Reaper of the Nether

[Starry Sky Visualization Chart (Purple): A higher-level spiritual meditation method. It requires visualizing a specific starry sky scene in the mind. It can significantly increase the recovery speed and growth rate of spiritual power, and has a small probability of drawing upon the power of the stars during deep meditation to refine the spirit and upgrade the quality of spiritual power.]

[Price: 25,000 Popularity Points.]

Purple quality came with a hefty price tag, but the described effects were extremely tempting. Currently, Chen Guan's most standard method was still gray energy.

"Exchange!" Chen Guan decided decisively. Spiritual power was his foundation, so it had to be his top priority for investment.

[25,000 Popularity Points deducted. Remaining Popularity Points: 22,231.]

A stream of information containing the profound mysteries of the stars and an ancient, desolate aura flooded into his mind, proving a hundred times more complex and exquisite than the Stargazing Meditation Method.

A vast, boundless, and complex picture composed of countless stars and orbits was deeply branded into the center of his spiritual world.

With just a preliminary visualization, Chen Guan felt the recovery speed of his depleted spiritual power suddenly accelerate. The gray mist in his spiritual world also seemed to be washed by invisible starlight, becoming increasingly solid.

"What a powerful effect!" Chen Guan was shocked. Purple quality was indeed extraordinary, and its effects were practically immediate.

With his spiritual foundation solidified, the next step was naturally to enhance his regular combat power. His main weapon was the scythe, but currently, a green-quality weapon could no longer keep up with him. Its lack of power had already been exposed as a shortcoming in his previous battles.

Fortunately, the Black Iron Reaper could have its quality upgraded directly.

Looking at his remaining balance of over 20,000 points, Chen Guan decided to go all the way and upgrade it straight to purple quality.

[Nether Reaper (Purple/Growth-type): A scythe forged with Netherworld Cold Iron and Soul-Devouring Crystal at its core. It strongly counters spiritual beings and can slowly grow by devouring souls or specific materials.]

[Attached Skills: 1. Soul Quake (Passive): Attacks cause a slight deterrence to the enemy's soul.]

[2. Nether Strike (Active): Consumes spiritual power. The next attack will be imbued with potent soul damage and frost erosion.]

[Price: 22,000 Popularity Points.]

After reading the upgrade plan provided by Sys, Chen Guan realized that if he bought it, he would basically be broke again overnight.

Chen Guan even suspected that Sys set the prices based on his balance, doing its utmost to squeeze every last penny out of his pockets.

Evil capitalist!

Complaints aside, Chen Guan ultimately bought it without hesitation.

[22,000 Popularity Points deducted. Remaining Popularity Points: 231.]

His hands sank as a pitch-black, ancient, and ferocious-looking long-handled scythe appeared out of thin air.

The handle was cold, feeling like metal to the touch, and covered in fine, dark patterns. The blade was curved like a crescent moon, its edge flashing with a dark, cold gleam, and the blood groove design was still preserved.

Near the back of the blade was inlaid a pale purple crystal the size of a fingernail. This was the spirit-absorbing core, which could absorb souls to upgrade the scythe's quality.

Chen Guan tried injecting a trace of gray energy.

Buzz.

The scythe let out a faint tremor, as if it had come alive, and the spirit-absorbing crystal shone brightly.

As the gray energy circulated, the scythe's edge faintly spat out black, cold gleams. The surrounding temperature seemed to drop a bit, radiating a chill.

"Good blade!" A sharp light flashed in Chen Guan's eyes.

With this Nether Reaper, his regular combat power would rise to another level. Especially when facing ghost-like creatures, his lethality would double. Furthermore, its growth-type characteristic meant this weapon could accompany him for a long time, saving him from further Popularity Point consumption.

Sys still cared for him after all.

Chen Guan completely forgot about his earlier slander against Sys.

He swung the scythe a few times, feeling that its weight and length perfectly matched his current strength and height, like an extension of his own arm.

"Next is to adapt to this new weapon as soon as possible, and find a way to obtain souls to feed it and accelerate its growth."

Chen Guan calculated in his mind. As a purple growth-type weapon, its initial power was already not weak, but its growth potential was its greatest value. He also wanted to test out exactly how this soul-absorbing ability worked.

When it came to devouring souls, he certainly couldn't use living people for practice. As for ghosts, Chen Guan remembered there was a Mass Grave Woods in the western suburbs where a large number of ghost creatures frequently appeared.

Ghosts basically had no drops, so professionals in society generally wouldn't bother clearing them out. It was mostly the pitiful students who had their labor squeezed to do this kind of nearly voluntary work.

Flipping through the list, Chen Guan indeed found a task issued by the academy.

[Task: Clear the undead spirits on the outskirts of the Mass Grave Woods]

[Task Level: D+]

[Task Description: Recently, undead spirit activity in the Mass Grave Woods in the western suburbs has been unusually frequent, affecting the safety of outer patrol routes. Students are required to go and clear them out.]

[Task Reward: 20 Points]

There were basically no benefits. Even among the students, probably no one would be willing to accept such a task.

Chen Guan clicked to accept it. Since he had to go there anyway, he might as well do a small task along the way.

The Mass Grave Woods was located amidst a series of low hills. This place used to be a mass grave, but now it had grown into a large forest, serving as a natural breeding ground for low-level undead creatures.

However, recently, the number and aggressiveness of the undead spirits in the outer areas had indeed increased abnormally.

Following the guidance of the task map, Chen Guan quickly arrived at the designated clearing area—a rocky shoal located at the edge of the woodland, near a dried-up stream.

The fog here was thicker, the light was dim, and the air was filled with a cold, damp aura.

Quietly releasing his spiritual power, Chen Guan immediately caught sight of the spiritual bodies wandering around. They were mindless wandering souls.

Most of them appeared as blurry, translucent humanoid or animal forms, drifting aimlessly and occasionally letting out silent wails.

"Let's test it out first." Chen Guan took out the Nether Reaper, the black scythe looking even darker in the gray mist.

He took the initiative to walk towards the nearest humanoid wandering soul.

The wandering soul seemed to sense the aura of a living person. It let out a shrill shriek and lunged over with bared fangs and brandished claws. Its speed wasn't fast, but it carried a chilling aura that pierced straight to the bone.

Chen Guan did not dodge or evade. Waiting until the wandering soul was close, he gently swung the scythe in his hand.

Without using any skills, Chen Guan simply executed a normal physical slash, covering the scythe with just a thin layer of gray energy.

Sizzle.

As if meeting its nemesis, the part of the wandering soul slashed by the scythe instantly dissipated. It let out a mournful wail, its entire form becoming extremely unstable. After struggling a few times, it completely vanished, leaving behind only an extremely faint wisp of grayish-white aura that was silently absorbed by the spirit-absorbing crystal on the back of the Nether Reaper's blade.

A crystal the size of a fingernail dropped down. The spiritual energy contained within it had disappeared, likely absorbed by the scythe. What remained now was nothing but a small stone tinged with a dead gray color.