The Geothermal Talisman Shattered
The Shopkeeper completely dropped his last trace of mockery.
The atmosphere of the entire supermarket suddenly changed.
The previous facade of calm and composure was torn away like a ripped-out mask, replaced by an overwhelming, layered, and eerie oppression that pressed down from all directions.
The Ghost Domain has fully unfolded.
The shelves on both sides were visibly twisted and bent, and the pale white light tubes flickered wildly, casting an eerie and sinister light on and off. Thick, gray-black mist seeped from the cracks in the floor tiles, and a damp, rotten stench mixed with countless resentful resentments hung heavily in the air.
The entire supermarket was transformed into an airtight prison, with all escape routes sealed off by an invisible aura.
Lu Heng was the only prey in this cage.
Lu Heng's mind tightened instantly, and he realized the desperate situation he was in.
Only one extremely clear thought remained in my mind—
We need to work like crazy right now, or we're doomed.
He no longer held back any tricks, completely unleashing his Talent and forcefully activating the Geothermal Talisman within his body.
After repeated mobilization and continuous extraction during previous battles, the scorching energy stored in the Geothermal Talisman had been mostly consumed, its foundation nearly exhausted, leaving only a faint residual heat lurking deep within the meridians.
But at this critical moment, with life and death hanging in the balance, Lu Heng had no other choice.
He forcefully squeezed out the last remaining heat from the Geothermal Talisman, forcing all the warm energy out of his body and rapidly flowing through his meridians, pouring it all into the Rat King Bone Knife in his hand.
Buzz--!
The bone knife trembled violently, its entire body glowing a scorching red light. A burst of scalding flames exploded, distorting the surrounding air. Plastic packaging and snacks on nearby shelves softened, deformed, and melted rapidly in the sudden heat.
Lu Heng lowered his waist and took a step, the ground beneath his feet cracked slightly, and his figure suddenly shot out.
The Rat King Bone Knife slashed horizontally repeatedly, unleashing a series of condensed and violently scorching blade energies that pierced through the air, layer upon layer, overwhelming the sky and earth, carrying the power to incinerate everything, and slamming fiercely towards the Shopkeeper who stood not far away.
The difference is enormous.
Every terrifyingly powerful wave of heat energy was steadily blocked by an invisible and intangible mental barrier just before it reached within three feet of the Shopkeeper.
The raging heatwave roared and surged, yet it couldn't even lift the hem of the other person's clothes, dissipating silently into the air.
The Shopkeeper stood still the entire time, without moving an inch.
He watched Lu Heng's all-out offensive with a detached gaze and a nonchalant expression, like an old man calmly watching a child waving a wooden sword and fooling around.
It wasn't deliberate contempt, but rather an indifference stemming from an absolute level of superiority.
Lu Heng's breathing became increasingly rapid.
Physical strength was rapidly depleted, mental energy was continuously consumed, and even the remaining energy of the Geothermal Talisman was almost completely squeezed out during this round of frenzied attacks.
He knew perfectly well in his heart—
All his conventional methods had become completely ineffective in the face of this being.
The real dead end has arrived.
Forced into a corner, Lu Heng no longer hesitated.
He gritted his teeth, suppressing his exhaustion and tense nerves, and quickly reached into his robes with his right hand, pulling out two precious pills.
One Blood Beast Pill.
One Origin Recovery Pill.
Without the slightest hesitation, he swallowed both pills simultaneously.
The moment the pill entered his throat, a helpless, bitter smile flashed through Lu Heng's mind.
That's so unlucky.
This is the price of reckless, head-on confrontation.
His only gambler's hope was that the gentle medicinal power of the Origin Recovery Pill could successfully neutralize the violent backlash of the Blood Beast Pill, suppressing the risk of his physical body collapsing while quickly replenishing his overdrawn physical and mental strength, forcibly holding on for this final battle.
The next second, two completely contradictory medicinal forces exploded within his body.
An intense, tearing pain instantly swept through his limbs and bones, causing his blood to convulse, surge, and rush uncontrollably.
The Blood Beast Pill is extremely domineering, frantically squeezing and extracting Lu Heng's hidden physical potential. At the cost of overdrawing his physical foundation, it causes his explosive power and destructive force to increase several times in a short period of time.
The Origin Recovery Pill is gentle and pure, continuously gushing out restorative medicinal power, desperately replenishing the broken physical energy, calming the restless meridians, and firmly stabilizing the body on the verge of collapse, preventing the body from exploding directly under the violent medicinal power.
One side launches a massive offensive, while the other desperately defends its survival.
The two medicinal forces clashed, balanced, and merged wildly within the body.
Lu Heng's eyes instantly became bloodshot, his muscles tensed to the extreme, and his bones creaked under pressure. Every inch of his skin and every meridian was enduring excruciating pain from being stretched to the limit.
He pressed his lips tightly together, enduring the excruciating pain without uttering a sound.
Taking advantage of the perfect balance between the two medicinal pills, Lu Heng went all out and made a desperate gamble.
His own combat Talent, all his condensed mental power, and the Geothermal Talisman squeezed out the last bit of residual scorching energy.
The three forces completely merged and became one.
The surging torrent of power poured entirely into the Rat King Bone Knife.
On the jet-black bone blade, crimson heat waves and pure white spiritual energy intertwined, coiled, and burst forth, illuminating an unprecedentedly dazzling halo, as if the entire blade was completely enveloped in raging flames.
Lu Heng stomped his feet on the ground, his figure transforming into an extreme afterimage, breaking through layers of gray-black mist, facing the oppressive aura of the Ghost Domain, and unleashing a deadly slash with all his might towards the Shopkeeper's location!
This strike represents the ultimate limit of his current state.
It carried with it a raging heatwave that burned away resentment and scorched the darkness, its power reaching its full potential.
Boom--!!
The deafening explosion echoed throughout the entire supermarket.
The eerie Ghost Domain that enveloped the entire area was actually cleaved open by this solitary, unparalleled blade, leaving a massive, scorching crack that stretched across the entire space!
The space trembled violently, and the shelves on both sides crumbled and collapsed in pieces. The gray-black mist of resentment that filled the sky was instantly scorched, dissipated, and evaporated by the extreme heat.
But the next second, Lu Heng's heart sank to the bottom.
The blade's energy cleaved through the air.
He struck only a void.
There was no flesh and blood, no collisions, and no feedback on the hit.
A calm and indifferent voice slowly rang out from not far behind Lu Heng.
"That strike of yours was quite powerful."
"If it were to actually hit me, it would definitely cause me considerable damage."
"Unfortunately, you only struck my illusion."
Lu Heng froze, then turned around abruptly.
The Shopkeeper stood with his hands behind his back, quietly three steps away, calmly observing Lu Heng, who was completely exhausted and on the verge of collapse, his tone carrying a hint of indifferent amusement.
You're like an unkillable cockroach.
"They're constantly coming up with new tricks and employing a variety of methods."
"It seems I really can't keep you any longer."
The moment the words left his mouth.
There was no wind, no sound, and no warning whatsoever.
The Shopkeeper suddenly vanished from the spot.
The next instant, a terrifying sense of suffocation enveloped him as his opponent appeared right in front of Lu Heng.
A cold, icy hand gripped Lu Heng's head tightly.
A chilling, eerie energy surged wildly into Lu Heng's body through his palm, like thousands of ice needles piercing his bone marrow, instantly freezing his mobility and suppressing his mental strength.
Lu Heng's limbs instantly stiffened and went numb, his consciousness rapidly dissipated and blurred, and all his strength was completely locked away; he even lost the strength to raise his hand.
The shadow of death completely enveloped my entire being.
He clearly sensed that he was doomed to die.
But just as his vital signs were about to completely drop to zero...
Within Lu Heng's body, the Geothermal Talisman, which had long been depleted of energy and nearly dormant, suddenly awakened at the critical moment when it sensed that its host was on the verge of death.
It had already been overdrawn multiple times, its energy nearly depleted, and it was already on the verge of becoming dormant and obsolete.
At this moment, to protect its master, it chose to completely shatter itself and burn itself out.
Click--!
A silent cracking sound echoed within her body.
At the cost of its own complete collapse and annihilation, the Geothermal Talisman unleashed a primal, scorching torrent of heat far exceeding normal levels and reaching extreme ferocity!
At this very moment, the Shopkeeper's hand was firmly pressed against Lu Heng's head, a close and immobile restraint that left him with no way to avoid it or retreat.
This scorching energy, as if sacrificing one's life, poured out without reservation and completely washed over the Shopkeeper's body.
The Shopkeeper's expression changed drastically in an instant, his calm indifference replaced by extreme horror.
A deadly burning sensation instantly permeated his entire body. He instinctively sensed an impending doom and wanted to immediately withdraw his hand, retreat, break free, and escape.
It's too late.
The primal heat wave from the self-destruction of the Geothermal Talisman carries an extremely strong ability to lock onto and adhere to enemies; once someone is touched by it, they will be completely entangled and killed.
We can't leave!
There's no escaping it!
There's no escaping it!
"What exactly is inside your body?!"
The Shopkeeper completely lost his composure, screaming in disbelief, horror, and resentment.
"How could this have happened—this should never have happened!"
"I should have broken free of my shackles and become the true evil of the world—but none of this is right!!"
The frantic, resentful words still echoed in the air above the store, not yet having completely faded.
The raging, scorching torrent of ultimate energy has completely exploded.
Boom--!!
The blinding, crimson heatwave instantly engulfed the Shopkeeper's entire body.
His bizarre body, nurtured by decades of array formations and built from countless resentments, was torn apart, scorched, and disintegrated from the inside out by the intense heat.
His bones shattered inch by inch, and the condensed resentment evaporated instantly. All his obsessions, all his schemes, and all his evil thoughts accumulated over decades were burned to ashes in this one blow.
A high-level, eerie being who, just a moment ago, looked down upon all living beings and toyed with its prey.
At this moment, it was completely annihilated and vanished without a trace.
With a tremendous roar, the entire Ghost Domain that had been suppressing the entire area collapsed and dissipated.
All the gray and Sealing Runes hidden in the supermarket walls, floors, and shelves dimmed, went out, and became ineffective.
The chilling aura that had enveloped the sky receded like the tide, and the remaining scattered resentment was burned into fine ashes by the residual heat, which slowly drifted down.
The battlefield finally returned to deathly silence.
Lu Heng was completely exhausted, his meridians were burning and sore, his legs gave way and he knelt heavily on one knee, leaning on the Rat King Bone Knife and panting heavily, his chest heaving violently.
Cold sweat soaked his entire body, and the lingering chill of fear intertwined with the remaining burning pain between his skin and flesh.
He truly survived a near-death experience.
Gripping the bone knife handle, Lu Heng gritted his teeth, struggled to lift his heavy eyelids, and looked at the empty space where the Shopkeeper had completely vanished.
As the eerie energy dissipated, several objects fell from the void, clattering onto the floor tiles.
At the same time, the Survival Bracelet on Lu Heng's wrist suddenly lit up with a pale blue light, and a mechanical notification sound rang clearly in his mind:
[Congratulations to the survivor for defeating the area boss! You have unlocked building privileges and can now construct your own Shelter in the current world.]
With the BOSS defeated, the twisted and broken supermarket began to recover rapidly.
The bent shelves returned to their original positions, the flickering lights regained their normal brightness, the gray-black fog completely dissipated, and the damaged walls and floors were slowly repaired.
The floor structure, which had been obscured by an eerie aura, was now clearly visible, with the outline of the second floor fully revealed. The ancient staircase stood firmly in the center of the store, leading straight up to the second floor.
Lu Heng gazed at the restored supermarket and the staircase leading to the second floor, his fingertips tightening slightly.
Killing the Shopkeeper brought an end to a mad, obsessive farce, but the secrets hidden in this eerie supermarket, and the unknown dangers on the second floor, still quietly await him ahead.