Chapter 75 - Fire God Platform
CKtalon
CKtalon
Zhou Wen didn't rush to post on the Dimensional Forum; instead, he first took a look at the other threads on it.
The threads mainly had three different kinds of monetization methods.
The first kind was a thread that provided a free strategy. Such threads didn't require payment when reading. According to the number of clicks, the officials would pay a certain number of Dimensional Points in a particular ratio.
Of course, if the reader count was very low, one wouldn't be able to earn many Dimensional Points. 10,000 clicks were probably only enough to earn 1 Dimensional Point.
Dimensional Points was the point system of the Dimensional Forum. It couldn't be spent like money or be withdrawn. However, it could be used to exchange items at the Dimensional Forum's official shop. Dimensional crystals and Companion Eggs were options for exchange and different items required a different number of points.
Exchanging for an item only required a mailing address. Receipt of the goods was done with a password without any need for identification.
The second kind of thread was monetized threads. Such threads could be read by paying. The price was determined by the poster and was also purchased with Dimensional Points.
Of course, threads posted by unknown people on the Dimensional Forum basically didn't have many people paying to read. One had to have a certain level of fame before people considered the purchase.
The third kind of thread was official threads. An official guide and strategy was provided and could typically be read at very cheap prices. Furthermore, the authenticity of the content could be guaranteed.
Zhou Wen registered a Dimensional Forum account which only required a bank account number, password, and alias without any other agreements.
The entry of a bank account number and password was relatively simple. As for aliases, there were many which were duplicated. It was difficult to find a unique name.
Zhou Wen couldn't be bothered to think of one. He randomly tapped on the keyboard and pressed space, immediately having a few words appear in the alias field.
Zhou Wen didn't know what he had written, but on careful inspection, he realized that autocomplete had filled it in as "Poison." Zhou Wen subconsciously pressed confirm and realized that it could be used. The registration succeeded immediately.
Zhou Wen didn't care about his alias and directly used this account to log in and post his first thread.
When posting, Zhou Wen chose monetization. Firstly, he was really poor and wished to earn something to buy Companion Eggs to feed the Silver-Winged Flying Ant.
Secondly, there were too many threads on the Dimensional Forum. Ordinary threads very easily sank to the bottom and in comparison, monetized threads were rarer. They stayed longer on the monetized boards.
After seeing the forum shop's prices for Legendary Companion Eggs, Zhou Wen set the price for his first thread to be 20,000 Dimensional Points. This was the price of two Legendary Companion Eggs.
Soon, a monetized thread named "Small Buddha Temple Stone Steps Strategy" appeared in the monetized board.
Ordinary monetized threads ranged from a few points to a dozen points, and the more expensive ones were about a hundred points. For a thread to cost more than a thousand Dimensional Points, meant they were usually professional strategies usually written by some bigwigs on the forum.
Yet, the Small Buddha Temple mentioned in the thread was almost unheard of. Even the alias which was used to post the thread was rather unfamiliar.
"This must be a nutcase. 20,000 points? Only an idiot will read it."
"This must be a scammer that's hoping someone gives him Dimensional Points."
"The rules on the forum need to be more comprehensive. Such scams need to be held legally responsible."
…
Wang Fei was also browsing the Dimensional Forum when she suddenly saw the thread. She couldn't help but be astonished.
This was because Small Buddha Temple was in Sunset College's Underground Buddha City. This secret wasn't known even by ordinary teachers of Sunset College, but Wang Fei, who had an official position, knew very well what kind of place it was.
Since the person who wrote the thread knew of Small Buddha Temple and wrote the keywords "stone steps," it meant that they knew something.
Wang Fei felt hesitant seeing the price of 20,000 points. However, if the thread really held the method of entering Small Buddha Temple, then 20,000 points was nothing.
With so many lives sacrificed on the stone steps, each one of them was worth far more than 20,000 Dimensional Points.
Gritting her teeth, Wang Fei paid and opened the thread. When she saw the content inside, she revealed a look of disbelief.
The soldiers responsible for exploring the stone steps were at least at the Legendary stage. Even if they had obtained the Buddha Heart Lotus dimensional crystal, none of them would be interested in a low-grade Primordial Energy Skill. To her surprise, such a puny Heart Meditation was able to resist the stone step's mysterious powers.
The thread had little content. That was all it said. Finally, it warned that one was not to enter the temple or death was a certainty.
Zhou Wen had posted the thread out of goodwill, but he also had some selfishness.
He only had one life, so he was worried about risking his life heading for the Small Buddha Temple in reality. If reality was different in-game, he could at least get the military to scout it out. If they could safely enter Small Buddha Temple, he wouldn't hesitate any further.
After all, the military didn't know the secret of the Small Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. Even if they did, cultivating it wasn't something that could be done in a short span of time. Zhou Wen could beat them in entering the temple hall in the real world and visit the three-faced Buddha.
Of course, he had to confirm that reality's Small Buddha Temple was identical to the game. Only with him being able to safely enter would he personally visit it.
After Wang Fei saw the thread, she immediately made a phone call and informed the military department she came under.
Before long, Wang Fei received feedback from the military. They had already sent a soldier who had cultivated Heart Meditation to attempt ascending the stone steps. He ended up entering the compound of Small Buddha Temple without dying like all the soldiers from before.
Wang Fei was shocked.
Zhou Wen discovered that he had two clicks on his thread which also meant that two people had purchased his thread. Immediately, he had 40,000 Dimensional Points deposited into his account.
Zhou Wen was delighted.
However, he soon discovered that no one else purchased his thread beyond the two clicks.
Zhou Wen stopped paying attention to the thread and entered the Ancient Sovereign City dungeon.
After killing the Skeleton General, Zhou Wen continued exploring. With the Silver-Winged Flying Ant leading the way, the large horde of Skeleton Soldiers could do nothing against him. He stormed all the way in.
After several kilometers, a platform obstructed his path. From afar, he saw the words—"E Bo Platform."
Zhou Wen wasn't a stranger to this name. E Bo was one of the sons of the Five Emperors in Chinese mythology, which was also the founding ancestor of the Shang clan. He had the title of Fire God, so E Bo Platform was also known as Fire God Platform, a star observatory that E Bo used.
However, in the history books, Zhou Wen remembered, Fire God Platform wasn't inside the ancient city, but southwest of it.
Amidst his thoughts, he saw the fire on Fire God Platform burgeon. A scarlet flame soared into the sky, turning into a firebird that charged at the blood-colored avatar.