42: Chapter 42: Snake Nest Hunting in the Underground Ancient City! Skill Fusion for Creative Fun

The moment Lin Feng stepped into the dark passageway, the temperature plummeted.

The scorching heatwave from the desert surface that could roast a person alive vanished, replaced by the unique cool, damp chill of a cavern.

A faint musty odor hung in the air, mixed with the smell of earth and a certain musky, pungent scent.

The passage was wide, enough for three horse-drawn carriages to travel side-by-side.

The stone walls were smooth, clearly artificially polished, with vague traces of carvings still visible on the surface—twisted patterns resembling some kind of ancient script, but Lin Feng couldn't recognize a single one.

"This place... doesn't seem naturally formed."

He muttered, running his fingertips over the stone wall.

The touch was icy cold, carrying the roughness of ages.

After walking forward a stretch, the passage began to slope downward.

The incline wasn't steep, but he could clearly feel himself descending deeper underground.

Lin Feng raised his left hand slightly, a soft white light glowing in his palm.

"Illumination Spell."

This was a newly learned light-element support skill. It had little attack power, but its illumination effect was top-notch.

A white orb of light floated above his head, illuminating an area of about twenty meters in radius.

The carvings on the stone walls became clearer.

It was indeed a form of writing, with complex strokes, like a combination of pictograms and cuneiform.

Lin Feng stared at it for a long time, then shook his head.

"Can't read it."

He continued onward.

After walking for about ten minutes, a familiar rustling sound came from ahead.

Lin Feng immediately stopped, extinguished the Illumination Spell, and pressed his whole body against the shadow of the stone wall.

A few seconds later, three Desert Scorpions crawled out from around a corner.

They were still the ordinary variety, the size of a washbasin, their carapaces gleaming dully in the faint light.

"Can't shake you off..."

Lin Feng curled his lip.

He couldn't be bothered using a skill. He directly pulled out the tree demon scepter, swung it in a wide arc, and smashed it over.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Three dull thuds.

The end of the scepter smashed into the scorpions' heads, as cleanly as cracking a watermelon.

[Killed Desert Scorpion ×3, Experience +45]

"Physical attacks are still satisfying."

Lin Feng shook the scepter and re-lit the Illumination Spell.

He crouched down and used the essence blood collector to draw the essence blood from the three scorpions.

F-Rank. Better than nothing.

He continued deeper in.

The passage grew wider, and the terrain gradually leveled out.

After another twenty minutes of walking, light appeared ahead.

Not the white light of the Illumination Spell, but... some kind of natural light?

Lin Feng quickened his pace.

Rounding a bend, his vision suddenly opened up.

He froze.

It was a massive underground space.

At least fifty meters high, its width stretching beyond sight, like a plaza buried underground.

Most stunning of all, the ceiling of the plaza was inlaid with countless glowing crystals, like artificial stars, casting a soft, pale blue light.

And on the plaza itself was...

"A city?"

Lin Feng murmured to himself.

Crumbling buildings.

Fallen stone pillars.

Shattered statues.

Streets paved with rubble, already cracked and deformed.

Everything was shrouded in thick dust, like a corner forgotten by time.

This was an Underground Ancient City.

"Under the Desert Golden Sea... there's actually something like this?"

Lin Feng's heart pounded.

It wasn't recorded in the Association's Materials either.

"Could I be the first to discover it?"

This thought excited him.

The unknown often meant opportunity.

He stepped into the ancient city.

The sound of his footsteps echoed in the empty plaza, stirring up clouds of dust.

The orb of light from the Illumination Spell floated overhead, illuminating the path ahead.

The buildings lining the street were relatively intact, their former grandeur still discernible.

The doors and windows of some buildings had rotted away, gaping like open mouths.

Some walls still retained traces of colored paintings, their colors mostly faded, barely recognizable as figures or landscapes.

Lin Feng proceeded with caution.

Places like this often hid danger.

Sure enough, he hadn't gone a hundred meters.

"Hiss—"

A faint sound came from the right.

Lin Feng turned his head.

A snake, its entire body the color of earth, poked its head out from a crack in a building.

Its body was as thick as a bucket, its scales gleaming with a metallic luster under the blue light.

Triangular head, crimson tongue flicking in and out.

[Desert Earth Snake (Common)]

[Level: 15]

[HP: 100]

[attack power: 18-220]

[defense: 8]

[Skills: Poison Fang Bite, Earth Evasion]

"Changed species?"

Lin Feng raised an eyebrow.

He remembered reading that the essence blood quality of snake-type monsters was usually higher than that of scorpions because snake blood was a raw material for many potions.

"Perfect, time to try out the new toy."

He raised his right hand, golden light gathering in his palm.

"Light Bullet Technique."

Pfft!

A golden light bullet flew out, striking the snake's head with precision.

-1187!

The earth snake's head exploded. Its corpse twitched twice and fell still.

[Killed Desert Earth Snake, Experience +18]

"A bit more experience than the scorpions."

Lin Feng walked over and pulled out the essence blood collector.

He inserted the needle into the snake's body at the seven-inch position.

Buzz—

Dark red blood was drawn out. This time, the blood wasn't mixed with golden specks but with faint green fluorescence.

[Obtained: Desert Earth Snake Essence Blood (E-Rank)]

[Quality: E]

[Effect: Contains dual-element essence of earth and poison. Can be used for Body Tempering or crafting antidotes.]

[Description: Quality is decent, has some value.]

"E-Rank! A full tier higher than the scorpions!"

Lin Feng's eyes lit up.

He stored the storage bag and continued forward.

The ancient city was vast, and the snakes were plentiful.

Almost every building housed a few, some even had over a dozen crammed together, like a snake party.

Lin Feng welcomed them all.

See one, kill one. See two, kill a pair.

Light Bullet Technique, Wind Blade Technique, Lightning Strike Technique... Basic skills took turns.

Experience points dinged and clanged, rising steadily.

Bags of essence blood were stuffed into the ring one after another.

After over an hour of killing, Lin Feng had reached the core area of the ancient city.

The buildings here were more magnificent, the streets broader.

The snake species had also leveled up.

From bucket-thick earth snakes to truck-thick giant pythons!

[Enhanced Desert Python (Elite)]

[Level: 15]

[HP: 240]

[attack power: 30-350]

[defense: 15]

[Skills: Constriction, Poison Mist Spit, Summon Minor Snakes]

"Elite monsters are here."

Lin Feng rubbed his hands together, a bit excited.

He first cast a magic shield on himself—a newly learned water-element defense skill.

[Water Shield (Green)]

[Effect: Generates a water-element shield that can absorb damage equal to spirit ×3, lasts 3 seconds.]

[mana Cost: 5 points]

A light blue water curtain enveloped his body. It felt cool and comfortable.

"Alright, let's do this!"

Lin Feng raised his hand and unleashed a Lightning Strike Technique.

Crack!

Purple lightning struck the giant python's head, blasting a patch of charred black.

-1295!

The python roared in pain, reared its head, and opened its maw.

Pfft—

A cloud of ink-green poison mist sprayed out, rapidly expanding.

Lin Feng quickly leapt back.

The poison mist brushed past the edge of the Water Shield. The shield's surface sizzled with a corrosive sound.

[Water Shield absorbed damage: 30]

"It's poisonous. Need to finish this quickly."

Lin Feng raised both hands simultaneously.

Left hand: Fireball Technique. Right hand: Wind Blade Technique.

"Fusion: Firestorm!"

Red and cyan light intertwined, merging into a swirling vortex of flame and wind that swept towards the giant python.

BOOM!!!

The Firestorm engulfed the python.

The python's body twisted wildly in the flames, its scales crackling as they burned.

[Firestorm dealt damage: spirit 495 × (3+2) × Fusion Coefficient 2 = 495!]

Instant kill!

The python's massive body crashed to the ground with a thud, the smell of charred flesh spreading.

[Killed Enhanced Desert Python, Experience +35]

"Satisfying!"

Lin Feng shook his hands.

Using Fusion skills was just exhilarating.

He walked over to collect the essence blood.

This time, he obtained D-Rank snake blood. The green fluorescence within the blood was even more intense.

"Continue, continue!"

Lin Feng's Battle Intent surged.

He fought his way down the main thoroughfare.

The snakes he encountered grew more numerous, their sizes increasingly outrageous.

Five meters long.

Ten meters long.

There was even one twenty meters long, coiled atop a pyramid-shaped building like an evil dragon guarding a Treasure Trove.

[Desert Python King (Boss-level)]

[Level: 15]

[HP: 5000]

[attack power: 50-600]

[defense: 30]

[Skills: Poison Mist Domain, Giant Tail Sweep, Summon Snake Swarm, Earth Spike Assault]

"Boss monster!"

Lin Feng's eyes gleamed.

This big guy must give loads of experience, and its essence blood must be top-notch!

Without another word, he went straight for the big move.

"Three-skill Fusion—Thunder-Fire Burst Bomb!"

A crimson-purple orb of thunder and fire howled forth.

The Python King sensed the danger. Its massive body twisted violently, actually managing to dodge!

The Thunder-Fire Burst Bomb smashed into the building behind it, collapsing half the wall.

"It can dodge?"

Lin Feng was taken aback.

Only then did he notice the Python King's six eyes fixed on him, a glint of... intelligence in its gaze?

"Has it gained sentience?"

Lin Feng grew wary.

The Python King opened its enormous maw and let out a hiss.

Hiss—

The sound was low, yet it spread throughout the entire ancient city.

The next second, from the windows, doorways, and street cracks of the surrounding buildings... countless snakes emerged!

Dense, swarming, thousands upon thousands!

The smallest were only finger-thick, the largest as thick as buckets.

Like a black tide, they surged from all directions!

"Summoning a snake swarm... that's just unfair!"

Lin Feng's scalp tingled.

Although he could wipe out a bunch of these common snakes with one move, there were simply too many.

Couldn't kill them all. Impossible to kill them all.

And the Python King was hiding behind the swarm, waiting for an opportunity.

"Need to think of a way..."

Lin Feng's mind raced.

He glanced at his skill bar.

Sixteen basic skills, capable of any combination or Fusion.

"Let's try a splash effect!"

He brought his hands together in a cupping motion, selecting a new combination.

Left hand—Fireball Technique + Blasting Light Flame Technique (both explosive-type).

Right hand—Wind Blade Technique + Ice Cone Technique (one cutting, one control).

"Four-skill Fusion—Icefire Blast Blade!"

This time, he infused 500 mana.

In his palms, red, gold, cyan, and blue light wildly intertwined.

After Fusion, what appeared was... a sheet?

Yes, not a sphere, not a spear, but a palm-sized, cicada-wing-thin energy blade.

The blade was woven from four colors, its edges finely serrated, with flames and frost flowing within.

"This form... interesting."

Lin Feng hurled the blade with force.

The blade spun as it flew towards the densest area of the snake swarm.

During its flight, the blade began to split.

One became two, two became four, four became eight...

By the time it reached the swarm's airspace, it had split into over a hundred pieces!

Then, they all exploded!

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!

Not one big explosion, but hundreds of small explosions in a chain!

Ice and fire energy intertwined, cutting and explosive effects stacked.

A huge swath of the snake swarm was instantly cleared!

[Icefire Blast Blade dealt splash damage: Each blade piece deals spirit 495 × (3+5+2+2) × Fusion Coefficient 1.5 = 891 points of area damage!]

[Killed Desert Earth Snake ×87, Experience +1566]

[Killed Enhanced Desert Python ×12, Experience +420]

"Holy crap... this splash effect!"

Even Lin Feng was shocked.

One blade splitting into over a hundred pieces, each dealing nearly nine thousand area damage.

Though the single-target damage wasn't as high as previous Fusion skills, the crowd-clearing efficiency was simply Heaven-Defying!

"Again!"

Lin Feng was exhilarated.

He switched combinations.

Left hand—Lightning Strike Technique + Light Bullet Technique (both piercing-type).

Right hand—Earth Wall Technique (terrain alteration).

"Three-skill Fusion—Thunder Earth Spikes!"

This Fusion produced... golden stone spikes wreathed in lightning, emerging from the ground!

The stone spikes covered a thirty-meter radius, densely packed like a thorny jungle.

Snakes within the area were impaled by the spikes, then paralyzed by the lightning, unable to move.

Then Lin Feng followed up with a Fireball Technique.

Boom boom boom!

Like skewers, strings of snakes were burned to charcoal.

"This is too much fun!"

Lin Feng was having a blast.

He kept trying new skill combinations, fusing them into all sorts of bizarre effects.

Wind + Fire = Fire Tornado, lifting the snake swarm into the air before dropping them.

Ice + Thunder = Frost Lightning Chain, a single chain jumping and electrocuting dozens of snakes.

Earth + Water = Mud Swamp, trapping the snake swarm so they couldn't move, then picking them off slowly.

Fusion skills consumed a lot?

Lin Feng had one hundred thousand mana, plus the wanxiang ring's 50% recovery speed. He could never run out!

He just kept grinding monsters, experimenting, and collecting essence blood.

The experience bar climbed steadily.

Bag after bag of essence blood was filled and stored.

Occasionally, he even fused Materials dropped by the snakes on the spot.

[Snakeskin (Green) + Snake Fang (Green)] → [Snakeskin Bracer (Blue)]

defense +15, Agility +5.

[Snake Gallbladder (Green) ×3] → [Antidote Potion (Blue)]

Removes poisoned status and temporarily increases poison resistance.

[Snake Venom Gland (Blue) + Scorpion Venom Stinger (Blue)] → [Mixed Lethal Toxin Essence (Purple Material)]

Use unknown, but it looked impressive.

Lin Feng was like a kid in a candy store, having the time of his life.

Time passed minute by minute.

Wave after wave of snakes in the ancient city fell to him.

His experience bar had already risen to Level 12 (18500/350000).

A bit more killing and he'd reach Level 13.

"Almost there, almost there..."

Lin Feng wiped his sweat and downed a stamina recovery potion.

He was crouched on the ground, collecting the essence blood from a Python King (he had finally worn down that boss monster).

B-Rank snake blood, even better than the Scorpion King's essence blood.

Delightful.

But just then—

"Creak... creak... creak..."

An eerie sound came from deep within the ancient city.

The sound was loud, like rusty gears being forced to turn.

Or like a heavy stone door being slowly pushed open.

In the silent underground space, it was particularly grating.

"What's that sound?"

Lin Feng immediately stood up, warily looking in the direction of the sound.

It came from the very center of the ancient city, where an especially grand building stood.

Like a palace, or a temple.

Earlier, Lin Feng had been busy grinding snakes and hadn't gone that way.

Now, the door of that building... seemed to be open?

"Creak... creak..."

The sound continued.

And it grew louder.

Lin Feng's heart raced.

He quickly recast the Water Shield on himself and activated the elemental shield from the wanxiang ring.

With double shields, he felt a bit safer.

But it wasn't enough.

He also pulled out a bottle of Advanced defense potion from the ring and gulped it down.

[defense temporarily +10, lasts 10 minutes]

"That should be more stable..."

Lin Feng gripped the tree demon scepter tightly and cautiously approached that building.

His steps were light.

His eyes were fixed ahead.

His ears perked up, catching any subtle sound.

"Creak... creak..."

The sound grew clearer.

Mixed in was... some kind of heavy breathing?

Like a slumbering giant beast snoring.

Lin Feng swallowed hard.

He recalled a line from a textbook: The most dangerous things in a Secret Realm are often not the obvious monsters, but the unknown entities hidden deep within.

"I'm not really going to run into a big one, am I..."

He felt a bit scared, but couldn't suppress his curiosity.

He was already here. Wouldn't it be a waste not to look?

"Just one look... if things go wrong, I'll run immediately."

Lin Feng psyched himself up.

He reached the building's entrance.

It was a giant stone door twenty meters high, now cracked open a sliver.

Inside the crack was pitch black, nothing visible.

But that heavy breathing sound was definitely coming from within.

Lin Feng peered inside.

The Illumination Spell orb floated in, illuminating a corner of the interior.

Then, he saw it.

A pair of eyes.

Golden, vertical-pupiled, as large as lanterns.

Staring back at him through the crack in the door, utterly still.