Chapter Fifty: Blood Moon

They were quite fortunate, or perhaps it was simply the nature of the Spirit Fruit instance. They managed to find three more Azure Spirit Fruits. All of them were first-tier, but with the one second-tier fruit they already had, it meant each of them could have one. With the second-tier fruit within reach, they only needed to refine the Azure Spirit Fruits to break through—reaching the second tier was now entirely within their grasp.

By now, the entire large-scale instance had been thoroughly conquered. Searchers combed every wooden hut, and the outer areas had been completely picked clean. If they wanted to continue searching, they had no choice but to venture into the central zone.

However… the Thunderbird Gang had issued strict orders: they could only search the outskirts and were forbidden from approaching the center. Their newfound strength had made them overconfident, but not to the extent that they would dare defy the Thunderbird Gang. So now, they could only meticulously re-search areas they or others had already combed.

Watching the Thunderbird Gang members freely scour the central region and occasionally obtain an Azure Spirit Fruit, they could not help but feel envious. When would they too have such freedom?

Lu Sheng, however, did not dwell on these thoughts. He quietly focused on his own steady development. After the Bloodthirsty Mosquito matured a few more times, wouldn’t he be invincible within the scope of Celestial Beetle City? All he needed was time. If only he had some auxiliary items—like a tenfold breeding card, or a rapid development device…

Yet Lu Sheng had inquired and learned that such items’ effects were tied to their rank. First-tier cards or devices only worked on first-tier creatures. His rapid development device, for instance, was a first-tier tool and now effectively obsolete.

He did want to acquire some supporting equipment, but considering the speed at which his creatures grew, he suspected that by the time he finally obtained such items, his creatures might already be at the ninth tier. So he simply let them grow at their own pace and did not trouble himself over it.

Suddenly, the entire instance’s colors shifted. The Blood Moon abruptly appeared in the sky, hanging ominously overhead. The world was bathed in crimson.

“Blood Moon…” Shi Jiu gazed at the red moon high above, a faint unease rising in his heart. This heralded their imminent transport to the Monster World, to face the unknown. He could not tell whether danger or tranquility awaited them there.

“Everyone, be careful. Survival comes first. Do not covet the treasures of that world; they are always guarded by monsters…” Before Shi Jiu could finish speaking, the space began to warp, and everyone in the instance was teleported into the Monster World.

When Lu Sheng regained his senses, the scenery before him had completely changed. Scarlet forests stretched out under the blood-red moon suspended overhead. It was much the same as the last time he entered this world.

But compared to before, Lu Sheng felt much more at ease now—at least in terms of strength, he was no longer the weakling being hunted.

There was nothing to do but find someplace to hide for an hour and wait for the Blood Moon’s repulsion to eject him. Lu Sheng didn’t even bother to move; he decided to wait where he was. For safety’s sake, he summoned the Stone-Thrower Goblin.

The muscular goblin always gave Lu Sheng a sense of incongruity. The weak goblins of his memories were nothing like this powerful Stone-Thrower Goblin. As soon as it appeared, it knelt on one knee and spoke aloud, “Master.”

Monsters that reached the third tier and completed their evolution would awaken intelligence and become capable of speech. Lu Sheng regarded the goblin with curiosity. “Rise. Stand guard by my side and alert me to any danger.”

It was almost amusing—he felt safer with a summoned goblin than he ever did among the supposedly secure settlement. Perhaps, from the moment he entered this world, he was destined to rely only on his own strength. Or perhaps, in this world, the only person anyone could truly trust was themselves.

While Lu Sheng’s mind wandered, the Chrono Ant began signaling that it wished to come out. In the Monster World, Lu Sheng could sense the Chrono Ant’s excitement. He did not suppress it and summoned the ant—a thumb-sized creature, impossible to pet, which made Lu Sheng consider raising a cat.

Thinking of cats reminded him of dogs—the musclebound dog in his subdimensional space was still training. If only the muscle dog were more pleasing to the eye, he wouldn’t mind petting it. Unfortunately, with its body covered in bulging muscles and not a hair on its white-spotted skin, he felt no desire to pet it at all.

Sensing Lu Sheng’s wandering thoughts and dissatisfaction, the Chrono Ant was clearly displeased. Wasn’t it cute enough? What a bad master!

Annoyed, the little ant burrowed fiercely into Lu Sheng’s palm to express its discontent. The sensation made him laugh, and he could feel the ant’s petulant pride. Smiling, Lu Sheng stroked it with his finger. “You little thing, already jealous and sulky at your size—what will you be like when you grow up?”

Perhaps embarrassed by his words, the Chrono Ant simply lay motionless on his palm. Lu Sheng’s smile was genuine—this ant was like family to him now. They shared a bond deeper than blood—sharing fortune and adversity, closer than brothers.

But now that he thought of it, was the Chrono Ant male or female? He’d never really paid attention to that detail. Its coquettish antics were a bit effeminate, but that was probably just a pet’s temperament, wasn’t it? Most likely male—but then, imagining a male creature acting cute toward him made his skin crawl a little.

Should he check the ant’s gender? All it would take was a look in the corner of its card—red dot or blue dot, and he’d know. Lu Sheng decided to check. If it was female, he’d treat it as a beloved daughter; if male, just as a pet…

Just as he was about to look, a distant explosion echoed through the sky. Blue arcs of lightning illuminated the surroundings. A thunderbird formed of pure electricity appeared overhead, shrieked thunderously, and dove straight down, crashing into the dense forest below!

Boom!

The powerful blast reverberated from the distant woods. Dozens of trees fell in a chain reaction, raising clouds of dust that completely shrouded that section of the forest.

From Lu Sheng’s vantage point, he could roughly make out what was happening in that direction.

“A thunderbird? Isn’t that the life-bound monster of Meng Yang, leader of the Thunderbird Gang?”

“It seems Meng Yang has encountered a monster—and a strong one at that. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been forced to use his life-bound card.”

Lu Sheng was curious, but he had no intention of seeking trouble by going to investigate. Teleportation within the Blood Moon World was random, but people from the same instance never ended up too far apart. Meeting others from the same instance was normal.

Still, compared to whatever was happening with Meng Yang, Lu Sheng was more interested in finding out whether the Chrono Ant was male or female. It felt a bit like peeking under someone’s clothes, which made him oddly excited.