# Chapter 10: White Town
Early the next morning, Danke City had returned to its usual state. People in the streets and alleys were laughing and talking about one thing—the "Goddess Kidnapping Incident."
It was a misunderstanding, or rather a love story. The content was that the Goddess had secretly developed feelings for a priest, and the two had eloped together the previous night. This led the Kodo School to mistakenly believe the Goddess had been kidnapped, mobilizing the entire city's forces to search for her whereabouts.
This morning, the Goddess, unable to bear leaving the Kodo School's years of care, made a difficult choice between love and faith. In the end, the Goddess chose faith, and this love story came to an end.
This somewhat scandalous news effectively covered up another matter.
The bishops were no strangers to this kind of situation—they were all old hands at layered deception. The entire affair was arranged flawlessly.
As for that priest, due to his misconduct, he was demoted and sent to the "Old Royal Capital·Talo" to guard the branch there for 49 years, during which he could not leave the Old Royal Capital for a single step. Does this story feel familiar? Of course it does—it happened once before over 30 years ago.
Setting aside the love story the citizens of Danke were gleefully discussing, at this moment, inside an inn on Gem Street, Su Xiao sat beside a wooden table. After last night's success, both Merlos and Marcia had completely disappeared, leaving only this inn behind.
Su Xiao wasn't worried about these two going to find the Light King first. Merlos had taken a small amount of the Goddess's blood and then found an opportunity to leave, not participating in the subsequent "negotiations."
The inn door was pushed open, and an old man in a white robe walked in, sitting down on the chair across from Su Xiao.
"I am Bishop Noah of the Kodo School. Is the Goddess well?"
Bishop Noah hadn't come alone. Around the inn, dozens of Ancient God followers had already surrounded the place.
"She's fine. Just a bit picky about food."
"What?"
Bishop Noah looked somewhat suspicious. He hadn't expected that the Goddess would still dare to be picky about food at a time like this.
"The 100,000 Lang Crystal Resin you requested is here. Where is the Goddess?"
Bishop Noah raised his hand, and several men and women in black robes carried in a few large cloth bags, placing them on the ground and opening them. Fist-sized chunks of Crystal Resin appeared.
A guest room door was pushed open, and the Goddess came bouncing out.
"What is this?"
Bishop Noah's expression began to darken.
"She's become more cheerful."
"Cheerful."
Bishop Noah stared at Su Xiao. He didn't need a foolish Goddess.
"She'll recover within five days at most."
Su Xiao snapped his fingers. The Goddess's gaze went blank for an instant, her expression twisted briefly, then returned to being lively and cheerful.
"It seems that's indeed the case."
Having said this, Bishop Noah stood up to leave.
"Consider this compensation."
Su Xiao tossed out a notebook. He had written it an hour ago, and it contained his research on Ancient God energy. This was the insight of an Alchemy Grandmaster. Of course, the core content was only half complete.
If one couldn't obtain any of this knowledge at all, it wouldn't matter. But knowing half of it would make the remaining content an unbearable itch.
Bishop Noah caught the notebook without paying it much attention. He casually flipped through two pages, then his expression grew serious. Soon he was completely absorbed, standing there reading.
"This, this, this..."
Bishop Noah was somewhat shocked. Based on his understanding, the content in this notebook analyzed Ancient God energy from a higher dimension of knowledge. It wasn't developed toward combat applications, but rather a more straightforward, more detailed analysis. The organization name "Kodo School" represented one thing—they understood that knowledge was power.
"What price must we pay?"
Bishop Noah spoke in a deep voice. If last night's incident hadn't happened, he would have tried every means to make Su Xiao join the Kodo School, then placed him under house arrest and drained all of Su Xiao's value.
Now it was different. The confrontation last night had shown Bishop Noah Su Xiao's methods. At this moment, in Bishop Noah's mind, the two sides were on equal negotiating ground—he couldn't unilaterally exploit the other.
"..."
"No need to be subtle. Speak directly. What must I pay to take this notebook?"
"As I said earlier, this is compensation for everything last night. It's free for you."
A smile appeared on Su Xiao's face—a very friendly smile.
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Bishop Noah felt the notebook in his hands was very hot. Reason told him to abandon this notebook immediately. Greed told him to take it, to take it no matter what.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony."
Leaving these words, Bishop Noah led his people away. Under the escort of dozens of Ancient God followers, he strolled along while reading the notebook in his hands.
More than ten minutes later, the inn door was pushed open again. Bishop Noah walked back in. It felt as if thousands of ants were crawling in his heart—the core content of this notebook was only half complete.
If he could obtain the remaining half, Bishop Noah's faction's development and research of Ancient God power would undergo earth-shattering changes. The other half of the core knowledge was something they couldn't reach even after a hundred or even a thousand years of research. It belonged to a different system of knowledge.
The inn was already empty. Bishop Noah hesitated for a long time but ultimately didn't choose to send people to find Su Xiao. Since the other party had given half, there must be some purpose. Producing the other half was only a matter of time. This free thing might be more expensive than imagined.
East side of Gem Street, inside a Crystal Resin accessory shop.
"Dear customer, what do you need?"
Behind an all-metal counter, a young woman with delicate features smiled.
Su Xiao had come here to use Crystal Resin to purchase some Crystal Resin accessories infused with gems. He now had 100,000 Crystal Resin and could spend freely.
Amu placed several large bags of Crystal Resin on the counter. Seeing this, the young woman brought out a tray covered with Crystal Resin accessories.
If one went to the insect kingdom, Crystal Resin accessories could be traded for many good things. Regarding trade with the insects, Gem Street had always maintained limited sales of Crystal Resin accessories—this was a mandatory requirement from the Kodo School.
Su Xiao only wanted Crystal Resin accessories with life and vitality characteristics—these were the best. He picked up seven rings of different sizes. These rings could be opened to adjust their diameter, suitable for humans, beasts, and insects alike.
[You have obtained Crystal Resin Ring·Blessing ×7 (This is an Epic~Holy Spirit Rank item. Due to its characteristics, it cannot be taken out of this world.)]
[Wearing Effect: Specific Ancient God energy resistance +2 points.]
[You have obtained Crystal Resin Pendant·Soulborn ×3 (This is an Epic~Holy Spirit Rank item. Due to its characteristics, it cannot be taken out of this world.)]
[Wearing Effect: Specific Ancient God energy resistance +5 points.]
Ten accessories cost Su Xiao 91,750 Lang Crystal Resin. The remaining 8,250 Lang Crystal Resin was kept for future needs.
Su Xiao looked at the pendant in his hand. This pendant looked very similar to an emerald pendant.
The structure of the Crystal Resin pendant was very complex. If he had free time, Su Xiao planned to try using Alchemy to enhance the effect of these accessories, then trade with beasts and insects to obtain resources and equipment that could be taken out of this world.
Su Xiao walked out of the Crystal Resin accessory shop. Gem Street was a good place. If he had channels in the future, he could consider using Gem Street to establish trade with the insects and reap benefits.
There was a prerequisite—Su Xiao needed to be able to enhance the wearing effects of Crystal Resin accessories through Alchemy. Only then would the insects be willing to pay a high price.
Walking toward the insect tower controlled by the One-Leg Gang, he knocked on the door. Inside the insect tower was still that woman with the long braid.
"It's you again. Same price, 30 Lang Crystal Resin per trip. Where to?"
The long-braided woman spoke while walking toward the spiral staircase behind.
"Abandoned Capital, Shao Guang."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the long-braided woman's foot, about to step onto the metal stairs, paused briefly before she continued onward.
Su Xiao paid 30 Lang Crystal Resin. The insect tower activated, and the sound of dozens of Hollow Sound Insects vibrating their wings reached his ears. The sound waves blurred everything around.
When the spatial fluctuations subsided, Su Xiao was already standing inside the insect tower of "Abandoned Capital·Shao Guang." A completely withered figure sat in the corner.
"Rare guests. Welcome to Shao Guang."
The person sitting in the shadows had a hoarse voice. His aura made it hard to believe he was alive.
Descending the spiral staircase, Su Xiao pushed open the insect tower's door. A desolate scene came into view.
Vultures circled above the ruins. The streets were covered with pits of various sizes. Buildings half a kilometer away were completely flattened, with some debris floating in midair, frozen in the moment of explosion.
Shao Guang was the same as the Old Royal Capital—both were Eighth Rank danger zones. The battle between the Mother Goddess and the Ancient God had occurred in Shao Guang. Later, the Light King, the Great Sage, and the Wolf Spider Queen had clashed with the Ancient God, also in Shao Guang.
Su Xiao walked through the ruins with Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha. As for Beini, that cat couldn't sit still and had already gone treasure hunting.
The scene before him was one of utter ruin. The air was filled with a cold, gloomy feeling. The occasional pedestrians had eyes as fierce as starving wolves.
The Light King wasn't in Shao Guang. One had to go east of Shao Guang, pass through the Lost Withered Forest, to reach the White Town.
Su Xiao didn't linger long in Shao Guang. He headed straight for the east side of the ruins. After half an hour, he reached the outskirts of Shao Guang.
After four hours of full-speed travel, withered trees occasionally appeared around him. The "Lost Withered Forest" was approaching.
Sure enough, after continuing for more than 20 minutes, a completely withered woodland appeared ahead. This was the Lost Withered Forest.
Su Xiao found a few pieces of rubble and carved twisted rune marks on them. He then tossed one piece of rubble into the withered forest.
The rubble flew a short distance before disappearing. A few seconds later, it flew back out, landing near Su Xiao. He calculated the position, took a few steps sideways, and tossed out another piece of rubble. This was the entry method the Goddess had mentioned. As for whether it was accurate, at the time, give the Goddess a sugar stick, and she'd say anything.
After testing more than a dozen times, Su Xiao locked onto the position. He took out a cloth bag containing hundreds of pieces of rubble carved with twisted S-shaped rune marks. These were path-opening stones.
Su Xiao stopped before an invisible barrier. He took out a rune stone and tossed it in front of his feet. The rune stone landed, producing a somewhat heavy yet ethereal sound.
Su Xiao began to move forward. Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha followed behind, walking in a line. Every few steps, Su Xiao would toss a rune stone ahead.
Tap~
The ethereal sound of the rune stone landing spread out. Layers of ripples rose in the surrounding air. From an overhead view, Su Xiao's forward trajectory had unknowingly formed an S-shape.
In Su Xiao's perception, he had been walking straight the entire time. This was the Lost Withered Forest. Without a method to open the path, no matter how great one's ability, they would be trapped inside. This was a place that had once trapped an Ancient God, later sealed with a container.
Where the container was, no one knew. That was Su Xiao's goal—open the container, kill the Ancient God.
Su Xiao traveled for a long time before the surrounding withered trees gradually thinned out. He felt himself pass through a barrier.
Boom~
A faint roar sounded briefly in Su Xiao's ears. The scene before him changed dramatically.
What met his eyes was a stretch of pale white. A kilometer ahead was a small town. Most of the town's buildings were broken, frozen in midair as piles of rubble. Only the central street remained intact.
Gray-white ashes fell like snowflakes from above, making this already ruined town appear pale, desolate, lonely, and cold.
On both sides of the intact main street, there were about a dozen structures—an insect tower, a forge, a bookstore. The remaining buildings had unknown purposes, some already half-collapsed.
At the end of the main street stood a palace, completely pale white. The Light King was inside.
[Prompt: You have arrived at the High-Risk/Neutral/Safe Zone·Pale Town. The danger level of this area will be determined based on your actions.]