One hundred Sea Palace Pearls flew out from Ye Yun's bag and submerged into the bitter sea below. The already churning surface of the bitter sea instantly calmed, and then large bubbles began to emerge. The seawater suddenly parted, creating a waterway for Ye Yun to descend to the seabed.
"This territory is actually underwater?" Ye Yun was utterly bewildered. He waved his hand, retracting the Golden Crow, and then, with Black Ant in tow, stepped onto the watery path.
Whoosh...
As soon as Ye Yun entered, his vision blurred, and he found himself in another place – a Dragon Palace!
That's right, Ye Yun had named the sole territory in this bitter sea 'Dragon Palace'!
"System prompt: Congratulations to player, your territory 'Dragon Palace' construction is complete. A friendly reminder to the player that you can spend Sea Palace Pearls at the main building, 'Lord's Mansion', to construct and upgrade other buildings."
Upon completion of the system prompt, a mansion appeared in the center of the territory, which was only one square kilometer in size. Above the mansion, the words 'Dragon Palace Lord's Mansion' were inscribed in small seal script!
Lord, this was a true lord! This was incomparable to the territories on the New Mortal Continent; those could at most be considered cities as territories, whereas this territory encompassed the entire bitter sea!
Ye Yun did not enter the mansion immediately. Instead, he stared, full of awe, at the sky above his territory.
An underwater world?
He saw that above the entire territory, numerous monstrous beasts, each tens of meters in size, swam above the Dragon Palace territory. Some even carried the bones of players who had perished in the bitter sea in their mouths, occasionally swallowing a thigh or half a body.
These monstrous beasts seemed unaware of the Dragon Palace territory's existence, yet this appeared to be their permanent dwelling. The location was simply unparalleled.
The light within the territory was not very bright, relying only on a night-luminescent pearl the size of a human head at the top to provide faint illumination. However, for Ye Yun, it was sufficient.
Level 1 Lord's Mansion - Occupies an area of 200 square meters. The control panel within can construct Level 1 buildings and serves as the permanent residence for the lord and the lord's guards. Within this mansion, the lord can receive a reward of one ten-millionth of a point of attribute for each attribute point gained by players who join the territory daily. A Level 1 Lord's Mansion can accumulate rewards for up to 5 days.
My goodness! This means I can't avoid progressing even if I wanted to? Ye Yun looked at the more than one hundred top-grade Grain-abstaining Pills on his person and let out a sigh of relief. This was immense pressure!
Entering the mansion's main hall, a massive dragon throne was placed in the center. In front of the throne was a virtual screen, one square meter in size, with only a few simple menu options.
Building Construction and Upgrade!
Building Functional Operation!
Territory Official Appointment and Management!
Territory Financial Management and Withdrawal!
Four major menus. As for the number of sub-menus, since no other buildings had been constructed yet apart from his mansion, Ye Yun was unsure.
Altar (Special Building) - The lord can use the altar to invite the spirits of those who perished in the bitter sea. If a player accepts the lord's invitation, they will automatically become a member of the Dragon Palace territory. This status does not conflict with any other territory status the player may hold. A Level 1 Altar can invite 100 players. Construction cost: 100 Sea Palace Pearls.
Giant Clam - A warehouse-type building. All resources harvested by the Dragon Palace lord will be automatically stored in this warehouse, including accumulated attribute points from players. A Level 1 Giant Clam can store 500 units of various resources and accumulate attribute points for 5 days. Construction cost: 100 Sea Palace Pearls.
Sea Suppressing Spring Eye - The lord can use the spring eye to investigate anomalies within the entire bitter sea region. A Level 1 Spring Eye can observe movements within a hundred-kilometer radius of the mansion. Construction cost: 100 Sea Palace Pearls.
...
The array of buildings, exuding a strong oceanic aura, dazzled Ye Yun. There were hundreds of functional buildings here, and Ye Yun desired them all.
This... this...
Damn it, how could there be such a terrifying thing!
Suddenly, Ye Yun's gaze fell upon something resembling a hexagram array, and his mouth began to water.
This hexagram array emanated a sacred aura, yet paradoxically, the energy connecting to the array was a stream of scarlet blood! Sacredness and evil intertwined.
Sea of Bitterness Without Shore (Formation) - With the waters of the bitter sea as its foundation, it devours the spirit of the bitter sea to fill the lord's body. When the formation is activated, all life in the bitter sea perishes, and the lord's all-attributes increase by 1000% for 10 minutes. Construction cost: 99,999,999 Sea Palace Pearls (Note: The spirit of the bitter sea includes players and monstrous beasts who have perished in the bitter sea. After the lord uses this formation, the players' submersion time will double, and the respawn time for monstrous beasts and ancient beasts will also double!)
Is there any reason to this?! A tenfold increase in all attributes is one thing, but a duration of ten minutes?
With the daily gain of one ten-millionth of attribute points from territory members, combined with the uniqueness of this territory, it could exploit far more than a million players! Coupled with this formation...
Ye Yun looked at the formation and secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, he was the one who built the only territory in this bitter sea. If this opportunity had fallen into someone else's hands, his absolute dominance on the New Mortal Continent would soon be challenged!
It's just damn expensive! Ninety-nine million nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine Sea Palace Pearls! He only obtained 5,000 pearls from hunting a Level 5 Emperor-class ancient beast! How many such ancient beasts would he need to kill to afford this?
"Construct Altar!"
A brilliant light shone down from the water patterns above, illuminating the entire territory. At the edge of the territory, several hundred meters from the Lord's Mansion, a giant octopus suddenly appeared, its tentacles spreading like roots on the ground. Above its head, a blue water droplet appeared, like a light bulb, illuminating that area as if it were daytime.
"Altar construction successful. Cost: 100 Sea Palace Pearls."
Following this, Ye Yun also constructed the Giant Clam warehouse, and then immediately began upgrading the territory and the altar. After all, these two were the most crucial.
"System prompt: Congratulations to the Lord for upgrading the territory to Level 2. Territory area expanded to 20 square kilometers! Cost: 1000 Sea Palace Pearls."
"System prompt: Congratulations to the Lord for upgrading the Lord's Mansion to Level 2. Level 2 buildings are now unlocked within the territory! Cost: 1000 Sea Palace Pearls."
"System prompt: Congratulations to the Lord for upgrading the Altar to Level 2. The territory can now accommodate 500 player units! Cost: 1000 Sea Palace Pearls."
...
Ye Yun's initially excited face turned completely grim. How was this supposed to be played? Upgrading to Level 2 cost 1000 Sea Palace Pearls? Given the game's usual patterns, wouldn't upgrading to Level 3 cost ten thousand? Level 4, a hundred thousand?
Suddenly, Ye Yun understood why the 'Sea of Bitterness Without Shore' formation required so many Sea Palace Pearls...
"Master, you said this whole area outside is the sea, so how do we kill these monstrous beasts? Do we have to dive?" Just as Ye Yun was still bewildered, Black Ant walked in from outside and said something that made Ye Yun even more perplexed.