Meanwhile, Chi Cheng was just standing on the crimson earth, having just entered the dungeon, still picking his nose.

BOOM!

The crimson earth finally split open!

Scalding lava erupted toward the sky!

[Great Lava Eruption]

WHOOSH!

Lu Cang barely dodged, grazing past the lava! He used his Ice Shield and Wind Shield to block the searing heat!

’A Nation Destruction Level Demon... so dangerous!’

’Such a huge range?’

’A lava eruption with a 500-meter radius?’ Even without a direct hit, Lu Cang could feel his Ice Shield melting rapidly.

The moment it broke out from the lava, countless beams of light, glowing blades, and stray projectiles shot up toward him from below.

Aside from the Nation Destruction and King Level Demons, there were also plenty of Lord Level and other mobs. But compared to the Nation Destruction Level Demon, they were as insignificant as ants underfoot.

[Sacrifice—1000 souls: Sea of Fire]

WHOOSH!

Lu Cang unleashed a Sea of Fire, intending to deal with the mobs first. At the same time, his other Magic erupted in sync with the flames.

With a wave of his hand, a storm of multicolored Elemental Spells swept toward the ground, wiping out the stray projectiles, rays, jets, Nail Spears...

In that first moment, he killed a good number of ordinary Tier Four Demons.

However, just as he finished unleashing that barrage of Magic, Lu Cang felt a shadow loom over him!

A massive City-Opening Saber was already cleaving down at him!

And from a distance, a deafening roar echoed!

"ROAR!"

Another Nation Destruction Level Demon, this one with three lion heads, was roaring. The sound instantly paralyzed his body!

’This is actually pretty tough.’

[Death Substitute]

BANG!

The giant saber crashed down, and at the moment of impact, the body was obliterated into dust!

But it wasn’t Lu Cang who was shattered—it was the Demon corpse he had just swapped with.

The principles for advancing as a Death Priest were: create death, Sacrifice death, and use death.

’If "creating death" applies to both humans and Demons, then I suppose I’m a devout follower of the Death Priest’s principles.’

’As for Sacrificing death, Lu Cang believed he did a better job than the vast majority of Death Priests.’

’To date, he had Sacrificed over three hundred thousand Supreme Souls.’

’And as for using death...’

POOF!

Three corpses shattered.

Lu Cang drank a vial of [Silencing Spirit Water] worth 10 Gold Coins to insulate his body from the sound waves.

At the same time, the water of his outer [Resilient Water Ring Shield] vibrated at a high frequency, canceling out the deafening noise.

BOOM!

Bone spikes continuously shot up from the ground, transforming into one snake head after another that lunged at Lu Cang to bite him!

’Is just dodging not enough?’

VMMMM—

The ground once again lit up with a crimson glow.

The great saber swung at him again, and a blood-red shadow also charged in pursuit.

’There’s a speed-type, too.’

’It’s so fast, its Speed is comparable to the King of Exotic Insects from before.’

POOF!

A corpse exploded, and Lu Cang changed positions again.

This time, he appeared behind the speed-type Nation Destruction Level Demon.

[Bloodthirsty Needle Bee (Evolved)]

’I’ve seen it in the Demon encyclopedia. The Bloodthirsty Needle Bee, a bee-type Demon!’

’It’s the final evolutionary stage for all Tier Four bee-type Demons after they advance from King Level.’

WHOOSH!

Almost in perfect sync with Lu Cang using [Death Substitute] to switch places, the Bloodthirsty Needle Bee immediately spun around!

The stinger in its hand had already pierced through "Lu Cang’s" body.

SQUELCH!

It had pierced a Demon’s corpse.

’Such incredible Speed!’

’If [Death Substitute] couldn’t be set up in advance, I wouldn’t have been able to react at all!’

But that was fine. The Bloodthirsty Needle Bee’s stinger pierced the corpse, but as it did, the impaled body began to glow.

[Death Spell—Corpse Secret Collection (Level 201)]

[Effect: Engrave a spell onto a corpse.]

[Upgrade Enhancements: Engrave more spells; spells erupting from the corpse will have increased Power; generates Corpse Poison; creates a Foul Odor; conducts upon contact; the corpse becomes a more effective special medium.]

PFFT!

A cloud of purple poison mist burst out, and at the same time, a storm of multicolored Elements erupted instantly!

By the time the Bloodthirsty Needle Bee broke free, half of its body was covered in frost, while the other half was still burning fiercely. There were also charred black marks all over it.

’What tenacious Life Force...’

Lu Cang had seen that it was a speed-type and figured its defense would be weaker than the other thick-skinned brutes, so he had planned to take it out first.

’I didn’t expect it to be so tanky.’

"SKREEE—"

The Bloodthirsty Needle Bee, having escaped, saw Lu Cang and let out another piercing shriek.

Its bee-like eyes turned from yellow to red!

With its eyes now red, it charged murderously toward Lu Cang!

’It’s pissed?’

Lu Cang weaved and dodged!

While evading the Demons’ attacks, he collected the corpses of the small-fry mobs from the ground into his Storage Space.

Lu Cang had a Space Ring prepared specifically for storing corpses.

At the same time, while on the run, he also summoned winds to blast everything around him chaotically.

He blew the corpses to every corner of the battlefield.

He could still use the corpses even if they were chopped into mince, and it was fine if they were slightly seared, but if they were completely incinerated by the lava, they would be truly useless.

VMMMM—

The Needle Bee vibrated its wings!

Among the ten Nation Destruction Level Demons, it had the strongest desire to attack!

’However...’

’Heh, a Demon is a Demon, after all. Its Spirituality is weak...’

’In other words, they’re not very bright. Their intelligence is extremely low. Only a very few Special Species possess intelligence comparable to sapient beings.’

’Creatures like that are usually guarding something or have an extraordinary origin.’

’For example, the Bloodline Monarch from before—a rare talking Demon—was guarding the [Reincarnation Secret Scroll].’

’Back then, Lu Cang had assumed that Tier Three King Level Demons already possessed rudimentary intelligence and the ability to communicate with people.’

However, he later found out that talking, thinking Demons were exceedingly rare.

SWOOSH!

It came after him, intent on killing.

Its Speed was extreme!

But unfortunately for it, such a straightforward pursuit was ultimately useless!

BANG!

Another corpse exploded!

It was filled with Lu Cang’s private stash of vicious spells: a Deep Curse Arrow Sacrificing 2000 souls, a Soul Wound Curse Sacrificing 1000 souls, a Soul Tearing Sacrificing 2000 souls...

Even a professional Death Priest would have to call these spells wicked.

After the Needle Bee pierced the corpse, it tumbled chaotically in mid-air before crashing headfirst into the ground, its body convulsing erratically.

’Oh?’

’Looks like it was pretty effective.’

These clever little Tier Two spells were something Lu Cang had come up with while contemplating the Root Source.

Of course, the process of creating these spells also made him feel like he was getting closer and closer to comprehending Root Magic.

’Hmm...’

’Even now, he felt he was just one step away from comprehending Root Magic, so close he could almost touch it...’

’He had even become so adept at integrating the Mage and Death Priest Professions that, in his hands, they were practically indistinguishable, mutually reinforcing and strengthening one another.’

Lu Cang pressed his attack while the bee was still disoriented!

He wasn’t one to spare an enemy’s life while it was confused.

He believed in striking an enemy while it was down to finish it off.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The moment it was thrown into chaos, a ferocious tide of Magic poured down upon it relentlessly.

The Needle Bee’s resistance was quite high, though. After tumbling a couple of times, it finally recovered.

In the blink of an eye, it was in front of Lu Cang once again.

When it came to Speed, it certainly never disappointed.

BANG!

As its stinger pierced "Lu Cang," the substituted corpse also exploded under its assault!

And this time, it was a [Spirit Burst].