Game: God-level Aura, 100x Experience at the Start!

Gods of Earth!Swish—! In an instant, all Blue Star players received 100,000 EXP!

The moment the EXP hit their accounts, countless pale golden rays of light lit up from the players! That was the sign of leveling up!

”Holy crap! I leveled up 10 times!” A Warrior slapped his thigh and laughed wildly. The wounds previously slashed by Orcs healed in the instant of leveling up; a sense of power spread through his muscles and bones, and his hand gripping the battle axe became steadier.

”I leveled up 4 times! This 100,000 EXP is insanely good!” The Mage watched their maximum Mana surge, couldn’t help but wave their staff at the air, and the fireball that shot from their fingertips was a size larger than before.

Even those players who had been injured and in low spirits during the battle felt a surge of energy the moment the EXP flooded in, and the attribute boost brought by the level increase allowed them to straighten their backs once again!

The dense forest was filled with the ”ding” of leveling-up notifications, which intertwined with the players’ cheers, dispelling the previous tension and fatigue.

White Night, on the tree branch, also received the EXP reward, but it was completely useless to him because he was already at max level.

However, watching the patches of golden light lighting up below, the curve of his mouth softened a bit. ”It certainly saved them a lot of effort in grinding levels.”

At this moment, the Game System prompt refreshed again, covering the vision of all players: 【Attention all players! The first phase of the mission has been completed. You may choose to exit the mission early; there will be no mission penalty, and you can obtain the reward: Gold-grade Treasure Chest * 1!】

”Holy shit! We can end the mission early! And there’s a Gold-grade Treasure Chest reward too!”

”Hahaha! In that case, I’m going to slip away first! Goodbye everyone! I’m satisfied with a Gold-grade Treasure Chest!”

”...”

In an instant, over 99% of the players chose to exit the mission early! There was no help for it; most Blue Star players were too weak. Exiting early to obtain a more ordinary reward was indeed a decent choice.

Two minutes later. There were fewer than 10,000 Blue Star players left in the mission world. These were the true elites, each of whom was at least level 50!

The next moment. A Game System prompt appeared before the eyes of everyone who remained: 【Pilgrimage Realm Phase 2 mission activated: Purify the Holy Springs, sever the foundation of the gods’ blessings.】

【Mission Objective: Capture and purify 3 Holy Springs guarded by Orc believers (Current progress: 0/3)】

【Mission Description: The Holy Springs are the medium through which the gods transmit blessings to their believers. Each Holy Spring is guarded by a high-ranking believer of the corresponding god. The area around the Holy Spring is shrouded in a divine domain, and the effect of normal attacks will be weakened by 50%.】

【Mission Rewards: All players receive the ”Godly Resistance” temporary buff (lasts 20 days). For every 30% of purification progress reached, all players’ attributes increase by 5%.】

”Holy Springs? Sounds like they won’t be easy to deal with.”

”And it weakens normal attacks? Wouldn’t that make it tough for Warriors and Archers?”

”But the reward is an all-attribute increase! A 15% attribute boost after purification—this is a massive profit!”

”Let’s check the strategy information first!” someone reminded, opening the new data issued by the Game System:

【Holy Spring Distribution: 1. Natural Holy Spring (Deep in the Misty Forest): Guarded by the high-ranking Natural God believer ”Thorn Bear King.” The Holy Spring is entangled with millennium-old vines; touching the vines will trigger ”Parasitic Curse.” 2. Lightning Holy Spring (Top of Black Stone Mountain): Guarded by the high-ranking Lightning God believer ”Thunder Hawk Lord.” There is a strong electrical field around the Holy Spring; getting close will cause continuous lightning damage. 3. War Holy Spring (Foot of the Volcano): Guarded by the high-ranking War God believer ”Blood Lion General.” The Holy Spring is covered by a blood-colored barrier; the barrier’s strength increases with the number of believers.】

”Thorn Bear King, Thunder Hawk Lord, Blood Lion General... just by the names, they sound much stronger than the previous Orcs.”

”And there are special mechanics! Parasitic Curse, strong electrical field, blood-colored barrier... this phase of the mission is likely getting serious.”

The mission difficulty had spiked. But the remaining Blue Star players did not back down this time. The boost brought by the first phase of the mission had genuinely stimulated everyone! The thrill of such a sudden surge in strength was simply maddening!

The next moment. The remaining Blue Star players immediately began to form teams and reorganize. The squads that had performed outstandingly in the first phase spontaneously became the core, recruiting Mages skilled in breaking barriers, Priests capable of resisting curses, and Warriors skilled in melee combat, preparing to begin a comprehensive assault on the Holy Springs!

White Night leaped down from the tree branch, the tips of his toes lightly tapping the ground as his figure landed silently in an open area. Watching the players quickly assemble and assign tasks, his eyes flashed with gratification.

”The difficulty of the second phase has clearly increased. It’s a good opportunity to see what new tricks these guys can come up with after gaining a boost in strength.”

Meanwhile, on the distant mountains, the totem poles burning with pale white flames seemed to have deepened in color, and low roars could vaguely be heard from the depths of the flames!

Soon. The remaining top Blue Star players split into three groups and headed towards the three Holy Springs.

The squad attacking the Natural Holy Spring was the most cautious. They carried the ”Flame Resin” collected in the first phase—this stuff would burn violently when exposed to heat and was highly effective against plants. The captain was an experienced ’old player’ who had already reached level 60! To reach this level in just a few days showed that he was no ordinary person.

He had the Warriors hold shields coated with resin to clear the path, while the Priests chanted ”Purification Prayer” in advance, ready to dispel the Parasitic Curse at any time. Upon approaching the Holy Spring, they indeed saw millennium-old vines coiling around the spring eye like giant pythons, the vine leaves shimmering with a faint green light.

”Ignite!” Following the captain’s order, the Warriors slammed their shields onto the ground. The friction between the resin and the gravel generated heat, instantly igniting a raging fire. The ancient vines were scorched by the flames, emitting a ”sizzling” sound, and the green light rapidly dimmed.

”Now!” The Mages immediately cast ”Gale Spell.” The fire borrowed the force of the wind, causing the ancient vines to crackle and pop as they burned.

Just when everyone thought they had succeeded, a surge of dark green sap suddenly welled up from the center of the Holy Spring. The moment the sap hit the ground, the scorched ancient vines regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye, even growing new branches with barbs that lashed out crazily at the players.

”The Thorn Bear King has appeared!” someone shouted.

The giant rock behind the Holy Spring split open, and a three-zhang-tall Bearman walked out. Its entire body was covered in thorn armor. It slammed its bear paw onto the ground, and countless vine roots drilled out from underground, entangling the ankles of over a dozen players.

The entangled players immediately let out screams; green patterns appeared on the surface of their skin, and their HP began to drop crazily! The Parasitic Curse had taken effect.

The Priests hurriedly cast Purification, but discovered that the curse’s intensity far exceeded expectations. The purification light that fell upon the players could only temporarily slow the spread of the curse. After all, their levels were simply too low. The intensity of their skills was simply not enough!

Roar—! The Thorn Bear King roared and charged. A single slam of its giant paw shattered the shields of three Warriors. The players’ attacks landed on its thorn armor, leaving only shallow white marks.

”Retreat! Get out first!” the captain ordered through gritted teeth, but the ancient vines had already formed a encirclement. The players, with nowhere left to retreat, watched their HP continuously drop, and despair gradually appeared in their eyes.

Meanwhile, the squad attacking the Lightning Holy Spring was also locked in a bitter struggle. The electrical field at the top of Black Stone Mountain was astonishingly strong. Players wrapped their entire bodies in soaked animal skins in an attempt to resist the current, but they were still shocked until their hair stood on end.

The Thunder Hawk Lord circled above the Holy Spring. Its spread wings were fully ten zhang wide, every feather flashing with purple lightning. As it flapped its wings, countless lightning arrows fell like a rainstorm!

”Use the metal nets!” a player shouted. They had collected a large amount of special metal in advance and woven it into huge metal nets, which the Warriors held up to act as lightning rods. This move was initially very effective; the lightning arrows landed on the nets, and the current was conducted into the ground along the net.

But the Thunder Hawk Lord suddenly let out a sharp screech, folded its wings, and a purple lightning pillar as thick as a water bucket struck toward the metal net. Boom—! The net was instantly pierced through, and the Warriors holding the net collapsed to the ground, charred all over, having lost the ability to fight!

”Ranged players, focus fire on its wings!” But the other players still didn’t give up. The Mages unleashed their strongest Ice-type spells, attempting to freeze the Thunder Hawk’s feathers, but were instantly evaporated by the lightning pillar. The electrical field grew stronger and stronger; the players’ equipment began to smoke, and even the Priests’ healing spells became intermittent.

”It’s no use... we can’t damage it at all!” someone sat slumped on the ground, watching the Thunder Hawk Lord condense another lightning pillar, their eyes filled with helplessness.

The situation at the War Holy Spring was equally tragic. The Blood Lion General stood in the center of the barrier, surrounded by hundreds of Blood Lion Warriors. The barrier became thicker as the number of Warriors increased, and the players’ attacks landed on it, only able to stir up ripples.

They tried to disperse the Warriors and let the Assassins sneak around to the back for a surprise attack, but they were countered by the Blood Lion General’s ”Blood Rage” skill. Whenever a Warrior was injured, it would absorb the blood to strengthen itself, and its attack and defense power would surge!

”Half of our brothers have already lost the ability to fight...” the captain looked at his constantly dwindling teammates, his voice trembling.

They had used materials obtained in the first phase to make barrier-breaking bombs, but after detonating them, they only blew a small gap in the barrier, and before the players could rush in, the gap was refilled by the blood of the Blood Lion Warriors.

”The barrier’s strength is almost at its peak! If this continues, we’re all going to die here!” Despair spread like a plague, and even the players who were initially high-spirited lowered their heads.

The battle situation at the three Holy Springs spread to all players via the shared channel. Looking at the constantly rising casualty figures and the stagnant purification progress, the Blue Star players all fell into silence. The previous excitement and confidence were gone, leaving only deep helplessness.

They had exhausted all methods—flames, metal nets, barrier-breaking bombs, and even tactics like surprise attacks and splitting forces had all been tried, but in the face of the absolute strength of the high-ranking believers, all cleverness seemed so pale! Strength was the true main theme of this game!

”Is it... really impossible to complete?” someone murmured to themselves, their voice tinged with tears. The 15% all-attribute boost was right before their eyes, yet it felt as if they were separated by a chasm, unable to reach it no matter what.

Just then. A pale purple bolt of lightning suddenly tore through the sky, streaking past the Misty Forest, Black Stone Mountain, and the foot of the volcano like a meteor.

White Night’s figure appeared above the Natural Holy Spring. He didn’t even look at the Thorn Bear King, merely raising his hand. Countless gray-black lightning bolts surged from his palm, landing on the ancient vines.

The next moment. Boom—! Those vines that could resist fire dissolved like paper in the lightning. The Parasitic Curse was instantly purified by the lightning; the green patterns on the players who had fallen to the ground faded rapidly, and their HP began to recover!

The Thorn Bear King roared and pounced. White Night dodged to the side, and the lightning at his fingertips transformed into a spear, precisely piercing the gaps in its armor. The Bear King’s massive body froze in place, the thorn armor on its body disintegrated inch by inch, and it quickly dissipated into points of light.

One-hit kill! Immediately after. The ancient vines around the Holy Spring all withered, revealing clear spring water, 【Purification progress: 34%】.

The next second, he appeared at the top of Black Stone Mountain. The Thunder Hawk Lord’s lightning pillar had only struck halfway when it was gripped by White Night’s outstretched palm. The purple lightning pillar struggled wildly in his palm but was bit by bit converted into gray-black lightning.

”Your lightning is too weak.” White Night whispered, backhand throwing the converted lightning out. The Thunder Hawk Lord couldn’t dodge in time, its wing was pierced by the lightning, and it let out a shrill scream, falling to the ground and turning into points of light. Another one-hit kill!

Immediately after. The strong electrical field instantly dissipated! 【Purification progress: 67%】

Finally, he landed in front of the War Holy Spring. The Blood Lion General was just about to order the strengthening of the barrier when it saw White Night raise the Eternal Demon Blade. A dark purple blade aura flashed by; there was no earth-shattering loud noise, but that seemingly indestructible blood-colored barrier shattered like ice, and along with the surrounding Blood Lion Warriors, they were blown away by the airflow stirred up by the blade aura.

The Blood Lion General’s pupils shrank, and it raised its axe to block, but was split from the top of its head to the soles of its feet by the blade aura, quickly turning into golden points of light and dissipating. Still a one-hit kill! 【Purification progress: 100%】!

The whole process took no more than half a minute. At this moment, the remaining Blue Star players were stunned! Those high-ranking believers who had made them despair to the point of suffocation hadn’t even lasted a single round under White Night!

The previous helplessness, fear, and despair all turned into deafening cheers at this moment! ”Great God White Night!” ”Holy shit! Is this the strength of God Bai?!” ”I knew it! With White Night here, nothing is impossible!”

Some were so excited they cried, hugging their teammates and jumping up and down. Some bowed in the direction of White Night, their eyes filled with fanatical worship. At this moment, White Night’s figure was deeply imprinted in everyone’s minds, never to dissipate! At this moment, White Night was the God of Blue Star!

White Night sheathed his blade and stood still, looking at the players cheering wildly below, his eyes calm. He could feel that with the completion of the second phase of the mission, the aura of the players had become a bit stronger, and that 15% attribute boost was truly integrating into their bodies.

And the one who had obtained the greatest improvement was undoubtedly himself! At this moment. On the distant totem poles, the pale white flames flickered violently, and low, frustrated roars could vaguely be heard. But White Night only glanced at them once, then turned to look in the direction of the Holy Springs. The third phase, it was time for those so-called ”gods” to make their appearance.