# Chapter 4: Land of All Beings: Permanent Free Access to Floors One Through Eight
...
The rewards were very generous. What puzzled Su Xiao was why he had obtained permanent free access to the Eighth Floor of the Land of All Beings. Previously, Reincarnation Paradise had indicated that the Land of All Beings only had seven floors.
Now it seemed that under normal circumstances, only seven floors were open, while the highest floor was actually the eighth. This facility was, after all, looted from Dawn Paradise, making it different from basic infrastructure like Skill Upgrade Pods.
Su Xiao had a feeling that among all the gains this time, the most valuable might be the permanent free access to the Eighth Floor of the Land of All Beings.
After storing all the obtained items, Su Xiao felt completely relaxed. He only needed to handle the Kill Ranking properly, and all his objectives for this trip would be accomplished.
Although the resources gained this time were plentiful, considering he planned to master new technique passive abilities, an inexplicable sense of poverty washed over him. Every time he returned to Reincarnation Paradise, his wallet would be empty within a few hours.
"Boss, Amu and Beini have swum to the shore. What now? Should we have them rendezvous with us?"
Baha spoke, his head wrapped in bandages. Bubu Wang barked in agreement.
"..."
Su Xiao considered for a moment and decided to let Amu and Beini move freely along the East Sea coast. By the time they came to rendezvous, this world progression would already be over.
"Alright then, I'll send a message to Meow Beini."
Baha tried to smirk but failed, aggravating his cracked skull and causing him to wince in pain.
Su Xiao took out the Ancient God Statue. He needed to return to Mushroom Village in the Southern Continent. All surviving contractors were gathered there, and it was also the place where the final rankings would be decided.
The Ancient God Statue activated, and Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Baha disappeared, returning to Mushroom Village. Meanwhile, at the border between the White Swamp and the Black Forest.
Crow Woman was sprinting at full speed. She had paid a heavy price to cross the magma lake and reach the Northern Continent, then used various means to travel. She needed to track down Su Xiao as quickly as possible. She estimated that after his decisive battle with Gray Gentleman, Su Xiao would definitely have a period of weakness—this was her opportunity.
Wind whistled past her ears as Crow Woman leaped between the withered trees of the White Swamp. Suddenly, she stopped and pulled out a special "First Generation Finger Bone" from her bosom. Through this item, she sensed that Su Xiao was no longer in the far north but had appeared in the far south.
Crack, crack, crack~
Crow Woman clenched the "First Generation Finger Bone" until it creaked. She was very curious about one thing—did teleportation within the Treeborn World cost nothing for that guy? Why was he flying all over the world?
"Despicable."
Crow Woman's composure was crumbling. If she died at Su Xiao's hands due to a failed assassination attempt, she would accept it. But this chase across the entire world—she was genuinely being led around by the nose.
Just as Crow Woman was about to burst a blood vessel from frustration, numerous auras approached from all directions, causing her to frown. These auras weren't particularly strong, but there were too many of them, and among them was one particularly troublesome presence.
Numerous Mushroom Men and Ghost Clan members emerged from the surroundings, all wearing identical robes. Leading them was none other than the Physical Missionary, Anderson.
"Madam, there is evil in your heart."
Anderson spoke gently. Hearing this, Crow Woman's heart sank. She knew something was wrong and tentatively asked:
"What should I do about the evil?"
"Join us in praising the sun. The evil in your heart will be washed away by the sunlight."
"F-fine."
Crow Woman's eye twitched. She had truly run into bad luck this time.
Before long, a speechless Crow Woman followed Anderson and over a hundred thousand Mushroom Men and Ghost Clan members in praising the sun.
...
Southern Continent, Sunlit Wetlands, Mushroom Village.
After the previous incident of manufacturing Apollo, Mushroom Village remained unchanged—after all, nothing had exploded during the process. However, at the village entrance, someone had erected a wooden sign that read: "Prohibited from manufacturing violent explosives here."
Inside the Mushroom Prophet's home, everything had returned to its original state. He had stopped the "Potion Ticket" business, as it was no longer sustainable. After the "tickets" were cracked, prices plummeted. Such short-term businesses inevitably led to vicious competition.
Su Xiao drank the fine wine brewed by the Mushroom Prophet. The wine had a roasted nutty flavor upon entry, a wonderful taste.
After killing Gray Gentleman, Su Xiao had obtained all of the other's Kill Merits, bringing his total to 378 points and forcing him into first place. He checked the current rankings.
[Ranking refreshed. Current rankings as follows:]
First Place: Bai Ye (Reincarnation Paradise), 378 Kill Merits.
Second Place: Solomon (Reincarnation Paradise), 175 Kill Merits.
Third Place: Enzo (Death Paradise), 165 Kill Merits.
Fourth Place: Anonymous (Apocalypse Paradise), 73 Kill Merits.
Fifth Place: Gulu (Reincarnation Paradise), 42 Kill Merits.
...
Aside from Su Xiao's Kill Merits, the overall changes were minimal. Most participants were now staying in Mushroom Village. Even when exploring Bay City, they traveled in groups, equipped with strong anti-tracking and escape measures.
The number of participants had dropped below 100. Those still alive were either ten-thousand-year survival experts or had exceptional abilities. Therefore, significant changes in the rankings were unlikely.
However, the current problem was that Su Xiao didn't want first place. The first-place reward, [Primordial Demon Mirror], had a high probability of being a "Daddy-level" item. Most Abyss products had a characteristic—the more useful they were, the higher the cost of using them.
Thus, the second-place reward, [Technique Soul (High-Level Technique Trait · Skill Scroll)], was what Su Xiao truly wanted.
Should he lower his Kill Merits and let Solomon take first? Su Xiao felt that wouldn't work, because Solomon was also likely unwilling to take first place. That guy probably didn't even want second or third place—he wanted the fourth-place reward, [Dark Lord · Inheritance Power (Undead/Dark Magic Exclusive)].
The value of treasures was sometimes determined by need. In Su Xiao's view, he could cooperate with Solomon to manipulate the Kill Ranking to a certain extent.
At this stage, most participants were dead. Only one person could still cause changes—not the third-place Water Brother, but the fourth-place Anonymous.
To shape the rankings as desired, there was no need to negotiate with Water Brother. Judging from his Kill Merits, he wanted to compete with Solomon for first place.
This was good. Su Xiao wasn't afraid of someone competing for first place. He was worried that others also knew the specific characteristics of Abyss products.
After planning in his mind, Su Xiao had a strategy. As long as he cooperated with Solomon, and then the two of them captured Anonymous together, they could control the rankings.
As for trying to cooperate with Anonymous—unless that person had lost their mind, they wouldn't believe anything Su Xiao and Solomon said. They were currently a walking 73 Kill Merits.
After capturing Anonymous, before the final settlement, Su Xiao and Solomon would consume Kill Merits at the World Shop, letting Enzo (Water Brother) take first place. Then Su Xiao would be second, Anonymous third, and Solomon would drop to fourth.
This way, Su Xiao would obtain [Technique Soul], and Solomon would obtain [Dark Lord · Inheritance Power].
Finding Anonymous was the problem. In this regard, Su Xiao chose to contact Kaiser. Besides Kaiser, the Mushroom Prophet could also cooperate again. He was currently a "neutral NPC" and had some credibility among the participants.
Leaving the treehouse, Su Xiao found Solomon at the small market. There were more materials on his stall, suggesting he had thoroughly plundered the "Fishmen Brothers" and "Sludge Men" in Bay City.
After Su Xiao briefly explained the situation, Solomon's gaze changed behind his stall. He pondered for a moment and said, "I think this is feasible."
Solomon rarely spoke six words at once, showing how seriously he took this matter.
Su Xiao contacted Kaiser, hesitated, and ultimately chose to contact Gulu as well. If she had hidden a Scarlet Card and caused trouble at the last moment, it would be troublesome. After all, Gulu was currently in fifth place.
Half an hour later. The Mushroom Prophet's door was locked. Inside the treehouse, Su Xiao, Solomon, Kaiser, Gulu, the Mushroom Prophet, Bubu Wang, and Baha were all present, giving the place an unusual liveliness.
Su Xiao drafted a contract notarized by the Void Tree and showed it to Gulu. The contract stipulated that Su Xiao and Solomon would each pay 500 Soul Coins, and in return, Gulu would remain in fifth place on the rankings, eating popcorn and watching the show.
After confirming the contract was fine, Gulu chose to sign. She wasn't afraid of signing a "slave contract" with Su Xiao. If she did, she would go complain to Tuanzhang, saying that a Starry Sky Seat member was bullying her into signing a slave contract.
Receiving 1000 Soul Coins, Gulu had mixed feelings. After being tricked several times before, she was finally seeing some returns. It was too difficult.
With Gulu settled, Su Xiao began discussing with Kaiser, the Mushroom Prophet, and Solomon how to control Anonymous. That guy was as slippery as an eel, occasionally even engaging in "verbal battles" with Baha on the World Contact Platform.
Solomon's proposal was simple and direct: track him down, then capture him alive.
The three of them didn't speak. There wasn't much time left in this world progression, and catching someone as slippery as an eel would be extremely difficult.
"How about we give him a quest?"
Kaiser spoke with a sly grin.
"You want the Mushroom Prophet to issue a quest to trick Anonymous? Impossible. In this world, all quests need to be notarized by the Void Tree. Trick quests won't pass notarization."
Gulu spoke while eating ice cream.
Hearing this, Baha smiled and asked, "Who told you that?"
"It's common sense, okay?"
Gulu remained confident in her judgment.
Soon, the plan was finalized. First, they would create a buzz through the World Contact Platform to lure Anonymous back. For example: "Due to the world progression nearing its end and the drastic changes in the Treeborn World, the Mushroom Prophet plans to sell off his inventory at a discount before moving away from the Treeborn World."
No one would want to miss such an opportunity. Besides, the Treeborn World had indeed undergone drastic changes—the central area had turned into a magma lake. It was perfectly normal for the Mushroom Prophet to want to move.
This news would be released by the Mushroom Prophet himself. He had indeed been planning to sell some goods recently to raise travel funds for moving. He didn't want to stay in this place anymore—the decisive battle between Su Xiao and Gray Gentleman had been too terrifying.
After that, it would be simple. Once Anonymous returned, Kaiser would go up and "bump into" him, triggering a side quest called "Old Friend."
This quest had a short process and generous rewards. The process was: Encounter Kaiser → Get swindled → Obtain key clues while being swindled → Go see the Mushroom Prophet to try to recover losses → Activate quest → Quest content: Deliver fine wine to an old friend, helping the Mushroom Prophet reconcile with his old friend.
The difficulty of this quest lay in tracking down the old friend's location. The reward for completing the quest wasn't direct cash or valuables—Anonymous wasn't stupid and would inevitably be suspicious.
The reward for this quest was subtle. After completing it, one could obtain high-discount item exchange rights at the Mushroom Prophet's, meaning a 40% discount on items in the shop opened by the Mushroom Prophet.
The most tricky part of this quest was that Kaiser was the "old friend" in the quest. That is, Anonymous would receive the wine from the Mushroom Prophet and then deliver it to Kaiser's location, essentially walking into a trap.
The method of issuing this quest was very traditional, with no tricks. It was simply the Mushroom Prophet issuing the "Old Friend Wine Delivery Quest."
"A trick quest like this can't possibly pass..."
Gulu's words were cut short as she suddenly received a notification.
[Notification: The Mushroom Prophet has issued you a personal side quest · Old Friend. This is a personal quest. Accept/Decline. This quest is triggered by personal favorability. There is no penalty for abandoning or failing midway.]
Gulu's expression immediately turned serious. She thought for a moment, then grabbed the wine in front of the Mushroom Prophet and handed it to Kaiser.
[Notification: You have completed the personal side quest · Old Friend. You have received the corresponding reward.]
The quest reward was, of course, genuine. In principle, this was just a commission-type quest. It was only Kaiser's involvement that introduced numerous variables.
For example, Kaiser, as the "old friend" in the quest, would be waiting in an abandoned hall for Anonymous to deliver the wine. But because the wine deliverer stepped into the hall with their left foot first, Kaiser would recall the trauma of his childhood, become overcome with sorrow, and start recounting his childhood experiences. During this delay, a Law Destroyer and a Necromancer Grand Mage would happen to pass by nearby.