Chapter 43: So You're One of Us
Drip, drip～
Water droplets fell onto Su Xiao's face, his eyes suddenly snapped open. The dim environment caused his pupils to first dilate to adapt to the light, then contract back to normal size.
Su Xiao, with dried blood scabs on his face, stood up from the ground. The smell of burning protein drifted into his nostrils, and the crackling sound of flames burning wood reached his ears.
"I thought you were done for."
A slightly aged voice reached Su Xiao's ears. Following the firelight, he saw a figure wearing tattered armor sitting by the campfire.
The armor on the figure was somewhat scorched black, as if burned by high temperatures. Dark red cloth strips were wrapped around his head, occasionally writhing beneath them, as if something was trying to burrow out from the flesh of his face.
A gleaming greatsword was stuck in the ground nearby. This two-handed greatsword was about a palm's width wide, clearly not an ordinary item, with a heavy, vast power imbued within it.
Su Xiao recognized the person sitting by the fire—it was the Great Knight.
During the previous siege of the Nightmare King, in the first half of the battle, Su Xiao was sniping from a distance, so it was normal that the Great Knight hadn't seen Su Xiao's face.
In that siege of the Nightmare King, the Great Knight was schemed against by Zuiyasi and retreated midway. It could be said that the Great Knight was very strong; being ambushed by Zuiyasi's ability and still surviving was no easy feat.
"You're not a resident of the Sand Realm. What's your purpose here? To seize the fragments of the World Painting?"
The Great Knight—no, calling him the Old Knight would be more fitting—was roasting a large bird on a wooden stick. This bird looked somewhat like a chicken but had the size of an ostrich.
"..."
Su Xiao stood up, supporting himself against the wall. Pieces of Banishment fragments broke out from his already healing wounds, gathering toward his left arm's crystal arm, finally merging into it.
After taking a few steps, Su Xiao's numb body regained some sensation. He sat down against the wall and checked the notification records. There was one notification and one announcement, respectively:
[Notification: Storage space has been unlocked (notification from 15 hours ago).]
[Announcement (Void Tree): Watchful Paradise participants have been eliminated. In 12 hours, participants from the new faction will arrive in this world (announcement from 16 hours ago).]
...
The unlocking of the storage space was something Su Xiao had anticipated. He had previously guessed that after leaving the Endless Desert, the probability of the storage space being unlocked was over 80%.
Although the storage space was unlocked, food and fresh water resources remained sealed and would only be unlocked after leaving the Sand World.
The elimination of the Watchful Paradise participants seemed confusing at first glance, but upon careful analysis, it was actually simple. Previously, Su Xiao had temporarily eliminated the Arcane Eternal Star faction, allowing a new faction the opportunity to enter.
This time, the new faction was Watchful Paradise. That contractor was incredibly unlucky. After arriving in the Endless Desert, he began exploring the surroundings, but he was 12 hours later than Su Xiao and the others. By the time he found the Soul-Transformed Mind Beast, the Endless Desert had been shattered by the Madness of Abundance and the Abyssal Jar.
That contractor died on the spot. Without eliminating one's own Mind Beast, one cannot leave the Endless Desert. This showed that the Madness of Abundance had been quite accommodating earlier, which was also why Su Xiao chose to promise it a page of [Treeborn Page].
Now that the unlucky Watchful Paradise participant was dead, a new faction had gained entry qualifications. Calculating the time, the new faction had already entered. It was unknown which faction it was, but as long as it wasn't the Star Clan or Death Paradise faction, it would be fine. Both of those were tough nuts to crack.
Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the ground, sensing his own condition. A few minutes later, he formulated a treatment plan and took out a bottle of [Vitality Essence] from his storage space, drinking it all in one gulp.
As the medicinal liquid entered his stomach, a warm sensation spread. He pressed one hand on a wound on his chest, and soon, blood began to seep from the wound.
During the transformation of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy into the crystal layer, Su Xiao had interrupted it and used this nearly solidified energy to form micron-level energy threads, enhancing them with the 'Soul Thread (Passive)' effect to ensure the strength of these micron-level energy threads.
At this moment, inside Su Xiao's chest, there were dozens of such energy threads, suturing his damaged organs. If a bone was broken, these energy threads would wrap around it, aligning the broken bone and connecting it together.
If Su Xiao's energy control ability and soul strength were stronger, he could even perform cell-level suturing, but he couldn't do that yet.
The advantage of using energy threads to suture injuries was not only the significant acceleration of wound healing but also the elimination of concerns about removing stitches. Once the Hunter energy forming the energy threads was dispelled, these micron-level energy threads would naturally disappear.
Su Xiao took a deep breath. His previously collapsed lungs swelled, regaining vitality under the nourishment of [Vitality Essence]. The residual blood clots in his chest visibly turned into blood energy, permeating into his lungs.
"Whoosh～"
Su Xiao exhaled a large mouthful of turbid blood energy. The oppressive and dull pain in his chest cavity disappeared. This was the benefit of mastering Alchemy. As long as he wasn't dead and had alchemical potions or materials at hand, Su Xiao could restore his combat power in a short time.
After meditating cross-legged for half an hour, Su Xiao's injuries recovered by 40%. After an hour of meditation, his injuries recovered by 70%. After two hours, although his injuries weren't fully healed, he had the capital to engage in a bloody battle with enemies.
Ending his meditation, Su Xiao came to the campfire and looked at the Old Knight, whose figure was still tall even while sitting.
"So, are you prepared to cooperate with me in seizing the Scroll Fragments?"
"That's right."
The Old Knight pointed to the roasted 'ostrich' by the fire, calling it an ostrich for now, and gestured for Su Xiao to help himself.
"Are you sure?"
As Su Xiao spoke, he checked the team channel. He needed to find Bubu Wang and Baha, not only to regroup but also to retrieve the Black King Bracer as soon as possible.
"Not... entirely sure. Compared to my life, the fragments of the World Painting are more important."
The Old Knight had made some kind of decision in his heart. He had to bring back the Scroll Fragments; the Ancient City couldn't hold out much longer.
"It must be tough suppressing Zuiyasi's Ancient God System energy. Consider this as repayment for not giving me a sword while I was unconscious."
Su Xiao tossed a potion bottle to the Old Knight. He had been researching Ancient God energy for a long time. Moreover, what was inside Zuiyasi wasn't Ancient God energy, but Ancient God System abilities.
The two had similar characteristics but significant differences. For example, Zuiyasi wasn't an Ancient God; no matter how strong he became, he could never become one.
The Old Knight caught the potion bottle Su Xiao threw and fell silent.
"What's your relationship with that man who can grow tentacles?"
"Sometimes a collaborator, sometimes an enemy. It depends on the situation."
Su Xiao looked toward the night outside the hall. He had successfully entered the Sand World. The next thing to do was find the [Scroll Fragments].
"Then we are competitors. I'll accept your gift. I hope next time we meet, we won't be enemies."
The Old Knight stood up from the campfire and walked toward the outside of the hall. Stepping on the cracked ground, he disappeared into the night.
Watching the Old Knight's back disappear, Su Xiao felt a slight regret. Knowing that Su Xiao had some cooperation with Zuiyasi, the Old Knight showed no hostility but also wasn't willing to cooperate.
Concealing from the Old Knight that he and Zuiyasi were in a cooperative relationship was certainly possible, but the variables involved might ruin important matters at a critical moment.
From the Old Knight's behavior just now, it matched the intelligence given in the Reincarnation Paradise notification. This wasn't someone from the Good Faction, but a Neutral·Slightly Evil Faction. This was evident from his seizing Scroll Fragments everywhere.
Although he hadn't reached a cooperative relationship with the Old Knight, the current situation was still favorable for Su Xiao. Assuming that in the subsequent competition for Scroll Fragments, the Old Knight appeared, his first target would definitely be Zuiyasi, followed by Wude.
As for Su Xiao, the Old Knight couldn't afford to lose face, especially since Su Xiao had just given him a potion to suppress Ancient God System energy. For Su Xiao, the cost of this item was less than one Soul Coin, but for the Old Knight, it was a treasure.
Su Xiao walked out of the dilapidated hall. There were two things to accomplish quickly: first, regroup with Bubu Wang and Baha; second, understand the general situation of the Sand World.
Tonight wasn't too dark. The sky was full of stars, and a full moon hung high. Su Xiao walked among the ruins. After traveling for about an hour, he reached the edge of this ruin.
Just as he arrived at the edge, Su Xiao heard footsteps nearby. A figure wearing a helmet shaped like an iron bucket emerged from behind a broken wall. He was dressed in a gold-black priest's robe.
When this priest saw Su Xiao, his aura turned hostile. He pulled out a few gems from his bosom, the faint light from which seemed like the sun.
A few seconds after this person appeared, dozens of figures wearing similar iron bucket helmets emerged from the surroundings. There were at least a hundred people. Their auras were all very strong and gave off a dangerous feeling, as if killing them would immediately trigger a very dangerous result, most likely a self-destruct ability after death.
This was a group of madmen, with faith, unwavering faith. And now, Su Xiao had encountered these madmen by chance, stumbling into their gathering place.
A roar came from several hundred meters away. It was a giant black energy knight sword stabbing down from above. After that, a blinding light erupted in that area, illuminating it as if it were daylight.
The Old Knight had clashed with the comrades of these faith madmen over there. Judging from the sounds of battle, the Old Knight was retreating. He might have deliberately come here to seize Scroll Fragments from these faith madmen, or perhaps to obtain them through trade.
The malice from the surrounding hundred or so auras grew stronger. In response, Su Xiao was very calm, even though he was just recovering from serious injuries.
Under the gaze of the faith madmen, Su Xiao took out [Church Knight Head Bucket (Holy Spirit Rank·Set)] from his storage space and put it on his head.
The waves of hostility around him instantly dissipated. Clearly, Su Xiao had become one of them in their eyes.
[Notification: The Hunter has successfully joined the Sun Church (Extreme Evil Faction).]
[Due to the Hunter's Charm Attribute, faction reputation +2690 points.]
[Due to the Hunter's aura, faction reputation +1946 points.]
[Due to the Hunter's head equipment, faction reputation +120 points.]
[Current Faction Reputation: Friendly (4756/5900 points).]
[Because the Hunter's initial faction upon entering this world was Evil Faction (members include: the Hunter himself, Zuiyasi, Wude), and the Hunter has now joined the Extreme Evil Faction, your faction reputation gain speed is increased by 45%.]