Awakened members of the same team joining different native factions to communicate and gain benefits has become basic operation for Awakened teams.

Back in the world of [Heart Demon: Oath], Bai Pu employed a similar strategy—he transformed the first Demon he encountered—the Demon Spider Lady, into a slave, aiming to obtain valuable intelligence from the Demon Camp.

Upon hearing Bai Pu belittle her language skills, the Blood Spider glared at Bai Pu with an expression of deep resentment.

"For the transformation quest, it's best if I do it alone. Having more Awakened involved could lower my quest completion rating," Bai Pu said, ignoring the Blood Spider. "If you have nowhere else to go, join the scout team to gather intelligence and map the area. After all, that's the main quest for the first phase."

The Blood Spider did not have any objections to this.

According to the information provided by the [Wushan Divine Lady] regarding the Blood Spider's behavioral patterns, Bai Pu was well aware that the Blood Spider's favorite thing to do was completing main quests.

In her numerous explorations of the Spirit Realm, the Blood Spider had accumulated extensive experience with main quests.

Her usual style of venturing into the Spirit Realm was to head straight for the main quest.

During the free exploration time after completing the main quest, the Blood Spider wouldn't attempt to trigger any side quests; instead, she would find a place rich with monsters and silently grind until the free exploration time was over.

While the scout team was out gathering intelligence, Bai Pu devoted himself to the liberation of oppressed people in the Blood Ring Empire.

Using the existing intelligence, Bai Pu sketched out a simple map. Through careful calculations, he could estimate his general route.

Along the way, he would encounter several Blood Ring Empire manors.

Every time Bai Pu arrived at a manor, he would incite the enslaved Blood Ring people to rise up in rebellion.

The method of incitement was simple: Bai Pu used swift tactics to eliminate the manor's owner—usually an elite soldier like the Blood Ring Heavy Hammer Warrior or Blood Ring Heavy Swordsman.

The Blood Ring Heavy Swordsman, also an elite template, was generally one level higher than the Blood Ring Heavy Hammer Warrior, and significantly more powerful.

Yet with Bai Pu's current prowess, there was barely any difference between facing a Level 4 Elite or a Level 5 Elite. Though powerful, the great sword of the Blood Ring Heavy Swordsman was no match for the Spider Demon Tower Shield.

The Spider Demon Tower Shield's other ability, Devouring Enhancement, provided a formidable sustained effect. The durability lost in each battle could be replenished by devouring the enemy's corpses, and it would even gain enhancement effects.

For example, the corpse of a Blood Ring Heavy Hammer Warrior would result in a +4 Power enhancement for the Spider Demon Tower Shield after being devoured.

The corpse of a Blood Ring Heavy Swordsman would provide +3 Power and +3 Agility.

After Bai Pu killed the elite soldiers protecting the manor, the enslaved Blood Ring people, seeing a strong ally, would also rise up and slay the Death Plague Supervisors.

In reality, they had no other choice because the Death Plague Supervisors, who were reined in by the commanding presence of elite soldiers, would otherwise succumb to their bloodthirsty instincts and devour the fresh meat before them.

Once the elite soldiers were killed, the Death Plague Supervisors would lose control and frantically attack all living beings.

Having killed the Mutant Soldiers and Death Plague Supervisors, the farmers had nowhere to go but to follow the route provided by Bai Pu, transporting all the grain from the manor and heading towards Malmo City.

In one day and night, Bai Pu cleared five Blood Ring manors. He also acquired five Blue Treasure Chests.

As for the White Treasure Chests, Bai Pu usually opened them on the spot. They typically contained miscellaneous items and some white-quality materials, like broken hardened bones, filthy phosphorus leather, and rotten blood.

Bai Pu kept the white materials for practicing his sub-profession, while the miscellaneous items had to be sold for tens or hundreds of Spiritual Points.

During his rest times, Bai Pu opened the five Blue Treasure Chests.

These five chests collectively provided Bai Pu with just over two thousand Spiritual Points, and each chest offered one draw opportunity, allowing the exclusion of 5 low-valued cards.

Bai Pu clicked away without hesitation. Out of these five chests, four turned out Blue Equipment!

"This luck... is quite good."

Although three items were blue armor that he couldn't use, these spoils, when used for equipment enhancement support, were excellent and could save a significant amount of Spiritual Points.

Among them, one usable blue armor was a pair of spiked Iron Plate Boots, which felt rather heavy and solid, with a fleece lining that kept them warm and comfortable.

The attributes of these Iron Plate Boots were +2 Power and +2 Endurance, and the 4-point movement speed bonus from the footwear equipment was a given. It also had a passive effect of "Kicking Damage +10," better than Bai Pu's current [Elk Hide Boots].

Bai Pu's [Heavy Armor Mastery] passive required wearing this kind of heavy armor equipment.

To activate [Heavy Armor Mastery], the primary body parts must be clad in heavy armor; the more heavy armor worn, the better the [Heavy Armor Mastery] effect. When fully clad in heavy armor, the [Heavy Armor Mastery] effect reaches its peak.

However, Bai Pu was not planning to switch immediately because the [Elk Hide Boots] had already been enhanced to +4, with a special effect of Sprint +4, boosting burst sprint speed, which was still precious to Bai Pu.

So, for the time being, he put away the [Iron Plate Boots].

From the last Blue Treasure Chest, he drew a Lucky Bag. Opening the bag triggered a fourfold luck critical hit, giving Bai Pu 2068 Spiritual Points.

Bai Pu thought it was over, but then he realized the last chest hadn't dissolved into Spiritual Particles. He reached inside, retrieved a small booklet, and finally, the chest dissipated into Spiritual Particles.

[You have obtained the Observation Log of Ista District: Blood Mist Butcher. This item will definitely drop.]

The Observation Log of the Blood Mist Butcher?

Bai Pu felt an uplift in Spirit. This was one of the "particularly powerful" Mutant monsters he needed to confront for his transformation quest!

He skimmed through the booklet, pondered silently for a few seconds, already having a plan in mind.

"No wonder, I had a feeling that the geographical locations of these five manors were a bit too coincidental, like five outstretched fingers! Turns out these manors all belong to the 'Ista District.'"

Bai Pu squinted. He didn't need a map; through the day and night of exploration, a mental map that was more accurate than a physical one had naturally formed in his mind.

"If the outstretched fingers are seen as a hand, then there must be something akin to a 'wrist,' a large Blood Ring gathering village governing these five manors, which must be 'Ista Town'!

"Considering the terrain's contours, river paths, road distributions, and other parameters for correction, this base should be at about 20° northeast of the map, with a deviation of no more than two degrees."

If the Blood Spider were present, she'd probably look at him as if he were a big lunatic.

It's good that he sent the Blood Spider away.

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