Chapter 48: Preparations
At the headquarters of the Witch Guild, beside the shallow lake in the backyard.
Su Xiao sat cross-legged on an oval-shaped boulder, which resembled an enlarged cobblestone. A slender fishing rod rested on a stand in front of him.
Because Su Xiao, sitting cross-legged, had completely suppressed his aura, a large orange cat crouched nearby, accompanied by three kittens sitting in a row, waiting. The cat occasionally yawned, seemingly complaining about Su Xiao's poor fishing skills—it had waited half the morning without even catching a small fish.
Alanna, who had hurried over, startled the orange cat family away, causing them to hide in the nearby bushes. Beside the boulder, Alanna caught her breath and said:
"Mr. White Night, things are not looking good. According to the informants we placed in the Calamity Legion, they are planning to join forces with Doom Star. Several heads of the wizard families estimate that those going to Doom Star are likely Shenfu and his group. Should we send people to harass them?"
"Oh?"
Su Xiao was slightly surprised, not because Shenfu and the other two were allying with Doom Star, but because the Wizard faction had managed to plant informants in the Calamity Legion's lair so quickly. It seemed that some wizards stationed at the "Cursed Sea" or "Starry Sky Island" had been recalled.
In fact, the entire Wizard faction could be divided into two types: 1. Administrative wizards, 2. Combat wizards.
Administrative wizards were more skilled in researching and improving spells, deeply developing runes, and applying them to productivity and daily life. For example, these wizards invented the "Highjibok Heart."
A fist-sized "Highjibok Heart" could supply the energy needs of a medium-to-large city for 10 to 15 years, with almost no subsequent pollution and low material costs. Of course, the technical cost was high—only wizards specializing in this field could create its core spell formation.
Overall, administrative wizards ensured the residents' quality of life and various logistics, making the Wizard faction very wealthy. In contrast, the other type was combat wizards, who devoted all their energy to killing enemies. Their combat power and willpower were maxed out, but their productivity was nearly zero.
The reason the Calamity Legion had been so active recently was that the combat wizards were not at home. They couldn't stay home often, as they were constantly in contact with various monsters and evil spirits, making their mental state particularly sensitive. A dog barking in a neighbor's yard at midnight could startle them, and their instinctive mid-to-long-range aura counterattack could cause the innocent neighbors next door to have their entire family turned into minced meat spread across the bedroom walls.
An important criterion for judging whether a moon witch was competent was their ability to mediate the relationship between administrative and combat wizards. Although the two were interdependent, their relationship had never been good.
Regarding Alanna's report that Shenfu and the other two had allied with Doom Star, Su Xiao was not worried at all. Doom Star's strength was undeniable, but they would definitely not enter the fray now.
To put it simply, the Witch Realm and Doom Star were intimidating each other, and neither side dared to make a real move. It was an extremely interesting situation.
In the past, both the Witch Realm and Doom Star were ruthless entities that would act without hesitation at the slightest disagreement, regardless of the cost. But now, both sides had their own problems. On the Witch Realm's side, it was the "Malignant Transformation." The increasingly severe "Malignant Transformation" among wizards was like a powder keg about to explode. Sooner or later, wizards would reach a certain age or a critical point in strength, and then they would undergo a 100% "Malignant Transformation."
Doom Star's problem was the conflict between the Night Mother and the Underworld God. The Night Mother was the Mother of the Night, the God of Dark Drowning, Umnayala, the ancient god worshipped by Zuiyasi's entire family.
From the outside, Doom Star seemed to be controlled by the Underworld Temple, but in recent years, this situation had slightly changed. The Night faction had quietly risen. When mentioning the Night faction, people might feel unfamiliar, but the "Eye Ritual" was well-known. This was the mad knowledge developed and spread by the Night faction's hidden city, Yargu.
Before the Underworld God and the Night Mother formally clashed and a victor emerged, Doom Star would definitely not act externally. As for why they kept pressuring the Witch Realm, it was because they feared the Witch Realm would take advantage of the conflict between the Underworld God and the Night Mother to strike Doom Star hard.
Few people knew about the impending clash between the Underworld God and the Night Mother. Across the Void, perhaps only a dozen people knew about it. Zuiyasi's family were the Night Mother's absolute confidants, so they were naturally qualified to know. Su Xiao, as a Law Destroyer with an irreconcilable conflict with the Underworld God, and as a master alchemist, was an excellent partner for the Night Mother, so he also knew about it. The rest were confidants of the Underworld God.
Therefore, Shenfu's plan to ally with Doom Star was pure nonsense. A cool breeze blew by the lakeside, and Baha explained to Alanna that Doom Star had its own concerns. Of course, the news about the impending clash between the Underworld God and the Night Mother was not disclosed. It wasn't that they didn't trust Alanna, but because she was part of the Wizard faction. Letting her know this would indirectly drag her into the whirlpool.
Alanna, sipping iced lemon water through a straw, suddenly understood the standoff between the Witch Realm and Doom Star. But then she asked in confusion:
"If that's the case, Mr. White Night, why are Shenfu and the others still insisting on allying with Doom Star? Aren't they accomplices of the Calamity Legion? Doing this doesn't seem to help the Calamity Legion much. So why did they go through the trouble of allying with them in the first place?"
Alanna, with the straw in her mouth, frowned. Explaining this question was a bit complicated.
First, why did Shenfu, the Platinum Apostle, and the Archbishop of the Abyss cooperate? It came down to one thing: entering the "Dawn Paradise."
Without even going into the detailed purpose of entering the "Dawn Paradise," just being able to enter would bring unparalleled benefits, especially for violators like Shenfu and the Platinum Apostle.
Don't forget that the "Dawn Paradise" was now in ruins, having lost its powerful certification system. But it was still a paradise. Anything found amidst this rubble and ruin would be something absolutely impossible to obtain through normal means.
The first condition for entering the "Dawn Paradise" was to obtain a massive amount of World Force. There were only a few places where such an amount of World Force could be obtained, and the three Transcendent Primordial Worlds were among them.
The first to be ruled out was the Wind Sea Continent, because it was too powerful. Not to mention anything else, Su Xiao had summoned Jila there, but throughout an entire world progress, he hadn't managed to cultivate a single combat insect through the nest. The reason was simple: even if the insects swarmed, they would be crushed by either the Beast Clan or the Sea Clan, with no chance to fight back.
Doom Star was also out of the question. Even if Shenfu and the other two didn't know about the impending clash between the Underworld God and the Night Mother, how could these three old schemers not sense the increasingly tense atmosphere there? Setting that aside, Doom Star's World Force was being continuously absorbed by the ancient gods. If they actually went there, the most likely outcome was being besieged by both the Underworld Temple and the Night faction.
Blazing Sun Star, Chiriad, also met the conditions with its massive World Force, but after discussing it, Shenfu and the other two decided to give up. That place was just too unsettling.
Thus, the Witch Realm seemed like the perfect choice, and Shenfu and the other two indeed chose it. But shortly after they arrived in the Witch Realm, Su Xiao, who needed to complete the [Talent Awakening Quest: Shadow of Law Destruction (Second Stage)], also came here.
In fact, the Archbishop of the Abyss had long suspected this. He knew the Witch Realm better than Shenfu and the Platinum Apostle, as it was where he had risen. Additionally, he had recently clashed with Su Xiao in the Eternal Light World, so he was certain that if the current Moon Witch, Seshirisi, was smart enough and not overly arrogant, she would definitely invite the Law Destroyer, Bai Ye, here. There were three reasons for this.