With the enhancement provided by the Creation Pill, the Flying Thunder God Art saw improvements in both its range and cooldown time, though its grade remained unchanged.
Advancing from Eon-level to Eon-level required only a single Creation Pill, but moving up from Eon-level to Yellow-level couldn't be achieved with just one pill.
Chen Guo, however, wasn't worried. With his duplication ability, he'd have plenty of golden treasure chests in the future, offering ample opportunities to find more Creation Pills and upgrade his talents.
The Creation Pill could at most elevate a talent to the Mystery Level. With continued growth, Chen Guo was bound to upgrade numerous talents to the Mystery Level eventually.
When that time came, he would be unstoppable, slaying gods and buddhas in his path.
Next, Chen Guo began taking the Clearing Pills, feeling a surge of warmth in his lower abdomen that seemed to add a significant weight to his being.
He recognized this as the Clearing Pill extending his lifespan.
The exact number of years added was unknown to Chen Guo, but he sensed it could be decades.
While lifespan gains might not seem immediately useful, they represented a massive advantage over the long term.
After all, the key to victory often wasn't sheer strength, but the ability to outlive one's adversaries.
Having taken the Clearing Pill, Chen Guo proceeded to use the Horadric Cube to fuse his equipment.
He placed the Seven Star Sword, the Soul Slaying Blade, and the Shadowless Divine Needle into the cube.
Three options materialized before Chen Guo, allowing him to decide the form of the fused weapon: a needle, a blade, or a sword.
Naturally, Chen Guo chose the sword – no man from Jutrela ever disliked swords.
A brilliant light flashed.
"Fusion Successful!"
"You have obtained the Shadowless Seven Stars Soul Slaying Sword!"
"Shadowless Seven Stars Soul Slaying Sword: Rank 4 Weapon, Attack 60–88, inflicts bleeding and armor-piercing effects, effective against ghosts."
"This name is quite a mouthful, just a mashup of the three weapons' names. It's too long; let's just call it the Shadowless Sword!"
"Tsk tsk, the Shadowless Sword. Are you scared yet, knowing I wield it?"
After renaming the sword with the long and unpleasant name to Shadowless Sword, Chen Guo proceeded to merge it with other pieces of equipment. He placed the Energy Bracer, Heavenly Snow Robe, Mysterious Underworld Battle Armor, and Dragon Soul Battle Boots into the Horadric Cube. As anticipated, he had the option to fuse them into either a bracer, robe, armor, or boots.
After some thought, Chen Guo chose the robe, as it was the perfect fit for his current Guangcheng persona and his mastery of Taoist arts.
"Fusion successful!"
"You have obtained the Clear Dao Robe!"
"Clear Dao Robe: Tier 4 Equipment, Defense: 50–70, Strength and Spirit increase by 2%, Mental attack resistance increased by 10%. Upon activation, grants temporary flight!"
The fusion not only combined the best features of each item but also enhanced them. Chen Guo couldn't help but marvel at the power of the Horadric Cube, a true marvel from the golden treasure chest.
Next were the ten Creation Pills. Without a moment's hesitation, Chen Guo consumed them all, boosting all attributes by 100 points. His combat strength surged once again, reaching an impressive 3,705!
This increase was not solely due to the attribute boost but also a reflection of his enhanced skills.
"Now I'm truly powerful. It's time to explore the perilous areas of Doonatel!" Chen Guo steadied himself, setting his sights on Wan Qing Temple, the nearest destination.
...
Meanwhile, the outside world was abuzz with the news of Chen Guo's dramatic rise in combat strength. Atop the global combat strength leaderboard, Chen Guo reigned with a score of 3,705. In second place, Lei Kun was still trailing at level 9, with a combat strength of only 1,250—a full 2,500 points behind!
"How did this mysterious figure achieve 3,705 combat strength? That's even more formidable than a boss. Could he be a demon king?" people wondered.
"We must find him! With such a drastic increase in combat strength, he's got to have a secret!"
"I'll remember Beginner Village 996. From now on, I'll keep a close eye on it and find a way to uncover this enigmatic individual!"
Countless people were eager to uncover the true identity of Chen Guo, with their curiosity even extending to Beginner Village #996.
It was inevitable. Initially, Chen Guo's combat strength was the world's highest, albeit only a few hundred points ahead of Lei Kun.
Now, he had tripled that margin, leading by 2,500 points—an astonishing and almost supernatural feat.
He was bound to draw the spotlight.
"Boss Guangcheng is frighteningly powerful!"
"It's no surprise that Boss Guangcheng prefers to go solo, avoiding any affiliations. With a combat strength of 3,705 points, he's far more formidable than the former boss, Ghost King!"
"I have a hunch that Boss Guangcheng could single-handedly decimate an entire gang..."
The residents of Beginner Village #996 were in awe, yet they also felt a twinge of hopelessness, knowing that with such an extraordinary boss in their village, the chances of finding any treasures were slim.
What they failed to consider was that without Chen Guo clearing out most of the monsters, they might have faced devastating losses.
It's a classic case of every cloud having a silver lining.
...
In Doonatel, at Huaqing Temple, Chen Guo was slaying monk after monk.
The temple was once a sacred Buddhist sanctuary, with a massive stone mountain behind it, adorned with thousands of Buddha statues.
In times of peace, the sunrise would cast a golden glow over these statues, creating a breathtaking spectacle as countless devotees paid their respects.
But those days were long gone.
Now, all that remained of Huaqing Temple was the teetering Great Buddha's Hall. The other structures had crumbled, the temple's pagoda forest lay in ruins, and the Buddha statues were overgrown with weeds and moss.
The desolation was profound.
Yet, the temple's monks hadn't transformed into Fiend Demons; they retained their original forms but had taken on a ghastly, demonic nature. The system classified them as Demon Monks.
"Buddha is demon, and demon is Buddha; to break the precepts is to uphold them..."
"Giggles and laughter, neither Gautama nor Maitreya achieved true enlightenment; now, at last, I realize who I am..."
These Demon Monks possessed considerable intelligence. Despite their confused state, they were capable of coordinated attacks and had retained much of their martial prowess from their past lives.
Their robes were tattered, their bodies gaunt and sallow, yet they moved with surprising vigor.
These were level six monsters, formidable enough that an ordinary level nine would likely meet their end if besieged by them.
But Chen Guo was a force to be reckoned with. Wielding the Shadowless Sword, he dispatched the Demon Monks with ease, as if slicing through vegetables.
In no time, Chen Guo had racked up four-fifths of the necessary slaughter points, just a hair's breadth away from reaching level nine.
After clearing out most of the visible Demon Monks, Chen Guo ventured deeper into the temple. Amidst the pagoda forest ruins, he discovered the origin of the ominous presence.
"Elite, level eight, Venerable Buddha!"
He was once the head of Hua Qing Temple, a master of Buddhist teachings who wielded the power of the Thousand Buddha's Will to counteract malevolent energies and maintain peace within the temple. Yet, over time, he could no longer resist and succumbed to the demonic way.
"All sins of the past, born from endless greed, anger, and delusion, arising from body, speech, and mind, I now repent!" Cloaked in demonic qi, the Venerable Buddha's red kasaya was in shreds. With a bizarre smile and hands clasped in prayer, he asked, "Patron, what brings you here?"