Chapter 40: Little Brother Behavior
In a dirty and cluttered alley, Su Xiao grabbed the edge of an iron door that was about to close. The door was a full ten centimeters thick, studded with rivets for reinforcement.
A pulling sensation came from within the iron door. The person inside was trying to close it, but Su Xiao held it fast. With a screech of twisting metal, the door was bent into an S-shape.
The interior was pitch black, as if some force absorbed all light, giving the building an eerie, sinister feel.
"Another fool trying to pry into the gods."
As the person inside spoke, a clawed hand covered in black scales reached through the iron door, aiming straight for Su Xiao's head.
Su Xiao leaned back slightly while delivering a straight kick.
Bang!
The twisted iron door was kicked into the room. A muffled grunt followed as the door was swallowed by the darkness.
Su Xiao stared at the doorway ahead. Inside was utter blackness, with harsh, raspy breathing emanating from within.
Crack, crack~
The walls on either side of the doorway split open. Su Xiao leaped back lightly, simultaneously slashing out a blade aura.
The blade aura cut through the wall and vanished into the darkness. This darkness was clearly abnormal. Without understanding what it was, Su Xiao wouldn't recklessly charge in.
He picked up a pottery shard from the ground, channeling Cyan Steel Shadow Energy into it. With a flick of his arm, he tossed the shard forward.
The moment the shard entered the darkness, pale blue arcs of electricity surged, dispersing the darkness along its flight path.
Hiss~
A corrosive sound echoed, followed by several screams from within the darkness. The acrid smell of burnt flesh spread.
Seeing this, Su Xiao stomped his foot, sending Cyan Steel Shadow Energy spreading from him as the epicenter, rushing toward the dark doorway ahead.
A crackling sound like popping beans erupted. The darkness within the doorway rapidly dissipated upon contact with the Cyan Steel Shadow Energy.
This three-story stone building had all its windows sealed with wooden planks or iron bars. Through Bubu Wang's reconnaissance, the second and third floors weren't shrouded in darkness. Instead, they contained large iron cages holding fishermen, laborers, pirates, and others. These people were gaunt and sallow, their eyes devoid of anything but despair.
The first floor, however, was engulfed in darkness, preventing any light from entering. Now, Su Xiao used Cyan Steel Shadow Energy to disperse the darkness over a small area of the first floor.
Dim light seeped in through the back door. The front area of the first floor remained dark, while the area near the back door revealed a grime-stained floor.
The ground was covered in a sticky layer of filth. Bleached bones were scattered everywhere, most of them broken. From the fragments, it was clear these were human bones—skulls and femurs were still recognizable even when shattered.
"Mind your own business."
Amid the raspy breathing, a deep male voice spoke.
Su Xiao ignored it. He stepped into the first floor, letting Cyan Steel Shadow Energy spread outward again.
Crackle~
Pale blue arcs of electricity dispelled the darkness. Nearly all the darkness on the first floor vanished, revealing several humanoid creatures covered in black scales.
The overcast sky made the day gloomy, but it couldn't completely block sunlight. Even the faintest sunlight was the bane of darkness.
The black-scaled humanoids exposed to the light let out piercing screams. Their scales rapidly cracked and split, their bodies slowly turning to black ash.
Within seconds, these creatures were vaporized. The long-dead Felder on Ring Wasteland Island would never know that these black-scaled beings were his ultimate fate—worshipping ancient gods never ended well.
Only a small patch of darkness remained in the corner of the first floor, with rapid breathing coming from within.
Su Xiao stared at the darkness in the corner. Cyan Steel Shadow Energy surged across the ground around him.
"Can we... talk?"
The ancient god worshiper in the corner spoke, but before it could finish—
Clang!
A blade aura slashed out. Blood splattered from the darkness, followed by an enraged roar. Night was its domain, but during the day, it could only hide in the shadows, its greedy eyes peering at living things. Especially when it saw young maidens in their prime, it couldn't resist the urge to burst from the darkness and tear that beauty apart.
Unfortunately, today it could no longer spy on or hunt living creatures. A sharp long blade had cut it into agony.
Crisscrossing blade auras slashed toward the corner. At first, the thing in the darkness could curl up to avoid them, but when the tenth blade aura struck, its thick arm was severed, falling outside the darkness and evaporating in the light.
Wheezing like a broken bellows came from the corner. Su Xiao felt it was enough and snapped his fingers.
Baha swooped down from above. Together with Bubu Wang, they gathered some debris to block the back door.
Before the back door was completely sealed, Su Xiao took out an oversized white fat candle from the backpack on Bubu Wang's back. He had traded for it using shadow stones, gaining certification from Reincarnation Paradise and successfully bringing it out of the Death House.
In the dim room, candlelight cast a yellowish glow. With a thud, a figure about two meters tall, covered in black scales, collapsed to the ground. Its arms had been severed, and its torso was crisscrossed with several deep cuts, exposing its organs.
"The Twilight God... will bring divine punishment upon you."
The black-scaled ancient god worshiper lay on the ground, its vertical pupils fixed on Su Xiao.
"I don't know if we'll face divine punishment, but I do know you're about to be in big trouble."
Baha landed beside the worshiper, its sharp claws piercing into the enemy's abdomen. It injected energy poison—not a lethal dose, but a paralyzing one, preventing the enemy from committing suicide.
"Foolish. My faith cannot be shaken by any torture. You cowards, if it were night..."
Before the worshiper could finish, Baha interrupted.
"Yelling is little brother behavior. You lost, so you lost."
Baha's claws gripped the worshiper's head. Su Xiao stepped forward slowly, taking out the [Endless Darkness] collar from his equipment.
Click.
The Endless Darkness collar locked around the worshiper's neck. Six blue indicator lights lit up, indicating it was activated for six seconds.
[Black Prison (Active): The Black Prison effect lasts 3 to 6 seconds. After the enemy's consciousness is shrouded in darkness, each second of darkness will be greatly extended. The extension time depends on the enemy's willpower, with each second extended to at least 20 natural days (this is the perceived time flow for the enemy's consciousness).]
[Note: Black Prison is absolute solitude and darkness. When consciousness is within the Black Prison, it will gradually 'lose itself.']
...
Considering that ancient god worshipers often dwell in darkness, Su Xiao set the Endless Darkness collar to six seconds, forcing the enemy's consciousness to remain in solitude and darkness for at least 120 days. If the enemy's willpower wasn't strong, this time would be extended.
The Endless Darkness collar activated. The worshiper's eyes lost their luster, entering a state of self-isolation.
Six seconds passed quickly. The collar clicked open, and the worshiper's eyes gradually regained focus.
"I have some questions for you."
Su Xiao crouched in front of the worshiper, picking up the Endless Darkness collar that had fallen to the ground.