Chapter 41: The Demonic Descent
No wonder this instance lasted three days.
No wonder this instance limited daily playtime.
No wonder this instance suited all players.
It turned out that this wasn’t a trial instance at all, but a survival construction instance!
“The next wave of monsters will attack in 04:25.”
There was no time to waste. Although Yan Qing didn’t know how difficult gathering resources would be, since this instance was designed for four players, the difference between high‑level and low‑level players lay here — high‑level players gathered faster, low‑level players slower.
And the fastest way to gather resources, without a doubt, was for all four to work together, arranging who collected which resource rather than randomly picking up junk. If Yan Qing guessed correctly, in the original game all four had construction rights, meaning they also had to agree on a construction direction. Otherwise, if even one person acted like a loose cannon, everyone’s instance experience would spiral into unpredictable chaos.
This type of instance was Yan Qing’s least favorite: high interaction, heavy communication, no entry barriers, and teammates' quality relied entirely on random draws. If luck was on his side, the four teammates might become friends after three days of chatting; if not, it would turn into a three‑day off‑game PVP experience with teammates being roasted on forums.
Fortunately, he had at least one teammate who would follow orders.
…
“Miss, do you have the ability to move stones?”
“Ah?” Qian Gong Yu was a bit puzzled, but she still answered, “Yes, I have the token ‘Ox Bone Finger Chain,’ which can give my fingers the strength of nine oxen.”
“Time is tight. I’ll keep it brief: I want you to move as many stones as possible near the wooden hut within one cup of tea’s time.”
Cold and haughty Jiang Shi finished speaking and left the wooden hut, leaving the stunned Qian Gong Yu and two top-tier wealthy beauties she dared not offend.
Qian Gong Yu opened her mouth and, trembling, turned to look at Shang Xin Lei and Jie Yuan Shao, forcing an extremely awkward smile: “Mi‑my apologies to both of you for her rudeness!”
Never mind a mere black belt—if someone from a blue-blooded clan like hers dared speak to Shang Xin Lei and Jie Yuan Shao like that, they could kill her for humiliating them without any repercussions.
Although Liang Nation didn’t allow aristocratic warriors to kill freely like Qi Kingdom or Zhou Kingdom, it granted more “legal killing” rights—inferior people had to strictly observe etiquette and show enough respect to aristocrats, or they could be beaten or killed at will.
“One cup of tea’s time is short. Little Yu, aren’t you getting to work?” Shang Xin Lei said with a smile.
“Li‑little Yu?!”
Qian Gong Yu was instantly overwhelmed by this grand delight, so excited she couldn’t speak, feeling that coming here had been worth it. Even though Shang Xin Lei wouldn’t offer her any help, simply being called “Little Yu” by the Fourth Miss Shang would pull the Qian family out of their notorious mire—just having a word with Miss Shang would be enough to earn respect from other noble clans.
Watching Qian Gong Yu stumble out of the wooden hut like she’d drunk fake wine, Shang Xin Lei turned to Jie Yuan Shao: “I’m planning to help check things out. Aren’t you coming?”
“Of course I’m not going. Based on the intel I have, illusions will strike after at most one cup of tea’s time. Staying in the wooden hut is safest. There’s no reason to go move stones.” Jie Yuan Shao sat cross‑legged on the ground without moving. “Also, you seem so fond of that bodyguard. Even if you want to bring her into your fold, without awe and authority, that isn’t the way to command others.”
“You claim to be skilled at reading people. Didn’t you see that Jiang Shi is absolutely the type who refuses to bow to anyone?”
Saying that, Shang Xin Lei left the hut too, leaving Jie Yuan Shao alone inside, closing her eyes to rest.
“All things have their hierarchies. How could anyone remain isolated? Even if one’s heart resists, one will ultimately bow under pressure.” Jie Yuan Shao murmured. “Everyone will bow—including you, Shang Xin Lei.”
She glanced outside the hut. Though they entered at dawn, the secret realm’s celestial phenomena had darkened the Mansu Woodland to midnight-like gloom, with only faint moonlight piercing the trees. As they left, the small wooden hut suddenly felt vast, swallowed by darkness.
Normally, participants would bring candles or other illumination tools, but Jie Yuan Shao had come here to hone her will and hadn’t brought anything to reduce the difficulty. She silently sat in the dark for several seconds, then stood and walked to the door, muttering to herself: “I just wanted to remind them to come back quickly. The trial hasn’t even begun. How could I be afraid…”
One cup of tea’s time passed quickly. Qian Gong Yu only managed to move two large stones. Shang Xin Lei hadn’t moved any stones herself; instead, she shaped three stones into oval forms and then pushed them, causing them to roll clatteringly near the hut.
Jiang Shi, who instructed them to move stones, returned empty-handed.
Seeing this, Jie Yuan Shao immediately showed a look of disgust. Before she could speak, she saw Jiang Shi reach toward the clearing beside the hut, and a pile of wood appeared out of thin air, landing on the ground.
At this sight, everyone’s pupils shrank. Qian Gong Yu couldn’t help but exclaim, “Jiang Shi, you actually have a ‘Storage Token’? And the space is this large… what level token is that…?”
“I don’t have a Storage Token,” said Jiang Shi.
This response was undoubtedly unsatisfactory. Even Qian Gongyu felt Jiang Shi was being a bit too rude—how was this different from treating them like fools and lying?
But soon, they had no time to care about the trivial matter of the Storage Token.
Because the ground was shaking.
Rumble rumble rumble—
As the intense rumbling continued, the wood and stones around the wooden hut seemed to be manipulated by invisible carpenters and masons, transforming at an incredible speed into construction materials.
First, the wooden hut was instantly dismantled, then combined with the new timber and stones to become a larger, sturdier stone house.
Some of the stones were stacked neatly into an exterior wall; some of the wood clattered together into massive ballistae. Because Jiang Shi had brought back so much wood, six ballistae were ultimately built and installed in the courtyard.
When the dust settled, the three women—Shang Xinlei and the others—were speechless. Like country bumpkins who had never seen the world, they touched the stone house here, the wall there, and reached out to feel the ballistae, their faces filled with awe.
Of course, they weren’t shocked by just these things—if this instance allowed bringing in servants and supplies, even Qian Gongyu could have armed the place into a fortress.
But since this was a randomly matched secret realm, and the trial illusions came quickly, they hadn’t had time to even begin modifying the stronghold.
From ancient times until now, everyone believed the Mansu Woodland secret realm was a test of willpower. Messengers could only hide inside the hut, enduring the pressure of illusions caused by demons outside.
No one had ever thought of modifying the hut, let alone tried it.
The three of them realized that a new chapter in the history of Mansu Woodland was about to be written.
“Buzz—”
A piercing and grating screech came with the wind, and Jie Yuanshao’s face changed dramatically. She quickly called everyone inside and slammed the door shut, speaking rapidly: “Don’t even think about defeating the monsters that appear. These monsters are illusions—immortal and indestructible. Even if a Third-Stage Messenger kills them a thousand times, they will resurrect instantly. The only thing we can do is stay here and hold out until the demon wave ends.”
As soon as she finished speaking, dense fog rose from the forest, and massive monsters emerged from it.
Some looked like lizards, others like monstrous birds, some like bats with scythe-like tails, and others like lions with wings. But regardless of their form, they were all enormous, with thick scales or fur covering their bodies.
Even this upgraded stone house seemed powerless before them.
However, most of the monsters just passed by, quickly vanishing into the mist, their destination unknown. Only one lizard-like monster remained.
“A Savage Lizard Demon!” Jie Yuanshao said grimly. “That’s a demon only seen in Second-Stage secret realms!”
With a roar from the Savage Lizard Demon, a horde of small savage lizards emerged from the fog. In the blink of an eye, there were dozens, then hundreds.
They roared at the stone house, their cries merging into one—like rusted butcher knives slicing cruelly into their ears and souls!
Everywhere the eye could see—monsters!
“Don’t panic, don’t get agitated, don’t go outside!” Jie Yuanshao held them back, though even she was shaking. “They can’t breach the shelter, but the closer they get, the greater the pressure we’ll feel. In the end, we might even suffer mental collapse and become wrecks… so if you think you can’t hold out, you must dash into the mist between two demon waves to exit Mansu Woodland.”
“Whatever you do, don’t let the monsters kill you. Although it forces an exit, your soul will suffer severe trauma, and your strength will basically stop progressing.”
“Most people don’t last even half an hour. But since our house is bigger and has a wall, it might be a bit easier.” At this point, Jie Yuanshao couldn’t help but glance at Jiang Shi, criticizing, “You should have put the ballistae inside the house—then we could have operated them. Building them outside is completely meaningless—”
Swish!
As the small savage lizards stepped within fifty meters of the shelter, the ballistae in the courtyard automatically locked on and fired!
With the sound of bowstrings slicing the air, a sharp arrow flew over the wall, over fifty meters of grass, and pierced straight through a small lizard’s head!
Blood gushed. With a pitiful wail, the little savage lizard crashed to the ground like a rag doll, never to rise again.