, forming a system of indifferent and cold characters.

【He Island】

[In the thirty-second year of the Divine Martial Era, everything was in ruins and needed to be rebuilt.]

The high priestess is about to step down, and the island's political circles are in turmoil. Sometimes, political enemies are more terrifying than the filth that devours life.

[A long journey, all for the sake of escorting a priestess. History will not remember your existence, people will not know your name, only the purifying fire will embrace everything and illuminate the dark sea.]

Springtime brings peace, but sorrow for those parting.

[Mission Requirements: Escort the shrine maiden to Wajima Taisha Shrine]

[Mission Requirement: Witness the birth of a new High Priestess]

[Difficulty: Alienation]

Upon seeing these words, Lu Ban felt a subtle sense of dizziness.

This has never happened before.

At the same time, Lu Ban noticed changes beneath the text in these systems.

[Intrusion detected by the Chosen Ones; mission changed]

[Mission Requirements: Escort the shrine maiden to Wajima Taisha Shrine]

[Mission Requirement: Witness the birth of a new High Priestess]

[Mission Objective: Locate and kill the invading hostile Chosen Ones]

[Difficulty: Alienation]

"The Chosen Ones have invaded?"

Lu Ban immediately recalled the three people from another realm he had seen on Pohnpei Island. Their goal was to awaken the evil god in Lu Ban's world. So, what these hostile chosen ones were doing on the island was perhaps to obstruct Lu Ban's escort mission.

He thought of many things.

For example, according to previous speculation, the Silent Land can control the time when the chosen ones arrive in other realms. So, perhaps Lu Ban is currently in the future He Island. If the genius shrine maiden he is escorting does not successfully reach the He Island Grand Shrine and become the high priestess, then He Island will be attacked by unclean spirits due to the power struggles at the top and will eventually be destroyed.

Then the chosen ones of the other gods would naturally come to kill the witch.

Of course, as a good young man of the new era who has studied materialism and has a people-centered view of history, Lu Ban believes that this mission may not necessarily be that crucial.

After all, this is a "scene" constructed by the gods.

Perhaps Lu Ban successfully saved the shrine maiden, or perhaps he didn't, but that doesn't mean that the island was completely destroyed just because the shrine maiden died.

Perhaps with the shrine maiden gone, the shrine's ability to cleanse itself of impurities weakened considerably, leading to its premature destruction. Or perhaps the shrine maiden was too powerful, causing the island to be burned to ashes prematurely.

This is roughly the extent of its impact on history.

The destruction of a world is not only due to the influence of one or two heroic figures, but also largely due to the course of history. It is not heroes who create the times, but the times that create heroes.

Just like what Lu Ban did during the demonic tide in the Night Kingdom, even without him, the Night Kingdom would still exist at least several hundred years later. Perhaps with his presence, fewer people would die in the Night Kingdom over the next few hundred years, and some history would be changed, but the overall trend would remain unchanged.

If Kazushima continues to rely on those powerful families to decide the candidates for high priestess, as Ayame suggested, then destruction is almost inevitable.

Whether the priestess survives or not is merely a matter of whether this event will happen sooner or later.

"Be polite, don't stare at others."

It was only when the calamus beside him reminded Lu Ban that he came back to his senses.

When Lu Ban saw the system notification, he focused his attention on the girl sitting opposite him.

He focused his gaze and found that the other person was also staring at him, as if silently condemning Lu Ban's rudeness.

This is a young girl wearing a red and white dress, the style of a shrine maiden, which Lu Ban had seen on Song Island before.

She was beautiful, possessing both the innocence of a young girl and a touch of maturity. She had thick, jet-black hair and amber eyes, and sat upright with impeccable posture.

"Feel sorry."

Lu Ban looked away, but the girl continued to stare at him.

"I am Ayame, the mercenary in charge of navigation this time, and this is my subordinate Lu Ban."

Changpu spoke, trying to ease the tension.

"amber."

That's all the girl said.

After a moment, Lu Ban realized that this was her name.