Chapter 47: Evasion
Within the Source Pool, it was pitch black, with the sound of wind whistling past Su Xiao's ears as he fell into the darkness below.
After falling for a short while, Su Xiao wrapped a layer of crystals around his hand and thrust his right arm into the rock wall.
Crackling...
Rocks and debris flew, and Su Xiao's descent speed sharply decreased before gradually stopping.
"Yahoo~"
Baha swooped past Su Xiao, only to notice he had stopped. It immediately flapped its wings to slow down.
"Woof!"
Bubu Wang also fell from above. Baha spread its wings, grabbed Bubu Wang, and began descending together with it. After falling a short distance, Baha flapped its wings to decelerate.
With his five fingers embedded in the rock wall, Su Xiao closed his eyes and sensed the situation above. The Tianba Clan hadn't pursued him, which left him slightly disappointed. In this terrain, with Baha assisting in combat, any Tianba Clan members who came would die in droves. The Source Pool's diameter was only about five meters, and with Baha's ability to fly and drag Su Xiao through the air, they had a massive advantage in battle.
After the seal layer of the Source Pool was destroyed, it became like a naturally formed vertical shaft, bottomless, making Su Xiao suspect that the Abyss Serpent might dwell underground.
Baha's flying advantage became evident here. Su Xiao grabbed one of Baha's claws while Bubu Wang lay on Baha's back, and Baha began descending at a moderate speed.
After descending about a few hundred meters, the shaft was no longer vertical but began to slope.
A few minutes later, Su Xiao reached the true bottom of the Source Pool. Azure Source Water submerged the area. Diving into the Source Water, Su Xiao quickly reached the bottom, where a cave entrance leading upward appeared diagonally ahead.
With a splash, Su Xiao emerged from the Source Water, azure pool water dripping from his chin.
Looking upward, Su Xiao deduced that the overall structure of the Source Pool was U-shaped. One end of the U was behind the Abyss Serpent Manor, while the other end led to an unknown location.
Baha began dragging Su Xiao upward, much faster this time. After about ten minutes, light appeared above. As Baha fully exited the rock cave, a few strands of white fluff drifted by—seeds from some plant, carried by the wind.
The sky was overcast, with white light piercing through gray clouds. Flocks of birds flew overhead in formation.
The sound of water came from afar. On a distant cliff, lush greenery spread, and a waterfall cascaded down.
Su Xiao released Baha's claw and began to descend. As he landed on the wild grass, water splashed. The surrounding area was submerged in shallow water, appearing from above like a vast, shallow lake where various aquatic plants thrived.
[Main Quest: Sixth Ring: End of the Source (Completed).]
[Hunters may choose to claim the reward immediately or accumulate it. Upon completing Main Quest: Seventh Ring (Final Stage), the rewards for the Sixth and Seventh Rings will be distributed simultaneously, with an additional 15% enhancement.]
[Main Quest: Space-Time Hub (Seventh Ring: Final Stage).]
Difficulty Level: Lv.59
Quest Information: Destroy the 'Space-Time Hub Device' of Death Paradise within this world.
Hint: A holographic map has been constructed. Hunters can check the location of the 'Space-Time Hub Device' at any time.
Quest Time Limit: 7 hours to 24 hours.
Warning: After 7 hours, the blockade of this area will be lifted, and Death Paradise will teleport Punishment Knights to the nearby area.
Quest Reward: Determined based on quest completion.
Quest Penalty: Forced Execution.
...
Closing the quest list, Su Xiao walked across the wetland. He was searching for something from a world, and he had finally found it. As long as he successfully destroyed the Space-Time Hub Device, his quest would be complete.
Looking ahead, a vast wetland stretched out before him. Su Xiao hadn't traveled far before startling a flock of migratory birds resting there.
According to the coordinates marked on the holographic map, the Space-Time Hub Device was just a few kilometers straight ahead.
Crossing the wetland, Su Xiao reached a hillside. After climbing over this hill and advancing about two kilometers, he would arrive at the location of the Space-Time Hub Device.
The hillside was covered in vegetation. Su Xiao found a semi-open cave. He didn't know what would happen once he approached the Space-Time Hub Device, so before that, opening all the Soul Coin Pouches and exchanging for [Divine Judgment] was the safest choice. As for whether he could exchange for [Heavenly Walk], that remained uncertain.
Lighting a cigarette, with his Lucky King status active, Su Xiao took out Soul Coin Pouches from his storage space one by one—61 in total. If he was extremely unlucky, he might not even be able to exchange for [Divine Judgment].
After deliberating for a moment, Su Xiao decided to open 10 Soul Coin Pouches at once. This would improve efficiency while mitigating losses from bad luck.
[You have opened Soul Coin Pouch ×10.]
[You have obtained 43 Soul Coins (Seventh Rank).]
Luck was below average. Su Xiao chose to continue.
[You have opened Soul Coin Pouch ×11.]
[You have obtained 85 Soul Coins (Seventh Rank).]
Luck was excellent. Su Xiao decided to slow down the pace.
[You have opened Soul Coin Pouch ×5.]
[You have obtained 6 Soul Coins (Seventh Rank).]
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao was in a good mood. He had successfully avoided 'negative luck.'
[You have opened Soul Coin Pouch ×2.]
[You have obtained 4 Soul Coins (Seventh Rank).]
Avoiding 'negative luck' again. Even Su Xiao couldn't help but smile.
[You have opened Soul Coin Pouch ×10.]
[You have obtained 11 Soul Coins (Seventh Rank).]
Su Xiao's smile faded a bit. Bubu Wang and Baha beside him both turned their heads—one looked up at the sky, the other preened its feathers.
With the last 20 Soul Coin Pouches, Su Xiao refused to believe he would keep being unlucky.
[You have opened Soul Coin Pouch ×20.]
[You have obtained 197 Soul Coins (Seventh Rank).]
The Lucky King status proved reliable. Su Xiao checked his current Soul Coins (Seventh Rank)—367 in total!
With this many Soul Coins, Su Xiao had enough to exchange for [Divine Judgment] and [Heavenly Walk]. Moreover, with the remaining Soul Coins, he could choose between [Electric Walk (Holy Spirit Rank: Pendant)] and [Noble Wrist Ornament (Special Equipment)].
[Electric Walk] was useless to Su Xiao himself, but its attributes were visible: 'Wearing this equipment increases the overall damage intensity of lightning-type abilities by 32% and grants a certain amount of true damage.'
For contractors with lightning-type abilities, [Electric Walk] would drive them crazy. A 32% increase in overall damage intensity for lightning abilities, plus some true damage—which lightning-type mage lord would refuse?
As for why sell it to mage lords, the reason was simple: first, mage lords were wealthy; second, if Su Xiao ever encountered this buyer as an enemy, he had the ability to teach them a lesson. 'Energy Blockade' was practically a magic-type killer. Among the same rank, magic-types facing Su Xiao would feel nothing but despair in battle.
As for [Noble Wrist Ornament (Special Equipment)], its value was far lower than [Electric Walk]. The benefit of exchanging for it was that special equipment was more versatile, and Su Xiao had a high chance of using it directly. However, most special equipment didn't directly enhance combat power.
Among the special equipment Su Xiao held, none directly boosted combat power. Moreover, he could wear at most four pieces of special equipment, and he was already fully equipped. The details were as follows:
Fate Dominator (Legendary Rank): Increases Luck Attribute.
Soul Locking Lantern (No Fixed Rank): Can collect Soul Crystal Fragments (perfectly compatible with the Soul Devourer talent).
Origin Stone (No Fixed Rank): Enhances blade technique training speed, inspiration for developing blade techniques, and greatly improves meditation effects (reward from Su Xiao reaching first place in the Fifth Rank at the arena).
Soul: King's Cycle (Legendary Rank: Set): Harmonizing effect, allowing [Black: King's Fall Sacrifice] and [Day: King's Rebirth] to be worn simultaneously. The Black King Bracer is 'Dark Attribute,' and the Day King Pendant is 'Day Attribute.' Without the Soul King, the two couldn't be worn together.
...
Four pieces of special equipment, each very important. Therefore, Su Xiao decided to give up on [Noble Wrist Ornament] this time.
[You have obtained Heavenly Walk (Holy Spirit Rank: Pendant).]
Hint: Wearing this equipment can temporarily increase remote-type basic abilities by two ranks, up to a maximum of Grandmaster rank. Depending on the situation, the effect lasts 5 to 30 minutes.
Hint: Pendant-type equipment is extremely rare. Only one can be worn at a time.
[You have obtained Electric Walk (Holy Spirit Rank: Pendant).]
[You have obtained Divine Judgment (Growth Equipment).]
PS: (My daily routine remains normal. I just got stuck writing today, writing from noon until now, so the update is much later. The next two chapters will be updated quickly.)