# Chapter 15: The Biggest Flex, The Hardest Fall
The sky was covered with dark clouds, all showing a purplish-red hue, with lightning of similar color occasionally streaking across.
Su Xiao walked out from a rocky depression, a strange odor drifting into his nostrils. The smell was somewhat like exhaust from a factory, making one feel stuffy in the chest after inhaling.
Su Xiao pulled out a cigarette and lit it, his gaze sweeping the surroundings. Although this was the Birth Plaza, it looked completely different from what he had seen before. The scene before him was one of utter dilapidation, with the central Life Fountain completely dried up, causing Su Xiao to feel a sense of regret.
According to the theories passed down by the Law Destruction faction, an enemy's assets = undeveloped resources = unclaimed = can be privatized = mine.
"The blood mark has disappeared, or rather, can't be sensed anymore?"
As Wood spoke, he took out an earthenware jar. This jar looked old and worn, its carvings blurred. It seemed ordinary, yet anyone who saw this jar would feel a deep longing.
"Both of you, calm down. This thing is my supreme treasure, more important than my life. However... both of you are my close friends and family. If you want it, I can part with it and give it to you."
Wood held the jar with one hand. He wasn't joking. If Su Xiao and Zuiyasi expressed interest, he would immediately give away this supreme treasure. Regarding this jar, although Wood was its holder, he had no sense of possessiveness whatsoever. His attitude was: it's fine with him, but if others wanted it, he'd give it away immediately.
This was also the reason Wood hadn't died because of this jar yet. Precisely because he had no possessiveness toward it, the jar treated Wood as a collaborator.
This jar could accomplish many unimaginable things but couldn't move on its own. This was a limitation it couldn't overcome by any means, and also one of its characteristics.
"What is this?"
Zuiyasi was very interested in the jar in Wood's hand. If not for Wood's previous words, Zuiyasi would have certainly had thoughts about it. But after hearing Wood say that, he couldn't tell whether Wood was bluffing or being sincere.
"This is a jar."
"I'm not blind. I can see its shape."
"Good, that's fine. Bai Ye, in your eyes, is this also a jar? Not a diamond jar?"
Wood raised the jar in his hand. After Su Xiao nodded in acknowledgment, Wood seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Good. If you had seen a diamond jar, it would mean it had already set its sights on you."
Wood tapped the jar with his index finger and continued: "This is the Abyssal Jar from the Abyss."
"That Abyss?"
A hint of seriousness appeared in Zuiyasi's eyes. Regarding the Abyss, their Doom Star had also explored it and came back with nothing but trouble.
"Back then, Arcane Eternal Star suffered the heaviest losses, but those spellcasters' pursuit of truth and knowledge was admirable. What outsiders don't know is that Arcane Eternal Star initially suffered terribly. In subsequent explorations, they obtained a Black Maple Tree seed through the Abyss passage. That's right, the Black Maple Tree at Arcane Eternal Star now came from that seed. And as for the Law Destroyers, that refers to you, Bai Ye."
Wood shifted his gaze to Su Xiao, with a look that carried some envy and resentment.
"The Second Era: Alchemical Civilization first discovered how to open the Abyss passage, and later the Law Destroyers obtained this technology. Outsiders say you suffered huge losses, but we Devil Clan suspect that the Black Maple Tree owned by the Law Destroyers was a seed obtained from the Abyss."
Saying this, Wood looked disgusted, while Zuiyasi's eyes gleamed.
"Opening an Abyss passage can get Black Maple Tree seeds? What are we waiting for? Drag in more resources and open it a few more times. When I get back this time, I'll talk to the God Above about this."
"Zuiyasi, don't seek death."
Wood tapped the jar in his hand, the implication clear—this jar was what the Devil Clan gained from opening the Abyss passage.
"Could it be..."
Zuiyasi looked at Wood, then at the jar in his hand. His expression didn't show much, but he was very surprised internally. Such a supreme treasure, and the method of carrying it was too casual? If Wood died here, wouldn't the Devil Clan lose this treasure?
If the old devils of the Devil Clan knew what Zuiyasi was thinking, they would shed tears of old age and tell Zuiyasi: 'Child, if you like this treasure, just take it away. From now on, if anyone dares to touch you, they become the enemy of our Devil Clan. The Underworld God is an old acquaintance of ours. Return to Doom Star safely. Nothing will happen. The Underworld God won't burn your body and extract your soul, won't lock your soul in the insect prison, and won't throw you into the despair mill to grind your flesh, soul, and consciousness into powder.'
Did the Devil Clan obtain this jar? The Abyssal Jar? No. It was the Abyssal Jar that latched onto the Devil Clan, tormenting them to death and back, making them experience both agony and ecstasy.
Wood had come to the World of Paintings this time with two tasks: 1. Seize the World of Paintings, then transfer it to the Void Tree for resources; 2. See if there was a chance to get rid of the Abyssal Jar. After all, this was a battle royale notarized by the Void Tree, with considerable scale. Perhaps there was a glimmer of hope.
"That's right, this is the supreme treasure my Devil Clan obtained through the Abyss passage. What do you think? Interested?"
Wood held the jar out toward Zuiyasi. At this moment, he seemed possessed by a salesman.
"I dare not. Not interested."
Zuiyasi took a big step back, very cautious. Seeing this, Wood felt disappointed. He offered it directly precisely to make others feel it was a mix of truth and falsehood.
"Bai Ye, interested..."
Before Wood could finish, he found Su Xiao's hand already on his sword hilt. If he continued speaking, 'Draw Sword: Flow' would be unleashed.
"What kind of world is this? With your strength, shouldn't you feel like chosen ones? No matter how dangerous an artifact, once it falls into your hands, it becomes harmless, usable however you want. Hehehehe."
"Nonsense."
"I've never felt that way. In Doom Star, if I didn't live cautiously, I'd have died long ago. When I was weak, I offended a devout follower. His daughter was a priestess of an Ancient God. Her strength was at least... you wouldn't understand the system there. Using the Void Tree's system, that female priestess was at the Eighth Rank upper tier. At that time, I was probably around Second Rank strength."
Zuiyasi sounded somewhat emotional.
"What happened then?"
Wood still held the Abyssal Jar. From earlier, neither Su Xiao, Wood, nor Zuiyasi had talked about exploring the Nightmare World. Instead, they were chatting idly. In reality, this was to mislead some existence watching this place, to lull it into complacency.
"Later, I kidnapped that female priest's daughter, sweet-talked her, and fled with her for about two months. The first month I was dragging her while escaping; the second month she was dragging me while escaping. Humans are emotional creatures—time breeds affection.
Two months later, my dear Ona had my child in her belly. Now that female priest is my mother-in-law. I have what I have today thanks to this elder. My reason for coming to the World of Paintings this time is for this elder."
Zuiyasi sighed with emotion. It could be said that his approach back then was workable. When you offend a powerful enemy, you either have a strong backing or enter Reincarnation Paradise, Apocalypse Paradise, etc. Otherwise, wanting to fight your way up, leveling up all the way, and eventually defeating the strong enemy was absolutely impossible.
"Wood, we're very close. The air is starting to thin."
Zuiyasi suddenly said something incomprehensible.
Su Xiao took out a small oxygen tank, took a deep breath, then tossed it to Zuiyasi. Zuiyasi also took a breath and made to toss it to Wood. Wood raised his index finger, shaking it left and right, indicating he didn't need it.
From the moment they entered the Birth Plaza, Su Xiao had sensed something was wrong. Compared to the previous Birth Plaza, this place was more dilapidated, and the surroundings felt very eerie.
Without needing to communicate, Su Xiao believed the other two had also judged this was a trap. After Wood took out the Abyssal Jar, Su Xiao understood his intention. The current predicament could be solved by Wood, but he needed some time.
Boom!
A loud noise came from above. A figure with wings on its back and a single horn on its head appeared. Its wings drooped, the feathers pitch black, as if drenched in oil.
This was the manager of this place, Black Wing: Zakava. He stood proudly in midair, looking down at Su Xiao and the other two, and declared like a judgment:
"Welcome to our world. Thank you for your procrastination, giving me the chance to defeat you."
Black Wing: Zakava spread his wings, his eyes showing only coldness and indifference.
It could be said that the games within the Nightmare World were very treacherous. Compared to the Death House, they couldn't compare at all. The owner of the Death House, Anna, didn't get angry when losing and was very humble when winning, advocating fairness. She not only made the rules but also followed them, even participating in the games of death to experience whether her rules had loopholes and where they needed improvement.
Not to mention comparing with the Death House, even the Demon Castle once run by Alice was a hundred times better than the Nightmare World's survival games.
That woman Alice was someone who could afford to lose as long as there was no grudge. Although she smiled on the surface while cursing internally, Alice indeed could play fair.
But with the Nightmare King, it fully embodied what it meant to be both bad at playing and unable to afford losing.
Su Xiao was the victor of the survival game, obtaining four [Scroll Fragments]. The prompt at the time was: The Nightmare King has the right to reclaim the Scroll Fragments and can buy back the Scroll Fragments you obtained at any time by paying an 'equivalent' price.
This seemed like nothing, but this 'equivalent' was defined by the Nightmare King.
Just now, the four [Scroll Fragments] Su Xiao had just obtained suddenly disappeared from his storage space. He received four Soul Crystals (Fragments). This was the 'equivalent' defined by the Nightmare King.
Breaking one Soul Crystal (Small) could yield 94 to 103 Soul Crystal (Fragments).
That's right, this was clearly not being able to afford losing. Why did the Void Tree notarize this game? The reason was that once this game started, it was no longer up to the Nightmare King. For example, Su Xiao and the others breaking free from their restraints was also part of the Void Tree's notarization. This was allowed within the notarization, just depending on whether Su Xiao and the others could think of it and whether they could accomplish it.
The Nightmare King hadn't yet realized that it too had become a participant in this game. This time, it could no longer look down from above like overlooking a sand table.
Using the survival game as an analogy, if the Nightmare King was the dog planner, then Black Wing: Zakava, currently looking down at Su Xiao and the others, was the GM (Game Master) of this game.
Su Xiao, Wood, and Zuiyasi were the screwed-over players. They had already passed through the 'network cable,' and the dog planner Nightmare King couldn't be hit, but the GM Zakava could be hit.
"Imprison."
Black Wing: Zakava raised both arms horizontally, and the space around the Birth Plaza cracked.
"Judgment."
Black Wing: Zakava pressed down with one hand. A giant hand appeared in the sky and began to descend, the entire sky pressing down.
"Death!"
Black Wing: Zakava's eyes focused, his hand making a grasping motion, and then...
Dong~
Wood tapped the Abyssal Jar in his left hand with his index finger. He said: "Come in."
"Ah!!"
Black Wing: Zakava suddenly let out a miserable—no, a piercing scream. The black feathers on his body flew everywhere, pulled by an invisible force until they crackled. His entire body twisted, and when the invisible force pulled at his crotch, he let out a sharp shriek, his eyes rolling white, saliva flowing from both corners of his mouth.
A few seconds later, Black Wing: Zakava, like a plucked rooster, was sucked into the Abyssal Jar with a whoosh.
It could be said that Black Wing: Zakava had entered with full swagger, put on a grand show, and successfully showed himself out of existence.