Chapter 40: Collective of Sin
Within the Atonement Hall, the air seemed to echo with the murmurs of the dead, yet if one listened closely, nothing could be heard.
Behind was the cascading black mist gate, which only allowed entry, not exit. Or rather, it signified that once one faced sin, there was no turning back.
The ground was littered with half-weathered severed limbs and broken arms, now transformed into upward-floating embers. The 12 Wolf Cavalrymen and the 30 members of the Choir behind them stood amidst these drifting embers, as if, at this moment, the glory of the Old Church was reborn.
In ancient times, the Wolf Cavalry was the sharpest sword of slaughter, fighting on the front lines against the Abyss's invasion, while the Choir was the guardian in the rear, preventing the Abyss from reaching the people's dwellings.
Now, Su Xiao faced both the Wolf Cavalry and the Choir simultaneously. Although these were all split individuals formed by the Collective of Sin, these individuals indeed contained part of the soul power of the Wolf Cavalrymen and Choir members.
The good news was that among the 12 Wolf Cavalrymen, there was no Wolf Cavalry Captain. Fortunately, otherwise, this battle would have been unwinnable. As for the 30 Choir members, while they appeared numerous, they could not merge into one, meaning they could not become the true Sacred Heart One.
In the known ranking of powerhouses in Dead Silence City, the top three were either gods or demigods. The fourth and fifth places were occupied by the Wolf Cavalry Captain and the Choir (in their 30-merged-into-one state).
Ranked sixth was the Collective of Sin. As it appeared now, this ranking wasn't entirely accurate. The Collective of Sin's combat power was very close to that of the Choir; it was possible that the Collective of Sin was actually ranked fifth.
If possible, Su Xiao wouldn't have come to fight the Collective of Sin alone. Instead, he would have gathered his other "good teammates." The problem was that now he had the Source Stone but no Proof Item.
Without a Proof Item to absorb the Source Stone, he couldn't gain its protection effect. Relying only on the Level 5 protection provided by the Protection Stone to come here would be suicide.
The pressure bore down on him, yet for some reason, Su Xiao always felt that against the Collective of Sin, his chances of victory were at least sixty percent. The powerful enemy before him was both lethal and not entirely unbeatable.
Su Xiao surveyed the 12 Wolf Cavalrymen and 30 Choir members ahead. The Wolf Cavalrymen all wore silver-black armor. The original moonlight silver, stained black by Abyssal erosion, gave the Wolf Cavalry armor its unique color. The armor's surface was eroded to roughness, but its defensive capabilities were excellent.
The 30 Choir members wore full-body armor made of metal plates and dark red fabric. Since the Choir consisted entirely of female members, the armor was form-fitting, combined with fabric, balancing aesthetics.
Su Xiao understood one thing: he not only had to defeat these 42 enemies. After the Collective of Sin transformed into this form, he had discovered that it had a core. More accurately, it should be called the "Main Soul."
Only by destroying the "Main Soul" could the Collective of Sin be truly eliminated. Otherwise, it would endlessly "revive" the fragmented souls it had assimilated. If it revived the Wolf Cavalry Captain, that would be the end.
At this moment, the "Main Soul" of the Collective of Sin was within the body of one of these 42 enemies. Finding this "Main Soul" and killing the body it inhabited was the primary objective, not a head-on clash with the Wolf Cavalry and Choir.
However, Su Xiao was also concerned about one issue: whether the "Main Soul" of the Collective of Sin could freely transfer between the Wolf Cavalrymen and Choir members. If it could, it would be very difficult to kill.
Amidst the flying embers, Su Xiao had his perception fully extended. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his brow—a warning perception pain.
Clang!
A sharp, metallic thrusting sound came from ahead. Within his perception range, before Su Xiao's senses could even lock onto the attacker, a spiral spear thrust towards his face. The spear's sharpness and speed were astonishing. If not for his "Instinct" ability reaching Lv.70 and his "Perception Basic Passive: Awakening" being raised to X, he wouldn't have been able to perceive this thrust.
Crack!
Shattered light blue crystals scattered. Looking at Su Xiao, he was now encased in crystals, maintaining a tilted head posture. Strangely, the crystals beside him seemed to have recorded his slow-motion movement, forming a connected crystal statue. What the spear had pierced was the head of this upright crystal statue.
The principle was this: he encased himself in activating crystals without letting them solidify, while simultaneously dodging. The crystals continuously formed, aiding his evasion like an invisible hand pushing him aside. This was why the connected crystal statue looked like a freeze-frame of slow motion.
This technique, though unnamed, had a faster speed than Dragon Shadow Flash when evading sudden thrusts or piercing attacks. Dragon Shadow Flash involved a process of penetrating space, while this technique was quicker.
Of course, for evading horizontal slashes, blunt attacks, or large-scale energy attacks, Dragon Shadow Flash was still superior. This current technique was limited to evading single-target, ultra-high-speed attacks.
With a whoosh, Su Xiao's black hair was blown back. He faintly sensed a Choir member brushing past him. Her speed was so great that perception couldn't track her.
The dark blue light in the center of Su Xiao's pupils immediately shifted to light blue. This was due to switching his "Soul Severing Shadow" mode. He had just activated "Soul Slash: Soul Core," and now he switched to "Swift: Soul Core."
Ignoring the multiple incoming threats, he made a feint slash forward while activating Dragon Shadow Flash, moving three meters backward.
Just as Su Xiao teleported, a spiral spear thrust towards his back. It was that incredibly fast Choir member.
Pfft.
Blood splattered. Su Xiao was pierced through the back. A petite Choir member, whose cape spread like wings, appeared behind him. This was the previous Sacred Heart One.
With a pop, the pierced "Su Xiao" exploded into crystal fragments and dissipating blood mist.
Almost simultaneously, Su Xiao, who had flashed three meters backward with Dragon Shadow Flash, slashed out. This time, he was behind Sacred Heart One.
No matter how fast Sacred Heart One was, she couldn't dodge this slash, because Su Xiao had already preemptively struck while activating Dragon Shadow Flash.
Pfft.
Sacred Heart One's back was cut open. Despite the armor's defense, the wound was deep.
Whoosh~
Sacred Heart One turned into a golden-red afterimage, retreating from Su Xiao. The petite figure stood upside down on the ceiling, her white fishbone braid hanging down from behind her helmet.
After forcing back the astonishingly fast Sacred Heart One with one slash, Su Xiao immediately raised his blade to block. He hadn't forgotten that there were still 41 enemies ahead.
Clang! Clang!
Two greatswords from Wolf Cavalrymen slashed down. The ground beneath Su Xiao's feet exploded. He felt his right arm go numb instantly.
At the same time, a Wolf Cavalryman, nearly 3.5 meters tall and wielding a giant wolf sword, appeared beside Su Xiao. A crystal layer rapidly formed on his right leg as he kicked sideways at Su Xiao.
Boom!!!
Su Xiao turned into a straight afterimage, crashing into the wall beside him. The next moment, dust billowed as three spiral spears from the Choir thrust into the smoke.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew. The three spears thrust into the smoke were knocked away, forcefully deflected 90 degrees to fly off to the sides.
Su Xiao held his ribs with one hand, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. That side kick had too much of a Law Destroyer feel. The energy crystallization covering the body was definitely something the Ancestral Law Destroyers taught the Moon Wolf, which then taught its direct descendants, the Wolf Cavalry.
The situation was worse than expected. Su Xiao hesitated whether to use [Wandering Bait] to temporarily retreat.
Just as this thought appeared, he saw the petite Sacred Heart One, dozens of meters away, burst into flames with a whoosh. The flames were much deeper than ordinary fire, hinting at the dark red of magma. This was… Sin Flame.
Su Xiao was certain that the flames on Sacred Heart One were Sin Flame, because he had just slashed her.
[Divine Judgment Ring: Equipment Effect 2: Sin Flame (Passive): When attacking with any melee means, there is a chance to ignite the enemy's sin, causing continuous soul burning (ineffective if the enemy has no sin).
Note: If the wearer kills a new Evil God, the ability gained from slaying the god will forcibly replace this ability.]
Su Xiao generally didn't like probabilistic abilities, but this time, Sin Flame was destined to impress him.
First, the intensity of Sin Flame. The Sin God was known as the strongest Ancient God in the Eighth Rank. The power of the Sin Flame produced after its fall was easy to imagine.
Second, the triggering probability. The characteristic of Sin Flame was that the greater the enemy's sin, the higher the ignition chance. The powerful enemy Su Xiao was now facing was called the Collective of Sin.
This meant that the originally probabilistic Sin Flame would trigger 100% of the time against the Collective of Sin.
Dozens of meters away, Sacred Heart One was completely engulfed in Sin Flame. The flame burned more and more fiercely. Her originally pitch-black eyes revealed a pair of amber pupils. Combined with her long white fishbone braid, her aura was worthy of being the previous Sacred Heart One.
Sacred Heart One nodded at Su Xiao, then turned to ashes in the Sin Flame.
Seeing this, Su Xiao knew this battle was winnable. It seemed like he was outnumbered, but with the Sin Flame empowered by the Divine Judgment Ring, as long as he struck an enemy, regardless of position or wound depth, one slash would ignite the Sin Flame, achieving a one-hit kill.
Of course, slashing out blade auras or using sword techniques like Ring Break or Azure Demon wouldn't work. Those were mid-range attacks. The empowerment effect of the Divine Judgment Ring was limited to Su Xiao himself and Dragon-Slaying Flash.
With a crash, rubble slid down from the huge pit in the wall behind Su Xiao. It seemed he was semi-surrounded here, but this actually prevented him from being attacked from all sides.
Boom!
Attacks came from all around, the wind pressure causing a loud noise.
Amidst the wolf swords and spiral spears, Su Xiao pushed his perception to the limit, forming a 10-meter diameter perception circle. Within his perception, everything around him slowed down, including himself.
With a crackle, the edge of Dragon-Slashing Flash scraped past a thrusting spiral spear, creating a shower of sparks while altering its trajectory. The spear blade grazed Su Xiao's cheek, leaving a bloodstain, but that was far better than being pierced through the head.
Having just deflected the spiral spear, a wolf greatsword, accompanied by a whining slash, swung towards Su Xiao's neck from the side. He chose not to evade because this greatsword was already severely damaged, only one sufficiently powerful clash away from breaking.
Crack, crack, crack~
A crystal layer formed on Su Xiao's left hand. He swung a side punch. Compared to losing his left hand, trying to withstand this attack was more important; otherwise, he couldn't execute the subsequent chain parry.
Clang!
Crystal fragments scattered. The wolf greatsword was broken by Su Xiao's side punch. This weapon, which had campaigned on the Abyss battlefield and weathered countless ages, delivered its final blow.
Su Xiao had now closed his eyes. This was because there were too many enemies around, not because of the flying embers. He could only rely on his perception.
While breaking the greatsword with his punch, Su Xiao used the reaction force to leap, causing three slashing wolf swords to miss and two spiral spears to pierce the ground.
Zheng!
A flash of blade light vanished. When Su Xiao reappeared, he was on the other side of the hall. Three spiral spears pierced through his torso crosswise, and a wolf greatsword was stabbed into his chest, less than a finger's width from his heart.
The blood flowing from Su Xiao's wounds turned into blood qi. This blood qi climbed onto his back, forming several extendable blood qi arms. They grabbed the spiral spears and wolf sword stuck in him, pulling them out before all the blood qi arms dissipated.
Su Xiao was heavily injured, but among the Wolf Cavalrymen and Choir members, five of them had been struck by his slash when he passed through as a blood shadow.
With a whoosh, Sin Flame erupted on two Wolf Cavalrymen and three Choir members. They were soon burned to ashes. The enemy count was now 36.
Drip, drip~
Blood dripped from the tip of the blade. Su Xiao held the sword with one hand, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground. Suddenly, Sin Flame ignited on the long blade.
'Blade Path Sword: Flow.'
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Elegant wind marks slashed against the incoming wolf swords. Su Xiao suddenly appeared behind a Wolf Cavalryman. But this Wolf Cavalryman reacted extremely fast. A burst of dark energy erupted from his body, accompanied by a ferocious wolf roar.
Su Xiao's ears buzzed. When he came to, he was dozens of meters to the side, half-embedded in the wall. He had been stunned by the Abyssal wolf roar and then blasted here by another Wolf Cavalryman.
Though his bones felt like they were falling apart, Su Xiao remained sharp. He leaned back, and a spiral spear thrust past his chin, embedding itself into the wall with a clang.
Wind pressure came from the side. Su Xiao's pupils gradually contracted.
'Blade Path Sword: Time.'
Thump~
The domain of Time spread. Su Xiao's perception clearly captured a spiral spear thrusting towards his side neck. His right hand hooked, throwing the long blade in his hand.
The long blade flew past the ear of a Choir member. Spatial fluctuations appeared. Su Xiao materialized behind this Choir member. He reversed his grip on Dragon-Slashing Flash's hilt, turned his body, and thrust the blade backward. The long blade pierced through the Choir member's neck.
After killing the enemy with one thrust, the long blade flicked outward, then slashed forward, blocking an incoming wolf greatsword.
With a crash, Su Xiao deliberately let himself be knocked flying. Mid-air, the long blade in his hand flipped, changing from a reverse grip to a forward grip. He landed on the ceiling, tilting his head in an upside-down posture. A thrown spiral spear flew past his ear.
Zzzt~
The Realm Severing Thread wrapped around this spiral spear tightened. Su Xiao was carried along by the spear's momentum. Upon landing, he grabbed the spear with one hand, holding the blade in the other and the spear in the other, charging fiercely at a Wolf Cavalryman.
Clang, clang, clang, clang…
A continuous series of slashes and spear sweeps forced the Wolf Cavalryman back two steps. Then, blood qi attached to the spear, forming a huge axe blade on the spear tip using blood qi.
Su Xiao swung the spear-axe in a full arc, slashing down. When it struck the opposing wolf greatsword, the blood axe exploded violently. The resulting impact force dispersed blood smoke that blocked perception and vision.
Zheng~
A light, agile slash flashed. The struck Wolf Cavalryman transformed into a dark energy form. An instant later, he reappeared a few meters behind. He raised his hand to his throat. The neck armor was broken, and a slash mark was clearly visible. With a whoosh, Sin Flame ignited on him.
Su Xiao turned into a blood shadow and vanished. The booming sounds continued unabated within the Atonement Hall.
Half an hour later.
Boom!
Su Xiao hammered a Choir member straight into the wall, then slashed off the arm holding the spiral spear. Sin Flame appeared on her.
'Blood Smoke Cannon.'
Su Xiao pointed at a charging Choir member. A straight blood qi ray shot out. But this Choir member didn't dodge. Even though her shoulder was pierced, she still chose to charge at Su Xiao.
Suddenly, this Choir member stopped. With a whoosh, Sin Flame ignited on her. Looking closely, one could see that through the previous 'Blood Smoke Cannon,' a Spirit Shadow Thread had entered her wound. On this Spirit Shadow Thread, Sin Flame was burning.
With a hum, several golden light spheres appeared around Su Xiao. Before he could react, these walnut-sized golden spheres exploded one after another.
Boom, boom, boom…
The explosions were so loud that the Atonement Hall trembled. When the energy explosion ended, Su Xiao, covered in a broken crystal layer, was half-crouching. Blood dripped from his chin. The enemy count was down to two.
The "Main Soul" of the Collective of Sin had nowhere to hide. Su Xiao was certain that this "Main Soul" was inside the body of the Choir member opposite him.
Having fought to this extent, Su Xiao had discovered the key point. Whether it was the Wolf Cavalry or the Choir members, their combat power was significantly different from when they were alive. The only issue was their sheer numbers.
More importantly, the Collective of Sin was harder to deal with than imagined. It had an ability to "revive" a strong individual every few minutes using fragmented souls.
Up to now, Su Xiao had killed 16 Wolf Cavalrymen (incomplete combat form), 35 Choir members, and 11 Great Warriors from the Age of Gods.
Without Sin Flame, the Collective of Sin would have been harder for Su Xiao to deal with than the Choir. Or rather, in the end, he would have had to retreat using [Wandering Bait].
The ability to "revive" a strong individual every few minutes was extremely troublesome. Additionally, the "Main Soul" of the Collective of Sin could freely transfer among the strong individuals it revived. To make matters worse, Sin Flame couldn't burn this "Main Soul" to death quickly.
The long blade in Su Xiao's hand pierced into the skull of a Great Warrior. This Great Warrior, who had been kicked down to only his upper body, ignited with Sin Flame.
Su Xiao was heavily injured. To quickly reduce the enemy's numbers, he had chosen to trade injuries for kills several times, preventing the Collective of Sin from reviving more strong individuals.
Just as Su Xiao finished off the Great Warrior, the Choir member opposite him began to ooze black semi-fluid. This was caused by the "Main Soul" of the Collective of Sin. It was about to enter another form to annihilate the powerful enemy in this battle.
Black mud surged out, forming a half-human, half-beast shape. This monster stood like a humanoid but had eight arms. Behind it were backward-curving bone spurs. Pain-filled faces appeared all over the monster's body.
"Ah!!"
A piercing scream, mixing male, female, young, and old voices, spread out. This sound was like tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even more people screaming simultaneously. This dual mental + soul attack caused the world before Su Xiao's eyes to have afterimages.
He wasn't afraid of soul attacks, but mental attacks were still hard for him to resist. If not for his sufficient mental strength as an Alchemist, he would have been bleeding from all seven orifices by now.
'Blood Smoke Cannon.'
Bang!
After one Blood Smoke Cannon, the Collective of Sin opposite shattered. But in the next instant, its shattered body was pulled back by black threads, healing back to its original form.
Seeing this, a bottle of [Honor Revival Potion] slid out from his sleeve. He could certainly win this battle. With the ability counter, despite his heavy injuries, victory had always been within his grasp. However, now that the Collective of Sin had entered its second phase, Su Xiao would have to pay a price to win.
Just as Su Xiao was about to use the [Honor Revival Potion], the Collective of Sin opposite suddenly did something unbelievable.
The twisted, monster-like Collective of Sin suddenly froze. An aged, withered arm reached out from the neck area of the Collective of Sin, grabbing into its mud-like head.
This completely paralyzed the Collective of Sin. Su Xiao naturally wouldn't miss such an opportunity. After quickly confirming it wasn't a trap, he charged to the front of the Collective of Sin.
Sin Flame clung to the long blade. He slashed diagonally across the Collective of Sin's body. With a whoosh, the Sin Flame cut through its body, forming an arc-shaped flame slash behind it, scattering embers.
After one slash, the long blade then thrust from bottom to top, piercing through the Collective of Sin's head.
With a thud, the Collective of Sin knelt. Its body began to turn into black mud. A deep red eye appeared on the mud. The hatred and rage in this eye were so intense they seemed ready to overflow.
[The Collective of Sin has entered the dissipation phase. Some of its abilities have been activated.]
[Warning: You are about to suffer Soul Strangulation, a soul-type execution ability.]
[Soul Strength assessment in progress…]
[Assessment passed. You have been exempted from this soul execution.]
...
[Warning: You are about to suffer the Gaze of All Beings, a will-type execution ability.]
[Willpower assessment in progress…]
[Assessment passed. You have been exempted from this will execution.]
...
[Warning: You are about to suffer Sin Judgment, a mind-type execution ability.]
[Your Blade Grandmaster ability has exempted this assessment.]
[Note: You did not die under the Collective of Sin's abilities. The Collective of Sin's 'Devour Death to Live, X' ability failed to activate. It will not be able to revive through your death.]
[The Collective of Sin is about to dissipate.]
[You have passed the Trial of Sin.]
[Your Soul Strength increased by 0 points (Hunter's Soul Strength is too high to be increased through this trial).]
[Your Willpower attribute +5 points.]
[Your Mental Strength +12 points.]
...
As the prompts ended, the black smoke that had been floating around Su Xiao's body dissipated. It could be said that after dealing a fatal blow to the Collective of Sin, the real battle against it had just begun. This was a triple confrontation of soul, mind, and will. Though instantaneous, it was extremely perilous.
Dragon-Slashing Flash, stuck in the black mud, surged with Sin Flame. This rapidly reduced the black mud, leaving only a part that formed the upper body of a humanoid figure. This humanoid had only a small part of its torso, left arm, and head. Its overall color changed from black to dry gray.
Su Xiao pulled Dragon-Slashing Flash from the ground and approached this gray figure. He found that its appearance was 90% similar to the Ghost Old Man.
The Ghost Old Man, now only a small upper body remaining, struggled to open his eyes. There was a different light in his cloudy eyes.
"Law Destroyer, it wasn't in vain that I helped you. You won."
The Ghost Old Man let out a weak laugh. The arm that had reached out from the neck of the Collective of Sin was his.
In fact, the Ghost Old Man was once a great figure. In the Age of Gods, he was known as the Wanderer, a very powerful but unpredictable person. Later, this world was invaded by the Dead Silence.
Eventually, the Divine Cult was powerless to resist the Dead Silence. They were determined that, no matter what, the Dead Silence could not be allowed to spread further. Even if it meant the end, they could not let this Transcendent realm, once bathed in the glory of the gods, be completely invaded by the Dead Silence.
The strong of that era had all experienced the Abyss's invasion. Few of them feared death. So they decided to self-inflict a dimensional strike on their own world, abandoning Transcendence, and have the Void Tree notarize this place. Through rule-based suppression, they hoped to curb the spread of the Dead Silence. This was the only solution they could think of.
However, this decision was opposed by the Steel Maker. He was at his peak and unwilling to resort to such a desperate measure.
Because of this, the Divine Cult allied with the Ghost Old Man to scheme against the Steel Maker, trapping him in the Ancient Laboratory.
Although the Steel Maker was tricked, before he was sealed, he shattered the Ghost Old Man's body, forcing him to exist only as a soul entity. Over time, the Ghost Old Man was assimilated by the Collective of Sin.
"Law Destroyer, is it still okay outside Dead Silence City?"
The Ghost Old Man spoke. His remaining body was beginning to turn to ashes and scatter.
"It's okay."
Hearing this, the Ghost Old Man let out a dry, hoarse laugh. His voice grew weaker as he said:
"Is that so? It seems our choice back then was correct. I'm relieved. That's good."
With that, the Ghost Old Man completely turned to ashes and dissipated.
[Note: You have killed the Collective of Sin.]
[You have obtained a Source Stone.]
[You have obtained the Box of Original Sin (Chest-type item).]
...
Seeing these prompts, Su Xiao realized something. Other strong individuals carried their Source Stones on them or embedded them in their weapons. The Collective of Sin was different. It simply used the power of the Source Stone, treating it as a half-core.
Killing the Collective of Sin didn't yield World Source. The reason was probably that the Collective of Sin was a special individual.
As the Collective of Sin dissipated, the black mist gate behind it vanished. The tall metal door ahead slowly rose.
"Boss, looks like it was dangerous."
Baha flew in and began to inspect the area for other dangers.
Su Xiao had Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha check the place. He drank a bottle of Recovery Potion before approaching the metal door ahead.
The scene outside came into view. Everything was gray. Gray flocculent matter fell from above like gray snowflakes of death. The ground was soft dust, creating a landscape of rolling hills and ravines.
Through the constantly falling gray flocculent matter, Su Xiao saw a majestic building in the distance. That was the Supreme Sanctuary.
Having just fought the Collective of Sin, going to the Supreme Sanctuary now would be suicidal. For such a matter, he definitely needed to find his "good teammates."
"Boss, over here."
Baha's shout came. Su Xiao looked over and saw a secret door open on the side wall.
Entering the secret door, he found himself in a side hall, about several hundred square meters. A row of wooden shelves stood against the wall, displaying various accessories and weapons, as well as some strange items, like a piece of torn cloth, a dried eyeball, and so on.
These were the Proof Items of past Chosen Ones, all collected here by the Collective of Sin. No wonder no Proof Items could be found in the inner city area before.
After collecting all the Proof Items, Su Xiao was about to leave when he noticed something unusual about the wall on the far side of the side hall. This several-square-meter section of wall was twisting in an irregular manner.
Su Xiao pried a piece of rubble from the wall beside him and threw it at the twisting wall. The stone disappeared as if into water, causing ripples on the wall's surface.
A few seconds later, the stone flew out from the wall and landed with a clatter at Su Xiao's feet. Seeing this, Baha picked up the stone and threw it in again. This time, after just two seconds, the stone was thrown back out.
Seeing this, Baha threw the stone in once more. There was no movement from inside the wall. But after more than ten seconds, first the stone flew out, followed by a broken table leg, a chipped teacup, and other items, all thrown out one after another.
"Aha?"
Baha was a bit confused. It felt like there was an intelligent being inside the wall, and that being had a bit of a temper, but wasn't of an evil alignment. Otherwise, it wouldn't have thrown out broken table legs and chipped teacups.
Su Xiao reached his hand towards the wall. He didn't touch anything solid. His hand felt like it was entering a liquid with no temperature difference. He stepped completely inside.
The light in front of him brightened slightly. Warm yellow light shone down from above. Su Xiao looked around and realized he was no longer in the Gloomy World. He had left the world where Dead Silence City was located.
He was in a long corridor, about ten meters wide. The walls were covered in intricate, ancient patterns. Several creatures that looked like small elves were floating ahead.
These flying little elves were all glaring angrily at Su Xiao. One of them even had a bump on its forehead, as if hit by a stone.
"Stranger, welcome to the Soul Library."
An old, gentle voice came. Su Xiao looked over. At the end of the corridor, about ten meters away, an old man with an octopus head sat behind a wooden table. On the table were books, a pen holder, and other items.
The octopus-headed old man's head was a translucent ethereal blue. He wore a large robe. Behind him were two large double doors.
"Show your credentials."
The octopus-headed old man, the administrator of the Soul Library, spoke. Although his attitude was gentle, it didn't mean he was someone to be trifled with.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He knew a little about the Soul Library. The origin of three of his items was from the Soul Library.
"No credentials? A pity. I cannot let you enter the library. Go back. Farewell until we meet again, young Law Destroyer."
The ancient book in the administrator's hand closed. The next moment, Su Xiao felt the administrator and the scene around him receding. No, it was the space he was in that was receding.
After a flash, Su Xiao was back in the side hall of the Atonement Hall. He reached out to touch the wall in front of him. It had become solid and no longer led to the Soul Library.
Su Xiao was certain that when he reached the entrance corridor of the Soul Library, he had left this world. Of course, he didn't have the credentials the Soul Library required.
The Soul Library felt to Su Xiao like a small world, independent and aloof, but containing the knowledge of countless worlds. If possible, he absolutely had to obtain the credentials to enter the Soul Library.
When he had obtained the knowledge of the Steel Apostle before, Su Xiao had learned about the Soul Library. The reason the pharmacists of this world had such high attainments was that a small number of them had the qualifications to enter the Soul Library.
If so, there was a high probability that credentials to enter the Soul Library were still left behind in Dead Silence City.
"Fascinating."
Su Xiao turned and walked to a stone platform. On this platform was a small statue of the Eternal Life God. This was a teleportation device. He had known before that the Atonement Hall had a teleportation device.
He adjusted the teleportation device to connect to the Grand Cathedral and activated it. When the spatial movement ended, he was in a small room inside the Grand Cathedral.
Pushing open the door and walking out, Su Xiao found that Wude and Kaisa had returned. Wude was holding a metal helmet. The helmet was more than half rusted. Although it had once been a Proof Item for a Chosen One, it was now useless.
"I found a Proof Item."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Wude asked, "How many?"
"A pile."
"Cough~"
Wude coughed dryly and nodded.
"Your... ah, no, Bai Ye, the Saintess Badge you sold me is completely useless."
Gulu walked over angrily. But when she was two meters away, she stopped, thought for a moment, and even took half a step back, maintaining a position where Su Xiao couldn't grab her directly.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. Seeing this, Gulu got even angrier. She said, "The Proof I exchanged for the Saintess Badge is useless. That old guy wouldn't even acknowledge me, let alone let me into the Ancient Laboratory."
"Oh."
"You still say 'oh'! The Saintess Badge could have been exchanged for Dark Source before."
"It could. Would I sell it to you for 200 Soul Coins?"
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Gulu didn't speak. Instead, she started thinking about how to sell the Ancient Laboratory pass she got from the Saintess Badge to Sacred Poem.
Su Xiao looked at Kaisa, who was sitting on the steps. Noticing his gaze, Kaisa looked around shiftily, as if he had nothing to do with this.
The dog thief who used a badge to take away the Dark Source—Su Xiao couldn't find a second one in all of Dead Silence City. He had thought before that Kaisa couldn't manipulate the camp store's badge currency system here. It seemed he had underestimated Kaisa.
Kaisa subtly made an eye gesture, meaning he would cooperate with Su Xiao on this matter later, and it couldn't be mentioned for now.
Su Xiao had always wanted to know how the Healing Church produced Dark Source. Now it seemed Kaisa had figured out the key.
Thinking of the Black Maple Tree in Dead Silence City, the production of Dark Source might be related to the Black Maple Tree's yield.
Just then, the stone door of the forge, dozens of meters away, rose. A wave of heat emanated out. The Demon Blacksmith walked out from inside.
"Kid, I'm thirsty. Get me something to drink."
As the Demon Blacksmith spoke, he placed a scabbard and a 30-centimeter-long blood-red crystal feather on the forging table.
Su Xiao took out a bottle of rum and handed it to the Demon Blacksmith. The Demon Blacksmith took it, pulled out the cork, and drank a small half in one go. He tasted it with a hint of suspicion, looked at the bottle in his hand, and said:
"Good wine."
The wine praised by the Demon Blacksmith was naturally good. This wine was called [Forgotten Brew]. It had no bonuses, only rated as a rare vintage, and was certified as Holy Spirit rank.
Su Xiao picked up the scabbard and the blood-red crystal feather from the forging table. Prompts appeared.
[You have obtained Blood Feather (Overlord Equipment).]
[You have obtained Seal Demon (Origin Rank: Scabbard).]