Chapter 57: Surprise (Fourth Update)
Dark blue smoke gathered on Dragon-Slaying Flash. Su Xiao was about to slash out with Demon Blade and activate Dragon Shadow Flash when one of the auras within the blood energy suddenly vanished.
With a thud, Shenfu collapsed nearby, his body covered in fine, dense slash marks—wounds inflicted by "Blade Path Sword: Execution."
The dark blue smoke on Su Xiao's blade faded. As long as Demon Blade hadn't been unleashed and the execution effect hadn't triggered, the Blade Demon Spirit within Dragon-Slaying Flash wouldn't temporarily fall into dormancy, meaning it wouldn't enter a cooldown phase.
Shenfu's aura suddenly recovered by a notch, making it clear that Demon Blade couldn't be used to kill him now. This was also why Su Xiao had stopped his attack.
Shenfu rose from the ground, smiled, and said, "Bai Ye, do you want to kill me now? Isn't it too early? We haven't even left the dungeon yet."
Hearing this, Baha immediately spoke up:
"Of course not. We were afraid you'd get killed by Axe Guy back there. We were just rescuing you—no need to thank us, we're all teammates after all."
"Rescuing me..."
Shenfu wiped the blood from his neck, revealing a wound that had pierced straight through—caused by Dragon-Slashing Flash.
"That was a mistake."
"Let's just say it was."
Shenfu's smile returned to his face. The blood on his body was absorbed by hair-thin tentacles.
"This tough enemy is dealt with. Time to leave the dungeon."
Shenfu seemed to have already forgotten the unpleasantness from moments ago. Someone who wipes the blood off their face and immediately breaks into a smile is the most dangerous kind of person to watch out for.
Su Xiao ignored Shenfu's words. He was checking the reward for killing the Executioner—this kill reward was somewhat special.
[You have killed the Pain Dungeon Executioner.]
[You gain 6.1% World Source.]
[You gain 720 Soul Coins (High-Rank Area bonus, Unexplored Area bonus).]
[You gain Wailing Voice: Diton (Using this item will cause ??? enemies to fall into a confused state for 30 seconds).]
[You gain Immortal Chest (7%).]
[Tip: Opening this chest has a high probability of yielding Immortal-rank equipment, gems, items, bloodline items, etc.]
Su Xiao leaped up, grabbed the metal ladder inside the ceiling passage, and began climbing upward. The ladder was extremely long, nearly a hundred meters, and went straight up.
When he reached the end of the ladder, Su Xiao jumped out of the cramped ladder shaft. He found himself between walls three meters high on either side, with less than ten steps leading upward ahead of him.
After taking a few steps up, Su Xiao could see the situation ahead. It was a stone road, about twenty meters wide, stretching straight forward. On both sides were low walls less than half a meter high, their tops jagged.
[You have arrived at 'Above the City Wall.']
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao realized he had circled around underground and reached the city wall above the large stone house in the desolate village.
When Su Xiao stepped onto the fifth step, bringing his waist level with the ground of the city wall, a sense of danger surged from all directions. Every part of his body felt a stinging sensation from his perception.
Su Xiao immediately retreated back down the steps.
On both sides of the city wall, translucent fiery phantoms appeared. These phantoms held longbows of the same color as themselves and had already drawn their bows, arrows nocked.
Ding, ding, ding...
A series of crisp sounds came from the ground in front of and above Su Xiao. Hundreds of arrows made of sunbeams struck the stone ground and steps ahead of him.
If Su Xiao hadn't retreated, he would have been turned into a pincushion. As for charging through with speed, it was impossible. These translucent fiery phantoms were the same mechanisms Su Xiao had seen in the fourth layer of the Sun Temple.
The attack frequency and draw speed of these Flame Spirits would change based on the enemy's speed. Charging at full speed would only result in a quicker death—a straight giveaway.
While Su Xiao was thinking, Shenfu climbed up from behind.
"Can't pass ahead?"
"We can, but we need to charge through. I was waiting for you."
"Waiting for me?"
Shenfu looked puzzled.
"Yeah. To make sure you don't ambush me from behind while I'm charging through."
"This..."
Shenfu let out a wry laugh, shook his head with a smile, and said, "Then let's charge through together. But... are you sure we can make it?"
"Not entirely sure, but there's a high chance of success."
Su Xiao placed one hand on his sword hilt and began adjusting his state. He looked like he was really about to charge. Baha was also taking deep breaths beside him.
"3, 2, 1."
When Baha counted to 1, Su Xiao rushed up the steps. Shenfu deliberately hesitated for a moment, only following after confirming that Su Xiao was truly charging at full speed.
The moment Su Xiao stepped onto the city wall, danger erupted from all around. If he didn't do something, he would be dead within two seconds.
Behind him, Shenfu suddenly stopped. Tentacles grew wildly on his body. He had known all along what was on the city wall because earlier, he had sent a 'lamb' to climb this wall.
Moreover, back in the large stone house, he had used the danger of climbing the wall as information to trade for a bottle of Sun Potion. He hadn't specified what the danger was, waiting for this very moment.
Shenfu struck. He didn't want to fight Su Xiao head-on. Even if he won, the cost would be devastating, costing him the chance to compete with Guild Leader Rogge for the Dark Mask.
Countless black tentacles surged toward Su Xiao, nearly enveloping him. These tentacles disrupted the space around him, preventing him from teleporting. Shenfu, that old schemer, had prepared thoroughly, even accounting for Su Xiao's Dragon Shadow Flash ability.
At this critical moment, Shenfu felt a buzz in his head, and most of his body went numb.
Bubu Wang, who had blended into the environment, stepped back. In his paw was a bloodstained piece of cloth—that was what had caused such a strong reaction in Shenfu.
The black tentacles around Su Xiao froze. He leaped sideways with all his might. Once out of the chaotic space zone, he activated Dragon Shadow Flash, teleporting behind Shenfu.
Shenfu's pupils refocused. A whoosh of breaking air came from behind him.
"Bai Ye..."
Boom!!
Su Xiao delivered a straight kick, sending Shenfu flying. He grabbed Bubu Wang beside him and dove toward the sheltered spot below the steps.
On the city wall, Shenfu was sent flying by the kick, skimming just three meters above the ground. Because of his speed, hundreds of sunlight arrows, each breaking the sound barrier, converged on him.
"What the hell was that..."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening explosions rang out. Charred flesh and blood fragments scattered everywhere. A severed arm landed with a slap on the ground. Hundreds more sunlight arrows struck, reducing the still-burning remains to ash.
[Tip: You have killed Violator No. 170042.]
[Tip: You have killed Violator No. 129113.]
[You gain Diamond Honor Medal ×59.]
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao frowned. He had killed Shenfu, but two kill notifications appeared. Moreover, the number of Diamond Honor Medals seemed low—less than half of what he got for killing Feishi.
Was it because Shenfu wasn't a Violator from his own side? Or maybe Shenfu wasn't completely dead yet.
Su Xiao extended his perception to its maximum range. There was no sign of any living creature nearby.
After sensing for over half an hour, Su Xiao withdrew his perception. He wasn't in a hurry to cross the city wall. Just a few dozen meters ahead, a skeleton emitting a faint white glow sat leaning against the low wall.
This glowing white skeleton was identical to the one Su Xiao had seen in the Pain Dungeon. It should also be a 'Soul Skeleton.'
Su Xiao retraced his steps, sliding down the metal ladder to reach the 'City Wall Basement,' then re-entered the 'Pain Dungeon.'
Inside the Pain Dungeon, Su Xiao circled through the maze-like front section a few times before successfully reaching the back section. The terrain there was friendly—just a single corridor with cells on both sides.
As he passed the large cell holding the Sun Warrior, Su Xiao's hand rested on his sword hilt.
The Sun Warrior, sitting in the darkness, opened his eyes, glanced at Su Xiao, then sank back into stillness. His gaze was desolate.
A few minutes later, Su Xiao returned to a small cell of only about ten square meters. The white-glowing skeleton still sat leaning against the wall inside.
In the skeleton's hand was a metal cup shaped like a goblet. Around the cup's rim were set white gemstones, now dim in color.
Su Xiao stepped into the cell, reached out, and touched the metal cup in the skeleton's hand.
Ripple~
A wave of energy spread out. The gemstones on the metal cup turned blue. Blue flames flickered in the skeleton's eye sockets. It slowly rose from a sitting position to kneeling on both knees, holding the metal cup with both hands.
Black, downward-flowing incense smoke spilled from the cup, drifting downward. Soon, the cell floor was shrouded in a layer of black mist.
[You have activated 'Soul Skeleton.']
[Total number of 'Soul Skeletons' activated: 1 (The more Soul Skeletons activated, the rarer the items available for exchange in the Soul Shop).]
[Tip: Activating the first 'Soul Skeleton' guarantees a 100% chance of an Immortal-rank item appearing in the Soul Shop.]
[The Soul Shop has been refreshed. You can exchange for the following items.]