Chapter 338

"It's a compass activated by sacrificing luck points... This thing is definitely not a good one."

Shen Xing sighed softly.

After all, [Luck] is a hidden attribute that affects every aspect of the lords' lives.

Most lords only have single-digit luck points, each point is extremely precious, let alone enough to activate this compass.

Moreover, it is said that once your luck value drops into a negative number, something very bad will happen.

"But... this thing shouldn't have any impact on me, right?"

Shen Xing pondered in a low voice, after all, he had sacrificed so many attributes before without any problems, including the 'luck' attribute that seemed to have been extracted in the Lotus Pond Secret Realm.

With that in mind, he decided to give it a try.

"Compass, compass, find me the greatest treasure in the vicinity," he murmured to himself.

At the same time, the ancient black compass in his hand began to tremble slightly, its pointer shaking violently, as if searching for something.

But after only a few moments, things returned to calm.

[Insufficient clues, 'Wishing Needle' ability failed to activate...]

"This isn't acceptable?"

Shen Xing was slightly taken aback, and also remembered the note on the prop: specific goals and clues were needed to provide guidance.

That's normal.

If this compass is truly omnipotent and can find anything, then Shen Xing might as well let it guide him on the path to godhood.

He smiled and shook his head, then changed his words: "Compass, compass, help me find the nearby monster gathering place."

The compass began to vibrate slightly again, and the needle started to spin.

At the same time, a special notification appeared before them.

[This guide requires sacrificing 1 unit of 'Luck'. Do you wish to sacrifice it?]

"One point of luck is not bad, the fee isn't too high."

Shen Xing happily clicked 'Yes'.

At that moment, a stream of black energy surged from the compass and entered Shen Xing's body through his palm.

But when it came into contact with the Flower of Mist, it suddenly paused for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, the Flower of Mist gently turned and swallowed the black energy, then returned to calm.

The compass continued to vibrate slightly, its needle spinning wildly.

Finally, it pointed southeast.

Even more remarkably, Shen Xing saw a clear white line on the minimap.

The pointer continued from the direction of the territory, pointing deep into the mist, and stopped at a distance of about seventeen kilometers.

"As expected, I can use this 'compass' without any cost."

"And this feature is actually more powerful than I expected; it can actually display the data directly on the map."

"It will be much more convenient to use it to find resource points in the future."

Shen Xing thought with satisfaction, then put it into his backpack.

"Let's go, Leina, let's go back." He said, looking at the red-haired mage beside him.

"Go back..." Leina's eyes lit up, and she tentatively asked, "My lord, shall we... continue to rest in our rooms?"

"Uh..." Shen Xing paused, looked up, and met her longing eyes.

He was just about to nod.

Just then, the communication crystal beeped again.

Leina glared at the crystal with hatred, so angry that she wanted to burn it to ashes on the spot.

So many things happened today, preventing her from communicating with her beloved lord!

"Boss, this is Gorehowl! We've found the ferryman you mentioned near the Blackwater River!" Gorehowl's excited voice came through the crystal.

Upon hearing this, Shen Xing immediately became interested.

Ever since he heard from Nimue that he could cross the river by ferryman, he has frequently sent troops from his territory to patrol the riverbank.

After searching for several days without any leads, he thought there was no hope left.

Unexpectedly, Gorehowl discovered it today.

"Okay, wait there, I'll be right there. Don't let the ferryman get away," Shen Xing replied excitedly.

Leina, standing to the side, looked somewhat disappointed and bit her lip in resentment.

A moment later, Shen Xing woke up the Fried Chicken from its little nest.

Then, along with Onyxia, Old Fordring, and Leina, the four of them jumped onto the back of the Hippogryph.

As for Hellscream, he continued his training in his territory, while also keeping an eye on the Blood Origin Cult's Saintess.

"Whoosh—"

The Fried Chicken spread its ten-meter-long wings and lifted the four people into the air.

Then, like a bolt of lightning, it plunged into the churning mist.

The Blackwater River is only a few kilometers from the territory.

Gorehowl found the ferryman quite far away, requiring them to travel another ten kilometers or so along the riverbank.

But at the current rate of Fried Chicken delivery, it can arrive in just a few minutes.

They sped through the air at high speed, with no obstacles in their path.

During this period, Shen Xing frequently sent out small teams to collect supplies and, incidentally, clear out monster strongholds around his territory.

Currently, most of the monster strongholds within a radius of over 20 kilometers have been destroyed.

The supplies from these outposts were also brought back to the territory for daily expenses.

This is one of the reasons why Shen Xing was in such a hurry to cross the river.

Because there are no more resources near the territory.

If we don't expand into new areas of exploration, development will stagnate.

So he decided to try his luck on the other side of the river.

If the other side doesn't have many resources either, then you can only wait for the Hell War Chariot to be mass-produced before exploring further afield.

Four minutes later, they arrived near the location Gorehowl had described.

"Splash... splash..."

From afar, the group could hear the sound of flowing water from the Blackwater River.

Along the mist-shrouded riverbank, a faint orange glow could be seen.

Gorehowl, carrying a lantern, was standing on the shore with a group of orcs, waiting.

The Fried Chicken folded its wings and landed steadily on the ground.

Shen Xing, carrying a lantern in one hand, approached them.

"Boss, you're here!" Gorehowl shouted excitedly, looking at the firelight in the mist.

Shen Xing nodded slightly and asked bluntly, "Where is the ferryman you mentioned?"

"Right there!" Gorehowl pointed behind him.

Looking in the direction he pointed, one could vaguely see a dark shadow standing still on the water.

Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be a tall, thin figure dressed in a black raincoat and wearing a bamboo hat, with a hunched back.

He held a black bamboo pole in his hand, and the small wooden boat at his feet was also black, remaining motionless on the turbulent Blackwater River.

Shen Xing tried using the system's identification function, but could only see a series of question marks, so he simply stopped the investigation.

"Excuse me, boatman, could you take us across the river?" he asked.

The hunchbacked figure remained silent for a moment, then slowly raised his head, revealing a withered, aged face beneath his straw hat. "What are you going to do on the other side?"

"Nothing much, just going to take a look," Shen Xing replied casually.

The boatman didn't press further, continuing in his hoarse voice, "To board the boat, you need to pay the toll."

"No problem, how much is the toll?" Shen Xing had heard Nimue mention this before, so he was already prepared.

The boatman grinned and slowly extended two withered fingers, crossing them into a cross.

Shen Xing was slightly taken aback. "Ten Soul Stone? Or silver coins?"

"Heh..." The boatman let out a low laugh, as if it came from the depths of the Blackwater River: "We don't accept Soul Stone, nor money... we only accept lifespans."

Upon hearing the last sentence, everyone's expression changed.

Shen Xing frowned and asked, "Crossing the river costs ten years of your lifespan? Who made that rule?"

"There's no rule set by anyone, it's just always been this way..." the boatman said in a low voice, "Besides... your lifespans aren't taken by me, they're taken by this ship."

"Once you step onto the 'Soul-Ferrying Boat,' ten years of your lifespan will be automatically deducted, so you should think carefully."

Upon hearing these words, everyone fell silent.

"Alright, time waits for no one..." the boatman said in a hoarse voice, "Those who want to cross the river, hurry up and get on the boat..."

As he spoke, he put away the black bamboo pole, seemingly preparing to set sail.

Shen Xing pondered for a moment, as if he had thought of something.

Then, to the astonishment of the generals, he switched to his 'Ruin Black Dragon' form and stepped directly onto the small boat.

The instant his right foot touched the deck, Shen Xing felt a chilling force penetrate his body, as if trying to extract something.

But soon, it vanished without a trace.

[You have embarked on the 'Soul-Ferrying Boat,' automatically deducting 10 years of your lifespan...]

[Deduction failed for unknown reasons...]

Looking at the system notification in front of him, Shen Xing was overjoyed.

"Just as I thought, even this so-called 'Soul-Ferrying Boat' can't reduce my lifespan."

By now, Shen Xing has discovered his own unique qualities.

That is—when faced with something that requires paying a certain price, whether it's sacrificial attributes or enduring backlash, it all becomes ineffective on oneself.

Just like before in the Lotus Pond Secret Realm, he pulled a full hundred chains, the backlash of which was enough to instantly kill a Master.