Ch 130: The Final Floor (1)
Su Wen lightly flicked his sword, sending the blood clinging to the blade scattering across the snow before lowering it into a relaxed guard.
Scattered across the battlefield lay the corpses of two Mid Grade 3 Black-Tail Wolves and five Early Grade 3 Ice Horn Rabbits.
After the intense battle, his breathing was slightly ragged. Heat radiated from his body as steam rose from his torn robes, his Blood Qi circulating vigorously through his meridians.
Just ahead stood the staircase leading to the dungeon's sixth and final floor.
A terrifying chill seeped up from below, cold enough to freeze even one's soul.
Su Wen didn't step onto the stairs immediately.
Instead, he sat down cross-legged before the entrance and retrieved two Spirit Recovery Pills from his storage ring.
The moment he swallowed them, the pills dissolved into a rich torrent of Spiritual Qi that surged through his meridians.
Circulating his cultivation method, he steadily refined the medicinal energy, replenishing the Spiritual Qi in his nearly depleted dantian.
Nearly half an hour later, Su Wen slowly opened his eyes.
He had returned to his peak condition.
Although his robes remained tattered, the cuts and bruises covering his body were already healing under the nourishment of his vigorous Blood Qi.
Reaching up, he untied the blindfold that had covered his eyes for so long.
When his dark eyes opened once more, they were noticeably sharper than before, carrying the calm yet piercing gaze of a seasoned warrior.
Turning around, his gaze settled upon a graceful figure dressed in flowing blue robes.
Du Yue sat quietly, cultivating the dense Cold Yin Spirit Qi that permeated the dungeon.
Sensing his gaze, she slowly opened her eyes.
A bright smile immediately blossomed across her face.
"Husband!"
Su Wen walked over and gently patted her head.
"Thank you for watching over me, my lovely wife."
A happy smile spread across Du Yue's face as she immediately nestled against his chest.
"Mmm..."
She rubbed her cheek against him, greedily breathing in his familiar scent while basking in the comforting warmth radiating from his body, intensified by the vigorous circulation of his Blood Qi.
After gently stroking her hair for a few moments, Su Wen smiled.
"Alright, I've rested enough. Let's see what the final floor has in store for us."
"Okay."
Du Yue happily wrapped herself around his left arm, humming softly as they walked together.
With a faint smile, Su Wen stepped onto the staircase.
An overwhelming wave of freezing air surged towards him, causing his entire body to shiver involuntarily.
Beside him, however, Du Yue remained completely unaffected, as though she couldn't even feel the cold.
Feeling a little embarrassed that he was the only one affected, Su Wen circulated his Spirit Q, forming a thin protective layer around his body before carefully descending with her.
At the bottom of the staircase lay a short corridor no more than a few metres long.
At its end stood an enormous white door.
It resembled a slab of flawless ice, crystal clear and smooth enough to reflect its surroundings.
"I've seen enough dungeon novels to know exactly what's behind this door..."
Su Wen muttered to himself.
The closer he approached, the colder the surrounding air became.
When he finally placed his hand against the icy door, a bone-chilling cold instantly spread through his palm.
Taking a slow breath, he gently pushed it open.
Nothing lay beyond it but an endless sea of white mist.
Su Wen and Du Yue stepped inside together.
The moment they crossed the threshold, the mist quietly dispersed, as though an invisible barrier had been lifted.
A vast white chamber unfolded before them.
The walls were coated in thick layers of frost, while countless razor-sharp icicles hung from the ceiling like heavenly spears waiting to descend.
Su Wen's footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
His pupils contracted slightly.
A vast army of monsters filled the chamber.
Hundreds of crimson eyes turned towards Su Wen the instant he entered, every gaze filled with savage malice, as though prey had willingly walked into their graves.
More than a hundred Early Grade 2 monsters formed the front ranks. Red-Eyed Rats, Ice Horn Rabbits, Frost Dart Lizards, and Ice Goblins were packed tightly together into a seething tide of claws, fangs, and icicles.
Behind them stood over sixty Mid Grade 2 monsters, while another thirty Peak Grade 2 monsters waited further back, their auras far more oppressive than those in the front.
Yet those monsters were merely the outer ranks.
Twelve Early Grade 3 monsters stood silently behind the horde like elite guards.
Four Mid Grade 3 monsters occupied the centre of the chamber, each exuding an overwhelming pressure as their icy crimson eyes remained fixed on Su Wen.
At the very rear lay a circular pool of silver-white water that remained unfrozen despite the bone-chilling cold.
Rising from its centre was a massive pillar of translucent ice.
Growing from its summit was a sky-blue spiritual herb that radiated astonishingly dense Spiritual Qi. From the countless icicles overhead, crystal-clear droplets slowly fell onto its leaves, nourishing it drop by drop.
Then...
A pair of dark emerald eyes slowly opened from behind the towering pillar of ice.
An incomparably tyrannical aura swept across the entire chamber.
Every monster immediately lowered its head in submission.
Su Wen's pupils contracted sharply.
The pressure released by the countless monsters before him was already overwhelming.
Yet compared to the existence hidden behind the pillar of ice...
It was like comparing candlelight to the blazing sun.
Every instinct he had painstakingly forged throughout the first five floors screamed a warning.
Danger.
Su Wen turned towards Du Yue and smiled.
"Wifey, wait here. Let me take care of them."
His gaze swept across the sea of monsters before shifting towards the source of the terrifying pressure hidden behind the pillar of ice.
"I also want to see... just how far I can go."
Du Yue smiled gently and nodded.
"Alright, Husband. I'll be watching, so don't hold anything back."
Su Wen chuckled.
"As you wish."
He leaned over and lightly pecked her soft cheek.
Before Du Yue could react...
He vanished.
SKREEEE! KEEEEK! AROOOOOOO!
The entire chamber erupted.
The shrill screeches of the Red-Eyed Rats, the savage cackles of the Ice Goblins, the piercing cries of the Ice Horn Rabbits, and the deep howls of the Black-Tail Wolves merged into a deafening roar that shook the frozen chamber.
Hundreds of crimson eyes locked onto Su Wen as overwhelming killing intent flooded the room.
Then...
The monster army surged forward.
Su Wen grinned and no longer held back as he charged directly into the oncoming horde.
Boom!
His feet slammed against the frozen ground, launching him straight into the front ranks.
The instant he landed, his sword left its sheath in a brilliant silver flash.
Swish!
A crescent-shaped sword light swept across the battlefield.
Blood blossomed across the battlefield.
Red-Eyed Rats were cleaved cleanly in two.
Ice Horn Rabbits died before they could even leap.
Frost Dart Lizards and Ice Goblins were shredded wherever the sword light passed.
The tremendous force of the clash shook the entire chamber.
Crack... Crack... Crack...
The ceiling trembled violently.
Dozens of razor-sharp icicles broke free and descended towards Su Wen like heavenly spears.
Without interrupting the flow of his swordsmanship, Su Wen shifted his footing and glided through the deadly rain.
Some icicles narrowly brushed past his robes before burying themselves deep into the frozen ground.
Others were casually deflected aside with his sword.
Almost immediately, streams of icy Spiritual Qi gathered overhead.
The shattered icicles rapidly regenerated until the ceiling looked exactly as it had moments before, as though nothing had ever fallen.
Su Wen's blade flowed without pause, one slash seamlessly following the next.
Every swing harvested another group of monsters.
The densely packed front ranks rapidly thinned as corpses piled across the frozen floor.
Within only a few breaths, more than a hundred Early Grade 2 monsters had fallen, and the chamber, which had seemed impossibly crowded moments earlier, suddenly became far more spacious.
Without giving the remaining monsters time to recover, Su Wen burst into the Mid Grade 2 and Peak Grade 2 ranks.
These monsters attacked together.
Razor-sharp claws, vicious fangs, and countless icicle weapons descended upon him from every direction.
Black-Tail Wolves lunged low while Ice Goblins attacked from every side.
Sword light flashed relentlessly.
Dark blood sprayed across the white snow.
Broken limbs scattered throughout the battlefield.
His robes were soon stained crimson.
Wherever Su Wen advanced...
Monsters fell.
Every violent collision between his sword and the monsters' attacks shook the chamber once again.
Crack... Crack... Crack...
The ceiling answered every impact with another deadly rain of razor-sharp icicles.
Su Wen no longer needed to think.
His battle instincts, painstakingly honed throughout the previous five floors, guided every movement of his body.
He sidestepped one falling icicle, ducked beneath another, twisted around a third, and occasionally knocked one aside with the flat of his blade... all while continuing his relentless slaughter of the surrounding monsters.
Every clash shook loose another rain of frozen spears.
Even the battlefield itself had become his enemy.
Yet Su Wen's rhythm never faltered.
Within moments, nearly half of the Mid Grade 2 and Peak Grade 2 monsters had been slaughtered.
Then... His entire body suddenly tensed.
Danger!
Every fibre of his being screamed the same warning.
Without thinking, Su Wen instinctively raised his sword.
Clang!
A deafening explosion reverberated throughout the chamber.
An overwhelming force smashed into his blade.
The impact felt like an entire mountain crashing down upon him.
The frozen ground beneath his feet shattered instantly, and unable to withstand the tremendous force, Su Wen was blasted backwards.
Boom!
His body slammed into the icy wall, spiderweb cracks spreading across its surface before he crashed heavily onto the frozen ground.
"Cough!"
A mouthful of blood burst from his lips.
His arms trembled violently as he slowly climbed back to his feet, using his sword for support before wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Standing amidst the countless corpses was a towering goblin nearly two metres tall.
Dense Malevolent Qi coiled around its muscular frame like living serpents.
Resting upon its shoulder was a gigantic icicle nearly three metres long.
The crystal-clear weapon was completely wrapped in swirling Dark Qi until it resembled a spear forged from frozen malice.
Its emerald eyes stared at Su Wen with cold, terrifying intent.
"So powerful..."
Su Wen muttered before suddenly pointing his sword at the goblin with an indignant expression.
"I thought final bosses were supposed to wait until the hero finished clearing the minions."
"Jumping in halfway through the fight... where's your dignity? Where are your martial ethics?!" Su Wen cursed.
The goblin answered only by tightening its grip around the gigantic dark icicle.
Meanwhile, the remaining Grade 3 monsters began to move.
The twelve Early Grade 3 monsters spread out, surrounding Su Wen from every direction.
The four Mid Grade 3 monsters advanced behind them, sealing every possible path of retreat.
At the entrance, Du Yue remained perfectly still.
The cheerful smile on her face had long since vanished after seeing Su Wen cough up blood.
Her slender hands quietly clenched into fists.
A faint darkness tinged with cruelty slowly surfaced within her beautiful eyes as she fixed her gaze upon the towering goblin.
As though it were already dead.