45: Chapter 45 Bloodbath Against the Sand Tribe! The S-Rank Scepter is in Hand, So Satisfying!

The six-colored sphere of light in Lin Feng's palm suddenly expanded.

Its diameter surged from the size of a fist to that of a washbasin, its light so blinding that one couldn't look directly at it.

Inside, six elemental energies swirled, collided, and fused frantically, emitting a low "buzzing" hum like a Vicious Beast about to break free.

"Go!"

Lin Feng shoved his arms forward.

The Chaos light sphere shot out from his hands; it wasn't fast, but it carried a heavy, mountain-like sense of oppression.

Wherever it passed, the air distorted, and dust automatically parted to both sides, plowing a clear trail.

Target—the very center of the Sandman formation!

The light in the Black-Robed Priest's black eyes flickered violently.

He felt the terror of this strike.

"Sand Barrier: Triple Layer!"

He brandished his Insect Scepter frantically, the yellow crystal at its tip exploding with light to its limit.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In front of the Sandmen, three thick sand walls instantly rose!

Each wall was one meter thick, five meters high, and ten meters wide.

Spaced three meters apart, they formed three indestructible lines of defense.

Moreover, the earthy-yellow energy flowing on the surface of the sand walls was several times denser than before!

"Can you block it?"

A cold sneer curled on Lin Feng's lips.

The Chaos light sphere made contact with the first sand wall.

There was no explosion.

No loud crash.

It was... annihilation.

At the moment of contact, a large chunk of the sand wall vanished silently, as if erased by an invisible eraser.

It wasn't shattered or collapsed; it was directly decomposed and vaporized at the material level.

The Chaos light sphere didn't pause at all, penetrating the first sand wall and leaving behind a perfectly circular hole three meters in diameter.

Then came the second one.

Similarly, it was annihilated upon contact.

The third one.

It still couldn't block it.

Three seconds.

Just three seconds.

The Triple Layer Sand Barrier had three large holes pierced through it.

Without losing speed, the Chaos light sphere continued flying toward the Sandman formation.

"Scatter!!!"

The Black-Robed Priest's mental roar exploded in the mind of every Sandman.

The well-trained Sandman squad instantly scattered to both sides.

Their movements were uniform, without the slightest hint of panic.

But the light sphere was too large.

Its coverage was too wide.

Pffft pffft pffft pffft pffft—

Seven or eight Sandman Warriors who couldn't dodge in time were grazed by the edge of the light sphere.

Then, just like the sand walls, parts of their bodies silently vanished.

Some lost half their bodies, some lost their heads, and some were vaporized directly.

They didn't even have time to scream.

【Killed Sandman Warrior × 5, Experience +75 × 5 = 3750】

【Killed Sandman Spearman × 3, Experience +80 × 3 = 2400】

"The power is decent."

Lin Feng nodded.

He had injected 20,000 mana into this strike, which was a medium expenditure.

It was mainly to test the upper limit of the Sandmen's defense.

Now it seemed that Sand Armor Hardening was about as effective as paper in the face of Chaos energy.

"Human... you're looking for death!"

The Black-Robed Priest was enraged.

He pointed his Insect Scepter at Lin Feng and chanted a series of rapid, obscure incantations.

The yellow crystal at the staff's tip erupted with blinding light.

Skill: Sandstorm Domain!

Centered on him, a violent sandstorm instantly took shape!

Yellow sand blotted out the sun, and visibility dropped to less than three meters.

The wild wind carried sand grains that cut through everything like countless small knives.

Lin Feng felt a stinging pain on his exposed skin, and a dense "crackle" sounded on the surface of his Water Shield.

【Sandstorm Domain: Receives 10 points of earth-attribute damage per second, movement speed -40%, vision -90%】

"This trick again?"

Lin Feng frowned.

He had broken the Black-Horned Magic Snake's Darkness Domain with a burst of Holy Light; what about the Sandstorm Domain?

"Let's try a new combination."

He raised both hands and chose a combination that countered the earth attribute.

Left hand—Wind Blade Technique + Ice Cone Technique (Wind-type cutting + Ice-type freezing).

Right hand—Lightning Strike Technique (Lightning-type penetration).

"Triple-Skill Fusion—Frost-Thunder Storm!"

Cyan, blue, and purple lights intertwined.

After the Fusion was complete, a cyan-blue storm two meters in diameter appeared.

Inside the storm, purple lightning snakes roamed, while frost condensed on the outside.

"Break!"

Lin Feng pushed the Frost-Thunder Storm toward the center of the Sandstorm Domain.

The two storms collided in mid-air.

Chhh-chhh-chhh—!!!

Frost and sand clashed violently.

Purple lightning raged within the sandstorm, ionizing and shattering the sand grains.

In just five seconds, a gap was forcibly torn in the Sandstorm Domain.

The gap continued to expand.

Ten seconds later, the sandstorm completely dissipated.

The ancient city became clear once again.

But the Sandman squad had already taken the opportunity to regroup and... change their formation.

Warriors were in front, forming a semi-circle.

Spearmen were in the back, their bone spears already raised.

Meanwhile, the Black-Robed Priest stood in the very center, his Insect Scepter planted in the ground, his hands pressed together as if preparing some big move.

"They changed formation?"

Lin Feng's eyes narrowed.

He could feel a powerful energy gathering within the Black-Robed Priest.

"I can't let him finish casting!"

Lin Feng made a split-second decision.

He raised his hands again, this time choosing the fastest combination.

Left hand—Light Bullet Technique.

Right hand—Lightning Strike Technique.

"Dual-Skill Fusion—Light-Thunder Arrow!"

Gold and purple lights intertwined, fusing into an energy arrow as thick as an arm.

The arrow formed extremely quickly, finishing almost instantly.

"Swoosh!"

The Light-Thunder Arrow shot through the air, aimed directly at the Black-Robed Priest's heart.

However—

Just as the arrow was about to hit, the sandy ground in front of the Black-Robed Priest suddenly exploded!

Small sand shields rose from underground one after another, layering up to instantly form a Sand Barrier two meters thick.

The Light-Thunder Arrow slammed into the sand wall.

Boom!!!

An explosion rang out.

A large hole was blown into the sand wall, and dust flew everywhere.

But the arrow was also blocked.

"Automatic defense?"

Lin Feng's pupils constricted.

Only then did he notice that there had been faint energy fluctuations in the sandy ground beneath the Black-Robed Priest's feet.

It turned out this old fellow had set up a Defensive Barrier long ago!

"This is a bit tricky..."

Lin Feng licked his lips.

This Sandman Priest was not only fast at casting and strong in defense, but also knew how to set traps in advance.

He was a tough nut to crack.

But the more it was like this, the more excited Lin Feng became.

"Then let's see... whether your sand shields are harder, or my Fusion skills are more numerous!"

He began to unleash a frantic barrage.

Rapid-fire Light Bullet Technique.

Wind Blade Technique cutting.

Fireball Technique blasting.

Lightning Strike Technique penetrating.

Various basic skills were hurled at the Sandman squad as if they cost nothing.

The Black-Robed Priest constantly manipulated the sand, raising sand shields, walls, and curtains to neutralize every attack one by one.

Both sides fell into a stalemate.

Lin Feng couldn't break through the Sandmen's defense.

And the Sandmen couldn't harm the agile Lin Feng.

But Lin Feng knew in his heart that dragging this out was disadvantageous for him.

The Sandmen were numerous, and that priest was clearly preparing some big move.

He could feel the energy fluctuations on the priest getting stronger and stronger.

"I must break the stalemate..."

Lin Feng's mind raced.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

"Right... let's try that!"

He pulled two blazing light stones out of his wanxiang ring.

They were small items left over from fighting scorpions that he hadn't used yet.

"blazing light stone... it's a light-attribute explosion."

"If I fuse it with the Fireball Technique..."

Lin Feng held a blazing light stone in his left hand and conjured a Fireball Technique in his right.

Activate Talent!

Buzz—

【Fusible items detected: blazing light stone (Blue Item) + Fireball Technique (Lv. 1)】

【Item and Skill Fusion】

【Suggested expenditure: 100-10,000 mana】

【Fusion Direction: Ultra-long-range precision explosion】

"Five thousand mana!"

Lin Feng chose to inject it.

The blazing light stone in his palm began to melt, merging into the energy of the Fireball Technique.

Two seconds later, the Fusion was complete.

What appeared was no longer a fireball, but a... missile?

It was the size of a fist, with a sharp tip and an energy propulsion device at the tail, its surface intertwined with gold and red light.

"This form... let's call it the 'Light-Flame Missile'!"

Lin Feng grinned.

He locked onto the Black-Robed Priest and threw the Light-Flame Missile with force.

Once the missile left his hand, the propulsion device at the tail spat out gold-red flames, and its speed instantly soared!

It was three times faster than any previous skill!

Moreover, the missile could automatically adjust its trajectory in mid-air, bypassing those sand shields and walls.

"What?!"

For the first time, horror appeared in the Black-Robed Priest's black eyes.

He hurriedly manipulated the sand, frantically stacking defenses in front of himself.

But it was too late.

The Light-Flame Missile, like an agile venomous snake, slipped through the gaps in the sand shields and accurately hit him in the chest.

BOOM!!!!!!!!!

A roar more violent than any previous explosion.

A gold-red mushroom cloud rose.

The shockwave spread frantically in all directions, blowing away over a dozen nearby Sandman Warriors.

[part:deepseek-chat]

Dust and smoke filled the air.

Lin Feng stared tensely at the center of the explosion.

A few seconds later, the dust and smoke cleared.

The Black-Robed Priest... was still standing.

But the black robe on his body was already tattered and torn, revealing the withered, cracked, yellow-brown body beneath.

There was a charred, gaping hole in his chest, through which shattered bones and internal organs could be seen.

The light in his black eyes was dim, and the Insect Scepter in his hand was also cracked.

[Light-Flame Missile damage dealt: 612 × (Item 80 + Skill 3) × Fusion Coefficient 5 = 2.45 million!]

"Two point forty-five million?!"

Lin Feng himself was startled.

He knew the Fusion of an item and a skill would greatly increase the power, but he never expected it to be this exaggerated!

But upon careful thought, it made sense.

The blazing light stone itself had 80 points of fixed damage, plus the spirit bonus from the Fireball Technique, multiplied by the Fusion coefficient...

"This move... I'll have to use it often from now on."

Lin Feng thought gleefully.

At that moment, the Black-Robed Priest slowly raised his head.

The light flickered in his black eyes—not anger, but... sorrow?

"Human... you have won..."

The hoarse mental message once again entered Lin Feng's mind.

"But the holy relic... you cannot take it..."

"The curse of the Sand Clan... will follow you forever..."

After speaking, his body began to disintegrate.

It wasn't the dissipation of death, but a voluntary dissolution.

The yellow-brown body turned into flowing sand, rustling as it fell.

The Insect Scepter in his hand clattered to the ground.

The yellow crystal at the head of the staff cracked with a snap, splitting in two.

[Sandman Priest (Boss Level) slain. Experience +5000]

With the priest dead, the remaining sandmen were left leaderless.

But they did not flee. Instead, as if gone mad, they launched a suicidal charge towards Lin Feng.

"Avenge the priest!!!"

"Kill the intruder!!!"

Howls and roars merged into a cacophony.

"Troublesome..."

Lin Feng frowned.

He didn't want to waste time.

He raised both hands, selecting the most violent crowd-clearing combination.

Left hand—Fireball Technique + Lightning Strike Technique + Wind Blade Technique.

Right hand—Ice Cone Technique + Earth Wall Technique (terrain alteration).

"Five-skill Fusion—Elemental Purgatory!"

This time, he poured in thirty thousand mana.

In his palms, five-colored lights wildly intertwined, fusing into a mass of chaotic-colored energy cloud.

The energy cloud rose into the air, and then—

It exploded with a roar!

Not a single explosion.

It was a continuous elemental storm!

Flames, lightning, frost, wind blades, earth spikes...

Five types of elemental attacks poured down like a torrential rain, covering an area of fifty meters in radius.

The sandmen had nowhere to hide.

Within the Elemental Purgatory, they fell like wheat.

Skin charred, bodies pierced by electricity, limbs frozen and cracked, heads severed by wind blades, feet impaled by earth spikes...

Screams, explosions, and slicing sounds blended together.

Thirty seconds later.

The elemental storm ceased.

On the ruins, not a single Sandman remained standing.

Corpses littered the ground, yellow-brown blood seeping into the sand. The air was thick with the stench of char and blood.

[Sandman Warrior ×42 slain. Experience +75×42=31,500]

[Sandman Spearman ×28 slain. Experience +80×28=22,400]

[Level Up! Level 16!]

A golden light enveloped him.

A warm current surged throughout his body.

[All Attributes +3, Free Attribute Points +2]

Lin Feng continued to allocate everything to spirit.

[spirit: 635]

[Spell Attack: 3175]

[mana: 635 (base) + 93,650 (extra from tower soul) = 100,000]

"Level sixteen..."

Lin Feng let out a long sigh of relief.

This battle had truly not been easy.

The sandmen were much harder to deal with than those snakes and scorpions.

"But the rewards should be good."

He walked to the pile of sand that the Black-Robed Priest had become and picked up the cracked Insect Scepter.

The staff shaft was pieced together from some kind of black, withered wood and insect carapace, rough but heavy to the touch.

Although the yellow crystal at the head was cracked, a faint flow of energy still moved within it.

Lin Feng tried to sense it with his Talent.

[scepter of sand (Damaged)]

[Quality: S-Rank (Originally Gold, downgraded to Purple due to damage)]

[Effect 1: spirit +5 (was +100 before damage)]

[Effect 2: Earth Element Affinity +3% (was +50% before damage)]

[Effect 3: All Earth-type skill effects +4% (was +80% before damage)]

[Effect 4: Can summon Sand Guard (could summon Sand Giant before damage)]

[Level Requirement: 15]

[Description: A holy relic passed down through generations of Sand Clan priests, containing the power of the earth. Severely damaged, its power greatly diminished.]

"S-Rank?! Originally Gold quality?!"

Lin Feng's eyes widened.

His current tree demon scepter was only Blue quality, giving spirit +3 and Light attribute skill damage +15%.

Yet this damaged scepter of sand, even downgraded to Purple, still gave a spirit bonus of 5 points! Plus Earth element affinity and skill effect boosts!

"Hit the jackpot!"

Without hesitation, Lin Feng stored the tree demon scepter in his ring and equipped the scepter of sand.

Instantly, he felt his spirit invigorated.

His perception of the earth element became noticeably clearer.

Although he had no earth-type skills, his all-element affinity allowed him to benefit from the 3% earth element affinity bonus.

"Good stuff..."

Lin Feng couldn't help but fondly stroke the staff shaft.

Next, he began to clean up the battlefield.

Seventy or eighty Sandman corpses—if he had to collect them manually, it would take forever.

"Too troublesome..."

Lin Feng frowned.

He took five essence blood collectors out of his wanxiang ring.

Then, he attempted something bold.

"Talent, activate!"

The five collectors floated into the air, beginning to fuse within a pale golden light.

[Detected fusible items: essence blood collector ×5]

[Same-type item Fusion]

[mana consumed: 500 points]

[Fusion direction: Function enhancement]

Ten seconds later, the five collectors fused into one.

Its volume tripled, its structure became more complex, and its surface gained many energy circuits and runes.

[Obtained: Automatic Essence Blood Collection Device (Purple)]

[Effect: Can automatically scan corpses within a fifty-meter radius and perform essence blood collection. Collection efficiency 6%. Can store 1000 units of essence blood.]

[Description: A must-have for the lazy, frees your hands.]

"Automatic?! And it can store a thousand units?!"

Lin Feng was delighted.

He quickly activated the device.

*Hummm—*

Over a dozen slender metal probes extended from the bottom of the device, inserting into nearby Sandman corpses.

Then, dark yellow blood was drawn out, flowing into the storage tank inside the device.

The efficiency was indeed much faster than manual collection.

Moreover, he could do other things while it collected.

"This is technology changing life..."

Lin Feng mused.

He let the device work automatically and walked towards the collapsed building.

The earthy-yellow light was still flickering.

Growing brighter.

As if calling to him.

Lin Feng gripped the scepter of sand tightly, approaching step by step.

His heartbeat began to accelerate.

"The holy relic..."

"The thing the Sand Clan protected at all costs..."

"What exactly is it?"

He reached the edge of the building ruins and peered inside.

Then, he saw it.

In the center of the ruins, embedded in the ground, was a massive, silver-gray metal plate.

The plate's surface was smooth as a mirror, covered in extremely complex patterns.

Within the patterns, earthy-yellow energy flowed like blood, emitting a soft yet powerful glow.

And at the very center of the metal plate, embedded within it, was a...

Fist-sized, earthy-yellow, crystal that pulsed slowly like a... heart.

[???]

[Quality: ???]

[Effect: ???]

[Description: A holy relic guarded by the Sand Clan for a millennium, containing unknown power.]

"This..."

Lin Feng swallowed hard.

He could sense that the energy contained within that crystal was at least a hundred times stronger than that in the scepter of sand.

Even more terrifying than the darkness demon core.

"It's definitely... an incredible treasure."

He took a deep breath, preparing to jump down for a closer look.

But the moment he lifted his foot—

The sand around the metal plate suddenly began to flow.

As if alive, it slowly swelled upward.

Forming a... humanoid shape?