Chapter 94: Dungeon: The Strongest Man (4)
Outside the Nine Dragons Cave, the resurrected Su Chen began the post-death review session that he had not done for a long time.
He thought that after mastering the Dragon Transformation Sword Intention, it would be easy for him to defeat the small game dungeon called "The Strongest Man."
After all, the final boss of the previous two dungeons was not only in the early stages of foundation establishment but also had many weaknesses and was weaker than the average foundation establishment cultivator.
So, he didn't pay much attention to the boss of the "The Strongest Man" dungeon at first.
He thought he could return to the Novice Village with his max-level character, play a crushing game, and relax.
But who would have thought that the dungeon of "The Strongest Man" was a wolf in sheep's clothing?
The final dungeon boss was neither a "Ding" nor a "Strong Man," but a dragon—a genuine golden dragon of luck!
Although it was only a corpse dragon at the first level of the foundation establishment stage, it was of high status, and there were many of them!
Su Chen estimated that if they were graded into the foundation establishment quality of cultivators, the magical corpse dragon controlled by the little golden dragon would be at least at the level of a third-grade Heavenly Dao foundation establishment period.
Experts—who would have thought that there were experts in this dungeon?
Thinking of the special nature of the four magical corpse dragons, Su Chen felt a headache.
It was just that the other party was too self-restrained.
You have to know that all his current abilities were reflected in the Dragon Transformation Sword Intent.
The greatest feature of this sword's intent was that it could form a specific sword force to suppress the enemy.
Another feature allowed your swordsmanship to simulate a dragon's attack and add sword damage to the offensive.
But these two points were nothing to the little golden dragon.
Because the little golden dragon was a dragon!
How could a mere flood dragon possibly hurt a real dragon?
So, putting all that aside, the only damage that Su Chen's Dragon Transformation Sword Intent could cause the little golden dragon was a mere vibration.
But relying on that alone to expect him to injure a dragon magic corpse comparable to that of the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment Stage was undoubtedly a pipe dream.
However, this small failure also made Su Chen understand the importance of "Tao" once again.
When the Dragon Transformation Sword Intent was not restrained, he could easily defeat opponents whose cultivation was far superior to his own.
But once this advantage was lost, he would be standing on the same starting line as others and could only compete in basic cultivation and other magical powers.
"Before, I underestimated the heroes of the world. I thought that after mastering the sword intent, even if I encountered a special foundation-establishment existence, I would be able to retreat unscathed, even if defeated."
"But now it seems that I took it for granted."
"I am not the only one who has had extraordinary experiences in this world. Others also have their destinies."
"It's fine if I encounter ordinary Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, but if I encounter those who have also mastered the 'Tao,' then it won't be so easy for me to defeat them across levels."
"And right now, if I rely solely on swordsmanship or the Dragon Transformation Sword Intention, I have no chance of defeating that little golden dragon."
"I can only defeat the little golden dragon if I master other methods that won't be restrained by it and have two opportunities to use the heretic path sword."
Thinking of this, Su Chen immediately looked at his skill panel.
---
[Mountain-Collapsing Fist: Large Success 100/6000]
[Current experience points: 8325]
---
"At present, I have mastered the Mountain-Collapsing Fist. After this, I need to upgrade my proficiency to perfection level, extreme stage, and Dao entry level."
"And according to the previous upgrade process of the Dragon Transformation Sword Intent, once a skill or technique reaches the extreme state, it will not be so easy to improve."
"I'd better hold on to all this experience for now and use it when the time is right to raise the proficiency level of the Mountain-Collapsing Fist in one fell swoop."
"After all, the higher the skill proficiency level, the more experience points are required for improvement."
After figuring this out, Su Chen did not choose to challenge the little golden dragon again.
Instead, he stood up and walked toward the wall beside him.
Given his current condition, no matter how many times he faced the little golden dragon, it would be difficult to change the outcome.
So, instead of challenging the little golden dragon directly, Su Chen planned to calm himself first and focus on improving the skill proficiency of the Mountain-Collapsing Fist.
After all, if he wanted to practice the Mountain-Collapsing Fist, the process was not complicated.
All he had to do was keep punching the mountain.
In this process, the harder the mountain, the better the cultivation effect.
The black cauldron wall was undoubtedly the best target for practicing boxing.
After all, with his current strength, let alone achieving the large success level of the Mountain-Collapsing Fist, he could even reach the Dao entry level or above.
He might not be able to destroy this special black cauldron sent down by the Ancestor Qingyun.
In addition to the excellent wall for practicing boxing, Su Chen also had a special method that could double the speed of practicing the Mountain-Collapsing Fist.
That was his innate magical power, the heretic path incarnation!
As Su Chen used his magical powers, an identical version of himself appeared beside him.
Then Su Chen nodded to his heretic path incarnation, who immediately understood and walked to the black cauldron wall, throwing punches at it with the Mountain-Collapsing Fist.
Bang!
Looking at the motionless black wall, the heretic path incarnation seemed completely unfazed and threw another punch.
After seeing that the heretic path incarnation had begun to practice the Mountain-Collapsing Fist, Su Chen also began his practice.
His main body and the clone practiced boxing together, which was one reason why Su Chen was confident he could raise the skill proficiency level of the Mountain-Collapsing Fist in a short period without using experience points.
In the same amount of time, double the training efficiency!
Because he had already mastered the Dragon Transformation Sword Intent.
Then his one-day practice of the Mountain-Collapsing Fist was equivalent to others practicing for dozens of days!
During this period, Su Chen started a long-lost regular life.
It is worth mentioning that every time the dungeon reached the tenth day, the golden dragon of luck within it would be completely freed.
Then the entire Kangding Peak would shake violently, causing the mine to collapse.
So later on, Su Chen would use this as a cycle, and every time he waited for the little golden dragon to escape, he would go in and challenge him.
He aimed to test the results of his practice in actual combat.
This combination of hard training and actual combat allowed Su Chen's Mountain-Collapsing Fist proficiency level to rise at an astonishing speed.
And time continued to pass...
On the 150th day in the dungeon.
Su Chen concentrated his mind, calmed his breath, and assumed the starting posture of the Mountain-Collapsing Fist.
Then his breath began to grow heavier, and an indescribable sense of heaviness emanated from his whole body.
In the next second, Su Chen suddenly opened his eyes and punched toward the black cauldron wall in front of him.
Boom!
A huge shadow of a mountain appeared behind Su Chen.
When his punch hit the black cauldron wall, it was like a mountain crashing into it.
However, his attack, which contained the power of the Mountain-Collapsing Fist, ultimately failed to leave any mark on the black cauldron wall.
This demonstrated how terrifying this black cauldron was, as it was as massive as a mountain.
Su Chen speculated that even if this big cauldron was not the legendary divine weapon, it was close.
After sighing, Su Chen looked at his skill panel.
---
[Mountain-Shaking Fist: Dao entry-level (cannot be upgraded)]
[Effect: Enter the Dao with fists, gather your mind into a mountain, and punch out. You can shake thousands of mountains.]
---
Su Chen looked at the skill panel, which changed from Mountain-Collapsing Fist to Shaking Mountain Fist, and nodded with satisfaction.
You must remember that during these one hundred fifty days, he and his clone practiced the Mountain-Collapsing Fist almost day and night.
But even so, it still took him about fifty days to improve his Mountain-Collapsing Fist proficiency to an extreme state.
In the remaining one hundred days, he was unable to directly improve his Mountain-Collapsing Fist to the Dao entry level.
Once the proficiency of the Mountain-Collapsing Fist reached the extreme stage, it became very difficult to improve further.
There were no other options, so Su Chen chose to spend 8,000 experience points to make up for the remaining experience points.
This allowed him to finally comprehend the Mountain-Shaking Fist's intent.
Su Chen didn't know how many punches he had thrown in the past few days, but if he counted the punches from his clone, the conservative estimate would be over a million.
Thinking of this, Su Chen once again felt what the term "entering the Tao" really meant.
It took a million punches to barely enter the Dao; this boxing spirit was not something that ordinary people could cultivate.
Seeing that everything was in order, Su Chen finally walked toward the pit connected to the Nine Dragon Cave.
He wanted to let the little golden dragon feel the weight of this fist, capable of shaking thousands of mountains!
When Su Chen stepped into the Nine Dragons Cave again.
Pang Xiao on the platform once again advised him to leave.
But this time, Su Chen did not choose to speak; he walked toward the golden cauldron on Pang Xiao's body.
What was different from before was that this time, after seeing his stubborn behavior, Pang Xiao did not give him further advice. Instead, he seemed to understand something, and a hopeful expression appeared in his eyes.
He felt a heavy aura from Su Chen.
And what he could sense, the little golden dragon could naturally sense as well.
"That's why I hate you Qingyun Sect people. You are all like idiots, making meaningless struggles."
"You are like this, and so is Pang Xiao beside the golden cauldron."
"What can a mere foundation establishment cultivator do? He holds onto the golden cauldron until his death to prevent it from falling. Moreover, after his death, he relied on his strong obsession and continued to hold on after transforming into a magic corpse. I don't know how to describe this idiotic behavior."
"Didn't I just eat a few dragon veins back then? Is it necessary for you Qingyun Sect to torture me like this?"
"It's been ten thousand years. I have been suppressed by you for a full ten thousand years."
"I don't know how long it has been since the mortal dynasty disappeared. Why are you still unwilling to let me go?"
The little golden dragon cursed a few times, and the polluted demon body on the Dragon-Locking Golden Cauldron transformed into four huge magic corpse dragons, staring wide-eyed at Su Chen, who was walking toward it.
"You are just a mere Qi-gathering stage cultivator. Even if you have mastered the fist intent, what does that matter?"
"You are still as small as an ant in front of me!"
"Even if you manage to hold up this golden cauldron today and maintain the dragon-locking formation, you can only suppress me for another hundred years."
"It's only a hundred years. I've endured ten thousand years of loneliness, so why should I mind your hundred years?"
"Boy, the Qingyun Sect is finished; Immortals and Buddhas in the thirty-three heavens are all busy fighting Ancient Demons. No one cares about your life or death, so why not save your own life?"
After hearing what the little golden dragon said, Su Chen did not stop and continued walking toward it.
Seeing this, the little golden dragon realized that words alone would not be enough to dissuade him.
"Okay, okay, you want to play with me, right? Then I will play with you, albeit reluctantly!"
"Let's see which is harder—your fist or my dragon head!"
As soon as the words fell, the four Foundation Establishment Stage magic corpse dragons lunged aggressively at Su Chen.
Faced with this ferocious attack, Su Chen finally took action.
Bang!
He leaped up, and his Green Lotus Pupil began to work.
While focusing on the few lotus marks on the magic corpse dragon's body, he activated the special ability he had copied from the Gold-Eating Ant-Man: the Battle-Hardened Body.
---
[Special ability: Battle-Hardened Body]
[Effect: After activation, physical performance will be greatly enhanced, and 25% of the attacks received will be accumulated in the body and explode all at once.]
---
Even with a body that had experienced hundreds of battles, Su Chen's physique was still far inferior to that of a magic corpse dragon of the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment Stage.
But he was already comparable to ordinary physical cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Stage.
And just like this... that was enough.
"Roar!"
A magic corpse dragon opened its bloody maw and bit directly toward Su Chen.
The stench of decay and the sharp dragon teeth—all of this was captured by Su Chen.
The magic corpse dragon lunged until it was within a certain distance.
He punched hard at the lotus mark on the magic corpse dragon's head.
"Mountain Shaking Fist!"
A huge illusory mountain suddenly appeared around Su Chen.
Then the magic corpse dragon's movements abruptly slowed down as if its body were being pressed down by a mountain.
It didn't even have time to dodge Su Chen's fist.
Bang!
Su Chen's punch landed on the lotus mark between the magic corpse dragon's eyebrows, and an astonishing force immediately spread from that spot throughout the dragon's body.
Snap, snap, snap...
The magic corpse dragon sounded as if it had swallowed firecrackers, with a series of bone-crunching sounds echoing throughout its frame.
The next second, the magic corpse dragon's body exploded instantly, scattering bloody fragments across the sky.
Pang Xiao, who was carrying the Dragon-Locking Golden Cauldron, felt his shoulders relax instantly, slowing the golden cauldron's descent.
However, although Su Chen gained a lot from this punch, it was worth noting that there were still three magic corpse dragons!
At the same moment that Su Chen smashed one of the magic corpse dragons with a punch, the other three attacked him.
At this point, Su Chen had almost no room to dodge.
After all, his speed was significantly slower than those magic corpse dragons'.
Phew!
Though Su Chen narrowly dodged the attacks of two of the magic corpse dragons, one still bit off his left leg at the root.
If Su Chen had been a fraction slower, it might not have just been his leg that was bitten off, but his entire lower body!
The loss of his left leg naturally impacted Su Chen.
Fortunately, he had anticipated this outcome and knew that he would have to pay a heavy price to defeat the little golden dragon.
So even though he lost a leg, Su Chen seized the opportunity and punched the nearest magic corpse dragon!
Thanks to the enhancement of the Green Lotus Pupil, the speed of the corpse dragon was significantly slowed in Su Chen's eyes, allowing him to strike the lotus mark on the head of the magic corpse dragon with one punch.
The attribute bonus from the Battle-Hardened Body, the weakness attack from the Lotus Mark, and the terrifying power of the Mountain Shaking Fist combined to ensure that the second magic corpse dragon was also obliterated by Su Chen's punch in an instant.
But Su Chen again paid a price for this punch.
Missing a leg, he struggled to perform the Floating Cloud Step, which ultimately hindered his ability to evade the attacks from the other two corpse dragons.
One corpse dragon bit into his left arm, while the other seized his right leg.
Phew!
In a moment of brave resolve, Su Chen amputated his left arm and right leg on the spot.
Then, while falling, he punched the head of the magic corpse dragon below.
Bang!
A huge mountain shadow crashed down on the magic corpse dragon's head, and the creature's body exploded instantly.
Then Su Chen's body fell heavily to the ground amidst the scattered flesh and blood.
Seeing Su Chen willing to trade his two legs and one arm for the three magic corpse dragons, the little golden dragon on the Dragon-Locking Golden Cauldron fell silent.
It stared at Su Chen, who lay on the ground, pale from excessive blood loss, and couldn't help but ask, "Boy, why are you doing this?"
"So what if you win? I only lose a hundred years of freedom, but you... you lose your precious life."
"Are all the cultivators of the Qingyun Sect so reckless as to not care about their lives?"
"Even the Immortals and Buddhas can't protect this world, but you guys are trying to protect it one after another."
"The Qingyun Sect on Earth is like this, and so is the Qingyun Sect in the thirty-three heavens. Do you believe in that bullshit reincarnation theory?"
"You should know that I have never seen any damn underworld in these ten thousand years. Do you think you can see something that I haven't even seen?"
"Wake up! Except for some powerful beings with magical powers, most people are dead... dead!"
"So go back. Since you've worked so hard, I won't kill you this time. You've already been infected with corpse poison; you won't live long."
Su Chen, lying on the ground, took a deep breath, propped himself up with his only remaining right arm, and sat down on the blood-stained ground.
He looked up at the little golden dragon on the Dragon-Locking Golden Cauldron, just five steps away, and said calmly, "I never said that I did this to protect the world."
"Um?"
The little golden dragon looked at Su Chen in surprise, perhaps thinking that he felt invincible.
It sat attentively, listening carefully to what Su Chen wanted to say.
After all, it hardly spoke to humans in the past ten thousand years.
It's only in the last thousand years that it could occasionally talk to Pang Xiao, this taciturn person.
"Then why are you trying so hard?"
Su Chen looked at it, was silent for a moment, and then uttered two words.
"Revenge."
"Revenge? Do I have any vendetta?"
The little golden dragon's face was full of question marks because it knew very well that this was the first time it met Su Chen.
They hadn't even seen each other; what sort of revenge could this be?
How can this revenge originate from thin air?
Su Chen naturally wouldn't reveal to the little golden dragon how it had killed him with just a few claws at their first encounter.
As one who held grudges, every resurrection in the dungeon was a new beginning.
But Su Chen always remembered the first time the little golden dragon slapped him to death.
Thus, not only was there a grudge between them, but it was also a life-and-death dispute!
He threw a million punches just to avenge the claw he had sustained.
And now he was not far from that goal.
Su Chen looked at the puzzled little golden dragon and suddenly said, "Five steps."
"What about five steps?"
"When you let me get within five steps, you are already dead."
"???"
The little golden dragon gazed at Su Chen in confusion, totally baffled by what he was saying.
Five steps? So what? You have no legs; can you still crawl over here and beat me to death with one hand?
What a joke!
But soon, the little golden dragon could no longer laugh.
Because a heretic path incarnation suddenly appeared behind Su Chen.
And in Su Chen's hand, there was also a black sword.
Then, this man and his clone executed movements that terrified the little golden dragon.
"Five steps... are sufficient."
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Chen and his clone swung their swords simultaneously.
The cold light of the heretic path sword instantly flashed across the little golden dragon and the magic corpse dragons next to it.
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(End of this chapter)