Chapter 39: Oblivion
Su Xiao closed Amu's information. Overall, Amu's current abilities could be divided into two situations.
If Amu had teammates nearby, it remained the silent, honest bull, with its main ability being tank-type. Due to acquiring the ultimate-level ability [Fearless War Bull], its survivability had improved.
When three of Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Baha, and Beini were near Amu, it gained a boost of 60 points of physical defense, 10,500 health points, and 6 points of true stamina attribute.
This boost seemed high already, but one must not forget that [Fearless War Bull] was only at Level 10. Further leveling would make the tankiness granted by this ability reach astonishing levels.
Compared to [Fearless War Bull], Amu's other ultimate-level ability, [Lone War Bull], had seemingly complex attributes but was actually very simple.
Currently, Amu was a main tank with strength, stamina, and intelligence as its main attributes. After transforming into the [Lone War Bull] state, it became an ice warrior with strength, agility, and stamina as its main attributes, and it was a half-tank, half-damage-dealer warrior with charging capabilities.
Moreover, in the Lone War Bull state, due to the bonus from [Ice Flame Life], as Amu continuously took damage, not only did its health recovery speed increase, but its movement speed also gradually increased.
This reflected a characteristic of the [Ice Flame Life] ability in the Lone War Bull state: the heavier Amu's injuries, the more thoroughly the ice energy within it was activated.
Normally, the [Life Energy] and [Ice Energy] within Amu coexisted without interfering with each other. However, after it was injured, these two types of bodily energy would gradually mix together due to the continuous external blows, causing the ice energy within it to grow stronger.
In the Lone War Bull state, Amu had an ability called [Chilling Axe Blade]. This ability temporarily sacrificed the ice energy's outward release, freezing, spreading, and other characteristics in exchange for a high bonus to weapon sharpness and weapon attack power.
In other words, the more injured Amu was in the Lone War Bull state, the more health it recovered, the faster it moved, and the stronger its attack power became.
This was good news. It meant Amu could not only take a beating when fighting powerful enemies but also had strong solo combat capabilities. Of course, if it was unlucky enough to start a battle by falling into the sea, there was no helping that.
Su Xiao took out [Wolf Blood: Moon Ornament]. After absorbing wolf blood, this item had undergone a qualitative transformation, becoming a world-class piece of equipment. This was something Su Xiao hadn't expected.
[Wolf Blood: Moon Ornament (World-Class · Accessory)]
Durability: 57/60 points.
Equipment Prerequisite: Blade Grandmaster or Sword Grandmaster Lv.65 or above, non-magic type, non-Abyss tendency (maximum one accessory equipment can be worn).
Equipment Effect (Unique): Increases the damage rank of blade-type and sword-type weapons by +2.
Introduction: Gifted to a blood-sworn friend never met.
Selling Price: Cannot be sold.
The enhancement of the Wolf Blood Ornament was simple and brutal, increasing from the original +1 to +2 for blade-type weapon damage rank, just as straightforward as the Moon Wolf's sword techniques.
After re-equipping the Wolf Blood Ornament, Su Xiao placed his hand on the sword hilt. Although he didn't draw the blade, he could clearly feel that his slashing power upon drawing the sword had fundamentally improved by a notch.
Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the small wooden bed and took out the [Sealing Blade] obtained from the transaction with Shenfu. This was a product of the Law Destruction Faction. Others couldn't probe its secrets, but Su Xiao could.
Under his control, the [Sealing Blade], which had a translucent crystalline texture, floated in front of him. He held his hands as if grasping something, and Cyan Steel Shadow energy spread from his hands, entering the [Sealing Blade].
Clack, clack!
As the Cyan Steel Shadow energy entered, the appearance of the [Sealing Blade] began to change. Although it was still in the shape of a short blade, it now looked more like a large key with a handle. The handle bore a mark used by the Ancestral Law Destroyers, a circular mark with intricate internal structures.
Seeing this mark, Su Xiao's gaze turned serious. Within the Law Destruction Faction, this mark represented danger. He checked the attributes of the activated [Sealing Blade].
[Sealing Blade]
Origin: Void · Shadow of Law Destruction.
Quality: Sealed Item (usable only by Shadow of Law Destruction).
Durability: 195/340 points.
Equipment Effect 1: Can open a one-way world barrier to the Eternal Light World.
Tip: Regarding this one-way world barrier, if you choose to enter the Eternal Light World, this barrier has no blocking effect. If you intend to leave the Eternal Light World, you will be blocked by this barrier.
Equipment Effect 2: This key is both a sealing key and a coordinate item for the Eternal Light World. You can use this coordinate item as a medium to establish a one-way ultra-long-range teleportation array to the Eternal Light World.
Tip: This coordinate item can be used multiple times, consuming 1 point of durability each time.
Introduction: The Eternal Light World, thrilling and exciting.
Seeing the effects of the [Sealing Blade], Su Xiao immediately recalled the Borer World, the Star-Clinging Crabs, the Dark Spirit Clans, the Abyss Spawn, and the Silver Queen who had arrived there not long ago.
Among these groups, taking any one of them out, the misfortune wouldn't be limited to just one world. They would plague a world until it was on the verge of collapse, then move on to plague other worlds.
In short, if a group wasn't at the world-destroying level, it didn't qualify to survive in the Eternal Light World. That world was that terrifying.
Now, Su Xiao had a deeper understanding of the Eternal Light World. He suspected that this world was a massive prison created by the Ancestral Law Destroyers. They threw in all the groups that couldn't be eliminated and that continuously destroyed various worlds, letting them harm each other to prevent them from coming out and causing trouble.
Thinking about it this way, besides the Borer World, Star-Clinging Crabs, Dark Spirit Clans, Abyss Spawn, and Silver Queen Swarm, there must be other terrifying groups in the Eternal Light World. Moreover, there were quite a few types of these groups, all thrown in by the Ancestral Law Destroyers in the past.
One question was puzzling: just how high-ranked was the Eternal Light World to withstand such devastation and continue to exist to this day?
Or perhaps the Eternal Light World had a world consciousness? And that world consciousness was extremely terrifying and powerful, allowing that world to persist until now?
Su Xiao wasn't curious about what it was like there. He originally thought that only the Borer World Swarm and the Silver Queen Swarm in the Eternal Light World had grudges against him. Now, it seemed that wasn't the case.
If this was truly a world prison created by the Law Destruction Faction, then the old world-destroying groups thrown in there had a mortal enmity with the Law Destroyers. They would fight to the death upon meeting.
If Su Xiao, as a Law Destroyer, went to the Eternal Light World, over eighty percent of the world-destroying groups there would be his enemies. Just thinking about this situation gave him a headache.
His resolve to never go to the Eternal Light World became even stronger. Su Xiao put away the [Sealing Blade]. He wouldn't go himself, but sending some unsolvable powerful enemies over there was a very good choice.
Leaving the small resting room, Su Xiao found that Zuiyasi, Wude, and Kaisa were not there. Only Gulu was sitting on the chandelier, holding a game terminal with both hands, her expression gradually turning irritable.
This was normal. Gulu had always been curious about what new puzzle game Su Xiao was playing. This time, he simply shared it with her, letting her experience the joy of it. Especially since Gulu only had her right arm left, with her left arm inside a life support device.
Gulu was full of praise for this life support device and asked Su Xiao where he bought it. In reality, this thing couldn't be bought; Su Xiao made it himself, the result of many improvements and practical tests.
Su Xiao came to the ritual vessel, which was filled with Source Stones. He could roughly guess where Zuiyasi, Wude, and Kaisa had gone.
Source Stones alone weren't enough; they also needed proof items that could absorb the Source Stones. Each past Chosen One had their own proof item.
None of the three, Zuiyasi, Wude, and Kaisa, were Chosen Ones, so they naturally didn't have proof items. Su Xiao didn't have a good method for forging proof items either. Fortunately, there had been many Chosen Ones in the past. After they died here, they should have left behind their respective proof items.
If they found these proof items, with Kaisa's trickery, Zuiyasi and Wude could temporarily use these proof items to absorb Source Stones and gain protection. As for Kaisa, that guy didn't even need a protection stone in Dead Silence City. He just put the Abyssal Jar on his head. What protection stone? What was that thing?
Regarding the proof items that the Chosen Ones might have left behind, Su Xiao had always been puzzled. So many Chosen Ones had died here, yet not a single proof item had been found. Not only had he not found any, but Zuiyasi, Wude, and Kaisa hadn't seen any either. This was very abnormal.
Su Xiao picked up a Source Stone. With a *ding*, the Source Stone was absorbed by the Black King Bracer, transforming into a stream of dark energy that entered it.
Seeing this, Su Xiao's left arm, wearing the Black King Bracer, reached into the large bowl-like ritual vessel, his forearm submerged in the Source Stones.
After absorbing about a hundred or so Source Stones, the capacity of the Black King Bracer reached its limit.
[Tip: Detected that the Hunter has obtained a high-intensity protection effect. This effect is being evaluated...]
[You have obtained a world-specific bonus, Protection Lv.89.]
[Due to this certification, some areas within Dead Silence City have been divided into Erosion Levels (Erosion Levels correspond to Protection Levels).]
[Dead Silence City · Outer City District: Erosion Level 3.5 ~ 4.]
[Dead Silence City · Inner City District: Erosion Level 4 ~ 5.]
[Ash Rock Plaza: Erosion Level 5.]
[Grand Cathedral: Erosion Level 0.]
[Ten Saints Church: Erosion Level 5.]
[Wolf Tomb: Erosion Level 5.]
[Treatment Center: Erosion Level 5.]
[Foul Land: Erosion Level 8.]
[Penance Hall: Erosion Level 10 ~ 15.]
[Supreme Sanctum: Erosion Level 46.]
The Erosion Level of the Supreme Sanctum was very high, but for Su Xiao now, this was no longer a problem.
Just as Su Xiao was about to leave, he remembered one thing. He had obtained the [Holy Maiden Badge] but hadn't used it yet. The problem was that the [Ancient Laboratory Pass] exchanged for this item was no longer very useful.
Su Xiao estimated that the Steel Maker's preferential treatment of Amu was entirely because it liked the silent, honest bull.
If Su Xiao went himself, he estimated that even if he held the [Ancient Laboratory Pass], with his Charm attribute of -13 points, cough, it was already -14 points, not to mention knocking on the door. Even if he blew up the door, the Steel Maker wouldn't come to negotiate with him.
It wasn't that Su Xiao's thoughts were negative, but that he had confidence in his Charm attribute.
If he sent Bubu Wang, it could get in, but why would Bubu Wang go to the Abyss Battlefield? To go to that place full of vengeful spirits, ghouls, ancient remains, and strange beasts, only to be scared out of its wits and then come back?
If he sent Baha with the [Ancient Laboratory Pass] to find the Steel Maker, with its eloquence, it might be made into a Demon Eagle stew with mushrooms before even entering the Abyss Battlefield.
Previously, Su Xiao planned to sell the [Holy Maiden Badge] to the Crow Woman. Unfortunately, the Assassin Princess, who had been constantly outwitted by Su Xiao in this world, had almost entered a stage of fighting with the air.
This also meant that the [Holy Maiden Badge] was going to be a dead weight. Su Xiao looked at Gulu on the chandelier. Gulu, who was tackling the puzzle game and was almost angry enough to bite the terminal, suddenly shuddered.
"Wh... what?"
Gulu looked at Su Xiao warily.
Su Xiao took out the [Holy Maiden Badge] and said, "Holy Maiden Badge, selling it to you at a low price."
Su Xiao's expected price was 100 to 6,000 Soul Coins. As long as it wasn't a dead weight, it was fine. Besides, he couldn't use it himself.
"Low price?"
Gulu thought for a moment, then said, "Then I'll offer 200 Soul Coins."
"Deal."
Compared to being worthless as a dead weight, selling it for 200 Soul Coins was a good profit, double the minimum expected profit.
Hearing this, Gulu was stunned. This transaction was too suspicious, but considering that if she backed out now, she would most likely be beaten into buying the [Holy Maiden Badge].
After completing the transaction, Su Xiao came to the small room inside the sacrificial altar and activated the teleportation device. When everything around him returned to normal, he was already at the Treatment Center.
Going down to the first floor, the Ghost Old Man was holding a huge, half-meter-thick handwritten ledger, carefully examining the names on it. He had ended up in his current state both because he had schemed against the Steel Maker and because he had been set up by someone. So, he had written down the names of all his enemies and was now thinking about who exactly had set him up.
From the thickness and size of this handwritten ledger, the Ghost Old Man seemed to have quite a few enemies.
"Let me ask you something."
Su Xiao spoke. Hearing this, the Ghost Old Man inside the wooden window smiled and said, "You know the rules. One question, one Soul Crystal Core."
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He just placed his hand on the hilt of the Dragon-Slaying Flash. Seeing this, the Ghost Old Man's attitude clearly changed.
"Hahaha, we're all friends. I was just joking. What's the question? Go ahead."
"Where did the proof items of the past Chosen Ones go?"
"Oh, that. They were collected by the Black Mud. Haven't you gone to fight it to the death yet?"
The Black Mud the Ghost Old Man mentioned was the Sin Collective.
"I don't plan to go find it."
Su Xiao already had enough Source Stones. Heading straight to the Supreme Sanctum was a more direct choice.
"Impossible. When a person arrives in Dead Silence, the Four Gate Trials are indispensable. You should have passed three gates, right? If you don't go to the last gate, you can't open the main gate of the Supreme Sanctum. Having the Sanctum key is useless. That key isn't for opening the outer gate."
The Ghost Old Man took a stone tablet, which recorded the tradition of the Chosen Ones and the Four Gate Trials. If Su Xiao died here, the next Chosen One would still face the Four Gate Trials, except the Wolf Trial would change to the Moon Beast Trial, the Moon Beast transformed from the Saint Sacrificial Priest.
"The protection level of the Chosen Ones was originally insufficient. There were only five Source Stones in total. If you didn't take them all..."
The Ghost Old Man stopped mid-sentence. He stood up and stared at the Black King Bracer on Su Xiao's left arm through the gaps in the wooden railing.
"This bracer, is it your proof item?"
"Obviously."
"How many Source Stones has it absorbed?"
"About a hundred or so."
Hearing this, the Ghost Old Man behind the wooden counter began to pace back and forth, muttering "a hundred or so." At this moment, his gaze was extremely fierce and ferocious. He had been trapped in Dead Silence City for too long, so long that he had begun to imagine non-existent enemies and then write the imagined names in his enemy ledger.
"You are the most promising Chosen One I have ever seen to defeat the Dead Silence."
The Ghost Old Man's smile was strange, and his eyes had turned pale white, with no distinction between pupil and sclera. Seeing this, Bubu Wang moved closer to Su Xiao, looking like it was about to wrap its dog paw around Su Xiao's left leg.
"The hope is slim. Really slim. You still can't fight against that God. But you have no choice. No, I have to invest in you. What if, what if you succeed?! Then I can leave this place! Haha, hahaha! I can... leave this place!!"
"..."
Su Xiao narrowed his eyes. Blood Qi began to spread outward from him.
"I will... leave this place!!!"
The Ghost Old Man's mouth split open to both sides of his ears. He slammed his hands on the counter. A dark, twisted, viscous aura burst forth, occupying half of the first floor of the Treatment Center alongside the Blood Qi, the two eroding and devouring each other.
Suddenly, the viscous dark aura receded sharply, all of it entering the Ghost Old Man's body. The Blood Qi surged forward, causing wounds to appear on his body and face.
These wounds didn't bleed. Or rather, the Ghost Old Man's body surface was a layer of skin. After this skin was torn and tattered, it revealed the surging viscous darkness inside.
"That's right. You're going to undergo the Fourth Gate Trial, the Sin Trial. I have to go back... to the Penance Hall."
The Ghost Old Man looked at his tattered hands. A hint of confusion appeared in his pale white eyes.
"How ridiculous. I actually forgot what I am. Yes, being devoured by sin thoughts was an inevitable result."
With that, the Ghost Old Man transformed into a semi-fluid like Black Mud and sank into the ground.
"What the hell, Boss, is this the Sin Collective? The powerful enemy we're going to face next?"
Baha was shocked. In their several meetings with the Ghost Old Man, it had often joked around with him.
"Not entirely."
As Su Xiao spoke, he tried to activate the faction shop and found no change. He had previously assumed that the Ghost Old Man was a neutral unit managing the faction shop and was certified by the Void Tree.
Now, it seemed that wasn't the case. The other party was just managing supplies here, not directly related to the faction shop, but rather seemed to know something about it.
Su Xiao estimated that the Ghost Old Man had likely been shattered into a soul body due to his past sins and was gradually assimilated by the Sin Collective, becoming a part of it.
Because of this, the Ghost Old Man's obsession with leaving this place was exceptionally strong. The enemies he imagined weren't entirely imaginary. The names he wrote in his enemy ledger were mostly people who had been assimilated by the Sin Collective.
To be precise, the Sin Collective didn't just assimilate people with heavy sins. It assimilated any powerful soul body.
For some reason, the Ghost Old Man's consciousness had temporarily broken free from the Sin Collective and come to this place. He came here because this place was certified by the Void Tree, a place the Sin Collective couldn't find.
Strangely enough, Su Xiao had previously entrusted the Ghost Old Man to deliver supplies to Amu, and the Ghost Old Man had completed this task.
At that time, there was indeed no other choice. After learning Amu's location, entrusting Kaisa to deliver the supplies was the safest option. Unfortunately, Kaisa couldn't be contacted at that time. It was later learned that Kaisa was inside the Abyss Battlefield at that time, so of course, he couldn't be contacted.
The risk of having the Ghost Old Man deliver supplies wasn't as high as imagined. The worst-case scenario was that the batch of supplies would be swallowed up. Compared to losing a team member, having the main tank die, the risk of having a batch of supplies swallowed was nothing.
Before being stimulated by the Black King Bracer, which had fused over 100 Source Stones, the Ghost Old Man himself had forgotten that he had been assimilated by the Sin Collective.
Sometimes, the most brilliant disguise wasn't lying or acting, but forgetting one's true identity. For example, the Ghost Old Man, just a few minutes ago, had always believed he was a member of the Treatment Center, had been trapped here for a long time, and was always trying to find a way to leave Dead Silence City, etc.
Su Xiao left the Treatment Center and went deep into Dead Silence City, arriving at the [Foul Land]. No, this place should be called the [Resting Place]. After reaching this area, there were no longer groups of Dead Silence City Sword Saint Troupe on the streets. This was good news.
After traveling for about three hours, Su Xiao found a towering black mist wall ahead. This black mist wall couldn't be seen from a distance, but upon approaching, it appeared extremely solid.
Crack, crack, crack~
A crystal layer climbed onto Su Xiao's hand. He tried to touch the black mist wall. A burning sensation came, and the crystal layer on his hand shattered with a bang.
The black mist wall wasn't stationary; it was rapidly surging upwards. Standing in front of it, one could hear a rumbling sound like a surging river.
Moving along the black mist wall, he hadn't gone far when the front half of a large hall protruded from the black mist wall, exposed to the outside.
From the current situation, without passing through the [Penance Hall], it was impossible to reach the further [Supreme Sanctum]. The black mist wall separated this area.
Su Xiao stopped in front of the main gate of the [Penance Hall]. There were no keyholes or similar features on the gate. As soon as he arrived here, the Black King Bracer on his left arm emitted black smoke. He pressed his left hand against the large door in front.
Rumble, rumble~
Dust fell down. The giant gate rose on its own. The hall inside was very empty. After entering, Su Xiao didn't find anything worth noting. He came to the inner side of the hall, a ten-meter-high doorway, which was filled with continuously surging black mist. Amu punched it, and the skin on its fist was immediately scraped off a layer of flesh.
Amu didn't care about this 'superficial wound'; it would recover soon. Baha tried to probe with its spatial ability, and almost got its feathers stripped off.
This black mist gate was the only path forward. If one tried to force their way through, even if they made it, they would be reduced to a skeleton by the surging black mist.
Su Xiao looked at the Black King Bracer, which was continuously emitting black smoke. He tried to wrap his entire left arm with this smoke, then reached his left arm towards the black mist wall.
His left arm entered safely. It felt like reaching his arm into a flowing river.
Su Xiao controlled the black smoke to wrap his entire body. After telling Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha to wait here, he passed through the black mist gate alone.
The scene before him darkened, and then Su Xiao arrived in a dilapidated hall. The ground was covered with withered limbs. The walls had a layer of moss-like black, greasy substance. At the edges of the walls were rows of withered corpses kneeling towards the walls, as if maintaining a penitent kneeling posture.
Various weapons were stuck in the ground. Some were old wolf greatswords, while others were the representative spiral spears of the Holy Song Choir.
Drip, drop~
Black droplets fell. Su Xiao looked up and found that the ceiling was covered with a semi-fluid like Black Mud. The amount of this black semi-fluid was increasing, gradually dripping down.
Su Xiao didn't act immediately. He could sense that the Sin Collective had a core. The core wasn't in the pile of Black Mud in front of him. Without killing that core, he couldn't eliminate the Sin Collective.
A murmuring sound, seemingly from the dead, came from within the Black Mud. Finally, this pile of Black Mud, about ten meters in diameter, fell down.
After landing, many humanoid forms protruded from this large pile of Black Mud. They struggled desperately to get out but couldn't break free from the Sin Collective at all.
With a *smack*, the Sin Collective exploded, splitting into dozens of independent individuals. These individuals instantly changed their forms, even perfectly replicating their clothes and accessories.
The sound of weapons being pulled from the ground came from ahead. Su Xiao looked around. Dozens of powerful enemies had already formed a semi-encirclement against him.
At this moment, opposite Su Xiao, 12 Wolf Knights wielding wolf swords and 30 members of the Holy Song Choir holding spiral spears were staring at him with pitch-black eyes. An oppressive force, so strong it was almost suffocating, surged towards him.