Chapter 429: The Dungeon of Secrets

Boom!!!

With one powerful swing, a massive blade burst through and shattered the wildly charging Otherworldly Ghost.

After retracting his blade, the Third-Stage Awakened panted heavily as he admired his hard-earned victory.

“Lord Yinglong, the enemy is dead,” he reported.

His blade cleaved through the entire building.

The enormous cut resembled a gaping wound, grotesquely marred on the abandoned building.

Upon reaching the eighth floor—even though the challenge wasn’t high—they were ambushed by a Third-Stage Otherworldly Ghost!

“Yinglong!? Your partner is a Third-Stage!?”

“My goodness, why did you never tell me?”

Unlike the relaxed expressions of the Bloodshadow Legion members, Zhang En stared blankly at the scene, expecting a battle so brutal that escape was impossible.

Good grief—just moments ago, a Third-Stage Otherworldly Ghost had charged in and was instantly dispatched by Yinglong’s partner!?

Ignoring the startled NPC, the Third-Stage Awakened who had made the strike wasn’t in the mood for theatrics. He rushed to the fallen ghost and began searching it.

Moments later, he raised a fragment with evident surprise and respectfully presented it to Yinglong.

“Sir!”

“There really is a fragment!”

“Just as I mentioned before we entered! Every Third-Stage Otherworldly Ghost in this dungeon drops a core fragment!”

“We just couldn’t collect them all last time, and we weren’t even sure what they were for.”

“Is this the item you needed?”

After handing it over with respect, Yinglong raised an eyebrow and a rare smile appeared on his face as he accepted it.

“Yes.”

Unknown to anyone, another reason for his entry into the dungeon was that he had heard rumors about the Otherworldly Ghost core from his subordinates!

Although it wasn’t his primary objective, and its purpose remained unclear, he was curious about the effects of collecting the complete core.

But he had once seen an Otherworldly Ghost in real life!

It was a powerful mutant from the same era as the Renmane—and of a particularly eerie kind!

He was so weak back then that the impression left by the Otherworldly Ghost was indelible.

“Sir, what use does this hold…? Last time we entered, we only got three fragments. It seems they weren’t even counted in the final rewards…”

Bowing slightly with his head raised, the subordinate presenting the fragment asked curiously.

In his eyes, the dark reddish fragment looked ordinary. But if someone of Yinglong’s caliber paid attention, it had to be something valuable!

Glancing at his subordinate, Yinglong chuckled softly, his mood seemingly light as he said:

“What use is it?”

“Not sure, but it might be tied to that disaster over twenty years ago.”

His calm explanation left everyone stunned; even Blood Nightingale, whose thoughts had been elsewhere, leaned in to listen.

“That disaster over twenty years ago?! The one that nearly obliterated the Far Frontier?!”

“Disaster?! Are you referring to the replicated corpse horde from twenty-seven years ago, Sir?!”

The question slipped out instinctively as an older Third-Stage Awakened’s memory sent a chill through his heart.

He had survived that disaster!

Even now, the mere recollection of that horror still filled him with dread.

“That’s right.”

“Twenty-seven years ago, the replicated zombies in the Taklamakan Desert at the border might have been linked to this.”

In a reflective tone, noticing Blood Nightingale’s curious gaze, Yinglong elaborated:

“You might not be aware,”

“but when that disaster struck, it wasn’t just zombies—many mutants emerged.”

“Among these mutants, the most renowned were the Mountain Destroyer, Renmane, the Otherworldly Ghost, and the Dismemberer.”

After a brief pause, a hint of pride flashed in Yinglong’s eyes as he smiled at Blood Nightingale and continued:

“Miss Blood Nightingale, you must know my breakthrough battle was twenty-seven years ago—I took down a Renmane with my Third-Stage Mid-level strength!”

“And back then, I even survived an encounter with an Otherworldly Ghost!”

“That Otherworldly Ghost was a Third-Stage Advanced—more terrifying even than a Peak Mutant!”

As his words fell, the gathered crowd inside the makeshift soundproof barrier gasped in unison.

Though half of it was mere flattery towards Yinglong.

Yet the news still left everyone in awe.

Was Lord Yinglong really that formidable back then? A Third-Stage Mid-level who not only survived an Otherworldly Ghost but also had the strength to slay a Renmane!?

Such power is indeed terrifying… no wonder he eventually reached Peak Third-Stage.

Admiring Blood Nightingale’s astonishment, Yinglong chuckled softly and raised the fragment:

“These four mutants varied in strength, but back then they always appeared together.”

“Moreover, it is said that during the outbreak, some witnessed them bursting forth from underground fissures.”

“It wasn’t until after they emerged that the replicated zombies and other mutants followed.”

“Hence, there were suspicions that the disaster might have been linked to these four mutants.”

At that, a strange glint flashed in Yinglong’s eyes.

He spoke as if it were effortless—escaping an Otherworldly Ghost and slaying a Renmane to become famous.

Yet, the terror he felt back then still haunted him.

In fact, the strongest of these four was the Mountain Destroyer. This mutant, ranking at Peak Third-Stage, was only defeated after the military rallied several Peak Third-Stages.

Another, the Dismemberer, was also eliminated by the military.

He wasn’t sure if the Otherworldly Ghost was truly dead; in the battle with the Renmane, he merely took advantage of the military’s efforts to land the kill.

In that war, he was nothing more than expendable cannon fodder—far from making any impact.

Upon hearing news of the Otherworldly Ghost core, memories of that day flooded back, driving him to see if collecting the complete core might unveil those secrets!

Those four mutants were not only the curse of the Far Frontier but also the catalyst for his rise!

Suppressing the unsettling feeling, Yinglong said no more.

As soon as the soundproof shield was removed, Zhang En—the overlooked subordinate—looked at him eagerly, as if bursting with words.

“Yinglong!? What are you talking about—is that lip reading?”

“I heard your friend call you ‘Sir’! Are you also a Third-Stage Ghost Hunter!?”

With rising excitement, Zhang En fixed his gaze on Yinglong.

Without further pretense, Yinglong thoughtfully glanced at the guiding NPC and simply nodded.

The next second, an excited Zhang En exclaimed:

“Third-Stage!? You’re really a Third-Stage!?”

“Oh my goodness, Yinglong! Will you join me to meet someone? He’s the Ghost Hunter I encountered in the Dungeon, and he’s always wanted to infiltrate the Otherworldly Ghost’s lair!”

“You might not know, but he uncovered the secret of the Otherworldly Ghost. Perhaps there’s hope to annihilate them once and for all!”

Momentarily stunned, Yinglong looked at the excited Middle-Aged Soldier and quickly realized he had triggered a new ‘mission’.

“Lower levels? The Otherworldly Ghost’s secret?”

Heh, isn’t this just the system urging us to clear the dungeon? Indeed, such clichéd plotlines only appear in these dungeons.

Surely, Zhang En’s friend must be an NPC, likely only useful as expendable fodder.

With that thought, Yinglong immediately agreed.

He’d planned to fight his way to the final floor to seize the ultimate dungeon reward.

Heh, this dungeon is brutally straightforward…

……………..

In the monitoring room, watching Yinglong and his group gradually leave the surveillance zone, Yenir’s face grew suddenly solemn.

He could read lips.

“Third-Stage fragments too?! The disaster from twenty-seven years ago?! Four types of mutants?!”

Instinctively, he gazed absentmindedly at the darkness outside the building.

At that moment, an indescribable chill filled his heart.

All sorts of incongruent elements suddenly converged within this dungeon.

In that instant, he felt an unexpected sense of unease.

“This dungeon…”

“It’s nothing short of extraordinary!”