"You really are just like a little puppy now. How adorable, how truly adorable."
Feiwan happily stepped on the mage's face.
She then waved her hand, and a massive fire dragon bit into the mage, whose high-temperature flames caused the man to struggle and wail incessantly.
Though the toy was entertaining, she desired her Master's reward even more.
This mage was likely quite valuable.
The fire dragon tossed the mage into the pile of corpses it had spat out earlier.
Feiwan immediately activated her spatial summoning ability again.
Several Flame Bones crawled out from the lava-covered ground and knelt respectfully before her.
"Take these corpses back to the Well of Eternal Imprisonment, along with those two magic items."
The Staff of the Puppeteer was a greater magic grade magic item.
There was also a lesser magic grade Magic Spring Necklace.
Feiwan had no interest in these artifacts; she wanted magic items gifted as rewards from her Master, carrying the scent of his power.
The Flame Bones respectfully held the corpses and magical artifacts before sinking into the lava and vanishing.
By this time, Fete had collapsed to the ground, so terrified he could not even stand.
When he saw Feiwan's gaze turn toward him, he instinctively pulled his head back.
He thought she was another Master Zeno.
No, this was Master Feiwan.
She felt even more terrifying than Master Zeno.
This was an existence with power no less than Master Zeno's, and she was just as frightening!
Fete was even beginning to worry that he might be silenced to keep their secrets.
Currently, the entire Northern Territory was searching for traces of Master Zeno, investigating her background and companions.
Not only did he know Master Zeno's location, but he now also knew of one of her accomplices—no, her companions.
He did not dare to think further.
He wondered what kind of terrifying existence stood behind Master Zeno and Master Feiwan.
He wondered if they had other companions possessing such overwhelming strength.
The more he thought, the weaker his legs became, and he failed to stand despite several attempts.
He did not dare to look at Feiwan, fearing she might kill him on a whim.
Fete struggled to lean against a nearby charred tree, slowly crawling up from the ground.
...
Inside the Well of Eternal Imprisonment, Dalun Li had been watching the battle through Tongmu the entire time.
Feiwan's power did not exceed his expectations.
In terms of pure strength, she was far superior to Zeno.
After all, Feiwan was specialized in offense, while Zeno was specialized in control.
One could say Zeno had been fighting in a field she was not suited for.
"My Lord, one Forbidden Fire Ruin on the eighth floor and two on the ninth floor have been discovered."
Zeno sent a message.
Dalun Li withdrew his attention from Tongmu and turned his focus to the entire dungeon.
There were nine Forbidden Fire Blessing Marks in total, some obtainable through Forbidden Fire Ruins and others through different channels.
"One of them was obtained by Purple Hammer?"
"Yes, My Lord."
Dalun Li felt some anticipation regarding how far this Purple Hammer could go.
...
The ninth floor.
Purple Hammer emerged from a Forbidden Fire Ruin, a flame mark now visible on one of his purple arms.
This was the Forbidden Fire Blessing Mark.
Elsewhere on the ninth floor, Manfred had accidentally fallen into a desert cavern and found a Forbidden Fire Ruin, successfully obtaining a Forbidden Fire Blessing Mark as well.
As the leader of the team with the deepest exploration progress, his probability of finding ruins was far higher than that of other adventurers.
The only two Forbidden Fire Ruins on the ninth floor had now been discovered.
In addition, the fourth-floor station had been completed.
Under the command of the Lord, a large number of logistics personnel entered the sixth floor's desert.
They were constructing a large desert base within the Desert Stratum.
This was crucial for the exploration of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
The environment of the Desert Stratum was simply too harsh, making it necessary to build a large base to serve as a supply point for the frontline adventurers.
Of course, the noble lords could not truly be so kind-hearted.
This was a business; once the base on the sixth floor was established, they could charge adventurers high prices for any of its facilities.
Inns, restaurants, and the goods sold there could all be sold at exorbitant prices as a matter of course.
The desert base had already taken shape, prompting a large number of adventurers to risk entering the sixth floor.
The monsters on the sixth floor dropped two types of materials.
Lizard bone fragments and lizard great bones.
The former dropped from skeletal lizards, while the latter dropped from skeletal lizardmen.
The price for the former was not expensive, selling for 70 copper coins each, but the latter was worth more at 1 silver coin and 30 copper coins per piece.
Supposedly, there was another type of monster drop in the Desert Stratum.
An intelligent entity that could hide within sandstorms, creating and commanding other skeletal lizards.
Its drop was valued at 10 gold coins.
These were massive temptations for adventurers, especially since the discovery rate for ruins and treasure chests in the Desert Stratum was higher, as was the appearance rate of monster merchants.
On the sixth floor of the Desert Stratum, a strange team of adventurers wearing cloaks appeared at the desert base.
After briefly replenishing their supplies at the station, they continued their exploration inward without lingering.
As this cloaked group left the station, a commoner working on a building caught a glimpse of them.
He thought he saw long, pointed ears beneath the hoods.
He rubbed his eyes, assuming he had simply seen wrong.
...
In the eighth stratum, three skeletal lizards burst through the sand, opening their fanged maws to ambush Caiman.
Caiman did not even draw his sword; three streaks of Sword Qi slashed out from his body, and the leaping skeletal lizards were shredded into pieces.
The battle priest quickly waved his iron staff, summoning holy light to continuously purify the skeletal lizardmen before them.
The knight order crushed everything in their path, clearing the way to the ninth floor.
"Continue forward."
Caiman led the knight order through the passage, launching an assault on the ninth floor.
This knight order, currently the strongest in the dungeon, had finally caught up to the deepest point of exploration with overwhelming momentum.
The location of the eighth-floor passage was also mapped and sent to the floors above.
When Caiman's knight order had fully entered the ninth floor, Zeno appeared outside the passage.
Beside Zeno stood a travel-worn monster merchant, bowing respectfully.
"Master Zeno, the Red Rose team is also about to find this passage."
The monster merchant possessed precise intelligence on every adventure team.
"The knight order's exploration progress is too fast. Is it truly unnecessary to obstruct them?"
The monster merchant asked cautiously.
"With the strength of this knight order, no monster will pose a threat to them until they reach the Lava Stratum."
Zeno spoke with a calm tone, seemingly not at all nervous about the knight order's progress.
How could these humans understand even a fraction of her Master's power?
Besides, she was there to guard the path before her Master.
However, Zeno would not forget her duties because of this.
She had to weaken the strength of this knight order; she could not allow one faction to become too powerful.
Balance was very important for the dungeon.
"The latest intelligence on the Desert Sword Attendant can be sold at a low price now."
"That is my Master's arrangement; there must be no mistakes."
Listening to Zeno's words, the monster merchant felt a sense of relief.
Though he was not qualified to meet the Master or comprehend his greatness and majesty, the strength of Master Zeno as a guardian still gave him peace of mind.
"I obey your command, Lord Guardian."
The monster merchant bowed and withdrew.
Monster merchants across the entire floor began to approach the nearest adventurers, starting to sell intelligence related to the Desert Sword Attendant.
Rate on N.U.
