Chapter 56: The Monster Attacks

Shen Lie had studied this token-like object countless times, but had made little progress. Of course, he knew it was extraordinary, for it was this object that had led him to the Golden Hall in the otherworld. However, after many fruitless attempts, he had gradually given up. It was only when the fiery red pearl inside the toad monster caused a strange reaction in this token that he thought to revisit it.

Holding the miniature token in one hand and the blazing red pearl of the toad monster in the other, Shen Lie sensed a faint connection between the two. Yet, the main response was on the token; the pearl remained unchanged.

“Could it require an activation of energy?” Shen Lie wondered. He had tried infusing the token with his bloodline power before, but there was no reaction. This time was no different—no matter how much bloodline energy he poured in, the token showed no change. The bloodline energy couldn’t be absorbed; the token seemed merely a piece of ordinary metal.

“Nothing?” Shen Lie frowned. Given the warming sensation, there should have been some other reaction. Could it be the wrong type of energy?

Suddenly, he recalled that he had never tried activating the token with the mysterious energy from his third eye. This energy had only formed back in Dongfeng Town, after the leaf-shaped mark appeared on his brow. Since then, he had been struggling for survival, hardly paying attention to the token. It now seemed he had missed something important.

With over half of the third eye’s energy still remaining, Shen Lie extracted a thread of it and slowly infused it into the token. Instantly, his expression brightened!

The moment the mysterious energy touched the token, a radiant glow emerged on its surface. On one side of the token, countless tiny symbols appeared—too small to be seen clearly with the naked eye—while the other side bore a strange pattern.

This transformation was immense. Shen Lie’s heart leapt as he realized the pendant left by his father was, in fact, an artifact of the Starlight Clan. The object that had guided him was not some spatial rift or the Golden Hall, but the black short spear in his hand!

No—what this object had truly pointed to was the drop of black essence blood!

Shen Lie suddenly understood. He had mistakenly believed the token could sense spatial rifts, but that was utterly wrong. He had been pursuing a misguided path all along, which explained why he had uncovered nothing.

The black essence blood had dissipated after battling the golden essence blood and was later absorbed by him. This made the token unable to detect the essence blood’s presence, thus appearing ordinary. He had never tried activating it with the third eye’s energy—hence why this treasure had remained dormant until now.

As the glow on the token intensified, Shen Lie continued infusing it with the mysterious energy, causing it to grow hotter. Yet, aside from the heat, no other changes occurred.

After a while, when the third eye’s energy was nearly half depleted, a faint message began to transmit from the token.

What did it mean? Thirst?

The message was too vague—merely a vague sensing—leaving Shen Lie puzzled. It seemed to convey a meaning akin to thirst.

“Could it be blood?” Shen Lie recalled some novels he had read and considered the main cause on the human side now. It seemed plausible, so he pricked his finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the token.

This time he was right. The moment the blood touched the token, its surface glow brightened dramatically. Shen Lie then felt a profound, mystical connection with the token. The glow reached its zenith, and astonishingly, the radiance formed into a distinct entity, separating from the token!

Shen Lie was utterly astonished by this. Before he could ponder further, the light transformed into a white beam that swiftly entered his third eye!

After a moment, Shen Lie snapped out of his daze, though his mind was still reeling with shock.

This beam of light contained a wondrous technique called the Starry Sky Sacrifice. This technique was extraordinary; it allowed suitable sacrificial objects to be offered through a sacrificial array, thereby gaining energy feedback from the starry sky. This energy was called Star Power—the same mysterious force within his third eye mark.

The reason the token reacted to the toad monster’s pearl was that the pearl qualified as a sacrificial object, and the token served as the instrument detecting sacrificial items.

The elusive method to increase the third eye’s mysterious energy had now appeared before Shen Lie. He did not just want to laugh—he wanted to laugh wildly, unrestrainedly, with a laughter that would shake heaven and earth and move spirits and gods.

“Woooooo!”

As the saying goes, extreme joy often breeds sorrow. Just as Shen Lie had acquired two treasures, an alarm sounded from the team’s side—a low, urgent horn replacing electronic communicators. The horn’s blast signified approaching danger; the more frantic the horn, the greater the threat.

This time, the horn sounded extremely urgent. Shen Lie’s face darkened. Since departing Dongfeng Town, the team had not encountered significant danger, leading him to believe they might reach Yang City safely. Yet, battle was now inevitable.

The source of such urgency was undoubtedly a massive wave of spider monsters. These creatures had been growing in number and strength over time.

“Brother Shen, a large number of spider monsters appeared ahead. The professor wants you back on the armored vehicle to discuss.” Zhang Jing knocked on the window nervously.

“How many? Any intel from the front?” Shen Lie swiftly secured his items and stepped from the vehicle, spotting Du Lili wearing a mask.

“According to reports, we’ve encountered a monster squad estimated to number over a thousand!” Du Lili hurried over, her tone urgent.

“A thousand?!” Shen Lie exclaimed in disbelief. Over a thousand spider monsters were beyond their team’s capacity to withstand. Among such a vast group, there were bound to be higher-level spiders, perhaps even super variants. With so few awakened warriors among them, it would be difficult to cope.

“Is there any chance to bypass them?” The fight had not yet started, suggesting the patrol had spotted the spiders early, avoiding a surprise encounter.

“Unlikely. The command just sent word: this battle is unavoidable. Spiders have been spotted both ahead and behind, and they’re surrounding us. The professor suspects a sentient leader among the spiders.”

As Shen Lie listened, his expression grew grimmer. The presence of a sentient leader would exponentially increase the monsters’ combat power. This was truly a serious predicament.

“Tell the professor I’m going out to assess the situation. I’ll be back soon!” Shen Lie stopped walking, turned to Du Lili, and said firmly. Without waiting for a reply or greeting Zhang Jing, he swiftly strode toward the front of the team.