Chapter 223: Infinite Purgatory and the First Sixth Heavenly Realm Cultivator to Die (II)

Over a thousand meters beneath the earth, the humming vibration of infrasonic waves in the air made Chen Chu uncomfortable, but it was still within manageable limits.

Below the cliff, the winding river of molten lava glowed brightly, illuminating the dim underground with a dark red hue. At the source of the river coiled a serpent swallowing and spitting out fiery substances. It measured twenty-seven meters in length and had a body as thick as a water tank.

Similar to the pythons he had encountered earlier, this serpent had a rounded body covered in metallic red scales, with a head resembling a dragon, covered with rugged bones and horns.

This scene was reminiscent of the mutated red eels the Sword Armored Beast had encountered at the bottom of the sea rifts.

Similarly to the Fiery Beast’s flame ability, these creatures became able to absorb intense heat energy after awakening their mutation, eliminating the need to rely on prey for growth.

Since the level 1 pythons from earlier already had bodies as hard as iron, the body of this peak level 5 serpent must be even more formidable, especially considering its location within the lava.

Under such circumstances, even a squad of Fifth Heavenly Realm cultivators likely wouldn’t be able to survive this creature.

For Chen Chu, however, it was no problem.

As he stood at the edge of the cliff with his halberd in hand, he took a deep breath of the scorching air. In an instant, the tyrannical Dragon Elephant True Power erupted from within him.

Boom!

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The void trembled as black and red lights flashed. The air around Chen Chu was instantly compressed by the substantial aura of power, forming a circular rush of air, and an overwhelming, indomitable, and wicked aura surged forth. The serpent below suddenly raised its head, its scales bristling and flames burning fiercely.

Roar!

When the serpent caught sight of Chen Chu intruding into its territory, it emitted a deep, tiger-like roar.

At that moment, a black and red light shone in the sky, and a black and gold halberd emitting a two-meter-long halberd light descended from the heavens like a destructive meteor.

Roar!

The serpent lurking in the lava river emitted a violent roar. It opened its mouth wide, revealing the flames leaping inside, and instantly sent a column of fire soaring into the sky, covering an area of over ten meters.

As a peak level 5 mutated creature with flame abilities, this serpent even possessed the dragon’s breath - the ability to breathe flames.

Unlike the Fiery Beast’s breath, however, this serpent was spewing out something much more akin to regular fire. Its breath of flames only had a temperature of one thousand degrees Celsius and didn’t produce any shockwaves.

Boom!

The halberd slashed through the air, and the sharp halberd light tore apart the sea of flames, striking the serpent's head without losing momentum. At the moment of contact, the black and red light erupted.

Boom!

With that fierce and forceful blow, the scales on the giant serpent’s head shattered. Blood splattered everywhere, and the immense force smashed its head into the lava river.

Splash!

Lava splashed as the serpent fell, with some of it even landing on Chen Chu's body, only to be blocked by his circulating true power.

At the same time, the recoil force of the blow propelled Chen Chu back, and he landed at the edge of the lava river dozens of meters away. His heavy combat boots smashed the volcanic rocks with a thud.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Suddenly, the lava river erupted as the serpent shot back out. It raised its bleeding head and let out an angry roar, then rushed toward Chen Chu, its massive body stirring up rolling waves of scorching lava.

Boom!

The waves of lava merged with the surrounding flames and turned into a ten-meter-high tsunami. It continued rushing toward Chen Chu, as the fiery serpent rose up to descend from above.

Boom!

Chen Chu’s aura surged, and he spun his two-ton-halberd in a circular motion around him, forming a black and red four-meter halo which collided with the lava tsunami.

Crash!

The explosion flung lava and flames into the sky. Amid the raging light, a gold and black halberd swept through the air, slicing horizontally at explosive supersonic speeds.

Boom!

The peak level 5 serpent was directly blasted away by Chen Chu's strike, its several-ton body crashing heavily into the cliff wall dozens of meters away. Large rocks collapsed and smoke filled the air.

At that moment, Chen Chu leaped up high, and a terrifying demonic yet divine aura exploded from within him. The surroundings changed color as a large swath of black and red light descended from the sky.

Roar!

Amid the violent roar, the dust below suddenly dispersed. The half-bloodied serpent shot into the sky, its jaws wide open as it headed for Chen Chu. A huge flaming serpent head formed around it, emitting a menacing aura.

Boom!

Black and red flames exploded mid-air, forming a ring of substantive shockwaves that swept across dozens of meters. A huge body fell from the sky.

The earth trembled as the twenty-meter-long serpent crashed to the ground. Hot blood gushed out from its collapsed head, dyeing the ground red as flames flickered on it.

Thud!

Chen Chu's heavy combat boots landed on the ground. He slowly exhaled, suppressing the boiling vitality and true power within his body.

With his current strength, he had needed to exert all of his effort to swiftly kill this beast without activating the Elephant Fury Rune. Fortunately, the beast hadn’t been very intelligent, falling for his bait and attacking him on land. Otherwise, dealing with a creature that had been lurking in a river of lava would have been troublesome.

Now that the mutated beast was dead, it was time to deal with the body, especially considering the high value of the Life Crystals that likely existed inside.

Screech! Screech! Screech!

The halberd light struggled to cut through the serpent's scales, but eventually opened a two meter cut below its head, large streams of flaming blood instantly gushing out. Once it subsided, Chen Chu reached in with his arm and quickly retrieved a fist-sized red crystal.

A smile appeared on Chen Chu's face as he directly commanded, "Convert to attribute points."

"You have converted one Level 5 Life Crystal and gained 159 attribute points."

Suddenly, the attribute points displayed on the screen soared to 418 points, causing Chen Chu to take a deep breath.

Looking at the over 400 points of attribute on the page, Chen Chu pondered slightly.

Apart from the 300 attribute points required for the sixth stage of the Dragon Elephant Tyrant Body, he also needed a bottle of high-quality dragon essence.

With 265 contribution points in his hands now, he would have more than enough, even after deducting the remaining 50 points of Li Fei’s fee.

Not to mention the intact body of the serpent on the ground was estimated to be worth 150 contribution points. After this trip, he could break through to the sixth stage and fully condense the Tyrant Body.

With that thought Chen Chu’s voice sounded in his own mind.

Consume 100 attribute points to enhance the Eight Desolations Purgatory Halberd to the advanced level.

With the disappearance of 100 attribute points, Chen Chu's consciousness instantly thundered, arriving in a place of shattered earth and burning flames—the world of Infinite Purgatory. A halberd burning with black flames descended from the void, slashing into Chen Chu's consciousness and instantly revealing a countless amount of profound information.

Just as Chen Chu entered a state of enlightenment in the halberd art, a sharp force appeared out of nowhere within him. This force first followed the routes of Dominating the Eight Desolations and Ghostly Wails and Godly Roars, then integrated the two moves to create a third, more complex route.

Under Chen Chu's battle armor, red lines slowly emerged on his skin, covering his arms, chest, and back, creating a pattern that looked like cracked, broken earth.

Practitioners who had ignited the flame of true power in the Sixth Heavenly Realm would generally cultivate their high-level combat skills, which come with the art, to the advanced level. Some geniuses had already cultivated their combat skills to the advanced level in the Fifth Heavenly Realm; many had even achieved complete comprehension of the sword will.

Compared to those experts who had been practicing for years in the Sixth Heavenly Realm, or those geniuses with profound knowledge and comprehension, Chen Chu was lacking in this aspect.

It didn't matter. The lack of comprehension could be compensated for with attribute points.

Half an hour later, as Chen Chu suddenly opened his eyes, a fierce and demonic aura exploded from his body, and a black and red light converged on the halberd.

Waah!

An eight-meter-long black and red halberd light burst out with a ghastly wail, forming a black vacuum passage in the air and landing on the cliff wall.

Boom!

The heavens and earth seemed to collapse as one side of the mountain wall crumbled under the explosion of the light. Countless rocks flew in all different directions like cannonballs.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Large chunks of magma splashed out, and smoke and dust filled the air, while thunderous vibrations echoed underground. When the smoke cleared, a deep pit, twenty meters in diameter, had appeared on the mountainside. It was surrounded by cracks, resembling a shattered microcosm.

This advanced skill, known as the Infinite Purgatory, was an enhanced version of the long-range Ghostly Wails and Godly Roars. Special operational routes converted true power into a spiraling halberd light which, after being compressed ten times over, burst out and exploded in a spiraling manner the moment it touched the target. Combining that with the explosive nature of the Dragon Elephant True Power elevated its power to another level.

However, it also consumed quite a bit of true power, and there was the issue of resources...

Chen Chu frowned as he looked at the slightly trembling center of the lava river. He hadn't expected the treasure to be in something like that.

With his current strength, he could withstand ordinary lava using the protection of his true power. However, if he were to dive deeper into the river, he wouldn’t have enough true power to endure that.

And if his true power were to be depleted, it would be troublesome, considering that his physical body was still flesh and blood...