Monsters Are Coming-Chapter 24 - : Explosive Increase in Sacrificial Power

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3 hours later.

Inside the cave, flames blazed fiercely.

The taunting roars continued, but most players had exhausted their sacrificial power and couldn't maintain their output any longer.

Just as the players were getting ready to give in to despair, the taunting roars inside the cave gradually lowered until they ceased altogether.

Although they didn't dare to approach, a sense of anticipation built up in the players' hearts.

After more than ten minutes, a notification rang in the minds of all players who participated in the battle:

[Challenger Tips: You have slain the Second Generation Primordial Monster "Taunt." All who participated in the kill share a reward of 20,000 sacrificial power and are granted free access to open the next Star Vein Inlay slot (limited to Level 0-3 Star Veins).]

The sound was music to the players' ears.

They eagerly opened the Star Vein enhancement panel in their feature options to view the newly acquired Primordial Life Soul.

[Taunt (Second Generation Primordial)]

Monster Traits: Releases a mental shock wave centered on itself, causing targets that are hit to experience a short episode where numerous memories are altered, with the caster becoming a part of the rewritten narratives (effective only on intelligent lives above Level 1).

Guidance Tip: After releasing this ability, you can't imagine what kind of role you'll play in the altered memory illusions of the target. You could be their father's murderer, or maybe even the next-door neighbor, but none of that matters... Pay attention now, as their eyes turn crimson and they pounce toward you—quick, defend yourself!

Purchase Cost: 3000 sacrificial power.

Compared to the First Generation Origin Life Soul, the purchase price for the Second Generation Primordial Life Soul has tripled, reaching 3000 sacrificial power.

There was an additional line of Guidance Tips in the description.

Despite the steep price, the Taunt Life Soul was regarded by stone-statue ghost players as a must-have second life soul.

The combination of Petrification and Taunt could be predicted to be incredibly powerful in actual combat.

...

Underground in Imperial Tomb Village.

From the post-battle discussions among the players, Qi Sheng gathered two important pieces of information.

While discussing the monster traits of Taunt, players complained that the game lacked a Star Vein Inlay experience feature which would allow them to test ability combinations.

Qi Sheng saw this as something completely achievable.

He could use Yan Ming's Power of Space to create a simulation space where players could freely edit their own Star Veins and then use those edited abilities in simulated combat experiences.

As the number of Primordial Monsters acquired increases over time, the simulated Star Vein feature could significantly enhance players' development and application of monster abilities.

The second important piece of information was that players felt the game needed a forum-like feature for communication and strategy sharing and assistance.

Qi Sheng thought it was very necessary to add this feature.

Compared to local, team, or other chat modes, strategy discussions could not be saved.

But a forum could archive content like player-submitted strategies, making it convenient for later players to consult, which would be a huge boon for future developments.

However, before adding these two features, he needed to prepare in advance.

With the idea in mind, Qi Sheng immediately instructed Guidance to create an in-game forum feature, and then contacted Yan Ming to explain in detail the requirements for creating a simulation space.

After Yan Ming set off to busily work on the task, Qi Sheng, seated cross-legged atop the altar, began to ponder a question.

How to retrieve the Energy Baryte from the Underground Palace beneath the Dark Cave ahead of time.

His physical body definitely couldn't go there, as every second his body spent outside entailed massive consumption.

Just now, when talking with Yan Ming about the test space and the need to create a customizable simulated body for players, he suddenly had an inspiration.

Back then there was no choice, but now he had the Challenger System created from the combined Rule Power of the four Servants, which could perfectly control the exploration of players' bodies outside.

As for creating an Avatar for himself, that wasn't feasible.

After fusing with Emperor's Signal Origin, his consciousness could be extended outward but could not be bisected, separated, or even copied.

With the idea in mind, Qi Sheng immediately took action.

Closing his eyes, the Challenger System appeared in Qi Sheng's mind.

He selected a player's corporeal body from those who were in death cooldown and expended sacrificial power to accelerate the reshaping process.

The so-called Blood and Flesh Reshaping mainly consists of three parts.

First was the All Things Extraction function crafted by the Servant from the Superdimension, which refined all matter from the deceased player, then the system built by Yan Ming retrieved it to the Imperial Tomb Village; through the Imperial Tomb Village's Territory Characteristics, it was reshaped on a 1:1 basis, followed by the re-implantation of the data back into the system through Guidance, and finally, the Power of Space teleported the reshaped corporeal body from the underground to the resurrection point on the surface of the Imperial Tomb Village.

The entire process was like an assembly line, driven by just 10 points of sacrificial power, and there was no extra energy loss during the process.

Even if a player's Monster Form reached level 100, the price for Blood and Flesh Reshaping would not change.

When he opened his eyes again, his consciousness had switched to the body of the selected player.

However, this was not perfect control after the fusion of consciousness; it was more like a remote-control puppet on strings.

At this moment, the original body called out to Yan Ming in the Underground Space, providing the coordinates for the teleportation.

Instantly, a Space Transmission Array surfaced beneath the player's body, the surrounding space distorted, and after a brief sensation of weightlessness, he had arrived within the palace on the fifth level of the Dark Cave.

In front of him stood the remains of an Ice Blade.

Circling around the remains of the Ice Blade, Qi Sheng squatted down in front of the Spirit Gathering Array and laid his palm on the golden crystal stone.

Immediately, a surge of energy was continuously transmitted to the Sacrificial Pool underneath the Imperial Tomb Village, using the player's body as the relay station.

Originally almost empty, the Sacrificial Pool now seemed like floodgates had been opened, with surging golden energy pouring down, which then turned into Scarlet Energy midair, intermingling with other sacrificial energies after purification.

There was certain energy loss during the conversion process.

This was related to the special trait of sacrificial power.

The Energy Baryte left by the Ice Blade was very pure, but nowhere near the purity needed for sacrificial power to transform all things; it needed to be refined and purified before it could be turned into sacrificial power.

The Purification Array left by Jiuyin was now operating at high speed.

One minute later, the golden crystal stone was depleted, turning transparent.

Qi Sheng also received feedback from Guidance:

[Sacrificial Pool]:

Stored Sacrificial Power: 13333842.

...

The absorption of the Energy Baryte brought him over 13 million points of sacrificial power profit.

With this wealth accounted for, it meant that the process of recruiting players could be significantly accelerated.

Standing up, Qi Sheng walked towards the back of the palace.

Crossing the Bone-Burying Land, where the ground was covered with a layer of moss that looked like flesh and blood, he could see a large flesh lump in front of him, extending black tendrils that coiled around the suspended Domain Node Crystal.

At this moment, as if sensing his presence, a black tendril, composed of Black Tide Corrosion Energy, shot towards him at high speed.

With the player avatar's physical fitness, he was unable to react in time; Qi Sheng was immediately hit by the tendril in his chest, his body thrown back and ultimately pinned to the load-bearing column of the palace.

The tendril then rapidly spread from the chest of the player's body to other parts.

After a strong sensation of nausea and dizziness, the player's body was corrupted and dissolved, while Qi Sheng's consciousness was guided back to his original body by the Challenger System.

[The player body you were controlling has only the strength of level 8; it's clear that the task of occupying the Domain Node can't be completed with this avatar.]

Hearing this, Qi Sheng nodded.

The Black Tide core occupying the Domain Node Crystal obviously possessed its own consciousness, attacking nearby life forms; the task of purifying the node would have to be undertaken by other players working together.

Having brought back 13 million sacrificial power from this trip, he was already quite content.