Calamity Messenger

Chapter 207 - 162: Karmic Power (Part 2)

"You’ll know once you get inside," Blood Phase said with a stiff tone, "Even if Si Wuxie were truly alive, so what? The fact that the Secret Realm hasn’t produced a Fourth-Turn Demon Fiend suggests that the most he left behind is a Third-Turn creature. Whether it’s a Third-Turn spirit beast or undead, in my blood hands, it would just turn into a pile of rotten flesh."

"Impressive!" the Rabbit Heroine clapped, "Then, Uncle, why don’t you quickly break through the front hall? Could it be you’re struggling?"

Blood Phase scowled. The Demonic Path Token was always effective against messengers, but it was not powerful enough against demon fiends. In other Secret Realms, it might not have mattered; after all, Blood Phase is a top-notch Third-Turn. However, the demon fiends in Corpse Bone Forest were all undead, which happened to counter his token.

The Pharmacist’s Wish gazed past the six zombie demon fiends, looking at the Undying Skull Tower they were guarding: "The challenge of the front hall should be that Skull Tower, right?"

"That’s right," Prajna nodded, "If there were merely more demon fiends, it wouldn’t be a difficulty for us. At worst, we could fight a little each day; after all, the Secret Realm doesn’t reset, and we can slowly grind through."

Yan Qing nodded repeatedly, thinking it wouldn’t normally be feasible because the demon fiends in the Secret Realm have an almost infinite pursuit range. Once triggered, they would chase you to the ends of the earth, and unless you completely leave the Secret Realm, they would never stop. Exiting the Secret Realm would reset it, making it all for nothing.

But the Corpse Bone Forest is different because there are unknown creatures inside that prevent resets, making the blood-grinding strategy possible. Messengers can enter, shoot an arrow, and retreat, repeatedly, since the demon fiends won’t rush out to strike you...

"The Skull Tower does not attack, but if the number of zombie demon fiends drops below six, the Skull Tower will start a painful wailing, and new zombie demon fiends will emerge from the ground," Prajna said, "Unless the Skull Tower is dealt with, the demon fiends in the front hall are endless."

The Pharmacist’s Wish had a stern look: "So, we have to figure out a way to get to the Skull Tower first while surrounded by six Third-Turn demon fiends?"

It’s a test of numbers, Yan Qing thought.

If there were a team of twenty Third-Turn Messengers, they could take down the Skull Tower with one concentrated attack. The remaining zombie demon fiends wouldn’t be hard to deal with; they could even retreat to the main gate and slowly take advantage of the terrain.

But forget Shu Dao Mountain; even in the Three Central Plains Kingdoms, gathering twenty Third-Turns casually is difficult.

It’s not that there aren’t enough people, but the cost-effectiveness is too low.

Even if the Secret Realm’s rewards are equally divided, the gains are far less than bringing a military town team into the Secret Realm with Third-Turn Messengers, where Second-Turn Messengers and even First-Turn Messengers can be used as fillers, with the main advantages all going to the Third-Turn Messengers themselves.

In games, it’s easy to assemble a Third-Turn team (though it’s unlikely, as it’s more probable that Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth-Turns would help beginners for follow-up quests, as there are too few low-level players), but in reality, First and Second-Turns can be easily used as expendables.

The fewer people there are, the higher each person’s output demand. However...

"Have you never tried slowly wearing down the Skull Tower?" the Pharmacist’s Wish asked curiously, "Though the distance is a bit far, with a little practice in archery, hitting the Skull Tower and then retreating shouldn’t be too hard, right?"

"I knew you’d think that," Beiyou said, pulling a dart from his lower back that seemed to be made of fine iron, not a token: "Get ready to retreat; I’ll demonstrate for you once."

After everyone was prepared, Beiyou flicked his hand, and the dart was already shooting at the Skull Tower, stirring a piercing shriek from the Skull Tower! All six zombie demon fiends turned to look simultaneously, their eyes ablaze with resentment burning fiercely as fuel, mouths open in a silent battle cry!

The five of them immediately withdrew from the Corpse Bone Forest Secret Realm, with the Pharmacist’s Wish gripping the Soul-Breaking Spear tightly, clearly ready for any disturbances from the Great Guardians. Yet, they went unscathed, though an overwhelming murderous intent hovered like a shadow, leaving them on edge even as they exited.

"You see?" Blood Phase taunted, "Do you still have the guts to go back in? When this group of demon fiends surrounds you, you might just use the Return Order to escape, won’t you?"

The Pharmacist’s Wish ignored him and asked, "What was that beam of golden light from the Skull Tower? And why was there a phantom of a Lotus Platform beneath it?"

When the dart hit the Skull Tower, a giant crack appeared in the middle, revealing a Three-leaf Lotus Platform underneath, where the supreme Buddhism and skeletal demonic energy entwined in a gruesome and eerie manner.

"Who knows? But we all think it’s something Si Wuxie left while arranging his legacy," Prajna smirked wryly, "As you’ve seen, the Skull Tower was gravely wounded by the golden light, but for some reason, the Lotus Platform’s reinforcement continuously repairs the Skull Tower."

"Moreover, if you attack the Skull Tower with a Buddhist Token, the Lotus Platform will further solidify, and the repair effects will increase. I didn’t know this before, which led to the Lotus Platform permanently gaining an extra leaf. For this, I had to spend years accumulating resources from the outside world to get a Third-Turned Rare long stick to replace the Zen Staff that had been with me for years."

The Pharmacist’s Wish then noticed that indeed, what Prajna held was a long stick and not the Zen Staff she saw this morning, confirming his words.

It’s no wonder no one has been able to break through the hall for years. A Skull Tower that can endlessly summon demon fiends and self-repair is basically a trap, enticing Third-Turn Messengers to repeatedly march to their deaths. Based on the Pharmacist’s Wish’s judgment, without a team of more than ten Third-Turns, it’s challenging to quickly resolve the Skull Tower.

As for the Fourth-Turn, that’s even less likely. If a Foundation Establishment Messenger enters, the Skull Tower would immediately transform into Fourth-Turn Demon Fiends, even if the Foundation Establishment Messenger was powerful: breaking through the front hall might take four or five Foundation Establishment Messengers.

Three or four Foundation Establishment Messengers—Si Wuxie’s legacy wouldn’t be enough to divide among them.

No wonder they valued the sister so much; the powerful Heavy Rain Messenger is truly the best choice to break through.

The Pharmacist’s Wish pulled the Rabbit Heroine aside and asked, "Sister, are you confident? If you think it’s too risky..."

"Big sis, do you know what karma is?" the Rabbit Heroine suddenly asked.

"What?" The Pharmacist’s Wish was taken aback, "Karma... It’s a term used by the Buddhist Sect to explain the cause and effect of all things, right? Does your family believe in Buddhism?"

"No, I just suddenly remembered my brother mentioned the term. I thought it’s quite interesting and it just popped into my mind."

After brushing it off, Yan Qing recalled the scene he had just witnessed. Besides the golden light and the Lotus Platform, he saw two indicator bars appear above the Undying Skull Tower.

One was a health bar, its maximum merely 70%, possibly left by Si Wuxie’s attack. If one strike could take out a big chunk of this DPS-check elite monster’s health, it truly could only be achieved by a Foundation Establishment Messenger.

The other was a black-gray long bar that Yan Qing had never seen before, named ’karma,’ which had been reduced by 36%!