Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

With Xia confirming the origin of the bronze door, Lin Yi and Su Xiao both breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the Old Gods were troublesome and deadly enough, at least their power and characteristics were still within the scope of their cognitive system to understand and deal with.

Just like facing a ferocious beast whose habits, weaknesses, and attack patterns are known, no matter how powerful it is, there is always room for maneuver and killing.

The unknown is always the most unsettling variable.

The tension between the two, which had been slightly heightened due to the greatest potential threat, quietly eased a little at this moment.

This relaxation is not laziness, but rather drawing limited energy away from unnecessary worries.

Laurent and Dawn noticed this subtle change in atmosphere.

Although they did not understand the specific meanings of "Void" and "Abyss," they knew that they were certainly more terrifying than the presence lurking behind the bronze door before them.

Even these two ancient god hunters from outside the realm felt oppressed.

The relief of pressure at this moment is undoubtedly a good sign, meaning that they do not have to face that kind of completely extraordinary despair for the time being.

"Leave the night watch to me," Gus said in a deep voice, taking on the task of keeping watch.

He needed some time alone to clear his chaotic thoughts.

The amount of information that happened tonight was overwhelming.

He felt that his brain, which might have become somewhat rusty during his long years of imprisonment, needed to be lubricated and reorganized in order to keep up with the leaping thoughts and ruthless and decisive style of these "young people".

Shuguang didn't say much, but silently took out a simple-looking jade incense box from his pocket.

The box is warm and smooth all over, and is engraved with intricate star and epiphyllum patterns, making it a work of art in itself.

Upon opening the box, a cool fragrance, imbued with countless drops of moonlight and morning dew, filled the air, instantly invigorating everyone present.

She stretched out her slender fingers and carefully picked up a small pinch of the delicate, snow-like fragrance from the box, placing it into a portable bronze openwork incense burner.

"This is 'Moonlight Star Frost,' made from the pollen of 'Eternal Night Udumbara' mixed with several calming herbs."

The voice of dawn carried a hint of nostalgia: "The Eternal Night Udumbara grows only in the darkest places, in the most yin places where the moonlight energy is purest and most abundant. It blooms only once in its life, and its flowering period lasts only half a night. When it blooms, it is like solidified moonlight, and its fragrance can soothe the wounds of the soul. Before the power of the ancient gods polluted this world, it had already nearly disappeared due to drastic environmental changes. These in my hands are the last treasures passed down by my mentor. Every bit used is one less."

Her tone was very calm, yet it conveyed a sense of desolation, as if everything had changed.

It's clear that this Yuehua Xingshuang is very likely a relic left behind by Shuguang's master.

However, there's no time for regret now; restoring everyone's condition is the most important thing.

A small, gentle flame flickered from the tip of Dawn's fingertip, igniting the spices.

The wisps of smoke rising were not pungent; instead, they carried a strange, soothing quality. Inhaling them felt like washing away the weariness of the soul and smoothing out the wrinkles of the spirit.

Lin Yi felt that the constant sharp pain in his mind had become much softer under the fragrance, as if it had been covered with a cool veil.

Su Xiao didn't rush to rest. He looked at Laurent and waved.

Laurent stepped forward with some confusion, thinking that Su Xiao had some tactics to discuss.

However, the next moment, Su Xiao's hand seemingly casually pressed on the hilt of the Dragon Slayer Blade. Although the blade was not fully drawn, the sword intent that seemed capable of cutting through everything locked onto Laurent as if it were a tangible thing, making the air around him seem to freeze for a moment.

Laurent's eyes narrowed, his magical energy instinctively accelerated, and his muscles tensed instantly, putting him into a state of combat readiness.

But almost simultaneously, he noticed that there was no murderous intent or provocation in Su Xiao's eyes, only a pure scrutiny.

He immediately realized that this was not a harbinger of conflict, but rather some kind of... preparation for war.

Su Xiao took out a seemingly ordinary, even somewhat old, wooden box from his storage space.

The wooden box has no fancy decorations on its surface, only the mottled marks left by the years.

……

【Spirit Box】

Origin: Black Abyss

Quality: Epic
Type: Treasure Chest (can be used once), Consumable (can be used three times)

Effect 1: If you choose to open this item, it will damage its internal structure and reduce the quality of the weapon stored inside. You can randomly obtain a gold to epic quality knife weapon.

Effect 2: The Spirit Box contains 16 epic longswords (currently 15, the Blind Fish has already sacrificed them to the Lord). The holder can consume one large Soul Crystal to open the Spirit Box and choose any longsword to use (it can be used until the end of the current battle, and this longsword is epic with a full rating).

……

Under Laurent's watchful eye, Su Xiao began to carefully embed a large soul crystal into the groove inside the box.

As the soul crystal was embedded, intricate patterns lit up the surface of the wooden box, and a strange energy fluctuation began to gather.

Immediately afterwards, Su Xiao took out several weapons with extraordinary auras. Each of them would be considered a divine weapon in the outside world, enough to make fifth-order contractors fight tooth and nail for them.

Laurent looked at the weapons, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

With his discerning eye, he could naturally see the extraordinary nature of these weapons.

Su Xiao placed the Dragon Slayer Flash flat in front of him. Then, as if drawn by an invisible force, streaks of black light surged from the Dragon Slayer Flash and wrapped around them like tentacles.

"Crack... Snap..."

A series of crisp cracking sounds rang out.

Those high-quality weapons, as if weathered for millennia, quickly became dull and rusty, eventually disintegrating into countless shimmering crystal fragments.

Attracted by the core, these crystal fragments drifted towards the central Dragon Slayer Blade, like rivers flowing into the sea, merging into the dark blade.

Su Xiao stared intently at the attribute panel of the Dragon Slayer Flash, where the "Sharpness Value" bar, representing the advancement progress, was slowly climbing.

This made Su Xiao frown slightly; the gap between the Epic level and the Holy Spirit level was even greater than he had anticipated.

Despite investing so many high-quality weapons, the progress bar is still just a hair's breadth away from being complete.

He hesitated for a moment, a resolute glint in his eyes.

With a flick of his wrist, Su Xiao produced a simple-looking short sword that radiated a soul-stirring aura. This was one of his frequently used secondary weapons, the [Soul Walker].

Without much hesitation, Su Xiao also placed the [Soul Walker] near the Dragon Slayer Flash.

A dark, ghostly light reappeared, enveloping the short sword.

In less than a minute, this short sword followed the same path as the other weapons, turning into crystal fragments and being completely absorbed by the Dragon Slayer Flash.

As the last fragment of crystal sank into the blade, the Dragon Slayer, like a satiated beast, fell into complete silence. The blade no longer reflected any light; all its sharpness and aura were contained to the extreme, as if it had become a piece of ordinary iron.

But everyone could sense that a radical transformation was taking place intensely inside the blade.

Dark blue smoke began to rise from the Dragon Slayer. Su Xiao, as the wielder, did not feel any discomfort, but Bubuwang, Amu, and Baha, who were standing nearby, felt as if they had been pricked by needles and retreated away from the Dragon Slayer that was being upgraded.

Almost at the same time, the Black and White Rose, which Lin Yi had been leaning against, suddenly emitted a clear and melodious tremor.

A sharp and incomparable sword intent soared straight into the sky.

As a weapon with similar growth potential, the Black and White Rose has experienced many worlds, especially after absorbing some of the essence of death scattered when the three ancient gods fell in this world. It is now on the verge of transformation.

The progress bar inside the Black and White Rose, representing the "origin of death," has surged from its previous snail-paced pace to nearly 98% after absorbing a portion of the essence of the three ancient gods.

However, to achieve 100% perfection and trigger a true transformation, there is still one crucial step to take.

Lin Yi reached out and gently tapped the hilt of the Black and White Rose sword.

The soaring sword intent was as if pressed down by an invisible hand, quickly receding back into the sword body. However, the black and white rose pattern on the hilt seemed to have become more vivid and lively.

Seeing this, Shuguang and Meihuan, who were in slightly better condition, both showed a hint of surprise in their eyes. They had originally thought that Lin Yi was a pure healing and support core, but they did not expect that he would also hide such fierce offensive methods.

The aura emanating from that longsword was far from ordinary; its potential was probably no less than that of Su Xiao's longsword, which was currently undergoing advancement.

As the incense of "Moonlight and Stars" continued to burn, Lin Yi, Su Xiao, and their summoned creatures, including Bubuwang, gradually entered a state of light sleep or deep meditation in order to recover from the enormous mental and physical exhaustion they had expended.

In this perilous native world, especially with powerful enemies all around, the group could not truly sleep soundly; they all maintained a sense of vigilance, like tigers feigning sleep.

Time slipped away quietly in silence and recovery.

Before we knew it, the sky was beginning to lighten, but today's dawn was different from usual.

The expected sunlight that should have pierced the clouds did not appear, and the entire world remained shrouded in a hazy gray hue.

The dark clouds over Eisenla City did not dissipate; instead, they grew thicker and slowly swirled, forming a huge and oppressive vortex at its center, as if connected to some ominous dimension.

While Bubuwang excitedly circled around, eagerly anticipating the sounds of Xia preparing breakfast, Xia had already begun skillfully setting up the kitchen utensils and processing the rare ingredients that Laurent had once again generously provided.

Soon, a more enticing aroma replaced the cool scent of incense, filling the camp.

As everyone sat around enjoying the sumptuous breakfast, Xia stared blankly at the soaring attribute values ​​on her personal panel.

After two big meals, her average attributes increased by more than twenty points.

According to her own estimation, this level of improvement would require at least ten mission worlds to achieve, even with the attribute point rewards.

And now, it was achieved in just two meals, even though she was too full to enjoy her food to her heart's content.

"This must be... the happiness of having found the right person to rely on." Xia thought to herself, deciding that she must work harder to improve her cooking skills in the future, and hold on tightly to Lin Yi and Su Xiao, those two... no, those two incredibly powerful figures!

After breakfast, everyone settled down.

Su Xiao looked up at the unusual sky in the direction of Aisenla, his gaze calm.

"Baha, don't go scouting yet." He stopped Baha, who was about to take flight.

"Boss, what's wrong?" Baha asked, puzzled.

“Sphinx isn’t the type to show off his wits and wait for his opponents to fall into his trap,” Su Xiao calmly analyzed. “High-altitude reconnaissance makes the target too obvious, and there’s a high chance they have air defense measures that we don’t yet know about.”

The group began to cautiously advance towards the city of Aisenla.

The temporary camp they chose was some distance from the outskirts of Eisenla, and normally they should have been able to feel the morning sun by now.

But right now, there is only a deathly silence and a chilling wind blowing from the direction of Eisenla, carrying the scent of decay.

Lin Yi was still being carried by Amu. Although he had not recovered, the three ancient gods, the main threats to this world, had been eliminated, and the biggest variable, Sphinx, was hiding in the city, carrying out his final frenzy.

With Su Xiao, the three immortal wizards, and the Sorrowful Daughter by his side, there is no need to worry too much about safety for the time being.

He also needs to be on-site in order to deal more effectively with any emergencies that may arise.

Standing beneath the magnificent yet crumbling walls of Eisenla, one can feel the malice and ominous atmosphere that permeates the entire city.

The massive stones of the city wall are covered with pits formed by weathering, and the stones at the edges have become as thin as crescent moons, yet are exceptionally strong and sharp.

The base of the wall was covered with a thick, moss-like black substance, almost identical to the "wall coverings" that could be seen everywhere in the city of Heru.

Su Xiao covered his hand with a crystalline layer made of Azure Steel Shadow energy, tore off a small piece of black "wall covering", and carefully sniffed it.

"The smell, texture, color... are exactly the same."

This means that the changes in Eisenra and the environment of Heru City, which has long been eroded by the power of the ancient gods, may have the same origin in essence, only the changes here are more intense and concentrated.

Su Xiao thickened the crystal layer on his left hand, gripping it like a claw into the cracks in the city wall's rocks, and began to climb upwards.

The city walls were extremely high and their surface was slippery, covered with that unsettling black substance.

"Sizzle~ Sizzle~"

A strange sound came from above the city wall, as if something heavy was being dragged.

Su Xiao tried to extend his perception upwards, but just as his perception range exceeded five meters, a "malice" filled with madness and hatred blocked his exploration like a physical wall.

This is not an energy barrier, but a kind of pollution that permeates the air, forcibly blocking the extension of spiritual power.

Sensing Su Xiao's sudden change in demeanor, Laurent and Dawn exchanged a glance. Without a word, they silently began to follow Su Xiao as he climbed upwards, like two shadows pressed against the wall.

Gus stayed below to protect Lin Yi, Xia, and Mei Huan, who were in poor condition, while also keeping an eye on the rear.

Lin Yi activated the ultimate aura to a minimum, only covering the effects on Su Xiao, Laurent, and Dawn who were climbing.

When perception is severely suppressed, any improvement can be crucial.

The city of Eisenla was completely filled with this intense "malice".

This also made Su Xiao fully understand why the Paradise of Reincarnation would regard Xia, who seemed to have weak combat power, as a key reinforcement.

In this environment, the [Spirit Eye] ability that Shana temporarily acquired became their only eye that allowed them to observe the situation inside the city from a distance.

Soon, Su Xiao quietly arrived at the edge of the city wall. He did not immediately peek out, but instead used the shadow of the crenellations to carefully observe the inside of the city.

He saw two figures dressed in tattered, stained coarse cloth clothes. One of them held a torch with a ghostly green flame, while the other carried a rusty iron fork—clearly a farming tool used by farmers to turn over haystacks.

However, at the tip of that farm tool's iron fork, Su Xiao saw a pierced, shriveled eyeball, and several broken human fingers wrapped around the fork's teeth.

The mottled dark red bloodstains on the iron fork silently tell the story of how it has been transformed from a production tool into a murder weapon.

Judging from their clothing and remaining features, the two "people" on the city wall were probably hardworking and friendly farmers outside Eisenla City in their lifetime.

But now, their eyes are empty, their faces are distorted, and they exude the same malice as those within the city. They will not hesitate to kill any living thing that enters their sight.

Today, Eisenra is more "simple" than Boneport, which is known for its chaos and bloodshed, and its "hospitality" is probably only comparable to the legendary Dead Silence City—a kind of "hospitality" so enthusiastic that it can take lives.

The source of the dragging sound that Su Xiao had heard earlier was also found.

It was a "fisherman" over four meters tall, with a ferocious face, a lower body that was almost entirely made of wood, and dragging a broken wooden leg. It was moving slowly and persistently, digging its hands into the ground, leaving a wet trail behind it that was mixed with slime and bits of flesh.

A cold glint flashed in Su Xiao's eyes, and the Dragon Slayer Flash at his waist slowly unsheathed half an inch.

He scaled the city wall without making a sound.

Brush and pull!

The glint of the blade was like a fleeting flash of cold lightning in the dark night.

Two heads flew up silently, and the two "farmers" stood frozen in place. After a moment, they fell to the ground with a thud, their bodies quickly shriveling up as if all life had been drained from their bodies in an instant.

Although he defeated the enemy in an instant, Su Xiao's expression was not good.

The moment the blade pierced the other man's neck, he felt an immense resistance.

The monsters' bodies appeared to be completely woody inside, making them exceptionally tough, far exceeding the toughness of ordinary flesh and blood.

This means that the upcoming battles may be more physically demanding than expected.

He stood atop the city wall, overlooking the inner city of Eisenla shrouded in thick black fog and malice.

The final battle is about to unfold on this land that has been completely distorted.

What's even more frustrating is that there are no rewards for killing these two enemies, and enemies of this level are everywhere in Eisenla City.

These berserk residents of Eisenra, though lacking other abilities, possess incredibly tough bodies. So tough that even the newly promoted Saint-level Dragon Slayer Sword requires considerable effort to sever them. (End of Chapter)