Chapter 138: A Familiar-Looking Item
After paying 3,000 Soul Coins, the [Rune Inscription Base] was obtained. Regarding Caesar's payment, Su Xiao initially planned to pay in Soul Coins, but Caesar was more interested in the Black Maple Tree branches.
Su Xiao had obtained 4,370 grams of Black Maple Tree branches produced by Arcane Eternal Star this time. After some bargaining, he ultimately paid Caesar 370 grams. The remaining amount was rounded up to 4,000 grams, all to be sold together. There were many buyers, but no decision had been made yet on who to sell to.
Caesar accepted the 370 grams of Black Maple Tree branches with a sly grin. This scene caught the attention of the Saber-haired King, who assessed her own assets. Aside from her sword and necessary supplies, she had sold everything else to exchange for Soul Coins to enhance her abilities. In other words, her assets were quite meager.
Why had the Saber-haired King been eroded by dark matter? The reason was that she needed Black Maple Tree branches. After going to the Abyssal Dragon Depths, she not only failed to obtain Black Maple Tree yield but was also eroded by dark matter.
This time, Caesar's compensation was neither low nor particularly high, which didn't align with his usual style. Sure enough, as soon as he accepted the 370 grams of Black Maple Tree, Caesar revealed his true colors.
"My dear friend, Caesar hopes this transaction can continue."
"Continue?"
Although Su Xiao had already guessed what Caesar was about to say, he still feigned confusion.
"That's right, Caesar greatly needs the yield of the Black Maple Tree. How about this, Bai Ye, is there anything you need? I can help you think of a way. My channels... are many."
Caesar's final "many" sounded exceptionally sly and sleazy.
"You can get anything?"
"I wouldn't dare say that, but close enough, hehehe."
Caesar rubbed his hands together. Hearing this, Su Xiao thought of something he needed: [Awakening Stone].
The newly acquired [Shadow·Demon Blade] effect of Dragon-Slaying Flash, which was continuous slaying, required the use of [Awakening Stone] to awaken it before it could be used normally.
"Awakening Stone, do you have any connections?"
"What's it used for?"
"A rare consumable to awaken the abilities of the Law-Destroying Blade."
"I'll look into it. I'll get back to you by tomorrow at the latest. We'll discuss the price then."
Caesar left after saying this. Su Xiao had Beini go to the Trade Street to stop the sale of the remaining Black Maple Tree branches. If Caesar could obtain [Awakening Stone], trading these 4,000 grams of Black Maple Tree branches for it would be a great deal.
Regarding [Awakening Stone], Su Xiao had no connections. He had asked both the Black Merchant and the Shadow Merchant Guild. The Black Merchant had an item with the same name, used to awaken sealed spirits, which was different from what Su Xiao needed. The Shadow Merchant Guild had never heard of something called [Awakening Stone].
Not to mention Su Xiao's own channels, even the connections Beini had accumulated as the Holy Flame Cat hadn't turned up any information about [Awakening Stone].
Even if Caesar hadn't brought it up today, Su Xiao was already prepared to mention it to Caesar after this cooperation was complete. As it turned out, Caesar proactively brought it up because he wanted more Black Maple Tree branches.
"Bubu, Amu, let's go~"
Baha flew out of the Saber-haired King's exclusive room. Bubu Wang called out to Amu, who still didn't understand the situation, and they withdrew.
"Let's begin."
Su Xiao walked toward the treatment room, with the Saber-haired King following closely behind. Before long, faint cries for help tinged with sobbing could be heard from inside the treatment room. It could be said that the Saber-haired King was tougher than before. Last time, she had been crying and screaming, but this time, she was much more subdued.
Three hours later, Su Xiao walked out of the treatment room, holding a metal tube about 20 centimeters thick and nearly half a meter long. The tube had a glass structure on its wall, showing it was divided into over a dozen compartments. This treatment yielded 3 portions of [Dark Sediment] and 8 portions of [Dark Matter].
The harvest was indeed good, but the force hadn't been well-controlled. Extracting 3 portions of [Dark Sediment] from the Saber-haired King in a single session was a bit too much, causing considerable psychological trauma.
After leaving the Saber-haired King's exclusive room, Su Xiao took a stroll through the Trade Market before returning to his own exclusive room.
The [Rune Inscription Base] had been obtained. Su Xiao had two Immortal-rank runes, but the [Rune Inscription Base] he acquired had three slots.
[Rune Inscription Base]
Origin: Apocalypse Paradise
Type: Three-Slot Rune Base
Main Rune Slot: No Rune
Sub Rune Slot: No Rune
Sub Rune Slot: No Rune
Rune Effect: None (Only gains this characteristic after inserting a rune piece)
Rating: 0 Points
Description: Standard rune base, lacking the divine essence bestowed by a master craftsman.
Selling Price: 3,600 Soul Coins.
...
Clearly, this rune base was average. Having one was better than nothing. Moreover, given the scarcity of rune bases, even the most ordinary one would have people scrambling for it.
This rune base could hold three rune pieces. Su Xiao currently had the Blazing Sun and Dark runes. If he could get one more, he could fill all slots. He sat on the sofa, poured himself a cup of maple leaf tea, and took a light sip. The taste was good.
Recently, he had developed a liking for tea. The reason was that tea made from Black Maple Tree buds had a unique flavor. It was slightly bitter at first, then sweet after a moment, followed by a sensation as if the tea had cleansed his lungs and heart. Even if his mental fatigue was so severe that he was about to collapse, drinking half a cup of maple leaf tea would provide some relief. After sleeping, he would wake up refreshed the next day without a splitting headache.
Every time Su Xiao deciphered the Alchemy Codex, he relied on drinking maple leaf tea to avoid waking up the next morning with a headache from absorbing too much knowledge.
He had previously given some to Tuanzhang and White Bull, but a small portion was snatched away by the Holy Maiden Seat. Given the Holy Maiden Seat's nature, she wouldn't drink tea herself. It was most likely offered as a tribute to the elders of her clan. No wonder those old immortals treated the Holy Maiden Seat like a precious gem.
Su Xiao opened the auction platform and searched for runes. Regarding the third rune, Su Xiao didn't need it to have a particularly high rating. What mattered more was its characteristic.
The characteristics of the Dark Rune and the Blazing Sun Rune conflicted. While runes with higher ratings were indeed stronger, compatibility was more important.
For example, combining a Flame Rune with an Ice Rune wouldn't result in a "dual fire and ice" effect. Instead, it would yield nothing, or extremely low fire and ice resistance. The two would conflict, and if the rune pieces didn't shatter, it would be a blessing from heaven.
However, if Flame + Ice + Evaporation were combined, it would create a powerful "steam characteristic."
Su Xiao filtered the results. He sorted by price, then selected special equipment, and finally input "rune piece." A long list of runes for sale appeared before him, spanning over a dozen pages.
Were runes not precious? No, it was that rune bases were too difficult to obtain. As a result, contractors from various paradises chose to sell their rune pieces after acquiring them. As the saying goes, "The son is valued because of the father." The scarcity and high cost of rune bases drove up the price of rune pieces.
Su Xiao browsed for a while until a rune caught his eye. It was covered in sparks, an Immortal-rank rune with a rating of 1,007 points.
[Ember Rune: The dying embers burning in the darkness, as if about to go out, yet possessing powerful strength.]
This rune didn't seem particularly outstanding. Its low rating among Immortal-rank runes proved this, and its attributes were somewhat confusing.
For Su Xiao, this rune was rare. Compared to other runes, it was the cheapest, costing only 2,700 Soul Coins. He immediately bought it.
Compared to other Immortal-rank equipment with the same rating, this price was at least 800 Soul Coins higher. Su Xiao didn't mind that. What mattered was whether the [Ember Rune] could hold up. He planned to use the [Ember Rune] as the central main rune, with Dark and Blazing Sun as the two side sub-runes.
The Dark Rune had a rating of 1,500++, and the Blazing Sun Rune had a rating of 1,500. The Ember Rune, with only 1,007 points, seemed to be wailing: "Don't come near me! I really can't take it! I'll explode!"
That was exactly the problem Su Xiao was worried about. The characteristic of the Ember Rune was "dying embers burning in the darkness," which perfectly corresponded to Dark and Blazing Sun. It was especially suitable as the main rune, provided it didn't explode.
Su Xiao took out the Dark and Blazing Sun runes. Seeing this, Bubu Wang quickly jumped off the bed and woke up Beini, who was taking a nap. The message was: let Beini get up and see that the loud noise earlier wasn't caused by him—it was five Immortal Souls colliding. It wasn't his fault.
Understanding Bubu Wang's meaning, Beini's morning grumpiness increased by 80 points. She tried to calm herself down, thinking, "Don't be angry, don't be angry. Go back to sleep."
Just as Beini lay back down on the carpet, Bubu Wang immediately stepped on her, meaning: "Sleep, my ass. You need to watch."
"?"
Beini was stunned. She felt like Bubu Wang was saying to her: "Why aren't you hitting me? If you don't hit me, you still want to sleep?"
"Meow meow meow!"
"Arf~! Woof?"
After getting another round of cat paw slaps, Bubu Wang came to Su Xiao's leg to tattle.
Su Xiao inserted the last rune piece into the base. The next second, all three rune pieces on the base lit up. The left was Dark, the right was Blazing Sun, and the middle rune was dark brown, with a texture as rough as rock, covered in cracks. Due to the influence of the Blazing Sun rune on the right, these cracks had turned into magma veins.
The Ember Rune looked like it was about to explode and die right in front of Su Xiao. A few minutes later, the rune gradually stabilized. He checked the attributes of the rune base.
[Rune Inscription Base]
Main Rune Slot: Ember
Sub Rune Slot: Dark
Sub Rune Slot: Blazing Sun
Rune Effect: Ember Flame (Passive) — When the base wearer is attacked and loses more than 20% of their maximum health within a short period, the Ember Flame will ignite within your body. Over the next 10 seconds, your physical defense will be significantly increased (this physical defense decreases according to the following values).
Note: Initial increase of 150% physical defense, decreasing each second by the following values: 200% → 180% → 150% → 120% → 100% → 80% → 60% → 40% → 20% → 10%.
Note: This effect has no cooldown and can be triggered multiple times in a short period, but it does not stack.
...
For Su Xiao, losing 20% of his health in a short time was both difficult and easy. When fighting ordinary enemies, unless he was surrounded, this situation wouldn't occur. But if he were fighting a big boss like the Old Knight, it was a different story.
Earlier, the Old Knight had pierced Su Xiao's chest with a single sword strike, causing his health to drop by 56.7% on the spot.
When fighting powerful enemies, every attack he received had a high chance of triggering the [Ember Flame (Passive)] effect. The decreasing defense boost over the next 10 seconds could save his life.
Also, Su Xiao preferred this kind of decreasing boost. A boost that suddenly ended would "jolt" him during a fight with a strong enemy. When battling a powerful foe, he had no time to check how much longer a boost would last. He couldn't afford the distraction. He had to focus all his attention on the enemy in front of him. A 0.5-second lapse in concentration could mean death.
Su Xiao equipped the rune base. He was very satisfied with this harvest. If he was lucky enough to be injured by an enemy, causing his health to drop by more than 20%, and he entered a near-death state, then "Phase Three" would kick in.
In reality, Su Xiao's development direction was aimed straight at big bosses. In his normal state, it was sword + straight kick + Blood Spear shooting. This was Phase One. If the enemy was troublesome and the battle reached an intense stage, he would draw his gun, manifest [Blood Spear: Firm], and wield a sword in one hand and a blood spear in the other.
When his health dropped below 10%, he would successfully enter Phase Three. The Blood Spear Grandmaster's near-death melee attack boost + Black King Bracer's near-death penalty immunity + team skill life-saving + rune base Ember Flame + left-hand blood spear + right-hand sword.
Su Xiao took out a ring, the [Ancient Killing Ring]. He had an idea for this ring.
[Equipment Effect 2: Weak Point Slaughter (Passive) — When attacking enemies at range, it triggers Hillis's soul power, providing continuous enhancement to ranged attacks (enhancing bullets, arrows, etc.).
Note: If a ranged attack hits an enemy's vital point, the resulting vital damage will be increased by 4.72 to 6.32 times (depending on the chosen vital point; the head is the highest priority, followed by the neck, heart, etc.).]
Su Xiao had previously discovered that using a sniper cannon didn't work well with this ring. The recoil from the sniper cannon was too strong and could easily shatter the ring.
After mastering the Blood Spear Grandmaster, Su Xiao had an idea. Could he use blood energy manipulation to create an ability similar to "Susanoo" from the Naruto World? Then, he could go to Lide and order an oversized bow. The tall blood energy phantom behind him would draw the bow, using a blood spear as an arrow to shoot.
When using this ability, Su Xiao himself wouldn't be affected by the impact. He was very curious whether the [Ancient Killing Ring] could work with this ability, allowing him to shoot and kill an enemy from about 1 to 2 kilometers away.
Positioning wouldn't be a problem. He could have Bubu Wang, who was blending into the environment, act as a coordinate nearby. Using Bubu Wang as Coordinate A, he could lock onto Coordinate B's position. This would be like having X-ray vision, allowing him to blow the enemy away with a single blood spear.
This made Su Xiao want to upgrade the [Ancient Killing Ring]. He had tried before. Upgrading this Holy Spirit-rank equipment was the same as upgrading an Immortal-rank accessory—it required paying Soul Coins. In reality, aside from upgrading Immortal-rank weapons, upgrading other Immortal-rank equipment wasn't particularly expensive.
Keeping this ability development in mind, Su Xiao prepared to fulfill a previous promise. He took out the [Book of Doors] and tore out a page of [Treeborn Leaf].
When he was fighting the blood energy monster in the desert, at the beginning of the battle, the Wild Growth had helped severely wound the six-in-one blood energy monster. Then, after Su Xiao finished fighting the blood energy monster, the Wild Growth made its move, clashing with the Abyssal Jar.
If the Wild Growth had directly clashed with the Abyssal Jar from the start, Su Xiao would have died. He wouldn't have had time to catch Molei and use her life-saving item to escape together.
This was a debt of gratitude. Debts of gratitude must be repaid. Su Xiao took out a very small piece of tree root and, without touching it, placed it on the [Treeborn Leaf].
Half a minute later, the tree root began to grow, devouring the [Treeborn Leaf]. The Wild Growth had arrived. Due to the certification of Reincarnation Paradise, the Wild Growth couldn't appear directly.
An emotion from ancient times emerged—confusion. The Wild Growth was puzzled as to why Su Xiao was giving it a [Treeborn Leaf] for free. For all void alien existences, this was a rare item, especially since the Wild Growth's main body resembled a large tangled mass of tree roots. The [Treeborn Leaf] had a skyrocketing effect on it.
A surge of blood energy was released from Su Xiao's hand, forming the shape of a blood energy monster. Seeing this, the Wild Growth's fluctuations calmed, and it accepted the [Treeborn Leaf].
Since the Wild Growth had already come, and there were still five [Treeborn Leaves] left, Su Xiao decided to trade with the Wild Growth once. It had been a while since he last traded with this alien existence, and he might as well ask for some of its tree roots.
Su Xiao took out another [Treeborn Leaf]. Several tree roots from the Wild Growth extended down from above, gradually consuming the [Treeborn Leaf].
A black pottery shard fell from above, landing with a clatter on the wooden coffee table. This was the trade item offered by the Wild Growth.
The more Su Xiao looked at this black pottery shard, the more familiar it seemed. This thing... looked like Wood's wild father. No, it was exactly that!