Chapter 94: Soul-Returning Coffin, Equipment Socketing 1
Seeing the endless waves of sword qi rushing toward him, the Myriad Flame Corpse King fled at incredible speed,
like a mole burrowing straight into the ground.
In the underground space, there was an ancient, simple coffin placed there.
Without hesitation, it quickly lay inside the coffin and closed the lid.
"Phew! Finally safe. This is an Emperor-grade defensive artifact—there's no way it can be broken!"
"But when did such a powerful figure appear on the Fire Spirit Archipelago?"
Hiding inside, its panicked and disappointed emotions finally stabilized somewhat.
This coffin was incomparably sturdy, and it had absolute confidence in it.
In the past, three Star-tier experts had joined forces and attacked it continuously for several hours,
but in the end, they were exhausted and still couldn't break the coffin.
This was also the reason the Myriad Flame Corpse King had managed to survive for so many years.
In just over ten seconds, the ground had already been blasted into a massive crater dozens of meters wide.
Zhou Han also noticed the coffin and activated his appraisal skill to check its attributes.
[Soul-Returning Coffin]
Grade: Emperor
Durability: 1,000,000
Effect: Reduces incoming damage by 50%, restores 3% durability per second.
Description: Forged from meteorite iron, capable of providing extremely powerful defense.
"An Emperor-grade item? I didn't expect you to have something like this!"
After reading it, Zhou Han was a little surprised that the opponent actually possessed an Emperor-grade artifact.
But thinking about it, it was still a boss. All beings on the Divine Demon Continent had their own consciousness.
That meant they could develop themselves, hunt monsters, and level up as well.
In that case, possessing an Emperor-grade artifact wasn't too strange.
"Hahaha! I advise you not to waste your effort! Leave now—it'll be good for both of us!"
Hearing Zhou Han's voice, the Corpse King became smug again.
With a full one million durability, plus 50% damage reduction, and a 3% recovery per second,
it meant that only damage exceeding 60,000 per second could destroy the [Soul-Returning Coffin].
Naturally, the Corpse King didn't believe Zhou Han could achieve that.
Even three Star-tier experts couldn't do it—how could a mere youth accomplish it?
So its confidence was absolute when it spoke.
"A waste of effort? It seems you know nothing about true power!"
Zhou Han's gaze turned sharp. With a thought, all the sword qi surged toward the [Soul-Returning Coffin].
If it were the previous version of [Myriad Swords Return to Origin], it might have been difficult.
After all, without extra enemies to kill, there was no way to increase all attributes.
But the upgraded [Supreme · Myriad Swords Return to Origin] was different.
As long as the skill was activated, it increased all attributes by six times.
Combined with the skill's own damage multiplier, dealing millions of damage was effortless.
"Screech—!"
The violent sword qi struck, sending sparks flying everywhere.
"Give it up already! An Emperor-grade artifact isn't something you can shake!"
Inside the coffin, the Corpse King could only endure the attacks passively, unable to move.
Seeing no visible cracks, its tone was filled with mockery.
"Heh, you… what?"
"Holy shit!"
With a crisp "crack," a massive fracture suddenly appeared,
then spread rapidly like a spiderweb, covering the coffin with cracks.
The Corpse King's expression changed drastically, its smile freezing.
Its already pale face seemed to turn almost transparent.
"Stop! Stop right now, damn it!"
The previously pitch-black interior of the coffin suddenly filled with light.
The Corpse King knew this was a sign of imminent destruction and immediately shouted in panic.
"Please! Stop! Stop it!"
It knew exactly what would happen once the coffin shattered.
Its furious roars quickly turned into desperate pleas for mercy.
A cold smile appeared on Zhou Han's face, completely unmoved.
The sword qi grew even more intense, tearing open a huge hole in the coffin.
"Just you wait… our Corpse Clan won't let you go…"
The vicious voice grew weaker and weaker, soon completely drowned by the overwhelming sword light.
Hearing the system's kill notification, Zhou Han knew the opponent had been completely annihilated.
"Let's see if anything good dropped!"
With a wave of his hand, a violent gust of wind dispersed the lingering dust.
Covering his nose, he walked forward.
Three items had dropped.
The first was a skill book [Corpse Refining Technique], used for refining corpses.
Although it was Diamond-grade, Zhou Han found it both evil and disgusting.
Controlling corpses? Sorry, he really couldn't bring himself to do that.
There was no need to learn such a skill.
He opened the Swordsman Badge and directly exchanged it for 200 contribution points.
The second item was a Diamond-grade ring [Ice Moon Ring]. It was ice-elemental and didn't suit Zhou Han.
He already had the [Agile Ring], so this one wasn't worth keeping either—he exchanged it directly.
The third was a [Wolf Soul Bow], which Zhou Han also couldn't use.
"This luck is pretty bad! Not a single useful item!"
Shaking his head, after exchanging everything, Zhou Han began collecting the quest material [Top-grade Fire Crystal].
The earlier bombardment had created a massive crater, exposing many crystal veins,
saving him the effort of digging.
[Top-grade Fire Crystal discovered. Collect?]
As Zhou Han reached out and touched a large cluster of purple-red stones,
the system prompted him with a collection notification, along with its description.
[Top-grade Fire Crystal]
Quality: Diamond-grade material
Effect: A primary material for upgrading fire-based skills, weapon enchantment, and attribute cultivation.
"Collect!"
[You collected Top-grade Fire Crystal x1.]
[You collected Top-grade Fire Crystal x1.]
…
Notifications kept appearing. Collecting 500 pieces of Top-grade Fire Crystal took just over ten minutes.
After confirming everything,
including travel and combat time, it took only about twenty minutes in total.
Such efficiency was truly terrifying.
"Submit quest!"
The quest description only required collecting the fire crystals,
without needing to deliver them to any specific person or location.
This made things quite convenient, saving Zhou Han a lot of time.
[You completed the Fire Crystal Collection quest. You gained 500 contribution points.]
[Detected Swordsman Badge effect: You gained an additional 500 contribution points.]
Sure enough, the double reward effect triggered, giving him 1000 contribution points at once.
"I wonder if these Top-grade Fire Crystals are useful for Zhen'er. I'll gather a few more!"
Seeing that there were still extra crystals in the vein, Zhou Han followed his no-waste principle
and collected them all, totaling thirty to forty pieces.
After all, Ao Zhen was also fire-elemental—maybe they would have some special effect.
It didn't take long before Zhou Han finished organizing everything.
There was nothing else of value left in the Flame Demon Stele Forest.
"Time to move on to the next quest location!"
At the lava hills, flowing magma could be seen everywhere.
The scorching temperature of the ground was extreme. Zhou Han tested it—just touching the magma caused his HP to drop rapidly.
The rate of HP loss was even faster than his recovery speed, which surprised him.
"Good thing I can fly, otherwise this quest would be tough!"
"Only 300 contribution points? The one who issued this quest is really stingy."
Zhou Han complained as he quickly flew through the air,
instantly killing fire pythons rolling in the lava along the way.
They were Platinum to Diamond-grade monsters, and no boss appeared.
So each one was killed in a single strike, with no ability to resist.
[Collect Fire Python Scales — Quest Completed…]
After the prompt, Zhou Han rushed to the next quest location like he was running through a schedule.
Wind swirled, and smoke filled the air.
On the Withered Plains, the Blazing Flame Bulls grazing felt the terrifying aura of the storm.
Sharp wind blades tore through their sturdy bodies like slicing tofu, leaving massive wounds.
One after another, they collapsed with miserable cries.
Amid the scorching airwaves, Zhou Han rapidly slaughtered the Blazing Flame Bulls.
[You obtained Fire Bull Whips x300.]
With another prompt, the materials were fully collected.
The person who issued this quest really had some unique tastes.
"Phew! Finally done!"
"My energy's a bit low—I need to eat something."
After killing the Blazing Flame Bulls, aside from the trial quest with Wan Yuhe,
all quests on the Fire Spirit Archipelago were completed.
Including equipment exchanges, he had gained a total of 3930 contribution points.
At this point, Zhou Han felt a bit tired. Completing three quests in 45 minutes—he had simply pushed himself too hard.
After all, flying consumed energy, and so did casting skills.
After submitting the quests, Zhou Han felt extremely hungry.
He immediately sat down, cut off a large leg from a Blazing Flame Bull, and began roasting it.
[You have a new friend message. Please check!]
While focusing on roasting the meat, Zhou Han heard the system notification.
"I wonder what those two need."
Zhou Han opened the messages.
Han Xiangning: Han, I've reached level 25. I need to do my awakening quest. I might be back late tonight, don't worry about me!
Han Qinxue: Zhou Han, Xiangning and I both reached level 25. I'm going to the Holy Court for awakening today…
After reading, a faint smile appeared on Zhou Han's face.
They had leveled up to 25 so quickly—it was expected.
After all, with a 5x experience buff, even a pig could take off.
Zhou Han then opened the level rankings.
[Server 666 Level Rankings]
1. Zhou Han: Level 33 (17.7%)
2. Han Xiangning: Level 25 (11.1%)
3. Han Qinxue: Level 25 (10.8%)
4. Ou Huang: Level 18 (99.3%)
5. Mei Aoxue: Level 17 (95.5%)
6. Gou Tuo: Level 17 (86.2%)
7. Jia Feiqiu: Level 17 (16.4%)
8. Lin Fan: Level 16 (93.3%)
- 245 Advanced Chapters of {SSS-Rank Enhancement System: I Can Upgrade Anything}: patreon.com/aristo0_0