Chapter 18: Repayment
At the center of Nightmare Island, a purple mist spread. The lantern originally carried by the Angry Shark had fallen to the ground, its faint candlelight casting onto the Candle Maiden, allowing her to fully manifest here. Such void entities were nearly impossible to destroy, especially when in a ghostly domain or nightmare.
The Nightmare King had already retreated somewhere, but that was meaningless. This nightmare domain had indeed been under his control, but after the Candle Maiden descended, it became a cage, trapping any living being inside.
Su Xiao glanced at the sacred candle in his hand and the protective zone with a five-meter radius around him. Under the pale golden candlelight, a hemispherical barrier formed, sheltering all living creatures within.
Knowing that Nightmare Island was the Nightmare King's lair, why did Su Xiao take the initiative to come here? To go to the enemy's lair and fight a one-on-one duel with an enemy at their peak strength? Of course, he wouldn't do something like that.
From the very beginning, when he chose the Angry Shark as his navigator, Su Xiao never considered a direct confrontation with the Nightmare King. Unlike his battles with the Old Knight or the Eternal God, fighting an enemy like the Nightmare King, even if he won through sheer strength, would not bring any improvement to himself.
Conversely, fighting to the death against strong opponents like the Old Knight or the Eternal God and winning allowed Su Xiao to grow stronger from the inside out. A Blade Grandmaster wasn't forged solely through resources but through countless life-and-death battles against powerful foes.
Compared to spending time and effort scheming against the Nightmare King, tricking him to Skeleton Island on the edge of the Dark Sea, and killing him for a bounty of only 400 ounces of Space-Time Power, Su Xiao preferred the risk of coming to Nightmare Island.
Under the protection of the sacred candlelight, Su Xiao looked at the Candle Maiden more than ten meters away. Her long hair was disheveled, and she wore a magnificent white robe stained with blood. Even from that distance, Su Xiao felt the approach of death.
The next moment, the Candle Maiden appeared in front of him. Her hand pressed against the barrier maintained by the sacred candle. With a tearing sound, the absolute sacred protective zone scorched her hand, but it only pushed her hand outside the barrier, failing to cause any real damage. After all, this was a sacred item meant for protection.
Inside the protective zone, Su Xiao calmly held the pale golden candle. Bubu Wang hid behind his legs, his hind legs trembling violently, his teeth chattering. His paws tightly clutching Su Xiao's leg showed just how panicked he was. Suddenly, a hand touched Bubu Wang from the side.
"Woof howl (Don't touch me!)"
Bubu nearly jumped in fright. Trembling, he turned his head to see Veronica grabbing the scruff of his neck.
"What are you all looking at me for? I'm... I'm not scared at all."
If not for Veronica's pale face, one might actually believe her.
Veronica's reaction was normal. Unless someone frequently dealt with "Daddy-level" artifacts or "Void Entities," seeing the Candle Maiden for the first time without having their soul wilt from fear meant they had exceptional courage and strong willpower.
Outside the sacred barrier, the Candle Maiden, with her dark eye sockets, stared at Su Xiao for a moment before drifting deeper into the nightmare domain, occasionally flickering forward a few meters.
After a while, a dull thud came from the depths of the nightmare domain. A massive, twisted figure appeared in the distance. Its roar caused the entire nightmare domain to tremble.
This fierce roar didn't last a few seconds before turning into a miserable scream. If someone suddenly encountered the Candle Maiden, only the most powerful Law Destroyers could confront her head-on. Beings like the Candle Maiden, the Rampaging Growth, or the Old Lord possessed intelligence but lacked thought, which was why they could exist for millions of years or even longer.
Living beings across the myriad worlds, due to their ability to think, created various splendid civilizations. Conversely, beings with the ability to think were destined to be unable to achieve immortality. Under the erosion of endless time, beings with thought, or rather emotions, would find immortality not a blessing but a torment.
Wisdom and thought were never the same concept. For example, the Rampaging Growth possessed terrifying wisdom. The advanced knowledge it mastered could not be learned or read by normal beings. Even a certain degree of reading could drive these beings to mental madness.
This also meant that comparing the strength of beings like the Rampaging Growth, the Candle Maiden, or the Old Lord with Law Destroyers or Spellcasters was inappropriate. Both sides had their own strengths.
It was more appropriate to compare the Rampaging Growth, the Candle Maiden, and the Old Lord with items like the Abyssal Jar, the Necronomicon, or the Soul Crown. All of them had existed for long ages.
Among the three "Daddy-level" artifacts Su Xiao knew, if comparing overall capabilities, the Abyssal Jar would undoubtedly be first. However, in terms of direct combat power, the Necronomicon was the undisputed champion. Last time, the Abyssal Jar lost to the Rampaging Growth. If the Necronomicon were to face the Rampaging Growth, the outcome would be uncertain.
The screams from the deepest part of the nightmare domain continued for a while. It could only be said that, as expected of the Nightmare King residing on Nightmare Island, he managed to hold out for quite a while against the Candle Maiden.
Su Xiao checked the time. The next moment, the Candle Maiden appeared outside the sacred barrier, holding a blood-stained head in her hand. Her dark eye sockets stared at the sacred candle in Su Xiao's hand. At most, it would burn out in ten minutes.
Seeing this, Su Xiao handed the sacred candle to Veronica beside him. Although Veronica was very nervous, her hand holding the sacred candle was very steady. This showed she was a subordinate who could be entrusted with important tasks.
Su Xiao took out the [Book of Doors] from his storage space and tore off a "Treeborn Page." Excluding this torn page, only three Treeborn Pages remained in the [Book of Doors].
Crack, crack, crack~
A crystal layer formed on Su Xiao's hands. He then took out a charcoal box from his storage space, poured a small section of tree roots onto the Treeborn Page, and slowly rolled it up.
A few seconds later, the Treeborn Page visibly disappeared.
Crack, crack, crack~
The sound of something growing came. Su Xiao followed the sound and saw tree roots spreading out from spatial cracks, gradually forming a circular shape. This circular hole suddenly expanded to a kilometer in diameter, pitch black inside, leading to an unknown place.
Within this massive ring of tree roots, a large mass of tangled roots floated out. After reaching above Nightmare Island, it spread its root system, spanning tens of thousands of meters, blotting out the sky. At this moment, Nightmare Island seemed insignificant. This was the Rampaging Growth!
Black-brown roots descended from above. Between these roots, the space was covered in fine cracks. The purple mist in the sky dissipated, turning yellow and ancient. An eerie aurora appeared overhead, layered and overlapping, like a scene of doomsday.
The presence of the Rampaging Growth was very intense. Staring directly at it could cause mental madness and distortion, leading to irreversible damage or even death of consciousness.
The main body of the Rampaging Growth floated above. Its roots pierced into space. The soil on Nightmare Island began to harden, turning black and becoming as hard as rock, losing all vitality.
Su Xiao, holding the Soul Crown, stepped out of the sacred protective zone. Black roots spread behind him. He looked at the Candle Maiden ahead. His eyes, glowing with blue light, told the Candle Maiden that this human was a Law Destroyer.
Su Xiao tore off half a Treeborn Page, folded it, and tossed it to the Candle Maiden.
The Candle Maiden raised her hand. Just as she was about to crush this half-page into powder, she paused slightly and finally grasped the half-page in her hand. For void entities, Treeborn Pages were rare and attractive items. This was why the Treeborn Pages Su Xiao obtained were mostly traded with the Rampaging Growth.
The Candle Maiden stared at Su Xiao with her dark eye sockets for a moment before gradually fading away. The surrounding coldness quickly receded.
As if due to the Candle Maiden's retreat, the Rampaging Growth left through the hole above. The massive hole rapidly shrank and finally disappeared completely, leaving only a small section of roots floating in front of Su Xiao.
After putting away this section of roots, Su Xiao immediately took out the [Abyssal Box], threw the Soul Crown inside, sealed it, and put the box away. He quickly removed the crystal layer from his hands and shook his numb left hand. Not only his left hand but also his left forearm was numb from holding the Soul Crown for a short while.
Su Xiao walked to the lantern half-buried in the ground, took out the [Half-Melted Fat Wax], and extinguished it with the blood of a dark god. The remaining small section could attract the Candle Maiden one more time. Unfortunately, he knew how to extinguish the [Half-Melted Fat Wax] but not the [Sacred Candle], so he had to let it burn out.
Stopping in front of the Nightmare King's remaining head, Su Xiao reached down with one hand, gathering specks of blood. He used his thumb to smear the blood of the Informant, manifested the Hunt List: Blood Pact, and erased the Informant's name with the Informant's blood.
[Hunter has successfully hunted the second enemy: Informant.]
[Due to the "Hunt List: Blood Pact's" multiple bounty + bounty correction, you will receive a total bounty of 1500 ounces of Space-Time Power.]
[You have obtained Space-Time Stone Fragment × 10 (This is an equivalent item, selling to Reincarnation Paradise will yield 100 ounces of Space-Time Power).]
[You have obtained the Talent Awakening Book: Law Annihilation (This item is condensed based on the Hunter's personal situation. This item is equivalent to 1400 ounces of Space-Time Power in this judgment).]
...
[Talent Awakening Book: Law Annihilation]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise.
Quality: Law Annihilation Exclusive.
Category: Authority Item/Talent Awakening Item.
Effect: After activating this item, the Hunter will trigger the talent awakening mission for the "Law Annihilation Exclusive Talent: Shadow Hunt." After completing this talent mission, your "Law Annihilation Exclusive Talent: Shadow Hunt" will awaken to SSS rank (talent upper limit rank).
Tip: This is the "Ultimate Ability" of the Shadow of Law Annihilation.
Warning: Based on your current comprehensive combat power assessment, do not immediately use this item to trigger the Law Annihilation talent awakening mission. At this stage, the probability of completing this mission is extremely low.
Introduction: The secret of the Law Destroyers' strength lies within. Accept the trial, go to the place where the world-destroying races roam, go to... the world called Eternal Light!
...
The awakening book worth 1400 ounces of Space-Time Power was in Su Xiao's hand. Even more absurdly, this awakening book could not directly awaken his Law Annihilation talent; it only triggered the talent awakening mission. Yet this item was valued at 1400 ounces of Space-Time Power.
Upon obtaining this item, Su Xiao didn't quite understand, but after checking its information, he understood why it had such value. The secret to many Law Destroyers becoming Absolute Strong was within. The only problem was that the talent awakening location was in the Eternal Light World.
It could be determined that to raise the Shadow Hunt talent to its peak, some device or rare resource was needed. But whatever it was, placing this important item in the Eternal Light World was very safe for the Law Annihilation faction.
As long as it was hidden well enough and not discovered by the world-destroying races in the Eternal Light World, there would be no problem. What kind of place was the Eternal Light World? Besides Law Destroyers, no one else went there. Even if others obtained the [Sealing Blade] held by the Law Destroyers, they definitely wouldn't go there.
This was also a test for the new generation of Law Destroyers. The meaning was clear: if you don't even dare to go to the Eternal Light World, how can you expect to obtain the ultimate ability of the Law Destroyers?
Su Xiao initially sorted things out. Not counting the world-destroying races imprisoned by the previous Law Destroyers in the Eternal Light World, those with direct grudges against him included the World Borer, the Silver Queen, and the Star-Clinging Crab. None of them were easy to deal with.
Especially the World Borer and the Silver Queen, both sealed in by Su Xiao himself. They hated him so much they thought about him day and night.
Su Xiao temporarily put this matter aside. As long as he was strong enough, he could go to the Eternal Light World. Besides, he always felt that without obtaining this ultimate ability of the Law Destroyers, it would be too difficult to deal with Arcane Eternal Star in the future.
Ahead, the purple mist still lingered, indicating that this nightmare domain was not maintained by the Nightmare King but was a result of the Abyss energy invasion back then. The Nightmare King had merely occupied this place.
As he delved deeper into the nightmare domain, Su Xiao found a large number of nightmare-characteristic spell formations along the way. It could be seen that the Nightmare King was cautious. Although he was extremely powerful within the nightmare domain, he had also prepared these formations in advance.
These formations were basically unused. After the Candle Maiden descended, the Nightmare King was instead trapped within the nightmare domain. The moment the Candle Maiden arrived, she turned the tables and took over this nightmare.
When Su Xiao reached the deepest part of the nightmare domain, a giant tree with a twisted trunk caught his attention. This tree was about a hundred meters tall, its top branches disappearing into the ceiling of the nightmare domain. No matter how he looked at it, this Nightmare Ancient Tree was absorbing the source power of this nightmare place to strengthen itself.
Although Su Xiao didn't know what kind of tree this was, he could determine that it was used to absorb source energy. Considering the Nightmare King's situation, the tree's purpose was not hard to guess.
The Nightmare King only had strong power on Nightmare Island. In contrast, the Black Rose and the Sand King, one controlling the Saint Lan Kingdom and the other ruling the Desert Kingdom, could only stay on Nightmare Island. The lonely Nightmare King, stuck on the island every day, was naturally unwilling. But if he left, many people were eyeing his massive resources and the [Golden Jar].
This ancient tree was the solution the Nightmare King had come up with. He used this tree to absorb the source power of Nightmare Island, filtering it, and then absorbed the source power within the tree. This way, the Nightmare King could gain unrestricted powerful strength.
To avoid losing the nightmare power of the island midway, leaving him without strong power to fight off enemies, the Nightmare King spent over a hundred years setting up the nightmare domain. Within it, he still had strong power.
Realizing this, Su Xiao felt a sense of foreboding. He approached the ancient tree and, after searching with Bubu Wang, found an entrance leading underground. Pressing a mechanism on a stone statue revealed a staircase leading down.
Descending the stairs, Su Xiao arrived at a treasure vault. It had the style of the nightmare region, but unfortunately, the shelves in the vault were empty. When he saw the ancient tree earlier, he had already thought of this: that tree was cultivated by the Nightmare King at a massive cost of resources.
After searching the entire vault, Su Xiao found three items: a simple golden jar about a dozen centimeters tall, a translucent blue crystal furnace, and finally, an already opened letter.
Su Xiao picked up the letter first. The material was special, with strong spatial properties. The content was brief:
"The betrayer brought the Awakening Stele to this world. This might cause trouble. The few of us going to find him would be suicide. You were once his subordinate, so you have the best chance."
At the end of the letter was a black rose seal, clearly from the Black Rose of the Saint Lan Kingdom, addressed to the Informant.
From this letter, Su Xiao roughly understood the relationship among the betrayers. First, the Betrayer was not only the strongest among them but also acted without considering the opinions of the other traitors. In fact, the Usurper among the six traitors was killed by him. The Nightmare King was once the Betrayer's subordinate.
In fact, not only did the Black Rose not understand why the Betrayer brought the Awakening Stele to this world, but Su Xiao also didn't quite understand why he did it. If not for the Awakening Stele, the Hunt List might not have even been formed.
The bad news now was that the Betrayer's whereabouts were still unknown. The good news was that it was confirmed the Awakening Stele was with the Betrayer, and the Black Rose and the Sand King likely knew the Betrayer's whereabouts. Otherwise, how could the Black Rose know that the Betrayer had brought the Awakening Stele into this world?
After putting away the letter, Su Xiao picked up the [Golden Jar]. He found its attributes were all ???. He could either figure out how to use it himself or consume authority level and Space-Time Power to certify it, after which he would know how to use it.
Su Xiao wasn't curious about how to use the [Golden Jar]. He just needed to figure out how to open it, pour out the large amount of divine blood inside, and then he had no interest in the empty jar.
Without even checking its attributes, Su Xiao could feel that it didn't quite match his own abilities. He could then sell the empty jar to those Golden God Cult people. This was their divine artifact and could fetch a high price.
Putting away the [Golden Jar], Su Xiao picked up the last item.
[Azure Blue Furnace]
Origin: Apocalypse Paradise (Unique)
Quality: World-Class
Type: Item
Usable Times: 1/3
Effect: After activation, it can fuse equipment with similar characteristics. During the fusion, enough rare items or precious materials must be added. The more rare items or precious materials added during the fusion, the stronger the final fused item will be.
Rating: 2800 points (Each use of this item will reduce its rating by 150 points.)
Introduction: The azure flame is the miracle.
Selling Price: This item cannot be sold after use. It has a chance to drop upon death.
...
This was likely from a ninth-rank contractor of Apocalypse Paradise who came to Nightmare Island and was killed by the Nightmare King, dropping this item. The Nightmare King didn't have a Paradise brand, so it was hard for him to figure out how to activate it.
Su Xiao had a good use for this item. He took out [World Eye × 2 (Immortal Rank Set: Special Equipment: Evolved Three Times)], [World Hunter (Immortal Rank Set: Pendant)], and [World's Affection (Immortal Rank Set: Ring)]. He planned to fuse the World Three-Piece Set and see what he got.
He placed all three items inside. As Su Xiao activated the [Azure Blue Furnace], it turned into a crystal-like sphere with azure flames inside.
Putting the activated [Azure Blue Furnace] into the team storage space, Su Xiao walked out of the vault. Although the harvest wasn't as expected, it was decent overall.
Leaving the underground vault, Su Xiao arrived at the hundred-meter-tall ancient tree. Although the tree contained a massive amount of source energy, it wasn't pure enough. Forcibly absorbing it would do more harm than good. He guessed that the Nightmare King intended for this tree to bear source fruits or something similar, and by absorbing those fruits, he would gain pure source energy to strengthen himself.
As Su Xiao was thinking, the Platinum Archbishop, the Red-Eyed Woman, the Beast Knight, and others arrived nearby.
"It seems there's no legendary resource vault."
The Platinum Archbishop looked up at the ancient tree, already understanding how it was cultivated.
"Whatever you find is yours."
Su Xiao was still looking at the ancient tree, deep in thought. Hearing this, the Platinum Archbishop and the Red-Eyed Woman began searching around, while the Beast Knight sat on a stone platform.
"Bai Ye, you didn't search thoroughly."
The Platinum Archbishop took out a wooden box from a dug-up pit. Opening it revealed a few Soul Crystals inside, likely left by the Nightmare King for emergencies.
After searching for a while, the Platinum Archbishop and the Red-Eyed Woman gave up. There was indeed nothing else to find.
After a while, Su Xiao stopped meditating. He approached the ancient tree, took out the [Bloodthirsty Battle Armor] that had already devoured the Dark Blade from his team storage space, and activated it to a certain extent.
Suddenly, the [Bloodthirsty Battle Armor] turned into a semi-fluid state, clinging to the ancient tree. The semi-metallic, semi-biological structure of the armor emitted a crimson glow, with scarlet veins pulsating as if rapidly absorbing something.
The ancient tree visibly shrank, from a hundred meters to several dozen meters. It seemed that in no time, it would be completely absorbed by the [Bloodthirsty Battle Armor]. Absorbing such a massive amount of source energy, the armor would surely catch up to the Primordial Mask.
This wasn't all. Su Xiao took out the [Plump Egg].
[Plump Egg (Special Item): After using this item, you can summon the Gluttony Clan in most worlds. The Gluttony Clan is a friendly race. They enjoy devouring nightmares, illusions, disaster zones, and similar environments. If the Hunter uses the "Plump Egg" to summon the Gluttony Clan in such locations, the Gluttony Clan will reward you with gifts of gratitude.]
...
Su Xiao crushed the [Plump Egg] with one hand. With a pop, a dreamy light burst out. A few seconds later, a colorful spatial vortex appeared above. With a sound like a giant water balloon being squeezed out, a bouncy figure landed and bounced a few times. When it steadied itself, it was a small giant-like, obese figure sitting on the ground, dressed in splendid clothes.
This small mountain of fat was a member of the Gluttony Clan, which enjoyed devouring nightmares, illusions, and disaster zones. They were neutral/friendly units.
After this Gluttony Clan member appeared, dozens more squeezed out of the spatial vortex above. They landed with the same bounciness. Some, upon finding themselves in a nightmare area, let out happy and simple laughs. Their laughter lifted everyone's spirits.
"Pop, pop, pop, pop..."
The Gluttony Clan members made popping sounds, their way of communication. Before long, the surrounding nightmare scene began to change, transforming into a magnificent palace. The ground became smooth marble. On both sides of the palace were two long rows of seats, each nearly two meters wide.
The Gluttony Clan members sat on these seats and gradually fell asleep. As they slept, bubbles slowly formed above their heads. These were the sweet dreams they produced, providing beautiful dreams for pure-hearted beings.
To some extent, the Gluttony Clan was like plants. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, while the Gluttony Clan absorbs nightmares and disasters and releases sweet dreams.
In the magnificent palace, as the last Gluttony Clan member was about to fall asleep...
"Pop, pop, pop, pop..."
The Gluttony Clan member in front of Su Xiao raised its short, thick arm, opened its palm, and revealed what was inside. Notably, its hand had eight fingers, with dense, flesh-colored suction cups on the palm.
[You have obtained Plump Egg (Special Item).]
[You have obtained Nightmare Pointer (Immortal Rank: Special Equipment).]
[You have obtained Dream Creation Stone × 3 (Immortal Rank Item).]
...
[Dream Creation Stone (Immortal Rank Item): After use, you can create a sweet dream/nightmare/purgatory nightmare lasting 3 to 5 hours and drag the spiritual bodies of 1 to 3 targets into this dreamscape (If the target's spiritual body dies in the dream, the target's physical body will only experience a period of mental fatigue and other states, not death).]
...
[Nightmare Pointer]
Origin: Nightmare Region: Gluttony Clan.
Quality: Immortal Rank.
Category: Special Equipment.
Durability: 20/20 points.
Equipment Requirement: Willpower 180 points or more, Sanity Value 350 points or more.
Equipment Effect: Pointer (Active). This pocket watch has only one hand. When activated in a nightmare region, you can choose between two options: Treasure or Escape Route.
Tip: After activating Treasure, the watch's hand will always point toward the treasure within the nightmare region.
Tip: After activating Escape Route, the watch's hand will always point toward the exit of the nightmare region.
Tip: This item can be used a maximum of two times in each nightmare region. Attempting a third use in the same nightmare region will permanently damage this item.
Tip: Each use consumes 1 point of equipment durability. Cooldown is 1 hour.
Rating: 1500 points.
Introduction: A protective item gifted by the Gluttony Clan to a friend. With this, one will not get lost in nightmares.
Price: 10 ounces of Dream Essence.
...
Su Xiao walked out of the palace. As he left, the last Gluttony Clan member also fell asleep, and the palace's massive doors slowly closed.
Outside the palace, Su Xiao looked up at the sky. Compared to when he arrived, the purple mist spreading across the island seemed slightly thinner. It was likely due to the Gluttony Clan devouring the nightmare, bringing about this change.
[Tip: Because the Hunter summoned the Gluttony Clan, this large nightmare region is expected to completely disappear in 30 to 50 natural days. After this large nightmare region disappears, this world will no longer generate nightmare mist, thus preventing the world from being corroded by nightmare mist.]
[Tip: A few days ago, the Hunter eliminated the indestructible Abyss Spawn that had invaded this world.]
[The Hunter's various actions will receive repayment from this world.]
[The Hunter has received a blessing from this world. This blessing does not come from Reincarnation Paradise.]
[While in this world, the Hunter's Luck Attribute will be temporarily increased by 10 points.]
[While in this world, the Hunter's chest drop rate is increased by 21%.]
[World Reputation +45 points (5 points higher than a normal World Child, 10 points lower than a World Savior).]
[Because your World Reputation in this world is 5 points higher than the World Child, while in this world, if you kill the World Child, you will not trigger any world causality, nor will it cause world rejection.]
[While in this world, when the Hunter interacts with others, you will receive a 35-point negotiation correction judgment.]
[Tip: Due to the Hunter's personal Charm Attribute, this correction will only take effect in very few situations.]