Chapter 23: Dead Silence City
Inside the temple, as Su Xiao pushed open the Gate of Death, cold mist and gray-white cotton-like substances drifted out from the crack in the door, accompanied by sensations of death, ill omen, and desolation.
Su Xiao looked into the gate, and what met his eyes was a expanse of white mist. Through the mist, he could faintly see towering buildings in the distance. This was the origin: Dead Silence City.
Hmm~
A fluctuation, perceptible only to Su Xiao himself, came from the Black King Bracer he wore. He sensed that the Black King Bracer was resonating with something deep within Dead Silence City.
After his arrangements and investigations in High Wall City, Su Xiao's purpose for this exploration of Dead Silence City was very clear.
Deep within Dead Silence City, there was a building called the Supreme Sanctuary, which sealed the source, the root of the spread of deathly silence. Eliminating this thing would naturally sever the cause and effect with the deathly silence.
Years ago, the Healing Church cut a piece of the massive "Source" within the Supreme Sanctuary. Later, this piece of "Source" transformed into the "Primordial Source Stone." After that, this "Primordial Source Stone" split into five pieces.
To enter the Supreme Sanctuary, where the source power spread, having one or two "Source Stones" was useless. Only by gathering all five and allowing them to recombine into the amount of the "Primordial Source Stone" could one qualify to step into the Supreme Sanctuary.
Currently, Su Xiao only had one "Source Stone" given by the Archbishop. There was still a considerable gap to gather five and reach the quantity of the "Primordial Source Stone."
Corresponding to the "Source Stone" was the "Proof Item," the Black King Bracer. After opening the Gate of Death, it displayed characteristics it hadn't shown before.
Su Xiao raised his left arm, pulled up his sleeve, and looked at the Black King Bracer that covered his left forearm and hand. The bracer had gained a new ability: it could absorb "Source Stones," thereby increasing the wearer's resistance to deathly silence power.
After absorbing roughly the amount of three stones, even without using the [Shelter Stone], Su Xiao could move around most areas within the origin: Dead Silence City.
To be precise, the 12-hour shelter effect from using the [Shelter Stone] was more like a buff state, except this shelter had levels.
Due to the recent sale of semi-finished [Shelter Stones], Kaisa and Wude, those two fellows, had detailed the shelter levels based on the gap between the semi-finished and normal [Shelter Stones].
First, the semi-finished [Shelter Stone]. Its shelter level was around 3.5. For the outer areas of Dead Silence City, level 3 shelter was sufficient. To penetrate the outer building clusters, level 4 shelter was needed.
Therefore, many victims... ahem, many buyers of semi-finished [Shelter Stones] reported that in the building area, they would suffer intermittent deathly silence erosion. It was like suddenly having a violent shudder, tearing pain all over the body, a chunk of health dropping, and then turning to run back, only to find it was fine again.
When a group of buyers came to settle accounts with Kaisa, they found he had already fled.
A normal [Shelter Stone] could provide about level 5 shelter. Usually, this level of shelter allowed one to go to most places within Dead Silence City.
If Su Xiao could let the Black King Bracer absorb about three "Source Stones," he would gain a 24-hour level 5 shelter effect. If he also used a [Shelter Stone], the shelter effects would stack, reaching about level 8 shelter.
As for entering the Supreme Sanctuary, based on the general information given by the Archbishop, Su Xiao estimated that at least level 40 or higher shelter was needed to enter.
This also meant that besides finding all five Source Stones and letting the Black King Bracer absorb enough source power, there was no other way for now.
As an alchemist, after obtaining the first "Source Stone," Su Xiao didn't rush to have the Black King Bracer absorb it. Instead, he first tried to create one artificially. If he could, even lacking 40 stones, let alone 4, would be no problem.
Unfortunately, to this day, Su Xiao still hadn't figured out what the "Source Stone" was. Its energy properties were both high-level and complex, as if it were a fusion of several high-level energies.
Su Xiao took out the "Source Stone," which attracted the attention of Zuiyasi and Wude beside him. Zuiyasi said, "Brother Bai Ye, this thing is ominous. We have a life-and-death bond, so why not let me bear this ominousness for you..."
Before Zuiyasi could finish, Su Xiao had already activated the Black King Bracer.
Ding~
The "Source Stone" was adsorbed onto the Black King Bracer, making a crisp sound as it dissolved, eventually turning into a stream of pure black energy that merged into the bracer.
This gave Su Xiao a feeling that the Black King Bracer had been partially completed. If he could absorb more "Source Stones," the Black King Bracer would definitely have a huge improvement.
He wasn't surprised by this. Theoretically, the "Source Stone" was a higher-level version of the Black King Bracer. Absorbing it, and ensuring enough quantity, it was only natural for the Black King Bracer to climb to that higher level.
Seeing the "Source Stone" absorbed by the Black King Bracer, the two good teammates beside him were both intrigued, but there was no intention of competing. After all, the three of them had entered Dead Silence City for their own purposes.
Su Xiao's reason for entering Dead Silence City needed no elaboration. As for Wude, he came to find the Black Maple Tree while also searching for other secret treasures to offset the cost of entering this world.
Although Wude had guessed that the news of a Black Maple Tree in Dead Silence City was deliberately leaked by his 'good teammate,' since he was already here, and the resources to enter this world were provided by his clan, searching around Dead Silence City would at least give the old demons in his clan an explanation. More importantly, he needed to find secret treasures to stop losses, or even make a big profit.
Compared to Wude, Zuiyasi, that dog thief, clearly had ulterior motives. His home world, Doom Star, had been an old rival of this world, Gloomy Continent, and he knew more about it.
Although Zuiyasi hid it well, Su Xiao always felt that this guy was looking for something in Dead Silence City. Presumably, that thing was very important to the Ancient God System.
The Gate of Death was wide open. Su Xiao, Wude, Zuiyasi, and Gulu stood side by side, with Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha behind Su Xiao.
The situation was deadlocked. No one was willing to be the first to enter Dead Silence City, especially since Su Xiao's Black King Bracer was continuously resonating with some existence deep within the city.
"This stalemate won't do. How about we elect a leader?"
Zuiyasi spoke. In the past, with his immortality trait, he would have walked in front. But after facing the deathly silence, he knew this situation was different from before.
Hearing the word "elect," Su Xiao and Wude, with calm expressions and without prior agreement, pushed Zuiyasi, who was standing in the middle, forward, thus completing this physical election.
Zuiyasi only had time to shout half a beautiful hometown phrase before he disappeared into the white mist, leaving no trace of his presence. It was obvious that the origin: Dead Silence City was in an independent area; otherwise, it would have long since assimilated and eroded this world.
Wude asked, "Is Zuiyasi alright?"
"Probably."
"Then we go in too. You first?"
Wude made a gesture of invitation, fully displaying the style of the demon clan.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He stepped forward into the white mist ahead.
Inside the white mist, the soul-piercing chill receded, replaced by a sense of spatial chaos. This feeling was similar to being randomly teleported. Sensing this, Su Xiao felt a sense of foreboding.
At that moment, a cold sensation came from all around. Unlike the bone-chilling cold before, this was a cold that made one's skin crawl. In the chaotic space of the white mist, withered, woody arms reached out from all sides. The most bizarre one shot straight for the back of Su Xiao's neck.
Clang!
A slash flashed and vanished. Su Xiao pressed his hand on the sword hilt. Although he hadn't drawn the blade, the cutting edge had already been released. Against this kind of surprise attack, the slash improved from the Blade Domain was more efficient.
The withered arm shattered with a sound, but from the break, a cluster of small, intertwined arms grew, forming a strange claw intent on attacking Su Xiao again.
"Moo."
Amu's large hand met it.
Boom!
The surrounding chaotic space erupted with an explosion-like roar. Even Su Xiao felt a ringing in his ears. This mutation was clearly the hospitable People of Death welcoming Su Xiao, the chosen one.
A spatial suction force surged, and the scene before Su Xiao blurred repeatedly until he was finally pulled out of the chaotic space.
Su Xiao crouched on the ground. The surrounding white mist quickly dissipated. The ringing in his ears lasted a few seconds before fading. His whole body ached slightly from being in the chaotic space, and everything before him had double images.
After calming down for half a minute, Su Xiao returned to his peak state. He had to admit, the force of this chaotic space was considerable. Even Su Xiao, who was used to the demon clan's teleportation, needed half a minute to adapt.
Before he could look around, a smell of blood drifted over. Su Xiao wasn't surprised. This was Dead Silence City, full of dangers everywhere. He looked towards the source of the blood smell and saw Gulu lying on her side, slightly curled up.
"Woof?"
Bubu Wang, who couldn't tell north from south and looked drunk, got up from the ground, took a few staggering steps, and leaned against the wall to steady himself.
"Damn, this teleportation was too strong. My head is buzzing."
Baha shook his head. The world swaying before his eyes gradually stabilized.
"Almost... almost died."
Gulu got up from the ground, but due to the intense pain all over, she was still sitting sideways. A few drops of blood dripped from her pale chin. She looked like she was questioning life.
Gulu wasn't afraid of death, but she absolutely couldn't accept dying in such a wild teleportation.
Actually, Gulu was just unlucky. Only the chosen ones received this treatment when entering Dead Silence City. That's why Wude deliberately waited a while and didn't enter the white mist with Su Xiao.
During the attack by the People of Death in the chaotic space, Amu had been invaluable. So many arms of the People of Death had reached out. Given the situation, Su Xiao being dragged away was almost inevitable. At the critical moment, Amu, as the tank, stepped forward and pushed them back.
As for Amu's current location, it was unknown, but it was estimated to be deep within Dead Silence City.
Su Xiao looked around. This was a clothing shop. The floor-standing clockwork clock had stopped. The thick fabrics hanging on the racks were weathered and stiff, showing dirty, greasy black.
The metal chandelier above was intricately designed, indicating that the civilization of Dead Silence City at the time wasn't backward. The skeleton of what seemed to be the shop owner was hanging from the chandelier. Judging by the degree of weathering on the bones, he had been dead for some time.
The few clothes hanging on the racks showed that the shop owner had little interest in running the store. Instead, a workbench cluttered with bottles and jars occupied most of the shop's area.
A yellowed diary was placed in the most conspicuous spot on the workbench. Su Xiao picked it up and looked at it. The content was:
'Hahahahahahahahahaha...'
Su Xiao frowned. He didn't know what happy thing this tailor had. The first page of the suicide note diary was so cheerful. He continued flipping, finding that each subsequent page had little content, as follows:
'It's all the Healing Church's fault. The church abandoned us. We can only rely on ourselves to survive.'
'Torn page'
'Thank the church for sending the candles. It's so good to still see the firelight. Ina hasn't smiled in a long time. Little Aiwei is the same.'
'Torn page'
'Damn Healing Church, they deserve to die, die!'
'Torn page'
'Torn page'
'Should I join them? I kind of... want to join them. No, I have to stay with my wife and daughter until the end. I can't become a People of Death.'
'Little Aiwei died. The once cute and warm her is now cold, hard, and pale. There's no point in holding on anymore. But I don't want to become a monster. Although I'm just a tailor, not a transcendent hunter or a church knight, I have my own dignity. I won't become a monster, won't hurt others.'
...
The diary ended abruptly. It was easy to imagine the despair of the residents when the deathly silence power spread. They both loved and hated their only support, the Healing Church.
Just as Su Xiao put down the diary, he heard Gulu, still sitting on the ground, ask, "How come you guys are fine?"
After saying this, Gulu threw away the empty potion bottle, took out a wet wipe, and prepared to clean the blood off her face.
Hearing this, Baha showed the smile of an experienced person and said, "Nothing special, just familiarity."
"What?"
Gulu was even more puzzled. In terms of survival ability against attacks, she wasn't sure who was stronger between her and Baha, but she was certain she was stronger than Bubu Wang.
Gulu didn't know there was something called the demon clan's teleportation array. When Bubu Wang first experienced it, he went into shock several times before his spatial resistance skyrocketed.
Ignoring Gulu, whose psychological shadow was growing, Su Xiao came to the shop door, wiped a bit of dust off the glass, and saw the desolate street.
Although this was the outer area of Dead Silence City, it was already beyond the outermost white mist zone. The streets weren't paved with stone slabs. There was little soil in Dead Silence City; the ground was a kind of gray rock layer.
If one looked down on the outer area of Dead Silence City from above, the terrain was very simple. In the middle was a main street about ten meters wide, flanked by multi-story buildings of varying heights. These buildings were mostly pointed-roofed, with gray-white outer walls and thick, greasy moss clinging to the base.
This clothing shop opened directly onto the main street. Compared to taking other side streets or paths, walking the main street would undoubtedly get one to the depths of Dead Silence City faster, but of course, one would also die faster.
To some extent, the branch: Dead Silence City was a reflection of part of the origin: Dead Silence City, but it was fundamentally different.
At this moment, on the main street, Su Xiao saw a large number of scrape marks on the ground, as if something had been frequently dragged across it. If he wasn't mistaken, these were the traces left by 'old acquaintances,' namely, Tree Erosion.
Su Xiao had seen Tree Erosion in the branch: Dead Silence City. The only strategy to deal with Tree Erosion was to avoid it. Fighting Tree Erosion, whether winning or losing, was a huge loss. Moreover, one might end up being chased by a group of Tree Erosion, making escape impossible.
Furthermore, Su Xiao suspected that the Tree Erosion he had seen before were weakened knockoffs. The Tree Erosion in the origin: Dead Silence City were the real deal.
Just as Su Xiao was thinking about how to explore deeper, footsteps came. Looking in the direction of the sound, a team came into view.
This team... no, to be precise, it was a person and several monsters forming a peculiar squad.
The man walking in front was about 40 years old. Judging by his attire, he was a member of the Steam God Cult. Needless to say, he had come to Dead Silence City to find secret treasures and had ended up here.
Behind this man were two People of Death, with tattered clothes and withered forearms and faces, and a little girl with extremely long hair and pitch-black eye sockets.
Behind these three was a monster over 10 meters tall, with rough, gray-black skin, looking humanoid.
This monster's chest was covered with black rusted armor plates. Its head had no facial features, like a bulging gray pustule, with only a row of variously sized air holes where the mouth should be. The most conspicuous feature was its right arm. This 10-meter-tall giant had an arm so long it touched the ground. The entire arm was made of tree roots, with some hanging roots covered in barbs, dragging across the street with a scraping sound, leaving black, wet marks.
In this peculiar five-member team, the Steam God Cult member walked in front, but his movements were hesitant. Looking closely, one could see a few strands of hair piercing through the back of his head, deeply embedded in his brain, controlling him to walk forward.
The owner of these strands of hair was the black-eyed little girl. She seemed humanoid, but was actually more like a thought, or a collection of negative emotions like resentment. What gave her intelligence and made her imitate human form was the twisted soul at the very center of her body.
"The gods will... protect us... don't... be afraid... the Healing Church... won't abandon us."
The staggering Steam God Cult member shouted in front, his voice numb and mechanical, clearly a bait.
Su Xiao noticed that the two People of Death in the team each carried a lantern. Inside the lanterns was a solution, soaking a clump of sticky eyeballs.
This eyeball clump was about the size of a fist. The moment Su Xiao's gaze met one of the pupils, he felt as if needles were pricking his scalp. This thing was a trap targeting the soul level.
Su Xiao withdrew his gaze. He further understood the hospitality of the origin: Dead Silence City. The monsters here, once awakened, didn't stay in place or wander around. These People of Death actively came out to hunt the living who had entered Dead Silence City.
This monster team was using the Steam God Cult member as bait. They didn't need to lure others out. As long as one looked at a pupil in the eyeball lantern, anyone with a soul strength below 400 points would immediately clutch their head and wail. This couldn't be suppressed by willpower; it was a stress response at the soul level.
Su Xiao's soul strength was as high as 650 points. Even after looking at that sinister eyeball lantern, he felt needles pricking his scalp. If one's soul strength was below 500 points, or even 400 points, the consequences were predictable.
As long as one was attracted by the sound and took a glance at this monster team from the shadows, they would be successfully hit. Then they would face a chase by 2 People of Death + 1 black-eyed little girl + 1 Tree Erosion. Please don't misunderstand, this was just the initial chase. At that point, one of the People of Death would roar, and a large number of People of Death would swarm from the surrounding area.
No wonder the contractors were howling like wolves and ghosts in the world contact platform last night. Given the current situation of the origin: Dead Silence City, anyone with normal reason wouldn't enter this damn place.
"What's the situation?"
Gulu quietly came to one side, about to straighten up and look out through the glass on the door, but Su Xiao pressed her down with one hand.
"What are you doing!"
Gulu looked at Su Xiao. She hadn't forgotten about being deducted the Primordial Mask before.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. Based on his understanding of Gulu, that little neurotic, if she didn't suffer a big loss, she wouldn't have genuine reverence for Dead Silence City.
Seeing Su Xiao stop talking, Gulu hesitated for a moment, then put on a protective mask and stuffed a suppressor into her mouth. She had obviously suffered before from being briefly mentally controlled and revealing her position by making a sound.
Gulu poked her head out to look, and then made eye contact with a pupil in the eyeball lantern. Her eyes immediately rolled back. She grabbed her throat with both hands, as if about to let out a wail, but the suppressor in her mouth activated, preventing any sound from coming out. She then fell to the ground.
Su Xiao looked at Gulu, who was curled up on the ground, holding her head with both hands. He was fairly satisfied. Although Gulu had her own ideas, she knew how to prevent herself from becoming a burden to the team. That was a good quality.
Gulu was in shock for a few minutes before waking up. She was completely traumatized. She had been to dangerous areas before, but none as dangerous as Dead Silence City. The chaotic spatial force field at the entrance was extremely malicious towards the small physique of an assassin type. Then she experienced the sinister methods of the People of Death.
"Is this the trial for advancing to the Ninth Rank?"
Gulu asked this question, looking a bit like she was questioning life. In the next world progress, she would also be advancing to the Ninth Rank.
"Sort of."
Baha's answer was somewhat vague.
"Don't 'sort of.' I'm also advancing in the next world progress. If the advancement difficulty is this high, then I'll eat well every day recently, buy whatever candy I want."
"Don't overthink it. It's complicated to explain, but in short, when you advance, it won't be this dangerous."
Baha spoke in a low voice while looking out the window, making sure that the team of People of Death and Tree Erosion had gone far. It quietly pushed open the door, transforming from an aerial overlord into a ground-running chicken, and cautiously poked its head out to look.
After a moment, Baha stepped onto the main street. As soon as one of its eagle claws touched the street, a sharp sound of breaking air came.
Boom!!
The explosion spread. A full metal arrow embedded itself in front of Baha. The sound and attack fluctuation were extremely shocking, but they didn't damage the streets and buildings of Dead Silence City much.
Baha was so startled by this arrow that it almost fell to the ground. It was 100% sure that if this arrow had hit its head, it would have died instantly.
Gulp~
Baha swallowed its saliva. It suddenly burst out, flying in a low arc across the main street, then quickly turned back into the clothing shop.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...
One by one, ancient but sturdy metal arrows embedded themselves in the spots Baha had just flown over. If Baha hadn't been fast, arguably the fastest in Su Xiao's team, it would have been nailed to the street by these arrows.
Based on the direction the metal arrows came from, Su Xiao looked towards a distant tower. This tower was cylindrical, dozens of meters high. Looking around, there was one about every half kilometer.
The observation holes of the towers were pitch black, as if pairs of pale eyes were inside, overlooking everything on the main street.
Walking the main street was suicide. With the arrows of these Pale Hunters, even the top Eighth Rank tank could be near death after taking two arrows, let alone the insane firing speed and frequency of these things.
The comforting thing was that the roar caused by the arrows from these Pale Hunters didn't attract a large group of People of Death. This indicated one thing: the People of Death were only attracted by specific sounds, such as the roar of other People of Death.
Having roughly confirmed this, Su Xiao looked towards the distant high wall. The immediate priority was to pass through the outer area of Dead Silence City and enter the inner city, which was the key area.
Just then, footsteps came from outside the window. Su Xiao looked and saw Wude walking on the main street. Strangely, the Pale Hunters in the towers acted as if they hadn't seen Wude at all.
Su Xiao guessed what was happening. The Pale Hunters were also a type of People of Death, so they were more inclined to attack the living, or living things.
At this moment, Wude had retreated from "three dimensions" to "two dimensions." In his two-dimensional state, he wasn't a living creature, but more like a combination of walking lines and shapes. It could only be said that the other three 'good teammates' all had their own exceptional strengths.
Walking on the main street, Wude noticed Su Xiao's group. He pointed to the distant high wall, indicating that they should first pass the outer area and meet in the inner city. The outer area wasn't worth exploring. Many contractors had been here before, and with so many People of Death here, it was impossible to explore anyway.
Su Xiao nodded to Wude, who was a hundred meters away, indicating agreement to meet inside the high wall. Seeing this, Wude in his two-dimensional state continued walking at a not-so-fast pace.
Watching Wude walk away on the main street, Su Xiao headed towards the back door. His purpose for entering Dead Silence City was very clear. The first thing to do was to find the Demon Blacksmith. He had previously arranged to meet the Demon Blacksmith here through the Skeleton Gambler.
With the [Covenant Item] in hand, Su Xiao was sure the Demon Blacksmith would come.
And indeed, after entering the outer area of Dead Silence City, Su Xiao found that the [Covenant Item] in his storage space had activated on its own, emitting resonant fluctuations from time to time. The direction of the resonance was towards the inner city of Dead Silence City.
Given the Demon Blacksmith's strength, even within Dead Silence City, the place where he was could be considered a safe area. This was exactly what Su Xiao urgently needed.
After reaching this safe area, Su Xiao would consider finding the Holy Song Group to seize the Source Stone they possessed.
Pushing open the back door of the clothing shop, Su Xiao had just stepped out when he saw Zuiyasi in the narrow alley. He found that Zuiyasi was walking towards him, with his back to him.
"Bai Ye, we'll act together from now on..."
Before Zuiyasi could finish, Su Xiao had already retreated into the clothing shop and closed the back door, then wiped a bit of dust off the glass on the door.
Gulu, who was beside him, was stunned. The skill and naturalness with which this teammate was sold were clearly not a one-time thing. Without ten or eight times, it wouldn't be so natural and smooth.
Through this piece of glass, Bubu Wang, Baha, Gulu, and Holy Poem saw Zuiyasi in the narrow alley outside walking backward past the door. A few seconds later, a humanoid existence composed of black particles walked backward past the door in the same posture.
Seeing this existence, Gulu felt intense discomfort from both a physical and psychological level. At this moment, she somewhat regretted following Su Xiao to Dead Silence City.
Compared to Gulu, Holy Poem in her consciousness space was almost vomiting. After seeing that black particle humanoid existence, her soul body felt as if it would be assimilated into that particle form.
"Your friend is in trouble."
Gulu spoke.
"Yeah."
Su Xiao took out his pocket watch and timed it. About half a minute later, the door handle was turned, and Zuiyasi, his face full of 'mosaic,' walked in.
"The taste is too disgusting. That thing is staring at me. If I don't devour it, it will assimilate me."
Zuiyasi looked like he had eaten dirt. He seemed ready to devour something else to 'rinse his mouth.' His gaze turned to Gulu, and then he asked Su Xiao, "Is the one in that little girl's consciousness your friend? If not, I'll devour it."
"Sort of."
"Then forget it."
Zuiyasi felt a bit regretful. The soul-state Holy Poem seemed easy for Zuiyasi to devour. Or rather, most soul bodies were easy for the Ancient God System to devour.
"..."
Su Xiao tossed out a Soul Crystal (Medium). Usually, when he ate strange-tasting soul energy, he would eat a Soul Crystal to ease it.
Zuiyasi caught the Soul Crystal (Medium) and was about to toss it into his mouth, but then shook his head, preparing to save it for his daughter. He put it into his bosom and said, "Thanks, it instantly cured my discomfort. Bai Ye, your medical skills are truly superb."
Having received a benefit, Zuiyasi was never stingy with praise, after all, he had thick skin.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He stepped forward to leave, but was stopped by Zuiyasi. Zuiyasi said, "I'll go first. If I get hit, you have to cure me at all costs."
"Yeah."
As soon as Su Xiao finished speaking, the front door of the clothing shop behind him opened, and Wude walked in with a bone arrow in his neck. Obviously, the main street wasn't easy to walk.
"I can't bear to leave you two and go to the inner city first. My conscience would be uneasy."
Wude spoke with a smile, not mentioning a word about almost being shot into a sieve by the Pale Hunters.
"By the way, there's something you might want to know."
In the narrow alley, Zuiyasi, walking in front, spoke in a low voice.
"What?"
Baha, bringing up the rear, looked around nervously, worried that a few People of Death might suddenly rush out.
"Yesterday, I came here alone and even reached the foot of that high wall."
Zuiyasi said this, his eyes drooping. He had originally just wanted to check out the outer area, not intending to go that deep. But an accident happened. He was not only dragged over but also almost had his kidney gouged out. Even now, thinking about it made him shudder.
Through Zuiyasi's brief narration, Su Xiao understood the situation. Actually, yesterday, not only had Zuiyasi come to Dead Silence City first, but Kaisa, in his human-pot fusion state, had also come.
Kaisa had not only come but had also explored Dead Silence City to a great extent. However, he was currently temporarily trapped somewhere in the inner city, so he couldn't come back to share information.
Zuiyasi had met Kaisa near the high wall yesterday and obtained some information about Dead Silence City. Overall, Dead Silence City could be divided into two parts: the outer ring of the outer city, and the inner city surrounded by a circular high wall.
The outer city was the territory of the People of Death, Tree Erosion, Dark Spirit Mediums, White Hunters, etc. There were many monsters here, but no fixed dwelling places. In contrast, there were no particularly strong beings here.
The truly important, or dangerous, buildings were all in the inner city, such as the "Ten Saints Church," "Sacrificial Altar," "Treatment Center," and even the "Supreme Sanctuary."
The inner city didn't have a large number of People of Death. But if one encountered Tree Erosion, Dark Spirit Mediums, White Hunters, etc., there, they had to be careful. The monsters that dared to enter the inner city were elite individuals, the strongest among their kind, one in ten thousand.
In layman's terms, if you met a People of Death in the inner city, even if it looked unremarkable, treat it as an Eighth Rank leader-level unit.
According to Kaisa's information, if you encountered one People of Death in the inner city, you could fight. If you encountered two together, be extra cautious. If three were together, it was best to go around them. If five were together, that was the "Dead Silence City Sword Saint Team." Turn around and leave immediately, don't even look at them. If you dared to provoke them, they would chop you up in no time.
As for the Tree Erosion in the inner city, their combat power was even stronger than Eighth Rank bosses. Their average height was 25-30 meters. What was even more unacceptable was that the Tree Erosion in the inner city were always in groups of three to five. Usually, one Tree Erosion Lord led 2-3 elite Tree Erosion.
As for the Pale Hunters in the inner city, even Kaisa felt dizzy just looking at them. In short, if you saw a place where Pale Hunters were gathered, find a way to bypass that area.
Their abilities were similar to those of the Tianba Clan. They would use an ability called Death Erosion, causing the arrow victim to suffer damage based on their maximum health. Tanks would have their heads buzzing just thinking about it.
Hearing this, Baha's butthole tightened. The experience of being shot by the Tianba Clan was still fresh in its mind.
The good news was that once in the inner city, although the monsters there were several levels stronger, their numbers weren't as high as in the outer city. Outsiders here wouldn't easily aggro a train of monsters.
This information relayed by Zuiyasi was very important. At the end, Zuiyasi pointed into the distance and said, "Over there, there's a... woman with fish scales and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Let's call her Sister Fish for now. If you get a harpoon-shaped mark on your body, it means Sister Fish has her eye on you."
Zuiyasi said this with an indescribable expression. Sister Fish was very strong, but she was both dangerous and not particularly dangerous. It depended on the person's adaptability. Or rather, Sister Fish was originally an intruder too, but she had been trapped here for hundreds of years and was close to being assimilated by Dead Silence City.
"A harpoon-shaped mark? Like... this?"
Gulu raised her hand. Unbeknownst to her, a dark purple mark had appeared on her palm, emitting a faint fluorescence.
Seeing this mark, Zuiyasi's eye twitched, then he smiled and said, "Little girl, good luck."
Almost as soon as Zuiyasi spoke, Su Xiao, Wude, Bubu Wang, and Baha all took two steps back.
Seeing this, Gulu's nerves tightened. Unbeknownst to her, water had appeared in the air around her. Before she could react, it enveloped her. Two hands, covered in fine scales, with long, sharp fingers, reached out from both sides of her neck.
Gulu's eyes gradually widened. Her expression clearly said: 'Save me!!!'
However, she was now in a different dimensional space, which could be called the "Water Drowning Space." This was Sister Fish's strength. If she wanted to take someone away, unless the person being taken was of similar strength to Sister Fish or even stronger, this process was almost unstoppable.
The large water ball enveloping Gulu suddenly contracted, eventually turning into a water droplet and dissipating into the air.
After watching Gulu disappear, Su Xiao, Wude, and Zuiyasi continued along the narrow alley towards the depths of Dead Silence City.
It turned out that Su Xiao's setup was very effective. Before entering this world, he had first spread the false news that there was a Black Maple Tree in Dead Silence City, causing many Eighth Rank contractors or Void forces greedy for the Black Maple Tree to enter this world.
Then, in this world, he conspired with Kaisa, Wude, and Zuiyasi to manufacture and sell semi-finished Shelter Stones, getting more people to enter the outer area of Dead Silence City.
Now, the occasional explosions from the outer city indicated that many people were still adventuring and exploring this place. This greatly reduced the pressure on Su Xiao. Otherwise, as the chosen one, the People of Death would definitely target him.
Zuiyasi led the way, Su Xiao followed, Wude behind released black mist to mask their auras, and Baha brought up the rear. Bubu Wang, blending into the environment, stayed far behind the team, overlooking from some tall buildings to ensure Su Xiao and the others didn't run into a large group of People of Death head-on.
The journey was much smoother than expected. Or rather, the plan to bring more people to Dead Silence City to spread the risk was more effective than estimated.
Two hours later, Su Xiao arrived at the foot of the towering black high wall. For some reason, the People of Death in the outer city didn't approach this wall, as if they feared something or were bound by some restriction.
They absolutely couldn't climb the high wall. Bubu Wang had seen from a high place that the wall was crowded with Pale Hunters. These Pale Hunters seemed to have turned to stone, but no one knew if they would suddenly break free from their rock shells. With this number of Pale Hunters, no one could withstand a volley of arrows.
Strangely, these Pale Hunters weren't facing the outer area, but all facing the inner city. It felt as if this high wall wasn't built to keep out the numerous People of Death in the outer city, but to trap the inner city and prevent something inside from getting out.
Su Xiao came to the only gate in the high wall. A half-damaged metal door barely stood there. It looked as if a huge claw had reached out from inside and torn this nearly ten-meter-high metal door into this state.
Passing through the gap in the metal door and exiting the arched doorway, Su Xiao arrived at the inner city. As soon as he stepped out of the doorway, he felt the colors of the surrounding world dim a few shades, becoming mainly gray, black, and white, with other colors fading.
What met his eyes was a circular square. Surrounding the square was a ring of kneeling sculptures, like a circular wall, enclosing this empty square of several thousand square meters.
On the gray-white stone ground, countless bone arrows were embedded, leaving only a winding path leading to the center of the square.
The moment he saw this square, Su Xiao, Wude, and Zuiyasi all stopped in their tracks, their eyes fixed on the center of the gray stone square.
"Ho... holy shit."
Baha blurted out unconsciously. Bubu Wang beside it was dumbfounded.
At the center of the gray stone square stood a Black Maple Tree dozens of meters high. This was a Black Maple Tree that had already withered and died.