Chapter 156 : New Wan City and the Grandmaster of Extreme Yin
Chapter 156: New Wan City and the Grandmaster of Extreme Yin
Luoshui Main City.
“Damn!”
“This is too hard!”
“We got wiped before even seeing the BOSS!”
“There are so many Tier-Three Elite Monsters, isn’t this difficulty completely off the charts?”
“Hahaha, thrilling, thrilling! I love this kind of challenging adventure!”
“Twisted Three Kingdoms is a pain-and-suffering type game, even a death-farming game. Dying a few times is completely normal!”
“……”
Top players like Ye Li Meng, Lone Boat, Black-Eyed Rui Ge, Salted Fish Thrust, Little Bell, and Chimera Wraith gathered together to share and carefully study the intel they had collected so far.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge said, “This time, our three major Legions and almost all the Tier-Two players participated, yet we were wiped out in no time. It seems the difficulty of exploring the Wan City Map is far greater than we imagined!”
“Yeah, I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t expect us to crash and burn this fast.”
Chimera Wraith asked, “Rui Ge, do you have any suggestions?”
Black-Eyed Rui Ge first shook his head, then said, “We know too little about the new map for now. My only suggestion is that we unite and explore it together to gather more valuable intel, then decide on the division of tasks for the next steps.”
Mad Blade Old Wang said, “I agree! Our levels and strength still aren’t high enough! Only by working together can we ensure enough clearing power and explore more regions!”
Ye Li Meng also nodded. “Though the monsters in the new map are high-level, they drop a lot of resources. As long as we kill a few more each run, we won’t be losing out!”
“That’s true!”
“In that case, let’s not waste time!”
“It’s not a short trip back and forth, better make the most of it!”
“……”
Inside the Lord Fortress.
Xiao Ba reported, “Master, the players led by the major Legions have regrouped and set off again!”
“That fast?”
Hang Yu originally wanted to adjust the quest guidance.
But seeing the players so proactive and eager—he might as well observe for a while longer.
These players were full of oil and water. This wave of deaths alone had brought in 1.6 to 1.7 million Essence Points. Today’s minimum Essence income would easily surpass 2 million, and if they died once more, he could earn at least 3.5 million!
And that was a conservative estimate.
If they died a few more times, the income would certainly be higher!
Xiao Ba said, “The morale of the Calamity Army hasn’t dropped. On the contrary, their fighting spirit has grown stronger!”
Hang Yu smiled. “That’s normal. As long as we keep providing positive feedback, as long as there are gains amidst failure and death, let alone one or two deaths—even a thousand or ten thousand deaths, they’ll still be eager, even enjoy it.”
After all, this wasn’t their first day playing Twisted Three Kingdoms.
In a pain-and-suffering game, dying and failing were part of daily life.
Now, the players were filled with curiosity about the monsters and situation in the Wan City Region!
To them, it was a mysterious, unknown journey, full of thrills, challenges, and adventure. One or two deaths weren’t enough to make them feel defeated. Not to mention that high-level Elite Monsters like the Thousand-Eyed Centipede dropped incredibly generous rewards.
Xiao Ba said, “Since Master is expanding the Azure Dragon Guard unit, we can guide players to die a few more times to stockpile more backup Essence!”
Hang Yu was a little speechless.
Xiao Ba really was a little King of Hell.
Hang Yu planned to recruit 2,000 units the day after tomorrow, including 1,800 Calamity Army soldiers, and an additional 200 absolutely loyal, strictly controlled, and perfectly disciplined Azure Dragon Guard soldiers.
The Azure Dragon Guard would expand to 270 members.
The Calamity Army would expand to 3,730 members.
Expanding the Azure Dragon Guard was essential for territory defense and maintaining daily order.
After all, as the number of territories and towns grew, and with the continuous increase in player population, the demand for defense and stability grew as well. The existing 70 Azure Dragon Guards and Zhou Cang were far from enough.
In fact, 270 Azure Dragon Guards were still insufficient.
Hang Yu planned to select an armed force from among native auxiliary troops and villagers to form a stationed garrison around the territory. From there, a few particularly loyal and high-aptitude individuals could be selected and trained into new Azure Dragon Guards.
The ultimate goal was to maintain a 1:9 or 2:8 ratio between the Azure Dragon Guard and the Calamity Army.
The reason Xiao Ba suggested manufacturing more player deaths was precisely because the expanded Azure Dragon Guard needed a significant Essence investment for training—which could be efficiently acquired by harvesting players.
“Building the Azure Dragon Guard is important, but everything has its priorities.”
Hang Yu said calmly, “Wan City is very different from Wo Niu Mountain. Although the Lord War was triggered at Wo Niu Mountain, the opponent was just a Dragon-Lizard Lord with four to five years of experience, posing limited threat.”
“The Abyssal power at Wo Niu Mountain was also sealed and suppressed by Guan Yu and Zhou Cang.”
“So during development, there was no direct threat from Abyssal forces.”
“But Wan City is a different story!”
Xiao Ba was just an intelligent assistant.
It had not received Lord-level training.
Its understanding of the dangers of the Abyssal World was still lacking.
Hang Yu had a feeling that the Abyssal forces in Wan City weren’t just strong—they were very likely not sealed at all!
If he couldn’t gather intel and prepare in advance, while also strengthening himself and his army, the territory could at any moment be struck by grave threats from the Abyss or local forces.
Under such circumstances, blindly harvesting the Calamity Army to build the Azure Dragon Guard was unwise. Though the Azure Dragon Guard offered absolute control, their cost-performance ratio was far inferior to that of the Calamity Army.
He could harvest players.
But before the situation stabilized—
Hang Yu planned to return most of the Essence harvested from players through quests or events. As the saying goes, sharpening the axe won’t delay the cutting of firewood.
Of course, the Calamity Army couldn’t be allowed to grow too strong.
Otherwise, the leeks would be too tough to cut.
Only when Hang Yu felt the Calamity Army was strong enough to handle territory development and enemy resistance, would he slow their growth and redirect surplus Essence into building the Azure Dragon Guard and cultivating key NPCs.
In short—
As a game planner—
Hang Yu’s job was to firmly control the game’s pacing.
Players couldn’t be too weak to beat anything, nor too strong to the point of trivializing the challenge and removing essential setbacks.
Hang Yu noticed—
The force formed by the three major Calamity Legions—
Had now, under Ye Li Meng’s leadership, arrived in the wilderness, heading straight for the centipede cave-infested Centipede Canyon.
Though the number of players had increased greatly this time, they still likely stood no chance—it was practically suicide.
Each Thousand-Eyed Centipede was as strong as a level-14 Abyss Commander, and there were nearly a hundred such monsters in the canyon—already far beyond the Calamity Army’s capabilities.
Not to mention—there was a Tier-Three Commander among them!
Unless the top players all reached Tier-Three—
They had absolutely no chance of victory against such an Abyss Commander.
Hang Yu didn’t interfere for now.
He continued to monitor from the shadows.
That Tier-Three Commander in Centipede Canyon piqued his interest—not just because wild Commander-class monsters at Tier-Three were extremely rare and valuable, but also because that monster was very likely a Lesser Corruption Source.
In other words—
If he could successfully kill it—
Hang Yu could devour a Tier-Three Lesser Nightmare Source, and at minimum, gain one Tier-Three Talent Point—which could be split into ten Tier-Two Talent Points.
That would be enough to unlock his remaining Lord Talent.
Thus, meeting the condition to advance into a Tier-Three Lord.
This would not only greatly boost Hang Yu’s personal strength but also raise the level cap for the entire territory, allowing Zhou Cang, Zhang San, Li Si, and others to break through into Tier-Three as well.
At that point, the territory’s overall power and foundation would undergo a qualitative leap, ensuring it could resist the threats emerging from Wan City.
However—
Just as Hang Yu was focused on Ye Li Meng’s squad—
Another player team over at White Tiger Mountain ran into something…
This discovery immediately caught Hang Yu’s attention. He instantly opened two instances of 【Lord's Vision】—one to continue monitoring the activities of the three major Legions in the Wan City Region, and the other to track the developments over at White Tiger Mountain.
…………
There were quite a few clever players among them.
Toasting the Moon was undoubtedly one of them.
After all, with strong backing from national institutions, Toasting the Moon had already deduced the interconnections between the Abyssal Dreamworlds.
According to the Special Task Force’s analysis, there were Abyssal Fog Gates to the east, west, south, and north. These linked fragments of the Abyssal Dreamworlds together.
Tens of thousands, or even millions, of nightmare fragments formed an enormous web, and each map was connected to four others around it. As long as they were distance-1 maps, they were directly linked.
Therefore—
Theoretically speaking—
If one could access Wan City from Luoshui Main City,
Then it must also be accessible from White Tiger Mountain.
The White Tiger Mountain Region had been seized by the Calamity Army after defeating the Dragon-Lizard Lord. Although a portion of players and NPCs had migrated there, overall, it remained relatively unpopular.
Currently, most new players were active in the Luoshui Region. More advanced players were farming monsters in Wo Niu Mountain. As for the White Tiger Mountain Map, the terrain, monster distribution, and monster intel were all incomplete.
And with the unknown came risk.
Aside from a few thrill-seekers who loved exploring new content, most players preferred farming and leveling in the Luoshui Map.
Toasting the Moon didn’t join Black-Eyed Rui Ge or Ye Li Meng’s squads, but instead led his own team to teleport to White Tiger City, then from there to a place called Luling Hamlet.
Luling Hamlet contained the southernmost Blessing Point in White Tiger Mountain.
Upon reaching Luling Hamlet, they soon spotted from afar a massive white Fog Gate emerging within the crimson Dreamworld Fog Wall. A Fog Gate meant there was passage.
“Excellent!”
“This discovery is huge!”
From the ruins of Luling Hamlet, Toasting the Moon gazed excitedly at the Fog Gate.
This meant the Calamity Army had found a second route into Wan City. If Ye Li Meng and Black-Eyed Rui Ge were blocked on the west side, they could simply enter from the north.
Level 8 Ranger Warrior Like the Wind asked, “Should we check it out?”
Level 10 Warlock Pissing Three Thousand Feet Against the Wind said, “Of course we should! We’re already here. Who knows, we might make a huge discovery.”
Level 8 Monk Knight of Dawn added, “I heard the three major Legions aren’t having an easy time exploring Wan City. If we complete the Wan City quest before they do, we could really brag about it!”
Level 10 Warrior Blind Swordsman: “Agreed!”
Toasting the Moon’s team consisted of nine members. While none of them were particularly well-known yet, they were all carefully selected and specially trained potential candidates by the Special Task Force, and were extremely loyal to Toasting the Moon.
They were expected to become core members of the Undying Dragon Soul Legion in the future.
Toasting the Moon: “Move out!”
The nine mounted their Spirit Horses and sped across the wilderness toward the Abyssal Fog Gate. After about two hours, they arrived near it.
Although they encountered some trouble along the way, the monsters in White Tiger Mountain were mostly under level 9. With the 12th-level expert Toasting the Moon present, it wasn’t a big issue as long as they avoided getting surrounded.
Once they were less than 20 li from the gate—
Toasting the Moon gave the order to slow down and approach cautiously.
“Boss!” Warrior Like the Wind returned from his scouting position atop a hillside and reported, “There are a large number of Undead Citizens ahead in the wilderness!”
“Abyssal Undead Citizens?”
Toasting the Moon frowned. “These humanoid monsters usually appear near ancient towns or ruin sites. There’s nothing like that within dozens of li—why would Undead Citizens be here?”
Warrior Like the Wind said, “These ones look different from any we’ve seen before. Boss, you’d better come take a look yourself!”
Toasting the Moon climbed to a vantage point.
And he immediately understood what Warrior Like the Wind meant.
Abyssal Undead Citizens were the most common humanoid monster in Abyssal Nightmares—ordinary civilians who had fallen into the nightmares and were transformed into low-level monsters.
Though they gained endless lifespans and immortality, they had long since lost their sanity to the endless nightmare cycle, turning into mindless husks driven by rage and chaos.
There were many Undead Citizens near Heting Hamlet, the Luoshui Execution Ground, and in ruins around Wo Niu Mountain. Their level and strength varied by region, but seeing ones above level 10 was rare.
However—
Right now—
【Abyssal Undead Citizen】, Level 18 Normal Unit… Description: Once ordinary villagers from Beilin Hamlet, they mutated into mindless humanoid monsters after falling into an Abyssal Nightmare.
“Holy shit! Did I see that right? Level 18 Undead Citizens?!”
Pissing Three Thousand Feet Against the Wind rubbed his eyes—
Doubting his own vision.
These Undead Citizens also looked noticeably different.
Each stood about one zhang tall, with obvious beast-like mutations. Their bodies were covered in coarse, tough fur, and they had grown sharp claws and fangs—like a mix of apes and canines.
At a glance—
There were a lot of them!
Blind Swordsman asked, “What’s the deal with these Undead Citizens?”
Toasting the Moon smiled. “We’re in luck. These Undead Citizens probably aren’t native to the White Tiger Mountain Region.”
Knight of Dawn: “You mean… they’re from the Wan City Region?”
Toasting the Moon nodded. “There are no towns or ruins nearby, and their level doesn’t match the usual monsters around here. It’s highly likely they came out from the Abyssal Fog Gate.”
Then—
He paused.
And continued, “But that’s not the key point. The important thing is, most Abyssal Monsters have fixed activity patterns and roaming ranges. Unless guided by external forces, they won’t leave that range.”
“So if I’m right, just beyond that Fog Gate lies a town or ruin in the Wan City Region—and these Undead Citizens came from there!”
The other eight players were thrilled.
“A town or ruin?”
“Then there’s a high chance of a Fate Stone appearing!”
“Doesn’t that mean we could activate a Blessing Point?!”
Among the territory’s exploration quests was one to activate a Blessing Point in the Wan City Region.
The reward for this quest wasn’t just generous—the key was that acquiring a Stronghold was of great importance to the Calamity Army. It would significantly boost their honor and reputation!
“There are quite a few Undead Citizens.”
“Let’s clear them out first!”
“With such high-level Undead Citizens, the EXP should be great!”
Toasting the Moon led his team to start the hunt. Although Undead Citizens were the most common type of monster, most were normal-tier with low strength, far less dangerous than elite monsters of the same level. They had no intelligence and moved stiffly.
And they respawned quickly.
Kill a batch, and they’d be back in 2–3 days.
That made them ideal for grinding and leveling up.
Though these were higher level, their actual strength likely wasn’t too high. With Toasting the Moon as their solid Tier-Two carry, it wasn’t a problem as long as they weren’t swarmed.
A few minutes later—
Under Pissing Three Thousand Feet Against the Wind’s Wind Blade—
The first targeted Undead Citizen fell as its HP bar was depleted.
These beastlike Undead Citizens were fast, but lacked powerful skills, so they didn’t pose much threat. The whole fight went smoothly, and Warrior Like the Wind quickly ran over to loot.
【You picked up loot: Essence +1600, Abyssal Magic Stone Fragment +2000, Tattered Undead Citizen Necklace +1!】
“That was easy!”
“The EXP gain is insane!”
“So many Undead Citizens, and no one’s here stealing mobs—this is heaven!”
“……”
Undead Citizens usually dropped pitiful loot—typically a single piece of near-broken grey-grade gear, utterly useless except for scrapping into materials.
But each one dropped 1600 Essence!
That was nearly equivalent to a Level 10 Elite Monster.
Take Yellow Turban Demonized Soldiers—they were Level 10 Elites, yet were far tougher and riskier to handle, and far less common, with much slower spawn rates.
But right now—
Just in the visible wilderness—
There were at least 100 to 200 Abyssal Undead Citizens wandering around.
This place was practically a Level-10 Player Grinding Paradise—allowing players at this stage to safely farm monsters, gather EXP, raise skills, and work toward the 20,000 Essence needed for advancement.
【You picked up loot: Essence +1600, Abyssal Magic Stone Fragment +2000…】
【You picked up loot: Essence +1600, Abyssal Magic Stone Fragment +2000…】
【You picked up loot: Essence +1600, Abyssal Magic Stone Fragment +2000…】
【……】
In just two hours—
They had farmed over 30 Undead Citizens.
In total, they earned 48,000 Essence Points.
Each of the nine members received around 5,300 Essence on average.
Toasting the Moon chose to divide it evenly to raise the team’s overall strength.
Knight of Dawn and Warrior Like the Wind directly leveled up to 9, just a step from 10. Blind Swordsman and Pissing Three Thousand Feet Against the Wind also made major progress toward gathering the Essence needed for advancement.
“Let’s keep at it!”
“Raise our levels first!”
“Then explore what’s behind the Fog Gate!”
Toasting the Moon realized this was an extremely rare leveling opportunity. He was confident that, if they cleared all the Undead Citizens nearby, not only could he easily reach Level 13 from 12—
The others could all quickly advance to Tier-Two.
They hadn’t broken through yet, but they were close.
“Hahaha, this is awesome! So many high-level Undead Citizens, and no one’s here to snipe them—it’s all ours!”
The players of the Undying Dragon Soul Legion were all fired up. Even if they didn’t gain anything else, just finding a grind-spot like this made the trip more than worthwhile.
With practiced coordination—
Warrior Like the Wind lured two Undead Citizens.
Toasting the Moon and the others were just about to proceed as planned.
Handling two Undead Citizens at once was slightly risky, but still within their capabilities. As long as it wasn’t more than three at once, this squad could easily win.
But then—
Something unexpected happened.
A strange bluish-white ghostly flame suddenly struck from behind.
The flame split into several wisps and hit the Undead Citizens on-site.
As soon as these Undead Citizens were touched by the seemingly insignificant flame, their bodies were instantly engulfed in fire, and within seconds, they were reduced to ashes.
“Damn!”
“What just happened?!”
“Who did that?!”
The players, including Toasting the Moon, were all stunned.
While Undead Citizens weren’t powerful monsters, as level 18 units, their HP pools were still thick. Only a handful of experts in the Calamity Army could one-shot them—let alone vaporize several at once.
Also—
They’d never seen this spell before.
It wasn’t from the territory’s skill set!
The nine players stared in shocked alertness—
A figure in black Daoist robes slowly materialized before them.
His entire body was covered in robes without a single patch of exposed skin. Even his face was obscured by a bizarre mask with a bone-like texture. Where his eyes should be, two ghostly blue flames flickered.
【He Song】，Level ??? …… Description: ???
Toasting the Moon could see the figure’s name, but not his level or additional info—which meant his power was formidable, most likely far above his own.
Warrior Like the Wind asked, “Who are you?”
He Song didn’t say a word and cast a spell.
A mass of black vines rapidly spread and entwined all nine players, sprouting poisonous thorns that pierced their bodies and instantly paralyzed them.
“Shit!”
“What the hell?!”
“Let me go, damn it!”
The players realized—they might’ve run into a major antagonist.
He Song spoke in a low, grim voice: “I ask. You answer.”
Warrior Like the Wind: “Who the hell do you think you are? Why should we answer to you?!”
“Seeking death!”
With a cold glint in his eye—and no visible movement—He Song tightened the vines. The thorns sucked blood so quickly they drained Warrior Like the Wind into a dried husk. His HP dropped to zero instantly, killing him on the spot.
“Who are you people? Where did you come from?!”
He Song repeated the question.
“Ruthless bastard!”
“But your tricks mean nothing to us!”
“Hmph, whoever you are, you’ll regret crossing us!”
“Yeah! You’d better let us go! I’ve memorized your name—if you dare kill me, I will get revenge!”
“……”
He Song hadn’t expected that killing one of their comrades didn’t frighten the rest. Instead, they started spewing a bunch of baffling nonsense.
Were these people mentally challenged?
Unbothered, He Song struck again—this time using flame to incinerate four of the players into ash.
His voice darkened as he repeated: “I’ll ask one last time—where did you come from? Are you subordinates of the Starsea Lords?!”
Definitely a villain.
He had to be a hostile NPC from the Wan City Region.
They’d never heard of this name before—likely an original character created for the game.
At this point, Toasting the Moon spoke: “He Song, it’s not impossible for us to answer your questions. But first, you’ll have to answer a few of ours.”
Hearing his own name spoken aloud—
He Song visibly hesitated.
Then looked puzzled.
These people were on the verge of death, yet showed no concern for their lives—and even wanted to question him?
Fearing He Song might act again, Toasting the Moon hurried to say: “Who are you, where did you come from, and how many years has it been since the Abyss descended on Wan City… I believe those questions shouldn’t be hard to answer. If you respond, we’ll answer yours. Otherwise, even if you kill us, don’t expect to learn anything.”
There was no way he’d reveal any territory intel.
He was simply trying to extract information.
Once he got it—He Song could kill him if he wanted. He didn’t care.
“Hmph, fine. I come from New Wan City, and am one of the personal disciples of the Grandmaster of Extreme Yin!”
“As for how long Wan City has been consumed by the Abyss—it's been 120 years.”
He Song answered Toasting the Moon’s questions. After all, he had no reason to hide it—this wasn’t some big secret, but rather common knowledge to anyone in Nanyang.
New Wan City?
Grandmaster of Extreme Yin?
Toasting the Moon’s thoughts turned rapidly.
If there was a New Wan City, there must have been an Old Wan City.
And He Song had no Abyssal aura. He likely wasn’t corrupted, but rather a native inhabitant—meaning at least some part of New Wan City was still inhabited by normal people. The towns in this map hadn’t been completely lost to corruption.
120 years?
So this region’s timeline had been heavily distorted!
The natives of this plane were seriously powerful—to hold out against the Abyss for that long.
Grandmaster of Extreme Yin... what the hell kind of name was that? Sounded straight out of a cultivation novel. Was this still supposed to be the familiar Three Kingdoms era?!