Chapter 51: Strangulation
This time entering the No-Light Zone, Su Xiao didn't bring Amu along. The reason was that Amu was better at dealing with powerful enemies, while this kind of situation with full-on eerie characteristics was actually his weak point. Even though Amu was extremely durable, dealing with the Eternal Night Empress this time wasn't something that could be survived through toughness alone.
Baha also returned with Amu. Space-type abilities weren't particularly advantageous against eerie-type enemies either. Su Xiao had Amu and Baha head to Dawn City. In the southern district there, a branch of the City Bank existed. It appeared to handle financial business, but it was actually an underground material exchange.
The City Lord, Sharlin, chose to turn a blind eye to this matter. After all, it didn't harm the common people; at most, it allowed some black-market merchants into Dawn City. Compared to the benefits it brought to Dawn City, it was negligible.
With her tacit approval, the bank president became the actual controller of this underground material exchange. After years of development, it had become the largest supernatural material exchange in this world.
Su Xiao had no interest in the supernatural material exchange itself. However, to support an exchange of this scale and gain recognition from the various merchant guilds of Twilight City, Holy Heart City, and Spirit Crown City, there had to be a sufficient stockpile of supernatural materials. What Su Xiao was really targeting was the material exchange's supernatural material vault.
To later artificially create a "Sun Source Stone," a large quantity of rare materials was needed. Relying on Twilight City's reserves was out of the question, so the target remained this material vault.
This time, Su Xiao wasn't planning to operate something like "restocking." There wasn't enough time for that kind of management, so he needed to be more straightforward. As for the fact that most of the supernatural materials obtained this way wouldn't be certified, he didn't mind.
These materials were used to create the "Sun Source Stone," which in turn was used for the "Sun Lord" title to absorb. Once that step was completed, the certification assimilation would naturally be finished.
This matter was important, but since Baha was handling it, Su Xiao was at ease.
"It's settled. I'll go scope out the place first... ahem, recon the situation."
Baha landed on Amu's shoulder, and Amu walked toward the Vanguard Fortress.
Green Gillian, standing nearby, of course heard Su Xiao's instructions to Amu and Baha. This made her frown, as if she were worried about the reputation of the Law Destruction Faction in the Third Era. She said, "Bai Ye, are you going to rob Dawn City?"
Hearing this, Zuiyasi and Wude both looked at Green Gillian, this ancestral Law Destroyer. Her words made the two waver in their judgment of the conduct of Second Era Law Destroyers.
According to records, the general assessment of the Second Era Law Destruction Faction was this: when a world faced an Abyss invasion or Abyssal spawn, the Law Destroyers were the most reliable saviors. However, there was one problem: after the Law Destroyers successfully eliminated the source of danger, they would become the new "danger."
Take Green Gillian as an example. Back then, the Witch Realm faced a crisis and requested aid from the Law Destruction Faction. Originally, Star-Swallower Arkas was supposed to go, but before departure, Arkas, a "Supreme Peak," suddenly came down with diarrhea.
At the time, when the old witches of the Witch Realm heard this reason, they all trembled. Refusing to help was one thing, but a "Supreme Peak" getting diarrhea from eating something bad? Wasn't that an insult to their intelligence?
As it turned out, Arkas really did have severe diarrhea. As for how he got it, at that time, the only available Law Destroyers were Arkas and Green Gillian. The old Law Destroyer, considering Green Gillian's aesthetic preferences, thought that if she went to the Witch Realm, she might cause all sorts of trouble.
Green Gillian was very dissatisfied with this. Upon learning that the Witch Realm was requesting aid, she was like a starving wolf, eyes gleaming green. There was no way she'd let Arkas go. So, the reason for Arkas's sudden diarrhea needed no further explanation.
Just as the old witches of the Witch Realm couldn't understand why the Law Destroyers, who had a decent relationship with them, would make such an insulting excuse in their time of need, Green Gillian arrived on the scene. This left the old witches dumbfounded. Their thought was: had that "Supreme Peak" really gotten diarrhea from eating something bad? The old witches began to doubt life itself.
Subsequently, Green Gillian nearly lost her life twice while helping the Witch Realm through this severe Abyss invasion. The old witches were both moved and inwardly ashamed. They felt like slapping themselves twice for previously thinking the Law Destruction Faction would stand by and do nothing.
Because of this, the old witches absolutely refused to let Green Gillian leave. They insisted on rewarding this female Law Destroyer. Even when the old Law Destroyer in the Void repeatedly demanded that Green Gillian return immediately, the old witches argued vehemently. Then came the incident where Green Gillian molested the contemporary Moon Witch. After this happened, the old witches nearly went into collective seclusion.
Seeing Green Gillian's furrowed brow now, Zuiyasi and Wude exchanged glances. Both thought: could it be that the poor reputation of the Second Era Law Destruction Faction was a subsequent smear campaign by the Spellcasters? This possibility was quite significant. After all, at this moment, Green Gillian, upon hearing about robbing Dawn City's material vault, was frowning deeper and deeper.
"Going directly to rob is too crude. It would disgrace our Law Destruction Faction's face. It would be more efficient to kidnap Dawn City's City Lord, Sharlin, and then use her for extortion. I heard that City Lord is a great beauty. For this matter, the two of us can join forces. You want the materials, I want Sharlin."
As Green Gillian spoke, her eyes grew brighter. Hearing this, Zuiyasi and Wude suddenly understood. It seemed the reports about the Second Era Law Destruction Faction's reputation hadn't been exaggerated.
Had Arcane Eternal Star deliberately smeared the Law Destruction Faction? The answer was no. Not only had they not, but they even deliberately concealed some of the more jaw-dropping, expression-complicating, or eye-popping incidents involving the Law Destruction Faction.
Why was that? Regardless, Spellcasters and Law Destroyers were mortal enemies. Moreover, this mortal enemy had once beaten them black and blue. Sometimes, when the mortal enemy's moral standards were too low, Arcane Eternal Star also felt embarrassed. Among these, the matter between Green Gillian and Mage Sage Seraphilia was especially kept under wraps.
The group walked into the black mist ahead. As soon as they entered the No-Light Zone, Su Xiao noticed that the Abyss energy concentration here had decreased somewhat. If the concentration last time was 3, this time it was around 2. However, compared to before, it had become quieter. The dark creatures that used to roam within the black mist were nowhere to be found.
The No-Light Zone was very dark, but not completely pitch black. The visible distance was about 5 to 8 meters. Beyond that, the darkness distorted everything. Additionally, the area was littered with various building ruins.
In the history of Blazing Sun Star, there had never been a precedent for conquering the No-Light Zone, so it was impossible to have built structures here. By inference, these buildings were likely small Abyss passages from this area. During the Abyss energy eruption period, these buildings were swept in from the "Abyss Near Zone."
Because of this, the styles of these building ruins varied. Some leaned toward dark worship, while others were closer to giant beast mutations. One intact black rock wall caught Su Xiao's attention. He stopped to observe the circular emblem on it. Just seeing this twisted circular emblem gave a sense of gloom and coldness, as if being in the deep sea.
"This is the emblem of the Azguk family. The Azguk family is an Abyss descendant. We had a huge grudge with them before. Later, Waltz, his master, and I set them up."
Green Gillian tapped the lower side of this circular emblem, indicating that the emblem should be viewed upside down.
"By the way, do you know the difference between the three major Abyss systems: Abyss Descendants, Heterogeneous Existence·Abyssal Spawn, and Immortal·Abyss Spawn?"
"I do."
"Have you encountered Abyss Descendants?"
"Not yet."
"Then remember this emblem. This is Azguk. We have a big grudge with them. If nothing unexpected happens, they're still sealed beneath the main city of the Sea Clan in Wind Sea Continent. By the way, the current Sea King is actually a member of the Azguk family. Without his inside help, Waltz and I wouldn't have been able to seal the Azguk family so thoroughly."
Saying this, Green Gillian picked up a piece of black metal fragment and continued, "The troublesome Abyss Descendants, besides the Azguk family, also include the Dukain. Both Azguk and Dukain are transliterations of the Abyss language. The former means Deep Sea Lord, and the latter means Dark Descent/Domination. If I remember correctly, the Dukain family was sealed in the Ancient Dragon Kingdom. But now that the Ancient Dragon faction has perished, that seal has likely already failed."
Green Gillian had no talent for teaching. She just said whatever came to mind. She continued, "Azguk, Dukain, Rune, Bronze, Collective. Hmm, these are the five Abyss Descendants we have the biggest grudges with."
Having said this, Green Gillian stopped walking and changed the subject: "Further ahead, we enter the domain of the Eternal Night Empress. When are those three friends of yours coming? Once the Eternal Night Empress is alerted, this No-Light Zone will be sealed for a while."
"Almost here."
Su Xiao leaped to the top of a several-meter-high stone wall and sat cross-legged on the cylindrical cap, meditating. In this state, his perception range expanded.
Actually, Su Xiao wasn't sure if Shenfu's team would come. But one thing shouldn't be forgotten: previously, the three of Shenfu were forced to abandon the "Sun Source Stone." Although the three had obtained a powerful backstabbing weapon "Spite," absorbed a large amount of "Doomsday Fate," and the last had devoured "Strongest Adaptability," making them the winners of the siege against the Divine Incarnations, no one would complain about winning too much.
Moreover, the three had accepted the main quest of this world through the Void Tree's certification. It wasn't common for Violators to accept main quests, partly because their rewards from accepting main quests through Void Tree certification were only 60% of Contractors', and they also had quest failure penalties.
Since they didn't receive full rewards, the quest failure penalties didn't include things like "Forced Execution."
Shenfu, Platinum Apostle, and Star Devourer initially discussed collecting more "Sun Source Stones," meeting the Blazing Sun Lord·Ashrot through the path of kingship, and assassinating this king. Don't doubt it; Shenfu, Platinum Apostle, and Star Devourer had a chance to do this. They had already killed the Sky City Lord of the Witch Realm's Heavenly Dragon City, who was also a Supreme.
In a direct fight, the three of Shenfu, Platinum Apostle, and Star Devourer clearly couldn't handle a Supreme. But they were old and cunning enough, with plenty of bizarre methods.
Using "Spite" to assassinate the Blazing Sun Lord·Ashrot, then polluting the Divine Clan's inherited "Blazing Sun Blood" with high-intensity Dark Blood, thereby reflecting the distorted sun above, forming a sacrificial ritual across all of Twilight City. The final step was to open an Abyss passage at the very center of Twilight City.
The specific details were hard to investigate. The ultimate goal of the three in doing this probably wasn't the Abyss invasion after the passage opened, but rather that another force was willing to pay a huge price for this. This reward must have been ridiculously high.
In this transaction with the unknown faction, the Archbishop of the Abyss was definitely the biggest winner. He might have even been the one to broker the deal. But the Archbishop of the Abyss never expected that Shenfu and Platinum Apostle's goal wasn't the reward from the unknown force, but "Spite" and "Doomsday Fate Force."
Or rather, when Shenfu and Platinum Apostle first came to Blazing Sun Star, their goal was still the agreed-upon plan. But after discovering they were competing with Su Xiao, Zuiyasi, Wude, and Kaisa, both Shenfu and Platinum Apostle felt that completing this plan was increasingly unreliable. So they adapted, backstabbing the Archbishop of the Abyss to cut their losses.
As for why Su Xiao was certain that the three of Shenfu had main quests, if they hadn't accepted the main quest, they couldn't have become the representative team of one of the three major forces in this world. This was part of the Void Tree's certification for this world progress.
No one would willingly suffer quest failure penalties, especially since Shenfu's team still had a chance to turn things around. If successful, the rewards would be substantial. Moreover, areas like the No-Light Zone were clearly more advantageous for Shenfu, Platinum Apostle, and Black Demon. Especially Black Demon; upon entering the No-Light Zone, it received a regional combat power boost.
Ripple~
A wave-like fluctuation triggered in Su Xiao's perception. He continued meditating with his eyes closed until these perception ripples increased, as if many people were walking on water.
Bubu Wang disengaged from the environment. He stepped forward, walked into the vast domain affected by the Eternal Night Empress, and immediately merged back into the environment.
Almost the instant Bubu Wang stepped into the Eternal Night Empress's domain, the entrances at the north and south ends of the No-Light Zone were suddenly sealed by black stone. Intense darkness solidified, sealing the entire No-Light Zone.
"Oww!!"
Like the howl of a dark banshee, the Eternal Night Empress's domain instantly enveloped the entire No-Light Zone. Shenfu, who immediately reacted, prepared to shed his skin, his own skin beginning to dry out. Platinum Apostle prepared to use a spatial treasure. Finally, Black Demon's pitch-black eyes showed a hint of confusion, but he quickly realized what was happening and prepared to burrow into darkness.
Both Shenfu and Platinum Apostle stopped their actions. They exchanged glances, both confirming that in this eerie domain affecting "existence," any rash move would come at a terrible price.
Cracks appeared on Shenfu's back, as if he were shedding a layer of dead skin shell. However, this shell was wearing clerical attire. Strangely, the body that had just shed the shell was also wearing the same clothes.
Black Demon, who was about to burrow into darkness, had pale pupils appear in his eyes. These pale pupils contracted violently. He immediately terminated his ability. Instinct told him that if he dared to burrow into darkness now, it would be the end of his existence.
"Shenfu, it seems we've fallen into a trap. Is this thing... summoned by Bai Ye?"
Platinum Apostle spoke. He wasn't surprised that Su Xiao could summon such a dark, eerie existence. A guy who had sealed several Daddy-level Original Sin objects—whatever he did, Platinum Apostle felt it was normal.
"Probably not. This might be the unknown existence the Hunters encountered. We were careless. Or rather, we underestimated the Hunters. We never had time to contact Twilight City before, and our understanding of the Vanguard Fortress Hunters is insufficient."
Shenfu slowly raised his right hand, extended his index finger, and slid it downward. Faint black ripples appeared in the air. Seeing this, the ever-present benevolent smile on Shenfu's face faded a bit.
He rarely opened the "Book of Mercy" in his hand. The pages rustled as they turned. When they stopped, a few twisted, eerie characters appeared on one page.
"Eternal Night Empress."
Shenfu spoke, looking at Platinum Apostle. Platinum Apostle touched his fingertip to his brow and began to review the fates he had devoured. After a moment, he opened his eyes.
"Reportedly an Abyss descendant capable of 'devouring consciousness' and 'killing existence.' The good news is that this Abyss descendant system only has the Eternal Night Empress herself, not a family form. The bad news is that the Eternal Night Empress is almost impossible to kill."
Hearing this, Shenfu fell silent for a moment.
"Shenfu, I just devoured Doomsday Fate. I'm feeling a bit drowsy when thinking now. Give me a decision."
"Decision? Why make a decision? Shouldn't we immediately go meet up with our teammates?"
"Teammates? Oh~"
Platinum Apostle understood. Black Demon beside him showed confusion in his eyes. Seeing his confusion, Shenfu said, "Haven't we already agreed with Bai Ye to come to the No-Light Zone together to deal with the Eternal Night Empress?"
"?"
Black Demon was even more confused, because what had been agreed upon beforehand was to surround and kill the Law Destroyer, seizing the 16 "Sun Source Stones" that would definitely drop upon his death.
The three walked toward the darkness ahead. Mist dispersed, and various strange, bizarre building ruins appeared one after another. Some ruins even had a living creature characteristic, with strange eyes of varying sizes opening on them, watching the three of Shenfu.
Before long, the three of Shenfu saw Su Xiao meditating on a broken wall. Sensing the three's auras getting closer, Su Xiao opened his eyes.
"You're late."
Su Xiao spoke.
"We encountered some trouble on the way."
Shenfu replied very casually, as if the two had indeed long agreed to cooperate, rather than being mortal enemies who would kill each other on sight.
A moment later, the six of them—Su Xiao, Zuiyasi, Wude, Shenfu, Platinum Apostle, and Black Demon—walked into a bizarrely styled small church. They stood or sat on the front row of pews and the podium.
"And this is?"
Shenfu looked at Green Gillian, who was in a remnant soul state.
"A remnant soul I encountered by chance."
Su Xiao naturally wouldn't reveal Green Gillian's identity. She was currently disguised as Green Wei. However, this time entering the No-Light Zone, Green Gillian had separated from Green Wei's body. It seemed this female Law Destroyer still had some conscience.
Shenfu didn't ask further. Given the current relationship between the two sides, asking more would be deliberate probing.
Su Xiao took out a map of the No-Light Zone and spread it on a crystal table. The entire No-Light Zone was very large, forming a corridor shape several kilometers wide. A more intuitive analogy would be two pitch-black sky walls forming a ring around Blazing Sun Star.
The two ends of this ring weren't connected. The reason was that whether going east or west deeper into the No-Light Zone, the darkness intensified. When reaching the easternmost or westernmost point, the darkness there had already solidified. In other words, more than half of the corridor-shaped No-Light Zone was blocked by stagnant darkness.
Green Gillian pointed to the entrance of the No-Light Zone on the map. After looking around at everyone, she said, "We're here. The Eternal Night Empress's activity area is here."
Green Gillian marked the western area of the entire No-Light Zone and continued, "Everything in the Star Realm has 'order' and 'constraint.' Nothing is absolutely indestructible, including the Star Realm itself. The Eternal Night Empress's conceptual immortality is troublesome, but her kind of immortality isn't resurrection, reincarnation, or regeneration. It's that your attacks against her are ineffective. This clearly doesn't conform to the Star Realm's 'order' and 'constraint.'"
Green Gillian raised her hand toward Su Xiao and even snapped her fingers with a *pop*.
"..."
Su Xiao looked at Green Gillian's profile. Not getting a response, Green Gillian snapped her fingers twice more, *pop pop*. She suspiciously turned her head to look at Su Xiao, realization dawning in her eyes. When she turned back, a fleeting sadness passed, unnoticed by anyone.
The female powerhouse who had once torn off the head of an Abyss Descendant, then been swept into an Abyss passage, fallen to the bottom of the Abyss, and crawled back out with her bare hands, wouldn't let others see her sadness.
As for why Green Gillian was sad, in the past, when she acted like this and snapped her fingers, the little fangirl who followed her to deal with Abyss entities would hand her what she needed. However, that little fangirl was no longer there. She had been killed by the Supreme Being in the Second Era.
"Give me a liquid flow crystal."
"A Rupert's Drop?"
"Yeah, that's it."
"..."
A stream of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy appeared in Su Xiao's hand. As it transformed into a crystal, a Rupert's Drop formed.
"Everyone, look at this liquid flow crystal. If you attack the hammerhead surface, you need a force a hundred or a thousand times greater than the crystal's strength to shatter it. This is the Eternal Night Empress's absolute immortality. Conversely, if you find her weakness, just a little something like this."
As Green Gillian spoke, she snapped off the thin tail of the Rupert's Drop. With a *pop*, the entire Rupert's Drop burst apart.
"I previously ventured deep into the eastern side. Although I nearly died, I confirmed that the Eternal Night Empress's soul core isn't in this half. Simple elimination: the soul core can only be in the deepest part of the western side. What we need to do is very 'simple': endure the Eternal Night Empress's abilities, reach the deepest part here, find the soul core, and seal it."
Hearing this, Wude asked at the right moment, "Why not destroy the soul core? Instead of the higher-risk sealing?"
Upon receiving the question, Green Gillian smiled mysteriously and gave Wude an appreciative look, secretly feeling that the devil clan kid knew how to talk. She turned to look at her own side, and her smile faded. Her own side wasn't paying her any attention.
"What's truly troublesome about the Eternal Night Empress is death assimilation. If you destroy her soul core, you become a 'parasitic host.' After experiencing despair and agony, the Eternal Night Empress will grow out of your body, draining your life force and devouring your soul."
Green Gillian's plan was simple and crude: the group would advance simultaneously into the depths until they reached the hiding place of the soul core, find it, and seal it into the Abyss.
It wasn't that Green Gillian was unwilling to use strategy; this was already the best strategy. If the group split up, facing the Eternal Night Empress alone would be a death sentence. Moreover, within the Eternal Night Empress's domain, after a few rounds, they would all be strangled to death.
That's right, strangled to death. The Eternal Night Empress's method of killing targets was to twist the victim's soul and fate like a twisted rope, to the limit.
This was also why, when a target was killed by the Eternal Night Empress, all their relatives also died. Bloodline caused fates to be connected to a certain extent, like threads linking two fates. The strangulation caused by the Eternal Night Empress would spread along the fate threads to the victim's relatives, causing them all to explode into blood mist.
Because of this, the deceased would gradually be forgotten. This strangulation force wouldn't stop with the victim's death. It would continuously increase force, tightening and twisting, until the victim's "existence" couldn't withstand the strangulation and shattered.
This was the terrifying extreme of the concept of "strangulation" when infinitely amplified by the Abyss. Fortunately, this was a non-spreadable characteristic. In layman's terms, only the Eternal Night Empress had this ability. It couldn't be more widely mastered through inheritance, learning, or other methods.
There was no other choice now. Either stay in place and wait to be found and killed by the Eternal Night Empress, or take the initiative and venture deep into the No-Light Zone.
Among the lineup of 6 people plus 1 remnant soul, the ones taking on the tank role weren't Su Xiao, whose health was as high as 2.73 million and whose life force was so strong it could evaporate ghosts and grudges, but Zuiyasi and Shenfu. One was an undead type, and the other couldn't die. As for Shenfu's ability to not die, Su Xiao hadn't figured it out yet.
However, he had a feeling that every time Shenfu died, he truly died. The key was how he managed to come back to life after being certified as dead. Figuring this out was crucial to making Shenfu die permanently. Perhaps this was the Violator characteristic ability that made Shenfu a Violator.
The group decided to adapt to the environment here for 10 minutes before advancing into the depths. Don't think the erosion power of the No-Light Zone environment was low. For Su Xiao, it was indeed, but for others, some preparations were still necessary. Being eroded by Abyss energy was no joke.
"Abyss Shadow·Title·Abyss Walker (Core·Passive): When you enter 'Severe Abyss Spread Areas' such as Abyss Erosion Zones, Extreme Dark Zones, and 'Abyss Near Zones,' you will not be affected by environmental erosion."
According to Green Gillian, during this deep incursion, they couldn't run or retreat from the Eternal Night Empress. Whether psychological fear or actual action, any action representing fear, such as "running away" or "retreating," would immediately attract the Eternal Night Empress.
The Eternal Night Empress would appear behind this person in less than the blink of an eye, strangling them with darkness. Simply put, they could only walk forward calmly from now on.
Inside an arm-thick glass column, bubbles rose in a light blue liquid. Su Xiao *clicked* and twisted the container's seal. As he adjusted it, the temperature inside reached -126.45°C. According to his exploration, this was the optimal temperature for catalyzing "Soul Secret Medicine."
Speaking of which, Su Xiao's potion naming had a characteristic. Potions weren't called "Dark Secret Medicine" or "Witch Secret Medicine" and the like. The potion name directly reflected its function, with "Secret Medicine" or "Potion" added at the end. This extremely simple naming style, however, represented the absolute T0-level top-tier potions of their type.
Whether to add "Secret Medicine" or "Potion" depended on the situation. Su Xiao's satisfactory works, i.e., "Miracle Grade," had "Secret Medicine" added. If it was an ordinary "Perfect Grade," it had the "Potion" suffix.
"What's this? You've been working on it since you arrived at the No-Light Zone."
"Secret Medicine."
"For whom?"
"You."
"Oh wow~ I didn't expect you to care about your senior a bit."
"Yes."
"Tell me, why do you care so much about me? Are you charmed by my personality?"
Hearing this, Su Xiao paused his hand adjusting the container for catalysis. He turned his head to look at Green Gillian and said truthfully, "In the future, if I encounter your enemies, as long as your remnant soul is still here, it's more convenient for them to seek revenge from the right person. They won't come looking for me."
"You! You're slandering me! I only left good karma."
"..."
Su Xiao looked at Green Gillian again and said nothing. What followed was Su Xiao adjusting and catalyzing the potion while Green Gillian muttered about the good karma she had left, i.e., the list of those stunning beauties she had messed with.
Su Xiao opened the container. Cold mist dispersed. He took out a potion bottle and said, "Drink this Soul Secret Medicine within 5 minutes."
"The shelf life is that short?"
"Custom secret medicine. High activity, difficult to store."
"Give me a science lesson?"
"Similar potions: long-term storable effects are around 3 to 5 Kni. Custom secret medicine effects are 12 to 15 Kni. The disadvantage is high activity making storage difficult."
"Kni?"
"Kni Lolo. An alchemy master who successfully quantified potion strength."
"Oh~, learned something new."
Green Gillian tilted her head back and drank the "Soul Secret Medicine." Just as she thought this potion, with its exceptionally ordinary name, would only adjust her remnant soul's state, she found that the damage to her remnant soul was rapidly recovering. Within seconds, it had recovered to its best state and was even progressing further.
At this moment, Green Gillian sincerely felt that having an alchemist in their lineup was truly wonderful. Even though this junior of hers was taciturn and wouldn't initiate casual conversation unless she spoke first.
"You named such a powerful potion 'Soul Secret Medicine'? Don't you want to consider a more prestigious potion name?"
"Reason."
"It's easier to sell..."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Green Gillian froze. She suddenly realized that this guy's potions weren't a matter of whether they were easy to sell. As long as he was willing, countless people in the Void would come knocking on his door to buy.
After the group was properly prepared, they advanced into the depths of the No-Light Zone. Since the Eternal Night Empress could appear at any time, the group maintained a distance of over five meters from each other. This way, they wouldn't be wiped out in one go and could still assist each other.
As they advanced, Su Xiao's perception field remained active. This time, venturing deep into the No-Light Zone with Zuiyasi, Wude, Shenfu, and Platinum Apostle, there was no need to worry about backstabbing from Shenfu and Platinum Apostle before successfully dealing with the Eternal Night Empress. This was another benefit of cooperating with old schemers.
In addition, the good teammate duo...
Su Xiao's steps paused. He frowned slightly and looked around at his teammates: Zuiyasi, Shenfu, Platinum Apostle. Hmm, that's right, he was cooperating with these three to venture deep into the No-Light Zone.
However, why was Shenfu, this Ancient God system, so knowledgeable about the Eternal Night Empress's information? Whether it was not being afraid or not retreating, this Ancient God system knew it all so clearly. It was really...
Su Xiao looked at Shenfu, who was a few meters away and moving in sync with him. This time, venturing deep into the No-Light Zone with Shenfu was truly too reckless. Two people coming to deal with the Eternal Night Empress.
Su Xiao continued walking. He suddenly felt that venturing into the No-Light Zone alone, only bringing Bubu Wang to deal with the Eternal Night Empress, was truly too reckless...
Su Xiao stopped walking. He then felt Bubu Wang, who had merged into the environment, lightly bump his leg from the side. This was Bubu Wang indicating that his condition was normal.
"No wonder Luxiva backed down."
Su Xiao muttered softly. He was certain that he wouldn't venture into the No-Light Zone alone with only Bubu Wang to deal with the Eternal Night Empress. To deal with such an eerily capable Abyss descendant, he would at least contact... who would he contact?
The "Book of Original Sin" appeared in Su Xiao's hand. The scene around him burst apart with a *crack*, like a shattered mirror. This wasn't an environmental or mental ability. As a Blade Grandmaster, Su Xiao could ignore such abilities. This was part of the Eternal Night Empress's domain.
In this dark domain area, the presence of Wude, Zuiyasi, Shenfu, Platinum Apostle, and Black Demon was all erased. Su Xiao naturally couldn't recall these people. Now, holding the "Book of Original Sin" in one hand, if the Eternal Night Empress had the confidence to use her domain to swallow Su Xiao plus six Daddy-level Original Sin objects, then let her come.
Everything that had been temporarily "forgotten" was restored. Su Xiao looked at a skeleton a few meters away. He had seen this skeleton during his last visit to the No-Light Zone. That meant this was the deepest part of the eastern side of the No-Light Zone.
Without a doubt, the Eternal Night Empress had the ability to freely open dark space passages within the No-Light Zone. Moreover, this spatial movement was silent, the extreme opposite of the "Law-Destroying Teleportation Array" style.
As for why the Eternal Night Empress had moved Su Xiao alone to the deepest part of the eastern side, the farthest point from her soul core, this was easy to understand. Putting herself in his shoes, a Law Destroyer who had sealed six Daddy-level Original Sin objects—even the Eternal Night Empress couldn't help but look at him with gravity. Moreover, the teammates traveling with this Law Destroyer were all difficult to deal with.
Su Xiao checked the team situation. Wude, Zuiyasi, Shenfu, and Black Demon were all in the team. Among them, Zuiyasi's avatar was the most absurd. A color avatar meant alive, a gray-white avatar meant dead. Zuiyasi's avatar at this moment would suddenly turn gray-white, then revive to color, then turn black and white again, flickering at high frequency.
Wude had simply become two-dimensional. It turned out that even if a two-dimensional being was twisted into a rope, it couldn't die. Compared to Zuiyasi and Shenfu, Wude had attracted more of the Eternal Night Empress's attention.
After Su Xiao had Bubu Wang find a place to lie low, he, holding the "Book of Original Sin" in one hand, suddenly burst into speed. In an instant, he broke through afterimages, almost flying at low altitude, creating layers of airbursts in the darkness.
As for not being able to move quickly, if the Eternal Night Empress immediately appeared behind Su Xiao after high-speed movement, that would be great. What he was most worried about now was not being able to get close to the Eternal Night Empress later.
It was precisely for this reason that the Eternal Night Empress had first moved Su Xiao to the easternmost side, the farthest point from her. She was clearly preparing to deal with Zuiyasi, Wude, and the others first, then concentrate all dark power to strangle Su Xiao.
The darkness ahead grew denser. When Su Xiao suddenly stopped, he saw Zuiyasi, whose body was twisted in a bizarre way, and Wude, who had been two-dimensionally twisted into a black force line. Further right was Shenfu, who had already been strangled, followed by Platinum Apostle, who had just been strangled and then changed to a new appearance. The title "Ten Thousand Faces" was not in vain.
Everyone knew Platinum Apostle could devour fate, and while devouring fate, he could manipulate others. Plus, he could disguise himself as anyone. But was that enough to survive under Tuanzhang? Of course not. Platinum Apostle's strongest ability was that every time he devoured someone's fate, it was like gaining an extra life.
Others ventured into mission worlds with one life per person. At most, they had immortality or reincarnation abilities. But this guy had many, many lives. Conservatively estimated, to avoid being killed, he would store tens of thousands of lives. At this moment, Platinum Apostle was rapidly dying.
Shenfu was the most surprising among them. First, he was strangled by the Eternal Night Empress, becoming a twisted rope. When he died, his twisted body seemed to reverse, restoring itself just as it had been twisted. Then, under the Eternal Night Empress's gaze, he was strangled again. Then, due to his own ability, he was restored without a scratch.
Further right was Black Demon. He didn't have many lives or immortality, but he was truly resilient. Transformed into a black semi-fluid, although he was twisted into an arm-thick spiral column, no matter how much it creaked, he wouldn't break.
No ability lasted forever, including this dark strangulation. When the strangulation stopped, the few gradually recovered. Su Xiao, holding the "Book of Original Sin" in one hand, stepped forward. The few all stared at the Eternal Night Empress in the darkness ahead. The Eternal Night Empress's black hair was as long as the background, moving without wind, full of presence.
A Law Destroyer who had sealed six Daddy-level Original Sin objects, an immortal Ancient God system, a devil clan member who could switch between two-dimensional/three-dimensional, a humanoid Ancient God who could come back to life after death, a Ten Thousand Faces person with at least tens of thousands of lives, and a black mud monster that couldn't be twisted to death no matter what.
Faced with such a lineup of monsters and freaks, the Eternal Night Empress in the darkness ahead fell silent for a moment, her gaze heavy.