Chapter 340: Player Nation

Chapter 340: Player Nation

Chen Qiu slowly closed his eyes and began to sense the surroundings with his heart.

To his surprise, the chaotic and disorderly cold wind now seemed to guide him in a certain direction. He opened his eyes and rushed towards the west.

Of course, before leaving, he took the treasure buried beneath the tombstone.

An hour later.

".''

Chen Qiu stood expressionlessly at the entrance of the Inheritance Land. Yes, he had returned from the depths of the Endless Ice Plain, and this location was almost near Fat Province. The guiding scent he felt was emanating from this very entrance.

He hesitated for a moment.

He chose to step into the white vortex before him.

The next moment—

The world spun, and he found himself back in the familiar green stone square. However, instead of being teleported to the Dead Sea, he was surrounded by the glowing Mocking Heaven Sect token in his arms, and a massive teleportation array appeared on the entire square.

A flash of white light.

He appeared deep beneath the Endless Ice Plain.

Immediately.

"Roar!!!"

Countless wails of Malevolent Spirits echoed in his ears. He didn't know how many there were, but the incessant wails pierced his soul, making it difficult for him to calm his mind. He felt agitated.

This place...

Deep beneath the Endless Ice Plain, the entire underground area was hollow, and the massive cave beneath Fat Province was nothing compared to it.

Countless Malevolent Spirits filled the space, packed tightly together.

The entire underground area of the Endless Ice Plain had been hollowed out, which explained the extremely low temperature. With so many Malevolent Spirits below, it was no wonder the temperature was so low. The reason for the sudden drop in temperature over the years had been found—the increasing number of collapsing continents indicated that the world's life cycle was coming to an end.

Chen Qiu immediately pulled Fat Dragon and the others out of the small world.

This scene had to be witnessed by Fat Dragon and the rest; it was a once-in-a-million-years opportunity. It would be hard to find such a concentration of Malevolent Spirits elsewhere.

"Ah?"

Fat Dragon, who had just been released, scanned the area with his divine sense. When he reached the limit of his perception and still couldn't sense all the Malevolent Spirits, he froze in place, muttering unconsciously, "Isn't this a bit exaggerated? How many people would have to die to create so many Malevolent Spirits?!"

"Even if the entire Greater Xia Kingdom died ten times over, it wouldn't be enough to create this many Malevolent Spirits!"

Chen Qiu smiled lightly and looked at the Malevolent Spirits rushing towards him. Standing here, he could clearly sense that almost the entire Endless Ice Plain was covered by Malevolent Wood. However, due to the passage of time, these Malevolent Woods had been buried deep underground, becoming part of the soil, making them difficult to excavate.

But their numbers were more than enough.

In terms of area, the Endless Ice Plain was much larger than Fat Province, even larger than the entire Greater Xia Kingdom. After all, with his Earth Immortal cultivation and the use of his mount, it still took him an hour to travel at full speed from the deepest part of the Endless Ice Plain to this location.

This showed the vastness of the area.

Without further delay, amidst the howling wind and rain, a cleansing operation began!

Three days and three nights.

Chen Qiu stood in the air deep beneath the Endless Ice Plain, his entire being hazy. He had been slaughtering non-stop for three days and three nights, and even with his full power, he couldn't completely clear out the Malevolent Spirits from the depths. There was an endless supply of them.

Impossible to kill them all, absolutely impossible.

He didn't use his Fusion Kill Move, as the damage overflowed. Instead, he used ordinary spells, which were still capable of instant kills and were even easier. However, even with this ease, he couldn't endure working non-stop for three days and three nights.

And so...

Another four days passed.

A full seven days.

Chen Qiu's body had become completely numb, mechanically casting Lightning Summoning Art without his divine sense automatically locking onto targets as it usually did. He snapped out of his daze and looked down.

Finally...

Finally, the once densely packed Malevolent Spirits in the depths had been completely cleared out.

Fat Dragon and the others by his side were also on the verge of collapse. No one could endure continuous combat for seven days.

It was enough to drive one to death.

"Let's go back."

Chen Qiu's voice was hoarse as he held up the Mocking Heaven Sect token. Soon, a teleportation portal appeared at the top of the cave, and a flash of white light brought them back to the entrance of the Inheritance Land.

At this moment—

Standing on the Endless Ice Plain, Chen Qiu could clearly sense the temperature rising rapidly. The bone-chilling wind had disappeared without a trace, and even the dark clouds that had always hovered above had dispersed at some point.

The long-lost sunlight shone once again on the territory of the Endless Ice Plain.

The frozen permafrost on the ground, frozen for tens of thousands of years, began to thaw as the temperature rose.

There would be no more Endless Ice Plain.

"I should have left some Malevolent Spirits; it feels a bit strange without the Endless Ice Plain now," Chen Qiu mumbled in a daze.

But soon, a wave of exhaustion overwhelmed him. He took out the Heavenly Palace from his embrace and threw it on the ground, then immediately dove into it without a word. He needed to sleep, to rest for a while.

In fact, for someone of his cultivation level, recovering his energy didn't require sleep. Whether it was consuming Divine Spirit Pills, circulating his Heart Method, or meditating with a closed-eye meditation, he could quickly restore his energy.

After all, sleeping to recover energy was a method used by mortals. As an immortal, he wouldn't use such a method.

But...

He couldn't resist the urge to sleep, especially when he was this exhausted.

As Chen Qiu drifted off to sleep in the Heavenly Palace, his mind lingered on the thought of inspecting his "Mansion" one day.

His Immortal Human skill, "Purple Qi Mansion," was a special kind of mansion, especially with the boost from the Heavenly Dao Entry Group's "Destiny's Will" entry. With its base grade of 12, it had now reached an astonishing 219.

This was an incredibly exaggerated grade.

However, Chen Qiu had never summoned the mansion to examine it, mainly because he didn't see much use for it. When it came to sleeping, he had plenty of other options, and the mansion would never be his first choice.

Oh, and his "Purple Qi Mount" was also at the 219th grade.

He had been too busy lately and forgotten about many things, but now that he was awake, he decided to take a look at the mansion. The reason he hadn't been too concerned about it was that the items in the mansion weren't that important to him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have waited so long to check it out; he would have done so as soon as he acquired it.

The environment has a significant impact on people. If you're surrounded by poor people, chances are you won't become rich.

Similarly, if the people around you prefer to restore their energy by sleeping, you'll likely develop the same habit.

And so it was for Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon, who slept soundly in the Heavenly Palace for an entire day and night before stretching contentedly and regaining their energy at the entrance.

Immediately, Chen Qiu's eyes widened in awe as he looked out at the Endless Ice Plain. In just one day and night, the ice layer on the plain had begun to melt, revealing the Malevolent Wood buried beneath.

The entire plain was covered in a thick layer of this wood.

"It looks like we'll have to delay our return a bit," Chen Qiu murmured, gazing at the scene before him. To transport all this Malevolent Wood, along with the batch from Fat Province, would take considerable time and require the efforts of all the Mocking Heaven Sect disciples.

This was a massive undertaking!

Chen Qiu glanced at Fat Dragon and the others busy roasting meat nearby, then looked down at a ring in his hand—the treasure hidden beneath the tombstone.

When he learned of the ring's effect, he fell silent.

-

"Golden Finger": Player Nation.

"Effect": By unlocking the treasure's levels, you can obtain various effects. For example, you can summon players from your world to this one and assign them tasks. Their strength growth will be reflected as a percentage to you, and you can offer substantial rewards. All you need to do is spend a little 'Player Currency,' which can be acquired in various ways, such as exchanging Spirit Stones.

At higher levels, the summoned players can even revive infinitely until the 'Player Currency' is exhausted.

More effects can be unlocked and discovered.

-

Indeed, it was a treasure.

It was a golden finger, and he would soon learn that it was a common feature in interdimensional travel, but it hadn't been given to him; instead, his predecessor, another interdimensional traveler, had received it.

This item was essentially a fourth disaster summoning system. With it, he could continuously summon players from his world to become his allies and join the Mocking Heaven Sect.

Moreover, this treasure might not have originated from the world it was found in; it could be completely unrelated to this world's background.

However, the treasure was currently damaged, and only one effect could be used: the passive and unconscious summoning of the previous owner's clansmen from their original world.

The summoning frequency was entirely random—it could be one person a day, three a day, or even one a year.

This very item had brought him to the Greater Xia Kingdom, making it the culprit behind his interdimensional travel.

Currently, the item was useless to him in its broken state, and he had no idea how to repair it, especially since it wasn't even from this world. Using items from this world for repairs would likely be ineffective.

Nevertheless, he wouldn't leave the item in the Greater Xia Kingdom. What if he found a way to fix it in the future? He could keep summoning people from Blue Star until he had brought everyone over, effectively achieving interstellar immigration.

So, he immediately tossed the item into the small world.

Then, he had another thought—since the item would continuously summon interdimensional travelers, why not place it in one of the hundred cities? After all, those cities were currently empty.

Later, he could inform each new traveler that revealing their interdimensional identity would lead to certain death.

It would be like a grand variety show, providing entertainment during meals.

After making his decision, Chen Qiu buried the ring deep beneath a city in the small world, content to wait for the first traveler's arrival.

Two months later, after bidding farewell to the Mocking Heaven Sect disciples and his own clan members, Chen Qiu and his group embarked on their journey, leaving the Greater Xia Kingdom.

They had initially planned to stay for ten to fifteen days, but plans often change.

In the end, they stayed for two months, and the reward for this extended stay was a new, vast area Chen Qiu had opened up in the small world to store the Malevolent Wood.

The original storage area was becoming insufficient.

The total amount of Malevolent Wood was staggering; it was impossible to count them all, but a rough estimate from his divine sense scan suggested over a hundred billion pieces, piled up like mountains.

This was their greatest achievement on this trip.

Aside from the Greater Xia Kingdom, it was unlikely that any other continent could obtain such a large number of Malevolent Wood at once.

The market price for a single Malevolent Wood was around ten Spirit Stones, so the value of this many Malevolent Wood was a staggering hundred billion Medium-grade Spirit Stones.

However, in reality, even with a hundred billion Medium-grade Spirit Stones, it would be nearly impossible to acquire this amount of Malevolent Wood. After all, how many continents would one have to search to find such a large stockpile? It was a daunting task.

In the Mystic Heavens Continent, the Holy Maiden of Xuan Tian Sect had to expend a significant amount of resources to acquire over two hundred thousand Malevolent Wood for the Bu Tian project, and it took a long time to gather them.

If two hundred thousand was already so challenging, then acquiring hundreds of millions was even more unimaginable.

The journey to the Greater Xia Kingdom had come to a perfect end, and everything went smoothly.

After Chen Qiu defeated the Sword Cultivation Puppet with the initial stage of the Nascent Soul realm on the Endless Snow Mountain, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he gazed thoughtfully at the disciples of the Mock Heaven Sect, who were generally stronger than the Sword Cultivation Puppet.

If, at this moment, they personally defeated the puppet and left the Greater Xia Kingdom, would it count as them breaking free from the Celestial Prison on their own strength?

They decided to give it a try, and soon, all the disciples of the Mock Heaven Sect defeated the puppet with their own strength and left the Greater Xia Kingdom.

However, Chen Qiu couldn't tell if it truly counted as breaking free from the Celestial Prison, and there were no visible changes. But he knew that there was one person who could tell—Badan.

When they first met, Badan had recognized Chen Qiu's identity as someone who had broken free from the Celestial Prison. He had also warned Chen Qiu not to reveal this identity, as it could be taken away. If one killed someone who had broken free from the Celestial Prison, they would gain that identity and no longer be controlled by the Heavenly Dao.

After last night's events, Chen Qiu finally found Ao Tian and the others on Dragon Island.

During the time Chen Qiu was in the Greater Xia Kingdom, Ao Tian and the others had been having a great time on Dragon Island in the Mystic Heavens Continent, enjoying bonfires every night.

Indeed, two months didn't feel like a long time.

It was true.

Among this group, Chen Qiu was the youngest in terms of bone age. Everyone else was over a thousand years old, so two months was indeed a short period for them, a mere blink of an eye!

After reuniting with this group, Chen Qiu once again returned to the Fifth Rank Immortal World, the Tide Immortal Plane.

Yes.

He was originally a native of the Second Rank Continent, Jiang Taiping Continent, and had only traveled to the Tide Immortal Plane through the title of Heavenly King. However, the requirement to enter the Tide Immortal Plane from Jiang Taiping Continent was to pass the Ascension Tribulation.

Therefore, after passing the Ascension Tribulation, he had automatically become a native of the Tide Immortal Plane.

In other words,

As long as he wished, he could now travel to the Sixth Rank Immortal World at any time using the title of Heavenly King.

However—

He didn't plan to go to the Tide Immortal Plane just yet. He had gained many opportunities during these days, and he hadn't had time to digest them all. He needed a period to assimilate these opportunities and then enter closed-door cultivation to advance his cultivation to the peak of the Celestial Immortal realm, allowing him to directly prepare for the True Immortal Tribulation.

Then, he would return to the Tide Immortal Plane.

Initially, he planned to contact Badan to inquire about the Celestial Prison, but upon learning from the mouths of the barbarian tribe members that Badan was in secret closed-door cultivation in preparation for the True Immortal Tribulation, Chen Qiu decided not to disturb him.

Instead, he took Fat Dragon and the others and spent a million Spirit Stones to activate the teleportation array, returning to their secret base.

It was located in the Void, in the Cao Tian Palace.

This was an absolutely safe place.

Standing in the square of the Cao Tian Palace, Chen Qiu gazed into the Void at the two enormous trees, a slight smile curving his lips, and a satisfied glint in his eyes.

One of the trees was the World Tree, which he had obtained from a Rainbow Entry effect when he spent 600 million Medium-grade Spirit Stones in Zhongzhou City.

The effect of this tree was that each fruit it bore would increase one's cultivation progress by 10%.

It had been planted for three months now.

The first batch of fruits was almost ripe, and there were quite a few of them, numbering in the hundreds.

His cultivation progress was about to soar, right?

No, not just his, but the entire Mock Heaven Sect's cultivation speed would skyrocket, with an endless supply of fruits! The scene of the entire sect filled with Immortal Emperors would be recreated! The 600 million Medium-grade Spirit Stones he had spent on this entry seemed to be a worthwhile investment, and he believed it wouldn't take long to recoup that amount.

The World Tree's roots absorbed spiritual energy as nourishment to cultivate the fruits. The denser the spiritual energy, the faster and more numerous the fruits would grow. If it were planted elsewhere, it wouldn't have such an exaggerated effect; the Void was the perfect soil for it.

The other tree was the Treasure Devouring Spirit Tree, which he had obtained as a unique-grade reward. Unlike the World Tree, which might have other owners, this tree was the only one of its kind on all continents, and he was the sole possessor.

Its effect was simple.

It could absorb spiritual energy and grow Supreme Spirit Stones.

It had also been planted for nearly three months, and the first batch of Supreme Spirit Stones was almost ripe. At a glance, there were nearly a thousand of them, and each batch would yield almost a thousand Supreme Spirit Stones every three months.

Who could resist such a temptation?

These two trees provided him with one tree for increasing cultivation progress and another for producing Supreme Spirit Stones—a perfect combination of the literary and martial arts.

"This is great," Chen Qiu murmured as he stood in a daze, gazing at the two trees. At this moment, even the two jujube trees in front of Lu Xun's gate might pale in comparison.

The next thing Chen Qiu did was to digest some of his cultivation cards, and his cultivation underwent a qualitative leap.

-

"Cultivation": Earth Immortal Peak (100.0%).

-

Alright.

For others, advancing from the Earth Immortal Eighth Level to the Earth Immortal Peak might be a qualitative leap, but for him, it seemed to hold little significance. There was no improvement in his combat power or any other aspect, not even a slight increase.

The only change was in his cultivation progress.

He didn't immediately prepare to leave the Cao Tian Palace to face the Celestial Immortal Tribulation. He decided to wait until Badan had successfully passed the True Immortal Tribulation before attempting it himself, to avoid wasting the hard-earned Heavenly Power and delaying Badan's True Immortal Tribulation. He didn't want to rush the process and cause unnecessary anxiety.

This wasn't the Ascension Assembly either.

After reaching the peak of a major cultivation realm, one must face a tribulation to advance further. There was no chance of a sudden surge in power.

At this moment, the disciples of the Cao Tian Sect had all found suitable spots within the Cao Tian Palace for their closed-door cultivation. The palace was filled with dense spiritual energy, and there was an abundant supply of spirit stones for their use. It was the perfect place for seclusion.

He also released the group of Brown Bear Clan members, allowing them to cultivate in seclusion as well.

Although the Brown Bear Clan didn't have combat responsibilities, any increase in cultivation was beneficial. After all, a higher cultivation level meant a longer lifespan.

Then—

Chen Qiu summoned his own mansion.

The next moment!

A mansion surrounded by purple qi suddenly appeared before him, and at the top, the grade was engraved, "Two Hundred and Nineteen Grades."

Hmm.

The engraved grade clearly indicated its uniqueness, while the rest of the mansion looked almost identical to before. The mansion's effects were primarily focused on defense and habitation.

Therefore, after the grade enhancement, only these two aspects improved.

The habitation aspect couldn't be enhanced further, and there was no luxurious upgrade. However, he could clearly sense that the defensive effect had significantly improved.

If he encountered danger, he could take refuge inside or, in other words, it could help him withstand a tribulation once.

Not bad.

It was better than nothing, and he didn't feel disappointed. After all, he hadn't held high expectations for the Immortal Human's special cultivation methods.

He summoned his Earth Immortal Mount, the Purple Immortal Mount.

Hmm.

It was a mount resembling a Qilin, but without a soul, just an empty shell. It was also enveloped in purple qi, and when placed beside the mansion, they looked like a matching set.

The mount's primary function was speed.

His mount was also of the 219th grade, and this grade increase proved useful. Its speed had noticeably improved, making it handy for both traveling and escaping.

Not bad, passable.

Just as he was about to continue researching other things, he suddenly received a message from Badan. Badan informed him that he had successfully passed the True Immortal Tribulation and thanked him for his assistance during this time. Badan decided not to go to the Sixth Rank Immortal World and would stay in the Fifth Rank Immortal World to develop and strengthen the Barbarian Tribe.

Chen Qiu didn't have any particular thoughts about this and responded with some polite words before ending the conversation.

However, with Badan's successful tribulation, it meant that Chen Qiu could now face the Celestial Immortal Tribulation. Immediately, he teleported to the Tide Immortal Plane.

Traveling between the Cao Tian Palace and the Tide Immortal Plane required the use of a teleportation array, which consumed spirit stones each time it was activated.

Traveling from the Cao Tian Palace to the outside world didn't require spirit stones, as the Void had an abundant supply of spiritual energy. But to enter the Cao Tian Palace from the outside, one needed at least a million spirit stones.

With this back and forth, a million spirit stones were gone.

If it were his previous self, he would have been heartbroken. But now, a million spirit stones were just a small expense. After all, they were only medium-grade spirit stones.

His Treasure Devouring Spirit Tree produced nearly a thousand supreme-grade spirit stones every three months. Where was the shortage? He could spend them freely, and they would never run out.

Possessing both the Void and the Treasure Devouring Spirit Tree was like owning an everlasting money-printing machine. He would never have to worry about spirit stones again; they were endless.

Moreover, even if he did run out.

He still had the World Tree, which could rapidly enhance his cultivation through practice. With a high enough cultivation base, everywhere was a source of wealth.

There was once a saying.

Stockpile food, not weapons.

My neighbor stockpiles food, I stockpile weapons, and my neighbor is my food stockpile.

Chen Qiu's solution was simple: stockpile both food and weapons, he wanted it all.

However—

As soon as Chen Qiu appeared in the Tide Immortal Plane, the tribulation clouds slowly emerged above his head. He quickly sensed the tribulation lightning locking onto him, but this time, the scene was much smaller than before.

Indeed, the previous heavenly tribulation had combined the power of many tribulations.

This time, there wasn't much accumulation.

It was just a small tribulation for breaking through the ninth level of the Earth Immortal, combined with the Celestial Immortal Tribulation. Even though his foundation was strong, the power of the tribulation lightning wouldn't surpass the previous one.

But at this moment!!!

The tribulation clouds in the sky slowly dispersed, and Chen Qiu suddenly noticed a change in his cultivation panel.

-

"Cultivation": Celestial Immortal First Level (0.0%).

-

"Ah?"

A hint of confusion flashed in Chen Qiu's eyes. His Celestial Immortal Tribulation hadn't even started, and now it was gone? Canceled?

What was happening?

Could it be that the Heavenly Power was insufficient? No, if that were the case, the tribulation should have been temporarily postponed until the Heavenly Power recovered. How could his cultivation directly break through? This was a sign of passing the Celestial Immortal Tribulation.

Wait...

Chen Qiu's expression turned peculiar as a possibility flashed through his mind.

Could it be that this Celestial Immortal Tribulation was postponed to the next time again?

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end