Chapter 10: Then I Can Rest Easy

Chapter 10: Then I Can Rest Easy

At the bottom of the Great Tree Hollow.
Su Xiao looked at the golden amber in his hand. The Luan insect inside had been swimming just moments ago, but now it was completely still. This thing seemed to have died from exhaustion...
Earlier, Su Xiao had wondered why none of those dark creatures with formidable corrosive abilities and bizarre powers had come to chase him, instead all charging at Wood and Ona.
When he first entered the Great Tree Hollow, the Queen's Blood Vial hanging from his sword hilt had shattered. He initially thought it was the Ghost Clan Queen's blood that kept those dark creatures from attacking him. Now it seemed that wasn't the case at all—it was the effect of [Wandering Luan].
[Wandering Luan]'s effect was incredibly potent, allowing Su Xiao's Luck Attribute, which was as high as 43 points, to truly shine. Unfortunately, this thing couldn't withstand any trouble and had actually died.
Although [Wandering Luan] was dead, it had opened a new world of possibilities for Su Xiao. He realized that this type of luck item was far more practical than he had imagined. If he got the chance in the future, he would definitely acquire more.
Su Xiao put away the amber in his hand. Just then, a loud crash came from above. Large branches snapped, and a blur fell straight down from above before crashing to the ground.
Boom!
A crater appeared on the ground, surrounded by fragments of severed tentacles and writhing black chunks of flesh.
Inside the crater, the massive head of a black python was wide open, its teeth jagged and uneven. Its tongue was composed of numerous small black snakes writhing wildly.
Ona, covered in corrosive mucus, crawled out from the snake's mouth. She tilted her head, revealing half a thin black snake beside her neck—three-fifths of the snake's body had already burrowed into her neck, looking like it was about to fully penetrate and wreak havoc inside her.
With her head tilted, Ona pinched the snake's tail with two fingers. Ignoring the snake scales that pierced into her flesh like barbs, she forcibly yanked the black snake out of her neck. The sound was painful to hear, but no blood sprayed out.
Ona pulled the black snake out completely, but she wasn't done. She gripped the snake firmly in her hand, raised it, tilted her head back, and squeezed with force, wringing a rosy-red blood from the snake's flesh like squeezing a sponge.
After drinking every drop of blood without spilling a single one, Ona discarded the snake's remains like trash.
"How dare you suck my blood."
Ona sucked on the bloodstain on her thumb. Her blood was extraordinarily precious; losing even a single drop was something she was unwilling to accept.
Having witnessed the entire scene, Baha secretly felt how fierce this woman was. Bubu Wang beside him deeply agreed.
Ona had arrived so quickly, clearly by violently clearing the area. The price she paid must have been considerable. As soon as she appeared, a feather pen materialized.
The feather pen hovered against the wall, paused for a few seconds, then suddenly began to move, drawing on the wall. It rapidly sketched a human silhouette.
The silhouette gradually filled itself in, first completing a dark purple suit, then a black skull head inlaid with rice-sized black gems, and finally the green flame in the eye sockets.
The mural grew increasingly lifelike until the flame gained a spark of life. As the boundary between two-dimensional and three-dimensional temporarily blurred, Wood stepped out from within the wall.
Seeing this, Ona furrowed her delicate brows. Although she had heard of Wood's ability, witnessing it firsthand still made her feel it was troublesome.
At the moment, Wood was merely using the two-dimensional to three-dimensional method to move from a dangerous place to safety. What if he used this ability in combat?
In that regard, one should ask the victim, Tian Yu, who had been transformed from three-dimensional to two-dimensional by Wood and ultimately died horribly.
This was Wood's troublesome nature. If fighting him head-on, his strength was a notch below Su Xiao's, but Wood's various bizarre abilities were indeed tricky.
Besides his strange abilities, Wood's survivability was also absurdly strong. Within the World of Paintings, the Abyssal Jar and the Frenzied Growth had clashed twice in total. As the holder of the Abyssal Jar, Wood was present throughout both confrontations and ultimately didn't die.
Or rather, during the first battle between the Abyssal Jar and the Frenzied Growth, Wood had indeed died. But he had a backup plan—using the blood contract left on Tian Yu, he successfully revived from the brink of death.
Wood and Ona had rushed over so quickly because they didn't want to lose the rewards from this northern expedition. Starting from the Ancient Capital, passing through the Cold Graveyard, the White Swamp, and the Black Forest, they had finally reached the farthest point, the Great Tree Hollow.
Although there were opportunities for profit along the way, none of the three had lingered. Now that they were at the Great Tree Hollow, its deepest part was likely hiding many treasures.
The Soul Severing Shadow Stone being located here was probably no coincidence. It was more like one of the rare treasures stored at the bottom of the Great Tree Hollow.
Having penetrated this deep into the Great Tree Hollow, the place where the treasures were stored shouldn't be far off. That's why Wood and Ona hurried to follow, afraid that Su Xiao would monopolize everything. Both knew Su Xiao was perfectly capable of doing that.
"This door is sturdy."
Ona came to the giant metal door. Most of the relief carvings on it were covered by blue moss. Wood, standing over ten meters away, said, "White Night, open the door."
Hearing this, a different light flickered in Ona's eyes. She stepped back to the side of the door, signaling Su Xiao to open it. But she didn't retreat too far—in case there were treasures inside the door, she could seize the initiative. Clearly, she wasn't as experienced as Wood, who stood over ten meters away.
Su Xiao vanished from his spot and reappeared in front of the giant metal door the next instant.
"Wait—"
Boom!!
It felt like the entire underground tree hollow shook. Some severed tree roots fell from above.
In the center of the double metal door, a hole nearly three meters in diameter appeared. Ona, who had been standing by the door, now had one hand on her forehead, her ears ringing from the intense shockwave.
"Do you always open doors like this?"
Ona, dazed by the impact, spoke.
Ignoring Ona, Su Xiao looked through the hole into the interior. It was a long corridor.
The corridor was about four meters wide with an arched ceiling. On both walls, every few meters, half-buried pillars stood, symmetrical on each side.
Darkness permeated the deeper part of the corridor. Su Xiao left Bubu Wang behind to watch, in case they got blocked in while exploring the corridor.
Stepping through the hole in the metal door into the corridor, Su Xiao remained in the lead. Where darkness spread, he wouldn't use his Dragon Shadow Flash ability to teleport through space.
Footsteps echoed distinctly in the quiet corridor. After advancing about a hundred meters, another metal door appeared ahead.
This pair of double doors was an off-white color, with a relief face in the center. The structure was similar to the previous metal door, but the material was different.
Wood and Ona voluntarily moved to the sides, and Ona even covered her ears with both hands.
Su Xiao looked at the metal door ahead. A crystal layer climbed up his right calf and foot. He leaned forward and delivered a straight kick.
Clang!!
Layers of shockwaves spread out. The off-white metal door showed signs of denting inward but immediately rebounded. The crystal layer on Su Xiao's leg shattered.
The off-white metal door wasn't breached, but the relief face on it gradually took on a pained expression.
"Oww!!"
The relief face let out a miserable howl. After all, Su Xiao had kicked it right in the face. Although due to the special nature of the [Sealed Slumber Door], the relief face didn't shatter, as a peculiar lifeform, it also had pain perception and intelligence.
"Who, who kicked me!"
The face on the door spoke with a trembling voice, clearly hurt badly.
"..."
Su Xiao withdrew his right leg, still in the kicking posture. His leg was numb. The good news was that his bones hadn't cracked.
"That must hurt, right?"
Ona spoke.
"Not bad."
Su Xiao took out a small, delicate bottle. After pressing the button on top, he bit the mouthpiece and took a deep breath. This small bottle, resembling an asthma inhaler, was a little gadget Su Xiao had occasionally made during his experiments.
The gas inside he named [Extreme Oxygen]. This gas was non-toxic, colorless, odorless, and non-addictive. However, frequent inhalation over a short period could cause severe spasms in the lungs and respiratory tract.
If only one big breath of [Extreme Oxygen] was taken, the respiratory tract and lungs could handle it. This substance entered the bloodstream 4.57 times faster than nicotine. Once in the blood, [Extreme Oxygen] provided a brief but potent analgesic effect on pain.
Simply put, [Extreme Oxygen] was an inhaled super-strong painkiller. A single inhalation could last about 8 to 10 seconds.
Don't underestimate this brief but side-effect-free potent pain relief. After injury, the damaged area first goes numb, then experiences an extremely intense burst of pain. This level of pain lasts a few seconds before subsiding to moderate-to-high intensity. Countless heroes have failed to catch their breath during those few seconds of extreme pain, temporarily fainted, and ultimately died horribly.
With [Extreme Oxygen], one could rely on its 10-second super-strong analgesic effect to get through that brief explosive pain. Clearly, this product had great market potential.
After inhaling [Extreme Oxygen], 10 seconds passed. The pain in his calf was still there but not as intense as before. Su Xiao was quite satisfied with [Extreme Oxygen]. Although with his willpower and pain resistance, he basically didn't need this stuff, it could be sold. Its production cost was unimaginably low, and it could be mass-produced.
"Who are you people!"
The face on the door spoke. It had originally been square-shaped, but Su Xiao's kick had turned it into a pancake face.
"We are the Queen's personal guards, newly selected."
Baha spoke.
"Personal guards? Guards for what?"
The face on the door looked puzzled.
"Of course, guards protecting the Ghost Clan Queen."
"Pfft—protecting the Queen, hahahaha, let me laugh for a bit."
The face on the door mercilessly mocked Baha. In its view, this was ridiculous. The Queen's strength ranked at least in the top three across the entire continent.
"You just called her the Ghost Clan Queen? It seems you've misunderstood something. The Queen is indeed of Ghost Clan origin, but she's not just the Ghost Clan Queen."
"Then what?"
"She is the Queen of the entire Northern Continent. That old Ghost Clan guy sent you, didn't he? Did he tell you about suppressing the Stone Throne or something? That was just a part of the Queen's growth experience. Her true glory came later. Those Ghost Clan bastards have no shame. If the Fungus Tribe weren't afraid of the cold, they would have wiped out the Ghost Clan long ago."
The face on the door's tone was full of disdain for the Ghost Clan, and it also revealed a piece of information: although the Ghost Clan Queen was born into the Ghost Clan, she was actually the ruler of the entire Northern Continent. The Cold Graveyard, the White Swamp, and the Black Forest were all her territories.
If that was the case, it made perfect sense why the Mushroom People worshipped the Ghost Clan Queen.
Besides the Mushroom People, the existence of the Dark Form Hunter·Thorn also proved this. The Dark Form Hunter·Thorn was originally a supernatural beast of the Black Forest but had become a guardian of the Great Tree Hollow. Without a doubt, the Ghost Clan Queen was located deep within the Great Tree Hollow.
Words couldn't be trusted. What kind of person the Ghost Clan Queen was couldn't be judged solely by others' words. For example, in the mouths of the old Ghost Clan, the Queen was impulsive, power-hungry, but unwilling to bear the costs equal to that power.
This description contained many lies, constantly emphasizing that the Ghost Clan Queen was merely the Queen of the Ghost Clan, and even her status within the Ghost Clan wasn't as high as imagined.
The truth was far from that. Whether in the White Swamp or the Black Forest, the Ghost Clan Queen was renowned and feared. Only in a small place like the Cold Graveyard had she been belittled by the Ghost Clan.
A simple comparison: if the Ghost Clan came to the Black Forest, they would basically be at the bottom of the food chain, and before long, they'd be eaten to extinction by the monsters here. In contrast, the Ghost Clan Queen was recognized as the strongest by these monsters, an existence they dared not provoke.
From many angles, the ulterior motives of the old Ghost Clan could be vaguely seen. Su Xiao had sensed this when he received the corresponding task.
[Side Quest: Choice.]
Difficulty Level: Lv.76~Lv.78
Quest Info: Bring back the Ghost Clan Queen or the Ghost Clan Crown.
Quest Reward: Prepaid.
...
The reward for this quest was special—it was already prepaid. But what was prepaid? First were the Soul Crystals and the Overlord Essence. These two were the easiest to freeload.
After that came [Blood Fragrant Fine Wine (Immortal Rank)], [Ghost Clan Queen's Blood], [Former King's Ice Soul], [Ancient Map], and [Ancient Language Records].
These items seemed to be freeloaded, but they actually had different uses when dealing with the Ghost Clan Queen.
First was [Ancient Map], which went without saying. Then [Ghost Clan Queen's Blood] was a way to track the Ghost Clan Queen.
The old Ghost Clan clearly knew that the Queen was inside the Great Tree Hollow. To enter, one needed Dark Stones, and [Former King's Ice Soul] could be used to trade with the Shadow Spirits for Dark Stones.
After that came the deep exploration of the Great Tree Hollow. [Ancient Language Records] would come into play, allowing one to find the corresponding door-opening passwords within the Great Tree Hollow to open the two [Sealed Slumber Doors].
Finally, [Blood Fragrant Fine Wine (Immortal Rank)]—the old Ghost Clan practically said outright that the Ghost Clan Queen loved this wine, so why not poison it?
Judging by the old Ghost Clan's intention, they very much hoped Su Xiao would bring back the Ghost Clan Queen, or at least bring back the Queen's Crown.
If what the face on the door said was true, then the Queen's Crown wasn't a heirloom of the Ghost Clan but the symbol of kingship over the entire Northern Continent.
Furthermore, Su Xiao's experiences along the way made him feel that the million Ice Slaves suppressed beneath the Stone Throne weren't that big a deal compared to the overall situation of the Northern Continent. At best, it was a localized disaster that could only affect the Cold Graveyard, not even reaching the White Swamp.
As for the Black Forest, if those million Ice Slaves dared to come here, they would just be delivering themselves. There were many powerful beings here with weak territorial instincts.
This made one wonder: were these powerful beings' weak territorial instincts because they had all been beaten into submission by the Queen?
Soon, the face on the door revealed the relationship between the Ghost Clan Queen, the Stone Throne, and the Ghost Clan.
First, the Queen was indeed of Ghost Clan origin. At age 5, she was discovered to have the qualifications of a successor. So-called successor qualifications meant sitting on the Stone Throne and absorbing the Soul Cold Mist drifting up from underground.
From age 5, the Queen had sat on the Stone Throne continuously. Thirty years later, knowing her time was short, she worried that after her death, there would be no next successor.
Therefore, before dying from the erosion of the Soul Cold Mist, she left the Sealed Hall and told the elder Ghost Clan members to find the next successor as soon as possible. The incarnation formed from a part of her soul wouldn't last long on the Stone Throne.
The few elder Ghost Clan members couldn't stop the Queen from leaving—not because they didn't want to, but because they couldn't. If not for her consideration that they were elders, she would have left by more forceful means.
Two days after the Queen left the Ghost Clan, she returned. The Ghost Clan didn't know what she had experienced during those two years. They only found her stronger and wearing a crown on her head.
In truth, by then, the Queen had already subdued over 95% of the strong on the Northern Continent. Beings as bizarre as the Shadow Spirits also maintained a mutual non-aggression relationship with her.
The Mushroom Tribe, once victimized by dark creatures, had only survived safely thanks to the Queen's reputation, avoiding harm from those dark creatures. Those dark creatures were practically their natural enemies, killing them purely for the love of slaughter. This showed how miserable the Mushroom Tribe had been back then.
Coincidentally, the crown the Queen obtained in the Great Tree Hollow was actually a set with the Stone Throne. These were technologies left by the Ada people. After all, even back then, the Cold Graveyard had Soul Cold Mist, naturally leading to the existence of beings like Ice Slaves.
The Ada people not only solved the Ice Slave problem but also made the best use of everything. They used the Stone Throne to suppress them underground. By wearing the crown and sitting on the Stone Throne, one could absorb the cold from the Soul Cold Mist through the crown, leaving only soul power to be absorbed by the crown wearer, thereby strengthening their strength.
The Ghost Clan Queen, nearing the end of her life, first discovered [Ancient Language Records] during her travels. Then, inside the Great Tree Hollow, by understanding the ancient language, she learned that the crown and the Stone Throne were meant to be used together.
With the crown, the Ghost Clan Queen not only solved the Soul Cold that was about to end her life but also returned to the Ghost Clan. Although sitting on the Stone Throne was boring, it was her homeland. She didn't care whether those profit-driven old bastards lived or died, but she did care about the ordinary Ghost Clan civilians.
The subsequent situation could be simply likened to: when drinking water, one shouldn't forget the well-digger. But there are always one or two people who think the well-digger found gold and insist on killing the well-digger to get the gold.
Those few elder Ghost Clan members suspected the Queen had found 'gold.' In their view, the Queen, who had once defied their opposition and left boldly, wasn't mature enough. Only they, with sufficient seniority, should control the crown.
Of the nine elder Ghost Clan members, three approached the Queen and hinted at this matter. The Queen laughed, then killed those three elder Ghost Clan members on the spot and slaughtered their entire families that very night.
At that time, the Queen felt uneasy. She had two choices: 1. Kill all those greedy elder Ghost Clan members, or 2. Leave the Cold Graveyard and let these Ghost Clan members fend for themselves.
The Queen wasn't soft-hearted; otherwise, how could she have become the Queen of the entire Northern Continent? Those strong who opposed her, as long as they weren't humanoid, she killed and roasted or stewed them. Clearly, the Queen was a foodie.
Just as the Queen was about to act, her foster father approached her and warned her that she must make a choice: kill all the elder Ghost Clan power-holders or leave the Cold Graveyard.
Faced with her foster father's support, the Ghost Clan Queen was genuinely moved. They had dinner together and talked. After the meal, the Queen was poisoned. Her favorite [Blood Fragrant Fine Wine] had been laced with a deadly poison by her foster father.
Poisoned, the Queen fought desperately against a group of Ghost Clan strong. Ultimately, her legs were severed by her own foster father, and she fled severely wounded.
After the Queen left, the Ghost Clan's retribution came. Having failed to seize the crown, they couldn't use the Stone Throne to continuously enhance their strength.
Not to mention using the Stone Throne to enhance strength, they couldn't even deal with the Soul Cold Mist seeping out. This was self-inflicted, driven by greed.
Without the crown, hostile to the Queen, and with the Soul Cold Mist gradually spreading, these factors made the Ghost Clan's living environment increasingly harsh. Additionally, they couldn't go to the White Swamp to gather fruits or wild vegetables. The Mushroom People were the Queen's loyal subjects, and every Mushroom Person wanted to kill the Ghost Clan. Any Ghost Clan member who went there would die, eventually forcing them to huddle in the Cold Graveyard.
Thus, the Ghost Clan's population plummeted from over 6 million to 300,000. In a few more years, the Ghost Clan might face extinction.
It was worth mentioning that the old Ghost Clan member Su Xiao had encountered was the Queen's foster father, the Betrayer·Goru.
"All old news. Calling the Queen the ruler of the Northern Continent isn't accurate. You should have seen the situation here—it doesn't really need a ruler. The Queen should be called the strongest on the Northern Continent."
The face on the door spoke with a tone of reminiscence. As soon as it finished speaking, Su Xiao received a notification.
[Notification: Your Side Quest·Choice has changed. This quest has been terminated.]
[Hidden Quest·Sting of Poison (Activated).]
Difficulty Level: Lv.78~Lv.80
Quest Info: Find the Ghost Clan Queen and share [Blood Fragrant Fine Wine] with her to awaken the soul poison sealed within her body.
Warning: The Hunter must not alter the composition of [Blood Fragrant Fine Wine] in any way.
Quest Time Limit: 12 hours.
Quest Reward: Stone Throne Supplementary Device (fails after 5 hours of use).
Quest Penalty: None.
...
Seeing this quest, Su Xiao roughly estimated the Queen's combat power. The lack of a penalty already said a lot.
"You few, without the password, you can't get in. Besides, that thing seems to have woken up."
The face on the door looked upward. Following its gaze, Su Xiao saw black liquid gradually seeping from the ceiling above.
Drip~
A drop of black liquid fell beside Su Xiao's foot, sizzling as it corroded into the ground.
On the ceiling, black semi-fluid oozed out, increasing in quantity and gradually hanging down.
Su Xiao leaped back to avoid the falling black sludge. In an instant, the black sludge falling from above filled the corridor ahead. Except for not corroding the Sealed Slumber Door, the black sludge heavily corroded the floor and both walls.
"Let's work together to get rid of this thing."
Su Xiao spoke. Hearing this, Wood hesitated, while Ona beside him agreed.
"Let's move."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As Su Xiao spoke, he slashed out streaks of blade aura. Ona beside him pressed one hand against the wall, and immediately, tentacles burst from the wall beside the black sludge, stabbing into the black mud monster's body.
Hiss~
The tentacles were corroded in an extremely short time, causing Ona's expression to change.
"This thing..."
Ona started to speak but found that her two good teammates, who had been beside her moments ago, had already turned and run over ten meters away.
This black mud monster wasn't something to face head-on. It wasn't a living creature but a mechanism set up here. If someone stood before the second Sealed Slumber Door for too long without giving the password, this mechanism would trigger, causing the black mud monster to appear.
Faced with this situation, the best course was to turn and run. The corridor terrain was the slime monster's home ground; fighting head-on was too disadvantageous.
Inside the corridor, Su Xiao and Wood were at the front, Baha gripping Su Xiao's shoulder. Ona behind them gritted her teeth and ran, while at the rear, the black mud monster blocked the corridor's inner end, surging out rapidly.
Wind whistled past Su Xiao's ears. Soon, the metal door he had kicked a hole through appeared ahead.
Su Xiao rushed out through the hole in the metal door. Bubu Wang, who had been guarding nearby, quickly followed. Behind them, the corridor rumbled incessantly. It looked like the black mud monster might indeed burst out of the corridor.
Just as Su Xiao was about to climb up the Great Tree Hollow, several figures fell from above, along with large pieces of broken tree roots.
The Three Brothers of National Football, Solomon, and Gulu landed from above. From the white glow on their bodies, these people had obtained Dark Stones and were under the protection of light.
With a rumble, the black mud monster surged out from the hole in the metal door, quickly occupying the bottom of the Great Tree Hollow.
Su Xiao grabbed Bubu Wang with one hand and Baha's eagle claw with the other. Baha spread his wings and took off, carrying Su Xiao and Bubu Wang.
The Three Brothers of National Football had barely landed when they were almost swallowed by the black mud monster. The three quickly rushed to the cave wall and climbed upward.
Solomon, who hadn't yet landed, summoned Death's Wings to carry him away.
Gulu, also in mid-fall, threw a dagger upward. When the dagger reached its highest point, Gulu was pulled toward it, using this to continuously ascend.
Over ten minutes later, at the exit of the Great Tree Hollow, under the Initial Tree.
Ona was the first to rush out, followed by Baha, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, then Solomon, and finally Gulu.
Su Xiao checked the remaining time of the Light Protection. It was still sufficient. The current problem was how to deal with the black mud monster and obtain the password to enter that door. Su Xiao estimated that the Ghost Clan Queen should be inside.
The arrival of the Three Brothers of National Football, Solomon, and Gulu wasn't surprising. At this stage of the killing competition, not everyone stayed in the Ancient Capital.
Staying in the Ancient Capital was relatively safe. Those with strength explored various areas to gather resources.
"You didn't open the Sealed Slumber Door? You triggered the defense mechanism?"
Gulu spoke. Hearing this, Su Xiao became interested. Without him needing to speak, Baha asked, "How do you know that black mud is a defense mechanism?"
"Secret."
Gulu, dressed in a black-red Gothic dress, took out a lollipop and put it in her mouth.
"The Mushroom Prophet told us."
The Third Brother of National Football spoke. Hearing this, Gulu was so angry she almost spat out blood.
"Are you stupid? Don't you understand information exchange?"
Gulu felt utterly speechless. The Third Brother of National Football rubbed the back of his head, grinning foolishly.
"Where is the Mushroom Prophet?"
Su Xiao spoke. He had seen the Mushroom Prophet on the Eternal Life Island in the Demon Sea World. Now he suspected that the neutral unit certified by the Void Tree, the Mushroom Prophet, had its hometown in the White Swamp.
"Over there. Walk west along the fog wall for half an hour, and you'll find its big wooden house. But it should have left by now. It's said to be going to the 'Sunlit Wetlands,' which is in the southern part of the continent."
The First Brother of National Football didn't hide this information. Hearing this, Su Xiao felt a bit regretful. Last time at the Mushroom Prophet's trading shop, he had bought many good things at low prices.
According to the First Brother of National Football, the five of them had met by chance. He shared the Mushroom Prophet's information, and the five temporarily cooperated.
The five had received a quest from the Mushroom Prophet: to visit the Queen and deliver some items. The quest difficulty was very low, and the rewards were average, but the penalty was low—just deducting some Soul Coins. However, that was relatively speaking.
The Three Brothers of National Football, Solomon, and Gulu each got a key piece of information from the Mushroom Prophet, meaning only by cooperating could they successfully meet the Queen.
"My information is the passage token for the Dark Form Hunter·Thorn."
The First Brother of National Football took out a silver coin. By giving this silver coin to the Dark Form Hunter·Thorn, not only would they avoid its attack, but the Dark Form Hunter·Thorn would also lead them to the bottom of the Great Tree Hollow.
"But we didn't see the Dark Form Hunter·Thorn."
The Second Brother of National Football took the silver coin, sounding a bit regretful. If they had met the Dark Form Hunter·Thorn, they could have gotten some benefits.
"The Dark Form Hunter·Thorn was killed by us."
Baha laughed rather mischievously. The Three Brothers of National Football were speechless. Hadn't it been said that the Dark Form Hunter·Thorn was nearly immortal?
"Since you've all spoken, I won't hide it either. I know the password for the first Sealed Slumber Door."
Gulu raised her chin slightly. Su Xiao glanced at her. What useless information.
"How about it? Want to know? Just call me Dad—"
Gulu almost slapped herself. She corrected herself, "Just beg me, and I'll tell you."
"No need. We've already opened that door."
Baha's words made the smile on Gulu's face fade a bit. She asked, "How did you open it?"
"Kicked it open."
"Huh?"
Gulu was a bit confused. She suddenly felt that the information she had obtained was so useless.
Su Xiao looked at Solomon. Solomon nodded, meaning he indeed knew the password for the second Sealed Slumber Door.
"Solomon, let's make a deal."
"Sorry, I can't—"
"3000 Soul Coins."
Just hearing Su Xiao's offer, Gulu knew it was over. She quickly said, "Solomon, you can't be tempted by Soul Coins. You have to—"
"Deal."
Solomon took out a piece of paper, formed words on it with his mental power, and handed it to Su Xiao.
Solomon turned and left, heading to another dangerous area, which was the resource-producing place he truly desired.
After sensing the words on the paper, Su Xiao crushed it. He arrived at the Great Tree Hollow, but its entrance was overflowing with corrosive black mud, making it impossible to enter.
Su Xiao took some corrosive black mud, tried dripping a few solutions into it, then asked the others, "Do you have any way to enter the Great Tree Hollow?"
"No."
"Not for now."
"Absolutely no way."
Wood, Ona, the Three Brothers of National Football, and Gulu all expressed their opinions.
"Then I can rest easy."
After saying this, Su Xiao took out a bottle of solution and crushed it. The gas formed by mixing this solution formed a crystal layer on his body surface, wrapping his entire body.
With a splash, Su Xiao leaped into the Great Tree Hollow, sinking into the black mud.
"Well, well~"
Gulu was momentarily speechless. This monopolization of the spoils left her with no complaints.
...
Above the White Swamp, an old-fashioned airplane flew through the sky. Inside the cabin, Paul, who looked like an alien, lay on a bench, legs crossed, holding a pornographic magazine.
"Coordinates reached."
The hippo-headed pilot in the front cabin leaned out and shouted. Paul immediately sat up, took out a personal terminal, and tapped it repeatedly. This time, he was taking on a private job that walked the line of the rules, but with caution, it should be fine.
After confirming the precise coordinates, Paul came to the rear of the cabin and tapped the upright single-person descent pod with his index finger.
"Old pal, we've arrived. Get yourself ready. Don't blame us if you get rejected by the world."
Thump, thump.
A faint tapping sound came from inside the descent pod, acknowledging Paul.
"Old pal, I've heard of your reputation. After you land, don't cause too much trouble. I'm afraid of being implicated."
As Paul spoke, he gripped the control lever with one hand and pulled it down with a click. The single-person descent pod in front of him fell, free-falling into the White Swamp below.
"Hope nothing happens."
Paul muttered to himself. The hippo-headed pilot with sharp hearing caught his words and said with a simple smile, "Paul, you're too kind. Don't worry, the guest will be fine."
"Nonsense, I'm hoping this world will be fine. What the hell was I thinking, taking on a private job from those two guys."
Paul looked down at the descent pod gradually disappearing from sight, and his mood suddenly became uneasy.