Chapter 782: Soul Blessing

After eliminating all the demonic hyenas in the vicinity, Nie Yan and his companions sat down nearby to restore their health.

Within a radius of three to four hundred yards, the ground was littered with the corpses of demonic hyenas, creating a rather spectacular sight.

“Boss, there’s a treasure chest here.”

Nie Yan’s attention was drawn by the voice of Shabubu de Huaidan. Following the direction Shabubu de Huaidan pointed at, everyone saw a steep rock about thirty yards high. At the top was a flat area covered with vegetation, where a treasure chest was partially hidden in the bushes, barely visible unless observed carefully.

“Your eyes are pretty sharp, to spot this,” Nie Yan smiled at Shabubu de Huaidan.

Shabubu de Huaidan scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly.

“I’ll go open the chest,” Nie Yan said, walking to the base of the rock and glancing upward to examine the terrain. Activating his climbing skill, he swiftly scaled the rock and soon reached the top. The chest was quite small, and he couldn’t tell what material it was made of, but it had been corroded into a mess.

In this dark world, timeless and ancient, it had been lying here silently for who knows how long.

Checking its level, he found it was an artifact-level treasure chest.

This discovery delighted Nie Yan; he hadn’t expected such a find.

He squatted down and began opening the chest.

System: Opening treasure chest, progress 10%…30%…

Time slowly passed, and with a soft click, the chest was opened.

Nie Yan reached inside and felt around for a moment. His hand touched something very hard, smooth to the touch. His heart quickened as he pulled it out—a white, round egg about the size of a soccer ball.

He couldn’t tell what kind of egg it was; whether it was a pet or a flying mount remained to be identified. The egg’s level was likely quite high.

Nie Yan leapt down and landed steadily.

“Boss, what is it?” The others gathered around eagerly.

“A pet egg, or maybe a flying mount?” The group’s eyes focused on Nie Yan’s right hand.

“Not sure yet. We’ll check back at the city. If any of you need one, you can take it,” Nie Yan said. He already had the Golden Earth Dragon and the Dark Winged Dragon, both the strongest mounts available, so there was no need to change.

Though curious about what creature the egg might contain, no one could identify it at the moment, so they gave up for now.

Just as they stood up, preparing to move to the next location.

“I found something; there’s a hut here,” Wangzhexianguo said in the party chat.

Hearing this, Nie Yan’s heart skipped a beat and he asked, “Where exactly are you?”

“Coordinates 23790, 28503, 838.”

Nie Yan looked at his teammates and said, “Let’s go check it out.”

They stood up and moved toward the coordinates Wangzhexianguo mentioned. Along the way, they encountered two groups of demonic hyenas, which they quickly eliminated. Eventually, they reunited with Wangzhexianguo.

Nie Yan looked toward the distance. Midway up the hill, there was a clearing. Around it, the barren ground occasionally bore thorny shrubs. In the center of the clearing stood a hut, very dilapidated, yet the doorstep was clean, suggesting someone might be living there.

Seeing Nie Yan and the others approach, Wangzhexianguo revealed himself and walked over, saying, “There’s a barrier around this hut; I can’t enter.”

As the group approached within about a hundred yards of the hut, they felt a force pushing them back. Taking a few more steps forward, the force grew stronger, making progress increasingly difficult, until they could no longer move forward at all.

“What kind of barrier is this?”

“Not sure, probably something similar to an expulsion spell.”

Just as the group was blocked by the barrier, Nie Yan felt nothing and walked forward another dozen steps without any hindrance.

“I guess it’s related to my quest. I’ll go check it out,” Nie Yan said, turning his head.

“Alright, Boss Nie, be careful.”

The others set up camp outside, watching Nie Yan approach the hut.

Nie Yan reached the hut’s door, slowly pushed it open with his right hand, and a beam of light poured in. Inside the hut was very dark.

A figure appeared before Nie Yan’s eyes. He was startled at first, but when he saw the old man’s face clearly, Nie Yan realized it was an elderly person, already very frail, wearing a silver-gray robe, sitting cross-legged on the ground with long white hair cascading down. His clothes were covered in dust, like a statue of a dead person. As if hearing a sound, he opened his eyes, and a flash of spirit shone within.

This NPC was definitely no ordinary one; Nie Yan felt a strong pressure.

Nie Yan cast a Detect skill on him.

Mephisto: Legendary Mage, Level ???

The old man was indeed the Mephisto Nie Yan was looking for; he hadn’t expected him to be a legendary mage.

“You’ve come,” Mephisto’s deep voice sounded.

“Yes,” Nie Yan nodded.

Mephisto stood up.

To Nie Yan’s surprise, Mephisto split into two. The original Mephisto remained cross-legged on the ground, while the one standing up was in a soul state, like a phantom floating in the air.

“Don’t be puzzled. Hundreds of years ago, I had already died. What remains here is only my lingering soul fragment,” the soul-state Mephisto revealed a gentle smile.

“Respected Mr. Mephisto, may I ask if there’s anything I can do for you?” Nie Yan asked respectfully.

“Your strength is too weak. The upcoming task will be too difficult for you. If you fear death, leave here quickly,” Mephisto said calmly.

Nie Yan’s mind raced through many quest clues and he immediately understood, replying firmly, “I do not fear death.”

“This is foolishness. Do you know who your upcoming opponent is? The Betrayer, Diracrue, has already been controlled by demons and has become an 180-level demon. Do you think you can kill him? Dying isn’t bravery, it’s foolishness,” Mephisto shook his head.

“God will bless every faithful believer. I am not without hope. A truly brave person dares to seize any fleeting opportunity rather than retreat in fear before death. Since I have come this far, I will not shrink back,” Nie Yan rebutted without hesitation.

After hearing Nie Yan’s words, Mephisto didn’t know how to respond for a moment, then finally said, “Alright, young man, you’ve convinced me.”

“Then, respected Mr. Mephisto, could you please tell me where it is?”

“At the entrance of the volcano, where there is scorching lava everywhere. I have chained him to a stone pillar. If he isn’t killed soon, he will break free after some time, and then calamity will descend. Young man, even knowing this, are you still determined to go?”

“Yes, respected Mr. Mephisto. God tells mankind that when you believe something is right, you must bravely do it, never giving up halfway, even if it means death without regret.”

“Alright, I hope you remember what you said today, and I wish you success in completing your task.”

“Thank you, Mr. Mephisto.”

“I will awaken the Paternoster Hammer for you. It holds intense hatred toward the Betrayer Diracrue. If you can awaken it, it will help you defeat Diracrue.” Mephisto waved his right hand, and suddenly the Paternoster Hammer in Nie Yan’s backpack appeared, hovering in the air and emitting a blazing white light. The entire room was enveloped in a white glow, as if entering another world.

Mephisto murmured incantations: “Ancient spirit of the gods, awaken…”

It seemed like a ritual. Mephisto chanted his spell for about thirty seconds before slowly stopping. The Paternoster Hammer gradually descended and returned to Nie Yan’s hand, becoming extremely quiet.

Nie Yan seemed to feel a soul awakening inside the Paternoster Hammer; it felt as though the hammer had come to life.

“A fearless heart of a hero will awaken it. This is all I can do,” Mephisto smiled faintly. His figure was gradually fading, and he looked at Nie Yan with a kind gaze. “Begin your new journey. My mission is complete; I will now leave and go to my world.”

Before Nie Yan could say anything, Mephisto’s figure twisted and vanished into the air, completely disappearing.

It felt like a dream. Nie Yan looked around the hut. The old body of Mephisto remained seated on the ground, eyes closed as if they had never opened. The previous events felt surreal.

Looking around the hut, it was very simple and empty. In the corner of the room, there was a wooden box, somewhat worn out, and Nie Yan couldn’t tell what was inside. It wasn’t a regular treasure chest, so it might contain something valuable. Nie Yan considered this and carefully backed out, leaving everything in the house as it was.

Searching through the home of a deceased person would be a great disrespect to the dead.

Nie Yan had strong principles in this regard. He didn’t want to risk triggering something dangerous just for minor gains. It would be fine if he encountered traps—he was confident he could escape. What he feared most was being marked on a blacklist or having his respect value drop, leading to a series of negative consequences.

Nie Yan stepped out of the hut and carefully closed the door behind him.

Just as he did this, he suddenly received a system notification.

System: You have received Mephisto’s Soul Blessing.

Seeing this notification, Nie Yan was momentarily stunned. He didn’t know what effect Mephisto’s Soul Blessing had. Checking it, he saw that Mephisto’s Soul Blessing granted +1 Divine Power.

Divine Power! Seeing this attribute, even though it was only +1, Nie Yan couldn’t help but be moved.