Although he did not have the seven pearls yet, that was his goal and he would not allow anyone to interfere with him; moreover, since the Pearl of Light had already identified him as its owner, it was impossible for another player to appear with the seven legendary pearls so it was technically clear that the person of that strange legend was him. Xie Feng also possessed a crimson spear... As for the matter of the beauties... Xie Feng already had Xie Yao and Gu Qianxue; Mu Wuying was practically in the group, Shen Xinya on standby and... Who knows how many more beauties might join in the future.
"Really..."Xie Feng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he realized that, unknown to him, at some point his life had somehow spiraled out of control. Although he didn’t know the exact moment of that emphatic change, at least he did know the reason. From the moment he set foot in this new world, his whole life practically turned upside down.
Thinking carefully, if it weren’t for Xie Feng’s daring back then, when he dared to break through the atmosphere in search of taking his powers a step further, it would be hard to say whether he and Xie Yao would still be living peaceful lives. After all, the Xie Feng back then was completely different from today’s Xie Feng; the difference in power level was simply an indescribable gap.
"So, putting aside this strange legend of unknown origin..." Xie Feng suddenly had a brilliant idea and changed the subject, "Although for you guys to live with practically your entire body petrified is something normal considering that you technically lived like this for all your lives for countless generations, I don’t think it’s comfortable, is it?"
Slekpnir smiled bitterly and was about to answer Xie Feng’s question, but Daroock interrupted, "Getting used to it... You think something like that is possible?"
With a helpless voice full of pain, the red-bearded gnome restrained himself from shouting, "Artifact forging is more important than my own life but because of these stone chains that bind my body I can’t do anything like I would like to do! In my entire life, I could only create two artifacts that I am proud of, but even then it is painful for me to know that if I had better materials I could have created something much better! Do you have any idea what something like that feels like?"
In fact, Xie Feng couldn’t even imagine the pain that not only Daroock, all the gnomes felt. Just as dwarves loved construction, gnomes were lovers of artifact creation; to say that artifact creation was more important than their lives was perhaps not such an exaggeration. However, due to a curse, they could not put to good use the talent and passion that burned fervently within them.
Gu Qianxue and Xie Yao, as girls, were naturally more susceptible to being affected by emotions. Both beauties quickly noticed the pain in the gnome race elder’s gaze and tone of voice and unconsciously felt guilty; after all, for better or worse, they both belonged to the human race.
"Elder Daroock, Elder Slekpnir.... Could... Could it be that there is some way to relieve that curse?" Xie Yao couldn’t help but ask. Her voice was very careful as if she was afraid of stirring up negative emotions in the little creatures in front of her.
Surprisingly, Slekpnir nodded. However, as soon as he nodded he shook his head before sighing and slowly explaining, "Actually... According to our ancestors, there really is a way to cure the curse cast by the Goddess Mei Hen..."
"Then how about we help you!" This time it was Gu Qianxue who couldn’t help but interrupt and offer her help.
"Unfortunately, I don’t think something like that is possible." Slekpnir shook his head once more and explained, "We, the gnome race, always lived locked up in this dungeon of ice and snow... Even the oldest gnome has not seen with their own eyes the outside world. Therefore, we no longer know what the world outside this place is like but... By any chance, do any of you know of a place called Heaven of Samsara?"
Heaven of Samsara? Xie Feng blinked, surprised. He hadn’t expected to hear that name again, here of all places. Until now, he didn’t stop Xie Yao and Gu Qianxue from offering their help since that was actually his intention as well; although he had selfish motives, it was help after all. But now that the name of that mysterious place came to light, things were probably not as simple as he initially thought.
Of course, Xie Yao, Gu Qianxue, and the rest had no knowledge about Heaven of Samsara. In fact, probably only a small handful of players other than Xie Feng had heard that name before and it was even likely that only he knew about it.
"I know about the existence of that place." To everyone’s surprise, Xie Feng stood out. "A kind of dungeon where the most dangerous and terrifying monsters were sealed away to prevent them from rampantly wandering around creating chaos in the human world, isn’t it?"
"That’s right! That’s the Heaven of Samsara!" Slekpnir slammed hard on the wooden table, unable to hide the excitement in his heart. As if afraid that Xie Feng would suddenly disappear the next second, he hurriedly asked, "Do you know where it is?"
However, to the chagrin of the two gnome elders, Xie Feng shook his head and answered, "Unfortunately, I don’t know where that place is located... For special reasons, I also need to get to Heaven of Samsara as quickly as possible."
The light of joy on the gnome’s face faded, but Xie Feng’s next words rekindled it once again, "But I do have my means to find out where it is located."
"Really!?" Daroock was the one who couldn’t help but raise his voice this time. But as if remembering something, he frowned and remarked, "Wait a minute... Now that I remember, to enter that place you need a unique and special key... Even if you know the location you won’t be able to enter."
Swoosh!
With a swift movement, Xie Feng took out a strange looking key from his inventory and shook it gently as he said with a casual smile, "That’s no problem."
"That’s... You really have the initial access key!" Daroock stood up in surprise.
In fact, the key in Xie Feng’s hands was one of the "gifts" that the potion store elder gave to him before he left Beginner Village number 666. This key allowed him to enter the first 25 floors of the Heaven of Samsara.
"I obtained it by accident." Xie Feng replied calmly.
As elders, how could Slekpnir and Daroock not understand what Xie Feng wanted to impart with his words? Obviously, he was unwilling to tell his secrets. But the two elders of the gnome race were not angry at all; after all, although the relationship between the two parties had improved, it had not reached the point of absolute trust.
Without lingering too much on the matter of the key and now that one of the major obstacles had been overcome, Slekpnir rubbed his hands together excitedly and explained, "Our ancestors recorded that, to free us from the petrification curse cast by Goddess Mei Hen, you need a strange object that only appears on the 20th floor of the Heaven of Samsara."
Xie Feng narrowed his eyes and for some strange reason felt that he already knew what the old gnome elder was going to say next.
"The name of this item is Purity Crystal! An object capable of curing any disease, any status effect, and any deficiency in just a second!" Slekpnir said in a fervent voice. "According to the records left behind by our ancestors, the Purity Crystal is only born on the 20th floor and it takes ten thousand years for one to successfully form!"
Indeed, it was the Purity Crystal again. Xie Feng was not too surprised to hear the name of that item again. But something the gnome race elder said made Xie Feng’s eyes shine brightly.
"Any disease?" Xie Feng asked, acting indifferent. However, only he knew how agitated his heart was.
"That’s right. Any illness!" Daroock said in a serious voice. "Even Goddess Mei Hen’s petrification can’t fight against the purest object in the Samsara world. It is said that in the past only emperors and kings had access to such top level medicine, but when the gates to enter into the Heaven of Samsara were completely closed, the Purity Crystal disappeared from everyone’s sight and its existence became a legend."
Xie Feng took a deep breath to calm himself, but to no avail. If it was before, he wouldn’t act the same way, but now everything was different... After everything that had happened, it was natural to assume that this virtual world was not as simple as a video game. Xie Feng was sure that what happened here somehow affected the real world as well. Therefore, if he found and used the Purity Crystal on Gu Qianxue, wouldn’t her eyes be healed, allowing her to see for the first time the real world she was born into? Just thinking about it made Xie Feng’s emotions flutter intensely.
Although it was a pity for the gnomes and for Xiao Lei, who had taken him as his only hope, Xie Feng had already made a decision in secret... If he found the Purity Crystal, he would definitely use it on Gu Qianxue.
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