Chapter 2620: Worth the Price
The white-haired old man soon left.
Players in District 001 are somewhat different from those in other districts. If it were other districts, someone might have approached him for business after seeing his childhood persona, but in District 001, they did not act even after being tempted, opting to trade only after he made a request. Both the players and the district government were quite straightforward.
Of the five players who came, only one is about the same age as Xu Huo; the other four are at least in their forties judging by appearance, and all are Rank-A Players. Regardless of their level of secondary evolution or spiritual strength, they should be top-notch, with considerable experience. Their purpose here is simply to learn how to create a psyche force materialization with some autonomous abilities—not extravagant like a materialization with human-like cognitive abilities, but to use this method to further enhance the spiritual power intensity.
Coincidentally, Xu Huo also wanted to explore more of the Spiritual World, so he started one-on-one exchanges with them that very day.
The core of Bai Kou’s Spiritual World is a massive mechanical composite gear; her method of mental interference is to create layered confinement spaces. Like Xu Huo’s door, her chains repeatedly open and close, deepening the mental interference process.
Dou Shengnan’s Spiritual World is a vast black ocean, aided by a special plant seed prop, with no other tricks. Simply relying on intensity and endurance can leave advanced players unable to resist.
Moth Arts, on the other hand, integrates spiritual power into magic performances, adept at using magic to interfere with a person’s perception. Because magic performances are deeply ingrained in the human psyche, truth and falsehood are hard to distinguish, making those interfered with more susceptible to being caught.
But today, Xu Huo’s eyes were opened further.
Among these five people, someone’s Spiritual World is a Primeval Forest. Yes, once the Spiritual World is materialized, it becomes a Primeval Forest. The mutated flora and fauna handling attacks within it are symbols of the player’s powerful spiritual power. Only with sufficiently strong spiritual power can these materializations exist for long periods and possess strong attacking capabilities.
Furthermore, the opponent’s Spiritual World has a significant coverage range; the field of spiritual power is not limited to the surroundings, and the materialized animals can have free action throughout the entire Spiritual World.
The second person’s Spiritual World is named "Suffocation Space." This player is not good at simulating the surrounding space or creating new environments. His mental interference focuses on the opponent’s breathing rhythm. Once the Spiritual World is activated, it can easily make someone feel suffocated without realizing it, and indeed, there have been players who suffocated to death in his Spiritual World.
Xu Huo did not further inquire about details, but this subtle mental interference, although having a long effect time, is very hard to guard against.
The third player did not display his Spiritual World core; his mental interference works wonders only after the opponent acknowledges being interfered with. Once trapped, it is said to be difficult to extricate oneself, leading to walking a heavenly road until they die of exhaustion.
Xu Huo couldn’t get in the zone, thus missed out seeing it.
The fourth person is a female player; her Spiritual World is intriguing. Like the other players, in researching the use of spiritual power, she does not whimsically choose interference methods based on the surrounding environment. Instead, she has chosen the method she is most familiar with and skilled in; her Spiritual World causes players to regress unconsciously. It is not player ability regression but a regression akin to a baby learning to sit, crawl, walk, and run—players revert, first unable to run, then having difficulty walking, until their legs are unsteady.
Xu Huo called a disciple over to experiment while he observed. Indeed, after a longer time, not only did moving, sitting, and lying become issues, but their intellect seemed to regress, sitting on the ground crying helplessly.
The female player promptly stopped and added, "Ordinary people might even lose control under mental interference."
Finally, there is the young person whose evolution intensity cannot match others, but he is excellent at integrating environmental factors for mental interference. Having learned some psychology, he is adept at subtly considering the psyche and behavioral patterns of those trapped, which significantly enhances the success rate of mental interference.
Among the five, some can employ materialized items throughout the entire range of their Spiritual World, effectively turning the entire Spiritual World into their control domain. Others specialize in a specific direction of interference, with increased interference intensity manifold.
Xu Huo often uses mental interference by blending with the environment, intending mainly to extend his opponent’s stay in his Spiritual World, subtly affecting their mental state. Though he compresses the "mental interference" process during evolution to achieve effects similar to "spiritual control," it usually targets those with far less power. Players with high evolution rates are hard to promptly "spiritually control," unless utilizing Spiritual Items.
These four in District 001, after repeated evolutions, greatly streamlined the "mental interference" process. Their particular Spiritual World core manifestation looks singular yet effective.
"You are all experienced seniors; in terms of how to use spiritual power wisely, I’m not as proficient as you. But I’ve earned medals, and I will ensure value for all of you." Xu Huo stepped onto the ascending spiral staircase.
Accompanying the spiral staircase was a towering library, and the table at the library’s bottom, along with the core materialized item on the table.
"He actually dared to casually display such a thing?" The female player reached out, but before she touched it, the core materialized item, together with the table, melted into a black shadow. The black shadow spread across the floor, engulfing the five people.
They went effortlessly through the Mental Portal into the library.
Compared to before, Xu Huo’s library had grown in size, and with the speculation regarding the restricted area in the Night Tour Dungeon, the floors and rooms were no longer just rotating and moving but had added a drawer exchange effect, allowing each room to be individually drawn out and exchanged with any other room, further confounding person’s perception.
Certainly, it was impossible to trap four Rank-A Spirit Purifiers, so after they exited the library, each and every one was tossed into "Mirror Space."
Turning transparent themselves gave those knowledgeable few a look of surprise, quickly realizing it as a form of strong spiritual control, thus they began using their Spiritual Worlds in attempting to break free from control.
Xu Huo’s "Mirror Space" range wasn’t extensive, nor was it his intention to decisively battle the few, so after they opened their Spiritual Worlds, he promptly withdrew, shrinking his Spiritual World while letting out the childhood persona.
A miniature version of him sprinted forth, disappearing into the Primeval Forest.