Chapter 61 of 100

Chapter 61

14 min read3,512 words

"Rumble..."

In the courtyard of Zhou Xian's old home, the ground occasionally emitted a series of rumbles.

The originally flat courtyard was now pitted and uneven.

"Phew—I can't do it anymore..."

Zhou Xian, who had just cast a stack of talismans, sat on the ground, panting heavily.

He glanced at his character panel; although he still had about 10% MP left, Zhou Xian already felt completely drained.

In fact, when his MP was down to 50%, Zhou Xian had vaguely felt a bit tired, and when it was down to 30%, the feeling of fatigue had started to spread gradually.

"This MP in reality seems to be more than just MP." At this moment, Tao Shan and Xu Tianyun were helping Zhou Xian clean up the mess in the room, while Zhang Taihuo and Lai Yiming were standing by, studying the data.

Lai Yiming's grasp of data was not particularly strong; his strength lay in his ability to control the overall situation.

However, after joining the Dragon Tomb Society, especially after interacting with Zhang Taihuo, Lai Yiming's ability in this area had also improved significantly.

Zhou Xian took a deep breath and stood up, then said, "The MP used by Taoists is actually called 'Dao Power.' In the game, the source of Dao Power is the essence, energy, and spirit of the person. So it makes sense that it's like this now."

At this moment, Zhou Xian could feel something slowly circulating within his body. This was the result of his cultivation of the three channels and seven wheels, and the power of the Four Saints.

These two forces, while not as powerful as those of the ancient great beings in the game, could still be considered first-class.

And in the real world, these two forces were also beginning to circulate slowly.

Zhou Xian was puzzled: "Why didn't I notice this yesterday? Could it be because I didn't use up all my Dao Power yesterday?"

Now, Zhou Xian had only 10% of his Dao Power left, almost completely drained, and at this point, the power from within his body began to circulate gradually.

"This ability is really impressive. I wish I could use it like this too." Tao Shan, who was tidying up the debris, looked at the pitted ground and sighed.

"Hmm... Although I'm not quite sure, I think my ability might be related to those who use soul thoughts."

"Related to soul thoughts?" Xu Tianyun immediately put down his work and came over.

Before he fell unconscious, Ying Tianlong had mentioned an important term: "Shenwei Prison."

"Shenwei Prison" is a very rare trial. According to the information Zhou Xian now had, each player can only undergo the Shenwei Prison trial once, regardless of whether it is successful or not.

In the Shenwei Prison, the enemies players face are their own reflections, or the true emotions in their hearts.

After successfully completing the trial, players can achieve "True Self." In terms of the game itself, this means making the player's character in the game identical to their real-world self. At this point, although the player's game abilities do not improve, they will feel a sense of "ease" in operation.

If before, Zhou Xian had to use all his strength to control his character in the game with his mind, after achieving "True Self," his character in the game would be as easy to control as his own body.

Zhou Xian originally thought this was a special privilege for Emperor players, but after Ying Tianlong mentioned the connection between the soul thought system and the Shenwei Prison, Zhou Xian had another idea.

Every time Zhou Xian thought about this, a ridiculous idea would pop up in his mind: "Could it be that before this world changed, I already had the abilities in the game?"

The appearance of soul thought users made Zhou Xian have this persistent feeling.

However, although everyone was looking at Zhou Xian with puzzled eyes, he hesitated to talk about the Shenwei Prison.

This ability had almost no information among players, and the information about "Shenwei Prison" all came from NPCs, the original inhabitants.

Moreover, because of the soul thoughts, the side effects of this ability also made Zhou Xian feel peculiar.

—And the problem was not just that.

If this trial were only so simple, it would be fine.

When players enter the Shenwei Prison for the trial, the opening of the Shenwei Prison will attract extraterrestrial demons. These extraterrestrial demons have never appeared in the official game introduction, and even in the game itself, NPCs seem to know little about them. This unstable factor made Zhou Xian feel a peculiar sense of unease. Because of the extraterrestrial demons, Zhou Xian felt that this thing was not so simple.

Should he say it or not?

This thought circled in Zhou Xian's mind several times in an instant.

"..."

Zhou Xian took a deep breath.

"Have you heard of 'Shenwei Prison'?"

Finally, Zhou Xian said it.

The world was undergoing drastic changes.

Since the countdown appeared, Zhou Xian felt as if the Sword of Damocles was hanging over his head.

It was not an overreaction.

This dangerous ability should be explained as clearly as possible.

"Shenwei Prison? Zhou Xian, you know about this?" Xu Tianyun immediately came over.

"Shenwei Prison?" Lai Yiming seemed to be thinking, but in the end, he shook his head.

"Information about Shenwei Prison is considered extremely secret even in the Lucifer Empire. It is said to have been passed down by Emperor Ye Tian. Zhou Xian, you actually know about this?" Zhang Taihuo seemed to know a little.

"Wait, Old Zhang, if it's extremely secret, how do you, an outsider, know about it?" Tao Shan asked curiously.

"It's not me who knows this information, but my sister." Zhang Taihuo paused, then took out his personal terminal and showed the picture on it: "Shenwei Prison is said to be a very mysterious trial. Let's not talk about success for now. In the Lucifer Empire, there were a few failed cases... and after the trial, half of these people lost their memory, while the other half experienced hallucinations, some developed schizophrenia, and some even went mad and died—listen carefully, I'm talking about real-world deaths, not in the game."

When the word "death" was mentioned, everyone swallowed hard.

This was no longer just a game.

The word "death" was too heavy for a group of children.

Zhang Taihuo's words instantly affected the others.

"Phew~" At this moment, Beidou came out of the house: "Alright, everyone. In five minutes, we can have dinner... Why do you all look so serious? Are you talking about something interesting?"

"Looking at them, they probably think they're the 14-year-old middle schoolers from anime who save the world, right?"

Su Xiaoyue walked out while making a comment.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Indeed, Su Xiaoyue's words made everyone look at Zhou Xian.

"Uh..."

It seems I am 14 years old now...

"Cough, cough, have you heard of Shenwei Prison? We were just talking about it."

"Oh, that's it."

Beidou nodded.

"—Have you heard of this, Beidou?"

"Of course, are you planning to go through the Shenwei Prison trial? I can help you arrange it. Setting this up takes a lot of time." Beidou seemed to know a lot about it: "Or are you planning to set it up in the real world? That won't work, you don't have enough materials in the real world. In the game world, I can get enough materials. But let me remind you, this trial can only be done once. Even if you delete your account and start over, it won't work."

At this point, even Zhang Taihuo was a bit unsettled.

"Where did you get this information?"

"Shenwei like the sea, Shenwei like the prison... yeah, something like that. It's just a trial with limited practical use, is it that important?" She put her hands on her hips, squinted her left eye, and looked quite amused.

"—Does passing the Shenwei Prison allow one to cultivate soul thoughts?"

Xu Tianyun interjected.

"Soul thoughts...? That's not the main part of the Shenwei Prison, but the result of someone tampering with the trial." Beidou shrugged.

Zhou Xian looked at her. Beidou seemed to be hiding many significant secrets.

"What is the original purpose of the Shenwei Prison? Although I passed the trial, I don't fully understand the system itself."

"Um, the Shenwei Prison is a unique trial for humans." Beidou seemed to know a lot about it and sat on a large rock: "You all know, in the game, the peak of the demon race is called 'Great Sage,' and the strongest among humans is called 'Divine Emperor'—I'm not talking about the Emperor players you mentioned, that's just a name they gave themselves. In the game world, the original inhabitants only recognize 'Divine Emperor.'"

How does she know such things? Who is she?

"To become a Great Sage, demons only need time and age. But humans are different. Humans don't have the long lifespan of demons or the inherited bloodline, so becoming a Divine Emperor is much more complicated than becoming a Great Sage. Among these, the Shenwei Prison trial is the first step to becoming a Divine Emperor and refining the spirit... of course, this is not the only method. In the game, one can also pass the trial through the three channels and seven wheels, or by refining the body with rare materials. But to put it simply, the Shenwei Prison is the fastest and most efficient method. Other methods have limitations, such as secondary profession restrictions or being limited to warriors or Taoists, so they all have flaws. Only the Shenwei Prison is the fastest... and, it seems, the riskiest."

Beidou spoke confidently, revealing a secret.

"How do you know this?"

Zhou Xian couldn't help but ask.

"I've said it before, I'm very strong. In the game world, I can protect you all."

Beidou put her hands on her hips.

Wait, how does this strange person know so much?

Could her seemingly off-the-wall actions be a disguise?

At this moment, all the information Zhou Xian had about Beidou instantly merged in his mind.

Agile movements, knowledge of information even the Lucifer Empire doesn't fully understand, and her peculiar personality, plus the "COSPlay" talisman she carried last time...

At this moment, Zhou Xian suddenly had a somewhat absurd but seemingly close-to-truth idea: Could it be... she is one of the Emperor players?

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