Chapter 506: The Lost Contaminated

Wu Pifu had formed a preliminary understanding of the soul-level contaminated entities.

Every soul-level contaminated entity differed significantly from the enemies he had fought in the past.

Whether it was the various monsters, nightmares, or Ascended beings from past dream worlds, or even demonic creatures imbued with Source power, his battles with them had always been about speed, strength, and destruction. He had assumed that the "mechanic-like" advantages he gained from his titles were common in the dream worlds, but in reality, none of the enemies he had faced—at least none so far—possessed such power.

Perhaps the Sources had it, but he had yet to engage in any battle with a Source. At least, no enemies above the Source level had demonstrated such mechanic-like abilities.

Yet now... or rather, since the battle with the soul-level distortions began, he discovered that these distortions possessed such power. Every one of these monsters, no matter how weak, carried the same mechanic-like ability.

The Twin Monster: for every five limb attacks it made, the sixth was guaranteed to hit, regardless of how far Wu Pifu dodged. It could traverse space to land the attack, and each hit induced soul-level mutations, causing his body and consciousness to distort.

A beast-like monster covered in human-head tumors: its special mechanic was that if it missed an attack on Wu Pifu, it would cause him damage; if it hit, he would remain unscathed.

A monster made of spines and nerves mixed with rotting flesh: its mechanic required one to look at it for no more than three seconds; after that, one had to avert their gaze for at least three seconds, or it would instantly teleport onto Wu Pifu’s spine to burrow and devour him.

A floating human head: its special mechanic was...

Every single soul-derived entity possessed a unique mechanic. There might have been others, but Wu Pifu hadn't tested them, as he had no intention of waiting to be hit. These entities weren't strong; excluding their mechanics, their actual power was perhaps inferior to a three-hundred-year-old wild boar demon from the Song Dynasty dream world.

Beyond these mechanics, their most distinct feature was their soul-level contamination. This property was incredibly potent; even Wu Pifu could not remain immune. A single strike, or even a mere touch, would contaminate him.

Fortunately, while he couldn't remain immune, he possessed a resistance to soul-level contamination—one he had long neglected: the *Iron-Refining Record*.

This technique, obtained from the 0.7 dream world, was not directly imparted by the Main Brain but required self-cultivation. To date, he had only acquired two of the Five Heavenly Metals. While these two were unique and granted him "Copper Skin and Iron Bones," their contribution to his overall strength was negligible. Their physical enhancement was inferior to his Armament Haki, and for a long time, Wu Pifu hadn't considered continuing their cultivation.

Yet, who would have thought this technique was aimed directly at soul cultivation?

In short, relying on the "Tin Lungs" and "Iron Liver" he had already cultivated, Wu Pifu’s soul possessed a certain degree of resistance. Though he still suffered damage—forcing him to excise corrupted flesh and ignore corrupted parts of his consciousness—his physical body could recover through the surging of negative emotions, and the corrupted parts of his consciousness... were essentially irrelevant.

Those parts contaminated by soul-level induction surfaced from the depths of his consciousness sea, only to be washed away by the infinite negative emotions. Most sank without a ripple, while the few that tried to break through were suppressed by the World Fragments, the Power Angel, and the rest.

As long as the contamination didn't reach a level capable of breaching the two innate Heavenly Metals, he could resist and heal. But he could feel that this soul-level resistance had a limit. The Tin Lungs and Iron Liver were insufficient to fully protect his soul. If that limit were exceeded... his soul would be contaminated, leading to the irreversible distortion of his body and consciousness. That would be his true death.

Wu Pifu shook his broken Spirit-Shattering Blade, flinging off the wriggling flesh. Without a sound, he tore away the patches of skin on his body that had begun to squirm and become active, ripping out a bone that had started to sprout a mouth and face.

Having done this, Wu Pifu took a deep breath. His flesh squirmed, his bones grew rapidly, and his injuries were mostly healed. Only then did he turn his gaze toward the golden skeleton walking out of the collapsed church a hundred meters away.

A golden skeleton, over two meters tall and holding a long spear, stood still. Just as Wu Pifu prepared to charge, the Main Brain’s voice suddenly rang out.

"Lost Contaminated detected. Target confirmed... Individual of the previous era's true civilization, physical body lost to contamination..."

"Judging... Judgment complete. Citizen Wu Pifu, defeat this target to complete High-Risk Exploration Mission 1."

"Marking... Marking complete. Target danger level... Extremely High!"

Then, above the golden skeleton, a string of text appeared in Wu Pifu’s vision, forming a state similar to when he displayed his own titles.

"Lost, The Last Dragon Knight, Savior of the World, The Last Lone Hero of Civilization, Gatekeeper."

Aside from the gray-black "Lost" text, the other phrases shone with a bright light, just like his own three titles. If he hadn't misunderstood...

"Does that mean he has four titles?"

Wu Pifu swallowed hard, looking at the silently standing golden skeleton. He took a deep breath, stood firm, cupped his hands in a salute, and said loudly, "Wu Pifu..."

"I have met you."

The golden skeleton did not attack immediately. Instead, it tilted its spear, standing in opposition to Wu Pifu. A second later, the broken blade and the long spear clashed. With a thunderous roar, Wu Pifu retreated three steps, while the golden skeleton remained motionless.

"Wrong!"

On his third step back, the ground beneath Wu Pifu shattered like a spiderweb. With a twist of his broken blade, he surged forward with even greater speed, clashing against the spear once more. He was repelled again, this time by five steps.

"...Immovable? Not being repelled?"

Wu Pifu stood five steps away, exhaling a breath of air that flew dozens of meters like an arrow. In a single breath, his internal shock damage healed. He had grasped the result of the two collisions.

In terms of strength, the golden skeleton reflected exactly the amount of force he exerted—no more, no less. Furthermore, he was being repelled, while the skeleton remained truly motionless. It wasn't a matter of force control or center of gravity; it was a mechanic-like effect from a title.

"Gatekeeper!"

"Again!"

Wu Pifu raised his blade and charged. The golden skeleton stood its ground, thrusting its spear against the blade. Just as the two were about to collide, Wu Pifu’s body trembled from foot to leg, waist to arm. The forward momentum of his slash shifted into a soft force at the last millisecond, sliding past the spear and striking the ground. The spear thrust past his side.

The next instant, before Wu Pifu could step forward to attack the skeleton’s main body, the golden skeleton shuddered as if struck by lightning, retreating ten steps. Fine cracks appeared on its bones.

"...Title backlash?"

Wu Pifu wasn't sure, but he saw the "Gatekeeper" text above the skeleton dim, leaving only "The Last Dragon Knight," "Savior of the World," and "The Last Lone Hero of Civilization" glowing.

Seeing the broken blade and the spear about to collide, Wu Pifu trembled slightly from his feet to his legs, from his legs to his waist, from his waist to his arms, and from his arms to his hands. The rigid force that was originally rushing and hacking turned into soft force. It was originally a fierce slash, but at this moment, it missed and slashed toward the ground, and the spear also passed by his side.

Wu Pifu didn't stop. He stepped into the skeleton's reach, raising his blade to slash at its neck. The skeleton seemed to awaken, moving with impossible speed to lean backward while bringing its spear around in a strange arc. Wu Pifu was forced to dodge, but the skeleton, while still leaning, threw a punch with its other hand.

At the last second, Wu Pifu slapped the skeleton's fist, redirecting it past his chest. Just as he prepared to strike the skeleton's head, a massive force struck him from behind.

Wu Pifu was sent flying dozens of meters, a sweet taste of blood rising in his throat.

As he scrambled to his feet, he saw a translucent, three-meter-tall creature standing beside the golden skeleton.

A sturdy, three-meter-tall lizardman.

Above the golden skeleton, the words "Savior of the World" were glowing brightly.

At the last moment, Wu Pifu held the knife with one hand, and the other hand stretched out like lightning, slapping the back of the fist that was hitting him, hitting this punch down, letting this punch that was about to hit his chest change from hitting under his armpit. In this way, the golden skeleton spear and fist all missed. His Heroic Spirit Broken Blade immediately had to re-lift his strength and continue to slash at its head...

A huge force accompanied by a strong wind hit from behind him. This attack came suddenly, Wu Pifu's strength was old, unable to dodge, and he had to move his strength to his back, while solidifying his Armament Haki on his back as a whole.

In the next second, he was blown away for dozens of meters, his throat was slightly sweet, and he had suffered a minor injury.

When Wu Pifu turned over and got up and looked back, he was stunned to see a translucent three-meter-tall life standing beside the golden skeleton.

A three-meter-tall strong lizardman.

On top of the golden skeleton's head, the vocabulary "person who saved the world" was shining.