Stefan had never expected Liu Xuan to pinpoint his fatal weakness so accurately.
Wait a second. Are phylacteries for liches really common knowledge now?
Stefan was even more frustrated that Liu Xuan had guessed where his phylactery was hidden.
His excessive caution had only allowed the other man to deduce far too much.
Seeing Liu Xuan charge toward the cellar with his sword in hand, Stefan completely panicked.
Liu Xuan knew all of his skills, but Stefan had no idea what Liu Xuan was capable of.
In fact, Liu Xuan had been deliberately waving the Golden Wind from time to time, all to draw Stefan’s attention.
Stefan could figure out the counterattack ability, but there was no way he could guess that Liu Xuan was actually incapable of attacking.
Now that Liu Xuan was heading for the cellar, Stefan could only do everything in his power to stop him.
Most of Stefan’s abilities involved controlling the undead. Since his skeleton soldiers were useless here, he could only use the Frostbolt he had learned back when he was a mage’s apprentice.
At least the spell came with a slight slowing effect.
A Frostbolt struck Liu Xuan, and his steps immediately slowed.
But before Stefan had time to celebrate, he was horrified to discover that he had instantly been afflicted with three effects: Poisoned, Fear, and Burning.
His shield began dropping rapidly.
On top of that, some blasted bird that had appeared out of nowhere kept circling him and pecking at him.
Fortunately, its damage wasn’t particularly high—just over a thousand points.
The real problem was Liu Xuan!
“This guy’s counterattack damage is way too high! But my phylactery—”
I can’t just ignore it!
Thanks to his extremely high resilience, Stefan soon broke free of the Fear effect. By the time he came to his senses, Liu Xuan had already entered the cellar.
He hurried after him.
As soon as he entered the cellar, Stefan noticed that Liu Xuan ahead of him seemed to have sensed him coming and instinctively glanced back.
Stefan was overjoyed. What an opportunity!
He immediately seized the moment and used Gaze of Decay.
You can be afraid, and so can I!
A dark blue beam of light burst from his eyes. The moment Liu Xuan met his gaze, he was temporarily brought under control, staggering around the narrow cellar like a headless fly.
Seeing this, Stefan breathed a slight sigh of relief.
But Fear only lasted two seconds, and the effect would soon wear off. He still had to think of a solution.
So the moment Liu Xuan recovered and began trying to get his bearings, Stefan hurriedly shouted, “I think we can discuss this! Don’t you want to possess eternal life like I do?”
It was the best bargaining chip Stefan could think of. Surely no one could refuse immortality, right?
Sure enough, Liu Xuan stopped running deeper into the cellar and turned around to regard him thoughtfully.
“Eternal life?”
Stefan secretly rejoiced. “That’s right. I used to be nothing more than an ordinary mage’s apprentice. By chance, I obtained a lich’s inheritance and gained control over the power of death. If you’re willing to cooperate, I can tell you where I obtained that inheritance.”
Liu Xuan rubbed his chin. “Let me think about it.”
“What is there to think about? It’s immortality!”
Stefan grew anxious. Someone like him, who had in a sense already obtained eternal life, was actually even more afraid of losing it.
Until he could be certain that his phylactery was safe, he would never be able to calm down.
Liu Xuan spread his hands. “But look at you now. You’re so ugly. I’m actually pretty handsome, you know. Turning into something that looks like you is a pretty hard decision to make…”
“…”
That’s a personal attack!
“Fine, but first, get rid of that blasted bird.”
Stefan didn’t dare push him too hard. At least Liu Xuan wasn’t attacking at the moment.
But the spirit eagle hovering beside him was getting annoying. It kept swooping around and pecking at him.
“It’ll disappear automatically when its duration ends,” Liu Xuan casually lied.
“How long?”
“Two minutes.”
Stefan rapidly calculated. As a former mage, his ability to do that much math was still intact.
At first, the blasted bird had only dealt a little over a thousand damage per hit. But its damage kept increasing. If it continued rising at that rate, two minutes would amount to… more than 230,000 damage?!
Stefan’s expression immediately darkened.
Liu Xuan’s earlier attack had already cost him nearly 100,000 health.
His total shield strength was only 320,000. Another 230,000 damage would kill him outright!
He didn’t believe that number was a coincidence.
Stefan glared at Liu Xuan. “Are you playing me? Just stalling for time?”
That glance backward earlier had probably been deliberate too, baiting him into using Gaze of Decay.
This kid knew all of his moves and secrets!
How laughable that he had thought he’d seen through the other man.
“Oh, so you’re not an idiot after all.” Liu Xuan grinned mischievously, then turned around and ran deeper into the cellar.
Stefan was so furious that he raised his hand, intending to launch another Frostbolt. But when the moment came, he hesitated.
If he hit Liu Xuan, he would lose another huge chunk of health. But if he didn’t, what would happen to his phylactery?
“Ahhhhh! Damn it! How can there be someone this disgusting?”
Stefan could only chase after him while continuing to tempt him with words.
“You really aren’t interested in eternal life?”
“Not interested!”
Liu Xuan answered without even looking back.
This might not be a game, but he wasn’t about to believe whatever nonsense an NPC said about eternal life.
After all, this place was called the Ascension Battlefield. Based on the information available so far, its purpose was to determine a victorious race and ultimately achieve the so-called “ascension.”
Although he had no idea what ascension actually meant, most intelligent races, once their basic survival and emotional needs were satisfied, pursued little more than powerful strength and eternal life.
Ascension was most likely related to those two things as well.
If he listened to an NPC and found that he could gain immortality simply by becoming a lich—and that his power wouldn’t suffer much for it—the appeal of ascension would be greatly diminished.
That was why Liu Xuan didn’t believe Stefan at all. Even if these “players” obtained a lich’s inheritance, they would probably have a hard time truly attaining immortality.
Not to mention, with Liu Xuan’s current strength, he would have to be out of his mind to turn himself into some kind of lich.
Ignoring Stefan’s endless attempts to fill his ears with “demonic droning,” Liu Xuan charged all the way to the deepest part of the cellar.
The area below was slightly different from what he had expected.
Originally, he had assumed that Stefan had merely found a cellar as a temporary hideout and made a few modifications at most.
But after coming down, he discovered that the place was not only extremely deep, but also very spacious.
There was a row of prison cells on either side, each containing various torture instruments and bones.
Old bloodstains covered the walls and floor. They were so ancient that it was impossible to tell how long ago they had been left behind.
Judging from the condition of the cells, this place had probably been built many years ago.
According to Stefan, he had only been in his twenties before becoming a lich. That meant he probably hadn’t built this place himself.
He was likely only the one who had discovered it.
At the very deepest part of the cellar stood a stone chamber. A diamond-shaped casket rested on a stone platform in the middle of the room.
The casket was encrusted with jewels and constantly radiated a cold, chilling gleam.
Liu Xuan glanced at it.
[Stefan Walsh’s Phylactery: What ordinary people don’t know is that a lich’s phylactery isn’t forged to be as difficult to break as everyone assumes. In fact, it’s extremely fragile—one light drop is enough to shatter it. It’s like an egg: if the shell were too hard, the fragile thing inside would never be able to break out on its own.]
Liu Xuan: All right. Now I know.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
