Chapter 101: Inheritance: Special Fate Soul (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Colorful Mist Coast, Great Yan Clan Territory.

Following the old man all the way forward, Xia Sheng and Jiang Cheng arrived at the clan territory he had spoken of.

This was an open space hidden within a dense rainforest, the entrance marked by rows of weathered tombstones.

The inscriptions on the steles had been eroded by wind and rain until they were blurred and indistinct; wild grasses grew thick nearby, and wild flowers bloomed stubbornly in the cracks, adding a touch of vitality to this desolate place, yet appearing utterly out of place.

Following the old man deeper into the clan territory, a small path paved with blue stone slabs wound forward; moss grew thick in the stone cracks, and the dilapidated buildings on either side had mottled walls, with many structures already collapsed into ruins.

It could be seen that the entire Great Yan Clan Territory was nearly abandoned, having become a paradise for plants.

They finally stopped before a ruined building.

The building was crafted from a combination of plant vines and stones; the roof sagged, the closed window lattices were rotten, and it was filled with a heavy sense of age.

Borrowing the light of the rising morning sun, Xia Sheng and Jiang Cheng's gazes passed through the open doorway of the building to see a jade statue standing in the front hall.

Many spiritual plant offerings were placed before the statue; wisps of energy drifting from them were drawn by an invisible force, floating to the statue's front before dissipating.

The statue possessed a female form, wearing a war helmet inlaid with a ruby; beneath the helmet lay a beautiful face with a resolute expression and eyes blazing like torches, filled with endless war intent. The statue's craftsmanship was exquisite, with every piece of armor on its body carved in minute detail, revealing taut and powerful muscle lines.

In the statue woman's right hand, she gripped a crimson long sword tightly; the blade was straight, pointing directly at the sky as if declaring war on an unknown enemy.

It was evident that the statue was often carefully tended to, bearing not a speck of dust.

Before Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng could speak, the old man proactively introduced:

"This is the deity worshipped by our clan, one of the Eight Extremes governing the world: Nu E."

Having gained a certain understanding of the Monster World's system structure through the guide's introduction, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but ask curiously:

"Have you seen Nu E?"

The old man shook his head:

"The Eight Extremes Gods are the regulators of the world's operation; how could I have the fortune to glimpse their true forms? Even our clan's predecessors never saw them, but that does not hinder our clan's faith in them."

"If you haven't seen Nu E's appearance, how was the statue made?" Xia Sheng was stunned.

"This is the appearance of the Nu E deity fabricated by our clan; the specific appearance is unknown. We only have a rough conceptual outline from stories passed down orally. What matters is the gem on the statue." Saying this, the old man pointed his finger toward the red gem on the statue's helmet and continued:

"This is the Faith Stone connecting to Nu E; our clan's offerings are transmitted to the Nu E deity through this gem."

Having finished speaking, the old man stepped forward into the building.

Seeing this, Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng immediately followed.

Passing the front hall where the statue stood, they went through a narrow corridor; pushing open the door revealed a backyard piled with various clay jars, the air thick with a pungent herbal scent.

At this moment, the old man stopped, turned to face Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng, and said with a smile:

"I suppose you must be very curious about what Mi Fa I am about to teach you?"

Hearing these words, Xia Sheng nodded while asking in return:

"By the way, aren't you curious about our origins?"

Upon hearing this, the old man shook his head:

"Regardless of your origins, I only need to know that you are native species of the Monster World; we all share a common goal: to recover our lost homeland."

"Fine then, start your performance; explain in detail the Mi Fa you wish to pass on?"

The old man wasted no words; a red light appeared in his eyes, veins bulged on his skin, and his body grew an inch taller at a speed visible to the naked eye:

"Saying more is not as good as experiencing it personally; get ready..."

Saying this, the old man raised his right hand; instantly, a beam of red light shot from his palm, sweeping over Xia Sheng and Jiang Cheng's bodies.

Immediately, a intense sensation rose from the depths of their hearts.

This was a pain that penetrated to the very bone, as if tearing the soul apart; the pain was not confined to a single part of the body but surged like a tide, sweeping over the entire body, as if every nerve was enduring the scorching of fierce fire or being frozen by ice; these utterly different extreme sensations intertwined, constituting unimaginable agony.

Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng's breathing became Urgent and Heavy; every inhalation felt like a sharp blade cutting within their chest cavities, while exhalation drew away the last trace of warmth and strength from within their bodies; sweat and tears slid down uncontrollably.

As the power surged, they could no longer endure it, screaming and rolling on the ground.

And the continuously rising pain had already approached the critical point that would trigger the "Purification System" taboo.

Just then, the old man suddenly lowered his right hand, retracted the released red light, and said cheerfully:

"This is my ability; I call it Touch of Pain. It can store the memory of pain I endure within a Tong Ku Lao Yin, then use mental tentacles as a medium to transmit it to enemies, causing extreme mental damage. This layer of damage includes both extreme feedback in sensation and impact damage on the spiritual level."

"This is also the reason I chose you. To cultivate my Mi Fa, one must first possess sufficient willpower to bear pain, and only then can one transmit pain to enemies. Only those with powerful willpower can cultivate this supreme Mi Fa. Are you willing to learn?"

After the old man withdrew his hand, the pain receded like a tide. Recovered, Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng exchanged a glance and said in unison:

"Learn!"

This Mi Fa, in Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng's eyes, was simply tailor-made for them.

Every time they swallowed a Gene Seed, they had to endure intense and prolonged pain.

Now, with an ability to store pain memories and use them as an attack method, the benefits brought by Gene Seeds would be significantly enhanced.

Most importantly, this was a mental attack method.

Besides transmitting the sensation of pain, it could also cause substantial mental impact damage; it was simply mixed true damage.

"Since you are willing to learn, stay by my side in the coming days. I will brew various potions to gradually increase your upper limit for enduring pain, laying a foundation for you to cultivate this Mi Fa."

Hearing these words, Xia Sheng couldn't help but ask curiously:

"There is a question: since you developed this Mi Fa to combat the terrifying Hei Chao Xie Sui, but the characteristic of Hei Chao Xie Sui is that they lack wisdom and self-awareness, the mental impact effect of Touch of Pain can damage Xie Sui, but the pain transmission seems to have no effect at all. In my view, this ability is no different from ordinary mental damage, and its effect on Xie Sui is very limited."

Facing the question, the old man shook his head with a smile:

"It seems the intensity of the Hei Chao Xie Sui you have encountered is still too low; obviously, you do not understand the various characteristics of the Hei Chao Xie Sui well."

"What do you mean?"

"As far as I know, the power of the terrifying Hei Chao Xie Sui is divided into two types: the first are derivative Xie Sui created by the Evil Moon. These Xie Sui are influenced by lunar phase changes; the stronger the lunar phase, the higher the intensity of the derivative Xie Sui. They also appear or disappear following lunar phase changes. They generally lack self-awareness, so my Touch of Pain cannot inflict effective damage on them."

"However, the main force of the Hei Chao Xie Sui is not the Xie Sui derived from the Evil Moon, but the Hei Chao Xie Sui themselves. They are commanded and controlled by wise Evil Spirits. Besides the low-level Xie Sui without self-awareness, there exist a large number of high-level Xie Sui possessing self-awareness. These Xie Sui can be affected by my Touch of Pain; a Touch of Pain of sufficient intensity can even kill them directly on the spiritual level."

"Secondly, even low-level and unconscious Hei Chao Xie Sui are controlled by the Evil Spirits behind the scenes. The way these Evil Spirits control them is through some unknown mental connection, and my Touch of Pain can transmit directly through these unconscious low-level Xie Sui to the wise Evil Spirits controlling the Hei Chao behind the scenes, inflicting damage upon them."

After hearing the old man's explanation, Xia Sheng immediately understood the purpose behind his creation of this Mi Fa:

"Decapitation Operation?!"

The gaze Ku Xing cast toward Xia Sheng held a touch of appreciation as he nodded and explained:

"That is correct. I know deeply that the Black Tide, which can breed endless evil spirits, is something no race or faction can withstand through a war of attrition. The longer the war drags on, the stronger the Black Tide becomes; a war of attrition is destined to fail. Only a decapitation operation is the key to a swift victory... Without the control of the wise evil spirits, the remaining Hei Chao Xie Sui are nothing but a disorganized mass, which can be gradually nibbled away and cleansed."

"I have spent countless sleepless days and nights, thinking hard on how to break the deadlock. The Touch of Pain is the only method I could think of to break the situation... Accumulate enough pain, and through the mental connection of the Hei Chao Xie Sui, strike down the evil spirit behind the scenes in one blow."

While explaining the reason, Ku Xing could not hide the pride in his eyes.

But after the pride came a sense of desolation:

"As a mortal, my abilities are ultimately limited. The Touch of Pain is the fruit of my life's work, but I have reached the point where the oil is exhausted and the lamp is dying; I no longer have the energy to continue climbing."

Having spoken, Ku Xing raised his head to look at Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng:

"I hope you, who will inherit the Mi Fa, can carry my will and contribute a force to the fight against the Black Tide."

Recalling the countless tombstones seen upon entering the Great Yan Clan's territory, Xia Sheng and Jiang Cheng felt the anger behind the old man's helplessness.

His clan members had all died fighting the Black Tide, yet he was powerless to do anything.

He spent his entire life trying to develop a Mi Fa to restrain the Black Tide, but when the Mi Fa was first completed, his lifespan was nearly exhausted, and he was already powerless to fight the Black Tide again.

The flame of revenge was still burning, but his oil-exhausted body was about to step into the yellow earth.

This was also one of the reasons Ku Xing chose them.

The native races of the Monster World are destined to be enemies of the terrifying Black Tide.

As for defecting to the Black Tide, no native race is capable of doing so.

There were people in our player camp who had contacted the Di Nian evil spirits and tried to do so; the result was being killed on the spot by the evil spirits.

In fact, in the eyes of the terrifying Black Tide, there are no friendly forces, nor is any need for friendly forces; the entire world in the Black Tide's eyes is nourishment for growth.

Ku Xing obviously understood this point, so he chose native races as the successors.

And their act of swallowing the gene seeds by the seaside and enduring intense pain made Ku Xing see his former self, those hard years of constantly enduring pain to develop the Touch of Pain.

Behind this inheritance is the hope that you, who will inherit the Mi Fa, will carry my will of revenge to fight the Black Tide.

Three days later.

Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng were soaking in a medicine jar filled with dark green liquid.

As the medicinal effects took hold, their skin was scorched bright red, and they grimaced in pain.

But while enduring physical torment, their hearts were filled with both pain and joy.

Although the medicinal liquid prepared by Ku Xing was meant to temper their willpower and was extremely irritating, to protect their safety, many precious spiritual plants that are easily absorbed by the body and can heal injuries were also added to the liquid.

In the process of enduring pain, their body tempering experience kept increasing.

Each soak brought an increase of around 1000 points of body tempering experience, truly a free version of gene enhancement.

A 15% bonus was enough to make them grit their teeth and persist, let alone it being free.

Just then, Ku Xing pushed the door open and entered the small courtyard.

Coming before them, Ku Xing spread his palm, revealing two crystal stones with thick golden liquid flowing inside.

The two, curious in their hearts, focused their gaze, and analysis information appeared.

【Energy Storage Stone】:

Stored Energy: 937392.

Guidance Prompt: Can exchange for 312464 Shou Shou Jili.

【Energy Storage Stone】:

Stored Energy: 972855.

Guidance Prompt: Can exchange for 324285 Shou Shou Jili.

The analysis information made Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng's eyes widen.

"Holy crap, we're rich! Is this old man going to bequeath his inheritance to us?"

"As expected of a hidden quest, we're rich, we're rich! I'm not jealous of your spirit fields anymore."

"Don't show it; we must pretend to be calm and wait for him to give it to us himself."

Suppressing their surging emotions, their gazes were fixed intently on the two Energy Storage Stones in Ku Xing's hand.

But they saw that after Ku Xing stood still, he looked down at them and grinned:

"In a moment, I will engrave the Tong Ku Lao Yin into your bodies. This is the cornerstone for you to use the Touch of Pain in the future. The process will be quite painful, so prepare yourself mentally."

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng immediately felt disappointed in their hearts.

If these 300,000-plus were used to upgrade their Star Veins and body tempering levels, they were afraid they would take off right on the spot.

But they dared not speak the Zhong De Xiang Fa in their hearts aloud.

The Touch of Pain is the fruit of Ku Xing's life's work; they are also following Ku Xing as inheritors of the Mi Fa. Having this opportunity, they are already very satisfied.

"Are you ready?" Ku Xing asked in a deep voice at this moment.

"Come on," Xia Sheng and Jiang Cheng answered simultaneously.

At this moment, Ku Xing raised his hand; instantly, the two energy crystals floated before him. Wisps of golden mist could be seen being drawn out from within the crystals, converging toward the positions between the eyebrows of the two players.

After contacting the eyebrows, the energy constantly poured inward, then gathered above the sea of consciousness into a rotating golden vortex.

Ku Xing's consciousness followed, penetrating into the sea of consciousness of the two players, guiding the golden energy to wander within the sea of consciousness, tracing complex spiritual pattern trajectories, combining and intertwining with each other.

During this process, Qi Sheng, who was behind the scenes, was also monitoring in real time.

In fact, if he had not opened the permissions, Ku Xing's consciousness would not have been able to penetrate the players' sea of consciousness at all; it would have been intercepted by the Purification System immediately.

The fact that he could later guide the energy within the players' sea of consciousness to trace the Gou Le Lao Yin trajectories was also because he had opened a secondary permission.

Otherwise, how could the life structure of a player be altered at will by external forces?

But even with permissions granted, Qisheng found many aspects of the ascetic's practices unacceptable.

First was the energy used to carve the Painful Painful Minghun.

Perhaps to the ascetic, the energy stored within the two crystals was extremely pure.

But for players whose bodies were composed of Shou Shou Jili, the energy within the crystals contained too many impurities—most had to be purged and converted into Shou Shou Jili to be compatible.

Second, the trajectory used to carve the Painful Painful Minghun was too crude.

The translation guide explained that the characters were poorly drawn, each stroke crooked and uneven, utterly unsightly.

Combining both factors, Qisheng decided to let the Guide intervene.

In an instant, the spiritual patterns carved in Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng's minds vanished at a visible speed, yet this process did not appear in the ascetic's perception—he remained focused on carving the pattern, his perception showing the Painful Painful Minghun gradually improving.

At this moment, the Guide activated the All-Extract ability within the Challenger System, shattering all golden energy flooding into Jiang Cheng's mind, removing impurities, and converting it into Shou Shou Jili energy.

Then, following the ascetic's carved trajectory, it guided the crimson energy to intertwine and coil.

Compared to the ascetic, the Guide's carved spiritual pattern aligned perfectly with the world's operational laws—each stroke was flawlessly smooth.

As more spiritual patterns were carved, they gradually converged above the two players' consciousness seas into a blood-red imprint, the scattered energy intensity continuously rising.

Two hours later, a Painful Painful Minghun radiating bloodlight was formed.

After converting the remaining energy into Shou Shou Jili, 17,324 points remained.

But the ascetic did not retrieve this energy—he rapidly withdrew his awareness from the players' consciousness seas through his third eye, then collapsed weakly onto the ground, gasping for breath, suddenly shut his eyes, and fainted.

What the ascetic could not see was that the two Painful Painful Minghun within the players' consciousness seas flew out, drawn by the Guide to the players' spines.

Here, it resembled a star-sea—a brilliant, inverted galaxy spread symmetrically along the spine.

In the players' life structure, the Star Veins were the pillars that bore power.

Thus, embedding the Painful Painful Minghun into the Star Vein slots was the Guide's choice for compatibility with the players' growth system.

Drawing upon some of the remaining energy, the Guide opened a fourth Star Vein slot for each player, then guided the Painful Painful Minghun into place.

The leftover energy, in an instant, was fully seized by the Guide, channeled into the Shou Shou Jili Pool, counted as payment for direct intervention.

As the Painful Painful Minghun fused with the fourth Star Vein slot on the spine, Challenger notifications rang out in the minds of both players and across the global channel:

【Challenger Notification (Global): Congratulations to players DaWoDeShiGou and WoDaDeShiGou for completing the hidden quest. Reward: Star Vein Slot Level +1.】

【Challenger Notification (Global): Congratulations to players DaWoDeShiGou and WoDaDeShiGou for completing the hidden quest. Special Reward: Painful Painful Minghun.】

【Painful (Special Painful Minghun)】:

Initial Level: 1 (0/10)

Note: Painful Painful Minghun is a special Painful Minghun; it cannot be upgraded using hunting-derived evolution points.

Painful Minghun Trait: Enduring pain increases Painful Painful Minghun experience. It can release spiritual tendrils to extend Painful Tendrils, inflicting dual mental strikes—psychic shock and pain feedback—on any target contacted (specific effects depend on Painful Painful Minghun level, target's mental strength, and target's willpower; higher Painful Painful Minghun level increases dual strike damage, higher mental strength reduces psychic shock damage, higher willpower reduces pain feedback damage).

Guide Suggestion: Adjust (increase) pain feedback to accelerate Painful Minghun experience gain.

……

The sudden global notification.

Caused uproar among players in the Emperor Tomb Mountains region and even the Color Mist Coast region.

They flooded different channels with "???", all wondering what had happened.

But from the description of the hidden quest and special Painful Minghun in the notification, they could guess that two more luck-driven players had obtained a treasure.

After the sea of question marks, warm congratulations and greetings poured in from players of the same faction.

After condensing thousands of messages, the essence translated roughly to: You deserve to die!

(End of Chapter)