[Acquired Prop: Cursed Fire Flower Seed]
[(Cursed Fire Flower Seed): A miraculous flower that will bloom after long years, currently in a seed state. Carrying it provides a faint fire-resistant effect. (This item cannot be taken out of the instance.)]
...
After resting, the group continued their journey.
Su Ming’an found two more oracles, but he chose not to submit them.
The anings of these two oracles were: [The Bai Shen are gods born from people’s faith.] and, [No one has really seen Jiu Shen; people speculate that by Bai Shen’s side there might be a malevolent Companion God, whom they nad Jiu Shen].
Regarding the latter oracle, Su Ming’an felt puzzled. According to Xiber, Jiu Shen definitely existed, but the oracle said―no one had ever seen Jiu Shen, Jiu Shen was rely people’s speculation about Bai Shen’s "Companion God".
He asked Xiber, and she only said that because she was saved by the power of Jiu Shen when she was a child, she believed Jiu Shen absolutely existed.
Su Ming’an also believed that Jiu Shen should exist―Jiu Shen should be Bai Shen’s "Companion God".
One represents Perfection, the sun, and singularity. One represents defectiveness, darkness, and reincarnation.
The sky gradually darkened into night.
They found a small gathering place and stayed there.
"Snap―!"
Just as he was about to enter the house, Su Ming’an saw a blood-red firework suddenly burst in the nearby night sky.
"What is that?" he looked up.
The vivid red firework was particularly noticeable against the pitch-black sky, seemingly deliberately drawing attention.
"It might be set off by a Player," said Lv Shu. "Is this firework a distress signal, a rally signal, or... a provocation signal? Anyway, sending such a signal that everyone can see in this kind of field definitely cos from soone confident in their own strength."
"I’ll go check it out." Su Ming’an pondered for a mont and then decided to take a look.
It was now nightti, he could make a move, and with the help of the Raven, he didn’t have to be as cautious as during the day.
"I..." Lv Shu imdiately opened his mouth, wanting to follow.
"We are running low on Soul Stones, and among us, only Xiber has Soul Stones," Su Ming’an stopped him: "Protecting one more person ans the Soul Stones will be consud faster. Xiber’s Soul Stones can only last for two nights on their own, taking you all along, they would only last one night, which is too risky."
Lv Shu stood still and did not speak.
Bi quietly stood on his shoulder, rubbing his twin swords.
Just as Su Ming’an was about to leave, he heard Lv Shu’s voice from behind.
"Su Ming’an."
"Hmm?" Su Ming’an did not turn around.
Lv Shu hesitated for a mont.
"I an, if it were Noel," he said, "... would you let him follow?"
"...?"
Su Ming’an understood his aning.
Indeed, even if the events of the Seventh World were reset, Noel’s confrontation towards Lv Shu had not been spoken, yet Lv Shu still felt his relevance continuously diminishing.
In both the Fifth World and the Seventh World, Lv Shu was just playing a minor role along with Lin Yin, nowhere near understanding the true essence of the world.
Just before the start of the Eighth World, Su Ming’an had taken a look at the world rankings; Lv Shu’s ranking had dropped to the nineteenth position, a far cry from his initial fourth place.
The higher a Player’s rank, the bigger the gap created between them and those behind; Lv Shu’s ranking was basically now worlds apart from the first tier, not even close to touching the shadow of the top ten, let alone the first and second Player.
So, was Lv Shu feeling... inferior?
Su Ming’an believed that if one feels inferior, they should imdiately strive to catch up, rather than indulging in self-pity while being uninvolved.
But, if seeking verbal solace could help Lv Shu, he didn’t mind saying a few words, at least Lv Shu was still considered a partner for now.
"Bang!"
Just as Su Ming’an was about to speak, at least to offer so comfort, a loud door slamming noise suddenly ca from nearby.
Xiber, donned in fiery red attire, strutted out with a polished shotgun over her shoulder.
Her snow-white hair fluttered behind her as she carried a shotgun nearly half her height. The sight seed incongruous with her petite stature, but her expression was grave—she treated the shotgun in her hands as a life-saving weapon.
The weaker people are, the more they cherish their lifelines.
"Let’s go," said Xiber, after hearing Su Ming’an’s recent conversation.
On her hand, the Soul Stone lit up, but the firelight was small, only covering the two of them.
The Black Mist slowly drifted over, and Su Ming’an quickly followed the swiftly-moving Xiber into the range of the firelight, looking back at Lv Shu.
Lv Shu still stood in the darkness, with the faint Black Mist beginning to rise and slowly drifting towards him.
"If it were Noel, it wouldn’t necessarily be the case," Su Ming’an said, "Wanting to travel at night, you ought to figure out how to gather Soul Stones. Soul Stones are a hard requirent. Even if it were Noel, I wouldn’t bring him along if he didn’t have a Soul Stone."
He said no more.
Whether it was Noel, Lv Shu, or even Yamada Machiichi—as long as they had Soul Stones in their possession, they would now have the ans to accompany him on a night journey.
But they didn’t have them, so there was nothing to be done. He would not deplete his own Soul Stones to bring along an extra person. The remaining instance ti was long, and Xiber wouldn’t disclose the source of the Soul Stones. As a likely key "Bai Shen", he absolutely couldn’t afford to run around with a single Soul Stone that only lasted one night.
This had nothing to do with who was with him; it only concerned whether they had the ans to travel at night.
"I understand," said Lv Shu.
His expression remained calm, and Su Ming’an couldn’t tell what he understood. Perhaps he had reasoned it out and decided to look for ways to obtain Soul Stones.
The thods to acquire Soul Stones were always closely guarded secrets by the Guides; they were unwilling to speak of it. If Lv Shu could find a new source of Soul Stones, that would be best.
He and Xiber approached the area where fireworks were bursting. It was quite a distance from here, and it would take tens of minutes to reach. Along the way, he noticed quite a few Players in action.
"The place where the fireworks burst is a large instance. The person setting off the fireworks is a top five Player, Lu," Shadow’s voice ca.
As Shadow was a boss character, he could wander around and appear as a host in so instances during their open hours. Shadow had already noticed the activity over there.
This was the first ti Su Ming’an had heard of soone discovering a large instance.
Both large and dium instances had fixed opening tis; miss this ti, and there would be no other chance.
...No wonder the discoverer would intentionally set off fireworks to attract other players. Such large instances were essentially faction-based competitions, requiring more than twelve participants. If teamwork was good, profiting together wasn’t impossible.
Although they were all among the top hundred Players, they wouldn’t normally sacrifice themselves to enable others to earn Silver Stars, but considering the defection of the Fourth World’s Iris Guards and the rebellion of the Werewolf faction by Yamada Machiichi, such acts in the right circumstances, weren’t impossible.
...
Night travel was torturous, even with a Soul Stone.
The swaying, eerie shadows of trees, the whispers that faintly echoed by one’s ear, and the rustling strange noises constantly tornted one’s nerves, tornting them just enough to keep one constantly in a state of tension.
"Huff..."
A light breeze scraped past his ears, as if soone had gently blown on the back of his neck.
Even though he knew there was nothing behind him, he still felt his hair stand on end. It was purely a physiological response; even if Su Ming’an wasn’t afraid in his mind, his heartbeat would still quicken, and his breathing would hasten subconsciously.
After only a short walk, he began to have a faint feeling that his nerves might snap.
This sensation didn’t co solely from sight or hearing but from the overall environnt, from every perceptual aspect of a person, collaboratively creating a bizarre sense of panic. Walking in the silent night felt like walking through sticky black mud, as if countless invisible hands were pulling at his body, making even his steps feel constrained.
Looking at Xiber walking quietly, seemingly unaffected, Su Ming’an asked, "Xiber, aren’t you afraid?"
"I’m terrified, scared to death," said Xiber calmly.
"Your expression looks very calm," Su Ming’an noted.
"Being afraid doesn’t necessarily an showing it," Xiber responded, "Like now, looking at you, aside from being a bit pale, I can’t see much fear in you. Sotis, it’s better to keep fear inside. That way, others won’t realize that the one who is afraid is already at their wit’s end. For soone as weak as , showing fear easily is akin to giving up on life easily."
Listening to her, Su Ming’an realized that this fifteen-year-old girl understood a lot.
This world had shaped her into what she was today.
Under pervasive oppression, she was growing up fast.
"Besides... I’m already used to this nightti feeling," she said.
"You’re used to traveling at night?" Su Ming’an asked.
She only had a single Soul Stone in her hand, which couldn’t last many nights.
Xiber laughed but did not continue his words. "Adventurer, you are still afraid."
"No," Su Ming’an denied.
"Otherwise, why would you initiate a conversation with ?" Xiber remarked. "Aren’t you afraid of being overheard by other competitors in such a quiet night?"
"I was just curious," Su Ming’an said. "This environnt intentionally disturbs one’s senses, gradually making people anxious and fearful. Even I am slightly affected, but you seem very calm."
"I’ve told you, I’m used to it," she said. "Don’t change the subject, you are indeed very scared, aren’t you?"
"I..."
"The way you try to argue is sowhat cute," Xiber said.
"..."
Su Ming’an had long realized that Xiber was not as timid as she appeared, but he didn’t expect her to say sothing like that.
Of course, as always, those romance-addled viewers who only cared to watch the drama, predictably started jumping around in the live broadcast chat, shouting so exasperating phrases.
But he only felt that Xiber seed even more unfathomable.
She seed to have said that just to test his reaction.
"... Alright, we’ve arrived," Xiber suddenly said.
Su Ming’an imdiately gestured for her to crouch down.
He had noticed that they were approaching a clearing; they were about to step out of the forest.
They hid in the bushes, observing the activity on the plain ahead. The glow of the Soul Stone was suppressed by his hand, barely covering their crouching bodies. He peered through the gaps in the leaves; the plain was already gathering quite a few players.
It seed that they had all been drawn by the fireworks bursting in the night sky.
But what Su Ming’an cared about most — was that almost none of these players had Soul Stones in their hands.
They were directly exposed under the envelopnt of the Black Mist, either holding only an ordinary oil lamp or wielding a flashlight, waiting there, with only a few having Soul Stones at hand.
Su Ming’an faintly realized that Soul Stones were truly scarce. Not only Lv Shu and Yamada Machiichi had none. Those who were attracted by the mysterious fireworks and confident in their strength barely had any Soul Stones.
Xiber moved aside so leaves, observing the people gathered on the clearing.
Players and their Guides stood in pairs, wary of each other, in a tense standoff.
"Raphael, Cain, Hettos, Luo Yi, Li Yujie, Sevin..." Xiber glanced over and recognized all the Guides, "... all troubleso people, and they’ve all gathered here. This upcoming grand Sacrifice Field is likely to be very challenging."
"Is it okay for these players to be exposed in the Black Mist like this?" Su Ming’an asked.
"For a while, it’s okay, but if it’s for a long ti, that’s another story," Xiber said. "Although you outsiders have low immunity to the Black Mist, generally speaking, as long as your ntal state is still relatively good, you can last a long while without a Soul Stone; it would only affect your ntal condition."
Su Ming’an understood.
It ant that it was just the beginning of the ga, everyone’s san value was still quite high, and they could last a while without relying on Soul Stones, being exposed to Black Mist primarily deducts their san values. But when the san value drops to a certain point, without a Soul Stone, they would not be able to withstand the curse.
In other words, the Soul Stone equals a san value preserver.
Su Ming’an kept an eye on the situation on the plain.
This was an area close to the edge of the forest, beside which Hunter tribe had set up wooden fences to ward off wild animals. Not far away, fields, wheat, and scarecrows could be faintly seen, with narrow mud roads lying on the ground, water channels extending to the dark soil in all directions, large swathes of golden wheat extending in neat squares to the distance, like a carpet of dark gold.
This place should be the boundary between the farmland and the forest. In the distance, rows of two and three-story buildings could be seen, along with pig pens and chicken coops; this was a large farm that developed both agriculture and livestock.
And that blood-red firework was still lingering right above this clearing, not dispersing even now, which seed to be a special signal prop, attracting players from all around.
Currently, a total of seven players had arrived at the scene, standing off against each other on the plain, and there were likely more players hidden nearby.
They did not know who had sent off the signal and had instantly fallen into a standoff upon arrival; without a diator, it would be difficult for them to reach a peaceful consensus.
"Snap!"
Just then, suddenly, a loud clapping sound erupted, imdiately capturing everyone’s attention.
The person who had released the fireworks finally appeared.
Amid so tense gazes, right in the middle of the plain, a campfire suddenly brightened. A person erged into the light as if stitched together by the flas.
When he lifted his head, his face bore a universally affable smile that brought a sense of reassurance.
His Charm must be at least A, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to make these top-ranked players relax slightly.
His features were well-defined, combining the depth of Western eyes with the soft lines of an Eastern face, and he was dressed in a pure white suit, shimring in radiance as though he were a prince from a fairy tale.
By his side stood a Guide shrouded entirely in a black robe—a clever tactic to keep the Guide’s identity hidden from others.
With a wave of his hand, the blood-red fireworks in the sky abruptly vanished.
"The fireworks have served their purpose. Thank you all for accepting the invitation," he said in a gentle tone, bowing slightly to everyone.
"Lu, did you set off the fireworks to gather players for this major instance?" a male player, holding a flashlight, asked from the nearby open space.
Lu looked toward the player who had spoken, smiling warmly.
His entire body was bathed in bright flas, his ocean-blue hair and fair cheeks glowing translucently.
"...Yes, I’ve discovered the first major instance that can only be opened at night and only once. I felt we shouldn’t miss this opportunity, so why not gather everyone to share it—now that twelve players have assembled, the major instance can begin."
Lu raised his hand, looking at the blue disc that hovered above it, resembling a GPS: "—To the four friends hiding in the forest, since you’re all here, could you co out? I believe you’ve ventured here at night not to remain spectators but to try your luck at earning so Silver Stars. In that case, let’s try this major instance together?"
Crouching in the bushes, Su Ming’an was slightly startled; he had a sniper rifle, "Wandering Night Walk," strapped to his waist, which theoretically should have made it difficult to spot him.
...
Special Attributes "Night Walk": When equipped with this rifle at night, it automatically reduces the player’s presence and lowers the likelihood of detection by others’ scouting skills.
...
He hadn’t tested this passive skill that ca with the rifle, but its effect should be good because, at least on his journey here, a few players had passed by without noticing him.
He didn’t know if he was one of the "four players hiding in the forest" Lu ntioned.
Lu scanned the area, his voice rising. "Four friends, the site for this major instance is likely the farm up ahead. It opens in ten minutes, so if you don’t want to miss your chance, please co out."
With that, three more players erged from the forest.
Su Ming’an knew about Lu. He was a regular in the top ten of the leaderboard and a player with a distinct style.
The most "unique" thing about Lu was that he liked to interact with the audience.
Normally, top leaderboard players would devote their effort entirely to the instance and have no ti to engage with the audience. But Lu was an exception; not only did he chat with viewers often, but he also considered them as friends, even becoming quite familiar with many who frequented his livestreams.
Most impressively, while ordinary players could easily beco targets of cajoling or be led into saying sothing out of context during chats, Lu’s conversations remained light and harmonious. Even when verbal traps were laid in the chat, he gracefully avoided them.
In short, he was a born strear—a World Ga Strear.
While so Adventurer Players were both weak and talkative, Lu was both strong and affable, making him not the most powerful but certainly one of the most popular. It seed all unfavorable public opinions steered clear of him. Even the crazy returns of Adventurer Players at the end of the Sixth World did not relate to him negatively.
Su Ming’an thought that such a character, who handled power and public opinion with ease, was indeed far stronger than an ordinary student like himself. He was also surprised to et Lu in person here.
By now, eleven people had arrived, and Su Ming’an waited a bit longer, but indeed no one else appeared.
"Is there one more friend who can show themselves? The instance starts in two minutes," Lu said with a smile.
...It was probably him.
Just as Su Ming’an was about to stand up, he suddenly heard a rustling sound nearby.
A blond-haired, blue-eyed young man with a haughty Guide following behind him strutted out, arms crossed and posture arrogant.
"Our final friend has arrived. Good evening, Eni, although it’s our first eting in an instance," Lu said with a smile.
"I thought Su Ming’an would be lured by the fireworks; it’s a pity, I didn’t get to et him," Eni snorted.
"I’m also surprised that the Number One Player didn’t co; I heard he was nearby during the day," Lu said. "I was hoping to have a matchup with him; I really like his skill setup. And... I quite like him as a person."
"That coward is probably still hiding in his own house..." Eni sneered.
anwhile, still in the bushes, Su Ming’an was looking at the "Wandering Night Walk" strapped to his waist.
The "Night Walk" passive was unexpectedly effective; he really hadn’t been detected by what seed to be Lu’s powerful GPS device.
"—Since everyone’s here, let’s start right away," said JingXue Chunzi from the clearing, ranked eighty-ninth on the leaderboard.
She had no desire to compete with the Number One Player and preferred to start the instance with the current group imdiately.
"Alright, then..." Lu reached out to the scarecrow beside him, touching the button to start the instance.
After initiating the instance, he turned around suddenly, his expression filled with surprise.
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