To most players, this item was only a relatively rare material or decent energy source, but to s.h.i.+ Feng, a Mana Crystal was just as valuable as Seven Luminaries Crystals.
They were so valuable to him because he could use Mana Crystals to evolve the Abyssal Blade.
s.h.i.+ Feng had tasked Melancholic Smile to purchase Mana Crystals for that very purpose, but she had yet to find any.
Learning that these Void Worms dropped the Mana Crystals had certainly come as a surprise.
The Abyssal Blade was significantly helpful. In its current state, the Magic Weapon was as powerful as a top-tier Epic Weapon of the same level. Unfortunately, s.h.i.+ Feng couldn't afford to level up the weapon due to how many Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold weapons the upgrade required. The higher-level a weapon was, the rarer it would be. Obtaining Level 90-plus Fine-Gold Weapons was quite challenging at this stage of the game, not to mention Level 90-plus Dark-Gold Weapons.
Because its level had stagnated, the Abyssal Blade wasn't suitable for s.h.i.+ Feng at this point.
However, s.h.i.+ Feng couldn't just abandon the weapon. Even if he stopped using it, the curse within the Abyssal Blade would still exist, and he'd periodically have to face the Backlashes. Not only would the curse grow stronger as the Magic Weapon evolved, but it would also grow stronger as time pa.s.sed, which was why players had been so afraid of Magic Weapons in s.h.i.+ Feng's previous life.
Although Magic Weapons could be a ma.s.sive a.s.set to players, they'd also become a greater burden as players leveled up.
Of course, if players could maintain the Magic Weapons' growth as they reached higher levels, the weapons would offer more pros than cons, and after a certain point, they'd become even stronger than Epic Weapons. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to maintain that growth rate during the later stages of the game. Otherwise, fewer players would've fallen to their Magic Weapons' Backlash in the past.
s.h.i.+ Feng stored the Mana Crystal in his bag and continued to hunt Void Worms while steadily approaching the center of the island.
The Void Land was as large as a medium-size leveling map in the outside world, and as s.h.i.+ Feng grew closer to the island's core, he encountered more Void Worms. The monsters' resp.a.w.n rate increased as he traveled, as well. Even with Anna and Kite's help, s.h.i.+ Feng prioritized caution. While the two Personal Guards could withstand the Great Lords' attacks, he couldn't.
Although slaying these Void Worms was monotonous, the bountiful EXP and occasional Mana Crystal motivated s.h.i.+ Feng. He took barely any breaks from hunting the Great Lords.
After a full day of combat, s.h.i.+ Feng's experience bar had reached 99% of Level 100. He just needed one more kill to level up, but he decided to wait for a moment. He locked his experience bar and summoned his Thunder Eagle, allowing the Flying Mount to benefit from the awarded EXP instead.
Flying Mounts and Land Mounts had different mechanics. While Land Mounts' levels would be determined by their owners' level, Flying Mounts had their own experience bars. This was why nurturing a Flying Mount was so troublesome. This quest, fortunately, offered the perfect opportunity for s.h.i.+ Feng to nurture his Thunder Eagle.
Flying Mounts in G.o.d's Domain were an exceptional mode of transportation, but they were also capable fighters.
For players to grow stronger, they had to constantly improve their levels, equipment, Skills, and other aspects. Flying Mounts, however, only needed to level up. It was easier for these Mounts to evolve through their Tiers than it was for players. Thus, it had become common practice for experts to disregard their levels temporarily to level up their Flying Mounts.
The Thunder Eagle was an Intermediate Extraordinary Flying Mount, born with the strength of a Great Lord and extremely high Growth Potential. At Level 100, it's combat power might only be at the Lower Tier 3 rank, but once it reached Level 110, it would rise to the Intermediate Tier 3 rank. At Level 120, its combat power would further increase to the Tier 3 Upper-rank standard.
Aside from frantically grinding, s.h.i.+ Feng occasionally logged out to rest his mind and provide guidance for some of his Guild members.
"Guild Leader, War Blood and Starlink are growing restless. They're not doing much right now, but I've heard that they've decided to help Thirteen Thrones capture a Medium Fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range," Blackie reported. "Currently, the Northern Fortress's player population is only over 900,000. If War Blood and Starlink succeed, I'm afraid it'll affect the Northern Fortress's development. Should we send people to sabotage their plan?"
Since the Northern Fortress was the sole Medium Fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range, it generated astronomical sums of Credits and Ancient Gold each day, but if the various powers captured another Medium Fortress, the Northern Fortress's profits would decrease.
"That won't be necessary. Although we have a feud with War Blood and Starlink, we have nothing against Thirteen Thrones," s.h.i.+ Feng said, shaking his head. "Moreover, capturing a Medium Fortress is easier said than done. Just focus on managing our own fortress. I'm still busy with my Tier 3 Promotion Quest and won't be back anytime soon. For now, try to buy as many plots of Land near the World Tower as possible with the Ancient Gold we've earned."
If he hadn't summoned the Tier 4 Hero, Zero Wing wouldn't have been able to capture the Northern Fortress, even with the Phoenix Pavilion's help. Moreover, securing the lands around the World Tower was far more important than worrying about a fortress in another corner of the Gravity Mountain Range.
"Alright. I'll make the purchases as soon as we have the money," Blackie responded. Although he was a little disappointed that he couldn't cause some trouble for Starlink and War Blood, his antic.i.p.ation began to build with the thought of the Lands near the World Tower. s.h.i.+ Feng had explained these plots function, and if Zero Wing could claim every one of the Lands available, Dragonheart City's various powers would live in fear of their Guild.
After training the Guild's members, s.h.i.+ Feng quickly returned to G.o.d's Domain and continued to venture deeper into the barren island.
With the Thunder Eagle as a part of his party, the party's overall DPS had considerably increased, and as a result, s.h.i.+ Feng was able to advance much faster than before. After three days of grinding, s.h.i.+ Feng had moved into the island's inner region.
The three-day grind also allowed the Thunder Eagle to climb to Level 103. s.h.i.+ Feng knew that Flying Mounts didn't need as much EXP as players to level up, but he couldn't help his surprise at the Thunder Eagle's leveling speed.
s.h.i.+ Feng had also obtained 73 Mana Crystals from the slain Void Worms. His harvest here was more than enough to cover the Mana Stone cost of entering the Void Land.
When he reached the inner region, he found a translucent barrier enveloping the area. The inner region looked like a completely different world compared to the outer region. The island's outer area had been a barren wasteland, while a lush forest occupied the inner region.
Within this lush forest, s.h.i.+ Feng spotted graves of varying sizes. The smallest were simply dirt mounds, while the larger graves looked like majestic palaces.
He also spotted a large number of Undead wandering through this graveyard.
[Forgotten Spirit] (Undead Creature, Lord) Level 101
HP 40,000,000/40,000,000
These Forgotten Spirits weren't much of a threat; s.h.i.+ Feng could easily take them out in a one-on-one fight. Unfortunately, these Undead moved in groups of several dozen. Not even s.h.i.+ Feng was confident of surviving a battle against so many Lord ranked monsters.
Each grave was also guarded by Heroic Spirits of varying strengths...
Heroic Spirits were the remnants of departed NPC Heroes. They might not be as powerful as they had been in life, but the Tier 3 Heroic Spirits could easily slaughter Tier 3 players, not to mention a lowly Tier 2 player like s.h.i.+ Feng.
Even Tier 3 players have little hope of surviving in this place. s.h.i.+ Feng could not help but frown at the Undead wandering within the magic barrier.
He'd have no choice but to flee from a one-on-one battle with a Level 100, Tier 3 Heroic Spirit. Fortunately, he had Personal Guards like Anna and Kite to support him. Otherwise, finding the Blade Saint Legacy would be utterly impossible.
The instant s.h.i.+ Feng stepped through the translucent barrier, however, Kite, Anna, the Tier 3 Demons, and his Thunder Eagle vanished.
A Silencing Barrier?! s.h.i.+ Feng stared at the barrier, stunned.
G.o.d's Domain had many types of magic barriers, and although barriers that nullified summoning-type magic arrays were rare, they could be found in certain ancient ruins.
Finding such a magic barrier here was a nightmare.
An ordinary Level 100, Tier 2 expert wouldn't even be a match for the Lord ranked Forgotten Spirits in a one-on-one fight. Even a Domain Realm expert would have to flee for their lives when encountering several dozen Forgotten Spirits. As for the Level 100, Tier 3 Heroic Spirits, Domain Realm experts wouldn't even last more than three seconds.
It's no wonder why so few people with Peak Legacies managed to complete their Tier 3 Promotion Quest. s.h.i.+ Feng sighed ruefully as he observed the Undead around him.
With how the Forgotten Spirits were positioned, s.h.i.+ Feng couldn't find any loopholes to exploit. Defeating these Undead would be impossible with the strength of a Level 100, Tier 2 player. He would need an entire 100-man team of Level 100, Tier 2 experts to accomplish the feat.
"Right! If one's not enough, I just need to face them in a group!"
Struck with inspiration, s.h.i.+ Feng stepped through the barrier and summoned Kite and Anna again. He returned to grinding Void Worms, planning to collect the 100 Mana Crystals he needed to evolve the Abyssal Blade.
Of the weapons at hand, the Abyssal Blade allowed him to execute the highest number of attacks simultaneously. With Nine Dragons Slash, he could summon 16 Abyssal Blade phantoms, which not even the Twilight Blade could do. If he could upgrade the Abyssal Blade to Tier 3, Nine Dragons Slash would undergo a qualitative transformation, allowing him to summon even more phantoms. It might just be enough to help him defeat so many monsters.
With this plan in mind, s.h.i.+ Feng spent another day or so slaying Void Worms, eventually gathering the 100 Mana Crystals.
The instant s.h.i.+ Feng picked up the 100th Mana Crystal, the sound of a system notification reached his ears.
System: One hundred Mana Crystals detected. Conditions to evolve the Abyssal Blade met. Do you wish to evolve the Abyssal Blade?
Retrieving the long-forgotten Magic Weapon from his bag, s.h.i.+ Feng took a deep breath and declared, "Evolve!"
