Chapter 55: The Correct Method
Returning to the temporarily occupied luxury guest room, Su Xiao pushed open the window. A cool breeze carrying the scent of the waterfront drifted in, making him feel slightly more refreshed and his thoughts a bit clearer.
The neighbor turned out to be the Goddess of Fortune. This was undoubtedly good news. As for how to obtain divine blood from her, there was no rush for now. This place was Arcane Eternal Star, and without certainty, he couldn't act rashly.
First and foremost, he must not alert the Goddess of Fortune. She had been exceptionally cautious in recent months. If she weren't convinced that Su Xiao, as a Law Destroyer, would absolutely never dare to come to Arcane Eternal Star during the Arcane Festival, the Goddess of Fortune might have been hiding at her best friend's place, refusing to go out no matter what.
In truth, the Goddess of Fortune also regretted her past actions. She had been approached by the Ancestral Law Destroyers several times before, asking her to help resolve their fortune problems. Initially, her attitude was, "Even I can't save the fortune of you Law Destroyers."
For a long time, as the deity presiding over fortune, no one was willing to offend her. Over time, she became a bit arrogant—until a Law Destroyer with a bad temper came knocking.
After that, the Goddess of Fortune became much more polite to the Ancestral Law Destroyers. But she truly had no solution for their fortune. Eventually, when the Ancestral Law Destroyers realized this was indeed the case, they stopped coming to her.
When the era of Law Destroyers ended and the era of Spellcasters began, the Goddess of Fortune believed the Law Destroyers were history. That was until one day, while drifting through the "Realm Between Spaces" in her divine form, she sensed that unique fortune again. In an instant, she was certain—this was definitely a Law Destroyer.
Initially, the Goddess of Fortune planned to flee immediately. But after careful sensing, she discovered this was a Law Destroyer who hadn't yet grown strong. Their confrontation began from there.
Not long after, the Goddess of Fortune started to panic. She realized that in just a short time apart, this Law Destroyer had grown significantly stronger. Later, she found that she might not even be able to defeat him anymore.
After confirming this, the Goddess of Fortune became cautious. Eventually, she faintly sensed a summoning pull, and on the other side, something that seemed like a good opportunity. This made her completely vigilant. For such a "pie falling from the sky" kind of good fortune, she would hide as far away as possible.
Later, after thinking it over, the Goddess of Fortune suddenly realized something: Could this be the Law Destroyer she had offended before, setting a trap to lure her in? Thinking of this, she decided to find a place to hide.
The idea was good. After staying at her best friend's place—another friendly-aligned goddess's home—for a while, she grew unbearably bored. When she heard that Arcane Eternal Star was hosting the Arcane Festival, the Goddess of Fortune's eyes practically lit up. She was certain that Law Destroyer would never come here.
With this confidence, the Goddess of Fortune arrived at Arcane Eternal Star and became Su Xiao's temporary neighbor. Suffice it to say, this deity presiding over fortune had some very peculiar luck this time.
Regarding how to handle the Goddess of Fortune, Su Xiao already had a plan in mind. Just then, a knock came at the door.
Opening the door, the visitor was an old man with graying, disheveled hair and beard. He sat in a meticulously structured mechanical wheelchair, both legs severed.
The visitor was Tree Sage. From any angle, Arcane Eternal Star should have invited Tree Sage to this Arcane Festival.
"Holy Flame."
Tree Sage spoke. Neither his tone nor expression showed any hostility.
"Please."
Su Xiao turned and moved aside. Moments later, he sat on a single sofa, facing Tree Sage across a tea table. Two cups of steaming clear tea were placed on it.
Tree Sage took out a bottle of potion. The crystal vial held a potion with a faint golden hue. He placed it on the table, indicating that this potion represented the highest level he could achieve.
Su Xiao also took out a bottle of potion. Coming to Arcane Eternal Star this time, he naturally brought some finished potions to facilitate negotiations with Arcane Eternal Star.
Tree Sage picked up the potion on the table, carefully examined it, and finally poured out a few drops. After resealing the potion and placing it back on the table, he knew in his heart just how vast the gap was between himself and this young alchemist.
"Tomorrow at Dawnlight Manor, there will be a gathering of alchemists."
Saying this, though Tree Sage's expression remained calm, a sense of melancholy lingered in his heart.
"Not interested."
"Oh?"
Tree Sage looked at Su Xiao suspiciously. He had originally thought that this young alchemist, with his miraculous alchemy skills, would dominate the gathering tomorrow, crushing them old-timers with his potion-making prowess, thereby making a name for himself in the Void. Instead, he got this answer.
"Then I won't go either."
Tree Sage nodded, said nothing more, and left.
Watching the closed door, Su Xiao picked up his tea and took a sip. He had little interest in making a name for himself in the Void as the Holy Flame Alchemist. Moreover, the fact that the Holy Flame Alchemist identity could cooperate with White Bull meant it was cautious enough and understood the principle of "tall trees catch the wind," to the point of hiding within White Bull's sphere of influence.
With such a style, it was impossible for him to go to tomorrow's alchemist gathering and slap the faces of the older alchemists with his superior skills. It was truly unnecessary. First, his potions weren't hard to sell. Second, his current reputation was enough to make Arcane Eternal Star set aside its pride to recruit him. Why would he need to offend the older alchemists just to gain fame in the Void?
Also, the older alchemists had likely already guessed something about his potion-making level from the potions he had crafted.
By not attending this alchemist gathering held before every Arcane Festival, Su Xiao was signaling that he had no intention of clashing with the older alchemists. Face was something given mutually. Which of the older alchemists wasn't shrewd? They wouldn't think, "The Holy Flame is too arrogant, not even coming to the alchemist gathering." When the gap in skill was so vast that they couldn't even compete on the same stage, no one would seek humiliation.
In Su Xiao's view, although his alchemy skills surpassed these older alchemists, these alchemists had operated in the Void for so many years that their connections were formidable. No, these old alchemists were likely the most well-connected group in the Void.
He glanced at the time. It was still morning. Sefeiliya had mentioned earlier that she would visit again in the afternoon to take Su Xiao to see several important areas of Arcane Eternal Star.
Last night, Su Xiao had treated Nilin and hadn't slept much. Now with free time, he leaned back on the single sofa to rest.
Time quickly passed to noon.
Knock, knock, knock~
The door was knocked. Beini opened it to find a young girl in a white robe with closed eyes. She held a wooden box in both hands and, smiling, placed it on Beini's flying carpet.
After doing this, the white-robed girl bowed to Su Xiao, gently closed the door, and left.
Su Xiao opened the wooden box the girl had sent. It contained quite a few items. These weren't gifts from Arcane Eternal Star but condolence gifts from over a dozen older alchemists living at "Dawnlight Manor."
They were all body-nourishing potions. This clearly corresponded to Su Xiao's plan to use "poor health" as an excuse not to attend tomorrow's alchemist gathering.
Compared to their practical effects, the meaning behind these body-nourishing potions was more important. The skill required to make them wasn't high, but the materials were expensive, making them perfect as gifts between alchemists.
Additionally, the wooden box contained a badge with a golden flame pattern. The flame clearly represented the Holy Flame. When Su Xiao picked it up, a notification appeared.
[You have obtained the Alchemist Guild: Holy Flame Badge (Alchemy Master Badge).]
Su Xiao had, of course, heard of the Alchemist Guild in the Void. The attitude of the older alchemists was clear. Upon learning that Su Xiao didn't plan to crush them all with his supreme alchemy skills tomorrow, they had responded with equal respect in just a few hours. Indeed, face was given mutually.
Su Xiao looked at the badge between his fingers. These older alchemists in the Void were quite wealthy. This item was crafted from purified "Starflow Ore."
Putting away the gifts, Su Xiao began considering his subsequent plans. First, he needed to complete both travel tasks before the Arcane Festival began.
Based on the information he had, the important locations within Arcane Eternal Star included: "Dawnlight Manor," "Silver Moon Lake," "Void Great Library," "Midday Academy," "Clock Tower (Soul Clock Tower)," "Starlight Plaza," [Elemental Superconductivity Tower], "Black Maple Courtyard," and "Elemental Wetlands."
Among these, [Elemental Superconductivity Tower] was a place Su Xiao would absolutely not go. That was where the Supreme Being resided. Regarding the Supreme Being, Su Xiao wanted as little contact as possible. This being, who had lived for who knows how many years, was terrifying in both strength and strategy.
Su Xiao always had a feeling that his identity disguise wouldn't hold up for long. When facing Sefeiliya or Fierce Winter King of that tier, he wasn't afraid. But when facing the Supreme Being, he always felt like his disguise would be exposed.
That intangible pressure, even without meeting the other party, had been faintly felt by Su Xiao since arriving at Arcane Eternal Star. It was like an invisible hand hovering around his heart, ready to crush it with a single squeeze.
Su Xiao's "Law Destroyer Was Here" task required him to visit "Midday Academy," "Clock Tower," "Void Great Library," "Black Maple Courtyard," and "Elemental Wetlands."
The first three were easy. He was currently staying in a student dormitory of "Midday Academy." The "Clock Tower" and "Void Great Library" were also relatively accessible locations.
"Black Maple Courtyard" and "Elemental Wetlands" were the troublesome ones. Within Arcane Eternal Star, there was a "Dark Ring River" that encircled a large area. Only a single stone bridge could cross this "Dark Ring River."
The reason for this was rumored to be that the "Dark Ring River" had strong dark properties. Swimming across was suicidal, and flying was even more impossible. Su Xiao estimated that the dark properties of this "Dark Ring River" likely originated from the Abyss.
It went without saying that Arcane Eternal Star, a faction that had long dealt with the Abyss, would certainly covet Abyss power. This was a "Primordial Source Power" of the same rank as the natural elements they devoured.
Only after crossing the "Dark Ring River" could one reach "Black Maple Courtyard" and "Elemental Wetlands." These two places were completely closed to outsiders. Su Xiao estimated that even if he joined Arcane Eternal Star as the Holy Flame Alchemist, it would take years before the higher-ups allowed him to visit "Black Maple Courtyard" and "Elemental Wetlands."
Fortunately, this travel task didn't require visiting all five locations—only the rewards differed. The task reward was a team skill card of level 30 to X. The specific rank would apparently be determined by how many locations were visited.
At 1:00 PM that afternoon, the door was knocked again.
Opening the door, Su Xiao saw several people standing in the hallway. Leading them was Sefeiliya. However, this time, Sefeiliya wasn't wearing her mage robe but a long dress similar in style. After all, this was Arcane Eternal Star, and Sefeiliya wasn't so stubborn as to wear a mage robe everywhere.
Su Xiao was puzzled about one thing. While it was true that Arcane Eternal Star wanted to recruit him, Sefeiliya, as one of the four faction leaders, had already shown great respect by greeting guests at the Law Gate earlier. For subsequent reception, she didn't need to come personally.
When something was out of the ordinary, there must be a reason. Su Xiao estimated there were roughly two possibilities: 1. Sefeiliya had a favor to ask. She needed a certain potion, but the current highest level of the Alchemist Guild still couldn't produce it.