Rocks and yellow sand filled the chaotic space.
Fierce winds raged through the yellow sand.
A blazing scorched this desert.
The fifth floor extended a passage to connect with this even more vast Yellow Sand Stratum.
[Earth Vein Power required to create the next floor] 400
Transferring to the sixth floor along with his pedestal, the yellow sand immediately blasted Dalun Li right in the face.
The power of this floor also surged into the orb.
Unlike the first five floors, the power here was hotter, drier, brighter, and filled with a sense of strength.
"A desert."
"And why is it like daytime?"
Dalun Li looked toward the scorching, bright sky filled with flying yellow sand and instantly determined it was merely a false projection.
However, the searing heat and parching dryness were not fake.
The further down he opened up, the larger the floor became, and the stronger the power they provided.
Dalun Li sensed the power from this floor and made his judgment.
"Dammit, why does this yellow sand keep flying into my face!"
Dalun Li quickly controlled the surrounding yellow sand to bypass him and landed on his pedestal, beginning to check this floor for any lucky finds.
Reasonably speaking, as the floor he created further down grew larger, the probability of finding something should also increase.
Occasionally, withered branches and some shriveled shrub limbs could be seen on the desert.
Some quicksand pits were also distributed across the ground.
As for beneath the yellow sand, some grottoes were hidden there.
The grottoes were made of ordinary stone, and no special items were found.
"I didn't get anything!"
Dalun Li angrily bumped his body against the pedestal and searched again, refusing to give up.
Finally, beneath the yellow sand, he found a patch of animal skeletons.
The skeletons looked like stone and appeared to come from some kind of lizard.
Their value was very low.
They could barely serve as materials for creating monsters.
"Phew, you can't have good luck on every floor."
Dalun Li comforted himself, then gathered the skeletons together.
Although the materials were trash, there was indeed a significant quantity, all buried under the yellow sand.
After finding them all, he had a massive pile.
Dalun Li picked through the skeletons and eventually pieced together the sturdiest set.
"I'll use this set as the material for the Wellmouth Sentry of the fifth floor."
Dalun Li then looked at the remaining skeletons.
This floor will be self-sufficient with these materials; skeleton-type monsters should be quite challenging.
Having only one kind of monster is still a bit insufficient.
Dalun Li looked at the desert, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
With a wave of his hand, he created a desert oasis, surrounding it with trees to block the wind and sand.
At the same time, he created the water lurker from the third floor and gave it an upgrade.
He mainly increased its size, turning the water lurker into a large pond, and then placed it in the center of the oasis.
Ta-da!
A new work makes its debut; the name shall be The Oasis's Linger!
"Dammit, why have they only explored to the fourth floor? I can't wait to see the expressions on those annoying intruders when they charge into the sixth floor's water lurker."
After steadying his mood and making some general adjustments to the fifth floor, Dalun Li began creating wood soldiers to populate it.
At the same time, the water flow on the fifth floor shouldn't go to waste.
Dalun Li looked at the lizard skeletons nearby, took a portion, and then began creating, using the water flow and vines of the fifth floor as materials.
It needs to be stealthy enough, hiding within the water flow and aquatic plants.
It needs one-hit-kill explosive power, and its speed in the water must be fast enough.
A hard shell can block attacks from the water's surface.
Skeleton, water flow, and vines began to combine and grow.
A monster resembling a crocodile, with vines wrapped around its skeleton and growing sharp teeth, was created.
[Name] Dalun Li's Water Ghost Crocodile
[Level] lv5
[Skills] Stealth lv2, Absolute Bite lv2, Sharp Teeth lv2, Haste lv1, Water Burst lv1, Hard Shell lv1, Armor Piercing lv1, Great Strength lv1
[Description] A monster servant created by the unknown existence Dalun Li, hiding beneath the water's surface, relying on its massive bite force and strength to drag prey into the water; carnivorous and incredibly ferocious.
"Beautiful. This way, I can properly populate the wetlands and rivers of the fifth floor."
Dalun Li looked at the skeletal crocodile in front of him that wanted to nuzzle him despite being covered in soggy aquatic plants, and promptly kicked it away.
"I have high hopes for you, Little Croc!"
After the encouragement, he briskly tossed the thing into the fifth floor.
"It's a bit ugly."
Dalun Li glanced at the big eyeball Tongmu nearby.
"...Perhaps I need to work harder on the aesthetics of my monsters; they're all looking like such monstrosities."
Thinking this, Dalun Li moved the most complete, high-quality skeleton in front of him and began designing the Wellmouth Sentry.
However, the actual creation would have to wait until the Exiled Sentry experiment was complete, so he could further optimize the Wellmouth Sentry based on its strengths and weaknesses.
...
The fourth floor.
Swish!
A silver sword light flashed through the forest, and one of the wood soldier's arms was sliced off.
Croton gripped his broadsword and quickly pursued.
He couldn't give this kind of monster time to breathe, or its wood armor would rapidly regenerate!
The blade completely pierced the wood soldier's chest, and then he vigorously twisted to shatter its torso.
Croton pulled out his blade and rushed toward his companion who was entangled by a wood soldier, swinging his sword.
By the time all the wood soldiers were dealt with, Croton's group was covered in wounds and had lost one member.
He had originally thought the wood soldiers wearing adventurer equipment were troublesome enough.
It turned out that these wood soldiers wearing wood armor had suddenly appeared.
That wood armor was also a monster; the two coordinated so that any damage dealt to the wood armor or the wood soldier could be quickly recovered.
He had never seen this kind of combination of monsters that complemented each other's weaknesses in any other dungeon!
They had only just met, and caught off guard, one person had been killed.
"Lord Croton, there is a water source and a giant tree ahead; it's very unusual!"
A scout climbed down from a tree and began reporting to Croton.
According to past information, such unusual places often hid something.
It was very likely the passage to the next floor and could not be ignored.
"Adjust in place, do not separate, and report any issues immediately."
"After the time it takes for a candle to burn, we will continue our exploration!"
Croton forced himself to stay alert and shouted to the team.
Now only six people remained in the team.
If it weren't for losing half the members for no reason on the second floor, they wouldn't be in such a pathetic state now.
Croton cursed inwardly.
Dalun Li had already confirmed the levels of the remaining people.
They were all around level 5 or 6, with Croton being the highest, reaching the limit below human extraordinary.
One could even say he was just one opportunity away from being extraordinary, having reached level 10.
The time it took for a candle to burn quickly passed; the group organized their gear and checked each other's equipment status.
"Continue forward!"
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