Chapter 69: Darkness
Within the ring-water altar, two auras, one red and one black, corroded each other, rumbling loudly. Suspended water droplets in midair froze, the waterfall ceased to flow, and fine cracks spread across the surrounding circular rock walls.
Enveloped by the black aura, Rogash slowly raised his hand, pointing at Su Xiao from a distance. A black sphere several meters in diameter appeared, instantly compressed to the size of a grain of rice, converging at the tip of Rogash’s finger.
A black ray shot out silently. Almost simultaneously, Su Xiao tilted his head. The wind pressure lifted his black hair, and a bloody gash appeared on his cheek.
Boom!!
The rock wall behind Su Xiao exploded, leaving a hole several meters wide. The hole was bottomless, flawless in both speed and destructive power.
Hiss~
A corrosive sound came from behind Su Xiao. Black liquid dripped from the edges of the hole in the rock wall, the rock melted by the erosion of Primordial Soul Energy.
Witnessing this from dozens of meters away, Rogash seemed somewhat surprised—not by Su Xiao’s reaction speed, but by the fact that Su Xiao, though wounded by the Primordial Soul Energy, showed no signs of erosion at the injury site.
“Bai Ye, haven’t you realized? Humans… are far too fragile. A single accident can snatch away everything someone has worked for over a decade or even decades. Their family will weep, mourn, forget, and eventually laugh again. How… foolish.”
Rogash looked at his own hand. A black branch sprouted from his palm, bearing tender leaves and then fruit. From the fruit, a larva emerged, devoured the fruit, grew, formed a cocoon, and finally broke free as a butterfly.
A pure white butterfly fluttered away, soon flying out of the valley.
“I can already… create life. By the existing knowledge of this world, even gods are merely at this level. Who created the Dark Mask? Where does Soul Energy come from? Too many questions. I want answers. Eternal life is the cornerstone of my exploration. Do you intend… to stop me?”
As Rogash’s words fell, his eyes turned pitch black. Not just his eyes—his entire skin shifted to white, not a normal white, but a bone-white.
In the blink of an eye, Rogash’s appearance transformed drastically. His height exceeded 2.3 meters, his skin bone-white, the upper part of his clothes torn into strips, hanging down to cover his legs.
At this moment, Rogash’s upper body muscles were smooth, possessing a sense of power but not exaggerated. A black ring appeared at the center of his chest, pitch black within.
Dark Soul Energy spread around Rogash, covering the nearby water surface. Now, Rogash’s Soul Energy no longer had the ethereal quality of energy; it was more like a black liquid, freely controlled by him.
Su Xiao stood dozens of meters away from Rogash. He had fought many enemies to the death—some bold, some ferocious. This time, Rogash was cold and cruel.
If the Ancient Gods saw everything as ants, Rogash now looked at all living things as if examining inferior beings. It wasn’t heartlessness, but rather… pity?
The Apostle’s Eye floated behind Su Xiao. He hadn’t detected Rogash earlier because success was impossible, but now there was a chance. Rogash had just completed his form transformation. Even if stronger, he was more vulnerable to detection—this window might last only a few seconds.
Su Xiao had used the Apostle’s Eye for a long time. Whether this legendary-grade equipment could shine one last time depended on these few seconds.
[Comparing intelligence attributes… Comparison complete. Only 42.5% of enemy data obtained.]
[Warning: Due to high-intensity detection, the Apostle’s Eye’s durability permanently decreases by 20 points.]
Name: Eternal One·Rogash
Category: Eternal One (Fake)
Health: 100%
Primordial Soul Energy: ???
Strength: 207 (True Attribute)
Agility: ??? (True Attribute)
Stamina: ??? (True Attribute)
Intelligence: ??? (True Attribute)
Charm: 1 (Originally 142 points, drastically reduced due to fusion with Dark Mask)
Skill 1, Dark Will (Passive, Lv.76): Health +97,500 points. Ignores all control effects. Nullifies all dark attribute damage below Eighth Rank.
Skill 2, Eternal Obsession (Passive, Lv.72): Health +62,000 points. Body defense increased by 57%. Recovers 1.5% of max health per second.
Note: This ability is obtained from the fusion of the Dark Mask and Undying Power.
Skill 3, Primordial Soul Energy (Passive, Lv.71): Rogash has fused 86% with the Dark Mask. His Soul Energy has gained 12 characteristics, including erosion, materialization, high-intensity sharpness, and piercing.
Skill 4: ???
Skill 5: ???
Skill 6, Dark Core (Active, Lv.70): Rogash can consume Soul Energy to compress it at high intensity, forming a ‘Dark Core.’
Note: The Dark Core is the core condition for using the following abilities.
Skill 7, Dark·Devour (Active, Lv.70): After activating the Dark Core, Rogash releases a large amount of dark-attribute Soul Energy, causing a life-draining effect within 500 meters, restoring his own lost health. This effect lasts 10 seconds.
Skill 8, Dark·Pressure (Active, Lv.70): The Dark Core releases powerful gravity, affecting all enemies within 100 meters, dealing 1,200 points of defense-ignoring damage per second.
Skill 9, Dark·Barrier (Active, Lv.70): The Dark Core can instantly construct a barrier to protect Rogash or concentrate defense to block ultra-high-speed attacks.
Skill 10, Dark·Death Domain (Ultimate Ability, Lv.50): When fully activated, the Dark Core releases multiple dark rays, causing continuous cutting attacks within 300 meters. Each cut deals 3,200 to 8,900 points of dark attribute damage (depending on the hit location), followed by dark erosion damage over time.
Note: If hit multiple times by dark rays, the damage increases by 15%, 20%, 30%, and 45% (each hit escalates).
Note: If a dark ray cuts a vital area (neck, heart, head, etc.), even if the injury isn’t fatal, there is a high probability of instant death.
???
Skill 14: ???
Skill 15, Annihilation (Ultimate Ability, Lv.45): ???
…
Seeing Rogash’s data, Su Xiao felt there was at least a 70% chance he would die here. The enemy, after donning the Dark Mask, was far too powerful.
Rogash’s plan had gone so smoothly that choosing to cooperate with Shenfu was incredibly wise. Shenfu, also an old schemer, had given Rogash a divine assist.
Shenfu had been traveling with Su Xiao all along. Killing Shenfu was no easy task, leaving Su Xiao no time to interfere with Rogash. Coupled with the extreme danger of the Holy Land and the arduous path ahead, Rogash had been given too many opportunities. For someone like him, even a slight chance could lead to soaring success, especially with Shenfu’s consecutive assists.
The enemy stood ahead. Retreating was impossible. Su Xiao activated the Dragon-Hunting Pendant around his neck. With this, his chances of victory could increase significantly.
Rogash’s survivability was strong, but with the Dragon-Hunting Set activated, Su Xiao’s survivability was also formidable.
Su Xiao activated the Dragon-Hunting Set’s ability. A dense energy surged within him, quickly absorbed by his body.
Set Effect: Dragon Hunter (Active). Upon activation, forcibly extract the dragon blood power within this equipment. True Strength +5, True Agility +5, True Stamina +5, Max Health +46%, Stamina recovery speed greatly increased.
Note: This effect lasts 5 minutes, cooldown is 10 natural days. Each activation consumes Soul Crystal (Complete) × 1.
Note: After this effect ends, if the wearer’s health is below 50%, a health recovery effect is triggered. This is a continuous recovery until health exceeds 50%.
Note: If this recovery effect lasts too long, it will greatly consume the Dragon-Hunting Set’s durability. When durability reaches 0, the recovery effect is forcibly interrupted.
…
Threads of blood mist rose from Su Xiao’s body surface. His health surged significantly, increasing by nearly half.
With a boom, water splashed beneath Su Xiao’s feet as he charged forward. Amu followed behind him. Baha broke through a sonic boom, heading straight for the air above Rogash. Bubu Wang hid at the edge of the valley, activating all three aura abilities.
Wherever Su Xiao passed, splashing water was scattered. His long blade slanted toward the ground, the tip submerged in water. When he was still over a dozen meters from Rogash, he slashed upward, the blade tip tracing a water trail.
Crack, crack, crack~
The arc-shaped water trail froze. The cold air, using this water trail like plant roots, spread through the air, sealing Rogash within ice.
The long blade tore through the air, aiming straight for Rogash’s neck. This was Su Xiao’s combat style—either don’t engage, or strike at vital points with every slash.
Clang!
The blade, leaving a trail of residual light, stopped. A shockwave spread with Su Xiao and Rogash at its center. The surrounding accumulated water surged away, revealing the stone surface beneath. Rogash’s left hand was raised, blocking his neck. His hand was now pitch black.
The edge of Dragon-Slaying Flash had cut into Rogash’s palm, penetrating less than a centimeter before stopping, blocked by the dark barrier condensed in his hand. This was the first time an enemy had blocked a strike from the Holy Spirit-grade Dragon-Slaying Flash with bare hands.