Chapter 389: To Prevent the World from Being Destroyed by the Fourth Calamity, a Certain Surnamed Bai

If anyone or any player were here at this moment, they would surely notice that the living beings stepping out of the darkness were all cursed evil spirits that had once attacked countless cultivator-players within the Long Gu Keng domain.

In their eyes, these strange beings—part of the Longze Yaowang's curse, possessing little intelligence—had for some unknown reason all gathered here, and seemed, toward the figure shrouded in a black robe before them, to be both submissive and fearful.

If this scene were seen by the outside world, it would surely astonish all eyes.

One must understand that since entering this former domain of Long Ze, from ordinary Qi Refining cultivators to great cultivators of the Hua Shen Realm, none had been able to escape the attacks of these fearless, earth-defying strange beings—creatures even more bizarre and terrifying than those mysteriously sky-fallen races.

If not for the fact that the many cultivators of Duan Yu Jie had already endured one calamity of a mysteriously born extraterrestrial race, and had grown somewhat accustomed to an increasingly bizarre world, this place would likely have once again been turned into a complete forbidden zone, as in ancient times.

Yet these bizarre and terrifying beings of this place were now acting like servants of the black-robed figure before them, spontaneously collecting the corpses of beings attacked throughout the domain and presenting them as offerings to this mysterious existence.

If this scene were seen by the cultivator-players of the Jiaoyisuo, some cultivator's inner faith might collapse from that moment on, disbelief quite possible.

The black-robed, benevolent Expert who should have had nothing to do with all this—the compassionate, great cultivator who, moved by pity for the hardships of ordinary cultivators, had graciously established a place called the Jiaoyisuo, in truth a sanctuary. A true cultivator gazed at, admired, and sighed in awe by the overlooked cultivators. Yet now he was surrounded by endless strange beings, as if he were the true culprit, the root of all evil.

Of course, Baichuan naturally would not let anyone discover this scene before his plan was realized, nor would he admit to it.

How could he possibly be the leader, the master, of these strange beings?

He had merely, with the help of the Ability Panel's functions, given some beings here a small, tiny stroke of fortune.

And the Ability Panel—without his ill intent—had evolved abilities that were all pure and harmless; one could even say that even he, Baichuan, had no means to control these beings, just as in his weaker days he had no means of control and would not let the Ability Panel evolve ordinary beings, because they were uncontrollable.

In the eyes of beings outside, the reason these strange beings had grown stronger was entirely because they had obtained some kind of fortune or been altered by some environment, leading to their rapid mutation.

As for what they did after gaining strength from that fortune, it was entirely driven by their newly born consciousness and instinct.

It was nature that made these mutated beings like to store the corpses of those they had attacked; it was nature that made these mutated beings share a certain natural affinity with one another, and thus like to gather in groups at certain places to store their spoils—corpses.

And he, Baichuan, even if seen by outsiders, would only be regarded as a benevolent, compassionate true cultivator who could not bear to watch all beings suffer, whose cultivator corpses could not rest in peace and were being desecrated, and who thus took the initiative to seek out these mutated beings and exterminate them!

As for the mutated beings' "surrounding" him, it was merely because his strength was too great, striking fear into their hearts, yet they could not bear to part with their spoils and so had not left.

He, Baichuan, after a month of management, was in everyone's eyes exactly this compassionate and lofty figure who, at the moment of all beings' despair, erected a safe harbor for all living things in the most benevolent posture.

With the natural bonus of his identity, even though he was somewhat strangely shrouded in a black robe, he would only be regarded by everyone as an Expert's eccentricity.

Didn't they see that after those players died, the death information shown by their system read 【You have been attacked by mutated vines… You have died…】, not "You have been attacked by a servant tainted with XX's power…"

This was also a preparation Baichuan had made to avoid being directly exposed by the players' strange game system.

While thinking, Baichuan also ignored these mutated beings that had even reached the level of a Planet Overlord comparable to the Hua Shen Realm, and directly took away the neatly arranged corpses.

Now, possessing countless ability models, he was in some sense no different from the true Creator in ordinary people's eyes; as long as he wished, he could completely sift through the many abilities, select those that met his needs, and choose a body to modify.

Next, he would once again enter a period of analysis and comparison.

At the same time, his plan should enter the next stage.

……

Early morning, Lao Zhao, who had slept comfortably and beautifully, also opened his stream as usual upon waking.

Feeling the unprecedented physical refreshment of his in-game character, Lao Zhao was also a little teary-eyed; perhaps only those old players who had truly experienced several game worlds, where even resting left one uneasy, fearing that waking up might mean death somewhere, could understand his current feelings.

A sanctuary that could shelter players and let them log off at any time was too rare.

【Yo, Lao Zhao, up this early today?】

【Morning! Victory for the all-nighters!】

【Look what I've found, a living, breathing Lao Zhao!】

As he started streaming, being already a famous big streamer, a large group of fans also gradually poured into his stream room.

After the familiar greetings with the viewers, he walked out of the room, preparing to stroll around the Jiaoyisuo, which had recently felt both mysterious and reassuring in the eyes of all players; of course, it would be even better if he could run into that black-robed NPC and trigger a quest.

This was a market small as a sparrow but complete in every organ, especially as large numbers of cultivators deeply aware of the danger here had gathered, it had also begun to gradually develop into a small town.

Lao Zhao walked and stopped along the way, under the viewers' directions looking here and there, truly giving that group of viewers their fill of eye-candy.

Just then, his sharp eyes suddenly caught a youth with a player name above his head, walking straight toward the bamboo grove behind the market—different from everyone else. That was precisely the dwelling place of the founder of this sanctuary, that powerful and mysterious black-robed NPC.

"This is?" Lao Zhao's gaze shifted, staring at that youth, his eyes widening as if he had thought of something.

【Damn! Could it be that someone got that big shot's quest?】

【What the hell, there's a player this lucky?】

【Why isn't there any share of it on the player forum?】

【Good lord, if Lao Zhao hadn't stumbled on this, wouldn't this quietly-getting-rich guy have risen to fame in one stroke?】

【Exactly, look at that guy's name, Little Knife Slashes Big Stock? He's preparing to give us bros a show!】

【Follow him, Lao Zhao!】

At this moment, not only did he think so, but the many viewers in the stream room also thought of the same, and one after another left suggestions for him.

Under the many netizens' suggestions, the young Lao Zhao was also somewhat tempted, but then stopped himself and still refused.

Unlike that former cold-weapon ancient world that didn't have too outrageous power, where eavesdropping was fine—anyway, as long as one was careful, the chance of being discovered was still very small.

But this big shot before him, a mysterious giant who could establish a sanctuary in a place that even he saw as fraught with danger, was absolutely not someone he could spy on.

If he offended this giant NPC before him, and the other party came after him across the entire map, that would be no joke.

There had once been a player who, after leaving the first game world, felt invincible, feared nothing on earth, and was directly hunted across the entire world by some great noble, ultimately forced to give up that world.

In that case, he could only wait by the stump for the rabbit—wait for that player's appearance.

Of course, although he had decided, he still had to explain it to the viewers.

……

Time slowly passed for half an hour, on the other side.

【Ding, your quest has been completed.】

Hearing the prompt sound that the quest had finally been completed, Wei Ziqi finally showed an expression of wild joy, his eyes involuntarily welling with tears; it wasn't easy, truly not easy.

Heaven knew what hardships he had endured for this quest, searching for three strange flowers and plants: bitten by poisonous insects in the rainforest, dancing a soulful dance while paralyzed; attacked by demon beasts in the swamp, engaging in a you-chase-me-I-chase-you race; charged by a mutated giant wild boar on the mountain, his backside nearly smashed to pieces; bound by mutated vines in the valley in an artistic bondage, engaging in a you-in-me-I-in-you entanglement unto death…

One could say he had died again and again, until in the end his whole person was numb.

Now, it was finally over!

In his excitement, he could no longer suppress the intense emotions in his heart, and directly claimed the quest's reward.

Instantly, along with his confirmation, the skill named 【Sprint】 also appeared within his body in a flash.

Afterwards, he felt a strange new sensation, and along with it the muscles of his lower body quietly changed quite a bit — especially the leg muscles, which transformed from their usual bulky state into something lean and powerful.

"Senior, forgive me for making a fool of myself." Only now coming back to his senses, Wei Ziqi also revealed an embarrassed smile, and fearing the follow-up quest might fall through, he hurriedly tried to make amends.

"No matter." Baichuan waved his hand. Rather, he couldn't have wished for more than for the other party to be right under his nose, so he could clearly see every move the players made when operating the game's functions. Just like earlier, after the other party confirmed this quest, he felt the void before his eyes abruptly split open into a small space, within which was stored a crystal like the one mentioned in the previous "trade."

He understood — the first quest between them had already been completed.

However, just one crystal was still not enough.

He needed a considerable number of these "crystals" to accomplish his next goal.

After all, the stage was already mostly set; it was time for the lead actors to take their places.

Thinking this, Baichuan narrowed his eyes as he looked at the young man before him, sighing inwardly.

'Players really are the best tools, no doubt about it.'

"Wei boy, isn't it? You're not bad at all — you completed my needs splendidly. Please keep up the good work going forward. In order to recover my old friend's daughter, next please you…"

Not long after, inside the bamboo grove thatched hut, Wei Ziqi walked out looking even more energized, though faintly troubled. He scratched his head, thinking about that quest with the even richer reward he had just received.

"So many targets, such a long distance, and a time limit — how am I supposed to complete it…"

【Hey, that guy came out!】

【Go on, Lao Zhao!】

【Don't chicken out!】

At the same time, Lao Zhao, who had been waiting on the side for a long while, was spurred on by a group of viewers' prompts and roused his spirits again to step forward.

"You are?"

One moment still beaming with joy, the next moment seeing the familiar player title hovering above the newcomer's head, Wei Ziqi also pulled in his expression and said with some wariness.

"Hey, brother, don't panic… we're not good people. Hmm, that's not right either — I'm a good person…"

"Anyway, brother, don't be nervous…"

Looking at the somewhat wary young man, Lao Zhao had just been about to explain his purpose when he realized that his earlier idle bragging with the viewers had made him slip up, and he had actually forgotten the speech he had prepared beforehand — leaving him momentarily awkward.

【LMAO, Lao Zhao's classic expression strikes again!】

【6, the old habit's acting up again!】

【Do you remember when the last time was?】

【Of course I remember — that was a legendary scene. One moment he saved a delicate young lady, the next moment because he slipped up he got mistaken for a molester by some chivalrous hero and got beaten up!】

"You are?" Looking at the young man before him, Wei Ziqi felt he looked somewhat familiar — wait!

His eyes suddenly went wide, and he cried out in shock: "Lao Zhao? You're that big streamer Lao Zhao who saved the beauty and then got beaten up by the hero?!"

"Ah, yes!" Lao Zhao awkwardly rubbed his nose. "But can we not bring up the getting-beaten-up part…"

"Hahaha, no worries." Knowing it was a fairly familiar and reliable streamer, Wei Ziqi also let his tension go. Not to mention, in front of so many viewers, those past experiences in each and every game world all attested to the man's solid character.

Thinking of this, he walked up with a smile and threw his arm around Lao Zhao's shoulder. "Lao Zhao, aren't you curious about how I went to find that big shot earlier?"

"Mm-hmm." Lao Zhao nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at grain.

"Actually, I took on a hidden quest with a really huge reward — and just the first part alone already gave me a skill as a reward…"

"What?" Lao Zhao was shocked — the weight of those words was nothing if not heavy.

……

In the bamboo grove, watching those two players walk off arm in arm, Baichuan let out a soft laugh.

Go, then — for the rich reward of this multiplayer quest, for that complete ability far beyond a mere skill, rope in a great many players, even stir up every faction. Best to draw as many people as possible, and people of as heavy a caliber as possible.

When the time comes, he hopes everyone will enjoy this gift of his.

At this moment, Baichuan seemed to have already seen the future — an entire world stirred into alarm.

After all, this world was going to be destroyed by the Fourth Calamity in the end anyway — so why not just let him destroy it himself ahead of time?

After all, with the activation of the 【Spirit】 ability, the existence he was substituting for this time was ultimately going to walk toward death, and that time wouldn't be too far off — so why not go out with a bang.

Besides, Shi Long's obsession didn't include protecting the world, did it?

It was only to slaughter every mysterious creature that attacked LongFu, and to bring back Long Nv.

If the world has already exploded, what is there left that hasn't been killed off?

The only difficulty was bringing back Long Nv and taking good care of her.

But Baichuan had already thought of a way to handle it.

For some reason, Baichuan suddenly thought of something — wasn't his current behavior exactly like that of a law enforcement officer from a certain country in his previous life that was jokingly called "Eagle Sauce"?

To prevent someone from committing suicide, they simply gun them down ahead of time!

However, this was the most efficient quick solution Baichuan had currently come up with.

After all, he had not forgotten that mysterious and powerful tortoise spirit,

Faced with all kinds of plots and schemes, storms and vortices and the like, only by flipping the table directly could all the plans of certain existences be shattered — one absolutely must not follow in the other's footsteps.

That would only put oneself at a disadvantage.

……

(End of this chapter)