138: Chapter 138 Rewards Distributed: Choose Four from Six!

The mountain wind was biting cold.

Chu Xuan sat on a large rock, his gaze deep and focused.

In this dispute, it seemed he had gained the upper hand; not only did he successfully pass the Phantom Demon's trial, but his Transcendent Skills, [Heart Bewitchment] and [Myriad Forms], had also improved.

But in reality, the price he paid was increasing his Charm attribute to 14 points, and according to Future Tang Zheng's tip, to enter the [Purifier] sequence, the Charm attribute must not exceed 20 points.

In other words, the margin left for him was not much.

The current situation was this.

Chu Xuan was worried the Phantom Demon would realize he already knew the Charm attribute was a trap.

And the Phantom Demon was equally worried that Chu Xuan would realize the Charm attribute was actually a trap.

The two were currently in a delicate state of balance.

To maintain this balance, Chu Xuan had to continue increasing his Charm attribute at a certain frequency.

Once he stopped adding points to Charm, this balance would be broken, and after that, it would be impossible for the Phantom Demon to sit idly by while Chu Xuan increased his strength.

Chu Xuan had always understood this logic.

Therefore, he had to obtain as much spirituality value as possible in the shortest amount of time; whether it was the power of the authorities or the Resurrection Society, he couldn't let any exploitable resource slip away.

Even though Chu Xuan now knew that the internal compositions of these two organizations were extremely complex.

Originally, he preferred to act cautiously and think thrice before acting, but now Chu Xuan found that, unknowingly, he had already done many things that would have seemed incredibly risky and impulsive in the past.

Furthermore, he would likely have to do even riskier things in the future.

Chu Xuan suddenly smiled: "In that case, I might as well be more high-profile in my actions from now on..."

While lost in thought, the sky gradually brightened.

The survivors lit a bonfire at the foot of the mountain to keep warm.

Tang Zheng and Qin Shaowu also emerged from the stream after washing themselves. Although they could basically ignore the cold mountain wind, given their personalities, they naturally joined the group, enjoying everyone's praise amidst the chatter.

Amidst the conversation, the uneasy emotions of many survivors gradually eased. Although the sense of tension remained, they were no longer as terrified as before.

"We all have to thank Brother Chu Xuan for surviving this time."

Liu Dahai stood up and patted his chest, saying, "I said before, as long as I can get out alive this time, I will give him half of my assets, and I'm a man of my word! My total assets are about one billion, so I will give at least five hundred million to Brother Chu Xuan!"

Everyone looked at Liu Dahai in surprise. They hadn't expected this somewhat chubby, ordinary-looking middle-aged man to have such a substantial fortune and be so generous.

A family of three said they would set up a longevity tablet for Chu Xuan.

Others said they wanted to marry their daughters to Chu Xuan.

On a rock not far away, Chu Xuan, still immersed in his thoughts, remained completely unmoved by this.

Before this, he had thought about going home to sell his house to get his first pot of gold and then finding ways to make money, but now money was no different from dirt to him.

Wang Ruozi, still wearing her Flower Cotton Jacket and holding the Copper Mirror, looked at Chu Xuan from time to time. After hesitating for a long while, she bit her lower lip and jogged over, whispering, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I said I would save you this time," Chu Xuan said calmly.

"Eh?"

Wang Ruozi was stunned, somewhat confused. Just as she was about to say something more, Chu Xuan's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he raised his hand to interrupt her.

"Don't speak for a moment."

Chu Xuan's eyes were burning as he stared at the System page; the mission rewards had finally appeared.

"[Detected that you have left the Place of Gloomy Convergence. Mission rewards are being distributed.]"

"[Basic Reward: exclusive skill synthesis crystal X1.]"

"[exclusive skill synthesis crystal: By using this item, you can synthesize two max-level regular skills into an Exclusive Skill that matches yourself. Exclusive Skills can be upgraded to LV.9. (Note: This item can only be obtained if your personal Rank is LV.10 or below.)]"

...

"[Rating Reward: Current mission rating is S. You may choose four of the following six rewards:]"

"1. Exclusive Space (Can store items authenticated by the System)"

"2. Increase spirituality value to its limit (Current spirituality value limit: 790)"

"3. spirit Pearl X1: Authenticated by the System, can be used to store spirituality value, with a limit of 1,000 points."

"4. jiyue crystal X3: By using this item, you can break the limit of a max-level regular skill and increase its level by 1."

"5. Buddha's Peace Talisman: By gripping this item, it can create a 5-meter radius of Buddha light. Specters below B-Rank cannot approach within 10 minutes."

"6. Buddha's Prayer Beads: By wearing this item, your spirit temporarily increases by +5."

"[Please complete your selection and receive the basic and rating rewards within 1 hour. Exceeding the time limit will be considered a forfeiture. The timer starts now...]"

"[Remaining Time: 00:59:58]"

...

There was only one basic reward, so there was no room for choice. With a thought from Chu Xuan, a fist-sized orange-yellow stone suddenly fell into his hand.

The stone was cold to the touch and didn't feel particularly special.

However, from its description, Chu Xuan could already feel its preciousness. Not only could it synthesize an Exclusive Skill that matched him, but the skill could also be upgraded to LV.9.

Naturally, the higher the level, the stronger the power.

So far, the three regular skills Chu Xuan knew—[Basic Swordsmanship], [Mixed Martial Arts], and [Firearms Shooting]—were all at their maximum level at Level 5.

Even the Transcendent Skill [Heart Bewitchment] could only be upgraded to Level 5 at most.

For this Exclusive Skill to be able to reach Level 9, its preciousness was self-evident.

Chu Xuan rubbed the orange-yellow stone a few times, not in a hurry to use it. This required careful consideration. He then looked at the rating rewards.

This time, the rating reward was a four-out-of-six choice, which could be described as a bumper harvest. It was several levels higher than the two-out-of-four choice from the previous Night Demon mission.

Especially the second and third rewards—they were almost mandatory choices for Chu Xuan!

Among them, the second reward—increasing spirituality value to its limit—could yield up to 790 points of spirituality value, whereas in the previous Night Demon mission, the limit could only be increased to 100 points at most.

This item alone made a world of difference.

Originally, Chu Xuan was somewhat undecided. If the reward for increasing spirituality value to its limit appeared again, how would he spend the 700+ points of spirituality value he currently had left?

Or would he have to give up this reward and choose others?

Now, he didn't need to worry anymore.

Because this third reward was exactly what he needed!

"System, give me the spirit Pearl first."

Instantly, a thumb-sized, warm pearl appeared in his hand. It was colorless inside, like a transparent glass ball, and a faint suction could be felt from it, similar to the feeling of using spiritual items like the ghost-forbidden lamp.

Chu Xuan tried to use his mind to guide his spirituality into it.

In an instant, the System prompted that his spirituality value began to decrease rapidly, while the pearl in his hand was no longer transparent. An ethereal mist seemed to flow within it, and it quickly turned milky white.