"Swish!"
As Lin Zhao's sword thrust out, the tip piercing through the Boss's fiery protective aura, Long Chen's pair of dark eyes suddenly snapped open, an indescribable coldness in their depths. The next moment, the sword tip could advance no further. Time seemed to stand still as Long Chen let out a cold laugh, reached out, and grabbed the sword tip, pulling it back. Immediately, his left palm unfurled, and he roared, "Great Brahma Sutra!"
Threads of golden Sanskrit script pulsed. Lin Zhao's heart sank. He immediately activated his sword aura to protect himself. The instant the sword aura protection was complete, his body was sent flying backward, as if he had collided with a colossal mountain. His health bar instantly depleted by over 130,000. He then took a palm strike from Long Chen from a distance, his health bar dropping to critically low before he tumbled heavily into the jungle.
"Lin Zhao's been repelled, move in!"
Su Xinghe swung his blade, and a large number of Star River players surged to fill the gap.
However, Long Chen, enveloped in crackling lightning, descended like a demon god and laughed heartily, "How dare you mere ants try to shake heavenly might?"
As he spoke, Long Chen flicked his fingertip and roared, "Seven Extremes Xuan Yang Art!"
Instantly, seven blazing fireballs exploded amidst the crowd. Each fireball's blast radius was at least tens of meters. In mere moments, over a hundred players were annihilated, and they were the elites of the major guilds.
"Ah!?"
Yi Shi Cang Liang's eyes widened in disbelief. His body was grazed by the onslaught of the Seven Extremes Xuan Yang Art, and his health bar instantly vanished. He became the first guild leader in the battlefield to be killed by Long Chen.
"Be careful!"
Shu Mei Jian Qing Feng brought his sword down forcefully on Long Chen's back, his brow furrowed. "The Boss's skill damage is simply terrifying. Everyone, be cautious!"
Before he could finish speaking, Long Chen turned his head, his fingertip striking like lightning. With a "噗嗤" sound, it pierced through Shu Mei Jian Qing Feng's chest. Immediately, threads of electric light raged out, tearing Shu Mei Jian Qing Feng's body apart. Simultaneously, he pointed his five fingers towards the sky, dragging a vast expanse of stars, and snarled, "Ants, taste the might of the Star River Azure Sky Art!"
In an instant, starlight descended from the heavens. The sounds of "噗噗噗" were incessant. Amidst the rain of stars, Xian Bai, Xian Lin, Ding Chi, Zhang Jun, Luo Man, and others were directly obliterated, all falling in battle!
"Damn it!"
Ding Chi of the Scarlet Moon Knights guild stared dumbfounded. "He just instantly killed a whole bunch of us!"
Everyone gasped in disbelief.
Lin Zhao stood up, his blood constantly recovering. He looked at the unfolding battle, a hint of regret already creeping into his heart. He shouldn't have challenged this Immortal-grade Boss. He had overestimated his strength as a tenth-level sword cultivator. He had thought he could tank it with the Golden Armor Immortal Robe and brute-force Long Chen down as he had before, but he never expected this Immortal-grade Boss to possess such unprecedented power. Brute-forcing it was almost impossible.
"This is not good!"
Su Xinghe controlled over a dozen flying swords, launching relentless assaults, his expression grave. As he looked up, he saw Long Chen's eyes fixed on him, filled with icy coldness. This stare sent a chill through Su Xinghe, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
"Die!"
Long Chen let out a sharp cry. Instantly, a sky full of lightning condensed in his hand, forming the Furious Thunder War Soul Spear. With a "嗖" sound, it was hurled out, transforming into a colossal bolt of thunder that rolled forward. The next moment, hundreds of people in the Star River guild, including Su Xinghe, Feng Bing Cao Jia, Yun Mi Wu Suo, Shen Ling Yuan, and others, almost vanished in unison. All of them were instantly killed!
"..."
The players on the battlefield were stunned. By this point, not a single player believed they could still defeat the current Long Chen. The first Immortal-grade Boss in the entire server was incredibly, infuriatingly powerful!
"We can't fight this!"
Leng Yan retreated rapidly, controlling his flying sword. "All Victory Heaven members, return to the city and cut your losses!"
Lin Zhao nodded and shouted loudly, "Indeed, we can't fight this. Everyone, use invincibility and return to the city to cut losses!"
As he spoke, he ignited a Speed Talisman and dashed forward, scooping up Shen Xingchen's body and moving dozens of meters laterally, barely evading Long Chen's Seven Extremes Xuan Yang Art.
"A bunch of damned souls!"
Long Chen's face contorted with rage. He pursued for hundreds of meters, his eyes fixed on a female player holding a staff in front of him.
Qing Ning held her staff, her pretty face filled with terror.
Long Chen raised his palm, and threads of fiery light erupted from it. His indifferent eyes looked at Qing Ning, and he frowned, as if caught in an internal struggle. He murmured to himself, "No... No... She has never harmed me even in the slightest. I, Long Chen, have walked the martial world my entire life without ever failing anyone, never needlessly killing an innocent. I cannot kill her... I cannot kill her..."
Qing Ning was a wanderer. Since the start of the battle, she had indeed not dealt even 1 point of damage to Long Chen.
"Qing Ning, return to the city!"
Lin Zhao called out from a distance, his voice deep.
"Oh!"
Qing Ning quickly crushed her return scroll. One by one, the players returned to the city, or hid far away. In a blink of an eye, there were almost no people left on the ninth level. Only the Nine-Star Hegemon, Long Chen, remained suspended alone in the air, looking like a solitary king.
...
Deep within the swirling clouds, Lin Zhao and Shen Xingchen hovered in the wind. They were the only two left on the ninth level battlefield.
In that fleeting moment, Lin Zhao seemed to have seen a possibility of defeating Long Chen. He said, "See? Just now, when Qing Ning had no hatred towards him, Long Chen didn't attack her."
"I saw it."
Shen Xingchen's beautiful eyes gazed at the Boss in the distance. "Are you planning to exploit this mechanic?"
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded. "You know the method Chen Xue and I used to farm the Hidden Gold Succubus on the fifth level, right?"
"I have a vague understanding."
Shen Xingchen's beautiful eyes narrowed, and she chuckled. "I heard you hugged her waist quite comfortably. Chen Xue has such a good figure, she must feel great to hold, right?"
"What are you talking about..."
Lin Zhao felt a bit guilty. He glanced at Shen Xingchen's exquisitely beautiful face, his gaze drifting slightly downward to her well-defined chin, her long neck, her delicate and fair collarbones, and then further down to a landscape of rolling hills. He frowned. "In terms of figure, Ah Xue is indeed a little inferior to you."
Shen Xingchen instinctively clutched her chest and pursed her lips. "Hey, stop looking around so carelessly and tell me your thoughts on the Boss."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao steadied himself. "Long Chen doesn't attack targets with no hatred. This setting is completely exploitable. We can replicate the tactic used to farm the Hidden Gold Succubus. Half an hour later, when the Boss's hatred towards both of us completely disappears, you will act as the tank, and I will hide behind you and try using the Ephemeral Flying Swords. We'll see if we can defeat this super Boss."
"We can."
Shen Xingchen smiled slightly. "Also, my Qian Kun Xuan Huo Tower can be buffed onto a single teammate. If you really plan to farm it like this, I can boost your offense."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded. "We'll try it later. If we can't, we'll instantly use invincibility and return to the city."
"Alright!"
Shen Xingchen's pearly dimples appeared as she smiled. The situation was becoming interesting.
...
Half an hour later.
Chen Xue, Ding Chi, and others had already logged off to sleep. Lin Zhao and Shen Xingchen remained online. At this time, Shen Xingchen wore a deep blue spiritual robe, holding a demigod staff, her long skirt fluttering gently in the wind, exuding an aura of a celestial maiden from a mountain. Lin Zhao crouched behind Shen Xingchen. Shen Xingchen, with her left hand behind her back, held Lin Zhao's hand. The operation they had envisioned would be even more perilous than farming the Hidden Gold Succubus.
"Damn it, it's here again?!"
In the wind, Long Chen suddenly sensed something. He lowered his gaze and looked ahead, only to see a beautiful woman drifting towards him with the wind, her skirt billowing, her pretty face pure and elegant. Long Chen lunged forward, his eyes filled with ferocity. "Get lost, or you'll meet your end!"
"..."
Shen Xingchen pursed her red lips, her beautiful eyes gazing at Long Chen with a hint of vulnerability.
At this moment, threads of Ephemeral Flying Swords appeared in the wind, beginning to erode Long Chen's physical body and continuously dealing damage. Long Chen roared in fury, lightning crackling around him. "What fiend dares to ambush me?!"
"Die!"
He let out a sharp roar and drew out the Furious Thunder War Soul Spear, pointing it directly at Shen Xingchen. He could sense the culprit behind Shen Xingchen, but for some reason, he couldn't see them. However, if he could pierce through this woman's body with one spear thrust, the person behind her would have nowhere to hide. For a moment, Long Chen was in a state of agitated indecision.
"No, I, Long Chen, have always acted with integrity. I absolutely cannot kill the innocent..."
"If I, Long Chen, were to kill indiscriminately, what would be the difference between me and those villains I have slain?"
"A true man walking in this world should act with integrity and have no regrets!"
His expression shifted erratically. He stood in front of Shen Xingchen, yet despite his immense power, he did not attack.
Under the erosion of the Ephemeral Flying Swords, after a full three minutes, Long Chen's health bar finally dropped by 1%, giving Lin Zhao and Shen Xingchen a glimmer of hope.
...
"There's a chance."
Shen Xingchen tightened her grip on Lin Zhao's hand and said in the team channel, "1% of health took about 3 minutes to deplete. It's estimated that it will take four to five hours to finish."
"Beautiful..."
Lin Zhao nodded. "But it doesn't matter. As long as the two of us can get the first kill on an Immortal-grade Boss, let alone four to five hours, it's worth staying up for ten hours."
"Mm!"
Shen Xingchen said, "Stay focused. Don't get drowsy. The Boss moves, and if you're not careful, you'll be instantly killed."
"I know, don't worry."
Time ticked by. By 6:30 AM, Long Chen's health bar had dropped to 50%. Fortunately, there were only Lin Zhao and Shen Xingchen on the ninth level, and no one else came to disrupt them. The recordings of Long Chen's earlier rampage, which had sent many top players in the country reeling, had already gone viral on the official forums. No one wanted to enter the ninth level to court disaster.
In fact, Lin Zhao was particularly worried about troublesome players like Guo Ke Wu Ming and Ding Chun Qiu showing up. If they did, it would be a problem, and the rhythm could easily be disrupted.
...
Fortunately, everything remained peaceful.
By 9:30 AM, Long Chen's final sliver of health was about to be depleted by the Ephemeral Flying Swords. With a final howl, Long Chen's massive body collapsed. Immediately, a bell sound echoed across the entire server.