317: The Gate of the End

The Greedy Ghost seemed to ignore the two, picked up the gold bean from the Surface, and walked towards the dead end ahead.

It was at this moment, after the Greedy Ghost stepped onto that dead end, it split open like a mountain, forming a path.

"Wu La, follow him!"

Xiao Ran said, her actions matching her words.

After following for a while, the path ahead was blocked again. However, Chen Du now knew that this wasn't a blockage; it meant it hadn't opened yet.

According to Chen Du's knowledge, this path should be called the "Money-Opens-Eyes Path."

Chen Du threw another gold bean. The Greedy Ghost picked it up again, and just like before, excitedly said, "Gold, I see gold."

Then, just like before, the blocked path split open again.

Chen Du silently followed behind. The path they walked on was like a VIP membership that reverted to its original state after expiring.

"The round trip will require 60 gold beans in total. We have 82, so there's no problem."

Xiao Ran saw Chen Du looking back and, fearing he might back out, reminded him.

Chen Du smiled and nodded, looking as if he trusted her.

On the way here, Xiao Ran had roughly explained the situation: at the end of the gold bean path was a bronze door, and in front of it was a Martial Artist.

The Martial Artist's Rank was 10. To enter the door, they had to defeat him. This was her main reason for seeking Wu La.

Because she knew Wu La's Rank was 10.5, he should be able to win.

At this moment, Chen Du was extremely cautious. Now that a suspected Energy Lifeform, the Greedy Ghost, had appeared, and she was telling him a Rank 10 Martial Artist was guarding the bronze door?

Based on his last experience, Chen Du suspected this was a Possession!

Was it possible that the Xiao Ran in front of him had already been Possessed?

Then she would go back and call more people, sending them in one by one?

Xiao Ran had been here once before. If she hadn't been Possessed, it meant there wasn't much danger ahead, as she was only Rank 8.

If it really was a Possession, he had the Six-Eyed Giant presiding over his consciousness; whoever came would die!

So Chen Du was not panicking.

The subsequent process involved continuously throwing gold beans. Xiao Ran hadn't lied; after 30 gold beans, they indeed emerged.

After coming out, the two, led by the Greedy Ghost, arrived at an open space. In their visible line of sight, there really was a bronze door!

The reason it was visible was because there was light here, or rather, fire.

The bronze door was ten meters high, with four torch-like items on each side. However, only three torches were lit; one was extinguished.

At this moment, the Greedy Ghost, like a navigation system that had brought them to their destination, dissipated like smoke.

Hmm?

Chen Du, with his excellent Mental Energy, sensed that the fuel for the flames inside the torches were the corpses of three Shushu Other-race!

In that instant, Chen Du guessed that Xiao Ran wanted him to become the corpse in the fourth torch.

Could lighting all four torches open the bronze door?

However, how would she deal with him?

Just then, an unfamiliar male voice suddenly appeared:

"Hahahaha, my dear, I really didn't expect these men to be so easy to fool. You tell them to come, and they come. This is already the fourth one."

Clothes!

Chen Du's senses were very sharp, and he immediately discovered that the source of this voice was the overcoat Xiao Ran had been wearing.

The next second, the overcoat on Xiao Ran's body automatically fell off, and after a strange wriggling, it transformed into a male Shushu Other-race.

"My dear, you smell so good. I almost didn't want to come down."

"Oh, you're naughty ~ Commander Qi."

Xiao Ran said shyly.

After the man reverted to human form, the star plate on his head also disappeared. Chen Du, given his strength, was surprised but not astonished.

In Chen Du's known information, Commander Qi was Xiao Ran's first love. Now he roughly understood that this was a case of murder for money.

Commander Qi's Rank was 12. There was no way Xiao Ran would marry Wu La. Now it seemed she must have said, "I'll marry you when I collect 100 gold coins," to many people.

These people are probably all in the torches now.

The number of Mystic Treasures on Commander Qi's head was the same as Wu La's, both three.

It seemed this transformation ability was the power of the Third Mystic Treasure. This ability was a bit similar to his own Alien Form.

After transforming into that overcoat, Commander Qi seemed to lose his attributes as a living being, but he wasn't purely an inanimate object, which was why Chen Du felt strange when he first saw him.

Commander Qi's ability, or rather, Chen Du's Seventh Secret Treasure's Alien Form ability, both belonged to "Late Stage abilities."

This Late Stage doesn't mean it's powerful in the Late Stage; it means it can be useful in the Late Stage.

According to the High Martial Civilization's ranking rules, abilities that provide more help in actual combat Rank higher.

Abilities that merely involve transformation but don't increase any combat power Rank very low.

However, for abilities that enhance combat power within Mystic Treasures, their enhancement is limited.

Take Chen Du's Fifth Secret Treasure, Promotion, as an example. Regardless of whether other Mystic Treasures can be Awakened later, assuming it's capped at Seven Mystic Treasures.

The Promotion ability becomes useless once the Rank reaches 25, because its limit is Rank 24.9.

Even the abilities of the Fifth Secret Treasure are like this, let alone the abilities of the First Mystic Treasure and the Third Mystic Treasure?

All abilities that enhance combat power through Mystic Treasures have a limit.

If your strength exceeds this limit, then the Mystic Treasure provides zero enhancement for you.

This is also why Chen Du rarely saw those Advanced Aerial Warriors using Mystic Treasures in combat; besides needlessly expending stamina, there was no other use.

On the contrary, some non-combat support abilities, such as transformation or healing, etc., could still be used, which is why they were called Late Stage abilities.

Commander Qi took the spiked club from Xiao Ran's hand and looked at Wu La with a sinister, cold smile.

The spiked club was the exclusive weapon of the Shushu Civilization. The entire civilization uniformly used this weapon and was required to carry it at all times.

Chen Du feigned fear, retreating three steps, and said with a trembling voice:

"You... you adulterous pair, what exactly do you want to do!"

"Xiao Ran!"

"Didn't you say you would marry me?"

"Don't talk nonsense, Wu La. What do you mean 'adulterous pair'? Did I marry you?"

"Don't tarnish my beautiful image in Commander Qi Gege's heart."

"A mere Rank 10.5 Martial Artist, with no money and no background, actually wants to marry a beautiful girl like me, Xiao Ran."

"You're a toad trying to eat swan meat!"

Xiao Ran's attitude completely changed, and she said with a look of disdain. In her eyes, "Wu La" was already a dead man.

Commander Qi, hearing these words, was immensely pleased. Holding the spiked club, he looked at Chen Du with a menacing expression, as if sharpening a knife:

"Don't be sad, big brother. I'll send you to become 'lamp oil' right away. You will light the way for Xiao Ran and me. You should be happy that you still have value!"

Chen Du, seeing this, gave up struggling, seemingly resigned to his impending death, and asked;

"At least let me die knowing what's going on. What is this place, and what are you trying to do!"

"A dying man, why so much nonsense? Commander Qi Gege, kill him quickly!"

"No rush!"

Commander Qi seemed to enjoy "Wu La's" fear and said with a triumphant expression:

"I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you die knowing."

"I accidentally discovered through ancient texts that a very special civilization once existed here. They were called the Ending Civilization."

"And this place is precisely where that civilization's treasure vault once was."

At this point, Commander Qi excitedly pointed to the bronze door with three lit torches.

"This door is the entrance to the Ending Civilization's treasure vault, also called the 'Door of Ending'!"