Chapter 34: Secrets (Fourth Update)
The altar was actually located beneath the underground space. When Su Xiao had previously searched the Rain Howl Tribe, he had already investigated this underground area. The ground wasn't made of stone; that sliding section of floor had clearly been carved from a large piece of metal ore.
This made Su Xiao realize that the place Nagi Jia had opened was actually an alternate space. The gem-inlaid disc was both the coordinate and key to that alternate space.
Over the past few days, Su Xiao had been constantly fighting various enemies and had no time to explore this world. Nagi Jia, on the other hand, had done the opposite. After discovering that this was a battle between gods, he began exploring the world's secrets, which was how he found the altar's existence and the stone disc hidden beneath the roots of the primordial land.
Su Xiao rubbed his eye. A contact lens was on his right eye, and an image appeared before it—feedback from Bubu Wang.
Nagi Jia walked ahead, descending a dozen stone steps before arriving at a stone tablet resembling a tombstone. He took out a piece of equipment and placed it beneath the tablet.
A candle-like semi-fluid seeped out from the stone tablet. The equipment in front quickly decayed, eventually turning into slag.
Nagi Jia collected the white semi-fluid that had seeped from the stone tablet. This should be White Amber. He pondered for a moment, then took out a Soul Crystal.
With a crack, the Soul Crystal shattered, and nothing happened. Nagi Jia's eye twitched in pain. He hadn't yet figured out what abilities this stone tablet possessed and was still in the testing phase.
After more than ten seconds, Nagi Jia took out various items and placed them before the stone tablet.
"Suosuobian, Ababakukuyisu (Unknown Language)."
Hearing a voice from within the stone tablet, Nagi Jia turned and walked toward a passage on the side. The space twisted, and Nagi Jia vanished.
Inside the underground space, Su Xiao removed the contact lens from his right eye. Nagi Jia hadn't appeared in the underground space. The opportunity had come.
Su Xiao stood up and walked toward the center of the underground space. He could sense that the spatial fluctuations there were about to dissipate, meaning the entrance to that alternate space was about to close.
Su Xiao completely concealed his aura. When he got within five meters of the Insect Man, the Insect Man suddenly turned his head, his eyes showing hostility.
"Some things... you're not qualified to know..."
With a swish, Soul Walker slashed through the Insect Man's neck, cleanly severing his entire head.
The Insect Man raised his hand, catching his flying head. Beetles surged out from his severed neck like blood.
Su Xiao suddenly vanished from his spot. A sticky, squeezing sensation came from all around him. This was the first time he had experienced this while penetrating space.
The squeezing sensation only lasted an instant before disappearing. Su Xiao set his feet on solid ground. That squeezing sensation had nearly crushed his ribs.
Everything around was pitch black. A furry, large head leaned in—it was Bubu. Su Xiao took out a military-grade glow stick, snapped it on, and orange light illuminated the surroundings.
It was just as he had seen before. Behind him was an upward stone staircase. Ahead was a space of about a dozen square meters. The surrounding walls were made of piled rocks, and a one-meter-tall stone tablet stood on the ground.
Quickly approaching the stone tablet, Su Xiao's hand was covered in a crystal layer before he pressed down on it.
[You have activated the Ancient Elf Stone Tablet.]
[You are not affiliated with any hostile faction of the Ancient Elves. You may perform an offering.]
Time was tight. Su Xiao took out an Epic-grade item, [Frozen Soul], and placed it before the stone tablet. If items could also be offered, he could obtain quite a bit of White Amber.
As soon as [Frozen Soul] was placed before the stone tablet, white semi-fluid seeped out. After collecting this semi-fluid, a prompt appeared.
[You have obtained Elf Amber (260 grams). Item Effect: ???]
It worked, and the White Amber he obtained was more than Nagi Jia's. The other party clearly couldn't bear to use Epic-grade items for offerings.
[Legendary Medal × 10], [Blessing of Redemption (Epic-grade)], [Nightshade Potion (Functional · Epic-grade Potion)], [Soul of Ba × 3].
Su Xiao placed all these items before the stone tablet. The next moment, the stone tablet was enveloped in White Amber.
After quickly collecting it, Su Xiao obtained a total of 1240 grams of White Amber. What surprised him was that the upper half of the Ancient Elf Stone Tablet had developed large cracks.
Spatial fluctuations appeared behind him. Su Xiao delivered a straight kick. With a bang, the Ancient Elf Stone Tablet was broken in half. The remaining lower half was exceptionally hard.
Su Xiao took out an Apollo, activated it, and tossed it beside the Ancient Elf Stone Tablet before charging into the side passage.
Whoosh~
It felt like passing through a layer of water. The scene before Su Xiao changed drastically. Birds chirped and insects hummed. He was standing on a stone platform, surrounded by overgrown weeds. Many large rocks that looked like sculptures were scattered around. This place was about a few hundred meters from the entrance to the underground space.
Hasty footsteps came from afar. Nagi Jia had reacted quickly. After getting a preliminary understanding of the situation from the Insect Man, he had sent people rushing to this location.
Su Xiao didn't intend to stay any longer. He removed the Primordial Mask, and his appearance, physique, and clothing all reverted to normal. He took Bubu Wang and quickly left.
...
Inside the underground space, Nagi Jia, expressionless, extended one hand forward. Compared to the Insect Man behind him, who was frantic and holding his own head, Nagi Jia was exceptionally calm as he waited for the alternate space to open.
Rumble.
A section of the ground slid aside, and the stone steps reappeared. Without any hesitation, Nagi Jia picked up the circular stone disc from the ground. The entrance to the alternate space was about to close.
Thud!
A tremor came from beneath Nagi Jia's feet, but he remained very calm.
After waiting for more than ten seconds, Nagi Jia reopened the entrance to the alternate space. A wave of heat hit him. Ignoring the temperature on the steps, he strode down.
When Nagi Jia saw the broken stones on the ground and the remaining third of the Elf Stone Tablet, which showed signs of melting, he lowered his head. Veins bulged on his neck, and the flesh on his back writhed.
"Nagi Jia, Nagi! Calm down! Are you planning to kill everyone?!"
The Insect Man slowly backed away. Nagi Jia, his eyes bloodshot, suddenly turned his head to look at him.
"I am the Plague Insect. Are you... planning to kill me?"
Hearing the Insect Man's words, Nagi Jia's bloodshot eyes gradually returned to normal.
"I lost my composure. Two-thirds of the Ancient Elf Stone Tablet was destroyed. Let me think... Was it the Living Tank? No, he doesn't have that kind of intelligence. Gask has already gone feral. That leaves only Shenfu and Bai Ye."
Nagi Jia stroked the short stubble on his chin. Seeing this, the Insect Man let out a long sigh.
"Asiva said she fought Bai Ye. She was the one who led him here. Bai Ye disguised himself as that Perception-type who attacked you. That Perception-type was called... Anmu?"
Nagi Jia took out a spray bottle and sprayed it on the Ancient Elf Stone Tablet to stop it from melting.
"Plague Insect, notify everyone. Speed up the search for the Hunters. For each Hunter's head, I'll add an extra bounty of 15 Soul Crystals. Oh, right, deal with Asiva and Ice Duke."
Nagi Jia crouched down, pressing one hand on the Ancient Elf Stone Tablet in front of him. There was something he hadn't told anyone. In a certain place in the Water Source Area, a powerful creature was hidden. It had once been an Eighth-Rank boss. Even though its strength had now declined, it was still at the peak of Seventh Rank. He had a way to instantly kill that powerful creature, but it required time to set up, and he couldn't be disturbed during that time.
More importantly, Nagi Jia had read the records of the Ancient Elves. They stated that every Ancient Elf had a unique talent. When that talent grew to its limit, there was only one method that might break through that limit.
One thing all Contractors agreed on was that talent abilities could only be awakened twice. But Nagi Jia felt that this opportunity was the key to breaking the limit—a chance to forcibly awaken a talent ability for a third time.