Chapter 96-1: Space Plaza Serpent Ancestor Trial (1) |
[Challenger Notification (all channels): The game is about to undergo the Version 1.6 major update. The following features will be opened by this update]:
Poster: Guide (official)
Content:
After this update ends, a new functional building will open in Emperor’s Mound Village, Eastern District: the Teleportation Plaza.
Building function introduction: Players can use the plaza to perform cross-regional jump teleportation and quickly reach teleportation nodes already linked to Emperor’s Mound Village…
—
As the in-game prompt popped up, Emperor’s Mound Village trembled in response.
Eastern District.
Above the heaps of building rubble there appeared a warped black hole. All the rubble was sucked into it, and white floor tiles rapidly assembled on the ground. Luminous blue spirit-pattern tracks roamed across the tiles, sketching swiftly.
The pitch-black vortex fluctuated violently. Inside, countless multicolored points of light appeared like boiling pool water, dyeing the spatial vortex in colors.
The plaza floor tiles, once assembled, were lit from the edges and converged toward the center along the spirit-pattern paths from eight directions.
Boom!
When the central node docked with the spirit patterns, the two stone pillars that sealed the spatial vortex ignited with crimson flames, and the multicolored spatial vortex at the center became stable.
Half an hour earlier, the behind-the-scenes Qi Sheng had received a connection from Yan Ming.
Learning that the spatial teleportation array at the Colorful Mist Coast had been completed, he decisively initiated the update and relayed this news to the players.
After the spatial teleportation array was generated, it consumed sacrificial power every single minute to remain operational, and he needed to shift this steady expenditure onto the players.
More importantly, the opening of the Colorful Mist Coast region would provide players with more collectible spiritual resources, and even opportunities to find more Primordial Monsters for containment.
After the update prompt appeared, the player forum exploded.
All players were discussing the spatial teleportation array and information related to the Colorful Mist Coast.
When players inside Emperor’s Mound Village uploaded photos of the plaza to the forum and the regional voice channel, the discussion heat climbed again.
During this time, players continuously spent 5 points of sacrificial power to pass through the spatial teleportation array and descend upon the Colorful Mist Coast.
The scene that unfolded before their eyes made the arriving players even feel as if they had entered the wrong game.
Compared with the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range, the visual style of the Colorful Mist Coast seemed like a completely different world.
The environment of the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range was filled with dark elements.
Piles of corpses like mountains, broken weapons everywhere, the ferocious and hideous Black Tide Evil Entities, the dark red Evil Moon hanging high in the sky, twisted and entangled rotting plants… these elements combined to make the environment of the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range exceptionally oppressive and chilling.
But the environment of the Colorful Mist Coast was entirely different.
Bright sunshine, a cerulean sky, a refreshing sea breeze, stretching white beaches, air laced with the fragrance of spiritual fruits… all kinds of elements intertwined into a breathtaking environment that lifted the spirit.
At this moment, a white sand crab, blowing bubbles and holding up two big pincers, scuttled sideways across the front of the teleportation array.
Even the native monsters looked especially cute in the eyes of the arriving players.
Very soon, the regional voice channel was filled with players’ exclamations.
“Holy crap, holy crap, I definitely entered the wrong game. This place feels off!”
“I’m stunned. Wasn’t it supposed to be a doomsday scene under the Black Tide’s shroud? Why is even the air here sweet, and the energy density in the air is clearly higher. Allow me to take a couple more pulls to savor the difference from the air in the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range.”
“I’m dumbfounded. When I entered the spatial corridor and saw the teleportation option for the Colorful Mist Coast, the scene I imagined in advance was the sea under the Evil Moon churning like viscous ink, an ancient ghost ship bobbing with the waves, tattered banners snapping in the cold wind, countless wraiths roaming and wailing over the sea… Gazing toward the end of the ocean, thick clouds roiled and thunder rumbled. With every flash of lightning, on the horizon illuminated for an instant, countless pitch-black tentacles stretching toward the sky flickered and vanished. I could faintly hear a terrifying low chant from the depths of the sea… But the scene before my eyes left me utterly confused. I almost thought the scene failed to load correctly. The contrast is massive.”
“As a fisherman, the moment I saw the word coast I knew I had to come. Sure enough, it was the right call. Hahaha, I’m advancing to a sea-fishing specialist.”
“Brothers, look at the far end of the sea. Is that the Evil Moon scene?”
“Damn, the Evil Moon is actually hanging at the end of the sea. Looks like this is the map from before doomsday descended. We might witness with our own eyes the process of the new map being covered by the Evil Moon.”
—
The continuously updated screenshots on the forum attracted a large number of players to head to the Colorful Mist Coast via the teleportation array.
In particular, players who chose the fishing growth route crossed the spatial teleportation array one after another, searching for fishing spots and preparing to start sea-fishing mode.
The debut of the new map also sparked the exploratory drive in quite a few players.
This also included explorer-type players.
One of their core goals in experiencing the game was to seek breathtaking scenery and learn the history and culture of different regions in the game world.
They were enchanted by the environment of the Colorful Mist Coast.
As players spread out to explore, the compendium function on the map updated rapidly.
New plants, monsters, and spiritual resources were constantly being recorded. As the fog dispersed, the clear areas on the map expanded outward during this period.
The inevitable battles followed.
Although the monsters near the coast were not as cruel and bloodthirsty as Evil Entities and the Swarm, many possessed extremely strong territorial instincts.
Players’ rash exploration everywhere drew fierce attacks from monsters near the coast.
Through real-time statistical data, Qi Sheng discovered that…
Players heading to the Colorful Mist Coast have had nearly one third of them killed during the exploration of the new scene, and this number continued to grow.
Before opening the teleportation, Qi Sheng conducted regional sampling.
He discovered that the hunting intensity of the Colorful Mist Coast region is completely opposite to that of the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range.
The characteristic of the Black Tide and the Swarm in the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range is sheer numbers, while the strength of an individual combat unit is not high.
There are no Evil Entities or Black Tide in the Colorful Mist Coast region. The monsters inhabiting this place are characterized by strong individual combat power but low density. Even social monsters are far less numerous than the Black Tide and the Swarm.
It can be foreseen that the opening of the new map will inevitably bring a wave of updates in Star Vein pairings to adapt to the combat environment of the new map.
But in the choice of main battlefield, Qi Sheng will still take the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range as the core development area.
After players become familiar with exploring the new map, they will find that if they want to grow quickly, the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range is the better choice.
Although the Swarm and the Black Tide are ferocious, they are excellent hunting targets.
Hunting on the Colorful Mist Coast still requires exploration and searching, while in the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range the Black Tide and the Swarm rampage right in your face.
Whether for evolution points or for sacrificial power, the gains in the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range are far higher than those on the Colorful Mist Coast.
Especially for the major guilds that seek development, the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range is their excellent choice, while solo players are more inclined to develop on the Colorful Mist Coast.
But in the period just after opening, the enthusiasm for exploring the new map continues to climb.