Chapter 27: The Turning Point
Just as Su Xiao entered the Dark Prison, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha rushed out from the crack behind him. Baha landed first, then Bubu Wang piled on top, and finally Amu sealed the top.
"Get up quick, Balder is coming!"
"Woof howl!"
Bubu Wang was panicking. Although he wasn't at the very bottom, he knew Balder's weight well—that bulky heavy armor of his was extremely heavy.
Unfortunately, it was too late. Balder let out a low shout and crashed down onto Amu from above. Because there were too many soft cushions below, he bounced a bit after landing before finally tumbling to the ground.
After confirming there was no immediate danger nearby, Su Xiao activated the "Blood Mark" to begin tracking Douglas's location.
The Blood Mark flickered faintly a few times before glowing with a blood-red light. Tracking successful—Douglas was to the west.
Su Xiao walked at the front, Baha and Bubu Wang in the middle, with Balder and Amu bringing up the rear.
A gust of wind swept through. The Dark Prison gave only one feeling—desolation and emptiness. No wonder the Dark Demons and Wraiths were so aggressive in their invasions; this godforsaken place had no resources at all.
The Wraiths were fine; they could sleep for long periods. But the Dark Demons had a hard time of it. Within the Dark Prison, aside from the pleasure of reproduction, the only thing left for Dark Demons was slaughter—killing and devouring each other. That was how Hao Gui had fought his way up.
Su Xiao took out a coordinate sensing device. He had left a coordinate at the previous location, setting it as the starting point.
After ten hours, the starting point could no longer be opened. From then on, leaving the Dark Prison would depend entirely on luck.
Heading westward, after advancing for over ten minutes, Su Xiao encountered a Dark Demon—one on the verge of death from old age.
"Gu da, gu da, gu da..."
The withered Dark Demon made unintelligible sounds from its mouth, its pupils pale white.
"It's about to become a 'tree'."
Balder spoke, using his spiral sword to poke the withered Dark Demon's chest. As expected, most of the withered Dark Demon's body crumbled away, revealing bones that were similar in color to wood.
Continuing westward, the color of the "Blood Mark" grew deeper and deeper, indicating they were getting closer to Douglas.
After advancing for about half an hour, a black mountain peak appeared somewhat abruptly ahead. This peak was about thirty meters tall, shaped like a volcano with a hole at the top.
At the summit, a bare-backed figure sat with his back to Su Xiao and the others—it was Douglas. Beside him was a semi-transparent woman tending to his wounds. From the wandering movements of Douglas's hands, their relationship was clearly unusual.
Suddenly, Douglas's body stiffened. He turned to look behind him and saw Su Xiao and the others.
"Run. Get as far away as you can."
Douglas stood up calmly, even smiling at Su Xiao, who was several dozen meters away.
"The Soul's prediction was accurate. You really did come after us. Hao Gui, this is your home turf. You can settle things with Kukulin."
"In the outside world, I was too suppressed."
Hao Gui emerged from the top of the pitch-black mountain peak. With him was a figure in a black robe whose face was indistinguishable—it was called Soul. Within the Dark Prison, its status was equal to Hao Gui and Douglas. The three of them were the ones who orchestrated everything.
For some reason, Soul's presence was extremely low. As soon as you looked away from it, you would forget its existence.
The faction led by Hao Gui, Soul, and Douglas held a special position in the Dark Prison. Other Dark Demons and Wraiths were sometimes willing to help them with tasks, such as attacking the Watch Guild or assassinating Hunters. But when it came to the "Root of Fusion," the other Dark Demons and Wraiths didn't understand much. Most powerful Dark Demons were very cunning, and the more cunning they were, the higher the likelihood of betrayal.
At this moment, on the black hill, besides Hao Gui, Soul, and Douglas, there was also a man whose face was covered in scars and whose forehead was studded with metal rivets. He was a Hunter—the God Hunter: Hyena Fox, Yas.
Seeing Yas standing beside Hao Gui, Ta Balder's heart sank. He asked loudly, "Yas, is this what you want to do?"
"Ah, this is what I want to do. For the 12,537 active Hunters of the Watch Guild. I don't want... them to meet a miserable end. Balder, compared to Dark Demons and Wraiths, the human heart is more terrifying. Hunters dying in battle—that's their final destination."
Yas's voice was hoarse, clearly having had his throat cut before.
"For the Hunters?"
Ta Balder didn't understand Yas's meaning, but he didn't ask further. The battle was about to begin. 5 against 4—the odds weren't bad.
"Kukulin, how about we go over there and fight? Life or death."
Hao Gui wanted a one-on-one with Su Xiao. This was something he had long wanted to do.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. His gaze shifted to Soul. Noticing Su Xiao's look, Hao Gui was puzzled, but Soul behind him felt a chill in his heart.
"Hao Gui, fall back first..."
Douglas sensed something was wrong, but before he could finish his sentence, his expression froze.
"What is... this?"
Hao Gui raised his powerful right arm, looking at the gray-white exoskeleton growing on it. At this moment, Soul's hand was pressed against Hao Gui's back shoulder.
"Thank you for everything you've done for me. Douglas was awakened by you—he's too clever. I had to let the supreme being resurrect ahead of schedule."
Soul let out a somewhat manic low laugh, his eyes filled with fanaticism.
Crack, crack, crack~
Pale white exoskeleton crawled over Hao Gui's body. His hand slowly clenched into a fist, but unfortunately, clenching his fist was all he could do.
"Why..."
Douglas's situation was similar. He tried his best to lift his head, but the exoskeleton still enveloped him.
"Yas, we've succeeded."
Soul slowly stepped back. His plan had succeeded. From the very beginning, he had never intended to merge the Dark Prison with the outside world. It was the deity who had changed his lowly fate, given him power, and allowed him to cooperate with big shots like Hao Gui and Douglas—and even use these big shots.
The fusion of the World Core with this world was orchestrated by Soul alone. To this end, he had spent decades finding this world's core and, using the knowledge left by the deity, caused the World Core to begin merging with the world. The deity he worshipped came from a transcendent world and was very knowledgeable in this area.
This was only Soul's first step. He knew he was alone and weak. Fortunately, the deity he worshipped, before its physical body died, had used its half-dead body to nurture the "Root of Fusion," allowing the Dark Prison to also join the fusion of the World Core and this world. The three fused and interfered with each other, slowing the fusion process considerably. This gave Soul ample time to collect World Force and the remains of the strong.
Resurrecting a deity required several conditions: 1. The deity's vessel (the Root of Fusion), 2. Not being rejected by the world it was in (requiring World Force), 3. A powerful soul as a spark (originally targeting Douglas), 4. A powerful body to facilitate the deity's construction of a new divine body (targeting Hao Gui), 5. Devouring a large amount of life force from living beings (the Root of Fusion would do the devouring).
Soul had prepared most of it, except that the life force devoured wasn't enough. But he could no longer wait, so he chose to bare his fangs. However, before that, he needed to gather Hao Gui, Douglas, and Hyena Fox Yas into the Dark Prison, and also lure Su Xiao here. Soul had discovered that Su Xiao's soul was far more powerful than Douglas's—there was simply no comparison.
It was for this reason that Soul had manipulated the "Root of Fusion" to attack the Old Hunter Adam. He had received intelligence that Old Hunter Adam was a Hunter who had recently been in contact with Su Xiao. If something happened to Old Hunter Adam, Su Xiao, as the manager of the Sanctuary House, would surely investigate. At that point, discovering the Root of Fusion would not be difficult.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time. But it's not your turn yet."
As soon as Soul finished speaking, the peak beneath his feet shattered with a boom. A large amount of black fluid surged forth, engulfing Hao Gui. As for Douglas, he was flung aside.
"Soul, what are you doing?"
Seeing Douglas thrown aside, Hyena Fox Yas frowned. He was aware of the deity resurrection plan.
"Yas, your soul is stronger than Douglas's. That waste is no longer needed. Before I seize Kukulin Bai Ye's soul, I'll use yours for a while."
As Soul spoke, several black tentacles suddenly emerged, binding Yas tightly.
"Full of nonsense. If you need my soul, take it."
Yas didn't struggle. Even as he was swallowed by the black fluid, he was still smiling, staring at Soul. This made a trace of unease rise in Soul's heart, but the feeling quickly dissipated.
"The world will not be destroyed. Kukulin Bai Ye, don't pretend to be some savior hero. Everything is guided by the deity. Everything will be dominated by the deity!"
Above the fluid like black mud, Soul raised his hands high, his expression fanatical.
Several dozen meters away, Su Xiao looked at the Purging Ring on his hand. The Purging Ring was now emitting a faint warmth. It was only natural that he hadn't sensed it before—a dead Ancient God naturally had no fluctuations or aura, except for those iconic black tentacles.
"Kukulin Bai Ye, you are fortunate to witness the resurrection of an Ancient God. Hmph, forget it. You have no idea what kind of existence an Ancient God is. Die under His supreme majesty, you ant."