Chapter 12: Sacrifice?
Being in a world at the top tier was like this—anything could happen. One moment, you might be scheming against each other, planning how to eliminate one another, and the next, you could be forced to join forces. This was the case with Su Xiao and the current Clock Tower Master, Xilgeoff.
Inside the office, the Clock Tower Master, Xilgeoff, stood with his hands behind his back, a faint, ambiguous smile on his face. After the two had faced off for over ten seconds, they spoke almost simultaneously:
"You came too early."
"I came too early."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the Clock Tower Master, Xilgeoff, an individual only 1.4 meters tall with a large head and a withered body, narrowed his eyes—dark sclera with pale blue irises. This old immortal sensed a kindred spirit. He probed further:
"Tell me, how did you figure it out?"
"The three of you joined forces to completely annihilate the Second Era: Alchemical Civilization. After arriving in this world, you smoothly established a kingdom instead of turning on each other, which shows your cooperation is fairly stable. But the Abyss calamity in the Star Realm made both you and the gods restless. The old beast of the Luen family doesn't care, but it knows that when the tide of the Dark Apocalypse surges in, you two will send it off first. So this time, it has to bet everything. Of course, that's also what it wants—the Luen family's original sin is a thirst for battle."
Su Xiao rarely spoke this much at once, and the effect was significant. The faint smile on the Clock Tower Master, Xilgeoff's face vanished. He lightly leaped and steadied himself on the back of a chair.
"Bai Ye, you're ninety percent correct. We three didn't exactly join forces voluntarily; it was more like a forced alliance for defense."
The Clock Tower Master, Xilgeoff, didn't elaborate. Compared to that, his address of Su Xiao was a more subtle attitude. Earlier, he had called Su Xiao "Law-Destruction kid," clearly with a tone of mockery from an old immortal toward a younger generation.
But now, he directly used the title "Bai Ye," signifying that this old immortal had recognized Su Xiao as an equal partner in terms of strength, intelligence, and everything else.
As for what Xilgeoff said about the grudges between the three major forces and the Alchemical Civilization, Su Xiao wasn't interested. He only wanted to know how to break the "Causal Lock Ring" of this world. Only then would completing the main mission and acquiring resources here be meaningful; otherwise, the mission's time limit would become his life's countdown.
"The Causal Lock Ring?"
Su Xiao had learned about this, one of the highest achievements of the Alchemical Civilization, from the Alchemy Codex. He just hadn't expected those Second Era Alchemists to have elevated the "Causal Lock Ring" to such a terrifying degree.
"It seems bringing you here was a wise choice. But you've arrived far too early—we weren't ready, and you showed up."
The Clock Tower Master, Xilgeoff's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly, he worried about one thing: whether that old hag had done something secretly. After all, she was the longest-living being with the strongest divination abilities, from the First Era to the present.
Even the former Law Destroyers had occasionally heeded her advice. Though, to this day, the Clock Tower Master, Xilgeoff, didn't understand why she had told the Law Destroyers to imprison the last ferocious beast, Fei, in the deepest part of the ancient battlefield.
She had also said that their future inheritors might need it—this was a choice she saw as relatively good, yet still shrouded in mist, among the endless branches of fate.
The Clock Tower Master, Xilgeoff, had been present back then because he was the old hag's hired protector. She had rambled that a little girl might make a move on her, so he should just guard against her.
He had wondered who this little girl was. When he arrived at the scene, he saw it was none other than Green Gillian.
At the end of that meeting, the old hag had also muttered that it would be best if a Law Destroyer could serve as a long-term guardian of the ancient battlefield. She didn't know why herself; she had only vaguely seen from the hazy fate that someone might seek the ferocious beast, Fei, near the end of the Second Era.
Thinking of this, the Clock Tower Master, Xilgeoff, said, "Did that old hag invite you here?"
"Who?"
Though Su Xiao knew the Clock Tower Master, Xilgeoff, might be referring to the old woman he had seen earlier in the Abyss Spreading Zone, he feigned ignorance to extract more information.
"The strongest diviner in the Star Realm. Last time she hired me, it was to deal with you Law Destroyers. She said you should imprison the last ferocious beast, Fei, in the ancient battlefield."
Hearing this, even Su Xiao's strong heart couldn't remain calm. He had already felt it was too coincidental that Fei was in the ancient battlefield. Even more coincidental was that the one guarding it, preventing others from killing the imprisoned Fei, was also a former Law Destroyer—Mawen Hua'erzi's disciple.
Su Xiao didn't feel that everything about him was being controlled and arranged by some invisible hand.
He was just astonished at the diviner's power. She had managed to divine events of the Third Era from the early to mid-Second Era and had withstood the backlash of fate's causality after revealing such deep insights.
"The last ferocious beast, Fei, is in the ancient battlefield? Are you sure?"
Su Xiao's acting was always on point, honed through confrontations with the likes of Old Lion, Kingsley, Huishenshi, and Shenfu.
"Don't bother. It was killed long ago, and its essence was taken."
"..."
Su Xiao felt a pang of disappointment. He had killed the ferocious beast, Fei, but hadn't obtained its essence.
Seeing the genuine disappointment in his eyes, the Clock Tower Master, Xilgeoff, felt a flicker of confusion, but these were minor matters.
"So, which of you three provided the 'Star Heart'?"
This wasn't a question from Su Xiao but a probe to see if each of the three major forces had an old immortal—someone who had lived from the First Era to the present.
"It was Hatu. That old beast entrusted it to his elder, Bagu Li. The plan was to use this treasure and a series of schemes to lure you here. But Bagu Li messed it up, reactivating the fate curse on the 'Star Heart,' so only a World Child could seize it. For that, I and the leader of the gods, Primordial Origin Haluota, sent our subordinates to help retrieve it."
The Clock Tower Master, Xilgeoff, didn't hide his mockery. He continued:
"That old beast's original plan was to lure you here and immediately reclaim the 'Star Heart.' Even for us old-timers, the 'Star Heart' is a rare sight. I've lived through three eras and have only seen this one 'Star Heart.'"
The Clock Tower Master, Xilgeoff's words were highly suggestive. What he said next was even more thought-provoking:
"Since we're all in the same boat, let's stop wasting time with probing. Tonight, at the Grand Cathedral of the Machine God..."
He paused mid-sentence, suddenly remembering that the Machine God's Grand Cathedral in the royal capital had just been blown up by Su Xiao. He cleared his throat:
"Then let's discuss this at my Soul Clock Tower. Your early arrival is good—you can catch this round of the dark tide instead of waiting for the next one or even later."
With that, the Clock Tower Master, Xilgeoff, leaped down from the chair back, turned, and walked into a door that appeared out of thin air. The door closed with an ancient, grating click.
Su Xiao watched the vanishing spatial door. The Clock Tower Master, Xilgeoff's hint was very clear: if Su Xiao truly wanted to seize the "Star Heart," he should do it before evening today. Otherwise, once tonight's cooperation was agreed upon, he couldn't take it—that would be maliciously sabotaging the alliance.
Yes, Su Xiao planned to cooperate with the old immortals of the three major forces. For now, the hostile factions, the struggle for interests, and even the main mission could be set aside. Breaking the "Causal Lock Ring" was the top priority.
Su Xiao's original plan was to have Leshma, as the World Daughter, seize the "Star Heart." But that was based on the assumption that this "Star Heart" was appearing for the first time. Now, it wasn't, and it might not even be the "Star Heart" of this era.
If so, the causal curse on this "Star Heart" wouldn't be as terrifying. As for making Leshma the "World Daughter" for nothing, it was amusing. The previous operation wasn't meant to make her a permanent "World Daughter." This was a semi-transcendent world, and its World Daughter was vastly different from those in other worlds.
Thus, Leshma's status as World Daughter was more like a "trial card," lasting less than ten days. But in the original plan, that was enough to seize the "Star Heart."
Now, there was no need for Leshma to compete for it. However, a side effect of Su Xiao's transplant surgery on Leshma was that, due to the difficulty of the process, her false, aloof, mature personality had awakened. After that personality collapsed in agony and disappeared, the real Leshma had awakened.
Originally, Su Xiao had only hoped that Leshma's "Imperial Team" could clear up to the 10th Abyss Spreading Zone. Now, with the real Leshma awakened, she might be able to clear up to the 1st Abyss Spreading Zone.
Su Xiao went down to the second floor and entered the conference room, which was covered in a massive array of spell formations. He sat at the center of the array. Given the current situation, this formation, corresponding to "Soul Ultimate Sublimation," should be safe.
He took out the "Soul Ultimate Sublimation" and placed it at the central node of the array. With a hum, the entire formation activated. His mind roared, and he was plunged into a vast expanse of white light.
Everything in sight was white light, but far ahead, there was a faint black light, slightly above the ground. Su Xiao moved toward it. As he got closer, he saw a tangle of tree roots forming a bench, with a canopy above, creating a simple shelter like a hut from a distance.
A clay brazier on the root shelter burned with black light, giving a sense of quiet night and peace in this white world.
On the bench below sat an old woman in coarse gray-black linen robes, the fabric loose and hanging down. On either side of her, plump black spirits hopped joyfully, making "ee" sounds when they saw Su Xiao.
"..."
Su Xiao took out a "Soul Crystal Core" and crushed it with a crack. The dozens of black spirits stopped hopping and chirping, staring up at the old woman with eager eyes, like children waiting for New Year's money, silently asking, "Can we take it?"
"Go ahead."
The old woman smiled kindly, deepening her wrinkles. All the black spirits bounced toward Su Xiao like apple-sized balls.
Su Xiao scattered the soul stone fragments in front of him. The black spirits cheered with "ee" sounds, scrambling for the fragments. Each grabbed one, revealing shark-like rows of tiny sharp teeth, and began crunching away.
"Little Law Destroyer, come closer. Let Granny see your hand."
"..."
Su Xiao stepped forward and raised his right hand to the old woman. She didn't stroke it this time but leaned in to look closely, as if her eyesight was failing. After a long look, she nodded in satisfaction.
"Your experience and wisdom have let you see through the deception. That's good. Since fate dictates you face it yourself, Granny won't share the burden. I'm old, after all—I can't swallow such strong causality anymore."
The old woman sighed, lightly patted Su Xiao's palm, and said, "I've lured that little one here. In a few days, help it build a shelter."
Hearing this, Su Xiao thought she might be referring to Dudu Gugu. In her divination, she had foreseen his desire to trade with Dudu Gugu, so she had used some method to lure it into this world.
"Why?"
Su Xiao spoke. From his first meeting with this old woman, he had felt goodwill. He always believed there was no such thing as unconditional kindness or baseless malice in this world.
"It was a long time ago. I accepted an invitation from the Law Destroyers to uncover a secret. It was just a transaction. Granny isn't some mysterious, selfless ancient being. Only one such being has existed since the beginning of the Star Realm—it's in the Soul Library.
Granny is just a diviner who has lived for a very, very long time. Maybe because I've lived so long, I can divine more. As for why I'm willing to help you, you've unknowingly helped Granny send off many old friends who couldn't rest in peace."
The old woman's gaze fell on Su Xiao's left arm, protected by the Black King Bracer. The two most representative figures of this bracer were the Black King and the Eternal God of Dead Silence City. Su Xiao guessed that the old woman's old friend was the Eternal God.
In truth, it wasn't just the Eternal God, but also Wolf God Shien, the Dead Silence City Choir, and the Dead Silence City First Saintess—all old friends of hers.
In the Second Era, in the old woman's divination, Su Xiao was just a possible acquaintance on countless future timelines, someone who might inherit the Law-Destruction Shadow system, go to the ancient battlefield, and fight the ferocious beast, Fei, to the death. This was just one of countless possibilities she could see.
But in the Third Era, after Su Xiao used his blade to help these beings find eternal rest, he transformed from an insignificant Law Destroyer in her divination into one worth helping and deserving of help.
The old woman was the strongest diviner in the Star Realm, that was true. But now, when she tried to peer into Su Xiao's future, it was a fog of fate. He was one of the very few she couldn't divine. So she abandoned her original plan of covert assistance and came into the open, using the fate she had foreseen to help him.
"Little Law Destroyer, remember this: you have a powerful soul, but do you really need it as a blade in your hand? Let it become a blade in your heart."
The old woman raised her hand and slowly opened it. A dense, radiant blade appeared.
"Forge Light is truly stingy. I used up all the favors he owed me, and he only forged one Heart Soul Blade. It might not be the best, but it's the best Granny can give you. Don't despise it, little Law Destroyer."
As she spoke, the finger-length "Heart Soul Blade" flew toward Su Xiao. When she said it wasn't the best, it wasn't modesty.
This "Heart Soul Blade" was close to the top tier but fell short. It was the best Forge Light could forge in this era, and he had temporarily awakened memories from the Second Era to create it.
As for it not being the best, perhaps in Su Xiao's original fate, he wouldn't have obtained a "Heart Soul Blade" at all, let alone one of this near-top quality.
And the old woman had chosen to conceal one thing: her time was near. As a diviner, living from the First Era to the present was already incredible.
Inside the conference room, where all the spell formations had withered.
Su Xiao's eyes snapped open. What he had seen was no illusion.
[Prompt: Your soul strength has completed this upgrade.]
[Since your initial soul strength is already at the "True Attribute Judgment Rank," you cannot receive this type of enhancement. Additionally, as you are not a soul-type, you cannot undergo a "Soul Strength" attribute ascension (this ascension would massively increase the base bonus of soul strength to all current soul-type abilities). Therefore, for this upgrade, you can choose to greatly increase soul strength or gain a minor derivative bonus for the soul strength attribute.]
[Detected that during this upgrade, you successfully absorbed a high-rank "Heart Soul Blade." You now have the following two choices.]