Chapter 14: The Price
Bubbles gurgled upward. Su Xiao remained in the water, while Bubu Wang beside him had transformed into a fish that swam chaotically. A dog paddle that could even syncopate its own steps—this was likely unique in the canine world.
Su Xiao's plan this time was simple. He didn't believe that those sent to deal with the Beast Lord had no other Dukain family council members spying on them. Especially since, earlier, the Abyss Princess had taken the initiative to seek him out, proposing cooperation as a top-tier alchemist.
The matter was straightforward. First, the mastermind behind this was the ruler of the Queen's City, Scorpion Lady. The Queen's City was the largest force in this world, at least in scale, with its urban area and size surpassing the Beast Clan's Eternal Ring City.
What the Beast Lord possessed was the Elven race's ancestral gene sequence, allowing him to mass-produce elves through the "Breeding Factory." What Scorpion Lady held was the Human race's ancestral gene sequence, and thus, those she enslaved were naturally humans.
Compared to the Elves' talent in craftsmanship, humans seemed ordinary at first glance. However, once their numbers grew large enough, there would inevitably be all-rounders. Therefore, the Queen's City's industry, various forms of productivity, commerce, foreign trade, etc., were all highly developed. In fact, Districts 2 to 5 of the Queen's City were open to tourists as sightseeing and entertainment areas.
Among the three council members, Scorpion Lady was not the strongest in combat, but she was certainly the most far-sighted and intelligent. Moreover, the Queen's City was the only one of the four main Dukain cities that did not establish a "Breeding Factory," at least not openly.
Scorpion Lady's strategy was to hide the "Breeding Factory" deep underground in several districts, mass-producing elite human individuals. Then, she would select the best among them and subject them to deep "Dark Corruption."
In this way, Scorpion Lady had a continuous supply of loyal, excellent servants who could stably and efficiently manage the Queen's City, making it even more prosperous.
However, doing so would sharply reduce the resource nutrients Scorpion Lady could extract from the Queen's City by two-thirds. She had no choice in this matter. The Human race's ancestral gene sequence had too strong an adaptability.
Initially, Scorpion Lady had tried to control the ants under her rule like other council members and the Council Leader. Unfortunately, humans had a trait: they would pass certain characteristics to the next generation. For example, after being subjected to "Dark Corruption," their bodies and souls would naturally develop a certain "Corruption Resistance."
Depriving fertility at the genetic level was both difficult and required sustained high costs. Therefore, "Dark Corruption" sometimes failed to suppress the reproductive instinct of human slaves, leading to the emergence of second-generation human slaves.
The "Corruption Resistance" inherited from their parents allowed the new generation of humans to have relatively normal reproductive instincts. The third generation of humans would soon appear.
By the time the fifth or sixth generation of humans emerged, their innate "Corruption Resistance" was already considerable. What they needed to do was clearly not continue being ants in the Queen's City but to consider how to resist and become strong.
This world was once a battlefield between the Ancient Dragons and the Sun, and between the Dukain and the Law Annihilators. During these two campaigns, many other forces entered the fray due to their positions or interests. Thus, what this world lacked least were the secret treasures or inheritances left by dying powerful beings.
Years later, Scorpion Lady confirmed one thing: using the Dukain family's characteristic "Dark Corruption" to control humans was a terrible idea. Hence, the current version 2.0 of the Queen's City came into being.
Compared to version 1.0, which frequently experienced rebellions and had its material warehouses bombed several times a week, being able to collect one-third of the Queen's City's profit output was already an incredibly high yield.
Undoubtedly, Scorpion Lady's ambition was not limited to being just a council member. She had long coveted the position of Council Leader. Especially since she knew a secret: the Abyss Descendants were not immortal.
That was right. The Abyss Descendants would also die of old age. However, after dying of old age, they would be "reborn" within the Abyss. Knowing the secret of the Abyss Descendants' rebirth, Scorpion Lady naturally understood that this was just another Dukain family member who was ninety percent similar to her.
What was truly immortal about the Abyss Descendants was more like a causal existence, not a specific individual. Moreover, understanding the Abyss Descendants through the lens of an individual was indeed too superficial. They were born from the Abyss, born from one of the two most powerful forces in the Star Realm.
As a race naturally at the apex, the Abyss Descendants naturally had to pay a greater price to become stronger. For Scorpion Lady to take a step further and replace that old immortal, whose causal existence was already emitting a decaying aura, would inevitably be very difficult.
After years of accumulation, she finally saw hope. The problem was that time waited for no one. She needed to obtain, in a short time, the amount of resources that would take the Queen's City thousands of years to accumulate.
She had to use some unconventional means to achieve this. The root of the problem was the increasingly turbulent situation in the Void, which had caused the price of "Permanent Enhancement" potions, which could quickly improve combat power levels, to skyrocket by 5 times. No, as of half a month ago, it had already soared to 6.5 times.
Scorpion Lady naturally set her sights on the "Alchemist Guild." The problem was that their backing was the Arcane Eternal Star. Not to mention the Dukain family's current situation, even at their peak, they would have to be beaten back to the Abyss to be reborn. The Law Annihilation faction at its peak couldn't defeat them, let alone the Arcane Eternal Star, which had defeated the Law Annihilation faction at its peak.
Unable to touch the "Alchemist Guild," she had to start from other angles. There were only six top-tier alchemists who were not permanently stationed at the "Alchemist Guild." Five of them were in seclusion year-round, and even the most top-tier causal system couldn't divine their whereabouts.
In reality, the top-tier causal system wasn't that useless. They knew but claimed not to, because these top-tier alchemists were both their friends and their most closely guarded personal connections. Why would they divine their whereabouts for outsiders?
The Holy Flame Alchemist had long been on Scorpion Lady's radar. Especially after he blew up the Arcane Eternal Star's resource star, Scorpion Lady was convinced that this Law Annihilator was her opportunity to advance further.
After paying a great price to learn that this Law Annihilator had arrived at "Eberath," Scorpion Lady began selling off her less liquid assets, converting them into hard currency.
She only needed to succeed, then use this to obtain a massive amount of alchemical materials from the "Goblin Merchant Guild." When this massive amount of materials was brewed into "Permanent Enhancement" potions and sold back to the "Goblin Merchant Guild," her assets would multiply several times.
By then, she would not only have accumulated the required resources but also have nearly double the surplus. This would make her advancement more secure and allow her to surpass that old immortal's rank after advancing.
Regarding the difficulty of dealing with a Law Annihilator, Scorpion Lady had never directly clashed with the previous generation of Law Annihilators. After all, she was not a combat type. But in her view, the Law Annihilator's strength at the same rank was undeniable. As for intelligence, they were certainly not fools, but neither were they divinely cunning.
Not to mention, Scorpion Lady held a trump card. She had long coveted the heritage of the Ancient Dragon clan and the Sun lineage. Watching such treasures be taken away, Scorpion Lady chose to abduct the White Dragon Girl. She didn't believe that obtaining those Ancient Dragon inheritances came without a price. And this price was likely related to the last Ancient Dragon descendant in this forbidden tower.
However, to be safe, Scorpion Lady didn't directly imprison the White Dragon Girl. Instead, she sent her to a place where outsiders would never dare to set foot. She had already prepared her story: it was the Council Leader, Egubaya, who had abducted the White Dragon Girl, but she knew the location.
This way, she could both coerce the Holy Flame Alchemist and subtly imply a shared enemy. Of course, this alone wasn't enough to control the Holy Flame Alchemist. Scorpion Lady had prepared other measures.
As for how Su Xiao knew Scorpion Lady's intentions, he had the straightforward Abyss Princess to thank. When they first met in this world, the Abyss Princess's purpose was immediately seen through. Originally, to save her sister, she was prepared to grit her teeth and side with Scorpion Lady. Unfortunately, she became a "traitor" as soon as she appeared, being dragged from one pirate ship onto another.
The subsequent matters were not difficult to handle. Hence, Su Xiao fought a life-and-death battle with the Beast Lord. After successfully killing the Beast Lord's second son, he was convinced that Scorpion Lady intended to use the Beast Lord. After all, watching the Beast Lord's second son die, the Beast Lord would pursue the matter, causing further conflict between the two sides. Moreover, in the next Dukain council meeting, Scorpion Lady would lose a great deal of prestige.
In other words, Su Xiao was certain that Scorpion Lady would not intervene in his life-and-death battle with the Beast Lord. She was more likely to send a trusted subordinate with strong control abilities and teleportation means, waiting for him to be weakened after the battle, then abduct him.
If Su Xiao lost to the Beast Lord, it would be even easier for Scorpion Lady. The soul vessel she had prepared for a long time could be used immediately, making it even easier to control this alchemy master.
To guard against this, Su Xiao had the Pain Priest and Black Leech, who had accompanied him, remain hidden in an alternate space created by Baha. It was worth mentioning that after Baha used the [Follower Promotion Badge] to complete an upgrade, the alternate space he created was even more concealed. Moreover, he could manipulate this alternate space for spatial movement.
Baha also began to understand one thing: as a follower, it was impossible to develop comprehensively in the late game. He only retained the ultimate "Assassination" and "Spatial Concealment." This way, he could serve as the assassination specialist of the Dawn Team while also protecting Bubu Wang, Amu, Beini, and the severely injured leader after a life-and-death battle.
As for Amu, his role had always been particularly focused and accurate: to take the beating.
At this moment, Su Xiao was in an underwater alternate space. Hence, the fat, brutish man and the humanoid figure made of milky-white maggots had not discovered his presence. The maggot aggregate was clearly a perception-type specialist. It could only be said that Baha had grown significantly.
But then again, the [Follower Promotion Badges] obtained by Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Beini were derived from Su Xiao's advancement to Supreme Rank. Given the extremely outrageous specifications of his advancement to Supreme Rank, these few [Follower Promotion Badges] had particularly outrageous effects, many times more effective than normal [Follower Promotion Badges].
In the water, Su Xiao assessed himself. After his injuries had initially healed, he opened his title list, selected the [Violator] title, and equipped it. For the next few days, the Law Annihilator, Bai Ye, would temporarily disappear, or rather, be trapped by Scorpion Lady in a certain district of the Queen's City.
"Title Effect 1: Disguise (Passive). After equipping this title, you will gain the disguise of an Apocalypse Paradise Violator and activate the corresponding temporary mark.
Tip: As you are a Hunter, this disguise has no time limit and requires no cost or fee to activate."
After choosing the appearance of an Apocalypse Paradise Violator who had died in this world, the disguise began. A few seconds later, Su Xiao had transformed into a middle-aged man with a lazy expression, slightly unkempt and slovenly, but more so exuding a sense of carefreeness.
He had Baha remove the alternate space, returned to the water's surface, and approached the Beast Lord's corpse. It had turned into a wooden growth mass, over ten meters tall, resembling a chaotic, enclosed building.
Su Xiao placed one hand on it and could sense a hollow space at the center of this wooden growth mass. It was like a bite had been taken out of it, and inside was the [Dukain Family Badge] that the Beast Lord had held.
This meant that the badge had fallen into Scorpion Lady's hands. If everything went smoothly, this wasn't bad news.
Su Xiao pressed his hand on the wooden growth mass. A crystal layer spread and began to assimilate it. With a bang, a large piece of crystal shattered, revealing a pale red crystal core about the size of a fist. Inside, a faint red light pulsed rhythmically.
[You have obtained "Corruption Core: Elf."]
Su Xiao didn't believe that the Beast Lord could control all the elves in the Elf Kingdom. His ability system precluded that. There had to be an item medium that allowed him to do so, which was this "Corruption Core: Elf."
The creator of this thing must have been a master of the corruption system. The Beast Lord, a powerful technique-type, could not have achieved this.
After closing his eyes to perceive, Su Xiao formed a teleportation array beneath his feet. Bubu Wang and Baha both ran onto it.
Thump~
When his vision cleared, Su Xiao had arrived inside the central tower of District 6 in the Elf Kingdom. As soon as he arrived, he sensed the presence of numerous Absolute Strong Rank individuals, all of them Fallen Elves.
Clang!
As his perception ring spread, slashes appeared simultaneously. They were so synchronized that they sounded like a single slash. In an instant, all the Fallen Elves stationed here were cut into pieces.
The smell of blood spread. Su Xiao was long accustomed to it. He walked up the steps to the top of the central tower. It was a hundred meters high, and the wind was not strong. Today was a rare sunny day, with a faint shadow of the sun visible. It seemed to be an effect of the Beast Lord's ability.
Crack, crack, crack~
Su Xiao exerted force in his hand. Almost simultaneously, all the corrupted ones, Fallen Ones, and sub-race elves under the Beast Lord's command in the Elf Kingdom below clutched their chests with both hands, letting out agonized roars.
The higher the degree of corruption, the more loyal the elves were to the Beast Lord, and the more intense the pain they felt. Some sub-race elves were already bleeding from their seven orifices.
Boom!!
The "Corruption Core: Elf" in Su Xiao's hand was crushed. All the Fallen Ones and sub-race elves in the Elf Kingdom exploded and died. Some elves with deeper corruption also fell to the ground dead. Those with lighter corruption clutched their heads and roared in pain, black smoke wafting from their bodies.
An elf, about 20 years old but looking as aged as a 50-year-old, struggled to get up from the ground several times before finally supporting himself on a nearby lamppost.
He looked around, first in confusion, then various memories flooded his mind. The past toil, pain, despair, etc., made him unable to control himself and he burst into loud wails. His spirit nearly collapsed, and it took a long time for him to calm down.
With tears streaming down his face, the elf instinctively looked towards the central tower in the city center. He was certain that the lord who had saved him and all his compatriots was on that tower. Unfortunately, the tower was now empty.
Why didn't Su Xiao stay to receive the elves' gratitude? Because he didn't care. He came here only to slay the Beast Lord, nothing more. Once the goal was achieved, he left.
The Lord's Train traveled across the wilderness. On the train were only Su Xiao, who had removed his disguise, along with Bubu Wang and Baha. Bubu Wang was rolling around bored. He had originally been ambitious, wanting to make a good showing in this world. Unfortunately, this world didn't even have a network, let alone the ultimate evolution of the network, the "Network Cluster."
[You have completed Bounty 1: The Beast's End: Kill the Beast Lord and destroy the "Corruption Core: Elf."]
[Due to the multiple bounty + bounty correction of the "Hunt List: Blood Pact," you will receive a bounty worth a total of 5000 ounces of Space-Time Power.]
[You have obtained Space-Time Stone Fragments × 250 (This is an equivalent item, can be sold to Reincarnation Paradise at any time for 2500 ounces of Space-Time Power).]
[You have obtained "Overlord Chest: ★★★★★" (This item is valued at 2400 ounces of Space-Time Power in this judgment).]
[You have obtained Goblin Scratch Card (This item is valued at 10 ounces of Space-Time Power in this judgment).]
……
After reviewing the relevant information, Su Xiao understood the value of the [Overlord Chest: ★★★★★]. There was a 20% chance of opening an Overlord Equipment that ranked among the top 100 in the comprehensive evaluation. Even if it wasn't in the top 100, it would definitely be within the top 500.
The strength classification of Overlord Equipment was somewhat vague. Previously, it was based on rating. But in the later stages, the maximum rating for Overlord Equipment was 6000 equipment rating. However, some Overlord Equipment barely reached 6000 points, while others only showed this number because the maximum rating for Overlord Equipment was 6000 points.
As for why Overlord Equipment didn't have a higher notarized rating, this involved the Overlord Equipment Ranking system, an equipment system notarized by the Void Tree.
Among the top 100 Overlord Equipment on this ranking list, the higher the rank, the more powerful its comprehensive characteristics. The Overlord Equipment [Devourer] that Su Xiao had obtained was quite strong, but unfortunately, it hadn't even entered the top 500.
As for the top ten Overlord Equipment, there was no need to think about them for now. Even if he obtained one, he probably wouldn't be able to equip it. This type of Overlord Equipment was incredibly powerful but also had ridiculously high equipment requirements, as if telling the holder, "You are not worthy."
Su Xiao examined the [Goblin Scratch Card] in his hand. He hesitated whether to sell this thing to Kaisa. If he did, it would definitely give the Goblin Merchant Guild a hard time. In this world, this guild had frequently cooperated with the Abyss Descendants. Although not enemies, they were collaborators with the enemy.
Just then, Su Xiao faintly sensed a feeling of light. This was the scene transmitted back by the incarnation formed using [Self-Power]. As for whether Scorpion Lady could see through the incarnation created by [Self-Power], it wasn't that he looked down on Scorpion Lady. [Self-Power] was obtained by Su Xiao from challenging the "Soul Manifestation: Ten Positions: Nightmare: Shadow of Law Annihilation" in the [Chapter of Greed].
Not to mention Scorpion Lady, even someone a level stronger, unless they were a perception-type or causal-type, wouldn't be able to detect any flaws.
Su Xiao sat on the moderately soft train sofa and began to fully control the incarnation.
After a brief darkness, a slightly dim yellow light appeared. He opened his eyes and found himself in an alchemy workshop of several hundred square meters. All kinds of mixing tools were available, and there were signs of use and adjustment. This kind of alchemy workshop would be very convenient for mixing potions.
Seeing Su Xiao wake up, the fat, brutish man, who was standing by with his arms crossed, said in a deep, rumbling voice:
"Old Worm, go inform the Queen. The person is awake."
The worm-man, composed entirely of milky-white maggots, didn't speak. He turned and walked out. He was three meters tall but appeared very thin.
A few minutes later, the sound of metallic footsteps, clack, clack, clack, came. A lady about 1.8 meters tall, wearing metal high heels, walked in. She had hair like black flames, which made her red lips stand out even more. Her amber eyes lacked the Beast Lord's indifference and cruelty but held a hint of a smile. It was hard to imagine that this was an Abyss Descendant.
Scorpion Lady's attire had a simple yet lazy beauty. She was dressed entirely in black, in something like a loose nightgown. She looked at Su Xiao with a smile and said:
"Let's have a contest."
Scorpion Lady's voice was very gentle, making one feel her almost soft warmth just from her voice.
"On your heart is my Dark Soul Mark. Before you break free from it, you must help me brew the secret potion I need. After you break free, you can hide or kill as you please. I can understand that you want to escape from the enemy camp. So I'll give you three chances to fail. On the fourth time, if you try to escape again, you will really die."
The smile in Scorpion Lady's eyes became gentler. She turned and walked out slowly, saying, "Don't use any spatial abilities. It will burn your heart with the Dark Mark, causing pain for no reason. Oh, and I hope you can get used to the food here."
With that, Scorpion Lady left. The worm-man composed of milky-white maggots followed behind her as a guard. The fat, brutish man remained in the alchemy workshop, plopping down on an oversized sofa, his pitch-black eyes fixed on Su Xiao.
Not long after, a small, bald old man with a white goatee and several age spots on his face walked in with a smile. He said cheerfully:
"Respected Holy Flame Sir, hello. I am the Queen's steward, Bojil. You can call me by my name, or just Steward. From now on, any needs you have regarding alchemy, I will fulfill as quickly and as fully as possible. Of course, some personal needs, as long as they are not too excessive, I can have my subordinates help you with."
Bojil was very polite, but Su Xiao didn't pay him much attention. This little old man steward and the fat, brutish man were playing good cop, bad cop. It was a common tactic Su Xiao had seen in mid-to-low-level worlds.
The reason Su Xiao had deliberately let Scorpion Lady's men intercept his incarnation was to get his real body here. He ignored the steward, crouched down, and suddenly released his blood energy. At the same time, he began his own operation.
The Blade Demon Spirit, whose spirit strength had reached 1924 points, had converted the Beast Lord's "Abyss Source Energy" at a speed faster than expected. This meant that "Replace" was now available for use.
After the battle with the Beast Lord, "Replace" could still be used three times today. Su Xiao activated this ability through his incarnation, attempting to swap positions with the Blade Demon Spirit far away. In the past, this would have been a fantasy. But now, with the Blade Demon Spirit's strength reaching an outrageous 1924 points, and the core ability corresponding to the Blade Demon Spirit, "Demon Spirit Awakening," having been raised to the outrageous level of "X+++++++++++++++++++," the impossible had become plausible.
The moment the incarnation and the Blade Demon Spirit completed the swap, Su Xiao and the Blade Demon Spirit exchanged positions. Everything happened in less than 0.01 seconds. In other words, Su Xiao himself had arrived at this alchemy workshop in an unknown district of the Queen's City.
Moreover, Su Xiao could leave at any time using the "Replace" ability. If he stayed here until tomorrow, he could even use the Blade Demon Spirit's "Replace" twice more to swap the incarnation back to the Lord's Train.
As for the "Dark Mark" that Scorpion Lady had left on the incarnation, there was no need to worry. Su Xiao wrapped Cyan Steel Shadow Energy around his heart, pretending to be trying to erode the non-existent "Dark Mark." In reality, it was a smokescreen to block Scorpion Lady's perception of the "Dark Mark."
Furthermore, Su Xiao had no intention of actively leaving the alchemy workshop for the time being. The probability of Scorpion Lady actively activating this "Dark Mark" was very low, so there wouldn't be any flaws for now.
Why did Su Xiao come here to brew potions? It was because of the [Peak Work] title, which had been upgraded to its full potential, "Limit Refinement: Four Times."
[Peak Work]
Title Effect 1: Peak Skill (Passive): When brewing potions, your state can surpass its limits. While maintaining focus, you have a 100% probability of brewing a "Peak" grade potion...
Title Effect 2: Surpass Self (Passive): If you successfully brew an Eternal Rank "Peak" grade potion, you will gain a deeper understanding and feeling of your own alchemy, allowing you to surpass the limit level of alchemy.
Tip: Each time you successfully brew an Eternal Rank "Peak" grade potion, your Alchemy has a 6.85% probability of permanently increasing by Lv.1.
Current Alchemy Level: Lv.95 (This is the conventional maximum level for Alchemy).
Tip: This ability can increase Alchemy up to Lv.100.
……
Given Su Xiao's "luck," he would need to brew a massive number of "Eternal Rank Potions" to possibly trigger "Surpass Self (Passive)" five times, allowing his Alchemy to reach Lv.100, the maximum level. The problem was that such opportunities were rare.
Even if a faction provided this specification of materials, Su Xiao wouldn't have that much brewing time. Now, both problems were solved simultaneously. The first stage of this main mission had a 30 natural day time limit. Using 10 days to improve his Alchemy was very worthwhile, especially since he had already defeated the Beast Lord.
The surrounding blood energy dissipated, and layers of defensive barriers also dispersed around him. Seeing this, the fat, brutish man laughed heartily, while Bojil stood by with his hands behind his back, as if he had expected this situation.
Su Xiao sat on a wooden chair. After being silent for over half a minute, he finally spoke:
"Recipe."
"Hmm?"
Bojil was slightly surprised, then smiled even more warmly. This situation undoubtedly saved him a lot of unnecessary talk.
"It's like this, Holy Flame Sir. This is the top-tier 'Permanent Enhancement Potion Recipe' we obtained at a great cost. Please take a look."
Bojil handed over a roll of parchment, a hint of smug pride unavoidable in his expression.
"..."
After looking at the potion recipe for a while, Su Xiao's frown deepened. He asked, "Where did you get this piece of trash?"
As soon as Su Xiao said this, the smile on Bojil's face almost couldn't hold. The fat, brutish man's face immediately darkened. The flesh he was chewing in his mouth no longer tasted good. They had obtained this at a great cost. If it was deemed trash, they would be in for a hard time.
Su Xiao ignored their expressions and continued, "Although this recipe is somewhat trashy, it has a lot of room for improvement."
With that, Su Xiao picked up a piece of parchment from the mixing table, pressed his index finger on it, and began to outline the recipe for this potion called "Stellar Nectar" with his mental energy. Two hours later, the concept for an ultimate upgraded version of the "Stellar Nectar" potion recipe was complete.
Su Xiao was not slacking off. If the plan went smoothly, this would be accumulating resources for himself. Even if it didn't go smoothly, it would still be a huge profit. Naturally, he wanted the potions he brewed to have higher value.
As for calling the "Stellar Nectar" potion recipe trash, the brewing result of this potion was not bad; in fact, it was quite strong. The key problem was the brewing process, which didn't consider rationality at all, resulting in extremely high brewing difficulty and a massive waste of materials.
Bojil took the "Stellar Nectar" potion recipe, examined it carefully, and felt dizzy. This little old man quickly left. He returned in less than half an hour, his old face beaming like a blooming chrysanthemum.
"Holy Flame Sir, this potion... can you really brew it?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't answer. He walked to the mixing table and began to familiarize himself with the various mixing tools. Seeing this, Bojil raised his hand, and over a dozen servants began transporting various alchemical materials into the workshop.
Equipping [Peak Work], Su Xiao began to brew. With ample materials and no pressure from potential losses, he brewed with exceptional ease, unconsciously immersing himself in the process.
At first, the fat, brutish man watched intently, both to monitor and to try to learn something from the alchemy master, thinking it might be useful later. But after watching for a few minutes, he felt like his head was about to explode, suffering from instant brain overload.
When Su Xiao stopped brewing, over a hundred bottles of "Stellar Nectar" were already placed on the stabilization table, with wisps of cold mist rising. Bojil picked up a bottle of "Stellar Nectar":
"Holy Flame Sir, how effective is this improved version compared to the original potion?"
"About five times."
"Huh?!"
Bojil's old eyes widened in disbelief. The fat, brutish man stood up with a whoosh, glanced at Su Xiao, then picked up a bottle of "Stellar Nectar." He wasn't afraid of any poison in the Void, so he drank it directly.
This "Permanent Enhancement" secret potion, which could enhance physical strength, stamina, and soul strength, was originally ineffective against Abyss Descendants. Or rather, the enhancement range was too small, leading to this ineffectiveness.
But now, the fat, brutish man clearly felt his strength increase slightly, his physique become stronger, and his soul level also felt enlarged. It was worth noting that at his level, any improvement was extremely rare.
The fat, brutish man nodded to Bojil. Bojil was overjoyed. He turned and left the alchemy workshop to report this good news to Scorpion Lady.
Soon, Bojil returned, pushing the door open with a beaming smile. The smile on his face was at its peak.
"Holy Flame Sir, you may continue."
"I'm tired. I need to rest."
"This..."
Bojil looked troubled. He tentatively asked, "How long do you need to rest?"
"A few days."
"You!"
The fat, brutish man beside him stood up, intending to punch Su Xiao, but Bojil desperately stopped him. He naturally understood the implication of this Law Annihilator.
"Mr. Bai Ye, our attitudes towards each other have actually surprised both of us, haven't they? So, giving you some compensation is also acceptable. Name your price. What are your conditions?"
Bojil, being Scorpion Lady's steward, was naturally no simple character.
"Fragments of the Awakening Stele."
"This..."
Bojil looked hesitant. This time, it was Su Xiao's turn to be surprised inwardly. He had just mentioned it casually. Judging by the look, did the Queen's City really have "Awakening Stele Fragments"? But on second thought, how could it be such a coincidence?
Suddenly, he thought of a possibility. Those sisters were in the Queen's City. Using their "Fated Advance" ability to obtain a piece of "Awakening Stele Fragment" was very likely. The problem was, who would bear the "cost"?
Su Xiao and Bojil almost simultaneously looked at the fat, brutish man, also known as Ehao. This made Ehao, who had been wearing an angry expression, feel a chill run down his spine.