"North Ice Province has completely fallen, completely controlled by the Yao Clan!"
The title of the post was short but caught the attention of many players.
Upon clicking on the post, it revealed a game announcement about the failure of the "Human Crisis" mission in North Ice Province.
[Due to the collapse of all the magic circle nodes by the Celestial God, the Celestial God's ban in North Ice Province has completely lost its effect and cannot be repaired. The regional mission "Human Crisis" has ended.]
[Because the humans in North Ice Province have lost their last territory, all players in the region have suffered backlash from human luck, reducing their demonic power obtained from daily tasks by twenty percent within seven days.]
[Due to the failure of the regional mission, the additional rewards for the top one hundred players in the contribution ranking have been reduced by fifty percent, and the quota for North Ice Province players in the next public test has been reduced by fifty percent.]
"Mission failure comes with penalties?"
Looking at the game announcement screenshot, players on the forum were both shocked and somewhat gloating.
A twenty percent reduction in mission rewards within seven days was already a blow to players in North Ice Province, not to mention the fifty percent reduction in additional rewards and the quota reduction for the next public test.
Having fewer players might not show much impact in the short term, but if one day players from various continents could interact with each other, then North Ice Province players would undoubtedly be at a disadvantage.
"Fortunately, from the current perspective, even though we've suffered heavy losses in Dongchen Province, we won't completely fall."
In the world of demons and monsters, there were twelve provinces, and relative to others, Dongchen Province was considered to have better conditions for humans. It had nine counties, and the Celestial God's ban was still relatively intact.
However, other provinces were not so fortunate. Many provinces were on the brink of collapse even before the mission started. Humans were scarce, and the number of monsters was vast. The conditions were harsh, and North Ice Province was one of them.
"In the world of demons and monsters, there are twelve provinces, divided into two major parts: the Four Directions and the Eight Extremes. The Four Directions, as the name suggests, refer to the East, South, West, and North, which are the core of the demon and monster world."
"Beyond the Four Directions, there are eight Extremes: Heaven, Earth, Mystery, Yellow, Universe, Cosmic, Flood, and Desolation."
"Between the twelve provinces, there is a demon and monster sea. It is said that in ancient times, North Ice Province was not far from Dongchen Province. The demon and monster sea between the two provinces was not wide. As long as there were strong individuals to guide, it would take only three days to cross."
"However, after ancient times, the strength of humans declined, and they no longer had the ability to cross the demon and monster sea. Gradually, the provinces lost contact with each other, and nowadays, very few humans even know that there are provinces other than their own."
"This time, with the fall of North Ice Province, it is said that the remaining human powerhouses in North Ice Province have no way out and are planning to cross the demon and monster sea to seek help from our Dongchen Province."
The fall of North Ice Province was a major event for all players in the real world, and many provinces were on alert, fearing that they would follow in North Ice Province's footsteps.
Su Nan skimmed through the information in the post and felt somewhat relieved.
According to the penalties imposed on North Ice Province, if Dongchen Province were to fall, the impact on him would far exceed that of other players.
After all, he occupied the top three spots on the contribution leaderboard. If Dongchen Province fell, the rewards for all three of his characters would be reduced by fifty percent.
Continuing to browse other posts, Su Nan found that after several days of traveling, many players from various factions had already arrived in Central Heaven County.
The number of players who had completed the mission to escort the Divine Weapon had exceeded five hundred.
Many factions had entered the top twenty of the contribution ranking thanks to the rewards from the mission, and Su Nan thought about his mission.
"Once I escort the Divine Weapon to Central Heaven County and complete the mission, Wang Nan's contribution points will be close to twenty thousand. I should exchange for the Divine Power first when the task is completed."
With Zhou Lingyin's help, the issue with the mark had already been resolved. Escorting the Divine Weapon to Central Heaven County would be effortless.
At present, Wang Nan had more than sixteen thousand contribution points, and once the mission was completed, he would receive three thousand more points. He would then be only a little over a hundred points away from exchanging for the Divine Power worth twenty thousand contribution points.
A little over a hundred points might be a significant challenge for other players, but it was nothing for him. It would only take a few tasks to achieve.
Time passed.
Soon, it was time for the daily game reset.
This time, Su Nan didn't rush to log in but went straight to bed to sleep.
Zhou Lingyin had told him to come back in a day, and the time when the female corpse was suppressed in the game was at noon. This meant that he had to wait until eleven o'clock the next day to enter the Prison of Heaven.
Originally, he had planned to resolve the Blood God Mark within the game using the daily reset, but now Zhou Lingyin was busy dealing with the female corpse, and he didn't have the opportunity.
A night passed quietly.
In the early morning, after having breakfast, Su Nan continued to wait.
Until the time came, eleven o'clock in the afternoon.
"It's almost time to log in."
Checking the time, Su Nan logged into the game.
"That kid is here, attack!"
As soon as he entered the game, Su Nan immediately heard the Thousand-Eyed Demon King's shout, followed by the attacks of the three demon kings.
Clearly, after more than a day, the three demon kings had guessed that he couldn't continuously use the same method to deal with them and had decided to attack him again.
Su Nan had anticipated this situation and didn't engage with the three demon kings. Instead, he immediately used the Realm Teleportation.
In the Prison of Heaven, he appeared on the fifth floor.
Sensing his arrival, the room where Zhou Lingyin was also appeared.
Su Nan walked into the room and saw the eight-winged female corpse still in the same condition as before, not turning into a dry corpse like the other monsters whose essence was drained.
"Senior, how is the female corpse?" Su Nan asked.
Zhou Lingyin looked at the female corpse with a solemn expression and said, "The strength of this female corpse is beyond my expectations. It's not easy to extract her essence."
"What should we do then?"
Zhou Lingyin shook her head slightly without answering.
Unable to leave yet? Su Nan frowned.
Today marked the thirteenth day of the "Human Crisis" mission. There were only two and a half days left until the mission ended. He needed to hurry to Central Heaven County.
However, Zhou Lingyin staying here wouldn't have much impact on him. He had come to her to resolve the mark on his body. As
long as they dealt with the mark, he could easily make his way to Central Heaven County with his strength.
Thinking of this, he immediately said, "Senior, I am my real self now. Can you help me check the Blood God Mark inside my body?"
Zhou Lingyin didn't say much and inspected Su Nan.
"You only have one mark on your body, on the humerus of your left arm."
The humerus was the largest bone in the arm.
Su Nan furrowed his brows. What was the difference between cutting off the humerus and cutting off the entire arm?
It was already past the time of the game reset, and if he acted now, he would have to use only one arm for the rest of the day.
Su Nan hesitated whether to act now.
At this moment, Zhou Lingyin suddenly noticed something and frowned slightly. "Huh? There's dark energy inside you!"
Su Nan was taken aback and immediately said, "Senior, you've noticed it too. It's because of this dark energy that I can't break through to the Profound Level."
Zhou Lingyin's expression became serious. "Dark energy is a very special force, and resolving it is troublesome. In ancient times, many powerhouses perished because they were tainted by dark energy."
"Your demonic energy is not much. If you only want a temporary breakthrough, you can try suppressing it temporarily, but suppression won't solve the problem. It will eventually erupt."
"Can it only be temporarily suppressed?" Su Nan was somewhat disappointed.
Zhou Lingyin was knowledgeable, and he had hoped she would have a solution. Now it seemed that he had expected too much.
However, no matter what, it was already good enough to raise Wang Nan's character to the Profound Level for now. He would have to find a solution later.
"So, how can it be suppressed?" Su Nan asked.
Zhou Lingyin replied, "There is a spirit herb called Demon Spirit Grass that can achieve this."
"Demon Spirit Grass was originally a common spirit herb called Vitality Grass. However, if it grows in a place where monsters are suppressed, it will be influenced by the power of the suppressing array of the suppressed monsters and have a temporary effect of suppressing demonic energy."
"But that kind of herb will also be tainted by demonic energy and will contain it."
"If you choose to consume it, although you can temporarily suppress the demonic energy, once the effect wears off, the demonic energy in your body will only increase, not decrease. The pros and cons of this can only be decided by you."
Is it poison or a cure? Su Nan understood Zhou Lingyin's meaning.
Although Demon Spirit Grass could temporarily suppress demonic energy and allow him to make a breakthrough, it came at the cost of increasing the demonic energy in his body.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Where can I obtain Demon Spirit Grass?"
No matter what, he needed to first help Wang Nan achieve a breakthrough to the Profound Level. After that, he would figure out the rest later.
"Demon Spirit Grass is not something particularly precious. If you go to Central Heaven County, you should be able to obtain it easily," Zhou Lingyin replied.
Su Nan nodded and made a mental note of his plan.
Central Heaven County also had a Heavenly Palace Pavilion, where he could purchase it.
"Elder, how can I leave this space?" Su Nan had achieved his goal for this trip, and Zhou Lingyin couldn't stay here indefinitely. He couldn't wait here forever, so he needed to leave.
However, Zhou Lingyin's response to his question about leaving made him feel uneasy.
Zhou Lingyin glanced at the eight-winged female corpse and said, "This space is used to bury this female corpse. It's easy to enter but difficult to leave. Even the teleportation stone is useless here. Perhaps the only way is to wait for me to completely resolve this female corpse before there's a chance to leave."
"Temporarily unable to leave? It seems I can only use that method." If it were any other player in this situation, they would be stuck, but Su Nan had a way out. He had a Perfect Death Resurrection Card. He could simply commit suicide and choose to respawn outside.
This was a perfect opportunity to get rid of the Blood God Mark.
Su Nan thought quickly and made a decision.
However, before leaving, he still had to deal with the three Demon Kings outside.
"Elder, there are three Demon Kings outside who are chasing me."
His intention was clear: he wanted Zhou Lingyin to help him deal with them.
This time, Zhou Lingyin didn't disappoint him. She knew he was an outsider who could enhance his strength by killing monsters, so she didn't refuse.
Zhou Lingyin's figure disappeared in the Prison of Heaven and reappeared with the three Demon Kings.
At this point, the three Demon Kings were in a sorry state, their aura weak, their faces pale. It was evident that Zhou Lingyin had severely injured them, leaving them with almost no strength.
Seeing Su Nan, the three Demon Kings were filled with shock and rage, their eyes fixed on him with intense hatred.
Su Nan looked at them and said, "Three of you, Whitewater Demon King has already left. Now it's your turn."
He intended to kill the two male Demon Kings first. Just like yesterday, today's daily tasks included hunting Demon Kings, and both Wang Nan and Zhang Yang had one.
Su Nan acted and killed the two male Demon Kings.
"Congratulations, you have completed the daily task 'Hunt a Demon King,' and you have been rewarded with 45 Demonic Power."
"Congratulations, you have completed the daily task 'Hunt a Demon King,' and you have been rewarded with 45 Demonic Power."
"Current available Demonic Power: 186 points."
His Demonic Power had returned to a level where he could attempt a breakthrough.
"Now, all I need is that so-called Demon Spirit Grass, and I can try to help Wang Nan make a breakthrough."
He chose not to kill the female Demon King and instead sealed her in his spatial ring. There were only two daily tasks for hunting Demon Kings, and if he killed all three now, it would be a waste. He planned to save it for tomorrow's task refresh.
"Elder, how can I contact you next time? Do you have something like the Mother-and-Child Jade Token?"
After this experience, Su Nan didn't want to wander aimlessly the next time he needed to find Zhou Lingyin.
Zhou Lingyin took out a jade token engraved with the sun and moon, then handed the one with the moon carving to Su Nan, saying, "This is the Sun and Moon Jade Token. Its effect is somewhat similar to the Mother-and-Child Jade Token. As long as you activate it with your bloodline power, you can sense the location of the other one, provided the other one is not stored in a spatial item."
"Not stored in a spatial item?" Su Nan asked.
Su Nan accepted the token and wore it on himself.
With everything settled, he prepared to deal with the Blood God Mark on his body and leave this place.
But at that moment, Zhou Lingyin suddenly said, "If you want to resolve the issue of demonic energy, you might find a solution in the Lost Land."
"The Lost Land?" Su Nan's eyes lit up as he asked, "What is that place?"
"The Lost Land is similar to the Divine Ruins in Dongchen Province, but it's different," Zhou Lingyin explained.
"It used to be a dangerous place, but compared to the Divine Ruins, it was lacking. It was only a few thousand years ago that a decision by the human race turned it into a forbidden zone, a forbidden zone created by humans."
"A forbidden zone created by humans?" Su Nan was surprised to learn that there was such a place in Dongchen Province.
"What kind of dangers are there?" Su Nan asked.
Zhou Lingyin didn't answer directly but instead asked, "After leaving the Heavenly Wolf Valley, have you encountered any berserk martial artists?"
Hearing this question, Su Nan was taken aback.
He suddenly realized that, except for encountering berserk martial artists in the Prison of Heaven, he hadn't encountered any berserk martial artists in the Heavenly Cloud County. It seemed there were none!
"Why is that?" Su Nan was amazed. He then connected Zhou Lingyin's words and asked, "Could it be related to the Lost Land?"
Zhou Lingyin nodded, "That's right. Those who are about to lose control due to a bloodline conflict or have already lost control are all sent to the Lost Land."
"It's
a place where you can go in but hardly come out. Even if King-level or even Emperor-level experts enter, they can hardly make it out."
"Because of this unique characteristic, major powers have turned it into a prison for berserk martial artists. In fact, all martial artists are required to go there voluntarily if they are on the verge of losing control."
(End of this chapter)