Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 880 Everything is Ready
Ten minutes later, on the Blackthorn flagship, in the living area.

[Identity verification complete, welcome back...]

Om-! !

A pleasant electronic sound accompanied the opening and closing of the hatch. Inside the living pod, which was designed to resemble nighttime, Xin Lailai returned to the bedroom area with a smile on her face, let out a satisfied sigh, and looked refreshed.

"Phew...that feels good, now I can have a good dream!"

Just imagining the bewildered look on the White Demon's face when he saw the +13 epic longsword scrape against them, Xin Lailai felt that she would probably be smiling in her dreams tonight.

Keep in mind that this is a +13 epic quality Annihilation Blade inlaid with five Soul-Shattering Shadow Stones. Under normal circumstances, even if all the Dark Steel Shadow energy and blood energy forming the blade aura attached to it are neutralized, the weapon's sharpness and defense-ignoring effect can still give the opponent a hard time.

While this can't be entirely blamed on the White Demon, after all, any master swordsman would probably have their head spinning from a single strike against a humanoid wall with 57.5% damage reduction, 75% physical damage reduction, 80 points of defense penetration resistance, and 80 points of body defense, especially with the double protection of the Devouring Energy Layer and the Protective Energy Layer on their bodies.

Of course, White Mage, being an outsider, cannot be judged by common sense, and that is indeed the case in reality.

In reality, even with so many layers of defense, the White Demon is still able to inflict effective damage on them with just basic attacks.

After all, for an Abyss Shadow who has mastered the LV.20 Blood Qi Master skill, the high defense value is certainly an obstacle, but the 820 points of body defense reduction effect provided by the Blood Qi Master skill is no joke.

Theoretically speaking, without any means of resistance, this reduction could directly reduce their physical defense, which was already as high as 80 points, to a negative number.

At that time, combined with the inherent sharpness and damage reduction effect of the opponent's Annihilation Blade, a single slash would not necessarily cut the opponent in two, but it would certainly not bounce off a series of sparks like it is now.

What can be done?

The gems they prepared this time just happened to be specifically designed to target opponents like their opponents who like to stack defense reduction effects:
……

[Golden Protection Gem +13]

Origin: Sanctuary Paradise - Dilapidated Hut

Quality: Legend

Category: Gemstones

耐久度：200/200（强化+13提升50，+5、+8、+10强化效果提升50）

Inlay effect: When inlaid on armor, the wearer will be protected by the power of gold while wearing the armor, and will be exempt from "defense reduction" effects by the power of gold, up to 120 points of body defense value reduction.

...

+5 Enhancement Effect: Durability +10
+8 Enhancement Effect: Durability +15
+10 Enhancement Effect: Durability +25
+12 Enhancement Effect: Increases the maximum defense reduction saving throw to 160 points of physical defense.

+13 Enhancement Effect: When wearing more than one "Golden Protection Gem", they will resonate with each other. For each additional "Golden Protection Gem" worn, the current "Golden Protection Gem" defense reduction saving throw cap increases by 25%, stacking up to 2 times.

Rating: 500+++
Introduction: Okay, I can roughly guess why you would specifically order something like this.

……

The three combined can provide a maximum of 720 points of defense reduction immunity.

This exaggerated exemption amount is equivalent to completely negating the defense reduction effect that could have reduced their physical defense from 79 points to 0 points.

Even against a Blood Qi Grandmaster like the White Demon, whose power could reduce their physical defense to negative numbers, the defense reduction effect could be reduced from 820 to only 100 points.

To put it another way, the reduction effect that could originally lower their defense to negative values ​​can now only reduce their physical defense from 80 points to around 77 points.

This is the real reason why the White Demon was only scratching their defenses during this sparring match. With the Blood Qi Grandmaster's defense reduction, the sharpness provided by the Soul-Shattering Shadow Stone, and the true damage of the Dark Steel Shadow Energy all being countered by the Golden Protection Gem, the Natal Soul Weapon, and the Devouring Energy, it would be truly unbelievable if the remaining physical damage could penetrate their defenses.

"It's a pity that the Death Collector refused, otherwise he could have enjoyed double the happiness."

Before falling asleep, Xin Lailai glanced at the Death Keeper on the communication channel, who had directly blocked them, and a hint of regret appeared in her eyes.

Perhaps because they had disgusted each other too much during their last sparring session, the Deathbringer blocked them without saying a word after receiving their message, leaving only White Demon, who had not yet experienced their 'good intentions,' to fall for it.

"However, with this in mind, we can rest assured about the defensive capabilities."

After savoring the moment for a while, Xin Lailai nodded slightly, a look of satisfaction in her eyes.

After the White Demon's tests, they could be officially declared to have reached the pinnacle of their rank in terms of physical defense. As for the rest—

"Is it only the basic perception aspect that hasn't been maxed out yet...?"

Xin Lailai squinted slightly, glancing at her Grandmaster passive skill interface, her gaze shifting subtly.

Basic perception.

In terms of increasing difficulty, this thing is arguably the most outrageous of the several physical derivative attributes. You can tell this by looking at the fact that there isn't a single permanent buff in the Expedition Contribution Shop that can improve their current perception.

To reliably improve basic perception, aside from a few fixed methods, the only remaining option is the advanced special facility, the Misty Dungeon.

"I'll try out the Misty Palace starting tomorrow. I wonder if I'll have enough time to train my basic perception to its limit..."

Although theoretically, the higher their basic perception, the more difficult it is to transform the Star Luo Domain into Star Luo Intuition, basic perception is simply too important for mages. To deliberately not improve their basic perception in order to comprehend Star Luo Intuition would be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Moreover, they are about to enter the swarm of macrophages. At this moment, compared to the possibility of cultivating both techniques, pushing their own strength to the limit to ensure their survival rate in the macrophage world is obviously the most important thing.

Moreover, their current basic perception level has already reached 109.25. Even if they max it out, it would only increase by about 10 points. If they are unable to comprehend Star Luo Intuition because of this 10-point increase, it would only prove that they are not qualified.

Forge ahead bravely against the current, otherwise you will fall behind.

What they comprehend is the intuitive ability required for techniques, and the biggest characteristic of the technique system is the pursuit of perfection. If they really back down because of the difficulty, they will only get further and further away from the Star Luo Intuition.

So, Xin Lailai, having made her decision in her mind, closed her eyes, cleared her mind of all distractions, and quickly fell asleep.

……

……

Meanwhile, in the Sanctuary Paradise, there are private rooms.

[Note: The application for the service has been successfully submitted. The status of the service is being checked...]

[Testing completed. Overall rating for this commissioned service: S+]

[Start settling commission rewards...]

[Settlement complete. Rewards have been deposited into the employee's account. Senior employees are requested to check them promptly.]

"Yeah!"

A childish babbling sound rang out from the roaring factory. At the workbench, the little white crab, having successfully finished all the employee requests for the next year, swung its tiny pincers vigorously, a gleam of excitement in its little eyes. Finally finished!
As one of the few senior employees in the park, every commission that Little Crab receives is one of the most difficult and challenging of its kind. Even so, relying on his amazing mechanical and technological talent, he managed to complete all the commission quota for the following year while fulfilling the park's assigned tasks.

As for the reasons why they were working so hard, one of them was naturally the black-haired youth and white-haired girl who worried the three brothers a lot, and the other reason was...

"Whoa!!!"

Suddenly, an incredibly excited "ah-woo" sound rang out, making the little white crab curiously look at the screen. In the screen, the little Aragami, who was carrying a large pile of tools, was looking at a small, golden sapling and was so excited that he even cried out.

The little white crab nodded as it watched this scene, a look of relief appearing in its small eyes, just like an older brother seeing his younger siblings finally grow up.

At the workbench, the little white crab gazed contentedly at the screen. After a long while, it gradually looked away and turned to the device beside it, its small eyes sparkling.

It was initially worried about the growth of its two younger brothers, but now it seems that even without its intervention, Little Wild God and Little Black Silkworm are still growing up well and don't need it to worry too much.

That being the case...

"Yeah!"

[Note: Identity verification complete. Honorary VIP user "Xiaobai" welcomes you to use Consciousness Projection Pod No. 02917. Void Virtual Company is committed to providing you with the highest quality service.]

Om-! !

The hatch opened, and the little white crab leaped precisely into the unique device tailored for it, propelled by its eight legs. Listening to the pleasant female voice in its head, and looking at the images displayed inside the hatch, a determined look flashed in its small eyes.

—Perhaps it's time for it to do what it's always wanted to try!

[Notification: Consciousness link successful...]

[Current projected coordinates: Fourth-order Primal World Layer - Dark Glow Star]

That is to use its own eyes, with the help of the technology and machinery it has mastered, to travel and witness the magnificent and colorful world in its own way, and like the black-haired youth, to save lives and civilizations that are trapped in distress.

……

……

Two days later, Blackthorn flagship, living quarters.

Boom——! !

[Notification: Teleportation complete. The Pioneer has arrived at the designated destination: Andusia Fortress - Blackthorn Main Ship]

……

[Soul Master: LV.20 (Soul - Passive)]

...

...

初始附加能力1，洞悉万相（灵魂·被动，LV.MAX）：你的基础感知力将受到灵魂强度增益，当前基础感知力为：120点「（真实智力属性*0.5+灵魂强度*0.5+9.5）*（1+15%）」。

*Note: Based on the Pioneer's current true intelligence attribute and soul strength, the current base perception can be increased to a maximum of 120 points.

……

"Phew... With this, my basic perception is temporarily maxed out."

Inside the living pod filled with spiderweb-like spatial cracks, Xin Lailai, who had successfully boosted her spatial resistance to 29 points in the past two days, peeled herself off the wall, glanced at the information displayed on the branding interface, and breathed a satisfied sigh of relief.

perfect.

As it turned out, the park's advanced special facilities were indeed powerful. In just two days, they directly raised their basic perception from 109.25 points to the limit of 120 points, which can be described as a rapid improvement in a single day.

—Although the more important reason is that the enhancement effect of the Misty Dungeon is directly linked to the strength of willpower and mental power.

Unlike the Land of All Beings and the Tower of Death, the efficiency of improvement in the Misty Palace is not a fixed multiplier, but rather, like the Endless Battlefield, it is determined by the user's own strength.

The stronger one's willpower, the more 'perceptual miasma' one can withstand in the Misty Palace; the higher one's mental strength, the longer one can endure the erosion of 'perceptual miasma'.

This is the principle behind the enhancement of the Misty Palace: using 'Perception Miasma' containing the pure power of perception to directly erode the senses of those who enter. Through this erosion process, those who enter can absorb the pure power of perception, which is normally unusable, with incredible efficiency, thereby enhancing their basic perception.

It was precisely because of this that they were able to max out their basic perception in just two days. After all, from any perspective, their current willpower was indeed a bit too overpowered for perception within the third tier.

Incidentally, during several actual upgrades, Xin Lailai discovered something very interesting: the high-level special facilities of each Paradise faction, to some extent, were designed to address the biggest weaknesses of each Paradise faction's contractors.

Take the Misty Palace as an example. As a high-level special facility in Holy Light Paradise, it requires a high level of willpower and mental strength to achieve its maximum effect. For the delicate healers in Holy Light Paradise, this is an extremely torturous choice.

The Trial Mirror of the Paradise of Reincarnation is another example. As the paradise with the most mentally ill and crazy people, the illusion in the Trial Mirror can be said to be the natural enemy of the contractors on the side of reincarnation. A paradise that already has a lot of mental patients, its initial special facilities are designed to target the three weak points of mental patients. It can only be said to be very subtle.

The same applies to other parks. Whether it's Dawn Park, filled with opportunistic rule-breakers, where a place of beings requiring arduous training to function is born; or Apocalypse Park, full of employees, where a meditation secret realm is added specifically for warmongers to suppress their inner beast; or Watchtower Park, which is clearly good at team combat, yet possesses an endless arena that can only be used for one-on-one duels... The functions of these high-level special facilities can be said to have each hit the weak points of the contractors of the corresponding park faction.

As for the temples of gods in their paradise, at first glance it might seem that this has nothing to do with the shortcomings of their paradise faction contractors, but in fact, according to the original birth process of the god system, gods are actually a kind of group that is similar to the embodiment of rules and has an extremely pure mind.

And the contractors in their paradise...

Well, setting aside their Paradise, which was already a crooked main beam, and their crooked followers, as well as the old cunning bastards in the Western faction who liked social Darwinism and organizations like the Pleasure Cult in the Eastern faction, the remaining part... doesn't seem to be so pure.

In this respect, the Temple of the Gods seems to be quite unsuitable for the contractors in their paradise. After all, to go far enough on the path of the gods, one must get close enough to the rules corresponding to the authority and enter a state similar to the unity of heaven and man. This is naturally incompatible with those scheming old men in their paradise who like to overthink.

Since even the advanced special facilities in their own park are hampered by the weaknesses of their own contractors, the functional design of these advanced special facilities in the park's camp is truly intriguing.

Although on the surface it seems that each amusement park faction is making up for the shortcomings of its contractors, for some reason, Xin Lailai always felt that there might be some deeper secrets hidden in it.

As for what this mystery is...

"I think it's best not to pry too much."

As Xin Lailai pondered, her eyelids suddenly twitched for no reason. She silently tapped her brow, using a sealing technique to force herself to forget the matter and set a corresponding warning to prevent herself from unexpectedly thinking about these things in the future.

Reason told him that it was better not to inquire about things that involved the amusement park itself, even if he was a pioneer. After all, some secrets could really kill people if they knew them.

"Well, things have been a bit too stressful lately. It seems like today is the fifth batch of contractors arriving, so I might as well take a break..."

After a moment, Xin Lailai, having calmed down, looked out the window. Her gaze flickered, and after a brief moment of thought, she strode towards the door.

If you think about it carefully, they've been so focused on improving their strength lately that they haven't even had a chance to congratulate Bell and Mingyu on reaching the Extraordinary Tier. They should take this opportunity to congratulate them.

……

(End of this chapter)