The towering giant sword exuded an unparalleled heat, which then stirred the wind and clouds, distorting the surrounding air.
With a thunderous roar, the scorching greatsword streaked with crimson light, transforming into an afterimage as it fiercely slashed down.
The Crystallized Elder, already a mere step from death, felt the overflowing Abyssal aura on his body weaken again. His crimson eyes, already eroded, showed a moment of clarity.
Looking at the giant sword slashing down before him, he revealed a look of relief and liberation.
Boom!!!
The scorching greatsword slashed down fiercely, incinerating everything in its path with an explosive flame. The range affected several hundred meters, and even the swamp a thousand meters away was turned into cracked earth by the surging temperature.
Xia Yu, who had delivered the blow, stood in place, sensing the rapidly increasing souls within his body. These were the souls of the creatures affected in the swamp.
However, these souls were merely icing on the cake; the soul he truly desired was that of the Crystallized Elder.
His soul definitely contained vast magical knowledge and memories, enough for him to pause his map progression and spend time learning. He believed Orbeck also couldn't refuse the legendary magic of the Crystallized Elder.
Countless souls poured into Xia Yu's body. In a short while, there were no remaining souls in the vicinity.
"The Crystallized Elder's soul is indeed excellent, but now it's mine."
Xia Yu reached into his body and retrieved a soul radiating an icy blue glow. The Crystallized Elder's soul seemed to have merged with crystal magic, even its radiance was the color of crystal.
Looking at the powerful soul in his hand, Xia Yu calmly sensed it and silently used the Soul Searching Secret Art.
The next moment, a massive torrent of memories flashed through Xia Yu's mind, making him instinctively clutch his head.
The Crystallized Elder was the teacher of the scholars in the Grand Archives, so his memory torrent was much larger than Xia Yu had imagined.
A moment later, Xia Yu shook his head, suppressing the remnants of the memory torrent with his powerful mental strength.
"How long will this take to learn?" Xia Yu muttered, looking at the soul in his hand.
Just a fleeting glance, and he had already discovered a large amount of crystal and soul magic in the Crystallized Elder's memories. These spells included not only those obtainable in the game but also many he had never seen before.
Should it be said that he truly lived up to being the teacher of the scholars in the Grand Archives? How fortunate.
If he learned these spells, he would have nothing to fear from the Farron Street Dance Troupe. After all, the Crystallized Elder was the magic teacher of the Farron Street Dance Troupe, and what he knew wasn't just magic.
"Sigh, studying, studying, always studying. What a headache."
After putting away the soul in his hand, Xia Yu looked at the endless scorched gully before him. At the bottom of the gully stood a statue, as if made of glazed crystal.
The statue stood in a scorched ruin, its completely crystallized face faintly showing a hint of relief and liberation.
"Did he crystallize after death?" Xia Yu jumped into the gully and reached out to touch the statue, feeling its icy coldness.
This reminded him of the Origin Sorcerers in the elden ring World; as they explored the limits of their origins, their bodies would inevitably crystallize.
There was a certain similarity; as expected of a Soulslike game series.
Looking at the Crystallized Elder statue before him, Xia Yu waved his hand and put it away. Rather than leaving the statue here to gather dust, he might as well study it to see if he could unravel the mystery of crystallization.
Next, Xia Yu activated his'Since I'm already here, I'd feel like I lost out if I didn't take something' mode.
Under his locust-like exploration, he found several more rings, including the Crystallized Elder's shattered crystal ball, and even his rapier—he didn't miss a thing... "Whew, satisfied."
Before the bonfire, Xia Yu tallied his gains and contentedly placed everything into his Red Envelope space.
This exploration not only yielded many weapons he hadn't collected yet but also several rings that could be found on the Road of Sacrifices.
However, looking at his hands, already covered in rings, Xia Yu found it a bit unbearable. He looked like an ostentatious nouveau riche.
Tsk, why can't the Soul World be like the elden ring World and have talismans? His ten fingers were already full. Did he really have to wear them on his toes?
No, no, Xia Yu quickly discarded that thought. Wearing them on his toes—how could he even think of that? He wouldn't want them to get in the way when walking.
"Forget it, ten fingers are enough. It's better than the four fingers in the game."
After comforting himself, Xia Yu reached out and grasped the coiled sword before him. The next moment, the light of teleportation flared, and he returned to the Firelink Shrine.
Now it's study time... [dark souls iii]: Firelink Shrine study buddy service is online! Sexy Ashen One studies with you online. Don't just think about it, act now and join the Ashen One's study session!
[clash of clans]:...What madness are you spouting now?
[dark souls iii]: If you can't speak properly, you can donate your mouth to someone in need.
[dark souls iii]: Your grandpa is going to study again! Is anyone else studying? Let me know I'm not alone!
[marvel]: You're not human to begin with.
[dark souls iii]:...Why is everyone targeting me today? No love left, so tired. Even if I squeeze in, I'm still an outsider.
All the Xia Yus:...The Ashen One's daily madness, they're used to it. Tsk, letting loose is too terrifying. To avoid being infected by the silly virus, Xia Yu changed the topic.
[clash of clans] @ [marvel]: How's your company doing? By the way, opening a company in marvel is quite difficult; you might get visited by Hydra.
[marvel]: It's going great, thriving, you could say.
[clash of clans]: Good heavens, is that good or bad? Don't tell me you don't know what 'thriving' means.
[marvel]: About this, I can only say that those who understand, understand. I won't say more to those who don't. Just ponder it carefully. Anyway, those who understand already understand, and no matter what I say, those who don't understand still won't.
[clash of clans]:...It's over, another one caught the silly virus.
[dark souls i]: You there? Give me some support. I'm going to fight Chaos Witch Quelaag. I've decided, no matter how tragic her story is, I'll fight her first.
[clash of clans]: Alright, this is my last bit of strength, take it!
[dark souls iii]: Need help?
[dark souls i]: No need, just lend me your strength for a bit.
[dark souls iii]: Alright, this is my last bit of strength, take it!
[dark souls i]:...You guys be normal, I'm scared.
Soul I World, bottom of Blighttown.
"Whew, with this power, I should be able to defeat Chaos Witch Quelaag, right?"
Undead Xia Yu silently sensed the sudden surge of power within his body. Although varied, it was very harmonious, as all these powers were his own.
After checking his equipment, Xia Yu smiled and looked at a figure beside him: "Solaire, are you ready?"
"Oh? Of course, I am always ready," Solaire replied.
At this moment, he was clad in golden-yellow armor, the helmet still in the familiar bucket style, and a finely carved sun icon adorned his chest. Although the color was somewhat monochromatic, it was at least much better than the sun icon he drew himself.