Chapter 108: The Dignity of the Order Keeper

[Dignity of the Keeper of Order]
Rank: Fourth Tier
Level: Lv1/8 (Upgradeable using general experience points, up to Lv8)
Type: Flower of Life
Primary Attribute: +8% Health Points
Secondary Attribute: +4% Elemental Conversion Efficiency
Sacred Will: If justice cannot overcome evil, even if I must become evil itself, I will devour it utterly!

[Binding successful, Health Points +8%, Current HP 96/96]

“Can artifacts really be upgraded? Though I wonder how much experience it takes to level up,” Chu Yun said with surprise. The percentage boost would strengthen as he grew, and the enhancements would likely be even greater after upgrading this equipment.

“That’s great. It'll be easier to handle low-level experience orbs with poor absorption efficiency. Otherwise, if Paimon isn’t nearby, a lot would be wasted.” After reaching the second tier, Chu Yun found that absorbing zero-tier experience clusters barely had any effect.

Artifacts come in various types depending on how they are condensed, and only one artifact of the same type can be worn, as multiple would interfere and lose their effect.

Upon binding the artifact, Chu Yun learned some of its story.

The monstrous beast in Rockfall Mountain was an evil demon the saint sought to destroy, but his power was insufficient. Ultimately, he resorted to a blood sacrifice, a dark method, to seal it within the mountain.

Sacrificing a few to protect many was hard for him to accept, but it was his only choice. At the final moment of sealing, he offered himself as a blood sacrifice as well—this was the last dignity of the Keeper of Order.

After the saint’s death, his will condensed into the artifact, which not only became a powerful piece of equipment but also the key to the seal.

“Wait!”

“This artifact is the tool of the seal. If I’ve taken it, doesn’t that mean the seal is broken?” Chu Yun’s face turned pale.

That beast was extraordinarily powerful—ancient saints could not contend with it. If freed, disaster would surely follow.

“That’s not my fault. The seal was already weakening; otherwise, the monster in the Mirror World wouldn’t have escaped so easily. After all, the seal exists there as well,” Chu Yun reasoned and came to a conclusion.

The seal’s power wanes over time, while the mountain beast’s strength has grown due to the monster tide. The recent increase in earthquakes and their severity signals the beast’s imminent emergence.

The Mirror World’s beast was provoked by Chu Yun’s lure to unleash its power and escape. The mountain beast in the real world, if it wished, could also break free at a cost.

But now it seemed unnecessary. With the artifact gone, the seal was lifted, and the cave began to tremble.

The artifact had been stored at the core leyline of Rockfall Mountain; now that the leyline was severed and the seal broken, the mountain was nothing more than an ordinary peak, unable to suppress the monster within.

“The monster must be very close to me, or it wouldn’t have broken through the mountain upon sensing my presence,” Chu Yun thought and hurriedly fled toward the cave’s exit.

The mountain trembled again, but the beast did not violently tear through the mountain as it did in the Mirror World. There, it had forcibly destroyed the seal in a mutually destructive struggle, shattering the mountain from top to bottom.

This time, without the seal’s power, it only needed to dig through the mountain in its most natural way, as a member of the pangolin clan known for burrowing.

Even so, its size caused unprecedented tremors while digging. Countless rocks fell, and adventurers within the mountain suffered once more.

After leaving the cave, Chu Yun did not look back, flying swiftly away from Rockfall Mountain. The Flower of Life artifact was bound to him; he dared not be sure whether the beast would target him as its primary prey because of it. Nor would he discard such a precious fourth-tier artifact just because it might draw attention.

Moreover, once bound and merged, the artifact’s presence was nearly undetectable unless its aura was actively revealed.

The mountain beast did not pursue Chu Yun but instead continued burrowing upward toward the surface.

Finally, to the horror of the adventurers, a monstrous beast over a hundred meters tall appeared near the Chimera’s lair.

“Roar!”

A piercing, grating roar echoed across the land. The beast’s pent-up fury finally found release.

Trapped in the seal, it could only vent its rage by battering the seal itself, causing earthquakes and explaining why the falling rocks scattered in all directions instead of simply dropping.

The Chimera inside the cave heard the roar and screeched, rushing out. It glared fearfully at this unfamiliar monster.

The Chimera, lord of the Rockfall Hill monsters and dreaded by adventurers, chose to flee after a brief stare-down.

It flapped its wings frantically, soaring into the sky. The beast could not fly, so high and far was its only hope for safety.

“Ah, no hope,” Chu Yun sighed. He had been killed like this before, so despite the risk of being hit by falling debris, he dared not fly high. Instead, he flew close to the mountain wall at low altitude to avoid detection.

Sure enough, the beast’s scales bristled, then shot out in a barrage.

The scales flew fast and in great numbers, impossible for the Chimera to dodge. It opened its dragon head and unleashed a blast of intense flame, trying to burn the incoming scales.

Though the flames heated the scales red-hot, they did not reach melting point; the heat only intensified their damage.

The scalding scales penetrated the Chimera’s body, which let out a mournful cry and fell toward the ground.

The ravenous beast immediately pounced, devouring the Chimera’s corpse.

Though sizable, the Chimera was merely a snack compared to the giant monster and was soon completely consumed.

Awakened after countless years of slumber and struggling for centuries, the beast’s hunger only grew stronger with each meal.

Every living creature around was food. Monsters and adventurers alike on Rockfall Mountain had become its prey.

Humans, being smaller, still had a chance to escape. The monsters, however, were doomed. The Chimera’s former subjects were once only picked off when hungry or irritable, but now the beast embarked on an unrestrained campaign of genocide, devouring indiscriminately.

Rockfall Mountain had become a slaughterhouse, with countless monsters perishing.

Seeing this, Chu Yun’s heart ached with temptation. So much experience to be gained—if he gathered it all, he could level up several times. The souls absorbed could even fill his summoning book.

“No, no, this beast is too dangerous. Better to wait until it’s full and leaves,” Chu Yun muttered. He did not even know the beast’s tier level.