Chapter 11: The Little Thing Guarding Its Food
Powdered residue fell through Su Xiao’s fingers. From multiple perspectives, the Calamity Bell was worthy of its S-class dangerous object status. The main reason it was destroyed was because Su Xiao, through the intelligence from ‘Mechanisms,’ learned that this thing had soul characteristics.
Su Xiao was not afraid of dangerous objects with soul characteristics. This was also why he dared to search for dangerous object S-002 (the Death Grail).
The death domain of S-002 acted upon the soul. This dangerous object’s tier was too high. Su Xiao was not confident he could completely exempt the death domain, but he was confident he could withstand it for a while. That was his capital for seeking S-002.
[Tip: You have destroyed the Calamity Bell.]
[You have obtained the Calamity Chest (Chest-type item).]
[You have obtained 9.72% World Source.]
[You have obtained ‘Twisted Abyss Energy Condensate Fragment × 1.’ This is a special reward for destroying dangerous objects.]
…
Putting away the [Calamity Chest], Su Xiao examined a fingernail-sized translucent fragment in his hand. Inside it were many small black dots, looking extremely heterogeneous.
‘Twisted Abyss Energy Condensate Fragment,’ abbreviated as ‘Abyss Fragment,’ was a special reward after destroying dangerous objects. The origin of this thing was unknown, and its use was unknown.
Seeing the simple description of this item, a conjecture arose in Su Xiao’s mind. The word ‘Abyss’ made him think of the ‘Undying Curse’ that the Undying Old Man bore. That curse came from the Abyss.
The Abyss was both a place and a concept, a kind of power. Assuming this ‘Twisted Abyss Energy Condensate Fragment’ truly came from the Abyss that Su Xiao was thinking of, the situation was both troublesome and a tremendous opportunity.
Regarding things from the Abyss, only some items were negative. There were also many strange treasures that came from the Abyss, the most famous being the seed of the Black Maple Tree.
That’s right, the Black Maple Tree did not come from the Void. Many people had this misconception. The Void had the most Black Maple Trees, so people assumed the tree originated there.
Initially, Su Xiao also believed the Black Maple Tree came from the Void. But after meeting the Old Law Destroyer, Tuanzhang, the Undying Old Man, and others, he learned that the first Black Maple Tree seed did not come from the Void. The rumors outside were unreliable. The first seed of the Black Maple Tree came from the Abyss.
As for exploring the Abyss, that was completely out of the question. Su Xiao’s known intelligence was that, at the height of the Law Destruction Era, the Law Destroyers attempted to open a passage connecting to the Abyss. A few hours later, the passage collapsed, and they never invested resources in this direction again.
Until the end of the Law Destruction Era, when Arcane Eternal Star became the new overlord of the Void, they also tried to open a passage to the Abyss. A few hours later, the passage closed.
It wasn’t that there were dangerous beings inside the Abyss. Opening the passage to the Abyss twice made both the Law Destroyers and the Spellcasters understand the same thing: there were no living beings in the Abyss. There was only Abyss energy so dense it had become tangible.
It was this energy, with infinite potential but impossible to control, that, through multiple coincidences, gave birth to strange treasures like the Black Maple Tree seed. This was a supernatural phenomenon.
A very important point was that even top-tier experts in the Void had an extremely high mortality rate when entering the Abyss. More importantly, it was a losing proposition.
The cost of entering the Abyss was too high. For every meter advanced inside, one had to prepare for a long time and pay a huge price.
According to calculations by the Spellcasters of Arcane Eternal Star, if they poured all their resources, they could probably explore about a hundred meters into the Abyss. Then Arcane Eternal Star would be poor for many years.
This was no longer a question of whether one could enter the Abyss, but whether it was worth it. The Abyss was vast. Although there might be strange treasures to be found inside, compared to the cost paid, the treasures obtained were not at all attractive. Plus, opening the passage to the Abyss itself consumed unimaginable resources.
The Abyss was not completely sealed. When the energy inside became too abundant, it would open at a random point. Strange treasures nurtured inside the Abyss might gush out with the Abyss energy.
Once Abyss energy entered the material world, its nature was no longer dangerous. It would dissipate in a short time, be absorbed by that world, and for the next hundred-plus years, that world’s resources would be very abundant.
Compared to exploring inside the Abyss, it was really better to wait for strange treasures to appear somewhere someday, then go seize them. Even opening the passage to release Abyss energy, when carefully calculated, would ultimately result in a loss so severe it would make you vomit blood. The Law Destroyers, Demon Race, Arcane Eternal Star, Feather Race, and Star Clan had all tried this.
Interestingly, it was the Law Destroyers who first suffered the loss. After they announced it publicly, Arcane Eternal Star just smiled disdainfully, expressing disbelief. When they became the new overlord, they decisively tried to open the passage to the Abyss, then suffered a loss so severe they vomited blood. It turned out the Law Destroyers really hadn’t deceived them. This matter was simply too costly.
The most troublesome thing was that the passage to the Abyss could only be opened for 3 to 5 hours before it collapsed. One had to gather resources again to construct it.
Arcane Eternal Star also announced this news. When the Feather Race learned of it, they immediately denounced it, then gathered massive resources, stole the technology, and also opened a passage to the Abyss. For those few years, the Feather Race was particularly quiet — poor and quiet.
Seeing this, the Star Clan almost cursed out loud. Don’t all pretend to be poor. You clearly got benefits, so why pretend to be poor?
The Star Clan decisively tried, and then suffered a terrible loss. During that time, the Feather Race and the Star Clan, two brothers in misfortune, frequently traded with each other, and their relationship greatly improved.
The Demon Race, another major Void race, was notoriously suspicious. They suspected it was all a facade. After stealing the technology, they gritted their teeth and opened the passage to the Abyss. Afterwards, they were so poor they almost became a medium-sized race.
The Demon Race watched the whole thing from the sidelines, even laughing with the mockery of ‘predecessors.’ Initially, when the Law Destroyers opened the Abyss passage, the Demon Race heavily invested, and then they were poor for a long time.
After these incidents, none of the major Void races opened the passage to the Abyss anymore. That period was the most peaceful time in the Void. Everyone was too poor to want war. Rest and recuperation were the top priorities.
Su Xiao had no intention of exploring the Abyss. All the major Void forces had suffered such huge losses. If he personally planned this matter, he might lose all his resources, even the Black Maple Tree. If his luck was bad, he would only get some Abyss energy.
The ‘Abyss Fragment’ Su Xiao had obtained was a condensate of Abyss energy. But this twisted Abyss energy could most likely no longer be absorbed by a world.
This was probably from a time when an Abyss hole spontaneously opened within this world, releasing Abyss energy. As for what caused the twisting, that was unknown.
If the appearance of dangerous objects was due to this kind of twisted Abyss energy, then the dangerous objects at the highest tier would be more dangerous than imagined. They needed to be approached with caution.
The Calamity Bell had been dealt with. The surrounding walls quickly changed, shifting from dilapidated to old and worn. This Red Pool Inn was essentially an alternative ‘primeval forest,’ with the law of the jungle ranking clearly.
Su Xiao glanced at the Bell Woman’s corpse. This person was the holder of the Calamity Bell. She wasn’t controlled by the Calamity Bell; rather, she was its perfect vessel. In the end, the Calamity Bell hadn’t given up on this woman. The two were on the verge of coexistence, mutually recognizing each other.
As for Granny Qian, from her reaction, she was probably the Bell Woman’s mother or grandmother, likely a direct relative.
One day, the Bell Woman accidentally obtained the Calamity Bell, became infatuated with its sound, and returned to the hot spring inn. There, she completed her first communication with the Calamity Bell. From then on, this Red Pool Inn became the Bell Woman’s hunting ground.
Initially, she and the Calamity Bell only absorbed the vitality and trace soul power of guests while they soaked in the hot springs. Granny Qian quickly sensed something was wrong, but she was too doting on the Bell Woman and chose to let it be. Later, the Bell Woman became increasingly rampant, attracting the Containment Institution.
The last time the Containment Institution people came, Granny Qian was caught in the battle and died, later transforming into a spirit body. The Bell Woman, on the other hand, repelled the Containment Institution people.
After assessment by the Containment Institution, the Bell Woman was classified as a strong-person killer, with weak large-scale harm capability. It might take years for her to harm just Dongquan Town. So they chose to shelve the matter. It wasn’t that the Containment Institution was cold-blooded; they simply had no choice. Some A-class dangerous objects had stronger large-scale harm capabilities than the Calamity Bell, and those needed to be dealt with. They were short-handed.
The Eclipse Organization also came to Dongquan Town to fight the Bell Woman to the death. After losing several strong members, they retreated. At this stage, the Bell Woman also understood the situation. As long as she didn’t leave Dongquan Town, she wouldn’t invite total annihilation.
In reality, both the Containment Institution and the Eclipse Organization were waiting and cultivating — cultivating a soul-system expert to deal with the Bell Woman. Don’t think this was exaggerated. To deal with an S-class dangerous object, specially cultivating an expert was common for both organizations. Dealing with dangerous objects over a period of years was also routine.
Su Xiao walked out of the hot spring inn. Just as he exited the inner room, the little boy ran from ahead and hugged Su Xiao’s leg, pressing his little face against it.
“Big brother, thank you.”
The little boy was a bit shy. Su Xiao looked down at the little boy, his hand always resting on the sword hilt.
“Let go within 3 seconds.”
As soon as Su Xiao finished speaking, the little boy let go, retreated to the wall, and hung his head, fiddling with his fingers.
“How long will that last you?”
Su Xiao asked a question that Bubu Wang, Baha, Amu, and Lie Chao couldn’t understand. The little boy, head lowered, bit his lip. His big eyes, staring at the ground, were very bright. His slightly chubby face no longer had a childlike smile. A very small curve lifted the corner of his mouth.
Consider this: a little boy with no blood relation to the Bell Woman or Granny Qian — how had he survived so long? And he was still a living person.
“I’ll just kill you then.”
Su Xiao made a move to draw his sword. The little boy quickly knelt on the ground and said, “It will last me… a long time.”
The little boy already knew that acting cute was useless now. If he continued to pretend, he would die.
“Before you finish eating it, you are not allowed to leave this inn even half a step.”
“Mm.”
The little boy responded crisply, looked up at Su Xiao, and smiled, his smile returning to childlike innocence.
Su Xiao walked out of the hot spring inn. This little boy could be kept. It was considered doing Dean Vic a favor. That side wouldn’t refuse this kind of person.
After leaving the inn, Lie Chao kept frowning. She couldn’t figure out what Su Xiao meant by asking the little boy ‘how long will that last you.’
“What does that kid eat?”
Lie Chao asked seemingly casually, but in reality, if she couldn’t figure something out, it would bother her for a long time. This was her obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Many people only notice the powerful side of strong individuals. In reality, strong people also have unknown sides. For example, Lie Chao hated worms and had a slight obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“He eats resentment-heavy spirit bodies. The Bell Woman could bind confused vengeful spirits to do her bidding. The disobedient vengeful spirits were eaten by that little thing.”
Su Xiao said this for a reason. When he was on the second floor of the hot spring inn, that little boy had pointed out the escape route for him — jumping out of a designated window.
Was the little boy kind-hearted? Not at all. This little thing had eaten who knows how many vengeful spirits in the Red Pool Inn. He was guarding his food, afraid others would compete with him for the vengeful spirits.
Su Xiao walked towards the east side of the town, his feet crunching on the snow. He needed to find a safe place to set up the teleportation array. As for the Demon Race’s array diagram, he, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha had roughly adapted to it. As for Lie Chao, she hadn’t had lunch today, so it should probably be fine.
Lie Chao stopped on the snow, turned her head, and looked back at the Red Pool Inn. This world was more dangerous than Shenxiang. Just one bell had turned all the residents of a town into monsters, their soul power nearly drained dry, and their bodies filled with filthy water, twisted and deformed.
PS: (The backend was stuck. The previous chapter took over two hours to display after updating.)