This is where Mochuan’s favorite part, the gear-buying phase, begins.
With the quest rewards and bounties from eliminating hero units like the Three Kings, Mochuan is now quite the wealthy individual, carrying 2,500 gold coins.
First, he considers whether to keep Seraph's Embrace.
Due to his current fused skills of [Hell Curse], [Ravenous Crow Swarm], [Pollution], and [Witchroot Scarecrow] now forming [Hellwalker], Mochuan no longer lacks mana or recovery. Furthermore, he wasn't gaining much benefit from Seraph's Embrace's skill cooldown reduction from maximum mana conversion.
Therefore, Mochuan no longer needed [Seraph's Embrace].
He decisively sold it, freeing up an equipment slot.
Mochuan’s equipment inventory now looks like this:
(Crown of the Yin Emperor), (Force of Nature), (Corrupting Potion), (Kindle Gem), (Bronze Phoenix Mirror), ()
Gold: 4060 (2500 + 2600 * 60%)
Next, Mochuan began choosing his mythic item, as the choice would determine his subsequent build direction.
Considering his "nuke-stun hybrid" playstyle, focusing on burst damage rather than sustained damage, Mochuan first ruled out [Moonstone Regenerator].
The next choice was between [Imperial Mandate] and [Shurelya's Battlesong].
The former offered damage and a small amount of movement speed, suitable for teammates to secure kills. The latter provided pure movement speed, ideal for chasing and retreating.
After much deliberation, Mochuan chose the former.
This was because [Imperial Mandate] not only allowed his teammates to benefit from his high ability power with insane damage, but it also perfectly complemented his "nuke-stun hybrid" build – being incredibly tanky while dealing high damage.
After all, with this 10% ability power bonus, he could carry even with a tanky build.
Then, Mochuan started to assess his current situation.
When buying equipment, his first thought wasn't about damage, but about how to survive.
After all, this world was too dangerous, with eight out of ten people having issues. If he couldn't even survive, there was no way he could deal damage.
Physical damage… as long as it wasn't someone like Xingtian or Chi You attacking him, it was manageable.
Magical damage… he had already bought Force of Nature, and with the Crown of the Yin Emperor and his shield, it was barely enough.
However, against true damage, Mochuan was helpless.
His resistances and shields were useless. Without any damage reduction, Mochuan could only tank it with his health.
The divine-slaying blow from King Chujiang earlier still sent shivers down his spine.
After crafting [Imperial Mandate], and with the remaining 3310 gold, Mochuan's eyes scanned the legendary item slots.
Soon, Mochuan found two solutions.
These were the 3000 gold [Zhonya's Hourglass] and the 3300 gold [Death's Dance] (the system shop did not have Guardian Angel).
The former provided a 3-second stasis, which could definitely evade most instant-kill abilities like King Chujiang's [Chujiang Melody], but its drawback was a cooldown of a staggering 16 hours.
The latter was a delay artifact, converting 35% of all burst damage, regardless of damage type, into true health loss. Furthermore, it allowed gradual health recovery upon killing a target. It was already bugged in the game, simply too overpowered.
Mochuan thought for a moment and finally decided to buy [Death's Dance].
The reason was simple: the former's main drawback was its hefty 16-hour cooldown, which would be difficult to keep up with his subsequent combat rhythm. Although the latter's primary bonuses were for attack damage and armor, its passive effect was precisely what he needed.
This should truly make him an immortal build.
Thus, Mochuan's current stats were:
Attack Damage: 133 (78 + 55)
Armor: 3411 (91 + 3275 + 45)
Ability Power: 3432 (17 + 3275 + 40 + 100) (Base + Passive + Items + Mythic Item Bonus)
Magic Resist: 131 (26 + 105)
Hell Curse: 1310 stacks
Level: 13 (99%)
Gold: 10
Items: Death's Dance, Corrupting Potion, Crown of the Yin Emperor, Force of Nature, Imperial Mandate.
Skills: Hellwalker (+3), Spiritual Pollution (+2), Demonic Phantom, Innate Enchantment; Judgment Pendulum, Soul Guiding Lamp, Night Reaper, Five Grain Harvest, Soul Severing Clutch, Wretched Remains; Interstitial Hell (+4), Crow Storm, Requiem.
With this build, if they couldn't kill him in three moves, the King of Yama would laugh.
All that had just transpired was merely a five-minute daze in reality.
Ronnie tidied Mochuan's clothes and stared at his face – his hair was black with a purplish tint (affected by Demonic Phantom), his peach blossom eyes trembled slightly, and his skin seemed to have no pores, appearing as smooth as porcelain.
Hehe~ My young master is so handsome (infatuated grin)
Suddenly, Mochuan awoke. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Ronnie drooling at him.
"..." Mochuan's forehead veins bulged again. He gave Ronnie a whack on the head and said, "Let's go. Let's see what the situation is outside... I wonder how those four from the Hall of Yama got in..."
Ronnie nodded obediently and summoned a spatial portal again, leading Mochuan through.
However, his trembling hands revealed Ronnie's inner thoughts:
Thankfully, it's a good thing young master didn't realize my spatial portal for interdimensional travel is quite amateurish...
...
Tang Jingjing plopped onto the ground, panting heavily. The slightly damaged Thousand Machine Umbrella in her hand had long since been discarded somewhere.
As a primary physical damage dealer (colloquially known as a squishy AD) lacking effective self-preservation and team support, she felt exceptionally weary and tired facing the swarming Lougal Luo, the Yakshas who seemed to appear from nowhere, and the aftershocks of the fierce clashes between the esteemed monks and Asuras.
Not far away, the battle seemed to be nearing its end. Master Wuhai, Qinglian Zi, Sister Lanxin, and that teacher Davinson were surrounding the King of Lougal Luo.
After this battle, out of the dozens of elite youths and excellent teachers gathered from the eleven provinces nationwide, nearly one-third were lost.
Indeed, outside human settlements, the passing of each life was so simple. Regardless of talent or strength, in this spiritual vein relic, life and death were a matter of fate.
In that case... did Mochuan really die in the relic...
The thought of the person who had shown her care for the first time and stood up for her brought tears to Tang Jingjing's eyes.
"Alright... stop crying... seeing you like this annoys me..."
Tang Jingjing froze. She turned and saw Tang Xing leaning against a rock.
Tang Xing couldn't pass the arduous path, but Ye Ling had found him a string of exquisite Sarira before he departed, helping him to get through.
Who knew that upon arrival, it would be an even greater death trap.
Now, Tang Xing had a wound on his right arm that exposed bone, inflicted by a Yaksha's surprise dagger attack. If not for a specialized support teacher helping him stop the bleeding, Tang Xing's hand might have been useless by now.
However, the significant blood loss still left Tang Xing very weak. Coupled with the constant pain from the wound, Tang Xing became irritated. So, when Tang Jingjing started crying, he directly retorted with annoyance.
"It's just some foreigner (ghost cultivator)..." Tang Xing impatiently shifted his hand, trying to get more comfortable. "If they're dead, they're dead... So what..."
Before Tang Xing could finish speaking, he felt the light around him being blocked by something.
Tang Xing looked up, meeting the gaze of Tang Jingjing, who had a dead, crazed expression, and the rock in her hand.