181: Chapter 182 Let's play it safe and level up first.

Lin Muyang handed the mythic grade skill book, "Darkest Shadow Assault," to Seraphina.

Although this Night Elf little girl always looked dazed and confused, in battle, she was like the sharpest shadow blade and one of the top assassins in the team.

She possessed mature combat skills that belied her age, and Lin Muyang was looking forward to seeing what kind of brilliance this new skill would display in her hands.

"Try this, Fina." Lin Muyang smiled.

Seraphina took the heavy skill book with the pitch-black cover. The moment she opened it, the skill book transformed into a stream of dark light and submerged into the space between her eyebrows.

Her petite body trembled slightly, and she closed her eyes to focus for a moment. When she opened them again, a sharp, blade-like glint flashed through her usually half-lidded purple eyes, as if a sleeping hunter had suddenly awakened.

Skill learned successfully!

The next moment, she didn't even need Lin Muyang's command; her figure moved slightly, as if she had merged into the shadows of the surrounding cave.

In the next instant, she appeared behind a giant bat-like "Shadow Wing Demon" not far away, which had just been released from Lin Muyang's Astral Stasis. The pair of daggers in her hands, shimmering with a ghostly light, struck silently at the monster's nape like a viper flicking its tongue.

Skill — Shadow Assault!

And at the very moment she struck, a bizarre scene unfolded.

In the shadows on both sides of her body, two phantoms—identical to her figure but composed entirely of pure shadow energy—appeared without warning!

These two shadow clones were perfectly synchronized with her, also holding ghostly daggers, and stabbed the exact same spot on the Shadow Wing Demon with identical angles, force, and speed!

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Three nearly overlapping, soft sounds of blades piercing flesh rang out!

The Shadow Wing Demon's health, which was over 80 million, evaporated instantly like a popped balloon under the stacked damage of three identical "Shadow Assault" skills!

It couldn't even let out a scream; its massive body stiffened on the spot, then collapsed limply, turning into experience points.

One-shot kill!

And this was with the original cooldown of the "Shadow Assault" skill being as high as 12 seconds. Right after it was cast, just as the cooldown bar began to turn, it was instantly cleared due to the successful hits of the two shadow clones and the effect of the "Darkest" special effect!

Seraphina's figure re-formed beside Lin Muyang. Her little face was still expressionless, but her slightly fluttering eyelashes and quickened breathing revealed that her heart was not as calm as she appeared.

"How does it feel?" Lin Muyang asked.

"...Very strong." Seraphina was concise, but her purple eyes were astonishingly bright. "I feel like I can use the skill continuously."

She tentatively raised her hand again and unleashed a "Backstab." The shadow clones followed like a shadow, and three daggers sank simultaneously into the eye socket of another petrified lizard demon that had just thawed.

The petrified lizard demon didn't even have time to wail before dying on the spot. And the cooldown of the "Backstab" skill was instantly reset again.

Lin Muyang nodded repeatedly as he watched.

Seraphina herself possessed the Origin Skill "Blurring Shadow," which had a chance to summon a shadow clone to assist in attacks when using offensive skills.

Now, with the two fixed shadow clones provided by the passive of "Darkest Shadow Assault," every time she attacked, it was equivalent to four attacks! Her damage was directly multiplied by four!

Combined with the cooldown reset brought by the "Darkest" special effect, as long as her attacks hit, the vast majority of her offensive skills could be used in an infinite loop!

Her sustained burst and harvesting capabilities instantly reached a terrifying level; saying her output had tripled was a conservative estimate.

The successive massive improvements of Elabess and Seraphina were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring ripples in the hearts of the other young ladies.

Although they were absolutely loyal to Lin Muyang and would never feel dissatisfied due to equipment distribution, the desire to become stronger was an instinct for any ambitious powerhouse.

Witnessing the qualitative change brought about by mythic grade equipment and skills, a more intense fighting spirit burned in the eyes of all the young ladies.

When they looked at the remaining frozen legendary-grade demons in the cave, their gazes were no longer just looking at enemies; it was more like hunters seeing rich prey, filled with anticipation.

These legendary-grade demons, with their monstrous ferocity that would make any Class Transferee team turn pale at the mere mention of them, had already become mobile experience packs and equipment exuding alluring red light in the eyes of Lin Muyang and the young ladies.

"Alright, young ladies, cheer up." Lin Muyang clapped his hands, drawing the young ladies' attention back. "Let's finish this quickly and collect these 'treasures.' Be careful; although they are controlled, they react quickly once the control is lifted."

"Yes, Master!" the young ladies replied in unison, their voices filled with enthusiasm.

The cleanup work became methodical and highly efficient under Lin Muyang's absolute crowd control.

He precisely controlled the "Astral Stasis" Aura, releasing only three to five demons from their frozen state at a time.

These demons had just recovered from the temporal stasis and hadn't even fully grasped the situation before overwhelming attacks descended upon them.

Elabess, having obtained a new robe, raised her hand and unleashed a rain of shadow arrows enhanced by the "Corruption" effect; the power of each arrow was comparable to a small meteorite, and it also carried the deterrent reflection of "Demonic Etiquette," making the demons wary of attacking.

Seraphina's figure flickered in and out of the shadows; every appearance was accompanied by three deadly ghostly lights and the instant death of a demon.

Skill cooldown? Non-existent.

Ao Qingyan unleashed her full Dragon Might, breathing dragon fire and swinging her dragon claws; every strike was powerful and heavy—pure aesthetic violence.

Lilia wove through the edge of the battlefield, her arrows flying like a string of pearls, precisely sniping low-health targets, or using nature magic to bind and slow them down, creating opportunities for her teammates.

Alice, Gui Wanwan, Su Daji, and other young ladies also displayed their respective abilities; frost, fire, blood magic, fox fire, soul shock... colorful magical brilliance and sharp physical attacks wove into a net of death, enveloping those poor legendary-grade demons.

Under the absolute suppression of strength and attributes, as well as the assistance of Lin Muyang's various weakening Auras, these legendary-grade demons, which would be a nightmare for ordinary teams, couldn't even organize a decent resistance before falling like wheat being harvested.

The sounds of rumbling, explosions, and the dying wails of demons were endless throughout the cave, but the rhythm of the battle was entirely in the hands of Lin Muyang's side.

In less than five minutes, the giant cave that was originally crowded with over a hundred legendary-grade demons became empty and silent.

Only the messy traces of battle and glittering loot remained on the ground.

The thick smell of blood and sulfur mixed together, permeating the air.

Lin Muyang glanced at the experience bar; his and all the young ladies' experience points had surged significantly, and they were not far from reaching level 86.

The experience rewards of the legendary-rank secret realm were indeed generous, far exceeding the previous epic-level secret realm.

"Over a hundred monsters, including the first two, only three mythic grade trophies dropped in total..." Lin Muyang counted the harvest that had been directly collected into his storage space and shook his head with slight regret. "It seems that getting two in a row at the beginning was indeed a stroke of incredible luck."

"The drop rate of this legendary-rank secret realm is indeed painfully low." Even with the bonus of his heaven-defying Auras, achieving "mythic grade equipment freedom" here didn't seem very realistic. Every single mythic grade item produced was extremely precious.

During a lull in the battle, Lin Muyang held the Elf Princess Lilia's soft waist, standing in a relatively clean open space, watching the young ladies cleaning the battlefield like busy little bees (mainly Su Daji happily running around picking up gold coins and materials), and chatted casually.

"Lilia, based on your feeling, what level would these demons be if they were put in your original world? Are they considered strong?" Lin Muyang asked curiously.

The comparison of power systems between different worlds always makes one imagine.

"Hmm..." Lilia tilted her little head, her fair and exquisite face leaning against Lin Muyang's chest, thinking seriously. "I can't really tell... Back in the palace, everyone protected me, and I rarely fought monsters personally."

She stuck out her tongue a little embarrassedly, her gem-like green eyes blinking. "However, if I judge just by the Aura and magic fluctuations they emit... these demons, over on our side, should count as high-rank monsters, the really powerful kind!"

"High-rank monsters?" Lin Muyang became interested. He didn't know much about the power classification of Lilia's home continent.

"Yeah~" Lilia nodded and began to explain, counting on her fingers. "Over on our side, monsters are roughly divided into low-rank, mid-rank, high-rank, and the even more terrifying 'Lord-level' and 'King-level'."

"Low-rank monsters are relatively common, and their strength is... roughly equivalent to a Class Transferee around level 50 here on Blue Star?"

"In our Elven Tribes, after an elf reaches adulthood, they usually have to cultivate diligently for several decades before they can be sure of dealing with a low-rank monster alone."

"Mid-rank monsters are much more powerful, they feel like... hmm, a bit like those mobs we encountered in that level 165 epic-level secret realm last time? Anyway, they generally require team coordination to subjugate."

"As for these demons here, the pressure they give me is very strong; they should belong to the high-rank monsters."

"In our world, high-rank monsters usually occupy some dangerous places, or are driven by powerful dark forces; subjugating them often requires the deployment of an army or a top-tier adventurer team."

"However, our world also has existences stronger than high-rank monsters."

"And among the human race, Elf Race, and orc race, there are also super powerhouses who can rival or even surpass top-tier monsters!" Lilia added, her tone filled with pride for the strong figures of her hometown.

Lin Muyang nodded thoughtfully.

It seems that the continent where Lilia is located is roughly on the same level of comprehensive combat power as Blue Star.

The mobs in this level 82 legendary-rank secret realm belong to mid-to-high-end combat power on Blue Star, and correspond to "high-rank monsters" there; they are all opponents that need to be taken seriously.

Of course, if there were no secret realm level restrictions, these level 82 demons placed in the outside world, facing Blue Star's veteran Class Transferee teams of one or two hundred levels, or the demon-slaying armies over there, probably wouldn't have much of an advantage.

"Looking at it this way, my current strength, even if it doesn't count as the absolute top tier, definitely belongs to the ranks of the strong." Lin Muyang evaluated in his heart.

More importantly, the various rule-level and God-Tier Aura abilities he possessed could, in many situations, produce effects that surpassed simple combat power comparisons.

If he really went to another world, as long as he didn't provoke those old monsters who had lived for who knows how many years, walking sideways shouldn't be a problem.

"Comparing it like this, the Nation-Guarding Level Experts of Blue Star would probably be considered top-tier combatants there," Lin Muyang concluded tentatively.

"The power ceilings of the two worlds shouldn't be that different. However..."

He turned his gaze toward the Vampire maiden, Alice, who was standing quietly not far away.

Alice came from another completely different high-magic world, where a 'universal class transfer' system had been developing for hundreds of years; the classes were extremely specialized, and the power levels likely far exceeded those of Blue Star.

She felt curious about everything on Blue Star, which also indirectly confirmed the advancement of her homeland.

Lin Muyang was somewhat curious about that world, but he also knew that now was definitely not the time to go there.

It was better to level up steadily first. After all, his level wasn't high enough, and he hadn't even unlocked Gui Wanwan's cross-world ability.

More importantly, his own strength had to be raised to the point of being completely invincible on Blue Star before he would have the confidence to explore a wider and more dangerous world.

"No rush, one step at a time," Lin Muyang suppressed the slight yearning in his heart and pulled his attention back to the present.

He checked the third mythic grade loot that had just dropped.

This was a magic orb the size of a fist, deep and dark blue in color, with what appeared to be nebulae slowly rotating inside. Its surface was engraved with arcane runes, constantly emitting obscure yet powerful magical fluctuations.

【 heart of magic prohibition (mythic grade) 】

Type: Magic Tool (Magic Orb)

Class Restriction: Mage-type classes

Magic Attack: +66820

Strength: +8840, Constitution: +6920

Spirit: +15880

Level Requirement: 82

Special Effect · Magic Prohibition (mythic grade): After the user's skill successfully hits the target, there is an extremely high probability of permanently sealing 3 (minimum) of the target's highest-grade active/passive skills (the actual number sealed is positively correlated with the user's Spirit attribute; the higher the Spirit, the more skills are sealed; the upper limit is unknown).

This effect is also effective against BOSS-type units, but BOSSes have a higher chance of resisting or weakening the sealing effect.

Sealed skills cannot be cast or take effect in any way.

"Sealing skills?" Lin Muyang narrowed his eyes. This special effect was quite interesting.

Directly crippling an opponent's key skills was a strategic-level effect in battle.

Especially when dealing with classes that relied on one or two core skills to get by, such as certain ultimate-focused Mages or Assassins that relied on specific combos for burst damage; once their core skills were sealed, their combat power would plummet by at least half.

Moreover, it was effective against BOSSes too. Although BOSSes had resistance, as long as one or two troublesome BOSS skills could be sealed, the difficulty of the raid would drop sharply.

"Not bad. Although it doesn't directly boost damage output like the first two items, its strategic value is extremely high," Lin Muyang commented.

Without hesitation, he took out a god-tier modification stone again and began to strengthen this 【 heart of magic prohibition 】.

After the modification, all base attributes tripled, and the Magic Attack broke through the 200,000 mark! The Spirit attribute also approached 48,000!

The additional Cooldown Reduction, Casting Speed, Skill Range, and Duration were all extremely practical attributes for a Mage. The value of this magic orb had undergone an earth-shaking change.

"Daji, come here." Lin Muyang beckoned to the Nine-tailed Fox Maiden, who was standing quietly to the side with nine fluffy fox tails swaying gently behind her.

Upon hearing this, Su Daji walked over with light steps, a gentle and obedient expression on her stunningly beautiful face.

Lin Muyang handed the modified 【 heart of magic prohibition 】 to her and casually stroked one of her fluffy, soft fox tails; it felt excellent.

"This weapon is for you; it suits your control style very well," Lin Muyang said with a smile.

"Mm~ Thank you, Master~" Su Daji did not decline. She happily rubbed her cheek against Lin Muyang's arm and then hugged the magic orb to her chest.

She didn't have a strong obsession with becoming stronger herself; her greatest wish was to be able to help Lin Muyang and repay his kindness for rescuing her from the endless loneliness of the Demon Locking Tower.

Now that her strength had increased, allowing her to better assist her Master, she was naturally filled with joy.

The moment she equipped the 【 heart of magic prohibition 】, a faint, deep blue halo appeared around Su Daji, adding a touch of mystery and etherealness to her already outstanding Aura.

Her Spirit attribute surged once again, and her control over elements and illusions rose accordingly.

The three young ladies who had received upgrades—Elabess, Seraphina, and Su Daji—naturally walked to the front of the team.

They had just acquired new power and needed battle to familiarize themselves and synchronize.

After clearing the entrance cave, ahead lay a wider lava passage extending diagonally downward.

Scorching heat rushed towards them, and the smell of sulfur in the air became more intense.

At the end of the passage was an even larger underground space, with a strange altar about three or four stories high, built from unknown black rock, standing in the center.

The altar was in the shape of an inverted pyramid, its surface covered with evil runes flowing with dark red light, exuding a profane Aura that was extremely uncomfortable.

Guarding around the altar were twelve demons with even larger sizes and even more terrifying Auras!

They were generally over four meters tall, their skin like red-hot branding irons, emitting astonishing heat, with magma-like lines flowing across their bodies.

Their hideous heads were topped with curved horns, sharp teeth crisscrossed in their blood-red maws, and they gripped giant battle-axes or lava whips burning with hellfire.

These were the Hell Flame Demons, the first elite checkpoint in this legendary-rank secret realm!

【 Hell Flame Demon (Elite · legendary-grade) 】

【 Level: 82 】

【 HP: 450 million! 】

【 Skills: Hellfire Rain, Lava Burst, Flame Armor, Berserk Charge... 】

【 legendary-grade Aura (Various): Heavy (Damage Reduction 97%), Bloodthirsty (Life Steal 22% on attack), Swift (Attack/Movement Speed +1500%), Tyrannical (Attack Damage +400%)... 】

There were twelve Elite Hell Flame Demons in total, each possessing over 400 million HP and carrying a powerful legendary-grade Aura!

Especially the Flame Demon with the 【 Heavy 】 Aura; the 97% damage reduction meant that the actual damage it could withstand was more than thirty times its HP!

For an ordinary team, just dealing with this iron turtle would be enough to cause despair, not to mention the other eleven Flame Demons, each with their own unique characteristics and extreme aggression, that had to be dealt with simultaneously.

This was the true test of a team's raw strength and coordination in the 【 demons lair 】!

However, in front of Lin Muyang, these daunting legendary-grade Auras had their effects greatly diminished.

"Get ready to engage," Lin Muyang's calm voice rang in the ears of the young ladies.

At the same time, the light of several God-Tier Auras flashed on him, and an invisible force field spread out from him, covering the entire altar area.

A series of weakening and suppression-type Auras took effect instantly!

The flames burning on those twelve Hell Flame Demons, which had originally been aggressive and radiating terrifying pressure, dimmed.

"Attack," Lin Muyang ordered.

The three young ladies, who had long been ready, struck simultaneously!

Elabess moved first. She raised her fair arm, and a magic book made of shadow energy condensed out of thin air in her hand.

The pages fluttered without wind, and a deep, dark vortex that seemed capable of devouring everything rapidly formed in front of her. A terrifying suction force instantly enveloped the few Flame Demons in the front row!

It was her large-scale crowd control skill—【 Black Hole Vortex 】!

Almost at the same time, Seraphina's figure vanished from her spot like a ghost.

The next instant, she appeared behind and to the side of a Flame Demon being sucked by the black hole, her glowing dagger carving a fatal arc.

Skill—【 Eviscerate 】!

Three shadow clones, whose movements were identical to her main body, appeared simultaneously, and four cold gleams sank into the relatively fragile neck joint of that Flame Demon almost at the same time!

-900 million! A terrifying damage number that made one gasp jumped up. The Flame Demon didn't even groan, its head separated from its body, and its huge frame crashed to the ground!

The 【 Eviscerate 】 skill cooldown icon had just lit up when it instantly dimmed due to the "Deep Darkness" special effect—cooldown reset!

Su Daji held up the 【 heart of magic prohibition 】 with both hands, her nine fox tails fanned out behind her like a peacock's tail, and majestic spiritual power was injected into the magic tool.

The magic orb shone brilliantly, and an invisible ripple containing the rule of "prohibition" spread out like water waves, instantly sweeping across all the Hell Flame Demons!

Skill—【 Fox Charm · Prohibition 】! Combined with the 【 heart of magic prohibition 】's mythic special effect "Magic Prohibition"!

The Hell Flame Demons swept by the ripple all stiffened simultaneously.

The flames burning on them showed a momentary disorder, and the light of some powerful skills that were being prepared also dimmed.

Su Daji's Spirit attribute, as high as over 200,000, pushed the "Magic Prohibition" effect to the extreme, with at least five or six core skills permanently sealed on each Flame Demon!

This included the damage reduction Aura that the 【 Heavy 】 Flame Demon prided itself on, which was also temporarily "silenced" for a few seconds!

Taking this opportunity, Ao Qingyan let out a clear dragon roar, transformed into her semi-dragon form, and charged into the enemy formation, wrapped in biting cold Ice Dragon Breath!

Alice stirred up a sea of blood, Gui Wanwan's soul shriek impacted their minds, and Elena and Lilia's buff Auras covered the entire field...

Under Lin Muyang's comprehensive attribute suppression and Su Daji's critical skill prohibition, these twelve Elite Hell Flame Demons, which would originally have required a top-tier team to fight for a long time and might even have caused casualties, couldn't even organize a decent resistance.

Especially that iron turtle that had lost the damage reduction of its 【 Heavy 】 Aura; its HP of over 400 million melted rapidly like snow under the sun.

It lasted less than three seconds before, with an unwilling roar, its chest was torn apart by Ao Qingyan's claw, turning into a pile of burning rubble.

Having lost the toughest nut to crack, the remaining Flame Demons collapsed like a falling mountain.

Under the storm-like attacks of the young ladies, just over ten seconds later, only a pile of gradually cooling lava and demon remains were left around the altar.

The battle ended cleanly and efficiently.

"Not bad," Lin Muyang nodded approvingly. The performance of the three young ladies who had received new equipment and skills was particularly brilliant.

"If it weren't for the upgrades from these mythic grade equipment and skills, while they could still handle this wave of elite monsters, they would probably have to spend several times longer, and it wouldn't be this easy."

He raised his hand, and a familiar crimson beam of light shot up into the sky again from the corpse of one of the Flame Demons.

"Another mythic grade item!" Lin Muyang's eyes brightened, and he reached out to pull the item in the beam of light into his hand from a distance. It felt slightly heavy in his hand, with a unique texture; it was actually another skill book!