Chapter 63: Domain Node: Cloud Field

The lottery event concluded after lasting for 24 hours.

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

Yet no player doubted the lottery's probability settings.

In their understanding, the game administration was incapable of profiting through events.

If they failed to draw good items, they would only blame their own terrible luck.

This was precisely why Qi Sheng chose to use a lottery to extract Sacrificial Power from the players.

However, Qi Sheng also understood that such events could not be launched frequently; they were suitable only for moments of urgent Sacrificial Power shortage, otherwise they would severely impact the players' growth speed.

He had already seen players complaining on the forum, regretting their inability to control their hands and spending all the Sacrificial Power originally intended for opening Star Veins on the Lucky Wheel event.

With the event over, Qi Sheng tallied his earnings.

Total Sacrificial Power income amounted to 830,000.

The event had squeezed out one-third of the players' Sacrificial Power reserves.

It was certain that if the event had lasted longer than 24 hours, aside from the small minority indifferent to gambling odds, even more players would have participated, bringing him greater Sacrificial Power yields.

Primordial Altar.

Having confirmed that this batch of Sacrificial Power was sufficient to cover the Hyper-Dimension's development costs for the "Armed Vehicle System," Qi Sheng waved his hand to sever the connection light screen with the Hyper-Dimension.

Lifting his head, his gaze swept across the Primordial Containment Wall before the altar.

The magnificent wall constructed of blue crystal barriers was divided into countless grids, yet only the bottom row, slots 1 through 15, held imprisoned Primordial Monsters.

One could see that behind each Primordial Monster connected a translucent soft tube, continuously extracting energy from within their bodies.

In the turn of a thought, Qi Sheng switched into the Di Zhao form.

As his head transformed into raging flames, energy trails as brilliant as the Milky Way appeared and vanished around his body, followed by fifteen spheres of different colors floating upon the trails, circling his form.

This galaxy trail was the manifestation of his power; each small sphere on the trail represented a contained Primordial Ability.

Qi Sheng raised his right hand, and the palm burning with Di Zhao Fire slowly opened.

Instantly, the fifteen Primordial Ability Spheres detached from the power trail, flying to hover above his palm, releasing energies of different colors that injected into his body through his hand; surging hot currents surged and fused within Qi Sheng's body, causing the color of the Di Zhao Fire to deepen.

Every time he contained a Primordial Monster, it was like recovering a 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 walk out of Emperor Tomb Village and Iron Face the terrifying Black Black Tide challenge in his true 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 feedback from the Guide.

Fifteen minutes ago, southeast of Emperor Tomb Village.

Gray Fog Forest.

As the map fog dispersed, exploration rewards arrived along with notifications.

The two-person squad that received the rewards did not stop their footsteps, continuing to probe deeper into the dense forest.

Passing through towering bone bamboo forests, the scene presented before them left the two players awestruck.

This place resembled a secluded paradise; a narrow path paved with fine pebbles led straight into the depths of the dense forest, flanked on both sides by glowing grass emitting a soft, gentle radiance, while the air was filled with a thin white mist, every breath bringing a hint of sweetness that refreshed the heart and soul.

Venturing deeper, various kinds of plants displayed themselves before their eyes.

The two advancing figures finally stopped before a spiritual tree.

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

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

[Seven-Colored Tree]

Spiritual Plant Grade: Level 4

Spiritual Plant Introduction: A medium-quality spiritual plant relatively rare in the Monster World; the flowers blooming on its accompanying vines can display seven different colors following the rotation of time and seasons, with each color possessing different effects. During the harsh winter season, when cold winds howl, the Seven-Colored Tree presents an interwoven color of golden yellow and fiery red, entering its mature harvesting period (Due to corrosion by Black Black Tide energy, the spiritual plant's growth state has been damaged; the Seven-Colored Tree can no longer change with the seasons, presenting a state of multiple colors coexisting).

Spiritual Plant Effects: Consuming it grants Body Tempering experience, or it can be used to provide special potions with amplification effects.

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

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

"Monkey, are we about to get rich?" asked the man with a buzz cut in the squad, his eyes shining.

Upon hearing this, the player called Monkey nodded excitedly, the depression caused by the Lucky Wheel sweeping away from his heart in this moment:

"Let's get to work, dig it up, post it on the Regional Channel to see if anyone will buy it at a high price; if not, then consider sacrificing it to Brother Di Zhao."

After a brief exchange, the two immediately took action, taking out pickaxes to dig the Seven-Colored Tree out of the soil by its roots and storing it in their Spatial Satchels.

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

They felt there must be other treasures here.

But they very quickly noticed something amiss in the depths of the dense forest.

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

Many plants hung limp, their leaves withered and yellow; through analysis, they discovered that the plants here had all suffered corrosion damage from Black Black Tide power, nearly dying.

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

Having just experienced the Dark Cave Campaign not long ago, seeing such an eerie sight, they subconsciously thought of the Corrosion Core.

According to the Guide's description, a Corrosion Core was a type of Black Black Tide evil creature naturally generated under the shine of the Evil Moon; the area where it generated would be gradually infiltrated by the Corrosion Core, causing severe environmental destruction.

The Node Domain Crystal from the Dark Cave Campaign had once been entangled and infiltrated 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 glowing grass, and the view ahead suddenly opened up.

The depths of the dense forest revealed a vast field, divided into square plots; the spiritual plants grown within had all withered, a faint stench of blood permeated the air, and in the center of the field, one could see a flesh-tumor-like Corrosion Core floating and pulsating.

Fungal tentacles spreading from the core covered the field's surface like a spiderweb, extracting the power of the earth to nourish itself.

The Challenger Prompt also rang out at this time:

[Challenger Prompt: Domain Node "Cloud Field" discovered.]

Accompanying the Challenger Prompt, a patch of fog in the center of the Gray Fog Forest region on the map was dispelled, and the location of the Corrosion Core was marked with a black flesh-tumor icon.

The two players focused their gaze on the spiritual field ahead, and more detailed introduction information appeared in their minds:

[Cloud Field]

Territory Type: Resource

Territory Trait: Accelerated Growth

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

Domain Status: Entangled by Corrosion Core

Originally, it was just a guess, feeling that a Corrosion Core might exist ahead based on the environmental changes.

They never expected the guess to come true.

There actually was an uncontained Domain Node here.

"Monkey, if we smash the Corrosion Core, the two of us can exclusively enjoy the purification rewards; we might really be about to get rich," one of the players said excitedly.

"Don't mess around; there must be danger near the Corrosion Core, don't rush off to die recklessly," the player called Monkey replied, appearing extremely cautious.

"There are no Cursed Soldiers here; fortune favors the bold while the timid starve. Are you still afraid of this and that while playing a game? You kid are too cowardly, make your move."

Speaking thus, the leading player decisively walked into the spiritual field.

Seeing this, Monkey had no choice but to follow.

Although deep down he believed the Corrosion Core could not be easily destroyed and that hidden dangers surely existed, he still chose to follow his brother's footsteps.

The two advanced slowly, gradually approaching the Corrosion Core.

When they were less than a hundred meters away from the Corrosion Core, the leading player spoke in the voice channel:

"Monkey, Monster Form."

As the words fell, the two players switched to Monster Form one after the other; amidst twisting forms, they transformed into a Gargoyle Form and a Bone Fire Form respectively.

Raising his hands, the leading player's palms ignited with ink-black flames; after rapidly consuming mental energy, he condensed a large fireball one meter in diameter.

However, he did not attack hastily:

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

The player called Monkey felt helpless in his heart but still rushed toward the Corrosion Core, while the leading player fired the fireball at that moment, flying straight toward the Corrosion Core.

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

But just as the ink-black large fireball was about to smash into the Corrosion Core, the black flesh-tumor suddenly contracted, then spewed a massive amount of black mist from its top, quickly forming a barrier.

The fireball smashed onto it, causing the black mist to churn violently, yet it failed to break through the defense.

Subsequently, a tentacle pierced through the flesh-tumor, growing rapidly, and lashed out, whipping the running player away, sending him flying sideways.

The silent Corrosion Core was thoroughly activated under the threat of external force.

The ensuing scene changes stunned the two players.

The originally silent land seemed like an abyssal gate thrown open; countless black rotten plants, like demons awakened, shot up from cracks in the ground, emitting evil aura.

The stems of these plants twisted like snakes, their leaves black as ink, covered in viscous corrupt fluid; they grew with a rhythm akin to a dance of myriad demons, intertwining with one another to weave dense, impenetrable black nets that completely swallowed the already thin light surrounding them.

The air was filled with a nauseating smell of moldy dampness and rot, accompanied by the rustling sounds emitted as the plants grew rapidly, sounding like demonic whispers.

The scene, resembling a dance of myriad demons, delivered a strong visual shock to the two players.

They did not even have time to flee before being entangled and constricted by the corrosive plants, their vision subsequently shrouded in darkness.

……

The Primordial Sacrifice Altar.

Seeing two players die, Qi Sheng felt no surprise.

Every Corrosion Core possessed an extremely strong territorial consciousness, actively attacking all life outside the Black Black Tide system.

Relying solely on these two players, it was utterly impossible to purify this domain node.

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

For this mission's rewards, he made modifications based on the specific characteristics of the Spirit Field domain.

Although the Cloud Field was a resource-type domain, it differed significantly from the Gloom Caverns.

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

Otherwise, it would easily lead to disputes over ownership of the spiritual plants, as well as conflicts regarding land usage rights, among other issues.

Therefore, for this purification mission, he simply used the Spirit Field itself as the reward stake upon completion, issuing the latest purification task.

A full-channel notification immediately rang in the minds of all players:

[Challenger Notification (Full Channel): Domain node "Cloud Field" discovered. Occupying the domain node yields generous rewards.]

Mission Objective: Contain the Cloud Field domain node.

Mission Reward: Usage rights to the Spirit Field.

Detailed Description: Rewards for completing this purification mission will be distributed based on contribution ranking. The top 1,000 players will receive a small plot of land within the Cloud Field, usable for planting and cultivating spiritual plants (spiritual plant seeds can be purchased via the Mall function panel).

Spirit Field Characteristics Introduction: Significantly increases the growth speed of spiritual plants.

Mission Duration: Infinite (until the node is occupied).

……

Once the purification mission was released, it immediately attracted massive attention from the players.

Players began chatting enthusiastically on the forum and in the regional voice channels.

"Eh? This purification mission only rewards the top 1,000 with the highest contributions? Doesn't that mean someone weak like me is destined to miss out? Is this discrimination based on strength? (God of Wealth Furious.jpg)"

"As expected, one shouldn't sell Sacrificial Power in the early game; it must be used to boost strength. The time for returns has arrived! Kill! I must get a plot of the Spirit Field; this is a permanent reward!"

"Holy crap, this Spirit Field is amazing! Get a plot and you can lie down and produce spiritual plants forever. The farming faction is ecstatic! I'm a college student, I want to reserve a plot!"

"Brother upstairs, don't say you're a college student; without strength, you're a beast, and you won't get a share of the Spirit Field anyway. (Qidie's Contemptuous Glance.jpg)"

"Not going. I've only been in the game a few days; my current level can't even defeat a Blood Corpse. Better to keep grouping up to farm Blood Corpses, and meanwhile find a powerful guild willing to carry newbies."

……

Discussion regarding this purification mission among the player base became polarized.

Capable players were ecstatic, believing this purification mission would bring them significant returns.

Weaker players, upon reading the mission description, knew these rewards were beyond their reach and had absolutely no intention of participating.

Meanwhile, major guilds organized personnel, preparing to head to the new map region, "Gray Forest," to farm contribution points for the purification mission.

However, after players entered the depths of the Gray Forest and witnessed the scene of demons dancing wildly upon the Cloud Field, their high enthusiasm immediately fizzled out.

The reason was simple.

Inside the Cloud Field, controlled by the Corrosion Core, grew a vast number of Corrupted Plants with hunting levels between 30 and 45; this was simply beyond the capability of the players' current strength to contend with.

Some guilds tried using Spirit Bombs, only to discover that while Spirit Bombs could inflict some damage on the Corrupted Plants, the effect was far less effective than imagined. All Corrupted Plants possessed powerful self-healing abilities, meaning the tactic of whittling them down with Spirit Bombs was utterly meaningless.

Only with absolutely overwhelming strength could one contain the "Cloud Field" domain node.

The major guilds one after another chose to temporarily give up.

Yet, the potential gains of the Cloud Field ignited the motivation for capable players to level up and become stronger.

(End of Chapter)