43: Chapter 43: The Black Serpent, Lord of the 500,000 Blood Domain! I'll conjure an atomic bomb and blast it to smithereens!

From the crack in the door, those golden vertical pupils stared quietly at Lin Feng.

The eyes were as large as lanterns, reflecting the light from the Illumination Spell and Lin Feng's stiff face within their pupils.

The air froze.

Lin Feng could hear the frantic "thump-thump-thump" of his own heart.

He could smell the foul stench wafting from the crack—a mixture of rotting meat and sulfur that made him want to gag.

He could also feel... that heavy, majestic sense of oppression.

"Creak... creak..."

The heavy stone door moved inward a bit more.

The gap widened to half a meter.

Lin Feng finally saw the full form of the eyes' owner.

It was a snake.

No, "a snake" was no longer enough to describe it.

It was a mountain.

Its scales were pitch-black like ink, each the size of a washbasin, glinting with a cold, metallic luster under the light of the Illumination Spell.

The snake's body was so thick it would take five or six people to encircle it; coiled inside the building, its full length was impossible to discern.

The most terrifying part was the head—inverted and triangular, with a single curved horn growing from its forehead, the tip of which flickered with dark purple lightning.

And those golden vertical pupils sat right below the horn—indifferent, cruel, and full of intelligence.

【Black Horned Magic Snake · Mo Lin (Domain Lord Level)】

【Rank: 15】

【Health: 5,000,000】

【attack power: 200-2,500】

【defense: 150】

【Skills: Shadow Poison Mist, Thunderous Horn, Snake Tail Sweep, Summon Snake Swarm, Darkness Domain, Magic Snake True Body】

【Description: The underground ruler of the Ancient Desert City, a magic snake that has slept for a thousand years, possessing power close to the Legendary grade.】

"Five... five million HP?!"

Lin Feng sucked in a breath of cold air, his voice cracking.

He thought he had misread it.

He rubbed his eyes and looked again.

That's right, five million!

defense is one hundred and fifty, and attack is two thousand to twenty-five hundred.

These attributes were more than ten times stronger than the previous Scorpion King!

"Domain Lord Level... what kind of level is this? That's a regional overlord! Far more powerful than a Lord-grade monster...!"

But he quickly grew excited again.

High risk, high reward!

If he killed this big guy, how many good things would drop?

How much experience would it be worth?

How high would the quality of its essence blood be?

"Let's do it!"

Lin Feng's gaze turned fierce.

He took a few steps back to create some distance.

He raised both hands simultaneously, and gold, red, and purple light began to converge in his palms.

A probing first strike!

"Triple Skill Fusion—Thunder-Fire Burst Bomb!"

A crimson-purple thunder-fire ball whistled out, smashing toward the snake's head in the door gap.

The Black Horned Magic Snake didn't dodge at all.

It didn't even move.

It just quietly watched the thunder-fire ball fly toward it.

Then—

BOOM!!!

The explosion detonated on its forehead.

Crimson-purple light illuminated the entire interior of the building.

Dust and smoke filled the air.

Lin Feng stared tensely.

The dust cleared.

On the Black Horned Magic Snake's forehead... not even a single scale had fallen off.

There was only a tiny charred mark, like it had been slightly smudged by smoke.

【Thunder-Fire Burst Bomb Damage: 543 × (5+5+5) × Fusion Coefficient 3 = 7,335!】

"Seventy-three thousand damage..."

Lin Feng's mouth twitched.

Against a total health of five million, this was no different from an itch.

Even more ridiculous, the Black Horned Magic Snake's health bar hadn't even budged—it wasn't that it hadn't lost health, but the proportion was so small it was invisible to the naked eye.

"This defense... is too insane, isn't it?"

Lin Feng's heart sank.

At that moment, the Black Horned Magic Snake finally moved.

It slowly raised its head.

The movement was slow, yet it carried the mountain-like weight of oppression.

The golden vertical pupils locked onto Lin Feng.

Then, it opened its mouth.

It wasn't an attack.

It was... speaking?

"Human... ant..."

A low, raspy voice rang out directly in Lin Feng's mind.

It sounded like rusty gears grinding, or sandpaper scraping against an eardrum.

"Disturbed... sleep... die."

The hair on Lin Feng's body stood on end.

A talking monster?

Textbooks said that only monsters of Legendary grade or higher could possess intelligence and learn languages.

This black snake... could it be close to the Legendary grade?

"Wait, we can talk—"

Lin Feng didn't finish his sentence.

The Black Horned Magic Snake didn't give him the chance.

The dark purple lightning on its horn suddenly exploded!

Skill: Thunderous Horn!

Zzzzt—!!!

A bolt of dark purple lightning as thick as a barrel struck toward Lin Feng!

It was too fast!

Lin Feng only had time to raise his greatshield.

BOOM!!!

The lightning slammed into the shield.

Lin Feng felt like he'd been hit by a speeding truck, and his entire body was sent flying!

He tumbled a dozen times in the air before crashing heavily into a stone pillar thirty meters away.

The stone pillar cracked with a "crack."

Lin Feng spat out a mouthful of blood with a "wah."

【Received Thunderous Horn damage: 2200 - defense 515 - Reduction 100 = 1,585!】

【Triggered war soul greatshield effect: Summon Black Armored General phantom!】

The general's phantom flew out from the center of the shield and lunged at the Black Horned Magic Snake.

But the black snake didn't even look, casually sweeping its tail.

Smack!

The phantom was instantly dispersed.

"Cough, cough..."

Lin Feng struggled to climb up, his face pale.

One hit had taken away nearly sixteen hundred of his health!

Thankfully he had the 10,000 health bonus from the tower soul...! Otherwise, he'd be dead!

"But this attack power... is too ridiculous!"

There was no time to overthink!

Because the Black Horned Magic Snake's second strike was coming.

Its massive tail rose like a pillar holding up the sky, sweeping fiercely toward Lin Feng's position.

Skill: Snake Tail Sweep!

The coverage area exceeded twenty meters!

There was no way to dodge it!

"Void Walk!"

Lin Feng urgently activated the life-saving skill of the wanxiang ring.

His body instantly became illusory, teleporting fifty meters away.

BOOM!!!!

The snake's tail smashed into the spot where he had just been standing.

The ground exploded into a crater ten meters in diameter, with rubble flying everywhere like cannonballs.

Several pieces hit Lin Feng's back, blocked by the holy light wing cloak, but the shock still made his blood boil.

"I can't take it head-on... I have to find a weakness!"

Lin Feng forced himself to calm down.

He observed the Black Horned Magic Snake while dodging.

Massive size, insane defense, terrifying attack.

But such monsters often had a fatal weakness.

"The eyes? The seven-inch mark? Or... that horn?"

Lin Feng's gaze locked onto the horn on the magic snake's forehead.

The thunderous attack from earlier had been issued from there.

Moreover, the horn's color was the most vivid, and its energy fluctuations were the strongest.

"Let's try it!"

Lin Feng's hands joined together again in an empty clasp.

This time he changed the combination.

Left hand—Light Bullet Technique + Light Flame Slash (Light-type Penetration).

Right hand—Lightning Strike Technique + Wind Blade Technique (Lightning-type Burst + Wind-type Acceleration).

"Quad-Skill Fusion—Light-Lightning Penetrating Spear!"

Gold, red, purple, and green light intertwined.

After the Fusion was complete, a two-meter-long energy spear appeared.

The spear was primarily gold, wrapped in red light-flames and purple lightning, with green air currents rotating at the tip for acceleration.

"Go!"

Lin Feng used all his strength to hurl the light-lightning spear at the magic snake's horn.

This time, the magic snake moved.

It seemed to sense the threat of this strike and tilted its head slightly.

The light-lightning spear grazed the horn, leaving only a shallow scratch on the scales.

【Light-Lightning Penetrating Spear Damage: 543 × (3+6+5+2) × Fusion Coefficient 3 = 26,064!】

"Twenty-six thousand... still not enough!"

Lin Feng grit his teeth.

But this strike wasn't entirely without effect.

The magic snake was enraged.

Its six golden vertical pupils all lit up with a blinding light simultaneously.

Skill: Darkness Domain!

With it as the center, a dense darkness rapidly spread!

Like ink dripping into clear water, it covered a hundred-meter radius in the blink of an eye.

Lin Feng's Illumination Spell light sphere was instantly extinguished.

His vision was pitch black.

Truly, he couldn't even see his own hand in front of his face.

Furthermore, a pungent, foul poison mist permeated the darkness.

【Darkness Domain: Vision reduced to 0, receive 100 Dark-attribute damage per second, Movement Speed -50%】

【Shadow Poison Mist: Receive 5 poison damage per second, defense -20%】

A double debuff!

Lin Feng felt a stinging pain on his skin, and his health began to drop rapidly.

Worse still, he had no idea where the magic snake was.

He could only hear heavy breathing and the "rustle" of scales rubbing against the ground coming from all directions.

"This is bad..."

Lin Feng's heart sank.

Fighting the magic snake in this environment was no different from a blind man fighting someone with clear sight.

It was a certain death!

"I must break this Domain!"

A flash of inspiration hit Lin Feng's mind.

What does darkness fear?

Light!

He took a deep breath, his hands frantically forming seals in front of his chest.

This time, he wasn't going for any fancy Fusions.

He was going to play it simple and crude.

"All Light-type skills... give me everything!"

Left hand—Light Bullet Technique + Light Flame Slash + Blasting Light Flame Technique!

Right hand—Illumination Spell (though it has no damage, it is pure light)!

"Quad-Skill Fusion—Super · Holy Light Burst!"

This time, Lin Feng injected a full thirty thousand mana!

In his palms, golden light converged frantically.

It wasn't a ball, not a spear, but a mass of... a miniature sun!

A golden light cluster half a meter in diameter, emitting light that was blinding to the extreme.

Inside the light cluster, golden flames were burning, light bullets were spinning, and pure Illumination Spell energy was supporting it.

"Light up—FOR ME!!!"

Lin Feng pushed the light cluster into the air with all his might.

The light cluster rose to a height of thirty meters, and then...

[part:deepseek-chat]

BOOM!!!!

Not an explosion, but a bloom!

Like a golden firework, bursting open within the Darkness Domain!

Countless golden rays of light shot out in all directions!

The darkness receded like a tide.

The poisonous mist was purified by the golden light.

In a mere three seconds, the Darkness Domain completely dissipated.

The ancient city returned to light.

The figure of the Black-Horned Magic Snake was exposed under the golden radiance.

It seemed to despise this intense light, its six eyes squinting as it let out an angry hiss.

"Hsss-gaa—!!!"

An opportunity!

Lin Feng seized the instant the demon snake stiffened from the blinding light, his hands forming seals once more.

This time, he was going to play a bigger hand.

"If ordinary Fusion can't break its defense... then let's try Ultimate Fusion!"

Left hand—Fireball Technique + Lightning Strike Technique + Wind Blade Technique + Ice Cone Technique!

Right hand—Light Bullet Technique + Earth Wall Technique!

"Six-skill Fusion... fifty thousand mana, fuse for me!!!"

The Talent interface in his mind flashed frantically with warning red lights.

[Warning! Six-skill Fusion carries extremely high risk!]

[Warning! Success rate less than 3%!]

[Warning! May trigger energy backlash leading to death!]

"No matter!"

Lin Feng gritted his teeth and injected fifty thousand mana.

Instantly, he felt his body as if it were about to be torn apart.

Six different elemental energies wildly clashed and collided in his palms.

More cracks appeared on his skin's surface, blood flowing out like small streams.

But he clenched his jaw tightly, persisting.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Just as Lin Feng was about to give out—

The six-colored light suddenly contracted, the Fusion complete!

A fist-sized, chaotic-colored light sphere appeared in his palm.

The surface of the sphere was calm, but inside... it was as if a Universe was being born and destroyed.

The energy fluctuations were so terrifying that the surrounding air distorted and wailed.

"This thing... feels like it could blast the entire ancient city into the sky..."

Even Lin Feng himself was scared.

But he had no choice.

"Target—the demon snake's horn!"

With all his might, he hurled the chaotic light sphere.

The sphere flew not quickly, even somewhat leisurely.

But wherever it passed, space rippled like water.

The Black-Horned Magic Snake seemed to sense a lethal threat.

Its six eyes widened simultaneously, the golden vertical pupils revealing for the first time... fear?

It wanted to dodge.

But the chaotic light sphere had already locked onto it.

Moreover, the light sphere automatically adjusted its trajectory during flight.

Finally, it struck the horn on the demon snake's forehead with pinpoint accuracy!

The moment of contact.

Time seemed to stand still.

Then—

Hummm...

There was no sound.

Or rather, the sound was too great, exceeding the range human ears could receive.

Lin Feng only saw a burst of pure white light erupt.

Not golden, not multicolored, but pure, blindingly intense white.

The white light swallowed everything.

Buildings, streets, stone pillars, the demon snake...

Everything twisted, deformed, and then... vaporized within the white light.

Lin Feng instinctively closed his eyes, wrapping himself into a cocoon with his holy light wing cloak.

He felt as if his body had been thrown into a washing machine, spinning wildly.

He didn't know how long passed.

Perhaps ten seconds, perhaps a minute.

When Lin Feng felt the tremors cease, he struggled to lift his head.

Then, he saw a sight he would never forget.

At the center of the ancient city, a giant crater two hundred meters in diameter had appeared.

The pit was at least fifty meters deep, its bottom a molten, glassy substance still emitting scalding hot air and a pungent, charred stench.

The edge of the crater was a perfect circle, as if cut by something intangible.

As for that magnificent building?

Gone.

Along with the surrounding blocks for hundreds of meters, all gone.

As for the Black-Horned Magic Snake?

Lin Feng saw a pile of shattered black scales at the very center of the crater's bottom.

And a broken, charred horn.

As for the snake's body... not even ashes remained.

[Defeated Black-Horned Magic Snake·Ink-Scale (Domain Lord Level), EXP +100000]

[Rank Up! Level 13!]

[Rank Up! Level 14!]

[Rank Up! Level 15!]

Three consecutive golden lights enveloped him!

A warm current flooded his entire body like a deluge, his injuries healing at a visible speed.

[All Attributes +3×3=9, Free Attribute Points +2×3=60]

Without a second thought, Lin Feng allocated them all to spirit.

[spirit: 612]

[Spell Attack: 360]

[mana: 612 (base) + 93880 (extra from tower soul) = 100000]

"Level fifteen..."

Lin Feng slumped by the crater's edge, gasping for air.

He felt as if his body had fallen apart, with not a bit of strength left.

That six-skill Fusion just now had drained fifty thousand of his mana and nearly killed him with backlash.

But the effect was astonishing.

One shot annihilated a Domain Lord monster with five million health!

"This move... really must be used sparingly in the future."

Lin Feng smiled bitterly.

He rested for ten minutes, waiting for some stamina to recover, before struggling to his feet.

He walked to the crater's edge and looked down.

The demon snake's loot sparkled at the bottom of the crater.

Lin Feng slid down to the bottom and picked them up one by one.

The first item was a charred black horn, but with dark purple electric light flowing inside.

[Demon Snake Horn (Purple Material)]

[Quality: Purple]

[Use: Weapon Crafting / Enchantment Core]

[Effect: Weapons crafted gain 'Lightning Penetration' effect (attacks ignore 3% of target's defense, with a chance to paralyze)]

[Description: The power core of the Black-Horned Magic Snake, containing terrifying lightning power]

The second item was a palm-sized black scale, heavy and icy cold to the touch.

[Ink-Scale Armor Plate (Purple Material)]

[Quality: Purple]

[Use: Armor Crafting Core]

[Effect: Armor crafted gains defense +5%, and obtains 'Darkness Resistance +30%']

[Description: The hardest scale of the demon snake, possessing extremely strong defensive power]

The third item was a mass of dark golden liquid mixed with purple electric light, contained in a specially crafted crystal vial.

[Demon Snake Essence Blood (Grade A)]

[Quality: Purple (Essence Blood quality varies with monster Rank and quality)]

[Use: Physique Tempering, Special Potions]

[Effect: After tempering, permanently increases All-Elemental Resistance +15%, Physique +1, spirit +5]

[Description: The life essence of a Domain Lord Level demon snake, containing dual powers of darkness and lightning]

"Grade A Essence Blood! And Purple quality!"

Lin Feng's eyes gleamed.

This was more than a grade better than the Grade B Scorpion King Essence Blood he had obtained before!

Moreover, the effect boosted All-Elemental Resistance, plus dual bonuses to Physique and spirit.

"Struck it rich, struck it rich..."

Lin Feng happily stored the Essence Blood.

Next, he looked at the fourth item.

It was a black pearl the size of a pigeon egg, its surface smooth, with what seemed like a rotating starry sky inside.

[darkness demon core (Gold Material)]

[Quality: Gold]

[Use: Equipment Upgrade, Skill Comprehension, Special Rituals]

[Effect: Contains vast dark energy, wide range of uses]

[Description: A rare material with a chance to drop only from Domain Lord Level monsters, priceless]

"G... Gold Material?!"

Lin Feng's hand trembled.

This was the first time he had seen something of Gold quality!

Though it was just a material, its value was absolutely immeasurable!

Textbooks stated that Gold Materials were essential for crafting Mythical-grade equipment.

"This haul... hit the jackpot!"

Lin Feng carefully stored the darkness demon core in the deepest part of his wanxiang ring.

He would wait for an opportunity to let the tower soul devour it and see the effect.

Finally, there was one more item.

It was a yellowed beast-hide scroll, bound with some kind of black thread.

[Skill Scroll: Darkness Domain (Purple)]

[Effect: Creates a Darkness Domain. Enemies within range have vision reduced to , receive dark attribute damage equal to spirit × 1 per second. User gains concealment effect within the Domain.]

[Learning Requirement: Dark Element Affinity above 4%, spirit above 300]

[Description: The signature skill of the Black-Horned Magic Snake, obtainable only by defeating it.]

"A Purple skill book!"

Lin Feng's heart raced.

Though his Dark Element Affinity wasn't high enough to learn it now.

He could keep it for later use, or sell it for points.

A Purple skill book was worth at least several million points on the market!

"All precious treasures..."

Lin Feng grinned from ear to ear.

Though this battle had been perilous, the rewards were too bountiful.

He was just about to store the skill book as well.

Suddenly—

"Rumble..."

The ground began to tremble.

Not aftershocks from the battle, but a new tremor.

And it grew increasingly intense.

Lin Feng looked up.

Not far from him, beside the site of the building already blasted into a crater, another relatively well-preserved ancient structure...

began to collapse.

Not a slow fall.

The entire building seemed to have its foundation emptied, crumbling from the bottom up.

Massive stones rolled down, dust filled the air.

"Now what?"

Lin Feng frowned.

He gripped his tree demon scepter tightly, vigilantly watching the collapsing building.

Within the dust, something seemed to be...

glowing?