Chapter 369 – 「Golden Dream Sprite Thread」

This occurred in an extremely distant past.

Exactly how long ago remains unknown due to historical gaps in records.

People today only know that Tianfeng City was established to block Phantom Demons emerging from the Chaos Demon Cave into the present world.

In other words, Tianfeng City did not exist when the Chaos Demon Cave first appeared.

At that time, the present world and the Spirit Demon Abyss had just begun to intersect. Humans and Phantom Demons formally clashed on this land, triggering a full-scale racial war.

As the largest Spirit Demon Abyss entrance—both then and now—the Chaos Demon Cave posed the greatest and most lethal threat to the human world.

To resist the Phantom Demons emerging from the Chaos Demon Cave, humans who had just acquired supernatural powers fought courageously, fearless of death.

The final outcome was the sealing of the Chaos Demon Cave through a Forbidden Art. To guard it, humans established Tianfeng City as a Base City in the nearest human territory to the Chaos Demon Cave. Over time, Tianfeng City gradually attained a transcendent status, becoming humanity’s Holy Land.

“Back then, the Seal on the Chaos Demon Cave remained intact. Phantom Demons from the Spirit Demon Abyss could not invade the present world through this entrance, allowing Tianfeng City to enter a period of rapid development. Numerous powerful individuals and Family factions emerged explosively.”

Before everyone in the tent, Xu Xiayan began recounting this secret history.

“At that time, Tianfeng City was still a feudal state with a ruling Royal Family. Our Wang Family, serving as the right and left arms of the Royal Family, consistently safeguarded them while protecting Tianfeng City. We enabled humanity—having endured the dark era before the Chaos Demon Cave was sealed—to recuperate and thrive.”

Due to the Wang Family’s unique historical position, its Archive preserved many ancient texts absent in other clans, containing historical records from ages past.

Having studied that period’s history, Xu Xiayan narrated without hesitation.

“Had things continued that way, humanity would have undoubtedly grown powerful in a very short time. Tianfeng City would have gained sufficient strength to guard the Chaos Demon Cave while diverting surplus forces inland to assist other Base Cities in resisting and expelling Phantom Demons on land.”

In that case, perhaps Phantom Demons might eventually have been driven from human-inhabited lands—forced to return to the Spirit Demon Abyss or retreat to ocean regions, lest they face extermination.

Unfortunately, this prosperity was short-lived.

“In the Spirit Demon Abyss, a terrifying existence took notice of the present world and the Chaos Demon Cave entrance, launching an invasion against our realm.”

That was the Spirit Demon Abyss King—a being who once turned the earth into a Hell, scorching all life. He stood at the Peak of the Phantom Demon race, having evolved to its ultimate endpoint—a “Terror Species.”

Such an existence transcends billions of living beings.

Such an existence remains beyond the reach of even Seven-Star Professionals.

Even within the Spirit Demon Abyss, such beings number no more than three.

Yet, it was precisely this terrifying entity that launched history’s most dreadful invasion against the present world.”With its right hand imbued with boundless power, it tore open the Seal of the Chaos Demon Cave, then used its left hand capable of instantly extinguishing all life to devour the earth, ultimately trampling Tianfeng City that guarded the Frontline beneath its feet.”

“Countless human heroes and champions gathered, numerous powerful beings converged, collectively rising against that ‘King.’ Yet whether struck directly by Advanced Spirit Arts or pierced through by Sub-Divine Artifact-level alchemical weapons, it never ceased its ravaging march. Relying on a heart that could endlessly regenerate its flesh and heal its wounds, it single-handedly crushed the entire human race.”

“Finally, humanity could only make a last-ditch effort. Gathering the strongest group of heroes, they intercepted the King of the Spirit Demon Abyss at the continent’s border. At great sacrifice, using a Forbidden Art, they severed the ‘King’s’ arms, dug out its heart, stripping it of its invincible body and limitless power before finally succeeding in sealing it away.”

Xu Xiayan spoke gravely, sweeping her gaze across those present.

“In that single battle, the Royal Family completely declined, and humanity lost many powerful figures. Though Tianfeng City was rebuilt, the Seal of the Chaos Demon Cave, having been torn open once, developed flaws.”

This is why gaps exist in the Chaos Demon Cave’s Seal, allowing numerous Phantom Demons to cross into our world over the years.

Even though the Seal barely holds, blocking the path of truly powerful entities—preventing Hazardous Species from reappearing in our world, making it difficult even for Nightmare Species to cross from the other side of the Chaos Demon Cave, and preventing large-scale invasions from the Spirit Demon Abyss—while massive invasions remain impossible, a slow-boiling frog-style small-scale invasion has persisted continuously.

Over these years, Phantom Demons have continuously crossed from the other side of the Chaos Demon Cave, their numbers fluctuating but maintaining a rough balance. Various strange realms have also emerged around Tianfeng City under the Chaos Demon Cave’s influence, forming one special region after another.

Now, after all these years, many Phantom Demons that came to our world have evolved—some into Hazardous Species, others into Nightmare Species—each occupying various strange realms, establishing their own territories as kings.

Although Tianfeng City has continuously sought ways to maintain the Chaos Demon Cave’s Seal, the flaws remain irreparable, and the gaps persist.

“Some among humanity have suggested reapplying the Seal, but that Forbidden Art-level sealing technique requires sacrificing numerous Peak-level human experts.”

“Even if such existences were willing to sacrifice themselves, human leadership would never agree.”

“Unless absolutely necessary, facing a genuine crisis, losing so many powerful figures merely to repair some gaps in the Seal would be disproportionate.”

To put it bluntly, each of those Peak-level human experts represents humanity’s confidence in resisting Phantom Demons—truly indispensable trump cards. Losing even one would severely damage the entire human population, let alone multiple.

If the Seal completely shattered with no alternative, they might painfully accept such sacrifices.

But with the Seal merely flawed rather than broken, with only partial gaps existing, it simply isn’t worth such sacrifice from humanity’s strongest.”Thus, the Tianfeng City Executives must find a way to repair the Seal of the Chaos Demon Cave periodically. The goal isn’t to fully restore the Seal, but to prevent the gaps from widening and stop more Phantom Demons—especially the most powerful ones—from entering our world.”

“This cycle occurs approximately once every sixty years.”

“Every six decades, Tianfeng City must perform maintenance on the Seal, essentially reinforcing the containment of the Chaos Demon Cave.”

Xu Xiayan proceeded to explain the entire situation.

“And next year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the next maintenance cycle.”

In light of this, Tianfeng City had begun preparations since this year.

“To repair the Seal, not only do we need the elders of the Sorcerer Guild to provide technical support and assistance, but we also require many special Extraordinary Items.”

“Some of these Extraordinary Items are alchemical tools, while others are rare natural treasures.”

“The alchemical tools are relatively straightforward. Tianfeng City isn’t performing this maintenance for the first time, so tools used in the past have been preserved.”

However, certain rare natural treasures pose greater challenges.

“Each of these natural treasures is extremely precious and exceptionally rare.”

“Even in a resource-rich vault like Tianfeng City’s, some items aren’t available in inventory and must be sought anew—or at the very least, substitutes need to be found.”

“To this end, Tianfeng City has actually prepared numerous commissions. Some were assigned to major Families, some to large organizations, and others… to prominent teams.”

By this point, Xu Xiayan’s explanation had become perfectly clear.

“So, Captain Xu’s ‘Summer Chasing Smoke’ received one such commission, correct?”

Qiao Liang looked at Xu Xiayan as he made this statement.

“Exactly.” Xu Xiayan smiled faintly and said, “This is the origin of our current SS-rank mission and what we’ll be undertaking next.”

According to Xu Xiayan, among the various commissions issued by Tianfeng City, some were only B-rank, some were S-rank, while very few reached SS-rank.

‘Summer Chasing Smoke’ had accepted one of these rare SS-rank missions.

“Among the Extraordinary Items required to repair the Seal, there is one particularly rare and precious treasure.”

As she spoke, Xu Xiayan stood up and manipulated the screen set up at the far end of the tent, displaying a three-dimensional image of an artifact.

“A thread?”

Zhu Qian murmured in surprise.

Yes.

The treasure appearing on the screen was composed of numerous extremely fine threads.

The threads were dreamlike and illusory, resembling ethereal rays of light rather than solid objects, drifting gently like flowing water.

As everyone gazed at the golden, streamer-like threads on the screen, discussions broke out among them.

“Such a beautiful treasure…”

“What kind of thread is this?”

“It looks like sunlight condensed into fine strands—so gorgeous.”

“Just based on its appearance, even if it weren’t a treasure, countless people would be willing to pay a fortune to admire and collect it.”

The group continued expressing their admiration.

Even Chi Qian couldn’t help but take a few extra glances, a subtle gleam flickering in her eyes, making Su Ming both amused and exasperated.

Xu Xiayan seemed to have anticipated everyone’s reaction. She smiled and began her introduction.”The Golden Dream Sprite Thread, an exceptionally rare natural treasure, appears like flowing strands of solidified sunlight in fine, thread-like forms. Yet it only emerges in places of extreme darkness, where demonic energy is abundant and not a single ray of light penetrates throughout the year.”

Xu Xiayan manipulated the silver screen again, causing explanatory text to appear around the image of the treasure.

“This Golden Dream Sprite Thread not only has stringent environmental requirements for its formation but also only produces one strand every ten years. Only after a full century has passed, with ten strands having emerged, can this treasure be considered fully formed.”

In short, this is a treasure that only appears once every hundred years. Its preciousness and rarity are self-evident.

Perhaps, even compared to Dragon Demon Saliva and Purple Snow Paste, the Golden Dream Sprite Thread is an equally priceless treasure of the same rank.

“Its uses are straightforward: it can be employed to craft battle garments, alchemy armor, and even some alchemy weapons. For instance, the bowstring of the young master of the Zhang Family’s beloved bow is said to be forged from a thread-like treasure similar to the Golden Dream Sprite Thread, though not as rare or precious.”

“Additionally, it may serve as a primary material in some premium or even Divine Grade alchemical potions.”

“Given its wide range of applications, its value is exceptionally high, making it a coveted alchemical material sought after by countless alchemists.”

Xu Xiayan’s explanation was remarkably detailed and easy to understand, allowing everyone to immediately grasp the Golden Dream Sprite Thread’s rarity and uniqueness.

Of course…

“For Tianfeng City, the Golden Dream Sprite Thread holds another crucial purpose: to assist the Sorcerers of the Sorcerer Guild in spiritually mending the gaps in the Chaos Demon Cave’s Seal, either filling some of the fissures or preventing them from expanding further.”

After stating this, Xu Xiayan once again scanned the faces of everyone present.

“This is precisely why I have gathered all of you to venture into the Midnight Labyrinth and reach this Tenth Floor.”

The implication was clear.

“I see,” Chi Qian murmured softly. “So the Golden Dream Sprite Thread is here on the Tenth Floor of the Midnight Labyrinth?”

“Correct,” Xu Xiayan nodded emphatically. “The environment of the Midnight Labyrinth’s Tenth Floor is one of the few places in the world that meets the conditions for the Golden Dream Sprite Thread’s emergence.”

This conclusion was reached by Tianfeng City’s relevant departments after rigorous and complex calculations.

They firmly believed that the likelihood of the Golden Dream Sprite Thread appearing on the Tenth Floor of the Midnight Labyrinth was very high.

Thus, they entrusted this SS-grade mission to Summer Chasing Smoke, an A-grade team with S-grade capabilities, to enter the Midnight Labyrinth and retrieve the Golden Dream Sprite Thread.

However…

“If the goal is merely to search for a treasure on this Tenth Floor, there’s no need to hire so many powerful teams to assist Summer Chasing Smoke, right?”

“I thought the same.”

Both Qiao Zhi and Zhu Yun, the deputy leaders of their respective A-grade teams, voiced their thoughts.

They weren’t wrong.

If it were just about retrieving a single treasure, Xu Xiayan’s team was fully capable of handling it alone. Why go through the trouble of hiring so many teams for assistance?Even if we need manpower, it shouldn’t have come to recruiting teams like the ‘Brocade Dragon Jade Pavilion’ and ‘Iron Rose’.

For Xu Xiayan to gather combat forces like this and not use them for battle would be a complete waste of talent.

And that was indeed the case.

“If only things were that simple,” Xu Xiayan sighed.

“Haven’t you all noticed that this tenth floor is different from the previous ones? We haven’t even seen a single Phantom Demon.”

Hearing this, everyone froze in surprise.

“As expected…” Su Ming narrowed his eyes, murmuring to himself.

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(End of Chapter)