Chapter 53: The Undying
A pitch-black treasure chest with thick golden patterns appeared in Su Xiao's hand. This was the highest-grade Abyss Treasure Chest. Did opening it come with both risks and opportunities? Not exactly—this was a coexistence of a Daddy-level item and a supreme treasure.
If opened well, instant wealth would follow, and the foundation for advancing to Supreme Rank would become much more solid. But if another Daddy-level Original Sin object came out, Su Xiao thought of the Collector, Necronomicon, Scarlet Scepter, Sun Mask, Nether Bone Ring, Soul Crown, World Devourer, and Eternal Night Empress inside the [Book of Original Sin], and felt the situation was extremely grim.
If another Daddy-level Original Sin object appeared, he would truly die from it. The eight pages of the [Book of Original Sin] were already fully sealed, with no room left.
Putting away the [Abyss Treasure Chest (★★★★★)], Su Xiao opened his task list. The main mission had reached its final stage, and the font of the mission had changed from the usual gold of main missions to dark gold. However, the current main mission progress displayed:
[Main Mission · Final Phase: Requires activation after the Dark Moon Ritual begins. Estimated 71 hours 50 minutes and 26 seconds until the Dark Moon Ritual completes its initiation.]
Su Xiao paid no attention to this. Even if the final phase of the main mission activated, he still had to finish several things before dealing with it.
Bypassing the Moon Altar, Su Xiao arrived at the inner side of this independent space. The stalactites above seemed ready to break off at any moment, piercing the heads of passersby. The surrounding uneven rock walls were covered with salt-crystal spikes, as if foretelling that this place was unwelcoming to outsiders.
A guillotine platform stood ahead. It looked ancient, consisting of a stone base and a thick wooden board that could open and close, with one large and two small holes in the board.
Though the bloodstains on the guillotine had dried, they still retained a certain bloody texture, as if someone had been beheaded there not long ago. This showed how powerful and special the life-source blood of the last beheaded person from the First Era was.
Beside this bloodstained guillotine was a reclining chair. The person on it was wrapped tightly from head to toe in old cloth strips of various colors, making them look bloated. They held a long wooden stick that was thick at the top and thin at the bottom. The most distinctive feature was their eyes—murky yellow, cracked all over. This was the Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans.
"Yes, this is where we executed the last Dark Moon descendant."
As Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans spoke, he laboriously pointed his long wooden stick at the guillotine. The red bloodstains above seemed to transcend time and space, recreating the scene of that time. Back then, the three giants of the Sun faction—the Sun King, the Night Nun, and the Sun Archsage—all watched the Dark Moon descendant on the execution platform, watching the gleaming sword rise. The Dark Moon descendant showed no fear of death, even smiling before dying, saying to the three Sun faction giants:
"Someday, you will regret defeating the Dark Moon."
As the words fell, the sword came down, and the last Dark Moon descendant died. Clearly, the Dark Moon Great Prince, who had been wandering in nightmares and had become an undying, no longer counted as a Dark Moon descendant.
Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans's eyes brightened slightly, and in a tone of reminiscence, he said:
"We defeated the Dark Moon royal family, conquered the nobles who believed in the Dark Moon, and made them prostrate beneath the blazing sun. But then what? We killed the race most skilled at sealing the Abyss in the First Era. Even the Moon Wolves were moved by the Dark Moon descendants' exquisite techniques for sealing the Abyss, willing to join the Dark Moon as a whole clan, basking in the glory of the Dark Moon Queen."
Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans's tone carried a hint of regret, then he let out a dry laugh and said:
"Indeed, there was a reason I couldn't ascend to the throne back then. If it were the Sun King, he wouldn't regret any decision he made, even now. Yes, the sun has shone on this world for two eras, and there's nothing to regret. In the end, I'm still that impoverished noble from the old royal city, always worrying about gains and losses. I lack the Sun King's decisiveness and strength, nor do I have the Nun's ruthlessness and darkness. It seems that the Nun and I have been following a king as firm as blazing steel."
The light in Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans's eyes began to dim, and he covered his mouth, coughing continuously. Black blood splattered through his fingers. When he stopped coughing, black blood flowed from his mouth, nose, ears, and other orifices, but he remained calm.
Who was Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans? Was he the Sun Archsage among the three giants of the Sun faction? Yes and no. The root of it all goes back to what each of the three Sun faction giants symbolized.
The first Sun King needed no explanation—he symbolized the hottest sun in the sky, supreme majesty, steel-like order, and terrifying wrath when provoked.
The Nun symbolized the full moon in the night—cold and existing only in darkness. Once the laws of Blazing Sun City were violated, even if one escaped the judgment of the Execution Agency, they couldn't escape the scythe blade of the Demon Scythe in the night. To some extent, the dark forces controlled by the Nun were not much weaker than the Sun Warrior Legion.
If these two were in the same faction, the inevitable result would be mutual rupture, leading to a world-shaking bloody war that would cause the Sun faction to decline prematurely. The Sun Archsage served as the mediator between the first Sun King and the Demon Scythe Nun.
The Sun Archsage was both dawn—bridging from the Nun's darkness to the first Sun King's blazing sun—and dusk—transitioning from the first Sun King's blazing sun to the night ruled by the Nun.
During the Sun faction's peak, many members of noble families only outwardly respected the Sun Archsage, without the same level of reverence they held for the Sun King and the Nun. The Sun Archsage remained low-key and didn't mind this.
When the Sun faction began to decline, the Sun Archsage made people realize that the three giants of the Sun faction were each unparalleled chosen ones of this world.
In the early stages of the Sun faction's decline, the sun above began to be eroded by Abyss power. This was, in fact, a consequence of destroying the Dark Moon faction. It was the Dark Moon faction that had been sealing the unclosable Abyss passages in this world.
This was why, even to this day, Arcane Eternal Star still had confidence in the "Dark Moon Ring." The Dark Moon faction had indeed sealed the unclosable Abyss passages of Blazing Sun Star for many years.
When the sun was eroded by the Abyss to a certain degree, the Sun Archsage knew that if this continued, all living beings in this world would face a calamity. So he used the Nun's secondary weapon, "Rend," to cut his own pulled-out soul into two segments.
A complete soul, even if powerful, could not exist independently once split in two. The Sun Archsage gave each of his two souls its own meaning. The soul representing the sun was given "Dawn," and the soul representing the sage was given "Dusk."
Unfortunately, even so, his two souls still had major flaws. The soul representing "Dawn" couldn't last long, because dawn itself is brief. The soul symbolizing "Dusk" could no longer see, as dusk inevitably ushers in darkness.
The Sun Archsage's solution was to infect the "Dawn" soul with undeath. From then on, Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans appeared in the world.
Since the "Dusk" soul could no longer see, it was filled with darkness and further descended into the Abyss. Thus began the existence of the old monster from the Twilight City · Great Library faction, the Eyeless Sage.
As for why the Sun Archsage went so far as to cut his own soul, becoming two separate individuals—a single individual couldn't complete the absorption and sealing. Even if done reluctantly, problems would arise quickly.
The Eyeless Sage was the one who absorbed Abyss erosion. Initially, he absorbed the Abyss erosion from the entire southern continent of Blazing Sun Star. In other words, being exposed to the distorted sun above for a day meant bearing the corresponding Abyss erosion. Though the erosion level was very low, it accumulated over time. Commoners exposed for a few days would become dark or beast-like.
The Abyss erosion absorbed by the Eyeless Sage was transmitted through closely connected causal chains to Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans, who sealed it.
Facts proved that the Sun Archsage's decision to split his soul was prescient. If he had both absorbed and stored, he would have been completely eroded within a few years. Conversely, Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans and the Eyeless Sage persisted for most of an era, from the Sun faction's decline until now.
No living being could leave the sun, but the sun of this world had long been distorted. The Sun God Clan kept the sun above from falling, while Sun Grand Scholar and the Eyeless Sage ensured living beings weren't eroded by the Abyss.
At first, the Eyeless Sage could protect the entire southern continent. As years passed, he gradually couldn't protect the southernmost Sacred Heart City, then the Exile Land, followed by Spirit Crown City.
The fates of Sacred Heart City and the Exile Land were obvious to all. Spirit Crown City fared better, but since losing the Eyeless Sage's protection, it had entered a decline, with massive resources used to set up barriers to filter out the trace Abyss erosion brought by the sun's rays.
By now, the only areas protected by the Eyeless Sage were Twilight City and Dawnlight City. This was why Dawnlight City, a lawful faction, always disliked Twilight City but respected the Great Library—because the Great Library was truly a super Daddy-level entity.
At this moment, the reason black blood flowed from Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans's mouth, nose, and ears was that he had reached his limit. Years of sealing massive amounts of distorted solar energy had left his body ulcerated everywhere. But as an undying, his ulcerated skin healed in a withered way, then ulcerated again, hence his body being wrapped in various cloth strips.
Originally, Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans was in Deathfall Port, the westernmost part of the Exile Land, cared for by the alien sea clans there. Unfortunately, the distorted solar power he sealed was so immense that he became like a radiation source, causing the alien sea clans caring for him to suffer severe erosion.
When Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans could still move a little, he tried to drive these alien sea clans away. But these alien sea clans, originally from the Wind Sea Continent, had been exiled and scorned by traditional sea clans. When they came to this world and were nearly wiped out, the three giants' Sun Archsage took them in, cared for them, and even opened a fishing port on the southern continent's coast. The alien sea clans made a living through salt production and trading marine plants grown in coastal waters.
Until the last alien sea clan member died of severe illness, they never gave up caring for the immobile Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans. In truth, these ugly, ferocious-looking alien sea clans weren't as rumored—they didn't intend to steal the sea clan royal treasures. They just wanted to live simply and ordinarily. It could only be said that being born in a Transcendent Primordial World was their misfortune.
Drip, drip~
Black blood dripped from the tip of the slender wooden stick. Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans's eyes were clouded to the extreme. He asked with effort:
"Law Destroyer, have you, obtained, the Moon Blood?"
"Mm."
"That's excellent. You also need to obtain, this world's original core."
"..."
The World Core appeared in Su Xiao's hand. Seeing this, Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans's dimming eyes brightened slightly.
"Then, have you found, the Blazing Sun Greatsword?"
"Mm."
"Very good, very good. Did you give it to the gods?"
"Yes."
"Then you are qualified to obtain the Sun Fragment. Remember one thing, Law Destroyer: make the choice you want to make. You... are qualified!"
The last sentence was spoken louder by Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans, causing him to cough repeatedly.
"Alright, I have reached the end of my fate. Bai Ye, use your blade that can cut down the undying and immortal, and send me off. This undying has, reached its absolute limit."
Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans slowly released the long wooden stick in his hand. The stick fell to the ground with a clatter, then shattered into wood shavings, as if weathered by time, turning to ash.
The [Ring of the World]'s traitless domain expanded. Only within this domain could the undying be slain. Su Xiao gripped the hilt of Dragon-Slaying Flash, slowly drawing the long blade. He knew Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans's purpose. If Rimans, as an undying, was slain, ninety percent of the Abyss erosion he sealed would dissipate with him. The remaining ten percent, Rimans couldn't handle, or rather, reaching this point was already his utmost effort.
After drawing the long blade, Su Xiao took out an ancient book with a charred cover. This was what the old monster, the Eyeless Sage, had given him earlier, with the original words:
'Give this to him. After so many years, even the Sun God Clan is nearing its end. We should reconcile.'
If he guessed correctly, Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans and the Eyeless Sage, now two separate individuals, had a conflict of ideals, leading to them not meeting for half an era.
Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans said nothing, as if he had already let go. Seeing this, Su Xiao stepped forward.
Clang!
The blade cut through, black blood splattering. The next moment, Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans's body exploded into scattered embers. Almost simultaneously, in Twilight City on the southern continent, black clouds gathered overhead.
In the lower level of the Great Library, the candle on the desk dimmed to near extinction. The Eyeless Sage, wiping an ancient book in front of a bookshelf, paused in reaching for another book, his hand stopping in mid-air for a moment before continuing.
In the central district's royal palace, in the massive bed of the bedchamber, Blazing Sun Monarch · Ashlot's eyes suddenly opened. He sat up from the bed with some effort, and with the help of several undying maids, came to the large window, looking at the darkness in the sky.
"Gray Serpent."
Blazing Sun Monarch · Ashlot spoke with a somewhat weak voice. His pupils were green. The old man Gray Serpent, covered in scale scars from recovering from Dragon Scale Disease, stepped forward quickly, bowing his head to await the Blazing Sun Monarch's command.
"Gray Serpent, I want to know, will you defy my royal decree?"
Blazing Sun Monarch · Ashlot's voice, though somewhat weak, was full of authority. As soon as he finished speaking, Gray Serpent immediately prostrated himself on the ground, answering firmly: "Never."
"Is that so? You have served me loyally for many years. You should be rewarded. Take all your blood relatives and go to the Void."
Blazing Sun Monarch · Ashlot threw a teleportation array lock plate to the ground. Hearing this, Gray Serpent looked up in shock. He was about to say something when he noticed the Blazing Sun Monarch gazing at the sunset on the distant horizon. His burning eyes showed no trace of weakness or fatigue.
Though his body was thin from illness, the large frame left from his peak made Ashlot still imposing. With a whoosh, the [Blazing Sun Greatsword] inserted into the sword base in the bedchamber ignited with golden solar flames. Against this backdrop, Ashlot, with dark-gold ring pupils appearing in his eyes, gradually regained his former strength.
...
In the deepest part of the lightless zone, within the independent space housing the Moon Altar, Su Xiao flicked the dark blood off his blade and sheathed the long sword.
[You have slain Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans.]
Only this kill notification appeared, with no subsequent reward content. This showed that in the judgment of both this world and the Void Tree, Sun Grand Scholar · Rimans was an important and special ancient existence.
Though there was no kill reward, Su Xiao had successfully slain the fourth undying. The total was: