Ancient Ark: A Dark-Themed Historical Survival Game

Chapter 73 Annihilation of Believers and a Brand New Cultivation Technique

The camp's barriers and traps were all meticulously crafted by Hua Ding for the capture of the chosen ones, making it difficult for Xiao Yu to escape even with his strength.

But it meant nothing to Old Fan Li.

Every gesture.

All of them have been cracked.

This is the true value of Suiyang, the only place in the past capable of fighting against Wu Zixu!

Hua Ding knew how terrifying Fan Xin was, but why did this guy appear?

Did Fan Chun already have doubts about himself?

No, this old man has been in seclusion for many years and has no chance to discover the flaw. Besides, if he really suspected me, why would he wait until now to make a move?

He was invited out.

This person is very likely Xiao Yu.

But how could he know my hidden identity? Just how many unknown abilities does this guy have hidden?

This child is too dangerous.

If it cannot be removed as soon as possible.

Wu Zixu will not be the only one threatened!

"This old man is nearly at his last gasp; he doesn't have much strength left. Let's gather all our strength and fight to the death!"

More than a dozen followers of the Evil Eye Cult decisively activated the power of the Evil Eye. Crimson energy erupted from their bodies and transformed into light, which flowed into Hua Ding alone.

"Prepare to die!"

The staff unleashed a massive red lightning bolt, violently carving a deep ravine into the ground it passed through.

This attack is powerful enough to instantly crush a tall building. Logically speaking, even a level 10 overlord would be severely injured if directly hit.

however.

Fan Li neither dodged nor evaded.

He reached out his left hand and grabbed the lightning. The invisible and violent energy seemed to be suppressed and tamed, completely contained within his hand.

The lightning flashed and then quickly dimmed.

All the energy was absorbed into the body as if it were a mud ox sinking into the sea, without the hem of the clothes being damaged in the slightest.

The believers were not horrified.

Fan Xin then extended his right hand and released the absorbed energy. The originally violent lightning was compressed in his palm and transformed into a round energy ball.

Absorption attack.

To use it for one's own purposes?

It also involves shaping.

Could it even alter the characteristics of lightning?

What exquisite and terrifying ability!

Hua Ding immediately realized something was wrong, and his evil eyes shone brightly, forming three energy barriers in front of him.

"go!"

With a simple wave of his hand, Fan Xin flicked the energy ball, which instantly transformed into a blade of lightning, shattering three layers of barriers.

next moment.

Hua Ding's body, along with his staff, was severed at the waist. The remaining energy passed through Hua Ding's body and then exploded among the other believers.

boom!

Blood mist rose everywhere.

Under the bombardment of countless lightning bolts.

Before the followers of the Evil Eye Cult could react, their bodies were torn apart by a destructive force, leaving only charred remains of limbs and torsos.

One round.

They wiped out more than a dozen powerful believers in an instant.

The mysterious old man's methods and strength were so astonishing and unbelievable that they left all the chosen ones except Xiao Yu completely dumbfounded.

"Cough cough cough!"

Fan Li coughed a few times.

Just as Hua Ding had guessed.

He must recuperate within a special barrier, otherwise his body will weaken rapidly, and every attack will be a considerable burden.

The battle is not over.

A top-tier deep-sea believer is not easy to kill.

Tentacles sprouted from Hua Ding's two severed remains, and the two parts of his body quickly reassembled.

at the same time.

Other scattered believers.

At this moment, they were all captured and absorbed by the tentacles.

Hua Ding's physical body mutated and expanded at an astonishing speed, turning into a fleshy ball monster with almost equal height and width in the blink of an eye.

The deformed fleshy ball revealed the crazed faces of the believers, with Hua Ding's own face at the very center, surrounded by a dense array of scarlet evil eyes.

"You can't kill us!"

Hua Ding's hoarse voice contained an incredibly sharp spiritual power, like a steel needle piercing the brain, causing a splitting headache.

The abilities of the Evil Eye followers are extremely strange.

At this moment, Hua Ding had essentially absorbed the power of more than a dozen companions into his body, thus unleashing the strength of a level 10 rare lord in a short period of time.

next moment.

Dozens of bolts of lightning were summoned.

These attacks came from all directions at Fan Li. Although Fan Li absorbed them all, it was not hard to see that Fan Li's body was also showing signs of being overwhelmed.

Hua Ding had completely given up hope of escaping and only wanted to use all his strength to inflict some damage on Fan Li, thereby disrupting his condition for facing Wu Zixu in seven days.

In the current situation...

Capturing the chosen one alive is no longer realistic.

However, if we can kill them all, we can most likely eliminate the newly contracted and unstable heroic spirits within them. In addition, the loss of cultivation and equipment will be enough to suppress the growth of the threat in the short to medium term.

But just as the meatball monster was fighting Fan Xin...

"Its movement is as slow as a forest!"

"Its speed is like the wind!"

"Aggression burns like fire!"

"Immovable as a mountain!"

Xiao Yu directly blessed Fan Xin with the Four-Strike Combo of the God of War.

Fan Xin felt a surge of power within him, a power that felt very familiar to him, and he almost immediately guessed who it was.

"I see!"

Did we gain that person's power?

No wonder Xiao Yu is so strong, or rather, because he is strong and intelligent enough, he was chosen by his old friend.

He truly is destined for greatness!

Even if Fan Xin is weak, he shouldn't be unable to defeat Hua Ding. However, with the blessing of the Four Curses, he can end this battle at a lower cost.

He condensed and compressed the absorbed energy again, infusing it with his own power, and then released it at a single point.

Whoosh!

A dark red beam of light, like a sword that could cut through iron like mud, or like a laser that arrived in an instant, pierced into the fleshy monster's body and fully bloomed.

A deafening roar.

The twisted, deformed fleshy monster was blasted into pieces.

Even a top believer like Hua Ding was unable to repair his body this time. His broken body fell to the ground but did not die immediately.

"The descent of the deep sea is unstoppable—I will await your demise in the deepest madness and chaos!"

His eyes widened, filled with resentment and unwillingness. He clearly didn't care about his own life or death, only regretting that he hadn't been able to exert his full value, especially in killing Xiao Yu.

Hua Ding is dead!

Battle over!

More than a dozen believers were all executed!

In an instant, the Heavenly Dao's notifications kept ringing.

[You killed Hua Ding, a follower of the Deep Sea. World Luck +40, Blue Soul Stone +10!]

[You killed Hua Kang, a follower of the Deep Sea. World Luck +15, Green Soul Stone +20!]

【————】

[You killed Hua Geng, a follower of the Deep Sea. World Luck +5, White Soul Stone +20!]

Cool!

This was awesome!

The entire battle took only about two minutes.

Although Xiao Yu's employment contract with Fan Xin was short-lived, it still played a crucial role, and all of Fan Li's killings were attributed to Xiao Yu.

Eighteen believers!

One of them is a top believer!

I earned 140 points from the world's luck alone, which is equivalent to the first kill of five or six regular historical villains!

In addition, I also obtained 10 blue soul stones, 70 green soul stones, and 320 white soul stones!

This is a huge sum of money!

Xiao Yu's gains did not stop there. He immediately activated the Ark Imprint, and an invisible power of the Heavenly Dao enveloped the corpses and remains of Hua Ding and the other believers.

[You have refined the "Believer Aberration," "Soul Essence" +1200, "Heroic Soul Crystal: Crimson Thunder Curse" +1, "Blue Fortune Stone" +1, and "Blue Heroic Spirit Essence" +2!]

Hua Ding used esoteric sorcery to merge more than a dozen believers into one group, which were eventually unified and refined by Xiao Yu. The resulting spoils were few in number but extremely valuable!

Among them, "Crimson Thunder Spell" is a blue-grade spell skill, and Xiao Yu has not yet practiced any attack-type spells.

This is a very high-quality and powerful blue spell.

This will greatly help to enrich Xiao Yu's abilities!

In addition, a blue fortune stone was also found. This rare blue material is worth at least ten times more than other rare materials of the same grade.

Finally, there are two portions of blue-grade Heroic Spirit Essence, which are currently very rare and highly useful.

This can be used to train Zheng Dan to quickly become a blue-quality hero with full potential, or it can be used to create a blue-quality nameless hero.

Huge gains!

The other chosen ones were still recovering from what seemed like a hopeless situation.

Hua Ding's strength is simply too great.

Even if Xiao Yu used all his trump cards, he could only protect himself at best, not to mention that he had set up a trap in advance and had more than a dozen followers with him.

Without the strong support of Fan Xin, Xiao Yu would never have entered the camp, let alone obtained such a generous income.

"What on earth happened?"

"Are we rescued?"

"How did Hua Ding and the others die? Who exactly is this old man? I've never heard of such a master in Suiyang!"

'

'

The other chosen ones were completely bewildered.

Zhao Xuezhu was no exception.

This sudden change happened so suddenly that she wasn't prepared at all, but it also ended just as abruptly, leaving her completely unprepared.

Just a moment ago they were mired in despair.

I was inexplicably saved at that moment.

Although no one knows exactly what happened, judging from the behavior of everyone present, only Xiao Yu remained calm from beginning to end, as if everything was under control.

In other words.

This was all a setup he orchestrated.

Xiao Yu had long known that Hua Ding was a believer and that Hua Ding would betray him at this time, so he used himself as bait and even found an extremely powerful helper.

"But how did he do that? It's simply impossible!"

Who is Hua Ding?

He was one of the four clan leaders in Suiyang City, second only to Sima Geng. He held a high position and wielded great influence. For many years, even Sima Geng failed to detect any flaws in his abilities.

A newcomer to the Chosen One was able to discern his identity in such a short time, and even predicted that he would attack the Chosen One in the forbidden area and then set up an ambush.

Such courage and resourcefulness in the face of danger.

We are all destined for greatness.

Why is there such a big difference?

Everyone else, including myself, is nothing more than a supporting character in his eyes; they are just a bunch of bystanders!

Zhao Xuezhu bit her lip lightly.

She had to admit it.

I owe Xiao Yu a huge favor.

This is a guy who can truly convince you; I'll probably never be as good as him. I don't know if being on the same boat as someone like him is a blessing or a curse.

"Boss is awesome!"

Lu Dahai exclaimed excitedly, "My god, that scared me to death! What a brilliant scheme! They managed to take down so many believers!"

Fan Xin approached Xiao Yu and said, "In this battle, most of the high-ranking members and core members of the Evil Eye Cult have been nearly wiped out. Even if some followers remain dormant within the various clans, they can no longer cause much trouble!"

almost.

According to what Xiao Yu knew.

Hua Ding was the highest leader of the Evil Eye Sect in the main city of Suiyang, and the other high-ranking members of the Hua family were also important key figures. This operation did indeed deal a heavy blow to the Evil Eye Sect.

However, we still cannot let our guard down.

There are still esoteric Buddhist followers in Suiyang City and the countryside. In addition, we should be wary of deep-seated followers outside of the local esoteric Buddhist community.

These believers do not belong to the local esoteric religions, but are influenced by a deeper deep-sea consciousness. Their behavior is not centered on individual past gains and losses, so they are more secretive and harder to detect.

In short.

Based on Xiao Yu's experience.

Adventure and training in the old days.

Being cautious is never a bad thing.

Even those who have been reborn cannot be careless, because the deep sea is extremely complex. Even if the information gathered in the previous life is 100% accurate, there are still situations where changes in the course of history can cause disturbances and alterations.

Fan Li continued, "With the nightmare tsunami about to erupt, your timely removal of this malignant tumor can be considered a great service to Suiyang City!"

Xiao Yu said, "Hua Ding is no threat; Wu Zixu is the real danger. The most urgent task is to repair the Suiyang Formation as soon as possible."

That's what they say.

Repairing a large array is no easy task.

The four races have been searching for so many years but haven't found enough of the last four crucial repair materials. At this point, there are only seven days left before the Nightmare Tsunami erupts.

however.

Before Fan Xin could speak.

"Please take a look, Elder Fan. These are materials I luckily discovered in the forbidden area. I think they should meet the requirements."

"What?!"

When I saw four thousand-year-old Crimson Blood Grass plants.

Fan Xin found it difficult to remain calm for a moment.

"Although it's just a common Crimson Blood Grass, it's actually a thousand years old. I never imagined that the special environment of the forbidden area could nurture such a treasure—"

Fan Li was both surprised and delighted.

"Good, good, the essence extracted from the four materials can just fill the last gap in the materials."

Repairs to the Suiyang Grand Array are complete!

Repairing the Suiyang Grand Array requires a lot of materials. The four races have already collected enough of the other materials, but they are short of these few portions of purple material essence.

did not expect.

He really did it!

That's unbelievable!

Fan Li couldn't help but ask, "How do you know that the forbidden valley of the Song Clan can nurture thousand-year-old herbs? Our ancestors had no way to enter the forbidden space, and the Chosen One is clearly entering for the first time as well."

"It's just good luck."

"

"hehe!"

Fan Xin wanted to say, "I don't believe you!"

This kid volunteered to repair the great formation, and after receiving the task from me, he immediately found the materials in the forbidden area. What a coincidence!

Is it really possible to have the ability to foresee the future?

Although Xiao Yu had already brought Fan Xin enough surprises, his performance in eliminating the core members of the secret sect and replenishing the materials for repairing the great formation was still beyond expectations.

He likely possesses the spirit of Sun Tzu, and this young man will undoubtedly stir up a storm in the deep sea in the future. He is also the only chosen one worth following!

of course.

Fan Xin is a smart man.

I won't pry into the details.

He asked directly, "You've successfully completed the mission. As long as it meets the rules, just tell me what reward you want!"

After several encounters with Xiao Yu, Fan Xin realized that this chosen one was meticulous in his thinking, had a long-term vision, and had very clear plans and goals.

Instead of guessing their needs.

It would be better to let him speak for himself.

Xiao Yu was very satisfied with Fan Li's attitude.

The reward standards for the Chosen One missions, while related to the value of the mission itself, are largely determined by the mission itself.

Xiao Yu collected four sets of purple materials that were almost impossible to find in the shallow old days, so the equivalent reward would be at least one or two pieces of blue-grade equipment.

There are very few blue-quality items in Suiyang City.

Even if Xiao Yu were there, he might not be interested.

Therefore, instead of these things, it would be better to get another employment contract with Fan Xin, plus the full service of the top weapon refiners and spirit refiners from the four races.

After returning to the city.

Xiao Yu's journey to the forbidden area.

This shook the entire city of Suiyang.

The position of the first chosen one is more secure.

Xiao Yu kept a low profile and formally handed over the task.

[You have completed the mission. You have gained +150 "World Luck", +1800 "Soul Essence", +1 "Fan Li's Employment Contract (Blue)", and +4 "Suiyang Token (Blue)"!]

Another 150 points of luck were gained.

Xiao Yu before participating in the forbidden area activities.

He has accumulated 780 points of world fortune. He gained 140 points of world fortune from wiping out the Hua clan's traitors, and another 150 points from completing the task of repairing the great formation.

The total is 1070 points.

According to Xiao Yu, the amount of luck required to form a contract with Fan Li is exactly 1000 points, which means that Xiao Yu now has the ability to bring Fan Xin out of the old Suiyang.

Fan Li only needs to leave Suiyang.

His cultivation level will break through immediately.

Lifespan can be extended as a result.

However, recruiting contracted ancestors requires captain's authority, and although Xiao Yu has enough luck, he does not yet have the authority to recruit people onto his ship.

Other than that.

This time, I received a blue-tier employment contract.

The blue employment contract allows you to hire Fan Xin for 20 minutes.

This was prepared by Xiao Yu specifically for the Nightmare Tsunami, at which time he could make a fortune by taking advantage of Fan Li's combat power.

Other than that.

Xiao Yu also asked for 4 Suiyang tokens.

The Suiyang Token is a consumable item that grants permissions.

Each activation can mobilize the human resources of the four clans of Suiyang for defense and production, and they enjoy the highest priority in this process.

Xiao Yu doesn't need protection.

He needs the four tribes to provide productivity.

The four tokens can command the four clans to work together to perform four weapon forging, spirit forging, and medicine refining for Xiao Yu.

Finally, the task was completed.

Xiao Yu also gained 1800 units of essence.

He currently has 3000 units of vital energy stored up. To avoid wasting his energy reserves, Xiao Yu used them immediately.

【Soul Essence - 200!】

Your "Xi Shi, the Beauty Who Could Topple Kingdoms" spirit has reached level 2!

【Soul Essence - 420!】

Your "Xi Shi, the Beauty Who Could Topple Kingdoms" spirit has reached level 3!

【Soul Essence - 900!】

Your "Xi Shi, the Beauty Who Could Topple Kingdoms" spirit has reached level 4!

Xiao Yu prioritized nurturing the spirit of Xi Shi.

Although upgrading a red-quality Servant is more difficult, it is still easy to reach level 4 thanks to the advantage of the Saint's Physique.

The only problem is that the level is not high enough.

You must train your Heroic Spirit skills.

Xi Shi's spirit skill is called "Mirror Flower Dream".

It's impractical to directly cultivate this red-grade technique due to its extremely high cost. One can only first master the lower-level sub-techniques, and then, once those sub-techniques reach a basic level, comprehend and advance them to become red-grade techniques.

The Mirror Flower Dream has two sub-techniques of purple quality.

One set is called "Mirror Flower Water Moon Technique" or "Mirror Flower Technique" for short, and the other set is called "Illusory Dream Bewitching Technique" or "Illusory Dream Technique" for short.

Each has its own strengths.

Each has its own emphasis.

The Mirror Flower Technique excels at creating illusions that are both real and illusory, while the Illusion Dream Technique excels at mental interference and control that are difficult to defend against.

They're all incredibly talented!

This is an ability that Xiao Yu currently lacks. Of course, the effects of mental skills are closely related to mental strength.

Xiao Yu's spiritual power is far from comparable to that of top-tier heroic spirits, while Xi Shi's heroic spirit also has her own aptitude and a natal soul weapon that perfectly matches her abilities.

Xiao Yu can practice.

Of course it can be used.

However, in terms of effectiveness, it is bound to be far inferior to that of Xi Shi.

【Soul Essence - 1200!】

You have mastered the "Mirror Flower, Water Moon Technique" through the story of "Xi Shi, the Fairy of Allure"!

Cultivation techniques are more difficult than secret arts.

Therefore, the difficulty of cultivating these two sets of techniques far exceeds that of the Four Curses of the Military Saint. Just to comprehend level 1, 1200 soul essence is required.

The remaining energy is only enough to practice one set.

Xiao Yu couldn't help but sigh, "Although the cultivation speed is already fast enough, powerful skills and powerful heroic spirits also consume a lot of resources!"

The Four Spells of the Military Saint are two short of reaching level 3.

Having all four spells at level 3 requires a large amount of soul essence to learn the first set of red techniques, while the blue attack spell "Crimson Evil Lightning" hasn't been practiced yet.

Although the energy shortage is still quite large, there are still seven days until the Nightmare Tsunami. After this heavy blow to the Evil Eye Cult, the safety of both inside and outside the city has been improved.

You can safely run dungeons and level up in the wild.

Besides continuing to cultivate and level up.

Upgrading equipment is also important.

Therefore, on the day Xiao Yu returned from the forbidden area, he issued a Suiyang decree, summoning the most outstanding weapon refiners among the four clans of Suiyang.

He wanted to use these weapon refiners to forge his first blue-grade equipment. The first piece of equipment he decided to use for a breakthrough was none other than "Wu Zixu's Corpse-Beating Whip".

Only advanced weapon refiners have the ability to forge blue-quality equipment, and there isn't a single advanced weapon refiner among the four clans of Suiyang.

It's okay.

Great efforts can produce miracles.

Ten or eight intermediate-level weapon refiners joined forces.

It can also replace a high-level weapon refiner.

"Wu Zixu's Corpse-Slaying Whip" has great luck; it is almost guaranteed to break through from green to blue, and even if it fails with a small probability, the equipment will not be damaged.

This is also why Xiao Yu wanted to activate the Suiyang Order. Unless such equipment is used, it would be difficult to mobilize so many weapon refiners from different clans in a short period of time.

Zheng Liangping participated in the entire process.

Old Zheng is currently only a low-level weapon refiner, but his talent allows him to enhance equipment up to one level higher, so he is fully qualified to join forces with the ancient weapon refiners.

Such a top-tier weapon-refining opportunity is rare, and it can provide him with a lot of experience and energy gains, enough to allow him to break through to the ranks of intermediate weapon refiners more quickly.

As for the materials?

It is a level 6 green superior-grade equipment.

This breakthrough attack consumed 2 Blue Deep Sea Stones, 10 Blue Material Essences, 10 Blue Soul Stones, plus some miscellaneous auxiliary materials.

The value of this batch of materials would be an enormous sum for ordinary chosen ones and even for the four clans, but it was something Xiao Yu could easily afford.

Ultimately, it did not disappoint.

Wu Zixu successfully broke through the corpse-whipping technique.

Xiao Yu officially possesses his first blue-tier equipment!

Before its breakthrough, this equipment had the following attributes:

【Wu Zixu's Corpse-Slaying Whip】, Green Superior Grade, Equipment Level 6, Base Attack +25, Base Magic Attack +25, Physical Damage +20%, Magic Damage +20%, Critical Damage +30%, Attached Skill "Soul Destroyer", Durability 55.

The current attributes are:

【Wu Zixu's Corpse-Slaying Whip】, Blue Low-grade, Equipment Level 2, Base Attack +26, ​​Base Magic Attack +26, ​​Physical Damage +20%, Magic Damage +20%, Critical Damage +30%, Attached Skill "Soul Destroyer", Durability 60.

Not much has changed.

However, the level changed from level 6 to level 2.

This indicates that the equipment's potential has greatly increased.

Blue equipment can be enhanced up to level 15, while green equipment can be enhanced up to level 10. The two have completely different levels of potential.

Another batch of white and green forging stones were used to upgrade the equipment to level 8 in one go.

Xiao Yu also has soul stones and materials.

However, the mobilization period for the Suiyang magistrate has expired.

If Xiao Yu wants to continue using the weapon refiners of the four clans, he must consume another Suiyang Token, so we'll stop here for today.

The current attribute is:

【Wu Zixu's Corpse-Slaying Whip】, Blue Low-grade, Equipment Level 8, Base Attack +48, ​​Base Magic Attack +48, ​​Physical Damage +32%, Magic Damage +32%, Critical Damage +43%, Attached Skill "Soul Destroyer", Durability 60.

That's an incredibly powerful attack.

The Corpse Whip is powerful because it can be used as a physical attack weapon or as a staff for spellcasting attacks. However, due to the lack of attribute bonuses, it is more suitable for use as an off-hand weapon.

Next.

Six days.

It passed by in the blink of an eye.

Every day, Xiao Yu would take Xia Xia to raid the Gusu Demon Palace without fail, and spend the rest of his time performing some tasks and hunting monsters.

During this period, the "Suiyang Order" was issued three times, mobilizing weapon refiners twice and spirit refiners once to comprehensively upgrade equipment and heroic spirits.

At this time.

Good news is coming.

The Suiyang Grand Formation has finally been repaired.

Xiao Yu also breathed a long sigh of relief.

This meant that Fan Xin's life was definitely saved, and at this point, there was only one day and one night left before the nightmare tsunami broke out.

At this point, Xiao Yu also felt that the time was ripe, so after the last activity in the forbidden area, he made another decision that shocked Suiyang.

He planned to arrive on the eve of the nightmare.

Suppress another nightmare!

This time, the target is the third nightmare of Suiyang, "The Corridor of Assassins". Unlike the previous two nightmare dungeons, this nightmare can only be played solo!

(P.S.: I was too lazy to divide it into chapters, so I combined the two main chapters into one to make the transitions more concise.)