"Whoosh!"
The replica of the Primeval Sword sliced past Xu Que's right ear.
Strangely enough, Xu Que's own Primeval Sword had pierced through the earth stone figure!
What was going on?
Before he could examine the situation further, the replica Primeval Sword lunged at him again.
"No, something's off—the speed has clearly decreased!"
Xu Que dodged once more, casting a quick glance at the earth stone figure.
In an instant, realization struck him.
"So that's it!"
He rolled forward, evading a fourth strike, recalled his Primeval Sword, and sprang directly toward the stone figure.
With a swift slash, the fake sword returned to the stone figure's hand—albeit moving half as fast as before.
"Slash!"
A gleaming arc sliced through the air, severing the earth stone figure's body in two.
But even now, it continued to block, as though untouched.
"So, I was right!"
Xu Que smirked, unleashing a storm of slashes on the stone figure.
With each blow, the figure's movements grew sluggish, until finally, it ceased all action.
To prevent any lingering danger, Xu Que hacked its head into pieces until he was satisfied.
Afterward, he exhaled heavily and began searching for the forbidden technique.
Initially, Xu Que had been perplexed when he beheaded the stone figure, but when the Primeval Sword cut clean through, he understood.
A vessel's energy is finite; severing part of it diminishes its power. Gradually, its overall strength would weaken.
Though this creature seemed to have endless power, it could still be chipped away.
So, the key was to shatter it into so many pieces that it could no longer gather energy.
Spotting the "Five Elements to Two" engraving on the wall, Xu Que quickly grasped the method to unlock the forbidden treasure.
He approached the second stone pillar on the left and noted a five, then quickly checked the first and second pillars on the right.
Once he had the answer he needed, he pressed a hidden button at the base of the first stone pillar on the left.
"Click!"
The mechanism whirred, and from the center platform, a purple-gold chest slowly rose.
Seeing its luxurious color, Xu Que's excitement surged.
A purple-gold chest meant the beginning of a fortuitous turn!
As he deciphered the symbols on the chest's base, he pressed the buttons on either side of the platform.
Click—he heard a crisp sound and quickly opened the purple-gold chest.
[You have obtained an A-level accessory, *Heart of the Mirror Image*.]
[Name: Heart of the Mirror Image, A-Level (Unique Accessory)]
[Quality: Epic (Gold)]
[Active: When activated, summons two mirror-image replicas of the user, each with 65% of the user's power. (Duration: 5 seconds) (Cooldown: 30 minutes)]
[Passive: After each mirror-image dissipates, the user's mental strength decreases by 10% for 60 seconds.]
Seeing such a miraculous item, Xu Que leapt with joy!
"This is fate itself— with this, I'll have free rein from now on!"
As he strode down the corridor, he equipped the *Heart of the Mirror Image*.
[Name: Crystal of Earth's Spirit, A-Level]
[Quality: Epic (Gold)]
[Material: Said to be formed from the residue of the Earth Sprite, highly durable, suitable for pet evolution, forging, and alchemy.]
Xu Que's eyes widened as he read the description. He couldn't believe he had obtained the legendary Gold Dung!
In his previous life, a mysterious buyer had once set an exorbitant bounty just to acquire this Gold Dung.
"Perhaps it's for evolving a pet?" he mused.
[Name: Earth Stone Figure Blueprint, B-Level (Alchemy Branch)]
[Quality: Excellent (Purple)]
[Consumable: Teaches the creation of mysterious earth stone figures.]
Xu Que began to suspect he was under a stroke of divine luck.
Even a replica earth stone figure had incredible power.
"Shame there's no alchemy book."
Just as he was about to examine the Hellhound's loot, he sensed an intense aura emanating from the right passage.
What was this? How had he not sensed it earlier?
Before Xu Que could deduce what was happening, two swift figures emerged before him.
Four sharp daggers flashed with cold light, thrusting toward him with precision.
"Clang, clang, clang…"
Xu Que raised his sword in defense, blocking all eight strikes. The speed of the attacks made his scalp tingle.
The next moment, the four daggers in front of him vanished, along with the aura he had sensed.
"Invisible?"
Xu Que swiftly backed up, extending his senses.
In an instant, he detected two faint presences standing a short distance ahead.
The answer came to him at once—Shadow Assassins!
Realizing their identity, Xu Que closed his eyes, leaned forward, and focused his hearing on their location.
"Take this!"
Before the assassins could act, Xu Que swung the Primeval Sword in a rapid strike.
"Swish, swish!"
Two rapid slashes sliced through the air, and both assassins were hit.
With a clang, two cloaks fell to the ground where they had been.
"What's going on?"
Xu Que was momentarily baffled—he was certain he had struck them down, but where were the bodies?
When he opened the notification box, he discovered something unexpected!
"Standard kill: B-Level Shadow Assassin ×1. Honor reward ×20."
"Standard kill: B-Level Shadow Assassin ×1. Honor reward ×20."
"What kind of creature is a Shadow Assassin? And for B-level beings, shouldn't the honor be higher?"
Though he hadn't encountered Shadow Assassins in his previous life, a B-level creature's honor reward typically ranged from 25 to 50 points…
Shaking his head, Xu Que closed the notification box.
As he prepared to continue down the right passage, he felt the intense aura resurface, accompanied by the clinking sound of metal.
"Clang, clang, clang…"
As the sound drew closer, Xu Que saw four armored knights charging toward him!
"Fine, enough of this!"
Xu Que gripped his Primeval Sword tightly, slashing forward, sending a massive sword beam crashing through the corridor.
The blade's arc sliced cleanly through the knights' armor, as though carving through butter.
In seconds, the knights collapsed, their armor scattering across the ground.
"Again, no bodies?"
This time, Xu Que was truly puzzled. He couldn't comprehend how these figures kept appearing.
Still inspecting the empty armor, he felt another strong aura materialize nearby.
"Damn it! Will this never end?"
Xu Que spat in frustration, abandoning his investigation and sprinting toward the source of the aura.
Just as he reached the corner, six arrows whistled past above him.
"Whoosh, whoosh…"
"Clang, clang…"
Glancing sideways, Xu Que saw arrows flying at him.
At the turn of the passage, the distinct sound of drawn bows resounded.
He dared not expose himself. Camouflaging the Primeval Sword as a plain iron blade, he was about to extend it outward.
Another six arrows immediately shot forth.
Seizing the moment, Xu Que dodged around the bend, spotting six cloaked archers.
Their forms were unclear, but every visible part of them shimmered with a transparent magical construct.
"Slash!"
Xu Que had no time to examine these beings closely. He only knew they must have been summoned here.
With a single sweep, his "Sky Slash" filled the corridor with sword energy.
Watching the archers dissolve into cloaks, Xu Que raced toward the corridor's end.