The Deeper Mysteries of the Skyfall Game System, Ancient Secrets

Zhang Mingzhen had never encountered such a task before, but had only heard that Fortune had obtained rare secondary professions, precious fashion blueprints, or special tool blueprints, each of which was enough to make people envious.

Therefore, most players who dare to openly share their gains are those backed by large guilds.

As for those who are weak or lack strength, even if they gain something, they mostly choose to hide it to avoid unnecessary trouble.

It's important to know that in reality, extorting players who expose their addresses has become an underground industry.

At this moment, the system mission he received was titled "The Tide Clan's Secret":

Using this preliminary map marking the location of the Tide Clan Ruins, we can explore the reasons for the clan's annihilation.

The task rewards were not clearly stated.

"The Tide Clan ..." Zhang Mingzhen murmured to himself.

This is yet another completely unfamiliar name, which, literally speaking, seems to be related to the Undersea Dragon Palace and the fish-men.

Now that we have the map, let's head over to the ruins and explore them.

He unfolded the slightly worn parchment scroll, and after just one glance, his brows involuntarily furrowed.

The map's strokes are so childish, like a child's scribbles, with lines of various colors interwoven and circles and crosses scattered throughout, creating a completely bewildering pattern.

Let alone identifying directions, even the general outline of the terrain is difficult to discern.

He couldn't help but chuckle. Should he go back and ask the seller, Kambu, what exactly was in the painting?

At this moment, Kambu was proudly boasting to his companions about the "good deal" he had just made.

"See that? That little thing I doodled on in a dangerous spot on my own, and it sold for a hundred Gold Coins! I've really run into an idiot today."

He weighed the money pouch in his hand, a sly smile on his face.

His companion, both envious and worried, said, "You're making money way too easily... Aren't you afraid that person will figure it out and come after you?"

Kambu scoffed, completely unconcerned. "Once the goods are sold, there are no returns or exchanges. That's the rule."

"Besides," he lowered his voice, a hint of smugness in it, "I've bribed the city guards. If he dares to cause trouble, he can forget about staying in this Dragon Palace City."

He had often bribed the guards to secure this "path to wealth," so he naturally felt very confident at this moment.

"Hey, look! That person's back!" his companion suddenly exclaimed, pointing into the distance.

Kambu looked up and, sure enough, saw Zhang Mingzhen's figure returning. He was not flustered; instead, he calmly crossed his arms.

As Zhang Mingzhen approached, Kambu spoke first, his tone deliberately casual. "My friend, why are you back again? Is there something you don't understand?"

"I can't read maps," Zhang Mingzhen said bluntly. "I need you to take me to the places marked on the map."

Upon hearing this, Kambu almost burst out laughing.

He suppressed a laugh and spread his hands, saying, "You're really planning to go? That's the location of a 'treasure,' it sounds both secretive and dangerous, how can I just lead the way?"

There's some truth to that. The so-called "treasure trove" he depicted was nothing more than a dangerous place that the older generation had been talking about.

It is said to be surrounded by a strange underwater vortex, and those who stray into it never return. Over time, it has become a forbidden place that the Fish-Dragon Clan people avoid at all costs.

He was just using this name to make up stories to fool outsiders, but he never expected that this person would actually take it seriously.

"You just need to take me to that area," Zhang Mingzhen said calmly, as if stating a routine matter. "I can pay you another hundred Gold Coins."

His companion stared wide-eyed, wondering if this man had really gone mad. How could he believe such a map without question?

Kambu's eyes darted around, and a sudden surge of greed arose within him.

He rubbed his hands together, feigning difficulty. "Well... it's not that I'm unwilling, but that place is notoriously dangerous. Taking you there would be risking my life."

"How about this, two hundred Gold Coins, not a penny less."

He was determined to squeeze another large sum of money out of him.

His companion clicked his tongue in disbelief, thinking that the price of Kambu was ridiculously high.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Mingzhen only hesitated for a moment before readily agreeing, "Okay, but let's leave now."

"Really?" Kambu was overjoyed, fearing the other party might change their mind, and quickly patted his chest to assure them, "Boss, you're so generous! Don't worry, there's no place within this Undersea Dragon Palace territory that I, Kambu, can't find."

"I'll take you to that 'treasure land' right now!"

Along the way, Kambu talked incessantly, boasting about how he "accidentally" discovered that Secret Realm, and how he used his "extraordinary" courage and wisdom to explore it multiple times (in reality, he never actually got close), exaggerating the hardships of the process and his own bravery.

"That place, with its perpetually swirling whirlpools, is extremely ineffective against the water-based abilities of our Fish-Dragon race. It's practically impossible to approach; it's a notoriously dangerous place..."

He talked on and on, unaware that Zhang Mingzhen, walking ahead, kept his gaze calm and serene.

Kambu was still basking in the joy of earning two hundred Gold Coins, his tone full of pride. "You're lucky, too. Years ago, I stumbled upon a hidden path that can take you closer to the entrance to that perilous place."

"This route is one that ordinary people can't find! Your two hundred Gold Coins were definitely well spent!"

He then led Zhang Mingzhen to the southeast side outside the Undersea Dragon Palace.

The seawater here was dark and the view was much more murky than elsewhere. The surrounding undercurrents were turbulent, making the two of them somewhat unsteady.

The further you go, the faster the current becomes, until you finally reach the entrance of a deep cave.

The area around the cave entrance is filled with dense eddies, and the turbulent water seems capable of crushing everything in its path.

What might have seemed like a dangerous black hole to him was, in Zhang Mingzhen's eyes, a player, immediately recognized it as a Teleportation Array.

The only question is where it will lead; the immediate challenge is how to get through those deadly vortexes on the outside to reach the core of the formation.

Unable to fly in water, the only way is to brave the eddies.

"This is all I can take you," Kambu said, shrinking back. "They say that cave holds countless treasures."

"In the past, many people have tried to take advantage of this, but anyone who got close was torn to shreds by these vortexes."

"Even the sturdiest ships will crumble instantly if they get caught in it."

He glanced at the person beside him and quickly added, "We've seen it all, let's go back now."

"It's enough to have seen this deadly place from afar—the two hundred Gold Coins were a promise, and I will not return them!"

He was secretly on guard against the other party reneging on the deal and demanding the money back, but he was suddenly grabbed.

Before he could react, a halo of light enveloped his entire body, and then he was violently thrown into the churning vortex!

Zhang Mingzhen had just secretly applied protection to Kambu: first, he applied a layer of the newly learned "Demon Armor" skill to enhance his resistance, then granted him a brief state of Super Armor, and finally threw him into the vortex experiment.

This guy is trying to scam me, does he think I can't see through it?

Does he really think his money is easy to earn?

It worked as expected—during the three-second Super Armor period, the vortex failed to immediately sweep Kambu away; and the defensive boost from the level 10 Demon Armor allowed him to hold out for a moment longer.

However, Kambu's Basic Defense was too low, and he ultimately could not escape death.

This confirms that stacked defense and Super Armor can indeed counter the vortex.

Although he cannot directly attack those of his own faction, his accidental death is none of his concern.

He had no intention of letting the guide who had cheated him get away with it.

Zhang Mingzhen was naturally unaware that his character had been distorted by the power he gained.

In the past, at most he would report it to the authorities, beat the other party up, and demand his money back.

But now, he uses it for emotional venting.

He has already mastered the Demon Armor to the tenth level, which can increase the defense of himself and several friendly units around him by four times within six seconds.

Entering the Teleportation Array in this state should be sufficient.

He then silently Demon Transformation Technique. Once activated, this technique not only removes all restraints but also temporarily triples his defense and speed, allowing him to counterattack even when attacked.

Encased in layers of protection, he leaped into the Frenzy vortex, heading straight for the magic array deep within.

Of course, the most important thing is that he's a player; he can revive after dying.

Otherwise, he wouldn't dare to take such a risk on the mission.

The vortex continued to tear at his body, and even with seven times the defense, his health was still dropping rapidly.

This place truly lives up to its name as a deadly perilous place; even with his current double defense of nearly 400,000, he is still struggling so much.

It's likely that if he hadn't received this special mission, others probably wouldn't even have had the right to get close.

Just then, a system notification sounded, "Congratulations, player, you have discovered the Tide Clan Ruins. Do you wish to enter?"

He naturally chose to enter.

All this trouble and hardship, wasn't it all to uncover the secrets behind the Tide Clan's mission?

The teleportation light dissipated, and he found himself in a place resembling a cave.

This place no longer feels surrounded by water like the Undersea Dragon Palace; it's more like an ordinary cave.

It is unclear whether the water has been transported to another dimension or whether the water area has been isolated by an invisible force.

However, the unique style of the aquarium can still be seen from the surrounding decorations—rock walls inlaid with unknown gems and shells.

The cave was exceptionally deep, and even after walking for a long time, the end was still in sight.

Scattered bones can be seen on the ground, belonging to the vanished Tide Clan or unfortunate victims swept into the outer vortex, it is unknown.

Judging from the fragmented bones and missing limbs, it is most likely the latter.

The deeper you go, the more open and desolate the surroundings become, with only rugged terrain stretching forward.

A series of intermittent sounds came from afar, like the mournful wail of some musical instrument, with a long, drawn-out tone but a hidden sharpness that made one's eardrums ache.

Zhang Mingzhen followed the sound forward and finally stopped in front of a stone wall—there floated a semi-transparent shadow, bowing its head and playing a conch-shaped instrument.

The figure vaguely resembled a sea creature woman, slightly taller than ordinary people, with ears like thin fins, green scales covering her shoulders, and a pair of short horns on her forehead.

With her eyes closed, she repeated the playing motion over and over again, as if this motion had long become the vessel of some kind of obsession.

"You've come." The shadow suddenly opened its eyes and its gaze fell on him.

At the same time, a system notification appeared. "Holy Maiden of the Tide Clan, Xi He."

"The God of Games has once again chosen a new world... The opportunity we, the Tide Clan, have been waiting for has finally arrived."

I've lost count of how many years have passed.

Zhang Mingzhen frowned slightly.

Unbeknownst to him, Gao Linzhi's gaze immediately fell upon him.

Clearly, this "God of Games" refers to the "Skyfall Game System" itself.

As the game progresses, the core elements of the system are revealed.

This is precisely one of Gao Linzhi's goals—to explore the core mysteries of the Skyfall Game System.

And now, the history of the Game System is being revealed through the words of this game NPC.

The other side must have invaded many parts of the world throughout history.

This game NPC is speculated to be a native of one of the worlds, who has now been transferred into the game and become part of the game content.

However, this comprehensive replication will inevitably expose what the game has done in the past.

After all, this NPC has information about game intrusion in his memory.

Zhang Mingzhen unaware of this at the time.

He was just speculating:

Could the "game" she mentioned refer to the God's Domain? Or is this game not confined to Blue Star?

"You know about the God's Domain? It doesn't just exist in our world?"

Despite having long suspected that the God's Domain was something no human could create, he still couldn't fathom what kind of being existed behind it that could allow the virtual to infiltrate reality.

"We have no way of knowing where the God's Domain came from or why it exists. The only certainty is that it selects the strong and eliminates the weak from among countless worlds."

"And our world, that of the Tide Clan... is the one that was eliminated."

"What are the consequences of being eliminated? The annihilation of the entire clan?"

He recalled that his mission was to investigate the reasons for the demise of the Tide Clan.

"Not annihilation, but erasure—erasure of memories and intelligence, completely transforming them into a part of the God's Domain."

Xi He's voice lowered, as if sinking into a long-standing sorrow.

"To become a part of?"

"Where do you think the various races, townspeople, and wild monsters in the God's Domain came from? They are all remnants and beasts of a fallen world, their memories wiped clean, reduced to tools for the trials of those who come after."

A chill ran down Zhang Mingzhen's spine.

He once thought the God's Domain was a testing ground given by an advanced civilization, but he never expected that a world that failed would become a numb puppet.

If Earth is defeated, will I also become a fixed character in the eyes of others, repeating pre-set lines?

"Since the failed world has been assimilated, why do you still retain your memories?" Xi He stared at the conch shell in her hand.

"Because of the Holy Relic."

"It is the source of life for our race. As long as the Holy Relic exists, the Tide Clan has the possibility of being reborn."

"When the world fell, we took the Holy Relic and fled to the Holy Land—this separate, otherworldly dimension—to temporarily escape the game's corruption."

"But in the end... we still lost."

"Is this the holy site?"

Zhang Mingzhen looked around the empty cave and saw nothing Sacred Tier or solemn; it seemed rather ordinary and unremarkable.

"The sacred land, now devoid of its people, has long lost its glory."

"On the day of their defeat, the surviving members of their clan fled to this place, but the power of the sacred land gradually weakened and ultimately could not withstand the infiltration of demonic energy."

"Since the God's Domain could not assimilate us, it turned to annihilation."

"One by one, the clansmen perished in the demonic energy. The last high priest chose to fight a final battle against the invading demonic energy."

"And then what happened?"

He pressed for details.

Xi He did not answer immediately, but instead brought the conch shell to her lips, and a faint note, like a sob or a lament, drifted into the silent cave.

Xi He's expression softened noticeably when she mentioned the High Priest.

"I don't know."

"After the vast majority of our people perished, the High Priest sealed himself and the demonic energy into the deepest part of the sacred ground, thus sealing us off as well."

"The surviving members of the tribe can only wait endlessly, but countless years have passed, and there is still no news of the High Priest."

"Everyone gradually disappeared while waiting, and so did I..."

At this point, a system notification appeared, signifying the completion of his special mission.

To his surprise, the mission reward was "the Tide Clan Affiliation".

However, the Tide Clan has already been wiped out; what use is his claim to their allegiance?