Chapter 285: Identity of the Black Robe! (Double Chapter)

Crack—

Zefina moved her body, and large chunks of rubble peeled off the crack‑covered wall with her motion.

Brilliant golden wings reappeared, letting her break free from the deep crater in the wall.

Flapping her wings, Zefina hovered in mid‑air, ignoring the stabbing pain from her viscera, she drew a deep breath and fixed her gaze on Heipao standing in the void before her.

The opponent did not continue attacking, merely gripping that crystal core, standing silently in place.

But the screaming echoing in her mind and the image of Kaimier, the top of the Legendary Stage, being instantly slain, constantly reminded Zefina that the opponent before her was terrifyingly strong.

The light of the crystal core finally faded completely, becoming dim beyond compare, and then, like Kaimier's body, it was utterly shattered in Heipao's hand.

Heipao slightly lifted his head; beneath the hood, the face bearing a ferocious grin was exposed to the sunlight.

After a moment, he let out an icy, bone‑chilling laugh.

Boom—boom—boom—boom—boom—

The terrifying aura surged skyward; even the mere leakage pressed upon the surrounding void, forming a low‑sonic boom.

At that moment, Zefina felt as if she had fallen into hell, a chill spreading through her entire body.

His power seemed to have surpassed the limits of the Legendary Stage, reaching a far more terrifying level.

She felt her wings grow enormously heavy, flapping them becoming arduous, as if her throat were clenched, leaving her utterly breathless.

Heipao gave Zefina a casual glance, then turned away.

"Hold it!" Zefina gritted her teeth, gripping her sword tightly and lunging at him.

Heipao's footsteps halted; a deathly pale hand, white as a corpse's, slipped out from beneath his robe.

Boom!!

In the next instant, the violet‑grade long sword in Zefina's hand shattered with a bang; her body flew backward, smashing through several tall buildings before being buried in the rubble, her life or death unknown.

Even though Zefina had reached Legendary Stage strength under the Spirit Descent, she couldn't withstand even a single exchange in Heipao's grasp.

Seeing this, countless supernaturals turned pale, their faces etched with despair.

"... Can they still wait for reinforcements from the Yanhuang State?"

"Even if the reinforcements arrive, could they truly cope with such a formidable foe?"

Having blasted Zefina away with a single strike, Heipao treated it as a trifling matter, lifted his foot, and strode once more toward the void.

Just then, a low shout rang out swiftly.

"I said… stay put!"

Boom!!

A brilliant golden figure shot out from the rubble, aura surging to the heavens, and pursued Heipao without hesitation.

Heipao halted again, turned his head, and saw Zefina—every wound healed, her strength returned to its peak—his ferocious smile showing, for the first time, a hint of unexpected emotion.

Zefina remained silent, beating her wings to hover a kilometer before Heipao, clutching a golden shield in her hand, her expression grave as she fixed her eyes on him.

Thanks to her talent's effect, she instantly restored her injuries and expended energy.

But such a method could be used only once.

Because it is a talent, it cannot be used in reality.

She achieved this by consuming today's sole dungeon‑run attempt via an instant‑reset.

The opponent is one she absolutely cannot defeat.

All she can do is buy time.

Until Luo arrives.

Zefina tightened her grip on the shield.

"If anyone in the world could deal with this terrifying guy before her, the only one she could think of was Luo."

Hope… still…

Suddenly feeling a chill all over, Zefina's pupils contracted—though Heipao made no move—she was struck as if hit head‑on by a speeding train; an unimaginable terrifying force left her unable to resist, and she was blasted away tens of thousands of meters in an instant.

Cough—cough—

Zefina's trembling body barely kept stable in the void; raising her head again, her pupils constricted once more.

Because Heipao's silhouette had vanished from the void ahead.

He…

Zefina suddenly felt a chill on her back, swiftly turned her head—but before she could see what was behind her, a cold hand clamped onto her face.

Boom!!

Accompanied by a shockwave rippling like water through the void, Zefina plummeted like a meteor, slamming heavily into the ground; instantly a vast cloud of dust rose, and the tall buildings across the surrounding area toppled simultaneously.

Heipao stared downwards, the grin on his face growing more ferocious; he slowly lifted the hand that had just seized Zefina, and a gray‑black energy mass, brimming with ominous aura, drew power from the surrounding vast area, instantly coalescing.

The gray‑black energy burst forth silently, like a heavy cannon blasting toward the debris and dust below; even heaven and earth grew dim beneath this strike.

The gray‑black energy struck the ground, and in the next instant exploded outward; a hemispherical wave of gray‑black energy rapidly expanded, swallowing everything around it, and a terrifying energy storm swept across the entire city.

Heipao's mouth corners curled up to his cheeks, his grin reaching utter ferocity while his eyes blazed with madness.

He opened his mouth wide, revealing teeth packed with sharp fangs, about to laugh—but in the next instant his smile began to fade.

Hum—

A low‑hum resonated; the next moment, the wind blew away the dust in the ruins, and a handsome figure stood calmly below, gazing up at Heipao in the sky.

He merely lifted his hand, and already neutralized the terrifying force at the explosion's epicenter.

"Looks like I arrived just in time."

Qin Chuan spoke calmly; behind him, Zefina leaned against the broken wall and trudged out, drenched in blood, her breath feeble to the extreme.

"Th… thank…"

"Rest now." Qin Chuan glanced at Zefina, "I'll take care of the rest."

Zefeina nodded slightly, then in the next instant she could no longer support herself and collapsed heavily to the ground, losing consciousness.

Had she not, without hesitation, equipped all usable protective gear after recovering to her peak, she would already be dead.

He stepped forward, Qin Chuan half-kneeled on the ground, one hand pressing on the shadow beneath his feet.

「Spirit Descent·」

Black flames erupted from the shadow beneath Qin Chuan's feet, instantly enveloping his body; when the flames faded, Qin Chuan wore a mask without eye holes, raised his head high in the swirling black energy wind, and gazed at the black-robed figure in the void.

「Dark Night Hunting Shadow. 」

Black flames blossomed at his feet, Qin Chuan flickered and appeared in the void, at the same height as the black-robed figure.

A crimson dragon-slaying blade appeared in his hand, pointing far toward the black-robed figure.

"Let's finish this."

"First-Generation Lakebottom Death Demon."

The black-robed figure slowly lowered his hood, revealing a face with exquisite features, yet his ferocious smile made one's heart pound; his gaze toward Qin Chuan was filled with mad killing intent.

This was the second time Qin Chuan had seen that face.

Last time, it was outside the D-rank dungeon of Descent, the Alabaka Mountain Range.

At that time, his opponent was blocked by the dungeon passage's boundary, unable to enter the passage, only able to gaze at him from outside.

This time, the S-rank dungeon passage gave his opponent an opportunity.

If the previous encounter couldn't be completely confirmed, now, standing before his opponent and sensing the strange aura sharing the same origin as the Kasakaban, Qin Chuan could already be certain.

His opponent was none other than the First-Generation Lakebottom Death Demon that had vanished into the Screaming Demon Lake.

On the way here, he had already learned the previous situation from the communications of the Everlasting Sun Nation.

After absorbing the "core" of a Legendary-stage Crystal Clan member, the Lakebottom Death Demon had indeed broken through the Legendary stage's shackles.

Qin Chuan could feel the strength of the opponent before him.

That was a power infinitely close to the Mythic Stage.

But…

The Lakebottom Death Demon must die.

He would absolutely not allow the opponent to produce more Kasakaban on Blue Star.

"Dark Night." Qin Chuan whispered.

In the next instant, a pitch-black domain descended from the void, instantly covering a radius of ten thousand meters, enveloping both him and the Lakebottom Death Demon.

The screaming that had lingered in his ears since he first saw the Lakebottom Death Demon vanished instantly.

This was Silver Horn's active skill, Moon Still Dark Moment, yet not entirely.

Because it also carried the effect of Spirit Descent·Dark Night Hunting Shadow.

It greatly enhanced his own dark perception, depriving both sides of sight and hearing.

In the absolute darkness, Qin Chuan's mind instantly conjured the image of the Lakebottom Death Demon.

In the next instant, he vanished from his spot, appearing like a ghost behind the Lakebottom Death Demon, one hand flickering with black flames, instantly pointing at the demon's back heart.

"Pop—"

The Lakebottom Death Demon, standing still, instantly raised his hand; before Qin Chuan's hand could touch him, he seized Qin Chuan's hand, then turned, and the other hand hidden beneath his black robe had at some point gathered a mass of gray-black energy, its power greater than the previous strike.

The gray-black energy surged forth like a heavy cannon, instantly striking Qin Chuan at close range.

"Boom!!!"

In the silent darkness, the terrifying blast nearly tore open the entire black domain.

Before the Lakebottom Death Demon could even show a smile, a wisp of black flame had already re-coalesced into Qin Chuan's body, his hand pressing against his chest.

Threefold annihilation, first strike.

"Hum—"

Black patterns instantly appeared on the Lakebottom Death Demon's chest, like a coquettish flower blooming, causing his terrifying aura to wilt slightly; countless cracks spread across his body, like fine porcelain shattering, revealing the gray-black crystal cross-sections within.

The Lakebottom Death Demon's expression twitched instantly; gray-black light surged out, and those gray-black crystal fragments began to recover at great speed.

"Crack—"

Qin Chuan's dragon-slaying blade instantly stabbed into the Lakebottom Death Demon's abdomen, and without hesitation he activated Shadow Eclipse Body.

The effect that reduced recovery by 50% took hold; the Lakebottom Death Demon's movement stalled, the visible speed of his wound healing slowed, and his body surface quickly showed traces of shadow erosion, his aura continuing to wane.

With a roar, the Lakebottom Death Demon's bone-white hand shot out like a claw toward Qin Chuan; the gray-black airflow in his hand spun rapidly, instantly forming a terrifying grindstone, and the illusory images of countless beings being crushed crashed down, the fearsome aura making Qin Chuan's heart throb.

He hesitated not, vanishing from his spot and reappearing elsewhere in the darkness.

In the next instant, the entire black domain shattered with a bang under the Lakebottom Death Demon's strike.

Having nullified the force that affected himself, the Lakebottom Death Demon, having regained sight and hearing, fixed his gaze on Qin Chuan not far away, preparing to launch another attack.

But Qin Chuan's speed was faster.

With both hands covered in black flames, Qin Chuan flickered and appeared before the Lakebottom Death Demon, a claw tracing a dark arc in the void and heavily striking the demon's body.

Moon Devouring Light Lethal Claw!

As the claw shadow fell, Qin Chuan's second claw had already descended.

Immediately followed by the third and fourth claws.

Seven consecutive claws fell, and Qin Chuan's motion paused slightly.

The combo ended.

The Lakebottom Death Demon, flung backward, was nearly shattered entirely; under Qin Chuan's successive attacks, terrifying cracks appeared all over his body, and the gray-black crystal surfaces seethed with an ominous aura.

Even so, his grin remained ferocious.

The ominous aura surged forth; though suppressed by the dragon-slaying blade, its astonishing recovery speed still allowed its wounds to heal rapidly at a visible pace.

Seeing this, Qin Chuan calmly retracted his dragon-slaying blade, and immediately a holy-light-spewing longsword appeared in his hand.

Red equipment, Resurrection Sword.

Want to compare recovery?

Then let's go!

Holding a long sword, Qin Chuan instantly charged toward the Lake Bottom Death Demon.

Two figures flashed and crossed in the void, exchanging hundreds of blows in an instant; the speed was such that onlookers couldn't see them, and only the sweeping energy storm continued to surge, enveloping the entire city in a howling gale.

This has surpassed the level of the Legendary Stage; it can be said to be the strongest battle below the Mythic Stage.

After who knows how many rounds of combat, Qin Chuan flashed his form, dodging a blast of the Lake Bottom Death Demon's energy cannon, and his gaze instantly turned sharp.

Time's up.

Cutting through the surrounding storm, Qin Chuan instantly appeared before the Lake Bottom Death Demon, raising a hand in an instant; a black pattern on his fingertip, carrying the aura of death, he unhesitatingly pressed against the demon's chest.

Three times extinguished, second strike!

The Lake Bottom Death Demon's body suddenly stiffened, a horrified expression appearing on its ferocious face; its body shattered inch by inch, countless gray-black crystals shattering, leaving only a small half of its body and its head.

Having dealt true damage equal to 66% of its life, it instantly plunged the Lake Bottom Death Demon, which had never been able to recover from its injuries, into a state of severe wounds and near death.

"It's over." Qin Chuan drew Saras's Dragon-Slaying Blade from the void, raised it high without hesitation, and brought it down in a single slash.

The Lake Bottom Death Demon's head and remaining body instantly separated.

At the same instant its body shattered, the Lake Bottom Death Demon's flung head shot toward the rapidly approaching Qin Chuan, suddenly squeezing out an extremely bizarre and ferocious smile.

Qin Chuan let out a low grunt, and the long blade unhesitatingly pierced the Lake Bottom Death Demon's face, digging out an extremely sturdy crystal core from its brain.

As Qin Chuan grasped the crystal core in his hand, the Lake Bottom Death Demon's head, frozen in its ferocious grin, shattered piece by piece.

Qin Chuan glanced at the ominously pulsing crystal core in his hand, then without hesitation flew toward the entrance of the S-rank dungeon.

The moment Qin Chuan stepped into the passage, everything around froze; only the dazzling light descending from the heavens filled the entire world.

A faint moan echoed, and when the light faded, the crystal core had vanished.

Done.

Having dispelled the time stop, Qin Chuan looked toward the gathering inside the dungeon, intently watching his many Crystal Clan.

Next, it's time to destroy the passage.

(End of chapter)