Unreliable Sword Immortal.

Chapter 185 The Third Level of the Cave

Lu Chaoding obtained a total of 56 "mysterious treasure chests" and 3 "non-mysterious treasure chests".

In addition, the golden double-gun crab dropped a treasure chest.

There's not much to mention about the mysterious treasure chests; one chest is worth 100,000 gold coins, and two chests are worth 200,000!

All the mystery chests are bound to a specific location; they will disappear once opened.

Lu Chao first opened the treasure chest dropped by the Golden Double-Gun Crab. With a ding, three items floated out from it.

The first item is a four-star outfit called "Golden Warrior," which is golden and looks very luxurious.

The second item is a golden four-star crab claw back piece that increases attack power.

The third item is a five-star treasure chest back accessory. This accessory has storage space and can greatly attract aggro when equipped.

"It's all flashy and boring!"

Lu Chao was somewhat disappointed with the three items, as he had no use for any of them. After storing them in his storage space, he immediately opened the first mysterious treasure chest, only to find nothing inside. However, he received a system notification: "Ding, you have opened a mysterious treasure chest and obtained a mysterious aura. Your attribute information will be more difficult for others to detect. In special states such as teaming up, you can also remain anonymous and hide your level information. Please explore on your own for details."

"A mysterious aura? An intangible object?"

Lu Chao blinked, then opened the second mysterious treasure chest, which was also empty.

"Ding! You have opened a mysterious treasure chest and received a mysterious enlightenment, permanently reducing the cultivation level required for upgrades by 5%."

"This time it's a mysterious enlightenment... The effect is alright. 5% isn't a big number, but the cultivation points needed for future upgrades are too many. Every little bit counts, and this 5% will save me a lot of pills."

Lu Chao looked at the character information panel. It would take 10 billion cultivation points to level up from level 60 to level 61. 5% is 500 million. For an average player, 500 million cultivation points is not a small amount. Even if he used the [Treasure Dragon Pill], he would still need to use 10000 pills.

He continued to open other mysterious treasure chests, and system notifications kept ringing in his ears. However, what he opened were all "mysterious aura" and "mysterious enlightenment," with "mysterious enlightenment" being slightly more common and "mysterious aura" being slightly less common.

The effect of "Mystic Enlightenment" is to permanently reduce the cultivation required for upgrading by 5%, but it is a product of these effects, not a direct addition. For example, the effect of the second "Mystic Enlightenment" is to reduce the cultivation required for upgrading by another 5% on top of the permanent 5% reduction, which is a reduction of 9.75%, instead of a direct reduction of 10%.

The effects of "mysterious aura" seem to stack.

Soon, Lu Chaoding had collected nine "mysterious auras".

When he obtained the 10th "Aura", the system notification was different: "Ding, you have opened a mysterious treasure chest and obtained a mysterious aura. Because you are too mysterious, it will affect the NPCs' judgment of you, which will manifest as either ignoring you excessively or valuing you excessively."

"It can influence NPCs now? Too much neglect? Too much emphasis? Two extremes? That's interesting. It's kind of like a brain-draining aura..."

Lu Chaoding continued opening treasure chests. When he obtained the 20th mysterious aura, the system notification changed again: "Ding, you have opened the 20th mysterious treasure chest and obtained a mysterious aura. Because you are too mysterious, it will affect the NPCs' impression of you. They will remember your name but easily forget your appearance."

"It's adding more effects! The mysterious aura continues to increase; will there be even more effects?"

Lu Chaoding found it very fun. He opened all 56 mysterious treasure chests and eventually obtained a total of 21 "mysterious auras" and 35 "mysterious inspirations".

The 35 "Mysterious Enlightenment" sessions permanently reduced the cultivation points he needed to level up by 83.39%, which is quite an effect!

"With these 35 mysterious enlightenments, leveling up will be much easier. If I combine that with the effects of the level 5 cave dwelling's abundant resources, breaking through bottlenecks will only require one-tenth of my cultivation. So, instead of needing 10 billion cultivation points to level up from level 60 to 61, I'll only need 1.66 million. How many pills will I save? I can just go back and level up immediately. This is true privilege! And..."

Lu Chaoding thought of the [Dissolving Power Technique], which would make leveling up easier. Using the [Dissolving Power Technique] again might be more cost-effective, but this needed to be tested and verified.

Of course, Lu Chao preferred the effects of the 21 "mysterious auras" on him. He either underestimated them or overemphasized them. He could remember their names but not their faces. He felt that this thing was an intelligence-lowering aura, but unfortunately it only worked on NPCs.

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At this moment, players such as Flower Prince, Super Ruffian, Mighty Bull Demon Ape, and Golden Spear, along with a group of NPCs, also arrived at the teleportation platform.

The NPCs all stared at Lu Chao, their expressions varied.

The Supreme Elder of the Heavenly Rain Sword Sect was the first to retort to Lu Chao, "Who are you? How could you defeat the Golden Twin-Gun Crab!"

The Grand Elder of the Heavenly Fire Sword Sect asked, "Eh, are you perhaps the reliable Sect Leader Lu?"

"Tianhuo, you've mistaken me for someone else. I remember Sect Leader Lu doesn't look like this."

"What does Sect Leader Lu look like?"

"Now that you mention it, I realize I don't even remember what Sect Leader Lu looks like."

"Sect Leader Lu? Heh, he's just the leader of a third-rate sect, not worth mentioning!"

"Have you all forgotten that Sect Leader Lu defeated the infamous demoness Yan Shangjing from sixty years ago? He's definitely a top-tier figure!"

"Sect Leader Lu, he seems very mysterious..."

The NPCs started talking amongst themselves, and Lu Chaoding overheard their conversation and found it quite amusing. Clearly, his "mysterious aura" from the 21st floor had taken effect, and the results were remarkable. Several NPCs appeared to be in a daze, such as the Supreme Elder of the Heavenly Fire Sword Sect, who, despite having seen him before, did not recognize him at this moment and thought he was someone else, his forehead covered in question marks.

Let them speculate wildly!

Lu Chao flicked his sleeves, deciding not to waste any more time or answer the NPCs' questions. He said to Prince Hua, "Open the passage to the third level!"

"Okay, bro, I'll do as you say!"

Prince Hua responded, his face extremely grim. The 30 he had painstakingly saved up was gone, and he was now penniless. He wanted to beat Lu Chao to a pulp and question him about why he had suddenly killed the Golden Double-Gun Crab, whether he was deliberately putting him down, and why he had harmed him.

But he dared not.

Opening the third level of the Ancient Sword Cultivation Cave is simple, similar to opening the second level. Prince Hua raises the [Great Flame Nether Phoenix] high to communicate with the system.

Three minutes later, the passage to the third level of the Ancient Sword Cultivator's cave opened.

However, there is a cultivation level restriction to enter this third level; one must advance to the extraordinary level. The only ones qualified to enter at the moment are Lu Chaoding and the Supreme Elders of the four sects.

"I'm going to the third floor. Make yourselves at home!"

Lu Chao reached out and grabbed at the air. The Super Scoundrel transformed into a longsword and was caught in his hand. He then took out the Purple Gold Gourd, told the Mighty Bull Demon Ape not to resist, and put the gourd inside by closing its mouth.

After doing all this, Lu Chaoding naturally entered the third level of the Ancient Sword Cultivation Cave through the teleportation platform.

This time, of course, he didn't give any money.

Only after Lu Chaoding's figure disappeared did Prince Hua react. The Supreme Elder of the Heavenly Fire Sword Sect also approached him and asked, "Who was that who went to the third floor? Why didn't you charge them?"

Upon hearing this, Prince Hua's face showed a strange expression. He said, "Supreme Elder, isn't that Lu Chaoding? He's the head of the reliable sword sect. You've met before and even spoken to each other. How come you don't recognize him now?"

"Sect Leader Lu?" Tianhuo frowned. "Don't talk nonsense. I've met Sect Leader Lu before, and he's not like this at all. Just who is this person?"

"Grand Elder, are you crazy? He is Lu Chaoding!" The Flower Prince was very confused. He simply sat down on the ground and said to the Grand Elder of the Heavenly Fire Sword Sect in a slow and unhurried manner, "Grand Elder, you are also going to the third level, right? This passage will not last long. If you want to go, hurry up."

"Of course I'm going to the third floor..."

The Supreme Elder of the Heavenly Fire Sword responded and then flew towards the pillar of light above the teleportation platform, disappearing in a flash.

The other three sects' elders were not to be outdone, and none of them gave the Crown Prince any money.

Soon, only Prince Hua, Jin Ge, and a group of NPCs who had not yet reached the Transcendent level remained on the teleportation platform.

Unable to enter the third level, they quickly dispersed and continued their search for opportunities on the second level.

Upon entering the third level of the ancient sword cultivator's cave, Lu Chao was now facing a boundary stone tablet.

The stone tablet bears four large characters: "Purple Palace Sword Court"!

Super Commoner, having transformed back into human form, countered Lu Chao, saying, "Zhang Zifu was once the master of the Zifu Sword Court. Forty thousand years ago, the Zifu Sword Court was equivalent to a first-rate power, but with Zhang Zifu's fall, it has long since vanished. This third level contains Zhang Zifu's Heavenly Eight Trigrams Furnace, which records many pill formulas and weapon-refining diagrams. Zhang Zifu once used this Heavenly Eight Trigrams Furnace to supply the entire Zifu Royal Court with pills and equipment. The Heavenly Eight Trigrams Furnace is the most important item on this third level. In addition, this third level should also contain many pills, equipment, materials, and there should also be some Earth Deities."

Lu Chao retorted, "Where is the Heavenly Eight Trigrams Furnace?"

Super Commoner looked around, then pointed in a direction and said, "It should be at the top of the mountain!"

Lu Chao looked in the direction he pointed and saw a small green hill.

The mountain wasn't high, but many buildings had been constructed on it. These buildings showed no signs of decay and looked brand new, as if they had just been built. However, the entire mountain was quiet and lifeless.

In addition, there are two other small hills in this cave. The three hills are distributed in a "品" shape and look very similar. There are also many buildings on them.

"There seem to be quite a few places worth exploring. Let's take the Heavenly Eight Trigrams Furnace first. The Supreme Elders of the four sects should have entered as well, but I wonder where they were randomly teleported to. We mustn't let them get the Heavenly Eight Trigrams Furnace first..."

Thinking of this, Lu Chao released the Great Xuan Sword and carried the Super Commoner towards the small hill directly in front of him.

During their journey, Super Ruffian said again, "Master, you need to be careful when you move around here. According to the information I have, there are five extraordinary beings here. The weakest of them is stronger than the Golden Double-Gun Crab on the second floor, and the strongest is a level 71 weirdo. They were all captured by Zhang Zifu from the dimensional battlefield and are permanently imprisoned here, unable to leave."

"A level 71 weirdo? What's that?!" Lu Chao asked curiously.

Super Ruffian looked like he was thinking hard and said, "I don't know its species, so I call it the Strange Guest. This Strange Guest has a goat's head and a human body, wears a Taoist robe, knows swordsmanship, and is also known as the Goat Taoist. He is very strong and extremely vicious. When Zhang Zifu was alive, he was able to suppress him and keep him in line in this cave, not daring to cause trouble. But now, this Goat Taoist has long since broken free of his restraints and must be the most dangerous existence here. If you encounter him, Master, you must not be careless."

Lu Chao nodded and then asked, "What about the other four extraordinary beings?"

Super Commoner said, "The other four are also very powerful. One is an otherworldly evil god named [Dom], whose true form is an octopus-man. Another is a juvenile star beast named [Flame Owl], whose physique is extremely strong. Another is a white-robed kobold who calls himself the Grand Mage of Chaos. He possesses several forbidden spells, and his specialty is meteor spells. The last one is a black-skinned orc who looks dull, but is actually both cunning and savage. He is a prophet, and his level is as high as 70, second only to Sheep Taoist in strength."

"That sounds amazing."

After hearing Super Commoner's introduction, Lu Chaoding became very curious about the five BOSSes and even more curious about the dimensional battlefield.

He had been to the Machine King Universe and knew about the interdimensional wars. He had even opened an interdimensional shop. However, according to the normal process, the interdimensional wars would probably be open for a long time. Not to mention interdimensional wars, even national wars would not be open in the short term.

Unless you obtain an outrageous item like the unreliable Breakthrough Talisman, it's possible to take a trip to another world ahead of time. Unfortunately, such items aren't something you can just get whenever you want.

A moment later, Lu Chaoding arrived at the top of the small hill. In a spacious square, he saw a huge Heavenly Eight Trigrams Furnace.

This Bagua Furnace was more than twice the height of the one in Lu Chaoding's cave, and its shape was slightly different. It emitted a seven-colored light and looked like a pagoda from a distance.

Before this Bagua furnace sat a dark, humanoid creature.

"That is..."

Lu Chao narrowed his eyes, and the first thought that popped into his mind was that he had encountered a dark-skinned orc.

Sure enough, Super Commoner said, "This dark-skinned orc is actually here. Master, it seems that it will be impossible to successfully collect the Heavenly Eight Trigrams Furnace."

Lu Chao retorted, "Then let's just destroy it!"

With this in mind, Lu Chao stopped six hundred meters away from the black-skinned orc, riding the Great Xuan Sword. At this distance, he could easily attack the black-skinned orc.

"I, the sect leader, am invincible! Today, let's see if this level 70 dark-skinned orc can be my match!"

Lu Chaoding couldn't see the black-skinned orc's attribute information yet. He released the Black Saber-toothed Tiger, manifesting it as a tank, equipped it with six flying insect swords, and with a thought, his body was filled with mechanical missiles.

(End of this chapter)