Scourge Messenger

Chapter 189 The Calamity Stone

Having experienced three battles in the Forest of Corpses, Yan Qing had a full understanding of the difficulty in acquiring the power of natural disasters.

Putting aside how difficult it is to challenge those above their level, just finding the 'correct means' to free a sinner from the deepest abyss is enough to make Yan Qing's head spin. He's fought the Three Mountains Secret Realm almost a hundred times, changing many tokens during the test, but he's never managed to get the karma bar to drop.

Ultimately, the karma system is too vague. Take the example of the charnel grounds: does it require Buddhist relics, relics related to Buddhist stories, or relics of someone who has killed Buddhist disciples? I don't know, but the Seven Steps of Reciting Buddha's Name just happens to fit the bill.

If this were before the time travel, there would definitely be countless players analyzing strategies on forums. However, in this era where powerful families cherish their wealth and high-end messengers are scarce, Yan Qing can only rely on his intelligence and luck to slowly test and obtain the power of natural disasters.

The reason Yan Qing hesitated in the third job advancement of the Bunny Girl class was because the Killing Messenger class focuses on PVP and is not as good as the other two classes in dungeon exploration, which is Yan Qing's main development direction.

This only addresses the difficulty of acquiring karmic debts from natural disasters; it doesn't even mention the consequences of acquiring them.

Therefore, when Yan Qing discovered Si Wuxie's relics from the natural disaster, he was determined to take them, even if it meant sacrificing the Bingzi Pepper Forest, becoming a killing messenger, absorbing the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends, and then finely chopping the three guardians into minced meat!

As for why Prajna also wanted it, Yan Qing quickly understood: Prajna was also challenging a boss 10 levels higher than the Corpse King. Moreover, unlike the Bunny Girl who only contributed 13% to the battle, Prajna contributed the majority of the karma bar. If Yan Qing wasn't mistaken, he had most likely exceeded the 50% doubling threshold and absorbed 2 points of calamity karma!
But why would the fierce-faced monk know the importance of karmic retribution for natural disasters? Could it be that absorbing karmic retribution for natural disasters grants access to milestone-related knowledge instantly? Yan Qing wasn't sure either, since it was a secondary account that absorbed the karmic retribution for natural disasters, while he was merely using his main account to share milestones.

Everyone's gaze swept back and forth between Bunny Girl and Prajna. Pharmacist was the first to stand on Bunny Girl's side, gripping the Soul-Severing Spear tightly, his attitude resolute and clearly not open to discussion.

Bei You's expression was subtle, while Xue Xiang's brow twitched, and he showed a look of amusement: "What treasure is it that has you two fighting over it? I, Zhong Shu, have traveled the world for many years, and I really don't recognize the origin of this treasure."

"Enough," Prajna chanted a Buddhist prayer. "It was this humble monk who was attached to appearances. The other treasures are not bad either, why make an enemy of the rabbit benefactor? But since that's the case, the rabbit benefactor can no longer be picky, can he?"

The pharmacist immediately asked, "If I let you take this stone, can my sister take two items in return?"

Si Wuxie's legacy consists of six items; even if each person receives one, there would still be some left over, so someone will definitely get more. Although the system considers Bunny Girl's contribution to be only 13%, everyone present knows that Bunny Girl is the core of breaking through the level, and she is fully entitled to take two loot items.

"Prajna is just talking to herself; we didn't agree to that," Blood Path immediately said. "In my opinion, those who take the first item should only take one, and those who take the last should take two."

"Well said, in the end, I'll just give this humiliating task to someone else." Bei You saw through Xue Xiang's intentions at a glance.

The pharmacist slowly said, "Without my sister, how would you have had the chance to unlock Si Wuxie's legacy? If my sister hadn't used the Return Token, how could you have withstood the Corpse King's suicidal attack? My sister should have chosen first, then we would each take one, and finally my sister would take the one that no one else chose!"

"That makes sense. The greater the merit, the greater the reward." Blood Prime Minister clapped his hands lightly, his eyes flashing with a fierce light. "But the reason you've been able to stay in the Shu Road Mountains until now is because we showed you mercy, isn't it? According to your logic, the three of us deserve the greatest merit, and the six treasures should each be two of us!"

He paused, then added, "I swore to my younger brother that I would never harm you while you were assisting in the conquest of the secret realm. Now that the Corpse King is dead and the inheritance has been opened, it is perfectly justified for me to avenge my brother! Bei You, Banruo, will you help me or not!?"

Bei You twirled his dirty hair with his fingers and said casually, "Heroine Xingyu did indeed contribute a lot, but I spent seven years in Shudao Mountain, killing people and painting for seven years. I also want to make amends."

Prajna chanted a Buddhist prayer, then shook his head and said, "Why don't we each take a step back? Since Benefactor Rabbit already has the treasure he desires, the two of you should leave this troublesome place, Shu Road Mountain. The Return Token has already been used once; why waste it again?"

Faced with the Foundation Establishment inheritance, the three guardians' past friendliness, forbearance, and compromise vanished completely, revealing their true fangs as powerful demons: ruthless, vicious, and cruel.

Faced with the threat of the three guardians, the Pharmacist, holding his Soul-Severing Spear, drew a gunshot mark on the ground, his eyes sharp and unyielding: "You really think you've got this in the bag? You think you can easily force us out?"

"It probably won't be easy," Blood Prime sneered. "But what's a little injury? I've been wanting to teach you both a lesson for a long time! I—"

Just then, the Bunny Girl suddenly took a step forward, and Blood Manifestation immediately flashed three steps away. Bei You and Prajna also held their breath and stared intently at the Bunny Girl. Judging from their solemn expressions, one might have thought that the Corpse King had risen from the dead.

"We want this stone and the Heavenly Gang; the rest you can divide," the bunny girl said slowly. "If you refuse, then die."

The three guardians exchanged a glance and nodded slightly. The Pharmacist seemed inclined to say something, but after exchanging a look with the Bunny Girl, she silently accepted the outcome.

Ignoring how the three of them divided the four loot items, Bunny Girl picked up the stone, and the game immediately displayed detailed information about the item:

"The Stone of Innocent Thoughts"

"Rank: ??? (All effects only apply to players in Real Mode)"

"Effect: All damage you deal +9."

"Use effect: You gain 7 points of Calamity Karma."

"Evaluation: The relic of natural disasters that was extracted after Si Wuxie's complete death contains 50% of all his karmic force from natural disasters. 10% of the karmic force turned into the Natural Disaster Stone. Destroying the stone can absorb 40% of the karmic force."

So that’s it!
Yan Qing suddenly understood. Back when he learned how to obtain the karma of natural disasters, Yan Qing noticed something very strange—why was the karma of natural disasters preserved in the form of milestones?
This statement isn't entirely accurate, because Yan Qing fully understands the official's thinking. If the karma from natural disasters is calculated separately for each character, then real-mode accounts would never be eligible to participate in natural disaster-themed events. Real-mode accounts, whose main gameplay revolves around survival, would be unable to challenge dungeons 10 levels higher; that would be tantamount to suicide.

However, preserving Cataclysm Karma through milestones would actually greatly benefit Real Mode, since milestones are effective on all Real Mode accounts, and the easiest way to acquire Cataclysm Karma is to create alt accounts to unlock low-level dungeons!

However, this will lead to a serious problem: if everyone does it this way, the karma from natural disasters will quickly inflate. Keep in mind that this is an attribute related to true damage, and it could easily ruin the numerical system.

The Cataclysm Stone is the official restriction on Cataclysm milestones and... bounties!
Yan Qing keenly noticed that the Calamity Stone described 'half of Si Wuxie's total Calamity Karma'. Even if Si Wuxie had other alt accounts, and he himself hadn't acquired Calamity Karma, as long as he died, half of the Calamity Karma from all his associated accounts would be released!
In other words, players can create alternate accounts to farm Calamity Karma, but as soon as the alternate account dies, all accounts' Calamity Karma will drop by half!
This is just the surface level. The deeper meaning is that any player can hunt down Real Mode players to obtain Cataclysm Stones! Although only Real Mode players can use Cataclysm Stones, ordinary players can also obtain them and sell them to others!
Furthermore, since it is easier to accumulate karmic debt in Real Mode, as long as you hoard a wave of resources and karma in Real Mode, and then suddenly feed the new account to Foundation Establishment or even Ascension, with the right build, you can deal a devastating blow to other players.

If I had to describe it, it's similar to a "search, attack, and retreat" mode. Smaller accounts accumulate resources, then larger accounts launch a massive attack. If things go well, the larger account can even acquire more Cataclysm Stones, leading to a qualitative leap and potentially causing numerical imbalances. However, because it's a realistic mode, no matter how strong the larger account is, one death means losing everything. The developers allow for numerical imbalances and allow players to suddenly experience a burst of power after a long period of accumulation, since other players will always deal with the culprits. As for players in other modes, while they don't lose karma upon death, their acquisition of Cataclysm Karma is limited due to their constantly increasing levels. Therefore, their strength remains under control, and they become the 'invisible hand' used by the developers to balance the strength of Cataclysm players!
It's truly a free-for-all under the frosty sky. The official stance seems to be that they don't care how the real-world mode is handled, as deleting accounts can solve everything. So they've crammed in every interesting and brutal gameplay element imaginable.

Then I'll accept this brutal pleasure without hesitation!
"You have absorbed 7 points of karmic force from natural disasters."

"You have triggered a natural disaster milestone!"

"Calamity: You currently have 11 points of Calamity Karma, which unlocks the secondary milestones [Calamity] and [Sigh]. Accumulating more Calamity Karma will unlock secondary milestones."

Calamity: All your attacks can deal true damage equal to the amount of Calamity Karma, currently 11 points.

Sigh: Any damage you take is reduced by an amount equal to your Cataclysmic Karma value (after all damage reductions are calculated), currently reduced by 11 points.

11 points of damage reduction may not seem like much, but in reality... it really isn't much. This is clearly a milestone prepared for defensive players. If they deliberately stack damage reduction, players can stack it to a maximum of 85%, and then further weaken it with Sigh. Moreover, they can continuously consume Spirit Jade to maintain their defensive barrier, making them virtually unshakeable among players of the same class level.

While Bunny Girl was absorbing the Cataclysmic Stone, she and Pharmacist Yuan had already reached one side of the back forest. Pharmacist Yuan held the Heavenly Dipper in her hand, her eyebrows drooping; if she had a tail, it would certainly be hanging very low at this moment.

"I'm the one who dragged you down again, aren't I?" she asked softly. "If it weren't for my sake, you could have killed them all and taken Si Wuxie's inheritance."

Bunny Girl looked at her with a shocked expression: "Do you think I'm some kind of serial killer? Someone who just kills everything when faced with a problem?"

"But you can do it, can't you?"

"While I could, I don't intend to cause them any trouble. My brother said that there are many people I only meet once in my life, so I shouldn't hesitate in either love or hate; once missed, it's gone forever," said Bunny Girl. "I acknowledge their contributions; they deserve this reward."

Even with what Bunny Girl said, Pharmacist Yuan was still somewhat disappointed.

She wasn't saying it had to be a double-cross, but she felt that Bunny Girl should at least get the lion's share of the spoils. After all, Bunny Girl was never one to suffer a loss; she even made Blood Prime pay a hefty sum after killing Blood Prime's brother, but now she wasn't getting her due… If she were a little more assertive, Bunny Girl wouldn't be at a disadvantage.

But Yan Qing's thoughts were completely different from hers. To him, the Calamity Stone was the most important gain, even surpassing the Foundation Establishment Pill. If he wasn't mistaken, the Calamity Stone was the core of Si Wuxie's inheritance; everything else was merely an add-on.

According to Si Wuxie's arrangement, as long as the challenger activates his legacy, he will gain at least 1 point of Heavenly Calamity Karma, and will naturally be able to sense the extraordinary nature of the Heavenly Calamity Stone.

The so-called inheritance is the hope that future generations can inherit one's accumulated knowledge and continue to move forward. Even though Si Wuxie left no words behind, Yan Qing seemed to see the dying expectations of a madman of the demonic path:
Go forth, plunder the world's hidden realms, and claim all the karmic burdens of natural disasters for your own use!
He truly was a giant of the demonic path a hundred years ago. His mind was filled with nothing but the desire to create chaos in the world. He left behind a legacy only to create a successor who would wreak havoc on the world!

Yan Qing's heart stirred. According to the description of the Calamity Stone, Si Wuxie had a total of 18 points of Calamity Karma in his lifetime. Thinking about it carefully, this was too much. Perhaps he also inherited Calamity Karma from other demonic cultivators, which is why he set up the same Calamity legacy after his death.

The "Catastrophe Stone," a stone whose very nature is meant to cause conflict in the world, has become the key to their inheritance—a truly ironic situation.

Having obtained the Calamity Stone and the Heavenly Gang, Yan Qing felt he had already gotten a good deal and naturally didn't mind giving the other items to the three protectors. Of course, the prerequisite for Yan Qing not to hold it against them was their behavior throughout the journey.

The three guardians are villains, ruthless demons who have slaughtered countless people, but in the conquest of the secret realm, they all fulfilled their duties as teammates. As for the final Dragon Subduing Seal, it was one thing for the Medicine Master to be willing, but Bei You and Xue Xiang were both willing to come and share the burden, even though they knew that without Prajna, their chances of survival were slim.

Regardless of their ulterior motives, at least this moment of standing side by side is real.

If they had made the first move, Yan Qing would have taken them as spoils of war; but now that they had accepted Yan Qing's terms, he wouldn't have betrayed them.

It's fate that we can play together. Even if we can't be friends, we should part ways amicably.

"Sister, you won't mind if I take it upon myself to do it, will you?" the bunny girl asked.

The pharmacist shook his head and handed the Heavenly Dipper back.

"Although I have a good temper, I still get angry when you act like this." The bunny girl stared at her intently and said irritably, "My brother said that you should accept gifts generously, instead of refusing them. It's as if I'm forcing you to accept betrothal gifts and marry my brother. Or do you want the Whip Mountain Moving Stone Seal more? I was originally planning to give you the Whip Mountain Moving Stone Seal today, but I didn't expect there to be something even better in the inheritance."

"If your brother's betrothal gift is this, women who want to marry him could be arranged from Changchun to Jiangnan." The Pharmacist said with a wry smile, "Putting aside the fact that I originally wanted to earn Foundation Establishment resources for you, just the fact that you used the Return Token to protect me just now means I'm not qualified to take this Heavenly Rank. Not only the Heavenly Rank, but I should also take that Earthly Fiend Rank—"

"Didn't you just come over to protect me?"

"But I couldn't protect them either, in the end I still had to rely on you..."

"So, sister, you have to become stronger, strong enough to protect me." The bunny girl hugged the pharmacist, "That way I can slack off a bit. When the time comes, my brother and sister-in-law's Foundation Establishment Pills, Heavenly Gang Pills, and Earthly Fiend Pills will all depend on your help, sister."

The pharmacist pursed his lips, stroked the bunny girl's thick braid, and gently exhaled: "Okay."

There weren't many sentimental words; that's just the kind of person she is. Once she agrees, she agrees, and it's a done deal.

The Heavenly Dipper in the Pharmacist's hand was none other than the 'Star Shifting and Constellation Changing Disc'.

Combined with the Earthly Fiend Immobilization Stone she obtained earlier, it can form the perfect Dao Foundation - Greedy Wolf Breaking Army Dao Foundation!
(End of this chapter)