Chapter 90: Slash
Before heading to the ancient battlefield, Su Xiao needed to sell several items first. His Aura Release ability had evolved to Lv.1, but its rank was much higher than before, and the cost for a single upgrade should be considerable.
Bringing Beini and Baha along, Su Xiao headed to the Trade Street. Bubu Wang and Amu were responsible for repairing the Exclusive Room and purchasing furniture, the same models as before. Since Bubu Wang occasionally wrecked the place, he was quite experienced in buying furniture.
After a quick tour of the Trade Market, Su Xiao arrived at the nearby Trade Street. Although the Trade Market was larger, high-quality items rarely appeared there. Occasionally, newcomers would put up good finds, but they were quickly bought up by lurking merchants and resold at high prices to mid- and high-rank contractors.
Items like Basic Passive scrolls, World-class treasure chests, and essences could also be found at lower ranks. New contractors, unaware of their true value, would think they were pricing them high, but in reality, they sold for less than a thousandth of the actual price—such as Basic Passive scrolls and World-class chests.
Entering the Trade Street, there were far fewer contractors passing through. Su Xiao found a random stall, paid the rental fee, sat behind it, and began pricing several items.
【New Moon Sprout】 was priced at 3,200 Soul Coins, 【God Hunter】 at 950 Soul Coins. This item was too niche; not many in Reincarnation Paradise would buy it.
【Talent Stone】 was priced at 300 Soul Coins; adventure groups would be willing to buy this. 【Crystal Spear】 was 100 Paradise Coins, only waiting for merchants to purchase, as it had class-based prerequisites.
Aside from these, Su Xiao also placed the 【Basic Passive: Charm Spirit】 scroll on the stall. This item was for trade only, not for sale. Basic Passive abilities with Strength, Agility, or Stamina traits were acceptable, but if it had Willpower or Soul Strength traits, that would be even better.
The stall opened, and Baha volunteered to experience the feeling of vending. But after a few minutes, Baha was so furious he nearly had a stroke. Across from the stall was a bald man with tattooed arms, his face twisted in a grimace.
Strangely enough, after a while, Baha actually managed to sell 【God Hunter】. Beini, watching from the side, was full of question marks.
Ignoring Baha’s unique selling style, Su Xiao took three marks from his storage space—these were 【Directional Coordinates (Holy Spirit Rank)】.
Spending 10 Soul Coins, he had one 【Directional Coordinate】 certified, and its attributes appeared.
【Directional Coordinate】
Origin: Apocalypse Paradise
Quality: Holy Spirit Rank
Category: One-time use item.
Effect: Upon consumption, constructs a small fixed-point spatial coordinate.
Note: If two spatial coordinates are connected, mutual teleportation is possible. This is ultra-long-distance teleportation, requiring no overly strong energy interference in the surrounding area. The spatial coordinates can be reused.
Note: This item cannot perform cross-world-level teleportation.
Introduction: Time is life.
Selling Price: 420,000 Paradise Coins.
…
【Directional Coordinates】 cannot be used in combat, nor can they be set up in dangerous locations. This item lacks concealment, but that doesn’t mean it’s useless.
If entering a very large world, 【Directional Coordinates】 become useful. By setting up three coordinates in different regions, not only can travel time be saved, but many plans that were previously impossible become feasible.
For example, in the Canglong Continent, if coordinates were pre-set in Black Melt City, Fierce Winter City, and the Royal Capital, Su Xiao could be in Black Melt City one moment and appear near Fierce Winter City in the Northern Border or in Duoyin Royal Capital the next.
The only pity is that once 【Directional Coordinates】 are set, they cannot be moved and are fixed at a single point.
After a few minutes of vending, Beini sold 【New Moon Sprout】. This brought Su Xiao’s current Soul Coins to 4,407, enough to upgrade Aura Release.
Leaving the Trade Street, Su Xiao didn’t go directly to the Skill Upgrade Hall. Instead, he headed to stall 2100 in the Trade Market, where Divine Emperor and Old Goat were already waiting.
“Brother Bai Ye.”
Divine Emperor’s aura was steady. He sat behind the stall and handed over a scroll.
Su Xiao took the scroll, feeling that he had been encountering such items frequently lately.
【Basic Passive: Rain Pheasant, Lv.1.】
Type: Basic Passive Scroll
Prerequisite: None
Effect: For every 5 points of Charm Attribute, gain an additional 1 point of Agility Attribute.
Upgrade Requirement: Charm Attribute above 3 points (unusable).
…
This was for assassination-type contractors. A large category of assassins specialized in both Agility and Charm, also known as psychic killers. Agility provided high mobility and boosted small weapon technique abilities, such as Dagger Mastery.
The Charm trait’s psychic branch helped them construct weapons—a type of psychic weapon that ignored physical and energy defenses, targeting the mind. Such contractors could perform mid-range assassinations, and a moment of carelessness would allow them to succeed.
Su Xiao already had one Charm-trait Basic Passive scroll; having another was also good. In the Trade Market, compared to buying with Soul Coins, trading Basic Passive scrolls among themselves was easier.
After completing the trade with Divine Emperor, Su Xiao headed straight for the Skill Upgrade Hall. Over ten minutes later, inside a Skill Upgrade Pod.
【To upgrade ‘Aura Release Lv.1’, pay 50 Soul Coins. Yes/No.】
The initial upgrade cost was not low. Su Xiao chose to upgrade. Since the rank of Aura Release had increased, he wasn’t sure if upgrading it now would still allow him to reach the ancient battlefield.
Paying 50 Soul Coins, spatial fluctuations appeared around Su Xiao, which reassured him.
A teleportation sensation hit him, and when his vision cleared, he had arrived at the ancient battlefield.
The ground was dark red, as if soaked in blood. The corpse of a dragon lay prostrate on a low hill, its mouth holding a black heart. Not far away was a giant in red armor, its chest cavity empty.
Corpses of powerful beings from various races were scattered across the ancient battlefield. Due to the presence of demon corpses, the air was thick with a sulfurous smell. Just inhaling it caused dizziness.
Crimson mist drifted across the battlefield—the accumulated blood energy of countless powerful beings from ages past.
Su Xiao stood on the dark red ground. The battlefield’s blood energy surged toward him. This blood energy was highly corrosive and couldn’t be absorbed directly. Instead, one had to use one’s own aura to resist it, thereby strengthening that aura.
Su Xiao wouldn’t do that. He released his own blood energy, leaped onto the skull of a dragon, and sat cross-legged on it.
Azure Steel Shadow energy surged in Su Xiao’s palm. He converted 27,000 Mana Points into Azure Steel Shadow energy to construct a simplified Devouring Core.
A few minutes later, a simplified Devouring Core appeared in Su Xiao’s hand. Though simplified, this core was incomparable to previous versions, as he hadn’t had this much Azure Steel Shadow energy before.
After constructing the simplified Devouring Core, a pinky-thick energy line connected the core to Su Xiao.
Inside this energy line were 32 smaller simplified Devouring Cores. The large core was responsible for absorbing more battlefield blood energy, performing the first filtration, purification, and refinement. Then the blood energy entered the pinky-thick energy line for 32 more precise purifications and refinements.
The simplified Devouring Core floated above Su Xiao. Under his control, dozens of small openings on the core opened, and like a whale drinking water, it instantly sucked in all the battlefield blood energy within a hundred meters.
Crack, crack, crack…
Microscopic cracks appeared on the simplified Devouring Core. This item was consumable, and such changes were actually good, indicating that the corrosive power of the battlefield blood energy had been exhausted by the core.
A large surge of blood energy was drawn into the core, which began operating, purifying and refining it.
Soon, a stream of pale red energy emerged from the core. By then, the core was blood-red, filled with impurities from the blood energy.
The purified blood energy traveled along the energy line toward Su Xiao. The 32 small cores inside the line began operating, purifying the energy repeatedly. In the end, the blood energy was nearly transparent, with only a faint red hue visible.
The multiply purified blood energy merged into Su Xiao’s aura. He closed his eyes to sense himself—his aura was rapidly strengthening without any side effects.
Confirming this, Su Xiao increased the core’s absorption power. Within seconds, a large area of the battlefield’s blood energy began flowing toward him.
Two kilometers away, a lidless stone coffin lay there. Perhaps due to the change in battlefield blood energy, a withered hand reached out from the coffin, gripping its edge. Several cracks appeared on the coffin.
“Hah~”
A skeletal corpse with sparse hair sat up from the coffin. White vapor exhaled from its mouth. Through a hole in its withered face, yellowed teeth were visible. Unconcealed malice radiated from it.
“Who dares disturb our slumber?”
Boom!
An explosion sounded from afar. The corpse’s aura tightened, and it immediately turned to look to its right. A figure stood on a giant corpse a few meters away, while the Devouring Core beside it continued absorbing the surrounding blood energy.
“Today, you shall die…”
Clang.
A blue-green blade aura slashed out. The stone coffin and the corpse shattered. The severed head of the corpse, cut in two, showed an expression of utter disbelief.