Chapter 420: Special Map, Huangquan Lu

Uzumaki Naruto frowned deeply, not understanding what Neji meant.

To the side, Tsunade and Jiraiya both wore complex expressions; it was clear they knew the reason for Hyuga Neji's betrayal.

Uzumaki Naruto still wanted to question him,

but was stopped by Tsunade, who sighed and explained: "The Caged Bird is a type of Cursed Seal that the Hyuga Main House casts upon the Branch House."

Listening to Tsunade's explanation, Uzumaki Naruto's frown deepened.

He looked at the expressionless Neji and said, "Becoming a guardian to protect the Main House and protect Konoha—isn't that right?"

"A guardian?"

Neji revealed a mocking smile and said, "In that case, is Orochimaru also a member of the Main House?"

Uzumaki Naruto was suddenly rendered speechless.

He realized belatedly: was there really any difference between the Hyuga Main House's Caged Bird and the Cursed Seal that Orochimaru branded onto his slaves?

Neji raised his thumb to point at his own smooth forehead and questioned, "Is it wrong for a slave to want to break free from their shackles?"

Is the son of a scapegoat destined to remain a scapegoat forever?

If this is fate, then breaking it is his own will; it is precisely by relying on this will that he has been able to make it this far.

【Nen Master Lv. 44】.

"So, do you want to kill me, Jiraiya?"

Countless black cursed snakes crawled all over Orochimaru's body, and a necromantic aura erupted; it was not aggressive, but it caused the expressions of Tsunade and the others to change drastically.

"Golden-grade?"

Tsunade took a deep breath, her expression grave.

Most players had realized that the attribute strength of Pollution Monsters far exceeded that of the most basic Player Panel.

A "blank slate" player who simply levels up without wearing equipment or having skills has attribute strength on par with ordinary monsters.

Players who wear Blue-grade or Green-grade equipment and have skills can exert strength roughly equivalent to 【Elite Monsters】 and 【Commander Monsters】.

The same applies to subsequent levels.

However, combat power is not only related to game items but also to the level difference between players, which easily leads to players making incorrect judgments.

Therefore, within the player community, a standard for the fastest and most rapid judgment of an enemy player's strength was developed.

Every 10 levels serves as a watershed,

comparing players with Pollution Monsters of the same level.

The aura strength radiated by Orochimaru was already comparable to a Golden-grade Pollution Monster between Lv. 40 and Lv. 49.

"Combat is strictly prohibited inside the Samsara Niche, so follow me!"

Orochimaru looked at the stunned Tsunade and Jiraiya, stuck out his tongue to lick his chin, and then turned to step across the edge of the Samsara Niche's light, entering the black fog zone.

"Tsunade..."

Jiraiya's expression was serious as he said, "This is a good opportunity to test Orochimaru's strength. Don't act impulsively; let me be the one to fight him."

"In the Heishenhua Ditu, death results in being teleported to Huangquan Lu..."

Tsunade frowned; everything was still unknown.

Although the game prompt stated that one could be resurrected by completing the 【Yellow Springs Mission】 to collect Yellow Springs Flowers, the mission content, difficulty, and time limit were all unknown variables.

"Don't worry, my ability is 【Prophet】. Even if I can't beat Orochimaru, retreating unscathed is no problem."

Jiraiya laughed twice and charged out of the Samsara Niche, following Orochimaru's back. Several minutes later,

Tsunade felt something was wrong; there wasn't the slightest sound of fighting coming from inside the black fog. Had Jiraiya been killed instantly?

Suddenly,

the gravel on the ground at the very edge of the Samsara Niche was pushed aside, and a cursed snake the size of a thumb crawled out.

Ugh...

A pale arm reached out from the cursed snake's mouth, followed by the entire body.

Covered in slime, Orochimaru revealed a look of regret and shook his head, saying, "How truly foolish. Jiraiya, you haven't made the slightest bit of progress since those years."

"How is that possible?"

Tsunade frowned.

Just as Jiraiya himself said, the skills of a 【Prophet】 are extremely complex and can handle all sorts of sudden situations; although his combat power isn't high, his ability to save his own life is definitely top-tier.

Even for Orochimaru, it would be impossible to kill Jiraiya in just a few minutes.

This was also the reason why Tsunade had agreed to let Jiraiya test Orochimaru.

"I truly have no way to kill a Lv. 40 【Prophet】 with Lord-level strength in a short amount of time."

Orochimaru spread his hands playfully and said, "However, Pollution Monsters can." Although the hundreds of cursed snakes he had just released were all killed, one of them had run as far as the 【Fallen Bandit】 outpost.

Hundreds of Fallen Bandits, along with two Commander-level Bandit Captains, were all high-level monsters at Lv. 50.

No matter how strong one's life-saving ability is, one will still be swarmed to death when fighting across levels.

"From the very beginning, I intended to provoke Jiraiya. I didn't expect the idiot to take the bait before I could even say two sentences..."

"You're still as despicable as ever, Orochimaru!"

Tsunade clenched her fists, veins bulging. Although she was angry, she did not commit any extreme acts.

After all,

Jiraiya could still be resurrected and would be able to scout the special map, 【Huangquan Lu】.

On the other side, Jiraiya, who had been swarmed to death by the Fallen Bandits, opened his eyes in a daze and scanned his surroundings.

In the pitch-black night sky,

a gray river flowed backward, thick like mercury, hanging upside down in the firmament.

The mountains and plains are covered in vibrant flowers, stretching endlessly as far as the eye can see.

Countless human figures—men, women, the elderly, children, city dwellers in sharp suits, mountain bandits wrapped in headscarves, Knights in armor, Mages in tattered robes...

They are expressionless, their eyes vacant, walking forward on their tiptoes just like that.

It is as if the spirits of countless other worlds have all gathered here to pass into the afterlife.

【You have entered the special map 【Huangquan Lu】. Please resurrect as soon as possible, or you will be completely devoured by the 【Demon King】.】

"There's actually a time limit for resurrection?"

Jiraiya's expression changes drastically. He looks up and sees that at the destination where the countless spirits are heading,

a skull as massive as heaven and earth opens its mouth, swallowing the spirits that reach the end.

Above his own head, there is a stick of burning incense, with blue smoke curling slowly upward.

【Soul Returning Incense】: If the incense does not extinguish, the soul returns; if the incense burns out, one enters the Yellow Springs. Remaining burn time: 3 days.

Note: Once the Soul Returning Incense is extinguished, the player will suffer a real death.

"As expected, the further one goes, the higher the level of the Samsara Game map, and the greater the Death Penalty."

Jiraiya's expression is grave. The premonition from his 【Prophet】 skill had already told him that a 【Fourth Tier】 map would inevitably be extremely dangerous, and now it has come true.

"What about the mission?"

Jiraiya opens the mission tab, but sees no new missions.

Prophetic Sense...

He gathers his hands at his brow, and a faint radiance flows out, converging into the shape of an eye at his forehead.

"Hoo... so tired. In just two seconds, it consumed nearly half of my Energy Value."

"The map level of Huangquan Lu is too high!"

Jiraiya is panting. 【Prophetic Sense】 is an extremely powerful perception-type skill that can vaguely capture the situations occurring in the surroundings.

In the new season's Heishenhua Ditu, it was directly suppressed by the rules and could not be used.

Upon reaching Huangquan Lu, the restriction is gone, but because the map level is too high, the consumption is enormous.

"The Mall, communication, teleportation functions—have even the functions to exit the game been cut off?"

In other words, if he cannot collect the 【Yellow Springs Flower】 needed for resurrection, he will be trapped in Huangquan Lu forever.

"I must return as soon as possible to inform Tsunade and the others that the Huangquan Lu map is too Weird, and one must absolutely not die easily in the new season!"

Jiraiya quickly catches up to a spirit slowly walking forward.

The moment he touches the spirit,

【Triggered 【Yellow Springs Mission】】

Mission World: Attack on Titan. Mission Content: Resist the attack of the Giants and defend 【Wall Maria】.

Mission Reward: Yellow Springs Flower *1.

Hint: During the execution of the Yellow Springs Mission, the player's four-dimensional attributes, equipment, and skills will be sealed and converted into 【Yellow Springs Point】 of equal value.

Hint 2: Yellow Springs Point can be used to purchase indigenous goods of the mission world.

Hint 3: After leaving the mission world, the seal will be lifted, and game items purchased with 【Yellow Springs Point】 will be automatically reclaimed. If you wish to keep them, you must spend Reward Point to purchase them.

(End of this chapter)