Chapter 3: The Path of Redemption
The lineups of the Sanctuary Team and the Watchful Team were simply too outrageous. The Sanctuary Team had at least four unknown members as a fig leaf, while the Watchful Team had completely abandoned all pretense. Of their five members, four were Violators. That was right, Black Demon had fully become a Violator.
Previously, Black Demon had been banished to the Eternal Light World. As the price for escaping Eternal Light, it underwent a Dark Rebirth. To others, this might seem inexplicable, but Su Xiao possessed top-tier Abyss knowledge and understood the key points.
After hearing Fenny describe Black Demon's current appearance, Su Xiao confirmed that the other party was in a state of just having completed a Dark Rebirth. This allowed Black Demon, who had died in the Eternal Light World, to be reborn. Correspondingly, the consciousness of the little fatty, who was fatefully fused with it, would also be resurrected through this rebirth.
Crucially, all of this was based on the premise that Black Demon's consciousness had already killed the little fatty's consciousness and completely taken control of the body. Now that the little fatty was reborn, Black Demon had suffered a huge loss.
For this reason, Black Demon was no longer teamed with Shenfu this time, but was in the Haoji Team.
Haoji was the major enemy this time, there was no doubt about that. In terms of direct combat power, Haoji was undoubtedly the strongest Violator Su Xiao had ever encountered. His Violation ability was called "Devouring Mark."
Of all the enemies from the Paradise camp who had fallen to Haoji, in most cases, Haoji would spare their lives. It wasn't that Haoji was soft-hearted; it was that all enemies who lost to him would have an indelible "Devouring Mark" appear on them.
This meant that one-fifth of the freely distributable True Attribute Points the victim subsequently obtained would be taken away by the "Devouring Mark." Moreover, this was a "Talent Ability" certified by the Void Tree. This last point was the most troublesome.
Coupled with Haoji's other ability, which allowed him to enhance his own "upper limit of all potential ranks" by absorbing the enhancement from Attribute Points, this created the monster that was Haoji, whose five attributes—Strength, Agility, Endurance, Intelligence, and Charm—had all reached 800 points.
What the outside world didn't know was that Haoji could not only enhance his own potential by absorbing the enhancement from Attribute Points, but he could also use this to raise the upper limit potential of his own skills.
Haoji had one thing in common with Su Xiao: he believed that all flashy abilities would gradually be eliminated through repeated strength increases. Only the most basic, most ordinary attacks would always be used. Since that was the case, he would just keep stacking the attack power of ordinary attacks. This way, it wouldn't be eliminated as his rank increased, and it could continuously stack upward.
Therefore, Haoji, this tough guy who liked to blow everything apart with his fists, was fond of mastering various types of Passive abilities. He would first use True Skill Points to max out the potential of the Passives he mastered, and then max out the abilities themselves. His enhancement direction was particularly simple: Attack Power, Self-Speed, Defense and HP—these three major categories.
The scene that usually played out was: an enemy would launch a surprise attack, unleashing a flashy combo on Haoji. Haoji would block in front with his left hand, while his right fist charged up. After charging fully, he would throw a single punch, shattering the enemy who had been executing the flashy combo.
After doing all this, Haoji would clean up the shattered enemy, simply bury them, and stick their weapon on the grave. It wasn't for some ritual or anything; Haoji maintained a certain respect for the enemies he had fought.
A truly difficult enemy was never the arrogant, domineering type, but rather this kind of person who, though bold and unconstrained, remained vigilant and respectful towards their opponents, constantly reminding themselves that they were not omnipotent, always maintaining the awe that there was always someone stronger, and possessing the courage to risk their life at critical moments.
In the previous world progress, Haoji's strength was actually greater than the "Vicious Combination," but he chose to back down. The reward he got was that he had advanced to between Absolute Strength and Supreme, allowing him to participate in this World Domination War.
"Bai Ye, Haoji is likely to become your biggest obstacle to winning this time. You cannot lose."
Fenny's tone was particularly firm. Hearing this, Su Xiao looked at Fenny and switched the train from travel mode to quiet running mode, silencing the surrounding subtle running sounds.
"Don't look at me like that. We're on the same team. Although I was forced onto your pirate ship, I definitely want you to win."
Fenny seemed a bit nervous under Su Xiao's aura, and there was even a hint of shyness?
"..."
Su Xiao continued to look at Fenny expressionlessly. Under his gaze, Fenny's shyness became more apparent. But after half a minute, Fenny couldn't keep up the act anymore. She said with a hint of anger and embarrassment:
"Please don't stare at a lady for so long. It's very rude."
"..."
Su Xiao still didn't speak. Amu stood up from his seat. Seeing this, Fenny's shyness subsided a bit. She realized that trying to lower this Hunter's vigilance with a soft and cute style was basically impossible.
"Alright, I'll talk. I actually spent all my savings on purchasing evaluation-boosting authority items. That is, if we win this time, my comprehensive evaluation will be calculated based on a minimum of 185% for profit settlement. If we lose, I'll have nothing."
Pushing the minimum value of the comprehensive evaluation to this level must have cost an outrageous amount, especially since this was a World Domination War.
Clang~
Su Xiao drew his longsword from its sheath and pressed it against Fenny's neck. The sting of the blade touching her skin made Fenny swallow. She was certain in her heart that this Hunter would not hesitate to kill her, regardless of the penalty.
"Reason."
Su Xiao didn't believe that a Healing Type would stake their entire fortune without reason, especially in such a dangerous World Domination War. This didn't fit the personality of 99% of Healing Types, nor the experience of an Absolute Strength-level Healing Type.
"I'm trapped."
After saying this, Fenny looked helpless.
"..."
The tip of Su Xiao's longsword pressed against Fenny's chin, forcing her to lift her head slightly. She said:
"Healing Type is a power system that is very difficult to advance to Supreme. As a Technique Type, you should know this. Technique Type, Necromancy System, and Elemental Magic System are the three hardest systems to advance to Supreme. The difficulty of advancing for Healing Type is only below these three systems. Perhaps this is the price for Healing Type to advance smoothly to Absolute Strength."
Fenny wasn't lying. For a Healing Type to advance to Supreme, although it didn't require challenges or trials, it did require a massive amount of ultra-high-level resources. That was indeed true.
Fenny's tragedy was that the healing system she inherited was quite prestigious. It was the "Blessing Speech System," one of the three major branches of Healing Type. This system had a very high level of prestige, as its buffs relied entirely on spoken "Blessings."
The reason Fenny was said to be highly compatible with Su Xiao was that the buffs of the "Blessing Speech System" didn't directly increase a certain number of Strength points or Speed points, but leaned towards external buffs.
External buffs had both advantages and disadvantages. Most buffs, when applied to the recipient, would integrate into their body. The buffs of the "Blessing Speech System" were more like a technique attached to the surface of the recipient's body, without affecting the internal body. For example, a "Defense Blessing" was more like an invisible defense film attached to the outside of the skin.
For the weak, the "Blessing Speech System" was like a crude, clumsy puppet master. For the strong, it was like a limit-breaking buff.
Currently, Su Xiao's Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Intelligence were all at 800 points. A regular healer couldn't buff his body attributes because their buff would be 800 + (800 × 3.5%) = 828 points, which, after judgment correction, would still be the extreme 800 points.
The "Blessing Speech System," on the other hand, provided an external 28 points on top of the 800-point Strength. Su Xiao's own Strength attribute and the "Strength Blessing Rune" on his body didn't follow the same judgment. The most intuitive example was the "Aberrant Beast Deity" encountered in the previous world. It had infinitely increased its Strength, far exceeding the 800-point attribute extreme, achieving this through a method similar to the "Blessing Speech System."
Fenny succeeded because of the "Blessing Speech System" and failed because of it. The prerequisite for this system to advance to Supreme was very high. Helpless, Fenny could only join a stronger Absolute Strength team to enter worlds and earn money. The key point was that she was in the Apocalypse Paradise, where the number of Healing Types was second only to the Holy Light Paradise.
With so many Healing Types, there was naturally competition. Coupled with the relatively mild certification of the Apocalypse Paradise, it had the largest number of Absolute Strength teams among the six major Paradises, and correspondingly more Healing Types. This led to even more severe internal competition among Healing Types. In fact, within the Apocalypse Paradise, there was a dedicated scoring mechanism for judging a healer's strength, called "Ability Score."
The Ability Scores for Absolute Strength-level Healing Types were as follows:
50-100 points: Relatively ordinary Absolute Strength-level Healing Type.
100-200 points: The ability system is strong enough, with unique healing methods, somewhat famous among Healing Types.
200-300 points: Very famous Healing Type.
300-350 points: Top-tier Absolute Strength-level Healing Type.
The internal competition among Healing Types in the Apocalypse Paradise was severe. For Fenny to join a stronger team and earn more money, she needed to become stronger. However, improving her own strength would also raise the prerequisites for advancing to Supreme.
This forced her to join even stronger teams to obtain more resources for advancement. Like a snowball, Fenny rolled her prerequisites for advancing to Supreme to a level that made her want to cry just looking at it. Although this would grant a higher upper limit after advancing to Supreme.
Wasn't it good to stay an Absolute Strength Healing Type forever? Fenny's answer was that it was actually quite good. Forty percent of the Healing Types in the Apocalypse Paradise were willing to stay at the Ninth Rank forever, and many were forced to stay there.
The problem lay with Fenny's good best friend. This person also had the identity of being a friend of Tuanzhang, and was a Divination Type. Her exact words were to tell Fenny that she absolutely had to be cautious and reach Supreme. Only then could she possibly become a survivor. After the Void major event began, Absolute Strength really couldn't guarantee survival.
Previously, in the Apocalypse Paradise communication channel, Su Xiao had initially set his sights on the Healing Type Suoweiya. Just as he was about to act, the following message appeared in the communication channel:
"Titan·Gelizi (Tank System): 'The trembling Healing Type Fenny. The usually active her has suddenly gone silent today.'"
"Mechanic (Tech Side): 'Excellent. This time, the two strongest Healing Types, Suoweiya and Fenny, have both entered the Reincarnation White Night's list.'"
If Titan·Gelizi and the Mechanic weren't Fenny's plants, Su Xiao wouldn't believe it. In terms of raw Healing Type strength, Suoweiya was stronger than Fenny. The problem was that Suoweiya was a traditional big-milk healer, while Fenny was a "Blessing Speech System."
What followed seemed like Fenny was coyly refusing before joining the Bai Ye Team. But in reality, she was the one they wanted to recruit. For Su Xiao, whose main attributes had all reached the 800-point extreme, Fenny was clearly more suitable.
Moreover, since this was a Healing Type they were cooperating with, her willing cooperation versus forced buffing resulted in completely different support intensities. At this point, Fenny had already invested her entire fortune into the Bai Ye Team, a desperate healer forced to go all in.
Under these circumstances, asking Fenny about the situation of the other three team members was very reliable. Hearing Su Xiao's question, Fenny didn't answer immediately. She frowned in thought for a moment before saying:
"Bai Ye, I feel that the Apocalypse Mage is the least trustworthy. This guy already has a bad reputation. He's a fence-sitter. If we're in a big advantage, he'll definitely be willing to take a share. But now, we're hostile to six teams at the same time. And among these six teams, the Knight Team, Kane Team, Demon Scythe Team, Shenfu Team, and Haoji Team are all stronger than the last. Right now, the Haoji Team seems like an unbeatable configuration, but I think the four unknown slots of the Shenfu Team might be a bigger hidden danger."
Fenny's beautiful amber pupils became serious. After hearing her analysis, Baha smiled and said:
"Fenny, what if the Shenfu Team is actually the combination of Shenfu, Shenfu, Shenfu, Shenfu, and Shenfu?"
"Brother Demon Hawk, at a time like this, don't joke around."
Fenny, who was serious and worried, looked a bit troubled.
"Who said I was joking?"
Baha's smile became meaningful, which made Fenny rethink his words. She murmured, "That... shouldn't be possible, right?"
As a Battle Angel who had encountered quite a few Violators from the Apocalypse Paradise, Fenny now had a new definition of the upper limit of Violator abilities. Of course, this was also related to her being a Healing Type. In the past, when dealing with Violators, she had always assisted from the sidelines.
"In your opinion, is the Apocalypse Mage a hidden danger?"
Su Xiao spoke as he sheathed his longsword, which made Fenny secretly breathe a sigh of relief. She replied, "I wouldn't say a hidden danger, but it's best not to consider him a team member."
As soon as Fenny finished speaking, the train stopped. As the door opened, Baha was the first to dart out, followed closely by Amu. Bubu Wang put on the holographic control device. First, a large number of mechanical bees flew out. These mechanical bees combined the biological technology of the Insect Race with the intelligent mechanical technology of the Bana Dwarf Clan, possessing functions such as reconnaissance, enemy detection, and targeted demolition.
Not only these mechanical bees, but the Little Bu also set off. The Little Bu now had three forms: Hound, Spider, and Infiltrator. The Hound mode was for searching, the Spider mode for auxiliary attacks, and the Infiltrator mode for binding enemies.
Several hundred meters from the Lord's Train was a peaceful village. The houses in this village were all on the small side. In the center of the village was a softwood tree that looked like a broccoli. This was a village dominated by fungi. The Fungus Clan looked like mushrooms of various sizes. They moved relatively slowly but had great cultivation talent. The village was full of all kinds of rare plants, all of which were excellent alchemical materials.
Su Xiao wasn't here to ransack the Spore Village. He was here to deal with the Apocalypse Mage. Having such a fence-sitter in the team was a hidden danger in itself, not to mention that Shenfu was best at maximizing the use of such fence-sitters.
As for why Su Xiao could find the Apocalypse Mage so easily, just look at the enemies he had tracked in the past. He had tracked either ultra-high-risk Violators like Shenfu and the Platinum Apostle, world-destroying beings like the Archbishop of the Abyss and the Ancestor, or "Abnormal Existence·Abyss Spawn" from the Abyss, or "Undying and Indestructible·Abyss Spawn."
The Plant Kingdom·Yagowa was a world rich in natural elements. When a Magic Type arrived here, the first thing they would do was to adapt to the natural element characteristics of this place as quickly as possible. Most Magic Types, although they didn't have the means of Spellcasters to devour natural elements, would try to incorporate natural element reactions into their spells as much as possible, thereby greatly increasing their spell power.
The fastest way to adapt to natural elements was to form a small to medium-scale elemental vortex. This only took 5-8 seconds to complete the elemental adaptation for this world. Earlier on the Lord's Train, Su Xiao used a piece of natural lava to coax some fire elements to linger inside the balancing device. As the most active elements in nature, when these fire elements were about 20-30 kilometers away from where an elemental vortex had once been formed, they would have a slight reaction.
Therefore, when picking up Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, Beini, and Fenny, Su Xiao arranged the Lord's Train's route in an S-shape. His luck was always bad, but this route covered a third of the entire Plant Kingdom.
Boom!
The sudden explosion startled Fenny. She instinctively added a "Defense Blessing Rune" to herself, then pointed at Su Xiao, ready to add a buff. But she found Su Xiao thoughtfully considering something, not even looking in the direction of the explosion.
After a few more rumbles, the Spore Village quieted down. Amu walked out of the smoke and dust, came to the train, and threw a figure that was only half a body onto the ground. He raised his battle axe.
Thud! Thud!
Two heavy axe blows fell, each one cutting into flesh and breaking bones. The brutal sound of the chopping increased the pressure in Fenny's heart. She had certainly seen life and death, but such brutally natural visual impact was rarely seen among Apocalypse Paradise Contractors.
After confirming that the bound person was half-dead and couldn't resist, Amu picked him up and brought him to Su Xiao.
On a gravel clearing beside the train, Su Xiao sat on a crystal seat. Not far away, a small stream flowed by. If the Apocalypse Mage, who was severely injured and near death, knew that the one who had used mechanical bees to track him down until he was furious was the big dog rolling in the clear water of the stream, he would probably be so depressed that he would spit out a mouthful of old blood.
Losing to the combination of Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha, the Apocalypse Mage was not wronged. In the past, when fighting final bosses, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha were more often supporting the fight. But that wasn't because they were weak; it was because the enemies were too outrageously strong. Especially Amu, who this time endured the terrifying burning of the Apocalypse Mage's magic abilities, charged forward head-on, and combined with the alchemical mist specially designed to counter Magic Types. Of course, the Apocalypse Mage would lose badly.
"Amu, too rough."
As Su Xiao spoke, the Apocalypse Mage opposite him glared at him. Seeing this, Su Xiao placed one hand on the other's right shoulder: "I personally apologize for my follower's rudeness."
Crack, crack, crack~
Crystals spread, an erosive spread that fused with the Apocalypse Mage's flesh. It quickly climbed up the right side of his face. When the crystals began to fuse and erode his brain, the Apocalypse Mage's expression twisted, and he said urgently:
"We can cooperate..."
The crystals continued to spread, which made the Apocalypse Mage immediately change his tune. He shouted loudly:
"300,000 Soul Coins."
The spread and erosion of the crystals stopped abruptly. The Apocalypse Mage gasped for breath, relieved to have escaped death.
"Actually, I can understand your cooperation with Shenfu. After all, our camps are hostile, and my reputation in the Apocalypse Paradise isn't very good."
Su Xiao's words made the Apocalypse Mage's eyes gradually widen. He sneered and explained with a bit of speechlessness: "No matter what, I am a Battle Angel of the Apocalypse Paradise. How could I cooperate with a Violator?"
"Oh? So Sacred Fate·Rosa has been deceiving me."
A Contract Parchment appeared in Su Xiao's hand. When he unfolded it, it was a contract he had signed with another team member, Sacred Fate·Rosa. It clearly stated that Rosa would help Su Xiao with ten prophecies, and two had already been made. Of course, this was a fake contract.
Seeing this contract, the Apocalypse Mage's heart nearly stopped. But he was, after all, an Absolute Strength Magic Type. He still had a look of disdain for colluding with Violators in his eyes and said: "If you're going to kill me, do it quickly. Why find such a lame excuse? Fenny, take a good look at my fate. This is your end."
As expected of a fence-sitter, the Apocalypse Mage tried to drag Fenny down with him. Fenny seemed to be swayed, but it was she who had told Su Xiao that this teammate was a fence-sitter. So Fenny knew exactly what was going on.
Seeing the Apocalypse Mage's attitude, Baha said with a sigh: "The last time we teamed up with Shenfu was the last time."
"?"
The Apocalypse Mage looked at Baha suspiciously, not because of the nonsense Baha had just said, but because it claimed to have teamed up with Shenfu.
"Look, we even have a group photo. Now we're enemies. Times have changed."
Baha sighed with emotion. Hearing this, the Apocalypse Mage's mind began to stir. From Baha's tone, it didn't seem like they were going to silence him, but rather intended to use this to extort him heavily.
"Your cooperation with Shenfu is not unforgivable. But, your behavior has caused great harm to our simple and fragile hearts. So, you pay 800,000 Soul Coins as compensation. That's not too much, is it?"
Baha's words made the Apocalypse Mage start to hesitate.
"500,000, not a penny less. This is our mental anguish fee."
Baha's face was almost splitting from grinning. Getting 500,000 Soul Coins from the start naturally put him in a great mood.
"Deal..."
The Apocalypse Mage agreed with a hesitant and helpless tone, which made Baha's smug smile gradually turn into a cold sneer.
"So, Shenfu did approach you, and you agreed to cooperate with him."
Su Xiao stared intently at the Apocalypse Mage. This made the Apocalypse Mage's blood run cold, and his scalp tingled. A look of immense terror appeared on his face. Only then did he realize why he had fallen into such a direct thinking trap. He looked at the cat not far away, and the gem pendant around its neck. The luxurious gems on the pendant seemed to emit a thin mist that would drift away with the wind.
"Wait..."
Slap!
The right-hand blade wrapped in a crystal layer swept across. The Apocalypse Mage's entire head and most of his torso shattered, turning into crystal fragments mixed with blood that splattered to the side.
Seeing this, Fenny wanted to say something but stopped. It wasn't that she couldn't bear to witness it; she didn't understand why, if they were going to kill him, they had gone through the previous series of operations.
"Confused?"
Baha noticed Fenny's confusion.
"Uh... not really."
"When two people meet, there is cause and effect. Even more so when they have already established a cooperation. To track a Violator of Shenfu's level by relying on their residual aura or other traces would only lead you in circles. But tracking their causal fate will never go wrong. The problem is that the medium used to seal causal fate is very expensive and consumable. So, before using this fate-sealing medium, we need to ensure that the Apocalypse Mage and Shenfu have indeed cooperated. And, if they haven't cooperated, we take the Soul Coins and let him go."
"Let him go?!"
Fenny was stunned. In her understanding, a team with the villain boss aura of the Bai Ye Team would definitely take the money and kill the target.
"That's right. If we take the money, we have to let him go. We have to be trustworthy."
"Ah, this..."
Fenny was completely at a loss. Before she could sort out her thoughts, the causal fate sealing of the Apocalypse Mage was completed. This was a further achievement of Su Xiao's Sealcraft.
Inside the irregularly shaped sealed crystal, gray mist drifted, with sparkling crystal fragments inside.
[Warning: You have killed a fellow team member.]
[Your actions will be subject to strict adjudication. Relevant adjudication is being certified...]
[To complete this adjudication, Reincarnation Paradise needs to perform a synchronous certification to complete the adjudication of Hunter·Kukulin Bai Ye.]
[This certification cannot be completed.]
[You will be deducted 14,950 points of Apocalypse Paradise Reputation.]
[You will be deducted 9,750 points of Void Tree Reputation.]
[Apocalypse Paradise Reputation deduction completed.]
[Void Tree Reputation deduction failed. A synchronous certification request has been sent to the Void Tree.]
[Synchronous certification completed.]
[Void Tree Reputation deduction failed. Reason: The Hunter's current Void Tree Reputation is too low.]
[It has been verified that this team member was added to the Hunter-led team through synchronous certification and matching by the Apocalypse Paradise, Holy Light Paradise, and Watchful Paradise. Under this certification premise, there will be no further certification adjudication.]
The unreliable matching member mechanism of the Bai Ye Team also had its benefits. The punishment for killing these abnormally matched members was not severe, especially for Su Xiao, it was equivalent to no punishment at all.
Crack~, Crack~
Bones ground harshly. The recently killed Apocalypse Mage stood up in a broken state. His shattered upper body reverted to a spliced state, like ceramic pieces pieced back together. His lower body was haphazardly formed from broken bones and rotten flesh, making his stance very strange.
Crack!
The Apocalypse Mage's head corrected itself. He looked at Su Xiao, a benevolent smile appearing on his face. This smile was all too familiar. It was the 'old friend' Shenfu.
Baha flew over and landed on Fenny's shoulder. Fenny muttered "so heavy" but didn't say much else. She also knew that Baha was protecting the team's Healing Type in a dangerous moment.
Crystal tables and chairs, along with a small round table, were formed. Amu brought a cup of clear tea from the train and placed two teacups on the table.
"Sit."
Su Xiao picked up the teacup and took a sip. The taste was good. Recently, he had changed his taste and tried the tea made from the tender leaves of the Soul Tree. The result was quite good, with a unique tea fragrance.
Shenfu sat down with somewhat stiff movements. He picked up the teacup and asked jokingly:
"You wouldn't... have poisoned this, would you?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He motioned for Amu to take the teacup away from Shenfu. He made a move to stand up, indicating he wouldn't continue the discussion. Since the other party was in a temporary avatar state and was still so suspicious, there was no need to continue the subsequent negotiation.
"Just kidding. Besides, this is just a temporary avatar I'm occupying. I can abandon it anytime. Poisoning this avatar is indeed meaningless."
Shenfu took a sip of the clear tea, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He asked, "This is?"
"Soul Tree."
"Luxurious enough."
Shenfu took another sip. The pure aftertaste of the soul made him exhale a long breath.
"Bai Ye, your coming this time is both unexpected and within reason. Give up this time and leave. If I'm not mistaken, you haven't received a War Mission yet. This is a good opportunity to leave. You have no chance of winning this time. I always evaluate you with the highest vigilance, but this time, you have no chance of winning. Look at the configuration of my Holy Light Team, and then look at the configuration of the Watchful Team. You should realize that. Retreat. If you die, we'll be very bored in the future. Who would like a dark forest without a hunter?"
What Shenfu said couldn't be completely dismissed as false, especially the last part about not wanting Su Xiao to die here. This was indeed Shenfu's true thought. As for the 'dark forest without a hunter' nonsense, don't listen to this old fox's bullshit. The real reason was that if Su Xiao died, the "Book of Original Sin" he held would no longer be able to seal the six big-daddy-level Original Sin Objects inside.
As for the banishment technique Su Xiao had set on the "Book of Original Sin," outsiders didn't know about this. Even if they did, would they really dare to believe it?
"First round, five pieces of 'Broken Origin.' You didn't take a single one."
Su Xiao's words were pointed. This made Shenfu's expression unchanged. The Violators had been in this world for nearly 30 hours but hadn't taken a single piece of "Broken Origin." Obviously, they had some conspiracy.
Now that Su Xiao, who was qualified to seize these "Broken Origins," had entered the field, Shenfu was naturally willing to try to persuade Su Xiao to back off. And even if he couldn't persuade him, he wouldn't lose anything. Shenfu was very happy to do this kind of thing.
However, Shenfu miscalculated this time. He found that Su Xiao, who was drinking tea with him, was bleeding from his nose and mouth, looking at him with a kind smile. Shenfu looked down at the teacup in his hand and suddenly felt that having this temporary avatar separate from his main body wasn't so safe anymore.
Su Xiao took out a bottle of composite potion. He drank most of it and then placed it on the table, ready to share the antidote with Shenfu.
Shenfu was silent for a few seconds. He didn't take the composite potion on the table. His temporary avatar exploded, blood and flesh splattering onto the crystal thin wall in front of Su Xiao, blocked, and slowly dripped down.
As soon as Shenfu retreated, more blood flowed from Su Xiao's nose and mouth. Obviously, what he had just drunk wasn't an antidote at all, but a further enhancer of the potent poison. It was only now that he took out the antidote and drank it in small, multiple doses.
Seeing this, Fenny fully felt the malice of the old yinbi. And at this stage, being on the same pirate ship as the old yinbi, with the inexplicable reassurance of not being schemed against, wasn't because Fenny was being sentimental. As a Healing Type, being schemed against at the very beginning of this World Domination War was really too illogical.
At this moment, in a hidden ancient mansion in the Poisonous Dense Area, north of the "Dense Maowang Capital."
The main hall of the ancient mansion was somewhat dim. Firelight flickered in the fireplace. Several figures sat around a long table. Among them was the Charm-type high-risk Violator, Moon Witch, dressed in a light purple long dress, with long silver hair and a gentle temperament.
The Platinum Apostle was in the darkness. It was worth mentioning that the Platinum Apostle had occupied a female body this time. Or rather, for the Platinum Apostle, the gender of the vessel wasn't important. What mattered was whether the abilities of the original owner of this body were easy to use.
Black Demon was also present, but his appearance was different from before. He had returned to wearing a motorcycle suit, with a pineapple hairstyle, hands in his pockets, spiked shoes on his feet, and a small metal scissors hanging from his right ear. This kind of weird outfit was typical of Su Xiao's few friends, the little fatty.
From the look in his eyes, it was Black Demon who was controlling this body. Not far from him stood a man wrapped in gray-brown bandages, like a mummy. He was the fifth member of the Haoji Team. However, Haoji himself was not present at the moment.
Shenfu, who was leaning back in a recliner, opened his eyes. After sitting up, the smile on his face from before had disappeared. Seeing this, Moon Witch curled her thin lips into a tempting arc and asked, "Did the talk go smoothly?"
"I was schemed against."
"Oh? You old guy got schemed against? You're usually the one scheming us."
"I didn't expect my old friend's potent poison to have improved so much."
Shenfu's words made Moon Witch shake her head with a smile: "You only used a temporary avatar to talk. How could you be poisoned..."
Before Moon Witch could finish, blood flowed from Shenfu's nose and mouth. This stunned Moon Witch a bit. Except for the Platinum Apostle and Black Demon, everyone else present stood up and backed away.
"Is this for real? That guy's alchemical poison is this outrageous..."
Just as Moon Witch said this, she suddenly felt her nose getting hot. She raised her hand and touched her nose and mouth. Looking at her slender fingers and fair palm, they were already covered in blood.
"Is this... too outrageous!"
As soon as Moon Witch said this, she uncontrollably spat out a large mouthful of blood. Then the Bandage Man and the Masked Strongman followed suit. Then the Platinum Apostle also started to have a nosebleed. Even Black Demon spat out a large mouthful of black blood.
After spitting out another large mouthful of blood, the Platinum Apostle looked at the Bandage Man, the Masked Strongman, and other Violators and asked: "Gentlemen, do you still feel that the methods Haoji and I prepared to deal with Bai Ye were a waste of time and unnecessary?"
Hearing this, the few high-risk Violators looked at each other and said nothing.
This scene fell into Shenfu's eyes. It had to be said, this was exactly the situation he wanted to see. Sometimes, it wasn't a matter of Su Xiao or Shenfu outsmarting the other; it was a mutual confrontation. For example, this time, although Shenfu had been schemed against and suffered a miserable defeat at the start, he used this initial failure to make the Violators, who had been harboring their own agendas, restrain their ambitions.
...
South of the Spore Village, at the Lord's Train parking spot.
Su Xiao handed the starting device for the large water extraction equipment to the Mushroom Village Chief. This made the Mushroom Clan, of various heights, cheer in their unique language. The reason Su Xiao understood this language was that he had read relevant records in the Soul Library. However, he could only have basic communication with the Fungus Clan and understand what they were saying.
His killing of the Apocalypse Mage earlier had frightened the mushrooms of the Spore Village. But Su Xiao didn't show any intention of leaving. The Village Chief of the Spore Village, an old Mushroom Clan member who had lived for nearly 900 years, could only overcome his fear of Su Xiao's blood aura and come forward to negotiate.
After some negotiation, Su Xiao learned the general situation of this world. This world had three major forces: the Great Swamp, the Dense Maowang Capital, and the Half-Beast Tribes. Among these three forces, the Great Swamp was ruled by the "Swamp King," and its subordinates were all powerful Supernatural Animal-type beings.
The "Dense Maowang Capital" was a force led by the Plant Camp, composed of the Soul Host Clan, Thorn Vine Clan, Giant Tree Clan, Poison Arrow Clan, etc., ruled by three Elders. A very crucial point was that on this continent called "Yagowa," there was a water shortage for at least five months of the year. Only during the two-month wet season would areas other than the Great Swamp be more comfortable.
Originally, the "Dense Maowang Capital" didn't have abundant water resources either. The fresh water gushing from the central large spring in the capital would flow through four rivers to cover most of "Yagowa."
The problem was that after the Plant Camp occupied the "Dense Maowang Capital," they blocked the rivers. As a result, the Plant Camp's territory was no longer short of water, but the Half-Beast Tribes in the southern region suffered from water shortages for at least 10 months a year. In severe cases, this even led to wars with the "Dense Maowang Capital."
Years of drought and war had gradually weakened the various Half-Beast Tribes. Not only that, but the intelligent races in the entire southern region of the continent were gradually declining and withering due to the water shortage.
After listening to the Mushroom Village Chief's description, Su Xiao's thoughts on "Bounty 1: Path of Redemption" began to become clear. The corresponding target of this bounty was ninety percent likely to be the blocked water source in the "Dense Maowang Capital."
In addition, the three Elders of the "Dense Maowang Capital" were holding three pieces of "Broken Origin." Under these circumstances, the next target was definitely the "Dense Maowang Capital."
After bidding farewell to the deeply moved Mushroom Village Chief, the group boarded the train. The Lord's Train sped towards the "Dense Maowang Capital." Fenny looked at the scenery outside the window, and a sudden sense of unease rose in her heart. She looked at Su Xiao opposite her and asked:
"Bai Ye, when we go to the 'Dense Maowang Capital' this time, should we be a bit more cautious?"
"Mm."
Getting this silent and somewhat perfunctory reply from Su Xiao made Fenny's unease even stronger. She was really afraid that this god of death would park the Lord's Train right in front of the gates of the "Dense Maowang Capital" and then single-handedly take on the entire capital.
"Bai Ye, how about we sneak into the palace of the 'Dense Maowang Capital' and then make our plans? It must be heavily guarded there. We can only sneak in."
"..."
Su Xiao stopped admiring the scenery outside the window. He looked at Fenny, was silent for two seconds, then said: "Oh. Then we'll sneak in."
Getting this reply from Su Xiao, Fenny finally felt a bit relieved. However, she didn't know at this moment that the "sneaking in" she understood was completely different from the "sneaking in" that Su Xiao's team would carry out.