Chapter 63: Domain Node: Cloud Fields

The lottery event concluded after lasting 24 hours.

In this event, the vast majority of players suffered greater losses than gains, with only a tiny minority securing high returns.

Yet no player doubted the lottery probabilities.

In their perception, the game's official administration could not possibly profit from events.

Failing to draw good items only made them believe their luck was simply too poor.

This was also the reason Qi Sheng chose to use the lottery to acquire Shou Shou Jili from the players.

But Qi Sheng also understood such events could not be launched frequently; they were suitable only when Shou Shou Jili was urgently needed, otherwise they would severely impact the players' growth speed.

He had already seen players complaining on the forum, regretting that they couldn't control their hands and had spent all the Shou Shou Jili originally intended for expanding star veins on the Lucky Wheel event.

After the event ended, Qi Sheng tallied his gains.

Total Shou Shou Jili income: 830,000.

The event extracted one-third of the players' Shou Shou Jili reserves.

It was certain that if the event had not been limited to 24 hours, apart from the small number of players indifferent to gambling probabilities, even more players would have participated, bringing him even more Shou Shou Jili revenue.

Meng Yuan Chu Altar.

Confirming this amount of Shou Shou Jili was sufficient to cover the dimensional development costs of the "Armored Vehicle System," Qi Sheng waved his hand to disconnect the dimensional connection light screen.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping toward the Meng Yuan Chu Containment Wall before the altar.

The magnificent wall constructed of blue crystal walls was divided into countless compartments, yet only cells 1 through 15 at the very bottom held Meng Yuan Chu monsters.

One could see a semi-transparent soft tube connected behind every Meng Yuan Chu monster, continuously drawing energy from their bodies.

In an instant, Qi Sheng switched to his Beneath Di Zhao form.

As his head transformed into Xiong Xiong flames, energy tracks as brilliant as a galaxy faintly appeared surrounding his body, followed by fifteen spheres of different colors floating above the tracks, circling him.

This galaxy track was the manifestation of his power; every small sphere on the track represented a contained Meng Yuan Chu ability.

Qi Sheng raised his right hand, his palm burning with Beneath Di Zhao fire slowly opening.

Immediately, the fifteen Meng Yuan Chu ability spheres detached from the power track, flew to hover above his palm, releasing different colored energies that injected into his body from his hand; a surging hot current surged and merged within Qi Sheng's body, causing the color of the Beneath Di Zhao fire to deepen.

Every time a Meng Yuan Chu monster was contained, it was like finding a missing piece of the power puzzle; Qi Sheng could clearly feel his own strength improving.

He believed that with the players' help, one day he would be able to leave Di Zhao Village and face the challenge of the terrifying Black Tide with his true Beneath Di Zhao form.

【Boss, a new Domain Node has been discovered.】

The guide hovering beside him suddenly spoke, interrupting Qi Sheng's thoughts; he decisively switched his vision to the perspective fed back by the guide.

Fifteen minutes ago, southeast of Di Zhao Village.

Gray Mist Forest.

The map fog dispersed, and the exploration reward arrived with a notification.

The two-person team that received the reward did not stop, continuing to probe deeper into the dense forest.

Passing through the towering bone bamboo forest, the scene before them left the two players stunned.

This place seemed like a paradise; a path paved with fine pebbles led straight into the depths of the forest, flanked by fluorescent grass emitting soft, gentle light, with thin white mist filling the air; every breath brought a hint of sweetness, refreshing the heart and mind.

Venturing deeper, various plants unfolded before their eyes.

The two advancing players finally stopped before a spiritual tree.

This spiritual tree stood several zhang tall, with lush branches and leaves; slender vines wound around the trunk, blooming with flowers of various colors, every petal crystal clear, emitting a faint fragrance.

Focusing their gaze, analysis information appeared in the minds of the two players:

【Seven-Color Tree】

Spiritual Plant Level: Level 4

Spiritual Plant Introduction: A medium-quality spiritual plant relatively rare in the Monster World; its companion vines produce flowers that display seven different colors following the rotation of time and seasons, with each color having different effects; during the winter season, when the cold wind howls, the Seven-Color Tree displays an interwoven color of golden yellow and fiery red, entering its mature harvesting period (corrupted by Black Tide energy, the spiritual plant's growth state was damaged, preventing the Seven-Color Tree from changing with the seasons, resulting in a state where multiple colors coexist).

Spiritual Plant Effects: Consuming it grants body-forging experience and can be used to create special potions that provide amplification effects.

Discovering this was actually a Level 4 spiritual plant, the two members of the team's breathing became rapid.

They never imagined such good fortune would descend upon them in this manner.

"Monkey, are we about to get rich?" the man in the team with short-cropped hair said, his eyes shining.

Hearing this, the player known as Monkey nodded excitedly, the gloomy mood caused by the Lucky Wheel swept away in this moment:

"Get to work, dig it up and post it in the regional channel to see if anyone buys it at a high price; if not, then consider sacrificing it to Brother Beneath Di Zhao."

After a brief exchange, the two immediately got to work, taking out mining picks to dig the Seven-Color Tree out of the soil by its roots and storing it in their spatial bags.

Having done all this, the two did not immediately post a sale notice but continued to probe deeper into the dense forest.

They felt there must be other treasures here.

But they soon noticed something amiss in the depths of the forest.

As they walked deeper, black spots gradually appeared on the surfaces of the plants along the way; the further they went inward, the more black spots appeared on the plant surfaces.

Many plants hung limply, their leaves withered and yellow; analysis revealed that the plants here had all suffered corrosion damage from Black Tide power, nearly withering to death.

"Monkey, isn't there a Corrosion Core in here?"

Having just experienced the Dark Cave Battle not long ago, seeing such a bizarre scene, they instinctively thought of the Corrosion Core.

According to the guide's description, the Corrosion Core is a Black Tide evil thing naturally generated under the gaze of the Evil Moon; the area where it is generated will be gradually penetrated by the Corrosion Core, causing severe environmental destruction.

The Domain Node Crystal of the Dark Cave Battle had once been entangled and penetrated by a Corrosion Core.

"Not sure, let's go deeper and take a look."

Five minutes later, the two passed through a patch of withered fluorescent grass, and the view ahead suddenly opened up.

Deep within the dense forest lay a vast expanse of farmland, divided into square plots; the spirit plants growing within had all withered and died, a faint fishy stench permeating the air, and at the center of the fields floated a rotting core that pulsed like a fleshy tumor.

Fungal tendrils spreading from the core covered the surface of the fields like a spiderweb, drawing upon the earth's power to nourish themselves.

The Challenger Prompt sounded at that moment:

【Challenger Prompt: Domain Node "Cloud Fields" discovered.】

As the Challenger Prompt sounded, a patch of mist in the center of the Gray Fog Forest region on the map was dispelled, and a black tumor icon marked the location of the rotting core.

The gazes of the two players focused on the spirit fields ahead, and more detailed introduction information appeared in their minds:

【Cloud Fields】

Territory Type: Resource

Territory Trait: Accelerated Growth

Trait Description: Greatly accelerates the growth speed of spirit plants planted within the area covered by the node; Level 1 spirit plants can mature within 3–5 days.

Domain Status: Rotting Core Entanglement

……

It had originally been just a guess; observing the environmental changes, he felt a rotting core might exist ahead.

Yet he never expected the guess to come true.

There really was an uncontained domain node here.

"Monkey, if we smash the rotting core, the two of us can exclusively enjoy the purification reward; we might really be about to get rich," a player in the team said excitedly.

"Don't be silly; there's definitely danger near the rotting core. Don't rush in and die foolishly." The player called Monkey appeared very cautious.

"There are no Cursed Weapons here. The bold thrive, the timid starve. Playing a game and being afraid of this and that—you're too cowardly. Act."

Saying this, the leading player decisively walked into the spirit fields.

Seeing this, Monkey could only choose to follow.

Although he believed deep down that the rotting core could not be easily destroyed and that there must be hidden danger, he still chose to follow his brother's footsteps.

The two advanced slowly, gradually approaching the rotting core.

When they were less than a hundred meters from the rotting core, the leading player spoke in the voice channel:

"Monkey, monster form."

As the words fell, the two players switched to monster forms one after another; their figures twisted as they transformed into a Gargoyle form and a Bone Fire form respectively.

Raising his hands, the leading player ignited black flames in both palms; after rapidly consuming spiritual energy, he condensed a fireball one meter in diameter.

But he did not rush to strike:

"Monkey, you tank first; I'll follow up with damage."

The player called Monkey felt helpless in his heart, yet still ran toward the rotting core; at that moment, the leading player also launched the fireball, which flew straight toward the rotting core.

This was a simple tactic the two used when hunting outside: one person was responsible for taking damage, the other for dealing damage.

But just as the black fireball was about to smash into the rotting core, the black tumor suddenly contracted, then spewed a massive amount of black mist from its top, quickly forming a barrier.

The fireball struck it; the black mist churned violently, yet the defense was not broken.

Then a tentacle pierced the tumor and grew rapidly, whipping the player rushing forward and sending him flying sideways.

The dormant rotting core was completely activated under the threat of external force.

The ensuing scene change left the two players stunned.

The originally dormant land seemed like an opened gate to the abyss; countless black, corrupt plants, like awakened demons, shot up from cracks in the ground, radiating an evil aura.

The stems of these plants twisted like snakes, the leaves were black as ink, and their surfaces were covered in viscous rotting fluid; they grew in a rhythm akin to a chaotic dance of demons, intertwining and weaving into dense, impenetrable black nets that completely swallowed the already faint light around them.

The air was filled with a nauseating smell of mold and decay; accompanied by the rustling sounds emitted as the plants grew rapidly, it was like the whispering of demons.

The scene, like a chaotic dance of demons, brought a powerful visual shock to the two players.

They didn't even have time to escape before they were entangled and constricted by the corrupt plants, their vision subsequently shrouded in darkness.

……

Meng Yuan Chu Altar.

Seeing the two players die, Qi Sheng felt no surprise.

Every rotting core possesses an extremely strong territorial consciousness and will actively attack all life outside the Black Tide system.

With just these two players, it was impossible to purify this domain node.

But since this domain had already been discovered, Qi Sheng decided to issue a new purification quest to all players.

For this quest's reward, he modified it according to the domain traits of the spirit fields.

Although Cloud Fields was a resource-type domain, it differed significantly from the Dark Cave.

This domain node required producing resources through planting spirit plants, so after containment, it certainly could not be fully opened to all players.

Otherwise, it would easily lead to disputes over ownership of the spirit plants, disputes over land usage rights, and other problems.

Therefore, for this purification quest, he simply used the spirit fields as the reward stake upon quest completion and issued the latest purification quest.

A global channel prompt subsequently sounded in all players' minds:

【Challenger Prompt (Global Channel): Domain Node "Cloud Fields" discovered; occupying the domain node yields substantial rewards.】

Quest Objective: Contain the Cloud Fields domain node

Quest Reward: Usage rights to the spirit fields

Detailed Description: This purification quest will distribute quest completion rewards based on contribution ranking; the top 1,000 players can obtain a small plot of land within the Cloud Fields, usable for planting and cultivating spirit plants (spirit plant seeds can be purchased on the Shang Cheng Gong interface)

Spirit Field Trait Description: Can significantly increase the growth speed of spirit plants.

Quest Duration: Infinite (until the node is occupied)

……

Once the purification quest was issued, it attracted the attention of a large number of players.

Players eagerly chatted on forums and regional voice channels.

"Huh? This purification task only rewards the top 1000 contributors? That's clearly not for weaklings like me—power discrimination, right? (God of Wealth in Rage. jpg)"

"In the early game, you absolutely shouldn't hoard Shou Shou Jili—you must spend it to boost your strength. The payoff's here now. Let's go kill! I need a piece of Spirit Field—it's a permanent reward!"

"Damn, this Spirit Field is amazing! Get one and you can just lie back and harvest spirit plants. Farming players are ecstatic—I'm a college student, I'm reserving one!"

"Bro upstairs, don't even say you're a college student—if you lack strength, you're livestock and won't even get a piece of Spirit Field. (Qidi's Disdainful Glance. jpg)"

"I'm not going. I've only been in the game a few days—current monsters can't even beat Blood Corpses. I'll keep grouping to fight Blood Corpses and look for a strong guild willing to take on newbies."

……

Player discussions about this purification task were sharply divided.

Strong players rejoiced, believing this purification task would bring them significant returns.

Weaker players, upon reading the task description, knew the reward was not for them and had no intention of participating.

During this time, major guilds organized teams to head to the new map region "Gray Forest" to farm purification task contributions.

But when players entered the depths of Gray Forest and saw the demons dancing across the Cloud Fields, their enthusiasm instantly died.

The reason was simple.

The corrupted core-controlled Cloud Fields teemed with corruption plants of hunting levels 30–45—far beyond what players could currently withstand.

One guild tried using Spirit Energy Bombs and found that while they inflicted some damage on the corruption plants, the effect was far less effective than expected; all corruption plants possessed powerful self-healing abilities, rendering the tactic of wearing them down with Spirit Energy Bombs meaningless.

Only absolute overwhelming power could claim the "Cloud Field" domain nodes.

Major guilds all chose to temporarily abandon the effort.

But the latent rewards of the Cloud Fields spurred strong players to level up and grow stronger.

(End of Chapter)