Chapter 160: An Unbeatable Heart, Susanoto's Great Buddha, One Man Conquers Four Countries! (4K)

Chapter 160: An Unbeatable Heart, Susanoto's Great Buddha, One Man Conquers Four Countries! (4K)



The colossal body plummeted to the ground, causing the entire valley to tremble. A cloud of dust rose from the impact site, spreading for hundreds of meters.

The fallen Tree Dragon's belly began to swell, like an inflating balloon, its rough, bark-like scales stretching and cracking. Through the fissures, one could glimpse the taut, thinning skin beneath.

"Boom!"

Accompanied by a thunderous roar, the Tree Dragon's belly exploded, unleashing a torrent of golden lightning that radiated in all directions.

Within a radius of hundreds of meters, the land, trees, and cliffs—anything touched by the unleashed thunder—were reduced to charred fragments. Only a couple of trees, struck by the lightning, remained standing, their bodies shimmering with electric currents and gradually transforming into a golden hue as they became Dragon-Thunder Plants.

From the gaping hole in the Tree Dragon's belly, a figure emerged, cloaked in black flames and golden lightning.

Xueheng took slow, deliberate steps, using his shadow flames to dissipate the dragon thunder that clung to him. Bearing the weight of the increased gravity, his every footfall left a deep impression in the scorched earth.

As the last vestiges of golden lightning were consumed by the black flames, he felt his body lighten and regain its agility.

[Killing a special creature with divine properties: Divinity +327]



[Current divinity: 851]



"...Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

The man in the mirror within the ring stared, dumbfounded.

Xueheng held out his palm, gazing at the Assassin's Serpent Claw in his hand.

The claw, which had once shimmered with silvery-white radiance, now appeared dull and ashen, unremarkable and ordinary, like the claw of any fierce beast, devoid of any distinctive features.

"I didn't know it would be this powerful before using it," Xueheng said with a raised eyebrow.

Though he knew the Assassin's Serpent Claw could counter dragon species, he never imagined the effect would be so overwhelmingly potent.

Due to his training in the Dragon Concealment Style, he had experienced a similar sense of being countered by an archenemy before.

However, because his fundamental race was human, and he had merely cultivated a dragon-related martial art, the counter effect he experienced was not as profound, and the understanding was not as profound.

This Tree Dragon, on the other hand, was purely a dragon species, dragon through and through, allowing the Assassin's Serpent Claw to unleash its full lethal potential.

What could be described as an almost immortal life force was instantly snuffed out by a single claw strike to its core, an attack that would counter even the strongest of foes.

The mirror man glanced at the dull claw in Xueheng's hand and said, "...It looks like it's spent now."

"You don't have just this one, do you?"

"If I only had one, I definitely wouldn't have used it on this guardian dragon..."

Xueheng smiled and pulled out four more silvery claws from his tactical vest.

The mirror man's eyes lit up, and he stood up on Xueheng's shoulder, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "Good, good! If that's the case, then even a pure-blooded dragon species might truly be within our grasp..."

"This thing... it's probably a concept-level alien divine power, right? A specialty against dragon species? Where did you get it from?"

The mirror man, with his vast knowledge and experience, instantly deduced the properties of the Assassin's Serpent Claw.

Xueheng stroked his chin. "Hmm... I picked it up along the way."

The mirror man turned up his nose and huffed, "If you don't want to say, I'm not that curious anyway. It's good enough that we have hope."

"...I see. So, your plan is to use Leynia, the Dragon God Priestess, to get close to the pure-blooded dragon species, and use these claws to deplete its 'health' in advance... or perhaps even kill it outright."

The mirror man spoke thoughtfully.

"This approach does have some feasibility to it. It all depends on what Leynia can accomplish."

"However, while we now have a glimmer of hope of killing a pure-blooded dragon species, it's still just a possibility."

"The counter effect of this claw is incredibly powerful in terms of 'quality,' but it falls short in terms of 'quantity.'"

Xueheng asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

The mirror man gestured to the Tree Dragon's corpse. "The divine power contained within a single claw was just enough to erode away its entire life force when stabbed into the core of this guardian dragon."

He pointed to the dull claw in Xueheng's hand. "The life force of a pure-blooded dragon species far surpasses this. If you can manage to stab all four remaining claws into its core, that should be enough to kill it."

"But that's in an ideal situation."

The mirror man returned to Xueheng's shoulder and continued, "Pure-blooded dragon species are strong in every aspect. They possess incredible speed and reflexes, making it challenging to get close to their core organs. Even managing to injure their body would be an achievement.

"You'll also need to take into account the two guardian dragons. If you want to kill them, you'll need to use the claws... Otherwise, with their regeneration, they'll wear you down and kill you slowly."

Xueheng pondered for a moment before replying, "In that case, I'll wear each of them down to half their health and then finish them off with the claws. That way, I should be able to kill both guardian dragons using only one claw, saving the others."

The man in the mirror nodded. "That leaves us with three... While it's not quite enough, if used wisely, it should be able to significantly reduce the pure-blooded dragon species' vitality and combat power."

"Then it's up to you... Even with its power greatly diminished, a pure-blooded dragon species will still be a formidable challenge for you."

Xueheng smiled and said, "I'll do my best."

Perhaps the string of consecutive victories had cultivated an unbeatable mindset in Xueheng... Despite facing an unprecedented and far superior terrifying monster, he felt no hint of fear.

He approached this encounter with the calmness of someone going out to the supermarket, devoid of any terror.

He wasn't sure if this mindset was a good or bad thing.

Fear had its negative effects, but it also served a purpose.

Excessive confidence could be beneficial or detrimental.

However, thus far, the positives seemed to outweigh the negatives.

At the very least, he wouldn't make any mistakes during the battle due to his unwavering determination.

"An unbeatable heart forges an unbeatable fist..."

Xueheng gazed at his clenched fist.

"Believe, and your belief becomes your magic!"

...

Xueheng strolled through the valleys of the Tree Dragon's territory, scanning his surroundings with a keen eye. From time to time, he would crouch down to lift rocks and peer into crevices, seemingly searching for something.

"What are you looking for?" asked the man in the mirror.

With a mighty heave, Xueheng lifted a large rock, revealing the ground beneath. "Dragon-Thunder Plants," he replied.

"I need to push my current combat strength to its limit..."

As he spoke, Xueheng's gaze shifted to a distant patch of forest.

Through the trees and underbrush, he caught a glimpse of something golden.

In a swift motion, he disappeared from his original spot and reappeared in the forest, quickly locating the source of the golden hue.

It was a golden lotus-like flower blooming between the roots of a large tree.

Xueheng reached out and touched the flower's crown, activating his Plant Pact. A 'pact seal' appeared on the golden lotus, and with a thought, he caused the flower to reverse its growth, retracting its petals and stems until it curled into a golden seed, which he plucked and stored away.

He opened his panel to check the status of the Plant Pact skill, noticing that it had dimmed slightly.

"The more, the better. I need as many Dragon-Thunder Plants as possible to deal with the dragon thunder."

Xueheng contemplated for a moment before upgrading the Plant Pact skill, spending 800 points of Divinity.

[Plant Pact Lv5 (51/1200)]



Seeing the skill name brighten to a faint golden hue, Xueheng nodded in satisfaction.

"Keep searching."

...

Three hours later.

Xueheng stood on the bank of a river, his eyes fixed on the upstream section where a massive dragon species was crouched, leisurely drinking from the water.

Its rough, tree-like scales resembled those of the fat Tree Dragon, and its body stretched to a length of nearly twenty meters. However, what set this guardian dragon apart were the spherical, colorful flower crowns that sprouted all over its body, giving it a rather frightening appearance.

Xueheng took a deep breath and reached into the pocket of his tactical vest.

He pulled out... a large handful of seeds.

The seeds varied in size, with the largest being similar to walnuts and the smallest resembling grains of rice. There were about a dozen of them, and they all shared the same golden color.

"Let's see how this works," Xueheng said as he wound up and, with a baseball pitcher's motion, threw the seeds at the Flower Crown Dragon!

With his Aiming skill now at Level 8, approaching Level 9, his accuracy was unparalleled.

The dozen or so seeds cleverly covered the Flower Crown Dragon's entire body.

As the seeds made contact with the dragon, Xueheng snapped his fingers.

"Snap!"

In an instant, a spine-chilling scene unfolded.

Countless thick golden roots, vines, flowers, thorns, and leaves sprouted and entwined wildly, engulfing the dragon's massive body and binding it tightly.

"Ugh—so disgusting!" The man in the mirror within the black ring shuddered and covered his hands, vigorously rubbing the goosebumps on his arms.

Xueheng also found the scene a little nauseating, but it didn't hinder his actions.

Black flames ignited on his body, transforming into an ornate set of pitch-black armor that enveloped him from head to toe. Flecks of shadowfire adorned the armor, giving him the appearance of a death knight summoned from the underworld.

"Roar-!"

An enraged dragon's roar emanated from the writhing mass of golden plants, as the entire clump shook violently. The Flower Crown Dragon struggled within, trying to break free.

But with the Plant Pact upgraded to Level 5, the controlled plants' strength had been significantly enhanced. At this moment, the massive clump, formed by over a dozen Dragon-Thunder Plant seeds, possessed incredible binding power, completely restraining the Flower Crown Dragon, leaving it unable to break free.

"The best way to erode its life force is to attack its core organs. First, we need to locate its core," the mirror man reminded him.

Nodding, Xueheng took a step forward and leaped toward the Flower Crown Dragon.

He moved his fingers, and the golden plant mass automatically created a 'single-person passageway,' revealing a small portion of the dragon's body.

His hands came together, and shadowfire condensed, forming a massive spiral-shaped black drill.

"Golden Scale Penetration!"

With a surge of strength, Xueheng's armored body began to spin rapidly, using the drill-like hands to bore into the Flower Crown Dragon's scales.

A series of crackling sounds echoed as the rough, bark-like scales proved no match for the penetrating force, shattering under the pressure. Xueheng's body, like a drilling machine, pierced through flesh and burrowed deeper into the dragon's body.

"Roar-!"

The intense pain caused the Flower Crown Dragon to let out a pained cry. In its anger, one of the red flower crowns on its body exploded, releasing a puff of pale red gas that flowed out from the shattered flower.

"Sizzle—"

A sizzling sound emanated from within the golden plant mass, resembling the sound of sulfuric acid corroding a substance.

The once sturdy golden plant clump began to smoke, swelling and loosening.

Soon, the flower crowns on the Flower Crown Dragon started to explode one after another, each blast accompanied by an increasingly intense sizzling sound and more smoke rising from the clump.

Finally, the golden plant mass, like a wet towel, began to rot and turn black, the once sturdy bindings becoming soft and loose, falling away piece by piece from the dragon's body and dropping to the ground.

Xueheng, who had drilled into the dragon's body, sensed something amiss and decided to abandon the search for the core organs. He immediately activated the Cyclone Thunder and burst out with a powerful leap, retreating through the hole he had created and exiting the dragon's body.

The moment he left, the freed Flower Crown Dragon's body erupted with golden lightning, intense thunderbolts enveloping its form.

"Roar-!"

In its dragon roar, the Flower Crown Dragon fixed its gaze on the small black insect not far away, its slit pupils filled with rage.

Seeing this, Xueheng immediately raised his palm.

A dozen golden seeds appeared by his side, growing and intertwining into countless plants that entwined to form a massive golden plant sphere, encapsulating him within.

The next moment, countless golden thunderbolts struck the sphere in rapid succession.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom—"

The plant sphere trembled violently under the onslaught of dragon thunder, but due to its thickness, it managed to withstand the attack without being pierced.

The mirror man's spirit lifted:

"Excellent! The dragon thunder, the most challenging aspect of facing a pure-blooded dragon species, has essentially been neutralized by you."

"The hope of defeating a pure-blooded dragon species has increased significantly!"

Xueheng didn't respond but pressed his palms together, manipulating the plant sphere to grow rapidly.

Countless plants intertwined, with thick roots serving as the body, vines as clothing, thorns entwining the surface, and flower petals adorning the limbs and head...

Soon, a thirty-meter-tall statue of a golden Buddha with eighteen arms standing behind it took form.

Xueheng was held in one of the Buddha's palms, and as he focused his gaze, he began to manipulate the shadowfire! Countless shadow currents were extracted and transformed into black flames that ignited on the Buddha's body, gradually forming a perfectly fitted set of massive black armor that encased it.

"I've always wanted to try this," Xueheng said with keen interest.

"Susanoto's Great Buddha, one man conquers four countries!"

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end