Invasion

Invasion

Gu Qingshan suddenly remembered something.

"God of War Interface, I want to ask something."

Ding!

"Please speak," the system replied.

"Why can't I remember many combat techniques and experiences?"

"You have just crossed through time and space, causing a storm-like disturbance within the Time-Space Turbulence."

"Many terrifying beings sensed this abnormal phenomenon. They are searching for the source of it."

"So a portion of your memories must now be sealed away and hidden. Once everything has calmed down, I will find a suitable opportunity to lift the seal on your memories."

Gu Qingshan listened and silently sighed.

All of a sudden, he felt a faint pain spreading through his body.

Looking down, he saw threads of blood seeping through the snow-white bandages around his body.

Right—his injuries had not yet healed, and he was still recovering. Exerting himself like that had naturally caused some of his wounds to split open.

Gu Qingshan set down his Military Bow, found a camp cot, climbed onto it, and began to rest.

Nothing could be rushed. He had to keep his composure.

Gu Qingshan took out his last Healing Pill and swallowed it without hesitation.

He closed his eyes and silently circulated his spiritual energy, dissolving the medicine's power.

The night passed without incident.

At daybreak, the rain fell even harder.

The weather was gradually growing colder, and the chill mixed into the rain seeped deep into the earth.

In several dozen more days, winter would arrive.

Military Camp.

Gu Qingshan woke from the cold.

He got up and moved around, discovering that the wounds on his body had begun to heal.

Military Healing Pills truly lived up to their name; they were remarkably effective at healing injuries.

Before long, someone knocked on the door.

Zhao Liu had cooked another pot of porridge and brought it in attentively.

Gu Qingshan looked at the steaming pot, inhaled the fragrance of the plain porridge, and asked, "How much food is left?"

Zhao Liu sighed. "Only enough for another day and a half." As he spoke, he covertly glanced at the Storage Bag at Gu Qingshan's waist.

Gu Qingshan noticed, but said nothing.

When he had crossed over, his Storage Bag had been emptied as well.

Gu Qingshan served himself porridge and silently finished breakfast.

"How are your injuries?" Hope filled Zhao Liu's eyes.

"Much better." Gu Qingshan stretched his arms and legs, then casually asked, "Old Zhao, which camp are you from? What kind of soldier are you?"

Zhao Liu wore a strained smile. "I'm from the Catering Camp. I can usually cook meals for several hundred people."

So he was a head cook. No wonder even a bowl of porridge could taste so good.

Without Gu Qingshan, such a predicament would have been a hopeless deathtrap for an ordinary man like Zhao Liu.

But Zhao Liu did not know that Gu Qingshan was only at Qi Refining Stage - 1st Layer. If he encountered a small squad of demons, Gu Qingshan would also be cut down at once.

Gu Qingshan silently pondered this, then looked again at the hourglass above the interface.

There was little sand left in the hourglass. It was nearly empty.

This seemed different from the official game.

Beside the hourglass, several lines of firefly-like text explained: After a player has stayed in the Cultivation World for one full day, they will return to the real world.

Gu Qingshan desperately wanted to know what year it was in the real world now.

Halfway through breakfast, both men stopped moving at the same time.

"Brother Gu, there seems to be some movement outside." Zhao Liu shrank back slightly and spoke in a low voice.

"I'll take a look." Gu Qingshan grabbed his Military Bow and headed outside.

Only a little over ten minutes remained in the hourglass. Hopefully, nothing major would happen.

Gu Qingshan stepped out of the room, drew an arrow, set it against the bowstring, and narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the surroundings.

His gaze swept rapidly across every building, overlooking no corner.

Generally speaking, the camp had a Concealment Array. Demons would not easily stumble inside.

What could it be?

Rustle, rustle, rustle—the sound rang out again.

It came from the entrance of the Military Camp.

Gu Qingshan pressed himself against the wall and moved over soundlessly.

A massive Demon Beast, twice the height of a man, entered Gu Qingshan's field of vision.

The Demon Beast shook its head and wagged its tail as it stood beside the Pit of the Dead, cautiously and vigilantly surveying its surroundings.

Though the torrential rain had been washing everything relentlessly, the bloody stench from the Pit of the Dead had ultimately drawn in a Demon Beast.

Gu Qingshan hid in the shadow beneath the eaves, raised his Military Bow, and slowly drew the string.

He recognized this creature.

It was a Low-Grade Demon Beast. Though it looked somewhat clumsy, once it went berserk, its charging and biting were terrifying. Two or three ordinary soldiers could hardly even get close to it.

Gu Qingshan silently counted himself fortunate.

Fortunately, he had chosen a ranged attack. With the camp's Concealment Array covering him, he might just accomplish something.

The Demon Beast jogged back and forth around the Pit of the Dead, occasionally rolling on the ground.

It was probing to see whether there were traps nearby or other Demon Beasts lying in ambush.

Ten minutes remained in the hourglass.

Gu Qingshan silently gripped his bow and arrow, completely motionless.

Snort!

Snort!

The Demon Beast stopped and snorted loudly, its enormous head still swaying warily from side to side.

Five minutes remained.

Gu Qingshan still did not move.

At last, the Demon Beast slowly lowered its head, preparing to eat a soldier's corpse.

Its nose sniffed back and forth over the corpse for quite some time before it finally opened its fang-filled maw.

Now!

Gu Qingshan drew the bow to its fullest and guided spiritual power into the arrow.

An invisible wave of air slowly spread from the arrow.

An arrow imbued with spiritual power possessed five times the destructive force of an ordinary arrow.

These arrows had been specially forged. Not only could they bear spiritual power, they could even withstand the Five Elements.

With the Military Bow fully drawn, Gu Qingshan held for two breaths before releasing his fingers.

Buzz!

The arrow shot forth with a shriek, plunging straight into the Demon Beast's mouth. Pain sent the beast tumbling to the ground.

The instant the first arrow left the bow, Gu Qingshan drew and fired again without hesitation.

Rapid Shot!

Arrows turned into afterimages as they streaked from the Military Bow.

The Demon Beast immediately let out an earth-shaking roar and lunged toward the Military Camp.

But after only a few steps, it whipped its head around and tried to flee.

More and more arrows pierced its body, all striking vital locations—its facial features, joints, belly, and other weak points.

Its injuries worsened at a terrifying rate, until the savage rage filling its heart transformed into deep fear.

Had it chosen to flee the instant it was attacked, it might have escaped with its life. But it had chosen to attack, only thinking of escape halfway through. By then, it was too late.

Throughout the entire process, Gu Qingshan's face remained expressionless. His hands were steady as rocks as he continuously drew arrows, pulled back the bowstring, and fired.

One minute remained.

The Demon Beast lay sprawled on the ground, utterly motionless.

Its body was bristling with arrows, while blood gushed from every vital wound, dyeing the earth red.

Gu Qingshan had only forty percent of his spiritual power remaining.

Even so, he continued drawing arrows, infusing them with spiritual power, aiming at the Demon Beast's vital points, and repeatedly pulling the bowstring.

Demon Beasts possessed intelligence. Almost none were foolish; some were even craftier than humans.

They could play dead. They could lure enemies in.

After another seven or eight breaths, more and more arrows pierced the Demon Beast's body. Unable to keep up the act any longer, it sprang up from the ground.

What greeted it was an even crazier rain of arrows.

The Demon Beast struggled forward another five or six meters, crashed into a large tree, and fell to the ground with a thunderous crash.

This time, it was truly dead.

Two lines of small blue text immediately popped into Gu Qingshan's vision.

"Soul Power +1. Current Soul Power: 1/5."

"Experience Points are full. Current Experience Points: 5/5. You can Level Up. Would you like to Level Up?"

Killing the Skin Peeling Blood Demon earlier had earned him 4 Experience Points. Now he had gained another 1, meeting the requirements to Level Up.

Gu Qingshan said without hesitation, "Level Up."

As his words fell, the Experience Points data changed directly from "5/5" to "0/10."

Advancing from Qi Refining Stage - 2nd Layer to Qi Refining Stage - 3rd Layer required twice as many Experience Points.

The "Qi Refining Stage - 1st Layer" label on Gu Qingshan's character icon also changed into "Qi Refining Stage - 2nd Layer."

A brilliant, dazzling radiance burst forth from Gu Qingshan's body.

A warm current flowed around his entire body before finally gathering in his Dantian, transforming into abundant spiritual power.