Chapter 17: Deterioration

Scorpion Lady now had two choices. The first was to end the notarization, letting everything settle. In that case, she would be teleported back to the Empress City base camp by the Void Tree. The second was to resist the notarization. Of course, this would not change the outcome in the slightest; it would only mean she would no longer enjoy the subsequent free teleportation, leaving her stranded here to fight to the death with Su Xiao and the others.

Scorpion Lady was somewhat dizzy with anger, but not foolish. Instead, she looked at Su Xiao with a half-smile and said, "I hope your luck is good enough. Otherwise, everything you've gained will have to be returned in full."

With that, Scorpion Lady was teleported away.

Empress City, District 1, within the Empress's bedchamber. The faint light of teleportation dissipated as Scorpion Lady and her two trusted subordinates appeared. Among them, the Insect Man, Er, remained silent, while Evil Tyrant strode angrily toward the exit of the chamber.

"Evil Tyrant, you are not permitted to leave Empress City for a month without my approval."

"But..."

Evil Tyrant was about to retort angrily, but when he met Scorpion Lady's gaze, he deflated like a large punctured balloon and muttered, "Your Majesty, this is your life's savings. To just..."

"There's still a chance."

As she spoke, Scorpion Lady produced a crimson treasure chest. This item resembled the chests of the Paradise factions but had some differences. If Su Xiao were present, he would immediately recognize it as a Void Tree-notarized chest.

"It is said that opening such a curiosity requires excellent fortune. Bergil."

Scorpion Lady summoned Bergil, who had been waiting outside the bedchamber, and ordered, "Go and bring Ayesha here."

Upon hearing this, Bergil, dressed as an old butler, hesitated as if wanting to speak. This caused Scorpion Lady's barely calmed heart to stir with renewed anger. She spoke through slightly gritted teeth, "Speak."

"Your Majesty, the daughters of the Warm Bed... Ayesha has... disappeared."

Hearing this, Scorpion Lady closed her eyes for a few seconds before reopening them. "I understand. You may leave."

However, Bergil did not immediately withdraw. Instead, he appeared even more hesitant.

"Speak~!"

Scorpion Lady nearly lost her composure. It wasn't that she lacked restraint; if anyone else had endured what she had today, they would have been in a rage long ago.

"All the prisoners in our cages have..."

"All escaped? I understand. You may leave."

Scorpion Lady waved her hand wearily, signaling Bergil to withdraw.

Bergil remained rooted to the spot, his old face twisted in misery.

"Bergil, next time you have something to say, tell me all at once. Don't spit it out piece by piece."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Bergil nodded submissively, lowering his eyes. "Actually, it's like this, Your Majesty. That ancient prison of ours... the entire thing has disappeared."

"What?!"

Scorpion Lady nearly lost her composure but quickly calmed down, signaling Bergil to leave. Bergil retreated from the bedchamber as if escaping death.

Why did Scorpion Lady react this way? The answer was that the ancient prison itself was a curiosity, forged during the Second Era: Alchemical Civilization for the Law Destruction Faction. It was used to imprison various powerful or bizarre entities. Once a batch was gathered, they were collectively banished to the Eternal Light World. Speaking of which, the Archbishop of the Abyss had once been a resident there.

Su Xiao had sent Bubu Wang and Baha to the secret prison in Empress City to rescue Delona/Ayesha. Initially, Bubu Wang was confident, thinking it was just a matter of infiltration. However, he discovered that he couldn't infiltrate the prison at all—it was a separate space.

This stumped Bubu Wang, but Baha had an idea. It noticed that the secret prison and the surrounding space seemed to be embedded, no, more like fitted together like building blocks.

Someone had hollowed out this space, deliberately leaving a shape matching the secret prison, and then transferred the prison there through some means. This completed the fitting. To enter the secret prison from outside, one didn't need to cross spatial layers—no teleportation was required. One could simply walk in.

Baha could now move a large area of alternate space. Its idea was to wrap the secret prison in alternate space and then move the alternate space, carrying the prison away.

Even if the alternate space couldn't hold the prison for long, as long as it left Empress City's District 1—the enemy's base camp—subsequent operations would be easier.

When Baha tried to wrap the secret prison in alternate space, it was stunned to find that the prison tightly adhered to the alternate space. If before it was like a block stuck in a spatial gap, now it was as if the prison had been welded into the alternate space.

Good news: Baha directly moved the alternate space, taking the secret prison away.

Bad news: The secret prison had nearly fused with Baha's No. 1 alternate space. Even Baha itself couldn't enter the No. 1 alternate space anymore.

After Baha advanced to the Supreme Follower rank, it had created three alternate spaces. Now one was forcibly occupied, and Baha was thoroughly displeased.

In the bedchamber, Scorpion Lady stared blankly at the crimson treasure chest in her hand. For some reason, she suddenly felt that one day, she might also visit that "space prison." She quickly dismissed the thought and tried to open the crimson chest.

Given Scorpion Lady's notarization level, there was no chest prompt. The crimson chest simply opened and dissolved. When the crimson light faded, a tightly sealed potion appeared in her hand. She tried to apply to the Void Tree to check its properties, only to find that the item had already been notarized.

After some thought, Scorpion Lady determined that this was the notarization of a "Paradise" so powerful it was beyond comprehension. She checked the potion's attributes.

Seeing the potion's attributes, Scorpion Lady knew this was a crushing defeat, but not a total loss. The best outcome would be to seize that "Blade of Law Annihilation." If so, that Law Destroyer would surely pay a huge price to redeem the blade.

Why did Scorpion Lady believe that the "crimson treasure chest" could yield the Dragon-Slaying Flash? This involved the Void Tree's prompts and a property of [Self-Power], which stated:

"Note: Due to the characteristics of this simulated avatar, it differs from clones and normal avatars in judgment. If an enemy kills this simulated avatar, they will receive a complete, genuine kill prompt corresponding to you, and will obtain a crimson treasure chest. The items that can be drawn from this crimson treasure chest will be determined by you (following the crimson treasure chest's opening mechanism. If the recipient chooses to draw equipment from this crimson treasure chest, you must submit an item you have worn after making your selection)."

If Scorpion Lady were a contractor, Su Xiao could only choose one piece of equipment he had worn to place in the crimson chest. However, Scorpion Lady had no such notarization.

Thus, Su Xiao only needed to determine the contents of the "crimson treasure chest." The Void Tree prompt Scorpion Lady received clearly indicated that this was the price for Su Xiao's avatar's death. This was not the Void Tree misleading Scorpion Lady but a characteristic of [Self-Power].

Why did Su Xiao choose to place [Ancient Dragon Secret Medicine (Peak)] in this "crimson treasure chest"? This brings up the predecessor of [Ancient Dragon Secret Medicine (Peak)]: [Evil Dragon Potion].

In the previous world, during the Paradise War, Su Xiao had traded with the Evil Heart several times. In the second trade, the Evil Heart provided Su Xiao with clues about [Old Dragon Essence (Special Item)].

After obtaining [Old Dragon Essence], Su Xiao naturally used it as a main ingredient to brew a potion. During this process, the Evil Heart's trap was fully exposed.

[Old Dragon Essence: Permanently increases Health Points by 120,000. Permanently reduces Willpower attribute by 20 points.]

At first glance, [Old Dragon Essence] seemed like a beneficial curiosity with a cost. It was originally located in an extremely dark cave deep within the "Ashen Land," inside a dragon that had died a few years earlier—or rather, it was the dragon's heart.

For a dragon of such strength, within a dozen years of death, its blood and soul essence would not decay. This process would only begin after 16 to 19 years.

However, more often than not, before the dragon blood could decay, keen-sensed beasts would come to devour it. The extremely dark cave in the "Ashen Land" had a unique terrain that created a natural dark environment, allowing this [Old Dragon Essence] to survive until now.

At first glance, the existence of [Old Dragon Essence] seemed reasonable. But that wasn't the case.

Su Xiao was certain that this item's origin was extraordinary. It might even be the remnant of a "Void Existence" dragon—similar to entities like the Flourishing Madness, Candle Woman, or Old Lord—that was swallowed by the old dragon and gathered in its heart. This was the true reason the old dragon died in that extremely dark cave.

He discovered this when using [Old Dragon Essence] to brew a potion, trying to maximize its Health Points enhancement. At the time, he was aiming for 8 million Health Points.

Materials of the same rank typically had a potential of around 50 to 70 for Health Points. Su Xiao brewed [Old Dragon Essence] assuming a potential of 70. However, during the process, he realized something was off. The potential of this item far exceeded 70.

Upon noticing this, he raised the expected potential to 200, but still found it wasn't the limit of [Old Dragon Essence].

Out of curiosity, he pushed the potential to 500,000. Yet, it still hadn't reached its limit. However, he couldn't continue, as the material gave him the feeling it was about to come alive. After that brewing session, he obtained:

[Evil Dragon Potion: Permanently increases lifespan cap by 10%. Permanently increases Health Points by 300,000. Permanently reduces current Willpower by 30% + 150 points, with a high probability of causing continuous Willpower attribute decline for a period afterward.]

Previously, Su Xiao used a contract method to determine the characteristics of this unknown existence:

Writhing, Erosion, Parasitism, Precept.

The last one, "Precept," was why Su Xiao dared to continuously strengthen and brew this potion. "Precept" meant that as long as one wasn't greedy enough to drink the potion, nothing would happen.

In fact, by the time he reached the [Evil Dragon Potion] stage, Su Xiao vaguely felt that the existence was beginning to awaken, had sensed him, and to some extent, acknowledged and cooperated with the brewing process.

In the potion workshop within Empress City, Su Xiao had access to a large amount of free potion materials. Among them were certainly some potent concoctions with strong side effects but powerful effects. He added all of these to the [Evil Dragon Potion] and ultimately obtained [Ancient Dragon Secret Medicine (Peak)].

Regarding the introduction of [Ancient Dragon Secret Medicine (Peak)], which stated that the potion had been notarized by the Void Tree and Reincarnation Paradise with no side effects, consider the attributes of other potions Su Xiao had brewed:

[Vitality Extract (Perfect)]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise · Holy Flame Alchemist...
Introduction: Pending (Hunter can freely determine)
Price: Pending (Hunter can freely determine)

Yes, that introduction was written by Su Xiao himself. As the brewer of the potion, he naturally had the right to write the "introduction content." Didn't you see the origin was "Holy Flame Alchemist"? If a high-rank contractor saw this origin, they would immediately know the introduction was written by the brewer.

As for the true attributes of [Ancient Dragon Secret Medicine (Peak)]...

[Ancient Dragon Secret Medicine (Peak)]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise · Holy Flame Alchemist.
Quality: Eternal Rank · Rare.
Type: Permanent Enhancement Potion.
Effect: Permanently increases lifespan cap by 20%. Permanently increases Health Points by 400,000.
Peak Grade Bonus: After consumption, additionally increases lifespan cap by 15%, effective on Long-Lived Species!
Side Effects: Permanently reduces current Willpower by 85% + 350 points. Every natural day, a Willpower judgment occurs every two hours. If the judgment fails, the user enters an "Evil Joy" state, permanently reducing Willpower by 1%, Sanity by 3%, and Self-Awareness by 5%. "Evil Joy" can be triggered repeatedly.
Warning: If current Willpower attribute is negative, triggered "Evil Joy" automatically converts to "Evil Pleasure," permanently reducing Willpower by 50 points, Sanity by 5%, and Self-Awareness by 10%.
Note: The side effects of this potion, along with related warnings and notes, have been specially processed by the brewer and Nicholas Kaiser, causing such attribute text to be drastically reduced in size. Viewing requires a "Micro-Light Ultra-Distance Microscope."
Rating: 6000+++++++++ points.
Introduction...

With Su Xiao and Kaiser's methods, they indeed couldn't remove the "side effects" from a potion's data. So they took a different approach: when the font was small enough that the enemy couldn't see it, it was as good as not existing. Never mind the rest—just tell me, were the side effects written in the attribute data or not?

Scorpion Lady stared at the floating [Ancient Dragon Secret Medicine], speculating that the Law Destroyer had obtained some curiosity from the Ancient Dragon Treasury and used it to brew this secret potion. But could the Ancient Dragon Treasury, sealed for so many years, still contain active treasures?

On second thought, the Council Leader's "Ancient Dragon Blood Heart" still had vitality. That old immortal had survived to this day without dying and being "reborn" in the Abyss precisely because of that "Ancient Dragon Blood Heart." With that in mind, the possibility of the Ancient Dragon Treasury containing highly active treasures was quite high.

Scorpion Lady had seen many curiosities that increased lifespan cap, but one effective on "Long-Lived Species" with such potency was a first for her.

An idea gradually formed in Scorpion Lady's mind. She might have a way to recover some of this loss. The old immortal Council Leader, who was about to die and be "reborn" in the Abyss, would surely pay a great price for this top-tier secret potion.

Checking the time, it was nearing evening. The news of the Beast Lord's death had already alarmed the Dukain Family Council. A meeting was to be held tonight. Scorpion Lady decided to take the opportunity to let the Council Leader know that she had obtained such a curiosity, letting them make the first offer to maximize her profit.

...

Lord's Train, rear compartment bedroom.

"Boss, how were you so sure that Scorpion Lady would sell the Evil Dragon Potion to the Council Leader?"

Baha scratched its head with its wing-like hand.

"I wasn't sure."

Sitting in front of the alchemy table, Su Xiao placed Amu's blood under a microscope for observation. Amu's condition was more severe than anticipated.

"Then didn't we lose a bottle of... dangerous and expensive potion?"

"..."

Su Xiao glanced at Baha before turning back to observe Amu's blood. However, he still explained to Baha, "I felt that thing was about to come alive."

"Boss, you mean that thing is really some kind of Void Existence?"

"Yes."

"How strong is it?"

"Not as strong as Flourishing Madness, Old Lord, or Candle Woman, but only slightly weaker. It didn't fall into silence from defeat; it was more like advancing. A whole era of silence means that after awakening, it might be only a hair's breadth away from entities like Candle Woman."

If it were anyone else, Su Xiao wouldn't have explained so thoroughly, but Baha was the one asking.

"Oh~, I see."

"How's the research on that space prison going?"

"Ahem~, well, you know, Boss, this thing's origin is definitely huge..."

"Keep working."

"Alright."

Baha landed on the back of a seat, closed its eyes, and immersed its spirit in the No. 1 alternate space, continuing to study the mysterious prison.

Su Xiao observed Amu's blood for a while longer and found signs of Abyss erosion. Previously, Abyss energy had only been eroding Amu's stomach, but now, for some reason, it was spreading throughout his body.

Worse still, Amu's attribute data now included a permanent negative trait: "Undergoing Abyss Energy Erosion."

There were only two ways to solve Amu's problem.