Chapter 49: There's Such a Good Thing?
Su Xiao put away [Sacred Oak], planning to greet the Ancient Oak God later. For now, improving his own abilities took priority.
He took out a piece of equipment called [Hunting Ring], which could forcibly pluck gems embedded in other equipment and mount them intact on the ring. Currently, four [Soul Severing Shadow Stones·Fragments] were set into it.
He produced the last [Soul Severing Shadow Stone·Fragment] and mounted it onto the [Hunting Ring] as well. Then he activated all five fragments to synthesize them.
Five crisp sounds rang out in succession as the fragments were stripped from the ring.
[Yes/No to synthesize Soul Severing Shadow Stone. Upon completion, the Soul Severing Shadow Stone will transform from an embedded gem into an ability inheritance stone. The inherited ability will be 「Soul Severing Shadow」.]
[This synthesis offers two methods: Free Synthesis / Paid Synthesis.]
[Note: Free Synthesis carries a risk of failure, while Paid Synthesis guarantees success.]
[To perform Paid Synthesis, 5,790 Soul Coins are required.]
……
Having collected Soul Severing Shadow Stones for so long, Su Xiao was naturally willing to spend this many Soul Coins. After searching across multiple tiers, if he chose the free option out of greed and failed, that would definitely land him on the "Top Ten Brain Clot Incidents of the Year" list for Apocalypse Paradise.
Don't laugh—that list really existed over there, and it was quite popular.
As the Soul Coins were consumed, the five fragments pieced together, not fitting perfectly but forming an irregular shape.
Su Xiao realized these five fragments didn't come from the same complete Soul Severing Shadow Stone. Five were needed to synthesize a complete one, mainly to ensure the final quality reached the level of a power inheritance stone.
He had guessed this earlier, which gave him confidence in collecting a complete Soul Severing Shadow Stone. If the original had simply been shattered into five pieces, there would be no point searching.
The five fragments floated in midair, showing signs of dissolving and gradually merging together. This would take some time, so Su Xiao set them aside for now.
Su Xiao currently had 6 Golden Skill Points. Among the three abilities he needed to raise to EX rank, [Dragon Shadow Flash] took priority. In every battle, this was both a core survival ability and a killing ability.
He tried using a Golden Skill Point to upgrade [Dragon Shadow Flash]. As the point was consumed, he felt a dense, almost primordial energy surge within him, pushing the ability to its limit.
A few minutes later, Su Xiao's spatial sense stabilized. He no longer unintentionally pierced through space as before.
[Your Dragon Shadow Flash ability has been upgraded to X.]
[Dragon Shadow Flash: X (Active Ability)]
Skill Effect: Can teleport through space up to 50 meters (increased by 15 meters), freely choosing a distance between 0 and 50 meters.
Note: Activation speed of Dragon Shadow Flash greatly increased (already pushed to the limit).
Note: Cooldown for Dragon Shadow Flash is 2 minutes (this is the most stable interval).
Note: Each use consumes 500 points of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy.
Note: If Dragon Shadow Flash (Active) is on cooldown, it can be forcibly used. After forced use, cooldown temporarily increases to 5 minutes. If forced again, it places a heavy burden on the body, and cooldown temporarily increases to 20 minutes.
New Trait 1: This ability has high-priority judgment.
New Trait 2: Space Penetration state can be maintained for 0.2 to 3 seconds (duration determined by the user's will).
……
The nature of [Dragon Shadow Flash] hadn't changed; it was greatly enhanced on its original foundation. Not to mention anything else, the ability to maintain Space Penetration—the "Transparent State"—for an extended duration was crucial for Su Xiao.
Being able to maintain Space Penetration for 3 seconds was a massive combat boost for a Blade Grandmaster like Su Xiao.
After [Dragon Shadow Flash] reached X, its position in the skill list shifted to the bottom, reducing the number of abilities awaiting improvement.
Su Xiao then began upgrading [Spirit Shadow Constitution], investing 2 Golden Skill Points. His entire body's Cyan Steel Shadow Energy surged to its limit before the upgrade completed.
[Your Spirit Shadow Constitution ability has been upgraded to X.]
[Spirit Shadow Constitution X (Passive Skill)]
Skill Effect 1: Mana and body merge in a wonderful resonance. Mana and Health form a virtuous cycle, greatly enhancing Health by 100% of total Mana.
Note: Current Mana: 43,372 points. Health increased by 43,372 points.
Skill Effect 2: Movement Speed +15%, Dynamic Perception +80%.
Skill Effect 3: Body Perception Potential Upper Limit +2.
Skill Effect 4: Body's adaptability to all Law-Destruction energy types improves. When mastering new Law-Destruction abilities, mortality rate decreases by 20%.
……
The boost from [Spirit Shadow Constitution] was significant. The so-called "Body Perception Potential Upper Limit" referred to the maximum level one's perception ability could reach.
For example, Su Xiao's [Instinct] ability—everyone who mastered it had a different upper limit.
The final boost from [Spirit Shadow Constitution] seemed unlucky, but Su Xiao found it quite practical.
When the Ancestral Law Destroyers created various Law-Destruction abilities, they followed two rules: 1. You wouldn't die during or after mastering it, and 2. The ability was strong enough.
This "wouldn't die" didn't mean absolute survival, but a high probability. When Su Xiao mastered [Azure Shadow King], he nearly died.
Once, Su Xiao mentioned this to Mawen Hua'erzi, asking if his [Azure Shadow King] ability had deviated, since he almost died awakening his ultimate ability.
Mawen Hua'erzi firmly replied that it hadn't deviated, then smiled knowingly and said, "Otherwise, why do you think our Law Destruction faction has so few people?"
The two foundational abilities, [Absolute Magic Constitution] and [Cyan Steel Shadow], were also thresholds. Mastering them made you a new Law Destroyer; failing meant a new grave. Power came at a cost.
Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the carpet for a while. After his body stabilized, he began upgrading the last ability he wanted to push to X rank, [Slaughter Shadow]. Half an hour later, his Golden Skill Points were exhausted.
[Your Slaughter Shadow ability has been upgraded to X.]
[Slaughter Shadow X (Passive Skill)]
Skill Effect 1: Increases [Proud Song] state intensity by 350%, crystal formation and attachment speed by 42%, and crystal stability greatly improved.
Skill Effect 2: Crystals transformed from [Proud Song] state have greatly enhanced shaping and precision control.
Skill Effect 3: Can condense crystals from [Proud Song] state into long-term stable weapons, freely controllable within 150 meters (range reduced for larger weapons).
Constructed Weapon: [Banishment] (Unusable)
Note: [Banishment] can be reshaped at any time, but the connection to the original must be severed. If controlling two [Banishment] simultaneously, control and power each decrease by 50%–62%.
……
Su Xiao closed the skill list. After awakening his Law-Destruction talent, he no longer needed Golden Skill Points to upgrade [Azure Shadow King]. He estimated it wouldn't be long before the remaining X-rank abilities were all maxed out.
He had gathered plenty of resources, but some couldn't be used yet, like [Iron Refining Invitation].
Su Xiao pushed open the door and entered the room housing the Black Maple Tree. This room spanned several hundred square meters with a ceiling over 20 meters high, taking up nearly a third of his exclusive room.
Earlier, in the Soul Arena, Su Xiao had obtained something good: one of the Eternal Spring's sources, which had hot spring properties. He planned to build a hot spring pool near the Black Maple Tree. On idle days, he could soak in it, and the tree would benefit from the Eternal Spring's nourishment, improving its growth conditions.
He had already selected materials for the pool's surrounding stones, dismantling the Soul Throne from the Soul Arena for construction.
Baha was handling this. After giving instructions, Su Xiao left the Black Maple Tree room and saw Amu eating heartily. He took out [Former King's Ice Soul] and handed it to Amu. This was obtained from the Ghost Clan, and letting Amu absorb it to enhance his ice abilities was a good choice.
Leaving his exclusive room, Su Xiao first contacted Lide under the pretense of selling forging materials. At Lide's forge, Su Xiao removed [Dragon-Slaying Flash], [Black King Bracer], and other equipment for maintenance or repair.
While Lide wasn't looking, Su Xiao took out the heavily damaged [Wild Hunt Night], left the bewildered Lide behind, and strode off.
……
[Welcome to Attribute Enhancement Pod 1316.]
[Available True Attribute Points: 40. Hunters may allocate freely.]
The pod door closed. Su Xiao sat cross-legged and allocated: Strength +9, Agility +9, Stamina +10, Intelligence +12.
The pod began operating. Over an hour later, the enhancement stopped. Su Xiao opened his eyes, his upper body skin hot and red, steam rising. He exhaled a breath of hot air and checked his attributes.
True Strength: 252 points.
True Agility: 252 points.
True Stamina: 252 points.
True Intelligence: 252 points.
Charm: -12 points.
……
His overall strength was steadily growing. After leaving the pod, Su Xiao headed toward the Skill Upgrade Hall. On the way, he unexpectedly ran into Chen, who was with the three members of the Gentleman Alliance.
The original Gentleman Alliance, now known as "Behind the Scenes Cooking," had grown from three to four members. Crazy Doctor, Dean, and Mr. J had gotten used to the team name and rejoined, while the newly added Chen refused to acknowledge it.
Seeing Chen with the former violator trio, Su Xiao felt Chen might not live long. After all, these three were once teammates of Huishenshi.
Those who cooperated with Huishenshi rarely ended well—like Xianji, Minglang, and Shouhao—let alone Crazy Doctor, Dean, and Mr. J, who had broken away from Huishenshi's faction and nearly opposed him.
Chen's strength was unquestionable, but when it came to being an old schemer, his prospects were grim.
Ten minutes later, inside the Skill Upgrade Hall.
[Skill Upgrade Pod 1012 activated. Please select the skill to upgrade.]
Su Xiao didn't immediately upgrade an ability. Instead, he took out two scrolls: [Blood Shadow] and [Technique Soul].
The prerequisites for [Blood Shadow] were finally met. Su Xiao chose to use it. With a pop, the scroll burst in his hand, turning into a surge of blood energy that merged into his body.
[Ability matching with Hunter…]
[Matching complete. Ability name changed based on Hunter's personal traits.]
[You have mastered a new ability: Blood Extreme Shadow.]
[Your Aura Release ability level increased by Lv.5. Aura Release has reached Lv.55.]
[Your Aura Release ability level cap increased by Lv.12.]
[Due to the particularity of Blood Extreme Shadow, this ability will not appear in the skill list. It can be viewed in the sub-list of personal data. Once mastered, it cannot be upgraded by any means.]
[Blood Extreme Shadow (Passive Trait): Damage tier of blood-type attacks +1.]
……
With a boom, Su Xiao's blood aura burst out like needles. Though he controlled it the next second, he still lost some Paradise Coins and received a warning prompt.
His blood aura had undergone a qualitative change, especially in attacks. Strangely, after this permanent boost, the enhancement to [Blood Spear] was far less than that to the three blade abilities: [Blood Blade], [Blood Shadow], and [Slay]. The gap was exaggerated.
This was natural. Su Xiao's blade techniques already had a damage tier +2 boost from his blade mastery and [Wolf Blood·Moon Ornament]. Compared to [Ring Break], [Extreme], and [Flow], the blood-type blade techniques were somewhat lacking in attack power.
Now, with [Blood Extreme Shadow] adding another damage tier +1 to [Blood Blade], [Blood Shadow], and [Slay], these three techniques had fully risen.
Su Xiao was quite satisfied with [Blood Extreme Shadow], mainly because it didn't consume resources and was powerful. He looked at the [Technique Soul] scroll and chose to use it.
[You have used skill scroll: Technique Soul.]
[Technique Soul will undergo adaptive matching with Blade Grandmaster, transforming into a passive ability that enhances this skill.]
[You have mastered a new ability: Blade Soul.]
[Blade Soul: Lv.62 (Passive Skill)]
Skill Effect 1 (Core·Passive): For every level of Blade Grandmaster gained, this ability automatically increases by 1 level.
Skill Effect 2 (Passive): Blade-type weapon attack power +169%, Base·Nerve Reflex Speed +17 points.
Lv.10 Derivative Trait: Willpower +10 points.
Lv.20 Derivative Trait: Willpower +20 points.
Lv.30 Derivative Trait: Willpower +30 points.
Lv.40 Derivative Ability: Your hidden ability "Iron Will" is enhanced.
Lv.50 Derivative Trait: All blade-type technique attack power +20%.
Lv.60 Derivative Trait: After attacking an enemy's weakness, you enter a brief super-burst state (lasts 0.5 seconds, during which dynamic vision and perception are greatly enhanced, and body speed undergoes temporary overdraft-type increase. You experience a combat sensation where everything around you slows down).
Note: The super-burst state consumes a large amount of stamina. Use with caution.
……
Seeing these effects, Su Xiao was quite surprised. He had thought this would be another resource-hungry ability, but it wasn't.
Not only did it not consume resources, but its effects were also strong. The boost to blade-type weapon attack power and Base·Nerve Reflex Speed was about 20% of what Blade Grandmaster provided in these areas.
In other words, with this ability, Su Xiao's Blade Grandmaster was naturally stronger than others at the same level.
Normally, such passive abilities were painfully expensive to upgrade. But [Blade Soul] would level up alongside Blade Grandmaster without requiring resources. What a wonderful experience—other Blade Grandmasters would want to punch him.
It just showed that the second-place reward in the Treeborn World had real prestige.
Su Xiao had been ready for the high cost of upgrading a new ability, but he hadn't spent a single coin. He still held 160,000 Soul Coins.
Su Xiao placed his hand on his sword hilt. Even without drawing, he could feel the immense boost to his attack power. This sense that nothing was uncuttable made him want to find a strong enemy to fight.
In Su Xiao's view, battles with strong enemies were simple: attack, defense, combat experience, and combat intelligence. The latter two couldn't be improved in a Skill Upgrade Pod, but the former two could.
The two abilities he just gained, [Blood Extreme Shadow] and [Blade Soul], had greatly enhanced his attack power. It was time to improve a defensive ability to balance things out.
However, compared to tanking enemy attacks, Su Xiao preferred dodging and evasion. He had just upgraded [Dragon Shadow Flash] in that regard.
Thus, upgrading [Basic Passive·Body Soul] was an excellent choice. With this ability raised, he could tank some unavoidable attacks. Plus, in the next world progress or the one after, Su Xiao planned to head to Dead Silence City. Improving survivability was paramount.
[Yes/No to upgrade Basic Passive·Body Soul Lv.60. Cost: 6,500 Soul Coins.]
……
Four hours later.
Su Xiao, having rediscovered the poverty of a technique-type, walked out of the Skill Upgrade Hall. He had entered with a fortune of 163,590 Soul Coins and left with only 28,590.
Just now, Su Xiao had maxed out [Basic Passive·Body Soul]. The reason was simple: in battles with strong enemies, strong survivability was truly comfortable. He would never forget Huishenshi's look: "You've taken so many hits, why aren't you dead yet? You should have fallen and died by now."
In total, he spent 135,000 Soul Coins to push [Basic Passive·Body Soul] to Lv.80, the max level achievable in the Skill Upgrade Pod. This top-tier stamina-based passive ability was expensive to upgrade because, under normal circumstances, it was only maxed out at the ninth rank.
[Basic Passive·Body Soul, X.]
Skill Effect 1: Total/Base Health +99%.
Skill Effect 2: Physical Potential Upper Limit Tier +10.
Skill Effect 3: Resistance to all abnormal attributes (poison, erosion, paralysis, dizziness, etc.) +138 points.
Skill Effect 4: Each point of True Stamina grants an additional 0.2 points of physical defense (50 points of physical defense already added).
Skill Effect 5: Maximum stamina cap +35% (this refers to stamina/endurance value, not the Stamina attribute).
……
Su Xiao tried contacting the investment girl, Youyou'an, but she was still in a mission world. He wondered how things were going.
Earlier, Youyou'an said she had a chance to participate in a survival trial but wasn't fully confident. So she came to her benefactor, Su Xiao, to request another investment.
As a return on investment, Youyou'an would take first place and offer the reward: a [Basic Passive Skill Scroll Chest].
This chest could yield seven types of basic passive scrolls, corresponding to Strength, Agility, Stamina, Intelligence, Charm, Perception, and Soul. More importantly, the basic passive abilities from this chest had top-tier potential.
Previously, Su Xiao had invested 5 million Paradise Coins, over a dozen permanent enhancement potions, 30 Soul Crystals (Medium), over a dozen alchemy bombs, and an old-model Apollo.
Seeing these items, Youyou'an nearly went weak in the knees and called him her long-lost father.
As a second-rank contractor, with this sponsorship, if she couldn't beat the other contractors into crying, she'd be the one crying when Su Xiao hung her up and beat her upon her return.
Among the seven basic passives, Su Xiao had already mastered those corresponding to Stamina, Intelligence, and Soul. As a melee fighter, he always wanted a high-potential Strength or Agility basic passive.
He had encountered these two types before, but their potential was lacking, so he held off.
Su Xiao walked slowly, adapting to his newly enhanced body and abilities. In the Skill Upgrade Pod, he made a decision: spend 300 Soul Coins to strip [Demon Mark].
He had mastered this ability long ago. Since it added True Damage, albeit weak, he kept it.
The reason he removed it now was that when activating Cyan Steel Shadow Energy or forming a crystal layer on his body, the area on his upper arm with [Demon Mark] occasionally stung. When attaching crystals there, there was a brief delay. This time, he simply discarded it.
Ultimately, it was an external system ability that didn't fit Su Xiao's development path. Demon Clan powers had explosive traits, like transformation effects.
Su Xiao disliked that. His normal state was his peak combat state, ready at any moment for a brutal assassination or a world-shaking upheaval. A casual strike could be his strongest.
A short while later, at Lide's forge.
The bearded Lide tossed a tailoring book onto the table and said, "What is it? Spit it out."
Su Xiao placed a forging metal on the table. Seeing this Immortal-rank material, Lide's frustration from repairing the leather jacket vanished. He picked up the metal billet, examining it with growing admiration.
"What weapon are you forging? You have your main weapon. A short blade this time? Your current Holy Spirit-rank short blade isn't much use to you anymore, is it?"
Lide was well-versed in Su Xiao's weapon setup, since he handled all maintenance and repairs.
Su Xiao did plan to forge a short blade. The ones he had obtained before, including [Soul's Whisper] or [Bloodletter] from the World of Paintings, weren't satisfactory.
In Su Xiao's view, a short blade wasn't for frontal combat but for assassination. Sometimes, in dangerous or special situations, such an assassination blade was needed.
The problem was that while his Blade Grandmaster ability could enhance a short blade, its frontal combat power wasn't explosive.
Compensating with abilities would disrupt his development system. So he needed equipment to compensate, at least allowing him to quickly assassinate enemies that needed elimination in specific situations.
Su Xiao roughly described his needs. Lide shook his head, saying it was impossible. He could forge an assassination blade, but achieving the effect Su Xiao wanted required an assassination short blade plus matching assassination-type ability boosts.
Su Xiao was prepared. After obtaining this metal billet from the Soul Lord, he had already planned: to achieve that effect, the weapon needed to be forged with Abyss power as its core.
Su Xiao wouldn't absorb Abyss power, but he didn't oppose it either. In his view, Abyss power was fair—you gained something and paid something. The stronger the boost in one area, the harsher the penalty in another.
Su Xiao took out 127 [Distorted Crystallized Objects·Abyss]. Seeing these, Lide's expression changed slightly, but he didn't know this was just the beginning.
Next, Su Xiao produced the [Extreme Dark Heart] gifted by the Old Elf King, the [Precipitated Glass] obtained from A Duo'er, the [Aquatic Object] from killing the Water Mother, and a segment of an Abyss Guardian's arm containing a special Abyss power.
The five Abyss items were laid out on the forging table. Lide's face nearly turned green. He almost said, "Good grief, you're not here to forge—you're here to murder me!"
"Can you forge it?"
Su Xiao teased Ou Ou with a Soul Candy. Ou Ou was drooling, both hands gripping Su Xiao's clothes.
"I dare to forge it, but do you dare to use it?"
Lide was also taking a risk. He really wanted to see what this top-tier Immortal-rank billet plus the five Abyss items could produce.
"I dare. Forge it."
With that, Su Xiao fed Ou Ou the candy and left the forge.
Back in his exclusive room, Su Xiao thought Bubu, Amu, Baha, and Beini weren't around. But soon, sounds came from the large room housing the Black Maple Tree. The four were arranging the hot spring construction and would finish soon.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Su Xiao took out the chests he had obtained. First was Huishenshi's Scarlet Card.
He hesitated whether to use the "Directed Acquisition" authority to see what was in Huishenshi's storage space and pick one item.
Considering "Directed Acquisition" was a life-saving authority, Su Xiao decided to keep it. If he ever needed a mission-critical item and an enemy contractor stored it in their space before dying, he could use it to retrieve it.
Even so, Su Xiao chose to keep Huishenshi's Scarlet Card unopened for now.
There were seven remaining chests. After activating his Lucky King state, Su Xiao chose to open the least valuable Immortal-rank chest.
[You have opened Immortal-rank Chest (3%).]
[You obtained: Xing Zhao (Holy Spirit-rank·Ring).]
……
Su Xiao checked the attributes of [Xing Zhao]. Not only was it Holy Spirit-rank, but it was also Charm-type. Getting this from an Immortal-rank chest was like a race among trash—trash reaching the finish line.
Picking up the [Abyss Chest], dropped by the Ghost Clan Queen, Su Xiao had high expectations.
[You have opened Abyss Chest.]
[You obtained: Abyss Blood (Abyss Product).]
[You obtained: Light·Extreme Radiance (Active Skill Scroll. Due to losing Abyss traits, this scroll will undergo some property changes).]
……
Su Xiao composed an email, sending [Abyss Blood] to Lide. The five Abyss items for forging the short blade became six. He wondered what kind of fierce blade would be forged.
He would sell the skill scroll. Though it was a nerfed version, it came from a big boss and could fetch a good price.
Su Xiao picked up the third chest, from the Fishing Village Four.
[You have opened Immortal-rank Chest·Raging Shark.]
[You obtained: Raging Shark (Active Skill Scroll).]
[You obtained: Ghost's Hatred (Immortal-rank Gem).]
……
Both the skill scroll and gem were good, but not suitable for Su Xiao. After putting them away, he opened a set chest.
[You have opened Holy Spirit-rank Set Chest·6/6 Set.]
[You obtained: Black Armored Knight·Greatsword.]
[You obtained: Black Armored Knight·Armor.]
[You obtained: Black Armored Knight·Bracers (Pair).]
[You obtained: Black Armored Knight·Helm.]
[You obtained: Black Armored Knight·Skirt Armor.]
[You obtained: Black Armored Knight·Greaves.]
[Set 6/6 complete. The following set effects can be triggered.]
[Set Effect 1: Kingdom Knight (Passive): Those with Strength above 30, Agility above 27, and Stamina above 50 can wear this set.]
[Set Effect 2: Strength (Active·Unique): Overall body speed reduced by 47%, Strength increased by 12 points. Attacks deal Strength × 2.4 crushing damage.]
[Set Effect 3: Speed (Active·Unique): Stamina consumption increased by 66%, Agility increased by 12 points. Attacks deal Agility × 2.7 defense-ignoring damage.]
[Set Effect 4: Defense (Active·Unique): Intelligence reduced by 20 points, Charm reduced by 20 points. All equipment defense increased by 75%, defense tier +1.]
Note: Only one of Set Effects 2, 3, or 4 can be active at a time.
……
An extreme set, unsuitable for personal use but good for an adventure group. Su Xiao planned to sell it to the Divine Emperor Adventure Group.
[You have opened Spirit Feast Box·Ten Thousand Faces.]
[You obtained: Faceless (This is a soul fusion item. Can be used on an empty-shell high-level soul equipment to make it complete).]
……
[You have opened World Chest (consumed World Key).]
[You obtained: World Core·Fragment ×4.]
[You obtained: Space-Time Power (109 ounces).]
[You obtained: Creation Sprout.]
……
[Creation Sprout]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise
Category: Special (No need to equip directly. Takes effect when stored in storage space.)
Durability: 1/1
Effect 1: Memory Slot (Passive): A sprout sealed in World Tree amber, used to record life marks.
Recordable Times: 8/8 times.
Note: A single unit can be recorded at most once.
Effect 2: Tree's Blessing (Passive): When a recorded life mark's Health drops below 0.5%, this item activates immediately, granting a high-rank invincibility shield for 2 seconds. During this time, the user recovers 50% Health and 50% Mana and gains a large movement speed boost.
Description: Sometimes, survival depends on how fast you run.
Price: Cannot be sold after recording life marks.
……
One chest remained: Pig Brother's chest. Su Xiao decided not to open it. Pig Brother might have died too unjustly, and the chest might yield debuffs. Better to sell it and let someone else have a stroke of luck.
Su Xiao deposited the items for sale into the team storage space. Then he pushed open the large room's door and saw the completed hot spring, along with the Black Maple Tree, now even more lush from absorbing the Eternal Spring.
Initially, Su Xiao worried that placing the Eternal Spring's source near the Black Maple Tree might drown it. But after observing, he found the spring didn't seep into the soil. The Black Maple Tree grew toward it to "drink." If not for Bubu's control, the spring's output wouldn't be enough for the tree's absorption. There was no worry about drowning or moisture.
The steam from the hot spring was greedily absorbed by the Black Maple Tree. Even so, the tree's bark remained somewhat dry.
The hot spring pool varied in depth to accommodate Su Xiao, Amu, Bubu, and Baha's different sizes. It was surrounded by large stones and various landscapes, creating a relaxing atmosphere.
Su Xiao undressed and joined Bubu Wang, Baha, Amu, and Beini in the hot spring. He sat down, leaning his back against the warm, smooth stones. Soaking in the water, he felt gentle pressure and the warmth seeping into his bones. The fatigue from a world of slaughter was slowly washed away.
After a while, Su Xiao sensed some bodily trait improving, though he wasn't sure what. The benefits of regularly soaking in the Eternal Spring were undoubtedly numerous.
While enjoying the hot spring, Su Xiao took out a crystal card—a spatial item sent by White Bull. The Empty Seat Banquet was tomorrow.
Su Xiao had many matters to attend to. The alchemical items and potions ordered by Tuanzhang, the Undying Old Man, and Saintess Seat were ready. He also needed to negotiate the price of the [Star Seal] with Saintess Seat.
PS: (This chapter includes a photo of Su Xiao's team in the hot spring. Keep scrolling to see it. Remember to send Easter egg bullet comments to encourage Easter egg chapter creation.)