Chapter 2176: Advantage Is Mine
The atmosphere in the room was tense to the extreme, as if even the air had become stagnant!
Two men sat across the desk, staring each other down, neither willing to yield!
Jiangnan was betting that Youming wouldn't kill him.
To be honest, at this distance, facing a Star Devourer whose specialty was close-quarters physical combat, Jiangnan didn't even have the chance to pull out his Vendor Cloth!
Youming was right—his life was indeed in the other's hands, ready to be taken at any moment.
But since Jiangnan had chosen to throw Dali out there, he had already anticipated today's situation!
Human greed—if Youming killed him, he'd gain nothing at all!
"Bam!"
The office door suddenly burst open, and Jiu Lan, who had been eavesdropping outside, stumbled straight in!
With an awkward expression, she didn't know where to put her hands or feet.
(⌒﹏⌒;)୨ "Th-this door suddenly... opened on its own, ahah~ ahaha~"
Youming cast a cold glance over: "Close the door!"
Jiu Lan shivered.
∠(｀～´*) "Yes, sir!"
Instinctively, she closed the door, but ended up trapping herself inside. Now she didn't know whether to stay or leave!
Her heart was about to jump out of her throat, and she couldn't sit still.
Finally, awkwardly, she stood at attention against the wall, her face turning red from the extreme nervousness.
˚‧º·(๑◔﹏◔ิ๑)‧º·˚
Youming's eyes were full of helplessness, but he didn't ask Jiu Lan to leave.
Her intrusion had actually broken the tense atmosphere, giving Youming an excuse to back down.
Otherwise, it would have been hard to end things—if they kept going, negotiations would have collapsed.
Youming sat back down on the chair and said coldly, "You're really stubborn. You're betting that I can't bear to kill you, aren't you?"
"After all, you're an Era Lord, a racial leader—you deserve a dignified death. Indeed! I can't bear to kill you! If I kill you, I gain nothing and even lose something!"
"But just because I can't touch you doesn't mean I can't touch others! People like you always value loyalty. Don't force me to play dirty!"
"If I don't get the formula for Dali today, I'll kill Wang Youzhi! You two... are brothers, right?"
Jiu Lan clenched her teeth. Lord Youming was also going to resort to despicable means to pressure him?
Jiangnan, on the other hand, laughed and plopped back down into his seat.
(๑¯ི↼¯ི) "Go ahead and kill him! Dazhi and I are indeed brothers who've been through life and death together! But if he dies, I won't feel a thing!"
"Let me tell you the truth! Dazhi is Black God's alt account. He has over a hundred thousand such alts—this one is just a human body alt!"
"He came into Minghe Death Prison with me to keep me company and have fun. Oh, by the way, as a Star Devourer, you should know about Black God, right? The absolute ruler of the Dimensional Gap!"
"This human account is one of his favorite collectibles. You can kill him—as long as you can bear the consequences!"
The room fell silent. Youming's forehead beaded with sweat, and Jiu Lan's mouth hung wide open.
Black God? The Black God who is the Lord of the Dimensional Gap?
Wang Youzhi is his alt account?
∑(°口°๑) Holy shit!
Don't just casually drop such an earth-shattering secret, okay?
"Heaven's sake, coming to prison to keep someone company and have fun? How close is Black God with Jiangnan? Close enough to send an alt to accompany him in prison?"
Killing Wang Youzhi wouldn't threaten Jiangnan at all—it would just piss off Black God!
Youming didn't doubt the truth of Jiangnan's words for a second. After all, humans had reached where they were today largely thanks to Black God...
Now it was Youming's turn to be troubled. Jiangnan was a slick, slippery character who didn't fear threats at all.
If he didn't want to talk, there was no way to pry his mouth open.
Youming gritted his teeth: "Without Stygian Energy, you can't extract Dali either! This is a relationship of mutual need! What are you still holding out for?"
"I can take another step back! You're worried about the humans, right? Keep the original terms! Hand over the Dali formula! The Dali produced will be secretly supplied to humans by my race!"
"I can even provide a supply channel for Minghe Crystals!"
"Otherwise, without Stygian Energy, even if you have the method of energy purification, it's useless!"
Jiangnan curled his lips into a smile:
(˶‾᷄⁻‾᷅) "Oh? Is that really the case?"
Youming squinted, pulled out an analysis report, and slapped it on the table.
"Don't pretend! I sent Dali to the lab for analysis and comparative experiments. The composition report is already out!"
"Although the energy properties have changed and become extremely pure, the energy particle characteristics are identical to Stygian Energy—just purer, with no impurities!"
"It can be said that the root of Dali must be Stygian Energy! No one understands Stygian Energy better than our Netherworld Race!"
"Do you want me to read the composition report to you? Cooling energy particles, sodium-potassium-calcium-chlorine ions, mucin, amino acids, antibody proteins, salivary amylase, lysozyme, various probiotics..."
The more Youming read, the more his expression twisted. Jiangnan's eyes darted, and he started whistling while cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
(‧̣̥̇◔₃◔ิ)～♫♫♩♪
Reading on, Youming's face turned dark.
(̿▀̿̿Ĺ̯̿̿▀̿̿)̄ "Did you spit into the sample, you bastard?"
What the hell with the salivary amylase and probiotics! Remembering that he had drunk it himself, Youming wanted to strangle Jiangnan.
[From Youming: Resentment Value +1009!]
Jiu Lan covered her face. She could testify that he really did spit into it!
She had even clinked glasses with Lord Youming—fortunately, they had sprayed it out without drinking.
Jiangnan glared: (๑ŏ◠ŏ) "I did not! This composition is originally what it is!"
Youming: !!!
The evidence was right there, and he still wouldn't admit it? Jiangnan wasn't lying—his mouth was just that tough!
Jiangnan's heart was pounding too. Damn! The Netherworld Race's lab was something else—they even analyzed the saliva he had spit in?
Impressive, impressive!
But this analysis result basically confirmed that Dali was purified from Stygian Energy!
The problem was that Jiangnan had no idea what kind of purification method this was!
He just got it from the System! Where did the System get its Dali?
[(ﾉ)ж(ヾ) Hmm...]
Jiangnan: (≖_≖)
No need to send me emojis. I know you won't tell me either!
But since that's the case, don't blame me for making a big deal out of this!
You think I have it, so I'll just say I do!
Jiangnan said calmly, "Since we've come this far, I won't hide it from you anymore."
"Indeed! Dali is extracted by separating and purifying Stygian Energy. Only I know this method!"
"And Stygian Energy can be purified into more than just Dali."
With that, he reached behind him and pulled out a bowl of Spiritual Chicken Soup, placing it on the table and sliding it over to Youming.
(๑◔↼◔ิ) "Have a taste?"
Youming swallowed. The stuff purified from Stygian Energy isn't just one kind?
What is this?
Jiu Lan's eyes twitched. Lord Youming, are you really going to drink it?
Jiangnan just pulled it out from who knows where!
Youming glanced at Jiangnan, didn't refuse, and picked up the bowl of chicken soup to drink.
But because the bowl was too full, some spilled onto the table.
The moment the soup hit the table, a large cloud of white smoke billowed up!
It directly corroded through the tabletop and dripped onto the Strong-Phase Alloy floor.
Even the floor was pitted with several holes!
Youming: !!!
(̿▀̿益▀̿̿ꐦ) "Are you trying to poison me to death?"
Chicken soup that could corrode Strong-Phase Alloy like this—is that really something a person can drink?
This poison is way too blatant!
Jiangnan covered his mouth: (๑•᷄ლ•᷅) "No way, no way? The strongest physical body under the starry sky? A Star Devourer-level powerhouse, and you don't even dare to drink a bowl of chicken soup?"
Youming's forehead veins bulged. Am I afraid of you?
Forget chicken soup—I can swim in concentrated sulfuric acid, bathe in a solar core, and not be afraid. Why should I fear this?
So he tipped his head back and downed the bowl!
The imagined scene of poisoning didn't happen. Instead, Youming felt his mental strength surge wildly, his chest filling with positive energy!
A soft, gentle glow of holy light began to radiate from his body!
At this moment, Youming's face was full of disbelief. He pressed his temple, eyes wide with shock.
"Th-this... it can temporarily boost mental strength? I'm a Star Devourer, and even my mental strength can be enhanced? This was also purified from Stygian Energy?"
Jiangnan smiled: "Exactly."
Pure fabrication, of course—just his own speculation!
Stygian Energy was extremely impure. Not only did it contain energy that could improve physical fitness, but jumping into the Stygian River could also damage the spirit.
Plus, with Minghe Crystals in the picture, it was impossible not to let the imagination run wild.
Since Dali was very likely purified from Stygian Energy, why couldn't Spiritual Chicken Soup be the same?
[(◔﹏◔ิ(ヾ) Hmm~]
Jiangnan: (￢̫￢) Emm~
And now that Youming had drunk the soup, once the effect wore off, he'd be in for a rough time.
Then Jiangnan could use Detoxifying Soybeans to control him again. He was such a little genius!
Youming's eyes lit up: "In that case, then..."
Before he could finish, Jiangnan cut in: "Don't think you can threaten me with Stygian Energy!"
"Go ask around. Xing Luo and Carl also know that I've been using Dali for a long time, and Spiritual Chicken Soup too!"
"I had them before I entered the Minghe Star Domain. The starry sky is vast—what you know is just a small corner of it!"
"How do you know there's only one Stygian River beneath the starry sky? That there aren't tributaries elsewhere? In the end, where does this Stygian River flow from? Even you don't know, right?"
Youming's pupils contracted sharply. There were other tributaries of the Stygian River in places he didn't know about?
Indeed. Even though the Netherworld Race had been in the Minghe Star Domain for so many years, they still hadn't figured out the origin of the Stygian River. It held too many secrets!
They had lived off the Stygian River for eons, but they hadn't developed new uses for Stygian Energy, nor had they discovered methods to purify and separate it.
They didn't even know Stygian Energy could be purified, until they saw Dali and Spiritual Chicken Soup!
Youming now felt like he was sitting on a mountain of treasure but couldn't develop or use it!
Seeing Youming's expression, Jiangnan's lips curled into a smirk.
Regardless of whether he actually had that method, at least now, the initiative was his!