63: Chapter 63 The Gift of a Loser

The battle in the Blackstone Abyss ended faster than anyone had anticipated.

It was as quick as an absurd farce.

When the last abyssal monster turned to ash amidst the dual symphony of holy light and plague, a strange silence descended upon the battlefield.

The air was filled with the scents of ozone, demon blood, and the faint, sweet fragrance lingering after souls were purified—three distinct odors strangely fused together to form the scent of "victory," unique to the Filial Sons and Virtuous Grandchildren family.

Holy Light Hunk leaned on his greatsword, his golden holy flames slowly receding. He looked at the devastated battlefield, now devoid of any living creature, with a complex expression.

Half of it was the satisfaction of purging evil, and the other half was a subtle, indescribable sense of revulsion at having just joined forces with "heretics."

"Loot the battlefield!" An excited roar broke the silence.

Demolition Office Director's eyes gleamed as he brandished a captured bone blade still dripping with blood, looking like a victorious bandit leader.

"Brothers, don't just stand there! This Blackstone Abyss is full of treasures! Every stone might be a rare material. Dig three feet down and leave nothing behind!"

"Awoo!" The players erupted in a thunderous response. The Purifiers, who had just been solemn and sacred, and the mysterious Symbiosis Faction instantly transformed into a swarm of locusts, rushing to every corner of the abyss.

Miner Boss had already led his engineering team to start mining "Abyssal Magic Iron" with a clanging sound.

Skillful Hands Mending was carefully peeling a complete "Wraith Crystal" from the corpse of an elite monster, muttering about what gorgeous and powerful robes it could be used to craft.

Meanwhile, Gossip Reporter Little Trumpet was holding a "Recording Stone" she had acquired from somewhere, sprinting across the field as she tried to interview the two prominent figures: Holy Light Hunk and Zero.

"Big Brother Hunk! May I ask how you managed such exquisite coordination with Big Brother Zero while maintaining the purity of your holy light? Is there any inner journey you can share?"

Holy Light Hunk's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. "There was no coordination. I was only responsible for killing the enemy."

"Big Brother Zero! Your 'Plague Knight - Zero' shone brilliantly in this battle. May I ask if this 'symbiosis' philosophy of converting enemies into our own combat power will become the mainstream development direction for players in the future?"

In the shadows, Zero's figure flashed by, leaving behind only a cold sentence: "You talk too much."

It was a bustling scene, filled with the joy of harvest. Just then, a heart-stopping pressure descended from the sky like an invisible tide.

It wasn't the brilliant divine might from before, but a kind of... deathly, broken, and resentful oppression.

All the players paused in their actions. They looked up at the sky in unison.

A figure slowly descended. No longer above the clouds, no longer wrapped in divine light.

He stepped through the void, walking down step by step, as if each step landed on the shattered heartbeats of everyone present.

Chief Examiner.

He was still wearing his silver-white Daoist robe, but the hem was stained with dust and dried blood, no longer pristine. He was still handsome, but his face was pale, devoid of any color, as if fine white jade had developed spiderweb-like cracks.

His eyes, which had once been like the sun, moon, and stars, were now two bottomless, dry wells filled with resentment and madness.

Inside the council hall of the City of Liver Emperor, All Realms Connector and the others watched this scene through the synchronized battlefield footage, and everyone's hearts sank. A defeated god was far more dangerous than a god high above.

Chief Examiner landed on the edge of the abyss. He didn't look at the players who were on high alert, nor did he look at the two leaders, Holy Light Hunk and Zero. His gaze drifted past everyone, seemingly looking at the land they had "purified" clean.

"Very... good." He spoke, his voice hoarse and dry, like two rusted metal sheets rubbing against each other.

"You... are very good."

He repeated it, and the corners of his mouth curled into an eerie, twisted arc. It didn't look like a smile, but rather a neural twitch caused by extreme pain.

"You have proven that you 'tumors' are more effective than the 'panacea' of the Holy Land." He slowly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the players for the first time. "You like 'merit,' right? You like to use this method to prove the value of your existence."

"Today, I will give you one more... grand merit."

As soon as he finished speaking, he pointed his fingers like a sword. A golden divine light, mixed with a trace of gray death energy, shot from his fingertips and carved an incredibly complex and profound star map on the open ground in front of everyone.

At the core of the star map was a constantly rotating jet-black vortex that seemed to devour all light.

"This is..." Outlaw Zhang San's pupils constricted. From that star map, he felt a power of the rules originating from the foundation of the world, far exceeding the scales of law.

"The key of the divine prison." Chief Examiner's voice carried a morbid pleasure. "Isn't this what you were looking for? Your ancestors, that skulking spirit, didn't they exist for this very reason?"

He pointed at the pitch-black vortex, speaking word by word like a devil's whisper.

"Its next fragment is right here—the Gui Xu Spirit Eye."

The Gui Xu Spirit Eye! At these four words, even Lu Bei, deep in the ancestral hall, felt his spirit fluctuate slightly.

All Realms Connector's heart pounded wildly. He forcibly suppressed his excitement and asked in a deep voice, "Where is this place? Why are you telling us?"

"Why?" Chief Examiner seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. He laughed softly, the laughter growing louder and louder until it turned into nearly manic laughter, causing divine blood to spill from the corners of his mouth again.

"Because that is one of the most heavily guarded forbidden zones in the Holy Land! Because it is guarded by the faction represented by that bitch, Yun Shang! Because if you bunch of ignorant 'tumors' dare to go there, you will only find a dead end!"

His eyes were filled with the pleasure of revenge.

"Go! Go and create your 'merit'! Use your ridiculous tactics to assault the Heavenly Gate of the Holy Land! Go tell Yun Shang that it was I, Chief Examiner, who pointed you the way!"

He wasn't giving a gift; he was issuing a challenge. Not a challenge to the players, but a challenge delivered to his political rivals using the players as the sharpest, most reckless blade!

He was certain that with the lawless and arrogant nature of the players, facing such a massive "hidden quest clue," they would definitely go!

And as long as they went, regardless of success or failure, Yun Shang would be overwhelmed, and might even be implicated due to failing to defend it properly. This was a scorched-earth strategy.

After speaking, Chief Examiner didn't look at them again. He turned and took a step, and his figure disappeared into the horizon.

He left behind only a star map shimmering with ominous light, and a group of players plunged into immense shock and ecstasy.

[World Event Triggered!]

[Epic Quest Chain · Call of the God Prison (II) has begun!]

[Quest Name: The Loser's Gift]

[Quest Objective: Determine the true coordinates of the Gui Xu Spirit Eye and find a way to travel to that area.]

[Quest Description: The loser of the Holy Land has left you a map pointing to the ultimate secret before departing. It is both a ladder to glory and an invitation to fall into the abyss. Do you dare to accept?]

[Quest Reward: ???]

[Failure Penalty: ???]

A massive system notification appeared before every player's eyes. The entire Blackstone Abyss was dead silent.

The next second, a thunderous roar pierced the sky!

"Holy crap! An epic quest! Is the final chapter coming?"

"Gui Xu Spirit Eye! Just the name sounds like a top-tier dungeon!"

"Let's do it! Who's afraid of what? So what if it's the Holy Land? Didn't we just farm it into auspicious clouds of merit?"

Holy Light Hunk's breathing became heavy. His eyes no longer held resistance to the conspiracy, but burned with fierce battle intent. A forbidden zone of the Holy Land? Guarding the key of the divine prison? This was exactly where the holy sword in his hand should be swung!

Zero licked his dry lips. That pitch-black vortex made the magic energy in his body tremble with excitement. Inside it, there must be the most primal power that could make him stronger.

In the council hall of the City of Liver Emperor, the atmosphere was heavy to the extreme. All Realms Connector had completely copied the star map. His chubby fingers tapped lightly on the table, his eyes flashing with sharp light as he constantly calculated the risks and rewards.

"This is a trap," he said in a deep voice, "a trap we have no choice but to jump into."

"It's more than just a trap!" Outlaw Zhang San was trembling with excitement. "This is a question! An ultimate puzzle that deconstructs the rules of the world! Chief Examiner thought he gave us a knife to commit suicide with, but he doesn't know that in our world, rules are meant to be broken! This is so fun! This is ten thousand times more fun than 'Good Deed Hedging'!"

This chain reaction triggered by the "Proxy War" eventually turned into a poisoned gift from a loser. It was like a stirrer thrown into a lake—no, a crowbar, violently jammed into the sturdy gate named "World Mainline."

Deep in the ancestral hall, Lu Bei "watched" the slowly dissipating star map, his eyes calm and waveless.

Chief Examiner was half right. The Gui Xu Spirit Eye was indeed a forbidden zone, and it was indeed guarded by another faction.

But what he didn't know was that it didn't just guard the fragment of the key of the divine prison. It was also one of the weakest nodes of the entire "God Prison World."

Yun Shang handed this knife to Chief Examiner, and Chief Examiner handed this knife to his true target. One link after another.

And these "Filial Sons and Virtuous Grandchildren" of his were the scalpel that was unreasonable, ignored the rules, and was capable of severing all causal loops.

"The chess game is finally coming to life," Lu Bei whispered, a hint of anticipation quietly emerging in his ethereal spirit body.