Entering the Shelter

Han Sen waited at a camp near the shelter for two days, before the expedition was set to begin and they could leave for that enigmatic construct.

He was able to see the shelter faintly, from the distance the camp had been established. The entire time they were there, an eerie fog draped the serrated walls and ramparts, pooling over to drown the grounds they stood upon.

"Little Brother, when you are in the shelter, I advise you to stick close," Mister Li said, approaching Han Sen. There was a surprising concern tinting his unusually gruff voice.

Han Sen replied, "Yes, will do. We need to look out for each other in there; our numbers have diminished more than enough."

The demi-god Xu Yanmeng chimed in, saying, "Stick close so we can protect you, and you don't get in the way. That's what he means to say. You'll be a hindrance if you do anything more."

"Oh, that is what he meant. It's nice to have a translator by his side. Thank you for the clarification." Han Sen knew Mister Li's phrasing was an attempt at putting it lightly.

Mister Li smiled and said, "Can the chatter. We work hard; all of us. We're in this together."

Yu Xuan and his big sister Yu Miao led the humans across the still plains to the shelter and left them near the gate. Han Sen believed he'd be able to see things with a lot more clarity upon nearing the place. That turned out to be an incorrect assumption.

When they reached the shelter, another group arrived. Amongst them were that woman and her dog.

"Goddess, you're late," Yu Miao said.

Before she responded, her dog snapped, "A doggo is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."

Han Sen observed the humans that had accompanied them, and he noticed that two of them were extra-strong. He believed they were also in possession of gemstone geno cores.

The dog sniffed Han Sen, then said, "Pah! You guys crack me up. You've enlisted a human with a bronze geno core? You think he'll help?! Haha!"

"More people always equal a greater sum of power," Yu Miao said, in surprising defense.

Han Sen then realized why Goddess and her dog had come to Shadow Shelter; he assumed they had gone there in search of Nan Litian. Little did they know, he was dead. Deeming Han Sen too weak, they hadn't bothered recruiting his replacement.

"A weakling in a group is a weakling still. Regardless, let's proceed," Goddess said.

Yu Miao allowed the humans to meet and greet and ready themselves for entering the shelter. When the first streaks of sunlight beamed over the distant mountains that dressed the horizon, they could see the shelter a little more clearly, and some of the fog that spilled over the walls boiled off.

In total, there were nine going into the shelter; Han Sen included. Outer Sky Shelter's people consisted of Han Sen, Mister Li, Xu Yanmeng, and Old Qiu. Sacred Shelter contributed an additional five. Their names were Wang Zhao, Zhong Sanxiao, Yu Zhiyu, He Zhi, and Xiao Liuyu.

Mister Li was the leader of Han Sen's sortie, whereas there was a joint leadership for Sacred's collection of people, in the form of Wang Zhao and Zhong Sanxiao. There was a surprising amount of uneasiness creeping between the two teams, despite them all being humans and in a precarious situation that would require co-operation. It seemed as if there'd be fierce competition once inside.

Han Sen wasn't too surprised, though. Whenever something was up for grabs, people of different factions were prone to compete.

"Little Han, don't draw too near to the mist. For all we know, it might reach out and grab you," Mister Li kindly advised.

Han Sen thought to himself, "Yu Xuan and Qing Le did not mention that the Dongxuan Aura would not work here."

"Mister Li, might we be forced to retreat if the mist grows thicker and becomes too heavy? It already hangs in the air like a suffocating mucus," Han Sen asked.

Mister Li replied, saying, "It should lighten during the afternoon. The mist will return and thicken eventually, blocking our exit, though. It isn't a normal fog. Once we enter, we won't be able to return until the next day."

Yu Xuan and Qing Le hadn't mentioned a single thing about this to Han Sen.

It seemed clear now that Han Sen was the one going in with the least knowledge. He wasn't sure why he had not been informed as much as he could have been, but it wasn't fair to put him in such a situation.

Han Sen chatted a bit more with Mister Li, and he realized they were the only two talking. The others were dead silent. Once they were done talking, he noticed that the gate of the shelter was slightly ajar.

Han Sen thought he might be able to see the Life Door with a peek beyond, but the fog was incredibly thick inside. His vision couldn't pierce the grey.

"It's just us now, stand easy," Mister Li said, turning to face Wang Zhao after the spirits left. "If we're to go in and make it out alive, it's best we pool our knowledge and come up with some sort of a plan. Co-operation is in our best interests, gentlemen."

"I agree," Wang Zhao responded.

None of them had been in the shelter before, so everything they knew was told to them by their superiors who were spirits. Yu Miao and Goddess had delivered both sides the most of the details they could share.

After the discussion, the desire for competition settled to a hardly-noticeable simmer. The two human teams had merrily converged into one, wanting to co-operate and ensure survival, first and foremost. They approached the shelter together, with surprising unison.

After hearing them talk, Han Sen had managed to learn much he had not been told before, concerning the shelter.

Qing Le had told Han Sen the humans reached the coffin with little to no trouble, but he had in fact glossed over the fact they were almost all practically at death's door by the time they got that far.

With all this additional knowledge, and a mental map formed, they decided a route they should all take.

Han Sen only had a bronze geno core, so he was not allowed any input.

No matter which way they went, though, their course would take them past the tower Han Sen had studied on the scroll he had been given by Qing Le.

And according to Mister Li, that construct was an extremely dangerous place to venture.