Chapter 34: The Choice
The blazing sun hung high, as if trying to wring every drop of moisture from the surface. Beside the unstarted desert vehicle, Wood stood silently holding a clay pot in one hand, speechless for a long time. The return of his demon clan's 'father' was so sudden that it caught him off guard.
A hundred meters away, Su Xiao tossed a piece of Soul Crystal Fragment into his mouth. The reason he had retreated so far was to guard against any unexpected changes from the Abyssal Jar.
From all of Wood's previous actions, it was clear that the Abyssal Jar was anything but a good thing. This object could indeed accomplish some unimaginable things, but compared to the convenience it brought, the price of possessing it might be a hundred or a thousand times greater.
Su Xiao had already decided long ago that he would never become entangled with the Abyssal Jar's karma. Whether it was the Demon Clan or the Skeleton Gambler, both were forces and existences not to be trifled with. Both sides had been severely ruined by the Abyssal Jar, which showed just how terrifying this thing was.
"Bai Ye, I don't think there's a problem. That thing seems to have a particular fondness for the Demon Clan."
Although Zuiyasi said this, he showed no intention of approaching Wood. The moment his words fell, a sudden change occurred.
Thump~
A black aura spread outward. Before Su Xiao's hand could even reach his sword hilt, he was caught within it.
The surrounding air felt like solid matter. Su Xiao felt as if he were embedded in black crystal, with a cold, dark force encroaching from all sides. This sensation was as deep as the abyss itself.
The feeling of being solidified in the air was fleeting. Su Xiao looked around and found the sandy ground covered in a layer of black. Further away, it was sealed off by a semi-transparent black barrier.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked, meaning that here, he couldn't blend into the environment.
"Boss, I can't enter the alternate space either."
Baha landed on Su Xiao's shoulder, his gaze sharp as he watched the surroundings warily.
Although Su Xiao had already guessed what this sudden change was about, he didn't act rashly.
A sound of breaking wind came from beside him. Su Xiao turned his head to see Zuiyasi leaping into the distance. This wasn't a united move, but it was a wise choice. If a drastic change occurred—like being targeted and chased by an unknown existence—scattering would increase survival chances. Moreover, the current situation was even more complicated than that.
An area of about several thousand square meters was sealed off by a semi-transparent black barrier. Su Xiao, Zuiyasi, and Wood formed a triangular formation, each at the maximum distance from the others.
The Abyssal Jar that had been in Wood's hand was now gone. Clearly, his previous efforts to lose the jar had some value. Although the 'father' had returned, it hadn't immediately 'bound' itself to him.
The Abyssal Jar floated in the center of the area, emitting a deep black radiance. The patterns on its surface seemed to come alive, slowly writhing. The semicircular lid on top slowly lifted. As the lid separated from the jar, black fleshy tendrils were pulled taut, stretched, and eventually snapped. This gave a very intuitive feeling—the jar was alive.
Seeing this, Su Xiao narrowed his eyes. He had a very strong feeling that he was being targeted by that thing. The Abyssal Jar was now ownerless... It was choosing a master, or rather, it was choosing the next victim to ruin.
Thinking this, Su Xiao's eyelid twitched almost imperceptibly. Bubu Wang hid behind Su Xiao, his expression showing a hint of the horror one feels while watching a horror movie.
"Not good. Very not good! Extremely not good!"
Zuiyasi's face turned ugly in the distance. He also guessed that the Abyssal Jar was now ownerless and was preparing to choose a new victim. Heaven knows how the Skeleton Gambler got rid of this damn thing. Perhaps the Skeleton Gambler was already dead.
In fact, the Skeleton Gambler wasn't dead. Its approach was: better to endure short-term pain than long-term suffering. Rather than being ruined by the complete Abyssal Jar, it was better to make a one-time buyout. It paid 95% of its wealth to send this 'father' away.
Perhaps the Abyssal Jar didn't want to follow the Skeleton Gambler either. Compared to that side, the Demon Clan was a better choice for long-term development.
The Abyssal Jar couldn't move on its own, but its connection with Wood hadn't been completely severed, so it returned. This wasn't movement but a return.
The Abyssal Jar had indeed returned. However, to become complete, it had severed its relationship with the Demon Clan. Now it needed to re-establish a blood contract with Wood, which was what was happening now. The problem lay here.
If Wood were alone, the blood contract would be completed instantly. But with Su Xiao and Zuiyasi present, perhaps the Abyssal Jar had been ruining the Demon Clan for too long and was tired of it, ready to switch targets.
The current situation was that the Abyssal Jar was choosing: to ruin Su Xiao, to ruin Zuiyasi, or to continue ruining Wood and the Demon Clan behind him.
Hiss~
Ink-like black threads spread toward Su Xiao. Just as they were half a meter away from him, a blood-red cross mark appeared behind him.
In an instant, the black threads retreating toward Su Xiao completely retreated, coiling back beneath the Abyssal Jar.
Boom~
A shockwave hit Su Xiao from the front. The scene before him flickered, and a wave of heat surged around him. He had exited the area sealed by the Abyssal Jar. The feeling was as if... he had been rejected. It was as if the Abyssal Jar felt immense bad luck upon encountering a contractor or hunter from Reincarnation Paradise.
Su Xiao didn't leave immediately. The sensation was too obvious. He was certain that even if he wanted to have any relationship with the Abyssal Jar, it was impossible. But he must not court death. The jar might not come to ruin him, but that didn't mean it couldn't kill him. Given its overbearing nature, if it were truly angered, he would undoubtedly die.
Su Xiao had successfully exited, rejected by the supreme treasure. Logically, this should be a disappointing thing, but he was in a good mood. He even took out a Soul Crystal (Large) and began eating it while watching the following scene.
From the floating Abyssal Jar in the center, ink-like black threads spread again. This time, the target was Zuiyasi.
Zuiyasi's eyes widened. He tried to retreat, but his body froze mid-air.
Meanwhile, on a sand dune four kilometers away, Molei and Yueshitu were lying on top. In front of them was a virtual screen showing the situation of Su Xiao and the others.
"This thing has quite a lot of functions. Luoxi completely doesn't know how to use it. Ahem~ Hello, friends in the arena. I am the sweet-voiced, beautiful, and your favorite sand sculpture girl, Molei. Now I'm broadcasting live the daily lives of three old yinbis. The one eating Soul Crystal is Bai Ye, the one with the twisted expression is Zuiyasi, and the laughing black skull head is Wood. The plot is unexpectedly complicated."
Molei's voice, along with the images from the domain, was transmitted back to the arena in real-time. It could be said that the Insight Eye had fallen into the hands of the live-streaming sisters, and the viewing experience of the arena audience had undergone a qualitative change.
As for Luoxi, she basically didn't talk much. If she were strong enough to suppress the enemy, that would be fine. But she was like a streamer who was both weak and silent. What was even more frustrating was that the entire live-streaming platform had only this one channel. You could only choose to watch or not watch; there was no switching channels.
With Molei, it was a different story. Although Molei was still a bit weak, she was really sand sculpture. And Yueshitu had even more soul—she was a serious-faced sand sculpture girl.
In the arena, most of the audience had relaxed expressions, except for two groups who looked serious: the Demon Clan's seats and the seats of Doom Star.
At the Doom Star seats, the atmosphere had reached a terrifying level. A pair of eyes—some cloudy, some bloodshot, or with a bunch of pupils that could scare people with trypophobia into mental breakdown—were all staring at the big screen, or rather, at Zuiyasi on it.
If the Abyssal Jar chose Zuiyasi, he wouldn't need to return to Doom Star. If he dared to go back, it was believable that the scholars would use him to make wine.
Perhaps in a few years, Zuiyasi's manhood would be preserved in formalin for public viewing and study.
In the Sand World, Zuiyasi, trapped in the domain, was panicking inside. His thought was: if the Abyssal Jar chose him, the rest of his life would be a journey of escape. The ancient god believers and scholars of Doom Star wouldn't kill him; they would study him and the Abyssal Jar. The process would be unimaginably terrifying.
The ink-like black threads stopped in front of Zuiyasi. Almost simultaneously, various phantom images appeared behind him: spreading tentacles, a cluster of eyeballs stuck together, an underdeveloped throat emitting seductive sounds, and an unknown creature covered in feathers soaked in oil-like mucus.
Boom!
Zuiyasi was sent flying by a shockwave. Clearly, the Abyssal Jar didn't fancy him. From this, it could be seen that when the Abyssal Jar chose a target, the target itself was more of a representative. The jar valued the faction or group behind the chosen target more.
Su Xiao represented Reincarnation Paradise, Zuiyasi represented Doom Star, and the remaining Wood represented the Demon Clan.
In the domain, the ink-like black threads headed straight for Wood. The flame in Wood's eyes almost burst out, but it was all in vain. The black energy threads surged into him from all over his body.
Meanwhile, in the Void Arena, at the Demon Clan's seats, an old demon witnessed this scene. This old demon looked very much like an elderly human, but his eye sockets were hollow, with two faint green flames. It was clear that this old demon was very old, at the end of his life, with only a few years left.
The old demon leaned back in his seat. He tremblingly raised his hand, took out a small bottle from his chest, poured out some powder, and applied it to his lips. Unfortunately, it was all in vain. His flame dimmed, and he couldn't catch his breath—he had passed away~
"Lord Siweidan, Wood has... Lord Siweidan?! Oh no! Lord Siweidan's old illness has flared up!"
"Did you bring the soul medicine? Hurry!"
"Ancestor, wake up. Please... please don't scare me."
For a moment, the Demon Clan's seats were in chaos. Next door, the Demon Clan friends were all stiff-faced. Over the years, there had been no major grudges between them and the Demon Clan, but there were constant minor conflicts. It was very hard for them to hold back their laughter now.
"Pfft~ Hahahaha."
The iron-headed simpleton, Mengde, couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"What are you laughing at?"
A demon from next door questioned, already angry.
"Nothing. My aunt is giving birth."
"Giving birth? Is that how you laugh when someone's giving birth?"
"She gave birth to six. Hahahahaha."
The iron-headed simpleton, Mengde, really couldn't hold it in anymore. The battle demon behind him, Lilisi, punched him in the back of the head.
In the Sand World.
The domain, visions, and everything else disappeared. The black smoke rising from Wood gradually thinned and eventually dissipated completely. The Abyssal Jar had been choosing among three options: Reincarnation Paradise, Doom Star, and the Demon Clan.
When faced with Reincarnation Paradise, the Abyssal Jar deeply felt it couldn't afford to provoke them, so it was very dismissive of Su Xiao.
When faced with Doom Star, the Abyssal Jar's feeling was: what kind of mess is this?
After a round of selection, the Abyssal Jar found that the Demon Clan was still the best. Why squeeze a soft persimmon? Because soft persimmons taste good.