Chapter 4: Su Xiao Holds Too Many Original Sin Objects
Original Sin Objects have always appeared alone. Even in a place like the Soul Library, only three Original Sin Objects were sealed. In contrast, Su Xiao alone carries three of them.
With these factors combined, as long as he doesn't open an Original Sin Object from an Abyss Chest, but instead encounters one in some dangerous area, Su Xiao doesn't need to worry at all. That Original Sin Object might even take the initiative to keep its distance from him out of disgust.
Currently, the reason the [Soul Crown] and [Nether Bone Ring] haven't eroded the Crow Woman's soul is that they detected her connection to Arcane Eternal Star and intend to use it to reach that place.
Su Xiao is naturally delighted by this. Hopefully, this time he can send these two big shots away. He never believed he could go head-to-head with an Original Sin Object. While holding an Original Sin Object, the slightest negligence leads to total defeat. He can seal an Original Sin Object countless times, but if he fails just once, all his hard-fought efforts to this day vanish into smoke, along with his life.
Su Xiao never fears dying in a life-or-death battle against a powerful enemy, or dying in some dangerous area like the Root of Dead Silence City. But the one thing he absolutely doesn't want is to die from the erosion of an Original Sin Object.
Su Xiao took out an injection gun and other items. After adjusting it, the injection gun pierced the Crow Woman's side neck. Feeling the coolness of the medicinal agent being injected, she said calmly, "Pretty cautious, poisoning me this time..."
The Crow Woman stopped mid-sentence because she realized this didn't seem like a poison, but a recovery potion. The dull pain in her internal organs from being beaten earlier was gradually recovering, and even her breathing became smoother.
Under the Crow Woman's astonished gaze, Su Xiao injected her with several more potions. Before long, the Crow Woman, dumbfounded, felt the chronic injuries she had accumulated from long-term training gradually healing. Her right shoulder, which often ached even after recovering from a serious injury, felt relaxed. At this moment, the Crow Woman was completely bewildered. But upon second thought, she guessed what was going on and said:
"Give it up. I'm not going to defect to you."
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. After adjusting the infusion speed, he put away all the various treatment devices. Finally, he took out a round canister that looked like an extractor, pressed it against the Crow Woman's heart, and activated it. Before, he couldn't do this, but after mastering Sealcraft, he had some confidence.
Su Xiao was no beginner in Sealcraft. Alchemy already contained knowledge in this area. Now, after learning advanced knowledge, his Sealcraft level was actually quite high. Plus, with the strict "supervision" of several Original Sin Object "teachers," if he didn't master it quickly, he really wouldn't live long.
As Su Xiao activated the extraction device, the Crow Woman's vision instantly went black, and she fainted. A few minutes later, when she woke up again, she found Su Xiao sealing an [Elemental Soul Imprint] into a container. This [Elemental Soul Imprint] was precisely the means by which the high-ranking members of Arcane Eternal Star controlled the Crow Woman's life and death.
Although Arcane Eternal Star must have more than just this one method to prevent the Crow Woman from betraying or escaping, this was definitely the hardest to remove.
The current situation made the Crow Woman even more confused. Not only had all her hidden ailments and chronic injuries healed, but even the [Elemental Soul Imprint] had been removed. Her mental state had never been better. If she could also get rid of the two Original Sin Objects, it would be so good it felt like a dream.
Was Su Xiao helping an enemy? Of course not. When you need someone to do something, never let them fall into despair. Instead, give them hope, the stronger the better.
Just now, for example, after acquiring the two Original Sin Objects, the Crow Woman was ashen with despair. With Original Sin Objects on her, numerous hidden injuries from past battles, and being bound by the [Elemental Soul Imprint], she was naturally hopeless. But now, her eyes were lively and alert, because she was no longer willing to give up her life.
While putting away the various devices, Su Xiao paused, looked at the Crow Woman leaning against the giant tree, and said, "Are you planning to have dinner before you leave?"
Hearing this, the Crow Woman vanished from the spot in a flash. A moment later, Su Xiao said, "Is the signal stable?"
"Woof."
Bubu Wang, who had blended into the environment, appeared. The terminal held in his two dog paws displayed the Crow Woman's first-person perspective. They could even hear the sound of her breathing as she ran.
Bubu Wang adjusted the terminal and handed it over. Su Xiao watched the Crow Woman's first-person perspective for a while before putting the terminal away. With this channel, he might be able to glean some secrets of the Sea Clan faction.
When Su Xiao left the forest and arrived at the Lord Team's assembly point, he found the team members had already lit a large bonfire. Not far away, stacks of alloy boxes were piled up. These alloy boxes, sealed with spatial technology, contained a total of over 2,000 tons of Energy Crystals.
Even unrefined Energy Crystals, not yet processed into [Active Crystal Resin], cost over 1,000 gold coins per ton. That meant these Energy Crystals were worth over 2 million gold coins.
This was only about half a day's output from the Crystal Forest. Excluding the Crystal Forest's dormant period at night, over a year, the Crystal Forest could produce resources worth billions of gold coins.
Previously, in the transaction with Grand Commander Kane, he had only taken out 2,000 gold coins. This gives an idea of the purchasing power of gold coins. It also explains why Ergin and the others had stared blankly at the sight of Sordo (gold coins) earlier, and why Ergin spending 20 gold coins to have a good time for a whole morning was such a luxurious affair. Or rather, the common people of the Beast Clan basically never used such large denominations unless they were buying property or something.
Where Ergin spent those 20 gold coins to have fun, spending 20 Sordo in one morning was no small feat. This also explained why the Lord Team members had previously been willing to go to an underground contract master for just 10 gold coins, trying to find a way to break their contracts.
If Grand Commander Kane knew that the 2,000 gold coins he allocated to Su Xiao were spent so easily, he would definitely be livid. Those 2,000 plus gold coins were meant for Su Xiao to recruit Beast Clan soldiers and purchase weapons, armor, and the like.
As it turned out, those 2,000 gold coins were well spent. Now, 2 million gold coins were about to be in hand.
Su Xiao stopped by the bonfire, looking at Evil Fang, who was lying hunched over on the alloy boxes, clutching his stomach with both hands, his body twitching occasionally, and letting out groaning sounds. Baha, on his shoulder, naturally saw this too and asked:
"What's wrong with Evil Fang? Seriously injured? Doesn't look like it."
"Uh... well..."
Viper's tone was hesitant, finally forcing out the word "poisoned."
Examining Evil Fang's pupils and tongue coating, Su Xiao frowned. Evil Fang seemed to have been poisoned by snake venom, a neurotoxin at that. The most puzzling thing was that the snake venom wasn't injected into the bloodstream. It seemed more like Evil Fang had drunk or eaten this potent poison. Because the poison was so virulent, it had penetrated the stomach, causing the organs to be poisoned first, resulting in the current symptoms.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao couldn't help but wonder if one of their own had poisoned Evil Fang.
Viper, knowing he couldn't hide it, began to recount the incident. It wasn't internal strife or poisoning. During the previous battle, Viper had poisoned and killed an enemy Sea Beast. He hadn't paid much attention to it, not even bothering to look at the beast's appearance. But after the battle, Evil Fang had swallowed the Sea Beast's Deep Sea Pituitary Gland, claiming that eating it raw could tonify the kidneys. Whether it could tonify the kidneys was still unknown, but getting poisoned was a certainty.
"Sir, save me~"
Evil Fang said weakly. Hearing this, Su Xiao tossed him a bottle of antidote and told Amu to drag him far away to pour it down his throat. For the next few hours, Su Xiao didn't want to see this idiot.
Taking all the spoils, they headed back. Su Xiao hadn't expected such a harvest this time. The reason was that in the past, when Sea Clan transport convoys were ambushed and the battle turned unfavorable, they would destroy the alloy boxes. These were sealed with spatial technology, and a strong attack would cause them to explode. This meant that previous ambushes on transport convoys rarely left any supply crates behind.
The reason for the bountiful harvest this time was that the Lord Team's combat power completely overwhelmed the enemy. After a devastating kill, the enemy fled in panic. Out of a total of 120 alloy boxes, only 16 were destroyed.
Additionally, including the faction mission, Su Xiao had gained a total of 3,275 Reputation Points, bringing his Reputation Points to -12,205.
It seemed like a long way to go, but as long as he had enough gold coins, recruiting members wouldn't be a problem. Or rather, it wouldn't be recruiting members but buying them.
Iron Fort City naturally wouldn't have a slave market. No one in the Beast Clan would dare to do such a thing. But what about outside Beast Clan territory? Or even better, in the lawless zone west of the main battlefield.
In the Black Mist Gobi, west of the main battlefield, there was an abandoned ancient city. The city walls looked dilapidated, and the city was filled with ruins. But beneath the surface, there was another world. It was an underground city, its core building being the Underground Market.
Where did the Beast Clan and Sea Clan prisoners go? Given the level of hatred between the two sides, negotiation was impossible. Thus, the existence of the underground market was fostered. It seemed like a slave trade, but if any slave merchant dared to sell Beast Clan or Sea Clan members as slaves, they would be asking for trouble.
The Beast Clan and Sea Clan were using this method, by tacit agreement, to ransom their captured warriors and commanders. If a slave merchant got cocky and actually treated these people as slaves, the consequences would be dire.
Of course, members of tribes and various small and medium-sized forces who ended up here were genuinely bought and sold as slaves. In this era of constant warfare from the very beginning, the law of the jungle had persisted until now.
Su Xiao's plan was to first return to Iron Fort City, deal with the Energy Crystals obtained this time, then go to the underground city to ransom a batch of Beast Clan leaders and high-ranking leaders. With this group, he would then go and trouble the [Eldest Son of the Abyssal Dragon].
The so-called [Eldest Son of the Abyssal Dragon] was actually the first offspring of the [Abyssal Dragon]. However, due to severe Abyss erosion, it had become exceptionally violent and ferocious, even devouring its own younger brother. Eventually, it was banished by the [Abyssal Dragon] to this world.
Because the [Eldest Son of the Abyssal Dragon] was so heavily eroded by the Abyss, it sometimes didn't even move in its Abyssal Dragon form but transformed into a large mass of black fluid. Many years ago, the [Eldest Son of the Abyssal Dragon] had swallowed an entire city of a medium-sized force. When it left, not even the bones of the city's inhabitants remained.
The [Eldest Son of the Abyssal Dragon] wasn't exactly a native beast of this world, but when it spread its wings in its Abyssal Dragon form, it had a wingspan of several hundred meters. Those tattered, dark dragon wings didn't affect its flight speed. It could not only carry all the Lord Team members but also be a formidable combatant once the battle started.
Although it was impossible to imprint a permanent summoning contract with the [Eldest Son of the Abyssal Dragon], Su Xiao could still imprint a temporary control contract over it. The only problem now was that when the [Eldest Son of the Abyssal Dragon] was in its prime, there was no way to imprint a summoning contract. It could only be done when it was weakened to a certain extent, meaning it had to be beaten half to death first.
It was unlikely to subdue the [Eldest Son of the Abyssal Dragon] in one or two attempts. Su Xiao estimated that taking it down in three to five attempts would be a pleasant surprise.
This was also an opportunity. The Lord Team was currently a mixed bag, and with sufficient gold coins now, he could supplement the team's numbers through the underground city. Fighting to the death against the [Eldest Son of the Abyssal Dragon] would also serve to weed out the weaker members of the Lord Team through battle, allowing the Lord Team to evolve into a Boss Team.
Once it developed into an ultimate Boss Team and successfully contracted the [Eldest Son of the Abyssal Dragon], he could then target areas like [White Hoof Port], [Ancestor Lighthouse], and [Floating Light Island].
Su Xiao's current goal was [Floating Light Island]. After some investigation and combining known intelligence, he estimated that Wolf Grave had a 60% chance of being on this island. The problem was that [Floating Light Island] was no longer in the main battlefield area but on the edge of Sea Clan territory. Without sufficient combat power, he couldn't go there.
When the Lord Team returned to Iron Fort City, it was already past nine in the evening. Su Xiao first contacted Kaiser. Upon learning that there were spoils to sell, Kaiser promised to arrive within half an hour. But when he found out the spoils were over 2,000 tons of Energy Crystals, in the blink of an eye, Kaiser was already there, feeling up the alloy boxes.
Su Xiao didn't ask if Kaiser had a way to open these alloy boxes. Others might not, but Kaiser, as long as the benefits were right, this kind of thing was his specialty.
Why was the mission reward for ambushing the transport convoy only a little over 1,000 Reputation Points? Considering the intercepted Energy Crystals were worth over 2 million gold coins.
This was because, after the transport convoy was ambushed, if they couldn't win, they would destroy these spatial alloy boxes. Not to mention forcibly opening them, even a space-type contractor trying to open them had less than a one in ten thousand chance of success. The spatial imprints on these alloy boxes were, simply put, password recognition.
"My dear friend, these supply crates are too hard to open. I need to pay a huge price, so... a 20-80 split."
Kaiser meant he would take 80%, and Su Xiao would get 20%.
"30-70 split."
Su Xiao countered, meaning he would take 70%, and Kaiser 30%.
After some bargaining, they finally settled on a 50-50 split. Once that was agreed upon, Kaiser started working. He first put the Abyssal Jar on his head, merging man and jar. Then, he took an iron bucket from his storage space. Inside was a viscous, transparent, unknown liquid, somewhat resembling the mucus of some giant creature.
The Snake Girl standing behind Su Xiao, upon seeing this viscous liquid, instinctively wrinkled her face. For some reason, she felt a physiological discomfort.
After a series of wild gesticulations, Kaiser first took off his shoes, then his socks, and threw the socks into a somewhat leaky juicer. Then he added the viscous, semi-transparent liquid, sealed the lid, and started the juicer.
"Ugh~"
The Snake Girl instinctively dry-heaved, left a "Lord, I'll go out first," and hurriedly ran out of the garrison hall. It seemed her mind had been impacted. Ergin, sitting on the sofa, had a tense face, seemingly negotiating with his own stomach.
After Kaiser's ordeal, he finally poured a kind of shit-yellow viscous juice onto the surface of the alloy box. With a hissing sound of corrosion, the spatial imprints on the alloy box quickly failed. Kaiser tried to open it. With a bang, a large amount of Energy Crystals gushed out, burying Kaiser inside.
Late that night, transport vehicles drove into the courtyard one after another. When everything was done, Kaiser delivered 10 large boxes of gold coins, totaling 100,000 gold coins, and nine dark gold cards. These were savings cards from the Ten Thousand Beasts Bank, each representing a deposit of 100,000 gold coins. They could be used to withdraw money from the Ten Thousand Beasts Bank without needing a password or identity verification.
With a large sum of gold coins in hand, Su Xiao took out his communicator and contacted the Spotted Fox Clan member, Piru. Since recruiting this person and bringing him to Iron Fort City, Su Xiao had asked him to find a way to reach the underground city in the Dark Gobi and make contact with the underground market there. Now it was time to test the Spotted Fox Clan member, Piru.
As the communicator connected, Piru's voice came from the other end: "Lord Bai Ye, everything is ready here. The situation here isn't as complicated as expected. You can come anytime."
Hearing this, Su Xiao hung up the communicator and ordered the departure for the underground city in the Dark Gobi. Before leaving, he replenished his armor and weapons.
This time, things went exceptionally smoothly. Lord Feizi seemed to know nothing about it. The reason was that the Energy Crystals obtained this time were actually all purchased by Lord Feizi with Iron Fort City's funds. With the Sea Clan currently occupying the [Crystal Forest], the Beast Clan was naturally very short on Energy Crystals. Lord Feizi, holding this batch of resources, could do a lot with it.
Early the next morning, Su Xiao arrived at the Dark Gobi. This place must have been an Abyss erosion zone in the past; otherwise, the sky wouldn't be so dim so early in the morning. Considering that the [Ancient Ruins] were not far from here, it made sense that this area had been invaded by the Abyss.
Passing through the ruins, Su Xiao came to a wide, descending staircase. At the bottom, guards in black armor, their auras concealed, blocked the way. It was hard to tell if they were Beast Clan or Sea Clan.
After a while, a similarly dressed figure, but short and stout, came out from inside. After saying something to the guards, they opened the door and let Su Xiao pass.
Through a wide and deep passage, the view suddenly opened up. A train passed by in front. The pedestrians on the street were dressed in various styles, some Beast Clan, some Sea Clan. Contrary to rumors, the underground city wasn't a completely lawless place. It had its own unique set of rules, which allowed many civilians to settle here.
Su Xiao naturally didn't bring Ergin and the others to the underground city. He only brought Bubu Wang and Baha. Ergin and the other Beast Clan members were waiting a few kilometers away from the Dark Gobi.
"Sir, this way."
The Spotted Fox Clan member, Piru, appeared from somewhere, dragging a drooping tail as he walked. His peculiar gait made one suspect his tail was fake.
"Sir, I've figured out the situation. There are two types of slaves in the underground city market. One is fighters, all Sea Clan and Beast Clan. The other is servants."
Hearing this, Baha asked, "What's the difference between fighters and servants?"
"The difference is huge. The cheapest fighter costs at least 5 gold coins to ransom, and there's no slave contract. The fighter you ransom will only serve you for one year. It's essentially hiring them for a year. During that time, whether the fighter follows your orders or not, you have no right to punish them."
The Spotted Fox Clan member, Piru, emphasized this point, saying, "And not just anyone is qualified to ransom fighters. Of course, Lord, you don't need to worry about that."
The fighters Piru mentioned were actually captured Beast Clan or Sea Clan warriors or commanders. They were captured because they were defeated or surrendered. Being sold as slaves, they had no complaints. But if they were genuinely bought as slaves, that would be a big problem. Furthermore, there was an iron rule in this market: Sea Clan couldn't buy Beast Clan slaves, and Beast Clan couldn't buy Sea Clan slaves.
As they chatted, the underground market approached. When Su Xiao walked in, he felt a wave of hot air, followed by a stuffy heat.
The underground market was an underground space of tens of thousands of square meters. A huge gas lamp hung high above. Walking into the front section of the market, Su Xiao saw iron cages on both sides of the aisle. The slaves in the cages were of many races, all wearing metal collars around their necks, with docile and obedient eyes. These were real slaves. Where the slave merchants had caught them was anyone's guess.
As they moved forward, the large iron cages gradually disappeared, replaced by steps. Beast Clan and Sea Clan members, with lazy or violent expressions, sat on the steps on both sides. They were mostly injured, with symbolic shackles on their ankles.
Not far in, after some negotiation by the Spotted Fox Clan member, Piru, a pot-bellied Red Dwarf walked over. The man said with a full-faced smile, "Mr. Bai Ye, please show me your identification."
"..."
Su Xiao took out his Lord Emblem. Seeing this, the Red Dwarf's smile became even more enthusiastic, and he produced a list.
After flipping through the list, Su Xiao found that ransoming a Beast Clan elite cost 20 gold coins, a Beast Clan leader cost 400 gold coins, and a Beast Clan high-ranking leader cost 1,500 gold coins.
This price was ridiculously high. In the front area of the market, buying a slave with the strength of a high-ranking leader cost only about 300 gold coins.
Currently in a phase of being flush with cash, Su Xiao spent 30,500 gold coins to ransom 300 Beast Clan elites, 50 Beast Clan leaders, and 3 high-ranking leaders. This made the Red Dwarf grin from ear to ear.
There was no need to sign contracts or anything. The Beast Clan members Su Xiao ransomed had their shackles removed. These Beast Clan members followed behind Su Xiao as they walked out of the market.
Leaving the underground city without any trouble, on the desolate Dark Gobi, Su Xiao sat on a several-meter-tall strange rock. The 300-plus Beast Clan members in front stared at him with wide eyes.
"This... Lord, what should we do next?"
A Wild Beast Clan member spoke, prompting the other Beast Clan members to start whispering among themselves.
"According to convention, you will serve me for one year."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the Beast Clan members present all agreed. Even those with gloomy expressions didn't deny this. After all, Su Xiao had spent tens of thousands of gold coins to bring them out of the underground city.
"But one year is too long. How about we change it?"
"That sounds good! Lord, what should we change it to?"
Most of the Beast Clan members showed happy expressions, but a few looked worried.
"How about changing it to helping me fight one battle?"
Hearing this, the previously harmonious atmosphere instantly turned cold. A Minotaur asked, "May I ask, Lord, who are we going to fight? The Sea Clan? We're all good at that."
"No, I want you to besiege and kill the Eldest Son of the Abyssal Dragon."
As soon as these words were spoken, the 300-plus Beast Clan members suddenly fell silent, leaving only the sound of the wind on the Dark Gobi.
"Don't look so glum. Anyone who doesn't want to come with me can leave now. Iron Fort City is that way."
Su Xiao took out a Soul Crystal, bit off a piece with a crunch. He was relatively well-off lately, so he could afford to taste the flavor of Soul Crystals again.
For some reason, none of the Beast Clan members got up. They just looked at each other, no one wanting to be the first to act.
"If you come with me to besiege the Eldest Son of the Abyssal Dragon and we succeed, each of you will get 1,000 Sordo on the spot."
Su Xiao's words made the Beast Clan members even more hesitant. They now believed they could really leave at any time, without having to serve this Lord for even a second. But if they stayed, there was a chance to get a reward of 1,000 gold coins.
A few seconds later, a mixed-blood Elf stood up and left. After walking a long distance, he turned to look back. No one was chasing him. This made him immediately start running at full speed. But for some reason, he ran slower and slower, slower and slower, until he finally stopped in place.
An hour later, Ergin and the others arrived to join up. Including them, the Lord Team's member count had grown from over 100 to 430, and all of them had the strength of at least a [Leader Rank].
Target: Dark Salt Lake. Beat the [Eldest Son of the Abyssal Dragon] into submission.