Chapter 59: The Old Beast King
Towering crystalline blue trees stood tall, their dense branches bearing needle-like leaves resembling pine needles. Due to frequent gnawing on these crystalline leaves, insects with fluorescent blue bodies fluttered about everywhere, lending the place an ethereal beauty. This was indeed the Crystal Forest, one of the two major supernatural resource zones in this world.
However, the scene deep within the Crystal Forest at this moment resembled a hellscape. The elite legions of both the Beast Clan and the Sea Clan had just clashed here that morning. The final outcome was that the Beast Clan, at the cost of over half their casualties, had seized this resource zone, ensuring the Sea Clan would have no claim to this place for at least several years.
Drip, drip~
Blood droplets that had yet to congeal dripped from the crystalline needles, landing on a broad-bladed battle axe. The owner of the axe, who was enjoying his lunch, noticed this and wiped away the bloodstains with his large hand. This weapon, after all, was forged by the most legendary blacksmith in this world.
"Big brother, you still have the heart to eat lunch? Second brother's fate is unknown right now. If he dies, none of us will have it easy."
The frowning Viper spoke, his silver-black battle armor giving him a sinister, treacherous vibe of a wolf in sheep's clothing.
"If Harvey dies, isn't that better?"
Ergin sucked the charred, fragrant grease mixed with blood from his index finger, still savoring it. He picked up a small knife and poked at the sea beast meat roasting over the fire.
"Better? Better how? Better for taking a beating? Or better for losing our heads?"
Hearing Viper mention the word "beating," Ergin's previously pleasant mood suddenly turned cloudy, accompanied by a faint ache in his lower back and legs...
"Viper, did we really win? Did we truly drive the Sea Clan out of the Crystal Forest?"
"You... what do you mean?"
Viper's vertical snake pupils narrowed slightly. Though he understood Ergin's implication, some words he dared not speak aloud.
"As I see it, even though the Sea Clan has been driven back, the situation in the Crystal Forest remains precarious. We need to station troops here, for a long time."
Hearing this, Viper hesitated before asking, "What if the Lord summons us back?"
"Viper, you need to understand that the Lord's decisions aren't always completely correct. I believe that as long as our persistence is justified, the Lord won't punish us. Don't you agree?"
At the end of his words, Ergin looked at Viper with a smile in his eyes. If Viper dared utter a single word of dissent now, Ergin would ensure he never left the Crystal Forest.
"Yes, yes, yes. The Lord will understand our difficulties."
Viper, ever the weathervane, was quick to agree with Ergin. Just then, a messenger ran over swiftly, reporting to Ergin and Viper that Harvey had been rescued. After taking a secret medicine, he would recover in ten to fifteen days with no major issues.
Upon hearing this news, Ergin's eyes narrowed slightly. He had seen Harvey's injuries. Given the level of healers in the legion, it was almost certainly a fatal wound. However, the kneeling messenger soon answered Ergin's doubts. One of Harvey's trusted subordinates had rushed to Twilight City at top speed to retrieve a secret medicine with a preservation period of only a few hours, administering it to Harvey and saving his life.
Not only that, but the trusted subordinate had also brought something from the Lord's estate. The person who sent it had instructed that it must be delivered into Ergin's hands.
With some curiosity, Ergin opened the envelope. He actually guessed the contents of the letter inside—nothing more than leverage he had deliberately exposed.
Ergin had worked painstakingly to reach this point, finally free from the domination of the man who was like a nightmare to him. This man had shown him kindness and mentorship, yet was also his greatest fear. Now, this most fearsome existence could only use the weaknesses Ergin had intentionally left behind. This realization made it hard for Ergin to suppress the smile spreading across his face. He opened the envelope and tipped it, but what fell out was not a letter—it was a photograph.
This puzzled Ergin for a moment. He pulled the photo out halfway, then shoved it back inside.
Viper, sensing something unusual, probed, "What's this?"
"Such good news as capturing the Crystal Forest—I should personally return to report to the Lord."
"Huh? You just said..."
"I said nothing just now. No, as the Lord's most loyal subordinate whom he personally promoted, I must go back to see him now."
"?"
Viper was completely baffled. Before he could speak, Ergin had already strode off toward the nearest teleportation array to return to Twilight City.
...
The gas lamp in the study flickered uncertainly. Su Xiao put down the battle report he was reading and looked up at Ergin across from him. "This was hard work. What do you want?"
"My Lord, I want nothing. To be able to follow you is already more than enough for me."
Ergin's face was stern, showing none of the rebelliousness that had been growing earlier.
Why had Ergin rushed back in such a hurry? The reason was that the photograph sent earlier was an aerial view of Frost Snow City, the implication being clear—the position of Frost Snow City's City Lord.
On the surface, Ergin now commanded the Winter Legion with considerable authority, but that wasn't entirely true. After all, Ergin was merely a commander. Moreover, the legion under his command consumed a terrifying amount of supplies daily, meaning that no matter how rebellious Ergin grew, he dared not betray the Beast Clan.
The Lord was a first-tier power holder, directly under the Beast King, while the City Lord was second-tier. The Commander was third-tier. Ergin, obsessed with power, naturally coveted the position of City Lord. If he could control several elite legions while becoming the City Lord of the Winter Territory, his power would approach that of a Lord.
"I've spoken with the old City Lord of Frost Snow City. He's old and frail, no longer fit to serve. So I've decided..."
Hearing this, Ergin couldn't suppress the smile blooming on his face. Hadn't he first captured White Hoof Harbor, then attacked Floating Light Island and more, all for this moment? Now, he had finally achieved his wish, transitioning from a commander fighting on the front lines to a power holder in the Beast Clan.
"So I've decided to let Viper serve as the City Lord of Frost Snow City."
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Viper, who had been gulping down tea in the back, choked so badly that tea sprayed from his nostrils. He pointed at himself in disbelief and asked, "My Lord, you mean... me?"
"Yes."
Upon receiving the clear confirmation, Viper perfectly replicated the smile that had just bloomed on Ergin's face.
Ergin's smile froze on his face. A wave of desolation washed over him, but he quickly smiled again, lowering his gaze without saying more, his eyes dim.
"There's one more thing. Recently, the old Lord of the Demon Horn Territory was executed by order of the Old Beast King for secretly colluding with the Sea Clan's Council of Elders over many years. Since it's right next to our Winter Territory, I sent people to handle it. The situation there is unstable. As the Grand Commander, I should go personally, but I've been very busy lately."
Su Xiao opened a drawer and took out the Lord's Ring of the Demon Horn Territory, playing with it between his fingers. As if struck by a thought, he asked, "Ergin, I heard the situation in the Crystal Forest is unstable, and you're quite busy?"
Hearing this, cold sweat broke out on Ergin's back. These were words he himself had spoken earlier.
"Absolutely not, my Lord. I estimate that the Sea Clan won't dare covet the Crystal Forest for several years."
"Oh, is that so."
Su Xiao looked at Ergin with a kind gaze. It was this very gaze that had haunted Ergin's nightmares countless times—the gaze of domination.
This made Ergin feel that even if he one day ascended to the position of Grand Commander, being targeted by this gaze would still make his heart tremble. The shadow was ineradicable.
"Then let you be the Lord for now."
Su Xiao tossed the Lord's Ring onto the table. Ergin hesitated for two seconds, confirming this wasn't a test, before picking up the ring. The desolation in his heart vanished, replaced by a blazing ambition.
After sending everyone out, Su Xiao sat alone, leaning back in his chair. The territory evaluation had now reached S-rank. Maintaining this was sufficient. Reincarnation Paradise wasn't occupying this territory for its own sake—that would be meaningless for the Paradise faction. What mattered was establishing a stable world coordinate to allow workers to be teleported to this world.
Though the main mission was complete, one problem remained, gnawing at Su Xiao like a fishbone in his throat. Within this world, he still had an enemy. If he didn't deal with this person, he wouldn't dare face the Old Beast King in a life-or-death battle.
Just as Su Xiao was weighing whether to pay some price to resolve this matter, a Contract Parchment suddenly appeared beside him. On the mark-covered parchment, contract text began to appear like brands from fire—this was the Violator, Bephry, making her move.
After seizing 8.75% of the Initial Mark, Su Xiao had planned to ignore this Violator. But judging by the current situation, having lost the Initial Mark, the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Using the contract medium she had left behind, she launched her retaliation.
This suddenly appearing Contract Parchment was Su Xiao's contract defense measure, somewhat like a firewall. When someone attempted to remotely sign a contract with Su Xiao, this defensive contract would appear first to block it.
More precisely, this thing was like a contract proxy or a contract shield.
After watching this defensive contract for a while, Su Xiao took out a blank Contract Parchment. Since Bephry wanted to clash, Su Xiao would find her a place to show off her skills.
A short while later, a contract was drafted. Its content was that the Violator, Bephry, would pay 100 Soul Coins to go to the Eternal Light World. After drafting this, Su Xiao looked at the contract beside him.
Contract text was still rapidly appearing on it. Judging by the clauses, Bephry's contract methods were quite ruthless, aiming to finish off her opponent in one go. This called for criticism of Bephry's immaturity in contract matters—the harsher the clauses, the harder to finalize the contract. One should use the number of clauses to gradually achieve the goal.
After waiting a while, Bephry finally finished drafting various clauses on the contract. Only one step remained: signing the names of Su Xiao and Bephry at the bottom of the contract. Then the contract would take effect.
But after waiting a long time, the contract only haltingly produced the character for "Bai" in "Bai Ye." Seeing this, Su Xiao manifested a contract pen and, in a subtle way, helped Bephry complete the contract.
Next came Bephry's signature. Su Xiao peeled off the signature area, moved it above the signature area of the Eternal Light contract, pasted it on, and then made this piece of Contract Parchment intangible.
This resulted in Bephry, who was supposed to sign her name on the trap contract, signing her name on the Eternal Light contract instead. The content was simple: she was willing to pay 100 Soul Coins as a ticket to the Eternal Light World.
After Bephry's signature appeared on the Eternal Light contract, Su Xiao attempted to submit this contract to the Void Tree for notarization. Since she had signed it herself, the success rate was high.
Sure enough, after a brief evaluation, the contract was notarized. One had to say, someone paying to go to the Eternal Light World was truly a first.
Meanwhile, in the Sea Clan's main city, Bottom City, Back Street, on the second floor of a small inn in the slums, Bephry let out a long breath and said with a hint of pride, "Little Ge, you see, your big sister's contract skills are reliable, right?"
With a snap, Bephry flicked the Contract Parchment. Little Ge, who was playing a handheld game console, curled his lips. Bephry suddenly stood up from the wooden table, and Little Ge's eyes immediately showed a hint of fear. This wasn't dread or terror, but the fear born of bloodline suppression. Outsiders didn't know that Bephry was actually Little Ge's biological sister, but this secret, the siblings had never revealed.
This also meant that Little Ge wasn't a Violator of the Sanctuary Paradise. He was actually a Violator of Reincarnation Paradise, though he bore the mark of a Sanctuary Paradise Violator. Needless to say, Little Ge had once cooperated with Gray Gentleman.
Now, the bloodline suppression from his biological sister made Little Ge's heart panic. He had been rebellious since childhood, fearing neither his parents—only his sister. Because he knew that when his parents hit him, they always held back, but when his sister beat him, she really went all out.
It seemed the siblings had deliberately hidden this relationship. The reason was that in the Paradise faction, having a completely trustworthy teammate was incredibly rare. And precisely because of this, the siblings had teamed up to screw over quite a few Contractors and Violators.
"Decapitation Night, nothing special."
Bephry's index finger traced over the contract. The fine texture of the Contract Parchment swept away her pent-up frustration. But just then, the writing on the parchment began to dissipate as if burned, replaced by a crimson contract text.
As an expert in contracts, Bephry naturally understood this type of contract text. After examining it for a moment, her expression gradually turned serious. Eternal Light World? She seemed to... have some impression. Suddenly, she remembered where the Eternal Light World was.
"So, you failed?"
The Priest's voice came from the darkness. Seventy percent of Bephry's anger at having the Initial Mark taken by Su Xiao was stoked by the Priest's words.
"No, it was very successful."
As she spoke, Bephry took out a thumb-sized small sealed vial and poured a few drops of Ancient God Source Blood onto the signature area of the Eternal Light contract.
...
Su Xiao watched the Eternal Light contract slowly burn to ashes in his hand, knowing the contract had succeeded. As for how to deal with Bephry afterward, the answer was that he didn't need to. Not only was her chance of dying in the Eternal Light World extremely high, but even if she survived by some miracle, she wouldn't dare come after him later.
And if they met in the Eternal Light World, that was even better. Having more Violator enemies there was actually beneficial. Enough Violator enemies would, from a certain perspective, help divert the firepower of World-Destroying-level existences.
The enemy Su Xiao needed to deal with was naturally not Bephry. The other was far more dangerous than her. Arriving at the Alchemy Laboratory, he checked his remaining Space-Time Power. Excluding Space-Time Stone fragments, he still had 1237.5 ounces of Space-Time Power.
He separated 237.5 ounces from the large container. Though somewhat reluctant, that enemy had been lurking near the Lord's estate where he lived for the past few days, waiting for an opportunity.
Therefore, before going to fight the Old Beast King to the death, he had to eliminate this enemy first.
Su Xiao took out the dozens of World Core Fragments he had. These were all meant as nutrients for the Black Maple Tree. He had already inserted over a dozen near the tree, and he couldn't let the nutrients be too intense, so he kept the rest in the team storage space.
He sorted through these dozens of World Core Fragments, eventually finding a few with residual world information. So-called world information was essentially fading world consciousness. Though these were all from low-level worlds, they still met Su Xiao's requirements.
Setting aside the selected World Core Fragments, Su Xiao took out the Seal Blade and stabbed it into a piece of Divine Flesh. This Divine Flesh slowly turned light blue and eventually crystallized.
After waiting a moment, Su Xiao cracked open the crystalline shell, took out a seed from inside, and planted it in soil.
The seed sprouted, grew, and bore fruit at a visible rate. Eventually, a flesh fruit exuding an enticing, strange fragrance ripened, covered with the same array patterns as the Seal Blade.
...
The southernmost part of the tribe, the Abyss Erosion Zone.
Black mist permeated the area, the sky was pitch black, and desolation and ruin were everywhere, gradually increasing one's mental pressure.
At the innermost part of this erosion zone, a piece of black flesh was growing and expanding. When it was large enough, an arm resembling black iron sand extended from within.
With a squelch, a Dark Spirit slid out from the black flesh. As soon as it was born, it breathed with great difficulty and staggered forward.
A ripple spread, sweeping over the Dark Spirit. Time passed, and over ten minutes later, a figure suddenly appeared. It had the appearance of a child, which would lower one's guard, but its pitch-black eyes were eerie. This was the Dark Devourer.
The Dark Devourer closed its eyes and sniffed. Though puzzled, its joy was unmistakable. It had been a long time since it had devoured a Dark Spirit. Now, finally, a new one had been born.
After precise tracking, the Dark Devourer caught up with the staggering newborn Dark Spirit. Seeing such a weak specimen, its doubts were resolved. It had wondered how a new Dark Spirit could appear so many years after the Abyss invasion. But such weaklings occasionally appeared in the Abyss Erosion Zone.
The Dark Devourer's joy was greatly diminished. The next instant, it pounced and devoured the newborn weakling Dark Spirit. Because it was so weak, the Dark Devourer smacked its lips in dissatisfaction.
Where had this newborn Dark Spirit come from? First, one must understand what a Dark Spirit was. A so-called Dark Spirit was an independent entity that formed when part of a world's consciousness was enhanced by the Abyss after the world was invaded, resulting in a mutation.
Given Su Xiao's luck, he naturally couldn't rely on such coincidences. So he created the conditions himself. Using World Core Fragments as a starting point, he obtained high-purity Abyss energy from Kaiser through the Abyssal Jar.
With these two elements, the conditions for a Dark Spirit's birth were present, but luck was still a major factor. Su Xiao used 237.5 ounces of Space-Time Power to birth the newborn Dark Spirit? No, he couldn't deeply utilize Space-Time Power. Instead, he chose to give this Space-Time Power to Kaiser, with the condition that as long as he could produce a newborn Dark Spirit, no matter how weak, the Space-Time Power would be Kaiser's.
Sometimes, Kaiser's ability ceiling depended on how much benefit he received. When these 237.5 ounces of Space-Time Power were offered, Kaiser's eyes widened.
As for why he went through the trouble of creating a newborn Dark Spirit, it was naturally to test this bait-type banishment method he had crafted.
From the cost perspective, dealing with the Dark Devourer this time wasn't profitable—it was a loss. That was why Su Xiao hadn't planned to bother with the Dark Devourer earlier. But the problem was that recently, the Dark Devourer had been lurking and scouting around the Lord's estate in Twilight City.
Su Xiao didn't care about the Dark Devourer's interest in him. Although he didn't have many enemies, they were all very strong. What he truly worried about was that in his upcoming battle with the Old Beast King, even if he exhausted himself and won, if the Dark Devourer appeared afterward, he would have no way to deal with it.
To prevent this scenario, paying a certain cost now was worthwhile.
Amid the black mist, after devouring the newborn Dark Spirit, the Dark Devourer searched the area but found no signs of other Dark Spirits being born. Somewhat disappointed, it began walking out of the Abyss Erosion Zone. But just then, it noticed a figure a hundred meters away—a Shadow of Law Destruction!
The Dark Devourer immediately became alert. It braved the Abyss mist to sense its surroundings, and only after confirming there was no banishment array did it restrain its irritability, gradually revealing its cruelty. A Law Destroyer who hadn't reached Absolute Strength and hadn't set up a banishment array—it could handle that.
With a squelch, long, thin black arms burst from both sides of the Dark Devourer's spine. These arms, taken together, looked like a pair of deformed black wings.
Whoosh! Wind pressure surged forward violently. As it approached Su Xiao, or rather, approached the Seal Blade on Su Xiao, the bait-type banishment array that the Dark Devourer had swallowed along with the Dark Spirit activated.
Buzz!
The Dark Devourer suddenly lost gravity, floating in midair. Its sharp claw tips were less than half a meter from Su Xiao's face, yet this half-meter was impossible to cross. The cruelty in its eyes faded, and fear gradually emerged in its pitch-black eye sockets. The banishment array, starting from the center of its torso, fully activated.
"Roar!"
Boom! A blue spatial vortex appeared behind the Dark Devourer. Blue chains bound its body, dragging it toward the massive spatial vortex behind.
"Law Destroyer!!"
The Dark Devourer spoke in human tongue. As it was pulled backward, its clawed hands clawed wildly at the surrounding air, even piercing into space, trying to break free from the blue chains' pull. But it was futile. The blue chains were slow but unshakably stable.
"No!!"
The Dark Devourer roared. With the clanking of chains, cracks like ceramic fractures spread across its body. It could no longer maintain its current disguised form, struggling desperately as it was about to reveal its true appearance.
Boom!
A loud noise echoed as the massive spatial vortex closed. The Dark Devourer was banished to the Eternal Light World. A black claw severed by the spatial vortex hadn't even hit the ground before it turned to ash and dissipated midair.
Seeing this, Su Xiao walked out of the Abyss Erosion Zone. As soon as he emerged from the darkness-covered area, he saw a figure casually sitting on a tree branch, holding an empty wine bottle. It was the Fierce Guy.
"Won't leaving the Eternal Freeze Icefield cause you problems?"
Su Xiao tossed over a bottle of Elemental Brew. The Fierce Guy was about to decline, but the faint rich aroma lingering on the cork made him hold back. He pulled out the cork, took a sip, swished the wine around his mouth to let it touch every corner, and then swallowed.
"No problem over there. My partner is keeping an eye on it."
"Oh, then leave the Priest to you. Before sunset today, don't let the Priest have any free time to come find me."
Leaving these words, Su Xiao leaped onto the Storm Flame Dragon's back. As the wind noise intensified, he ascended into the sky on the dragon.
Amid the clouds, Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the dragon's back, meditating, gradually adjusting himself to peak condition. His opponent this time, the Old Beast King, though old and frail with his life flame about to extinguish, was a War King who had once ascended to the Supreme level.
The most famous powerhouse in the Wind Sea Continent was Spider Lady, who had reached the Supreme level many years ago and was now even stronger. As for the Old Beast King, he had once reached the Supreme level, but not long after, due to accumulated injuries from his path as a War King, he began to decline. Coupled with old age, his combat power had deteriorated further and further.
But no matter what, even though the Old Beast King's life flame was on the verge of extinguishing, he was still a king who had once reached the Supreme level. In a life-or-death battle, the slightest hesitation would result in instant death.
Once upon a time, Su Xiao thought he could try fighting an elderly, weakened Supreme-level Law Destroyer. The result was being beaten to the point of doubting his own existence. In all his many life-or-death battles, this was the first time he had been so completely overwhelmed. It wasn't a matter of winning chances—he was beaten to the point of not knowing how to win at all. However, due to various reasons, the opponent later went easy on him... ahem, went extremely easy, and Su Xiao became the survivor of that battle.
As for the powerhouse he was facing this time, though his life flame was about to go out, there would be no mercy. Because according to what Su Xiao knew, before heading to the Beast Clan's Old Capital, the Old Beast King had injected the Purest Abyss Blood stored by the Beast Clan into his own heart.
This wasn't borrowing power from the Abyss. Before injecting the Purest Abyss Blood, the Beast King had multiple Seal Masters layer their sealing power over his heart. The reason for injecting the Abyss blood was to use this intense Abyss energy to sever causality.
In other words, even if the Beast King killed Su Xiao, the three Original Sin Objects Su Xiao possessed wouldn't trace causality back to the Beast Clan. This was the attitude the Old Beast King had shown—no mercy. Both sides held their chips and would stake everything in a death match. The victor would take all.
This was different from the battle against Abyssal Shadow, Ximan Aqide. The Old Beast King, at his peak, was inferior to that opponent, and his old age had weakened him more severely than Aqide—no, much more severely. So against the Old Beast King, Su Xiao had about a forty percent chance of winning.
When the sunset sky was tinged with yellow, the Storm Flame Dragon descended. Looking down, the Beast Clan's Old Capital appeared before Su Xiao. It was now a ruin. When the Old Beast King had ascended the throne, the Beast Clan's capital was still here. It was the Old Beast King who had led the Beast Clan, step by step, to build the now-glorious Eternal Ring City.
But at the end of his life, the Old Beast King chose to return here, to the royal hall where he had been crowned.
The sky was covered with white clouds. The yellow sunlight filtered through the gaps in the clouds, illuminating the main street of the Beast Clan's Old Capital. Su Xiao walked along the main street. The stone slabs on the street were mostly cracked, with wild grass stubbornly pushing through. Finally, at the end of the main street, after climbing over a hundred steps, he stopped before the main gate of the royal hall.
The originally grand, towering hall doors now showed traces of rust. Su Xiao pushed open both doors. With a creaking sound, the spacious but dilapidated royal hall came into view.
On the stone throne at the far end sat a figure. Though thin, his naturally large frame gave a sense of robustness. Even though he was nearly skin and bones, his arms still radiated strength. A steel-feather cape hung casually, and a nearly two-meter-long battle blade leaned against the throne.
With a rumble, the royal hall doors closed. The setting sun streamed through a row of holes in the ceiling, casting light on the Law Destroyer standing blade in hand and the Old Beast King seated majestically on his throne.