Chapter 26: Dark Prison
Blue smoke rose around, and sparks covered the walls, caused by the high temperature from the lightning explosion earlier.
Su Xiao walked out of the underground space. After advancing a hundred meters through the passage, he encountered Ta Balder approaching from the opposite direction. The fierce ghost had also withdrawn.
Without much conversation, Su Xiao and Balder headed toward the surface. Soon, they emerged from the underground passage and returned to the narrow alley, where sunlight shone down.
Baha and Amu had been waiting here all along. Behind them stood three transcendent beings, one of whom, a female transcendent, still tightly gripped a glass test tube in her hand.
"Hand it over."
Su Xiao held his blade in his right hand and extended his left hand forward. At such close range, he could sever her head in an instant, preventing the [Watch Relic] from being destroyed.
"Alright."
The female transcendent handed over the glass test tube decisively, then turned her gaze to Ta Balder.
"Mr. Pumpkin, please take me away. We are guilty!"
"Hmm~, very well."
Ta Balder led the three transcendent beings out of the alley. He intended to hand these three over to the local shelter, where the shelter's manager would handle them.
Inside the narrow alley, Su Xiao pulled out the cork from the glass test tube and poured out the [Watch Relic]. Transparent liquid trickled through his fingers, and the root-like objects clinging to the [Watch Relic] evaporated.
As soon as these root-like objects evaporated, the left half of the [Watch Relic] began to decay, eventually turning into powder, leaving only half behind.
[You have obtained the Watch Relic.]
[Watch Relic (1/2)]
Type: Identity Token
Equip Effect: None (This item has been consumed by 1/2).
Description: Beware of the devouring entity.
Selling Price: 4600 World Reputation Points.
...
If it were a complete [Watch Relic], it could be exchanged for nearly 10,000 World Reputation Points. Now, only half remained, and the other half had been devoured by the "Root of Fusion" long ago.
Although he couldn't obtain 9,200 World Reputation Points, the amount Su Xiao had now was enough to exchange for all the items he needed.
A blood-red mark appeared in mid-air. After confirming the status of the "Blood Mark," Su Xiao felt much more at ease. Douglas had not yet discovered the existence of the "Blood Mark"—that was good news.
Su Xiao found an uninhabited house nearby, opened the door, and entered the living room. He planned to wait for Ta Balder to return before opening the Dark Prison rift and charging straight into the Dark Prison.
Sitting on the sofa, Su Xiao began selling the Hunter Tokens in his hand. There was no need to keep them any longer.
[You have sold the Heartfire Relic, Spirit Echo Relic, Twilight Relic, and Watch Relic.]
[You have obtained 8180 World Reputation Points.]
[Current World Reputation Points: 8348.]
...
With a large sum of World Reputation Points in hand, Su Xiao activated the World Reputation Shop. It was time to reap the rewards.
[You have consumed 107 World Reputation Points.]
[You have obtained Robert's Pocket Watch (Epic Equipment · Luck Trait).]
[Robert's Pocket Watch]
Quality: Epic
Category: Accessory
Durability: 15/15
Equip Effect 1: Timely Fortune (Passive), Luck Attribute +1.
Equip Effect 2: Small Stake, Big Gain (Passive), each time the enhancement level increases, this equipment grants an additional 1 Luck Attribute bonus, up to a maximum of 30.
Tip: The enhancement cost of this equipment is 10% of a normal Epic equipment, but the enhancement success rate is extremely low.
Rating: 667 points (Epic equipment rating range: 530–700).
Description: Does small stakes really lead to big gains in this world? Before you lose everything, it's still time to pull back—Gambler Robert.
Selling Price: 1 Paradise Coin.
...
[Robert's Pocket Watch] had a special trait: as long as it was enhanced to +1, it granted a 1-point Luck Attribute bonus. Even if the next enhancement failed and the enhancement level reset to zero, that 1-point Luck Attribute bonus remained.
The base cost for enhancing an Epic equipment was one Soul Crystal (Large), but enhancing [Robert's Pocket Watch] allowed ten enhancement attempts per Soul Crystal.
After putting away [Robert's Pocket Watch], Su Xiao continued exchanging for other items.
[You have consumed 78 World Reputation Points.]
[You have obtained Old Hunter's Manuscript (Basic Skill Scroll · Firearm Branch).]
[You have consumed 417 World Reputation Points.]
[You have obtained Watch Guild Secret Record · Azure (Basic Skill Scroll · Firearm Branch).]
[You have consumed 3000 World Reputation Points.]
[You have obtained Dream Chaser (Seven-Star Title).]
[You have consumed 2100 World Reputation Points.]
[You have obtained Spirit's Blessing (Aura-Type Skill Scroll · Extremely Rare).]
[Spirit's Blessing]
Category: Scroll · Aura-Type.
Lv.1 Effect: Generates a Spirit Blessing Aura, increasing the maximum HP of all allied targets within a 370-meter radius by 5%.
...
After consuming a total of 5,702 World Reputation Points, Su Xiao had obtained everything he wanted. He would temporarily hold onto the remaining 2,646 World Reputation Points, in case the Reputation Shop changed later. For now, only [Bloom (Holy Spirit Equipment)] and [Hunter's Trial (Bloodline Item)] remained, which he could exchange for before leaving this world.
Su Xiao leaned back on the sofa. His earlier judgment had been wrong. If he wasn't mistaken, this trip to the Dark Prison would offer a good show. Of course, that depended on the news Balder brought back after returning.
More than ten minutes later, Balder returned carrying a large cloth sack. He looked somewhat dejected.
"Contacted headquarters?"
"Yeah, I did. Yas left headquarters half an hour ago."
After saying this, Balder sat down on the carpet, looking a bit lonely. The Yas he mentioned was the God Hunter · Hyena Fox · Yas.
"Yas... will he really break his oath?"
Balder sighed. He and Yas had a considerable friendship.
"He's just unwilling to accept it."
Su Xiao lit a cigarette. He had roughly figured out what was going on. The earlier incident where the old hunter Adam was eroded by the "Root of Fusion" wasn't a random event. Someone had deliberately done it to obtain information about the "Root of Fusion," and that person had set their sights on him.
"Unwilling?"
Balder looked puzzled, as if to say, "White Night, I'm not very smart. Just say it straight."
"I'm not sure about my conjecture yet. If I guess wrong and say it out loud, it wouldn't be a glorious thing."
Su Xiao stood up from the sofa and untied the large cloth sack Balder had brought. Inside was a Second Stage Dark Demon.
Based on the message Beini had sent earlier, Su Xiao knew how to open the Dark Prison rift. First, he had to ensure that a Dark Prison rift had been opened nearby within the past 10 hours. That was no problem.
Next was a special formation diagram, and using a Dark Demon as a medium to open the Dark Prison rift.
After tracing the last corner of the formation diagram, Su Xiao tossed the unconscious Second Stage Dark Demon to the center of the formation, then pressed his hand on the activation point of the formation.
Thump~
A dull sound rang out. The formation on the ground peeled away, compressing from both sides toward the center. It formed a red vertical line in mid-air, then suddenly expanded, tearing open a pitch-black rift.
Su Xiao walked at the front. As he entered the rift, he immediately felt a squeezing sensation, which vanished in an instant.
The surrounding light dimmed, and a falling sensation set in. Su Xiao dropped from a height of over ten meters, adjusted his center of gravity, and landed steadily.
A musty smell drifted into his nostrils. The sky inside the Dark Prison was gray and hazy, with no sun. The earth was withered and yellow, faintly tinged with dark red. As far as the eye could see, not even a single withered blade of grass could be found on the ground.
[You have arrived at a high-risk area: Dark Prison.]