“Die!”

The `Priest`’s lingering combat instincts drove him to let out a furious roar. His withered arm blurred into an afterimage, unleashing a terrifying force field capable of tearing space apart as it slammed toward the intruder’s head.

In his prime, he was confident that even a glancing blow would have been enough to obliterate the `Spellcaster`.

But unfortunately for him, to `Su Chen`’s combat intuition, the attack was still far too slow and riddled with openings.

WHOOSH!

With a minute shift that defied the laws of human mechanics, `Su Chen` dodged the fatal palm strike by a hair’s breadth.

The `Wind Blade`s generated by the force of the palm shattered his personal double-layered interlocking shield, but only left a faint white mark on the surface of his `Mechanical Armor`.

At the same time…

CLANG!

`Su Chen`’s right hand was already swinging forward, building `Sword Momentum`. The bleak, gray blade reflected not a single ray of light; instead, it seemed to swallow the surrounding illumination like a miniature black hole.

“Break!”

`Su Chen`’s muscles contracted at an overclocked frequency, his `Power` exploding to its peak under the enhancement of his `Steel Bones and Iron Flesh` trait.

The `Silent Extinction Sword` carved a fatal trajectory, five layers of `Attached Damage` perfectly contained within the blade’s edge.

SHLICK!

The blade cut through the `Priest`’s neck like a knife through hot butter, slicing into his left side without a hint of resistance. It continued diagonally downward, cleaving half his chest cavity and his still-beating heart in two.

The `Silent Extinction Sword`’s unique energy `Annihilation` effect erupted instantly. At the wound, the flesh that was trying to writhe and heal was directly vaporized, erased from existence.

“Hngh!”

The light in the `Priest`’s murky eyes faded as he was finally, bitterly defeated.

“First one.”

`Su Chen` coldly withdrew the `Silent Extinction Sword`. He then focused his `Strong Will`, forcibly tearing open the corpse’s `Sea of Consciousness`. From within, he pulled out a `Spiritual Power Soul Crystal` that pulsed with a dense `Spiritual Fluctuation`.

‘Excellent!’

‘My `Divine Illumination Skill` needed exactly one `Spiritual Power Soul Crystal`.’

‘Too bad it didn’t drop a `Spiritual Soul Core`.’

‘My `Telekinesis` Lv10 is just two `Spiritual Soul Core`s short of an upgrade. A relatively minor requirement, too.’

‘I’ll save this for `Divine Illumination Skill` Lv8, then.’

At this moment, the `Priest`’s corpse at his feet was still degenerating. Even patches of well-preserved skin were inexplicably wrinkling and turning yellow.

‘Still has some use left in it.’

Seeing that the power within its flesh and blood was not yet fully depleted, `Su Chen` didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the corpse and, with a single spatial jump, returned to the altar structure on the cliff’s edge.

Without any wasted motion, the remains were unceremoniously tossed into the altar’s `Rune Array`.

Amidst a surge of brilliant golden light, the altar swiftly devoured the corpse. A moment later, it fed back a streak of flowing light that landed in `Su Chen`’s hand.

‘A `Spiritual Shelter` Lv8.’

`Su Chen` glanced at the `Spirit Element` `Rune`, his expression impassive.

‘For my `Mechanical Armor` with its `Immortal Heart Core` trait, this is a bit redundant. But… it might be possible to combine it with `Water Mirror Refraction` to create a more powerful three-in-one woven `Technique`.’

‘I’ll keep it for now.’

Having successfully perfected this bug-like exploit, he immediately slipped back into the `Underground City` within the cave.

What followed was a tedious yet extremely efficient assembly-line process.

Stealthy infiltration, precise placement of shadow flames, and a delayed detonation to force an awakening.

Then, he would wait patiently outside, letting the powerhouse from the previous era scream in agony under the crushing weight of the world’s `Law`s as their strength plummeted.

Once its aura had weakened to its absolute nadir, `Su Chen` would descend like a grim reaper.

He would activate `Super-Limited Premonition`, reap the life with his `Silent Extinction Sword`, break open the `Sea of Consciousness` to seize the `Spiritual Materials`, and finally, take the remains and jump to the altar for a secondary use.

The entire process was seamless, ruthless, and efficient.

After five consecutive rounds of slaughter, the `Underground City` now held the ghosts of five more `Priest`s whose slumber had been violently interrupted.

`Su Chen`’s rewards were also plentiful: two `Spiritual Power Soul Crystal`s and one of the `Spiritual Soul Core`s he desperately needed.

The reason the five `Priest`s didn’t have a perfect 100% drop rate was that `Su Chen`’s timing was off by a fraction of a second.

While enduring the merciless devastation of the world’s `Law`s, these `Reviver`s became exponentially more fragile with each passing second under pressure.

`Su Chen` had tried to hold back and delay for two or three seconds, hoping to force a drop of the lower-tier `Spiritual Soul Core`s. But as a result… two of the `Priest`s’ `Sea of Consciousness` collapsed prematurely, and the spiritual items within were annihilated.

‘The timing is difficult to master.’

`Su Chen` mentally adjusted his hunting rhythm for the next targets.

Not only had he missed out on some `Spiritual Materials`, but the rewards from sacrificing them at the altar outside were also inconsistent.

The `Spirit Element` `Rune`s he received were Lv8 and Lv7. He also got a small `Flying Knife` glowing with a faint purple light that could quickly pierce `Element`al shields, and a belt entirely inscribed with `Wind Element` `Demon Pattern`s, which was worse than the `Binder’s Belt` he was already wearing.

‘Not very useful.’

To him, it was mostly high-end junk.

According to intelligence from the official radio, the rewards from altar sacrifices were indeed diminishing. The main reason was that once the analytical value for ‘It’—the entity behind the altar—to study decreased, repeated submissions would naturally yield lower rewards.

‘It’s getting stingy.’

This had also considerably dampened the desire of the people of Dongfu to explore the various fissure caves.

「Outside, by the cliffside altar.」

“There’s no way to replicate what this number one is doing,” two newly arrived Ghost Agents lamented silently.

They had received orders from their superiors to investigate the fissure caves. The terrifying `Spiritual Energy` pressure that periodically surged from the area made them wary, but their curiosity won out, and they flew over to take a look.

It turned out to be Dongfu’s number one carrying out this operation.

They more or less understood what he was doing.

To be honest, after a mental assessment, even the members of an elite investigation team that had just arrived had to admit they couldn’t possibly replicate his methods.

The teleportation via spatial jumps was a major hurdle.

Besides, forcefully awakening a being from a previous era in the `Underground City` was also incredibly dangerous. If their timing was off, teleporting back would be a suicide mission; they’d likely be dead on arrival.

The wind-up time for the `Skill` alone was long enough to get you killed several times over.

But if they delayed any longer, the rewards would be gone. It would be a complete waste of time, with little to no profit to be gained.

The timing was incredibly difficult to master.

To prevent the `Spiritual Energy` fluctuations leaking from the cave from harming innocent civilians, all they could do was help maintain order in the surrounding area and ensure no outsiders trespassed into the forbidden zone.

‘I’ll save them up and farm a big wave.’

For a long time after, `Su Chen`, like a tireless phantom, continued to repeat this slaughtering process, a routine that was almost an art form.

Such high-intensity, continuous spellcasting and spatial jumping would place a terrifying strain on any `Spellcaster`’s `Magic Power` and mental state.

He didn’t waste any `Empowerment Potion`s, nor did he use his `Time Hourglass` to reset his status.

Whenever his `Rune Energy` ran low, `Su Chen` would rely on the domineering absorption effect of his `Elemental Furnace` trait, forcefully drawing in the free natural `Element`s from the environment to replenish his `Energy Bar`.

After a long series of tedious yet deadly assembly-line operations, the sacrificial light of the altar flared and faded time and again. `Su Chen`’s `Soul Pocket` was now richer by a full three `Spiritual Power Soul Crystal`s.

Until…

He encountered his most dangerous situation yet.

BOOM!

As the shockwave from the shadow flame blasted open the heavy stone coffin, the `Priest` within instantly grasped the situation the moment he awoke.

In a state of extreme agony, the creature instantly ignited its entire `Life Origin`. Its powerful, physical body then used `Mind Transmission` to teleport straight out of the cave.

This meant it had broken through the invisible barrier. Its body, now bathed in the light of the outside world, was withstanding a repulsive force of `Element`al fluctuations as violent as a tsunami.

But… before its sharp, curse-laden bone claws could slash horizontally across the one or two kilometers separating it from the distant figure…

Its movements suddenly froze.

“You crossed the line,” `Su Chen` said calmly.

Perhaps the `Magic Goddess` had been thoroughly enraged.

VMMMM!

There were no screams, no struggles. Even the process of its flesh degenerating was forcibly skipped.

This monster from a bygone era, which had maintained its high-level combat power at the cost of its own life force, simply disintegrated on the spot. It was like a snowman exposed to the summer heat, melting away in a bizarre and hopeless fashion.

SHIMMER!

It was completely reduced to `Elemental Particles`.

Crushed by the terrifying, fundamental logic of the world, it dissolved into countless motes of light that scattered and were annihilated by the `Wind`.

‘If they stay inside and degenerate into troglodytes, they can at least wait for the era to change and hope for a reversal of fortune. But if they dare come out… not even their bones will remain.’ `Su Chen` had, in a way, just witnessed another cruel aspect of the world’s `Law`s.

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