Since they were unfamiliar with the situation on the Forsaken Gods Continent, Gu Yixue, Lin Liyu, and Wang Meng had agreed to teleport together.
As expected.
The moment their six-member team teleported to the center of the ruins, two statue-like monsters appeared behind them, charging at them!
——
[Earthshaker (Lv11)]
[Grade: Common]
——
Even though they were just two small monsters, Wang Meng and the others didn't dare to be careless.
"Raise your shields!"
Wang Meng, clad in gold-grade armor and wielding a silver-grade shield, immediately blocked the two Earthshakers.
The others formed a line behind him.
The white owl on Gu Yixue's shoulder flew out, emitting a white light that fell on Wang Meng, adding a layer of defensive enhancement to him...
Boom! Boom!
The two humanoid statue Earthshakers charged in, and as they approached Wang Meng, they stomped the ground, sending Wang Meng flying!
At the same time, two heavy punches landed on Wang Meng.
-512!
-498!
Two shocking damage numbers appeared on Wang Meng, causing Gu Yixue to frown slightly.
She raised her hand slightly, and a golden staff in her hand emitted a light, beginning to heal Wang Meng...
Meanwhile, Lin Liyu released a fire-based area skill with an additional 150 attack points, and a fireball descended from the sky, hitting both Earthshakers simultaneously!
-428!
-428!
...
Lin Liyu's damage was considered top-tier among current players.
After all, half of her equipment came from Qin Feng's gold and even platinum-grade gear.
But compared to Qin Feng, she was still a tier below.
One skill only took down about a tenth of the small monsters' health.
"These monsters are susceptible to control, I'll immobilize them."
The Card Master in the team said in a deep voice, "Xiao Gu, have your owl fly up and scout the surroundings to ensure there are no other monsters nearby."
Gu Yixue nodded, and the snowy white owl quickly took to the sky...
A minute later.
They managed to take down the two small monsters with some difficulty.
Gu Yixue's scouting made their faces turn grim.
"So, there's no safe zone in this place?"
"Monsters are everywhere?"
"And our recent battle has already attracted some monsters' attention?"
In an instant, Wang Meng and the others realized...
The Abandoned Gods Game was nothing like ordinary online games.
Damn it, this is a survival game?!
...
Compared to Wang Meng and the others, Qin Feng had it much easier.
With a level 3 stealth, he could easily move through the monster groups!
"The monsters within the Jianghai City Ruins aren't too strong."
"The highest anti-stealth level is only 2."
"First, establish a foothold in the ruins, find a sanctuary, then explore the ruins and hunt some bosses."
Of course, Qin Feng didn't waste his skill cooldowns.
When passing through some monster groups, he would unleash a Shadow Blink Slash!
Even without the active effect of the Gift of Liberation, the total damage from the nine slashes of Shadow Blink Slash could reach twenty to thirty thousand.
Dealing with these small monsters was an instant kill.
Currently, there were no other players in the entire ruins.
Monsters were everywhere.
For Qin Feng, it was a paradise!
He advanced towards his target location, instantly killing common monsters along the way, with the Greedy Hand almost never stopping.
By the time he reached his target location over twenty kilometers away, his Evolution Points had increased from 98 to 115.
Moreover, he had picked up a higher-level 'Subshadow' skill book!
Skills with the same name have fixed grades.
For example, Subshadow is fixed at 'Inferior' quality.
However, the same skill can have different levels!
For instance, the one Qin Feng obtained was a level 10 Subshadow.
"Learning this skill book will overwrite my original level 1 Subshadow."
"But correspondingly, to raise the real-world Subshadow to level 10, I'll need to supplement more tradeable lifespan..."
With a bit of experimentation, Qin Feng learned the skill book.
——
[You have learned 'Subshadow (Level 10)'!]
[Your 'Subshadow (Level 1)' has been overwritten!]
[Subshadow (Platinum). Requirement Level 1→10, enter a 24→36 second stealth state. Break stealth attack 150→300. Cooldown 22 (12.6) seconds.]
——
The cooldown didn't decrease, but the stealth duration and break stealth attack were greatly enhanced.
"Fortunately, even though it's an inferior skill book, my Subshadow had already evolved to platinum level, so after overwriting, the skill remains platinum!"
Qin Feng glanced at his attribute panel.
"I now have 110 years of lifespan, which is just over forty thousand days..."
"When dealing with Dongfang Xian, I'll extract abilities all at once."
Qin Feng closed the attribute panel.
He hid his form, looking at the residential ruins before him.
No one knew that beneath these ruins lay an underground palace spanning over 1,200 acres!
This underground palace was about the same size as Jianghai Normal University in the real world, with over a thousand rooms for rest and dozens of hall areas.
If he could occupy this underground palace, no matter how much equipment or wealth, it could all be stored!
In the Abandoned Gods Game, there are many such ready-made sanctuaries.
Officially called 'Hideouts.'
Of course, players can also try to build their own, but the materials needed are immense... Building a sanctuary over a thousand acres is as difficult as climbing to the heavens.
"However, the larger the hideout you want to occupy, the stronger the guardian you need to defeat."
"I remember in my previous life, after establishing the God-Slaying Guild, I gathered three squads of eighteen people and reached level 15 before taking down this palace..."
Qin Feng didn't hesitate and found a staircase in the ruins, descending it.
His target was a level 15 platinum-grade boss.
Along the way, there were many small monsters and even mini-bosses ranging from levels 12 to 15.
Originally prepared for a powerful team, Qin Feng planned to explore the underground palace alone!
As Qin Feng descended the staircase, spiraling down about fifteen meters, the surroundings became pitch black.
Suddenly, a stone door ahead opened!
When a hideout is unclaimed, the stone door opens for anyone who approaches.
But once a player claims it, others can only open the stone door through brute force...
"Summon, Devout Believer."
At the stone door, Qin Feng used a gold-grade Disciple Pendant to summon a silver-grade believer.
"Guard the door."
This silver-grade Devout Believer, as a summoned creature, has an unlimited duration.
As long as it's not killed, it will remain.
Perfect for guarding the door.
Then, Qin Feng entered the stone door while invisible, hearing a system prompt:
——
[You have entered the 'Land of Purification (Hideout)'!]
[Defeat the area guardian to claim this area!]
——
What met Qin Feng's eyes was a spacious hall.
Inside the hall, over a dozen level 12 common small monsters roamed.
'Surging Spirit,' 'Overloaded Spirit,' 'Burning Spirit'...
These were all consciousnesses formed by elemental energy.
"Darkest Hour!"
Qin Feng immediately cast a skill, and the Plague Blade in his hand emitted a black flash, causing all the small monsters around to fall into a 'blind' state.
First, a Shadow Blink Slash took out seven or eight in a straight line.
Then...
While these small monsters were all 'blind' and randomly throwing elemental attacks, Qin Feng deftly avoided them, swinging his Plague Blade to launch normal attacks on the small monsters.
With class, weakness, and backstab bonuses, even normal attacks allowed Qin Feng to hit a weak point with nearly three thousand damage, instantly killing these level 12 small monsters!
If it were other players.
Even elite teams like Wang Meng's would find it extremely dangerous to encounter so many elemental monsters in a confined space.
But Qin Feng...
In an instant, he perfectly dealt with a total of 15 elemental small monsters!
Loot and lifespan orbs were scattered throughout the hall.
"Judging by the number of monsters in this hideout..."
"Once I clear out the monsters here, my Evolution Points should be enough to evolve 'Greedy Hand' again!"
Qin Feng was quite excited about this.
Skills from Epic-level to Legendary undergo a qualitative change.
Who knows what effect Greedy Hand will evolve into at Legendary level?
...
While Qin Feng was preparing to clear the underground palace.
Outside, Wang Meng and the others were being chased through the city ruins by the numerous monsters.
"Go, this way!"
"There don't seem to be as many monsters here, let's hide and keep quiet..."
"Wait, why are there so many monster corpses in this courtyard?"
Led by Gu Yixue's white owl, the six-person team quickly reached the area Qin Feng had just passed through.
Because...
The monsters in this area had just been cleared by Qin Feng.
From a bird's-eye view, this area was very clean.
When Wang Meng's group arrived, they were shocked to see the monster corpses scattered across the ruins!
The monsters that had been chasing them were slaughtered like chicks by the Shadow?!
Originally, they knew Shadow was strong.
But they never expected it to be this overwhelmingly powerful!
"This area is temporarily free of monsters, let's take a breather."
Gu Yixue said, pursing her lips, allowing everyone to relax.
An Yu looked at the monster corpses everywhere and sighed, "As expected of the Shadow master. I thought we were strong, but it turns out we can only cower under the master's shadow."
Hearing this, the other five had strange expressions.
Wang Meng coughed, "Captain An, ahem, mind your words."
An Yu widened her beautiful eyes, "Huh? Was my description not accurate?"