Chapter 10

Ge Hong's "Baopuzi" states: Mountain spirits resemble small children, with a single leg bent backward. At night, they enjoy attacking people and are called "xiao."

This is probably the origin of the xiao ghost in "Pianan." Among the xiao-type monsters, this lower-level elite monster is quite troublesome, but it also depends on the opponent. In "Pianan," the higher the level, the harder it is to level up, and challenging higher-level monsters has become the norm for professionals.

The Huiguang Fa Jian, when it hits, will definitely bring a debuff effect. Once the target's defense is broken, they enter a vulnerable state, and all types of damage increase by 100% for five seconds, providing an excellent opportunity for output. Zhou Yi, of course, wouldn't miss this chance and immediately activated the Two Instruments Subduing Demons Diagram.

A red mark appeared on his forehead, and a Yin-Yang Two Instruments Array appeared above his head. The Five Elements Flowing Light burst forth instantly, each beam of light becoming even more intense, containing immense power, doubling the spell damage.

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The Five Elements Flowing Light was cast in the order of mutual generation, with two consecutive attacks. Each second, two points of divine light pierced through without missing, all hitting the xiao ghost, reducing its health by two thousand points. In addition to the 100% Five Elements Mark effect, the burning effect of the Fire Element Flowing Light was also triggered, lasting five seconds, with -20 damage per second appearing above the xiao ghost's head.

Zhou Yi, however, had a serious expression, continuously practicing the thirty-six moves in his mind as he charged at the xiao ghost bare-handed!

The heavily injured xiao ghost roared and stood up, its burning body charging forward recklessly. With only a few feet between them, the xiao ghost extended its burning arms, ready to tear its opponent apart. Suddenly, Zhou Yi raised his right hand, and a burst of five-colored light formed a giant fist, smashing down like the hand of a celestial being, with an unstoppable force!

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A loud explosion echoed, and astonishing damage appeared above the xiao ghost. With a final roar of defiance, the xiao ghost spat blood and finally fell. At the same time, a golden light shone above Zhou Yi's head, and he leveled up three times, reaching level 11.

Zhou Yi was already very satisfied with this experience. After level 10, the experience required for each level increases significantly, and reaching level 11 was already very satisfying.

The Five Elements Divine Fist is the third and ninth move of the "Shangqing Xiaoyan Wuxing Lianqi Jue," which can be activated only if the Five Elements Flowing Light hits in the order of mutual generation and the target has all five elements marked. The Five Elements Mark transforms into the Five Elements Divine Fist, with an effective range of three zhang and must be activated within three breaths, or it will cancel itself.

Since it is a full five-element attack, combined with the effect of the Two Instruments Subduing Demons Diagram, this attack instantly consumed 100 points of Zhou Yi's mana, emptying his mana bar. If this attack had not killed the xiao ghost, Zhou Yi would have died.

Without time to recover his mana, Zhou Yi quickly recited the incantation and disassembled the xiao ghost's corpse. The materials from a level 15 elite monster are highly valuable on the market. This disassembly indeed yielded a good item:

Xiao Ghost Heart: The heart of a xiao ghost, a necessary ingredient for refining the Beast Essence Pill.

The Beast Essence Pill can increase the lifespan of mounts and pets and is often required for various guild trials. It must be refined with a xiao ghost heart, which is a luxury item. The drop rate of the xiao ghost heart is extremely low, and only someone with Zhou Yi's extraordinary luck could obtain it. Once the initial capital accumulation period is over, this material could be worth ten silver taels.

This battle was a small success, not only leveling up to 11 but also developing two hidden combo moves from the thirty-six moves.

Based on this battle, Zhou Yi finally confirmed that the "Shangqing Xiaoyan Wuxing Lianqi Jue" is definitely one of the top three third-tier Daoist books. With its powerful burst damage, it is certainly not inferior to the "Baoyang Tujie." Within the fifth tier, there are very few that can match it.

"Although the burst is strong, the mana consumption is too high. I need to find a way to increase my mana cap, otherwise, the cost of buying potions will become unbearable."

After gathering his thoughts, Zhou Yi climbed onto the auspicious cloud and flew along the mountain range, looking for a village to sell his materials and buy some basic mana recovery potions. He had no intention of challenging stronger monsters deeper in the mountains; he wanted to be cautious. He had already passed level 10, and death would result in a penalty, so it was best not to take risks.

Leveling up is not urgent. "Pianan" becomes increasingly difficult as it progresses. Players need to challenge higher-level monsters in the wild to gain experience, and most of the beta testers are collecting resources. With millions of new users, he wasn't worried about falling behind in the game's progress.

As for the guild that Wenshi mentioned, Zhou Yi wasn't in a hurry. What's his is his, and no one can take it away.

Flying along the Cangmang Mountains, Zhou Yi saw a village at the foot of the mountain and flew in that direction. As he approached, he suddenly saw two black dots circling in the sky above the forest, their sword light slashing and driving the players leveling in the forest down the mountain. Zhou Yi immediately flew into the forest, dispelled the cloud-climbing spell, and walked on foot.

"If I'm not mistaken, those two black dots are sword immortals. They must be at least level 10 to wield flying swords. What are they doing, driving away new players? It's probably not good, better to be cautious."

Walking through the forest, Zhou Yi finally reached the foot of the mountain. Before he got close, he heard the shouts from above:

"New players, listen up. The foot of this mountain has been sealed by us, the Shenlou. It is now our leveling area. We won't use force, but everyone leveling here must be screened."

"Shenlou? An official organization?"

The name sounded familiar to Zhou Yi, as if he had heard it in his previous life, but he didn't remember much. Even if he had heard of it, they probably weren't in the same circles, so it was normal not to remember much. What caught his attention was the official organization.

"An official organization has been established in just over half a month?" Zhou Yi's doubt arose, but he quickly shook his head, dismissing it. It was most likely an illegal organization. There were many illegal organizations in "Pianan," mostly established by studio teams. The Tianliang team probably had illegal organizations too, but he hadn't received any messages from them yet.

Approaching again, Zhou Yi finally saw a group of people gathered outside the leveling area. He quietly jumped into a patch of grass and hid behind it, trying to understand the situation first.

A large area of the wilderness at the foot of the mountain was designated as a leveling area. The two sword immortals on the flying clouds drove the new players down the mountain, quickly clearing the area.

The leveling area was surrounded, and a crudely made banner was hung, with "Shenlou" written on a yellow cloth. Not only that, but Zhou Yi noticed that such banners were placed every mile along the foot of the mountain. The number of people involved in sealing the mountain was surprising, even to Zhou Yi, who was prepared.

The new players in the leveling area were loudly cursing, clearly agitated. They were leveling and suddenly driven out, and anyone with a bit of pride would be angry.

The Shenlou members holding the banners dispersed, and a player with a wooden chair ran forward, placed it, and then retreated. A player with a sword on his back walked out from the crowd, his expression cold, and his green temples particularly noticeable.

"Green temples, this person looks familiar."

The distinctive appearance was familiar to Zhou Yi, but he couldn't immediately recall who it was. In his previous life, he joined "Pianan" two years after its launch, when the world was in turmoil, and many powerful figures dominated different regions. It was impossible to recognize all of them.

"I am Li Jingwu of West Kunlun, one of the main leaders of Shenlou." Ignoring the curses of the new players, Li Jingwu spoke, his voice not loud but clear to everyone due to the spread of his mana. "I apologize for the inconvenience today, but it's for a minor matter. Anyway, this Xiaoshan was already chosen as Shenlou's base, so it's only right to inspect it early."

"West Kunlun, so what? Shenlou, so what? What does your base have to do with us leveling? Bastard, if you have the guts, kill me!"

Before Li Jingwu could finish, a wave of sarcastic curses rose. It wasn't surprising they dared to curse; most were still below level 10, and death had no severe penalty, only a symbolic loss of copper coins. New players didn't have much money, so no one was afraid.

Li Jingwu's expression turned cold, and he coldly scanned the crowd. "Do you really think I can't do anything to you?" He glanced back and nodded, and a player with an ordinary appearance stepped forward, a sword cloud rising under his feet. He flew over the crowd, drew his flying sword, and began to attack.

The sword light rained down, and the crowd began to scatter. Zhou Yi frowned; this wasn't a simple slaughter. Each sword missed, but it drove the loudest cursers together, clearly with a plan.

His guess was correct. Once the loudest cursers were driven together, the player on the cloud extended his hand, and a large white net descended, capturing the six players. He lifted the net, holding them in the air.

"Find a cliff and hang them there, let them curse to their heart's content."

Following Li Jingwu's order, the sword immortal flew off with the six players, and Li Jingwu coldly watched the disheveled new players, continuing:

"This net is a first-tier magical treasure developed by Shenlou. It has no significant effect but is specifically designed to deal with you new players. If you like, I can call more people to bring some over, and we can take you to see the scenery. Anyway, your levels are low, and you can just delete your characters and start over. What do you think?"

These words, though not harsh, made the new players fall silent. Deleting a character meant losing the monthly opportunity to create a new character, and the first character couldn't create a second until level 10. Deleting a character meant waiting two days to create a new one. Arguing with the fierce figure in front of them wasn't the best choice.

"Daoist friend, you are a disciple of West Kunlun, favored by Tiancan and Diqu. I recognize your flying sword, though it is powerful. However, in the north, where dragons and tigers contend, you must be cautious. After all, this is the Central Plains, not a place where Shenlou can rule with one hand."

A player who had been silent among the new players suddenly stepped forward, speaking calmly. Li Jingwu looked at him with surprise and continued: "Daoist friend, if you have something to say, please speak clearly. If we can help, I will do my best, but there's no need to humiliate us new players."

"New player? You call me a daoist friend? Another show-off! Li Jingwu laughed coldly and asked, "Have you seen a player dressed like a new player, using the cloud-climbing spell, coming from the west and falling into this mountain?"

"Cloud-climbing spell? That's a technique of the Four Celestial Masters, whose Daoist temple is in the south. How could a disciple be here..."

Before the player could finish, a silver-white sword light flew out from behind Li Jingwu, instantly decapitating the player. A white light flashed, and the player was sent to respawn.

"Damn, it's that green-templed killer. Isn't he supposed to be in the northwest? Why is he here, and why is he investigating me?"

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