Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

【Transmission completed.】

The familiar notification sound rang out, and Lin Yi had returned to the absolute safety zone of his private room.

Instead of taking stock of his other gains from the trip, he went straight to the area in the room that had been set aside—the place where the Phoenix Tree grew.

The more powerful a creature is, the more its existence will have a subtle influence on the surrounding environment.

As a rare treasure comparable to the Black Maple Tree, the Phoenix Sun Tree exudes a life force and gentle rules that are a coveted aid for cultivators of any system.

Setting up a meditation spot here is far more effective than using any expensive meditation array.

Here, not only is the energy recovery speed doubled, but the efficiency of perception is also significantly improved.

Sitting cross-legged under the phoenix tree, feeling the soft glow flowing through the branches and leaves and the unique, refreshing fragrance, Lin Yi slowly closed his eyes and began to sort out the gains from his trip to the City of Slumber.

The mind sinks into the body, guiding the energy circulation.

After an unknown amount of time, in a deep stillness, a faint yet deeply felt throbbing sensation suddenly swept across the edge of Lin Yi's consciousness.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his right wrist.

There, a dark red vine bracelet rested quietly against the skin; it was Little Blood, who had been dormant for a long time.

Compared to the deathly stillness when it first fell asleep, this seems to be... a very slight sign of improvement?
Lin Yi had a thought and tried to call out to Xiao Xue, but it was like throwing a stone into the sea, and he received no response.

He frowned slightly and asked the Paradise of Reincarnation again.

[Hunter's consultation privileges confirmed.]

[Target: The subordinate life form 'Little Blood' (Ancient God Larva/Special Mutant)]

[Status: Deep slumber, in the process of reconstructing the origin of life.]

[Estimated Awakening Time: Cannot be precisely calculated. Based on existing data models, the lower limit of the basic reconstruction cycle is approximately 137 calendar years. The specific duration may fluctuate due to factors such as the degree of blood purification, energy absorption efficiency, and external environment.]

The Paradise of Reincarnation's response was very direct, even giving a specific time limit that was somewhat speechless.

137 natural years is almost the length of two generations for ordinary people.

"137 years... That's really the ancient gods' standard concept of time." Lin Yi shook his head helplessly.

He recalled the ancient gods he had encountered before. Whether they were those that had been sealed away for countless years yet remained ferocious, or those that had been lurking in the void for a long time waiting for their chance, their perception of time was indeed completely different from that of ordinary beings.

A single slumber, a single healing session, often lasting hundreds or thousands of years, may truly be just a brief respite for their near-eternal lives, much like a human taking a nap.

The origin of Little Blood is special; it is not an ancient god born of nature, but rather a creation of an ancient god that has undergone a heaven-defying transformation.

This transformation, while giving it the potential to surpass its original form and infinite possibilities, also means that its foundation is inherently unstable, like a tower built on quicksand.

This deep slumber caused by overexertion is a crucial process for it to make up for its congenital deficiencies, solidify its life essence, and undergo a complete reconstruction.

This process cannot be rushed or interrupted.

Forcibly intervening with external forces or attempting to awaken it prematurely is tantamount to pulling up seedlings to help them grow. Not only may all previous efforts be wasted, but it may also lead to the collapse of the small blood vessels, with unimaginable consequences.

Ordinary injuries, even those involving severed limbs regenerating or shattered internal organs, can be healed in an instant for someone of his rank, provided they are equipped with high-level recovery items or powerful skills.

But when it comes to the most fundamental aspects of bloodline, soul, and rules, it requires painstaking effort to repair and nurture them little by little; there are no shortcuts.

This seems to be an invisible law that maintains the balance of the void. The more powerful a life form is, the more difficult and slow it is to repair itself when it touches the root, and the more time it needs to pay.

In comparison, Little Blood has only been asleep for the time it takes to travel through a few mission worlds. In the ancient gods' lifespans, which are so long that they are almost despairing, it probably doesn't even count as a nap.

My previous anxiety seemed a bit unfounded.

Having figured this out, Lin Yi's anxiety caused by Xiao Xue's long slumber gradually subsided.

He reached out his finger and gently touched the bracelet on his wrist, and a wisp of pure life energy slowly flowed over it.

This wisp of energy was absorbed by Xiao Xue instantly, like a mud ox sinking into the sea, but the bracelet still didn't react at all.

Lin Yi was not discouraged. He knew that this kind of nurturing was gradual and the key was to persevere.

"Take it slow, little one. I hope you'll give me a surprise when you wake up."

No longer dwelling on Xiao Xue's sleeping time, Lin Yi closed his eyes again and focused his attention back on himself.

The gentle light of the Phoenix Tree enveloped him, and the private room fell into tranquility once again, with only faint energy fluctuations flowing slowly.

After waking up again, Lin Yi left his private room without delay and went straight to the attribute enhancement hall.

Welcome to the Advanced Enhancement Pod. Your base stats are as follows...

Lin Yi raised his hand and skillfully chose to turn off the cumbersome attribute list notification sound.

When he first entered the park, he found these prompts somewhat novel and would listen carefully to each change in attributes. But now, after experiencing countless life-and-death situations, attribute upgrades have become the norm, and these repetitive prompts sound like nothing more than noise to him.

"Turn off all unnecessary prompts."

After closing the panel, Lin Yi directly allocated 16 points to the real attributes without thinking, distributing them evenly at a rate of +4 points to each attribute.

[Command confirmed. Allocation: Strength +4, Agility +4, Stamina +4, Intelligence +4. Total attribute points consumed: 16. Enhancement program initiated...]

The attribute enhancement chamber started operating, and this enhancement only took about thirty minutes.

As Lin Yi began to focus more on improving his balance, each enhancement experience became like a relaxing massage for him.

[Enhancement complete. Contractor's true attributes have been updated:]

Strength: 131 (True Attribute) (+4)
Agility: 131 (True Attribute) (+4)
Stamina: 131 (True Attribute) (+4)
Intelligence: 131 (True Attribute) (+4)
Charisma: 90
"Charm...90? It actually increased a little?" Lin Yi was somewhat surprised.

Charisma is the most "random" of all his attributes. He neither deliberately tries to improve it nor does it increase much due to regular battles or missions. The value has been hovering around 89 points for a long time without any change.

Although it's unclear how the increase in Charm is calculated, it's always better to have a higher attribute than a lower one.

Lin Yi shook his head, no longer dwelling on this small, unexpected joy, and stepped out of the enhancement chamber.

Before long, Su Xiao brought Bubuwang to the vicinity of the enhancement chamber where Lin Yi was.

As Lin Yi stepped out of the attribute enhancement chamber, an intense, almost overwhelming, stench of blood instantly assaulted his senses, making him feel as if he were back on a battlefield of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

He frowned, his gaze immediately locking onto the source of the aura—Su Xiao.

At this moment, Su Xiao, simply by standing there, resembled a demon king who had emerged from a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood.

The attribute enhancement hall was bustling with people, but more than 90% of the contractors changed their expressions slightly the moment they sensed Su Xiao's aura, subconsciously taking a detour, their eyes filled with undisguised fear.

The remaining small group cast undisguised, murderous glances at him. These were mostly desperados or individuals extremely confident in their own strength. The intense aura of blood emanating from Su Xiao was both a warning and a provocation to them.

"Your 'smell'... it wasn't this strong when you came back from the end of the last world, was it?" Lin Yi walked up to Su Xiao and asked directly, his tone clearly full of doubt.

He knew that Su Xiao had killed many people and that his blood energy was naturally vigorous, but the current influence, which was almost like a domain, was clearly beyond the normal range. Su Xiao's expression did not change, and he simply said, "I have mastered a new ability, related to blood energy. I just upgraded it and I'm not quite able to control it yet."

After explaining, Su Xiao paused for the first time, a rare occurrence, and a barely perceptible hint of... awkwardness seemed to flash across his cold and stern face.
He raised his hand and touched his chin, finally speaking and asking a question in a calm tone that almost made Lin Yi choke: "You tell me... what would happen if the charm attribute dropped to a negative number?"

"Charm value? Negative?" Lin Yi was stunned for a moment, then looked at Su Xiao with the eyes of someone looking at a monster. "What heinous thing did you do in the mission world this time? How can charm value drop so low?"

Although he knew that Su Xiao's charm value had been hovering on the dangerous edge of single digits due to her inescapable murderous aura and style of doing things, to drop to negative numbers? That sounded a bit outrageous.

The Charisma attribute, after all, involves Affinity, Persuasiveness, and the effectiveness of disguise, and may even indirectly affect some hidden judgments related to luck. What does a negative number mean? Is it being universally disliked? Getting hit on the head by bird droppings while walking? Triggering hostility immediately upon speaking to an NPC?
Seeing Lin Yi's complex expression that seemed to say "Are you kidding me?" and "Tell me more," Su Xiaowei sighed almost imperceptibly, seemingly feeling somewhat helpless.

He was quite straightforward and voluntarily granted Lin Yi partial access to his personal attribute panel.

Lin Yi immediately moved closer and focused his attention on the charm attribute at the very end.

At this sight, he was stunned.

Su Xiao's charm attribute value was not displayed in the usual white font, but rather in an ominous light red.

"What is this...?" Lin Yi pointed at the pale red number, looking puzzled.

Su Xiao explained in a calm tone, as if he were talking about something trivial that had nothing to do with him: "Signs before an attribute drops. Pale red means it's starting to decline, normal red means it's about to drop, dark red means it could drop at any time, and blood red... well, that's basically hopeless, it will definitely drop soon."

Lin Yi's lips twitched slightly upon hearing this. Such a "generous amount of experience gained from attribute drops" was probably unparalleled in the entire Paradise. He tried to ask the Paradise of Reincarnation in his mind about the reason for this situation.

[Hunter's consultation privileges confirmed.]

[Target: Hunter Su Xiao (ID 13013) is suffering from an abnormal Charisma attribute status.]

【checking……】

[Note: This is a special case; there are currently no exact matches in the database, but the relevant information has been included.]

[Warning: A persistent and abnormal decrease in charm may trigger unpredictable chain reactions. Hunters are advised to proceed with caution.]

Even the Samsara Paradise said this was the first time they had encountered such a typical case, and that it even needed to be included for research! Su Xiao really makes history wherever he goes.

Lin Yi looked at the amusement park's prompts, then at Su Xiao's handsome face, which was filled with "keep away" and "I want to chop something up," and was momentarily at a loss for what expression to make.

He recalled the terrifying scene after Su Xiao's luck value plummeted to negative numbers in the previous world. It was a time when even drinking cold water could cause a problem, flat roads could collapse, and even finding a place to rest could lead to a meteorite falling from the sky.

If charm value also becomes negative, who knows what bizarre effects it will cause? Will it become a "group mockery aura," making you the first target of NPCs and monsters wherever you go?

Lin Yi couldn't help but pat Su Xiao on the shoulder, his tone carrying a mix of sincere sympathy and advice from someone with experience: "Brother, take my advice, think of a way to prevent it from really dropping into negative territory. I still vividly remember the spectacular scene when your luck value went negative last time; it was more thrilling than any horror movie. If your charm value also goes negative... I can't even imagine how 'popular' you'll become. I'm afraid that when you enter a mission world, every living thing will rush at you with bloodshot eyes?"

Upon hearing this, Su Xiao frowned almost imperceptibly, clearly recalling the "exciting" experience when her luck value was negative.

He silently closed the attribute panel, and the surging blood energy around him seemed to subside slightly.

Bubuwang tugged at Su Xiao's trouser leg with its paws, seemingly trying to comfort its owner's precarious charm rating.

Looking at Su Xiao's expression of "I'll try my best to control myself" but also clearly a little helpless, Lin Yi suddenly remembered something.

With a flick of his wrist, he retrieved the blade tip that Lilim had given him from his storage space.

As soon as the blade tip appeared, an indescribable aura of sharpness and annihilation emanated from it. It was covered with fine cracks, yet one could still sense its former extraordinary nature.

"Oh, by the way, Lilim asked me to give this to you."

Su Xiao paused as he was about to light a cigarette, his gaze instantly locking onto the tip of the knife. He could clearly sense the aura emanating from the fragment.

He silently reached out and almost solemnly took the knife tip from Lin Yi's hand.

The moment the fingertips touched it, the fragment trembled slightly, emitting a barely audible chirp, as if a sleeping beast had been awakened to some extent.

Su Xiao could feel that the Azure Steel Shadow energy within his body seemed to have become slightly more active.

He didn't say much, but simply put the blade tip away.

The significance of this gift far exceeds its intrinsic value.

Seeing that Su Xiao had accepted the blade, Lin Yi briefly explained to Su Xiao his previous plan to join forces with the Demon Clan, the Feather Clan, and the Arcane Eternal Star Elemental faction to suppress Serphilia and her Arcane faction from both inside and outside.

After listening, Su Xiao's face remained expressionless. He simply lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and the grayish-white smoke blurred his vision.

He didn't say anything, but Lin Yi knew that this guy's brain was working at high speed, analyzing the pros and cons, risks, and room for maneuver.

The attribute enhancement hall was bustling with people, but under the invisible low pressure emanating from Su Xiao, it was as if a vacuum zone had formed around them.

Bubuwang quieted down and lay down to the side, but its ears were perked up.

After about a minute, Su Xiao stubbed out the cigarette butt with his fingertips, looked up at Lin Yi, and asked a crucial question that went straight to the heart of the matter: "Do you still have enough black maple resources in your possession to support this operation?"

“If that’s not enough, I have some more in stock. To deal with an opponent of Serphia’s caliber, you either don’t do anything, or you have to make a decisive move and hurt her so badly that she has no chance to fight back, and so badly that the other factions within Arcane Eternal Star think that protecting her is not worth the risk. Minor skirmishes will only provoke her more frenzied retaliation. Either don’t do it at all, or do it thoroughly.”

Lin Yi immediately understood Su Xiao's meaning. This guy not only agreed to participate, but even wanted to increase the investment and upgrade this "suppression" into a more thorough "crushing blow"!
Su Xiao knew the principle that "if you don't kill the tiger, you will suffer the consequences," especially when facing the leader of a powerful faction within a top-tier Void behemoth like Arcane Eternal Star. He had to seize the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow and not give her a chance to breathe.

Lin Yi estimated the inventory in his storage space: "With the resources we have, it will probably be difficult to mobilize a force of sufficient strength."

Su Xiao exhaled a smoke ring: "The void is vast, and the forces that are dissatisfied with the Arcane Eternal Star and dare to interfere are far more than just the Demon Race and the Feather Race."

Lin Yi immediately understood Su Xiao's meaning: "You mean... go find those 'black market' giants?"

Su Xiao nodded: "The fruits of the Black Maple Tree and the Phoenix Sun Tree are attractive enough to these old guys who have been operating in the gray area for years and pursuing rare resources. Moreover, they are not on the same side as Arcane Eternal Star, and even have a lot of old grudges. As long as the benefits are enough, it is not difficult to get them to secretly trip us up or provide some key 'conveniences'."

The so-called "black market" giants are not a specific organization, but rather a few entities in the void that control a vast gray industry chain, have deeply entrenched influence, and even the major amusement parks and void clans have to give them some face.

They may not be the strongest individually, but the resources, intelligence, and influence they possess are terrifying.

To approach these entities is undoubtedly like seeking a tiger's skin—extremely risky.

They are all cunning and treacherous. If you are not careful, you may be devoured by them, skin and bones, and end up doing all the work for others.

But the benefits are equally enormous. If they can be persuaded to take the side, even if it's just by providing some covert support, the blow to Serphilia and the Arcane faction will be devastating.

"The risks are considerable," Lin Yi pondered. "Those old foxes won't act until they see a clear benefit, and it's easy for them to turn the tables on you."

"We can start by spreading the word through existing channels, and those who are interested can come and talk to us to see what big fish we can catch. We can also ask the Demon Clan and the Feather Clan to help us make connections, as they always have some unclear and ambiguous relationships with these gray-area forces."

Lin Yi thought about it and felt that this was indeed a feasible direction.

Passive defense has never been their style; they prefer to take the initiative, stir up trouble, and win amidst chaos.

“Okay, I’ll have Hattie and Lilim help spread the word. As for the specifics of the contact…” Lin Yi looked at Su Xiao, admitting that he wasn’t as good at this kind of negotiation and scheming as Su Xiao.

“I’ll handle it.” Su Xiao readily accepted the task, a cold glint in his eyes. “Perfect timing. My newly acquired ability requires some extremely special materials to practice potionology, materials that are simply unavailable through conventional channels.”

The two briefly discussed some details and set a preliminary course of action.

The plan to suppress Serfia has escalated from a "joint pressure" operation to a potentially broader "comprehensive encirclement" due to Su Xiao's involvement. (End of Chapter)