Chapter 42: Devouring
Within the standalone three-story building in the backyard of the Witch Guild headquarters in Moon Ring City's 1st District.
Green trees provided shade as a flock of blue-necked herons flew over the three-story building, landing beside a shallow lake behind it. Having such a shallow lake in the backyard of the Moon Witch Guild headquarters was undoubtedly surprising.
Looking from afar, the shallow lake had a small island at its center, upon which stood an ancient yet imposing sculpture—a giant wolf raising its head in a long howl. On moonlit nights, one could see a faint blue moonlight slowly drifting from the sculpture.
Inside the third-floor bedroom, Su Xiao leaned against the headboard, his spirit somewhat weary. This was not only due to the severe injuries sustained in the deathmatch against the Ancient King but also because this heavy injury had intensified the invasive sensation from the Demon Spirit.
Under this chain reaction, his recovery was slow. In the past, after a life-and-death battle with a powerful enemy, his expertise in alchemy would allow him to recover 70-80% of his condition within a few hours and return to peak state within two days.
This time, several hours had passed, and despite nourishing himself with various potions, Su Xiao's injuries had only recovered by half. It would take at least five days to return to full strength.
For other Absolute Strength powerhouses, this was already an extremely fast recovery speed. After all, it was a battle between equals. Sometimes, when the origin was damaged, it could take over a decade, or even a century, to recuperate.
The problem was that Su Xiao was a Hunter. His stay time in a world ranged from half a month to twenty days, usually about a month. Only in Transcendent Primordial Worlds like the Witch Realm would he stay for about two months.
With a total stay time of only 60 days, being severely injured once and needing over five days to recover not only greatly increased the risk but also reduced gains. Therefore, he needed to suppress the Blade Demon Spirit as soon as possible.
Currently, the Demon Spirit's intensity was 560 points. According to the ratio of Soul Strength to Demon Spirit Intensity given by Devourer Star·Arcas:
900 Soul Strength: 450 Demon Spirit.
1000 Soul Strength: 500 Demon Spirit.
1100 Soul Strength: 600 Demon Spirit.
Su Xiao's Soul Strength needed to reach over 1060 points to re-suppress the Blade Demon Spirit. However, one thing was that the experience of having the Demon Spirit on the verge of breaking free was quite valuable. Without this personal experience of the Demon Spirit trying to break free, Su Xiao would not have been able to develop the advanced technique of "Substitution": "Transmission."
Currently, Su Xiao's Soul Strength had reached 902 points. When he first entered this world, his Soul Strength was 860 points. Subsequently, the Soul Devourer talent increased it by 30 points, and the pseudo-Original Sin Object "Doom Scroll" increased it by 12 points.
Su Xiao was somewhat dissatisfied with this increase. Compared to other pseudo-Original Sin Objects, the "Doom Scroll" had a great reputation, yet such a famous pseudo-Original Sin Object often showed signs of cracking, which made one suspect whether it was merely nominal.
He could wait for a slow increase, but the key point was that after increasing Soul Strength by 12 points, the "Doom Scroll" had become ineffective against him. It could no longer impose doom on him, nor increase his Soul Strength, and it even demanded that he feed it some resources with Original Sin characteristics, or else it would show signs of cracking on the spot.
The current state of the "Doom Scroll" was essentially reverse fleecing.
In truth, Su Xiao was indeed being hard on the "Doom Scroll." After all, it was only a pseudo-Original Sin Object, far from a true Original Sin Object. Compared to the Daddy-level Original Sin Objects, the difference was like heaven and earth.
First, regarding the effect of this pseudo-Original Sin Object: once the holder signed their name on it, it would continuously impose doom on the holder, and in exchange, it would continuously increase the holder's Soul Strength.
The problem lay in imposing doom. The "Doom Scroll" trying to impose doom on Su Xiao was quite painful. Imposing doom on Su Xiao meant it had to contend with the judgment of the Paradise faction, the Law-Destruction fortune, the five strands of Original Sin karma, the Deathly Stillness karma, and the Heaven's Chosen karma of the Origin Stone·World. Only after enduring all this could the "Doom Scroll" impose doom on Su Xiao.
Just the process of "imposing doom on Su Xiao" nearly exhausted the "Doom Scroll" to the point of collapse. As for continuously imposing doom on Su Xiao, anyone with a conscience wouldn't demand that of a pseudo-Original Sin Object.
Su Xiao's current goal was to increase his Soul Strength to 1000 points. This would allow him to use the [Trial Token (Eternal Rank)] to undergo the Soul King Trial. If he passed the Soul King Trial, regardless of the trial rewards, the [Trial Token] Eternal Rank equipment would be consumed, turning into high-concentration Soul Source Matter for him to absorb, permanently increasing his Soul Strength by 100 points.
This way, with 1100 points of Soul Strength, he could re-suppress the Demon Spirit. The current problem was the step from 902 to 1000 points. Even if he could successfully return to Reincarnation Paradise and purchase such treasures and passive skills at a high price, permanently increasing Soul Strength by a total of 50 points would still depend heavily on luck.
Glancing at the darkening sky outside the window, Su Xiao left the bedroom and saw Alanna deeply engrossed in the study of Sealcraft. This half-meter-tall, over 30-centimeter-thick ancient text was the "Advanced Sealcraft (First Volume)" that Su Xiao had purchased in the Soul Library with Library Silver Coins. The total price for both volumes was 3800 Library Silver Coins. Due to insufficient Library Silver Coins on hand, he had only exchanged for the first volume.
Although Alanna was dispatched by the Moon Witch, she had been diligent and hardworking from start to finish, so it was only right to give her some extra compensation. Directly giving Soul Coins or Space-Time Power might seem like poaching. Alanna, a master of Ancient Mysticism, Wizard Runeology, and Sealcraft, was the apple of Moon Witch·Sesirius's eye, the most important confidant the woman was cultivating for the next generation of Moon Witches.
Therefore, offering the "Advanced Sealcraft (First Volume)" for Alanna to study was the best choice. As a Sealcraft master, Alanna was completely captivated after just flipping through two pages of the ancient text. Now, she even slept with it.
"Come with me for a while."
"Alright, Lord White Night. Give me a few seconds."
Alanna took out a bookmark and placed it on the page she was currently reading. Then she asked, "Lord White Night, can I use the bookmark that comes with this book? It can record my progress in mastering the knowledge within."
"I'm using it."
"Uh... Lord White Night, you have that hobby too? Already mastered four-fifths? That's very fast progress, my lord. How long have you been studying so diligently?"
"One month."
"?"
Alanna looked at Su Xiao with her big, innocent eyes, as if her worldview had been hit by an unprecedented shock. After a few seconds of stunned silence, she tentatively asked:
"Mr. White Night, if possible, I'd like to try your method of absorbing Sealcraft knowledge. I know it's particularly presumptuous to say this, but I really can't help myself."
"..."
Su Xiao was silent for a moment. The reason he mastered Sealcraft so quickly was 10% due to the nine-star title "Mystic Scholar," and the remaining 90% was due to the urging of the five Original Sin Object 'teachers.'
"My method is very extreme. Are you sure you want to try?"
"Yes, yes, yes."
Alanna nodded repeatedly. Mastering four-fifths of the "Advanced Sealcraft (First Volume)" in one month had truly stimulated her.
"She doesn't want to. White Night, come to my office. I have something to discuss with you."
The avatar of Moon Witch·Sesirius appeared, left this sentence, and then dissipated into moonlight particles. Hearing the Moon Witch say this, Alanna hugged the "Advanced Sealcraft" pitifully and dared not make a sound, following behind Su Xiao.
Just as he exited the three-story building, Su Xiao saw Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha recovering on lounge chairs. In today's battle against the Ancient King, Amu was heavily injured. Fortunately, Bubu Wang and Baha came to the rescue, but then they encountered an ambush arranged by the Archbishop of the Abyss.
At the critical moment, Baha fought fiercely. As Su Xiao's follower, he had previously enjoyed the follower promotion qualification and was now an Absolute Strength-level Dark Space Assassination System.
Compared to Baha, whose feathers were covered in blood at the time, Bubu Wang looked even worse. When Su Xiao rode the Storm Flame Dragon to rendezvous with them, he looked down from afar and wondered why a big hedgehog was crouching next to Amu.
That wasn't a hedgehog at all; it was Bubu Wang, whose both sides of his rear were full of arrows. He was in pain even when lying down, so he had to stick his rear up. Later, when they arrived at the Witch Guild's affiliated treatment center, the scene was even funnier. As a result, Bubu Wang was now lying on the lounge chair, a hint of melancholy in his dog eyes.
Entering the Witch Guild headquarters, when Su Xiao arrived at the Moon Witch's office, he found over a dozen high-ranking members of the Wizard faction there. These old fellows, all over a thousand years old on average, were all frowning. An old woman was loudly berating the Moon Witch, while the old Guild Leader tried to mediate.
Behind the desk, Moon Witch·Sesirius propped her forehead with one hand. The person opposite was her mentor, so she could only listen to the berating in silence. The decision to abandon Sky City was hers, and she was prepared to bear all the consequences derived from that decision.
The old woman was so angry not only because Moon Witch·Sesirius had abandoned Sky City but also because Sesirius had transferred all dissidents to Sky City through various means. Now it seemed clear that she was using the enemy's hand to eliminate dissidents. This was the real reason for the old woman's anger. More precisely, she was angry that Sesirius had been so blatant about it.
The other high-ranking Wizard faction members, who usually dared not speak loudly in front of Moon Witch·Sesirius, now felt emboldened with the old woman's support. Amidst their chatter, they refuted Moon Witch·Sesirius until she remained silent.
"Everyone, I need to discuss important matters with the Law Destroyer. We can discuss your proposals later."
Hearing Sesirius's words, the old woman opposite took a sip of warm water to moisten her throat, then, supported and surrounded by the crowd, left the office.
After the office quieted down, Moon Witch·Sesirius let out a long sigh. Being berated by her mentor all afternoon had given her a headache. As for why this Moon Witch, with her peerless beauty, superior intelligence, top-tier strength, and ruthless methods, was so tolerant of the old woman? It was simply because, before Sesirius was crowned Moon Witch, the old woman had taught her various secret arts, provided rare resources, saved her life over a dozen times, and, against all opposition, even at the cost of losing her position as Witch Guild Council Chair, had strongly supported Sesirius's ascension to the Moon Witch position.
"You called me here for this reason?"
Su Xiao spoke. This opening line was practically feigning ignorance.
Sesirius naturally knew this, but she wouldn't point it out. She opened a drawer, took out a stack of photos, and tossed them to a spot within easy reach of Su Xiao's hand. "This is the situation in Sky City."
"..."
Su Xiao picked up the photos to examine. Sky City was now shrouded in gloom. Dark clouds filled the sky, and the ground was covered in a thick, greasy black substance, like some kind of moss. The base of the outer walls was the same, while higher up, a layer of white granular matter resembling sea salt clung to them, from which white stems grew, bearing black flowers.
Seeing this, Su Xiao knew that Shenfu and the others hadn't just opened an Abyss Passage. Or rather, for the Witch Realm, which had repelled the Abyss once before, opening one Abyss Passage was manageable.
The kilometer-tall dark space gate in the central area of Sky City's lower district was likely connected to a heavily Abyss-eroded zone. The initial Abyss energy there had already mutated into a wet, cold, dark liquid with strong erosive, spreading, assimilating, and adaptive properties. As a result, about 80% of Sky City's residents had mutated into monsters.
Sky City's population wasn't large, only about 75 to 80 million. In the worst-case scenario, over 60 million dark monsters were now lurking in the city's dark fog.
Based on Su Xiao's judgment, the invading force should be the "Calamity Legion." He had some understanding of this force. It was a faction that could only exist through continuous invasion and destruction.
The leader of the "Calamity Legion" was known as the Corrupted Lord. The birth of this lord was quite legendary. In the early Second Era, the Corrupted Lord was a Grand Commander of an empire. As a top-tier Ninth Rank world, this place was invaded by the Abyss even earlier than the Wind Sea Continent.
Still a Grand Commander, the Corrupted Lord led his legion to hold the front line. While other imperial legions were being routed and howling in defeat, his side had already gathered elite warriors and organized effective and precise counterattacks.
Just as the Grand Commander's elite cavalry had counterattacked to the base of an Abyss Passage, he received a command that struck him like a thunderbolt: immediately return to the royal capital to cover the king and high nobles in their retreat to the nearest Eighth Rank world, Alliance Star.
Simply put, while the Grand Commander was beating back the first wave of Abyss beast tides on the front lines, and his soldiers were growing stronger from the battles, on the verge of becoming a Transcendent-level legion's combat power, his sovereign was planning to flee with his close associates and high nobles.
The Grand Commander refused this order and abandoned the empire's war flag. He led his troops back from the front line, retreating to the empire's most populous trade city, Bostendon. He defended this city for fifteen years until only one-tenth of his soldiers remained. Only then did the Abyss's invasion begin to spread into Bostendon. A few months later, the Grand Commander stood atop a mountain of giant beast corpses. Having lost over 90% of his blood in battle, he sat silently on the head of a giant beast, slowly being engulfed by the darkness gathering around him.
The Grand Commander died, and the Corrupted Lord was born. The resentment in his heart, as cold as the Nine Nethers, caused the initial Abyss energy in this world to begin mutating, becoming more erosive, spreading, assimilating, and adaptive. His former subordinates gradually rose again, becoming the first Corrupters. The "Calamity Legion" was born.
Invasion, erosion, assimilation—this was the process by which the "Calamity Legion" turned a vibrant world into a cold, desolate ruin.
The core combat power of the "Calamity Legion" was the Corrupters. They were numerous, too numerous to count. The residents of Sky City invaded by the Calamity Fog became the Fallen. They were still low-level cannon fodder and needed to absorb Calamity Fog for a while before they could potentially transform into Corrupters.
In other words, Shenfu, the Platinum Apostle, and the Archbishop of the Abyss had cooperated with the Corrupted Lord to create the current situation. As for their ultimate goal, it was temporarily unknown. What was certain was that if they achieved their goal, the Wizard faction would pay an extremely painful price, possibly even being crippled.
In terms of combat capability, the "Calamity Legion" could indeed contend with the Sea Clan and Beast Clan of the Wind Sea Continent. The Wizard faction's situation was less optimistic. They had many top-tier individual powerhouses, but when it came to legion combat power, they were merely decent.
"White Night, the methods you used to clean up the Eternal Light World can also deal with this enemy, right?"
The Moon Witch's meaning was clear: she was inviting Su Xiao's Demon Insect Race to join the Wizard faction in dealing with the enemy in Sky City. Naturally, there would be compensation afterward.
Su Xiao looked at the Moon Witch opposite him, somewhat puzzled. Why did the Moon Witch think that in a clash of legion warfare, the Wizard faction could gain an advantage against the "Calamity Legion"?
On second thought, this Moon Witch had never resisted an Abyss invasion. After becoming the Moon Witch, she had protected the Witch Realm as an individual powerhouse and promoted its development. Defeating the Ancient King Legion, the Ice Descendant Legion, and the tribes were all deeds of the first-generation Moon Witch. By the time of Sesirius's generation, the legion warfare factions of other Witch Realm factions had long been crushed, shifting instead to developing individual powerhouses.
This was a Transcendent Realm. The "Wizard Legion" of the Witch Realm had always believed that since they and the Wind Sea Continent were both Transcendent Realms, their legion warfare combat power should be similar. The "Wizard Legion" admitted that the Wind Sea Continent was stronger in this regard, but at most by half a step.
The Witch Realm had been peaceful for over a thousand years. The Wizard Legion here had never been in favor. This time, finally receiving attention from the Moon Witch, over a dozen Wizard Legions naturally wanted to showcase their powerful combat power. They promised to drive the "Calamity Legion" out of the Witch Realm within 10 days at most. It could be seen that the Wizard Legion commanders hadn't completely lost their minds. They knew the "Calamity Legion" was strong, so they only said they would drive it out, not boasting about annihilating it.
Moon Witch·Sesirius was certainly not omniscient. She judged that the Wizard Legion commanders were exaggerating, but she estimated that the Wizard Legion, combined with the world's massive number of individual powerhouses, would only be a matter of time before driving out the "Calamity Legion."
Therefore, while she hoped for Su Xiao's insect race to intervene, it was far from urgent.
In this situation, if Su Xiao deployed the Demon Insect Race, even if they repelled the "Calamity Legion," he would offend many people. Moreover, the gains from the Wizard faction would not be substantial. It would be a thankless task. Conversely, letting the Wizard faction first experience the "Calamity Legion's" legion warfare strength, making them beg for his intervention, would yield completely different gains.
"The cost of the insect race being able to enter the Eternal Light World is that they can never leave."
Su Xiao wasn't fooling the Moon Witch. This was indeed the case. Currently, the only way for the insect race to leave the Eternal Light World at full combat power was through the summoning of the "War Lord" title.
"Is that so? What a pity."
The Moon Witch said no more on the topic. She asked, "You want to borrow a Wizard Workshop? You know, you just refused me, so I have to consider refusing you as well."
"Hmm, that's fair."
As he spoke, Su Xiao took a bag of Maple Tea from his storage space and brewed two cups using the Moon Witch's tea set. This puzzled the Moon Witch. She had just refused this Law Destroyer, yet instead of being dissatisfied, he was treating her to the unique Maple Tea of the Law-Destruction faction. This made her ask:
"Tell me, what do you want to do in the Wizard Workshop?"
Hearing this, Su Xiao paused, his hand holding the teacup. Before tasting the Maple Tea, he replied, "I plan to conduct an in-depth study of the 'Doom Scroll.' I don't fully understand this Original Sin Object yet. To avoid risks..."
"Here is the key to my Wizard Workshop."
The Moon Witch pushed a set of keys over. Seeing this, Su Xiao took a sip of Maple Tea before saying, "Wizard Workshops are expensive to build. I'd better..."
"You must use it. Apart from in my Wizard Workshop, don't fiddle with your world-destroying 'collectibles' elsewhere."
The Moon Witch stared at Su Xiao. After a moment, she asked, "White Night, what do you think of Serin?"
"In a sense, she has somewhat re-forged the glory of a certain previous-generation Law Destroyer."
Hearing this, the Moon Witch frowned slightly in confusion. She added, "I mean, do you think Serin is qualified to become the next Moon Witch?"
"..."
Su Xiao simply ignored the Moon Witch. He never meddled in others' affairs. Unless it concerned himself, he wouldn't even offer opinions.
Seeing Su Xiao's attitude, the Moon Witch's eyes showed a hint of displeasure, but inwardly, she felt relieved. Su Xiao's attitude clearly indicated that whether Serin became the Moon Witch was the Wizard faction's business, had nothing to do with him, and he had no intention of interfering.
After chatting briefly with the Moon Witch, Su Xiao left. In the elevator, he flexed his crystal left hand. In the coming days, besides recovering from his injuries, he would wait for news of the Wizard Legion being beaten to the ground. As for the Dark Blood·Power holder, the Dark Firstborn, if he wasn't mistaken, there was an over 80% chance he was now in the mutated Sky City.
Regarding the plan Shenfu and the others had set up in Sky City, Su Xiao and Kaisa had naturally taken precautions. However, they had misjudged. They originally thought the Dark God Cult would bring in a large amount of Abyss energy to rise, but instead, the "Calamity Legion" appeared.
Both Su Xiao and Kaisa were quite pleased with this misjudgment. They had already looted the Dark God Cult headquarters' treasury. A second looting would have been satisfying, but the gains wouldn't have been high. In contrast, the "Calamity Legion," which had destroyed many high-rank worlds, had arrived. The Corrupted Lord's massive treasury must be piled high with all kinds of rare treasures.
Don't forget that the three Arbiters were now gathered in this world. The plan for this operation had already been sketched out. As soon as Su Xiao's Demon Insect Race engaged the Calamity Legion, the subsequent plan could be implemented. It could be said that the three Arbiters' eyes were now glowing green.
A few hours ago, Guild Leader·Po Yien, who had met the three, quickly went to a secluded spot and urgently contacted the Moon Witch. The message was simple: she must protect the Wizard faction's treasury well. The faint green light he had seen in those three's eyes earlier had given him the creeps.
...
Witch Guild Headquarters·Backyard. Before 8 PM that evening, Su Xiao arrived at the Moon Witch's Wizard Workshop. This place had multiple layers of sealing runes. He estimated that unless a "Sun Holy Sword" was detonated inside, it would be impossible to shake the defensive runes here.
Of course, the Moon Witch wasn't completely at ease letting Su Xiao study the "Doom Scroll" here, so she had Silver Lady and the old Guild Leader come to prevent accidents.
Su Xiao didn't mind their presence. He took out the "Doom Scroll." For him, this pseudo-Original Sin Object was a perfect fit. Not only did it increase Soul Strength, but the doom it imposed was also a benefit for him, because of:
[Doom Ancient Ring]
Quality: Doom (Can be enhanced by injecting Doom).
Tip: This action will bring unknown risks.
Category: Ring
Durability: 1/1 (Wear and use consume very little durability, extremely fragile when taking damage, weak against all types of attacks).
Equipment Requirements: None
Equipment Effect 1: Lethal Range (Passive·Unique), when attacking enemies at range, the greater the distance to the target, the greater the damage increase (increase 1.2 to 3.8 times).
Equipment Effect 2: Doom Revelation (Passive·Unique), when attacking enemies at range, your negative attributes will provide a bonus to this ancient ring, thereby increasing ranged damage.
Tip: When attacking enemies at range, the damage dealt will be increased by 9.49 times (damage intensity bonus from -22 Charm Attribute).
Equipment Effect 3: Energy Adaptation (Passive): To activate this equipment's characteristics, you need to consume a certain amount of body energy. The consumption rate is: for every 0.2 times increase in ranged attack intensity, 1000 Mana Points are consumed for the bonus.
Tip: To reach the theoretical maximum attack intensity bonus, one attack requires 60,000 Mana Points (increase ranged attack intensity by 12 times).
This equipment's maximum bonus to ranged attack multiplier is: 25.29 times.
Equipment Detriment 1: Fragile (Passive·Cannot be ignored)...
Equipment Detriment 2: Slow Movement (Passive)...
Equipment Detriment 3: Slow Removal (Passive)...
Equipment Detriment 4: Slow Energy Accumulation (Passive)...
Equipment Detriment 5: Doom Entanglement (Passive)...
Equipment Detriment 6: Doom Awakening (Core·Passive·Cannot be ignored), can devour large amounts of Doom to enhance this equipment's strength, but will also cause this equipment to gain more "Equipment Detriments."
Equipment Detriment 7: Abyss Craving (Core·Passive)...
Equipment Detriment 8: Doom Curse (Passive·Cannot be ignored), the probability of you being attacked by evil spirits, vengeful souls, wraiths, etc., increases by 800% (this is a newly added detriment).
...
Regarding this new characteristic, Su Xiao didn't feel any effect. It seemed that an 800% increase in the probability of being attacked by evil spirits couldn't offset the deterrent effect of his blood energy.
Su Xiao sat before the engraving table and placed the "Doom Scroll" on it. To make this pseudo-Original Sin Object effective, strengthening it was too costly. So, the only option was to use a trick: fool the ghost.
Since the "Doom Scroll" was imposing doom on Su Xiao while contending with the Hunter's judgment, Law-Destruction fortune, etc., helping it lighten the load was the best choice now. Su Xiao opened his title list, equipped the [Violator] title, and activated its effect.
A series of prompts appeared before Su Xiao. Names of Violators who had died in the Witch Realm appeared. Su Xiao could choose one to disguise himself as for a period. He chose an Absolute Strength-level Violator named White Wolf·Woyihe as his disguise identity.
Don't underestimate this disguise. It was the highest-level authority certified by Reincarnation Paradise. After all, the positioning of this title was for Su Xiao to invade worlds under Apocalypse Paradise's jurisdiction, so of course, the authority level was maxed out.
The result was that Su Xiao's Hunter judgment, Law-Destruction fortune, etc., were all temporarily blocked or hidden.
Su Xiao took out a contract pen and signed the name of his disguised identity, White Wolf·Woyihe, onto the "Doom Scroll." Logically, before the previous holder of the "Doom Scroll" broke free or died, no other name could be signed on it. However, under the interference of Reincarnation Paradise's disguise, White Wolf·Woyihe signed on smoothly.
A wave of gray doom rushed towards him. Indeed, the "Doom Scroll" on the engraving table perked up. Since being held by Su Xiao, this pseudo-Original Sin Object had suffered greatly. Now, it finally had a chance to hold its head high.
A massive amount of doom invaded Su Xiao, attaching itself to him. The most intuitive manifestation was that his 80-point Luck Attribute plummeted like water. Although it was a temporary reduction, it still showed the power of doom. After a few seconds, his Luck Attribute became 0 points. After a brief pause, it became -1 point.
In just over ten seconds, Su Xiao's Luck Attribute became -15 points. He took out the [Doom Ancient Ring]. This equipment was like a giant whale drinking water, rapidly absorbing the doom on Su Xiao. For a moment, the output of the "Doom Scroll" and the absorption of the [Doom Ancient Ring] achieved a certain balance.
The "Doom Scroll" had finally found an opportunity and was ready to use this massive amount of doom to curse Su Xiao to death on the spot. As for the [Doom Ancient Ring], its initial absorption of doom was only decent. But after being beaten up by the Law-Destruction fortune every three days and given a severe beating every five days, its doom absorption had long reached X. Now, it was in a state of accepting everything.
Compared to these two big shots, the lucky equipment Holy Serpent in Su Xiao's storage space was curled up, trembling. It was terrified, afraid that its holder would take it out to participate in the terrifying doom storm outside.
Thinking of this, tears welled up in the miniature Holy Serpent's eyes. As a lucky equipment, its previous owners had all taken great care of it. Especially the last lady who owned it, she had always worn the [Holy Serpent Guardian] pendant around her neck and said goodnight to it every day before bed.
Although following previous owners meant going hungry for over 25 days a month, at least it wasn't in danger of losing its life at any moment. Since following Su Xiao, the Holy Serpent had never gone hungry. Instead, it was constantly stuffed to the point of being dazed. Once, it had devoured a whole month's worth of doom in a row, and by the end of the month, it had indigestion.
Leaving aside the trembling Holy Serpent, the doom confrontation outside lasted a full hour before ending. The "Doom Scroll" continued to pour out doom, but the [Doom Ancient Ring] had reached its limit. More importantly, the increase in Su Xiao's Soul Strength had noticeably slowed and showed signs of stagnating.
Some said the "Doom Scroll" could infinitely enhance the holder's soul. After actual testing, Su Xiao found that the "Doom Scroll's" effect on Soul Strength above 900 points wasn't as significant as expected. After increasing his Soul Strength from 890 to 940 points, the boost from this pseudo-Original Sin Object suddenly became negligible. However, the invading doom was still as fierce as ever.
Seeing this, Su Xiao deactivated the [Violator] title's disguise. The Hunter's judgment, Law-Destruction fortune, five strands of Original Sin karma, Deathly Stillness karma, and Heaven's Chosen karma of the Origin Stone·World all returned. Karma was a two-way street. As fierce as the "Doom Scroll's" imposition of doom on Su Xiao had been, just as fierce was the feedback from these several powerful karmas to the "Doom Scroll." There was no such thing as acting tough and then running away.
Visible cracks appeared on the "Doom Scroll." Seeing this, Su Xiao wondered if this pseudo-Original Sin Object was about to die on the spot. He immediately took out the "Book of Original Sin." Making the best use of everything, even if the "Doom Scroll" really shattered into pieces, the "Book of Original Sin" could devour it. It was hard to obtain a pseudo-Original Sin Object, so he couldn't waste it.
With a crack, the "Doom Scroll" could no longer withstand the intense backlash from the several karmas. It exploded on the spot. As fragments flew everywhere, a gray mist emerged. Su Xiao held the "Book of Original Sin" with one hand. Dark golden tentacles emerged from it, wantonly devouring the gray mist while also rolling up the fragments of the "Doom Scroll" and stuffing them into the devouring mouth on the book's cover, chewing with great satisfaction.
After the "Book of Original Sin" had devoured all the fragments of the "Doom Scroll," it transmitted a wave of satisfaction back to Su Xiao and landed back in his hand.
Compared to the "Primordial Mask," that rebellious runaway son, and the "Bloodthirsty Battle Armor," that useless prodigal, the "Book of Original Sin" was worthy of high expectations. After completing its first devouring of a shattered pseudo-Original Sin Object, Su Xiao could sense that the sealing strength of the "Book of Original Sin" had skyrocketed by a tier. It seemed... it might even be possible to seal another Daddy-level Original Sin Object.
Su Xiao's gaze fell on the tree spirit of the "Greed Life Tree," which he had released earlier. The tree spirit was now trembling. It had witnessed a fellow being destroyed by Su Xiao and then completely devoured by the "Book of Original Sin." The dark golden tentacles extending from the "Book of Original Sin" were faintly pointing at it, as if asking Su Xiao for permission. It hadn't had enough and wanted to devour this "Greed Life Tree" as well.
Putting away the "Book of Original Sin," Su Xiao glanced at the tree spirit and let it figure out for itself whether it would continue to be lazy and refuse to bear "Life Fruits" for a long time.
Meanwhile, Silver Lady and the old Guild Leader had witnessed all of this. After a few seconds of stunned silence, they exchanged glances and then fell silent, their moods particularly complicated.
Su Xiao paid no attention to their psychological shadows. He took out a bottle of treatment potion and drank it. Feeling the progress of his injury recovery, he thought it was acceptable. He would just wait. After the Wizard faction was beaten to the ground by the "Calamity Legion" in legion warfare, it would be time for the Demon Insect Race to make its entrance.