Chapter 534: Divine Fire Obtained

"Fifth ring, Power Word Stun!"

Lei En shouted the spell aloud and made his wish.

It was not that he had never considered simulating a stronger control spell, but a sixth-ring Wish Spell could safely simulate at most a fifth-ring spell. For a powerful monster possessing divinity, there were very few control spells of fifth ring or below that could still take effect.

Mental control, dizziness, charm, hypnosis, or thought freeze — such negative effects targeting Willpower were nearly impossible to work on divine creatures. Blinding, freezing, petrification, and gravity binding were also unsuitable; even if it were hit, it could still struggle wildly, and not even a single second of control could be maintained.

He needed the Sunspot Viper to be completely unable to move, so that the Rending Sky Sword could strike the precise location.

Lei En's chanting speed was extremely fast, finishing in the blink of an eye.

As soon as the words fell, the Wish Spell took effect immediately, soul power dropped by one segment in an instant, simulating the effect of "Power Word: Stun."

His voice seemed to contain supreme authority, words becoming law as they echoed through the palace.

At the same time, a stasis field enveloped the Sunspot Viper.

One fifth-ring, one sixth-ring — two powerful spells with different principles but similar effects instantly rendered the Sunspot Viper unable to move, like a statue, unable to turn even its eyeballs. Its eyes reflected Lei En's figure; seeing a creature other than itself for the first time in decades, its pupils couldn't help but contract, both shocked and furious.

"It worked!"

Lei En felt a surge of joy in his heart, but then saw golden light seeping through the gaps between the Sunspot Viper's scales, tremendous energy seeming about to burst forth, and knew it was frantically resisting the binding.

"I can only control it for three seconds at most." His thoughts raced. "But that's already enough!"

The Rending Sky Sword shot across several hundred meters in a flash and finally arrived.

Its speed soared to the limit, like a streak of cyan lightning, piercing with flawless precision into the abdomen exposed when the Sunspot Viper reared upright.

In Lei En's All-Seeing Eye, there was a "line" on the giant serpent's abdomen — one of the most vulnerable spots on its body.

Moreover, the divine fire was right behind this line.

The incomparably sharp Rending Sky Sword followed the "line," sliding into the weak points between the scales, like the most experienced surgeon using a scalpel to cut through flesh while avoiding bones and organs, passing right past the divine fire and piercing through to the other side.

Lei En had already been hovering to the side, and instantly cast a mere third-ring Lightning Claw, reaching into the wound and probing inside its body.

He condensed the lightning claw to only slightly larger than an adult's palm, as if solid, seizing the divine fire within the Sunspot Viper's belly and swiftly yanking it back out.

Pfft!

With a soft sound, golden blood splattered.

The ancient, stone-like divine fire fell into Lei En's hands, covered in gold-like snake blood, every drop imbued with powerful energy.

The entire process was done in one fluid motion, rehearsed who knows how many times in Lei En's mind; he was like a surgeon operating on a patient, cutting away something that did not belong to it.

The divine fire in hand, Lei En's expression subtly changed in an instant.

But he no longer had time to examine it carefully — the Sunspot Viper's body began to tremble, and with just a struggle, the stasis field and the stun spell both failed.

The enormous, terrifying serpent head lunged over, wanting to swallow Lei En in one bite.

Clack!

The snake's jaws snapped on empty air. The Sunspot Viper's vision blurred, but it sensed the enemy's location, turned its head, and saw Lei En blink toward the great gate, flying forward frantically as if trying to escape through the entrance.

The Sunspot Viper instantly became enraged, letting out a hiss, its massive serpent body surging in pursuit.

It could sense that the divine fire was in the hands of the human ahead, yet just as it caught up, it watched helplessly as the divine fire vanished, not knowing where it was hidden. This drove it immediately into madness, golden light blazing across its body, expending its divinity without hesitation to increase speed, like a steam train at full throttle; the entire palace inside the pyramid began to shake.

Outside the pyramid.

Dejike felt the tremors; his keen senses put him on alert, and watching the dust cascading down from the tower, he couldn't help but feel anxious.

"My Lord?"

"Be ready," Reslin replied in a low voice. "The gate is about to open. Something inside seems to be coming out — I can sense powerful hostility."

Dejike took a deep breath and steadied his mind.

Inside the palace, Lei En deliberately slowed down, allowing the Sunspot Viper to catch up.

That last strike of the Rending Sky Sword had held back, taking only the divine stone without damaging any organs or bones. The Sunspot Viper's vitality was extremely tenacious; the paper-thin wound had already mostly healed, showing no sign of injury at all, nor affecting its speed.

Behind the pyramid's entrance gate was a deep passage, roughly ten-plus meters wide, thirty meters high, and about a hundred meters long. For humans this was an enormous passage, but for the Sunspot Viper's massive body it felt rather cramped — once it charged in, it blocked the way back and was difficult to turn around.

The Sunspot Viper had no intention of turning around either; right now it was single-mindedly focused on devouring the thief before it.

A few seconds later, the Sunspot Viper had already charged to the middle of the passage, its gaze locked onto Lei En, staring at its prey without relaxing for even a second.

By this time, Lei En had flown to the great gate at the end of the passage, with nowhere to escape.

He turned around, his back against the gate, facing the Sunspot Viper.

The Sunspot Viper opened its huge maw, revealing two rows of enormous fangs. The two largest tusks were three meters long, their bases as thick as pillars, the tips gleaming with a cold, venomous light, aimed straight at Lei En's body.

The distance between man and serpent grew ever closer, in an instant less than a hundred meters.

Lei En suddenly raised his hand.

Bang!

A mass of blazing white light exploded in his palm, like a small sun, its radiance instantly illuminating the entire passage, the most dazzling beam shooting straight onto the Sunspot Viper's head.

It had spent decades inside the dim pyramid; even though it possessed night vision, it had long grown accustomed to a dimly lit environment.

Suddenly struck by this Light Burst spell, its field of vision turned entirely white, unable to see anything. With its low intelligence, it could not make any proper response at all, instead accelerating its charge, attempting to simply ram the enemy to death.

Lei En calmly opened a Dimension Door and stepped through with a flash.

The pyramid had been set up with spatial barriers, preventing teleportation from the outside, but there were no such restrictions within. The Dimension Door's exit point was inside the palace, just behind the wall at the other end of the passage, in a blind spot invisible from both the passage and the gate.

He immediately closed the Dimension Door and stood flat against the wall.

Through the wall, the All-Seeing Eye saw the Sunspot Viper crashing toward the pyramid's gate.

As a powerful divine creature, the blinding effect lasted less than two seconds before its vision gradually recovered, already able to make out some blurry outlines.

Right at that moment, the tall, heavy stone gate was pushed open by a crack.

Creak...

Reslin's timing was extremely precise, triggering the "Key of Doors" Element. The magical protections that had guarded this pyramid for over ten thousand years automatically dissolved, and the "Sunfire Light" no longer rained down from above.

The Lightning-Forged Colossus placed both hands on the gate and pushed hard.

Rumble!

The massive stone gate, weighing dozens of thousands of pounds, let out a rumbling as it was slowly pushed open, the gap widening, dust scattering, light flowing over the door, the rune formation lending aid and reducing the resistance to opening.

The stone gate sealed for ten thousand years finally opened completely.

Dejike's heart was filled with excitement and apprehension; he immediately looked behind the door, wanting to know what had happened to the deity he served.

Yet, he only saw a gigantic snake!

The snake burst out of the passage behind the door at high speed, its eyes a little dazed, then surprised, and upon seeing himself and Lei En, its gaze filled with boundless fury as it let out a maddened roar and lunged forward.

The Thunder‑cast Giant Statue bent down, activating a "Blue Crystal Shield" with its left hand, spreading it before its body.

But the statue's motion lagged a beat because of the door opening, failing to fully block the entrance; the Sun‑spotted Viper sensed the statue's threat, lowered its head, brushed past the edge of the Blue Crystal Shield, and in an instant surged out of the gate, biting at Reslin, while Dejike beside him was also caught up.

A terrifying yet familiar aura enveloped him, making Dejike almost unable to breathe, his heart trembling, knowing he must not confront it head‑on.

"Step aside!"

The Minotaur Chieftain shouted loudly, his peripheral vision catching Reslin already flashing away, so he sprinted in another direction.

A flash of golden light burst from his body, and he leapt more than thirty meters in an instant, no less swift than a flash.

The Sun‑spotted Viper missed its target, slipping between the two. It had been trapped inside the pyramid for over thirty years, and upon suddenly escaping and seeing the scene inside the tomb, it froze for a moment, its speed unknowingly slowing.

Dejike jumped and landed, turned around and finally saw the monster's full form, his face instantly shocked.

"Sun‑spotted Viper!"

He had adventured in the Sunset Plane's desert dozens of times; he was extremely familiar with this poisonous snake and was certain this monster was the Sun‑spotted Viper.

But how could the Sun‑spotted Viper grow so massive?

Not only Dejike, but the Minotaurs in the distance also recognized it, all sharing the same doubt.

"Holy Light above!"

"Why is there a Sun‑spotted Viper in my lord's tomb?" the Minotaurs exclaimed in disbelief. "How did it get in?"

Some Minotaurs speculated: "Could this be our lord…?"

"This monster is certainly not our lord!" Dejike seemed to guess a possibility, his complexion turning very grim; he roared angrily, "Kill it! Lord, comrades, kill it! As long as we eliminate this monster, our lord's problem will be solved!"

At that moment he was separated from Reslin, blocked by the Sun‑spotted Viper's body.

Thus, he did not see Reslin's figure flicker; in an instant Lei En's true form swapped positions with him, restoring the real Lei En.

Inside the palace of the pyramid.

After Reslin swapped in, he immediately saw the hovering Divine Fire before him and swiftly gathered it into the Nebula Ring. Just now, having touched the Divine Fire, Lei En received some information; he cannot take the Divine Fire out of the pyramid, can store it in dimensional space, but not for too long, as that would sever the link to the Power of Faith.

Hearing Dejike's shout, Lei En did not hesitate and ordered:

"Open fire!"

A squad of Extreme Warriors on the entrance platform had been on standby; from over three hundred meters away they pulled the trigger of their Bolt Guns, the gunfire erupted, and coarse Explosive Shells roared out.

The thunderous gunshots echoed throughout the tomb.

The Explosive Shells traveled faster than sound, striking the Sun‑spotted Viper in an instant; its scales were extremely tough, the shells could not penetrate and lodged on them. The next millisecond, dozens of shells detonated, the aluminum‑based explosive turning into high‑temperature flame and metal fragments, shattering the snake's scales, leaving a series of pits, and golden blood spurted out immediately.

In pain, the Sun‑spotted Viper hissed repeatedly, generating a layer of Holy Light Barrier outside its body, finally blocking the second wave of Explosive Shells.

At this time it sensed the Divine Fire appearing briefly inside the pyramid and instinctively tried to rush back.

The Thunder‑cast Giant Statue blocked the way.

The statue sealed the doorway, activating a Blue Crystal Shield with its left hand, while its right hand formed a ten‑meter‑long "Sunlight Spear", golden lightning swirling around the shaft; as the Sun‑spotted Viper charged forward, it was pierced by the spear.

The golden‑like Holy Light Barrier was as flimsy as paper, pierced by a single thrust.

The Sunlight Spear's current surged into the giant snake's body, paralyzing it completely, stripping away the Holy Light Barrier's protection; the Bolt Gun immediately punched holes into it, the pain making it roll wildly.

The Thunder‑cast Giant Statue withdrew the spear‑shield, swung a tens‑of‑thousands‑pound heavy fist, and struck its head.

Boom!

The entire platform trembled briefly.

The statue's thunderous heavy punch sparked countless bolts of lightning, breaking off one of the Sun‑spotted Viper's fangs; half its head was a mess of blood and flesh, scorched black by the electricity. Yet its regenerative ability was astonishingly high; the severe injury only heightened its ferocity, and its massive body coiled around the statue, thrashing wildly.

The two colossal beings tangled together; the Thunder‑cast Giant Statue delivered two more heavy punches but could not break free, losing balance and being tripped to the ground by the Sun‑spotted Viper.

At this moment Dejike charged forward.

The Minotaur Chieftain leapt high, and while still airborne hurled his shield forcefully at the Sun‑spotted Viper's eye, then raised his hammer to strike down.

Holy Light infused the hammer; the golden light on it almost solidified.

The Sun‑spotted Viper desperately contracted its body, trying to crush the statue—its hunting instinct—sensing Dejike's attack, it closed its eyelids, flung its flying shield, and simultaneously opened its mouth to spew a fountain‑like stream of poisonous breath.

Dejike was drenched by the spray, his body glittering with golden light; the Holy Light Barrier was quickly broken, the poison corroded his armor and seeped into his skin, yet he seemed unaware, swinging his hammer with one hand to strike the Sun‑spotted Viper's head. With a bang, the massive snake head caved in; before Dejike could swing again, a huge tail curled back, snapping him up and flinging him out, blood spraying as he fell onto the entrance platform.

"Chieftain!"

The Sun‑walkers who had just arrived shouted in panic.

Below the platform, another squad of Extreme Warriors rushed forward, closed the distance, formed a formation, and raised their Bolt Guns to fire at the Sun‑spotted Viper.

Twenty‑five Bolt Guns fired simultaneously, creating a barrage that was almost saturated.

Every second, dozens of Explosive Shells struck the Sun‑spotted Viper; its Holy Light Barrier opened then exploded, unable to hold for more than half a second.

Lei En himself also retreated beyond safe range, deliberately letting the Extreme Warriors test their guns, while buying time for Reslin inside the pyramid to close the doors, so he did not act.

"All stop."

"Don't charge forward, leave it to the Extreme Warriors."

Amid the deafening gunfire, Lei En's words reached the Minotaurs clearly; they slowed their charge, watching the monster's wounds multiply, the injuries deepening, golden blood flowing and covering the ground.

The Sun‑spotted Viper writhed in excruciating pain, but its capabilities were extremely limited.

Apart from its divinely‑transformed robust flesh, it possessed only five Elements, which were of little use; its intelligence was very low, and injured it acted purely on instinct, desperately coiling around the Thunder‑cast Giant Statue, unwilling to let go even in death.

Lei En shook his head inwardly.

This monster was dumber than expected; the material of the Thunder‑cast Giant Statue was harder than real steel, so even if its strength were several times greater, it could not be twisted apart.

At this rate, there's no need to intervene personally; it's already doomed!

(End of Chapter)