119: Crazy Ascension, Conversation at the Underground Altar

For the next few days, Ye Xiao stayed at the underground entrance, constantly trying various methods to open it.

He even used various taunts, knowing that Wang the Blacksmith would surely hear him.

But that old fox held back, refusing to show his face, like a turtle.

Meanwhile, after Qi Fei and others died, the remaining members of the Ziqiang Society outside sensed something was wrong and formed a team, cautiously trying to enter and investigate.

Ye Xiao naturally had nothing to say to these people; a single Fireball took them out directly.

Unfortunately, these people did not drop any more water essence shards.

Ye Xiao wasn't disappointed, though.

His attention was still focused on how to break open the underground entrance.

Later, Ye Xiao tried leaving Linhai Village, then circled around and used Void Phantom to return near the entrance.

However, he spent nearly five days like this.

Wang the Blacksmith simply wouldn't show his face.

At this point, Ye Xiao knew that the guy probably wouldn't show himself easily.

However, he couldn't keep wasting time here either.

Although his current level was significantly ahead of all the new Professionals, the early activation of Path of Exile also meant that this year's new Professionals' overall leveling speed was much faster than in previous years.

Even without deliberately asking, Ye Xiao had learned some things through the chat channel.

Most new Professionals' levels had now reached Level 50, with some faster ones already at Level 60.

And those top-tier Professionals who were already Level 60 after coming out of Path of Exile had generally gained seven or eight levels by now, a speed that was undeniably fast.

Of course, Ye Xiao believed there were certainly higher-level Professionals among them, but based on past experience, he figured they wouldn't be too much higher.

Although the experience required to level up increased later on, if he continued to waste time here, the title of Rookie King might slip through his fingers.

More seriously, if he truly couldn't advance, everything would be a "Mirror Flower, Water Moon."

Thinking this, Ye Xiao made a decision.

He then completely left Linhai Village and soon arrived outside the Dense Forest on the Grey Earth Plains that he had previously passed through.

Ye Xiao's purpose in coming here was simple: to farm Purification Points.

Although this Dense Forest had been explored by that "heroic" peerless expert before, revealing that there weren't many magical beasts inside and a Level 200 boss was present.

But that was nearly a hundred years ago; for a century, Human Job Holders dared not step inside.

The magical beasts inside must have increased.

More importantly, he had sensed the presence of a Crimson Moon Summoner nearby before.

He wasn't sure if the other party had just passed by on the other side or was actually hiding within this Dense Forest.

So, Ye Xiao thought of going in to take a look and farm some Purification Points along the way.

As for the barrier issue, his level was exactly Level 90, so it naturally had no effect on him.

That Level 200 boss, however, was a problem.

But as long as he was careful and didn't provoke that guy, there shouldn't be any major issues.

Even if he had to retreat, with his current Health Points and various defensive measures, even if he did encounter it, he would have enough time to cast Void Phantom, and as long as he left the Dense Forest, the boss wouldn't chase him.

With this thought, Ye Xiao quickly stepped into the outer perimeter of the Dense Forest.

Sure enough, as soon as he entered, he was surrounded by a group of magical beasts.

They were Level 90 magical beasts called Tiger Demons, and their attributes were quite normal, much lower than the Ocean Magic Frogs Ye Xiao had encountered before.

A quick glance showed about thirty-four of them.

Ye Xiao easily dealt with these Tiger Demons, and a moment later, he gained another 38 Purification Points.

The Dense Forest had a large coverage area, and Ye Xiao knew that the Level 200 boss was located in the center of the Dense Forest, so he was very cautious, only wandering in the outer perimeter, which also made it convenient for him to retreat at the first sign of trouble.

Next, it was a very monotonous grind.

After half a day, Ye Xiao's Purification Points accumulated to 2837 as one magical beast after another was killed.

Finding a safe place.

Ye Xiao began to purify his equipment; he had no intention of wasting these Purification Points on ordinary equipment.

Because these pieces of equipment would eventually be phased out and replaced.

Using Purification Points on them would be too much of a loss.

Therefore, the only equipment he could purify were the five Mythical pieces.

--- ---

Ding! You used 200 Purification Points to purify the endless chain of life.

Ding! Purification successful, the attributes of the endless chain of life have been enhanced.

The next purification for this equipment requires 300 Purification Points.

...Ding! You used 200 Purification Points to purify the ring of plague origin.

...--- ---

Soon, the five Mythical pieces were each purified twice again, and with the boost from Water Flow Nourishment, Ye Xiao gained another 800 attribute points.

Of these 800 points, Intelligence increased by 260 points, Agility by 340 points, Constitution by 180 points, and Strength by 20 points.

He was left with only 337 Purification Points.

Looking at his increased attribute points, Ye Xiao truly experienced the abnormal effect of the Purification Spring.

In just half a day, it had given him a full eight hundred attribute points; if he farmed here for a few more days, wouldn't his attribute points skyrocket to a terrifying level?

At this moment, Ye Xiao suddenly realized that not advancing wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

At least this way, he wouldn't have to worry about not finding magical beasts of a level not lower than his own to farm Purification Points after leveling up.

Ye Xiao thought, comforting himself.

He put his equipment back on.

Ye Xiao continued his great undertaking of grinding.

Once he had boosted his attributes to a terrifying degree, he didn't believe he couldn't deal with Wang the Blacksmith.

--- ---

Linhai Village, deep within the sealed underground passage.

Wang the Blacksmith sat high on the center of what looked like an altar.

When Ye Xiao came before, he hadn't had the chance to jump onto the high platform, so he hadn't noticed the tattered corpses scattered on the altar at this moment.

If Ye Xiao had been present, he might have even seen that the corpses closest to the center were precisely those of the Ziqiang Society members he had killed earlier in Linhai Village.

At this moment, Wang the Blacksmith threw one of the corpses from a dark hole in the center of the altar.

Soon, a sizzling sound emerged from the hole, followed by a faint, dark aura slowly drifting out.

Seeing this, Wang the Blacksmith finally revealed a satisfied smile.

However, at this moment, a hoarse, deep voice suddenly came from within the black hole.

"The progress has been a bit slow lately."

Wang the Blacksmith, hearing this voice, showed no surprise but instead said with a bitter smile, "No choice, that kid is very strange. Here, I can use the power of this forge to amplify my strength against him, but once I go out and lose the forge's amplification, I'm probably not his match."

From within the hole, the voice came again.

"Your cautious nature is truly as it always has been; you've been told for a hundred years, and you still haven't changed."

"Hehe! If it weren't for that, how would you and I have survived?" Wang the Blacksmith said proudly, "If you hadn't confirmed that kid really left, I wouldn't have dared to show my face and bring back these human corpses."

The voice in the hole sighed and said, "These few corpses are far from enough. Right now is the final stage of refining the Magic Ring, and more corpses are needed."

Wang the Blacksmith glared, displeased, "Then what am I supposed to do? Qi Fei and his group are all dead, and this year's new Professionals haven't reached Level 90 yet. Where am I supposed to get corpses from?"

The voice in the hole pondered for a while, then finally said helplessly, "Forget it, you'd better find a way quickly. With my remaining power, I can only sustain this for another month at most. If human corpses aren't delivered in time after a month, I'll have no choice but to feed you to the Magic Ring."

Wang the Blacksmith was furious upon hearing this: "Old man, it's not a hundred years ago anymore! You still think you're that damn village chief? If you piss me off, I'll just leave, and then we'll see how you complete the refining of this Magic Ring by yourself."

However, facing the enraged Wang the Blacksmith, the voice in the hole remained very calm.

"Still haven't learned your lesson after all these years? If you're not afraid of death, go ahead and try to leave."

"You!" Wang the Blacksmith opened his mouth, but then seemed to recall some terrifying scene, his stout body involuntarily trembled, and he then fell silent.

Soon, the altar returned to its quiet state.