Chapter 1 On the Ground

Stepping onto the ground, Nie Yan’s calves sank halfway into the snow. A gust of cold wind blew, scraping against his body, causing him to shiver.

Nie Yan recalled the Darkwing Dragon, braving the cold wind as he walked step by step towards the distance. Walking in this snowy field was extremely difficult.

Fortunately, his cold resistance was sufficient; otherwise, the cold wind here would have frozen him completely stiff.

He walked across the empty snowfield, heading straight ahead.

This place refreshed level 60 monsters, Snowfield Giant Bears. Occasionally, some Snowfield Giant Bears would approach, but upon catching Nie Yan's scent, they would immediately retreat. Their sensitivity to danger was very sharp; they knew they couldn't afford to provoke Nie Yan.

Even if he killed these Snowfield Giant Bears, he wouldn't gain much experience, so Nie Yan was too lazy to chase them. He continued to traverse the snowfield, searching for that coordinate all the way.

Only a few elemental mages leveled up on this snowfield, because they had special skills that allowed them to withstand the cold. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Nie Yan would stealth away whenever he saw someone approaching.

After about twenty minutes, Nie Yan reached a fissure in the snowfield at the foot of a mountain. Looking down, the water surface here was calm and waveless, so deep that it was impossible to know where it led.

Nie Yan checked the coordinates; this was the place.

A wisp of cold air rose from this icy spring.

In his previous life, the Sote Feather was fished out from here.

Nie Yan drank a bottle of master-level cold resistance potion and jumped into the water. A bone-chilling coldness permeated his body, causing him to tremble.

If his cold resistance was below two hundred, he would probably be frozen into an ice pillar instantly.

Nie Yan activated Underwater Breathing and dived down. Below the ice surface, it was pitch black, but thanks to his Dark Vision, he could still make out a faint, blurry image.

The water was full of aquatic plants, some reaching lengths of over a dozen yards, swaying with the currents.

Nie Yan weaved through the aquatic plants, swimming further and further. The underwater world was bizarre and ever-changing. Schools of fish and shrimp swam about, but they were just small animals without any offensive capabilities.

After about ten minutes, Nie Yan finally discovered his target, the Sote Feather.

The Sote Feather was a five or six-inch-long white feather, emitting a holy white light. It floated in the distant sea, a current rushing towards it, but the Sote Feather seemed unaffected by the current, floating silently.

Surrounding the Sote Feather were three mermaids, their upper bodies female, their lower bodies scaly fish tails, each holding a trident.

They possessed exquisite faces and naked upper bodies that were practically an invitation to sin, but the bright, gleaming tridents in their hands seemed to be telling the players that they were not to be trifled with.

Nie Yan swam stealthily behind a coral reef and cast Detect on one of the mermaids.

Siren Verina: Level 120 Enhanced Elite.

This siren had nearly three million health points. An enhanced elite was close to a Lord-level creature!

The three sirens patrolled around the Sote Feather, stopping and starting, periodically looking up at the Sote Feather.

Seeing the attributes of the three sirens, Nie Yan frowned. How could there be three level 120 elites here? In his previous life, he had heard that there were no monsters guarding the Sote Feather, and that Shadow Dancer had obtained it very easily.

The information he had obtained was all hearsay, and after all, it wasn't his own experience. It was normal for there to be discrepancies. Some news, as it was spread around, generally changed greatly in the end. It was already good enough that he could find the Sote Feather based on those rumors.

It was too difficult to bypass these three sirens to get the Sote Feather. Nie Yan was no match for the three sirens, especially in the water, where the surging currents severely limited his mobility.

Nie Yan looked around and saw that the space within a hundred yards was restricted, preventing the use of Return Scrolls and Random Teleportation Scrolls. This further increased the difficulty of him obtaining the Sote Feather, because even if he obtained the Sote Feather, if he was killed here, the Sote Feather would still be dropped.

Nie Yan wandered around the periphery for a long time, at a loss for what to do. He didn't have much time. Underwater Breathing could only last for about thirty minutes. Adding the underwater breathing potions he had in his backpack, he estimated that he could last for an hour at most.

He had already used up nearly twenty minutes. He had to hurry, otherwise, once the underwater breathing time ran out, he would have to swim out of the hundred-yard range and use a Return Scroll to go back, or he would drown.

If he used a Return Scroll to go back, it would be equivalent to having come here for nothing.

Nie Yan pondered in place for a moment, wondering if he could sneak past and get the Sote Feather.

Underwater creatures generally had lower perception.

Nie Yan activated Stealth and slowly sneaked towards the floating Sote Feather in the distance.

He was getting closer and closer to the Sote Feather in the distance, only about five or six yards away. The three sirens in the distance seemed to have sensed something, looked in Nie Yan's direction, searching with their eyes, and slowly swam towards Nie Yan.

Nie Yan didn't dare to startle them, so he could only retreat silently, hiding behind a coral reef about ten yards away from the Sote Feather.

The three sirens patrolled nearby for a while, didn't find anything, and continued to wander.

Looking at the Sote Feather so close, yet unable to obtain it, Nie Yan couldn't help but feel depressed. The current here was too swift. If he used the Weaver's Ring as usual, the spider silk would be washed away by the current. This plan was obviously not feasible.

Spider silk, currents, words flashed through Nie Yan's mind one by one. He wanted to grasp something, but his mind was still a mess.

There should be a way, Nie Yan comforted himself. He needed to think calmly. His thoughts were too chaotic here. He would wait and see. He didn't know if there was anything else in this sea area besides the Sote Feather. He swam outwards.

Nie Yan searched nearby for about ten minutes. The Underwater Breathing skill on the Fishman's Water Amulet had run out of time. He used an underwater breathing potion to extend his underwater breathing time.

Could he only go back first?

Nie Yan was unwilling. He prepared to try again. If he could get the Sote Feather, that would be best. If it really didn't work, then he could only go back first and come back next time when he thought of a solution.

The current was very strong nearby. It was very difficult for Nie Yan to swim. Fortunately, his Strength and Stamina attributes were high enough for him to resist the current and not be washed away.

While swimming, Nie Yan suddenly noticed some glittering light in the distant sea. His heart skipped a beat. Could it be a treasure chest?

He used the force of the current to swim towards the direction of the light source.

Nie Yan swam about thirty yards and found a silver-white treasure chest stuck in the middle of dense coral reefs. This silver-white treasure chest looked a bit like something from the Dark Ages, but it had been deformed and lost its original appearance.

It was indeed a treasure chest, not locked, because the lock was already broken.

The treasure chest was stuck in the crevice of a rock, making it difficult to take out. Nie Yan thought for a moment, took out his dagger, and prepared to pry open the treasure chest.

He inserted the dagger into the edge of the box lid and exerted force. With a snap, the lid of the treasure chest opened. Nie Yan looked inside. Inside the treasure chest was an ancient book. Although this book was tattered, it was still relatively complete. The cover was dark gray. He weighed it in his hand. This book was very thick and heavy. On the cover, there were several dark gold characters written in Draconic, Book of the Forgotten.

Nie Yan was wondering what exactly this Book of the Forgotten was when he suddenly heard a crisp system prompt.

"System: You have discovered the Book of the Forgotten, abandoned between the reefs. Its ancient cover seals a long history. Do you decide to pursue its past and seek out that lost history?"

Yes!

Nie Yan thought for a moment. This should be the beginning of a quest. It was no big deal to accept another quest anyway. He would do it whenever he had time. He confirmed without hesitation.

At that moment, the Book of the Forgotten suddenly shone brightly, enveloping Nie Yan in light. A dark force entered his body. Nie Yan felt that the Darkwing Dragon in his pet space was a bit restless. He quickly soothed the Darkwing Dragon.

The Darkwing Dragon finally calmed down.

Nie Yan was a bit surprised. What a powerful dark force!

The Book of the Forgotten opened to the first page, which told a story of a solitary ranger who sought the Evil Blade in the dark wasteland, wanting to destroy this evil weapon. But after he found the Evil Blade, he was instead controlled by the Evil Blade, and a pair of black wings grew from his back, turning him into a demon.

Quest Progress: Chapter 1, Overture of Evil, Kill the Demon Jacepp, destroy the Evil Blade with the Book of the Forgotten, and collect the Demon Feather.

This should be a series of quests. He didn't have time to do it for the time being. He estimated that it wasn't much different from ordinary quests. He didn't care much about this quest. There wasn't any detailed information on it. He threw the Book of the Forgotten into his backpack. He would deal with it later. He would get the Sote Feather first.

Nie Yan swam towards the direction of the Sote Feather. His eyes fell on the aquatic plants at the bottom of the sea. These aquatic plants were constantly swaying with the direction of the current.

The undercurrent in this seabed was really too fierce, making it very difficult to even swim.

Looking at the constantly swaying aquatic plants, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck his mind. He had a solution!

He thought of a way to get the Sote Feather without alarming the sirens.

Nie Yan became excited. He eagerly wanted to test whether his idea was feasible. He quickly accelerated towards the coral reef in the distance. The Sote Feather and the three sirens in the distance had already appeared within his sight.

Using the cover of the coral reef, he slowly sneaked past.

Seven yards away from the Sote Feather, about six yards away from the nearest siren. Seeing that the sirens in the distance had turned their attention away from the Sote Feather, Nie Yan began to act.