Chapter 349: Soul Pendant

With his sensitivity to architectural layouts, Nie Yan quickly found a store selling consumables and stepped inside.

The store was run by an elderly goblin who was very short, only reaching a human’s waist. His skin was wrinkled, and he wore a black robe. Stooped over, he struggled with every step.

To Nie Yan’s surprise, this old goblin surprisingly belonged to the neutral faction.

In many high-level towns in Grendale, numerous neutral NPCs appear. They sell various items, rarely offer quests, and do not get involved in the wars between evil and good factions.

Goblin Gains: Level 60 elite.

The old goblin examined Nie Yan, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

Nie Yan felt as though he had been seen through. He gripped the random teleportation scroll in his hand, realizing this old goblin was no simple opponent. He sensed Bennett’s diary tremble slightly, and a small grayish light emerged from its pages, swirling around Nie Yan.

“Respected customer, what do you need?” the old goblin asked.

A list of items appeared before Nie Yan, displaying many potions, including intermediate slow-recovery potions, magic spring water, bread, and more. Nie Yan bought some, filling up one backpack. His gaze landed on the last item in the list—a strange blue potion in an oddly shaped open bottle, its contents murky with floating particles.

Nie Yan examined the potion.

Soul Elixir: Specific effects unknown. Price: 600 gold.

Seeing Nie Yan’s interest, the old goblin said, “That’s the Soul Elixir. It’s said that drinking it allows one to see the deepest memories of a deceased soul. Many apothecaries sell it.”

The old goblin and Nie Yan locked eyes, his gaze piercing and profound.

After a moment’s thought, Nie Yan clicked on the Soul Elixir and selected a quantity of one.

This elixir might relate to his quest. If it could provide clues, spending 600 gold would be worth it.

Seeing Nie Yan purchase one, the old goblin said, “When a creature’s spirit attaches to an object, that object gains great magical power. Necromancers use such items to create many Horcruxes with evil magical forces. Young man, make sure necromancers don’t see the diary in your hands.”

“Thank you, respected sage,” Nie Yan said respectfully, extending his right hand. The small light flew into his palm, which he then clenched tightly.

After replenishing his consumables, Nie Yan bid farewell to the old goblin, exited the pharmacy, and visited several other shops in the graveyard town to see if they had anything special. The items sold in the evil-aligned shops were completely different from those on the surface.

After visiting six shops and numerous player stalls, Nie Yan managed to find some good items.

Soul Pendant (Quality 3): Requires Strength 300, worn on the belt.

Attributes: Adds fifty extra backpack slots, usable only for consumables; +2 Dark Vision; +3 Dark Perception.

He acquired this from a level 45 player. It was said that such Soul Pendants were common underground, crafted by many necromancers. Underground players often got lost for days without finding villages to replenish supplies, so their need for backpack space was much greater than surface players, hence their larger backpacks and additional pendants for extra space.

This item was quite useful. Storing consumables inside would free up much space in his backpack.

Additionally, he discovered that the scroll merchant sold basic Death Ripple Scrolls for two gold coins each. These scrolls dealt 1000 damage to all creatures within a 20×20 yard radius, though they were ineffective against mechanical units and dark creatures. Using them required an Intelligence stat of 100.

Luckily, Nie Yan’s Intelligence had already surpassed 100. In the underground world, the Death Ripple Scroll was nearly useless since most creatures were dark beings, hence its low price. However, if taken to the surface, it would be excellent for grinding experience, even better than some high-level scrolls. He decided to bring some along when leaving.

Nie Yan also learned that underground backpacks were generally much larger than surface ones. Had he known earlier, he should have arranged for a set of super backpacks.

Nie Yan thought of Ren Sheng Ru Xi but dared not directly message him. Instead, he asked someone to relay a message and summoned Ren Sheng Ru Xi.

“Brother, what do you need me for?” Ren Sheng Ru Xi hurried over anxiously.

Nie Yan asked Ren Sheng Ru Xi to go to the Necropolis and buy five 50-slot backpacks. His backpack space immediately increased significantly. When handing over the money, Nie Yan felt a bit nervous—if Ren Sheng Ru Xi ran off with the cash, he’d have no way to recover it. However, Ren Sheng Ru Xi did not betray Nie Yan’s trust and returned with the backpacks.

After this incident, Nie Yan’s trust in Ren Sheng Ru Xi increased somewhat. In the future, he could entrust him with small tasks.

Though puzzled why Nie Yan didn’t go himself, Ren Sheng Ru Xi asked no questions.

After chatting briefly with Ren Sheng Ru Xi, Nie Yan noticed that three hours were nearly up. He bid Ren Sheng Ru Xi farewell and left the graveyard town with the crowd.

After exiting the graveyard town, Nie Yan melted into the darkness, swiftly heading north of the graveyard town.

He opened his hand, but the light had already vanished. Searching, he found it floating around him.

Since meeting the old goblin, this light seemed more active than before.

“I’ll grind experience first,” Nie Yan thought, preparing to level up. Suddenly, a mysterious, indistinct voice echoed in his mind. The light floated steadily north, seemingly guiding him.

Nie Yan followed the light, moving further and further. The light drifted a distance ahead, waiting for Nie Yan to catch up before advancing again.

Quest Progress: Bennett’s spirit is guiding you, brave warrior. Go seek the traces of Empress Finas.

Looking at this status message, Nie Yan hesitated briefly. Empress Finas must be of high level; going now might be somewhat inappropriate. However, he could go and check. If anything went wrong, he could use the random teleportation scroll to escape. Before coming underground, he had prepared a full set of random teleportation scrolls, more than enough.

Crossing an endless expanse of wilderness, he entered mountainous terrain. After wandering for a long time in the mountains, he had already lost his sense of direction in the darkness.

System: You have discovered Spider Canyon.

A system prompt sounded. Looking ahead, Nie Yan saw giant spiders crawling about in the darkness. A massive black spider was approaching his location.

Nie Yan cast a Detect spell.

Rum Spider: Level 60, HP 2000/2000.

Spider-type monsters had relatively low HP, but their toxins were terrifying, capable of paralyzing the entire body. Thus, spiders were often considered among the most troublesome monsters by players, who usually avoided them when grinding experience.

Nie Yan summoned his Golden Earth Dragon, mounted the crossbow, and fired at a Rum Spider.

Thud, thud, thud—five arrows hit a Rum Spider, which immediately lunged at Nie Yan.

Under Nie Yan’s control, the Golden Earth Dragon blocked the Rum Spider, exhaling a stream of scorching dragon breath onto it.

A damage number of 823 floated above the Rum Spider’s head. Behind the Golden Earth Dragon, Nie Yan continuously cast Necrotic Rites on the Rum Spider.

System: Command failed.

System: Command failed.

…

The Rum Spider angrily spat toxic liquid at the Golden Earth Dragon. The venom stuck to the dragon’s scales, hissing but failing to corrode them.

The Golden Earth Dragon had strong poison resistance, so the Rum Spider’s venom only dealt 321 damage.

Soon, the Rum Spider fell to the ground.

Seeing that the command failed, Nie Yan continued attracting another Rum Spider. After killing dozens, he finally successfully commanded one. Soon, his army of Rum Spiders began expanding.

With such a large group of Rum Spiders, his leveling speed soared.

Grinding level 60 monsters yielded considerable experience.

About an hour later, a crisp system prompt sounded. Nie Yan had finally reached level 40, allocating all points to Agility, plus points into Nimble Hands, Dual Wielding, and Dagger Specialization. Checking his HP, it had reached 2500.

After obtaining the Chapter of Peace and the Chapter of Love, Nie Yan’s HP growth rate had significantly increased.

Leading his swarm of Rum Spiders, the Golden Earth Dragon began sweeping deeper into the canyon.

After defeating roughly one or two hundred Rum Spiders, Nie Yan reached a protruding rock and looked into the canyon’s depths. The sight of countless Rum Spiders ahead left him stunned. The monsters were densely packed, varying in size, covering the ground like a carpet.

If a mage with area-of-effect magic were here, especially a fire mage, it would be a dream scenario, as fire magic had special damage bonuses against spider-type creatures.

Looking around, Nie Yan saw cliffs on all sides. Ordinary players would have to clear all the spiders to pass. With his Ring of the Crawler, he should be able to climb along the cliffs.

Thinking for a moment, Nie Yan decided to stay and level up, having finally found a good grinding spot.

Nie Yan organized his backpack, pulling out seven scrolls—two high-level and five mid-level. He realized he should buy more high-level area-of-effect magic scrolls next time.