The old man nodded, "Indeed, there are drawbacks to rapid strength improvement."
"Normal martial artists take at least five years to go from the Mortal level to the Spirit level, and twelve years to stabilize their progress from the Spirit level to the Profound level."
"When bloodlines fuse too quickly, it means that each bloodline has too little time to fully integrate with your body. As a result, although it may seem like the bloodlines have fused with your body, they have not truly merged."
"At the Mortal and Spirit levels, the risk of bloodline fusion mainly occurs when four different bloodlines are merged. At this stage, as long as you fuse with a single ancient demon bloodline, there won't be any problems."
"However, once you advance to the Profound level, the drawbacks of rapid improvement will manifest. The risk of bloodline fusion conflicts will not only occur when four different bloodlines are merged but also when fusing a single bloodline, there is a possibility of bloodline conflicts."
"And as the number of fused bloodlines increases, this risk will multiply."
Complete fusion? There was such a thing?
Su Nan's heart sank; this was undoubtedly bad news for him. Even fusing a single bloodline might lead to a loss of control, and with the risk increasing as he fused more bloodlines, it seemed to tell him that his path would become narrower after the Profound level.
Su Nan's expression turned gloomy. He had originally thought that as long as he fused one ancient demon bloodline at each stage, there would be no issues with losing control. However, he hadn't expected that even fusing bloodlines too quickly could lead to problems.
If this was true, then players who were currently advancing so recklessly would undoubtedly be laying the foundation for future bloodline conflicts and loss of control.
Su Nan was about to ask if there was a solution, but the old man continued, "And this is not the key reason limiting you."
The old man looked at Su Nan and asked, "Do you know what it takes to advance from the King level to the Emperor level?"
Su Nan subconsciously asked, "What does it take?"
"When a bloodline warrior reaches the Profound level, they are no longer low-level warriors. At this point, their bloodline has become powerful enough to have a preliminary influence on the surrounding natural energy."
"By the time they reach the King level, a warrior's bloodline can resonate with the natural energy of the world, allowing them to manipulate the power of nature and possess various incredible abilities, such as flying through the air."
Manipulating the power of nature?
Flying through the air?
Su Nan was shocked, and he immediately thought of the racial talent he had just obtained, "Domain of Destruction," which seemed to allow him to manipulate the power of nature. Why couldn't he fly through the air?
"Can't my Domain of Destruction allow me to manipulate the power of nature? Why can't I fly through the air?" he asked.
"Perhaps you're not using it correctly?" he thought of a possible explanation.
This possibility wasn't out of the question, as he had only used the Domain of Destruction once and knew very little about it.
If everyone could manipulate the power of nature, it didn't make sense that others could fly through the air while he couldn't.
Su Nan's expression changed, but the old man didn't think much of it and simply believed that Su Nan was just surprised by this information.
The old man continued, "Advancing from the King level to the Emperor level is an enormous hurdle."
"At this stage, you need to gain the recognition of the natural energy, allowing the power of nature to be infused into your body and giving you extraordinary abilities."
"To achieve this, there is one prerequisite: you must be a native of this world."
"A native of this world? Unable to gain recognition?" Su Nan was stunned, and he immediately thought of another question.
How did the martial artists of this world know that to gain recognition from the power of nature, you had to be a native of this world?
Could it be that martial artists from other worlds had come to this world before?
Obviously, the old man could see Su Nan's thoughts and said, "It is said that in ancient times, there were indeed outsiders from other worlds who came to our world. Many of those individuals were above the King level in strength. However, when they came to this world, they could only exhibit the strength of the King level."
"Some of these King-level experts wanted to break through in this world, but they could not gain the recognition of the natural energy of this world and were unable to advance."
Otherworldly visitors!
Could it be the world where the Destiny Guild members came from?
Su Nan couldn't help but speculate.
However, now was not the time to think about these things. The old man's words had stirred up a storm in his heart. He had never imagined that rapid strength improvement could have drawbacks.
He couldn't help but think of the demonic creature sealed beneath the Daoist Immortal Palace. The creature had mentioned that even if it broke through to the King level, it would find it difficult
to advance to the Emperor level.
Now, the old man was saying that it would be difficult for him to break through to the King level as well.
Could it be that he really couldn't advance to the King level?
"Is there no solution?" Su Nan asked.
At his words, the old man fell silent.
Seeing this, Su Nan's expression became even more grim.
The old man comforted him, saying, "You don't need to be discouraged. These are just my speculations. If ordinary people face this situation, there may indeed be no particularly good solutions. But you are different."
"You outsiders possess various incredible abilities. Perhaps what seems impossible for us is easy for you."
Su Nan nodded. Thinking about the incredible abilities displayed on the game panel, he agreed with the old man's words.
Currently, he was the highest-level player, and he hadn't even broken through to the Profound level yet. His understanding of the game panel was still very limited.
Furthermore, the game is only in its second public test phase. Based on the previous two test phases, there will inevitably be new abilities introduced in the upcoming tests.
No one knows how many abilities the game still has left to develop.
In a game where players can even come back to life after dying, what can't it do?
Thinking about all of this, Su Nan felt a lot more relaxed.
He then thought about the demonic aura and asked, "Lord County Governor, is there a way to deal with being contaminated by demonic aura?"
"Demonic aura?"
"You've been contaminated by demonic aura?" The old man's face changed, and he immediately asked.
Su Nan nodded and said, "When I was at the Mortal level, I once fought a demon beast, and during the battle, I was contaminated by demonic aura."
Of course, he wouldn't mention that he was contaminated because he had used the Ancient Demon Sword.
The old man sensed Su Nan for a moment and said, "Don't worry, I didn't detect any obvious demonic aura on you, which means you haven't been seriously contaminated."
"If we can resolve the issue of incomplete bloodline fusion, breaking through to the King level should not be a problem."
Breaking through to the King level without any issues?
This was different from what the demon beast had said.
Could it be that the demon beast had been lying to him?
Su Nan pondered for a moment, and then he realized where the problem lay. Right now, he was using Zhang Yang's character, and it was Wang Nan's bloodline that had been contaminated by the demonic aura. The Wheel of Fate had the function of blocking demonic aura, so it was normal for the old man not to detect it.
But when he had been beneath the Daoist Immortal Palace earlier, he had been using Wang Nan's character, and demons were sensitive to demonic aura, so they could easily detect it.
"If the contamination by demonic aura is more severe, how can it be resolved?" Su Nan asked.
The old man thought for a moment and said, "Although demons appear to have originated from martial artists, they have already undergone significant changes and can no longer be considered part of our human race."
"The demonic aura they control is the most evil power in this world, a collection of various negative forces. Once contaminated by it, it's like being infested with maggots, very troublesome."
"Fortunately, the number of demons is constant, only around three thousand in total. They won't increase, only decrease. For every new demon born, an old one must be completely eliminated."
Constant number?
Su Nan was surprised, and then he thought of the sealed demonic creature. The ancient experts had sealed the demons rather than destroying them. This was obviously not just because demons were difficult to kill but also because they didn't want new demons to appear.
"It is said that in ancient times, there were some methods to resolve the issue of demonic aura contamination. However, those methods disappeared after ancient times."
"Now the simplest method is to find a demon and have it help you draw out the demonic aura from your body."
Find a demon for help?
Was this a joke? Trading with demons was akin to seeking a tiger's skin.
"Is there no other way?" Su Nan asked.
The old man shook his head and didn't answer.
Seeing this, Su Nan's heart sank.
"The situation is urgent for now; let's not talk about this issue."
The old man thought about the situation in Tianyun County and said, "The Yao Clan is coming in force this time, and I'm afraid that Tianyun County won't be able to protect itself. If the formation is truly broken, don't forget what I told you earlier."
Su Nan naturally knew what the old man was referring to and calmly looked at the escort mission in the task bar, nodding, "Lord County Governor, don't worry, I'll take care of this matter."
The old man said, "If Tianyun County can hold on this time, it would be best. If not, the next time we meet, it will be in Zhongtian County."
"Is there anything you need now? You can make a request, and I'll do my best to fulfill one of your wishes as a reward for this mission."
Receiving a reward in advance again?
Su Nan's heart stirred, and he quickly said, "Lord, I have a friend who is a Secret Power martial artist, and I'd like to request a Spirit-level ancient demon bloodline for him."
Right now, what he needed most was an ancient demon bloodline. If he could complete Lang Shisan's bloodline, he could attempt to break through to the Profound level. This would also allow him to earn more contribution points in the upcoming actions.
He presented himself as a Mystic Law practitioner on the surface and couldn't directly request a bloodline from the Secret Power faction, so he had to approach it indirectly.
The old man didn't ask too many questions and thought for a moment before saying, "Ancient demon bloodlines are extremely rare, and I don't have any at the moment. If you still want one when you arrive in Zhongtian County, I can apply for one from Emperor Yu for you."
"But don't get your hopes up too high. Every drop of ancient demon blood is immediately reserved as soon as it's discovered. It's possible that you'll have to wait for some time."
Wait in Zhongtian County too?
Won't it be too late by then?
Su Nan was disappointed; he didn't want to wait another day.
In the Contribution Store, a Spirit-level ancient demon bloodline required six thousand contribution points. After this mission, he could easily purchase one.
There was no other choice; he had to change his mind.
Opportunities like this were rare, and he naturally chose to ask for something valuable.
"Lord, I would like a Divine Seed or a Spell Seed, or even an Ancient Scripture," he said.
Upon hearing this, the old man shook his head and said, "You're giving me too much credit. While it's true that Divine Seeds, Spells, and Ancient Scriptures are still used even in this era, they are treasures held dearly by major factions. I don't have any of those."
None of them?
Su Nan was disappointed once again, shaking his head inwardly, realizing he had been too greedy.
Just as he was thinking about what he needed, the old man said, "I don't have Divine Seeds, but I do have some Divine Path Fragments. Would you like them?"
Divine Path Fragments? That would be great!
"Yes!" Su Nan replied quickly.
Divine Path Fragments were essentially fragments of divine powers. They were available in the Contribution Store, but they were quite expensive. One fragment cost one thousand four hundred and ninety-nine contribution points, making them the most expensive items in the third-tier store.
For his second upgrade of Celestial Teleportation, he needed four fragments in total. If he exchanged all of them, he would need nearly six thousand contribution points, which was enough to buy a drop of ancient demon blood.
The old man didn't ask Su Nan what he wanted to do with the fragments. Instead, he reached out and took out three crystals of similar size.
"Three!" Su Nan's eyes lit up.
With just one more fragment, he could upgrade Celestial Teleportation again.
"Thank you, Lord County Governor."
Su Nan happily accepted the Divine Path Fragments.
Afterwards, the old man gave Su Nan some instructions, and then Su Nan left.
Instead of leaving the County Governor's Mansion directly, he went straight to the mansion's treasury.
He wanted to exchange all of his Demon Slayer Points for Lifesaving Pills.
Last time, he had earned a considerable amount of Demon Slayer Points, but after exchanging for purple stones and ten bottles of Lifesaving Pills, he had only a little over a thousand points left.
Later, after killing the Purple Armor and Hook Sickle, two mid-level Profound Demons, he had gained another thousand points.
In total, he had over two thousand points, which was enough to support his expenses during this mission.
However, Su Nan didn't stop there. He also went to the Celestial Palace.
He took out the more than sixteen hundred drops of Mortal-level Essence Blood he had obtained last time and exchanged them for eighteen more Lifesaving Pills.
Exactly forty bottles of Lifesaving Pills; this would be enough for quite some time.
"The demon in the Daoist Immortal Palace mentioned that he needed a treasure to find the remnants of Daoist Immortal. I wonder if the Celestial Palace has it."
Su Nan had an idea and decided to inquire about it.
The first divination began.
And it disappointed him.
The Celestial Palace in Tianyun County didn't have the item he needed.
With no other choice, Su Nan had to settle for something else.
"You have used a corpse of a mid-level Profound Demon as a reward and obtained the information you wanted."
"You have learned that there is a spirit herb called the Soul-reviving Grass growing by the Grim River in the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. This herb has the effect of repairing the soul and enhancing soul power. When ignited, it can also gather residual spirits."
"Ten Thousand Demons Ridge?"
"Grim River?"
Su Nan frowned.
What was Ten Thousand Demons Ridge? It was the demonic beasts' lair in Dongchen Province.
There, demonic beasts were likely to be found everywhere.
Moreover, there was no Heavenly Sky Divine Restriction to suppress them, so the strength of the demonic beasts there was likely to be even greater than those within the Nine Counties!
"I have the identity of a Wolf Demon; I can plan for it."
Su Nan had an idea in mind.
After completing the Human Crisis mission, if he had the opportunity, he planned to visit Ten Thousand Demons Ridge and see for himself how terrifying the demonic beast's lair was.
After leaving the Celestial Palace, according to his plan, he was going to accept the sub-quests of Lang Shisan and Wang Nan.
However, at this moment, he suddenly sensed something and couldn't help but stop in his tracks.
He felt that the connection he had with the Grand Princess in his subconscious mind had just trembled slightly.
The Grand Princess had awakened!
A thought flashed through Su Nan's mind, and he instantly understood what was happening.
(End of this chapter)