Chapter 45: Borrowing a Knife to Kill
The blue crystal shattered with a crack between Su Xiao's fingers, signifying that given enough time, he could silently destroy the seal layer at the bottom of the Source Pool.
In other words, Su Xiao could complete the sixth ring of his main quest at any moment.
A quest with an eight-day time limit, Su Xiao had spent a total of 17 minutes and 25 seconds to find the method of completion, and within at most an hour, he could destroy the seal layer at the bottom of the Source Pool.
It was easy to imagine how high the quest evaluation would be for completing an eight-day time limit quest in about an hour. Moreover, the reward for the sixth ring was determined by quest completion rate. Completing it within an hour would more than double the reward.
Su Xiao had no intention of completing the sixth ring quest within an hour. From a profit comparison standpoint, what he planned to do next would yield far richer rewards than the quest itself. He needed time, which was the more precious commodity, and the eight-day time limit of the quest was exactly what he wanted.
Su Xiao had never forgotten that the Divine Kingdom had regional rewards, meaning he could exchange rewards using Soul Coins (Seventh Rank). Among them, [Divine Judgment] and [Heavenly Movement] were both powerful equipment. [Heavenly Movement] was a Holy Spirit Rank item, a pendant even rarer than "special equipment."
As for [Divine Judgment], that went without saying. It was a growth-type equipment. Su Xiao had obtained two growth-type equipment pieces before, [Sacred Traveler] and [Watcher], worn by Bubu Wang and Amu respectively.
Both of these growth-type equipment pieces had a major flaw: their growth conditions were unclear. [Divine Judgment] was different; wearing it and killing extremely evil deities was all that was needed, simple and straightforward.
To obtain [Heavenly Movement] and [Divine Judgment], Su Xiao needed a total of 234 Soul Coins (Seventh Rank).
Currently, Su Xiao only had 21 Soul Coins (Seventh Rank), plus one Soul Coin Pouch.
Killing Tianba Clan warriors had a high chance of dropping a Soul Coin Pouch, at least a 90% probability. Each Soul Coin Pouch could yield 1 to 10 Soul Coins.
There were many Tianba Clan members in the Abyssal Serpent Mansion, but killing them was extremely difficult. These Tianba Clan members had been eroded by the Source to the point of mental instability. Although most of the time they could maintain their sanity, they were all super homebodies, rarely leaving the pavilions they inhabited.
As for a frontal assault on the Abyssal Serpent Mansion, don't even joke about it. A volley from over a hundred Drowning-type Tianba Clan members would cause even a Seventh Rank adventure group to lose all hope.
Using Apollo to bomb them was also unreliable. The terrain of the Abyssal Serpent Mansion wasn't suitable for using Apollo. Even if Baha timed it perfectly to drop it from above, the Apollo might be pierced by arrows mid-air before it even fell into the mansion. Apollo was better suited for dealing with enemies in sealed terrain or those unable to leave a certain area.
A frontal attack was hopeless, infiltration assassination was impossible, and Apollo purification was also out of the question. It seemed Su Xiao had no way to kill Tianba Clan members within the Abyssal Serpent Mansion.
Su Xiao's plan was to kill them openly and legitimately. As for how to execute this plan, it wasn't actually too difficult.
When a frontal assault is impossible, of course, you have to use your brain. Knowing you can't win and still charging straight into the Abyssal Serpent Mansion isn't bravery; it's stupidity.
Having a sudden power-up in a critical moment of battle to turn the tide and greatly increase strength—sorry, Su Xiao didn't have that kind of talent, nor any similar experience. His victories against powerful enemies relied on his techniques, combat intelligence, combat experience, accumulated equipment, and the will to never give up before death. As long as he could still swing his blade, he wasn't completely defeated. That was Su Xiao's belief in battle. Losing an arm or a leg didn't matter; cutting off the enemy's head was enough.
Su Xiao sat on a stone pillar. His plan was as follows: First, he needed to consume the demonic power within the Demonic Jar, at least more than 10% of the total.
Second, he needed to find a way to control a Tianba Clan member, one with the Qin (melee) characteristic. He would then modify this Tianba Clan member, turning him into an alchemical creature that could be remotely controlled.
Baha had been promoted to a follower in the previous world, so Su Xiao had an empty summoning slot. This slot was just right for controlling a Tianba Clan member.
Killing enemies through a summoned creature would still grant Su Xiao rewards. He planned to use this to obtain Soul Coin Pouches.
Su Xiao didn't intend to have his controlled Tianba Clan member assassinate other Tianba Clan members within the Abyssal Serpent Mansion. That would eventually be exposed, causing massive losses. A one-for-one trade was a huge loss, and even a one-for-three trade might not be profitable.
After learning the Tianba Clan language, Su Xiao learned that before a Tianba Clan member in the Abyssal Serpent Mansion completely turned into a monster, they would have their own clan members eliminate them. Most Tianba Clan members didn't want to become monsters.
This could be exploited. Su Xiao could manipulate a Tianba Clan member to seek out those about to turn into monsters, negotiate, and then openly and legitimately eliminate them. This way, even if other Tianba Clan members were alerted, there would be no problem at all.
Over a thousand Tianba Clan members lived in the Abyssal Serpent Mansion. Su Xiao didn't believe that among so many, there weren't any about to turn into monsters. After drinking the Source Water, if they fought frequently, the interval before turning into a monster was very short, especially for Qin-type Tianba Clan members. The so-called "Qin" meant the Source had seeped into their internal organs.
In this plan, how to control a Qin-type Tianba Clan member was the most important part. Without achieving this, everything else was just empty talk.
After learning of this plan, Bubu Wang quickly ran out of the stone forest and headed to the rear area of the Abyssal Serpent Mansion to find a suitable Qin-type Tianba Clan member for the plan. Most Tianba Clan members wielding melee weapons were Qin-type, making them easy to identify.
The prerequisite for all this was to first create chaos. Su Xiao had an item perfect for this.
[Old God's Ashes]
Origin: Wizard World
Effect: After use, can summon an Old God (random). The Old God needs 1.7 seconds to construct its body. After successfully constructing its body, the Old God will exist for 30 to 45 minutes.
...
Su Xiao exerted force in his hand, and the silver cylindrical bottle shattered. White powder scattered, floating in mid-air.
Threads quickly outlined a figure. A short figure, less than 1.4 meters tall, wearing a bone mask and a red robe adorned with silver patterns, was outlined.
"Time, place, who do you want me to kill."
The short Old God spoke in a deep voice.
"Charge over there and stall for as much time as possible."
Su Xiao pointed towards the Abyssal Serpent Mansion.
"Distract the enemy's attention, huh. That ominous aura... is it a gathering place for Ancient God followers?"
The short Old God flicked his arm, and a blade sprang from his sleeve.
"You can think of it that way."
"Understood. I hope you succeed."
The short Old God charged out, disappearing into the stone forest in a few bounds. A few minutes later.
"Light!"
With a boom, the sky above the Abyssal Serpent Mansion exploded with light, and a powerful radiance emerged.
"Darkness!"
The light suddenly vanished, and the sky above the Abyssal Serpent Mansion became pitch black.
"Converge!"
Light and darkness converged in the sky. Arrows shot into the air, and the entire Abyssal Serpent Mansion was like a hornet's nest that had been violently poked. The short Old God's aggro pull was absolutely perfect.
At that moment, Su Xiao was crouching on a pavilion in the rear area of the Abyssal Serpent Mansion. Bubu Wang was positioned behind the back window of this pavilion.
With a bang, Bubu Wang slammed his head into the back window, then immediately turned and fled.
A figure with light blue skin, wearing a loose green robe, rushed out from the pavilion. While still in mid-air, he scanned his surroundings and immediately locked onto the fleeing Bubu Wang.
Just as this Tianba Clan member was about to pursue, a sound of breaking wind suddenly came from behind and above him.
Puchi!
A long blade entered from beside the Tianba Clan member's neck, piercing straight through his torso, with the tip emerging from his side waist.
The long blade was pitch black, but as soon as it pierced the Tianba Clan member's torso, the black color quickly faded.
"Kuh~"
The Tianba Clan member with the pierced torso made a strange sound from his mouth. His ten fingers curled into claws, his eyes bulged, and he rolled his eyes back.
Su Xiao grabbed the back of this Tianba Clan member's neck. As soon as he did, he felt a sense of dread. The 10% demonic power in the Demonic Jar might be wasted.
[You have obtained Soul Coin Pouch ×1.]
The Tianba Clan member with the pierced torso collapsed limply. One slash wouldn't directly kill him, but the corrosive nature of the demonic power was too strong. He couldn't withstand it and died from the erosion of the demonic power.
Nothing ever goes as smoothly as imagined. Losing the demonic power was certainly painful, but Su Xiao immediately had Bubu Wang search for a candidate target. If he couldn't control a Tianba Clan member before the Old God was dispersed, that would be a complete loss.
A dense rain of arrows flew into the sky. The short Old God didn't disappoint Su Xiao. He managed to hold out for nearly two minutes before being dispersed and turned back into ashes. To be able to hold off so many Tianba Clan members for two minutes was an astonishing feat.
...
Inside a pavilion at the rear of the Abyssal Serpent Mansion, Su Xiao looked at a Tianba Clan member in front of him, who was wearing a purple robe. This Tianba Clan member was named Sang Leng. "Sang Leng" was the transliteration of the Tianba language, meaning respect and reverence.
A black light flickered in Su Xiao's hand. The Tianba Clan member, Sang Leng, slowly stood up from the ground, his movements very stiff. Before undergoing alchemical modification, being able to control him was already enough.
As for how many Soul Coin Pouches could be obtained through Sang Leng, it was unknown for now. Su Xiao was looking forward to it.