Chapter 134: The Deadly Mist Cavern (1) The Pseudo-Pure Yang Sword

The Death Fog Cavern was the name of the dungeon to which Zhao Tianhe had been assigned.

It was an A-rank dungeon with a five-level structure.

"Before you arrived, this guy would clear the first and second levels alone, and I would use heavy firepower to clear the third, fourth, and fifth," Saidar said. He was wearing his mage robes, and since he hadn't been drinking that morning, he actually looked quite respectable.

"But now, Saidar and I will only use the strength of seventh-level mages; the main force will be you," Ralph said with a smile. "Also, even if it takes some effort, all the elites on the first four levels must be finished off by Zhao Tianhe!"

As they were in a region where equipment enhancement machines had been deployed early on, Moore and Saidar had naturally already enhanced their gear. The result of those enhancements was that not a single piece had reached +6...

It had to be said that the gambling mode was truly a feature that shouldn't exist.

Who could resist that?!

"Brother, your talent is quite something, isn't it?" Moore looked at Zhao Tianhe with considerable admiration.

"Just average, just average," Zhao Tianhe replied with a smile.

After the level of his "Infinite Armament" skill increased, the variety of swords Zhao Tianhe could project also expanded. However, the mana consumption had also jumped from the previous 10–30 to 10–60; projecting powerful swords was significantly more difficult than crafting defensive gear.

The group walked into the basement of the apartment building. The manager, Wei Erxi, pressed a mechanism, and the floor recessed to reveal a long, winding tunnel.

This path led directly into the Death Fog Cavern; it was built here naturally to facilitate the entry of hero teams.

"Have a pleasant shift," Wei Erxi said with a wave and a smile.

The tunnel had no lighting facilities, and the stairs were rough. After all, an A-rank team would not be troubled by such trivial matters.

After moving quickly for about two kilometers, the stairs extended into a pale green curtain of light.

Stepping through the stairs, a misty black fog rushed to meet them.

Zhao Tianhe was immediately reminded of the Wind Demon; the corrosive nature of this black fog was somewhat similar.

However, the monsters here were of a completely different type than the Wind Demon.

A humanoid figure that appeared to be limping slowly approached.

Zhao Tianhe looked closely and saw a humanoid creature with pitch-black skin and two legs that were deformed to the point of being massive.

Although it possessed facial features similar to a human's, its facial muscles were underdeveloped, making it look somewhat vacant. Its lower body structure was more akin to a bird or a dinosaur like a Tyrannosaurus rex, while only its upper body resembled a human's. Its hands were also entirely made of sharp hooks rather than ordinary fingers.

"Death Fog Laborer! Watch me!" Moore cracked his neck, glanced confidently at Li Mei, and charged forward.

A mace materialized in his hands, and he swung it directly at the creature's forehead.

However, the unexpected happened!

This "small fry," as Moore called it, actually raised a claw and caught the blow that had been delivered with such menacing momentum!

Moore, with a calm expression, dissipated his weapon and then grabbed the creature's head with both hands, delivering a series of knee strikes!

After the two fought for a full three minutes, even though the battle was lively and evenly matched, Moore ultimately won because he was immortal.

Everyone could see that Moore’s strength and agility were incredibly low; he only possessed high constitution, an almost immortal ability to recover, and no discernable weaknesses.

His constitution was somewhat like that of an elemental creature, but even more durable.

"No wonder you couldn't help but clear the last three levels. It would take this guy half a day just to get through the first two, right?" Ralph asked, looking at Saidar beside him.

"No, I actually couldn't help but step in and help with the first two levels as well," Saidar sighed. "Anyway, it's a good thing you're here. I really couldn't stand this idiot anymore."

The sounds of the scuffle drew several more Death Fog Laborers, but upon seeing the remains of their fallen comrade on the ground, they turned and fled without hesitation.

They were monsters with high intelligence and would not act rashly.

Soon, several particularly large elite laborers and nearly a hundred common monsters surrounded them.

Monsters in an A-rank dungeon possessed a degree of social hierarchy and awareness from the moment they were born. They would follow the strong, and their first instinct when encountering trouble was to notify their peers and their leader.

The monsters emitted low, guttural growls like dogs threatening an intruder, slowly tightening the circle of encirclement.

"Let’s just get the common monsters over with," Zelos said. A fire cloud and the shape of a dragon's head appeared above him, and a single Dragon King's Breath incinerated dozens of the common monsters on the left into ash.

"Right. The elites are mine," Zhao Tianhe thought, and Artoria Alter appeared.

Next, a fragmentary, blood-red longsword with no hilt—only a blade—floated beside Zhao Tianhe.

"Pseudo Pure Yang Sword, incomplete projection, ability read: one-time flying sword technique, overwrite complete," Zhao Tianhe chanted with intense focus. Although he could release projections using only his thoughts, speaking them aloud made the process smoother.

Chanting spells was sometimes for show, but most of the time, it served a purpose.

A layer of pitch-black light emanated from Alter, and the Excalibur in her hand became like a blade of light.

She slashed her greatsword at the elite monster, but the creature actually leaned back, flew into the air, and kicked the sword in Alter's hand!

Alter had been enhanced by magic, and although it wasn't a full-power enhancement, her speed in a B-rank dungeon would be too much for an elite monster to react to. Yet, this A-rank elite was able to react and block.

However, Alter's terrifying strength still cracked the creature's thick, horny-soled foot and knocked it off balance, causing it to fall to the ground.

"Overwrite projection engineering, initiate: 1, 2, 3... 10." On the other side, ten fragmentary blades appeared above Zhao Tianhe’s head.

This was the legendary sword of Lü Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals: the Pure Yang Sword.

It was said that this sword had the ability to incarnate into a sword pellet and take a head from a thousand miles away, though Lü Dongbin himself claimed it had no such power and that he only possessed three swords.

He said the three swords were to sever greed, lust, and vexation. It was a technique for cultivating the heart and mind, based on compassion.

But in later folklore, the legend of the sword and its flying capabilities not only persisted but grew wider.

The treasure artifact formed by the rumors of his martial prowess in unofficial histories was this Pure Yang Sword, which possessed the miraculous ability to slaughter enemies.

Of course, with Zhao Tianhe’s ability, projecting a complete Pure Yang Sword was impossible, so he opted for an incomplete projection and extracted only the power of its flying sword technique.

"Launch!" Zhao Tianhe shouted, and the eleven fragmentary Pure Yang swords transformed into beams of scorching light, striking the elite monster that Alter had knocked down!

Although they were incomplete projections, they were still high-level weapons that cost 60 points of mana to project. Furthermore, he had triggered two "Super Magic Precognition" events, projecting two additional, more powerful fragments.

The beams of red light pinned the elite monster down. Each sword could barely pierce its muscle by a few centimeters before shattering, but two swords sank deep into its body, erupting with sword qi that severely damaged its internal organs.

Seeing this, Alter naturally didn't miss the opportunity; she lunged forward and pierced the monster's skull with her sword!

"Is this your new spell?" Zelos watched Zhao Tianhe’s move with amazement. "Is it the simplified version of the sword technique you mentioned?"

"It's different," Zhao Tianhe said, shaking his head. "If I don't project the full version of Excalibur, it's useless. By comparison, the Pure Yang Sword's single-target power is on par with it, and it can be converted into the three frontal Pure Yang swords to augment myself. It has broader functionality and is better suited for me right now."

Zhao Tianhe was already immersed in the pleasure of projecting swords, so his answer to Zelos felt slightly distracted as he muttered to himself about his own sensations.

"Stop acting like an idiot!" On the other side, Saidar couldn't help but use a spell to slap Moore from a distance!

Because for some reason, the latter had just been standing there while a common monster kicked him repeatedly, and he hadn't reacted at all...

"Oh! I am the righteous, handsome undead!" Moore turned around, dragged the monster down, mounted it, and began a flurry of hammer blows.

"My lady, might I ask your name?" Moore kicked away the monster under his feet and greeted Alter with excitement.

Alter acted as if she hadn't heard him, continuing to hack and slash at the monsters.

In the distance, Zhao Tianhe frowned at this scene.

He projected a very broken Pure Yang Sword, which had only a small part of its blade, and struck a common monster, knocking it down in front of Moore.

*'Tina is one thing, but you want to hit on my wife?!'* Zhao Tianhe calmly knocked several monsters toward Moore. The monsters, seeing an opponent with weaker resistance, naturally grew spirited and surrounded him, kicking him in a circle!

"Damn it! You monsters! Have some guts and fight me one-on-one! Ahhh~~"

Aside from his immortal-like recovery, Moore didn't seem to have much else going for him. But was this level of ability truly worthy of being called a "Seal Designation"?

Zhao Tianhe felt a bit of doubt as he watched. This guy seemed even more useless than he had been when he could only call out coordinates.

As for now?

With the ability of "Infinite Armament," Zhao Tianhe’s attack power was no longer a weakness; he didn't need to rely entirely on luck.

However, the utility of magic was still significant. Zhao Tianhe glared, and dozens of curses were cast onto an elite monster.

The next second, Alter’s greatsword landed.

At the same time, a red beam of light flew out from beside Zhao Tianhe.

The power of the broken Pseudo Pure Yang Sword was indeed not great, and the wounds it caused were not fatal. But in the hands of Zhao Tianhe, who wore the +9 Heart of Aggregation and had enhanced sensory capabilities, this level of lethality was sufficient.

As the monster was about to raise its leg to block, a point of red light struck its ankle.

In the midst of the excruciating pain, the monster naturally lost its balance and paused.

And so, Alter's greatsword naturally swept across its neck.