C20 The Central Altar!(2)

After stacking Bloody Massacre to the tenth layer, Chen Ye could no longer find any isolated Bloody Warriors in the secret cave. He turned his attention to a nearby group of undead—a small horde consisting of one Blood Mage, four Bloody Beasts, and twelve Bloody Warriors. With no other undead groups in the vicinity, Chen Ye boldly utilized his Guarding Glory ability, taking a shot from over 200 meters away. The sniper bullet halved the life of a Bloody Beast. Despite the long intervals between shots, the distance allowed him to fire four times, reducing the four Bloody Beasts to a critical state. As the Blood Mage closed in to within 20 meters, Chen Ye didn't hesitate to unleash an Explosive Sniper Shot. He was propelled back 10 meters, conveniently out of the shockwave's reach. Notably, the Sniper Shot's flame and shockwave damage both added ten layers to the Bloody Massacre, instantly escalating it to 27 layers. Even the Blood Mage, protected by a Blood Curse Shield, couldn't withstand the ferocious damage.

Regrettably, time was of the essence, and Chen Ye couldn't afford to farm treasure chests any longer. After collecting four white chests and one blue chest, he ventured deeper into the cave. His goal was the two undead groups nearest to the unexplored central area, comprising two Blood Mages, ten Bloody Beasts, and over fifty Bloody Warriors. The sight nearly made Chen Ye's legs buckle—without a reinforced squad, breaking through seemed impossible.

Yet, with 27 layers of Bloody Massacre at his disposal, Chen Ye was unfazed. If not for the cooldown on his Explosive Sniper Bullets, he would have relished the thrill of obliterating a swath of zombies with a single shot.

Chen Ye found an advantageous foothold—a recessed cliff face. Fighting with his back to this spot, he'd only have to contend with three Bloody Warriors, or two Bloody Beasts. Only a hundred meters from the two undead groups, Chen Ye's sniper shot alerted them. Over fifty Bloody Warriors lunged at him with teeth bared and claws outstretched, only to be repelled upon impact. Despite the press of warriors behind them preventing a fall, the two-second stun from the "knockdown" effect took hold. Chen Ye withstood six lunges, his health plummeting to below thirty points. Remaining cool and composed, he activated Lightness Technique, forgoing any thoughts of healing. Brandishing Bloodthirster, he swiftly stabbed each of the three Bloody Warriors before him, fully restoring his health. Initially, Chen Ye's attack speed with Bloodthirster was roughly three seconds per strike, but the Lightness Technique's 30% boost to agility reduced this interval, allowing him to dispatch the third Bloody Warrior before it could retaliate.

The Bloody Massacre on the 27th floor wasn't enough to instantly kill the Bloody Warriors, but with the addition of the "Feather Swallow" effect, it became possible. On the 28th floor, the Bloody Massacre could indeed achieve instant kills. Thus, in under ten seconds, three living corpses lay at Chen Ye's feet. Unfazed by the encroaching Bloody Warriors, Chen Ye confidently relied on his ability to deliver one-hit kills and the powerful passive that restored 90 health points, allowing him to withstand the damage and engage them in close quarters.

Chen Ye noticed that the damage he sustained seemed less painful, possibly due to the "Beast Set" increasing his Constitution by two points. He grew accustomed to it and even found it somewhat comfortable. As long as he avoided critical hits to his vitals, he thrived amidst the onslaught. Despite facing at least two Bloody Warriors at any given time, they couldn't deplete his 90 health points in one go. His health fluctuated around the 50% mark, much like a roller coaster's peaks and troughs.

In a mere three minutes, a mountain of corpses piled up around Chen Ye. The Bloody Beasts joined the fray, while two Blood Mage Priests were preoccupied with casting "Blood Mage Revival." Chen Ye, already familiar with this ability, knew it would cost the Blood Mages 20 Mana points, which took them ten minutes to regenerate. Although the skill had a very short cooldown of about 40 seconds, the two Blood Mages, despite their fervent efforts, couldn't keep up with Chen Ye's slaughter.

Surrounded by unclaimed white treasure chests, Chen Ye had no time to collect them as he fought fiercely. With the Bloody Massacre stacked to the 93rd level, he could instantly kill even the Bloody Beasts with a single slash. Facing two Bloody Beasts at once, he felt no pressure—instead, he felt more at ease. He never witnessed their roars or shocks, as their obvious tell—a pronounced lean back and stiffening—gave him the opportunity to cut them down with a swift strike before they could even unleash their abilities.

As Chen Ye prepared to confront the onslaught of the Bloody Wild Beasts, the two Blood Mage Priests found themselves embarrassingly out of mana, standing there, rubbing their hands together. In under 30 seconds, Chen Ye dispatched the 10 Bloody Wild Beasts and turned his attention to the Blood Mage Priests. Checking the time, he noted there were still 10 hours to go. Feeling it was still early, he decided to spend some time looting treasure chests.

The white treasure chests from the Bloody Warriors no longer appealed to Chen Ye, and given their abundance, he wasn't inclined to farm them. After removing the Bloody Warrior's corpse, only the bodies of 10 Bloody Wild Beasts remained. Having collected 10 blue treasure chests, Chen Ye then disposed of the Bloody Wild Beasts' corpses and unceremoniously killed a Blood Mage Priest. He was curious to see if the "Blood Corpse Resurrection" ability could be used among the Blood Mage Priests. If so, he wouldn't mind farming a bit. However, his plan clearly fell through as the resurrection ability did not work on the Blood Mage Priests.

Chen Ye shrugged off the setback indifferently. He dragged three Bloody Warriors over, had the Blood Mage Priest revive them, and then, despite taking damage, he killed the Blood Mage Priest, who finally dropped a green treasure chest. The battle yielded a rich haul: 18 white treasure chests, 10 blue ones, and a single green chest.

Dragging the three Bloody Warriors behind him, Chen Ye headed towards the unexplored central region. He dubbed this tactic "dragging a train," with himself as the locomotive and the three Bloody Warriors as the carriages. Unsure of how long his exploration might take, and knowing that if it exceeded 10 minutes the Bloody Massacre Level would reset, making his exit even less likely, he figured that having the three Bloody Warriors in tow would at least guarantee 30 minutes of exploration time.

Upon achieving the "Murderer" milestone, Chen Ye received a "beginner skill book" and unlocked the "Murder in the Wilderness" achievement, with a target of 169/1000 and a reward of a "proficient skill scroll."

As Chen Ye continued his exploration, he opened the treasure chests. From the 28 chests, he unearthed a heap of "basic skill upgrade potions" and several miscellaneous items worth a few nuclei, such as "ancient shells," "ancient human skulls," and "unknown beast teeth." There weren't many items of use to him: 6 small blood essences, 3 medium blood essences, and 5 pieces of white-quality equipment he couldn't use. Nevertheless, among the loot, he found the items he was after.

Blood Beast's Belt: Quality: Deep Blue; Durability: 30; Waist Equipment; Constitution: +1; Medicinal Pouch: Capable of storing medicines and other items, with a weight limit of 1kg; Set Bonus: Evil Fur

Chen Ye couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. The medicinal pouch's functionality was especially practical. It could hold not only medical supplies but also light weapons like the Bloodthirster, making it incredibly convenient when switching equipment. The Celestial Vault was starting to feel a bit cramped, and this piece of equipment provided a timely solution.

It might have been because he had opened over 20 treasure chests without finding anything noteworthy, but when he got to the green chest of the Blood Mage, he experienced a small windfall.

Green Treasure Chest: 10% chance for white quality items, 20% for blue quality items, 50% for green quality items, 10% for silver quality items, and 1% for gold quality items, with an additional 9% chance for extra items.

Upon opening the green treasure chest, you've obtained the "Blood Mage Secret Curse (Scroll)."

Blood Mage Secret Curse (Scroll): Quality: Silver; Requirements: Minimum 150 HP, 5 Constitution, 5 Spirit. Upon use, you automatically master the Basic Spell (G) and randomly acquire a skill associated with the Blood Mage teachings.