Chapter 53: The Dungeon
What exactly "Dudu Gugu" was, Su Xiao wasn't entirely sure. He speculated that it wasn't an existence from this world, but rather from an external world—perhaps another Primordial World, or an even more secretive place.
The Desolate Village had been scorched by the sun. On the brink of despair, they wouldn't just sit and wait for death, so they summoned Dudu Gugu through unknown methods.
Trading too much with Dudu Gugu would bring misfortune, but when pushed to the edge, the villagers of the Desolate Village couldn't care less. That was how the current situation came to be—the Desolate Village met its end in a relatively peaceful manner, unlike other places where monsters ran rampant.
The Ganglu Dynasty hadn't fallen. They had truly built the Sun Ladder and arrived at the Holy Land. Moreover, they created a "Sun" within the Holy Land. Since they couldn't obtain the real sun, they would make one.
Initially, the "Sun" in the Holy Land brought beneficial effects, allowing the Ganglu Dynasty to prosper further. But for some unknown reason, the "Sun" began to scorch them. This was the greatest tragedy of the Ganglu Dynasty—they hadn't perished, but it was worse than being lost to the river of history.
Su Xiao pondered the path he had taken. He had gone from the edge of the Holy Land → Warm Forest → Desolate Village.
At the Desolate Village, he had two routes: climb the wall behind the large stone house, or descend into the underground passage within the stone house.
Climbing the wall would obviously get him to the central area faster, but what dangers lay on the wall, Su Xiao didn't yet know.
If there was a shortcut, he would take it. After brewing the Sun Potion, he would investigate the dangers on the wall.
After waiting less than three hours, a dragging sound came from outside the large stone house. Su Xiao looked out and saw the Priest returning.
At this moment, the Priest was dragging a giant beast with wings on its back. This beast resembled a dragon species, its entire body covered in dark gold exoskeleton.
"Here's what you wanted."
The Priest placed a glass pillar on the ground, filled with golden dust. After setting it down, he began processing the giant beast's corpse.
A few minutes later, Su Xiao sat at the workbench, concocting. He couldn't find the original ingredients for the Sun Potion, but he could substitute them. Moreover, his concoction methods were beyond what the Healing Church possessed.
The relationship between the Healing Church and the Ganglu Dynasty was unusual. It seemed the Church had once been subordinate to the Ganglu Dynasty. Or rather, the four major powers—the Magic Association, the Healing Church, the Steam Alliance, and the Fate Church—had all once served the Ganglu Dynasty before breaking away and rising to prominence.
Among them, the predecessor of the Magic Association was the Holy Seal School. This wasn't Su Xiao's guess; the core power of Secret Arts users was the Holy Seal.
Before long, Su Xiao brewed a bottle of Sun Potion.
[Sun Potion (Perfect)]
Origin: Demon Spirit Star
Quality: Holy Spirit Rank
Type: Functional Potion
Effect: After drinking, grants immunity to the "Sun's" scorching for 6 hours.
Perfect Grade Bonus: Increases immunity to the "Sun's" scorching by 6 hours, for a total duration of 12 hours.
...
Su Xiao began brewing bottles of [Sun Potion]. After a while, he had produced 21 bottles, 18 of which were Perfect quality and 3 ordinary.
This concoction wasn't difficult to make. It wasn't that the Healing Church's knowledge was lacking; they simply couldn't compare to the Alchemy Civilization of the Second Era.
With the materials depleted, Su Xiao stored away the 18 bottles of [Sun Potion (Perfect)]. With these potions, he, Bubu Wang, and Baha could move freely within the Holy Land for three days.
He then re-concocted the remaining 3 ordinary [Sun Potions] into 5 bottles, each with a 3-hour duration.
"With my alchemy level, this is the limit."
Su Xiao tossed 2 bottles of [Sun Potion] to the Priest. These potions could resist the "Sun's" scorching for 3 hours each, totaling 6 hours.
The Priest looked at the remaining 3 bottles of [Sun Potion] in Su Xiao's hand but said nothing.
"Let's continue the trade. I want to know what's on the wall. The reward is 1 bottle of Sun Potion."
"Deal."
The Priest suddenly spoke, smiling as he continued, "I've already scouted the situation up there. You absolutely cannot climb the wall. Even for you and me, after climbing to a certain height, we would die. The thing up there is not to be trifled with. Throwing explosives at it is useless."
"Is that so."
Su Xiao tossed a bottle of Sun Potion to the Priest. He now had 2 bottles of the ordinary, watered-down version left.
"Bai Ye, let's go around the edge of the wall and take the main gate. Even though there are 23 Sun Warriors guarding it, it's still safer than climbing the wall."
"..."
Su Xiao stood up, walked to the wall on the left, and tapped it with the Scholar's Staff. A hidden door opened.
"This way."
Su Xiao drank a bottle of Perfect-quality Sun Potion, tossed one to Baha, and headed into the underground passage.
The Priest inside the large stone house pondered for a moment before also entering the underground passage. He now had enough Sun Potion for 9 hours, but time was still too short. Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't use his own backup plan.
The underground passage was pitch black. Relying on his perception to scout ahead, Su Xiao advanced for over half an hour before feeling himself gradually descending deeper underground.
An arched stone doorway appeared ahead. In this damp, dark environment, firelight flickered from beyond the archway.
Crack!
A sharp sound came from behind the archway. Su Xiao approached the doorway, pressed himself against the wall, and peered inside.
On both sides of a long, narrow corridor covered in black moss were rows of iron-barred doors. Rusted, mottled chains hung from above.
A Sun Warrior was holding an iron whip. In front of him were several emaciated laborers in tattered clothes, wearing hoods. They were gathered in a circle, pulling wooden poles connected to a large stone mill, which looked somewhat like a ship's wheel.
[Tip: You have arrived at the Prison of Agony.]
Su Xiao walked forward slowly. He didn't draw the Dragon-Slaying Flash. The terrain was too narrow—the entire corridor was less than two meters wide, and the recessed areas ahead weren't spacious either. The short blade [Soul's Whisper] appeared in his hand.
Su Xiao crept up behind the Sun Warrior ahead. His aura was completely suppressed. There were no other enemies nearby, only this one blocking the way.
Silently reaching the Sun Warrior's back, Su Xiao's short blade slashed across the warrior's neck.
With a swish, the throat of the Sun Warrior, clad in armor plates, was cut open—right at the gap between the plates. Blood sprayed several meters.
With this slash, Su Xiao experienced the Sun Warrior's physical defense. The enemy's body was extremely tough. After [Soul's Whisper] cut a fifth of the way into the enemy's neck, it was stopped by the flesh.
Having his throat slashed, the Sun Warrior's eyes widened. He showed no panic. Instead, he tensed the muscles in his neck, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and swung his elbows backward.
"Roar!"
The Sun Warrior let out a battle cry, and scorching, pale golden energy erupted from him as the epicenter.
With a crack, Su Xiao's left hand, wrapped in a crystal layer, pierced into the wall beside him. Bracing against the incoming shockwave, he thrust his blade toward the Sun Warrior's back.
The short blade sank into flesh, accompanied by a tearing sound as it cut through muscle. But this thrust was blocked by the Sun Warrior twisting his body, using his ribs to catch it.
Pulling the short blade free, Su Xiao flipped it in his hand. He ducked to avoid the Sun Warrior's swinging arm, then thrust the blade toward the warrior's chin. It pierced through the tongue, then into the upper mouth, finally getting stuck.
Boom.
The Sun Warrior swung his arm, shattering the stone wall beside him. His eyes seemed to burn with golden flames, sparks flickering across his armor plates as he lunged at Su Xiao.
Su Xiao's pupils gradually contracted. He lowered his body while delivering a straight kick at a downward angle.
Crack!
The Sun Warrior's right shinbone snapped into a V-shape, causing him to pitch forward. Su Xiao's right hand pushed upward—don't forget, the Soul's Whisper short blade was still lodged in the Sun Warrior's jaw.
Su Xiao's palm pressed against the base of the blade. With a tearing sound, the short blade pierced through the Sun Warrior's head, the bloodstained tip protruding from his crown. Yet even so, the Sun Warrior remained fierce.
Crack!
Su Xiao pushed the blade upward, splitting the Sun Warrior's skull open. The warrior's large hand, reaching for Su Xiao, froze mid-air before finally falling limp.
The Priest witnessed the entire scene, his cheek twitching slightly. Not because of Su Xiao's ruthless strikes, but because the Sun Warrior was equally formidable even in single combat.
Su Xiao pulled out the short blade, cut open the iron-barred cell door beside him, and tossed the Sun Warrior's corpse inside. He crouched down, placed his left hand on the ground, closed his eyes, and sensed. After a moment, he confirmed that no one else had been alerted.
[Tip: You have killed Sun Warrior · Ke Shu.]
[You have gained 4.2% World Source.]
[You have gained 107 Soul Coins (High-level area bonus, unexplored area bonus).]
[You have gained 'Holy Spirit Chest · Warrior' (As this chest is produced by the Holy Land · Chilia, opening it has a high probability of obtaining Holy Spirit rank items, and a small probability of obtaining Immortal rank items).]
[Tip: Opening this chest has a chance to obtain the world-exclusive Holy Spirit rank set, Sun Warrior Set (8/8).]
...
The rewards for killing a Sun Warrior were extremely high, but the enemy was very difficult to kill. Three fatal blows to vital points, plus high amounts of Cyan Steel Shadow true damage, the Blade Grandmaster's bonus to short blades, one straight kick, and a final thrust through the skull—he didn't fall until half his head was split open.
Su Xiao continued forward. After only a few steps, he stopped in front of an iron-barred cell door. Inside this prison, a skeleton emitting a faint white glow sat leaning against the wall.
After examining it for a moment, Su Xiao suspected this was the "Soul Skeleton" mentioned in the Soul Shop. Activating it would refresh the Soul Shop, allowing high-value items to appear.