"Did the students finish setting it up so quickly?"
An Chen smiled knowingly.
Just a moment ago, he saw the system's reward, the [Lesser Starry Array], and thought it was a very impressive formation.
Not only could it reverse heaven and earth, but it could also obscure the secrets of the heavens, completely concealing the small village.
Additionally, anyone inside the formation would be enveloped by beams of starlight.
No matter how an outsider tried to escape, they wouldn't be able to get out of the formation.
So, An Chen made a quick decision and assigned the students a task.
He had them take 108 small starry banners, gather the villagers, and place each banner at specific locations he had designated.
Unexpectedly, in just half an hour, the students had already completed the task and set up the Lesser Starry Array!
With this, the safety of the students and the villagers was now ensured.
An Chen could finally relax.
Of course, what he didn't know was that those villagers were actually from the clans of powerful demons.
"Hmm, with nothing else to do, why not test out the Talent Replication Cards?"
Then, An Chen remembered that there were still dozens of replication cards lying in the system's inventory.
Coincidentally, Xiao Qing, Chi Zi, and Guaigai had all recently awakened new talents, making it the perfect time to test out the effects of the replication cards.
So, over the next little while...
The roots of the thousand-year-old willow tree intertwined to form a fan, gently fanning An Chen.
An Chen used three replication cards to copy the talents of Xiao Qing, Chi Zi, and Guaigai, gaining the corresponding talents of [Sitting Fire], [Wall Opening], and [Spirit Banishment].
After the replication, An Chen felt three new sets of memories appear in his mind, and he quickly mastered the corresponding abilities.
Then, the system's notification sounded.
"Ding! Congratulations, Master, for using three replication cards. Replication complete, three talents acquired, and the talent tree has been illuminated!"
"Congratulations, Master, for adding three sources of nourishment for the [Divine Fire]."
Nourishment?
An Chen thought for a moment and quickly understood.
The [Divine Fire], residing within his eyes, needed to consume his essence, energy, and spirit to grow and strengthen over time.
It seemed that every time he replicated a new talent, he would gain an additional source of nourishment to feed the [Divine Fire].
"Why does this feel like I'm raising a gold-eating beast?"
An Chen chuckled to himself and shifted his attention to the talent tree, carefully observing it. He noticed something unusual.
On the system interface, the talent tree resembled a towering tree with crisscrossing branches.
An Chen's gaze landed on the first main branch.
That branch extended into five smaller branches.
On the first small branch, three golden leaves had appeared.
Focusing on the leaves, An Chen discovered that each one had two characters etched on it: [Sitting Fire], [Wall Opening], and [Spirit Banishment].
"These leaves represent talents, but what do the branches and the trunk represent?"
With this question in mind, An Chen curiously clicked on the glowing golden question mark on the first branch and subconsciously read it aloud.
"Beacon Fire... Hidden Artifact Stage..."
...
In a patch of grass within the forest.
The two captains of the Thunderquake team, along with ten other members, stood frozen, watching the figures of the little rabbit and the sloth disappear into the forest, eventually vanishing from sight.
The sounds of sharp intakes of breath and gulping began to rise one after another.
Even in their wildest dreams, they never imagined witnessing such an absurd and shocking scene in their lifetimes.
They had come to Kunlun Mountain searching for the Rubik's Cube, but instead, they had experienced an encounter more surreal than any dream.
This encounter had shattered their worldview, overturned their understanding, and even made them question their very existence!
"Cap... Captain Shen..."
After a long silence.
A team member glanced at the pit full of bodies and finally snapped out of it. He turned to Shen Hao, his voice trembling slightly, and said, "What do we do now?"
The other team members also snapped back to reality, feeling chills run down their spines, their skin crawling with goosebumps.
None of them had ever imagined that the little rabbit and the sloth would be so ferocious and violent, slaughtering the foreign superhumans right here!
"If those two monsters attack us, do we even have a chance to leave here alive?"
"Boss..."
The vice-captain, Guan Lanhui, also turned to look at Shen Hao, softly saying, "You make the call. We'll all follow your lead!"
Whether to continue the mission or withdraw, they would follow through without hesitation.
In the Zhen'an Department, orders from above overrode everything.
Shen Hao, through his sunglasses, looked at the corpses scattered in the pit, frowning in silence.
Faced with such an unexpected situation, he clearly needed some time to decide whether to lead the team forward, find the Rubik's Cube, and complete the mission assigned by the higher-ups, or...
Before he could make a decision, he heard his teammates suddenly gasp in shock and alarm.
"What the heck! Is that... eyes?"
"No, there are more over here! Damn! Why are there eyes everywhere?"
"Oh my god! They're back again..."
Shen Hao's heart sank, and he quickly looked up.
In the surrounding forest, countless eyes of different colors appeared, all staring at them.
Soon, the trees began to shake, producing rustling sounds.
The monsters that had disappeared earlier—like the northeastern tiger, white-fanged elephant, and black bear—all emerged once again, forming a circle and trapping them inside.
There was even a large black-and-white panda, wearing a straw hat, sitting in the best spot for watching, pulling out a bamboo stalk, ready to eat while enjoying the show.
Following behind the panda was a row of red pandas, mimicking its actions. They all sat down one by one, pulling out bamboo stalks and starting to eat with complete focus.
"Sister Xiao Qing, let's go this way~"
A little girl, delicate and jade-like, with a childish voice, appeared before the Thunderquake team, shaking her three tails.
Several team members were so frightened that their eyes widened, and they stumbled, falling to the ground.
They couldn't help but let out an astonished cry.
"A... a little girl with three tails???"
Shen Hao and Guan Lanhui, the two captains, were equally shocked as they stared at the little girl, feeling their worldview being shattered once again!
What shocked them even more was that behind the little girl, two women with different temperaments walked toward them.
One was a beautiful young woman with a snake's tail and a human upper body, her eyes gleaming with mischief.
The other was a cold and stunning woman wearing a green qipao, her face frosty like an iceberg, keeping everyone at a great distance.
Seeing the cold woman, Shen Hao and Guan Lanhui both had the same thought pop into their heads.
Was she originally human, or did she take human form?
Before they could come to a conclusion, the sky above the forest suddenly darkened.
One after another, glowing stars flew out from the 108 starry banners, rising into the sky and adorning the invisible barrier above.
In the end, the stars transformed into a magnificent Milky Way, spanning the sky, radiating an incomparably brilliant and dazzling light!
At the same time, beams of starlight descended from the Milky Way, enveloping Shen Hao, Guan Lanhui, and the others.
They were all stunned and looked up, only to see the brilliant Milky Way above. Their faces were filled with shock and awe.
"Stars in the sky during the day?"
"This... this is practically a divine miracle!"
Not only were they astonished, but the great demons also raised their heads to gaze at the Milky Way, their eyes filled with starlight. They, too, were amazed and full of admiration!
Who would have thought that the task their teacher assigned them, once completed, would result in such a miraculous display?
This was truly a marvel of nature!
How incredible!
At that moment, the little rabbit and the sloth returned, standing beside Xiao Qing.
This made the members of the Thunderquake team feel even more pressure, pushing them to the brink of collapse.
Finally, one team member couldn't take it anymore and, with a trembling voice, asked, "A-are you all monsters?"
Soon, a voice responded.
"Uh, what else?"