After finishing talking about his own matters, Grant Benson felt much more at ease. He stood up and tried to find an empty spot: “Old Sullivan, we’ve been friends for so long, I have to make sure you’re laid to rest. Fine, I’ll bury you myself.” He searched everywhere, but there wasn’t a single place not occupied by corpses. Grant Benson pushed aside a few bodies, cleared out a patch of ground, and then casually picked up a longsword from nearby—he had no idea whose magical weapon it was, but it didn’t matter, he just needed to use it.

He dug a big pit, placed Lucas Sullivan inside, then pushed the dirt back over and finished the burial. Once everything was done, he spoke to the mound of earth: “Old Sullivan, you came in a hurry and left in a hurry. We’re all just passing through this world. You don’t have a tombstone; you didn’t bring a name when you arrived, so don’t take that burden with you when you leave. Farewell. If I make it out, I’ll definitely come visit you if I get the chance. If I can’t get out, then I’ll keep you company here!”

After delivering this “eulogy,” Grant Benson tossed away the treasured sword and strode deeper into the canyon. He wanted to see if there was any chance he could get out.

Chapter 009: Exoskeletal Dragon Ears

Grant Benson knew this bottomless abyss very well; he had never heard of anyone making it out alive, so he didn’t hold out much hope. But as long as there was even a sliver of a chance, he wouldn’t give up. After all, he’d been through so much and still survived—he hoped this time would be no different. “Bottomless abyss, you do have a bottom after all…” Grant Benson sighed, but was puzzled: wasn’t the bottomless abyss supposed to be unimaginably dangerous, with no one ever escaping alive? Why was there no danger at all inside this canyon?

In fact, he didn’t know that the real danger of the bottomless abyss wasn’t at the bottom, but in the thick layer of black clouds above the canyon. Those black clouds were the most fearsome thing in the world; no one who entered them had ever come out alive. Even a Da Luo Golden Immortal would never return. Grant Benson hadn’t fallen from above, but had been transported here from elsewhere, so he hadn’t passed through that layer of black clouds and naturally faced no danger. Heaven’s arrangements are mysterious: the bottomless abyss is extremely perilous, but once you reach the bottom, there’s nothing to fear.

Gordon Brooks strode through the canyon, corpses lying all around in various poses. As he walked, he saw many strange and bizarre ways people had fallen, which he found rather amusing. Unconsciously, the number of corpses around him grew fewer and fewer. The surroundings were still shrouded in that black and gray deathly silence, but now he could occasionally see the ground. Gordon Brooks felt a surge of joy and quickened his pace.

After hurrying for a while, he finally left the area of corpses. Here, the ground was clean, though still covered in that black and gray hue that made one’s mood sink. In the distance ahead, Gordon Brooks saw something standing upright. He hurried over, and when he arrived, panting, he was a bit disappointed—it was just three trees. Actually, they weren’t even trees anymore, just three ancient wooden stumps standing in a triangle.

No one knew when these stumps had been buried; their bark was in tatters, with only a few pieces left. The trunks beneath were smooth, probably because there was no rain here and they had dried out well, so they were well preserved. Gordon Brooks sat down beside the stumps, leaning against one of the trunks. He could see that not far behind the three stumps was a cliff—he might never get out.

Gordon Brooks’s mood plummeted. He lowered his head, staring at the ground, not knowing what to do. He touched the trunk; it was so hard that even scratching it with his fingernail left no mark. Gordon Brooks simply lay down, resting his head right between the three stumps. At that moment, he saw something strange—there was something encircled by the three stumps!

Startled, Gordon Brooks quickly stood up, but as soon as he stepped outside the triangle of trees, he couldn’t see anything. He thought for a moment, then stepped back between the three stumps, and suddenly the scene changed—on the ground, there was a suit of armor!

Gordon Brooks walked over. It seemed to be a simple illusion: invisible from the outside, but visible once inside. He wondered who would play such a trick. Gordon Brooks approached the armor. It was hanging on a T-shaped rack, covered in the same black and gray as everything else here, with no shine at all. Clearly, it was different from the magical treasures of the corpses; it had been placed here alone—what could be the reason?

Gordon Brooks looked down and saw two characters written on the ground: 外骨. That must be the name of the armor. Gordon Brooks laughed and reached out to take the armor from the rack: “We really are fated to meet. I used to be all bones, and you’re called ‘Exoskeleton.’ Looks like your master really liked you, thinking of you as another set of bones outside his body! Exoskeleton, hmm, good, from now on you’ll follow me. I may not be much now, but once I regain my strength, you won’t be embarrassed to be with me.”