Pure Blood Guard

The white light dissipated, and the scenery gradually solidified.

What came into view was a dark plain, with a hazy mist, and the visibility was not high. One could vaguely see the undulating mountain curves in the distance, like the spine of a giant beast.

The Dead Bone Mountain Range was vast. Even with the foot speed of an Awakened, it would take several days to traverse the map.

Bai Pu opened the map—this was the difference between the Intersection Lands and the Spirit Realm plane. Awakeners could bring real-world items into it.

Taking advantage of this feature, the military had also set up rest camps in various parts of the Dead Bone Mountain Range. The location of each camp was marked on Bai Pu's map.

"My current location should be called the Black Plain."

Bai Pu looked up at the front, "The map marks the dangerous and forbidden areas of the Dead Bone Mountain Range, and also indicates the recommended exploration levels for each area. The outer area is recommended for level 1 Awakeners to explore, the central area is level 2, and the deepest part is level 3..."

The reason for such a clear distinction in danger levels was because the concentration of "spiritual energy particles" in the Dead Bone Mountain Range varied. The outer area was thin, the central area was higher, and the deepest part, especially in several dangerous areas, had the strongest concentration of spiritual energy particles.

If Spirit Realm creatures were fish, the concentration of spiritual energy particles was nourishment. They instinctively wanted to gather in the area with the strongest concentration, but Spirit Realm creatures also had a sense of territory. Only the strong were qualified to occupy the area with the strongest concentration, and so on.

Of course, this was not an online game. Sometimes unexpected situations would occur, and the monsters in the deepest part would occasionally wander to the central or even outer areas.

In front, a Rotten Bone Skeleton, dragging a Rusty Scimitar, wandered slowly, not noticing Bai Pu.

Bai Pu stepped forward and swung the bone hammer, killing the Rotten Bone Skeleton in a few blows.

The monsters in the Intersection Lands did not drop any treasure chests, but Awakeners could scavenge their corpses and strip the equipment from the dead bodies!

Of course, this equipment was in an [Unsealed] state. Awakeners could not complete the spiritual energy particle resonance step and could not use it normally. It could only be used as firewood.

Bai Pu bent down and picked up the Rusty Scimitar of the Rotten Bone Skeleton.

[Rusty Scimitar (Unsealed)]
[Quality: Crude (Gray)]
[Equipment Position: One-Handed]
[Equipment Requirement: Basic Strength 3]
[Attribute: Attack Power 1~2]
[Additional Skill: Fragile: Equipment durability decreases more easily.]
[Durability: 9/20]
[Description: This scimitar is severely rusted, and only the ignorant would consider it a reliable weapon.]

At the same time, Bai Pu received a prompt message from the Spirit Realm Will:

[This equipment has not been sealed and cannot undergo spiritual energy particle resonance.]

Although Bai Pu could pick up this scimitar, the attached attributes would not take effect.

However, the equipment scavenged in the Intersection Lands could still be collected and sold to waste equipment recycling companies. The latter could convert it into spiritual energy metal materials through disassembly and smelting.

If one was lucky enough to scavenge top-quality equipment from powerful monsters, they could spend a drop of [Beeswax] to re-seal it. The sealed equipment could then be used by Awakeners.

Of course, [Beeswax] was also divided into different grades. High-grade [Golden Beeswax] was expensive, not cheaper than a piece of golden equipment itself. Whether the re-sealing was worthwhile depended on the situation.

Bai Pu threw the gray scimitar into the storage space and continued to move forward, finding several more Rotten Bone Skeletons.

The virtual dungeon [White Bone Dungeon] that he had previously ventured into was designed and built with the [Dead Bone Mountain Range] Intersection Lands as a blueprint. The monsters that appeared in the White Bone Dungeon, such as Rotten Bone Skeletons, Skeleton Warriors, Undead Bone Mages, etc., were all types of monsters that existed in the Dead Bone Mountain Range.

The first, second, and third levels of the White Bone Dungeon are actually designed to mimic the first, second, and third level areas of the Dead Bone Mountain Range.

There's one important difference between the two: the White Bone Dungeon is a virtual copy, only good for training combat skills and proficiency, it won't increase class experience, nor will you get loot; the Dead Bone Mountain Range is a real Intersection Lands, where you can get valuable class experience, which is "leveling up"; you can also scavenge equipment and materials.

After walking for several hours on the Black Plain, Bai Pu entered the level 2 area, which is the middle section of the Dead Bone Mountain Range.

This is a relatively open valley, named "Black Mist Valley" on the map.

Bai Pu first found the camp in Black Mist Valley, which was a Bunker set up by the military.

In order to prevent the camp from being destroyed by the newly spawned monster groups during the Intersection Lands' closure, the military deliberately dug downwards when setting up the camp, designing it as a Bunker.

Bai Pu went into the Bunker to check it out, and it was covered in dust and cobwebs, as if no one had used it for a very, very long time.

During the three-month closure in real time, there were no Awakened in the Dead Bone Mountain Range, and the flow of time was accelerated, probably several years had passed.

The Bunker was empty, with only simple marching beds, small square tables and other furniture, all made of stainless steel. Although simple, it could still be used as a temporary camp to rest, the Bunker was very hidden, so there was no need to worry about being discovered by wandering monsters.

Although Awakened won't have their combat power affected by not sleeping for a few days, it's difficult to recover without a good night's sleep when their mental power is exhausted, so it's necessary to have a place to rest.

Bai Pu took the key, turned around and stepped out of the Bunker, and locked the iron door of the Bunker.

This Bunker was temporarily for Bai Pu's use.

The military does not allow Awakened to destroy public facilities, and violators will be severely punished. Therefore, this iron door can, to some extent, prevent other Awakened from taking advantage of the situation.

"The Black Mist Valley has a relatively large number of monsters gathered, basically level 1 and level 2, which is just right for me to train."

Bai Pu strode forward, holding a handful of pebbles in his hand. When he saw the vague shadows of monsters in the black mist, he threw a pebble over to lure the monsters over.

After learning the Whirling Throw skill, Bai Pu had considerable accuracy even when throwing stones without using the skill. This is the change that combat skills bring to the Awakened.

Soon, Bai Pu was followed by a bunch of skeleton monsters. Most of them were ordinary Skeleton Warriors, and there were also two Skeleton Warriors following.

Keratinous Skin, activate! Flesh Armor, activate!

Strands of blood-red energy were drawn from the surrounding monsters and attached to Bai Pu, turning into a blood-red shield.

Two minutes later, all the Skeleton Warriors were dead, and the two Skeleton Warriors were also at low health.

After Bai Pu killed one Skeleton Warrior, he brought the second one to a near-death state. The latter supported himself with his greatsword, kneeling on the ground, waiting for the passage of time to restore his health.

Bai Pu stretched out a finger, and a drop of scarlet blood overflowed from his fingertip.

Pure Blood Guard!

Pa.

The pure blood dripped on the top of the Skeleton Warrior's head, quickly seeping into the Skeleton Warrior's head bones, spreading to the whole body.

The remaining soul fire in the Skeleton Warrior's eye sockets shook violently, as if it was struggling with its will.

A few seconds later, it stood up, dragging its greatsword and standing solemnly beside Bai Pu.

Bai Pu received a prompt that he had gained 2 points of Life Source. Including the Skeleton Warrior that had just died, a total of 4 points of Life Source, the total amount has been increased to 83/100.

Bai Pu added all 7 free attributes brought by the pure blood to the Skeleton Warrior's strength.

Ka-cha!

A series of bone explosions rang out as the Skeleton Warrior's bones all over its body grew larger and thicker, and the soul fire in its eye sockets became even more intense.