259: Chapter 258 Instinctive Repulsion

Boundless darkness enveloped them.

Everyone present was suppressed to varying degrees, as if stuck in a quagmire; not only were their limbs restricted, but even their thoughts seemed slightly sluggish in this darkness.

An inexplicable fear rose from their hearts.

“Is this... an S-rank Specter's Domain?”

Amidst the crowd's horror, only Jian Mei was not greatly affected, though she still couldn't help but feel her heart racing.

As a candle was lit, it emitted a faint glow.

Though it couldn't illuminate the entire darkness, those under the candlelight were finally much less affected and could barely see in this night.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

After a violent explosion, the massive saber in the hands of the three-meter-tall giant was shattered, and even his enormous head was directly severed.

The rest of the guards trembled in the darkness. Already in a Berserk state, they were now mentally deranged and fell into madness, actually starting to slaughter each other in the dark.

Under the suppression, most of the guards couldn't even last ten seconds before their Berserk skill forced them into premature exhaustion, causing them to lose combat power and collapse limply.

The sound of blades piercing armor rang out continuously and densely across the field.

Chu Xuan harvested one fresh life after another like he was reaping wheat.

When the darkness vanished and light returned, everyone's vision was fully restored.

They saw large amounts of armor and weapons scattered in the corridor along with residual bloodstains, but there wasn't a single corpse.

The scene was terrifyingly silent and so eerie.

“Yes... that's right... just like this!”

Both Tan Ziming and Xu Shuya felt their scalps tingle; this familiar night was exactly like the Night Demon's Domain.

And the scene when He Jun disappeared that day was identical to this one.

“This night cloak really is a god-tier item for crushing weaklings, but the consumption is a bit high...” Chu Xuan shook his head slightly.

While using the night cloak just now, Chu Xuan discovered that the larger the range of the released darkness, the more spirituality value and Mental Energy it consumed.

He had just released darkness over a fifty-meter range, consuming 20 spirituality value per second. The consumption was quite significant; in just twenty-five seconds, 500 spirituality value had been consumed.

However, the effect was also very significant. If stamina and spirit attributes were below 80, they would inevitably be affected; the lower they were, the greater the impact.

The two teams totaling over fifty people had no power to resist at all; all were killed, and not a single one escaped.

The only pity was that eight guards who killed each other had died before being burned by the Fire of Nirvana, causing the harvested spirituality value to decrease significantly.

Two of them, perhaps because they had been dead for a bit longer, yielded no spirituality value at all.

“Has the spirituality value been completely reclaimed by the War Dragon Continent...?”

Chu Xuan was thoughtful but didn't care much, because aside from the various consumptions, he still harvested 1,200 spirituality value from this battle.

The big guy who had taken four of Chu Xuan's strikes before dying contributed the most.

[You have slain the Strange Creatures: Sono]

This creature has no undigested spirituality value. There are still 2,000 points of spiritual essence in its flesh and body, and 800 points have been fed back to you.]

In this System prompt, there was no mention of "War Dragon Continent mandatory reclamation"; just like in the original world, he directly obtained a 40% gain.

“It seems like I still need to slay Strange Creaturess to get the maximum gain.”

Chu Xuan's eyes sparkled. As he scanned his surroundings, his emotions were complicated, carrying a hint of reflection.

For a long time, constantly facing life-and-death crises, he had always been accustomed to planning before acting, taking every step with extreme caution.

Even when he was occasionally arrogant, it was purposeful; in reality, he had many calculations in mind and had rehearsed in dreams many times, never daring to make reckless advances for the sake of glory.

Even when facing the Night Demon, despite having become a Purifier and significantly increased his strength, he still did his utmost to improve his power and used the [Eye of Insight] skill to see through all the opponent's secrets, countering them in every aspect.

Knowing both himself and his enemy, only then did he throw caution to the wind and go all out.

This time, arriving in a strange world, his Precognitive Dream Talent was forcibly interrupted, and he was swept into this Path of Trials of unknown origins, while [Future Tang Zheng] provided no further effective hints.

Chu Xuan was even more alert, fearing that a single misstep or violating some rule or taboo would lead to his direct death.

That's why he didn't stick his neck out at the beginning, choosing instead to observe first, not intending to reveal his strength from the start.

But as he traveled along and witnessed the combat styles of Jian Mei, Huang Xiong, and others, as well as the specific strength of those guards...

He suddenly felt that he might have been a bit too cautious.

Until this moment, after easily slaying those swarming guards who possessed the strongest frontal combat skill, "Berserk"...

Chu Xuan finally realized clearly that he was already this powerful now.

“Um... Boss, I failed to recognize your greatness earlier. It was truly an offense. Please take these as a bit of compensation. I hope you can forgive me and not hold it against me.”

Huang Xiong's voice sounded in his ear. When Chu Xuan turned back, he saw the other party forcing a very awkward and ugly smile.

In his outstretched hand, he held a potion emitting a misty glow and three crystals with brilliant, multicolored light.

“Oh?”

After Chu Xuan took them, a System prompt immediately appeared.

[Name: Pain-type Spiritual Potion]

Function: This is an alchemy potion containing rich spirituality. After consuming it, you will gain 150-250 spirituality value.

Note: You may experience intense pain; please be mentally prepared. The stronger your tolerance for pain, the more spirituality value you will obtain. (Certified by the System, this potion has no hidden side effects.)]

...

[Name: soul crystal]

Function: You can use this item to upgrade related skills, including but not limited to exclusive skills and Transcendent Skills outside of your sequence.]

...

After checking this information through the System prompts, Chu Xuan's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he gave Huang Xiong a deep look.

“Boss, you should have received the System prompt, right? I spent an extra 20 spirituality value to get this spiritual potion certified by the System, so it can be taken directly without issues. Also, these three soul crystals are all part of my compensation.”

A look of heartache appeared on Huang Xiong's face; these were all items that could be used directly to increase strength, but he still chose to pay his way out of trouble immediately.

“You've certainly made a smart move.”

The corners of Chu Xuan's mouth curled up slightly, and he then consumed the potion on the spot. A surge of heat immediately appeared, rolling down his throat and into his stomach, like countless fine steel needles stabbing into his flesh.

[You have obtained 250 spirituality value.]

[Current spirituality value: 2535]

However, this pain seemed to have no effect on Chu Xuan; even his expression didn't change in the slightest.

Seeing that Chu Xuan took it directly without any discomfort, Huang Xiong felt surprised while also breathing a sigh of relief.

Then he sighed softly and said, "Boss, actually, I didn't mean to target you. I just felt an instinctive rejection toward you. Maybe it's because you're too outstanding, which triggered my jealousy."

This was originally a piece of flattery from Huang Xiong intended to lighten the mood, but hearing this, Jian Mei suddenly let out a soft cry of surprise: "So you have that feeling too?"

Chu Xuan, who was about to have Chen Yong continue leading the way, suddenly paused. As his gaze swept over the two, his heart stirred, and he looked at the others: "What about the rest of you?"