Chapter 50: The Irresistible Weight of Gold

Chiyuan’s Taoist magic intertwined with the long-accumulated dark clouds hovering above Huai Valley Village.

With the blessing of the celestial timing, countless bolts of lightning instantly filled the village, their power immense and seemingly endless.

Though it appeared as an overwhelming divine force, impossible to resist, most of the lightning was merely atmospheric, streaking across the sky without striking the ground.

After all, if Chiyuan truly commanded such a vast number of lightning bolts, he wouldn’t still be trapped in a C-rank dungeon.

Called the Thousand Thunder Summon, it was in fact lightning striking down one bolt after another in sequence.

Even so, Wu Chang came to understand the true might of heaven and earth.

Before Chiyuan unleashed the Thousand Thunder Summon, Wu Chang hadn’t feared his thunder magic much.

He wore lizard-skin armor worth six thousand rotted silver coins. As the name suggests, the earth lizard possessed the earth element and naturally had high resistance to lightning.

Moreover, standing on the ground, he activated the “Thick Skin” item skill, further boosting his elemental resistance.

The palm lightning that could instantly kill a mist demon might or might not penetrate his defense.

He was already prepared, planning to gloat after victory with a triumphant “Elemental advantage, kid!”

But the first bolt of heavenly thunder nearly sent his soul flying.

Though lightning is intangible, striking him felt like being hit by a mud truck.

With a thunderous crash, his entire body went numb, flesh and spirit seeming to separate, leaving him momentarily unable to control his body.

After the brief numbness came unbearable searing pain and a stabbing sensation.

He recalled the roasted lamb leg he had eaten earlier.

Not because he now tasted the same, but because he felt like a lamb leg being roasted.

The struck areas felt as if burning flames seared them, while the electric sting was like a huge iron skewer piercing through his body.

The pain he endured would have knocked out an ordinary person, but with a willpower of 64, the agony sharpened his mind.

He swiftly assessed his condition.

The first bolt not only halved the durability of his lizard-skin armor but also pierced through it, cutting away thirty percent of his health.

He was immensely grateful for trusting the guide and spending all his rotted silver coins on the earth lizard armor, heralded as the protector of novices.

Without that armor, the first bolt would have been fatal.

The pain triggered an adrenaline rush, making him unusually excited and ferocious. Normally, his sly, cautious nature would have driven him to flee the lightning strike and seek a way to survive before making plans.

But under the life-and-death pressure, no thought of retreat crossed his mind—only the desperate will to fight.

His fate was safest in his own hands.

He didn’t know how many more bolts would fall; rather than waiting for Chiyuan’s energy to deplete, it was better to kill Chiyuan and forcibly end his skill.

Even if it meant death, he’d make sure Chiyuan fell first!

Before the second bolt struck, he pulled out a bottle of Healing I, took a deep gulp, and felt the effects instantly restore his depleted health.

Still slumped on the ground, he didn’t bother standing but launched himself toward Chiyuan using both hands and feet.

His eyes were wide, teeth clenched, face contorted into a ferocious snarl like a beast fighting for its last breath.

The second bolt descended.

It was thicker than the first.

Lightning pierced through the lizard-skin armor again, blasting Wu Chang’s body.

The tremendous force slammed him to the ground, then caused him to convulse and bounce back up.

There was one bad news and two good news.

The bad news: his lizard-skin armor’s durability was completely depleted, now irreparably damaged.

Six thousand rotted silver coins vanished into thin air.

Besides, his health plummeted by 80%, half his body seared to medium rare.

In this state, even formidable hunters like Liu Shan or Liu Wei could easily finish him off.

The first good news: the pain from the first bolt had built up his tolerance, dulling the sensation of the second strike.

The second good news: after bouncing off the ground, he didn’t fall again but flew outward.

Before the second bolt hit, he was close enough to Chiyuan to trigger the Mamba Iron Elbow skill.

A mighty spirit coursed through his body—lightning couldn’t stop this elbow strike.

Did he understand what unstoppable meant?

“Man!”

Guided by his elbow, Wu Chang flew sideways toward Chiyuan. Lightning flashed beneath Chiyuan’s feet as he leapt back three or four meters, trying to evade Wu Chang’s desperate strike.

But the elbow seemed magnetically drawn; no matter how he dodged, it remained locked on.

He could only watch helplessly as the electric glow of the elbow pierced his surface and crashed hard into his face.

Blinding, dizziness, bleeding, weakness, poisoning—all struck in quick succession, blanking his mind instantly.

Seizing the moment, Wu Chang shifted position, locking Chiyuan’s throat and curling his body behind him as much as possible.

The third bolt then fell.

This time, both Wu Chang and Chiyuan, held in the throat lock after the elbow strike, were struck by the lightning.

The third bolt was even stronger than the second.

Boom!

It proved that wielding lightning magic did not grant immunity to it.

Even the caster could be injured by their own summoned lightning.

Chiyuan, already gravely wounded by the Silver Dawn Shot, was hit by the third bolt and instantly lost consciousness.

Suffering massive damage, Wu Chang fared no better.

Two consecutive lightning strikes left his entire body charred black; parts of his skin had carbonized, with tiny embers still glowing.

With only 20% health left, the third bolt nearly reduced him to zero.

Yet he stubbornly clung to life, fiercely holding onto his last shred of vitality.

This time was different—not because he activated a skill or forgot to turn it off, but because a red palace lantern burned beside him.

“Item Skill: Year Fire.”

“Skill Description: When lit during the Year Array’s activation in Huai Valley Village, the lamp kindles the Year Fire that guards the mortal realm. As long as the Year Fire burns, life continues. During its burning, it slows the user’s life loss and grants immunity to most conventional deaths.”

The immense cost of death immunity was offset by turning the bodies of the mountain trolls and tree demons into lamp oil, extending the Year Fire’s burn time to over fifteen thousand seconds.

Evading one death consumed so much oil that the remaining burn time dropped to just over one hundred seconds.

But surviving made that oil well worth it!

At this moment, Wu Chang longed to summon Liu Shan with Shadow Reflection and give him a hug.

Though the old man was hardly humane, without his leadership in creating the Year Array and this four-sided Year Fire lamp, Wu Chang would have truly perished.

Besides Liu Shan, he also wanted to thank the dungeon’s lenient judgment system.

On Blue Star, being struck dead by lightning rarely counted as conventional death.

Exerting all his strength, Wu Chang pushed Chiyuan off him, pulled out two bottles of Healing I, and gulped them down.

As low-level restorative potions, their effects diminished sharply with rapid use.

Within half an hour, consecutive doses would heal only half as much as the previous one; two bottles restored less than just the first.

It was costly but restored his basic mobility.

He looked at the barely breathing Chiyuan and slowly loaded a bullet into the Silver Dawn Shot.

Once Chiyuan was finished, the dungeon would be truly over.