Chapter 354: Wall-Hanging Player, City of Fate Wagers

Spear of Shattered Sand.

Wild winds howled as a sandstorm raged across the Gobi like a colossal beast.

Several sand tornadoes connected heaven and earth, winding across the wasteland like twisted giant pythons; wherever they passed, rock layers collapsed and gravel was swept into the high skies, ground into fine dust.

Amidst this dim, chaotic yellow haze, a solitary figure stood treading the void.

Silver-white long hair whipped in the gale, with faint starlight flowing along its tips.

Beneath his feet, he trod upon black deadly wind materialized from spiritual power; every step caused the air to ripple like water.

Sand grains attacked like bullets, yet the instant they touched his clothing, an invisible force repelled them, turning them into fine dust mist.

Over a hundred meters away, a group of "Sand Erosion" creatures lurked within rock fissures.

These monsters resembled lizards, possessing scorpion tails and six legs, their carapaces covered in crystal-like protrusions capable of absorbing energy.

As the nearby deadly wind grew increasingly fierce, they sensed danger; simultaneously lifting their heads, their amber compound eyes reflected the approaching figure.

Hiss!

Just as the leading Clan King issued a warning, a pitch-black deadly wind roared forth like a giant python.

Plop!

The three Sand Erosion Lizards on the outermost ring were just preparing to turn when their bodies suddenly stiffened.

Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface of their carapaces.

The next second, as if sliced by countless invisible blades, they instantly exploded into a sky-filling spray of flesh and blood; before the splashing blood could hit the ground, the subsequent wave of deadly wind swept it up into a blood mist, finally transforming into a scarlet fog that was absorbed by the approaching figure.

The lizard herd instantly erupted into chaos.

The remaining twenty-plus Sand Erosion creatures simultaneously arched their backs, their scorpion tails spraying corrosive venom.

Yet before any of these venomous arrows could strike the approaching figure, an invisible force halted them mid-air, whereupon the suddenly spinning black deadly wind rebounded them all.

This figure was none other than Ming Hou, who had entered the Monster World with a player's body for the first time.

At this moment, he pointed his index finger forward; the seven strands of deadly wind suddenly split into dozens of thin cords, precisely wrapping around the joints of every monster.

As he flipped his wrist, all the Sand Erosion Lizards were lifted into the air like marionettes; under the pressure of the tightening deadly wind, their carapaces emitted creaking sounds of unbearable strain.

Then, his five fingers suddenly clenched shut.

Boom!

Over twenty bodies simultaneously exploded into a rain of blood, mixing with the dust as they rustled down.

Ming Hou swept over this scarlet mist on his deadly wind, his body automatically absorbing the refined essence energy mist, not a single stain marking the hem of his clothes.

Behind him, a few Sand Erosion Lizards that had narrowly escaped the first wave of attacks just darted out of rock fissures, only to be immediately locked onto by Ming Hou's Eagle-Headed Demon perception, before sudden wind blades erupting from the ground severed their heads.

Within moments, only the mournful howling of wind and sand remained in the area where Ming Hou stood.

At this moment, Ming Hou raised his hand, and instantly the howling deadly wind swept up the materials left behind after extraction, flying toward him.

They hovered above his palm, rotating; there were exactly twenty-eight translucent crystals, inside which one could see sand-like substances circulating.

These were unique materials produced by Sand Erosion creatures, sellable in the Exchange Hall for 75 points of Sacrificial Power each.

After storing them in his Spatial Satchel, he chose to list them directly on the Exchange Hall.

Subsequently, black deadly wind circulated around his body to form a protective shield as he continued drifting deeper into the hinterlands of the scene.

In the distance, another sand tornado was forming, but Ming Hou felt no fear in his heart.

Having advanced only a few hundred meters, the earth suddenly trembled violently.

Looking up, he saw that ahead, a section of sand dunes had collapsed, revealing a funnel-shaped giant pit with a diameter of a thousand meters.

Hundreds of sand erosion creatures were burrowing out from the sandy layer at the bottom of the pit, the rustling sound of their six legs scraping together merging into a piercing noise.

The scale of the clan appearing this time far exceeded the previous one; the leading Clan King was nearly three meters long, its carapace displaying a metallic dark gold hue, while the venom sac at the tip of its scorpion tail was swollen like a fleshy tumor.

The sand grains along the edge of the giant pit were slowly writhing, as if countless creatures were moving underground.

Activating the Eagle-Headed Demon's perception ability, Ming Hou spread his spiritual power instantly, sensing that at least another hundred Sand Erosion creatures were active underground.

The crystal-like protrusions on their back carapaces were flashing in synchronization, constructing special structures suitable for survival beneath the earth.

The corner of Ming Hou's mouth curled into a smile, his silver-white long hair dancing without wind.

He did not rush to act; instead, he stood still in mid-air, releasing energy fluctuations to attract more and more Sand Erosion Lizards surging up from the pit bottom.

When the count surpassed three hundred, the leading Clan King raised its head and let out a shrill cry, causing all Sand Erosion Lizards to simultaneously arch their bodies as a dim green light ignited at the tips of their scorpion tails.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Hundreds of venom beams shot forth like a rainstorm, weaving an impenetrable net of death in the air.

They attempted to kill Ming Hou through a blanket bombardment.

Deep black light rippled in Ming Hou's eyes.

Raising his hand, his spiritual power poured out from his body; resonating with nature, it transformed into pitch-black deadly wind.

The black deadly wind surrounding his body also began to spin violently.

The air currents originally lingering around his feet were like pebbles dropped into the center of a Firefly Lake, raising circular shockwaves with him as the epicenter.

Even the gravel on the ground halted in mid-air under the guidance of an invisible force.

The next second, Ming Hou spread his arms wide.

Boom!

Endless black deadly wind erupted from his body surface; no longer in the form of thin cords as before, it transformed into twelve towering pillars reaching the sky.

These wind pillars, condensed from pure spiritual power, exceeded ten meters in diameter; dark patterns were visible on their surfaces, emitting tearing shrieks as they rotated.

"Rise."

With his soft command, the twelve wind pillars suddenly tilted, interweaving in mid-air to form a black tornado spiraling upward.

The funnel-shaped eye of the storm perfectly encompassed the entire Sand Erosion Lizard clan; the suction generated by the rotating airflow caused the rock layers at the pit's edge to peel away.

The venom beams shot toward Ming Hou were ground into fine dust the instant they contacted the deadly wind tornado.

The architectural barriers underground, resembling ant nests, shattered like paper; large numbers of Sand Erosion creatures were directly sucked out of the sand layer and thrown into the wind pillars.

Ming Hou's fingertip swept forward; using his spiritual power to communicate with natural elements, he issued a new command.

Instantly, the wind pillars accelerated their rotation.

Countless black wind blades, invisible to the naked eye, emerged within the originally pitch-black airflow, each containing a sharpness capable of cutting energy.

Over three hundred Sand Erosion creatures let out mournful shrieks inside the tornado; they attempted to strike the wind walls with their tail stingers, only to have half their tails severed by rebounding wind blades.

The energy crystals on their carapaces flashed continuously, attempting to absorb the energy of the wind pillars, but all they gained was the excruciating pain of the crystals being forcibly stripped away.

The scene inside the wind pillars was like purgatory.

Smaller Sand Erosion Lizards were ground into meat paste the instant they touched the wind blades; slightly larger individuals could not last more than a few seconds, their carapaces and flesh being peeled away layer by layer until they finally transformed into scarlet mist flying toward Ming Hou.

The Clan King expended its last strength to spray highly corrosive venom, yet it vanished instantly upon contacting the core of the storm's eye.

Ming Hou hovered at the apex of the tornado, his robes snapping loudly in the gale.

He looked down upon the scene of destruction he had created with his own hands, his expression utterly calm.

Whenever a clump of scarlet mist merged with his body, a hint of enjoyment would surface in the depths of his eyes.

Under the control of his spiritual power, the wind pillars moved with precision; all splashing flesh and blood were confined within the range of the pillars, not even a drop of blood foam splattering onto the sand outside.

At this moment, a sand tornado forming in the distance happened to sweep over, yet when it approached within a hundred meters of Ming Hou, it was shaken apart into scattered air currents by the deadly wind tornado.

Before long, the three hundred Sand Erosion Lizards below, along with their Clan King, were thoroughly shredded into energy mist.

Ming Hou slowly closed his arms; the wind pillars immediately contracted, coiling back around his body as if possessing life.

With the battle concluded, Ming Hou raised his head to gaze into the depths of the Gobi, where stronger fluctuations of blood and qi were attracting him.

The black deadly wind beneath his feet suddenly converged, boosting his figure into a bolt of black lightning that pierced through the sky-filling yellow sand, leaving only the gradually subsiding wind whistle behind.

Flying all the way, Ming Hou felt content in his heart.

He was already a player; even if a powerhouse at the Divine Realm stage suddenly appeared now, he would not feel the slightest fear.

He would even dare to raise his middle finger at them, just like other players.

After becoming a player, his lower limit had long been locked in place.

To quote the forum players: "One hour later, Laozi will still be a true hero."

During his flight, he summoned the function panel, his consciousness touching the "Novice Level Leaderboard."

Instantly, the event leaderboard arrayed itself in his mind.

[Novice Level Leaderboard]:

Time Remaining: 9 days, 2 hours, 38 minutes.

First Place: Fate-Defying Throat (Comprehensive Soul Rank: 32.3847% Stage)

Second Place: HadAnotherHungerDream (Comprehensive Soul Rank: 13.2737% Stage)

Third Place: GrindedUntilForgotToSleep (Comprehensive Soul Rank: 13.1823% Stage)

His Comprehensive Soul Rank had already far surpassed that of other players.

This included members of his own clan.

Indeed, on the leaderboard, one could see many game names that were highly likely to belong to clansmen.

As for his method of rapid leveling, it stemmed from a deeper level of utilizing spiritual power.

Before entering the game, he had reviewed many player guides.

He discovered that players' utilization of their own abilities remained at a basic level; it was like wielding a star-annihilating cannon only to swing it as a cold weapon against opponents.

Apart from directly using Rule Characteristics, this was the case in all other aspects.

For instance, the conversion and utilization of spiritual power.

Magic-system players all regarded spiritual power merely as a mana bar, used solely to release Soul Characteristics.

This was like a high-pressure water gun that only knew how to pull the trigger and spray, unable to adjust the form of the water flow.

The only player with a slight trick was one with the game ID "Reborn But Still Can't Win," who proposed converting spiritual power into telekinesis.

This was an advanced method of using spiritual power.

By projecting spiritual power outward, one could precisely control it to adhere to any substance, equivalent to learning how to shape a high-pressure water stream into a water cutter capable of slicing through metal.

But in essence, it remained a rough, straightforward Cultivation Mode of operation.

The most correct method of usage should be to resonate spiritual power with heaven and earth, driving the convergence of natural elements within the Monster World.

In this way, combat would not only save on the consumption of spiritual power but also amplify the potency of the elements manifested by that power.

The deadly wind it utilized was a type of elemental energy naturally generated through the resonance of spiritual power.

Since the Fate Soul embedded within the player was essentially a Primordial Monster, part of the Monster World's framework, it granted the player pure and flawless vitality and spiritual power, allowing for perfect resonance with the heavenly and earthly elements of the Monster World.

The process of him generating the deadly wind with his spiritual power was incredibly smooth, requiring merely a single thought.

This smoothness even surpassed that of his other body at the Demigod Realm.

With the aid of the deadly wind, he could transform into a "mass-damage magic type" possessing area-of-effect attack capabilities, easily slaughtering low-level monsters in this region to grow rapidly.

But merely this was not enough.

He wished to hunt more powerful monsters to help himself grow quickly.

There were still many places in the future where sacrificial power would be needed.

First was the rule unsealing within the backpack and travel bag to craft special Fate Souls, which required an expenditure of 1.15 million sacrificial power.

Next were expenditures for basic improvements such as opening Star Vein slots, cultivating combat techniques, purchasing Fate Souls, and expanding the capacity of the backpack and travel bag.

After that, he would also need a sum of startup capital to establish a new faction.

As a member of the Player Faction, he naturally would not detach himself from the player group; the so-called faction referred to a business model attached to the Player Faction.

Just like the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce, which relied on the backing of the Player Faction while earning profits from external sources.

The faction he wished to build already had a name decided in advance: Fate Gambling City.

Before entering the game, he had meticulously planned the specific implementation scheme.

To build a gambling city in the Monster World, two core issues needed to be resolved.

First was how to maintain neutrality in a survival environment governed by the law of the jungle.

The concept of neutrality essentially did not exist.

In the Monster World, it was either you eating me or me eating you; strength was the universal criterion for truth.

If the Fate Gambling City wished to gain a foothold, it must possess a deterrent force that would make all covetous parties hesitate to approach.

This point, he clearly could not achieve.

Even with the entire Fate Clan as a backer, other powerful clans would not show any Iron Face or courtesy.

The High-Dimensional Gods behind the Player Faction would care even less about his ideas or offer any support.

Therefore, the crisis of powerful clans potentially arriving at any moment to plunder was unavoidable.

This point was fundamentally different from the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce.

The development model of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce was that of a benefit-exchange platform, providing safe trading channels for all clans.

As long as foreign clans had beneficial exchanges with the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce and could obtain resource conversion channels from them, various factions would spontaneously maintain the safety of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce, helping to guarantee its neutral status.

Even so, the threat of being struck by external factions still existed.

The Fate Gambling City, however, produced no external profits; it merely provided a platform to win big with small stakes, and its value manifestation in all aspects was far inferior to that of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce.

There was absolutely no guarantee regarding security issues; even gamblers who had lost until their eyes turned red could become a driving force in destroying the Fate Gambling House.

The second core issue was how to establish a stable cycle of customers.

A method of equivalent gambling could indeed bring potential high profits to the foreign clans coming to gamble, but it could also cause them severe losses.

In the Monster World, powerful clans stood in great numbers, and many races survived in the cracks between them.

Every bit of resources had to be used for the development of the race.

If the Fate Gambling City merely provided gambling, it would fundamentally fail to retain customers.

Unless driven to desperation, it would be very difficult for any clan to wager their family fortune on an uncertain future.

Because the cost of losing far exceeded the acceleration of development brought by winning.

Therefore, in terms of its structural model, the Fate Gambling City faced the problem of high difficulty in acquiring customers.

Only clans that had reached the end of their rope and fallen into complete despair would come to Fate City to take a gamble on a potential possibility.

These two problems had troubled Brother Ming Hou for a long time.

Finally, he found the answer here at the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce.

Dream Island, managed by the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce, handled a massive flow of customers daily, with clan merchant teams negotiating cooperation, purchasing supplies, and exchanging resources on the island... its scale growing day by day.

While attending to their main business on the island, these foreign factions would also wander around to inspect trading conditions in other areas.

As a purely commercial platform, the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce had not yet developed any projects providing entertainment for foreign clans.

He could pay a portion of his profits to the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce as a cooperation fee, establishing the Fate Gambling City as an attached entertainment zone on Dream Island.

In this way, the neutrality of the gambling city would no longer need to be maintained by itself, becoming completely bound to the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce.

It could also simultaneously receive spontaneous maintenance from the Misty Fog Clan and even other races.

Even if external covetous parties were greedy, they would have to weigh the cost of making an enemy of the Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce.