Chapter 1058 - 437:

Chapter 1058: Chapter 437:

Even a Great Grandmaster-level expert who is a Sect Leader of a major sect, once struck by Heart Flame, has to use more than half his energy just to resist it. With the slightest carelessness, the Heart Flame will burn into the sea of consciousness, and he might even fall into panic and madness.

No need to guess—this kind of Spiritual Attack-type Skill must be tied to the Inspiration Attribute.

He’d been worrying that all his Inspiration had nowhere to be used, and then Candle Yin Remains took the initiative to offer up its signature Skill. Once he comprehended Heart Flame, he wouldn’t have to rely on "Mind Resonance" to launch Spiritual Attacks anymore.

As he picked up the Heartburn Bug, a string of prompts popped up before his eyes.

"You have slain the Fire Demon King, making a tremendous contribution to the Human Dao Alliance in its demon-slaying and Dao-guarding efforts. Contribution Value +1000."

"Your current Contribution Value is: 1000. Your Contribution Value ranking among all Players: 1."

He almost forgot: in the multiplayer competitive mode of a World Dungeon, fulfilling the duties of your faction grants corresponding Contribution Value.

Since he was the only Player currently in this Dungeon Plane, and hadn’t completed any other quests before, it was hard to judge what 1000 Contribution meant. But judging from how much damage An Rong could take from Candle Yin Remains, that Contribution Value definitely wouldn’t be low.

While Wu Chang was examining the Heartburn Bug and the system prompts, An Rong had already come to his side. An Rong repeatedly checked the charred remains on the ground, and only after seeing the Heartburn Bug in Wu Chang’s hand did he finally confirm that Candle Yin Remains was truly dead.

He took out a red fish-shaped metal talisman, swept it once over the ashes, and a visible stream of red aura surged into the metal talisman. The fish-shaped talisman seemed to gain Life, becoming lively and animated.

An Rong handed the fish-shaped talisman to Wu Chang and said:

"Sect Leader Tang, once the Ziwei Evil-Expelling Grand Array is fully set up and the Human Dao Alliance breaks open the Demon Realm, you can use the aura recorded in this talisman to enter the Fire Demon King’s lair in the Demon Realm and shatter the fire-source core it is guarding."

"If you can shatter the fire-source core, then as long as this demon-slaying operation succeeds, your renown will surely be passed down in the cultivation world for a long time."

"I know you don’t care for such empty fame, but aside from you, no one else is worthy of this achievement."

All the information An Rong was sharing belonged to the upper-level secrets of the Human Dao Alliance. That he could take the initiative to reveal these matters, instead of privately hogging the benefits, made Wu Chang think even more highly of him.

Wu Chang took the fish-shaped metal talisman and said quietly, "Thank you."

If it were truly just empty fame, he indeed wouldn’t care. But it was obvious that shattering the fire-source core must be tied to Dungeon Contribution Value. This kind of "empty fame" that came with Contribution Value was exactly the sort of thing he cared about.

Seeing Wu Chang accept the talisman, An Rong smoothly asked, "Sect Leader Tang, the Daoist Technique you just used—was that Thousand Thunder Summon?"

Wu Chang nodded and asked, "You know Thousand Thunder Summon too?"

An Rong said, "On the day Uncle Yuan sent me away from Huai Mountain, he handed me a handwritten Thunder Skill Fragment. I’ve studied the Thunder Technique recorded in it."

Wu Chang glanced at the Fangtian Halberd in An Rong’s hand—no wonder lightning coiled around it. Given how highly Chi Yuan valued An Rong, passing him a Thunder Skill Fragment wasn’t surprising.

An Rong continued, "Over the years I’ve gathered several other Thunder Skill Fragments, and pieced them together into a full Thunder Technique. It’s just that the Thousand Thunder Summon I use seems far inferior to the version you just used."

Same Thousand Thunder Summon, and likewise each thunderbolt stronger than the last—so why was Wu Chang’s first thunderbolt already more powerful in momentum than the fourth thunderbolt he himself could unleash?

If the abilities Wu Chang had displayed before could still be chalked up to experience, then the Power shown by Thousand Thunder Summon seemed to be something beyond mere experience.

Not only that, but the Thunder he summoned contained a soul-shaking force far beyond what his own cultivated Thunder Technique could compare to.

Thunder Technique was only one of Wu Chang’s methods, and since An Rong was a native of this Dungeon Plane, there was no need to hide things from him, so Wu Chang said:

"The Thousand Thunder Summon I use has been fused with another Thunder Technique I obtained. Another day, let’s discuss Dao through lightning and cross-check what we’ve learned."

An Rong said, "That would be excellent."

From the resentful memories on Candle Yin Remains, Wu Chang had obtained quite a bit of information. In addition to Candle Yin Remains’ various Skills, he also saw that the highest commander in the team of cultivators sent to hunt Candle Yin Remains was none other than An Rong in front of him.

Moreover, everyone’s attitude toward An Rong was deeply respectful, clearly showing his extraordinary status.

Now that Candle Yin Remains was dead, there was no need to rush off. Wu Chang asked the question from before:

"Brother An, the injuries on your body—were they caused by it chasing you all the way here?"

An Rong shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "If it were only Candle Yin Remains, although I might not be able to defeat it, I wouldn’t be reduced to such a miserable state."

Talking about his injuries, a trace of anger crept into An Rong’s tone as he said:

"Three days ago, the Human Dao Alliance organized an exploration of an Immortal Mansion. I went deepest into the mansion and was wounded by the arrangements within it."

"When leaving the mansion, I rested and healed together with other Human Dao Alliance cultivators. While we were recuperating, the elixirs we took—someone tampered with them, mixing in Candle Bug eggs. Once the Candle Bugs entered my body, they cast Heart Flame from the inside out, which is why I could hardly resist."

"Candle Yin Remains bears a grudge—back in the Demon Realm, I inflicted considerable harm on it many times. It had already left the Demon Realm to seek revenge on me, then followed the Candle Bug eggs here, and the two of them hunted me all the way to this place."

"I originally planned to feign weakness, and when it drew near, fight it to the death—even if I died, I wouldn’t let it walk away unscathed. Thanks to running into you, Sect Leader Tang, and your intervention, I managed to escape by sheer luck."

Wu Chang frowned after listening and said, "So what you mean is that someone inside the Human Dao Alliance, some traitor, poisoned you?"

After hearing An Rong’s account, Wu Chang somewhat regretted killing Candle Yin Remains so quickly. He should have tried to interrogate it about who it was cooperating with before striking it down.

An Rong said, "It might not be a traitor to the Human Dao. It could simply be someone who personally bears me malice and wanted to target me."

Wu Chang snorted coldly and said, "Whatever the reason, once we return to the Human Dao Alliance, you’re going to make me a list of everyone you suspect."

An Rong said, "There’s no need to rush that. Compared to tracking down the poisoner, I’m more worried that they’ll find a way to seize the Immortal Mansion we entered earlier."

"There’s no time to lose. Sect Leader Tang, why don’t you come with me to that Immortal Mansion first? Within that Immortal Mansion lies a chance for True Immortalhood."