Chapter 80: Old Friend
Inside the great hall were many sculptures, most of which were completely damaged, leaving only the bases beneath them. Only a few remained relatively intact.
These were sculptures of the ancestral Law Destroyers. Beneath each sculpture were records of their achievements and life stories, ending with a final message left by the sculpture itself.
Just as Su Xiao was about to step away, his peripheral vision inadvertently swept over the face of the sculpture before him. He stopped in his tracks. The features of this female Law Destroyer seemed familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.
Su Xiao searched his memory for the face of this female Law Destroyer. Soon, an image of an ancient castle surfaced in his mind. On the murals inside that castle's treasury was the very same female Law Destroyer.
Recalling those murals, Su Xiao's mind suddenly cleared. He remembered who this female Law Destroyer was. She was most likely the one who had slashed Alice out of the shadows.
The grudge between the female Law Destroyer, Green Gillian, and Alice was something Su Xiao didn't fully understand. He only knew that this female Law Destroyer had locked Alice in a cage, and to this day, Alice still had lingering trauma regarding cages, hangings, and the like.
Just as Su Xiao was about to walk away, whether it was an illusion or not, he felt that one of the nearby sculptures seemed to move slightly.
Noticing this, Su Xiao immediately drew the longsword at his waist. Although he himself was a Shadow of Law Destruction, it was still uncertain whether those ancestral Law Destroyers had left any mechanisms here. Given the personalities of the ancestral Law Destroyers, such a thing was not impossible.
The one that had moved was the sculpture of Mawen Hua'erzi. To be safe, Su Xiao decided to chop that sculpture down.
Just as Su Xiao raised his longsword, blue light surged within the stone pupils of Mawen Hua'erzi's sculpture.
"After so long without seeing each other, your way of greeting is to try and cut me down?"
A vaguely familiar voice came from within the sculpture. Hearing this voice, Su Xiao couldn't help but recall several experiences of being in excruciating pain.
"Mawen Hua'erzi?"
Su Xiao did not let his guard down, ready to shatter the sculpture at any moment.
"Who else could it be? Speaking of which, where is this? It feels somewhat familiar."
Mawen Hua'erzi's manner of speaking was not archaic; it was essentially no different from a modern person. After his death, by a twist of fate, he had become an energy entity and happened to strike some kind of deal with Reincarnation Paradise. Since then, he had preserved his consciousness in the form of energy, able to travel between different worlds.
Unlike contractors, Mawen Hua'erzi had no possibility of resurrection or continued growth in strength. All he could do was keep his consciousness from dissipating.
"This is the Shia World."
"The Shia World? That sounds even more familiar."
A blue phantom floated out from the sculpture, and large cracks appeared on the stone statue, threatening to shatter at any moment.
Mawen Hua'erzi was merely a humanoid mass of energy; his features were completely indistinguishable. The only thing visible was a broad-bladed longsword at his waist. This sword was a growth-type weapon similar to Dragon-Slaying Flash. At present, this broad-bladed sword was composed of energy; its original body had long been lost.
"I feel like I've been here before."
Mawen Hua'erzi's memory was indeed not very good. He still couldn't recall where the Shia World was. Or rather, he had simply been to too many worlds.
"A world at war between the undead and humans."
Su Xiao provided a clue. Mawen Hua'erzi's sudden appearance was undoubtedly good news, as it could help him understand the situation in this great hall as much as possible.
"Undead..."
Mawen Hua'erzi's phantom propped its chin on one hand, trying hard to remember.
"Isn't there someone here named... Adelaide? From what I recall, that guy was quite good at brown-nosing."
Mawen Hua'erzi finally remembered where the Shia World was. The Adelaide he mentioned had quite a background. Iron Crown King Adelaide Herbert was the first king of the Saint Sordin Kingdom, commonly known as its founding emperor.
"This is that world. Have you been here?"
A glint seemed to flash in Su Xiao's eyes. If Mawen Hua'erzi had been here, things would be much easier.
"No, I haven't."
Mawen Hua'erzi's answer made Bubu Wang's dog face twist in dismay. Judging by Mawen Hua'erzi's earlier tone, Bubu Wang had thought he had been to this world.
"I really haven't been to this world, but my good friend Ax came here. How many years ago was that?" Mawen Hua'erzi lowered his head in thought for a moment, then finally shook his head.
"Anyway, I know a bit about the situation here. It seems the undead were enslaving humans. But you're lucky to have found such a well-preserved inheritance relic."
Mawen Hua'erzi looked around the great hall.
"Inheritance relic?"
Su Xiao only knew that this was a relic. Based on his speculation, it was likely a residence or gathering point for the Shadows of Law Destruction.
"Yes, an inheritance relic. Whenever a Law Destroyer arrived in a world of unknown regions, they would try to build an inheritance relic. It served two purposes: first, to help talented humans awaken Azure Steel Shadow and become Shadows of Law Destruction; second, to provide guidance for newcomers."
Mawen Hua'erzi looked at Su Xiao and continued, "You're not a novice Law Destroyer, but this isn't a traditional inheritance relic either. Before Ax left this world, he seemed to have modified it to some extent."
Mawen Hua'erzi's phantom floated upward, beginning to observe the situation in the great hall. Throughout this time, Mawen Hua'erzi had shown a very friendly attitude, because in his view, Su Xiao was one of his own.
As for the creed of the Law Destroyers, Mawen Hua'erzi didn't mention a word. The era of the Law Destroyers had passed; nearly all Law Destroyers had perished. Whether the creed of law destruction should be passed on was something Mawen Hua'erzi was hesitant about.
In his view, even if the Law Destroyers had protected a certain planet from collapse, the creatures on those planets would not show gratitude toward the Law Destroyers.
Take the Shia World, for example. If a Law Destroyer hadn't severed the necromantic arts here, this world would have been torn apart by elemental turbulence long ago.
Now, a thousand years later, the undead race still bitterly hated the Law Destroyers, and the human race's attitude toward them was also indifferent.
If it were the most glorious period of the Shadows of Law Destruction, the Law Destroyers wouldn't have cared whether others were grateful. What they did wasn't for the sake of earning gratitude; they simply wanted to do it. Because there was something that only the Law Destroyers could see. The demon race had also seen it by chance, which was why they became allies of the Law Destroyers. And that thing was something the Spellcasters would never dare to make public.
Mawen Hua'erzi could guess Su Xiao's current situation. There were many old immortals in the void who wanted to eliminate Su Xiao. If Su Xiao made more enemies because of "law destruction," he would truly be surrounded by enemies on all sides. At that point, the inheritance of the Shadows of Law Destruction would truly be severed.
"Don't touch the sculptures here."
Mawen Hua'erzi spoke. He looked around at the sculptures in the great hall from above. These were evidence that the Law Destroyers had once existed.
"Wait for me here."
Mawen Hua'erzi's phantom drifted toward the depths of the great hall. He was going to check the situation inside.
As soon as Mawen Hua'erzi drifted away, Su Xiao received a notification from Reincarnation Paradise.
[Notification: Entering the Purgatory Phase.]