Chapter 852
Chapter 852 - 838: Land of the Throne
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The Throne, since it is a throne, is also the core of a world.
In Lu Ping’an’s imagination, it should have been a luxurious throne within a palace.
It might be glittering with gold and jade, or perhaps ancient and timeless, or maybe entwined with odd and strange things, in any case, it should be the most conspicuous object in a room.
But upon actually finding it, Lu Ping’an realized he had misunderstood the true value of the Abyssal Throne.
".... This thing is so much bigger than the Snake King, and you’re telling me it’s a throne?"
Lu Ping’an now understood why it was called the Throne of Phosphorus—it was a "scale"... but this scale was incredibly large, absurdly so.
Beneath it plunged into the earth, with bizarre connecting tissues all around, the grey-brown hide structure stretching endlessly.
In Lu Ping’an’s perception, it was the core of everything, as if the entire earth beneath his feet was an extension of it.
Finding the throne didn’t take Lu Ping’an much time; he found the "Throne Hall" buried underground by digging a deep pit in the area with the highest concentration of Abyssal force in the earth’s veins.
But to be honest, it’s just a vertically standing scale. If it is to be considered a throne, then even the Snake King herself would struggle... she could only barely coil around it.
Lu Ping’an was quick, but the rebounding Beheading Sword was quicker.
The feel of chopping at this thing was like hacking at steel with a small knife, torturously thrilling.
He was impressed. If it wasn’t that Kun Ba was messing with him, then it was that they themselves didn’t understand what a "throne" really was.
Lu Ping’an looked up, just barely able to make out the tip of the scale.
The thing was too large, so large that it made Lu Ping’an question its owner...
"Is it the Duke’s scale?"
"Probably, but it seems like it has been floating in the void for a long time now, with its power obviously declining to almost nothing."
That’s called nothing? Lu Ping’an looked around; these people died an unjust death.
At that moment, the hall was not empty. On the ground lay a great many skeletons and mummies, many of them dressed in lavish clothes, and their weapons and equipment didn’t look like ordinary items.
"What happened?"
".... It might be the earthquake just now that activated this scale. Look, their bones are unnatural; the keratin layer, the bones both black and thick, while the flesh is unusually withered, it’s as if the ’horn,’ ’scale,’ ’claw’ sucked out all their nutrients. I’ve seen plenty of such corpses, all luckless fools drained of their source of life by abnormal evolution."
Big Cat offered a possibility and said it straight out.
At that moment, the phosphorus of the abyss was activated, triggering a round of "Abyssal evolution."
These unlucky Abyssal guards were chosen for a rapid Abyss Transformation, and judging from their horns and scales, they were significantly enhanced at that moment.
Such a windfall from heaven... if only there hadn’t been a second wave of "evolution."
The Abyssal Throne didn’t care whether you could handle it or not. Before the radiation of the first wave of evolution had ended, the second wave arrived.
If you were lucky and survived, the third wave would come... This infinite selection process guaranteed there would always be a day when you’d be left behind.
Even the Snake King herself probably couldn’t stay on this throne indefinitely.
".... It seems we need a lead box."
At this moment, Lu Ping’an remembered the first time he obtained a Taboo weapon, the "Seal box" that the workshop recommended to him.
These sources of contamination would continually create "radiation" if left exposed on the ground, just not as strong as this one.
"... Uh, isn’t this a bit dangerous for me, if it gets activated again..."
"That last one should have released the accumulated energy, and moreover, look..."
Only then did Lu Ping’an notice that his Beheading Sword was faintly surrounded by coiling black fog, as if something was continuously being drawn into it.
If the view were lifted higher, one could see that around Lu Ping’an was an atmosphere of abyssal essence lethal in concentration, but he himself, under the protection of the Abyss Beheading Sword, was absorbing it in an orderly fashion.
And as the Sword Master currently "sharing" it, that essence didn’t harm him but was instead...
[Host gains a large amount of Abyss Essence....]
Such notifications flooded the screen, but clearly, the sword of the Abyss Lord swallowed up the overwhelming majority of it.
If it were not for the Abyss Beheading Sword, even the mere residual aura would likely be fatal to someone like Lu Ping’an, a Law Professional.
Kun Ba’s understanding was correct, the Abyss Beheading Sword, as the "warrant" of the Abyss Lord, did have certain privileges when facing the core of the Abyss.
He simply hadn’t anticipated that the legendary "Source of the Abyss" would actually be a "Duke’s scale," which was nearly impossible to dismantle.
".... Are the big bosses that terrifying? A single feather or scale can create a world like this."
"It must have been used by someone before, or placed for so long that it lost its power, otherwise a single drop of its blood could completely abyss-transform a medium-sized world, not just an Exotic Secret Realm."
𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
In Big Cat’s eyes, looking at the "scale," there was a surge of enthusiasm. Such an entity, truly immortal and indestructible, that was her ultimate dream in the past.
But at this moment, it had become Lu Ping’an’s trouble.
The cracks on his Beheading Sword were rapidly healing, the Abyss Aura in this place was mending the Divine Artifact’s wounds, and in his own list, "acquire Abyss XX" notifications were flooding his screen.
This seems like a good thing? Having experienced the essence of the Abyss, Lu Ping’an didn’t think so.
According to Kun Ba, smash this "Throne"? Not to mention Lu Ping’an, even if Kun Ba came himself, he probably wouldn’t be able to do it; this thing would likely require a ninth-order Big Boss to take a crack at it.
The fate of the Divine Bones was replaying itself; Lu Ping’an found himself in a treasure mountain, yet without the tools to mine.
If he recklessly went for it, it would certainly be a path to death.
"Lu Ping’an, your forehead....."
Lu Ping’an subconsciously touched it and his face turned pale with shock.
Without realizing, protrusions that seemed to be budding "horns" had appeared on his forehead.
"Let’s go."
Without any hesitation, Lu Ping’an turned around and left. Staying any longer might bring benefits, but he feared he might no longer remain himself.
This matter was simply not something humans could cope with; passing along the information would be doing enough.
He was leaving, but someone...
"I want to stay as well!"
And his snake and "equipment" had jumped out, seemingly coveting the Abyss Aura before them.
"...Take it."
After a moment’s consideration, Lu Ping’an agreed and casually threw over the Abyss Beheading Sword.
With the sword’s presence, their escape would likely be much smoother.
The "lightly equipped" Lu Ping’an wasn’t in a hurry, Zhi Xi was a "life form," which meant she could also use the Reception Room’s function; in the face of danger, she could teleport out directly.
For a small team like Lu Ping’an’s, as long as he could ensure his safety, the channels of escape for the others were relatively clear.
However, developments always exceed expectations...
"Lu Ping’an, you better come to the Courtyard."
A sudden call interrupted Lu Ping’an’s thoughts; he quickly found a safe spot, then called out Little Flame to act as a Watcher.
And just upon returning to the Courtyard, he saw Xia Qin’s helpless face in front of the unlucky "escapees."
"....Master Kun, what happened to you? And Master Wang, too?"
Lu Ping’an had just spoken when he knew he had asked a redundant question.
There were only two cloaked customers before him, both covered in green, viscous poison; they looked as if they had just been fished out of a poison swamp.
Many wounds were so deep that bones were visible, poison was being rapidly cleansed with the help of silver orbs. Both of the pure Battle-professionals were seriously injured, and if that Feng Shui Master had also been there...
"...He hesitated for a moment, and then turned into bones right in front of us," even though it was their first encounter, the demise of a strongman still elicited an inexplicable sense of sorrow from Kun Ba.
The brutal battlefield highlighted the cunning and strength of the prey.
A streak of fortune and favorable winds faced headwinds at this moment. It was just one life-risking outburst of self-destruction from the Snake King that took away a Quasi-rule-level combatant.
And if it weren’t for Lu Ping’an’s "card," at least two of them would probably start off with severe injuries.
So, the next task was indeed harder.
At this time, Kun Ba’s gaze toward Lu Ping’an became increasingly subtle.
He had known this guy was hiding something significant, but he didn’t expect it to be this outrageous... That figure in a nun’s robe, even for him, was unfathomable.
"Perhaps we can talk about cooperation again, the forthright kind. We... Changping needs your help," Kun Ba sincerely said. At this moment, he didn’t regard Lu Ping’an as a junior but as a peer in a fair trade.
After all, within this Courtyard, he had seen an "unmeasurable" presence.
No matter the Holy Fire Hall, the Great Library or that nun, they all instilled a sense of inestimability... Certain things, the stronger one is, the more aware they are of its depth.
The current mission was too critical. With the Array Master gone, he needed "reinforcements."
"That’s fine, but there needs to be..."
"...an increase in payment? How come this young man always has this idea at the tip of his tongue, is it some new gag from a TV show or movie?"
Kun Ba stroked his chin, remembering Lu Ping’an’s catchphrase during training.
Well, he wasn’t wrong, although the movie hadn’t premiered and might never do so... In this world filled with the extraordinary, martial arts culture still existed, yet had become much more niche.
"Alright, increase the payment if you must, as long as it’s worth it."
"...Of course, here at the Trading Land, the customer is god... and the customer with money is certainly god."
— End of Chapter 852 —