Less than an hour had elapsed when Guan Ren dispatched both the Venomous Wolf King and the Shadow Cat Fiend King, gathering a pile of spoils for his triumph.

After dealing with the spoils, Guan Ren's account balance had reached a staggering 5 million Sea-Blue Coins.

In addition, he had plundered some attributes and skills from the two Bosses.

[Shadow Assault: Instantaneously boosts movement speed by 100%, the next normal attack is increased by 100% and includes a knockback effect. Skill cooldown: 1 minute.]

[Summon Poison Wolves: Summons three poison wolves to aid in battle, their level comparable to the user and attributes at 30% of the summoner's own attribute panel. Duration: 100 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute.]

With two skills acquired, added to the earlier Thorns Puncture, the three Bosses had collectively provided him three skills.

At the same time, the Shadow Cat Fiend King and the Venomous Wolf King each offered two streams of Catastrophe Miasma. Combined with the one collected earlier from the Bloodbloom Monarch, Guan Ren now had gathered five strands of Catastrophe Miasma.

Opening his backpack, he took out the Heavenly Mystery Token and held it tightly in his hand.

A hum…

A mysterious flow of energy surged from the depths of Guan Ren's heart, and within his mind's eye, with closed eyes, three faint yellow miasmic formations shone brightly.

This was... the Heavenly Mystery Essence!

He snapped open his eyes, directing his gaze upon the map. There, three faint lights emerged among a thicket of wild grass behind Sunward Town.

That must be the entrance.

Guan Ren’s gaze sharpened, his hands clenched tight.

He was on the brink of acquiring the Heavenly Mystery Essence, ready to assimilate the power of the first Heavenly Mystery Rune!

Once done, the shackles of his level would be shattered, allowing him to ride the wave of accumulated experience straight to level 10!

A smirk forming at the corner of his mouth, Guan Ren hastily set out toward the marked direction on the map.

By now, many avid level-rushers had reached level 9, a fact that bore heavily on him.

In the southwest corner of Sunward Town lay an abandoned courtyard, overgrown and devoid of life.

The wild grass was overgrown, taller than a man and dense, obstructing the view.

But fortunately, with the dual assurances of the map and the Heavenly Mystery Token, Guan Ren quickly arrived above the exact location of the three strands of Heavenly Mystery Essence.

There, an ancient well stood, marked by time, starkly contrasting against the one at the mouth of Sunward Town. This well was clearly dilapidated and long abandoned.

A glance downward revealed an abyss that seemed bottomless.

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According to the map, the three strands of Heavenly Mystery Essence should be located in a space beneath the well. To be cautious, however, he did not immediately jump down. Instead, he returned to a general store in town to purchase several bundles of rope and torches before folding back to the well.

Having secured a sturdy knot around the rim of the well, Guan Ren began his descent along the rope.

Whenever a length of rope ended, he would take out a new bundle to attach and continue downwards.

[Ding, hypoxic environment detected, breathing is difficult, 1 health point lost per second!]

The system alert sounded, and the torch in Guan Ren's hand extinguished due to the lack of oxygen.

He was left to descend in utter darkness.

[Ding, hypoxic environment detected, breathing is difficult, 2 health points lost per second!]

[Ding, ...]

He continued his plunge until, having used up ten bundles of a hundred-meter ropes, his health depletion rate increased to 20 points per second, perfectly balanced by the damage his Block Talent could absorb.

Looking downward, a faint red glow appeared at the terminus of the darkness.

He concentrated his gaze and there it was—a door!

This had to be it. Guan Ren estimated the distance, gritted his teeth, and then let go of the rope, allowing his body to fall.

The whistle of the wind rang past his ears as he plummeted at high speed.

Thud!

With a muffled sound, a -300 damage number floated over Guan Ren's head.

Though in the game, the sensation of pain was only a tenth of that in the real world, the descent from such a height still inflicted a grimace-worthy pain.

From the height of thirty stories, it was fortunate that in-game attributes provided the necessary support; had it been the real world, with only personal attributes to cushion the fall, he might have found himself in a hospital bed for a considerable time.

Brushing off the mud, Guan Ren stood up and downed a potion, boosting his health back up.

After slaying all three Bosses within Miasmic Heart of Shadowy Woods, the cap on his health had reached an impressive 2200 points, making a fall damage of 300 points seem trifling.

[Sealed Door: Sealed by the Army of Catastrophe, it requires the expenditure of five Catastrophe Miasma to unlock. Health points: 1,000,000, Defense: 1000.]

With such high health and defense, it was evident that forcing the seal open was impractical. Therefore, Guan Ren promptly fetched the glass bottle containing five strands of Catastrophe Miasma and hurled it directly toward the crimson-glowing door.

With a clang, the bottle shattered, and the five streams of Catastrophe Miasma settled onto the door, now devoid of its red glow.

Sizzling sounds filled the air…

A purple smoke began to rise, the red light upon the door gradually dissipated, and after about five minutes, the seal was completely broken.

Creak…

Guan Ren pushed the door open, and before him lay an expansive space. In this space was a massive contraption, the size of a mountain, composed of innumerable gears interlocking and occupying much of the vast subterranean expanse.

For reasons unknown, this machinery lay as still as death, motionless.

It dawned on Guan Ren then; this matched the accounts of the Heavenly Emperor about the Seven Ancient Towns from lore.

Here was very likely to be the apparatus that powered the flight of the entire Sunward Town.

One could only imagine the transformation Sunward Town would undergo if these devices were to be reactivated!

Could it actually become a floating town in the skies?

Humming resonated…

A familiar pulse of energy permeated the air as the Heavenly Mystery Token in Guan Ren's backpack flared with light, and at the same time, The Heart of Heaven's Punishment within him stirred to life.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Three light yellow miasmic breaths erupted from deep within the colossal mechanism, eventually hovering in mid-air, radiating a subtle energy pulse.

Heavenly Mystery Essence!

Guan Ren's spirit soared. With just one of those strands, he could complete the refinement of the first Heavenly Mystery Rune, liberating himself from The Heart of Heaven's Punishment's current level restraints!

Filled with excitement, Guan Ren quickly advanced.

For him, the Heavenly Mystery Essence was tantalizingly within reach!

"Heh heh heh... Human runt, you have trespassed!"

Yet, just at that moment, a sinister laughter echoed, halting Guan Ren's strides as he braced for confrontation.

The overbearing presence demanded his full alert.

Rustle…

Behind him, the purple smoke that had bloomed when unlocking the door's seal with Catastrophe Miasma unexpectedly flooded the chamber, bypassing Guan Ren and coalescing ahead, settling not far in front of him on open ground.

[Essence of Turmoil · Atropos's Doppelgänger]

Quality: Gold-level Boss

Level: 20

Health Points: 200,000