Chapter 94 – When You Let Me Get This Close, You've Already…

Outside the Nine Dragon Cave, Lu Chen, who had just revived, began his long-unpracticed post-death analysis session.

He had originally thought that after mastering the Dragon Transformation Sword Intent, crushing the small game instance ‘Pot-Lifting Brute’ would be as easy as stretching out his hand.

After all, the final bosses of the previous two instances were not only merely at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment, but they also had many weaknesses, making them even weaker than ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Therefore, he initially didn’t pay much attention to the boss of the ‘Pot-Lifting Brute’ instance, somewhat like a max-level character returning to the beginner village for a relaxing, one-sided match.

But who would have thought that the ‘Pot-Lifting Brute’ instance was a case of false advertising? The final instance boss was neither a ‘Cauldron’ nor a ‘Brute,’ but a Dragon—a genuine Aura Golden Dragon!

Although it was only a Corpse Dragon at the first layer of Foundation Establishment, its high rank and sheer numbers were overwhelming!

Lu Chen estimated that if converted to a cultivator’s Foundation Establishment quality, the Corpse Dragons controlled by the Little Gold Dragon would be at least at the third-grade Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment level.

An expert—who would have thought there was… an expert in this instance!

Thinking about the special characteristics of those four Corpse Dragons, Lu Chen felt a headache coming on, mainly because they countered him so effectively.

You see, his current abilities were largely embodied in the Dragon Transformation Sword Intent. The greatest features of this Sword Intent were, first, forming a specific Sword momentum to suppress enemies, and second, allowing his Sword techniques to mimic Flood Dragon attacks, inflicting Sword Intent damage.

But these two points meant nothing to the Little Gold Dragon, because the Little Gold Dragon was a Dragon itself! How could a mere Flood Dragon harm a true Dragon?

So, aside from these, the only aspect of Lu Chen’s Dragon Transformation Sword Intent that could damage the Little Gold Dragon was the vibration effect. But relying solely on that to harm a Dragon Corpse comparable to Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment was undoubtedly wishful thinking.

However, this minor failure made Lu Chen realize once again the importance of the ‘Dao.’ When the Dragon Transformation Sword Intent wasn’t countered, he could easily defeat opponents far superior in cultivation. But once that advantage was lost, he was on the same starting line as everyone else, having to compete based on foundational cultivation and other techniques or Divine Abilities.

“I did underestimate the heroes of the world before, thinking that after mastering Sword Intent, even if I encountered special Foundation Establishment beings, I could retreat unscathed if I couldn’t win. But now it seems I was too naive.”

“The world isn’t just full of opportunities for me alone; others have their own destinies too.”

“Encountering ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators is one thing, but if I meet those who have also mastered a ‘Dao,’ then defeating them across tiers won’t be so easy.”

“And right now, if I rely solely on Sword techniques or just the Dragon Transformation Sword Intent, I basically have no chance of defeating that Little Gold Dragon.”

“Only by mastering another Dao that isn’t countered by the Little Gold Dragon, plus the two chances to use the Heretical Sword, might I have a possibility of defeating that Little Gold Dragon…”Thinking of this, Lu Chen immediately looked at his skill panel.

【Mountain-Crushing Fist: Proficient 100/6000】

【Current EXP: 8325】

“Now that Mountain-Crushing Fist has reached Proficient level, I’ll need to successively achieve Major Achievement and Breakthrough before it can reach Dao-Grade.”

“Based on the previous upgrade process of Dragon Transformation Sword Intent, once a skill reaches post-Breakthrough stage, further improvement won’t come easily.”

“I should save this EXP for now and use it when the time is right to elevate Mountain-Crushing Fist’s Rank in one go.”

“After all, the higher the skill level, the more valuable EXP upgrades become…”

Having reasoned this through, Lu Chen chose not to challenge Little Gold Dragon again.

Instead, he stood up and walked toward the wall where he had previously revealed the Black Cauldron’s surface.

Given his current condition, no matter how many times he challenged Little Gold Dragon, the outcome would hardly change.

Rather than directly confronting Little Gold Dragon, Lu Chen decided to consolidate his foundations first, focusing his energy on improving his Mountain-Crushing Fist skill.

After all, if he wanted to train Mountain-Crushing Fist, the process wasn’t particularly complicated.

He simply needed to continuously throw punches against mountain rock.

And during this process, the harder the rock, the better the training effect.

The Black Cauldron wall was undoubtedly the best punching target.

Given his current strength, even with Mountain-Crushing Fist at Proficient level – let alone Dao-Grade or beyond – he likely couldn’t damage this special Black Cauldron bestowed by Azure Cloud Immortal.

Besides having an excellent training wall, Lu Chen possessed another special method to double his Mountain-Crushing Fist training speed.

That was his Innate Divine Ability – Heretical Avatar!

As Lu Chen activated the divine ability, an identical copy of himself appeared beside him.

Lu Chen nodded to his Heretical Avatar, who immediately understood and walked to the Black Cauldron wall, beginning to throw Mountain-Crushing Fists at the black surface.

Boom!

The black wall remained completely unmoved, and the Heretical Avatar showed no reaction, immediately throwing another punch.

Seeing his Heretical Avatar had begun training Mountain-Crushing Fist, Lu Chen also started his own practice.

Training with both his main body and Clone – this was one reason Lu Chen was confident he could rapidly increase his Mountain-Crushing Fist Rank without using EXP.

Same time, double the training efficiency!

Coupled with his existing mastery of Dragon Transformation Sword Intent,

One day of his training was equivalent to dozens of days for others!

In the following period, Lu Chen resumed a long-absent routine life.

Worth mentioning was that whenever the instance reached its tenth day, the Aura Golden Dragon within would completely break free.

Subsequently, the entire Kangding Peak would shake violently, causing the mine to collapse.

Therefore, Lu Chen later used this as a cycle, challenging Little Gold Dragon each time just before his imminent escape.

Testing his training results in actual combat.

This combination of rigorous training and practical combat allowed Lu Chen’s Mountain-Crushing Fist Rank to climb at an astonishing rate.

And time continued flowing relentlessly throughout this process…

The 150th day within the instance.

Lu Chen focused his spirit and settled his Qi, assuming Mountain-Crushing Fist’s opening stance.

His aura began growing increasingly profound, with an indescribable sense of weightiness emanating from his entire being.The next second, Lu Chen suddenly opened his eyes and threw a punch toward the black cauldron wall before him.

Boom!

A massive mountain illusion materialized behind Lu Chen.

His fist striking the black cauldron wall felt as if an entire mountain had crashed into it.

Yet despite containing the Mountain-Shaking Fist Intent, his attack ultimately failed to leave even a trace on the black cauldron wall.

This demonstrated just how terrifying this mountain-sized Black Cauldron truly was.

Lu Chen speculated that even if this colossal cauldron wasn’t a legendary Celestial Artifact, it couldn’t be far from one.

A Celestial Artifact… if only he could haul it out of here.

Of course, Lu Chen was merely entertaining the thought—he didn’t believe himself capable of operating such a terrifying object.

After sighing in admiration, Lu Chen turned his attention to his skill panel.

【Mountain-Shaking Fist Intent: Dao Embodiment (Unupgradable)】

【Effect: Embodies the Dao through the fist, condensing intent into a mountain. A single strike… can shake a thousand peaks】

Lu Chen nodded in satisfaction at the skill panel, which had evolved from Mountain-Crushing Fist to Mountain-Shaking Fist Intent.

Over the past 150 days, he and his Clone had practiced Mountain-Crushing Fist almost incessantly, day and night.

Even so, it took roughly 50 days just to break through to the Mastery realm of Mountain-Crushing Fist.

In the remaining hundred days, he still couldn’t directly elevate Mountain-Crushing Fist to Dao Embodiment.

He only managed to raise the proficiency of Mastery-level Mountain-Crushing Fist to over 20,000 points.

Beyond that, he found each additional point increasingly difficult to attain, with efficiency plummeting.

Left with no alternative, Lu Chen spent 8,000 experience points to cover the remaining gap.

Only then did he finally comprehend the Mountain-Shaking Fist Intent.

Lu Chen had lost count of how many punches he’d thrown these days, but including those from his Clone, a conservative estimate would exceed a million.

Reflecting on this, Lu Chen once again grasped the profound meaning behind “Dao Embodiment.”

A million punches merely scratching the surface of Dao Embodiment—this Fist Intent truly wasn’t meant for ordinary cultivators.

With everything now in place, Lu Chen finally approached the pit connecting to the Nine Dragon Cave.

He was going to let the Little Gold Dragon experience just how heavy a fist capable of shaking a thousand mountains could be!

As Lu Chen stepped into the Nine Dragon Cave once more,

Pang Xiao on the high platform again urged him to leave.

But this time, Lu Chen chose not to respond, instead walking resolutely toward the Golden Cauldron binding Pang Xiao.

Unlike before, Pang Xiao didn’t press further upon seeing his stubborn advance. Instead, understanding seemed to dawn in his eyes, kindling a glimmer of hope.

For he sensed a profound, weighty Aura emanating from Lu Chen.

And if Pang Xiao could perceive it, the Little Gold Dragon naturally could as well.

“This is exactly why I despise you Azure Cloud Sect disciples. Every last one of you is a fool, pointlessly struggling against the inevitable.”

“You’re no different from that Pang Xiao beside the Golden Cauldron.”

“What can a mere Foundation Establishment Stage Body Cultivator like him accomplish? He stubbornly held this Golden Cauldron upright until death, and even after dying, his powerful obsession turned him into a Corpse Puppet that continued bearing the weight. I don’t even know how to describe such idiocy.”

“All I did back then was devour a few dragon veins. Was that really worth your Azure Cloud Sect tormenting me like this?”

“Ten thousand years… I’ve been suppressed by you for ten thousand years.””The mortal dynasties of old have long since vanished, so why won’t you let me be?!”

Little Gold Dragon cursed angrily. The polluted incarnations on the Dragon-Locking Golden Cauldron immediately transformed into four massive Corpse Dragons, glaring furiously at Lu Chen as he steadily approached.

“A mere Qi Condensation Stage cultivator—what does it matter if you’ve cultivated Fist Intent?”

“Before me, you’re still as insignificant as an ant!”

“Even if you manage to hold up this Golden Cauldron today and restore the Dragon-Locking Formation, it would only suppress me for another hundred years at most.”

“A mere century? I’ve endured ten thousand years of solitude—what’s another hundred to me?”

“Kid, the Azure Cloud Sect has fallen, and the immortals and buddhas of the Thirty-Three Heavens are busy battling Gu Xian. No one cares about your survival—wouldn’t it be better to keep your life?”

Hearing Little Gold Dragon’s words, Lu Chen didn’t halt his steps, continuing to advance toward it.

Seeing this, Little Gold Dragon realized words alone wouldn’t deter him.

“Fine, fine! You want to test yourself against me? Then I’ll reluctantly play with you!”

“Let’s see whether your fists are harder, or my dragon head is tougher!”

As the words fell, the four Foundation Establishment Stage Corpse Dragons lunged fiercely at Lu Chen.

Facing this ferocious assault, Lu Chen finally took action.

Bang!

He leaped into the air, activating his Azure Lotus Eyes.

While focusing on the sparse Lotus Marks on the Corpse Dragons’ bodies, he unleashed the special ability he had copied from the Gold-Devouring Ant-Man—the Body of Hundred Battles.

[Special Ability: Body of Hundred Battles]

[Effect: Upon activation, greatly enhances physical attributes and stores 25% of received damage within the body, releasing it in a single burst.]

With the Body of Hundred Battles activated, Lu Chen’s physique, though still far inferior to the Corpse Dragons comparable to the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment Stage, now rivaled that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Stage Body Cultivator.

And that… was enough.

“Roar!”

One Corpse Dragon opened its bloody maw, charging directly at Lu Chen.

The stench of decay, the sharp dragon teeth—all were clearly perceived by Lu Chen.

He focused intently on the Corpse Dragon, and as it closed within a certain distance, he abruptly threw a punch aimed at the Lotus Mark on its head.

Fist unleashed… shaking a thousand mountains!

A colossal illusory mountain suddenly materialized around Lu Chen.

Instantly, the Corpse Dragon seemed weighed down by a massive peak, its movements slowing significantly.

It couldn’t even dodge Lu Chen’s fist in time.

Bang!

Lu Chen’s punch landed squarely on the Lotus Mark between the Corpse Dragon’s brows. A shocking fist force immediately spread from that point throughout the dragon’s entire body.

Crack, crack, crack…

As if it had swallowed firecrackers, a series of bone-shattering explosions erupted within the Corpse Dragon’s body.

The next moment, the Corpse Dragon’s form exploded into a shower of flesh and blood fragments.

Pang Xiao, who was supporting the Dragon-Locking Golden Cauldron, felt the weight on his shoulders lighten momentarily, slowing the cauldron’s descent.

Though Lu Chen’s punch yielded substantial results, it was crucial to remember—there were still three more Corpse Dragons.

Just as Lu Chen obliterated one Corpse Dragon, the other three launched their assaults simultaneously.

At this moment, Lu Chen had almost no room to evade.

After all, his speed was considerably slower than that of the Corpse Dragons.

Squelch!Although Lu Chen managed to dodge the attacks of the two Corpse Dragons at the last moment, one of them still bit off his left leg completely.

Had Lu Chen been even a fraction slower, it wouldn’t have been just a leg—his entire lower body would have been severed!

Losing his left leg naturally had a significant impact on Lu Chen.

Fortunately, he had anticipated this, knowing that defeating the Little Gold Dragon would come at a great cost.

So, even with one leg gone, Lu Chen seized the opportunity and threw a punch at the nearest Corpse Dragon!

With the enhancement of his Azure Lotus Eyes, the Corpse Dragon’s movements appeared much slower to Lu Chen, allowing him to strike the Lotus Mark on its head.

The attribute bonus from his Body of Hundred Battles, the critical hit on the Lotus Mark, and the terrifying force of his Mountain Shaker Fist—

all combined to obliterate the second Corpse Dragon in an instant.

But for that one punch, Lu Chen paid another price.

The loss of his leg disrupted his execution of the Flowing Cloud Step, leaving him unable to evade the attacks of the other two Corpse Dragons.

One Corpse Dragon clamped down on his left arm, while the other bit into his right leg.

Squelch!

In a decisive move, Lu Chen severed his own left arm and right leg on the spot.

Then, as he fell, he threw a punch at the head of the Corpse Dragon below him.

Boom!

A phantom image of a massive mountain crashed onto the Corpse Dragon’s head, and its body instantly exploded.

Amid the shower of scattered flesh and blood, Lu Chen’s body slammed heavily onto the ground.

Watching Lu Chen sacrifice two legs and an arm to destroy three of his Corpse Dragons, the Little Gold Dragon atop the Dragon-Locking Golden Cauldron fell silent.

Gazing at Lu Chen, pale from blood loss as he lay on the ground, it couldn’t help but speak: “Kid, why go to such lengths?”

“Even if you win, what does it matter? All I lose is a hundred years of freedom, but you… you’re losing your precious life.”

“Are all you cultivators from the Azure Cloud Sect this reckless with your lives?”

“In an era where even immortals and buddhas can’t protect the world, you guys rush forward one after another, trying to safeguard it.”

“The Azure Cloud Sect on the ground is like this, and the Cloud Sect in the Thirty-Three Heavens is the same. Do you really believe in that nonsense about Reincarnation?”

“Let me tell you, in my ten thousand years, I’ve never seen any damn underworld. If I haven’t seen it, what makes you think you will?”

“Wake up! Aside from a few masters with Divine Abilities, most people who die… are truly gone!”

“So go back. Considering how hard you’ve fought, I won’t kill you this time. Anyway, you’re already infected with corpse poison and won’t live long.”

Lying on the ground, Lu Chen took a deep breath and used his remaining right arm to prop himself up, sitting in a pool of filthy blood.

He looked up at the Little Gold Dragon perched on the Dragon-Locking Golden Cauldron just five steps away and said calmly, “I never said I was doing this to protect the world…”

“Huh?”

The Little Gold Dragon gave Lu Chen a puzzled look, perhaps feeling it was already in an unbeatable position.

It decided to listen carefully to what Lu Chen had to say.

After all, over the past ten thousand years, it had rarely spoken to anyone.

Only in the last millennium had it occasionally exchanged a few words with that quiet gourd, Pang Xiao.”Then why are you fighting so desperately, kid?”

Lu Chen looked at it, remained silent for a moment, then uttered two words.

“Revenge.”

“Revenge? Do we have any grudge between us?”

Little Gold Dragon’s face was full of question marks, because he clearly knew this was his first time meeting Lu Chen.

We’ve never even met before, what kind of revenge are you talking about?

Could this grudge have come from the Void Realm?

Lu Chen naturally wouldn’t tell Little Gold Dragon how he had been swatted to death with just a few claws during their first encounter.

As someone who holds grudges, even though each resurrection in the Instance counted as a fresh start,

Lu Chen always remembered how Little Gold Dragon had killed him the first time.

Therefore, not only did they have a grudge, it was a life-and-death enmity!

He had thrown millions of punches just to repay that single claw strike from back then.

And now, he was close to achieving this goal.

Looking at the confused Little Gold Dragon, Lu Chen suddenly said: “Five steps…”

“What about five steps?”

“…When you let me get within five steps of you, you were already dead.”

“???”

Little Gold Dragon stared blankly at Lu Chen, completely unable to understand what he was saying again.

So what if it’s five steps? You don’t even have legs anymore, are you going to crawl over with one hand to kill me?

Ridiculous!

But soon, Little Gold Dragon couldn’t laugh anymore.

Because a Heretical Avatar suddenly appeared behind Lu Chen.

And Lu Chen himself now held a black long sword in his hand.

Then both the man and his Clone simultaneously assumed that posture that filled Little Gold Dragon with immense fear.

“Five steps… are enough.”

As the words fell, Lu Chen and his Clone swung their swords simultaneously.

The cold gleam of the Heretical Sword instantly swept across Little Gold Dragon’s true form and the Corpse Dragon beside him…

(End of chapter)