Damn it! Let's smash the darkness together!-Chapter 1224 - 136:

As night fell, those who managed to enter the church’s vicinity before darkness descended chanted phrases like "Thank the Mother Goddess for her protection" and "Praise be to the divine grace" with an almost frenzied devotion, kneeling as they moved forward, eventually gathering densely in the church’s front yard.

Xu Shu, naturally, did not follow these fanatical believers, but instead remained where he was, gazing at the two Big Axe Gatekeepers.

The two small giants stood to the left and right, and after closing the big iron gate, the blades of their axes pointed inward towards the church.

This made Xu Shu quite uneasy.

If they were "guarding" against the darkness, shouldn’t the axes be facing outward?

What does it mean to point inward? It feels like they’re guarding prisoners.

If the bride hadn’t mentioned that anyone who clashed with the gatekeepers would be swallowed by darkness, Xu Shu might have boldly attempted to see if their axes were tougher, or if his golden spear was superior.

But considering they still had a day and a half within the relic, Xu Shu played it safe and chose not to confront the gatekeepers—after entering the relic, the chances from the Tai Chu roll wouldn’t disappear or refresh with time, meaning the one remaining revival opportunity would last until they completely left, and of course, the [Superdimensional Mode] would protect him until he departed.

"Xu Shu, over here!"

The voice of the bride, Xie Xiaochan, rang beside his ear. Turning to look, she was not far away, jumping excitedly and waving at him, her cute twin ponytails bouncing.

Seeing this, Xu Shu temporarily set these thoughts aside and walked over quietly to join his teammates.

When Xu Shu approached, Xie Xiaochan immediately pulled out a small pink notebook and, pretending to look serious, began calling out names, clearing her throat and calling out first, "Xu Shu! Xu Shu? Where are you?"

Xu Shu: "?"

Seeing that Xu Shu wasn’t responding, Xie Xiaochan stabbed him lightly with a brushpen and said, "I’m calling your name, say ’present’.’

"Are you crazy?" Xu Shu looked at Xie Xiaochan as if she were a fool.

You stabbed me with a pen, and want me to say ’present’?

Xie Xiaochan, however, said earnestly, "This is called the necessary sense of ritual, say ’present’.’

"..." Xu Shu’s mouth twitched, and he said, rather speechlessly, "Present."

"Mm-hmm." Satisfied, Xie Xiaochan nodded, ticked his name, and continued, "Yan Huoxing."

"Present." Yan Huoxing originally did not want to cooperate, but upon seeing the sharp look Xie Xiaochan threw at him, he felt an unexplainable tension and hurried to answer.

While saying ’present’, he instinctively hid behind Xu Shu, as if avoiding a plague.

Xie Xiaochan ignored him and continued calling out names, letting Gu Yue Ming, Jiang Biyun, and others respond in turn.

After ensuring all ten were present and nobody was left out, she closed her notebook: "I’m not overreacting, but one must be cautious at Death Report Ridge; sudden extra or missing people often lead to team problems."

"Mm." The group nodded.

Some were completely unaware and relied on others for such reminders, like Xu Shu, while others were well-informed of such lesser-known "unwritten rules," differing among them.

"We’ll hide here for the night, leave when it’s daylight, then use my trigger item to open the hidden treasury. But we’ll have to face a third-tier peak Yin King, and I’ll count on everyone’s help then; the resources in the treasury can be divided among everyone," Xie Xiaochan continued.

This proposal naturally gained everyone’s approval once more.

Xie Xiaochan glanced around before lowering her voice and mysteriously said, "Speaking of which, there’s a rumor that this Dark Mother Goddess church might conceal the secret of the fallen Black Zhen School, perhaps containing quite a few treasures."

Given the unusual circumstances, her words drew immediate attention from the group.

Some who knew some of the inside story, like the "Fallen Apostle" Ali, the "Fallen Apostle" Xiao Yingrong, the "Soul Capturer" Ning Zhaoxuan, and others, nodded in agreement, saying:

"Indeed, the Black Zhen School was active even before the Great Catastrophe, holding many relic pieces and acquiring substantial benefits from the era, so one can imagine how terrifying their foundations were."

"Have you heard of the Winter Valley Research Association?"

"Somewhat, they were among the most active organizations during the God Descent period, right?"

"Yes, it’s said the Winter Valley Research Association and the Black Zhen School were actually one entity, with the association’s headquarters hidden in a Dark Mother Goddess church somewhere, maybe even this one."

"Hehehe, you don’t need to be so vague; many believe this church is the association’s base, even leading to a small exploration frenzy, trying to find things possibly associated with the disappearance of the gods."

"Associated with the disappearance of the gods? Isn’t that then divine items?"

"Ha, even if it is, so what? You need a key to enter the church."

"What a pity!"

Amidst the sighs, a discordant voice suddenly interjected, "Can’t we try entering without a key? I see the door’s open, doesn’t look like entering is prohibited."

As soon as those words fell, everyone scolded: "Hah, lay that thought aside, Yan Shan, do you think no one has tried the daring route? Just that no one survived to leave."

"Exactly, shut up, Yan Shan!"

"Don’t be so reckless, Dragon Elephant, do you understand?"

"..." Yan Shan was dumbfounded by everyone’s reproach.

I haven’t spoken at all!

The one talking about forcing entry was Xu Shu, why blame me? 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

At this moment, Yan Shan felt extremely wronged inside.

Seeing this, Xu Shu shrugged, it seemed forcing entry was not an option.