Chu Tian stood in place, stretching his limbs.
He flashed his body around, testing his agility. It felt much more comfortable than his previous one, leagues better than the helmet. Even the visuals were clearer, the textures of the stone walls and their imperfections appearing with crisp detail. Such high fidelity made him wonder if "that" experience would be even more exhilarating. He thought of Luo Luo and let out a sly chuckle. Chu Tian suddenly regretted not opting for a more powerful helmet. While helmets were designed for portability, he realized with his Soul Space, carrying capacity was a non-issue.
Transforming into a leopard, he stealthily entered the third-floor hall. However, it wasn't as he had anticipated. No trapdoors sealed his path on this level. Chu Tian frowned, puzzled. He didn't linger, moving towards the stairs leading to the fourth floor. Here too, there was no resistance. Chu Tian, perplexed, continued upwards. The fifth floor was also empty—no monsters, no closing doors. He pressed on to the sixth floor, the supposed lair of the Blood King 'Oslock'.
The lack of resistance on floors three through five gave Chu Tian a strange thought: had the Blood King fled with his subordinates? Was it because of his brutal handling of the bear cub on the second floor? Yet, the curse on his head remained; if Oslock had fled, the curse should have vanished. Besides, monsters in games didn't just run away. Chu Tian mused as he reached the sixth floor.
As soon as he arrived, his gaze sharpened. This floor was unlike any other. The entire hall, perhaps eighty to ninety square meters, featured a long council table in the center, adorned with lit white candles. Torches burned along the walls, casting a dim but preferable light compared to the darkness below. More importantly, peculiar creatures sat on either side of the table. Chu Tian recognized two of them: Ralph, whom he had defeated on the first floor, and Bear Baobao from the second. Seeing Chu Tian at the doorway, they bared their teeth, clearly harboring resentment.
Facing Chu Tian directly was a man of delicate features, with pale skin, pointed ears, and cat-like pupils. He simply stared at Chu Tian. Observing this, Chu Tian understood that these vampires, werewolves, and other blood-line creatures knew they couldn't stop him individually. They had all been summoned to the sixth floor by the Blood King 'Oslock'. The one seated at the center, facing the entrance, was undoubtedly 'Oslock'.
As Chu Tian reached the doorway, before he could step inside, 'Oslock' suddenly stood up, followed by five other creatures. Chu Tian knew stealth would be useless against them. He instantly transformed into his bear form and adopted a combat stance. Facing five Commander-level and at least one Boss-level monster, he needed sufficient defense and health to feel secure.
"Esteemed Archdruid, to what do you owe your presence in my domain?" To Chu Tian's surprise, 'Oslock' bowed courteously, offering a gentleman's greeting. Chu Tian froze. What was going on?
Without speaking, Chu Tian cast an appraisal spell on him.
[Blood King · Oslock]
Grade: God-Tier
Level: 1
HP: 500000/500000
Attack: 5000-5000
Defense: 5000-5000
Skills: None
Special Skills: Resurrect Bloodline, Convert Bloodline, Dominate.
Description: The supreme ruler of the bloodlines, possessing the ability to resurrect bloodline members and convert any creature into a bloodline member.
Chu Tian was taken aback by these stats. God-Tier, Level 1? What did that mean? No regular skills, but three special ones. Still, a God-Tier at level 1 had half a million health and 5000 attack. How much would that be at level 100?
Seeing that the opponent had no further hostile actions after his greeting, Chu Tian calmed himself, thinking: it seems he isn't hostile for now. Wasn't he quite formidable when Chu Tian defeated Ralph? He had even issued threats, calling humans foolish for trespassing. So, he straightened up and said, "Esteemed Blood King, I am here to acquire the Undying Scroll. May I know its whereabouts?"
Chu Tian got straight to the point. Having come this far, it would be best if the other party willingly handed it over. Otherwise, he would take it by force. However, the opponent's special skill, Dominate, was quite formidable.
[Dominate: Exclusive skill of the Blood King. When used on bloodline members, it increases their all-attribute stats by 200%, with the duration determined by the Blood King or until death.]
If a fight broke out, and this fellow applied Dominate to the five subordinates before him, it would be very difficult. It was likely why he had recalled his subordinates from the third to fifth floors, planning for such a scenario. He hadn't expected the creature to be so intelligent. Although Chu Tian knew that in the Heavenly Dao world, the higher the grade of monsters or NPCs, the higher their AI capabilities, he hadn't anticipated it being this advanced. Seeing the creature's human-like expression, he wondered if, like the Lord of Luoguo City, it housed a real soul within.
"Esteemed Archdruid, the Undying Scroll is something our bloodline has guarded for generations," it said, pausing. Chu Tian's eyes narrowed, staring intently. So it was going to be a difficult acquisition after all! Just as he was about to make a move, it spoke again. "However, we guard it waiting for the fated person. Since you have passed through the trials and reached me, you must complete the subsequent trials."
[Ding... System notification: Do you accept the Blood King's quest? Reward: Talent Scroll: Undying (God-Tier)]
Chu Tian was about to mock the phrase "passed through the trials," thinking that the opponent had retreated out of fear, and he had only dealt with two individuals. However, the sudden system notification stunned him. "Accept!" Seeing that the reward was the Undying Scroll, Chu Tian accepted without hesitation.
[Ding... System notification: You have accepted the Blood King's quest. You must complete it within the time limit, or you will be relentlessly pursued by the bloodline.]
Chu Tian completely ignored this notification, as the Blood King spoke. "Esteemed Archdruid, I will open the trial path for you. Please prepare yourself."
Chu Tian thought: Is it starting already? Before he could say more, the Blood King and his subordinates raised their arms overhead, chanting words Chu Tian couldn't understand in unison, as if performing some cult ritual. Slowly, in front of them, a portal opened in the center of the long table. Once the portal stabilized, the Blood King said, "Esteemed Archdruid, in three days, you will be forcefully teleported out of the trial grounds. Please complete the mission as soon as possible."
Chu Tian said nothing more, nodded, jumped onto the table, and stepped into the portal.
*Woooosh...*
Space distorted and shifted, pulling Chu Tian's body across an unknown distance. Finally, the space stabilized, and Chu Tian was flung out.
[Ding... System notification: Discovered map 'Chaos Season Ancient Battlefield'. Gained Level +1!]
*Shing...*
A golden light flashed from Chu Tian, and he leveled up from 61 to 62.
Holy crap...
Gaining a level didn't make him happy; instead, it filled him with a sense of dread. In the Heavenly Dao world, discovering maps gave very little experience, as mentioned before. Usually, it was a nominal 500 experience points. Discovering this map directly granted a full level reward. This could only mean that this map was either extraordinary, had an extremely high level, or was extremely dangerous.
Chu Tian looked up at the sky. Yellow sand stretched as far as the eye could see. Nine indistinct suns were obscured by the sand, yet the heat was still intense. The ground was also covered in sand, with undulating dunes stretching into the distance. The surroundings were silent, save for the howling wind. Chu Tian checked his backpack and system interfaces; everything was functioning normally. However... there were two entries in the time display. A 'Chaos Season Time' had appeared, its rate of passage almost identical to normal time. The original system time, however, had almost completely frozen. Chu Tian gave a wry smile, thinking: Could this be like the dreamscape where five thousand years passed? The time flow rates were different. He just didn't know if the stated three-day limit referred to three days within the Chaos Season map or three days in the real world.