Chapter 49: Monarch
With the spread of golden light, a pendant appeared in Su Xiao's hand. The pendant's cord was woven from hair-thin tree branch roots, feeling soft yet tough like braided thread when held. The main body of the pendant was an irregular diamond-shaped crystal. Though irregular in shape, it gave a natural sense of beauty.
This lucky item was called [Holy: Ancient Elf], but the Ancient Elf was not sealed inside the main crystal of the pendant. At the center of this crystal was a golden rune emitting a faint glow, clearly allowing the [Ancient Elf] to be summoned through this lucky item.
[Holy: Ancient Elf]
Origin: Elf Kingdom.
Quality: Special.
Effect: Can summon an Ancient Elf to devour your misfortune. After completing the devouring of misfortune, the Ancient Elf will grant you a luck attribute boost based on the amount of misfortune devoured this time. This boost will last for 72 hours, but as the price for this misfortune/luck conversion, you need to pay the Ancient Elf the corresponding reward based on the total amount of misfortune + luck this time.
Effect 2: When you learn the "Elf Name" of this Ancient Elf, you can form an "Elf Pact" with it through this equipment. Subsequently, this Ancient Elf will help you devour misfortune and boost luck without compensation.
Introduction: Ancient Elf: Holy Seat. This is one of the five seats of the Ancient Elves, representing holiness, light, and beauty. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned, and for over 99% of an Ancient Elf's life, they are sealed by successive Elf Kings. This Ancient Elf from the ancient era does not possess the cultivation and composure of an ancient being. Compared to the other four Ancient Elves, she maintains a young body and mindset, along with that jaw-dropping "wonderful" quality.
...
Seeing the introduction of this equipment, one couldn't help but feel that the quality of the little elf race was generally not high. Take the current generation of the Elf royal family: the second child, Boboli, serves as the acting administrator at the top of the Soul Library. He usually seems normal, but once the topic of the Elf throne comes up, he gradually becomes manic, though his quality is still decent.
The real heavyweight is the third child of the Elf royal family, Diagu. This guy is a drunkard, irritable, disrespectful to elders, rebellious, has violent tendencies, and possesses the quality to go toe-to-toe with Baha in a verbal sparring match.
Now this Ancient Elf, judging by the lucky item's introduction, seemed to have low quality too. One or two might be a coincidence, but the three little elves Su Xiao had encountered all had this temperament, making one wonder if the entire little elf race was like this.
However, Su Xiao overlooked a key issue: the way the irritable little elf Diagu and the Ancient Elf met him.
The answer was that he summoned them with his current negative charm attribute as the base value for the summoning ritual. Thinking about it this way, the problem might not be entirely with the little elf race. With high charm, one would summon gentle-tempered little elves with healing and buff abilities. As for negative charm...
As Su Xiao activated [Holy: Ancient Elf], a golden vortex appeared before him, surrounded by a ring of black circles, giving this sacred golden spatial vortex a sense of mystery.
Golden light bloomed, and a little elf with long platinum blonde hair, wearing a smoky black dress, and light blue eyeshadow appeared. She wore a gentle smile, with water-like tenderness in her eyes, landing on the coffee table like a divine descent. She gracefully stepped forward, her seductive high heels clicking on the table.
"Are you my summoner?"
The Ancient Elf's platinum blonde hair was braided, nearly reaching the ground, around her calf length. Combined with her affectionate eyes, one couldn't help but wonder if the equipment introduction just seen was mistaken.
Not knowing her true name, let's call this Ancient Elf the Holy Elf. Had the Holy Elf changed her nature? Of course not. In the Holy Elf's life, after she turned 20, 99% of her time was spent sealed and sleeping. Therefore, despite being an Ancient Elf, her physical and mental age was only around 25.
Why did successive Elf Kings seal the Holy Elf, who held the Holy Seat? In theory, the five seats of the Elf Kingdom were the five protectors of the Elf Kingdom.
The reason was that the Holy Elf had unique views. In her opinion, while the Elf race had the Soul Library as a powerful backer, they couldn't degenerate. They should take advantage of having the Soul Library as a crutch to develop well.
The Elf King at that time agreed with this suggestion and provided substantial funds and resources to help the Holy Elf complete the clan fortune enhancement ritual. After some effort, the fortune ritual was finally established. A week after successful activation, the little elf race, clinging to the Soul Library as a super powerful backer, almost kicked the bucket due to fortune issues.
That generation of Elf King was very open-minded, and since it was a scare with no actual loss or casualties—though everyone was sweating from fright—the Elf King comforted the Holy Elf, who was so disappointed she wanted to jump into a river, and then forbade anyone from mentioning the matter.
If there were a regret medicine in this world, that Elf King would definitely buy several pounds, go back in time, scold the Holy Elf, and tell her to immediately put away all her bold ideas.
Just two or three years later, the Holy Elf again raised the issue of the "Fortune Ritual," making the Elf high-ranking officials' heads buzz. But to say they weren't tempted by the effects of a successful "Fortune Ritual" would be false. After the Holy Elf repeatedly guaranteed safety, she received another large sum of funds.
This time, the halt came in time, as the Elf King checked the ritual hall every day. After being ordered to stop, the Holy Elf was both unwilling and pained. Half a year passed peacefully. Just when all the Elf high-ranking officials thought the Holy Elf had finally calmed down, a spy directly under the Elf King discovered the Holy Elf preparing to launch the "Fortune Ritual."
The result was predictable. The Holy Elf's self-funded simplified version of the "Fortune Ritual" was just one step away from activation. Why was it set up so quickly this time? Of course it was fast; it had been set up twice before.
Facing the trial of the Elf high-ranking officials, the Holy Elf refused to admit defeat and made a harsh statement: unless they executed her, don't expect her to give up this dream. At the trial, the Elf King and the grand elders all had buzzing heads. Since the Holy Elf genuinely wanted the best for the Elf race's future, though her actions were extremely dangerous, she hadn't harmed anyone yet, they decided to seal her in slumber.
When the Holy Elf was awakened, it was five years after the next Elf King had taken the throne. This Elf King, unaware of the dangers of fate, was somewhat successfully fooled by the Holy Elf after unsealing her. The result was that the Holy Elf was sealed again. This was an Elf King; how could he be fooled so easily?
The Holy Elf always had bold ideas, but successive Elf Kings simply didn't have the nerve. Additionally, the Holy Elf had a beautiful face and a stubborn personality like a wild donkey, causing every generation of Elf Kings and grand elders to wear the most vivid masks of pain.
This was why the Holy Elf, suddenly awakened and internally cursing Su Xiao wildly, still showed a gentle, elegant appearance. She clearly wanted to use this summoning opportunity to devise a plan to permanently end her sealed slumber.
"Respected summoner, can you tell me your name?"
The Holy Elf's smile remained gentle.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. As a Contract Grandmaster, he wouldn't reveal his name without knowing the other party's background.
"Names aren't important. What matters is our future coexistence."
The Holy Elf maintained her smile. According to her usual temper, she would have been cursing sweetly, but now she chose to overlook these details.
Su Xiao tossed the [Elf Pendant] in his hand toward the Holy Elf. This was the core medium of the summoning. The Holy Elf raised one hand, and the [Elf Pendant] stopped mid-air. She said:
"I need to devour your misfortune first. Don't mind the fate fluctuations during this time."
The Holy Elf's raised hand clenched slightly. The next moment, traces of misfortune aura emerged from Su Xiao. Seeing this, the Holy Elf's lips curled into a pleased arc. This level of misfortune was easy for her to handle. Not just this amount, even if it were dozens or hundreds of times more, she would still remain composed.
If at this moment, Fate Hand Ashvis, lying on a steel warm bed at the bottom of the Great Library, kept alive by four Sun Scholars, knew the Holy Elf's thoughts, he would weakly but firmly say, "If I weren't suppressing the misfortune, you wouldn't just drop dead on the spot; you'd definitely be in for a world of trouble."
At this moment, Ashvis, who had become skin and bones on the steel warm bed, suddenly opened his eyes. He sensed someone trying to absorb the misfortune of that misfortune monster. Though he didn't know who it was, Ashvis was extremely grateful to this person. If not for this kind-hearted person stepping in, he felt he might faint from weakness at any moment.
Ashvis raised his hand, and with a snap, all the causal lines connecting him to the Law Destroyer's fortune were severed. Nourished by the "Sun Healing Secret Method," his emaciated body quickly recovered. He sat up with a whoosh, greedily breathing the air like someone who had cheated death.
Meanwhile, in the inner hall of Su Xiao's temporary residence, the Holy Elf, who had been standing two meters away, gracefully and composedly raising her hand to absorb misfortune, suddenly noticed that the misfortune on the man opposite had increased. The absorption efficiency was so slow that she couldn't help but yawn and tilt her head. She decided to go all out.
Crack~
The invisible misfortune sealing technique formed by Ashvis shattered. The Holy Elf, who had just yawned, suddenly felt something was wrong. The next instant, a tidal wave of misfortune surged toward her.
"Liar, you bastard..."
The Holy Elf completely lost her composure. The incoming misfortune was so terrifying that her misfortune absorption threshold temporarily collapsed. In other words, she went from actively absorbing misfortune to passively absorbing it. More accurately, the misfortune that couldn't do much to Su Xiao finally found an easy target and naturally swarmed in.
The Holy Elf collapsed onto the coffee table. After a while, the misfortune around her was finally absorbed. Su Xiao looked at the Holy Elf lying on the coffee table, inwardly impressed by the combination of the top-tier lucky item [Holy: Ancient Elf] and the Holy Elf.
Using standard units to measure misfortune, the Holy Serpent from [Holy Serpent Guardian] would absorb over 10 units of misfortune each time it came out and turn into a pufferfish. The Holy Elf here absorbed at least 6,000 units of misfortune in one go and, aside from fainting, showed no risk of kicking the bucket.
As for the reward to be paid to the Holy Elf, it wasn't that Su Xiao was reneging on the debt. It was just that they hadn't reached that step yet: absorb misfortune → boost luck → collect payment.
The Holy Elf got stuck at the first step. She hadn't boosted Su Xiao's fortune, so there was no talk of payment.
Sealing power surged, enveloping the Holy Elf, and she disappeared, leaving behind some black crystal fragments on the coffee table, each the size of a bean. Su Xiao picked up one.
[Misfortune Residue (Misfortune Characteristic Item): Concentrated residue left after absorbing misfortune power. These crystalline particles composed of fate and uncertainty matter might have wonderful effects.]
Su Xiao took out the [Misfortune Ancient Ring] and tried to see if it could absorb the Misfortune Residue. It absorbed it instantly, and the [Misfortune Ancient Ring]'s primordial fluctuation increased to a certain extent.
The [Misfortune Ancient Ring] could absorb misfortune to enhance its strength, but the problem was that this equipment absorbed misfortune too slowly, perhaps only 0.01 units per day. It seemed that the [Misfortune Ancient Ring]'s so-called absorption of misfortune was actually extracting the "uncertainty matter" from the misfortune, while the [Misfortune Residue] was composed of 0.5% fate power and 99.5% "uncertainty matter."
Putting away the [Misfortune Ancient Ring], Su Xiao felt that occasionally having the Holy Elf absorb misfortune was quite good. The misfortune on him wasn't generated from within but attached from outside, like cold or heat spreading. Normally, this misfortune lingered around him without clinging to his body.
Su Xiao leaned back on the sofa. He hadn't noticed it before, but now that the misfortune was temporarily gone, he felt a surreal sense of lightness. It seemed he should summon the Holy Elf more often in the future.
[Tip: The initially awakened Holy Elf's favorability toward you has decreased by 153 points.]
[Holy Elf's current favorability toward you: -153/100 points (Friendly).]
[Tip: Due to your cooperative relationship with the Holy Elf through the lucky item "Holy: Ancient Elf," the minimum favorability is locked at the Friendly level. Even if the Holy Elf's favorability toward you is low, the contractual relationship will not fall below the Friendly level.]
Things were always so wonderful. General contractual relationships were divided into: Blood Feud, Deadly Feud, Hatred, Cold, Neutral, Friendly, Close Friend, Best Friend.
Friendly was generally above 30 favorability points, Neutral was 5-10 points, Cold was 0 points, Hatred was -1 to -30 points, Deadly Feud was -30 to -60 points, Blood Feud was -60 to -100 points. Theoretically, -100 points was the limit.
The problem was that due to the contractual relationship between Su Xiao and the Holy Elf, the base favorability judgment was locked at the "Friendly" level. Combined with today's situation, it resulted in the -153 favorability point scenario.
To say the Holy Elf was now filled with murderous intent toward Su Xiao wouldn't be accurate, but if summoned again, she would definitely find ways to outwit him. Of course, given the current situation, when summoned, she would first need to withstand the surging misfortune without fainting on the spot to have the qualification to outwit him.
...
Twilight City, Central District, Royal Palace.
The once magnificent Divine Royal Palace now showed signs of decay. However, on the main avenue in front of the palace, Sun Warriors stood guard on both sides. Their powerful auras were one of the remnants of the former glory of the Sun God Clan.
These Sun Warriors rarely acted. They had once been the blades of slaughter against the Ancient Dragon Faction. Now they were the Royal City Guards. Other matters were none of their concern.
Correctly speaking, Twilight City couldn't be called a Royal City. Only the most central district counted as the Royal City. The former Blazing Sun City was now reduced to just this central area. The inner and outer districts were built around this last remnant of the Royal City.
If one entered the Divine Royal Palace, they would find the grand hall cold and somewhat empty. Continuing inward, aside from occasionally encountering a patrol of Royal Hall Guards, one would rarely see others. Even the towering Flame Throne was unguarded.
In the deepest bedchamber of the palace, a metal giant door was slightly ajar. Several of the most elite Sun Warriors guarded outside the bedchamber door.
Inside the bedchamber, thin gauze curtains shielded the huge bed. A faint medicinal fragrance permeated the air. A dozen undead maidservants attended nearby. The Sun Warrior leader, clad in dark gold armor, stood outside the curtain, occasionally glancing inside.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
A figure in loose, light-colored clothing sat leaning against the headboard. As he coughed continuously, blood stained the cotton cloth in his hand, seeping onto his large hand. When the muffled coughing stopped, he dropped the blood-soaked cotton cloth with a plop into a copper basin held by an undead maidservant. Another undead maidservant stepped forward, respectfully and gently wiping the blood from his palm.
This man, with a lion-like mane of wild hair, a burly frame, yet a gradually emaciating body, was Blazing Sun Monarch Ashilot. Though much thinner than his peak, his large frame and remaining muscles still made him appear burly and dignified.
By the floor-to-ceiling window, an elderly Sun Scholar holding an ancient book continued reading after seeing that the Blazing Sun Monarch's condition hadn't worsened.
"Your Majesty, are you feeling better?"
An old man with greenish pupils and full-body scale scars from recovering from Dragon Scale Disease spoke cautiously. The outside world rumored that the old noble Augustus and Finance Minister Blackbersha were deeply trusted by the Blazing Sun Monarch. This information was unreliable. Also, the claim that the Blazing Sun Monarch didn't care about the changes in Twilight City was nonsense. He had many eyes secretly watching Twilight City, and the tentacles connecting these eyes was this ugly old man known as Gray Serpent.
After his breathing stabilized somewhat, the Blazing Sun Monarch asked, "Have the old nobles and new power holders stabilized?"
"Roughly stable, but now that they have no leader, many are having ideas..."
"Let them."
"Your Majesty, I heard that Luciva of the Hunting Group is very popular. Perhaps let him integrate the old nobles and new power holders. What do you think..."
"The position of Hunting Group Legion Commander is the highest he can climb."
"Yes, yes."
The Blazing Sun Monarch glanced at Gray Serpent. This old minister had loyally followed him for many years. Rejecting the person he recommended without reason, though the minister wouldn't say anything, was inappropriate and might chill hearts. The Blazing Sun Monarch said, "Luciva is loyal to Twilight City, not to us."
Hearing this, Gray Serpent wanted to say something but could only nod. On this point, he felt he didn't see as clearly as this monarch. However, he remembered another matter. Glancing at the Sun Scholar by the window, he lowered his voice and said:
"Your Majesty, that Law Destroyer has already defeated the Divine Avatar. My people have detected that all the 'Sun Source Stones' scattered outside are now in his hands, a full 16. Should I think of some methods? Though not very honorable, but..."
Gray Serpent's words were cut off by the Blazing Sun Monarch: "No need."
"Your Majesty, do you really intend to pass the Blazing Sun Blood to that Law Destroyer? He won't agree. He only came to seize the Blazing Sun Blood, not to become the next Divine Monarch. He isn't even of the Sun God Clan."
Saying this, Gray Serpent's tone couldn't help but become somewhat agitated.
"He won't come yet. He's not stupid. Let's see if he can crawl out of the darkness. If he can, I'll wait for him here. If not, it means he's not qualified."
After saying this, Blazing Sun Monarch Ashilot looked out the window. At dusk, the sun hung at the edge of the sky. He said, "Gray Serpent, don't be afraid. Our sun... won't set yet. Don't be afraid. I, who continue the Divine bloodline, am still here. The Sun God Clan is still here."
...
Bang!
The front door of Su Xiao's residence was kicked open. Fate Hand Ashvis, fuming with anger, strode in. The reason he was so bold was that his collaborator had breached the contract first. They had agreed to boost the other's fortune for a few hours, but it had been nearly three days. If not for the sudden appearance of a kind-hearted person absorbing the other's misfortune, who knew how much longer it would have continued.
In truth, even if the Holy Elf hadn't absorbed Su Xiao's misfortune, Su Xiao was about to go to the Great Library to find Ashvis.
"Old pal, you're looking well."
Baha flew over, with a very good attitude, since they were in the wrong.
Ashvis snorted and strode upstairs. Along the way, he even glared at Bubu Wang, who came to meet him. But when he saw Amu at the entrance to the third-floor inner hall, Ashvis didn't glare or act rudely. He knew something of this Minotaur follower's temper. The latter wasn't as reasonable as Baha and Bubuteni and was more likely to swing a battle axe at him.
Pushing open the inner hall door, Ashvis, who had the upper hand, walked differently. After entering, he said, "Kukulin Bai Ye, you... how have you been lately?"
Ashvis's tone gradually lowered and became more amiable. After sitting down on the opposite sofa, he crossed his legs, raised his chin, looked at the dazzling array of permanent enhancement potions on the table, and asked, "Are you... in the potion wholesale business?"
"Payment."
"What?"
"Payment for you."
"I knew it. You're actually a pretty good person. It wasn't in vain that I took the risk to cooperate with you."
Ashvis seemed to have amnesia, forgetting his struggles over the past three days. The reason was that half of these permanent enhancement potions on the table were what he deeply desired, and the other half could be used to enhance the potential of his family's younger generation. Ashvis, who had a strong sense of family, valued this greatly.
Ashvis came full of anger and left feeling like a spring breeze. Moreover, the gains this time were indeed too generous. He gritted his teeth and said, "Let's cooperate again if there's a chance." But as soon as he stepped out of the residence's door, he somewhat regretted saying that.
In the dining room, Su Xiao, who had just finished dinner, checked the time and decided to set out the next morning. As for where to go, this time's destination was the Lightless Zone. He opened his task list and checked the series of task prompts that had appeared.
[Main Quest: Sixth Ring: Divine Avatar (Completed).]
[You have obtained an Immortal Rank Nourishment-Type Equipment Chest (opening will guarantee an Immortal Rank Nourishment-Type Equipment).]
[Main Quest: Seventh Ring: Lightless Darkness (Activated).]
[Main Quest: Seventh Ring: Lightless Darkness]
Difficulty Level: Lv.95+
Quest Brief: Activate the "Dark Moon Ritual."
Warning: To complete this task, you must first ensure you can pass through the "Darkness Seal: Eternal Dark Gate."
Time Limit: 6 natural days.
Reward: Team Skill Card Chest (this Team Skill Card Chest will only draw X-tier Team Skill Cards).
Penalty: Forced Execution.
...
At first glance, this task seemed very confusing. The quest brief was just one sentence: Activate the "Dark Moon Ritual."
Fortunately, Su Xiao had another task. Previously, he had delved deep into the Lightless Zone once and obtained a [???] metal cube. After being activated by Battle Angel Zerlina, who had over 50,000 Void Tree Reputation, it was revealed to be the [Moonfall Core].
More specifically, the [Moonfall Core] was the core item of a chain quest. Unfortunately, the team leader who held the [Moonfall Core] while entering the Lightless Zone died in the deepest part of the Lightless Zone's east side, still clutching the [Moonfall Core] in his hand.
After successfully activating the [Moonfall Core], Su Xiao triggered that chain quest, which had been taken to its final stage. He scrolled up through the task prompts and soon found the following:
[You have activated the Chain Quest: Dark Moon Ritual (Final Stage).]
[Quest Content: Place this "Moonfall Core" on the activation device at the deepest part of the Lightless Zone's west side to activate the "Dark Moon Ritual."]
[Reward: Abyss Chest (★★★★★).]
[Tip: This is the highest tier Abyss Chest.]
The content of the main quest wasn't entirely fixed. More precisely, the overall direction wouldn't change, but the specific details would vary based on Su Xiao's current situation.
For example, since he was holding the "Moonfall Core," the seventh ring of the main quest directly asked him to activate the "Dark Moon Ritual." If he didn't have the advantage of holding the "Moonfall Core," this ring of the quest would likely be very cumbersome, possibly even requiring the creation of a substitute for the "Moonfall Core."
Now, the situation was that by reaching the deepest part of the Lightless Zone's west side, he could complete both tasks. But this wasn't the limit of the gains. He also had another task in the Lightless Zone.
[Twilight City Side Quest: Darkness Invasion.
Quest Brief: Delve deep into the west side of the Lightless Zone, find and bring back the "City Lord's Iron Ring."
Reward: 1,500,000 Moon Silver Coins.]
...
This trip to the Lightless Zone, aside from the dangers of the zone itself, the Shenfu team should also be part of the peril. Fortunately, the two "good teammates" had been preparing for so long. It was time to show their hand.
Why could it be certain that the Shenfu team would take this opportunity to act? The reason wasn't complicated. If they missed this chance, they would have to exit this world progress like this. Don't forget, the Shenfu team should currently be holding 8 "Sun Source Stones," but during the backstab at the Divine Avatar, Shenfu and the others were forced to abandon their respective "Sun Source Stones."
In this game, it was Su Xiao + Zuiyasi + Wude vs. Shenfu + Platinum Apostle + Black Demon.