NOVEL NEXT Chapter 130: Rock Ghost
Leoz stepped into the corridor unhurriedly, taking a few steps forward, the dim corridor suddenly lit up. Countless pale blue lights quietly hovered on either side of the path, with things floating in the air that resembled jellyfish or butterflies, which would burst open with a refreshing scent upon being lightly touched.
[Incense Yew, a magical creature used for air purification. It may look fragile, but in terms of its lineage, this little guy is actually a Divine Beast. If its short-lived form is only a few days, it can fully evolve into a colossal form that spans thousands of miles.]
Leoz took a deep breath, the air purified by the Incense Yew contained energy particles that facilitated the flow of mana and qi energy within his body. In such an environment, mana recovery was as fast as a rocket.
But unfortunately, his body did not absorb much qi energy; it merely did not disperse outward.
[This will soon change.]
"Please follow me."
The shopkeeper closed the door and respectfully led Leoz through the winding corridor, where caves collapsed from time to time. Leoz also saw the threads of Dimensional Spiders—seemingly traps prepared for outsiders that would reset them to the initial position upon a misstep. Worse still, if randomly teleported, they would have to fend for themselves.
Though he could now walk in steadily, this task was initially prepared for Cauchy Rank (14), but Leoz didn't need to complete all the tasks.
For one privy to the information, he could skip the complex preconditions and target search, arriving directly at the third stage of the task—without any combat scenes.
Soon, the shopkeeper led him to a room and gently knocked on the wooden door. A muffled female voice immediately came from inside:
"Who is it? What's the matter?"
The shopkeeper's face quickly transformed, morphing from an Oxiulia person to a robust, dark-complexioned Eastern man. He flicked his robe, knelt down, and made a respectful gesture, saying to the inside:
"This humble servant Guo Zhaofeng—reporting to Madam Song, the Soul Ritualist has arrived."
"Marshal Guo? Just push the door and come in," the woman said blandly.
"Yes."
Guo Zhaofeng stood up, looked at Leoz, and solemnly instructed:
"Madam Hualousong is unwell and may not be able to show her true face. I ask for the Soul Ritualist's indulgence."
"No matter." Leoz said lightly, changing his tone to a hoarse voice:
"(In Necro-speech) Only rude rotten meat would care about these manners; these pitiful shells should have been discarded long ago."
Hearing Leoz mutter a few words in Necro-speech, Guo Zhaofeng became more respectful and unwaveringly convinced of Leoz's identity, opening the door and gesturing for him to enter.
"Please, come in."
Leoz nonchalantly stepped over the threshold, entering the hall. Looking ahead, a screen was set up, creating a distance between him and the room's owner.
"Cough, cough..."
The woman coughed lightly.
The flickering lights vaguely revealed the graceful figure of a woman behind the screen. The latter got up, donned her clothes, sat upright, and said:
"This humble one, Hualousong, is the daughter of Prince Rong Han Zhenye of the Great Liang Empire. I didn't expect the Soul Ritualist to arrive so soon. Unfortunately, due to my ailment, I cannot meet you in person, and it is not welcoming. I hope the Soul Ritualist forgives."
"As you please," Leoz added a couple of phrases in Necro-speech.
Seeing his authentic accent, Hualousong nodded slightly, seemingly adding a touch of trust, and smiled:
"I wonder how I should address the Soul Ritualist?"
"(In Necro-speech) The wheels at the front not turning, the rear wheels turn. I don't eat eggs, I eat rice. Beef brisket should always be paired with white rice..."
Leoz casually spoke some nonsense to solidify his persona before introducing himself:
"I am Aratavia Shanar, a Soul Ritualist of the Shanar School. I'll get straight to the point; this body may be exposed at any time, so time is limited. I don't want to hear your nonsense—has the Phalanx of Terafall [Rock Ghost] been brought?"
"It is stored here with me, Master Aratavia. If you need it, I will bring it out for you immediately."
Hualousong said respectfully:
"According to the arrangement, the Emperor of Great Liang, Han Hui, is entrusted to the Grandmaster of Shanar to resolve."
"Thousand-Mile Rock Mountain Thousand-Mile Tower"
This is a hidden task that players in the Border Abyss "Crimson Blood Alliance" region have a high chance of encountering.
It's a plot to subvert a regime across borders, where the ambitious young talent Prince Rong Han Zhenye of the distant Eastern Great Liang Empire reaches an agreement with [Epic Society] Reidori. He colludes with overseas forces, a leader of Evil God devotees, known as the Shanar Grandmaster, scheming to usurp the power of the Holy Beast.
Once an opponent against [Society] in the Void, he was coincidentally targeted by [Society]. He hopes to leverage the power of [Society] to overthrow the mature, stable, and popular Emperor of Great Liang and even aspires to attack "Crimson Blood Alliance" and "Soul Hometown" to capture a vast amount of fertile Inherent Time Domains from the two narratives.
Despite appearances suggesting Prince Rong isn't a good person to collude with [Society], players can choose sides, either assisting Prince Rong in seizing power or thwarting the coup.
Though the difficulty is high, the storyline complex, involving many tasks with potential stagnation issues in task progress—even purchasing task crystals for repeat playthroughs can easily go wrong—there are still numerous players actively pursuing this task.
The reason being, the rewards for this task are remarkably considerable:
Settlement Condition A: Successfully prevent Prince Rong's coup in the Great Liang Empire. Gain +100 favorability with Emperor Liang (Sigma Order), obtain a noble title from the Great Liang Empire, and have the ability to summon a unique troop from Great Liang at any time—the Tiger Ben Cavalry.
This is the most powerful cavalry unit in all of Border Abyss, aside from the Narrative Civilization.
Mounted on a 'Flying Bear' winged tiger, with a top charge speed of 400,000 km/s, a maximum range that covers the distance from Oxiulia to the plains, capable of switching between polearm and sword-shield combat on the ground. It's a heavy armor unit, immune to magic, the king among kings!
More importantly, if players meet the Border Abyss Will in the future with a chance for title conferment, Emperor Liang Han Hui will directly support you before the Border Abyss Will.
So, what about the other line?
Settlement Condition B: Assist Shanar School's Grandmaster in succeeding, leading to the death of Emperor Liang.
The experience rewards are enough to elevate you from Cauchy Rank (14) to Sigma (18), with five thousand free attribute points, and any one skill can evolve into an 'Arcane Mystery.'
If you're Arcane Energy, the Shanar Grandmaster might even help you upgrade it to the level of a sequence.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
If you manage to complete it smoothly and max out the favorability with Hualousong before you, this young lady will automatically join your team, providing significant magical support.
The truly heavyweight reward is... [Rock Ghost] Terafall, one of the four Holy Beasts of Border Abyss.
Generally speaking, divine beasts of this caliber can only become companions or cooperative NPCs. Noble Holy Beasts won't allow themselves to lose their freedom.
However, this task's storyline is highly complex, involving many [Society]-side forces.
The final result is that [Rock Ghost] Terafall loses its self-awareness, becoming a puppet subject to manipulation.
As a result, players are astonished to find that [Rock Ghost] Terafall is their unique chance to gain a divine beast pet.
This is the unknown and coveted reward that drives countless people to madness!