Chapter 21: Transformation
The night wind howled past Su Xiao's ears high above. The Storm Flame Dragon descended through the clouds, landing on a lake island. Given the dragon's flight speed, this location was already far from Kus City where the asylum was located.
As soon as it landed, the Storm Flame Dragon plunged its head into the spring on the island, gulping down water until it was full. Its draconic eyes scanned the surroundings, and finding no one else present, it even let out a satisfied burp, quite at ease. It seemed it didn't maintain its cold and proud demeanor 24 hours a day.
Su Xiao walked down from the dragon's back along its wing. He sat on a strange-shaped rock, looking at the Storm Flame Dragon before him.
"It seems you're unwilling to assist me in battle against powerful enemies."
Su Xiao spoke. Hearing this, the Storm Flame Dragon snorted, sparks flying from its nostrils. Don't forget, it possessed not only storm power but was also a Flame Dragon. The gale and dragon flame complemented each other, making its dragon flame even more terrifying.
"Since you're unwilling to help me fight, then leave."
As Su Xiao spoke, he manifested the soul imprint of the Storm Flame Dragon. With a crack, the soul imprint shattered. The Storm Flame Dragon, which had been looking down at him, froze for a moment, then its vertical pupils filled with barely contained ecstasy. Even though it was usually ferocious and aloof, it couldn't suppress its wild joy at this moment.
"ROAR!!"
The Storm Flame Dragon roared, turned, and was about to fly away. But possessing intelligence no less than that of humans, it suddenly hesitated. It wasn't reluctance to leave the one who had nurtured it, but rather a trait common to all dragon-kind: suspicion.
The Storm Flame Dragon's vertical pupils narrowed as it looked at Su Xiao. Its tongue, covered in barbs, licked its sharp fangs. It glanced again at the distant darkness, which represented freedom but also too many unknowns.
"You're a Overlord-level creature now, but at most you're at the early stage of Ninth Rank Overlord. Alliance's Tessa is stronger than you. Holy Light God of Saint Lan Kingdom is stronger than you. Abyss Leader Silvis of Ghost Soul City is stronger than you. The Grand General of the Northern Border is stronger than you. The Platinum Bishop of the Sun Church is stronger than you. In this world, there are many more powerful than you."
As Su Xiao spoke, he took out Xia's recipe book and flipped to the dragon section. Ever since Xia cooked the Stir-fried Evil God Heart with Hot Peppers, Xia's culinary recipes had been heading in a bizarre direction.
"The best part of a dragon isn't the tenderloin or leg meat, but the belly meat. Marbled with fat and lean, slow-simmered for hours, it melts in your mouth without being greasy. Not great with alcohol, but perfect with rice."
Su Xiao tapped Xia's recipe book. The Storm Flame Dragon across from him began to narrow its draconic eyes, appearing angry, but in truth, it was already panicking inside. It could clearly see that the recipe book was genuinely researching how to cook dragons. What kind of terrifying person would create such a dreadful thing?
"Compared to your meat, your 'Storm Core' is actually more coveted. You wouldn't understand 'Origin Rank,' so let me put it in terms you can grasp. In this world, there are no more than five fingers' worth of rare treasures equivalent to this 'Storm Core.'"
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the Storm Flame Dragon's savage draconic eyes became a bit clearer when looking at Su Xiao.
"Do you think a Overlord creature can just fly freely over Alliance airspace? Without my soul imprint, if you keep flying, within six hours, you'll either end up on a dinner table or be sent to the asylum under my jurisdiction, locked in the deepest level of the dungeon."
Su Xiao leaped onto the Storm Flame Dragon's back. The dragon took off, heading toward the Great Swamp region, intending to fly out of Alliance territory.
Time passed during the flight. About half an hour later, an explosion came from diagonally below. In the night, a man with wings on his back and long white hair flew up. From his aura, though slightly weaker than Tessa, he was undoubtedly a strong individual.
The white-haired man saw the Storm Flame Dragon and his eyes flashed with hostility. He was about to summon his subordinates to deal with this Overlord creature that had intruded into Alliance territory and was recklessly flying over Alliance cities, when he noticed a figure sitting on the dragon's back.
The white-haired man focused his gaze and recognized Su Xiao on the dragon's back. He raised his hand in greeting. The two had met before at the Parliament building.
Su Xiao nodded in acknowledgment. Seeing this, the white-haired man descended and returned to the city he was stationed in.
On the flight back to Kus City, the Storm Flame Dragon was locked onto by the Alliance's aerial guard barrier multiple times. Along the way, it encountered four more powerful individuals with flight capabilities. Finally, while passing over Sotos City, it nearly got shot down by Tessa's order to use Iron Blood Heavy Cannons.
When the Storm Flame Dragon landed in the backyard of the asylum, its draconic eyes held a hint of confusion. The reason was that this world was far more dangerous than it had imagined.
"This is the soul imprint. Choose for yourself."
Su Xiao manifested the soul imprint again. The Storm Flame Dragon hesitated for a few minutes before swallowing it in one gulp. The next moment, the soul imprint reintegrated into the dragon's soul body.
Seeing this, Su Xiao took out a half-meter-long, 10-centimeter-thick container column made of active resin. Inside was pure Storm Dragon blood, along with dragon race life energy concentrated to the point of forming tiny crystals.
This Storm Dragon blood could permanently enhance the Storm Flame Dragon's overall combat power. Where did such powerful Storm Dragon blood come from? The answer was that this was originally a material, which Su Xiao had exchanged using his Hunter authority, but only 10 milliliters. Its origin was the Ninth Rank top-tier Overlord creature: Storm Demon Dragon.
Previously, when nurturing the Storm Flame Dragon, a large amount of this Storm Dragon blood had been used. The reason there was so much was due to enhancement by Abyss energy. But as a cost, after using this Storm Dragon blood, the Storm Flame Dragon's vitality would be massively overdrawn. This was the dual nature of Abyss enhancement: on one side, enhancement to the limit; on the other, reduction to the limit.
To counter this, Su Xiao had formulated the dragon race life energy concentrated to fine crystal levels. As the Holy Flame Alchemist, this was naturally no challenge for him.
Long ago, Su Xiao had understood one thing: the Abyss was not entirely negative. For example, after Abyss energy receded from an invaded region, that area would begin producing massive resources.
If the Abyss were compared to night, then elemental power would be day. Was the existence of night itself negative and malicious? Of course not. Without the coolness and moisture of night, plants and animals would die under endless daylight. Only the alternating existence of night and day could bring about thriving life.
Su Xiao checked the team storage space. There were still three large portions of Storm Dragon blood inside. Before entering this world, he had already prepared to nurture a Storm Dragon. Or rather, it would be a waste not to use the Origin Rank [Storm Core] for nurturing a Storm Dragon.
Su Xiao returned to his office. He had nurtured the Storm Flame Dragon to have a Dragon Rider state. The problem was that the Storm Flame Dragon was extremely unruly. In such a situation, forget about the Dragon Rider state—even getting this Flame Dragon to assist in combat was difficult. Now, this issue was resolved.
Having dealt with this matter, Su Xiao had more confidence in his upcoming battle against Holy Light God. If Holy Light God had no flight capability, he would use the Dragon Rider state to deal with him. If Holy Light God did have flight capability, then it would be the enhanced Blood Smoke Cannon + Dead Silence Annihilation.
Su Xiao took out the [Golden Jar] from the team storage space. After some research, he finally figured out how to open it. This item was left by the Deer God. What kind of deity was the Deer God? Fifth on the Void Grudge List, the honey badger of the deity system. When his temper flared, he would even go head-to-head with the Underworld God.
Back then, for this world to reach a consensus with Doom Star to prevent Ancient Gods from entering, the Deer God played a major role. In other words, the Deer God was the face of the neutral/friendly faction deities.
The treasure left by the Deer God in this world, the [Golden Jar], was very much in the Deer God's style. Its main body was the jar, and the seal on top—the lid—was added later by the Deer God. This was a test. To open this jar, one had to use pure physical strength to pry it open, without using any active abilities. Only the most pure physical strength would do.
Su Xiao estimated that at least 300 points of True Strength attribute were needed to open this thing. Reaching over 300 points in a physical attribute was the most difficult barrier to break through within the Ninth Rank. Over 90% of Contractors were stuck at this stage. For some Ninth Rank Contractors, this was their final limit, unable to grow any stronger.
To break through the 300-point upper limit barrier, one first needed to obtain an [Iron Forge Invitation]. With this item, one could undergo the Iron Trial. After completing the trial, physical attributes could exceed 300 points.
The first problem was that the [Iron Forge Invitation] was an extremely rare item. After Su Xiao obtained his [Iron Forge Invitation], he learned one thing: even if he no longer wanted it, he could only sell it back to Reincarnation Paradise, not through any other means, nor could he discard it. The price for selling this item to Reincarnation Paradise was 6,530 ounces of Space-Time Power.
Don't think that obtaining the [Iron Forge Invitation] meant passing this hurdle. What truly made Ninth Rank Contractors give up was the terrifying danger level of the Iron Trial, plus the fact that the trial content varied from person to person.
For example, Su Xiao's Iron Trial as a Law Destroyer was to go to the Eternal Light World. Although other Ninth Rank Contractors wouldn't receive such a terrifying trial mission, one could still imagine the difficulty of the Iron Trial.
In simple terms, crossing this stage meant being very close to Mage Sage Seraphilia, Fierce Wind King, Old Demon Wobor, White Bull, Holy Maiden Seat, and others.
There was still some distance to the Underworld God, Blade Demon, Immortal Old Man, and Deer God, but not particularly far.
As for the distance to Tuanzhang and the Supreme Being, there was an even more difficult bottleneck to overcome.
Su Xiao placed one hand on the [Golden Jar]. Those powers he once could only look up to were no longer far from him. But for now, opening the [Golden Jar] was more urgent.
Relying purely on physical strength to open this thing would take too long. Moreover, sometimes one couldn't rely solely on strength but needed to use one's brain. Knowing that the lid of the [Golden Jar] was not part of its main body, Su Xiao had many ways to open it.
Su Xiao took out a small glass column. Inside the solution were several completely black eyeballs. These were naturally not biological eyeballs, but "Dark Eyes" made through the Eye Ritual.
Don't underestimate these few "Dark Eyes." These were the strongest "Dark Eyes" Su Xiao could make. Their energy came from Kaiser—more precisely, through Kaiser, obtaining extremely pure Abyss energy from the Abyssal Jar.
Using large amounts of Abyss energy would bring unknown risks. But if used in small quantities, especially stored in the form of "Dark Eyes," the risk of use was greatly reduced.
Su Xiao wasn't sure about the Deer God's divine power in terms of techniques, but he estimated that it probably couldn't block Abyss energy-enhanced alchemical techniques. The alchemy Su Xiao currently mastered had already surpassed the pharmaceutical branch included in Alchemy. This was the "Pharmaceutical Master: Advanced Edition" he bought from the Soul Library for 307 Library Silver Coins.
It wasn't that Alchemy was weak, but that Alchemy encompassed many branches of knowledge. "Pharmaceutical Master: Advanced Edition" focused on one point, summarizing and merging all pharmaceutical civilizations. Its upper limit naturally exceeded the pharmaceutical branch of Alchemy.
Su Xiao manipulated a "Dark Eye" to fly out. He held his hands as if grasping something, and the "Dark Eye" between them began to dissolve. As he pulled his hands apart, the black liquid between them formed a palm-sized circular technique.
He manipulated this technique to imprint it on the lid of the [Golden Jar]. This wasn't to erode, but to enhance the lid's strength.
Such an artifact would certainly have anti-erosion or anti-inscription measures, but very few would guard against enhancement. To make an analogy, people worry about losing money when going out, but no one would guard against others stuffing money into their pockets, thus sealing their pockets. The current situation was basically the same as this analogy.
As expected, the dark attribute enhancement succeeded. The lid of the [Golden Jar] became even more indestructible. Now, even with True Strength attribute over 300 points, one might not be able to pry it open. The lid had turned black.
Su Xiao took out a black semi-fluid mass from his storage space. This was:
[Dark Devourer]
Origin: Gloomy Continent / Reincarnation Paradise.
Quality: Immortal Rank.
Category: Special Equipment.
Durability: 30/30 points.
Equipment Requirement: 240 points or more in Stamina attribute, 160 points or more in Willpower.
Equipment Effect: Slow Devour (Passive) - Can slowly devour dark attribute items.
Equipment Penalty: Backlash (Passive) - Each use of this equipment has a chance to cause Charm attribute decline.
Rating: 1500 points (Immortal Rank equipment rating is 1000~1500 points).
Introduction: A peculiar mass of black substance.
Su Xiao placed the [Dark Devourer] on the lid of the [Golden Jar]. Sensing the dark attribute of the lid, the [Dark Devourer] began to slowly devour it.
By dawn the next day, Su Xiao, who had been dozing in his chair, opened his eyes. He looked at the [Golden Jar] on the table and found a small hole at the edge of the lid. It would take a few more days to devour the entire lid.
Taking out a crystal container and placing it on the table, Su Xiao picked up the [Golden Jar] and tried to pour its contents out. He had obtained this item because of rumors that the Deer God stored the source blood of the evil gods he had killed inside this [Golden Jar].
As Su Xiao tilted the [Golden Jar], a golden-red divine source blood poured out into the crystal container on the table.
When Su Xiao had emptied the [Golden Jar], he estimated that there were about 40 ounces of divine source blood in the crystal vessel. He sealed the vessel, picked it up, and walked into the bedroom.
Su Xiao had Amu guard the door, Baha guard the window, and Bubu Wang watch from the sidelines. There was indeed nothing for it to do at the moment.
Su Xiao began to lay out a formation on the bedroom floor. To ensure summoning and teleportation power, he based it on the Demon Teleportation Array formation, then inscribed summoning techniques, and finally perfected it.
After doing this, Su Xiao took out a gem. This was the [Fate Stone]. Although it was a Holy Spirit Rank gem, it had been blessed by the Goddess of Fortune and had a certain causal relationship with her. Now, Su Xiao planned to use this item as a coordinate to summon the Goddess of Fortune to this world. He estimated this was highly feasible. Previously, when she had entered his mission worlds multiple times, it showed she had this capability.
Placing the [Fate Stone] at the center of the formation, Su Xiao activated it. For the first few seconds, the formation showed no reaction. But after waiting a few minutes, with a *bo* sound, a golden ripple spread out.
"Law Destroyer, I sensed your summon and came..."
The Goddess of Fortune's arrival was very much in the style of a friendly deity. But after responding to Su Xiao's teleportation formation, with a *boom*, the Goddess of Fortune appeared. She sat sideways on the floor with a serious expression, negotiating with her stomach. Seeing this, Bubu Wang handed her a vomit bag.
"Ugh~"
The Goddess of Fortune grabbed the vomit bag with both hands, unable to hold back and began vomiting. It seemed her negotiations with her stomach had failed. After a while, having cleaned up in the bathroom, the Goddess of Fortune, though still a bit pale, had regained her ethereal goddess demeanor.
"You... you trying to kill me?"
The Goddess of Fortune spoke with lingering fear. She had really thought Su Xiao was going to break his promise and kill her for her Fortune Divine Blood. That teleportation process, no matter how she experienced it, felt like a trap. But upon arriving, she saw on the floor beside her a Demon Teleportation Array with signs of multiple uses. This confirmed it wasn't a trap—these guys used this kind of teleportation array on a daily basis.
"You guys... use this thing regularly?"
Hearing this, Baha laughed and said, "Yeah, it's got that teleportation feel."
"Why though? The teleportation experience is terrible. Even the Demon race doesn't use it anymore."
"We have quite a few enemies. This teleportation can't be blocked by anyone. No spatial interception possible."
"Well... the logic is sound, but... doesn't it make you sick every time you use it?"
"You get used to it. Once you're used to this thing, normal teleportation arrays feel soft and weak, lacking punch, not quite right."
Hearing Baha say this, the Goddess of Fortune was speechless. But she firmly stated that next time Su Xiao summoned her, there was really no need to use such a powerful teleportation array. She would respond to his summon. Just set up a simple summoning formation and put the [Fate Stone] on it.
"What did you call me for this time?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He took out the crystal container with over 40 ounces of divine source blood. Seeing this, the Goddess of Fortune's eyes went wide. She said:
"After I went home last time, I looked through all the records left by my predecessors, the previous Fortune Goddesses. I found a method to convert Fortune Divine Blood. Absorbing non-attribute divine blood is feasible, but it's too wasteful. At most, 10 drops generate 2 drops of Fortune Divine Blood. One of my predecessors, she was... um... quite good at fighting. She obtained evil gods' divine blood and converted it into Fortune Divine Blood..."
The Goddess of Fortune was a bit excited. Su Xiao raised his hand to stop her excitement, telling her to get to the point concisely.
"Simply put, I release my most original divine soul, my Divine Soul, and use it to convert non-attribute divine blood into Fortune Divine Blood. With this conversion method, 10 drops of non-attribute divine blood can convert into about 3 drops of Fortune Divine Blood. But there's a problem. I became the deity in charge of fortune by relying on this Divine Soul. I can die, but the Fortune Divine Soul will never be extinguished. Even if it's destroyed, as long as the concepts of fortune and fate exist, a new 'Fortune Divine Soul' will slowly condense. Whoever obtains it has the chance to become the new deity in charge of fortune."
Having said this, the Goddess of Fortune lightly tapped her forehead with her index finger. A golden orb appeared for an instant before fading back.
"Oh, I see. In other words, your Divine Soul has the ability to convert divine blood. The risk is that while you release your Divine Soul to convert non-attribute divine blood, if the Divine Soul is seized, you're no longer the deity in charge of fortune?"
Baha's words made the Goddess of Fortune nod. Seeing this, Baha spread his wings, and an alternate space instantly swallowed the bedroom.
Crack, crack, crack~
Ice covered everything. Amu reinforced the alternate space barrier again.
Su Xiao released nearly a third of his Cyan Steel Shadow Energy, using it to construct a complex Devouring Core. Remember, his Devouring Core ability had reached X.
The Devouring Core activated, absorbing all the divine source blood from the crystal container, beginning purification and filtration. After this process, seeing such pure divine source blood, the Goddess of Fortune prepared to release her Divine Soul.
"..."
Su Xiao glanced at the Goddess of Fortune, frowning slightly. He planned to filter it at least five times before letting her convert it. This concerned Fate Dominator; there could be no room for error.
With a *crack*, the previous Devouring Core shattered. A new Devouring Core formed, beginning the second filtration of the 40-plus ounces of divine source blood.
When Su Xiao filtered and purified this divine source blood for the fifth time, and the newly replaced crystal container below was filled with divine source blood, the Goddess of Fortune was astonished to find that the divine blood inside had become translucent light red, pure beyond imagination.
"It's ready."
Su Xiao pushed the crystal container toward the Goddess of Fortune. Looking at the non-attribute pure divine source blood in the container, she held her hands as if grasping something, and a golden orb appeared in her hands. This was her Fortune Divine Soul.
The non-attribute pure divine source blood in the container was drawn up by the Divine Soul, enveloping it. Before long, this non-attribute pure divine source blood began to transform into a light gold color. But during the transformation, 70% of the non-attribute pure divine source blood was consumed, evaporating into smoke.
Three hours later, the Goddess of Fortune opened her eyes, simultaneously retracting her Divine Soul into her heart. Between her loosely held hands floated a mass of golden Fortune Divine Blood that constantly changed shape. Seeing this Fortune Divine Blood, she was both so happy her body trembled slightly and felt a strong sense of defeat. She had accumulated for so many years, yet only gathered over 50 drops, and had previously given away 10.
But now, this mass of Fortune Divine Blood, as pure as what she had slowly accumulated over the years, must be at least 12 ounces.
Su Xiao raised his hand. The golden divine blood floating before the Goddess of Fortune flew toward him. He took out two crystal containers, divided it into two portions, and sealed them.
"You're really going to..."
The Goddess of Fortune stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing—this was a Law Destroyer.
"..."
Su Xiao tossed about 6 ounces of Fortune Divine Blood to the Goddess of Fortune. She caught it with both hands.
Ignoring the Goddess of Fortune, Su Xiao took out Fate Dominator and immersed it in the Fortune Divine Blood in the container.
Su Xiao observed the situation inside the crystal container. Fate Dominator was slowly absorbing the golden Fortune Divine Blood. To be precise, calling it blood wasn't quite accurate; it was a type of divine original energy. This time, Fate Dominator would definitely be upgraded to Origin Rank, and at least full-rating Origin Rank.
On the other side, the Goddess of Fortune opened the seal of her container. Her fair hand reached inside. The moment she touched the golden divine blood, which was 100% compatible with her, her divine body absorbed it. Her pupils faintly showed a light gold color, and her hair floated without wind.
After a while, the Goddess of Fortune absorbed all the divine blood in the crystal container. When she opened her eyes, she suddenly felt this was all a bit unreal. She had accumulated for so many years, though she often traveled to various worlds to play, yet in all those years, she had only gathered over 50 drops of divine blood. This time, her Divine Soul had been enveloped by divine blood. Calculated in drops, she had increased by over 3,000 drops of Fortune Divine Blood this time.
"If there's nothing else, I'll go back first. Next time we meet, I'll bring you a treasure from my home."
"There is something."
Su Xiao wasn't ready to let the Goddess of Fortune leave just yet. He was about to deal with Holy Light God. If he won, he could obtain a certain amount of divine source blood.
Baha explained the plan to deal with Holy Light God. The Goddess of Fortune was stunned for a moment, then said, "You're going after this guy? I can help you."
"How?"
"I can make him unlucky."
"Huh?"
Baha looked the Goddess of Fortune up and down, about to say something, when the Goddess of Fortune crouched down, silently mouthing something, then drew a circular pattern. Immediately, Baha received a notification.
[Notification: Your Luck attribute is temporarily reduced by 20 points. This effect lasts for 48 hours.]
Receiving this notification, Baha's eyes went wide. After the Goddess of Fortune tapped her finger, Baha's debuff disappeared.
"Your ability... can the effects stack?"
"Of course. I'm definitely the Fortune Goddess with the most Fortune Divine Blood in history."
After saying this, the Goddess of Fortune felt incredibly satisfied. And indeed, she was now the Fortune Goddess with the most Fortune Divine Blood in history.
No sooner had the Goddess of Fortune said this than she heard a creaking sound of a door opening. This surprised both Bubu Wang and Baha. They were inside multiple barriers. They all looked toward the door being pushed open.
"My dear friend, the coordinate position you sent me wasn't quite accurate. I almost couldn't lock on."
In his jar-man fusion state, Kaiser walked into the barrier with a somewhat sneaky demeanor. Earlier, when Su Xiao first entered this world, he had used his Hunter authority to casually send Kaiser the world coordinates. At this point in time, Kaiser had apparently completed his tasks early in another world and had nothing else to do, so he tracked the coordinates here.
At this moment, far away in the Divine Domain of Saint Lan Kingdom, Holy Light God had no idea that he had been targeted by the Goddess of Fortune, a Law Destroyer, and the Arbiter Kaiser.