# Chapter 17: Powerful Enemy
Inside a guest room within the outer building area of the Extremely Dark Castle.
A crimson ghost slowly drifted toward the door. The reason for this was twofold: Su Xiao's soul strength had reached an astonishing 860 points, and his blade technique combined with Soul Severing·Soul Core created a dual soul-severing effect.
Although Su Xiao's soul strength wasn't manifested through active soul-type abilities, the damage he dealt to ghost and wraith-type enemies was increased by approximately 500% to 1200%. Combined with the dual soul-severing effect, any ghost-type enemy that could survive a single slash from him was undoubtedly an elite among its rank.
Under Su Xiao's gaze, the crimson ghost's retreating movement paused. Seeing this, Su Xiao sat down on the bed and pointed to the space in front of him. The fact that this crimson ghost understood fear meant it possessed some intelligence and would make a decent guide.
At Su Xiao's gesture, the crimson ghost hesitated before drifting to a spot several meters in front of him. It wasn't that it didn't want to come closer—Su Xiao's blood energy was like its natural nemesis, akin to pouring red-hot molten iron onto snow.
Su Xiao stared at the crimson ghost across from him. The ghost suddenly shivered. It was truly rare to see a ghostly entity frightened to such a degree.
Yes, the situation was indeed this peculiar. The crimson ghost was clearly a spectral being, yet it was absolutely terrified—not only because the person opposite was a Blade Grandmaster, but because he was smiling at it while seemingly restraining himself from tasting its soul. Instead, he took out a soul crystal and began crunching on it.
"You can understand what I'm saying."
Su Xiao tossed the last piece of soul crystal into his mouth and chewed slowly. After a "friendly, gentle" negotiation, the crimson ghost finally spoke, using a relatively ancient Void language.
After listening to the crimson ghost's account, Su Xiao roughly understood the situation. First came the origin of the Extremely Dark Castle. It was a large mansion whose original owner was called the Dark Blood City Lord, a former ruler of Black Iron City.
Notably, although Black Iron City was established by the Machine Maker, this entity had no interest in being city lord. The successive city lords of Black Iron City were elected by the Steam Guild, with support from the Exchange and the Explorer's Institution.
After resigning as city lord, the Dark Blood City Lord returned to inherit his family's mansion in the Wet Salt District—the current Extremely Dark Castle. Originally, this place wasn't like this. It was a safe zone with multiple protections, where many explorers and scavengers came to the outer castle area for supplies and rest.
The Dark Blood City Lord who lived here always had an ideal: to further normalize safe zones like Black Iron City. Since the extreme environment was caused by residual elemental power, why not open an Abyss Passage and continuously release Abyss energy, allowing the Abyss and elements to achieve balance in this area? Wouldn't the Black Iron City region then return to a normal world?
With this idea, the Dark Blood City Lord conducted research and subsequent experiments. However, he overlooked a critical issue: due to the Eternal Light World's extreme elemental environment, the Abyss Passage opening technique that worked in the outside world couldn't function properly here.
The result was that although the Dark Blood City Lord successfully opened a passage, what emerged wasn't Abyss energy but a crimson, highly aberrant energy.
Seeing this, the Dark Blood City Lord desperately protected his wife, who in turn fully activated the mansion's defensive barrier. This gave the surrounding town a chance to escape.
Previously, this defensive barrier was meant to repel external enemies. Now it became a sealed container, enveloping the mansion and preventing the crimson from spreading. The town centered around this location naturally declined, and its residents moved to Black Iron City.
When the passage closed on its own, the crimson had nearly filled the entire mansion. Aberration followed. The Machine Maker, upon learning of this, brought people to seal the mansion within darkness that couldn't be eroded by the crimson.
The Dark Blood City Lord died from excessive crimson erosion. Although the City Lord's wife survived, the crimson erosion drastically changed her personality. She became desperate for the fresh life force of living beings. All who mistakenly entered this place would be captured by crimson guards and offered to her, consumed by her.
Another point: during crimson erosion, only those with sufficient strength could withstand it with their bodies, leading to subsequent aberration.
The mansion's servants, being too weak, had their bodies eroded into residue by the crimson, leaving only their crimson-stained souls—the current state of the crimson ghost. In other words, it was the weakest mob in the entire castle area.
The surrounding area was enclosed by high walls. After passing through the central courtyard, one could reach the City Lord's wife's bedchamber. Only by passing the bedchamber and reaching the City Lord's study could one glimpse the true secrets of this place and obtain the treasure the City Lord once possessed.
Su Xiao wasn't particularly interested in the secrets of this place, but the City Lord's treasure greatly interested him—especially since his three technique abilities were now more expensive to upgrade than before.
Normally, after three techniques exceeded Lv.80, consuming 30 Soul Crystals could raise each technique by one level. However, due to the core technique Blade Grandmaster having the Supreme Blade ability bonus, the consumption increased from 30 to 35 Soul Crystals.
Thus, raising all three techniques from Lv.80 to Lv.90 would require a total of 350 Soul Crystals and over 3,320,000 Soul Coins. Under these circumstances, Su Xiao was naturally more interested in the City Lord's treasure.
After understanding the general situation, Su Xiao took out several potions. Under the crimson ghost's puzzled gaze, he completed the potion mixing, then splashed the translucent potion onto the crimson ghost.
With a sizzling sound, the crimson ghost let out a sharp shriek. The crimson on its body quickly faded, gradually becoming a normal soul body. Strangely, the dress on its body gradually took on a maid's uniform, as if it had returned to its former appearance.
The soul maid slowly floated up, stopping about a meter above the ground. Her confused gaze seemed to completely forget everything that had happened before. With timidity in her eyes, she asked, "Sir, did you save me?"
This scene looked too much like a coincidental recruitment of a maid. If it were a hot-blooded youth like a World Child, they might not be able to resist this maid offensive—especially when the transformation from crimson ghost to harmless soul body included such a natural maid outfit. One might think she had undergone a baptism, her entire soul transforming toward friendliness.
Su Xiao was somewhat interested in this particularly skilled performer. Good acting could sometimes play a significant role. Therefore, he saw through the soul maid's act but didn't expose it.
Perhaps sensing she had been seen through, the soul maid stopped following the script and floated quietly, passively waiting for developments.
"How do I get directly below this building?"
Hearing this, the soul maid thought hard for a moment. Although she had shed the crimson erosion, some memory damage was inevitable. After a while, she finally recalled clearly: "Sir, you can only go out or go deeper. The underground palace below is the entrance to a longer route. Why would you want to go there?"
After hearing this, Su Xiao looked directly into the soul maid's eyes. Although she no longer had "crimson contacts," her eyes would reveal a richer soul color. If she were lying, she would need to think more, causing the soul color in her eyes to deepen.
Su Xiao confirmed one thing: Bubu Wang, Baha, Zuiyasi, and the others hadn't entered the Extremely Dark Castle but were blocked in the maze below. As for why he himself could enter, it might be related to breaking the dark seal in that Law-Destroying treasury earlier.
In other words, compared to other explorers entering the Extremely Dark Castle, Su Xiao could enter directly without first breaking through the underground maze.
Su Xiao walked out of the guest room. A musty smell of damp, decaying wood permeated the corridor. Since the environment was completely dark, he activated [Hunting Vision]. Although the world in Hunting Vision had no color, it allowed him to ignore the dark energy permeating this place.
Walking along the corridor, Su Xiao passed a mural and glanced at it. It was a portrait of an old man who looked like a butler.
Su Xiao withdrew his gaze and continued forward. Just then, he suddenly felt everything around him slow down. The elderly butler in the mural beside him transformed into a humanoid dark creature, rushing out from the painting. Its sharp claws and uneven, jagged teeth all lunged at him.
Suddenly, this perception ceased abruptly. The semi-transparent enemy shattered like bubbles—this was the triggering of Grandmaster Instinct.
[Intelligence Attribute 300-point Attribute Reward·Grandmaster Instinct: When an attack comes, you have a 25% chance to perceive the direction and trajectory of the attack 0.5 seconds in advance.]
It wasn't luck. This triggering probability had nothing to do with luck—it was a test of hard power. The stronger one's perception, the greater the triggering probability.
The humanoid dark creature partially emerged from the mural beside him. At an eerie, extreme speed, it suddenly lowered itself and lunged to bite Su Xiao. The attack was so sudden that even an Absolute Strength rank, caught off guard with a vital point attack, would suffer severe damage.
Su Xiao simultaneously stepped back and smoothly drew his blade for a downward slash. This turned the mural dark creature's ambush into its own execution.
Clang!
The dark creature was cut in two. The upper half fell to the ground, and the lower half also emerged from the mural. Both halves writhed in agony on the floor before going still. From the expression of shock and unwillingness, it was clear the dark creature couldn't understand how Su Xiao had simultaneously evaded its ambush.
[You have killed Dark Creature·Wall-Attached Human Painting.]
[You have obtained 3 Precipitated Glass.]
[You have obtained 160 World Reputation.]
...
Due to the Void Tree's notarization method for this world, the kill reward contained no Soul Coins but instead World Reputation.
Calculating by boss-type units, killing an Absolute Strength rank boss would yield approximately 10,000 to 70,000 World Reputation. For strength between Absolute Strength and Supreme rank, killing would yield 80,000 World Reputation—like when Su Xiao previously eliminated 1/30 of the Deep Sea Evil Spirit, which fell into this category. Killing a Supreme rank major boss would yield 700,000 to ??? World Reputation.
Since this world's seal had been lifted, obtaining kill rewards above Absolute Strength rank was impossible. However, if one could kill enemies as powerful as the Eternal Dark Lord or the Ancestor, even if their combat power was suppressed to the Absolute Strength cap, one could still obtain around 500,000 World Reputation.
After passing through the corridor and turning a corner, an elevator appeared. Su Xiao stepped onto it. Just as he was about to press the start button, he noticed dark golden light particles floating upward. At first, he didn't react, but then realized this was the effect of [Greed Bead].
These dark golden light particles floated above the elevator before dissipating. Su Xiao climbed through the maintenance hatch to the top of the elevator. There, hanging from a top bolt, was a withered corpse. From the remaining fabric, it seemed to be the castle's young lady or an honored guest. During the crimson spread, she had panicked, fallen from the upper elevator opening, and died from the bolt's piercing wound.
From the withered corpse's hand, Su Xiao picked up a pendant with part of its string torn. It was clear that after receiving a fatal wound, the pendant's owner had tried to tear it off and hold it in hand for faster use.
Su Xiao, with his hand wrapped in a crystal layer, applied some force. The hardened crimson crystal encasing the pendant shattered, revealing the most valuable ruby part.
[You have obtained Life Blessing (Immortal Rank·Accessory).]
[Life Blessing·Equipment Effect: Salvation (Active), immediately consume 20% of maximum Mana Points to activate a healing effect, healing 1.25% of current maximum Health Points (under Absolute Strength comprehensive strength, can heal 45% to 50% Health Points).]
Su Xiao looked at the Immortal rank pendant in his hand. Quite a good piece of equipment. Generally, Immortal rank equipment cost between 1,900 and 7,000 Soul Coins. This item, priced at 5,000, would be snatched up immediately from a stall.
If he spent some Soul Coins to strengthen it to +10, it would be excellent equipment until he advanced to Absolute Strength rank. Tank-type members of adventure groups especially loved this item—they weren't afraid of Mana Point consumption. If he sold this back to the Divine Emperor Adventure Group, he wouldn't even need to name a price; they'd offer over 5,300 Soul Coins.
At least 5,300 Soul Coins in hand. Su Xiao was in a good mood. The [Greed Bead] obtained from that treasury was indeed practical. Without it, he truly wouldn't have sensed this pendant wrapped in crimson crystal—even though he had been less than a meter away from the equipment. His perception was better suited for sensing enemies or their abilities.
Returning to the elevator, Su Xiao started it. The soul maid who had been obediently waiting inside was now nowhere to be seen. This little maid's acting was decent, but her patience was lacking.
Su Xiao watched the floor dial gradually descend. When it reached the first floor, he didn't press the door-opening mechanism. A soul-form finger temporarily materialized and pressed it instead. The soul maid had appeared again, her soul body slightly more transparent than before.
The elevator's iron gate opened. Su Xiao stepped out, and the soul maid immediately followed behind.
As soon as Su Xiao left the elevator, darkness enveloped it. Dozens of crimson eyes stared at the soul maid from within the darkness. However, these ghost-type beings all tacitly maintained one rule: they didn't enter within 10 meters of Su Xiao, avoiding provoking this terrifying human who constantly emitted blood energy malice.
The spacious hall contained many skeletons. Su Xiao walked among them. Pushing open a pair of broken wooden doors, a courtyard came into view.
The courtyard was large, with buildings at the front and back, and walls dozens of meters high on the left and right. Broken stone statues and fractured weapons were scattered everywhere. In the center was a large pile of bones. Atop this pile sat a withered skeleton in battle armor, in a half-crouching position. Its greatsword was thrust into the bone pile, and it seemed to be trying to stand using the sword hilt as leverage, but severe injuries prevented it from rising again.
Looking at the building opposite, it was six stories high, each floor having very high ceilings, making this six-story building over a hundred meters tall.
This armored skeleton had likely broken through from the fifth floor, leaping out from a hole there. After landing, it was surrounded and killed by crimson guards in the courtyard.
Su Xiao approached to examine it and found that even the bones inside the armor showed a crimson hue. Yet despite this, this person hadn't been assimilated by the crimson's madness. Fighting until death, they hadn't undergone any aberration from the crimson. This was the city lord of this place.
Whoosh! A gust of wind. Su Xiao tilted his head to dodge. A metal arrow infused with crimson energy flew past his face, embedding into the ground behind him.
A blast came from behind, showing the terrifying power of this arrow. The spatial ripples left along the crimson arrow's path indicated the average combat power level of this place. No wonder Reincarnation Paradise had previously warned that non-Absolute Strength ranks shouldn't enter here.
To be precise about the difficulty, this was a "dungeon" suitable for mid-Absolute Strength. And Su Xiao had come here right after advancing to Absolute Strength.
After the loud noise, dense sounds of armor clashing came from the surrounding high walls and the first floor of the building ahead. Within seconds, nearly a hundred crimson guards either leaped down from the high walls or rushed out from the first floor of the opposite building.
Su Xiao took out an ordinary liquid Apollo. Although this weapon was obsolete, it could be used to test the enemy's strength. He crushed the container, formed it into an arrow with crystals, and used the technique patterns on the arrow to reduce its explosion range while increasing its explosive power.
The Demon Spirit was released, forming a crystal bow. Using soul energy as the bowstring, he drew the bow and nocked the arrow. Aiming this sun arrow at a charging crimson guard—the guard was fully armored, giving an intuitive sense of unstoppable strength.
Boom!
The sun arrow shot out, hitting the charging crimson guard. A thunderous explosion followed. Although the explosion range was severely compressed, it still covered a hundred meters.
Solar flames spread. The next second, a figure burst out of the solar flames—the very crimson guard directly hit by the sun arrow. The mobs in this dangerous area had truly formidable knockback resistance and defense. No wonder the earlier warning said non-Absolute Strength shouldn't come here. If they did, even fighting a mob would be extremely dangerous, with risks completely disproportionate to rewards.
Boom! Su Xiao grabbed a war spear wrapped in dense crimson. The force of this attack was so fierce that a shockwave spread outward from him. The crimson energy eroded the crystal layer on his left hand.
Crack, crack, crack~
Translucent blue crystals spread across the spear's surface. Su Xiao released the spear. A blood energy phantom manifested behind him, grabbed the spear, and hurled it toward the defensive ballista on top of the opposite building.
With a roar, the city defense ballista on the opposite building shattered. Almost simultaneously, Su Xiao raised his blade to block.
Clang! The long blade blocked a cone spear. Although the crimson warrior opposite was withered beneath its armor, its strength and intimidation were formidable.
Although Su Xiao blocked this strike, over a hundred crimson warriors and guards simultaneously charged forward. What was more terrifying was that these creatures all used spatial-type abilities to close in. In an instant, they had completely surrounded Su Xiao. Various weapons came down with full force—slashing, thrusting, or hammering with chilling howls.
Su Xiao felt the surrounding light disappear due to the sheer number of enemies. Considering the enemies' attacks carried crimson energy, this was an extremely dangerous situation.
'Extreme Blade·World.'
Clang!
A sharp, metallic-sounding blade resonance appeared. Centered on Su Xiao, at intervals of about a dozen centimeters, grain-sized slash flash points appeared, gleaming with sharp cutting light. The darkness created by the surrounding enemies was instantly dispelled.
Armor and weapon fragments, at most the size of sugar cubes, fell with a clatter from all around. Most were only the size of beans, like falling metallic raindrops. Su Xiao walked through this metallic rain, stopping after a moment before the main building's metal giant door.
The building before him was covered in crimson energy. Only the open metal door panels lacked crimson energy reinforcement, but from the spreading crimson around, they would soon be reinforced as well.
Entering through the fifth-floor hole was not feasible. From outside, one could see the dense darkness within that hole. Entering that darkness rashly would come at a terrible cost.
Clang!
Although Su Xiao didn't swing his blade, several intersecting slashes appeared before him. The broken metal door panels fell.
Entering the main building, he found himself in a magnificent hall. Since guards usually stood watch here, there were few furnishings—only a dozen pillars over two meters thick. Near the center was a staircase leading upward.
In front of the staircase sat a tall figure on the ground. In its left hand was a tower shield over two meters tall. In its right hand was a heavy black sword ten centimeters thick, half a meter wide, and over two meters long. Although this black sword had no tip, its weight was absolutely terrifying. The slightly backward-curving blade could both severely damage enemy weapons and deliver powerful cutting force.
Over four meters tall, fully armored with thumb-thick plates, the Crimson Guard Captain rose from the ground. Unlike the previous crimson warriors, this Crimson Guard Captain still retained some rationality. Yet he still chose to guard this place, preventing intruders from reaching the second floor and, more importantly, the City Lord's wife.
Boom!
The Crimson Guard Captain struck the side of his tower shield with his heavy sword's flat side. He let out a roar, and layers of crimson soundwaves spread outward.
Su Xiao held his blade with one hand to block the incoming soundwaves. A series of crisp clangs—the crimson soundwaves were blocked. But the next instant, a fierce wind came head-on—the Crimson Guard Captain charged.
The overwhelming size difference, the vast gap in weapon weight—no matter how one looked at it, Su Xiao couldn't face the Crimson Guard Captain head-on. Yet facing the black heavy sword, Su Xiao didn't retreat or execute a perfect block. Instead, he slashed upward to meet it.
Clang!!
Fine cracks appeared in the surrounding air. With a thunderous roar, the charging Crimson Guard Captain immediately dropped to one knee. The hand armor gripping the black heavy sword's hilt creaked loudly.
As the black heavy sword and Dragon-Slaying Flash struggled against each other, the Crimson Guard Captain's right arm exploded from the armor, revealing a thick arm. The muscles on this arm had split, exposing the flowing crimson within.
"Roar!"
The Crimson Guard Captain roared, rising from his kneeling position and pushing with all his might toward Su Xiao. But unexpectedly, Su Xiao took a step back. As a Blade Grandmaster, his strength lay more in combat techniques than in brute force contests.
The Crimson Guard Captain pushed forward with all his might. Su Xiao's retreat caused the Crimson Guard Captain's forward charge to have nowhere to go, immediately destabilizing him.
Having stepped back, Su Xiao suddenly stepped forward again, delivering a powerful slash that met the enemy's black heavy sword.
With a deafening crash, the Crimson Guard Captain's weapon shattered, leaving only a hilt in his hand. The next moment, his disheveled red hair blew backward violently. The death perception rushing toward him made him raise his heavy tower shield.
Boom!!
A shockwave spread from where the straight kick hit the center of the tower shield. The stone slabs on the ground cracked and rose, but before they could scatter, they were swept into stone dust by the impact.
The Crimson Guard Captain flew in a straight line, breaking through a metal pillar over two meters thick behind him before embedding into another pillar further back. He sat in the metal depression, looking down at the tower shield in his hand. Only a grip remained, connected to a basin-sized shield face. But as he looked, even this remaining shield face shattered.
Wind pressure struck. The Crimson Guard Captain drew his backup sword from his waist and raised it to block. But after blocking this strike, he felt as if he hadn't blocked a single blade slash, but rather the entire world ahead was pressing down and cutting toward him. His right arm, shoulder, and part of his torso shattered.
After breaking through the defense, Su Xiao delivered a side kick to the Crimson Guard Captain's head, sending it crashing into a metal pillar beside him. The metal pillar couldn't withstand it either, shattering as the head embedded into the side wall, creating large holes.
After receiving this side kick, the kneeling Crimson Guard Captain swayed dazedly left and right before collapsing face-first to the ground with a thud. Crimson blood spread beneath him.
Without any words or humiliation, Su Xiao skillfully reversed his grip on the blade and stabbed it through the crimson energy concentration point in the center of the enemy's torso. The crimson in the Crimson Guard Captain's eyes quickly dissipated.
Withdrawing the blade, holding it properly, and flicking off the crimson—this gatekeeper boss, who looked like a super-strength powerhouse, had been beaten backward the entire time, either retreating or flying backward. This was the powerful slashing derived from having both [Blade Weapon Damage Rank] and [Blade Weapon Slashing Judgment Rank] at 56 points.
A full 6 Primordial Skill Points, all used to enhance his blade technique. This made his Lv.82 Blade Grandmaster ability even stronger than ordinary Lv.89 blade techniques.
If speaking solely of Blade Grandmaster strength, Su Xiao's ability was now among the top tier of Absolute Strength rank. Although Blade Grandmaster ability didn't represent everything, this level of mastery meant he had the capital to contend with top Absolute Strength experts.
Moreover, the strength of technique-type fighters wasn't about having greater power, speed, or more body energy. If one gave a technique-type fighter an opportunity, even an Absolute Strength ceiling-level enemy would pay a terrible price.
[You have killed Crimson Guard Captain·Hagumu.]
[You have obtained 1290 Precipitated Glass.]
[You have obtained 26,500 World Reputation.]
[You have obtained Crimson Chest·Guard Captain (Upon opening, has a chance to obtain unique crimson items from this area, or rewards equivalent to 18% of an Immortal Chest).]
...
The harvest was quite good. Su Xiao walked up the stairs to the second floor. Upon arrival, he found a library. Many bookshelves had fallen, with books scattered everywhere, some showing signs of insect damage.
Su Xiao leaped onto a bookshelf. He saw, at the far end of the library, an old man in an ancient dark gold robe with long, graying white hair standing there.
Their eyes met. The old man—the second floor's library master—gradually floated up. Crimson lightning spheres emerged around him, his aura skyrocketing.
"Intruders, all shall die..."
Before the second-floor boss·Crimson Elder could finish his entrance speech, Su Xiao had already released his Demon Spirit and formed a Demon Spirit arrow. A blood energy phantom appeared behind him. The soul greatbow was drawn to full, and an arrow shot toward the Crimson Elder.
Boom! The Demon Spirit arrow hit a static barrier. The crimson static quickly faded, and the Demon Spirit, now black smoke, began to descend.
At that moment, Su Xiao suddenly swapped positions with the Demon Spirit. More critically, before swapping, he had already begun charging [Blade Path Sword: Execution]. A fully charged [Blade Path Sword: Execution] was unleashed.
Whoosh! A blood-colored chain slashed diagonally outward. With blood soul enhancement, the blood-colored chain appeared dark red, filled with countless spark-like points. One slash, and the space it passed through showed fine black cracks. Dozens of layers of various shields formed by the Crimson Elder all shattered instantly.
'Blade Path Sword: Blood Blade.'
Not giving the Crimson Elder a moment to breathe, Su Xiao had already transformed into a straight line of blood-colored slashing light. As the blood-colored light passed, a large spray of blood erupted from the Crimson Elder's chest. His eyes were wide, staring fixedly at Su Xiao. Almost simultaneously, Su Xiao felt his own blood temperature skyrocket, as if all his blood would explode in the next second.
Using Dragon Shadow Flash to disappear from his position, Su Xiao appeared behind the Crimson Elder. A side kick sent the Crimson Elder flying like a beam of light, crashing diagonally into a corner of the library.
Scattered book pages flew everywhere. The Crimson Elder, half-lying on the ground with bloodstains on his robe, raised his hand and made a grasping motion. Anticipating the sight of his enemy exploding from blood, a hint of satisfaction appeared in his eyes—the pleasure of killing an enemy after being thoroughly beaten. He didn't believe a melee fighter could use such an absurd mobility ability again after two consecutive charges.
However, the Blade Demon Spirit's smoke dispersed behind the Crimson Elder. Su Xiao's side kick had been significantly restrained in force for precision, sending the Crimson Elder diagonally downward through the Blade Demon Spirit's black smoke. This attached a certain amount of Blade Demon Spirit to the enemy—enough to initiate a position swap.
Su Xiao swapped positions with the Demon Spirit once more. At this moment, the Crimson Elder, a mid-to-long-range powerhouse, deeply understood the feeling of a Spellcaster fighting a Shadow of Law Destruction.
"Wait..."
Clang~!
A slashing light passed. The enemy's head fell. Just that clean and simple.
One second, two seconds, three seconds. No kill prompt appeared. Su Xiao activated [Hunting Vision], scanning the surroundings. A trail of crimson liquid spread into the distance, disappearing into a pile of books a dozen meters away. Whatever left this crimson liquid trail completely blocked perception.
'Blood Smoke Cannon.'
Aiming at the book pile, he fired a Blood Smoke Cannon. With a squeaking insect-like scream, a leech-like sticky worm was blasted to ashes.
[You have killed Crimson Elder·Chongshi.]
[You have obtained 1048 Precipitated Glass.]
[You have obtained 19,980 World Reputation.]
[You have obtained Crimson Chest·Wriggler (Upon opening, has a chance to obtain unique crimson items from this area, or rewards equivalent to 15% of an Immortal Chest).]
...
Having killed two floor bosses in succession, Su Xiao's condition was improving. The feeling of fully controlling his various abilities gradually returned. Taking advantage of his good state, he took the elevator to the third floor.
Upon reaching the third floor, Su Xiao found the area wasn't large. Most of the space was filled with crimson-condensed crystals, leaving only one passage. Following this passage, he arrived at a nest-like place.
The place was empty. Various old furniture was overturned. Some collectibles had fallen to the ground, shattered. A wall safe-like hidden compartment was open, its door not even closed.
Seeing this, Su Xiao approached a teleportation array, crouched down, and placed one hand on it. The array was still warm—clearly just used.
After Su Xiao killed two floor bosses, the boss occupying the third floor was so frightened that it decisively fled. Seeing this, Su Xiao immediately quickened his pace. Instead of taking the elevator, he wrapped his hands in a crystal layer to form claws, tore down the elevator, and climbed up the shaft toward the fourth floor.
Boom! Su Xiao kicked open the fourth floor's door. This floor was much more luxurious. An extremely fat, massive super heavyweight was stuffing a large handful of Soul Crystals into a big leather bag. His layers of fat were piled upon each other. Even the slightest movement caused these fats to jiggle. This wasn't just obesity—it was an aberration that had produced powerful abilities.
Su Xiao glanced at the already activated teleportation array. Fortunately, he had arrived in time, or this Crimson Elder Son would have escaped too. In exploring this Extremely Dark Castle, the concern wasn't being unable to defeat boss-level enemies, but rather these enemies taking their wealth and running.
"You... you're a Law Destroyer?"
The Crimson Elder Son spoke.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't respond.
"Ah~, you scared me. Hagumu on the first floor and Chongshi on the second floor were both killed in less than five minutes. A Law Destroyer, that's great."
"..."
Su Xiao still didn't speak. Seeming to sense danger, the Crimson Elder Son quickly explained: "Although I aberrated from the crimson, I successfully coexisted with it, so my mind is clear. Sornes asked me to guard here, preventing the City Lord's wife on the fifth floor from breaking through the dark seal. She's the deepest, most terrifying crimson aberrant here."
To prove his words, the Crimson Elder Son even took out a half-broken Watcher Ring. Although the ring could no longer be used, it could represent his identity. He also described Sornes's characteristics and various agreed-upon details, clearly indicating this was true.
No longer paying attention to the Crimson Elder Son, Su Xiao went to the far end of this floor and climbed the ladder fixed to the wall toward the fifth floor. When he reached the fifth floor and opened a pair of wooden doors, dense darkness blocked his path.
Su Xiao reached one hand toward the darkness. Just before touching it, he stopped. This wasn't just darkness—it seemed to be ultra-high concentration Abyss energy, sealed here to block the City Lord's wife from coming out. To be safe, he switched the Soul Severing Shadow's Soul Core to the [Dark·Soul Core] he had mastered in Reincarnation Paradise.
[Dark·Soul Core (Advanced·Passive): Temporarily fuse all demonic energy, greatly enhancing your life force and body defense rank, as well as adaptively increasing Abyss resistance. However, overall movement speed is reduced by 93% to 95%.
Note: This movement speed reduction has absolute priority and cannot be offset by any means.
Note: Switching to this Soul Core is slow and requires a stable environment.]
Su Xiao stepped into the darkness ahead. The darkness invaded, forcing him to move at a slow pace. Fortunately, being in [Dark·Soul Core] state, he successfully withstood the invasion.
However, the Abyss energy here wasn't in its original form. Someone had infused dark-attribute energy into it. Under the extreme enhancement of the Abyss, this darkness had both certain Abyss characteristics and would cause those entering to rapidly lose Health Points. What surprised Su Xiao more was that in the Eternal Light World, one could actually gather this much Abyss energy.
When Su Xiao emerged from the other side of the dark area, his Health Points were only at 56%. Without [Dark·Soul Core], he truly couldn't have passed through. Here, high Abyss resistance wasn't the most important thing—one also needed high dark resistance and strong life force. Crimson erosion would greatly reduce dark resistance, which was why the City Lord's wife was blocked by this dark area.
Gradually switching [Dark·Soul Core] to [Rapid·Soul Core] and drinking a recovery potion, Su Xiao looked at the two tightly closed metal doors ahead. He could sense that the strongest being in this Extremely Dark Castle—the City Lord's wife—was in the bedchamber behind these doors.