Chapter 181: The Strongest Version

The Primordial Altar.

Floating before Qi Sheng's eyes was Wang Yu's attribute panel.

Wang Yu's flesh and blood had long been completely devoured; his body was now a collective entity of Immortal Viruses that had proliferated by consuming Wang Yu's flesh.

Under normal circumstances, the Immortal Virus would re-edit living cells during the infection process.

The originally precise signal transmission network between neurons would be destroyed and reshaped by the virus, including the alteration of neuronal functions; neural pathways originally used for cognitive functions such as self-awareness, emotions, and memories would be modified, forming a reflex circuit dominated by the virus instead.

This reflex circuit caused the infected to react only to specific stimuli, such as the scent and temperature emitted by fresh flesh and blood, which were the energy sources the virus craved.

Thus, the virus would drive the infected to attack other lifeforms to achieve its own propagation and growth.

However, the individual's own cognition had already vanished during the infection process.

The behavioral patterns of an Immortal Zombie were not based on the lifeform's own consciousness, but rather on "commands" set by the virus to perpetuate itself.

From the perspective of consciousness, the self-awareness of the infected had disappeared; what controlled the body was the Immortal Virus.

But this was the process by which a normal lifeform, after being infected by the Immortal Virus, transformed into an Immortal Zombie.

As a player, Wang Yu was protected by the Purification Rule, one of the Four Cornerstone Rules, so any power eroding his spiritual sea of consciousness would be instantly erased.

In other words, although the virus had killed Wang Yu, it had failed to seize control of this body.

Wang Yu's current flesh was a collective entity generated by the virus consuming his blood and flesh, yet his consciousness remained his original self.

This was also why the attribute panel displayed: Immortal State.

In this special Cultivation Mode, although Wang Yu's physical attributes were enhanced, the operating laws and structure of his life had changed.

In this Cultivation Mode, the player controlled the virus, so they could no longer use the Soul Soul characteristics within their Star Vein Slots; furthermore, since the body had not been purified, they could not return to the Emperor Tomb Village space.

A player in the Immortal State could choose to be directly decomposed by the All-Things Extraction Rule to return to Emperor Tomb Village for reshaping.

Alternatively, they could choose to continue surviving in the Immortal State.

It was equivalent to the player gaining an extra life, albeit with weakened combat power.

However, the physical attribute amplification brought by the Immortal Virus was only suitable for melee-type players; after being infected, magic-type players would have their mental strength reduced to zero and would be unable to use magic-type Soul Souls, resulting in a drastic reduction in combat effectiveness.

Qi Sheng's gaze then shifted to the player forum.

At this moment, the forum was already buzzing with heated discussions about the "Immortal State."

[The situation is a bit outrageous; it all started when I got infected by the Immortal Virus.]

OP: Overlord Fish

Content:

The apocalypse has descended; while everyone else is desperately searching for weapons and hoarding supplies, preparing for a final showdown with the zombies, I, infected by the virus, have unexpectedly awakened as a Zombie King.

In this apocalyptic environment, human civilization teeters on the brink like a candle in the wind.

Should I continue striving to maintain my humanity, or in this new world where the strong prey on the weak, should I go further down the path of becoming the Zombie King until I establish my own Immortal Empire?

Humanity? Bestiality? Which path should I take?

Sorry, I grabbed the wrong script; let me switch to another one and continue.

The specific situation is this: while our Doomsday Technology Society was testing mining robots, we accidentally discovered an underground mine cave...

As a result, my arm came into contact with the Immortal Virus, causing me to eventually enter the Immortal State, becoming an Immortal Zombie.

In this state, one cannot use Soul Soul abilities nor return to the Emperor Tomb Village space.

Only after dying a second time can one enter the black room for the resurrection cooldown.

I think this thing has huge potential for development; doesn't everyone usually complain about the resurrection cooldown setting? Now there's finally a chance to possess two lives.

(Video attachment, attribute panel screenshot.)

Comments section:

Aba Aba: It's useless, right? What can we magic-type players do after turning into Immortal Zombies? Stand in the back and clap and cheer for our teammates?

Drifting with the Current: It feels more suited for melee-type players, but seeing the video of you rolling on the ground in pain, I don't think melee players will necessarily use it either; compared to them, the Stone Statue flow players who tank damage every day have a higher pain tolerance, making them more suitable for this; they can die and still get up to fight again.

Like a Dream Like an Illusion: The Immortal Virus has already been delivered to our Alchemist Society; leave the side effect issues to us. We'll sell you painless zombification Immortal Potions later. Recently, we are developing a dual anesthetic for both the physical and mental levels; if successful, Gene Seeds and Immortal Potions will surely become best-sellers, and I can already see a massive influx of Sacrificial Power coming in.

Night is Approaching: If the alchemists can really develop a mental anesthetic, the Immortal Virus will be a must-have for every melee player; when health is nearly depleted, take a dose of strong medicine, transform into an Immortal Zombie, and continue fighting; regardless of how much improvement it brings, surviving even one more minute is a good thing.

Is This Reasonable?: Good, good, good, the gameplay varieties are increasing; even a Zombie flow has appeared. I can already imagine the scene years from now with various schools flying through the sky and diving into the earth; you guys really know how to play.

The emergence of the Immortal Virus sparked heated discussions on the forum.

During this period, under the request of forum players, the Alchemist Society also decided to invest more manpower into the research and development of the Immortal Virus.

Through the Guidance, players had already learned that infection by the Immortal Virus was only effective on lifeforms below level 85; lifeforms with strength beyond that could easily resist the Immortal Virus.

At this stage, a melee player's body was like a furnace of vital energy; the Immortal Virus simply could not survive within a melee player's body.

But this problem could be solved by the Alchemist Society.

They could continue their research, allowing the Immortal Virus to evolve further.

They could also develop mental anesthetic potions to completely resolve the side effects of both the Immortal Virus and Gene Potions.

In the eyes of players, there was only one side effect to items, and that was pain.

Side effects other than pain posed no threat; even if infection led to the body rotting away and death, as long as it didn't hurt, it wasn't a problem.

Undoubtedly, the melee flow players were the happiest about the debut of the Immortal Virus.

To quote the forum players: We players finally have our own plague-type troops.

During this time, a video posted by a Monster Flow player once again sparked heated discussion.

In the video attached to the post, a player following the Monster Flow growth path voluntarily went to an underground cave to become infected with the Immortal Virus.

Instantly, their combat power skyrocketed as they transformed into an Immortal Great Serpent.

The characteristic of the Monster Flow was to increase combat power through attribute enhancement, crushing opponents with physical strength.

They would not spend excess resources on Star Vein combination setups.

Their already formidable attributes, after being strengthened by infection, became even more terrifying, and the Great Serpent's volume also increased by nearly double.

Practice proved that the Monster Flow players were the most compatible with the Immortal Virus, unexpectedly receiving a major version buff.

As for whether there were other gameplay methods, players were still in the process of developing and exploring them.

Meanwhile, the fierce battle in the underground space continued.

After all, the Arms Merchant Society was not a combat society; the strength of the Immortal Zombies in the lower spaces had significantly improved, as these had once been elite warriors of the Ghost Li Clan, and several Immortal Zombies with combat power far exceeding their peers had even appeared.

Facing the difficult advancement in the underground space, the Arms Merchant Society chose to send requests for assistance to the leaders of several major societies.

A true calamity soon swept through the underground space.

The entire underground space resembled an ant nest, with crisscrossing tunnels spreading like a spiderweb, extending deep into the earth, just like a complex maze.

The arriving army of players continuously split up within the underground space, and no room encountered along the way could escape the players' destruction.

Not to mention jars and cans; even the Ghost Li Clan's latrines had to be stirred with a stick to see if treasures were hidden inside.

Fifth layer, sixth layer, seventh layer... as the number of players entering the underground space grew, the speed of advancement into the lower layers gradually accelerated.

The combat power of the Arms Merchant Society was simply not worth looking at in front of combat players.

Usually, weapons purchased from the Arms Merchant Society were used as auxiliary tools; the Soul Soul was the player's strongest weapon.

The average level of the Arms Merchants was relatively low; what they considered elite monsters were, in the eyes of combat players, merely slightly stronger ordinary mobs that a single squad could easily handle.

On the third day of exploring the underground space, the main force of players saw the Sixth Generation Primordial Monster imprisoned and sealed in the deepest part of the underground.

Its appearance resembled a white deer, elegant in posture, covered in fur that seemed woven from moonlight, shimmering with a soft silver glow.

Its antlers were not made of ordinary bone but were carved from colorful crystal, with dreamlike colors flowing between the branches, just like a rainbow condensed from the sky.

Upon discovering the players, the cry emitted by Prayer was like music from heaven, its eyes like a deep, dark pool, tranquil within their azure depths.

Prayer's body was tightly bound by rune chains, unable to move.

After long years of imprisonment, facing the players' attacks, a hint of relief appeared in Prayer's eyes.

Shortly after, a notification regarding the containment of Prayer rang out in the minds of all players.

[Challenger Notification (All Channels): Congratulations to the player Warband for successfully containing the Sixth Generation Primordial Monster "Prayer"; Warband players share a Sacrificial Power reward of 100,000, and obtain x15 Prayer Soul Souls (awarded to the top 15 players based on kill contribution).]

[Prayer (Sixth Generation Primordial)]:

Soul Soul Characteristic Introduction: Obtain malleable energy "Wish Power" by fulfilling target wishes; it can be used to strengthen Body Tempering levels or listed on the Exchange, or Wish Power can be used to increase Prayer's level and unlock Prayer skills.

Accompanying the containment notification, a vivid white deer appeared within Containment Wall No. 44 beneath Emperor Tomb Village.

Strategy-focused players also flocked to the Test Tower to test the functions of the new Soul Soul.

Hearing the notification, Night is Approaching, who was already in the Test Space, decisively summoned his Soul Soul Library.

Among the listed Soul Souls, there was now an additional Soul Soul orb inside which a white deer was faintly visible.

After initializing his body, he dragged the "Prayer Soul Soul" into the first Star Vein Slot.

Instantly, countless pieces of information were branded into his mind.

But what surprised him was that leveling up the Prayer Soul Soul only increased mental strength and provided no usable characteristics.

However, the Prayer Soul Soul had its own additional growth system, requiring the consumption of Wish Power to allocate points for improvement.

Unlocking the first level of Prayer required consuming 3,000 points of Wish Power.

There were no such restrictions in the Test Space, so he modified his own Wish Power to 100 million.

Immediately, skill information floated up in his mind.

[Prayer Level 1: Prayer (Unlock with 3,000 Wish Power)]

Skill Introduction: Cast Prayer on a target to increase the target's luck value in the Monster World for a duration of 32 hours.

In Night's view, this ability seemed identical to the Good Fortune and Great Fortune Soul Souls, as the attribute enhancement effects could not be demonstrated through any testing method.

But it could be used in conjunction with Soul Souls like "Infinite" that relied on luck.

At least for the current stage, no effective method of use has been developed yet.

Subsequently, he consumed 30,000 points of Wish Power to unlock the second skill of Prayer.

[Prayer Level 2: Moonlight Cocoon Protection (30,000 Wish Power)]

Skill Description: Holy silver radiance shines upon a designated target, enveloping them in a soft energy cocoon of light; within the light cocoon, wound healing accelerates and external damage is resisted (specific effects are influenced by the Prayer Soul's level and the user's mental strength).

After generating a template dummy, Nightfall switched to Prayer's true form, transforming into a white deer.

He set the dummy's life at 10%, adjusted the parameters to mark it as severely injured, and then released Moonlight Cocoon Protection upon it.

Instantly, the moonlight fur on his body bloomed with dazzling brilliance; holy silver radiance surged like a raging Black Tide toward the blood-depleted dummy, swiftly wrapping it in a gentle cocoon of light and generating a tough shield.

In subsequent tests, it was discovered that Moonlight Cocoon Protection could not only effectively resist both physical and mental attacks but also create a faint healing space within; under the protection of the light cocoon released by a Level 100 Prayer Soul, the dummy's originally bloody wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye, torn flesh gradually knitting together, and severed tendons and bones slowly repairing themselves.

The effect left Nightfall feeling extremely delighted.

This turned out to be the healing-type skill players needed most at the current stage, yet compared to healing, its strongest effect remained the generation of a defensive barrier.

Compared to light shields that could only defend against physical and elemental attacks, the Moonlight Cocoon Protection innate to the Prayer Soul could also resist mental impact effects.

Next came the test for the third Wish Power-unlocked skill of Prayer.

[Prayer Level 3: Bell Tone Star Healing (Unlock with 300,000 Wish Power)]

Skill Description: Play a healing melody, releasing silver starlight to merge into the injured person's body, dispelling various negative statuses on the target.

The skill's test results left Nightfall pleasantly surprised.

At the current stage, players had limited means to counter negative statuses; the only effective Soul was Unyielding, which suited melee players and worked only on oneself.

However, Bell Tone Star Healing was a ranged designated skill.

It could dispel negative statuses from a distance, granting melee players an additional embeddable Star Vein slot; it was absolutely a divine skill for support-build players.

Next came the test for the fourth skill.

[Prayer Level 4: Hoof Lily Flowing Life (Unlock with 3 million Wish Power)]

Skill Description: Release a soft energy light curtain to cover the nearby area, continuously injecting vitality into nearby lives, allowing the wounded to rapidly recover to their optimal state and comprehensively healing pain and injury.

The performance effect of this skill was the generation of a patch of starlight above the head, sprinkling fine rain threads, healing all injured players within the covered range.

The most formidable aspect was that the skill also provided an accelerated mental strength recovery effect for nearby players.

In other words, this was a dual-healing skill.

Both the health bar and the mana bar recovered simultaneously.

In Nightfall's eyes, it was simply a divine skill among divine skills.

Prayer Level 5, Prayer Level 6...

There were ten Prayer skills in total, and each skill brought a surprise.

After the evaluation concluded, Nightfall published his strategy guide on the player forum.

The test results caused the entire forum to explode.

Prayer turned out to be the healer-type Soul players had been dreaming of.

And it was not a healer with a single healing attribute, but a healer possessing a full set of support skills.

Barrier protection, single-target healing, group healing, dispelling negatives, aura amplification, single-target amplification... every ability players needed could be found within the ten Prayer levels.

Most importantly, this Soul occupied only one Star Vein slot.

Compared to high-tier Souls like Infinity (Generation 6), Divinity (Generation 7), and Overlord (Generation 6), which appeared to have high generation levels but offered poor practicality at the current stage, Prayer's strength was simply off the charts.

More importantly, this was a non-special Soul; as long as one had Sacrificial Power, it could be purchased and embedded in the Soul Repository.

Whether small team players or warband players, everyone realized that the arrival of this Soul would bring an absurd boost to combat power and sustainability for their side.

As the number of strategy guides grew, the newly acquired Prayer quickly ascended to the throne of the version's T0 Soul.

Even in Soul strength scoring, it suppressed the Food Qi Soul, which had dominated the rankings until now, becoming the strongest in the current version.

But while the strength met the standard, new problems arose.

The level progression of the Prayer Soul was divided into two systems.

One was the Soul level increase brought by acquiring Evolution Points through hunting, but unlocking skills required obtaining Wish Power.

So, how could Wish Power be obtained?

The forum completely exploded, with a flood of posts discussing Wish Power acquisition emerging.

Several major guilds decisively pooled funds to purchase the "Prayer" Soul for their main support players.

However, the conditions required to obtain Wish Power were extremely harsh.

One could only gain Wish Power by fulfilling the wishes of targets.

Players who possessed the Prayer Soul posted on the forum, wishing to satisfy everyone's desires.

The replies were uniformly: Boss, transfer some Sacrificial Power to spend; my output is astonishing.

If one wanted to obtain Wish Power from players, those players would truly treat you like a pig to be slaughtered.

Furthermore, the amount of Wish Power obtained was influenced by the intensity of the target's desire and the target's own strength.

The players' strength and desires were completely mismatched.

Although players currently stood at a low point, their hearts already harbored the ambition to enter the world-class battlefield.

To fulfill their goals, one would have to provide exorbitant amounts of Sacrificial Power.

Facing such a powerful Soul yet having no channel to obtain Wish Power drove many players who possessed the Prayer Soul to madness.

It was like guarding a mountain of gold but lacking the key to open it and access the wealth.

During the exploration process, many ideas were attempted.

But every method proved unfeasible.

This meant that Wish Power was difficult to produce internally among players and could only be obtained through external channels.

During this period, some players discovered that after embedding the Prayer Soul and going to the Douhun Arena, every victorious promotion yielded increasing Wish Power returns.

But this Cultivation Mode could not mass-produce Wish Power at all.

The price of Wish Power in the Trading Hall reached 10 points of Sacrificial Power for 1 point of Wish Power, yet supply still fell short of demand.

Every major guild wanted to equip a powerful player embedded with the Prayer Soul, sparing no expense to build one up.

Just as players were feeling troubled about methods to obtain Wish Power,

the appearance of a post brought hope:

[Regarding the acquisition of Wish Power, I will give you a completely feasible method.]

Poster: Explorer

Content:

As the saying goes, predecessors plant trees so successors can enjoy the shade.

As an Explorer-faction player, I am very interested in the background stories of the Monster World, so I asked the Guide in detail about the background information of the Ghost Li Clan's underground space.

As a result, I learned some good news.

On the 16th layer of the underground space, there is a spatial teleportation array; this was originally built by the Ghost Li Clan to obtain Wish Power. Since the minor world has already become an apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, why don't brothers who want Wish Power go to the apocalyptic minor world and save all living beings in the name of a savior?

(End of Chapter)