409: Chapter 408 Mandatory Mission

Seeing Cai Hou's grinning face, the veins on Li Na's forehead throbbed. A thick black mist immediately emerged from her distorted face, and her already slowing pace suddenly accelerated as she charged straight toward the Fat Pig.

"Li Na!"

The twin brothers hurriedly quickened their pace to catch up, saying in unison, "Don't take it to heart; we don't blame you!"

"It's just that all basic attribute point allocations have changed to requiring 10 attribute points. At most, it just means consuming a bit more spirituality value; it's no big deal!"

The two blocked Li Na, preventing her from catching up to the Fat Pig.

Then, the two of them glared at Cai Hou, who was sitting leisurely on the Fat Pig's shoulder, and said coldly, "You'd better stop provoking Li Na!"

Cai Hou curled his lip, his face full of disdain.

"Hmm?" Li Na suddenly let out a surprised sound. "Revelation has posted another video!"

Li Na held up her phone, and the voice of Revelation came from within:

"Some of you should have noticed by now that everyone's basic attribute point allocation is now tied to their Rank."

"But do not worry. Wait a little longer, and it won't be long before your lagging attributes automatically rise to the same level as your strongest attribute."

"As for the rewarded Talent skills, they will arrive very soon."

"Do not be anxious, for this is a collision of the rules of two worlds. Although some rules unfavorable to us have appeared, overall, there are more benefits..."

The leisurely voice echoed from the phone's speaker into everyone's ears, causing the corners of Li Na's mouth to curl up involuntarily.

Her gaze bypassed the twin brothers and looked directly at Cai Hou, laughing coldly, "The final result isn't out yet, so don't get ahead of yourself."

"Just self-deception!" Cai Hou also pulled out his phone, glanced at it, and snorted with a laugh. "It only fools idiots like you."

As these few were on the verge of a conflict, Lin Liguo led a group of Night Watchers on a detour, deliberately staying away from these weirdos.

At this time, the stars had appeared in the sky; they were clearly out of danger, and there was no need to continue moving together.

The group traversed the mountain forest, leaped over a hollow, and ascended a new hilltop.

Looking back, the distant dark mist of The Gloom was still boundless, but it seemed to be fixed in place, stagnant and motionless.

And that Qianchuan Tunnel, which the group could not pass through no matter what before, was now just a small dot beneath the massive black mist.

"We finally made it across..." Wu Wanqiu glanced back with lingering fear. "Fortunately, it was a close call but without actual danger."

The others also showed expressions of having survived a disaster.

Lin Liguo said, "I've already contacted the official departments of the nearest city. Once we get there, we'll take a night high-speed train directly to the capital; we should arrive around eight or nine in the morning. For safety reasons, we still won't consider air travel this time."

Everyone nodded in unison and followed Lin Liguo as they continued running.

However, Chu Xuan stopped in his tracks, his deep gaze fixed on the direction of the black mist, frowning. "It didn't follow? Did it give up..."

Before this, Chu Xuan had remained still and blended into the crowd, wanting to wait for the hidden Specter to reveal itself so he could strike at the right time.

However, the opponent had remained hidden within the dark mist of The Gloom and never appeared.

Now that the dark mist had stagnated, it likely wouldn't continue spreading for a while, making it even less likely for that Specter to show itself.

"If my previous sensation wasn't wrong, my night cloak and paper effigy are on that Specter..."

Chu Xuan narrowed his eyes.

The night cloak was a System-certified item, so the sensation wasn't very strong, but the paper effigy was not only System-certified but had also been dripped with Chu Xuan's blood.

Chu Xuan was seventy percent certain that this faint, special connection originated from the paper effigy.

Amidst his thoughts, Chu Xuan weighed the pros and cons.

If he left now, he would not only lose these two very practical items but the indestructible flowing shadow would also be lost along with them.

The loss could not be considered small.

Looking at the boundless dark mist of The Gloom, Chu Xuan pondered. "Perhaps I can find a place nearby to Rank up and then come back to investigate..."

"However, Revelation actually showed his face..."

Chu Xuan's eyes flickered slightly.

Revelation had always been hidden in the shadows. This appearance actually wouldn't affect him much; clearly, the goal was to suppress the development of more people's strength.

In that case...

Were the events about to happen in the future deduced by the opponent, or did they receive a mission issued by the Dark World?

With thousands of thoughts in his mind, Chu Xuan suddenly had an idea. He took out his phone from his Exclusive Space and dialed Qin Shaowu's number, which was quickly picked up.

"Holy crap! Where did you go? I've been trying to call you, but I couldn't get through!"

Qin Shaowu's incredibly excited voice immediately came through:

"Brother Xuan, this time was truly terrifying! Old Zhang and I encountered a terrifying A-Rank Specter—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's comparable to S-Rank. We almost lost our lives there and only killed it after facing a thousand hardships! We're about to arrive in the capital, so get ready to welcome us..."

Chu Xuan gave a light chuckle and interrupted him directly, "We'll talk about the welcome later. I need your help with something."

"Brother Xuan, don't be so formal! Your business is my business. There's no need for formalities—just say the word!" Qin Shaowu laughed.

"Remember that person I killed in the hotel while live-streaming? When he posted those arrogant comments on the official forum, you found his location and sent it to me. That should be one of your Transcendent Skills, right?"

Chu Xuan said thoughtfully, "Now, I need you to use the same method to help me find Revelation."

"That... probably won't work."

Qin Shaowu laughed awkwardly. "My true Talent is called [Record]. Theoretically, I can Record any skill and use it, but there's a time limit."

"The skill I used to locate him for you is called [Check the Water Meter]. The owner of that skill already died in a Specter incident. Before dying, he let me Record the ability once, but I used it up last time."

"So it won't work this time..." Chu Xuan nodded slightly and hung up the phone with some regret.

He wasn't overly disappointed; it was just an attempt.

Chu Xuan speculated that with Revelation's abilities, since he chose to hide his head and show his tail, by the time Chu Xuan found his location to kill him, the opponent would likely already know and flee.

As for what Revelation said in the video about appearing at the national captain's offline meeting, Chu Xuan put a big question mark on that in his heart.

This was either a deceptive rhetoric or there was some grand conspiracy involved.

"It seems I still need to find a way to obtain a Karma-type skill to track Revelation." Chu Xuan prepared to use another random teleportation scroll the next time he entered a dream to meet Xiao Luowei.

From what he knew so far, the Xiao Luowei he saw in the dream likely existed in the past of the Cangyun World.

If he could influence the present by changing the Xiao Luowei of the past, then many things would be possible.

"Maybe I'm overthinking it and that's just a fake world constructed through my dreams, but it's worth a try! Because... that turtle recognized me!"

"Even if nothing can be done, I can see if I can get news about the Art of Karma from Xiao Luowei. If I experience the dream several more times, I'll eventually have a chance to obtain it..."

In a flash of thought, Chu Xuan had already made his decision.

Chu Xuan took out the greed tank and took a large gulp of high-grade life essence. His health points, which had originally recovered to 1125 points, began to grow again.

In addition, his spirit attribute increased by another point.

Putting away the greed tank, Chu Xuan prepared to wait a while before continuing to drink.

Just then, the booming sound of fighting echoed in the distance.

With a glance, Chu Xuan saw that a large area of the forest below the slope was already filled with flying leaves, and trees were being snapped in half.

The Fat Pig, who was wrapped in thick chains, roared in a muffled voice. At some point, a massive iron ball had appeared at one end of the chains.

As he swung it, trees in the forest that were three-man-wide were smashed and broken like weeds.

The twin brothers were smashed and sent flying before they could dodge, but they didn't seem to have taken much damage, closing in to attack from two different directions.

The young woman named Li Na let out a sharp screech, leaping continuously through the trees. Blade light would occasionally manifest out of thin air from her hands, causing many large trees to collapse.

However, Cai Hou's speed was extremely fast, and he seemed to have mastered a teleportation skill, as only afterimages could be seen flickering across the field.

"You kid, what are you still standing there for? Hurry and leave with us; don't get caught in the crossfire!"

Lin Liguo's angry shout rang out nearby. "Staying here to watch the show is not a wise choice. Be careful not to offend both sides and get surrounded and killed."

Chu Xuan turned his gaze and saw Lin Liguo and the others, who had already run far away, turning back.

Wu Wanqiu, who was in the crowd, looked at Lin Liguo. She hesitated but finally said, "Brother Lin, he might have other things to do. How about we leave first?"

"How can we do that?"

Lin Liguo frowned and said, "He's not like those weirdos; he can barely be considered our companion! Moreover, he has the ability to see through Specter disguises, which is extremely rare. He must be protected and cultivated with priority. Only by becoming an official Night Watcher can his value be maximized!"

Lin Liguo waved repeatedly toward Chu Xuan. "Don't say anything else for now. Even if you don't want to join our official organization, let's leave this place first..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the hilltop, which still had some moonlight, suddenly went dark.

Everyone's faces changed drastically as they suddenly looked into the distance.

That patch of dark mist from The Gloom seemed to be moving again!

In an instant, both sides fighting below the slope stopped.

"Hurry, let's go!"

Lin Liguo shouted.

However, as his voice fell, everyone who was originally preparing to leave didn't move—even Lin Liguo himself.

Because, at this moment.

A System prompt appeared before everyone's eyes simultaneously.

[Forced Mission:

Please head southwest within 30 minutes and enter the Place of Gloomy Convergence to complete this forced mission.]

[Special Note: If you do not respond, you will be subject to the penalty of forced erasure.]

[Countdown... Start!]