# Chapter 56: Blood Shadow
Inside the Void Grand Library, Su Xiao returned the ancient text to its original position and picked up another nearby book to read, though he had little interest in this particular volume.
He did this to prevent Arcane Eternal Star from learning his general preferences through the books he read.
The sky darkened imperceptibly. Prince Wind and Hugh had already left after greeting him earlier; the factions behind them weren't particularly eager to recruit the Holy Flame Alchemist.
The remaining two, Green Gillian and Lu'en, had one person sleeping on a single sofa all afternoon while the other went to the first floor of the Grand Library to flirt with women.
Su Xiao returned a copy of "Compendium of Transcendent Flora" to its place. He had gained much this afternoon, but Travel Mission 2, "Ocean of Knowledge," remained incomplete. The mission content was:
"Travel Mission: Ocean of Knowledge - Obtain three or more types of high-level knowledge stored in the Arcane Eternal Star Void Grand Library through non-theft means."
Su Xiao speculated that this so-called "obtaining high-level knowledge" required acquiring the carriers containing the knowledge. Much of the knowledge in ancient texts required matching inscriptions to master.
For example, in "Soul Studies" and "Mystical Energy Studies," many ancient texts contained knowledge difficult to record in words. In such cases, "inscriptions" were used. Readers only needed to inject a small amount of spiritual energy into the inscriptions on the ancient texts, and guided by the inscriptions, they could quickly master that portion of knowledge.
This recording method had been applied long ago. For instance, the Alchemy Codex didn't record words but rather numerous inscriptions interpreted through spiritual energy.
This led to a situation where ancient texts containing high-level knowledge became particularly precious. That's why Su Xiao and Kaisa had enraged the Dragon Academy so much when they emptied its library.
Obtaining three such ancient texts from the fifth floor of the Void Grand Library through legitimate means was extremely difficult. Fortunately, Su Xiao already had a plan. At the latest, the day after tomorrow, he was confident he could enter the fifth floor of the Grand Library, read ancient texts there, and openly take a few with him when leaving.
"Green..."
Su Xiao spoke, calling out to Green Gillian who was sleeping soundly nearby. But as the name "Green" left his lips, his heart suddenly "pulsed" — more accurately, it felt like a faint resonance. This sensation flashed by as if it had never existed. If not for Su Xiao's keen perception derived from his Blade Grandmaster ability, he would have missed this fleeting feeling.
This made Su Xiao carefully observe Green Gillian. At this moment, she was lying back on the seat in a very unladylike posture, sleeping with drool dripping from her mouth. Compared to other female spellcasters, Green Gillian had neither the cold, peerless beauty nor the dignified elegance — only the vibrant energy of a silly girl.
Su Xiao pulled over a chair and sat down in front of Green Gillian. He was very concerned about that momentary "pulse." It felt like encountering a "kindred spirit."
He began to contemplate what "kindred spirit" encompassed. First, he was a Hunter. He had encountered other Hunters before, but never had this momentary pulse sensation. Nor should such a resonant fluctuation occur.
Excluding that, only Law Destruction remained. More precisely, aside from himself, Su Xiao had never seen a living Law Destroyer. His unscrupulous mentor, Mawen Hua'erzi, and the old Law Destroyer were all remnant souls — a state achieved when a soul was strong enough to carry consciousness after death.
Besides a few ancestral Law Destroyers and the black mist figure at Starry Sky Seat, Su Xiao had never seen anyone else with this ability.
Su Xiao's hypothesis was: was that brief, faint heart pulse a mutual resonance between Law Destroyers? Or had he unconsciously sensed something special about Green Gillian, triggering this perception? And this perception wasn't bidirectional.
When he first arrived at Arcane Eternal Star and learned this girl was named Green Gillian and was Sefeiliya's disciple, he sensed something was wrong.
For Sefeiliya, the name "Green" might not be taboo, but it certainly wasn't something she wanted to hear. Taking a disciple named Green Gillian was absolutely impossible. So if Green Gillian had been recommended by someone else, it would be like rubbing salt into Sefeiliya's wounds.
This also couldn't be a disciple Sefeiliya chose herself — that would be like reopening old scars.
After eliminating various possibilities, Su Xiao arrived at two conclusions: 1. Green Gillian was Sefeiliya's biological daughter; 2. Green Gillian was cultivated by Sefeiliya using someone's cells.
The first possibility was ruled out immediately. Sefeiliya's personal preferences were almost obsessively strict. Even when representing Arcane Eternal Star to welcome the Holy Flame Alchemist, she maintained about 2 meters of distance from Su Xiao.
With his Blade Grandmaster perception, Su Xiao could clearly sense that when he got within 2 meters of Sefeiliya, every pore of her seemed to radiate displeasure. Though her face still wore a polite smile, her inner thoughts were definitely: "Stay away from me. Keep your distance."
Su Xiao also noticed that Sefeiliya's personality wasn't specifically directed at him but applied to all males. Given Sefeiliya's personal habits, Green Gillian being her biological daughter was absolutely impossible.
Beyond that, only one possibility remained: Green Gillian was cultivated by Sefeiliya — artificially created using someone's genes or cells through transcendent knowledge and biology.
If so, the situation was very interesting. A girl cultivated by Sefeiliya, named Green Gillian — anyone who knew the story of Sefeiliya and Green Gillian could guess the implications.
Su Xiao's speculation was that when Sefeiliya killed Green Gillian, she had secretly preserved Green Gillian's cells and kept them for many years.
This probably had nothing to do with personal feelings. Based on Su Xiao's understanding, aside from her intense hatred of Law Destroyers, Sefeiliya was very rational in other matters.
Many years ago, Sefeiliya had a concern: Law Destruction couldn't be completely eradicated. As long as people gained power by devouring natural elements, Law Destruction would eventually reappear — it was only a matter of time.
For this reason, Sefeiliya developed "Dawn Element," hoping to counter any potential Law Destruction. As it turned out, though Dawn Element couldn't defeat Law Destruction, it could at least fight back — unlike pure magical energy systems that could only take beatings or rely on numbers.
It could be inferred that when Sefeiliya artificially cultivated Green Gillian, her idea was likely to fight magic with magic, to guard against Law Destruction with Law Destruction.
Unfortunately, the more Green Gillian grew, the more she resembled someone. In the end, Sefeiliya inexplicably named her Green Gillian.
Unlike that person, Green Gillian didn't have a bad personality and had a strong dependence on Sefeiliya. After all, who could refuse a disciple who looked ninety percent like an old flame but without the bad personality?
But there was a rule: the more powerful the life form, the harder it was to cultivate. What Sefeiliya had done was create a new life using Law Destroyer cells — the difficulty and risk were imaginable.
There was no doubt that Green Gillian had once been among the top-tier powerhouses in the Void. The worse her personality, the stronger she was. If she weren't strong enough, she would have been killed long ago.
Therefore, in Su Xiao's view, a new life cultivated from Green Gillian's cells would inevitably face many problems. Even if successful, the cultivated life would have certain defects due to its innate power.
Looking at Green Gillian sleeping soundly, Su Xiao had a feeling that her aura was growing stronger at a subtle rate.
From another perspective, even lying down and sleeping, this girl would gradually grow stronger — showing how powerful Green Gillian's cells were.
Such heaven-defying potential must come with corresponding costs. From their previous interactions, Green Gillian hadn't shown anything unusual.
If he had to guess, the most likely possibility was that Green Gillian's lifespan wouldn't be long. Ordinary spellcasters could live hundreds, thousands, or even more years, but she might only live thirty or forty years — shorter than an average person's lifespan.
Realizing this, Su Xiao finally understood why Sefeiliya had been so enthusiastic in hosting the Holy Flame Alchemist this time. As one of Arcane Eternal Star's four leaders, she had personally come to the Law Gate to welcome him — she must have a request related to this matter.
What Sefeiliya was doing was most likely not for herself. More precisely, Green Gillian's existence held significant significance for the entire Arcane Eternal Star.
Law Destroyers were elemental guardians, while spellcasters were elemental devourers. Based on the current situation, Arcane Eternal Star probably wanted Green Gillian to become an elemental guardian as well.
The reason was that the chain reaction from insider theft would be much smaller than outright plunder. At the very least, it wouldn't cause Abyss passages to frequently appear in the Void.
"Green."
Su Xiao called out again. Green Gillian opened her eyes, sat up straight, wiped the drool from her mouth, and said, "Is it time to eat? Time flies when you're immersed in the ocean of knowledge."
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He glanced at the replica book with teeth marks on the small table beside them. It could only be said that Green Gillian's method of absorbing knowledge was quite direct.
"Let's go back."
Su Xiao picked up a few ancient texts, returning them to their places along the way as he headed toward the elevator.
"Oh~"
Green Gillian yawned as she followed behind, trying hard to suppress her morning crankiness. She didn't even know why, but ever since she could remember, her morning crankiness had been terrible. And she knew she shouldn't be like this, but every time she was woken from sleep, she couldn't control the rising anger.
What she found even more absurd was that every time she managed to suppress her morning crankiness, she felt like she'd accomplished something remarkable. If it were "before," she definitely couldn't hold back. But this "before" was very unfamiliar to her, as if it had never existed.
Exiting the elevator, Su Xiao saw Lu'en chatting and laughing with a few Fu'er tribe girls on the first floor of the Grand Library. As a representative of the "Magical Energy Faction" — the "Midday Academy" — this guy was more interested in picking up girls than in recruiting the Holy Flame Alchemist.
That made sense. The four factions of Arcane Eternal Star were unlikely to compete with each other to recruit the Holy Flame Alchemist, as that would allow him to drive up the price, ultimately hurting Arcane Eternal Star.
The leaders of these four factions had probably already discussed in secret and decided that this time, the "Arcane Faction" — led by Mage Sage Sefeiliya — would handle recruiting the Holy Flame Alchemist. The other three factions sending representatives was more of a gesture, showing Arcane Eternal Star's regard for the Holy Flame Alchemist — commonly known as "giving face."
"Lu'en, stop flirting. Let's go eat."
Green Gillian's shout made Lu'en, who was in the middle of flirting, frown. Just as he was about to tell Green Gillian to go cool off somewhere, he saw Su Xiao standing beside her. Lu'en straightened his expression and said:
"Mr. White Night, what would you like for dinner? Shall we go to the academy restaurant or to 'Dawn Light Manor'? At this hour, the food street at Star Plaza should be lively too."
"Somewhere quiet."
"Alright then. Let's go to the academy's lakeside restaurant. It should be empty there."
As Lu'en spoke, he snapped his fingers. The spatial fluctuations around them suddenly converged, and in the next instant, the three of them appeared before a building — the lakeside restaurant.
Entering, the mixed aromas of various foods wafted over, making their stomachs even hungrier. After a moment, the three sat down at a window seat. Outside the window was Silver Moon Lake, its scenery picturesque under the evening sunset.
This trip to the Void Grand Library had been very fruitful for Su Xiao. He had always believed that his current achievements came not only from his willingness to fight powerful enemies but also from his attitude toward knowledge. No matter where, knowledge was precious — it was the warnings of failure and shortcuts to success recorded by predecessors after paying unimaginable costs and suffering.
Besides various alchemy and transcendent knowledge, two pieces of information were equally valuable. First, regarding the "Awakening Stele."
Su Xiao had always felt that Law Destruction abilities were few. From First Rank to Ninth Rank, he had only mastered a few Law Destruction abilities.
Now he finally understood why. Law Destruction didn't have few abilities — he lacked the means to learn them. After mastering the Shadow Hunt talent and obtaining "Law-Destroying Skill Points," these skill points could not only enhance his Azure Steel Shadow and Azure Shadow King abilities but also allow him to master Law Destruction abilities inscribed on the "Awakening Stele."
Second was the correct way to use the "Greed Chapter." Su Xiao planned to experiment with this when he returned to his room at the "Lakeside Dormitory." The reason was that the "Greed Chapter" wasn't unique — others had obtained it before. Even now, he hadn't collected the complete "Greed Chapter," only a large piece.
As the Holy Flame Alchemist, having some treasures was normal. More importantly, the probability of Arcane Eternal Star installing surveillance in the temporary residence was lower than one might imagine.
Su Xiao had come to Arcane Eternal Star as the Holy Flame Alchemist, a distinguished guest. As the Void's overlord, having someone test the guest was reasonable — both parties understood this tacitly. But installing surveillance in the guest's residence wouldn't be recruitment; it would be an attempt at unilateral forceful control.
Su Xiao had long been prepared for this. Though he hadn't met with the old alchemists of the Void Alchemist Guild, he had established a not-deep but relatively reliable friendship with them by demonstrating alchemy far beyond Void standards.
Currently, those old alchemists were also watching Su Xiao's situation, observing how Arcane Eternal Star, the Void's overlord, received and treated an alchemy master. More precisely, they were watching how Arcane Eternal Star treated an alchemy master.
This situation was naturally deliberately orchestrated by Su Xiao. He had given up the method of establishing his reputation by completely surpassing the old alchemists with his alchemy skills. After exchanging courtesies with them, both sides had developed a sense of shared interests and mutual benefit.
Or rather, this was indeed the case. If Arcane Eternal Star used forceful, crude control tactics on the Holy Flame Alchemist, they would certainly be even more rough and harsh toward other alchemists far inferior to the Holy Flame. So at this moment, all the old and young alchemists on Arcane Eternal Star were watching this situation.
As the representative hosting the Holy Flame Alchemist, Sefeiliya had noticed this. She was very troubled and found it tricky. She truly hadn't expected things to develop to the point where Arcane Eternal Star's treatment of the Holy Flame Alchemist equaled its treatment of all alchemists.
This made Sefeiliya keenly aware that this Holy Flame Alchemist wasn't as casual and kind as he appeared. But this actually reassured her somewhat. If the Holy Flame were truly as casual and kind as he seemed, how could he have cooperated with White Bull's faction and emerged unscathed, preventing White Bull's pack of wolves from pouncing on him?
After dinner, Su Xiao walked out of the lakeside restaurant. On this moonlit, starry night, half the rooms in the diagonally opposite Lakeside Dormitory were lit. Combined with Silver Moon Lake reflecting the blue-silver moonlight, the beautiful night scenery and cool, fresh air were refreshing.
"Mr. White Night, see you later."
Lu'en activated his spatial ability and disappeared. Seeing this, Su Xiao walked toward the Lakeside Dormitory. After a moment, he stopped in a corridor with red carpet and continuous windows on one side, his gaze fixed on a door.
The room was very quiet. That made sense — the goddess temporarily residing here had been hiding at a friend's house to avoid various Law Destruction traps. Now that she was at Arcane Eternal Star, confident that Law Destruction wouldn't dare come here, she would naturally go to "Dawn Light Manor" or "Star Plaza" to shop to her heart's content.
Pushing open the door to the adjacent room, Su Xiao entered and sat down on a single sofa. "What a coincidence. You live here too?"
As he spoke, Su Xiao took the hot tea brought by Beini, took a sip, and glanced sideways at Green Gillian standing nearby. She had been following him ever since they left the lakeside restaurant.
"Uh~"
Green Gillian looked embarrassed. She scratched her head, not even knowing why she had followed him here. She had been like sleepwalking, naturally following along.
"Well, this... Oh! Right, I'm here to ensure Mr. Holy Flame's safety."
Green Gillian laughed heartily, showing her neat white teeth, mentally praising her own improvisational skills.
"..."
Su Xiao looked at Green Gillian again. It was a good thing Baha wasn't here; if he were, he'd definitely have some snarky comments.
"Mr. White Night, I live right next door. To be honest, I was hiding my aura earlier. I'm actually quite strong in a fight — even Lu'en can't beat me, otherwise he would have beaten me up long ago."
With that, Green Gillian showed a cheerful smile. This was probably from her time at "Midday Academy" when she and her friends had often pranked Lu'en, the academic star student.
"It's getting late. Go back to sleep."
"Oh~"
Green Gillian reluctantly left the room. Before closing the door, she specifically said that he must come wake her up next door tomorrow morning.
After Green Gillian left, Su Xiao's brow gradually furrowed. He had already realized that Green Gillian's existence was a hidden danger for him. Even more tricky was that this risk couldn't be eliminated at this stage.
By now, he was certain that Green Gillian was cultivated by Sefeiliya using the cells of her old flame, the female Law Destroyer Green Gillian.
That's why Green Gillian had exhibited that "abnormal" behavior earlier. She subconsciously wanted to follow Su Xiao because their powers shared the same origin, causing Green Gillian to have a natural sense of recognition toward Su Xiao without even realizing it.
Don't forget, this was Arcane Eternal Star, where a large number of spellcasters gathered and magical energy reigned. This meant that Green Gillian, intimately connected to Law Destroyers, was constantly in "enemy territory" — and completely unaware of it, deep in the enemy's headquarters.
Under such external environmental influence, when Green Gillian encountered Su Xiao, she instinctively felt close to him. That's why she subconsciously wanted to follow him and was reluctant to leave this room. This had nothing to do with emotions or feelings — it was simply that she felt an indescribable sense of ease staying here.
In Su Xiao's view, this was a risk. Once Sefeiliya asked Green Gillian about this, given Sefeiliya's keen perception, she would immediately sense something wrong.
Don't forget, this woman had participated in the final battle against Law Destruction. Except for occasionally getting emotional about Green Gillian, in normal states, she was a particularly troublesome enemy.
After pondering for a moment, Su Xiao decided not only not to send Green Gillian away on various pretexts but to keep her as his guide at Arcane Eternal Star. He had to keep her so busy that she barely had time to see Sefeiliya.
Su Xiao's idea was to say that Green Gillian had the potential to become a top-tier alchemist. As an alchemy master, the Holy Flame Alchemist having this habit of cherishing talent was very normal.
Regarding this, both Arcane Eternal Star and Sefeiliya would feel gratified and strongly support Green Gillian learning alchemy. After all, recruiting an alchemist was never as good as training one's own to become a top-tier alchemist.
As for whether Green Gillian actually had alchemy talent, that didn't matter. The alchemy system Su Xiao mastered was different from other Void alchemists. Plus, his alchemy level could completely surpass those Void alchemists.
Of course, this plan had its drawbacks — it would only work short-term and would leave Green Gillian particularly confused. This energetic girl, upon seeing a large number of pharmacological patterns in books, would not only be completely bewildered but would also have to wear a "pain mask," constantly doubting herself: "Am I really an alchemy genius? Why can't I understand anything? What is Holy Flame Teacher even saying? I can understand every word individually, but when they're put together, I can't understand at all?"
Having made up his mind, Su Xiao looked at the lazy Beini beside him. "Go next door and fetch Green Gillian."
"Meow~"
Beini raised her tail tip, lazily got up, stretched, and went to the next room to find Green Gillian.
After a moment, Green Gillian stood before him, her hair slightly disheveled from sleep, eyes drowsy. "Mr. White Night, did you need something?"
"Sleeping this early?"
Su Xiao glanced at the clock as he spoke. It was only 7:30 PM.
"Yeah, right. My mentor told me to cultivate diligently. I can't let down her expectations."
At the end, Green Gillian yawned.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. But on second thought, what she said was actually correct. Given Green Gillian's condition, when she slept, her body cells became more stable, fully stimulating her physical potential and skyrocketing her elemental affinity.
This meant that her rate of growth while sleeping was indeed faster than through diligent cultivation. So for Green Gillian, diligent cultivation = sleeping well.
Su Xiao took out a scroll, unrolled it, and placed it on the small table in front. This parchment was grayish-white overall, with cracks in some places, giving it a simple and rustic historical feel, as if it had existed for over ten thousand years.
The main body of the parchment was a complex circular array. Above it were six grain-sized transparent gems.
"Green Gillian, in your understanding, what does one need to become an alchemist?"
"Wisdom?"
"Not enough."
"Diligence?"
"Not enough."
"Talent?"
"..."
Su Xiao looked Green Gillian up and down and nodded with satisfaction.
"I... I'm not..."
Green Gillian's eyes showed a mix of surprise and disbelief as she spoke.
"Yes, you have great talent. Put your hand on it."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Green Gillian hesitated for a few seconds, then raised her hand and pressed it onto the array at the center of the parchment. The next instant, light blazed forth. The six gems on the parchment not only fully lit up but even shattered one after another.
Green Gillian stepped back half a step, looked down at the broken parchment, then up at Su Xiao. "This... is it expensive?"
"Not too expensive. Just a few tens of thousands of Soul Coins."
As Su Xiao spoke, he had Beini clean up the gray parchment fragments scattered on the carpet. The actual value of this item was around a hundred or so Soul Coins — it was used for signing contracts. But it was quite rare, making it perfect for fooling Green Gillian.
"Hiss~"
Green Gillian sucked in a breath of cold air. Though she was Sefeiliya's disciple, her personality meant that whenever she got money, she'd spend it all by the next day. Tens of thousands of Soul Coins was a huge sum for her — a debt she absolutely couldn't repay without seeking help from her mentor.
It was worth noting that this talent for wasting money was probably "inherited" from Green Gillian.
Upon learning that the parchment she had destroyed was worth tens of thousands of Soul Coins, Green Gillian's gaze began to dart around. If she started whistling too, one might exclaim, "Holy crap, has that female Law Destroyer been resurrected?"
"Meow!"
Beini called out, drawing Green Gillian's attention. Somehow, an IOU had already been drafted, waiting for Green Gillian to sign. This left Green Gillian looking utterly defeated.
Su Xiao gestured for Beini to stop teasing Green Gillian and said, "It matches my observations. You have great talent in alchemy."
"Huh?"
Green Gillian let out a drawn-out "huh?" Her eyes were both confused and bewildered. She pointed at herself with a look of disbelief, as if to say, "Me? Alchemy talent?"
No wonder Green Gillian reacted this way. Once, when she was sick, she had taken the wrong medicine and nearly killed herself. Only her powerful cells and her mentor summoning a famous doctor had saved her.
Ignoring Green Gillian's bewildered state, Su Xiao continued, "Contact your mentor. Have her come here. I have some matters to discuss with her."
Upon hearing this, Green Gillian tentatively asked, "Is it about compensation?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak, making Green Gillian feel a bit guilty.
After about ten minutes, the door was knocked, and then Sefeiliya, wearing a gold-white mage robe, entered the room. From her expression, one could see a hint of severity.
"Mr. Holy Flame, what trouble has my disciple caused?"
As Sefeiliya spoke, she subtly glared at Green Gillian. Green Gillian, who had been about to make excuses, immediately cowered, turning her head to the side — that was her last act of defiance.
After Sefeiliya sat down, Beini served hot tea. Sefeiliya nodded politely to Beini, then turned her gaze back to Su Xiao.
"It's not trouble. I've discovered that your disciple Green Gillian has great alchemy talent. With some guidance, she could become an alchemist..."
Before Su Xiao could finish, Sefeiliya, who had been sipping tea, paused. She looked suspiciously at Su Xiao sitting on the single sofa opposite, put down her teacup, and said, "Mr. Holy Flame, please don't joke like that..."
"It's not a joke. The alchemy I practice is somewhat special, relying heavily on talent in spiritual perception. Green Gillian's talent in this area might even surpass mine."
As Su Xiao spoke, he looked at Green Gillian.
He said this partly based on evidence and partly as nonsense. The alchemy he practiced certainly didn't depend on spiritual perception talent. As for Green Gillian's talent in this area being strong, that was just a guess.
The "Soul Severing Shadow" ability Su Xiao had mastered was developed by Green Gillian. Someone who could develop the "Soul Severing Shadow" ability couldn't possibly lack talent in soul characteristics — more precisely, they were likely among the top few in the entire Void.
Green Gillian was cultivated from Green Gillian's cells. Even using one's heel to think, one would know that Green Gillian's talent in soul matters must be extraordinary.
Sure enough, upon hearing Su Xiao's words, Sefeiliya showed a slight reaction. She turned to look at her disciple.
"Mr. Holy Flame, are you planning to teach Green alchemy? Or do you intend to take her as a disciple?"
Sefeiliya's tone was calm, but there was a hint of probing.
"A disciple is out of the question. Teaching her alchemy is possible."
"This..."
Sefeiliya couldn't immediately guess Su Xiao's purpose. She hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alchemists' knowledge is closely guarded..."
Hearing this, Su Xiao interrupted Sefeiliya. "Who said that?"
Su Xiao's question left Sefeiliya unable to respond. She couldn't very well say that all alchemists in the Alchemist Guild were like that.
Regarding this matter, Su Xiao wouldn't teach Green Gillian alchemy for long and would only teach basic things first. Moreover, after some contact, Su Xiao had some confidence that this somewhat flighty girl probably wouldn't learn much — this was evident from how directly she had "absorbed" knowledge at the Void Grand Library.
Therefore, Su Xiao wasn't worried about training an alchemist for Arcane Eternal Star and thus aiding the enemy. Plus, this solved the hidden danger of Green Gillian, keeping her busy with the vast ocean of alchemy for the near future, preventing any further resonance between their same-origin powers that might expose Su Xiao's Law Destroyer identity.
Of course, teaching Green Gillian alchemy wasn't without cost. Su Xiao proposed visiting Arcane Eternal Star's "Black Maple Courtyard" to see the legendary Black Maple Tree with his own eyes.
Sefeiliya politely declined, but Su Xiao noticed that her refusal wasn't very firm, as if she had absolute confidence in the "Black Maple Courtyard's" defensive measures.
Detecting this, Su Xiao actually felt relieved. The stronger the defenses at "Black Maple Courtyard," the higher the probability he could visit openly, thus completing the travel mission "Law Destroyer's Visit."
"Travel Mission: Law Destroyer's Visit - After arriving at Arcane Eternal Star, you must visit Midday Academy, the Clock Tower, the Void Grand Library, Black Maple Courtyard, and the Elemental Wetlands. Mission Reward: Team Skill Card Random Draw Permission (Draw range: Team Skill Card Lv.30~X)."
Visiting "Black Maple Courtyard" was one of Su Xiao's main purposes for coming to Arcane Eternal Star as the Holy Flame Alchemist. This wasn't just to complete the travel mission — there was something more important.
Su Xiao himself had a Black Maple Tree. Though the incomparable environment of Reincarnation Paradise and the extravagant use of [World Core (Fragment)] as "fertilizer" had made his tree's output quality far exceed average levels.
Even so, Su Xiao still wanted to visit "Black Maple Courtyard" to see how Arcane Eternal Star cultivated Black Maple Trees. After all, they had been cultivating them for over a thousand years and would have unique insights and experience in many aspects.
Su Xiao was never arrogant enough to think he had already optimized Black Maple Tree cultivation. So visiting "Black Maple Courtyard" was still necessary.
"Meow."
Beini jumped onto Su Xiao's lap, curled up, and prepared to sleep for a while. On the single sofa, Su Xiao absently stroked Beini while thinking about one thing: Sefeiliya's attitude toward outsiders visiting "Black Maple Courtyard."
From her attitude earlier, though she had refused, it wasn't a particularly firm refusal. This was undoubtedly a good sign. Most things in this world had value. Sefeiliya's attitude just meant Su Xiao's offer wasn't high enough yet, not a fundamental rejection of the transaction.
Considering Sefeiliya's regard for Green Gillian and Green Gillian's short-lived constitution due to her cells, what kind of offer was needed was quite clear.
However, this matter couldn't be initiated by Su Xiao. He had to wait for them to approach him, then accept the transaction with a somewhat reluctant and tricky attitude. Only then could he successfully visit "Black Maple Courtyard" before the "Arcane Festival" officially began.
Having this settled in his mind, Su Xiao began considering another matter: how to obtain three ancient texts from the fifth floor of the Void Grand Library through non-theft means.
According to Prince Wind, though there were many ancient texts on the fifth floor of the Void Grand Library, they were all very precious. Only Frost Wind King and the Supreme Being had the authority to make decisions about them.
Su Xiao would never meet the latter. And judging from the attitudes of Arcane Eternal Star's upper echelons, they didn't seem to want him, as the Holy Flame Alchemist, to meet the Supreme Being either. For Su Xiao, this was good. Just being on the same Arcane Eternal Star as the Supreme Being made him uneasy. If they met face-to-face, who knows what might happen.
That meant he just needed to deal with Frost Wind King. With the latter's authority, it was entirely possible to transfer three ancient texts from the fifth floor of the Void Grand Library for a transaction.
However, this transaction had to satisfy not only Frost Wind King's personal interests and those of his faction but also the interests of all factions in Arcane Eternal Star. Only then could all spellcasters' mouths be sealed, since the Void Grand Library belonged to Arcane Eternal Star, not Frost Wind King personally — he was just its administrator.
After weighing the options, Su Xiao decided to use one of his trump cards: the high-level permanent enhancement potion [Ocean Essence].
[Ocean Essence]'s effect was to enhance mental strength and resilience, which would be irresistible to spellcasters. Previously, when he cooperated with White Bull to sell potions, one of them was [Ocean Essence] — but that was a weakened version of a weakened version.
Even so, Arcane Eternal Star had shown strong interest in that version.
What Su Xiao was about to offer now was an enhanced version of an enhanced version. The "normal version" of [Ocean Essence] was the potion Su Xiao brewed in his normal state.
The enhanced version was achieved through the "Forced Fortune" ability derived from his Luck Attribute, reaching perfect quality.
What Su Xiao was now preparing to brew was the pinnacle work achievable while wearing the Seven-Star title [Miracle Maker], which he had obtained in the Dead Silence World. Its characteristics were:
[Miracle Maker]
Origin: Void Tree
Quality: ★★★★★★★
Category: Title
Title Effect: When manufacturing, there is a chance to enter the peak state of your manufacturing ability, allowing you to create "Miracle" quality items that surpass "Perfect" quality.
Description: Is this a miracle? No, this is the peak you can achieve. Surpassing perfection is what a manufacturer should pursue.
Price: Unsellable.
Though he was going to brew an enhanced version of [Ocean Essence], one thing had to be avoided: this potion's positioning must not target Arcane Eternal Star's high-end combat power.
Therefore, Su Xiao had to brew a permanent enhancement potion that was strong enough but only usable by mid-to-low rank spellcasters, avoiding enhancing Arcane Eternal Star's high-end combat power and thus putting him at a disadvantage in future dealings with them.
In that case, just [Ocean Essence]'s characteristics weren't enough. It needed to not only greatly enhance mental strength and resilience but also improve potential in this area, making it a potion only young spellcaster geniuses were qualified to drink.
For a hegemon faction like Arcane Eternal Star, cultivating the younger generation was naturally the top priority.
This way, the potion's value at Arcane Eternal Star was ensured while avoiding aiding the enemy.
By the time these young spellcaster geniuses who drank [Ocean Essence] grew up, who knows how many years that would be. Before then, either Su Xiao would lose to Arcane Eternal Star, or Arcane Eternal Star would be destroyed by Su Xiao's hand.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao put even more care into brewing the improved + enhanced version of [Ocean Essence]. After all, this was going to be traded for ancient texts, so the quality had to be impeccable.
Pushing open the study door, Su Xiao began converting the space into a potion brewing room.
At midnight, Su Xiao sat before the brewing station and began the potion brewing process.
After equipping the [Miracle Maker] title, he didn't feel much different normally. But the moment he picked up the brewing vessel, everything around him seemed to change. The entire world, except for the brewing station and the various vessels and materials on it, seemed to cease to exist, becoming a vast white expanse. All his mental energy and focus were concentrated on this one task of brewing.
Time passed through repeated brewing and trial-and-error. Unnoticed, the first light of dawn seeped through the gaps in the curtains. Su Xiao removed the [Miracle Maker] title and emerged from the fully focused brewing state. Though this state was powerful, it placed a heavy burden on his mental and spiritual faculties. Fortunately, he was strong in both areas.
Pressing the last crystal vial into the stable semi-fluid of the wooden box, Su Xiao had completed brewing a total of 20 improved + enhanced versions of [Ocean Essence].
[Ocean Essence (Miracle)]
Origin: Holy Flame Alchemist
Quality: Immortal Rank
Type: Permanent Enhancement Potion
Effect: After consumption, greatly enhances mental strength and resilience. Over the following 30-40 natural days, improves mental growth potential to a certain degree.
Miracle Quality Bonus: After consumption, over the following 50 natural days, increases True Intelligence Attribute by a total of 15 points.
Note: This potion is effective below 130 True Intelligence Attribute points. Repeated use is invalid.
Rating: 1493 points (Immortal Rank potion rating range: 1000-1500 points)
Description: To be determined.
Price: To be determined.
With such effects, the upper echelons of Arcane Eternal Star's four factions would find it hard to refuse.
Among these four factions, Sefeiliya's Arcane Faction had the most resources, Frost Wind King's Elemental Faction was the most united internally, Dean Guya's Magical Energy Faction — the "Midday Academy" school faction — had the widest connections, and finally, Soul Lord's Soul Faction was the most special.
Su Xiao had seen other members of the Soul Faction at the Void Grand Library. What impressed him most was, without a doubt, their "brain holes."
This wasn't a metaphor but a description of appearance. A member of the Soul Faction had holes the width of an index finger on the right side of their forehead and both sides of their head. Inside was pitch black — no brain tissue visible, but still somewhat eerie.
Seeing this appearance characteristic, Su Xiao immediately recalled the "Soul Clock Tower" organization in the Dark Star world. It now seemed that organization was simply imitating Arcane Eternal Star's Soul Faction.
It was very likely that the introductory secret technique of Arcane Eternal Star's Soul Faction had been accidentally obtained by the natives of the Dark Star world, leading them to imitate and establish the Soul Clock Tower. "Soul" represented the ability, while "Clock Tower" came from the large clock tower on Arcane Eternal Star.
However, the Soul Clock Tower of the Dark Star world had only learned to open "brain holes" on their heads to better release soul power. They hadn't learned any of the essence of Arcane Eternal Star's Soul Faction — soul magic. Otherwise, the Soul Clock Tower would have long ruled the entire Dark Star world.
But one thing: not all members of Arcane Eternal Star's Soul Faction opened brain holes. For example, Hugh, with his soul talent, didn't need to open brain holes to more thoroughly release soul power.
One sentence accurately described Arcane Eternal Star's Soul Faction: insufficient soul talent, make up for it with brain holes. They had a secret technique where the more brain holes one opened, the stronger their soul talent potential. Correspondingly, when the number of brain holes exceeded two, the person would become increasingly extreme and paranoid as the number increased.
For this reason, compared to the other three factions, members of the Soul Faction generally didn't appear in very public settings. Moreover, their membership was small — all members combined numbered only a few hundred.
This relatively extreme ability characteristic naturally made them responsible for managing Arcane Eternal Star's underground prisons and similar areas. Not just outsiders, even Arcane Eternal Star's own spellcasters had an indescribable expression when mentioning the Soul Faction.
Su Xiao picked up the wooden box containing 20 bottles of [Ocean Essence]. Though these potions were precious, their value couldn't compare to three ancient texts from the fifth floor of the Void Grand Library.
In that case, some tactics were needed. For example, these 20 bottles of [Ocean Essence] were just a deposit. He could provide another 50 bottles later — no, 80 bottles. Since Su Xiao didn't plan to fulfill this promise anyway, as long as it wasn't too exaggerated, the more promised quantity, the better.
As one of Arcane Eternal Star's four leaders, Frost Wind King was naturally an old hand. Pure verbal promises wouldn't fool him. But Su Xiao could sign a contract — more precisely, the Holy Flame Alchemist could sign a contract.
With a contract carrying severe penalties for breach plus 20 bottles of [Ocean Essence] as a deposit, even if Frost Wind King hesitated, Sefeiliya would certainly express her stance. After all, Sefeiliya was the main person responsible for recruiting the Holy Flame Alchemist. Having the Holy Flame Alchemist sign a contract with Arcane Eternal Star would secure the recruitment.
Regarding the signed contract — this was a contract signed by the Holy Flame Alchemist, with binding force on this disguised identity. Don't forget, even Wood, as a member of the Demon Race, acknowledged Su Xiao as a "Contract Grandmaster."
"Beini."
Su Xiao handed the wooden box containing 20 bottles of [Ocean Essence] to Beini, adding, "Send it to the Elemental Faction. Give it to Prince Wind or his father."
"Meow."
Beini made as if to store the wooden box in her small storage space, but then thought better of it and placed it on her flying carpet instead. If she happened to be intercepted by members of the other three factions along the way, that would be even better. The more chaotic the relationships between the four factions of Arcane Eternal Star, the lower the risk for him here.
On the flying carpet, Beini looked up at the simplified map on the wall and began planning her delivery route.
After Beini left, Su Xiao checked the time. Not only had he not slept last night, but since leaving Reincarnation Paradise, he had barely rested except for occasional naps. After a moment, he lay down on the bed in the bedroom. As if bored before sleeping, he took out the [Greed Chapter] to fiddle with.
From a record at the Void Grand Library, Su Xiao had learned the correct way to use the [Greed Chapter].
First, this thing wasn't fought with a "naked" spiritual body. After the spiritual body entered, one had to first construct one's own "Soul Manifestation."
Each battle allowed the "Soul Manifestation" to switch between four different characteristics: Power Soul, Agility Soul, Body Soul, and Wisdom Soul.
More precisely, these were focuses. Choosing a suitable characteristic to deal with different "Soul Manifestations."
For example, when fighting "Soul Manifestation: Dark Crow," switching one's "Soul Manifestation" to Wisdom Soul was better for dealing with it, using large-scale spiritual characteristic abilities to limit the sky-full of crows and avoid the continuous life force absorption effect caused by being enveloped by the crow flock.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao injected a trace amount of his spiritual power into the [Greed Chapter] in his hand. The next second, the scene before him blurred, followed by a dragging sensation on his spiritual body.
When his vision cleared, he was surrounded by hazy gray mist. Ahead was an ancient but sturdy metal door. Pushing it open would lead to the battlefield for the death match with Dark Crow. Su Xiao was very familiar with this, having been here dozens of times.
Regarding his inability to defeat the first "Soul Manifestation: Dark Crow," Su Xiao had always maintained a "normal mindset," but he couldn't help feeling that he might never clear the [Greed Chapter] in this lifetime. After all, each "Soul Manifestation's" combat power increased incrementally.
When he only had fragments of the [Greed Chapter], he had successively challenged Saint Cultivator, Living Being Butcher, and the Tenth Generation Tianba's Daughter Qin.
He had long forgotten how many times he had been cut down during the battle with Saint Cultivator. As for the stronger Living Being Butcher, there was no need to mention it.
As for the Tenth Generation Tianba's Daughter Qin, even after the [Greed Chapter] was completed, Su Xiao still couldn't defeat her. Qin's blade technique, though delicate as water, was full of resilience — soft with strength, gentle with hidden needles.
Especially when getting very close, she would abandon her blade and grapple. Though it was like being embraced by a beauty, once she coiled around his throat, within 0.5 seconds, everything would go black. No escape technique worked — once bound, it was over immediately.
In the gray mist, Su Xiao raised his hand and found it semi-transparent. This time, entering the [Greed Chapter] with his spiritual body was different from before. There was no longer that sense of substance, replaced by the illusory and semi-transparency befitting a spiritual body.
This change came from constructing a special "Soul Seal" within the spiritual body. With this Soul Seal, Su Xiao could construct his own "Soul Manifestation" here.
Su Xiao extended his hand forward. Strands of soul energy spread from his hand, gradually forming a human shape in the gray mist ahead. As more soul energy was released, this blurry human shape began to solidify, its form and features gradually resembling Su Xiao himself.
Su Xiao stopped releasing soul energy. The prototype of the "Soul Manifestation" was complete. Next came the choice of characteristics. After selecting one from Power Soul, Agility Soul, Body Soul, and Wisdom Soul, he could use his spiritual body to enter this "Soul Manifestation," using it as his body within the [Greed Chapter] to defeat Dark Crow.
In the "naked" spiritual body stage, Su Xiao had almost been able to defeat Dark Crow. If he put on equipment and had the "Soul Manifestation" support his base attributes, defeating Dark Crow was a sure thing.
However, when Su Xiao tried to select the characteristics of this "Soul Manifestation," he found it different from what the record described. Though he sensed Power Soul, Agility Soul, Body Soul, and Wisdom Soul, all four characteristics within this "Soul Manifestation" were in a dormant state.
Moreover, besides these four soul characteristics, this soul body actually had a fifth soul characteristic — one that was blood-red throughout, named Blood Soul.
More precisely, Su Xiao could neither choose to bestow upon this "Soul Manifestation" with Power Soul, Agility Soul, Body Soul, or Wisdom Soul, nor could he bestow its unique Blood Soul.
Though he couldn't bestow it, Su Xiao found that he could strengthen this "Soul Manifestation's" Blood Soul. Detecting this, he placed his hand on the "Soul Manifestation." Blood energy spread from his hand, transforming into blood energy threads that pierced into this "Soul Manifestation."
As the blood energy entered the "Soul Manifestation," its internal Blood Soul immediately absorbed the blood energy and began to grow. At the same time, a notification appeared.
[You have activated Soul Manifestation: Nightmare Blood Shadow]
[Soul Manifestation: Nightmare Blood Shadow]
Affiliation: Hunter's special clone/avatar.
Power Soul: C (E-~S+ grade)
Agility Soul: C+
Body Soul: D
Wisdom Soul: D
Fortune Soul: E-
Skill 1: Blade Grandmaster (Passive, Lv.55). This ability's maximum level does not exceed the Hunter's own (i.e., maximum Lv.70).
Note: If the Hunter's Blade Grandmaster ability improves, Nightmare Blood Shadow's blade technique level cap will also increase.
Skill 2: Mad Blood Nightmare (Passive, X). All melee attacks carry blood energy erosion damage and subsequent true bleeding damage.
Skill 3: Soul Blood Resonance (Passive, X). After absorbing the Hunter's blood energy, Nightmare Blood Shadow's Power, Agility, Body, and Wisdom Souls will all improve, and at each stage, abilities will awaken.
Seeing Nightmare Blood Shadow's data, Su Xiao felt puzzled. The current situation, no matter how he looked at it, meant his spiritual body couldn't enter this "Soul Manifestation." This "Soul Manifestation" seemed to be on the verge of becoming an independent entity.
From the data, as long as Su Xiao infused blood energy into this "Soul Manifestation," its overall combat power would increase.
Regarding blood energy, Su Xiao naturally wasn't lacking. The blood energy in his body could recover at a decent rate after consumption. He decided to release a third of his blood energy and inject it into the "Soul Manifestation: Nightmare Blood Shadow."
The next instant, blood energy enveloped the "Soul Manifestation: Nightmare Blood Shadow," forming a blood energy cocoon several meters high. Hair-thin blood energy threads tightly coiled around it, forming a sharp cone shape.
After a few seconds, the blood energy cocoon's color began to fade, showing signs of depletion. The Nightmare Blood Shadow's aura within became increasingly ethereal, as if about to dissipate.
Su Xiao didn't know why the "Soul Manifestation" he constructed after obtaining the special Soul Seal was not without characteristics but was Nightmare Blood Shadow. He speculated this might be due to his soul strength of 650 points and the fact that his aura was cultivated by absorbing ancient battlefield blood energy. These two key factors led to the appearance of Nightmare Blood Shadow.
If he let Nightmare Blood Shadow dissipate now, whether he would have this opportunity again when constructing a "Soul Manifestation" later was unknown. Thinking this, he injected the remaining blood energy in his body into the blood energy cocoon.
With a large amount of blood energy, the faded blood energy cocoon immediately showed dark red coloration. Time passed minute by minute. After about ten minutes, the blood energy cocoon exploded with a bang. A figure nearly 2.5 meters tall stood in the gray mist mixed with blood energy — this was Nightmare Blood Shadow.
At this moment, Nightmare Blood Shadow held a 1.3-meter black longsword. Its upper body was bare, its lower body covered with tattered black cloth strips like a skirt. Its face wore a bone mask, and its long black hair was disheveled.
Blood energy threads connected between Su Xiao and Nightmare Blood Shadow. Seeing this, Su Xiao used spiritual fluctuations as a command, giving Nightmare Blood Shadow its first instruction: to move forward.
A chaotic spiritual fluctuation surged toward him. This spiritual fluctuation was violent, mad, and murderous, but it also passed in an instant.
If someone wasn't adept at handling blood energy, this alone would be enough to plunge them into a period of madness. But for Su Xiao, this spiritual fluctuation was just a drizzle, unable to affect his mind in the slightest.
Even so, Su Xiao saw this as a warning. The appearance of Nightmare Blood Shadow involved quite a few coincidences and randomness.
According to the records he knew, the [Greed Chapter] had existed for many years, and quite a few people had obtained it. But those who had defeated all the "Soul Manifestations" within were extremely rare — at least the author of that personal biography had never been able to defeat all 10 "Soul Manifestations" in the [Greed Chapter].
Su Xiao never thought that just because others couldn't do something, he would naturally succeed. The lessons he had learned from the [Greed Chapter] were still fresh in his memory. So he was very self-aware: using conventional methods, he really might not be able to clear the [Greed Chapter].
But now, though Nightmare Blood Shadow was sinister in every way, it might also be a possibility for clearing the [Greed Chapter]. In other aspects, Su Xiao wouldn't dare say he was stronger than all previous owners of the [Greed Chapter], but in terms of aura and soul strength, he had some confidence.
Under Su Xiao's control, Nightmare Blood Shadow moved forward. The blood energy threads connecting them grew thinner and thinner, finally converging into a single thread.
After walking about a hundred meters, Su Xiao felt the blood energy line connecting him and the Blood Shadow stretch to its maximum. If he continued, this blood energy line would temporarily dissipate, reappearing when Nightmare Blood Shadow was within a hundred meters of him.
Su Xiao tried to check Nightmare Blood Shadow's data. To his surprise, while he could view all the data earlier, now he could only see the upper part. The lower part, containing ability data, had all become blurry blood energy text that he couldn't understand. The currently visible data was:
Power Soul: B- (After releasing Blood Binding, will increase to A-)
Agility Soul: B (After releasing Blood Binding, will increase to A)
Body Soul: C+ (After releasing Blood Binding, will increase to B)
Wisdom Soul: C+ (After releasing Blood Binding, will increase to B)
Fortune Soul: E-
The so-called "Blood Binding" was the blood energy line between Su Xiao and Nightmare Blood Shadow. Su Xiao could clearly sense that when the Blood Binding existed, he could fully control Nightmare Blood Shadow in battle. But when he temporarily released the Blood Binding, Nightmare Blood Shadow would enter "fully automatic" mode.
None of Su Xiao's abilities were related to control systems. So in his view, controlling Nightmare Blood Shadow in battle wasn't the best strategy — it wouldn't bring out its full combat power.
Though there might be some risk, temporarily releasing the Blood Binding to Nightmare Blood Shadow during battles within the [Greed Chapter] was the best way to fight.
Su Xiao controlled Nightmare Blood Shadow. Under his control, Nightmare Blood Shadow gradually faded, following behind him in an invisible state.
Arriving before the ancient metal door, Su Xiao pushed open both doors.
Clack-clack-clack~
As the door opened, a circular battlefield came into view. The area was surrounded by gray upward-flowing mist walls. The ground was black rock. Above was an oversized chandelier covered in crows.
As Su Xiao walked into the battlefield, the door behind him slammed shut, locked, and transformed into upward-flowing mist walls.
Whoosh — a figure landed from above. She wore a black witch robe, a loose hood, and a ruby pendant around her neck. The witch robe's sleeves were wide. She held a long-handled war scythe in one hand and stood barefoot on the ground. This was the first witch in history: Dark Crow.
"Hoo~"
Thin cold mist exhaled from Dark Crow's mouth. The scythe's blade cut through the air with a sharp sound. Dark Crow's fingertip brushed across the scythe's edge, producing a sharp ring.
At this moment, Dark Crow stared at Su Xiao with pupils that were bright red at the center, her expression seeming to say, "You've come to die again."
Su Xiao certainly hadn't come to die this time. The next instant, Nightmare Blood Shadow appeared behind him, and he also released the Blood Binding.
Dark red blood energy suddenly erupted behind Su Xiao. A blood shadow shot out, its blade slashing toward Dark Crow's throat.
Clang!
Sparks flew. Longsword and scythe blade met. Dark red and deep purple energy dissipated, impacting the crows on the chandelier above to pieces. Broken crow feathers drifted down.
Zheng!
The sharp sound of the slash spread. Dark Crow and Nightmare Blood Shadow passed each other — but blood sprayed from Dark Crow's neck.
Seeing this, Su Xiao knew victory over Dark Crow was assured. Nightmare Blood Shadow's combat power within the [Greed Chapter] was far stronger than Dark Crow's.
The moment this thought appeared, a wind sound came head-on. Though Su Xiao was currently in spiritual body form, with his overall combat power limited by the [Greed Chapter], his combat experience and instincts remained.
Su Xiao leaned back as far as possible, feeling the blade pass before his face, even cutting a few strands of his hair.
After leaning back to the limit, Su Xiao supported himself with one hand on the ground, using arm strength to launch himself into the air. But the next instant, dark red blood energy came straight at him.
Zheng~
The blade hummed.
"!"
Su Xiao, lying in bed, suddenly opened his eyes. After staring at the ceiling for a few seconds, he raised his hand and looked at the [Greed Chapter] in his grasp. Just a few seconds ago, he had been cut down by Nightmare Blood Shadow. This thing was both powerful and had growth potential, but it couldn't distinguish friend from foe. Before defeating Dark Crow, it had come for Su Xiao.
Su Xiao wasn't concerned about this. His goal was to clear the [Greed Chapter], thereby obtaining a total of 55 Golden Skill Points and rewards corresponding to the defeated powerhouses.
As for using the [Greed Chapter] to improve combat experience — first of all, this kind of deathless combat didn't greatly improve combat experience. As a Hunter of Reincarnation Paradise, would Su Xiao lack combat opportunities? In mission worlds, combat was practically daily life. In every world, he had to fight life-and-death battles with powerful enemies once or twice, sometimes three or four times.
This also meant that if Su Xiao couldn't defeat the "Soul Manifestations" in the [Greed Chapter] in his spiritual body state and obtain rewards, this equipment was completely useless to him. As a Hunter, he truly didn't lack combat opportunities.
What Su Xiao wanted to determine now was whether, after being "killed" in the [Greed Chapter], the battle between Nightmare Blood Shadow and Dark Crow would continue.
If it could continue, then the [Greed Chapter]'s characteristics would change from personal combat equipment to equipment for cultivating the Blood Shadow's growth.
Nightmare Blood Shadow's characteristic was that after absorbing the blood energy Su Xiao released, its overall combat power would continuously grow — equivalent to having a substitute fighter whose combat power could continuously grow.
As Su Xiao was thinking, a notification appeared.
[Notification: You have defeated Soul Manifestation: Dark Crow.]
[You have obtained Golden Skill Point ×1.]
[You have obtained First Witch in History: Dark Crow's Soul (this type of complete strong soul is obtained probabilistically after defeating a Soul Manifestation).]
[You have obtained Will Crystal: Wild Hunt (exclusive characteristic material. Can be catalyzed by consuming Soul Crystals to greatly improve its quality. This item has great enhancement, exclusivity, and limitations, only having permanent enhancement and improvement effects on a single piece of equipment).]