Chapter 27: Fighting Poison with Poison
Inside the unseen room of the Ring Tree City, the territory of the Vine Clan.
As the [Greed Chapter] was obtained, Su Xiao's slaughter merits rapidly depleted, causing his name on the Slaughter Merit Leaderboard to drop out of the top ten.
Su Xiao pressed his thumb against the [Greed Chapter] in his hand. Though it was a wooden item, it had a heavy, metallic feel, lacking any coldness but instead possessing a smooth warmth.
He took out a previously obtained [Greed Chapter Fragment]. The fragment visibly dissolved and was absorbed, making the [Greed Chapter] in his hand more complete.
[Greed Chapter]
Origin: Abyss/Dead Silence City.
Quality: World-Class
Type: Special Item/Medal-Type Equipment.
Effect: Each time a Soul Crystal Core is consumed, one 'Soul Spirit Manifestation' can be activated.
Note: Before defeating the activated 'Soul Spirit Manifestation', the next one cannot be activated or challenged.
Soul Spirit Manifestations Defeated: 0.
Total Soul Spirit Manifestations: 10.
Soul Spirit Manifestation·Position One: Pending Activation.
Description: Defeat those powerful beings you could not fight, yet who crossed time and space to become entangled with you. You will meet them within the Greed Chapter. Remember, what the Greed Chapter awakens are not mindless war spirits, but those who have passed away, summoned by recording their 'Soul Aura', allowing them to return here.
Selling Price: Cannot be sold after activation until all challenges are completed.
...
The other aspects of the Greed Chapter hadn't changed much, but the activation conditions and reward richness had undergone a qualitative leap. Now, defeating the 'Soul Spirit Manifestations' within guaranteed a Golden Skill Point and an item corresponding to the defeated 'Soul Spirit Manifestation'.
Su Xiao took out a Soul Crystal Core and attempted to awaken the first 'Soul Spirit Manifestation'. As soon as he activated the Greed Chapter, the Soul Crystal Core in his hand shattered with a crack, turning into crystalline fragments that merged into it.
[Soul Spirit Manifestation·Position One (Activated).]
[Soul Spirit Manifestation·Position One: The First Witch in History·Dark Crow.]
...
Seeing this change in the Greed Chapter, Su Xiao felt a strong urge to challenge it immediately. However, in this unseen room, participants could arrive at any moment. Immersing his mind and using his spiritual body to challenge within the Greed Chapter would be a very unwise choice, and Su Xiao would never do that.
After browsing the World Store, he found it hadn't refreshed yet, so he turned and walked out.
Just as Su Xiao reached the door, a participant with the lower half of his face covered entered. The masked man nodded at Su Xiao and said, "Friend, no hostility. Just here to exchange some things at the World Store. Not with Gray Gentleman's group."
"Mm, I know."
Su Xiao continued walking forward, just as he was about to pass the masked man.
Bang!!
Su Xiao suddenly delivered a side kick. The masked man beside him burst through a wave of air, flying out and crashing into the side wall, leaving a large splatter of blood on the surface.
"Wai—"
The violator, half-embedded in the wall, surprisingly didn't die. As he opened his mouth, three blood spears shot forth. After three booming sounds, his head, neck, and heart were pierced.
The crystalline layer stained with blood on Su Xiao's right calf dissolved. He continued walking out of the unseen room. He didn't care if this violator was with Gray Gentleman's group or not; in the Treeborn World, he would kill any violator he saw.
Boom!
A blood energy explosion came from behind. Su Xiao slammed the large iron door of the unseen room shut, his thoughts returning to the previous matter.
The first 'Soul Spirit Manifestation' of the Greed Chapter had been activated: The First Witch in History·Dark Crow. Su Xiao naturally knew who that was. The long leather coat he wore came from that witch.
Although Dark Crow came from a fourth-rank world, she was an absolute symbol of power within that world. After becoming a witch, she lived only 67 days, but in those 67 days, she conquered an entire planet. She single-handedly slaughtered her way through that world.
Temporarily putting away the Greed Chapter, Su Xiao planned to find a safe place to challenge it after returning to Bay City. He estimated that, with his current strength, he could continuously clear the first few Soul Spirit Manifestations without much trouble.
The sky was clear and cloudless. Su Xiao walked the streets of Ring Tree City, intending to gather some intelligence before returning to Bay City.
From the moment he entered the Treeborn World until now, Su Xiao had been unable to find any trace of Gray Gentleman. Now that Fairy Maiden, Nether Wolf, and others were dead, Gray Gentleman still hadn't shown himself.
This gave Su Xiao the feeling that Gray Gentleman was deliberately tricking these violators into coming after him, wasting his time so Gray Gentleman could safely set up certain things.
Given Gray Gentleman's steadiness and ruthlessness, he was absolutely capable of this. Not just the lives of outsiders; when necessary, this guy could even sacrifice his own life.
Su Xiao had gone to the far north, then to the far south, but found no trace of Gray Gentleman. It was as if the guy hadn't even entered this world. His slaughter merit was 0, placing him at the bottom.
Besides Gray Gentleman's whereabouts, the recently eliminated Priest also made Su Xiao feel increasingly uneasy the more he thought about it.
Lost in thought, Su Xiao entered an inn run by the Vine Clan. After renting a room, he sat cross-legged on the bed and continued to ponder Priest's series of actions.
Regarding the kill notification after killing Priest, Su Xiao found it highly suspicious. The notification read: 'Violator 170042 has been killed.'
This contract number wasn't the first time Su Xiao had seen it. Previously, when he had tricked Priest to his death in the Holy Land of Chiriad, two kill notifications had appeared, with the following content:
[You have killed Violator 170042.]
[You have killed Violator 129113.]
Su Xiao closed the notification log. He couldn't understand how the same imprint number could be killed twice. Could it be that when Priest split himself in two, the contract number 170042 also split in two?
No matter how he thought about it, Su Xiao felt it was impossible. If this really was Priest's imprint number, then it was a Sanctuary Paradise imprint. Priest was certainly resourceful, but Su Xiao didn't believe he could 'copy' an imprint.
Suddenly, Su Xiao recalled something: the method he and Kaiser had used with A Duo'er to farm slaughter merits. Priest certainly couldn't copy a title, but if it involved manipulating permissions and notarization, after notarization by the Void Tree and Sanctuary Paradise, they might indeed reissue Priest a '170042 Imprint'.
After a kill, there was a complete kill notification, yet the person still lived. Su Xiao had seen this before, like with Gourmet.
Su Xiao temporarily set these thoughts aside and re-evaluated Priest's actions, because he realized that this guy didn't seem to be an enemy at all.
Earlier in the hot jungle, the enemy pursuit team was clearly numerous, but for some reason, most of the violators stopped the chase.
Su Xiao estimated that this might have been Priest's suggestion. Moreover, Priest had tricked those violators who teleported back to the ancient capital.
Afterwards, Priest and his group used long-distance teleportation items to reach Bay City. Priest arrived in Bay City two days early and seemed to do a lot, but looking back now, these actions had no real significance. The high-ranking elves Priest had recruited were either people Su Xiao had to eliminate anyway or ended up playing no role at all.
At the time, the support of those high-ranking elves did give Fairy Maiden, Crow Woman, Nether Wolf, and others considerable confidence.
Later, Su Xiao arrived in Bay City, set up an assassination plan, and framed Priest. Looking back now, Priest's response was baffling. He barely reacted, almost as if he accepted it, directly agreeing to the final judgment in the Kingdom Council.
On the day of the judgment, Priest presented a lot of evidence, seemingly well-prepared. But for a super old schemer like Priest to completely ignore external matters and focus entirely on the board game was highly abnormal.
What made Su Xiao most suspicious was that Priest had connected himself to the lives of many violators, allowing him to continuously resurrect through them. Yet, inside a sealed barrier, he massively split into sub-bodies, consuming a large number of resurrection opportunities.
It felt like he was saying: 'White Night, hurry up and blow me up with your sun bomb. Several tens of thousands of Soul Coins + over 200 Slaughter Merits + over 300 Diamond Honor Medals. What are you waiting for? Blow me up.'
With such benefits in sight, Su Xiao naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity. So he did blow him up, killing Priest and obtaining the mutually repulsive [Necronomicon].
This situation felt strangely familiar to Su Xiao. He had a friend who always wanted to do this. That friend's name was... Wood.
Su Xiao now seriously suspected that Priest had bundled tens of thousands of Soul Coins + a large amount of Slaughter Merits + a large number of Diamond Honor Medals, along with the lives of Fairy Maiden and others, with the sole purpose of getting Su Xiao to kill him.
Given Priest's level of cunning and experience, he probably knew that dangerous objects disliked Reincarnation Paradise's Hunters or Law Destroyers. As a Hunter + Law Destroyer, Su Xiao was Priest's top priority target.
Priest was entangled by the [Necronomicon]. This death was a setup by the old man to get rid of the [Necronomicon].
Priest not only wanted to get rid of the [Necronomicon], but he also didn't want to make a mortal enemy of its next owner. Su Xiao was Priest's only choice.
So Priest pretended to assist Gray Gentleman. This way, in the Treeborn World, a special world notarized by the Void Tree, he could encounter Su Xiao.
Priest anticipated that Su Xiao would deduce all this, so the old man showered him with benefits. He indirectly helped Su Xiao kill over a hundred violators and also tricked Fairy Maiden, a violator absolutely hostile to Su Xiao, to her death.
This resulted in Su Xiao gaining a huge profit and eliminating many enemies, while Priest got rid of the [Necronomicon].
Looking back now, it seemed Priest had never truly been hostile to Su Xiao. After joining Gray Gentleman's faction, Priest neither participated in the siege against Su Xiao nor stabbed him in the back.
This guy was someone who appeared hostile throughout but was actually an ally.
Su Xiao remembered the situation in the Holy Land of Chiriad. It was very similar to now. Priest had faked his death back then, then used Su Xiao's momentum to purify the Primordial God power within him using Solar Force, becoming an Ancient God system.
According to normal procedure, after gaining power, Priest should have immediately sought out Su Xiao for revenge. But he didn't. The old man just watched the show from the sidelines. Even when Su Xiao was weak after his deadly battle with Guild Leader Rogge, Priest didn't show up. Instead, he quietly left the Holy Land of Chiriad.
"That old bastard is really cunning."
"Huh? Boss, what did you say?"
"Nothing."
Su Xiao glanced at his remaining Soul Coins and the [Distorted Crystalline Object·Abyss] in his storage space. His mood turned from sunny to cloudy. Strangely enough, every time he was hostile to Priest, Su Xiao made a huge profit.
Su Xiao wasn't sure if his deduction was correct. If it was, even if Priest was still in the Treeborn World, Su Xiao wasn't afraid of him. The [Necronomicon] was still in his hands. If Priest appeared before him, he wouldn't mind returning the [Necronomicon] to him.
Imagine, for example, Wood went through hell and high water to finally send away the Demon Race's wild father, only to have the wild father sent back shortly after. Even someone as cunning as Wood would break down on the spot.
Su Xiao took out the charcoal box. Although he couldn't read the [Necronomicon], he could at least make a preliminary observation of what this thing was.
Opening the charcoal box, the slightly dizzying feeling of immersion returned. After a moment, Su Xiao closed the charcoal box and tossed it into the team storage space. After confirming it, yes, they were indeed mutually repulsive.
Su Xiao realized that at higher ranks, enemies' abilities were becoming increasingly bizarre and unpredictable. This made him miss the enemies he encountered at lower ranks, like the Red Spider Lily Adventure Group or the Blood Gate Adventurers, namely Stan and his group.
Those enemies, looking back now, were very straightforward. When they said they'd die, they died, completely and utterly. But now, what kind of monsters was he dealing with? Some could rip off others' imprints, some had complete kill notifications but didn't die, some suddenly came back to life after dying, and for some, the fight only just began after they died.
Thinking of the last point, Su Xiao contacted Bubu Wang. He had sent Bubu to scout Ring Tree City to see if he could find any trace of Gray Gentleman.
Su Xiao remembered that Gulu was also in Ring Tree City earlier, but he didn't know where she was now.
Soon, Bubu Wang replied in the team channel. He had just seen Gulu; she was still in that same inn.
Su Xiao checked the photo Bubu Wang sent. In the not-so-large inn room, Gulu sat on the bed, hugging her knees. The dark circles under her eyes looked like she had applied smoky eye makeup.
Seeing this, Sacred Hymn had really worn Gulu out. No wonder she was called the strongest eighth-rank healing type.
Su Xiao thought Sacred Hymn shouldn't be called the strongest eighth-rank healing type, but rather the strongest eighth-rank torture type.
Looking at Gulu's haggard expression and her eyes that had lost their sparkle, Su Xiao saw a business opportunity.
Gulu, after returning to Reincarnation Paradise, spent all her time in the Equipment Enhancement Hall. She was probably very rich. If it weren't for the fact that no matter how he caught Gulu or what method he used to force her, this little psycho wouldn't spit out a single Soul Coin, Su Xiao would have caught her and cashed her out long ago.
It had to be said, Molei, Yueshitu, and Hao Mei were much easier to deal with. Once caught, they were willing to pay without any need for force or torture. Su Xiao wondered if he would ever encounter those three again.
Leaving his inn, Su Xiao headed straight for Gulu's place. Half an hour later.
Knock, knock, knock.
Su Xiao knocked on the door, but there was no response. He simply pushed the door open and entered.
Gulu, hugging her knees with her eyes devoid of light, slowly looked up upon hearing the sound, which slightly restored some sparkle to her eyes.
"I shouldn't have killed that bitch, right, you bitch."
"Little kids shouldn't swear. Big sister will teach you how to behave."
A mouth on Gulu's right palm spoke. Its red lips were thin, a woman's lips.
"Shut up, bitch."
"If I don't chat with you, you'll fall asleep again, endlessly drowning. Doesn't feel good, does it? Honestly, I admire you Reincarnation Paradise lunatics now. You lasted five days. Before you, the longest anyone lasted was three days."
Gulu's right arm lifted on its own, her palm facing her cheek. A tongue extended from the mouth in her palm, licking Gulu's cheek, and said, "I'm lucky this time. It's a female host. I don't even need to change bodies. I really like your body, little gothic dress."
Sacred Hymn was clearly not normal either. Come to think of it, could a normal person hold a funeral and mourn for an enemy after killing them? When Sacred Hymn was emotional, she sometimes even shed tears at her enemy's funeral. This wasn't just being a bitch or a green tea; it was simply mentally unstable.
"Gulu, cut her off."
Baha spoke. Hearing this, Gulu pulled up her right sleeve. On her pale, slender right forearm, there was a cut mark and fine stitching traces.
"I cut off my forearm once, but she pulled nerves from the remaining part of my upper arm, stitched herself up, pulled nerves, one by one, forcefully."
"Damn, stop. That sounds painful just hearing it."
"What do you guys want? To kill me? This thing transfers through death."
Gulu's willpower was no joke. Her eyes were dim just moments ago, but after a few exchanges, they regained their former sparkle.
"I have something you need."
Su Xiao spoke.
"Really?"
Gulu's eyes seemed to brighten a bit as she looked at Su Xiao.
"Don't struggle. We're in the same boat."
Just as Sacred Hymn spoke, Gulu drew a short knife strapped to her thigh and stabbed it through her own right palm. She asked, "What is it? If it can solve my problem, I'll pay a high price."
"How high?"
"50,000 Soul Coins."
"Deal."
"Wait a moment."
Gulu took out a piece of paper, scribbled on it, and finally wrote an IOU for 50,000. She handed it to Su Xiao, wanting to give him a blank check.
"..."
Looking at the IOU in his hand, Su Xiao was silent for a few seconds, then turned and walked away.
"Don't go. I really don't have any Soul Coins right now. I had less than 10,000 before, and you guys tricked me out of all of them. The Queen's chest only had paintings."
"What paintings?"
Su Xiao stopped. Crystals spread under his feet, forming a crystal chair with a backrest. He sat down and lit a cigarette.
"There are six in total. They're well-painted, but useless. Probably souvenirs."
Gulu took out six paintings and made a move to hand them over. Halfway through, she paused, a suspicious look on her face. "White Night, do you know what these paintings are for? Did you come here to trick me out of these paintings..."
Puff~
With a muffled sound, the already weak Gulu, after a moment of disorientation, found herself lying face down on the bed. Su Xiao was sitting on her back, holding the six paintings.
Su Xiao flipped through the six paintings. The first four were: Light Transmitter·Anderson, Queen's Sister·Aria, Pig Brother, and Imitation Man.
These paintings were about the size of A4 paper. Among the last two paintings, the first depicted an old man wearing a crown. It was an abstract painting. The old man's face was gaunt, with a faint blue light in his eyes. The crown on his head was slightly tilted. In the shadows behind him stood many figures. The annotation below the painting read: 'Beray·Aronde'.
Su Xiao looked at the last painting. Its colors were darker, giving a damp, cold feeling. The background was a seaside fishing village. Fishermen, half-human, half-fish, knelt on the ground. In the sea ahead, a giant marine creature was half-submerged. It looked somewhat like an octopus, but its body was semi-transparent, filled with fluorescent blue distributions inside, like neural tissue.
The annotation for this painting read: 'Mother of Water'.
Unlike the other paintings, in the very corner of this last one, three words were annotated: 'Has Escaped'.
These six paintings were originally of Dark Dwellers or managers of the Dark Domain. Anderson and the Queen's Sister needed no further explanation.
Su Xiao's idea was how to gain benefits from Pig Brother, Imitation Man, Old King (the old Elf King), and Mother of Water, or use them against Gray Gentleman.
Putting away the six paintings and the IOU for 50,000 Soul Coins, Su Xiao said, "Take out something else that satisfies me, and I'll help you deal with Sacred Hymn."
"No. Don't try to extort me."
Gulu's attitude was tough, but she was actually bargaining. She was fed up with her current situation. She had three hobbies: eating candy, sleeping, and torturing those who provoked her. Now, sleep was taken from her. When she fell asleep, she would drown, endlessly drown. After drowning, she would kick her legs in the water and come back to life, only to drown again.
"You sure?"
Su Xiao got up from Gulu's back and sat back in the crystal chair.
"Sure. Don't expect to get a single Soul Coin from me. Except—"
"Alright, deal."
"Huh?"
Gulu, who was about to soften and give in, looked at Su Xiao in confusion.
"For the sake of the Guild Leader's face, I'll help you this once."
"No... no, something's definitely wrong."
Gulu didn't believe Su Xiao's bullshit. What 'Guild Leader's face'? If he really cared about the Guild Leader, would he have punched her unconscious in the Queen's bedchamber earlier?
Su Xiao ignored Gulu. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. But what he was offering this time was very precious. However... he himself didn't dare to use it. He had agreed so readily mainly because he wanted to see what would happen when someone else used it.
Su Xiao took out [Half-Melted Fat Wax] and handed it to Gulu.
[Half-Melted Fat Wax]
Origin: Void Crevice
Quality: ???
Category: Strange Item
Effect: Cannot be used!
Description: The Candle Woman is a Void Existence. Her existence is shrouded in many mysteries. She wanders in the crevices of the Void. Most Void Existence are unwilling to interact with her. Only beings like the Rampant Growth of Abundance and the Lord of the Old Days can match the Candle Woman.
The Candle Woman is the embodiment of the bizarre. She can appear wherever there is candlelight, flames, or burning embers. She has no physical form and is almost impossible to eliminate. The Hunter can use 'Half-Melted Fat Wax' to trade/exchange with the Candle Woman within Reincarnation Paradise. The acquired items are uncertain.
The Hunter can also attempt to use 'Half-Melted Fat Wax' in a mission world to trade/exchange with the Candle Woman. Due to the Candle Woman's numerous uncertainties, this action will bring unknown risks and rewards.
Price: Can be sold, can be traded, cannot be destroyed.
...
"The method is simple: fight poison with poison. I've dealt with Void Existence before, including the 'Rampant Growth of Abundance' and the 'Lord of the Old Days'."
Hearing this, Gulu looked suspicious and probed, "Really?"
"You just need to light it, and it should solve your current predicament."
Su Xiao had a friendly smile on his face. Seeing Su Xiao like this, Gulu suddenly shivered. This was truly the first time she had seen Su Xiao smile, and so friendly. She panicked.
"Don't believe his bullshit. The 'Candle Woman', 'Rampant Growth of Abundance', 'Lord of the Old Days', each is more terrifying than you can imagine. Compared to them, I'm perfectly normal."
Sacred Hymn spoke. The mouth she spoke from had moved from Gulu's right palm to her left.
Gulu ignored Sacred Hymn's words. She observed the [Half-Melted Fat Wax] for a moment, then nodded, indicating her agreement, and made a move to light it.
"Wait. This thing must be used when you're alone."
Su Xiao got up and left immediately. He didn't want to be affected by the Candle Woman.
"?"
Gulu watched Su Xiao, who had turned and left, then looked at the [Half-Melted Fat Wax] in her hand.
A moment later, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Baha arrived on the rooftop across the street. Baha even opened a passage to an alternate space. Su Xiao and Bubu Wang stood at the entrance of the passage. Only then did Baha shout to Gulu across the street, "Okay, you can light it now."
"???"
At the window, Gulu, holding the [Half-Melted Fat Wax], deeply felt how dangerous this thing was. The reason was that its original owner wouldn't even use it himself and even hid far away when someone else was about to use it.
Gulu was torn. She really had no other options now.
Su Xiao also had no solution for Gulu's situation. Offering the [Half-Melted Fat Wax] was indeed meant for her to fight poison with poison. Summoning the Candle Woman might kill her, but there was a certain probability of survival. Continuing to be entangled by Sacred Hymn, however, would definitely kill her.
As the saying goes, one mountain cannot hold two tigers. Sacred Hymn's current state was bizarre, so it was better to summon an even more bizarre Candle Woman to let the big weirdness destroy the small weirdness.
"Gulu, if you have any brains at all, you can see the situation now. Look how far they've run."
Sacred Hymn's words made Gulu hesitate. She asked, "Then what do you suggest?"
"How about this: if you hold on for another three days, I can 'break free'. Then I'll 'break free' from you, and afterwards—"
As Sacred Hymn was speaking, Gulu casually stuffed the [Half-Melted Fat Wax] into Sacred Hymn's mouth. Since she couldn't light it, she would use it directly.
Sacred Hymn's words stopped abruptly. She was stunned for a moment, then let out a scream, spewing a large amount of clear liquid from her mouth. Only after spitting out the [Half-Melted Fat Wax] did Sacred Hymn angrily say:
"You're insane! Your whole family is insane! All you Reincarnation Paradise people are insane!"
She was panicking, completely losing her composure. Seeing this, Gulu immediately picked up the [Half-Melted Fat Wax] from the ground, ready to stuff it into Sacred Hymn's mouth again. Unfortunately, the mouth manifested on her palm quickly faded away.
Seeing this, Gulu, holding the [Half-Melted Fat Wax], showed a smile. After being tortured by this woman for so many days, she could finally fight back.
"Sacred Hymn, it's meaningless for us to keep wasting time like this, right?"
Sacred Hymn didn't respond. Gulu continued:
"How about this: I was wrong to kill you before, and you were wrong to torture me. Let's call it even. You leave my consciousness space, and we'll have nothing to do with each other from now on."
"But—"
The moment Sacred Hymn spoke, Gulu immediately stuffed the [Half-Melted Fat Wax] into her mouth.
"Ugh!"
Sacred Hymn spat out a few mouthfuls of clear liquid before spitting out the [Half-Melted Fat Wax] again.
On the rooftop across the street, Su Xiao saw all this and knew that Gulu wouldn't light the [Half-Melted Fat Wax]. Although he felt a bit disappointed, the [Half-Melted Fat Wax] was still his property. If Gulu never used it, after leaving this world, it would be taken back by Reincarnation Paradise.
If this situation occurred, Su Xiao could retrieve the [Half-Melted Fat Wax] from the Notarization Hall in Reincarnation Paradise for a very low cost in Paradise Coins.
Su Xiao wouldn't use the [Half-Melted Fat Wax] lightly. He simply took Bubu Wang and Baha and left. Just lending out the [Half-Melted Fat Wax] had earned him six paintings, which Su Xiao considered a great deal, not to mention the IOU for 50,000 Soul Coins.
Clearly, Gulu still didn't fully understand the sinister depths of an old schemer. Su Xiao planned to take this IOU to 'Contract Grandmaster' Wood and have him turn it into a 'Contract IOU'.
Not long after Su Xiao left, Gulu closed the window, set up defensive measures, and then lay down on the bed. She had been tormented by sleep deprivation for the past few days. Now, she could finally get some sleep.
Gulu fell asleep instantly. Her consciousness didn't fall into water but arrived in a 30-square-meter room. The room was empty and very old. The walls and floor looked like they had been burned, showing a dry, gray-yellow color. The ceiling was covered with candles. These candles were stuck to the ceiling, their flames pointing straight down.
Gulu looked around and suddenly noticed a figure in the corner. It was a woman in a light white dress, with a full butt, slender waist, and a chest size that made Gulu secretly hate her.
Looking closer, Gulu found it was Sacred Hymn. Seeing her curled up in the corner, Gulu felt immense satisfaction.
"Haha, look at you now."
Gulu put her hands on her hips. Hearing her voice, Sacred Hymn slowly looked up.
At this moment, Sacred Hymn's eyes were full of fear. Her lips moved, forming silent words: 'Behind you.'
Gulu understood. She initially thought Sacred Hymn was trying to trick her into turning around to ambush her. But the black hair hanging down from above dispelled that thought.
Gulu swallowed her saliva. She suddenly turned her head and saw a female face, pale to the extreme, right in front of her. The face's red lips were terrifyingly red. Her eye sockets were pitch black. Her head was covered in long black hair. She wore a gorgeous white robe stained with blood. This was the Candle Woman.
The moment her eyes met the Candle Woman's, the scene before Gulu changed. She felt herself being dragged into a lake of corpse water. Inside were countless human heads. The heads near her, like piranhas attracted by the smell of blood, gnawed at her body.
Even more terrifying, Gulu felt her body rapidly regenerating, only to be gnawed again. This pain lasted for 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 day, 10 days, 1 year, 10 years...
Suddenly, a sparkle returned to Gulu's eyes. Everything that had just happened seemed like an illusion. But intense pain erupted from every part of her body, causing it to crack like ceramic.
After the excruciating pain passed, Gulu realized everything had been an illusion. But if she had been trapped in it, the pain brought out would have been enough to make her collapse, or even die.
The Candle Woman's long black hair in front began to spread towards Gulu. Just locking eyes with the Candle Woman had almost made her say goodbye to this beautiful world. If the Candle Woman's hair touched her...
Gulu was certain that the Candle Woman hadn't truly arrived, otherwise she would have been dead long ago. But the current situation was equally dangerous. Once the Candle Woman's projection touched her, the real Candle Woman would instantly invade her consciousness.
"Run!"
Sacred Hymn had somehow stood up, standing in front of the only door in the room. This was Gulu's consciousness space; only Gulu could open the door.
It could be said that Gulu had solved the problem of Sacred Hymn. Now, Sacred Hymn was desperate to leave Gulu's consciousness space.
...
Extreme South Land, Bay City, Back District.
The afternoon sun shone into the living room. Su Xiao leaned back on the sofa, resting. He didn't know what was happening with Gulu. He had now reached a preliminary cooperation with the Elves. Using the 'Life Secret Medicine' to gain benefits was a must. More importantly, he needed to enter the passage to the Great Ruins deep within the Royal Palace to find the 'Talent Awakening Device'.
The Elves' attitude was that they would allow Su Xiao to use the 'Talent Awakening Device', but it would have to wait a few days. It wasn't convenient right now.
This was clearly a stalling tactic, as well as a way to stockpile the 'Life Secret Medicine'. The Elves now had a love-hate relationship with the 'Talent Awakening Device'.
"My dear friend, when do we start doing business with the Elves?"
Kaiser, sitting opposite, spoke. Kaiser had contributed significantly to the previous matters. This time, the sale of the 'Life Secret Medicine' was also Kaiser's responsibility, and he naturally had a share of the profits.
"Let's start tonight. Wait for Wood and Zuiyasi to arrive."
"I thought I heard someone mention me?"
Wood pushed the door open and entered, followed by Zuiyasi. The good teammate quartet had reassembled. It was time to start wreaking havoc on the Elves.
"Wood, can you locate the passage to the Great Ruins inside the Royal Palace?"
"Yes."
Wood took out the Abyssal Jar. Kaiser, who was nearby, inadvertently cast a glance. After that one look, he couldn't look away.
Kaiser's eyes widened, his gaze fixed. The Abyssal Jar in Wood's hand began to emit a 'clatter, clatter' vibrating sound. It was like a turtle meeting a bean—they were a perfect match.
Wood stepped back. The Abyssal Jar floated in mid-air. Kaiser stood up, staring at the Abyssal Jar. Between Kaiser's gaze and the Abyssal Jar, to put it dramatically, sparks and lightning were almost flying.