Chapter 14: The Dark Depths
The ice and snow within the Queen's bedchamber gradually melted, leaving behind only the scars of battle, making the place look much as it did when Su Xiao first arrived.
As the battle had just ended, Gulu, who was at the corner of the room, made her move. A short blade slid from her sleeve. Gripping the handle, she thrust it toward Saint Poem's neck.
Puchi~
The guardless short blade pierced through Saint Poem's head, the bloodstained tip emerging from her crown.
With a thud, Saint Poem fell weakly to her knees, forced to look up at Gulu.
"Your skin is really nice."
Gulu grabbed Saint Poem's chin while slowly withdrawing the short blade in her other small hand.
Saint Poem stared intently at Gulu, the shock and unwillingness on her face gradually transforming into a smile.
"You will... regret this."
Saint Poem, who loved burying people, was killed with a full smile on her face. The face that once gave off the vibe of a friendly older sister now carried an indescribable sense of horror.
Witnessing this, Kaiser, who had been wearing a sly grin, restrained his smile a bit. He asked in a low voice, "My dear friend, do you have a grudge against this woman?"
"Yes."
"Never kill her with your own hands. The safest method is to let something more troublesome than her finish her off."
Kaiser's expression was unusually serious. Hearing this, Su Xiao gained a crucial piece of information: Saint Poem wasn't truly dead.
Su Xiao had encountered Saint Poem in the previous world. He didn't know much about her, and most of the rumors were about her holding funerals for her enemies.
Whether it was Saint Poem's hobby or something else, after killing an enemy, if time permitted, she would definitely have the 12 knights of the "Holy Song Knight Order" dig a grave and cut down trees on the spot to make a coffin, after which the 12 knights would carry the coffin for burial.
That wasn't all. Saint Poem would also offer a prayer for the deceased. If time allowed, she would even hold a simple memorial service for them.
From known information, Saint Poem seemed to be the strongest eighth-rank healing type. In the previous world, she was the representative of the Holy Light Paradise, a leader-level figure.
Saint Poem and Fairy Princess were old rivals? Given Fairy Princess's style of conduct, she hadn't actively sought trouble with Saint Poem, and there even seemed to be a trend of avoiding her.
Earlier, during the scramble for supply crates, in front of so many people, Fairy Princess had been slapped by Saint Poem. Given Fairy Princess's temper, not only did she not retaliate, but she seemed to want to let the matter slide?
Thinking about these things, Su Xiao grew vigilant. In a fully open world like Treeborn World, being stronger than the enemy didn't always mean one could rest easy. Participants like Saint Poem, who only revealed their true strength after being killed, required high vigilance.
Now that Gulu had killed Saint Poem, Su Xiao looked at her and asked, "Did you get the kill merits?"
"I did, but..."
Gulu didn't continue. The kill notification she received was a bit strange, but she didn't feel anything unusual about herself.
With the battle over, it was time to distribute the spoils.
From the current situation, Wood and Zuiyasi didn't intend to make a move, probably because they needed to continue cooperating in this world.
In this battle, Su Xiao naturally took the largest share. He had been fighting head-on with the Queen the entire time, so he took 50% of all gains, happily acquiring a crown.
Zuiyasi inherited the contributions made by his wife. Since Oona had been invading the Queen's body throughout the battle, the risks she took were much smaller than Su Xiao's. However, considering her role in the fight, she took 20% of the gains, and the dark blade among the light and dark twin swords went to her.
Wood also took 20%. Although he had been weakening the Queen the whole time, he hadn't faced her directly. After weighing things, the light blade went to him.
Zuiyasi and Wood weren't from the Paradise camp. Although they had the temporary notarization of the Void Tree, that at most allowed them to obtain kill rewards from ordinary and elite units, like getting Soul Coins after killing a "One-Punch Super Mushroom."
They didn't have a "Paradise Imprint" and couldn't get kill rewards from boss-level units. However, they were still participants. As compensation, the Void Tree gave them "Notarization Right Shares."
For example, if Wood's "Notarization Right Share" was 100 points, and he wanted to take the light blade out of this world back to the Void, he would first need to use 20 notarization shares to notarize the light blade.
After Su Xiao, Wood, and Zuiyasi finished dividing the spoils, Gulu cleared her throat, indicating that there was still her 10% share.
Zuiyasi looked at Gulu suspiciously. After Baha briefly explained the situation to him, he understood.
"Since you participated in the battle, you should get a share of the loot. Here, this is your reward."
Zuiyasi picked up the Queen's bolster pillow from the huge bed. This thing was half a meter in diameter and longer than Gulu's height.
"?"
A somewhat bewildered Gulu subconsciously took it. Then, she nodded, accepting the reward. The filling inside the Queen's bolster pillow had value.
The Queen didn't have many treasures stored away. Besides the crown and the twin swords, there was only a metal box.
This metal box was finely crafted. Judging by its color, it had been around for some time. It was found in a hidden compartment of the huge bed. Its material could block perception, making it impossible to detect what was inside.
Gulu crouched in front of the metal box, making a move to open it. But three feet from three different directions stepped on it, holding it down.
This thing couldn't be opened. If something good that couldn't be evenly divided came out, it would be Su Xiao + Wood + Baha teaming up against Zuiyasi, and Zuiyasi was in the best condition right now.
"How about the highest bidder?"
"What will we use to measure?"
"Soul Coins will do. They're a hard currency circulated in Reincarnation Paradise, the Void, and Doom Star."
"Mm."
After preliminary discussion, the metal box wouldn't be opened. Whoever paid the most Soul Coins would get it. Then, those Soul Coins would be distributed according to Su Xiao's 50%, Wood's 20%, Zuiyasi's 20%, and Gulu's 10%.
Su Xiao couldn't afford this thing. He had only entered this world not long ago, and he had paid Solomon 3,000 Soul Coins earlier, so he was very poor now.
More importantly, Su Xiao didn't think there was anything good inside. From Wood, Zuiyasi, and Gulu's perspective, the Queen was an enemy encountered by chance, and they knew very little about her.
Su Xiao, on the other hand, knew more about the Queen. This metal box couldn't contain resources for improving strength. If there were such things, the Queen would have used them herself.
The Queen didn't care about power. How did she become the Northern Queen? The answer was through eating.
The Queen had low resistance to delicious food. As everyone knew, the meat of super-beasts was excellent. Just add salt, and it would roast with an enticing aroma. One bite, and you couldn't stop.
The super-beasts of the entire north were almost eaten to tears by the Queen. They figured that if they didn't think of something, they would all be eaten to extinction by this Ghost Clan woman.
A group of elders from various super-beast clans approached the Queen, kneeling and affirming their heartfelt submission.
At the time, the Queen was hesitant but ultimately agreed. Upon hearing this news, the humanoid super-beings were terrified. Previously, the Ghost Clan woman didn't eat them because they were humanoid. But over time, who knew if she would overcome her psychological barrier and turn her knife towards them after running out of super-beast meat.
Thus, a large number of super-beast races came to pledge allegiance to the Queen. The scene was one of each trying to look more pitiful than the last.
The Queen was a bit annoyed, but she couldn't bring herself to swing her knife at those who submitted. Later, after she was betrayed by the Ghost Clan, all these super-beast races stood up, declaring their support for the Queen and their desire to destroy the Ghost Clan.
But without the Queen's order, these super-beast races dared not act rashly. After all, the Ghost Clan was the Queen's own clan.
The Queen got used to it. Eventually, she came to the bottom of the Great Tree Hollow and ordered her bedchamber to be built here. By then, due to her power, she had already begun to be eroded by Abyss Force. She simply came to the place where the Abyss Force was most concentrated and constantly spreading outward, using herself as a shackle to prevent the underground Abyss Force from leaking out.
This showed that the Queen didn't value power or wealth. Only someone like this could cultivate dual Grandmaster skills.
Given the Queen's temperament, what good things could be in this metal box? Even if there were any, she would have long ago rewarded them to her meritorious subordinates. She was too deeply eroded by Abyss Force and no longer had any use for rare treasures.
She kept the Soul Severing Shadow Stone because, aside from Law Destroyers, no one could awaken its power. That was why she had set it in her ring.
From this, it wasn't hard to guess that the contents of this metal box were things that only had value to the Queen but were useless to others.
"I bid 7,000 Soul Coins."
Su Xiao opened the bidding. Although he wasn't buying, that didn't stop him from driving up the price.
"8,000."
Zuiyasi was surprisingly wealthy.
"8,500."
Wood immediately followed.
"9,000."
When Gulu bid, she let out a small yawn. She was getting a bit sleepy.
As soon as the bid of 9,000 Soul Coins was made, the scene suddenly fell silent. Seeing this, Gulu was instantly wide awake. She had just bid casually. In her opinion, given the Queen's strength, this metal box containing hidden treasures should be worth at least 20,000 Soul Coins or more.
"Since no one else is bidding, I declare that Bidder No. 4 has won this item. Everyone, applaud to congratulate."
Kaiser finished speaking and was the first to clap. Bubu Wang and Baha joined in.
Gulu didn't react for a moment. She scratched her head, feeling something was off. She asked, "Wood, why didn't you raise the bid?"
"Not enough Soul Coins."
"And you, Tentacle Bro?"
"Respecting the elderly and cherishing the young."
"?"
Zuiyasi's statement left Gulu a bit confused.
It was obvious that both Wood and Zuiyasi had sensed something was wrong and didn't compete for the metal box. As for Gulu, although she was very smart, there were too many old schemers in the bedchamber at the moment.
"Tch~"
Gulu paid the Soul Coins, and Su Xiao received a notification.
[You have obtained 4,500 Soul Coins (notarized share distribution).]
After the spoils were divided, Su Xiao took the opportunity to check the kill notification that had appeared earlier.
[Notification: You have killed the Abyss First Daughter · Yuro.]
[You have obtained Golden Skill Points × 2.]
[You have obtained Abyss Chest (upon opening, there is a low probability of obtaining Abyss products).]
[You have obtained Dark Resident (special title, this title will disappear upon leaving this world).]
...
[Dark Resident]
Origin: Treeborn World
Quality: ☆ (0 Star)
Category: Title
Title Effect: Residency Right (Passive), after equipping this title, you will have the right to stay and reside in the "Dark Domain."
Introduction: Having obtained this qualification by killing a king, you will be met with wariness and caution from some dark residents. However, being feared is sometimes safer.
Sell Price: Cannot be sold. This title will disappear upon leaving this world.
...
Among the Queen's kill rewards, there were actually 2 Golden Skill Points. This was something Su Xiao hadn't expected.
The obtained Abyss Chest was a good thing. Even if it only had a small chance of yielding Abyss products, it was still tempting.
What known Abyss products were there? One was the Abyssal Jar. This thing left a bad impression. But another Abyss product was highly coveted: the Black Maple Tree.
The first seed of the Black Maple Tree was obtained by someone who opened a temporary passage to the Abyss and got lucky. Since then, the Black Maple Tree existed in the Void.
It was said that only the mother tree grown from that seed, using its branches or twigs, could cultivate new Black Maple Trees. The Black Maple Trees in the Black Abyss, Abyss Dragon Depths, and Arcane Eternal Star were all obtained this way.
Why not mass-propagate Black Maple Trees? This was both because of the harsh growth conditions and because of rumors that there was a limit to the number of Black Maple Trees that could exist. Beyond this limit, no matter how good the environment, newly cultivated Black Maple Tree saplings would wither and die.
Su Xiao didn't know the truth of this rumor. However, he deeply understood the harsh environmental requirements of the Black Maple Tree. When his Black Maple Tree was still a sapling, it often looked like it was about to die.
Therefore, even if the [Abyss Chest] only had a small chance of yielding Abyss products, it was still exciting. If it produced a treasure of similar value to the Black Maple Tree seed, that would be a huge score.
The final [Dark Resident] title was useless for now. Su Xiao didn't know where the "Dark Domain" was.
The powerful enemy had been killed, and the bedchamber had been thoroughly explored. This was the end of the Great Tree Hollow. Logically, going back the way they came was the best choice, but no one moved.
Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the huge bed, took out the [Hunting Ring], which already had four [Soul Severing Shadow Stone · Fragment] embedded in it. He took out the newly obtained one, and with a click, this [Soul Severing Shadow Stone · Fragment] was attracted and attached.
He would have to wait until he returned to Reincarnation Paradise to synthesize the Soul Severing Shadow Stone. For now, he couldn't master the Soul Severing ability.
Just now, Kaiser had made an unintentional gesture, signaling not to leave the bedchamber yet. This guy had obviously discovered something.
"You three, how long are you planning to stay here?"
Zuiyasi spoke, urging Su Xiao, Wood, and Kaiser to leave quickly. It seemed more like a probe.
...
Su Xiao didn't speak. He sat cross-legged on the bed with his eyes closed, manipulating several micron-level Spirit Shadow Threads inside his body to stitch up wounds.
As for his left arm, he had already formed a crystal arm. This wasn't an ordinary crystal arm. Not only was [Banishment] integrated into it to improve overall control, but the fluorescent blue lines inside the crystal arm, resembling nerves, were formed by him using Spirit Shadow Threads.
He could move the crystal arm by controlling [Banishment], but that wasn't precise enough. So, he used the Spirit Shadow Threads converted from Cyan Steel Shadow Energy to mimic neural structures and connect them to the nerves at the severed end.
This way, Su Xiao's crystal arm not only had strength but also more perfect fine control. It wasn't that he voluntarily developed this ability; it was because his left arm was often severed by powerful enemies, forcing him to refine this ability out of necessity.
"I'll wait for you for at most an hour."
Zuiyasi sat under the wall, holding the twisted cross hanging around his neck, communicating with his wife.
"I'm leaving first."
Gulu turned and left. She didn't have the patience to wait an hour, nor was there any reason to.
After Gulu left, the bedchamber fell silent. This silence lasted for over half an hour before Oona's voice came from the twisted cross.
"Honey, don't waste time here."
"Shh."
Zuiyasi made a silencing gesture. Oona muttered softly but didn't contradict him.
"This stalemate is pointless."
Wood spoke. Hearing this, Kaiser's expression was conflicted. Probably feeling he couldn't hide it anymore, he came to the side of the huge bed and took out a bunch of strange tools. After prying and poking for a while, a painful face gradually appeared on the metal side panel of the bed.
This face dry-heaved once, as if it was on its last legs, and then transformed into a lock plate.
The lock plate had a pointer on the edge, surrounded by 30 different patterns. There were a total of 12 lock slots in the middle of the lock plate. This lock plate couldn't be opened by luck or observation alone.
"How do we unlock it?"
Zuiyasi looked at Su Xiao, meaning for him to kick it open.
...
Su Xiao didn't speak. He hadn't been able to kick open the door to the Queen's bedchamber. Conservatively estimating, the strength of this metal bed was much higher than that door.
"Wood?"
Zuiyasi looked at Wood. Wood shook his head. There was too much causality on this lock plate; he couldn't do anything.
"Cough!"
Kaiser cleared his throat, slightly raising his chin. The Ouroboros Stone Tablet appeared in his hand. He tossed it with one hand, but when catching it, he fumbled. The Ouroboros Stone Tablet hit his foot with a bang, right on his big toenail.
Kaiser winced in pain, making a move to take off his shoe to check.
"Hero, wait!"
Baha quickly spoke. If he took off his shoe, no one would be able to stay in the bedchamber.
Kaiser angrily picked up the Ouroboros Stone Tablet from the ground and asked, "Password."
'No comment!'
The Ouroboros Stone Tablet was still so stubborn. Who knew where it got the courage.
"Her~ ptooey!"
After Kaiser spat a big glob of phlegm, the Ouroboros Stone Tablet began to tremble. Words like 'Law Destroyer, save me' and 'I will definitely help you' appeared on it. Su Xiao ignored it.
Finally, a series of pattern passwords appeared on the Ouroboros Stone Tablet. Kaiser turned the lock plate in order. When the pointer aligned with the last pattern, a click came from inside the bed.
Rumble~
The bed slowly slid back. When it stopped, it revealed a long groove on the ground. This groove was 1.5 meters wide, with steps leading down inside.
The steps were shrouded in black mist. This mist didn't spread out of the groove, staying level with the ground.
Zuiyasi reached his hand into the black mist.
Sssss!
After a terrifying corrosion, Zuiyasi pulled his hand out of the black mist. His entire right hand was nothing but bone.
A black tentacle grew from Zuiyasi's back. The front end of this tentacle turned into a sharp blade. With a swoosh, it severed his right hand. Flesh surged at the wound, and in an instant, his right hand regenerated.
Zuiyasi shook his head, indicating there was no way to enter. After Wood tested it, he came to the same conclusion.
Su Xiao looked at the black mist in the groove. He speculated that below should be the "Dark Domain." He equipped the [Dark Resident] title and touched the black mist with his crystal left hand.
Nothing happened. After Su Xiao equipped the [Dark Resident] title, the "Dark Domain" recognized him as a dark resident, so naturally, it wouldn't erode him.
Su Xiao had Baha test it. Sure enough, as Su Xiao's follower, Baha inherited the effect of this special title. Bubu Wang naturally didn't need to be mentioned.
"It seems we didn't get the 'ticket.'"
Wood didn't feel regret. He instinctively felt that the black mist wasn't a good place.
"Zuiyasi, I found a very interesting place on the way here, right in the Black Forest."
"Not interested."
Zuiyasi answered casually, as if lost in thought.
"You can get a lot of Soul Coins."
"Lead the way."
Zuiyasi suddenly became enthusiastic.
"As expected of you."
Wood and Zuiyasi walked out of the bedchamber. Before leaving, Wood said they would meet up near the Initial Tree in "Yada Ancient Capital."
"My dear friend, you go first. Kaiser will follow shortly."
Kaiser took out a bunch of bottles and jars, intending to find a way to enter the black mist.
Su Xiao walked down the descending steps. The surrounding black mist was slightly cool, and he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. After feeling his way down the last step, the surrounding darkness gradually became translucent. It wasn't dissipating but no longer blocked his sight and perception.
Although the light was still dim, Su Xiao could see that he was in a long, narrow underground passage about 1 meter wide. The rock walls on both sides were smoothly built, arched at the top.
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Baha advanced several hundred meters before the sides suddenly opened up.
[Notification: You have arrived at the "Dark Domain."]
[You are disguised as a Dark Resident (this is a title effect).]
[Warning: In this area, most units are of the "Chaotic Neutral" faction, a small portion are of the "Chaotic Evil" faction, and a very small portion are of the "Chaotic Extreme Evil" faction.]
[Detected that the Hunter's Charm attribute is -12 points.]
[When negotiating with "Chaotic Neutral" units, negotiation modifier +10 points.]
[When negotiating with "Chaotic Evil" units, negotiation modifier +32 points.]
[When negotiating with "Chaotic Extreme Evil" units, negotiation modifier +59 points.]
...
Su Xiao looked around. In front of him was a building complex the size of a small town. Surrounding the complex was rock-like darkness with jagged fractures.
Preliminary judgment indicated that the only exit here was the passage he had come from.
The buildings in the town had a dilapidated feel. Most were stone houses. Calling it a town, only two rows of intact buildings remained, located on both sides of the street. Further out, the rock buildings had been eroded by the darkness until they looked like melted candles, completely deformed.
The entire street was about 3 meters wide. With the buildings on both sides, it gave a sense of compactness and enclosure. To some extent, this architectural layout also provided a sense of security.
Su Xiao walked on the street. The stone slabs under his feet looked like they had been infested by insects, full of honeycomb-like holes.
The Dark Domain had no vivid colors. Everything was based on black. The air was filled with a musty smell.
Of the more than 30 stone houses on both sides of the entire street, only four had faint candlelight flickering in their windows.
Su Xiao came to a window. The window was made of grayish, glass-like material and semi-rotted metal. On the wall under the windowsill, a layer of black substance was stuck, giving a greasy, oily feel.
Dong dong dong.
Su Xiao knocked on the window.
"Hohoho hohoho hohoho..."
A 'carefree' laugh came from inside the window. After more than ten seconds, the laughter abruptly stopped.
Su Xiao knocked on the window again. An unintelligible grunt came from inside, very much like the oinking of a pig.
[Town Resident: Brother Pig, cannot communicate.]
After confirming this information, Su Xiao came to a stone house diagonally opposite Brother Pig's house. This stone house also had candlelight inside.
Dong dong dong.
This time, Su Xiao knocked on the door.
"Dong dong dong."
The person inside imitated the knocking sound.
"I'm a new Dark Resident."
Su Xiao spoke.
"I'm a new Dark Resident."
The person inside spoke in a voice and tone identical to Su Xiao's.
"If you imitate me again, I'll come in and have a chat with you."
Su Xiao pressed one hand on the wooden door in front of him. Hearing this, the person inside stopped imitating him but also fell silent.
The Imitation Man couldn't be communicated with normally either. Su Xiao needed to find a Dark Resident he could talk to in order to understand the general situation here.
Continuing along the street, after a while, Su Xiao stopped in front of a stone house with candlelight inside and knocked on the door.
A woman's voice came from inside: "Are you the Light Bringer?"
"No."
"An unfamiliar voice," the woman inside came closer and asked, "Where do you come from?"
"The Bedchamber."
Su Xiao knew too little information at this point. In this situation, lying would have the opposite effect.
"How could she agree to open the passage? She wouldn't agree, unless... she is dead."
By the end, the woman's voice carried a tremor.
"Mm, she is dead."
After Su Xiao confirmed it, the woman inside fell silent. After a while, low sobbing came from inside.
"She always said someone had to step up. But in the end, she... still died. Hoo, hoo~"
The woman inside couldn't speak through her tears, her voice hitching as she cried.
Su Xiao had heard from the Queen's foster father, the Betrayer · Goru, that the Queen had an older sister. It seemed this was her.
Compared to the Queen, her sister gave a completely different feeling. If the Queen was strong and approachable, her sister was gentle and fragile. Just hearing the news of the Queen's death had her crying uncontrollably.
"How did she... die?"
The Queen's sister was very sad.
"I killed her."
"Wuu~"
The Queen's sister was even sadder. Seeing this, Su Xiao decided to offer some appropriate comfort, as he still needed to ask for information.
"I cut off her head with one slash. She died very cleanly."
"Wuu~!"
The crying grew louder. The family member was very emotionally unstable.
...
Su Xiao looked at Baha and Bubu Wang, signaling them to speak.
"Woof?"
Bubu Wang indicated it couldn't speak.
"Cough, Queen's sister, don't be sad. Before the Queen died, she had already transformed into the Abyss First Daughter."
Hearing this, the Queen's sister's crying subsided a bit. She sobbed and said, "I am Ailiya, the most useless heir of the Ghost Clan in several hundred years."
Hearing this, Baha was speechless. It didn't understand why Ailiya, when introducing herself, had to specifically mention that she was the most useless heir, as if it were something glorious.
After Ailiya's emotions stabilized a bit, she said softly, "Don't stay exposed in the darkness for too long. You'll be assimilated by the Abyss. Keep moving forward, find the Light Bringer to get a candlestick..."
According to Ailiya, upon arriving in the "Dark Domain," one should quickly go to the shrine at the end of the street to get a candlestick and candle from the Light Bringer. Then, any stone house with an unlocked door could be lived in. As long as the candle didn't go out, it was safe.
Su Xiao walked along the street lined with stone houses. At the end, a large stone house with a half-melted outer wall blocked the street. This was the shrine Ailiya had mentioned.
The two wooden doors of the shrine were open. A smell of long-burning candles wafted out. Entering the shrine, piles of bones were stacked in the corners. Inside, a figure in a white robe sat at a table, seemingly praying.
This person was the Light Bringer. Although he was dressed as a clergyman, he was about 2.7 meters tall. His muscles strained the clergyman's robe. His arms were several times thicker than an ordinary person's thighs. He was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted. This inevitably made one wonder: if someone violated his doctrines, would he resort to physical evangelism?
Seeing this person, Su Xiao knew that the perfect match for the Devourer · Blazing Sun had been found.