45: The ninth treasure, the Gods' Quest begins!

The Rank 11 world boss was a Treant King, lush and towering, occupying nearly a third of the battlefield.

Winding vines spread across the battlefield; meanwhile, the Treant King could scatter seeds that instantly transformed into countless elite Treant Warriors to join the fray.

Vines as thick as an adult's calf would occasionally burst from the ground, triggering rows of spikes to impale enemies within range.

The ten combat regiments of the Overlord Guild had just entered the battlefield, neatly dividing into ten zones to surround the Treant King.

"Tank Warriors to the front, Archers and Mages get ready, Priests monitor health and heal promptly, and Assassin players find opportunities to strike at weak points."

Under the command of their respective team leaders, the Overlord Guild maintained a tidy formation and a unified offensive rhythm, quickly settling into the flow of battle.

On the other side, Lin Yue, who had entered Novice Village No. 7777, was currently performing Loop Quests at an extremely high speed; the prerequisite for the eighth treasure of the gods was to complete these loops.

The so-called "running loops" were a series of linked small tasks, such as delivering letters for Widow Wang, bringing meals to the Blacksmith, helping an old lady find a lost hen, and so on.

Although the Loop Quests weren't difficult, they were quite tedious.

Fortunately, Lin Yue's current movement speed could be described as terrifying; under his high movement speed bonuses, the time required for these Loop Quests was greatly reduced.

Occasionally encountering a few combat tasks, they were all just ordinary wild monsters that stood no chance against Lin Yue's high damage output.

The entire prerequisite task consisted of twenty loops, and Lin Yue completed them all in less than fifteen minutes.

Stepping into the Village Chief's inner hall, one had to pass the Village Chief's trial to obtain the treasure of the gods, and as expected, the Village Chief's trial was also quite insane.

One had to defeat the Village Chief Trio to gain the Village Chief's acknowledgment and receive the eighth treasure of the gods.

Back in Village 8888, Lin Yue had seen the strength of the Village Chief Trio; composed of the old Village Chief, the Blacksmith, and the Apothecary, their squad's ability to control, debuff, and perform chain attacks was indeed impressive.

However, Lin Yue was no longer the same as before, possessing health as high as forty-five, various special skills, and crowd-control removal methods.

This time, it took less than ten minutes to completely defeat the trio.

"Truly, the young are to be feared, Adventurer. I acknowledge your strength; this treasure of the gods is yours to keep."

The old Village Chief looked at Lin Yue with a gratified expression after the hearty battle, even though the three of them hadn't even managed to touch the hem of Lin Yue's clothes.

"Ding! You have obtained treasure of the gods +1. Quest progress for collecting the treasure of the gods: (8/9)."

Looking at the three Treasure Troves lying quietly in his backpack, Lin Yue's mood brightened considerably; finally, he was only one away from completing the set.

In his past life, no player had been able to obtain more than two Treasure Troves, let alone nine.

Lin Yue was very much looking forward to seeing what kind of reward would be given after collecting all nine Treasure Troves.

With anticipation, Lin Yue arrived at the final Novice Village, No. 9999.

Since the players' Ranks had increased significantly, there weren't many players left in the Novice Village at this time, mostly just solo players who had recently joined.

Inside the Village Chief's inner hall.

The content of the final Treasure Trove had also been a mystery in his past life, so Lin Yue could only head to the Village Chief's house to check it out with the intent of giving it a try.

"White Emperor, you've finally arrived."

As if he had been waiting for a long time, the old Village Chief looked at Lin Yue with a smile.

"You knew I was coming?"

"Of course. From the moment you stepped out of the teleportation array, I received word from the gods. An unprecedented Adventurer, the White Emperor who has collected eight Treasure Troves—I'm not mistaken, am I?"

The old Village Chief sat on a chair and took a leisurely sip of tea before standing up and walking over to Lin Yue.

"It hasn't been easy for you to make it here. The Treasure Trove of this final stage is very difficult to obtain; I hope you are mentally prepared."

"I'm ready."

Lin Yue's expression was calm; he had already come this far, and there was no way he would give up now.

The old Village Chief nodded, and an ancient book appeared out of thin air in his hand.

"Whether you can obtain the final Treasure Trove and collect all nine depends on your fate."

As he spoke, the book in the old Village Chief's hand emitted a dazzling light, and its pages began to flip rapidly on their own without any wind.

A powerful suction force emanated from the book, and Lin Yue, unable to control himself, turned into a streak of light and was pulled into it.

Watching Lin Yue enter the book, the old Village Chief was full of smiles and was about to close the book when a sudden change occurred.

In the Void Realm, a massive cloud of black mist appeared and, before the book could be closed, lunged into the light.

"Not good!"

The old Village Chief immediately tried to intercept the black mist, but it was too late; after plunging into the book, the black mist vanished completely.

"Damn it, I actually failed to notice the traces of the Demon God."

The old Village Chief was filled with regret; after some thought, he reported the matter of the black mist, hoping the higher-ups could provide a solution.

A second later, a message from the gods arrived. The old Village Chief's expression froze, and after a long while, he let out a long sigh.

"What a 'leave it to fate.' Adventurer, I wish you the best of luck."

"Ding! You have entered a special dungeon: Ruins of the Gods."

Ruins of the Gods?

Hearing this name, Lin Yue frowned; there had been no information about this in his past life, so it seemed this was an unknown ruin.

The scene was one of desolation, somewhat similar to the Gloomy Ruins.

Lin Yue focused intently; he had spent so many days in the Novice Villages for the sake of these nine Treasure Troves, and now that he had reached the final stage, he naturally couldn't afford to be careless.

Furthermore, Lin Yue was also somewhat puzzled; he hadn't encountered any traces of the black mist while collecting the seventh and eighth Treasure Troves, which was clearly abnormal.

In all likelihood, the opponent might show up in this final stage.

Lin Yue hadn't forgotten the quest penalty for collecting the Treasure Troves—he would be viewed as a thorn in the side of the Demon Race.

In the ruins before him were four stone pillars, each carved with one of the Four Divine Beasts.

Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, Azure Dragon, and Black Tortoise.

These were the Four Divine Beasts of the Dragon Country; he didn't know why they would appear in the Ruins of the Gods.

After a few glances and finding nothing out of the ordinary, Lin Yue continued into the ruins; after walking less than a hundred meters, an ancient bronze door appeared ahead.

On either side of the heavy bronze door, which stood over three meters high, was a stone statue.

On the left was a guard in the form of a Swordsman, and on the right was a Warrior holding a giant axe.

Before Lin Yue could even approach the bronze door, a sound like grinding mechanical gears rang out.

The two massive stone statues on the left and right suddenly opened their eyes.

"Adventurer, do you wish to enter the Ruins of the Gods?"

"Enter!"

Lin Yue nodded without hesitation; it seemed these guards were like gatekeepers who would question anyone entering.

"Very well!"

The two stone statues spoke simultaneously, and just as Lin Yue thought they were about to open the gate—

In the Void Realm, a massive cloud of black mist appeared, transforming into two streaks of dark light that instantly plunged into the two stone statues!