Chapter 71: Reward Bonus
Su Xiao walked among the massive bookshelves within the Soul Library. The more he understood this place, the more he felt it was as vast as a small world. The little sprites living here were the indigenous inhabitants. They had few worries, their daily tasks being to clean the library and maintain the books within.
Not only that, these little sprites didn't have to worry about enemies attacking or anything like that. The Ancient One and the Spider Lady were both Absolute Strength powerhouses, and the octopus-headed old man at the entrance, the Administrator, was also not to be trifled with.
Besides these three, there was also the Soul Elder responsible for managing the top floor of the library. Although he often slept, being able to hold such an important position in the Soul Library meant he must have been a formidable figure in the past.
Guided by a little sprite, Su Xiao soon spotted a massive figure among the towering bookshelves. The figure was over ten meters tall. Its lower body was a colorful spider abdomen with aesthetically unique chitinous legs, while its upper body was a relatively large humanoid torso, similar in build to the Ghost Clan Queen he had once fought.
The Spider Lady had a head of creamy white hair. The hair wasn't just waist-length; it draped down onto the spider abdomen below, with a few strands of silky hair even touching the smooth marble floor.
Her pupils were blood-red vertical slits, indicating she didn't have a good temper. However, her languid demeanor suggested that time had tempered her once violent personality into something relatively gentle. Her beautiful, iridescent spider abdomen indicated that the Spider Lady had once been a master of poison, though she rarely used it now.
At this moment, the Spider Lady's hair formed two arms. One hand held a book nearly a meter tall, while the other was used to turn the pages. Her actual hands were occupied: one holding afternoon tea, the other gently stroking a scar on her neck.
The scar was clearly from a slashing wound and faintly emitted a fluorescent blue glow. This feeling… it seemed like a wound inflicted by a Law-Destroying Blade.
Noticing this, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Beini all turned around and retraced their steps, leaving the leading little sprite utterly bewildered.
The Spider Lady, who was perusing an ancient text and sipping afternoon tea, glanced sideways. Seeing the backs of Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Beini, she curled her red lips into an elegant smile and said:
"What does the grudge between the First Generation and me have to do with you, a young Law Destroyer? Or do you think I would take out my anger on you just because you're both Law Destroyers?"
Her tone was slow and languid as she flipped through the book. Hearing this, Su Xiao stopped.
"As a Law Destroyer, you might actually be able to accomplish one thing."
The Spider Lady spoke words that were hard to understand.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak, waiting for her to continue.
"The Eternal Light World, which you Law Destroyers used as a prison, holds an old friend of mine. People call him the Molten Giant. As a Law Destroyer, if you go to the Eternal Light World to inspect the sealing formations and incidentally rescue my old friend… You should know something about my situation. With the Ancient One and the Soul Elder watching me, I can't leave here."
With that, one of the Spider Lady's strands of hair flicked, tossing a piece of blazing red crystal shard. She continued:
"This might be a coincidence, or perhaps my old friend isn't fated to die. A Law Destroyer has come to the Soul Library. Besides you Law Destroyers, I really can't think of anyone else who would go to the Eternal Light World."
"..."
Su Xiao still didn't speak. Even as a Law Destroyer, he wouldn't go to the Eternal Light World. That place was indescribably dangerous. More importantly, dangerous beings like the World Devourer and the Silver Queen had been personally sealed there by him.
"This commission…"
"Don't say it. You'll go. You're a Law Destroyer. Thinking you won't go to the Eternal Light World? Don't overthink it. It's not me forcing you; it's you yourself… who must go. You'll understand then."
The Spider Lady's eyes were full of amusement, as if certain that Su Xiao would go to the Eternal Light World.
"If you have any problems in the library in the future, you can come to me. Go now. You should be very curious about the collections on the top floor. There are many good things there."
With that, the Spider Lady continued reading her ancient text.
Su Xiao looked at the blazing red crystal shard in his hand. He had once wanted to find the Molten Giant, one of the three legendary blacksmiths, to have him forge the [Bloodthirsty Battle Armor] into a unique piece of defensive gear. However, the later changes to the [Bloodthirsty Battle Armor] made him abandon that idea.
Now, learning that the Molten Giant was in the Eternal Light World, Su Xiao had no desire to find him. For others, the Eternal Light World was a nightmare realm filled with World-Destroying clans. For Su Xiao, it was a place filled with World-Destroying clans hostile to him, because all those clans had been sealed there by previous generations of Law Destroyers.
Even more terrifying was the hierarchy among the World-Destroying clans. This had turned the Eternal Light World into a crucible, where the surviving clans were the most dangerous of all.
The Abyss Spawn undoubtedly held a top position there, firmly established as the big boss.
Speaking of the Abyss Spawn, Su Xiao, walking among the massive bookshelves, opened his skill list to check a newly acquired ability. This ability was called [Demon Spirit Awakening].
[Demon Spirit Awakening: Lv.EX (Unique Skill)]
Passive Effect: Fully awakens the Blade Demon Spirit within Dragon-Slaying Flash. For the subsequent 30 seconds, the Blade Demon Spirit will enter a "Frenzied Devouring State." During this time, if it attacks an Abyss Spawn with an Indestructible trait whose health is below 10%, the Blade Demon Spirit will devour the Abyss Spawn's Primordial Life Force and seal it within Dragon-Slaying Flash (this devouring requires Dragon-Slaying Flash to be at least Origin Rank to proceed; otherwise, Dragon-Slaying Flash cannot serve as a sufficiently sturdy container to seal the Primordial Life Force of an Indestructible-trait Abyss Spawn).
Tip: After completing the devouring and sealing, the Blade Demon Spirit will begin to consume the sealed Primordial Life Force of the Indestructible-trait Abyss Spawn until it is fully digested. The absorbed Primordial Life Force during this period will be used to permanently increase the maximum quality limit of Dragon-Slaying Flash and the strength of the Blade Demon Spirit.
Tip: The devouring and digestion time is generally 3 to 10 days (the specific time depends on the strength of the Indestructible-trait Abyss Spawn and the strength of the Blade Demon Spirit). During this period, the Demon Blade ability of Dragon-Slaying Flash will be temporarily unavailable.
...
This ability was specifically designed to deal with Abyss Spawn. Ordinary Abyss Spawn were manageable, but some possessed Indestructible traits. Even if killed and burned to ashes, they would reappear a few days later.
Against such extremely troublesome Abyss Spawn, Dragon-Slaying Flash's usually unstoppable Demon Blade execution ability was useless. Complete immunity to execution was a unique trait of this type of Abyss Spawn.
These Abyss Spawn weren't just immortal and indestructible; they also had powerful erosion, assimilation, regeneration, and corrosion properties. Fighting a prolonged battle with them was a death sentence. If you couldn't eliminate them in a few exchanges, you were likely doomed.
Previous generations of Law Destroyers often dealt with these terrifying beings. Since execution was ineffective against them, they would briefly put the Blade Demon Spirit into a "Frenzied Devouring State" to devour the Primordial Life Force of such Abyss Spawn. The Blade Demon Spirit would then slowly digest this Primordial Life Force, completely eliminating these terrifying Abyss Spawn while strengthening Dragon-Slaying Flash.
The ability to deal with this type of Indestructible-trait Abyss Spawn was one of the reasons the Law Destroyers were renowned across the myriad realms. If they had only been locked in a death struggle with Spellcasters, they wouldn't have gained such fame.
This ability, named [Demon Spirit Awakening], was usually useless. But without it, encountering an Indestructible-trait Abyss Spawn would be a disaster.
Guided by the little sprite, Su Xiao walked for over half an hour before reaching the spiral staircase at the center of the library. The staircase was made of metal, giving a sense of solidity and security. It spiraled around a dark purple metal pillar. As Su Xiao walked up the stairs, he felt a vague familiarity with the pillar.
The feeling was hard to place at first, but soon he understood. An item in his storage space was resonating: the [Eternal Scepter], a supreme treasure from the Transcendent Primordial World of the Gloomy Continent.
He had never figured out what the [Eternal Scepter] was for, but now its emitted waves were somewhat similar to the pillar, though with different specific characteristics.
This led Su Xiao to think about the top floor of the library, where three "Daddy Rank" artifacts were sealed—Abyssal Original Sin Objects. If that was the case, the dark purple metal pillar around which the spiral staircase wound might be one of the methods for sealing those three "Daddy Rank" artifacts, perhaps even the core of the seal.
Following this logic, even if the [Eternal Scepter] wasn't used to seal "Daddy Rank" artifacts, it was likely a means to suppress Abyss energy. Considering that the Gloomy Continent had once been invaded by the Abyss, its supreme treasure, the [Eternal Scepter], being used to suppress Abyss energy made perfect sense.
Just then, the spiral staircase ended. Su Xiao stopped on a landing. Two heavy, gray metal double doors blocked his path. In the center of the doors was a badge-shaped recess. He took out his library badge and pressed it into the recess.
Click-clack~
Mechanical sounds came from both sides of the metal doors. Then, eyes opened on the doors. These vertical pupils all shifted their gaze, scrutinizing Su Xiao. After confirming he was a recorded guest of the Soul Library, the eyes closed, and the doors to the top floor clicked open.
As soon as he entered the top floor, steady snoring reached him. Su Xiao looked toward the sound and saw an enormous head. The head was at least ten meters in diameter. Due to its immense size, it couldn't maintain a relatively normal shape, looking like a soul-blue jellyfish floating there.
This massive head belonged to the manager of the top floor, the Soul Elder. He was a Soul Grandmaster renowned in the void before the Law Destruction Era. For unknown reasons, he later retired to the Soul Library.
The Soul Elder was sound asleep, snoring, with a kind and gentle expression on his face. He floated there, as if he had been sleeping for many years.
"Hello, guest. No need to disturb this old fellow. If you need anything, just ask me. I am the Elf Boboli, the current Elf Supervisor of the Soul Library. All the elves here are under my command. In the future, I will definitely be the king of the Elf Kingdom. Don't think that just because my brother is the king now, it will stay that way. If my father hadn't been blind and chosen that guy, I would be the king now. Why should he be the king of the Elf Kingdom?! Am I not better than him in every way?..."
Little Elf Boboli's speech got faster and faster, eventually turning into a rapid-fire elvish language.
"The king should be me!"
Little Elf Boboli looked at Su Xiao indignantly, as if Su Xiao had been the one who chose his brother as the Elf King.
"..."
Ding~
Su Xiao flicked a Soul Coin. He had some understanding of the little elf race. Generally speaking, they were a kind-hearted and simple-minded race. Their world had a connected passage to the Soul Library. For them, working in the Soul Library was an honor.
Of course, with the several Absolute Strength powerhouses in the Soul Library, no one dared to bully the little elves in their world. They didn't develop technology and had little interest in the supernatural. Their favorite thing was cultivating various trees. As a result, in their world, aside from the oceans, the continents were mostly forests. They lived in the forests, coexisting harmoniously with other creatures. It was no wonder the Absolute Strength powerhouses of the Soul Library had chosen the little elf race as their servants.
As Su Xiao flicked a Soul Coin, Little Elf Boboli immediately shut up. He pounced on the coin, hugging it, and suddenly said, "Right this way, sir."
"Cough~"
Bubu Wang, who was drinking juice, choked, and a stream of juice shot out of his nose.
To say the little elves were greedy wasn't quite accurate. They didn't care about the value of Soul Coins or what they could buy; they simply liked the coins themselves.
Guided by Little Elf Boboli, Su Xiao passed through a corridor lined with eyes on both walls before arriving at the storage area for ancient texts and scrolls.
"Guest, to make it easier to assign cleaning and organizing tasks, we elves have divided the top floor into three zones. The first zone is where we are now. The bookshelves here hold ancient texts and scrolls. If we continue forward, we'll reach the second zone, which stores Oath Objects."
"Oath Objects?"
"Guest, have you never seen our library's Oath Objects before? They're all good things. Unlike Abyssal Original Sin Objects, when you obtain an Oath Object, you must establish a restrictive oath with it. The strength of this oath's restriction determines the power and effectiveness the Oath Object will have in your hands. The harsher the oath's conditions and the greater the restriction, the more powerful the Oath Object. There was once an Oath Object whose oath was 'Cannot continue to exist as a living being.' As long as someone who was originally alive made this oath with it, the power it could unleash was not much weaker than an Original Sin Object..."
Little Elf Boboli enthusiastically introduced the Oath Objects, clearly knowledgeable on the subject. After explaining for a while, he changed the subject:
"Finally, there's the third zone. That's where we basically never go. Three Original Sin Objects are sealed there. Guest, you must never get involved with Original Sin Objects in the future. Be very careful about this."
"Mm."
"If you encounter an Original Sin Object, turn and run. It's not shameful. Especially if you encounter the three Original Sin Objects: the Abyssal Jar, the Necronomicon, and the Soul Mask. You absolutely must not get involved with them. Of course, guest, you won't be that unlucky."
"..."
Su Xiao looked at Little Elf Boboli but said nothing.
"When it comes to dealing with Original Sin Objects, you must be very careful."
Little Elf Boboli started chattering again. Overall, this little elf was warm-hearted. Aside from being a bit talkative, he was fine in other aspects.
"Guest, you're from the Paradise faction. Would you like me to open the authentication rights here? This area has been authenticated by the Void Tree."
"Sure."
"Alright, then I won't disturb you, guest."
Little Elf Boboli flew to a bookshelf, picked up a medal, and activated it.
[Tip: You have arrived at the Soul Library · Top Floor.]
[You currently have 315 Library Silver Coins.]
[You can preview the knowledge carriers or items collected on the Soul Library's top floor through the following list.]
[Ancient Text/Scroll List.]
[Oath Object List.]
[Abyssal · Original Sin Object List.]
...
Su Xiao first opened the [Abyssal · Original Sin Object List], only to see three lines of question marks. The prompt indicated that he held fewer than 500 Library Silver Coins and did not have the authority to access the Original Sin Objects here.
As for Oath Objects, Su Xiao wasn't interested in them for now. He simply opened the Ancient Text/Scroll List. The next moment, a long list appeared before him.