"This Black Buddha phantom is strong, but not to the point of despair. I fought it hastily, without full preparation, and still managed to hold on for about ten minutes... If I get more familiar with it..."
Su Chen rubbed the small sphere with his fingertips, his eyes flickering. This Mist Embers was indeed interesting. For those with too many attachnts and ntal weaknesses, it created illusions of family and friends.
Or, for those with outstanding talent who looked down on everything, it would suppress them with a battle of the sa tier, or even directly erode them.
In short, this thing first destroyed the mind and then began its corruption.
However, he had the help of the Great Exalted. Right when things were about to go wrong, he would be pulled out imdiately.
"Great Exalted, since you are so powerful, why don't you just purify it yourself?" Su Chen muttered, secretly glancing at the system panel. Seeing no reaction, he curled his lips inwardly.
Even now, Su Chen still didn't know whether the Professions recorded in the system panel were just text simulations or if they had actually ford so kind of life.
The kind of power they possessed was also a mystery.
Currently, the only one capable of slightly affecting reality was the Great Exalted.
'Actually, the truly powerful one is the system panel...' Su Chen thought for a long ti before shifting his gaze back to the Mist Embers, wanting to figure out the exact gap between himself and the Black Buddha.
After trying several tis, he finally entered the battle environnt again. Just like before, the cross-legged Black Buddha had its feet touching the ground.
Su Chen imdiately tried summoning his weapon. He didn't know what state he was in right now. It felt like the Nether Realm, but his physical body definitely existed. His physical and class abilities could be used, and he could even bring his weapon in.
He looked at the Formless True Blade in his hand. To make slashing easier, he had it take the shape of a ring-poml broadsword.
This ti, he didn't lose the initiative. He directly entered the Class Fusion state and used Holy Hand to enhance himself.
This ti, he activated the abilities of the Crimson Sovereign with his physical body. His ntal Core suddenly dispersed, gradually rging into his flesh.
A faint dark red glow seeped out from under his skin. In an instant, Fla-Thunder Blaze rippled around him, crackling loudly. Heatwaves surged, and the entwined Crimson Flas and Thunder Light gradually spread into the Formless True Blade in his hand.
Moving like a startling thunderbolt, Su Chen's muscles suddenly tensed. His figure tore through the air, so fast that only an afterimage remained.
Slash—
The blade chopped down with the montum of a thunderbolt. The Black Buddha's figure silently collapsed, dispersing like ink dropped into water, but Su Chen did not let his guard down.
Sure enough, the dispersed black mist twisted and gathered like a living creature, condensing into slender black snakes. Their scales were gloomy, their hissing sounds piercing the ears, and a foul stench assaulted his face.
Su Chen's expression tightened. A blazing ring of fire suddenly erupted around his body, and scorching heatwaves rolled outward. A portion of the snake swarm twisted in the flas and turned into black mist, but another portion still charged at him.
Su Chen unleashed a flurry of blade light, scattering fierce gleams in all directions.
But imdiately after, the scattered black mist rapidly gathered again, condensing into dense black ice pellets. They poured down like a sudden rainstorm, instantly perating the area with a bone-piercing chill that seed to freeze the very air.
Thunder roared and exploded. Su Chen continuously retreated as electric arcs danced wildly around him. His Thunder Domain Barrier abruptly opened, surging with red light. It collided with those inconspicuous ice pellets, exploding into a series of crisp crackles.
In the blink of an eye, the dispersed black mist rapidly surged and gathered, condensing into a burly giant. It had four ferocious heads and eight muscular arms, with each hand tightly gripping so kind of weapon.
Su Chen's eyelids twitched. Just like last ti, in the blink of an eye, this Black Buddha had used at least four or five abilities, executing them with extre smoothness and fluidity.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Su Chen struggled to defend himself, but with the experience from last ti, he managed to drag the fight out to fifteen minutes. Just as he was about to be swallowed by the Black Buddha, the illusion before his eyes suddenly collapsed.
His vision suddenly cleared. Su Chen gasped heavily for breath as the black tide covering his body condensed back into the Mist Embers state.
Although he had remained motionless in the Nether Tower all along, the exhaustion of his body was completely real.
"I can't fight a battle of attrition. Although I have the Glutton Profession, this guy's energy is probably close to infinite. I am actually the one at a disadvantage."
Su Chen carefully took stock of his advantages and disadvantages. "That ans I almost have to rely purely on hard power to crush it to win, or Perish Together with it."
Su Chen pondered, his eyes flickering. "However, this Black Buddha doesn't seem to be as strong as I imagined."
When they first ca into contact, he had indeed been startled, but after carefully experiencing it just now, it felt a bit different.
He had the system panel and had taken on a huge number of Professions. Compared to normal people of similar age and tier, he held a massive advantage.
But against an Evil God like the Black Buddha, who had existed for an unknown amount of ti, his slight advantage was nothing at all.
Yet, in the battle just now, the gap between the two wasn't as vast as he had thought.
"Could it be that this thing is also the Black Buddha's state at the 5th-Tier?"
He couldn't help but speculate, but then he denied it. "When Nether Realm Creatures are at the 5th-Tier, they're still like Xiao Hei. Give them a piece of candy and they'll excitedly beat their chests."
"Which ans, this is indeed the Evil God Black Buddha, but suppressed to a 5th-Tier state."
However, even if the tier was suppressed, the number of Professions one held would not be. For example, if the Bronze Ancient King were suppressed to the 5th-Tier, the powerful Professions he had accumulated over many years would still exist. The gap shouldn't be this small.
Could it be... Su Chen suddenly thought of the "weak" label on the Mist Embers.
Because it was weak? Was that why it wasn't that powerful?
He felt he was approaching the truth. But this "weakness" was probably only relative. He wondered what level of Mist Embers lingered around the Starfire.
"I'm still not at my strongest state for the 5th-Tier."
He glanced at the system panel; the developnt progress of his two Professions was only at about 40%.
However, by his estimation, he didn't necessarily need to reach his 100% strongest state to defeat the weak-level Black Buddha.
"If the Weapon Lord's abilities are formidable, I might have a chance to Perish Together with it. At the very least, once I reach 50% and awaken its ability, I should be able to win."
He pondered for a mont. "It all depends on the Weapon Lord's abilities."
At this thought, he called up the system panel, accessed his stored essence, and used it to influence the Weapon Lord.
He consud one portion each of Scarlet Essence and Cunning Fox Essence. The Weapon Lord Profession only had two requirents left, so there was no way to save the Scarlet Essence.
Turning his attention, Su Chen also influenced the Stigmata Healer, which he hadn't touched in a long ti. Unfortunately, he couldn't save on Scarlet Essence here either. The Cunning Fox Essence directly pushed the requirent of five Physical-Type top-tier Professions to six, so he had to weaken it back down again.
This Profession only had the requirent of healing the wounded left, but there was truly no practical environnt for him to complete it. Since it involved the Lan Family's Holy Class, it wasn't appropriate to ask for help either.
He could only think of a solution using the Fortune Bronze Core. However, there was no rush for now; taking on the Weapon Lord Profession was the priority.
Checking the ti, he saw that Song Yang and the others wouldn't arrive until tomorrow. Su Chen put away the Mist Embers and simply headed to the Training Room to develop his Profession progress.
Having stayed on Canglan Planet for nearly ten days without an environnt to train in, he actually missed it a bit.
At the sa ti, the news of Qin Yun's return caused quite a stir within the Faction, with various thoughts echoing from top to bottom.
The situation for Qin Yun's subordinates during the ti this Venerable was away could not be considered good.
Many people in the Faction were waiting to see if Qin Yun would rally his forces upon returning and settle so scores—such as the theft of the Spirit Fire and the death of ng Shiyu.
But before any relevant rumors surfaced, another piece of news spread throughout the Faction: Fan Zhao had colluded with Evil Gods to assassinate the Star Seed Su Chen. He had been caught red-handed by Qing Shi and was currently being judged by the Punishnt Hall.
His disciple, Fang Luoxun, had already had his mories searched, fully exposing Fan Zhao's sches.
This matter was nothing short of a Bolt from the Blue, genuinely kicking up a massive storm within the Faction.
The words "colluding with Evil Gods" had not been ntioned in the Faction for years, let alone in association with a true core mber like Fan Zhao.
It truly shocked many people, and so even suspected whether Qing Cang was acting on a Personal Grudge.
However, the Punishnt Hall was in charge. During the interrogation and mory checks, high-ranking officials from at least two other halls observed from the sidelines. All procedures were perfectly followed. The evidence was Ironclad Evidence; it could not be faked.
"Why would Fan Zhao even think about colluding with Evil Gods? Did he really need to go to such lengths?"
"Anyone who cos into contact with Evil Gods ends up Bewitched. Who knows what goes on in their heads."
"That's way too sloppy, isn't it? To be caught in the act... Didn't they at least set up a contract when assigning the task?"
The Faction mbers discussed it fervently, but no one explained the inner details.
All they knew was that Qin Yun's faction did not bare their fangs again just because of his return; instead, they beca even more restrained.
Many people even stopped showing their faces altogether, seemingly terrified of being implicated in anything related to the Evil Gods.
Several days later, on the Floating Island where the Profound Heaven Sect resided, Qing Cang arrived once again. Following behind him was Ming Lin, who looked sowhat anxious and cautious, carefully observing his surroundings.
"Senior Apprentice Brother Lu," Qing Cang greeted the approaching Lu Huai with a chuckle.
The two exchanged pleasantries for a mont before Lu Huai's gaze landed on Ming Lin, his eyes flickering slightly.
Ming Lin was inwardly marveling at the sharpness of the red-haired old man's gaze when he noticed intersecting light forming on his own body, flashing with an ink-black hue.
"Ink Jade?" Lu Huai asked in surprise. "Isn't this talent—"
He hesitated to finish his sentence. The cost-effectiveness of upgrading an Ink Jade talent was simply too low, and the quota exchanged between the Bronze Sect and them was limited.
Upgrading from Crimson to Profound Purple was obviously of much greater value than upgrading from Ink Jade to Crimson.
But before he could finish his words, he realized that this person was likely here through nepotism.
Ming Lin felt sowhat embarrassed, but Qing Cang didn't mind at all. "He's the one."
Naturally, Lu Huai didn't say anything more. He shrugged and extended his hand, and the Profound Heaven Instrunt floated in his palm, projecting a descriptive scene.
Ming Lin instinctively looked over, and before he could react, he felt a wave of dizziness and entirely vanished from the spot.
"It will probably take about three or four days, as his talent is relatively low," Lu Huai said.
"Mhm." Qing Cang nodded. Just as he was about to leave, Lu Huai asked with slight hesitation, "I heard that Venerable Qin Yun has returned?"
A glint flashed in Qing Cang's eyes as he replied calmly, "That's right, Qin Yun has returned."
"Then..." Lu Huai hesitated to speak. His Faction had told him not to inquire about this matter, considering he was inside the Bronze Sect and carrying the Profound Heaven Instrunt.
If the conversation went south, it would be very difficult for him to leave.
But he couldn't hold back, believing that the Bronze Sect wouldn't tear up their friendly relations over a simple question or two.
Qing Cang didn't respond imdiately. After a brief pause, he invited Lu Huai to sit in the nearby pavilion. He sighed, his tone heavy, "Senior Apprentice Brother Lu, you and I are old acquaintances. The Profound Heaven Ancient King and my Honored Master had a pretty good relationship in their youth. Over all these years, our two Factions have also gotten along harmoniously."
Lu Huai's heart skipped a beat, not understanding why Qing Cang was suddenly playing the emotional card, and his guard went up.
After recounting the situation, Qing Cang revealed a helpless expression and said, "Given our relationship, I won't hide it from you. The truth is, Qin Yun knows absolutely nothing."
"Knows absolutely nothing?" Lu Huai's face was filled with astonishnt. Looking as if to say, 'Are you treating like a fool?', he couldn't help but stand up. "Out of seven Morning Star Tier experts, five died, and the Prison-Suppressing King is still unconscious to this day. And now you're telling that Qin Yun knows absolutely nothing?"
Qing Cang sighed, "He really doesn't know anything."
"You—" Lu Huai's expression shifted. He seed ready to erupt in anger but suppressed it, saying in a deep voice, "Since that's the case, I won't ask any further."
It was unknown whether Lu Huai believed it or not, but his attitude was clearly very poor. He didn't even bid Qing Cang farewell and simply walked away.
Qing Cang's gaze was profound, but he wasn't surprised. Even Lu Huai, who had a good relationship with them, reacted this way, let alone everyone else.
A few days later, at Wei Zhenghong's gathering, Chu Ran was laughing heartily. A large crowd had gathered around him, all congratulating him on upgrading to a Star Amber talent.
"Thank you everyone, thank you!" Chu Ran replied, unable to contain the excitent on his face.
"Old Su! Old Su!"
Suddenly, Chu Ran's eyes lit up, and he called out loudly.
As soon as Su Chen walked in, he heard Chu Ran calling him. Ever since this guy got familiar with him, he stopped calling him Martial Uncle, just yelling "Old Su" all day long.
"Ah, you're finally here." Chu Ran leaned in close and asked mysteriously, "See anything different about ?"
Su Chen looked at him with a strange expression and said speechlessly, "If you're sick, go get treated."
"Hahaha." Chu Ran didn't get mad, grinning widely as he declared, "I have a Star Amber talent now too!"
"Is that so?" Su Chen was quite surprised.
Chu Ran added, "Although it's only a Single Star-Per, the feeling is definitely quite different."
Although the enhancent of talent was intuitive, improving by just one tier wouldn't cause an earth-shattering change. More importantly, it fulfilled a certain obsession of Chu Ran's.
"I really have to thank you," Chu Ran said repeatedly.
"What does this have to do with ?" Su Chen was baffled.
"Didn't the Profound Heaven Instrunt co to the Faction because of you?" Chu Ran said as if it were a matter of course. He couldn't help but sigh, "Qing Shi is truly ruthless. He even managed to deceive the Ancient King, expended his favors, and intercepted the Royal Court's prize."
"It's a pity that right at the end, the incident with the Lost Starfire happened, and no big fish were baited out."
"Isn't Fan Zhao big enough?" Zhao Ming shook his head from the side.
"That has nothing to do with talent," Chu Ran shook his head. He casually picked up a glass of crimson wine from the side and handed it to Su Chen. "I heard that your lackey, Ming Lin, also went to use the Profound Heaven Instrunt. It sparked quite a bit of discussion a couple of days ago."
"Oh?" Su Chen's foundation was ultimately too thin, making it difficult for him to catch wind of such news, but he emphasized, "Ming Lin is my friend, not a lackey."
"Friend..." Chu Ran paused slightly before laughing. "That's my misunderstanding. Rumor has it that Qin Yun's people originally wanted to use this as an excuse to stir up so trouble."
"However, Wen Jing, the Hall Master of the Spirit Hall, personally stepped in, put a stop to the matter, and reprimanded a few people, telling them to behave."
Ming Lin's talent was ultimately too low, and he lacked any foundation. He wasn't supposed to be an important character, yet he was allowed to use the Profound Heaven Instrunt.
It wasn't just Qin Yun's people; even many of those present inevitably felt a bit unbalanced in their hearts, though they didn't actually cause a scene.
"If anyone has a problem with it, they can co directly to ," Su Chen stated calmly.
"Don't worry about it." Chu Ran downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, having only brought it up casually as a piece of gossip.
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