The Secret of the World Tree

As the most spectacular boss battle in the entire game, the Aocang Whale was slightly more difficult than it had been in the previous world.

Zhong Yi and the others were brutalized seven or eight times before they finally cleared it by the skin of their teeth.

“This great demon is terrifying. I really have no idea how Junior Sister Li managed to get through it alone.”

Zhong Yi rubbed his chin and clicked his tongue in amazement.

The most frightening part was that Li Moran had faced the Aocang Whale by herself without even using a Pal. She had crushed it through sheer personal strength.

“Old Zhong, I understand what you’re saying, but could you get off Mu Yawen’s back first?”

Zhou Yue cheerfully teased him.

Everyone else in the party was still lively and kicking. Zhong Yi was the only one being carried over Mu Yawen’s shoulder, because he had already been dead for quite some time. The battle had simply been too intense for anyone to revive him.

“Heh-heh, is it just me, or did the Aocang Whale become easier to fight after Senior Brother Zhong went down?”

Mu Yawen gave a sheepish laugh. Only then did he remember that Zhong Yi was still slung over his back, so he hurriedly put him on the ground and began reviving him.

“Of course it did. The moment Old Zhong went down, he started yelling, ‘We’re done for! We’re done for!’”

Zhou Yue mercilessly joined in.

“That Aocang Whale… it’s huge!”

Looking at the Aocang Whale circling overhead like a gigantic island, Zhou Qiaoling could not help exclaiming in wonder.

To everyone’s surprise, the Aocang Whale could actually be captured.

That had likewise caught the players of Lu Ze’s previous life off guard in the original version.

After all, games at the time followed an unwritten rule: once the villain was redeemed, its strength would be reduced by tenfold.

But Phantom Beast Palu was different.

The Aocang Whale was just as large when captured as it had been during the boss battle, and its attributes and skills were not weakened either. It merely lost some of the terrain-based skills it possessed in the boss fight.

Compared with the butchered versions found in other games, it was countless times stronger.

When it came to giving players a satisfying experience, the game never held back.

“So, should we hold off on entering the World Tree?”

“Sure, sure! Let’s each catch an Aocang Whale first!”

“Old Zhong will just die the moment he goes in…”

“Block Senior Brother Zhong’s voice transmission first, then!”

“???”

…

…

The cultivator-exclusive version of Phantom Beast Palu was slightly more difficult than the original in every respect.

It was not until half a month after the game’s launch that players gradually began entering the final map: the World Tree.

Entering the World Tree marked both the beginning of the game’s final chapter and the start of an entirely new phase.

Once players entered the interior of the World Tree, the resource system underwent a dramatic transformation. The ores and lumber were merely reskinned, but the items dropped by the Pals inside the World Tree were all brand-new materials unavailable anywhere else.

Prismatic traits, which players had once desperately sought, as well as World Tree traits that surpassed even prismatic traits, could now be granted to any Pal at the Surgery Table using the World Tree’s special resources.

Of course, under the adjustments made by conscientious designer Lu Ze, the drop rates were also painfully low.

Everything was intended to temper the cultivators’ state of mind.

It definitely was not meant to make the cultivators farm more Pals and increase their demonic points.

Definitely not.

At this stage, the players’ goals had once again changed from what they had been at the beginning.

Just as Lu Ze had expected, the players’ bases were no longer ramshackle shelters thrown together on random hillsides. Instead, they laid foundation after foundation and carefully designed the layout of their bases.

Their Pals no longer subsisted on wild berries. They now ate all kinds of delicious high-level food that increased their work efficiency.

By this point, every base had more than enough production capacity.

Most of it was used for showing off and competing with one another.

How to make a base larger and more beautiful had become the cultivators’ primary pursuit.

An outstanding architect in Phantom Beast Palu was treated no worse than the Demon King’s Guard in Operation Immortal Abyss…

…

Zhong Yi’s Pal World.

In the end, Zhong Yi and the others moved away from the mountaintop stronghold where they had lived for so long. They found a more spacious mountain range on an island to the north and built their new home there.

Three connected areas formed an enormous super-base, creating a truly spectacular sight.

Although they had entered the final region, Zhong Yi did not feel even remotely close to having completed the game.

His combat Pals needed to be raised, their star ranks increased, their traits farmed, and their skills properly configured.

His work Pals needed raising as well. Their star ranks had to be increased, work-level manuals had to be found, and traits had to be farmed.

If he wanted colorful traits, he had to keep farming monsters in the World Tree.

On top of that, he had to farm crafting manuals, work-skill manuals, and even gold-tier schematics. That meant repeatedly venturing into dungeons…

…

The further players progressed, the more absurd the grind became.

Yet they enjoyed every minute of it. Zhong Yi and the others were no exception.

“Old Zhong, this dark-type team you recommended is incredible! The Bella Twins really do sweep everything!”

Fresh from soloing a difficult Tower Master, Zhou Yue’s face was glowing with delight.

In this illusory realm, whenever one person obtained a reward, the entire sect benefited. As long as Zhou Yue did not catch Pals, he was the strongest of them all, and his experience in the illusory realm was unbelievably comfortable.

Defeating the Aocang Whale unlocked more than just the World Tree map. It also unlocked high-difficulty versions of the Tower Master battles they had faced before.

The high-difficulty Tower Masters had attributes on an entirely different level. Even Zhou Yue, who entered with a four-star Frostallion, was beaten into a panic.

As the forum’s most authoritative strategy expert, Zhong Yi quickly developed several team compositions specifically designed for high-pressure battles.

The dark-type team Zhou Yue was using now was one of Zhong Yi’s creations.

“By the way, Old Zhong, why don’t you use this team yourself? Why are you still wasting time researching Xiaolong?”

Zhou Yue asked in confusion.

“I…”

Zhong Yi glanced behind him, then gave a bitter smile as he caught Zuo Yi eyeing him from the corner of his vision.

“For some reason, every time I put the Bella Twins in my party, Miss Zuo shocks me… Perhaps Miss Zuo is a person of noble principles and refuses to associate with dark-type Pals?”

“Uh… could it be that she simply doesn’t want to be on a team with female Pals?”

Zhou Yue muttered helplessly.

Unlike the original game from his previous life, the Tower Masters’ bonus effects were extremely powerful. Nearly every optimal player composition needed to reserve a slot for a Tower Master.

As a result, Zhong Yi had no choice but to compromise and begin building a water-and-electricity team specifically around Zuo Yi’s electric attribute.

“You’ve been going to the World Tree all the time these past few days… What, did you discover some new source of fun?”

Zhou Yue asked curiously.

After the World Tree was unlocked, all kinds of novel items became available. Zhong Yi, who had previously stayed at the base and devoted himself to studying team compositions, had suddenly begun running to the World Tree every few days. Everyone found it astonishing.

“Now that you can explore the origins of this Pal World, aren’t you curious?”

Zhong Yi replied with a smile.

Zhou Yue shook his head without hesitation. “Not even a little.”

One of the reasons Zhong Yi enjoyed playing games was his thirst for knowledge.

As the origin of the Pal Continent, the World Tree concealed countless secrets.

Lu Ze had planted clues throughout the various regions inside the World Tree and designed numerous hidden quests for players to uncover.

Following those clues, Zhong Yi’s investigation into the secrets of the World Tree quickly spiraled out of control.

The World Tree was the root of the Pal Continent, possessing an inexhaustible supply of energy.

Everything in this world—from flowers, grass, and trees to people and Pals—thrived under the nurturing power of the World Tree.

Until one day, a white, dragon-shaped Pal unlike anything anyone had ever seen descended upon the Palworld continent.