Chapter 41: Global Mission

Emperor Tomb Village, Primordial Sacrifice Altar.

Under the guidance's pull, Qi Sheng's consciousness traversed the continuous volcanic ranges, following the departing evil spirit warrior to the northern sector of the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range.

The evil spirit warrior stumbled onto a platform atop the high tower, where several pitch-black tentacles extended from a dark red eye above, piercing into the warrior's body; its injuries began healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"It seems this journey did not go smoothly." A crack split open on the dark red eye, and a hoarse voice emanated from within.

"I did not lose." Hearing the eye's slightly mocking words, Di Nian spoke in a deep voice.

"Winning or losing is unimportant; I can still sense the aura of the Counter-Black Tide Legion warrior; he has not died."

"I know he is stronger than I imagined, but had a group of creatures controlling rules not blocked me, I would certainly have killed him."

"Creatures controlling rules? I sensed no other life auras while you fought."

"A group of mysterious beings with frail bodies; through some unknown method, they can briefly plunge me into a state controlled by rage, causing me to attack them involuntarily."

Upon hearing this, the dark red eye fell silent for a moment before speaking:

You must have encountered a Primordial Monster; this is an extremely special type of creature. According to intelligence shared by other nodes, Primordial Monsters are likely manifestations of the primordial power of Di Zhao, the creator of this world. Every Primordial Monster is an embodiment of a rule's power; they cannot be truly killed, and even upon death, they will be reborn somewhere in this world in the future.

"So that is how it is; but aside from wielding rule power, these Primordial Monsters do not seem particularly strong."

"You are mistaken; never underestimate the intensity of this world. According to intelligence provided by other nodes, the power gap between Primordial Monsters is vast; powerful ones can even kill our clan's Commander-level or even Monarch-level warriors."

"Monarch-level?" Hearing the dark red eye's explanation, Di Nian was startled.

"The Dungeon World you once assisted in conquering was merely a low-energy world, far incomparable to the world beneath our feet. Based on my judgment, your strength in this world can only be classified as middle-lower tier, or even lower. Do not overestimate your own power; you are young but overly arrogant; this world may well be the end of your growth."

"What do you mean?" Di Nian asked in a cold voice.

"In order to conquer this world, our clan has already lost countless Commander-level warriors; you will most likely become one of them... but as your Strategy Eye, I hope to see you grow into a Commander-level, or even Monarch-level warrior of our clan."

At this moment, Di Nian took a deep breath:

"I understand."

"Beneath the high tower lies an infinite source of power; next, I will draw upon its energy to create warriors for you, aiding you in conquering nearby node domains; until then, wait patiently."

As the voice faded, the dark red eye blinked.

Immediately, surging black mist crawled upward from the tower's base; the high tower was instantly ignited by black flames, causing vast amounts of black mist to converge and compress at the furnace in the tower's center, rapidly forming ferocious and terrifying evil lives that fell from the sky like dumplings.

At this moment, Qi Sheng's consciousness followed the guidance to probe beneath the high tower.

Through their conversation, Qi Sheng realized this high tower was built upon a domain node.

What intrigued him was what the characteristic of this domain node might be.

Although intelligent evil spirits could utilize the energy of a domain node, they could not use the domain's characteristics.

Compared to energy, he cared more about powerful domain characteristics.

For instance, Emperor Tomb Village's characteristic "Flesh Reshaping" was a key link in the player recruitment plan.

Sinking his consciousness into the earth, the guidance's analysis ability activated accordingly.

Vast amounts of data flooded into Qi Sheng's mind, ultimately translated into textual introduction information he could understand.

【Domain Node: Heavenly Abyss】

Territory Type: Rule-based

Territory Characteristic: Myriad Phenomena Furnace

Characteristic Introduction: Smelt abilities of the same attribute, causing their effects to undergo wondrous changes.

Domain Status: Occupied by the Black Black Tide

Judging solely from the analysis information, Qi Sheng could not comprehend what this domain node's characteristic effect actually was; specific functions would only be known after integrating it into Emperor Tomb Village.

What concerned him was that this domain node was actually a rule domain.

Compared to resource domains like the Gloomy Cave, rule nodes possessed far greater utility.

【Boss, you're coveting it.】

"Nonsense; I will certainly seize this rule node."

【Pity your main body cannot venture out freely; every second spent outside consumes enormous sacrificial power; to take this place, we must wait until the players are sufficiently powerful.】

"Although we cannot take this place for now, it is time to reclaim the domain node of the Gloomy Cave... let us return."

As Qi Sheng's voice fell, the guidance pulled his consciousness flying toward Emperor Tomb Village.

The instant his consciousness returned to his physical body, Qi Sheng issued a message to all players:

【Challenger Hint (All Players): The first battle between players and intelligent evil spirit lives has triggered a global hidden mission: Purify the Node.】

Mission Description: Proceed to the fifth underground layer of the Gloomy Cave and purify the domain node crystal corroded by Black Black Tide energy (shatter it).

Reward 1: Expansion of Emperor Tomb Village's area, connecting it with the Gloomy Cave; players can directly enter the Gloomy Cave from Emperor Tomb Village to mine spiritual ore resources.

Reward 2: Players participating in purifying the node crystal will receive generous contribution rewards (Star Vein Activation Permission, Body Tempering Level Increase, Sacrificial Power Bonus).

Note: Rewards for this Node Purification mission will be determined by contribution values assessed through actions such as killing monsters and dealing damage to the corroded crystal; upon mission completion, specific rewards will be distributed based on contribution figures.

The appearance of the global mission immediately captured the attention of all players.

The forum erupted in heated discussion regarding the global mission.

Realizing this newly issued global mission offered profit, major guilds began organizing personnel one after another, all hoping to earn substantial gains through this mission.

Lone players were no exception; the reward of direct access from Emperor Tomb Village to the Gloomy Cave held immense appeal for them.

Normally, to mine ore, one had to depart from Emperor Tomb Village and travel about an hour to reach the mine entrance; if unlucky enough to be surrounded and killed by Iron-Shell Worms, upon logging back into the game, another hour would be wasted traveling, which truly troubled them.

Qi Sheng had also realized this problem.

In other games, functions like teleportation would solve the issue of time-consuming travel.

But he could not do so.

Teleportation arrays could not be used infinitely once constructed; maintaining a continuous active state consumed sacrificial power every minute and every second; only when the player count became sufficiently vast would he consider opening paid teleportation services.

However, once players completed the global mission he issued, Emperor Tomb Village would thereafter possess a convenient direct passage to the Gloomy Cave, saving enormous amounts of travel time.

Half an hour after the global mission was issued.

Players scattered across various regions of the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range began marching toward the Gloomy Cave on the Blood-Colored Plain.

(End of Chapter)