Chapter 189: Nether Crossing Cave (Happy New Year)

The Primordial Sacrifice Altar.

Qi Sheng's consciousness jumped between the Ancient God Arena and the Pleasure Palace.

"When friends come from afar, transferring them next door, is it not a joy?"

After the player Song Hao was killed by the game space, he discovered that members of the Nether Law Council actually intended to follow the network connection into the Emperor Tomb Village space.

Although the Guide could shield spatial information at any time, he did not instruct it to do so.

He immediately contacted Ye Ming, who mastered the supreme spatial rules, and sent the Nether Law Council members who were tracking them down to the Ancient God Arena and the Pleasure Palace respectively.

These two places were usually fleeced by players; this time, he offered extra cashback, delivering a wave of benefits.

In fact, he had also considered sending them to the Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit.

But doing so would lack entertainment value.

Given the current combat power comparison between the Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit and the Nether Law Council members, even with the support of the Upper Crescent Moon, resisting them would be exceptionally strenuous; if a large number of reinforcements arrived, the Earth-Chanting Evil Spirit would be unable to hold out.

After all, the average hunting level of the Nether Law Council members was level 139.

But the more likely possibility was that upon discovering the exit led to the Black Black Tide, the Nether Law Council members would decisively flee.

After all, the Black Black Tide's reputation in the Monster World was too high; it was a universally recognized calamity-level faction.

Newly descended factions might not recognize Di Zhao, but they had likely heard of, or even witnessed with their own eyes, the terrifying Black Black Tide.

Wanting to exterminate the entire Black Black Tide clan? Even giving the Nether Law Council members ten times their courage, they would not dare to muster the bravery.

Even possessing an average combat power level of 139, before the terrifying Black Black Tide, they were merely ants comparable to those in minor worlds, shattering at a single touch.

But the Ancient God Arena and the Pleasure Palace were different.

Both locations were equipped with special taboos; once entered, there was no thought of escaping.

A hunting level of 139 seemed very strong, but the pseudo-champion Gladiator of the Ancient God Arena with 29 victories possessed a combat power level of 358.

The Pleasure Space was the same.

Although the Nether Law Council members were elemental lifeforms, the Pleasure Palace could still generate illusions that they craved.

For example, within the Gate of Gluttony, what they would see would no longer be the delicacies desired by flesh-and-blood lifeforms, but various elemental crystal energies.

Facing different living beings, the illusions generated by the Pleasure Palace would also differ.

Without purification rules, how difficult it would be to break free from within.

It could be said that once one entered the Pleasure Entertainment City, unless their essence and energy were completely drained, they should not even think about leaving in this lifetime.

Since the members of the Nether Law Council liked playing games, he had customized two new games for them to enjoy properly; the key point was that his games allowed no cheating and were extremely fair.

Relying entirely on strength to challenge dilemmas, what they were playing was a real dungeon-crawling game.

Although clearing the stages did indeed have a tiny bit of difficulty.

Shifting his gaze to the Pleasure Palace, the Nether Law Council members who had already stepped into the first layer of space had lost themselves, their consciousness sinking deeper and deeper into the abyssal vortex of desire.

Merely entering the first gate activated the health-drain Cultivation Mode; even if they could wake up, four more corrupted scenes awaited them ahead.

The inevitable outcome was becoming a resource pack for the Lord of Pleasure.

Without paying too much attention, his gaze jumped to the Ancient God Arena.

The members of the Nether Law Council were separately imprisoned in single rooms on the second tier of the Heavenly Ladder Arena, able only to observe the battles within the arena through windows.

Transforming from game rule-makers to contestants, one could see that the members of the Nether Law Council were filled with despair.

In fact, the Nether Law Council members who had just entered the Ancient God Arena had also thought of resisting, but without even needing the Ancient God Champion to act, the strength of the Barbarian Slaves was something they could not contend with.

The final result was that the Nether Law Council members, just like the contestants they had captured, were forcibly dragged onto the arena to compete.

In the game modes formulated by the Nether Law Council members, contestants all had room for error, with hit point values established.

But in the Ancient God Arena, they played a one-life-clear Cultivation Mode; failure meant only death.

After dealing with the "invading faction," Qi Sheng's gaze shifted to the Game Space.

This rule seemed very interesting in Qi Sheng's view.

Although the methods for acquiring rule energy and completing rule logic were relatively complex.

The final reward, however, was the ability to strip a target race of one of its innate abilities through the rules.

It could be regarded as a rule machine for creating innate skills.

If it could be integrated into the Challenger System, in the future, besides Star Vein combinations, the player legions could also derive a large number of usable non-rule-based minor skills.

The only problem was that the rule logic was too complex, requiring gambling games and the extermination of the entire eliminated race.

After carefully analyzing the principles, Qi Sheng felt that such cumbersome settings disqualified it from entering the Challenger System.

This would only affect the players' growth speed.

It might even cause the player legions to spawn a new sect: the "Game Makers."

They would create mini-games to challenge intelligent races across the Monster World, thereby gaining power.

But the problem was that failure carried penalties; players would have to wager equivalent resources.

More importantly, the subsequent race-extermination missions were difficult for individual players to complete; even in warband form, it remained very hard.

Too many restrictions greatly diminished the value of the Game Space rules in Qi Sheng's eyes.

But it was not entirely without merit.

According to the Guide's explanation, the world origin obtained after decomposing rules could be used to craft new rule characteristics.

Although at the current stage the player legions' strength was limited, making cross-space operations difficult, he still left his consciousness imprint within the Game Space.

When the players eventually possessed combat power sufficient to contend with the Nether Law Council, he would have the players act and seize the Game Space rules.

His consciousness returned to the Primordial Sacrifice Altar.

Qi Sheng looked over the content settings for the next update.

In this update, he first added two new growth-type pets to the Pet System.

The name of the first pet was: Mechanical Guardian.

In its initial state, it was a palm-sized small robot, overall featuring a smooth oval shape, resembling a silvery-white metal water droplet.

Its life template was replicated based on the structure of silicon-based lifeforms found in a ruin within the Pale Continent region.

Its ability was to consume spiritual ore stones to gain growth.

At the current stage, players' utilization efficiency of spiritual ore stones was not high; after mining, they were generally sold to the Arms Merchant Guild or directly sacrificed in exchange for sacrificial power.

The Mechanical Guardian could effectively decompose spiritual ore stones into "experience points" to assist its own growth.

Merely this, however, did not qualify the Mechanical Guardian to enter the Pet System.

After all, investing sacrificial power to cultivate growth versus investing spiritual ore stones to cultivate growth was essentially no different; both spent sacrificial power.

Its greatest feature was that its growth direction was set according to the spiritual ore stones it consumed.

For example, long-term consumption of mental-type ore stones would allow it to continuously comprehend mental-type special abilities during growth.

Alternatively, long-term consumption of Hard Rock Cores, Barrier Crystals, Earth Vein Stones, and other spiritual ore stones could greatly enhance defensive power and even generate skills compatible with the attributes of those spiritual ore stones.

He set the selling price of the Mechanical Guardian at: 68,000 sacrificial power.

Among all growth-type pets at the current stage, it was the one with the most diverse development models.

According to the Guide's calculations, the Mechanical Guardian could possess 599 growth systems.

Except for certain special spiritual ore stones that the Mechanical Guardian could not digest, the vast majority of spiritual ore stones could serve as growth aids for it.

Among these data sets, the one ranking first in combat power was the Mechanical Guardian fed with a large quantity of spatial-type spiritual ore stones.

After growing to level 120, it could master three spatial-type abilities.

For instance, feeding it large amounts of Void Origin Stones produced at the Void Origin Peak domain node in the Winter Snow Plains would yield a Mechanical Guardian mastering spatial-type abilities.

But the drawbacks were also obvious.

The more powerful the growth system, the higher the value of the spiritual ore stones required as investment.

Ordinary players in the early stages could only feed some low-grade spiritual ore stones to aid the Mechanical Guardian's growth.

However, he had set an initialization refund function for the pet.

If players' profits increased in the future, they could choose to refund at any time and re-feed high-quality spiritual ore stones to change the Mechanical Guardian's growth direction.

The second pet was the Star Core.

Considering that at the current stage, players' mental power recovery on the battlefield relied only on mall potions and the Food-Qi Soul.

Under high-intensity warfare modes, situations of mental power overdraft easily occurred.

Especially for war commanders.

Brain Overclock, Eagle-Head Demon, and Marking—these three souls all required the consumption of mental power to maintain their usage.

While searching externally, Qi Sheng occasionally discovered a growth-type pet suitable for mental power replenishment.

The pet's name was: Star Core.

It was born in the Dragon Crystal Great Vein region of the northern Pale Continent.

Its body was composed of translucent energy crystals; when active, one could see constantly flickering points of starlight within its body.

In its initial state, it was the size of an adult's head, resembling a juvenile feline, with its body surface covered in star-patterned crystal scales.

The Star Core had a gentle personality and liked staying in areas abundant with energy.

The ability it mastered was referred to in the analysis information as: Energy Resonance.

It could interact with surrounding energy fields, and could also absorb, store, and release energy.

Compared to combat abilities, Qi Sheng valued the Star Core's power bank attribute more; it could allow the Star Core to reserve a certain type of energy in advance for use whenever needed.

Cultivating a Star Core was equivalent to having an extra portable power bank.

Moreover, while the power bank charged the player, it could continuously absorb heaven-and-earth energy to recover its own consumption, indirectly enhancing the player's combat endurance.

Regarding the selling price, Qi Sheng set it at 5,800 sacrificial power, less than one-tenth of the Mechanical Guardian's price.

The initial forms of these two new pets were both very cute, and they possessed abilities suited to the players' current needs.

After reviewing the template information for his new pet, Qi Sheng's consciousness descended to the western region of the Pale Continent, guided by the system.

Before him lay a desolate Gobi wasteland, where a horrifyingly massive fissure sliced through the earth; its edges were steep and jagged, with sharp rocks interlocking like fangs, appearing increasingly ferocious under years of relentless wind erosion.

Around the sinkhole, yellow sand danced wildly in the sky, with no signs of life anywhere nearby.

This was a special region he had stumbled upon while searching for growth-type pets.

Back then, as his consciousness swept over the area, he had sensed chaotic energy fluctuations beneath the ground.

Following the chasm that tore through the earth downward, he discovered a whole new world within.

Through analysis and investigation, he learned the specific reasons behind it.

This place was once the territory of the powerful "Nether Crossing Clan" from the Era of Emperor Zhao, also known as the Nether Crossing Cave.

Although located in the Pale Continent region, the Nether Crossing Clan pledged loyalty to Jiu Yin, one of the Four Gods, and a statue of Jiu Yin was still enshrined within the cave.

During the Cataclysm War, this faction deployed their entire clan, yet not a single member ever returned.

The cave, formerly the clan grounds of the Nether Crossing Clan, had been crafted into countless multi-layered spatial structures; aside from living quarters, all other areas served as trial zones.

This place also served as the training ground where the Nether Crossing Clan cultivated their warriors.

The cave stored vast resources and wealth, comparable in size to a minor world, with all trial spaces moving dynamically within it, possessing no fixed locations.

Upon discovering the Nether Crossing Cave, Qi Sheng formed an idea.

He felt they could entirely establish a novice village spatial node within it.

Compared to the three fixed-environment regions of Emperor Tomb Mountain Range, Colorful Mist Coast, and Winter Snowfield.

The environment within the Nether Crossing Cave was filled with randomness.

During exploration, players might encounter dangerous monsters or various treasures left behind by the Nether Crossing Clan for their trial warriors.

After a scanning analysis, he discovered that Primordial Monsters, which refreshed upon death with initialized states, also existed within the Nether Crossing Cave.

Whether viewed from the perspective of rewards or entertainment value, the Nether Crossing Cave perfectly met the requirements for establishing a spatial node.

The only drawback was the lack of balance in monster intensity.

Players might encounter extremely weak monsters or super-monsters that novice players would find difficult to combat, making it more suited for veteran player exploration.

However, this issue could be mitigated by the specific location chosen for the novice village.

During his investigation of the cave, he also discovered that over the long ages since the Nether Crossing Clan vanished, numerous descending factions had stationed themselves here.

In their struggle to seize the cave's wealth, these factions had waged endless wars within this place.

After many factions perished, they left behind clan ruins in different spaces, and even now, some remnant forces acquired development resources by exploring these trial spaces.

If the novice village were established in the Nether Crossing Cave, these descending factions would also become challenge targets for the players.

Regarding the specific location for the novice village, Qi Sheng chose the first-layer space of the Nether Crossing Cave.

Here stood a mechanical ruin, left behind by a descending faction that had been destroyed.

The monsters within had been cleared out entirely by this faction, leaving only numerous mechanized lifeforms active, whose intensity was generally not high.

Players could use this as a starting point to explore the cave.

At this moment, Qi Sheng's consciousness descended into the first-layer space of the cave.

Before his eyes stood a massive mechanical ruin, towering in the center of the wasteland like a slumbering steel behemoth.

The ruin's outer shell was composed of rust-stained metal, its surface covered with complex gears and pipelines.

The ground of the space was littered with glowing fluorescent ores and shattered mechanical debris, alongside numerous low-level mechanical creatures, such as mechanical spiders or mechanical worms.

They sustained their life states by gnawing on the soil and ores within the space.

The armory within the abandoned ruin was still operating slowly, continuously producing different types of mechanical life, though it was basically in a semi-defunct state, unable to mass-produce troops as quickly as during its peak period.

Throughout the entire first-layer space, the closer one got to the mechanical ruin, the higher the probability of encountering powerful mechanical lifeforms.

The life template for his newly crafted growth-type pet, the Mechanical Guardian, had been found within this very mechanical ruin.

According to information retrieved from the ruin via the system guide, the Mechanical Guardian had once been the most powerful weapon of war for the now-extinct mechanical lifeform clan.

Even analyzing from the perspective of life structure intensity, it had already surpassed their "Creator."

Alas, before this super-weapon could unleash its power, this clan of mechanical lifeforms had fallen prematurely.

This was also a distinctive feature of the cave world.

Many descending factions established clan grounds within the cave spaces; to acquire resources, they would venture into other trial spaces for exploration, inevitably encountering other descending factions, leading to wars erupting over resource disputes.

What was rather dramatic was that wars within the cave spaces often resulted in situations where one could not return.

For instance, a descending faction stationed in Space No. 3 might launch a war against a faction in Space No. 19, but just as the war ended and they prepared to return laden with spoils, the layered spaces shifted, causing them to completely lose the coordinates of their clan grounds, realizing they could not go back.

Therefore, the Cultivation Mode of warfare within the Nether Crossing Cave was extremely brutal.

Descending factions would basically choose to exhaust the resources of the first-layer space before migrating their entire clan to the next random space; upon discovering another faction stationed in that space, the moment they met, it was a war to the death.

As his consciousness delved deeper into exploring the cave world, information about different spaces floated into Qi Sheng's mind.

The sky of the first space was obscured by rolling thick smoke, while the ground was a churning ocean of lava, with massive volcanic craters constantly spewing magma and volcanic ash.

The land area of the entire space accounted for only 19.5%, with the black rocks forming the land baked red by high temperatures, continuously radiating scorching heat.

At this moment, the spatial analysis information appeared.

Molten Fire Space: An elemental space scene crafted by the Nether Crossing Clan after capturing numerous fire element lifeforms, burying numerous resources and treasures, used for the growth and trial of new-generation warriors.

His vision shifted, and this time, what appeared before his eyes was a space shrouded in a thin green mist.

The ground was a soft swamp, where black mud constantly bubbled, emitting a pungent odor, with giant mushrooms and twisted trees growing within.

Numerous toxic mist crawlers lived inside.

Toxic Mist Space: A poisonous creature space crafted by the Nether Crossing Clan after collecting numerous toxic organisms, burying a small amount of treasure, used for the growth and trial of new-generation junior warriors.

Within this space, Qi Sheng also found the ruins of a clan ground left behind by a remnant descending faction.

Neglected for long ages, the ruins had been overtaken by various toxic plants, with spotted vines covering the entire outer wall of the ruins.

His vision continued to shift, and this time, what appeared before Qi Sheng's eyes was a world of flashing lightning and rumbling thunder.

Giant electromagnetic storms raged throughout the entire space, with thick bolts of lightning constantly striking the ground; exposed metal ores on the surface were distorted by electromagnetic forces into various bizarre shapes, some resembling giant spikes, others spiral-shaped pillars, while the air was filled with intense electromagnetic interference.

In such an environment, even mining robots produced by the Arms Merchant Guild could not function normally due to the strong electromagnetic interference.

Magnetic Storm Space: A special scene crafted by the Nether Crossing Clan after capturing numerous lightning-type element lifeforms, burying numerous resources, treasures, and a Proof of Divine Gift from Jiu Yin (now lost), used for the growth and trial of ultimate warriors.

After reviewing information on numerous spaces in succession and confirming the feasibility of establishing a spatial node in this location, Qi Sheng's consciousness returned to the first-layer space.

After leaving coordinate information within the first-layer space of the cave, his consciousness followed the guide back to the Primordial Altar.

Looking at the large map of the Pale Continent region.

The location of the Nether Crossing Cave was in the central-eastern area between the Colorful Mist Coast and the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range, also a region covered by the Player Corridor.

In the future, it would also become a very distinctive dense dungeon region within the player territories.

After contacting Yan Ming, the construction of the spatial node began.

Accompanied by the consumption of sacrificial power, invisible spatial tracks rapidly generated.

The fourth spatial node of the player legion, he named: Cave World.

In terms of spatial area, it corresponded to the Winter Snowfield region.

Once the spatial node architecture was completed and connected to the Emperor Tomb Village space, he would launch a new round of player recruitment.

This time, he planned to consume 300 million sacrificial power to distribute 300,000 game qualifications externally on the Monster World official website.

(End of Chapter)