The vast sky above held not a single cloud, presenting a strange, hazy, pale violet hue! Right in the center hung the sun, a purple blaze that seemed to burn with furious heat! Waves of searing heat, mingled with dry, fierce sandstorms, rushed toward me, inducing an indescribable sense of suffocation and agitation, as if my entire body were on fire, and my throat was desperately parched! In that moment, I was once again made acutely aware of the terrifying natural force of the Forbidden Land's Great Desert. And just as involuntarily, memories flooded back of everything that had transpired the last time I was within the King's Forbidden Ground.
When I first entered the Forbidden Ground, the shift in gravity had truly been jarring, but that feeling of disorientation vanished quickly enough. Perhaps it was the enhancement of my strength, the reinforcement of my physical body, that allowed me to adapt so swiftly to this unique combination of altered gravity and desert environment. Now, I had already proceeded straight eastward for over five hundred li.
Although I could clearly sense the gravity continuously intensifying, I was still astonished that as the gravity increased, a corresponding resistance naturally arose within my body, enhancing its adaptability. I hadn't expected to become this formidable; I recalled that previously, simply adjusting to triple gravity had taken me more than a month just to cover a hundred li. Yet now, I had covered over five hundred li with virtually no pause.
Strange, why haven't I encountered any of those monsters? I usually had no end of trouble with those scorpions and the black maggots, but not a single one has appeared today.
Just as I was pondering this absence! Suddenly, I felt a distinct, abnormal fluctuation! Several auras were rapidly closing in on me! They certainly arrived when expected! I wouldn't mistake this kind of fluctuation for anything else! Who else enjoyed lurking and playing hide-and-seek like this, if not those scorpions!
Subconsciously, I drew my blade, gripping the hilt with both hands, pouring potent Dou Qi swiftly into the weapon. The Dragon Shadow Sword had become Xing Zhan's primary blade, so what rested in my hand now was the Hundred Battles Saber—reinforced, thickened, and specialized—which Lu Tong had forged for me back when I roamed the world of wandering heroes. It had been a long time since I last used a saber after obtaining the Dragon Shadow Sword, and now, holding the Hundred Battles Saber again filled me with an inexplicable emotion and thrill.
In the past, abandoning the saber for the sword was purely a pursuit of ultimate speed, a method to compensate for my inherent disadvantage of insufficient raw power. But now, the Nine Dragons Protection within me had reached its sixth layer: Cocoon Breaking Rebirth! Both the intensity of my Dou Qi and my physical strength were far superior to what they had been before. It could be said that my current Dou Qi and strength were now on par with any opponent of the same tier. Because of this, I was intensely curious to see what level of mastery I could bring the Hundred Battles Saber techniques to in this moment!
As I thought this, the auras converging on me suddenly accelerated! BOOM! The ground erupted without warning! A deluge of sand sprayed out like shrapnel, momentarily obscuring several colossal shapes that suddenly materialized! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Accompanying the motion were sharp, piercing whistles!
Though their speed was incredible, I clearly tracked their trajectories! It was the scorpions’ venomous tail whips, just as I expected! The moment they attacked, I had already locked onto their forms! There were six of them!
Instinctively, I began circulating the Dou Qi within me, simultaneously activating the Eye of Death's Desire! However, just then, that peculiar aura I had mobilized suddenly shifted! This was the first time I had employed this marvelous power since it awoke. It was difficult to categorize exactly what kind of power this was. Because this entirely new force was a fusion of the Raging Lion Dou Qi, the Thunder Dou Qi, the Nine Dragons True Energy, and the Dragon Vein Qi!
The instant the Dou Qi circulated! My limbs and the very marrow of my bones felt enveloped by a raging, burning inferno! This flame, after burning intensely, suddenly exploded outward! It erupted before I could even fully react! This sudden surge of power burst forth!
A flash of snow-white saber light suddenly appeared! It shot toward those blurry, elongated forms! I cannot possibly describe the sensation! The man and the blade seemed to merge into one; there was no distinction between the blade and myself—only a sphere of fire, a blazing inferno capable of incinerating everything.
Then, the world before my eyes began to warp strangely! To stretch and distort! What was happening? Everything I saw left me frozen on the spot! Beneath the violet sky, the six blurry shapes slowly advanced! But why were their movements so agonizingly slow? Not just them—I felt the entire world’s aura and fluctuations had slowed in that instant!
This feeling was definitely not the Eye of Death's Desire, nor was it the Phantom Demon Eye! I could even track the trajectory of individual grains of dust suspended in the swirling sandstorms. I could even perceive the light particles, blurred and faint, contained within the sunlight. Wind, light, the entire world—everything seemed to have decelerated to the pace of an old ox pulling a broken cart! The harsh sun shone, the sandstorm churned, and every detail was vividly clear, yet agonizingly slow! And this slowness included the strike I had thrown!
Yet I could distinctly feel the power contained within that single blow! It was like a volcano that had been pressurized for ten millennia finally finding an outlet! That blazing fire within my body, that power teetering on explosion, finally erupted!
“Rumble…”
A dull, heavy roar, followed by an intensely bright flare, accompanied by an indescribable sense of exhilaration, release, and relief. Almost instantaneously, the miraculous sensation vanished! It was as if none of it had ever happened!
But what was revealed before my eyes left me utterly dumbfounded! The only thing visible was a single, immense, deep scar slicing across the ground, as if cut by an invisible giant blade. It was nearly twenty meters wide and stretched fifty meters long, radiating a shocking sight! Forget fragments of the scorpions’ limbs; within that fissure, not a single grain of sand could be seen. Only a gaping expanse of blackened, scorched earth was exposed! It looked precisely like the aftermath of a nuclear detonation!
“…”
My mind went utterly blank! My heavens! What in the world just happened? This destructive power was comparable to the explosion of the Fire Dragon's Aura I witnessed back in Cicheng!
I involuntarily glanced at the Hundred Battles Saber in my hand, but what I held was merely a charred stump of the hilt; the originally gleaming blade had completely vanished! This! How could this be! Did the sheer destructive force prove too much even for the material of the Hundred Battles Saber? I knew the Hundred Battles Saber’s material, while not matching the Dragon Shadow Sword, was still an exceptional, one-in-a-million fine weapon. Lu Tong had specifically crafted it for me using vast quantities of rare ores and exquisite forging techniques. Its strength even surpassed the Reinforced Frost Steel used by the Royal Heaven Demon Warriors, yet even that could not withstand the force of the Dou Qi explosion just now!
Nine Dragons Protection! Cocoon Breaking Rebirth! Was the power truly this terrifying? For a moment, I stood stock-still! Though I couldn't precisely articulate what had occurred, I was certain that even Cocoon Breaking Rebirth shouldn't grant such monstrous power!
In an instant, I thought of the Mutated Dragon Shadow! Yes! The maximum instantaneous destructive power achieved by the massive explosion resulting from the fusion of Dou Qi! The situation before me was clearly analogous to the Dragon Shadow Cannon from before. However, this was far more potent than the Dragon Shadow Cannon. Partially, this was because my overall Dou Qi cultivation had improved after achieving Cocoon Breaking Rebirth. But one other factor was more crucial. That astonishing explosive force contained four entirely different elemental auras: the Raging Lion Dou Qi, the Thunder Dou Qi, the Nine Dragons True Energy, and the Dragon Vein Qi transmitted into my body through the Nine Dragons Coil. These four forces were absorbed and fused by the Nine Dragons True Energy, ultimately forming a peculiar state of equilibrium. All of this occurred automatically while the Nine Dragons True Energy was in the state of Guiding the Dragon to Perfection. And when I subconsciously channeled and applied this power into the Hundred Battles Saber, I inadvertently broke this delicate balance. This situation was like a cannon firing: the moment the shell leaves the barrel! Only the explosive force generated at the moment of firing was so intense that it caused the cannon to explode from its own breach! The Dou Qi-infused Hundred Battles Saber was utterly shattered by the force!
Good heavens! That was incredible! Once I grasped this, a cold sweat broke out across my body! This power is far too terrifying! It seems ordinary weapons cannot be used lightly with this level of energy! Perhaps only the Dragon Shadow Sword can withstand such a force! I couldn't help but laugh wryly. Is this what the ancients meant by 'extreme leads to its opposite'? Having too much power might not always be a good thing! Now look at this—I don't even have a weapon!
How am I supposed to fight now? With this thought, I resignedly unlocked my spatial pouch and rummaged inside for a backup weapon. Among them was the rapier that was forged alongside the Hundred Battles Saber! And two others were Heavy Steel Judgment blades I had looted from Nalan Qiushui previously! These Judgments were not the common ones used by mere wandering heroes; they were Heavy Steel Judgments forged specifically from high-density steel! Although their strength fell far short of the Dragon Shadow Sword, they had the advantage of large size and considerable weight! As long as I carefully controlled the force, I shouldn't shatter them again!
Damn it, I never thought I’d end up wielding a Judgment blade! But anything is better than nothing. Although the rapier is my specialty, using it against those huge, hulking creatures would clearly be unwise. Even poking a dozen holes in them probably wouldn't kill them. In contrast, using the Judgment blade to smash them, provided enough force was applied, would absolutely crush them to pieces.
For the rest of the journey across the desert, I encountered continuous attacks from scorpions and black maggots. However, facing my massively boosted strength, they gained no advantage whatsoever. Even though the Judgment blade felt awkward, and to avoid a repeat of the previous incident, I dared not infuse it with Dou Qi. Instead, I converted the Dou Qi into raw muscle and bone strength, engaging the monsters using purely physical attacks. In other words, the only method of attack I employed at that time was swinging the Judgment blade with crushing force. Believe it or not, this strangely primitive fighting style was exhilarating and satisfying. Even the incredibly tough black carapace of the black maggots would shatter into pieces when I slammed the Judgment blade down upon them! It was like hitting a giant watermelon with a sledgehammer! That spectacle was definitely brutal and bloody to the extreme!
As I ventured deeper into the desert's heartland, the monsters grew more numerous, mostly centipede pincers, jumpers, and humming bees—creatures I had seen before in the Centipede Cave. However, the ones encountered here seemed to be of the 'King' tier, all possessing astonishingly large sizes, and their speed, strength, and defense far outstripped the creatures outside. But they had terrible luck meeting me. Usually, in a single exchange, they were either sent flying by a blow or smashed into paste. This transformed me, for the moment, into a strength-focused warrior akin to Long Zhan, and my self-confidence swelled to unprecedented heights! I felt capable of dominating everywhere and sweeping aside everything! The feeling of inexhaustible strength is simply exhilarating! (╰_╯)#
Half a month later, I finally traversed the desert! What lay before me was a sparse jungle! The ground was patchy grass, half-yellowed and partially sandy! According to Jidu’s instructions, continuing forward would lead to a relatively small grassland, and crossing that grassland would bring me to the Stone Tower! The monsters inhabiting this area belonged to the Zuma, Woma, and Pig Cave lineage! This region was even more perilous than the desert before it! I instinctively sharpened my senses, cautiously monitoring my surroundings.
Soon, I heard rapid footsteps, like crashing thunder! Accompanied by heavy, ragged breaths, several forms, massive as small mountains, appeared within my line of sight in an instant! Good heavens, they were huge! Almost six meters tall! And with their familiar shape and striking reddish-brown coloring, I recognized them immediately! Zuma Guards! Indeed, Zuma Guards! And not just any, but the King-tier Zuma Guards from the Forbidden Ground—otherwise, they wouldn't be this colossal!
Not only were they massive, but they were also extremely fast, and what was most terrifying was their sheer power. I knew Jidu had suffered greatly dealing with them when he passed through this area. Therefore, before setting out, Jidu had repeatedly warned me to be extremely cautious of these Zuma Guards. Jidu had spent a full year just adapting to the gravity here before passing through this grassland! Then, he spent three years fighting through the layers of monsters they guarded.
Naturally, I wasn't foolish enough to clash head-on with them! Even though I felt a little invincible and all-powerful right now, seeing the mountain-sized hammers descending upon me still made my heart pound violently! Damn it! If one of those hits me, several lives wouldn't be enough to pay the price!
However, while their strength was immense, their speed was comparatively lacking, especially given that the mysterious state I had recently comprehended had elevated my grasp of speed to its absolute peak. To my eyes, every move the Zuma Guards made turned into a clumsy, flaw-ridden scarecrow. Often, while evading their attacks, I could effortlessly smash their heads to pulp with a single swing of my blade. It was far too easy; I felt none of the tense difficulty Jidu had described!
The only noticeable change was that the gravity seemed to have increased again, but it only took me a single day to fully adapt to the current gravitational state! Everything here seemed no different from the desert experience! In fact, the slightly cooler air and gentle breeze here felt far more comfortable than the scorching heat and pervasive dust storms of the desert!
It seemed the twenty-five years of sleeping and cultivating had yielded astonishing results! Clearly, I was vastly stronger than Jidu and the others when they first passed through this trial. Therefore, I couldn't feel the hardships they had endured! For a moment, I felt a strange pang of dissatisfaction! Damn it, does this count as cheating? This felt like being a high-level character returning to a starting zone in a game like Legend, slaughtering sheep, chickens, and deer—it lacked any thrill or challenge whatsoever! I suppose I need to reach the Seventh Heaven Gate quickly; perhaps only there can I find some genuine excitement!