“Cough cough…”
I coughed a couple more times before spitting out yet another mouthful of blood. Binglan’s full-powered attack had injured me to the point where my character almost got Stunned without a CC effect on her attack. Unable to rise to my feet yet, I kneeled on one knee and asked Binglan, “Do you mean it?”
“Mn.” Binglan nodded. “It will take some time to rebuild Dragon Domain, and there are currently no key targets that require my power to defeat anyway. Karinshan and Sophie can take care of Lina the Whisperer themselves. So yes, I can open an entrance to the Purgatory for you.”
I yelled excitedly, “Awesome! Thank you, Binglan!”
Binglan said smilingly, “No need to thank me. It’s your determination that granted you your success. However, I must warn you that an endless amount of killing and death awaits you in the Purgatory, and there is a chance you may never return… Please take care of yourself!”
A pause later, Binglan asked, “When will you be departing?”
I clenched my fists and declared, “Right now!”
“Very well…”
Binglan sheathed the Dragonslaying Sword before continuing, “Let us fly to Sainthelm Ruins then. The Abyss of Death itself is a massive entrance, and it is where the Wind Singer fell into the Purgatory. Perhaps you can find Xinran faster if you enter from there.”
“Mn!”
……
After that, Binglan spoke a few words with the Dragon Knight Captain Callan before taking to the sky. Like a meteor, she shot toward the horizon at super high speed!
I gritted my teeth and kicked myself off the ground with all my might, forming a mini cyclone beneath my feet. Even with the Ancient Divine Dragon’s new stats, I was just barely able to keep up with Binglan’s normal flight speed. That was fine by me though. The faster we reached Sainthelm Ruins, the sooner I would be able to enter the Purgatory and look for Xinran.
Less than twenty minutes later, Sainthelm Ruins appeared before us once more. Gone was the magnificent castle that used to tower over the old Sainthelm City. After Lin Na’s spell, even the glaciers had crumbled into nothing. There were many undead corpses on the ground as well. Earlier, Karinshan had ordered the Silver Moon Alliance to raze the place to the ground.
Thud!
After Binglan glided to the ground and stood still, she pointed at the patch of ice beneath her feet and said, “There are three realms in this world, and they are Heaven Domain, the Human Realms, and the Ghost Region. The Purgatory is a plane in the Ghost Region, and it is right beneath our feet right now. I want you to dig through the surface layer until we reach the inner core. Then, I will gather my power and open a crack to the Purgatory for you. I cannot afford to use up all of my power though, so the crack will be small, and it will disappear after a short period of time. Don’t miss your chance to enter it.”
I nodded. “In that case, I’m gonna start digging.”
“Sure!” Binglan nodded with a smile.
I sucked in a deep breath before unsheathing my Xuanyuan Sword in one smooth motion. Then, I began injecting divine energy into it. When a normal player executed their skills, they generally infused it with battle energy or true energy. However, after I ascended to become an Asura God, my energy had transformed to divine energy instead. That was why my hidden Attack and armor penetration were much greater than before, even though they weren’t displayed as stats.
“Hah!”
I swung my sword and unleashed a powerful cross slash that cut a pair of deep gorges on the ground. After the ground started shaking less, I jumped down into the hole and continued to shatter more layers of ice and stone. Mountain Crush proved to be invaluable in this case, and its effects were so powerful that even Binglan’s mouth was wide open in surprise.
Rocks flew everywhere as I dug deeper. Some made contact with my astral energy only to be turned into fine powder instantly. It was because I was protected by my new skill, Unusual Physique. Any damage dealt to me that was below a certain threshold would simply result in a MISS. Of course, Binglan’s power had exceeded that threshold.
In just a few minutes, I had dug so deep into the ground that the only illumination I got was the golden light of my Xuanyuan Sword. Then, my sword made contact with something unnaturally tough. It was a rock stratum that was protected by wisps of spiritual energy. I had reached the boundary between the Human Realms and the Ghost Region.
……
Behind me, Binglan said softly, “Alright, that’s enough. My turn.”
“Okay…”
I backed about a dozen meters away before pointing at the stratum. “Just clarifying, but that is where the entrance will appear, right?”
Binglan nodded. “Mn. I can only keep the crack open for a couple of seconds, so make sure you rush in immediately after it appears. Don’t even waste time bidding me goodbye.”
I smiled. “Thank you again, Binglan!”
“You’re welcome. You are fighting for the human race after all!”
……
Binglan fell silent as a serious expression overtook her features. Lightning started crawling across the Dragonslaying Sword, and a powerful cyclone blew at her skirt hard enough to reveal her long, dazzling legs. When the weapon became fully wreathed in a column of fuschia-colored lightning energy, she said, “Alright, I’m going to open the entrance now. Get ready!”
I nodded and sent everyone—He Yi, Lin Yixin, Lian Xin, Beiming Xue, Gui Guzi, Li Chengfeng, Du Thirteen and more—a message: “I’m entering the Purgatory now. I don’t know what it’s like on the other side, and it’s possible I won’t be able to communicate with you all, so there’s no need to respond to this message. Bye!”
Boom!
Binglan stabbed the stratum with the Dragonslaying Sword, and the barrier that looked like a spider’s web was immediately torn apart. A crack that looked like a black hole, but with bits of lights that looked like the stars of a universe in it appeared. It was impossible to tell what lay behind it.
“Now!” Binglan urged.
I launched myself forward like a spring. Almost as soon as I passed through the crack, Binglan’s voice and the light behind me abruptly vanished like they were never there. I was without a doubt on a different plane right now!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh…
A frigid wind cut against the protective layer of my Unusual Physique again and again as I fell through the sky. If I was still a mortal right now, it most likely would’ve cut me into pieces like a human would cut their lamb meat. Also, it was pitch black inside the Purgatory.
Buzz!
The Xuanyuan Sword buzzed as I received a system notice—
Ding~!
System Notice: You have entered the first floor of the Purgatory, the “Undying Realm”. If you are killed, you will lose 20 levels and 30% of your Luck. Your Resurrection Art has been disabled, and all communications systems have been deactivated. Please be cautious at all times. The demons of the Purgatory will not give you a second chance to struggle!
……
I sucked in a deep breath. The limitations of the Purgatory could only be described as inhumane. Not only did it disable my communications systems, my Resurrection Art no longer worked as well. The revival effect of the Undying Berserker Card still worked, but there was no way I was gambling 20 levels and 42 Luck on a 25% chance to revive!
The Purgatory was split into seven floors, and I was currently at its first, uppermost layer. My first objective was to find the entrance to the next floor.
I opened my map screen and… it was completely pitch black. Yes yes, I caught your message loud and clear, system.
Left with no choice, I activated Battle Astral Wind and dove toward the ground. Ultimately, there was one very simple solution to my conundrum. I just needed to kill every mob I encountered on the Undying Realm until I found the entrance to the second floor. Of course, I wasn’t saying that there was nothing on this floor that could threaten me. For example, I was almost certain that the guardian boss would constitute a deadly threat. It was impossible to guess what it might be though, so I could only improvise as I went.
The ground of the first floor grew clearer and clearer. Even so, there was barely any light to see anything. Suddenly, a couple of small, bloody lights caught my attention. Their name was Eldritch[1] Night Watchman.They wore pitch black armor, and they looked like century-old men with crooked backs. However, their ugly, badger-like faces made it clear that they were no simple old men. They were also carrying a lantern in one hand and a steel blade in the other.
I activated Dark Pupils and captured their stat screen. It was more or less what I expected to see—
Eldritch Night Watchman (Deity)
Level: 320
Attack: 55,000~79,500
Defense: 90,000
HP: 9,000,000
Skills: Cruelty, Eldritch Possession, Blade Wind Slash, Eldritch Flame Dance
Introduction: The Eldritch Night Watchman is a low-level guard of the Purgatory. These eldritch soldiers used to be humanity’s bravest warriors until they died and were made into these abominations. Their lantern lights the way toward death, and their blade kills all intruders. It is said that in the countless years of their service, they had killed countless experts who accidentally entered the Purgatory.
……
I took a moment to ponder my strategy. Cruelty was a skill that increased attack power, and Eldritch Possession was a skill that imbued their attacks with undead energy. Blade Wind Slash was a physical attack skill, so Eldritch Flame Dance had to be a magical attack. Its repertoire of skills was surprisingly versatile for a mere lackey. If it had a healing skill as well, its threat level could be even higher.
Most importantly, the Eldritch Night Watchmen operated in squads of ten or twenty. This meant that the lowest requirement to survive in the Purgatory alone was to possess the ability to take out 20 Level 320 deity-rank Eldritch Night Watchmen single-handedly. To another player, the requirement would be seen as outright insanity. But to me? Hehe, it wasn’t even improbable. Unusual Physique was an incredibly powerful defensive skill, and Divine Deterrence would lower the stats of any undead creature within 100 yards of me by 40%. [2]This meant that the deity-rank mob was only as threatening as a dread-rank mob to me.
“Kill!”
I abruptly dropped on top of them and swung my sword three times using Burning Blade Slash. Nearly all of them took 1 million damage per hit, and that was without accounting for the splash effect. The one skill actually dropped most of the Level 320 deity-rank mobs to half health!
“Intruder! It’s a damned Silver Moon Alliance warrior! Kill him now!”
An Eldritch Night Watchman ran over to me and struck my Cyan Dragon Shield with a lightning-fast Blade Wind Slash. The metallic sparks it caused looked impressive, but the damage dealt was only 4,000 or so. It was absolutely within my ability to endure. That being said, Blade Wind Slash was a triple-hit attack. If a dozen or so Eldritch Night Watchmen surrounded me and unleashed the skill at the same time, then it could be a dangerous situation.
“Die!”
I unleashed a Universe Break that skewered the offending Eldritch Night Watchmen and 6 more behind it. Not only that, I triggered my septuple damage effect and one-shot them all. At the same time, the 50% lifesteal of my Xuanyuan Sword restored me to a state as good as new.
1. T/N: did you know that eldritch really just meant ghastly until Lovecraftian literatures twisted its meaning to unspeakable abominations? ☜
2. E/N: Divine Deterrence doesn’t work on divine entities, but obviously “deity” mobs don’t count. It doesn’t work against true gods, Divine Rank bosses and players. ☜
