Chapter 22: Primordial Source
Watching Caesar walk out of the back hall, Su Xiao decided not to go see the transaction between him and Dragon God Dean, though it would probably be quite a spectacle.
Regarding Dragon God Dean, Su Xiao always maintained an attitude of avoiding direct combat with him whenever possible. The reason was that the other party was too wealthy, and his strength was not to be underestimated.
During their last clash, Dragon God Dean had used the "Scarlet Finger," which was likely a killing move from some Origin-level equipment. The threat of that move was too great. Moreover, no one could be sure whether Dragon God Dean possessed any Origin-level one-time-use items.
The power of such items generally exceeded that of same-rank equipment by a margin, after all, the former could only be used once.
More importantly, Su Xiao always felt that Dragon God Dean's combat style was somewhat strange. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what was off about it.
In short, he could take his time dealing with that side. As things stood, the other party was already half-buried in the grave.
Setting this matter aside for now, Su Xiao opened his title list and checked the six-star [Natural Resonance] he had upgraded.
Originally, Su Xiao planned to upgrade this title to seven stars. However, when he burned and refined it to six stars, he discovered that the title had reached its limit. After checking with his Hunter authority, he learned that this title had already been burned and refined three times.
Su Xiao recalled that when he exchanged for this title in the Shasar Empire World, it seemed to have been burned and refined once directly. However, that time was mainly for burning and refining [War Lord], as well as constantly fighting against the dwarven kingdom until the sky went dark and the earth went dim.
Although [Natural Resonance] had a maximum of six stars, Su Xiao felt that this title would serve him well for a long time.
[Natural Resonance]
Origin: Yanling Star
Quality: ★★★★★★
Category: Title · Rare
Title Effect 1: Greatly enhances meditation effects, and while meditating, brings a permanent increase in Willpower (the increase depends on meditation efficiency).
Description: When the heart is calm, the world is before your eyes.
Price: Unsellable
...
In terms of normal meditation efficiency, the bonus from [Natural Resonance] was just decent. It would take a long time of meditation to increase Willpower by 1 point.
However, with Su Xiao's formidable meditation efficiency, this seemingly ordinary boost became quite tangible on him, to the point where this six-star title [Natural Resonance] could perform as well as an eight-star auxiliary title.
Checking the existing Ancient Gold Coins, there were still 6,957 left. Su Xiao estimated that it was basically impossible to exchange for an eight-star title in the Title Shop this time. Tomorrow, he would head to Dead Silence City, and by then, he wouldn't have the energy to collect Ancient Gold Coins. It was better to spend them now.
The contractors who dared to enter the Gloomy Continent this time were all quite capable. This also meant that their attention was focused on a few seven-star titles and the eight-star title. Unfortunately, the Title Shop hadn't unlocked that stage yet, so they could only save up their Ancient Gold Coins for now.
This also meant that there were still nine six-star titles left in the Title Shop. Seeing this, Su Xiao bought all nine six-star titles at a price of 940 Ancient Gold Coins each.
After giving up on the eight-star title, the Ancient Gold Coins suddenly became abundant. Counting the five six-star titles he had purchased earlier, there were now a total of 14 six-star titles in his title list, to be used for future title burning and refining.
As for the few seven-star titles in the Title Shop that remained grayed out and unpurchasable, Su Xiao estimated their value to be between 500 and 6,000 Ancient Gold Coins. Yes, the price difference between seven-star titles was that large. For example, in the past, the seven-star title [Uncrowned King] couldn't compare to the seven-star [War Lord].
Closing the title list, Su Xiao removed the Divine Judgment Ring from his index finger. After killing the Sin God, this ring had gained a new ability.
[Divine Judgment +10]
Quality: Immortal Rank
Category: Ring
Durability: 75/75
Equipment Requirement: Has once slaughtered an extremely evil deity (far exceeding equipment requirements)
Equipment Effect 1: Soul Life (Core · Passive), each point of Soul Strength the wearer has will increase Health Points by 120 and Neural Reflex Speed by 0.4%.
Current Soul Strength: 650 points.
Increased Health Points: 65,000 points (this equipment can increase Health Points by a maximum of 65,000 points).
Increased Neural Reflex Speed: 230% Neural Reflex Speed (this equipment can increase Neural Reflex Speed by a maximum of 230%).
Equipment Effect 2: Sin Fire (Passive), when attacking with any melee means, there is a chance to ignite the enemy's sin, causing a continuous Soul Burning effect (if the enemy has no sin, this ability is ineffective).
Tip: If the wearer kills a new evil god, the ability gained from god-slaying will forcibly replace this ability.
Equipment Growth: 36.8%.
Equipment Growth Condition: After killing an extremely evil deity, this equipment can absorb the deity's Primordial Soul energy to grow. The growth rate will depend on the rank of the evil god killed (extremely evil deities are mostly Ancient Gods).
Rating: 1500++ (Immortal Rank equipment ratings range from 1000 to 1500 points).
Description: Hunt, hunt more evil gods, until...
Price: Unsellable.
...
The newly appeared Sin Fire had a somewhat vague description, but that didn't matter. Su Xiao didn't incorporate such unstable abilities that would be forcibly replaced in the future into his combat planning. It was good if it triggered, and it didn't matter if it didn't.
Or rather, Su Xiao generally didn't trust abilities related to luck and probability triggers. As for the specific reason, it was better not to mention it.
Before long, Bubu Wang returned. Bubu had gone to investigate and found out that Grand Sage Tuerz had family, but he wasn't close to them. To be precise, Grand Sage Tuerz had lived for several hundred years and was the ancestor of his current family.
Grand Sage Tuerz had been at the Stigma Academy all year round and hadn't seen these relatives for decades. Naturally, the relationship between the two sides wasn't close. Those relatives only knew that they had a particularly big backer. Even if they did nothing, they would have food and clothing without worry. However, they couldn't cause trouble or provoke others without reason. Apart from that, they knew almost nothing about the Grand Sage.
It could be said that the Grand Sage was a reclusive old fellow. The dozen or so trusted subordinates he had brought with him this time had all died in the battle against the Sin God.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang returned carrying a red wooden box, which contained the Grand Sage's ashes, or rather, remnants. The Grand Sage's remains had been burned by the Sin Flame to the point where there were no ashes left, only remnants.
Carrying the Grand Sage's spirit box, Su Xiao passed through layers of Church Knight checkpoints in the underground passage and took an elevator to the 11th floor of the church.
Walking along the corridor on the 11th floor, names were engraved on the metal doors on both sides. When he reached the end of the corridor, Su Xiao found a metal door without a name. A few blue marks flashed, and a few words appeared on the door: Grand Sage Tuerz.
Opening the door and placing the spirit box on a stone platform, Su Xiao closed and locked the metal door.
Going up the stairs at the end of the corridor, the layout on the 12th floor was still the same. In the center was a stone statue of the Eternal God. Five wide stone chairs leaned against the wall. The Archbishop sat on one of the stone chairs, while the Holy Priest sat on the stone chair next to him.
"She has fallen asleep. Whether she will wake up, no one knows."
The Archbishop spoke, his voice hoarse and tinged with exhaustion.
Su Xiao turned his gaze to the Holy Priest. She sat there, covered with a blanket, her head drooping. Seeing this, he placed the two bottles of strong liquor he was carrying on the ground.
"Tuerz is dead."
Su Xiao spoke, his tone flat.
"Oh."
The Archbishop only responded, his gaze without any ripple. He had lived too long and had long seen through life and death. He felt no sadness at Tuerz's death, but rather a hint of envy. If possible, he wouldn't have wanted immortality from the very beginning, but he had no choice.
"Have his remains been taken care of?"
"Yes, placed on the lower floor."
"You placed... Tuerz's remains on the lower floor?"
The Archbishop suddenly laughed. He hadn't laughed like this for several hundred, or even a thousand, years.
"You placed Tuerz, who hated the Chosen Ones the most, among a group of Chosen Ones."
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. Thinking about it carefully, it really was just like that.
"So, you defeated the Sin God and opened the entrance to Dead Silence City?"
The Archbishop, because of his few laughs just now, was even more exhausted, barely having the strength to speak.
"Yes."
"Since you've already opened the door, they won't stop me from telling you some things. Stopping it is meaningless. After the Chosen One opens the door, they will wait for you to enter Dead Silence City, then find you and kill you."
The Archbishop slowly raised his hand, signaling Su Xiao to remove the Black King Bracer. After taking the Black King Bracer, the Archbishop opened the armrest mechanism of his stone chair and took out a black crystal from inside. He said:
"This is the Primordial Source, one of the reasons for the spread of the Dead Silence. A thousand years ago, the knights of the Healing Church called it the 'Source Stone'..."
The Archbishop slowly revealed the secrets buried deep within the Healing Church. According to him, one of the reasons for the spread of the Dead Silence force was the existence of the massive 'Primordial Source.' The massive 'Primordial Source' produced the Dead Silence force, which then allowed it to spread. Otherwise, the Dead Silence force would only be water without a source and wouldn't have ravaged the Gloomy Continent to this extent.
At the end of the Divine Era, the Dead Silence Calamity erupted. To combat this disaster, the Healing Church gathered all its strength and sealed the 'Primordial Source' within the Supreme Sanctuary.
The Sanctuary Key Su Xiao obtained from the second ring of his mission was used to open the Supreme Sanctuary.
Simply sealing the 'Primordial Source' was not a solution to the problem. Helpless, the high-ranking members of the Healing Church at the time joined forces to 'cut' a small piece from the massive Primordial Source. This small piece condensed into a crystal, which was the Source Stone the Archbishop referred to.
Even so, the power of the 'Initial Source Stone' was still too strong. More critically, to prevent the massive 'Primordial Source' within the Supreme Sanctuary from absorbing this 'Source Stone,' a container had to be found for this 'Source Stone.' Otherwise, within a few years at most, this 'Source Stone' cut from the massive Primordial Source would gradually be absorbed back.
At that time, the Healing Church tried every possible method. Even if they took this 'Source Stone' to the ends of the earth, far away from Dead Silence City, it would still be slowly absorbed by the massive Primordial Source within the Supreme Sanctuary of Dead Silence City.
It wasn't until the first Chosen One attempted to swallow this 'Source Stone' into his belly, using himself as a container, that this first-generation Chosen One lived for only a few seconds.
The first-generation Chosen One verified four things: