I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

Chapter 143 Extraordinary Branch Characteristics, Observations Outside the Camp (5K)

After the VIP badges were distributed, the entire city of Baijiang and the area around the Lighthouse Camp remained peaceful for the next few days.

There was little gray fog tide impacting the city, and no trace of pseudo-human activity.

It was as if all the hypocrites had vanished.

These past few days, the captain of the Countermeasures Bureau who wants to break through to the Transcendent Realm is still preparing, and this preparation time has exceeded a week.

Shi An understood. Those like his family's eccentric employees, who hastily begin their breakthroughs the moment they come across a supernatural ritual, are extremely rare.

Failure to achieve a breakthrough in the extraordinary realm means death; no amount of caution is excessive.

"Li Feng has been studying his supernatural abilities these days. He has also tried to use them in the nightmare world. As long as he doesn't try to conquer low-level nightmares, even if Li Feng uses his supernatural abilities, he is unlikely to attract the attention of the supernatural monsters."

Shi An stroked his chin.

This feeling is like—the rules of the nightmare world have imposed restrictions, preventing extraordinary individuals from blasting fish. If extraordinary individuals want to conquer a nightmare, they must conquer those high-level nightmares guarded by extraordinary and bizarre gatekeepers.

However, naturally, although Li Feng is stronger than the pseudo-human monster of that day, he is still only a beginner in the extraordinary realm, and he is still a small fry among the extraordinary monsters.

The ship he saw that day was strange; Shi An didn't know whether it was a transcendent, perfected being or something even higher.

"Lifeng's extraordinary talent is magical weaponry," or more precisely, "cursed runes." These runes possess sharp and annihilating properties; upon piercing through a strange entity, they can directly strip away a significant amount of its life force, making it difficult for the entity to recover.

"If the runes are applied to the armor, there's nothing special about it; at most, they just make the armor a little harder."

Shi An understood the reason.

Because at this time, Li Feng was only in the early stage of the Transcendent Realm, and his innate talent only had one branch characteristic.

He pondered, "It's said that breakthroughs in the mid-to-late stages of the Transcendent Realm require several conditions. First, one must have sufficient incantation power; second, one's talent development must reach a critical threshold; and third—one must develop the second branch of that talent!"

For a typical newly promoted extraordinary being, the actual scope of their innate abilities is very small.

When Chen Jianghuai first entered the extraordinary realm, his earth transformation could only cover his entire fist. It was only through gradual cultivation and development that he was able to extend the earth transformation to his entire arm.

Li Feng's foundation before his promotion was probably too strong. After all, Li Feng's foundation came from his experience as the shop manager, which was much stronger than those peak experts who relied solely on their own hard work and struggles to reach the top.

Compared to others, Li Feng is already at the peak of the early stage of the Extraordinary Realm.

But actually, it probably hasn't happened yet.

"Li Feng's cultivation by absorbing dream crystals continues to enhance his internal curse power, and the curse patterns within him are also deepening. Clearly, he is far from being able to break through the minor bottleneck. This is natural, as he has only recently advanced in cultivation."

Xiao Xue, Zhuo Ling, and Ming Yi have not yet seized the opportunity for extraordinary abilities.

However, another extraordinary individual in the safe zone, Chen Jianghuai, the garrison commander of the Lighthouse Camp, has made a breakthrough recently.

"Drink up!"

Inside the training room, the earth-like substance on Chen Jianghuai's body continued to spread, covering his entire arm and then half of his body.

Moreover, his former earthen body was a clod of earth full of cracks and fissures, with very poor defense; it could only replace flesh and blood to withstand damage and recover.

At this moment, his earthen body no longer had any cracks; instead, it had fine lines, as if he were wearing earthen-yellow armor.

"This is my second special ability, Hard Soil!"

"The first branch ability, Ground Smash, is actually more suitable for offense, while Ground Hard is more suitable for defense or trapping the enemy."

On that day, his earthen barrier was shattered by a single punch from the pseudo-human superhuman.

This is partly because the pseudo-human superhuman also possesses some "earth-shattering" ability and is naturally adept at smashing rocks; on the other hand, the earthen barrier that Chen Jianghuai built was not solid enough.

It can't be made solid.

He didn't have that ability at the time.

But now, he can switch between loose and hard soil when manipulating the clods of earth. This is the mid-stage of the Transcendent Realm!

Compared to the early stage of the Transcendent Realm, it is much stronger!

"Not only that—"

Shi An stroked his chin. "It is said that the radius of control over one's abilities differs greatly between the early and middle stages of the extraordinary realm."

Previously, Chen Jianghuai had estimated that the maximum distance between the fractured land and the rising rocks was about thirty or forty meters.

Beyond this range, he would be unable to freely control his extraordinary talent.

He can cause the earth to crack open for a hundred meters, but he cannot control the broken soil beyond a hundred meters to turn into rocks.

Now, it seems that Chen Jianghuai's control over the limit of his extraordinary talent has extended to fifty or sixty meters.

"Mid-stage Transcendent Realm, so incredibly powerful!"

"I underestimated Old Chen a bit. Well, after the battle outside the lighthouse, Old Chen was already weakened by the pseudo-human superhuman after being corrupted for many days. The pseudo-human superhuman was also in a state of exhaustion."

The power unleashed by the individual and the demon that day was indeed extraordinary.

But they cannot be used as a reference point for the extraordinary.

Little did they know—

Chen Jianghuai also sighed and was amazed.

"I never imagined I'd so easily reach the mid-stage of the Transcendent realm, a level I've been dreaming of for over a year!"

This was the magic of the training ground, which allowed him, who already had ample preparation, to take the final half-step.

Most importantly————

"To break through and enter the mid-stage of the extraordinary realm, one needs to develop and verify the second branch characteristic of their innate talent. However, the development of this characteristic can easily backfire!"

The path of the dreamer is fraught with pitfalls and peril at every turn.

Even if one reaches the extraordinary level, it is the same.

To reach the extraordinary level, one must face life and death; even after advancement, life is not easy.

In the past, Chen Jianghuai shouldered the responsibility for dozens of villagers in the elk camp, never daring to relax or take any risks.

Go for a breakthrough.

He wouldn't even dare to use his supernatural abilities unless absolutely necessary.

Therefore, his strength hardly improved after the city fell into disaster.

And now—

There's a training room where he can experiment with his abilities at will. Bathed in the lighthouse's glow, the entire camp is far safer than before.

They now have the backing of a safe zone, a powerful ally.

"Damn, finally I don't have to walk on thin ice anymore!"

"Cool!"

"I can even try exploring the Nightmare World. The shopkeeper even gave me two days off a week?"

Chen Jianghuai thought it was outrageous.

Although in the present world, he was the one in charge of approving leave.

But ever since entering the nightmare world, holidays have become irrelevant to me.

Anyone is.

In reality, the Lighthouse Camp being away from him for a day or two is not a big deal. The Lighthouse Camp is more than ten times more stable than the Elk Camp.

More than that.

"In the past, even when the camp was safe, I dared not go too far."

"Because the nightmare world is constantly changing, sometimes a gust of gray fog might blow by, and in the blink of an eye, you'll see a completely different world. It's easy to get lost if you're too far from the camp. Even if you have items to guide you and pinpoint your location, it could take ten days or half a month to get back."

Given the previous situation at the elk camp, Chen Jianghuai could have gotten into trouble even if he left for just two or three days, let alone ten or fifteen days.

But now—

Looking at the membership card in his hand, Chen Jianghuai finally stopped hesitating and ventured directly into the Nightmare World.

He still dared not tackle the nightmare.

However, a powerful expert at the Transcendent Realm could easily traverse through the strange group and take the treasure directly.

Sweeping away treasures—that's the true meaning of exploration for extraordinary powerhouses!

Chen Jianghuai was so poor that he practically dug three feet into the ground.

In just two or three days, Chen Jianghuai brought back one precious medicinal plant after another to the lighthouse camp, and he also dug up several tons of fertile soil.

These precious medicinal plants may not be able to survive, but for Chen Jianghuai, if even one out of ten special plants can survive, it's worth it.

Shi An exclaimed in astonishment, "Is this the kind of action capability of the older generation of extraordinary experts? It's truly terrifying!"

He arrived at Training Room Number One.

Having witnessed extraordinary abilities, he has gained a deeper understanding of the two superior-grade cursed artifacts he wields.

With a thought, the shadow stretched twenty meters away, constantly changing shape in the distance.

Sometimes shadowy spikes would pierce out, sometimes they would transform into hands to grab the target.

"Isn't this characteristic of remote control similar to supernatural abilities?"

"Perhaps, wielding a superior-grade cursed artifact is itself equivalent to being half-stepping into the extraordinary realm?"

"after all----"

Previously, Shi An only thought that superior-grade cursed items were rarer, more unusual, and higher-level cursed dream items.

But now, with his broadened perspective, he understands, "There probably aren't any superior-grade cursed artifacts among first-tier cursed artifacts!"

First-order cursed objects refer to cursed objects derived from ordinary strange phenomena.

They are usually complete-grade cursed items, but a few powerful and bizarre ones will drop rare-grade cursed items.

As for incomplete cursed artifacts? Those are either strange scraps or products of condensed cold energy.

Extraordinary cursed items dropped by the extraordinary and mysterious are often rare-grade cursed items (second tier), and in rare cases, excellent-grade cursed items (second tier) may drop.

"The Dreamer cannot refine superior cursed artifacts, nor do they even exist!"

It was only because Shi An exploited a bug and used a cheat that he was able to wield the power of excellence.

Shi An's second exceptional cursed artifact, the "Fearless Insect Armor," doesn't have the flashy abilities of Night Shadow Mask.

The cursed object is essentially just an insect.

But this insect can continuously devour metal; the more it consumes, the stronger it becomes.

The cursed object can transform into an insect shell harder than gold and iron, and can also stir up an insect swarm.

It can even transform itself into countless insects and escape to all directions to save its life.

However, Shi An cannot use this third skill.

To reiterate, he possesses half of the extraordinary abilities, while the other half is unusable because he is still a mortal.

But just by covering himself with the insect armor, a continuous stream of power would flow into him; he could even kill a leopard with a single punch.

This is the boost from the insect-armor fusion!

"shadow!"

"The swarm!"

"These are all extremely powerful abilities with immense potential!"

"However, for those in the Transcendent Realm, the three natal curse artifacts refined during the Refinement stage are merely the foundation. Although the natal talent awakened in the Transcendent Realm is related to the curse artifact foundation, only one can be awakened at a time."

Shi An was unsure what abilities he would awaken in the future.

He'll definitely refine all three exceptional artifacts. He won't be willing to give up any of the three exceptional powers.

Zhuo Ling, Xiao Xue, and the other two strange characters are temporarily unable to break through in the extraordinary ritual, but the powerful members in the safe zone have experienced a small breakthrough wave in the past few days.

Many veteran members were already stuck at the peak of the First Refinement Realm.

They are exceptionally gifted, have abundant resources, and are daring and adventurous, capable of conquering one nightmare after another.

This minor bottleneck won't hold them back for long; a breakthrough will come naturally.

"You've reached the second stage of cultivation!"

"In this way, the use of the two natal cursed items will no longer be delayed, and we can begin to prepare for the refining of the third cursed item."

The Xuanjian murmured.

For him, acquiring a suitable rare-grade cursed item was not difficult.

It's not just the Xuan Sword.

Now, members who have already entered the second stage of cultivation or are about to break through are all preparing their third natal curse item.

Many people have even found the cursed object.

Unlike before.

Two or three weeks ago, many people suffering from dream-related illnesses were desperately seeking rare magical items without success. Had the auction not been held at the right time, many members would have been stuck on acquiring these items for quite some time.

Although those who fall into the dream realm outside the main world break through slowly and progress slowly, often getting stuck here and there, it naturally takes them several months to advance even a small realm.

However, now more than half of the members are active in the depths of the nightmare, working together to conquer each nightmare area.

This kind of dream must have a mysterious leader in charge.

It will also inevitably drop rare-grade cursed items.

After repeated attempts, many Dreamers have acquired rare cursed items.

These cursed items may not be suitable for them, but they are members of the safe zone.

Not suitable? Then exchange with someone else.

There are many exchange fairs for Dreamers in Baijiang City, but the exchange fairs in the safe zone are hundreds of times higher in quality.

Some dream sufferers who are too lazy to exchange items can list their cursed items in the trading area and then post a request to buy them.

With a large number of powerful individuals in the safe zone, cursed items circulate rapidly, making it easy for everyone to exchange for their desired cursed items.

"From the second level of the Refinement Realm to the third level, the time spent by these first-tier members will probably be shorter than before."

Shi An pondered to himself.

Meanwhile, in the pale ruins, in a certain area on the outskirts.

"boom!"

A rumbling sound came from afar, and a dilapidated low building finally succumbed to the pressure and slowly collapsed.

Captain Long Xingzhou stopped in his tracks.

He looked to his side.

The vice-captain, a powerful expert named Thousand Eyes who had reached the peak of the Third Refinement Realm and was skilled in reconnaissance, opened three vertical pupils on his forehead.

After a long pause, Thousand Eyes spoke up: "There is an unfamiliar team of Dream Fallers attacking Ge Meng. Judging from the situation, they have already..."

The leader was mysteriously killed.

Long Xingzhou was somewhat surprised, "Someone's actually trying to conquer Nightmare? And it's someone I don't even know?"

This is truly a rare occurrence!

The nightmare deep within is extremely difficult to conquer, and there are very few teams capable of doing so.

For example, the elite team he leads.

If Long Xingzhou doesn't take action himself, it's relatively easy for the rest of the team of a dozen or so people to conquer a low-level area.

But how many teams like that can Baijiang possibly put together?

Even the second-tier teams are few and far between in the entire Baijiang area.

Very few people would attempt to conquer the Nightmare difficulty.

The probability of them accidentally encountering this is extremely low.

"Since they're almost done with Nightmare, let's not bother them and go around them."

"Let's get to Lu Yao's camp first."

The first team carries the necessary tools to guide them to Lu Yao's camp.

That camp was also the gateway to Baijiang City.

Half a day later, Long Xingzhou's first team, along with Chen Moxuan and a few others from Tiannan City, arrived at Luyao's camp.

However, along the way, they unexpectedly encountered two more groups of Dreamers.

One team has two people, and another team has four people.

These two teams were far fewer in number than the teams that had previously tackled the Nightmare. Furthermore, neither team was actually tackling the Nightmare; they were merely exploring.

But Long Xingzhou was still surprised.

The nightmare world is vast, and the probability of encountering someone who has fallen into a nightmare is extremely low.

I encountered three waves of them today.

He arrived at Lu Yao's camp and learned about the affairs of the false people from the mouth of the fire.

"At first glance, our Baijiang City seems peaceful, but the pseudo-humans are lurking in the shadows, and no one knows what they will do or what they are capable of doing. After all, the supernatural know far more about nightmares than we do, and some of their methods are difficult for us to predict."

The burning fire is thus said.

Long Xingzhou and Chen Moxuan also had solemn expressions.

Suddenly, Long Xingzhou recalled what he had seen and heard along the way. He had encountered several groups of strangers who had fallen into dreams. Could this be related to the fake people?

He revealed this matter.

Burning Huo laughed dumbly.

"No, that's not it. The Dream Fallers you encountered on the way, Captain Long, are all rising stars who have emerged recently. It's just that there are quite a few of these rising stars."

"A little over, how much? How many? A dozen or so?"

"Dragon asked."

The burning fire remained mysteriously silent.

He simply changed the subject, saying, "The matter of the fake people is very troublesome, but our Baijiang City now has a strong ally, namely the Safe Zone Camp. It is precisely because of the emergence of the Safe Zone Camp that many civilian Dreamers have risen up in Baijiang."

Long Xingzhou was even more confused.

Chen Moxuan had actually been to Baijiang City before, but it had been more than half a year since his last visit.

After so much time, Baijiang has undergone tremendous changes, and it's normal for power to shift.

It has only been a little over a year since the city collapsed.

Long Xingzhou had only been away for a month, not a long time, but he felt as if he had been away for three or five years. When he came back, his hometown had changed so much that he could hardly understand it.

Don't understand? That's perfectly fine!

Seeing the Dragon Team's bewildered expression, Fenhuo understood perfectly.

Wasn't I the same way before? I just never expected that even a team as powerful as the Dragon Team would be dumbfounded when they heard these strange stories.

Rounding down, Dragon and him are actually pretty much the same.

The team of about twenty people rested for half a day at Lu Yao's camp, taking a nap and eating and drinking their fill. After that, they set off towards the shallower areas of the nightmare.

They were now very close to Baijiang City.

With their stamina, it would take them at most half a day to walk before they were able to enter the shallower area and return to the present world of Baijiang.

Fenhuo led the way, guiding everyone forward.

He said, "Team Leader Long, weren't you curious about the safe zone camp? Look ahead."

As they approached the shallower areas, they noticed an increasing number of active traces of those who had fallen into dreams.

Until, a watchtower more than ten meters high slowly emerged from the gray fog.

At the foot of the watchtower, one can see many people who have fallen into dreams coming and going.

They were all experts in the Refinement stage!

"Is this the safe zone camp?"

"No, this is just the watchtower camp under the jurisdiction of the safe zone camp."

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