Chapter 47: The Objective
Thick, corrupting smoke billowed from chimneys that were wide at the bottom and narrow at the top, casting the sky city in a dark haze. The surface water sources were a reddish-brown, both highly toxic and eroding the surrounding land.
This was Green Shade Star, a once lush, ninth-rank top-tier world that could be called a plant kingdom. The native inhabitants here were the Giant Spirit Clan. They cherished nature and life, believed in natural cause and effect, and firmly held that only by loving and nurturing the world they lived in could they have a better future.
This made the Giant Spirit Clan one of the oldest ethnic groups. From the early First Era of the Void, they had lived on Green Shade Star. It was originally a waste star, nearly slipping to the first-rank world stage in the early second-rank period. Consequently, this world only had a single planet, lacking a rich and diverse world structure.
In truth, the Transcendent Primordial World also only has one planet. The problem is, that planet in the Transcendent Realm is incredibly vast. For example, in the Witch Realm, the Wizard faction can only fully control the continent of Wizard Continent, which occupies about 6.5% of the entire Witch Realm. Far more expansive are the oceans, archipelagos, the Dark Spreading Zone, and the sky cities inhabited by rare animals.
However, the Wizard faction is indisputably the face of the Witch Realm. Their rise and fall determine the fate of the Witch Realm. This absurdly vast Witch Realm holds countless secrets and dangers, all of which the Wizard faction keeps in check.
Don't be fooled by the Disaster Legion's gleeful invasion of the Witch Realm. The Wizard faction hadn't even shown their true strength. Ask yourself, where did the core forces of the numerous wizard families go? The answer is: they went to those extremely dangerous places that needed their suppression. It's not that the wizards thrived because of the Witch Realm; it's because of the wizards that the Witch Realm is suitable for intelligent beings to live in peace. Otherwise, this place would be a hunting ground for all kinds of terrifying monsters, a living hell.
Back when it was a waste star, Green Shade Star was only a second-rank world. When the wandering Giant Spirit Clan arrived, they didn't despise its barrenness but made it their home. At that time, the Giant Spirit Clan was a seventh-rank clan. In the beginning, they purified the pollutants on this planet day and night, revitalizing the land and water sources.
Through the Giant Spirit Clan's care and development, by the end of the First Era of the Void, Green Shade Star had become a sixth-rank world. The Giant Spirit Clan disliked houses, preferring to live in forests or mountains. This was a clan with an average elemental affinity of over 300 points, illustrating their love for nature and life.
By the middle of the Second Era, Green Shade Star had developed into an eighth-rank world. At this stage, it was Green Shade Star nurturing the Giant Spirit Clan. By the end of the Second Era, the Giant Spirit Clan's rank had reached the ninth rank, and they began to give back to Green Shade Star.
The early Third Era was the peak for both the Giant Spirit Clan and Green Shade Star. As a ninth-rank top-tier group, they did not bully the weak. At that time, the Giant Spirit Clan began to enjoy long-distance travel. They would go to mid-to-low-rank worlds on the verge of exhaustion or collapse. If they could save them, they would use gentle means. If not, they would help the world's inhabitants spend their final moments as peacefully and painlessly as possible.
Green Shade Star possessed vast resources and abundant natural elements. The latter naturally attracted the attention of Arcane Eternal Star. However, Arcane Eternal Star still valued its reputation. Plundering the Giant Spirit Clan, the universal good guys, would be both shameful and damaging to their name. So they simply turned a blind eye, not seeing it meant not coveting it.
Arcane Eternal Star might care about its reputation, but some factions don't. That was the Disaster Legion. The once great commander who resisted the Abyss had long had his heart completely eroded by darkness. Green Shade Star became its target.
The Giant Spirit Clan was powerful, but unfortunately, the Disaster Legion was a legion-level invader. To put it differently, the Giant Spirit Clan differed from the Little Elf Clan in only one way: they hadn't found a backer. The Little Elf Clan had the Soul Library behind them. A faction like the Disaster Legion wouldn't dare to challenge the Soul Library.
The beautiful scenery of Green Shade Star was long gone. Corruption had heavily polluted the place. The entire planet exuded a filthy black-red color, and plants were long extinct.
A magnificent structure tens of thousands of meters high stood tall. Amidst the howling wind and sand, it appeared both grand and somewhat lifeless. This was the Disaster Legion's base camp.
In the top-floor meeting hall, the Corrupted Lord in its dark red battle armor sat at the head. Besides high-ranking members of the Disaster Legion like the Evil Spirit King and the Demon Lord Leader, Shenfu, the Platinum Apostle, and the Archbishop of the Abyss were also present. Even the Dark Eldest Son, shrouded in black smoke with his form and features unidentifiable, was there.
More puzzlingly, a group of mid-to-high-ranking members of the Dark God Cult were also present. They had left the Witch Realm for this ruined Green Shade Star because their lair in the Witch Realm's Shadow City had been reduced to charred ruins.
The entire Shadow City was a territory for criminals, outlaws, and Dark God Cult members. No one good could live there. In that place, anyone who showed even a hint of kindness would be like someone cutting themselves in a pool of piranhas, soon left with no bones. However, public security in Shadow City was no longer an issue now. Dragonflame had erased this city of evil.
Speaking of it, the Dark God Cult in the Witch Realm ending up like this was entirely the fault of the Archbishop of the Abyss. It sounds absurd, but it was true.
For the Dark God Cult, which worshipped the Abyss, the Archbishop of the Abyss was second only to the Abyss itself in their faith. The problem was, the Archbishop of the Abyss had been sealed in the Eternal Light World for a hundred thousand years.
Now that the Archbishop of the Abyss had returned to the Witch Realm, would the high-ranking members of the Dark God Cult be overjoyed? Of course not. Before, they could do whatever they wanted. Now, they had to obey the Archbishop of the Abyss's commands.
The Dark God Cult in this world had three factions, led by the Light and Dark Lord, Black Hole Azler, and the Dark Eldest Son. Ask yourself, would these three parties willingly submit to the Archbishop of the Abyss?
The core members under them were all recruited by themselves. Their dark power was obtained by worshipping the Abyss and paying a price. Neither of these things had anything to do with the Archbishop of the Abyss. Why should they all listen to him now?
As a super old schemer, the Archbishop of the Abyss realized this immediately upon returning to the Witch Realm. So he didn't act tough. Instead, he took out the Dark Codex, secretly summoned the Light and Dark Lord, Black Hole Azler, and the Dark Eldest Son, gave them the codex, and told them to use it to win people over and strengthen their forces. Only when the Dark God Cult was strong would he be safe, as he had many enemies. He also said their interests were aligned, and he had much more of this kind of dark knowledge.
How could three individuals whose combined ages barely reached a thousand years outsmart a hundred-thousand-year-old schemer like the Archbishop of the Abyss? He knew the Witch Realm well, even better than the current Moon Witch in some aspects. Therefore, he was certain that a certain Law Destroyer would be invited, as this was the optimal solution to the Witch Realm's current problems.
To pave the way, the Archbishop of the Abyss backstabbed the Death Witch Doro, seized her portion of Dark Blood, and gave it to the Light and Dark Lord. He then went to the tomb of the first Sky City Lord, retrieved the second portion of Dark Blood, and gave it to the Dark Eldest Son.
The Archbishop of the Abyss wasn't sure he would succeed, but with a thirty percent chance, it was worth a try. When he learned the Law Destroyer had indeed arrived, he completely went into hiding. He couldn't let the other party detect that he had interfered with the flow of those two portions of Dark Blood. Besides, this wasn't a scheme, but a "courtesy exchange."
The Archbishop of the Abyss helped Su Xiao reduce the difficulty of obtaining the Dark Blood. In return, the Archbishop of the Abyss needed Su Xiao to help him eliminate the three current leaders of the Dark God Cult.
But the Archbishop of the Abyss truly didn't expect Su Xiao to directly destroy Shadow City. This caused heavy losses for the Archbishop of the Abyss, but it also gave him an opportunity.
In truth, the Archbishop of the Abyss had always wanted to leave the Witch Realm. The Wizard faction here didn't seem to have exhausted its luck. For the Dark God Cult to develop, it had to feed on the corpse of a major power to replace it. Only in the Wind Sea Continent was there such a chance. The Archbishop of the Abyss was certain that the Wind Sea Continent would be the first Transcendent Realm to decline.
The current situation was that the destruction of Shadow City had caused several hundred mid-level Dark God Cult members to lose trust in the Dark Eldest Son. The Archbishop of the Abyss wouldn't need much effort to bring these mid-level members under his command and take them to the Wind Sea Continent to develop.
As for the lower-level members who had strength but no brains, he could get as many as he wanted once in the Wind Sea Continent. Those with weak wills found it hard to refuse easily obtained dark power.
The atmosphere in the meeting hall was oppressive. The powerful combat strength of the Demon Insect Race had stunned the Disaster Legion. The more pressing issue was whether the Demon Insect Race would attack.
"Everyone, as far as I know, the insect race isn't good at tracking. Besides, Green Shade Star has long been transformed by us into a drifting star. Our position is hard to lock onto."
The Demon Lord Leader spoke, its four hands' fingers interlaced. Its radial pupils held a hint of confidence. After all, it had transformed this planet, originally intending to make it a mobile world-class war fortress. Unfortunately, the result was like the difference between a seller's showcase and the actual product.
"With this planet's movement speed, it is indeed difficult to track."
The Evil Spirit King expressed his opinion, his words quite skillful. He and the Demon Lord Leader were rivals. Under the current circumstances, harshly criticizing the Demon Lord Leader's statement would surely cause resentment, so he chose to praise him to set him up for a fall.
"Everyone."
Shenfu spoke, drawing everyone's attention. He continued, "If I'm not mistaken, the Law Destroyer Bai Ye is now working with the Fraudster Kaiser against you all. Do those present here truly have the confidence to evade the Fraudster's pursuit?"
These words caused everyone present to change color. Ever since the Fraudster successfully stole the Goblin Merchant Guild's Vaults 2 through 5, his name had spread throughout the outer Void.
Mentioning Kaiser, few would recognize him. But mention the Fraudster, and as long as it wasn't a world with no contact to the outside, the local powerhouses would have heard of the Fraudster's name and would instinctively worry about their own treasuries. It was the same psychology as subconsciously checking if one's wallet was still in the inner pocket of their coat.
"Everyone, no need to worry so much. Actually, I have some good news."
Shenfu took out a fluorescent purple spatial fragment and placed it on the table. "This is a fragment of the Void Gate I obtained at the cost of one of my dead avatars. Based on my judgment as a member of the Paradise faction, this is not an inherent ability or equipment trait, but a title ability..."
Hearing this, a Bull-headed Demon under the Demon Lord Leader felt it was unreliable and loudly questioned, "How can you prove this is the ability of that so-called title you mentioned?"
Shenfu wasn't annoyed by the interruption. With a kind smile, he explained to the Bull-headed Demon, "Can you distinguish the taste of an apple, an orange, and a pear?"
"Of course I can."
The Bull-headed Demon answered decisively. Then, seeming to understand something, he nodded and didn't ask further.
Shenfu, still wearing a kind smile, continued, "Assuming this Void Gate is a title ability, there's a seventy percent chance or higher that it has a time limit, or even a usage limit per world. Otherwise, the Star Cluster Island closest to Wizard Continent would already be insect territory."
After Shenfu finished, everyone present felt his reasoning was sound. But another problem was that the Witch Realm and Green Shade Star were not the same world. In the Witch Realm, the Void Gate might have reached its usage limit, but not on Green Shade Star.
"One more thing. You all need not worry about that Law Destroyer indiscriminately attacking Green Shade Star. Someone among us possesses something that Law Destroyer desperately wants."
The Archbishop of the Abyss's words made the Dark Eldest Son's expression darken. He pressed one hand to his chest, feeling the Dark Blood within his three hearts. This was his last trump card. If pushed to the brink, he would destroy this Dark Blood.
"So, you're saying that Law Destroyer can't actively attack us, and we have something he must obtain here. He might come to Green Shade Star without the insect race's help?"
The Evil Spirit King's eyes lit up with a different gleam. Other high-ranking members of the Disaster Legion also showed fierce glints in their eyes.
"This is our greatest advantage, but it's not enough. We need powerful allies."
The Platinum Apostle spoke. At this, everyone looked at Shenfu and the Archbishop of the Abyss. They all knew that these two had connections with Doom Star.
"This... is difficult. As you all know, Doom Star's stance is very ambiguous."
The kind smile on Shenfu's face faded slightly. This made the Evil Spirit King and the Demon Lord Leader stiffen. The Evil Spirit King said, "Shenfu, you were the one who suggested we invade the Witch Realm. Now that there's a problem, you want to slip away?"
Hearing this veiled threat, the smile completely vanished from Shenfu's face. He exchanged a glance with the Archbishop of the Abyss, whispered a few words, then slightly nodded and sighed.
"We three can try. But if it's just the three of us, the burden of driving that massive world-level teleportation array on the way is huge. This is for an alliance. If the three of us appear weak, the alliance might turn into a siege. I suggest, Lord Corrupted, that half of your mid-to-high-ranking members accompany us..."
"Impossible."
The Corrupted Lord stated, its first and only words so far.
"Oh? So you mean we go for the alliance, and you don't send a single person, taking no risk at all. Come to think of it, your defeat in the Witch Realm was due to your own incompetence. Why does it seem like there's a problem with our plan, making us run errands across various worlds?"
The Platinum Apostle's gaze turned somewhat hostile, causing unease among the Disaster Legion members.
"How about this, our cooperation ends here..."
As soon as the Platinum Apostle said this, the Dark Eldest Son immediately interrupted, "Everyone, calm down. The burden of driving the world-level teleportation array on the way is indeed a problem. How about I send over a hundred of my core members? This will boost our presence, and they can withstand the consumption of the teleportation array along the way."
Was the Dark Eldest Son acting for the greater good? Of course not. The hundred or so core members he planned to send were not his own trusted followers. They were the trusted confidants of the Light and Dark Lord and Black Hole Azler. These people seemed loyal to him, but were actually just clinging to his coattails. Once they engaged a powerful force, they would be the first to flee.
The Platinum Apostle looked around at these Dark God Cult members, each with their own agenda. He was about to express his dissatisfaction when Shenfu gave him a look, signaling him to endure for now, as they still needed to cooperate with the Corrupted Lord later.
After leaving the Disaster Legion headquarters, the group headed straight for the world-level teleportation array. Were they going to Doom Star to form an alliance? Of course not. Shenfu, the Platinum Apostle, and the Archbishop of the Abyss were immediately fleeing, leaving this soon-to-be-destroyed world.
Both Shenfu and the Archbishop of the Abyss had personally experienced how Su Xiao used a legion-style force to flatten the Eternal Light World. Under such circumstances, how brainless would they have to be to confront Su Xiao head-on in this regard?
The current situation was: the Archbishop of the Abyss, leading a group of capable and ambitious Dark God Cult underlings, headed straight for the Wind Sea Continent for rapid development. Shenfu and the Platinum Apostle would return to the Witch Realm to wrap up the current plan.
...
Witch Realm, Moon Ring City, Witch Guild Headquarters, the Moon Witch's exclusive workshop.
Dim light shone down from above. The Astral Disc, which had absorbed four portions of Dark Blood, floated above the engraving table. Su Xiao reached out with his index finger and flicked the Astral Disc, causing it to rotate slowly in its weightless state.
The faint fragrance of tulips in the workshop was soothing. Su Xiao was considering a problem: how to bypass the Dark Eldest Son and collect the fifth portion of Dark Blood. He was certain that the Dark Eldest Son was no longer in this world, but at the Disaster Legion's base camp.
He had never met the Dark Eldest Son, but for the other to become one of the three leaders of the Dark God Cult in this world, he must have the courage to face death. If Su Xiao directly crushed them with the insect race, even if he could kill the Dark Eldest Son, the other would destroy that portion of Dark Blood before dying. Information from previous main quests had mentioned more than once that Dark Blood could be destroyed.
The main quest required absorbing all Dark Blood with the Astral Disc. This quest seemed unsolvable. But from another perspective, assuming there were a total of 30 ounces of Dark Blood in this world, the main quest could simply be understood as absorbing 30 ounces of Dark Blood with the Astral Disc.
The problem was that Su Xiao had tried to create Dark Blood. He had analyzed its composition multiple times: it was a powerhouse's source blood + liquid world force + wizard mutation energy.
He could still find a way for the first two. The difficulty was the last one, Mutation Energy. The concentration of Mutation Energy in Dark Blood was absurdly high. What was puzzling was that wizards who absorbed Dark Blood didn't undergo mutation due to the Mutation Energy inside. This was even more baffling.
Everyone had their specialty. In this regard, Su Xiao was indeed not top-tier. Fortunately, he was never stubborn. After confirming that Dark Blood couldn't be replicated, he decided to adopt a riskier plan: dilution.
He currently had 25 ounces of Dark Blood. If he added a sufficiently adaptable blending liquid, it might be possible to turn 25 ounces of Dark Blood into 30 ounces, just with a lower concentration. He wasn't going to absorb this stuff for power. Ultimately, Dark Blood was just a key for him. Whether it was a gorgeous golden key or a rough iron key didn't matter; what mattered was opening the door.
Just as Su Xiao was about to take the risky step, the communicator beside him rang. He picked it up and saw it was from Yueshitu. This was a bit strange. Usually, such contact should be from Molei. He answered, and Molei's voice came through:
"Hey? Hello? Hello? Yueshitu, what kind of crappy communicator is this? There's no sound."
"That can't be. I just bought it last month."
"Look, no sound at all. Bang! Bang! Bang (sound of slapping)."
"The signal is normal. Hey, is it possible that you've been 'hello hello'-ing non-stop from the start, and Bai Ye hasn't said anything?"
"Uh~, Bai Ye, can you hear me?"
Hearing this, Baha, crouching on a nearby coat rack, said snarkily, "Can't hear."
"Oh no, he can't hear."
Molei's tone sounded a bit confused. If she was a silly girl before, now she was a silly, happy-go-lucky girl.
"I told you not to drink. You had to try what it felt like for Hao Mei to chug from the bottle. Now you're drunk."
"No big deal. I just feel a bit dumber. I handle my liquor well."
"How about you hang up first? Call back after you sober up, so you don't embarrass yourself again."
"No problem. Ahem~, Bai Ye, the Moonstone vein is fully mined. Our stay time in the Witch Realm is almost up. When are you coming to get the Moonstone? Actually, we could deliver it to you, but our strength still needs improvement. Traveling long distances in the Witch Realm is dangerous. But I feel I've overcome my cowardice now. Wait for me, I'll bring it to you soon..."
"Calm down! Have you forgotten the other day when you were almost gored to death by that wild stag deer? If it hadn't taken pity on you, you'd still be lying in bed recovering."
"You... you're lying! I went easy on it because it had a family to feed."
"Then why were you lying on the ground saying, 'Deer boss, I was wrong...'"
"Ah!! Shut up!"
"You... don't resort to violence just because you can't win an argument. I'm a summoner. Ooh~ I was wrong..."
Amidst Yueshitu's exclamation, Su Xiao ended the call. He decided to go pick up the Moonstone later. Moonstone, a resource that could be directly exchanged for rare Origin Stones, was key to strengthening Dragon-Slaying Flash.
Putting away the communicator, Su Xiao grasped the Astral Disc with one hand. Under his control, drops of Dark Blood seeped out from the Astral Disc, coalescing into a large mass. He took out a pre-prepared transparent potion and poured it onto the mass of Dark Blood. A few seconds later, the two showed signs of merging.
Essentially, Dark Blood could be considered a crude, extremely rare material. It wasn't a stable source of power. This was evident from the fact that neither the Ancient King nor the Strongest Defiler, the Dark Prophet, used it. As a master alchemist, Su Xiao could certainly lower the concentration of a material.
Su Xiao tried to absorb this diluted Dark Blood with the Astral Disc. As all the Dark Blood was absorbed, a prompt appeared.
[The Astral Disc has absorbed Dark Blood (102.6%).]
[Detected a change in Dark Blood concentration. Judging...]
[Judgment complete. Dark Blood of this concentration is sufficient to drive the Astral Disc.]
[When night falls, raise the Astral Disc with both hands towards the moon in the sky, assuming the Ascender posture. After completing this action, you can proceed to the Moon Temple.]
[Warning: This quest has no penalty. You can abandon it immediately and return to Reincarnation Paradise.]
...
Once again, facts proved that knowledge was power. Having successfully bypassed the seemingly unsolvable obstacle of the Dark Eldest Son, Su Xiao decided not to activate the Astral Disc for now. He would first destroy the Disaster Legion.
"My dear friend."
Kaiser suddenly spoke, almost causing Su Xiao to instinctively place his hand on the sword hilt at his waist.
"I saw you were busy earlier, so I didn't disturb you. I've found the location of the Disaster Legion's lair. It's on Green Shade Star. But there's a problem now. Green Shade Star is a trap."
Kaiser began to describe the situation on Green Shade Star. Simply put, Shenfu had placed the Original Sin Object, the Golden Holy Grail, at the core of that world. The Golden Holy Grail had now swallowed the world's World Core.
If the insect race and the Disaster Legion fought there, regardless of who won or lost, Shenfu would be the biggest winner. The Golden Holy Grail could absorb a massive amount of soul power, reaching a state of overflow. Once the Golden Holy Grail overflowed, Shenfu could use it to greatly enhance his Divine Blood.
Su Xiao certainly wouldn't let that happen. A Shenfu who had advanced to Absolute Strength was already troublesome enough. If he allowed the other to grow stronger, it would become a life-threatening hidden danger in the future.
Summoning a massive number of insects to Green Shade Star was obviously not a good strategy. The Dragonflame of an ordinary Demon Flame Dragon wasn't enough to completely burn away the enemy's soul energy. But there was one Demon Flame Dragon that could: the Strongest Flame Dragon, Barbatos. That's right, Su Xiao planned to have the Strongest Flame Dragon Barbatos single-handedly take on the entire Disaster Legion.