Domain Node

The Ancient Battlefield.

Bones lay piled into mountains across the ground.

Just then, a mass of ink-black flames traced a crescent arc through the air, sailed over a pile of bones, and struck a Cursed Soldier with precision. Raging flames instantly engulfed it.

Before long, ten figures climbed over the bone pile and approached the Cursed Soldier, which was still burning but had already perished.

"Hahaha, combining combat techniques is incredible! From now on, I won't even need a line of sight to kill my targets."

The speaker was a young man of around twenty. Ink-black flames swirled around his human form, and his expression was smug.

At the sight, Li Zheng and the others could barely hide their envy.

"Damn, the Eagle-Headed Demon had the weakest combat power, but with the Bonefire form, it's become the meta."

Through Guide's demonstration and explanation, Li Zheng and the others had already learned that they could combine the power traits of different monsters while in human form. Even so, Eat Dirt's performance stunned them.

The Eagle-Headed Demon's monster trait was Grudge Chant.

Once activated, it provided a sensory view in the mind that radiated outward from the user. Its initial radius was fifty meters, expanding to a hundred meters at level 5.

Bonefire's ability trait was controlling Deathflame.

Used together, the two allowed the user to lock onto units within a hundred-meter radius through perception and deliver precise ranged strikes without a line of sight.

This was the first time Li Zheng and the others had witnessed the power of combining monster traits.

"It's good, sure, but unfortunately, my Body Tempering level is 0. In human form, I can only use the traits of two Monster Forms without inheriting their attributes, so using both abilities at once makes me a little dizzy," Eat Dirt couldn't help complaining, then continued:

"I just asked Guide. Raising Body Tempering from level 0 to level 1 costs 10,000 Sacrificial Power. We'll still have to rely mainly on Monster Forms for early exploration. Our mental strength in human form simply can't support frequent use of monster skills."

After analyzing the power traits of the different Monster Forms, only Eat Dirt and Fun Without Paying, the two players who had chosen the Eagle-Headed Demon as their starting form, embedded a Bonefire Life Soul into their Star Meridians as their second Monster Form.

Li Zheng and the others decided not to embed a new Monster Form for now.

According to Guide's explanation, the cost of raising Star Meridian levels would gradually increase with each level.

They could therefore wait until a compatible monster trait appeared before embedding their second Life Soul. For now, they would keep fighting in Black-Armored Snake form.

The reward for killing Bonefire also left Li Zheng and the others looking forward to containing new Primordial Monsters.

They could already imagine how, in the late game, every player would be able to combine different monster traits into different Star Meridian builds. Just thinking about it sounded incredibly fun.

While Li Zheng and the others explored ways to combine monster abilities, another group of players entered the game and advanced west from Emperor Tomb Village.

The large party of thirty players swept aside every Cursed Soldier in their path as easily as chopping vegetables.

Just then, another Cursed Soldier rose from a pile of remains ahead.

Instantly, all thirty players leaped toward the newly risen Cursed Soldier like hungry tigers pouncing on prey.

Drunken Milk: Guys, let me have a kill. We've been fighting Cursed Soldiers all this way, and I haven't gotten a single one. Don't go too far.

Black Ball: This one's mine. Anyone who steals it is my son!

Iron Hammer: Cute Kid, you're already level 2 and you're still fighting us for kills? Have you got any decency? I'm not paying back that 200 I owe you!

The scene instantly descended into chaos. The players who spotted the Cursed Soldier were like ravenous wolves, and before long, they had dismantled it into a scattering of bones.

Black Ball, who had secured the Cursed Soldier, beamed with delight, while the other players looked dejected.

Still, competing for monsters to level up and working together to grow and explore brought them a joy they hadn't felt in a long time.

"This game is fucking incredible. I thought the advertising was exaggerated. How could a game possibly have a hundred percent realism? Now I'm convinced."

"Exactly. Feeling your attributes increase when you level up is so satisfying. I can experience what it's like to be superhuman here, jumping several meters into the air."

Just then, Cute Kid, who was leading the group, suddenly spoke.

"Guys, an area notification just said a party of players killed a Primordial Monster and got generous rewards. Let's look for a Primordial Monster too."

As Cute Kid spoke, he turned toward the Guide Water Orb floating beside him.

"Guide, where around here can we find a Primordial Monster to kill?"

[Primordial Monsters are scattered throughout Monster World. Although their numbers are immense, they are all free individuals with no fixed territories restricting their movements. You could encounter one anywhere. Perhaps you'll run into one after just a couple of steps.]

Realizing that Primordial Monsters were special monsters that spawned at random locations, Cute Kid felt a little disappointed.

The party continued west.

Whenever a Cursed Soldier appeared along the way, everyone competed to kill it, each relying on their own abilities. All sorts of curses accompanied the fights, making for a lively scene.

An hour later, the party crossed the bone-strewn Ancient Battlefield. Ahead lay a vast plain covered in blood-colored plants. In the distance, they could see a massive stone towering over the plain, resembling a monster's gaping maw as it roared at the sky.

When they opened the map, the region previously shrouded in fog had become clear, and a new label had appeared: Blood Plains.

Just then, a notification appeared in every player's mind.

[Challenger notification: Source Domain Node discovered. Occupy the source node to receive an enormous reward (shared by all participants).]

Along with the notification, a scarlet dot appeared in the Blood Plains region on the map, marking the massive stone on the plain.

The sudden quest instantly excited the players. It meant generous rewards were on the way.

Without the slightest hesitation, even knowing there might be danger ahead, all thirty players advanced toward the stone statue.

Only when they reached the statue did they discover that its open mouth was actually an entrance to an underground cavern. Crimson Vines covered it, dangling over the cavern entrance like a curtain.

Cute Kid: Guys, are we going in or not?

Drunken Milk: Obviously. We've come all this way. Why wouldn't we?

Iron Hammer: Gargoyle form, activate! Guys, charge with me!

After a brief discussion, all the players agreed to enter the cavern and explore.

As they entered the cavern, their surroundings grew dim.

Iron Hammer, who was at the front, summoned the shop panel and spent 1 Sacrificial Power on a torch, leading the way and providing light.

The cavern passage was narrow, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side. The party formed a long line as they explored downward.

They had only walked a short distance when Iron Hammer suddenly stopped at the front and crouched to examine a glowing plant beside his feet.

It was half a meter tall, with slender, supple leaves that looked carved from jade, scattering specks of starlight in the darkness.

Drunken Milk: Why'd we stop? Something up ahead?

Marble: Did we run into a monster? What's its hunting level?

Gulu: Say something, Iron Hammer. What's going on?

In response to everyone's questions, Iron Hammer shared the plant's information in the party channel.

[Hollow Valley Grass]

Spirituality level: 2.

Spirit Plant description: A low-level Spirit Plant unique to the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range. Consuming it sharpens the five senses, providing a slight permanent increase. It can also be sacrificed in exchange for Sacrificial Power.

Note: Sacrificial Power can be used for Star Meridian Enhancement or shop purchases and can be traded among Challengers.

Class Monitor: Holy shit, we found something good right after entering the cave. I'm a college student, so I'm taking this.

"Get lost!"

Everyone angrily rebuked Marble's shameless demand.

Iron Hammer, however, turned toward the beginner Guide floating beside him.

"Guide, what does sacrifice mean in the analysis information?"

[Open the function panel, and you'll see the sacrifice option. Challengers can sacrifice anything containing spiritual substance to Emperor Zhao in exchange for Sacrificial Power.]

Following Guide's instructions, Iron Hammer summoned the function panel and opened the sacrifice function.

A translucent Sacrificial Altar interface immediately appeared before him. Its foundation was built from massive black stones, their surfaces slightly mottled as though weathered by long years of wind and rain. Exquisitely carved monster totems encircled the altar, vivid and lifelike, while a mass of scarlet flames burned at its center.

On the right side of the interface was a spatial inventory with fifty small slots for storing items.

[After placing the Hollow Valley Grass in your spatial inventory, you can move it with your mind and place it on the Sacrificial Altar to sacrifice it.]

Upon hearing this, Iron Hammer crouched and pulled the Hollow Valley Grass out of a crack in the ground, roots and all.

After he summoned the spatial inventory function, a black vortex appeared before him, and he tossed the Hollow Valley Grass straight into it.

A miniature model of the Hollow Valley Grass immediately appeared in the inventory's first slot.

Summoning the sacrifice interface again, he moved the Hollow Valley Grass with his mind and tossed it into the scarlet flames at the center of the Sacrificial Altar.

The instant it touched the flames, the Hollow Valley Grass burned to nothing, turning into a mass of scarlet energy that flew out of the illusory interface and merged with his body.

[Challenger notification: Level 2 Spirit Plant Hollow Valley Grass sacrificed. Sacrificial Power reward received from Emperor Zhao: 109 points.]

This notification also appeared in the party's voice channel.

Iron Hammer: Guys, I tested the sacrifice function for everyone. Turns out it works great. You can toss anything you don't want in there and convert it into Sacrificial Power.

"Get lost!"

At Iron Hammer's shameless excuse, the players behind him all raised their middle fingers and strongly demanded that the reward from the sacrifice be split evenly, even if each person would only get 3 Sacrificial Power.