Chapter 207: The Disappearing Zhou Lingyin

"It's over! It's over, this monster is too fast, we don't even have a chance to escape!"

Blocked by the monster, the faces of the few people turned pale.

It had only been a little over ten minutes since the game refreshed, and they hadn't even had a chance to complete their daily tasks yet.

Except for the young girl, the others were all peak Mortal-levels, with four bloodlines at the Great Perfection stage. For them, dying once wasn't a big deal, but if the young girl died, they would definitely be punished, and it wouldn't be as simple as dying once.

The monster stared at them, a viscous liquid oozing from the corners of its mouth. "It's been a long time since I tasted the blood of humans. Today, I'm in luck to have you as my sacrifices!"

"Miss, run!" the few men shouted, looking as if they were ready to face death.

The young girl was also panicking, she had never seen a situation like this before and was momentarily frozen in place, not knowing what to do.

It wasn't until one of the middle-aged men pulled her that she reacted and started running.

The monster didn't rush, it seemed slow but was constantly closing in on them, causing the hearts of the few people to pound in their throats.

In just a few breaths of time, the monster was once again by their side, directly reaching out to grab the young girl.

At this moment, however, the monster suddenly sensed something, its footsteps halted abruptly, and it looked to the side.

Immediately after, a voice sounded not far away, "Where is this place in Hongshan County?"

Upon hearing the voice, the few players did not react immediately.

But when they saw Su Nan, they were all delighted.

A martial artist!

They could still encounter a martial artist here. This meant they were saved!

They didn't think Su Nan was a player because most of the players had already left, and even if they hadn't left, they wouldn't dare to come here alone.

The man closest to Su Nan said, "This is Yuxia Town."

"Yuxia Town?" Su Nan suddenly remembered, he had been here before on his way to the Immortal's Cave.

"Do you know where Qiankun Sect is?" Su Nan continued to ask.

"Qiankun Sect is in Qiankun County, which is more than three hundred li from here."

More than three hundred li, it wasn't too far. According to his previous prediction, he would only be caught by the White Water Demon King a day later, even if the White Water demons now knew he had come to Hongshan County, they wouldn't find him so quickly.

"Do you have a map of Hongshan County? Give me one," Su Nan said.

"We don't have a map," the man shook his head, then quickly said, "But I know how to get to Qiankun Sect."

The man's meaning was clear, he wanted Su Nan to help them.

Su Nan furrowed his brows slightly, he wouldn't take these people around with him, that would seriously slow down his speed. He had to find a way through the regional chat.

Su Nan didn't plan to waste time with these people, he was about to seek help from other players through the regional chat.

At this moment, the young girl quickly said, "I have it! I have a map!"

Su Nan looked at the young girl and said, "Give me the map, and I'll help you deal with this guy."

The monster stared at Su Nan, he could see that Su Nan, like himself, was a peak Spirit-level.

At first, the monster was cautious, but as Su Nan talked to the players as if they were insignificant, it made him increasingly angry!

He was actually ignored by a human kid!

At this moment, hearing Su Nan's words, the monster was even more furious.

"Kid, I advise you not to meddle in other people's business. These people are my blood meal. If you want to save them, you'd better be prepared to become my blood meal!" The monster sneered, trying to scare Su Nan away.

Although they were both peak Spirit-levels, without the suppression of the Celestial God Seal, he was confident that his strength was greater than Su Nan's.

Su Nan ignored the monster and continued to look at the young girl.

The young girl hurriedly took out a scroll-like map and handed it to Su Nan while assessing him.

Su Nan took a quick look at the map, found his current location, as well as the location of the Qiankun Sect, and then put it away with satisfaction.

Seeing Su Nan's actions, the monster became furious. "Kid, I gave you a chance to live, but you didn't cherish it. Don't blame me!"

"Noisy!" Su Nan glanced at the monster, waved his hand, and a flame burst on the monster before it could react, turning it into a charred corpse.

Quick! Too fast!

This scene left the players with wide eyes and open mouths, utterly shocked.

Su Nan didn't pay any attention to them, turned around, and disappeared from their sight in the blink of an eye.

"Transcendent! He's definitely a transcendent expert!" After a while, the players finally came back to their senses and couldn't help but gasp.

At this point, someone hesitated for a moment and said, "Did you guys feel that he looks familiar?"

Upon hearing this, the young girl's eyes lit up and she looked at the man next to her. "Did you feel the same way? I also felt like I've seen him somewhere."

"On the forum! We saw him on the forum, he's Zhang Yang!" Suddenly, someone remembered something and exclaimed.

Upon hearing the name Zhang Yang, the others instantly recalled, "Yes! It's him!"

"To actually meet Zhang Yang, the great god, here, we're really lucky."

"What is Zhang Yang doing in Qiankun Sect?" Several players were puzzled.

The young girl quickly said, "Who cares about that, hurry! Let's finish the mission and go to Qiankun Sect."

...

"Congratulations, you have completed the daily mission 'Hunting a Spirit-level Monster,' and received 15 Spirit Energy."

"Current available Spirit Energy: 216 points."

Su Nan remembered that he still hadn't checked the tasks of the other two characters today.

He looked over the tasks for the three characters.

As expected, the tasks for the three characters had not refreshed into anything new, still the most common tasks of hunting monsters.

"I wonder how much Spirit Energy is needed to upgrade the Bloodline to Proficiency after breaking through to the Spirit level?"

Su Nan switched the character back to Lang Thirteen and looked at the only bloodline on his panel, deep in thought.

"Whether or not to use 8 Spirit Energy to upgrade the Swallowing Star Beast Bloodline to Novice?"

"8 Spirit Energy, just as I expected." Su Nan nodded to himself.

At the Mortal level, it took 40 Spirit Energy to reach Great Perfection in one bloodline.

At the Spirit level, it took 80 Spirit Energy to reach Great Perfection in one bloodline.

With the experience from the previous two times, Su Nan could easily infer that to

 reach Great Perfection in one Profound-level bloodline would require 160 Spirit Energy!

"If all three characters are upgraded, and they have the ability to kill King-level monsters, it shouldn't be difficult to get 160 Spirit Energy."

Su Nan thought for a moment, and then changed his character to Zhang Yang.

He wasn't in a hurry to upgrade Lang Thirteen's bloodline; right now, it would be more beneficial to upgrade Zhang Yang and Wang Nan to the Spirit level.

However, he hesitated when he thought about Lang Thirteen's breakthrough just now.

During Lang Thirteen's breakthrough, if it weren't for the Swallowing Star Beast bloodline's ability to absorb the power of the sun and moon from the heavens and earth, it probably wouldn't have been so easy.

"Unfortunately, this time, I can't use the game panel's ability to foresee the future when advancing. I wonder if I'll be able to use it in the future."

Chapter 208: Premonition of Breakthrough

Looking at the newly added Death Premonition on the panel, Su Nan sighed and couldn't help but try to activate the ability of Death Premonition.

However, an unexpected situation occurred.

A game prompt appeared:

[You realize that breaking through from the Spirit level to the Profound level may pose unpredictable dangers. Do you want to consume a certain number of premonition attempts to foresee your death three minutes into the future?]

"Huh? Can I actually foresee it? Does this mean I can use the game's abilities after this upgrade?" Su Nan was delighted and immediately began to try.

He didn't attempt to use Death Premonition but tried to use a regular premonition to see if he could use the game's abilities.

[You have mastered all four bloodlines and satisfied the basic conditions for breaking through to the Profound level. Do you want to attempt a breakthrough?]

[You know that in order to break through to the Profound level, you need to merge the four bloodlines into one. During this process, one bloodline must be the primary one, while the other three serve as secondary ones.]

[Do you intend to use the Rui Beast Dragon Turtle bloodline as the primary one, with the other three bloodlines as secondary ones, to achieve the breakthrough?]

The information provided was clear. Su Nan didn't need to read further. He was disappointed.

It was evident that in the premonition, he was attempting a breakthrough in the normal way, just like any ordinary martial artist, and still couldn't use demonic power.

"Can't use the game's abilities in premonitions. So, how does Death Premonition work?"

"Could it be that Death Premonition only looks at the outcome and not the process?"

Su Nan looked at the Death Premonition prompt on the panel and thought of a possibility.

[You realize that breaking through from the Spirit level to the Profound level may pose unpredictable dangers. Do you want to consume a certain number of premonition attempts to foresee your death three minutes into the future?]

"Yes!"

This time, Su Nan didn't hesitate. Whether it turned out as he expected or not, as long as it provided the result he wanted, it would be fine!

With his determination, he immediately consumed a total of 20 premonition attempts.

"Another 20 times?"

"Does this mean I will ultimately be caught by the White Water Demon King?"

[You used a teleportation stone to escape to the Red Mountain County and successfully had your character, Zhang Yang, break through to the Profound level. However, even so, you were still found by the White Water Demon King.]

[Continuously evading for a day and night left you exhausted, depleting all available means at your disposal, yet you still couldn't escape the pursuit of the White Water Demon King.]

[You were captured by the White Water Demon King, but instead of killing you, he used a teleportation stone to bring you directly back to the White Water Lake in Tianyun City.]

...

The premonition was almost identical to the previous one.

However, Su Nan's eyes lit up.

It was actually possible!

The premonition clearly stated that his character, Zhang Yang, successfully broke through to the Profound level!

Although there was no description of the process, and he didn't know what would happen during the breakthrough, knowing the outcome was sufficient!

"In the premonition, I was still caught in the end. Does this mean I didn't find Zhou Lingyin?" Su Nan thought of another question and furrowed his brow.

In his first premonition, he hadn't thought of seeking help from others, so being caught by the White Water Demon King wasn't a big problem.

However, this time, he had come to seek help under these circumstances, and being caught would be a major issue.

"Now is not the time to think about these things. Let's first have Zhang Yang break through!"

His gaze fell on Zhang Yang's level, and the prompt for advancement appeared:

[Do you want to consume 160 points of demonic power to advance your character, Zhang Yang, to the Profound level?]

"Yes!"

[Please choose one of the following bloodlines as the primary one, with the other three as secondary ones.]

[Double-Winged Serpent Bloodline, Three-Sun Crow Bloodline, Phoenix Bloodline, Dragon Turtle Bloodline.]

Four bloodlines of different attributes appeared before Su Nan. Without hesitation, he selected the Dragon Turtle Bloodline.

[You have chosen the Dragon Turtle Bloodline as the primary one, with the Double-Winged Serpent Bloodline, Three-Sun Crow Bloodline, and Phoenix Bloodline as secondary ones. Confirm your selection?]

[Note: Advancement carries the risk of bloodline conflict and loss of control, so please choose carefully.]

"Confirm!"

[The advancement process has begun. Please be patient...]

With 160 points of demonic power consumed, Su Nan immediately felt that the bloodline secrets of the four different attributes belonging to the Elemental system began to spin uncontrollably. Then, the four bloodlines started to boil.

A situation similar to Lang Thirteen's previous breakthrough occurred.

However, this time, the situation was different.

During Lang Thirteen's breakthrough, the combination of the Dark Wolf, Spirit Crown Bird, and Jade-Horned Sheep bloodlines was formidable, on par with the Swallowing Star Demon.

But this time, that kind of situation didn't occur.

The three Elemental system bloodlines combined before the Dragon Turtle bloodline were insignificant in the face of the Dragon Turtle's bloodline. They were easily dissolved and gradually devoured.

"Indeed, the Rui Beast Bloodline is truly exceptional!" Su Nan exclaimed, suddenly realizing that he had been overly cautious before.

However, during these two breakthroughs, he also noticed an issue.

Ancient Monster Bloodlines also varied in strength.

It wasn't as simple as merging any Ancient Monster Bloodline; if the merged Ancient Monster Bloodline was too weak, its effects might not be significant.

"It seems that in the future, when choosing Ancient Monster Bloodlines, I must select powerful ones," Su Nan reminded himself.

Of course, such a situation might only apply to him. Ordinary people would be fortunate to obtain an Ancient Monster Bloodline, so they wouldn't be picky.

He had merged an Ancient Monster Bloodline when he was at the Mortal level and another one at the Spirit level. In the entire world of monsters and demons, there were probably not many people like him.

"Previously, it was mentioned in the premonition that it takes several months or even years for a martial artist to merge bloodlines."

"Now, using demonic power for a breakthrough hasn't changed the method; it has just accelerated the process by hundreds or even thousands of times, allowing the bloodlines that would normally take months to merge to do so within minutes."

[Congratulations, you have become the second player to reach the Profound level, and you have gained 150 points of luck as a reward.]

[Congratulations, your level has advanced to the Profound level, and your talent for foreseeing the future has been enhanced, granting you an additional 3 uses per day.]

"Success!"

As the last bloodline was devoured, Su Nan suddenly felt that his mana was skyrocketing, becoming several times stronger than before!

At the same time as his breakthrough.

In the regional chat and on forums, the excitement over Lang Thirteen's recent breakthrough had not yet subsided when Zhang Yang's breakthrough caused another uproar among the players.

Many people began to speculate when Wang Nan would break through.

"Two people have already broken through. Could this bring about the early arrival of the third closed beta?"

In a small building, several members of the Heavenly Destiny Sect dressed in black discussed the information on the forum.

If anyone understood the world of monsters and demons the best, it would undoubtedly be them.

"It's hard to say. According to our clan's powerful individuals, the conditions for each closed beta are different. No one knows the conditions for the third closed beta."

"But there are a few possibilities, and among those possibilities, one seems more likely given the current situation."

"What possibility is that?"

"Three players reaching the Profound level."

"Three players reaching the Profound level? Does that mean that if this Wang Nan also breaks through to the Profound level, the third closed beta will begin?"

"If that's the case, I hope that guy breaks through as soon as possible. Once the third closed beta starts, this world will definitely undergo significant changes, and we can harness the power of our world."

"Exactly, and then, when we want to intervene in the world of monsters and demons, we won't be so restricted like we are now!"

...

"I only have 56 points of demonic power left. If I had more, I could try to foresee whether Wang Nan will break through."

Feeling the immense power surging within him, Su Nan was intoxicated by the sensation, and he couldn't help but want to continue improving.

Unfortunately, he didn't have enough demonic power left.

Su Nan sighed and stopped dwelling on it. Instead, he followed the map's route and quickly headed toward the Qiankun Sect.

For Su Nan in his current state, a journey of three hundred miles was not that far.

Four or five hours later, he arrived in Qiankun County, where the Qiankun Sect was located.

During this journey, apart from encountering a few foolish monsters that he easily killed, nothing unexpected happened.

He completed two quests, one for hunting mortal-level monsters and another for hunting spirit-level monsters, earning 25 points of demonic power and raising his available demonic power to 81 points.

After another half an hour, Su Nan finally found the Qiankun Sect.

However, to his disappointment, just as he had expected, the place was not only abandoned but had also been occupied by an initial Profound-level monster!

Su Nan's expression darkened. Even though he had already guessed that he might not find Zhou Lingyin this time, facing such a result still made him feel frustrated.

"Huh? Kid, you have the mark left by our demon clan on your body? Did you obtain the Ancient Human Tribe's divine artifact?" The monster that had occupied the Qiankun Sect noticed Su Nan and, upon seeing marks from other demons on Su Nan's body, his eyes lit up. Then, he became puzzled, "Wait a minute! That's not right! I remember that the two divine artifacts were obtained by a little girl and a middle-aged man, not you. Where did the marks on your body come from?"

The monster looked at Su Nan without immediately attacking, pondering.

Hearing this, Su Nan looked at the monster and suddenly had a realization.

The current Profound-level monster had clearly participated in the battle to attack the Heavenly Dome Divine Prohibition node. Thus, there was a possibility that it knew about the powerful figures from the Qiankun Sect who had participated in this war.

"I know! You're not from Hongshan County; you're a martial artist who obtained divine artifacts from other counties!" The monster exclaimed with delight as it realized Su Nan was not from Hongshan County. "Haha, this is great! If I capture you, several Demon Kings will surely reward me handsomely!"

At this point, the monster finally understood where the marks on Su Nan's body came from and was eager to take him captive.

Su Nan sneered. He had already killed over a hundred Profound-level monsters like the one before him! Just as the monster was about to attack, Su Nan released his mental power and appeared in front of the monster, grabbing its

 neck and lifting it up.

The initial Profound-level monster had virtually no resistance and was easily subdued.

"I'll ask you, how many Wang-level experts and Emperor-level experts did the Qiankun Sect send to guard the Heavenly Dome Divine Prohibition node this time?" Su Nan looked at the monster, who was trembling with fear, and held it up by the neck. "Speak!"

Terrified, the monster looked at Su Nan, struggling in his grasp, and whimpered, "I... I don't know."

"Don't know? Then you can die!" Su Nan's voice turned cold, and he tightened his grip, preparing to kill the monster.

Sensing the imminent threat of death, the monster's face turned pale, and it quickly said, "I don't know about the Wang-level experts, but I do know that the Qiankun Sect did not send any Emperor-level experts."

None?

Su Nan quickly asked, "How do you know? Tell me."

The monster explained, "It's said that the Qiankun Sect has two Emperor-level experts, but one of them was entangled by one of our Demon Emperor long before our clan attacked the node, and he hasn't had a chance to take action."

"And the other one... is said to have disappeared several years ago and hasn't been seen since."

"Disappeared?"

Su Nan's heart stirred, and he immediately understood that the missing Emperor-level expert the monster mentioned was likely Zhou Lingyin.

"If Zhou Lingyin didn't appear in this mission, does that mean she didn't manage to leave the Heaven's Prison?"" Su Nan considered a possibility, and a sense of unease washed over him.

However, when he recalled Zhou Lingyin's actions in the past, he felt that this shouldn't be the case.

"Zhou Lingyin went to great lengths to make me steal the Bronze Bell. It must have been crucial for her. It's very likely that it's the key to her escape from Heaven's Prison."

"Moreover, later, when Zhou Cheng helped the Stars Point Sect use the Fusion Disk to control Heaven's Prison, Zhou Lingyin must have done something to the Fusion Disk, gaining partial control over Heaven's Prison."

Su Nan thought in silence, and with just these two points, he concluded that Zhou Lingyin had the ability to escape from Heaven's Prison.

"Later, Heaven's Prison was taken away by the powerful individual from the Stars Point Sect, and there hasn't been any news since."

"It seems I need to find a way to get information from the Grand Princess!"