Lu Mingfei, become the King of Elden!

Chapter 289 Dragon Tomb
Lu Mingfei placed his hand above the blessing, and with a familiar ripple, golden light shone.

His name naturally came to mind.

The Fork in the Road at the Dragon Tomb

"Fork in the road?"

Lu Mingfei was surprised.

What is meant by the branching paths of the Dragon Tomb?
Did I go the wrong way again, straying from the main road and ending up on some strange side road?
Or is it because this is a fork in the road?

Lu Mingfei raised his eyes and scanned the surrounding environment.

Two paths can indeed be faintly discerned between the reddish, jagged rocks.

One path leads upwards along the withered grass and trees, gradually disappearing among the rocks; the other extends downwards, entering a valley-like area.

Compared to the desolation of the road leading upwards, the road to the valley seemed more vibrant—at least in Galid's opinion.

There are many slender trees and even more shrubs in the area.

These tenacious plants thrive even on soil corrupted by scarlet decay. Perhaps it is through years of survival, evolution, adaptation, and elimination that these tree species, capable of resisting decay, have survived.

Or perhaps the land of Dragon Tomb is quite far from the "Crimson Ionian Swamp," which is the center of the battlefield, and is therefore less affected by corruption.

"Which way should I go?"

Lu Mingfei pondered for a moment.

The road leading upwards looked more open, probably leading to some city, fortress, village, church or the like.

The valley below seemed more secluded.

Lu Mingfei's "faded" intuition told him that the more remote and hidden the place, the more treasures it held.

"There might be something hidden here..."

Once this thought arises, it cannot be shaken off.

A somewhat "hellish" idea then surfaced in his mind:
"Anyway, the blessing has already been activated here. Even if there's nothing below, or if we encounter an insurmountable danger, at worst... we can be resurrected immediately if we die, so there's no loss."

But in just a moment, Lu Mingfei shook his head vigorously, dispelling the thought.

suicide?

He rarely tries.

Although the blessing granted him the characteristic of "immortality," allowing him to return from the brink of death time and time again, this by no means meant that death itself became something easy or something that could be treated casually.

On the contrary, the pain of each moment of death, the sense of nothingness of the annihilation of consciousness, and the trembling as the soul returns, as if torn apart and reassembled, will be deeply imprinted on his soul, leaving an indelible mark.

This kind of experience is definitely not as simple as "reloading a save and starting over" in a game; it accumulates and puts a heavy burden on one's mind.

This is not a process that can be "used to" or "adapted to" through repeated deaths.

The fear and resistance to extinction originates from the fundamental code of life; it is an indelible mark etched deep within the soul of every living being.

Lu Mingfei is unafraid of death and can face and overcome it time and time again for his goal.

But he must accept the pain, shock, and mental anguish that death brings him each time; he cannot avoid them.

Therefore, despite having the trump card of "immortality," Lu Mingfei's principle remains: if he can avoid death, then he will.

The thought of carelessly discarding precious life, even a life that can be restarted, is a desecration of life.

He ultimately chose to go down.

To be on the safe side, he held his breath, walked slowly down the slope.

After descending only a few hundred meters, a rustling sound came from ahead.

Lu Mingfei instantly identified the source of the sound.

That wasn't the wind blowing through the grass; it was some animal rustling through the bushes.

Immediately afterward, heavy breathing drifted on the wind and reached his ears. A massive cave bear emerged from behind a boulder.

It smelled the scent of a living person, stood up on its hind legs, let out a threatening growl, and swung its claws to strike!
This bear was smaller than the brown bears commonly found in Nymgford, and in Lu Mingfei's eyes, who had seen many monsters in the border region, it was not an exaggeration.

"Perfect time to stretch my arms and legs."

Lu Mingfei's eyes narrowed slightly, and instead of retreating, he advanced.

The airflow beneath their feet rose slowly, swirling around the surface of their boots like tiny hurricanes.

next moment.

boom!
Lu Mingfei stomped heavily on the ground, his whole body charging forward like a chariot.

With his greatsword imbued with the power of a gray-white storm, Lu Mingfei instantly swung it horizontally, delivering a clean and swift "Storm Blade" strike to Xiong's arm.

The fur was torn apart, and blood splattered everywhere!

"Ow!"

The bear roared in pain, its eyes revealing its ferocity and madness.

Lu Mingfei took a half step back, took a deep breath, his chest slightly bulged, and a hot breath rose from his throat.

The next moment, a blazing breath erupted, and dark red cone-shaped flames instantly engulfed the charging bear!
Dark red dragon flames violently clung to the bear's body.

The crackling sound of burning fur mingled with the piercing howls of wild beasts, echoing eerily through the narrow valley.

The massive body writhed wildly in the flames, trying to extinguish the pain, but to no avail.

Lu Mingfei stood in front of the flames, the intense heat reflecting off his eyes.

Faced with this horrific scene, his face remained expressionless, devoid of excitement or pity, only calm.

The air was filled with the strong smell of burning and roasting meat.

The once ferocious giant bear lay on the ground, most of its body reduced to charcoal.

Lu Mingfei stepped forward, his boots making a slight "sizzling" sound as they stepped on the scorching ground.

He raised his greatsword again, the blade still warm from the dragon flames.

The sword light flashed past.

"Crack!"

With a crisp cracking sound, the massive bear head separated completely from its neck, rolled to the ground, and its final whimper abruptly ended.

Blood gushed out
Lu Mingfei flicked the few drops of blood off his sword, his gaze not lingering long on the bear's head.

Fighting, killing, moving forward.

This is the main theme of the border area.

Lu Mingfei continued walking deeper into the valley.

They hadn't gone far when another brown bear appeared ahead, about the same size as the first one.

He frowned. This place had neither dense forest nor prey, so how come bears kept appearing one after another?
Just then, his gaze passed over the roaring brown bear and landed on the rock wall not far behind it.

There, a cave entrance lay silently open, half-hidden by drooping vines, exuding an indescribable eeriness.

"I see."

Lu Mingfei understood.

This cave must be related to their existence.

Perhaps there are some items inside that attracted them here, or perhaps this was originally their nest.

What's hidden in this cave?
He followed suit, using Storm Technique to clear a path and disrupt the bear's attack momentum. He then tried out a new technique, "Lion Slash," and unleashed another burst of scorching dragon breath, turning the second guardian bear into charred remains.

(End of this chapter)