Qi Sheng sat cross-legged on the Sacrificial Altar, with multiple split-screen Light Screens floating before him, broadcasting live footage of the players' fierce battles in the Dark Cavern.
After two consecutive days of attacks, the players had successfully advanced to the third underground level.
There were noticeably more Iron-Shelled Insects here, along with large numbers of controlled Cavernfolk roaming about, greatly increasing the intensity of combat.
As the players died more frequently, the rewards they earned also increased.
To the players' delight, the Spirit Ore on the third underground level was of far higher quality than that in the first level they had previously explored.
The main Spirit Ore on the first level was Energy Stone, rated at Spirit Ore level 1, while what they mined from the rock walls on the third level was generally Primordial Energy Stone, rated at Spirit Ore level 2. Each stone yielded more than 10 points of Sacrificial Power when sacrificed to Emperor Zhao.
The only drawback was that mining had become more difficult.
The rock walls on the third underground level were hard, difficult to break through with ordinary mining shovels alone, requiring more advanced mining tools purchased from the shop.
Combat expenditure, revival expenditure, equipment replacements, monster drops... After the mission to purify the Dark Cavern was released, Qi Sheng's earnings increased noticeably.
His daily cut of Sacrificial Power was enough to recruit 60 players.
Around 200,000 Sacrificial Power flowed into the Sacrificial Power Pool each day, but aside from his cut, he would not touch the portion belonging to the players unless there were special circumstances.
Before launching his player recruitment plan, he had carefully considered whether to use the players' Sacrificial Power.
Essentially, the Sacrificial Power balance the players saw was just a string of numbers. Sacrificial Power was not stored on the players themselves. Whenever they used it, it was drawn from the Sacrificial Power Pool beneath Emperor Tomb Village, converted into the corresponding energy or items, then transmitted to them.
Thus, all the Sacrificial Power the players earned was in his hands.
But the players could withdraw this portion at any time, spending it on shop purchases, Star Meridian upgrades, Body Tempering level upgrades, and so on.
Excessive spending could create a situation where, when the players wanted to use it, he had no Sacrificial Power reserves left to pay out because he had diverted too much.
The Sacrificial Power Pool under his control was like a bank, and Sacrificial Power could be understood as real-world currency.
The players deposited Sacrificial Power and also spent it. The difference was that he could not earn returns by lending it out, so he could not leverage it. However much he spent, he would have to put back later.
To avoid depleting his Sacrificial Power reserves excessively, he chose never to touch the portion belonging to the players unless there were special circumstances, using only the portion that belonged to him after taking his cut.
[Boss, they're fighting again!]
Guide's voice interrupted Qi Sheng's thoughts.
He looked up at one of the Light Screens before him. On-screen, hundreds of players encountered Cavernfolk leading Iron-Shelled Insects, and battle erupted instantly.
The players switched to their Monster Forms and clashed head-on with the Iron-Shelled Insects.
Through his observations over the past few days, Qi Sheng had discovered that players used tactics sensibly in small-scale battles, but once the scale increased, they became completely disorganized, fighting head-on like reckless brutes. The scene was utterly chaotic, with everyone attacking their own targets.
The local Regional Voice Channel was even more chaotic during the fighting.
"Could you fire-using guys stop throwing fireballs everywhere? If you don't need your eyes, donate them. Hit me again, and don't blame me for hitting back!"
"That guy up front was really something. He charged into the swarm of Iron-Shelled Insects and activated a taunt, only to turn into black smoke in less than three seconds. Wasn't that just throwing his life away? Hahahaha!"
"Stop pushing me! I'm low on health and need to go back to heal. Please stop pushing! If I go any farther, I'm really going to die!"
"Hahaha, I picked up three pieces of Iron-Shelled Insect Essence. Even if I die this time, it'll be worth it."
Such chaotic scenes inevitably led to friendly fire.
In real life, players would respond humbly and politely to incidental bumps when passing others, but in a game world without any restraints, their true natures were fully unleashed. Any grievance prompted a torrent of abuse on the spot, and any grudge led straight to blows.
Furthermore, only Sacrificial Power and Evolution Points were awarded directly after killing monsters, while the Carapace Essence dropped after Iron-Shelled Insects were refined had to be picked up.
Faced with loot lying on the ground, the players would never ask who it belonged to. They simply grabbed it without hesitation.
As these various conflicts escalated, the players attacked one another even as they fought the Iron-Shelled Insects.
But despite these minor internal clashes, the players' main targets remained the Iron-Shelled Insects and the Cavernfolk.
The fierce battle continued. Under the control of the Cavernfolk Warriors, the Iron-Shelled Insects were equally fearless in the face of death, and casualties on both sides continued to mount.
The players' advantage lay in how quickly reinforcements followed up. Those in the rear quickly filled the gaps left by fallen players at the front and continued fighting.
From a broader perspective, the players advancing underground formed a long queue. Although several forks on the third underground level divided the players in different directions, those on the first two levels were simply queuing for their turn to fight.
Besides browsing the Forum and chatting, or watching other players' live broadcasts of the fierce fighting at the front, these queued players also picked up Mining Pickaxes and mined ore to pass the time while waiting for their turn to charge.
The rapid arrival of reinforcements made the players' advance underground remarkably steady.
Each batch of dead players was replaced by another, whittling away at the Iron-Shelled Insects and Cavernfolk bit by bit.
The players' ability to revive endlessly had limited use against the overwhelmingly powerful Evil Spirit Warriors, but against evenly matched Iron-Shelled Insects, it was practically unbeatable.
At their current rate of advance, taking the Dark Cavern was only a matter of time.
The battle on-screen ended in less than 20 minutes, with the deaths of 692 players buying clear passage through this stretch.
Another fork lay ahead, and the players split up there before continuing onward.
Another tracking split-screen appeared among the Light Screens before Qi Sheng.
[Boss, we've found an Origin Primordial!]
Hearing Guide's alert, Qi Sheng turned toward a Light Screen on his right.
Like Taunt, the monster on-screen was bound with specially made iron chains and imprisoned inside a cave. It looked like an enlarged giant salamander, trailing a large tail, with a rounded head and a layer of glistening mucus covering its body. It was currently glaring fiercely at the players, baring two rows of sharp teeth.
The analysis information quickly fed into Qi Sheng's mind.
[Qi Eater (First-Generation Primordial)]: Hunting Level: 12 Trait Ability: Qi eating Trait Analysis: Automatically filters energy particles from the air through breathing, replenishing expended mental energy and vitality. Guide's note: The specific replenishment effect is affected by the concentration of energy particles in the area. For example, areas with higher Lunar Phase Intensity generally have higher concentrations of energy particles in the air, resulting in faster recovery of mental energy and vitality through breathing. Containment tip: Killing a Primordial Monster automatically completes containment. Participants in the kill share an enormous reward.
Seeing that it was a Primordial Monster, Qi Sheng immediately perked up.
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