"I thought the Abyss Difficulty only produces Abyss Crystals? How come there's something like this?"

Wang Linchi observed the object in his hand, which was similar in nature to the 'Commentary on Ming Jing' tool The Private School Teacher had given him. It allowed Players to gain extra attribute and skill points when leveling up.

To Wang Linchi, this was quite a valuable item, which was why he had agreed to take it without hesitation.

[Experience Notes of the Demon Suppressing Sorcerer (Sealed)]

[Type: Item]

[Quality: Abyss]

[After use, gain an extra 10 attribute points and 10 skill points for the next ten levels.]

[After use, receive 100,000 points of distributable Skill Proficiency.]

[After use, Experience gain rate +500% for the next ten levels.]

[Note: This item is in a sealed state and therefore cannot be used. It will be unsealed after the instance is cleared.]

At first, Wang Linchi was completely blown away by the item. However, he then realized the big pitfall: it seemed extraordinary, but it couldn't actually be used until the instance was cleared.

A hundred attribute points and a hundred skill points, that's quite nice, Wang Linchi was genuinely pleased.

This time, he absolutely had to clear the instance.

As for why such a good item would appear, it was likely due to the increased level of the instance, and perhaps some adjustments made to encourage Players.

The Game System also wasn't worried about Players excessively stacking these types of items. Once an Abyss Difficulty instance was cleared, it would be shut down, so where would one go to grind for more? If a Player managed to clear other Abyss Difficulty instances for more, the Game System would likely welcome it.

Wang Linchi then began to browse through these experience notes, but he ended up bored after reading them.

He had thought there would be some interesting content. It turned out to be about techniques for using oneself to sustain Abyssal Demons, allowing one to be 'fed upon' multiple times.

The corrosion is quite severe; no wonder the quality is Abyss. So, it's because of the content, Wang Linchi now understood the cause and effect.

However, this allowed him to understand why Demon Suppressing Sorcerers were so rare.

Not everyone who received the Demon Suppressing Sorcerer heritage could become one. They also needed the appropriate qualifications. Even with qualifications, they had to undergo a period of training and finally pass a trial to succeed.

This reminded Wang Linchi of the trials demon slayers underwent. After all, both training and trials had extremely high mortality rates. Combined with the stringent qualification requirements, this further reduced their numbers.

Wang Linchi was puzzled. How were the numbers of Demon Suppressing Sorcerers maintained? They didn't live long anyway. Wouldn't it be better if there were fewer of them...? After all, with fewer of them, there would be less competition for resources and wealth among the living Demon Suppressing Sorcerers. Their status would also be higher. Why wouldn't they prefer that? And those who successfully became Demon Suppressing Sorcerers were no ordinary individuals; they were prime candidates for exploitation.

However, some complaints in these experience notes revealed that in recent years, more and more individuals were becoming Demon Suppressing Sorcerers through connections, to the point where it was almost becoming a matter of Clan inheritance. This further decreased the number of Demon Suppressing Sorcerers who actually performed their duties.

Of course, those who got in through connections were there to enjoy the benefits; otherwise, why would they be called people with connections?

Wang Linchi almost laughed out loud reading this. How much must these Clans despise their own members to do such a thing?

Demon Suppressing Sorcerers already had short lifespans, and this became even shorter after the practice of using humans to sustain Devils was adopted. Those who entered through connections, who might have lived to sixty or seventy relying on their family backgrounds, would now perish by the age of thirty at most.

As for the higher-ups, they probably didn't have to worry about their lifespans. However, this was undoubtedly a privilege reserved for a select few. One had to reach the upper echelons of the Demon Suppression Alliance headquarters for such a benefit; branch offices could forget it, as they were desperately poor.

"Currently, there are fewer than thirty Demon Suppressing Sorcerers in the Qing State branch. That number is indeed low, and these notes are from several years ago. The current number might be even lower now."

However, the notes mentioned little about the Demon Suppression Alliance or Demon Suppressing Sorcerers in general, so Wang Linchi couldn't determine what kinds of Abyssal Demons those in Qing State were sustaining.

Still, it was certain that the three Abyssal Demons near the city were sustained by the City Lord's younger brother, a Demon Suppressing Sorcerer, which in turn secured his position.

As for the Snake Demon, it must have migrated here.

Not all Abyssal Demons were sustained by Demon Suppressing Sorcerers. No matter how many Demon Suppressing Sorcerers there were, they couldn't possibly sustain such a vast number of Abyssal Demons.

Thus, the notes contained detailed information about those three Abyssal Demons.

"Speaking of which, these sustained Abyssal Demons really are loyal to whoever feeds them. As long as you act like their dog, they'll offer protection... This analogy feels a bit off." Wang Linchi mused, feeling something was slightly amiss, though not significantly so.

Wang Linchi continually reviewed the information about Demon Suppressing Sorcerers, comparing them to the demonized True Magician, an Abyssal Demon he had encountered. There was a connection between the two.

He had always suspected that the original Demon Suppression Alliance was conducting some sort of experiment. For instance, the Abyssalization of the entire populace? Since they couldn't fight the Abyss, they would become part of the Abyss. Clearly, this plan had failed. If it had truly succeeded, it wouldn't have merely left behind world echoes and been turned into an instance; it would have long since become part of the Abyss. Therefore, this plan was not advisable. Of course, resisting wasn't an option either, as they genuinely couldn't win.

As his thoughts delved deeper, he arrived at the Black Bone Forest. It wasn't originally called this; it was known as Xinan Forest, a woodland south of a small stream.

Later, after a Bone Demon descended, all the trees here transformed into demonic trees, which stood tall like black skeletons. They bore no leaves or fruit, and at night, they would even move to capture humans as food for the Bone Demon.

Thus, its name was changed to Black Bone Forest, and from then on, no one dared to approach.

From a distance, Wang Linchi could see numerous health bars.

"The Demonized Creatures here aren't strong, just Level 50 Elite Monsters, the Bone Eroding Trees."

"But this Bone Demon... its strength is actually much weaker than the Snake Demon's. How is it only a Level 60 Boss?"

Wang Linchi found it odd. As a Boss, it should be Level 70. After all, this was a Level 70 instance; it had to match the difficulty.

Being ten levels lower made Wang Linchi wonder if there was some underlying issue.

"Whatever, I'll kill it first. This is just one city anyway. Qing State is so large, there must be other Abyssal Demons around."

In fact, besides this Bone Demon, there were many other Abyssal Demons here, but their levels were relatively low, all hovering around Level 50. The sight left Wang Linchi feeling rather unenthusiastic.

The Saint Master did not charge around recklessly as he had on Cuiqing Mountain. Instead, he directly used the Dragon Talisman to spew fire, incinerating all the Bone Eroding Trees.

These were, after all, Level 50 Elite Monsters, yielding a large amount of Experience and Abyss Crystals.

Upon stepping into the Black Bone Forest, Wang Linchi naturally entered an Abyssal Domain as well.

The Abyssal Domain was a higher-tier Domain than the Demonic Realm. If the Chieftain of the Black Wind Stronghold had successfully become an Abyssal Demon back then, the Demonic Realm of Black Wind Stronghold would also have upgraded to an Abyssal Domain.

Cuiqing Mountain had one too, but Wang Linchi hadn't gone there, so he hadn't experienced any issues. The weakening effect only applied to the Saint Master, but since the Saint Master shared the effects of Wang Linchi's Cards, it didn't have much impact.

[Decay: While in the Abyssal Domain, stacks once every 10 days. Upon reaching 10,000 stacks, each subsequent stack carries an extremely small probability of causing an instant death effect. 1 stack of Decay reduces all attributes by 0%, inflicts 0% of maximum HP as damage per second, increases damage taken from Demonized-type enemies by an additional 0%, and reduces damage dealt to Demonized-type enemies by 0%.]

Seeing the effects of Decay, Wang Linchi found this Abyssal Domain utterly ridiculous. Under normal circumstances, it definitely wouldn't be like this. The reason it showed such bizarre values was due to the numerous Cards he possessed that reduced the effects of Decay.

Even if one Card reduced the effect by ten percent, a hundred or so such Cards could negate it almost entirely.

He had exchanged all his points for Cards, not to mention those obtained from grinding monsters. The one hundred million points rewarded by Wanxuan City alone were enough for him to exchange for ten thousand Cards. Even if only one percent of those were Cards that reduced the effects of Decay, he would still possess a hundred of them.

Under the Dragon Talisman's flames unleashed by the Saint Master, the Bone Eroding Trees couldn't last a second. Their levels were lower, their attributes weaker, and the Saint Master also benefited from the special attack bonuses provided by Wang Linchi's Cards. They couldn't even withstand area-of-effect attacks, let alone require the Saint Master to use his fists.

On Cuiqing Mountain, if the Saint Master hadn't been concerned about accidentally killing Zheng Li's foolish son, he wouldn't have needed so much time. A single charge back and forth would have resolved everything.

"So many Concentrated Abyssal Crystals, picking them up is such a hassle." Wang Linchi felt that too many monsters weren't necessarily a good thing. The rewards might not be as good as a Boss's, but it takes more time. From a cost-benefit perspective, it's definitely a loss. I'd rather fight Bosses than clear out these mobs.

Of course, less profit didn't mean no profit. Wang Linchi very pragmatically began to pick up the Concentrated Abyssal Crystals.

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