Chapter 16: Original Sin
Moisture rose from the Shadow Swamp. Looking down from above, this vast, stifling marsh resembled a lake dotted with patches of green vegetation, except the water was murky and foul.
Dark aura radiated outward layer by layer from Black A, centered on him. Paired with his faintly glowing green pupils, it gave him the presence of an abyssal beast. More importantly, the ring imprint on the index finger of his right hand had become even more pronounced.
Seeing this, Su Xiao knew that the original sin karma of the **Book of Original Sin** had been further provoked. The reason he had set all this up was to create a buffer when breaking the original sin karma. Black A was undoubtedly the best buffer.
First, Black A was created by him and shared a close karmic connection.
It was precisely because of this that he could serve as the buffer for breaking this original sin karma. If the original sin karma were compared to an electric current, then Black A was the 'resistor' before that current spread along the karmic thread to Su Xiao.
Moreover, he was one of only five 'resistors' available to Su Xiao in the Star Realm. What was even more ingenious was that this 'resistor' had already devoured the other three 'resistors' of its kind, super-enhancing itself. If it weren't for the likely unknown mutation after devouring Crystal Ji, Su Xiao wouldn't have shown himself at this time.
This ultimate cannon fodder and shield could not be allowed to die easily before breaking the **Original Sin Karma**.
Su Xiao released his hand from the sword hilt. Proud Song crystals spread in his hand, forming a straight crystal rod 1.5 meters long and as thick as an egg. However, after considering it, he reduced its thickness by two rings. After doing this, he tossed the crystal rod to the demon spirit beside him.
Opposite, Black A, holding the **Abyssal Fall** greatsword, saw that Su Xiao hadn't drawn his blade but instead formed a crystal rod. Uncontrollable anger burned in his eyes. This was clearly not treating him as an opponent. When he witnessed the Law Destroyer tossing the rod to the demon spirit, Black A was enraged to the point of a sinister grin.
Whoosh~
The demon spirit vanished instantly, reappearing before Black A. Black A's greatsword met it in a sweeping slash.
Boom!!
Fragments of the Abyssal Fall greatsword flew. Black A turned into a blur, crashing into the stone wall. Seeing this, Su Xiao knew he was right not to act personally. His own physical enhancement wouldn't benefit the Blade Demon Spirit; what made the demon spirit stronger was only its own spiritual intensity.
Given Su Xiao's current 500 points of Supreme Strength attribute, even if he held back his strength, he would likely send Black A flying with one hit. This wouldn't have been the case before, but just over ten hours ago, he had added +100 points to Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Intelligence. His control over strength was currently unstable.
Baha landed on Su Xiao's shoulder, looking at Black A embedded in the stone wall, his right arm, shoulder, and even half his torso shattered. Bloody cracks had even spread to the right side of Black A's face. Baha said:
"Oh my, isn't this Black A, the one born with a rebellious bone, vowing to slaughter us all? Tsk tsk tsk~, things born with rebellious bones are destined to be weaklings..."
Baha began his verbal assault. Black A, blood spilling from his mouth, had the green light in his eyes gradually reignite. Flesh surged on his body as he violently charged out of the stone wall. But the next second, the demon spirit smashed a battle rod into the side of his head. His brain buzzed, his chest tightened, and he was pierced through by the crystal rod and lifted up.
"Oh oh oh, isn't this a barbecue moment? You were howling earlier about slaughtering us all? With you? You're really like a toad spinning around to shit—completely and utterly embarrassing yourself from every angle."
Baha's taunting ability was always maxed out. Unfortunately, Black A was exhausted. After two power-ups, he began to run out of steam. Seeing this, Baha's eyes narrowed slightly. It was time for him to take over.
Baha's taunting was relentless, while the demon spirit was responsible for beating down Black A each time he powered up. This repeated a total of twelve times. By the end, no matter what Baha said, Black A lay in the muddy water without any reaction.
Spirit Shadow Threads tightened, and Black A was hung upside down.
Plop, plop~
Su Xiao walked through the muddy water to Black A. He raised his right hand, and Proud Song crystals spread, forming his right hand into something like a crystal claw.
Pfft!
The crystal claw pierced into Black A's chest, pulling out his heart core. It was a writhing black semi-fluid that occasionally extended black tentacles. This was exactly what Black A looked like when Su Xiao first created him.
The heartless shell dried up and shattered, along with the black stone slab in his abdomen. The falling **Book of Original Sin** was caught by Su Xiao with one hand. He strengthened the sealing power of the **Book of Original Sin**, completely sealing the **Nether Bone Ring**.
Leaning against the stone wall, Crystal Ji, who had witnessed all this, gulped. She was about to try to explain when the demon spirit with black smoke-like hair and azure blue eyes walked toward her.
"I actually..."
Crystal Ji's words were cut off as she saw the crystal rod swinging toward her face. Then everything went black.
Su Xiao glanced at the unconscious Crystal Ji and signaled Baha to take her away. Crystal Ji was a temporary shield to use after Black A, the enhanced 'resistor,' had failed.
Withdrawing the Blade Demon Spirit, a Law-Destroying Teleportation Array formed beneath Su Xiao's feet. With a dull thud, he vanished.
A short while later, in the deep water area at the edge of the Shadow Swamp, a giant ox emerged with its two horns covered in water plants, poking its entire head out. Compared to its massive size, its sneaky, cautious eyes made it look somewhat comical. Yes, this was the Swamp King of the area.
After sneaking a look around, the Swamp King went ashore. At first, it moved quickly, but once it was a certain distance from the swamp water, it bolted at full speed. It had never run this fast in its life. Whoever wanted to rule this godforsaken place could come and do so.
In short, it wouldn't stay here a second longer. It had only taken a distant glance at the legendary Shadow of Law Destruction before diving to the bottom in terror. It didn't even dare to breathe, afraid that bubbles might float upward.
Leaving aside the immense psychological trauma Su Xiao had inflicted on the swamp ox, at the Sanctuary City Grand Cathedral, first floor.
After the spatial rift healed, Su Xiao took the elevator to the fifth floor. Upon arriving, he saw the spacious area. The Goddess of Fortune stood before a massive ritual array, golden light flowing through it. This was the core of the current **Original Sin Karma** removal.
Ayesha/Delona were naturally there as well, sitting on a bench by the window. The Priest was on the inner platform, one hand pressing on a religious codex as he performed his daily prayers.
Everyone was present. Su Xiao walked to the center of the array. The crystal seal on his right hand shattered, and he placed the surging Black A at the core node of the array. Then he set the **Book of Original Sin** at the initial node.
It was worth mentioning that the [Adaptive Core (Alchemical Product)] obtained in the previous world was now being used, and it was one of the most crucial consumables.
After doing this, he retreated to the final node. The subsequent process was both simple and dangerous: drawing out the massive original sin karma connected to him from the Book of Original Sin.
As for completely resolving the source of this original sin karma, that was impossible. The source was the six Daddy-level Original Sin Objects. Original sin karma would still be generated in the future, but it would take time—possibly until the Abyss Doom descended—before it accumulated enough to once again put Su Xiao's life at risk.
"Everyone, let's begin."
Su Xiao spoke, sitting on a crystal seat wider than usual. Crystal Ji sat beside him, his hand pressing on her back. This was because she was the second-layer insurance after Black A failed to block the original sin karma. Though it could only block once, it could defuse a dangerous situation.
The Goddess of Fortune, acting as the ritual array's conductor, took a deep breath and said solemnly:
"Begin!"
Clap!
The Goddess of Fortune clasped her hands together. Everyone was on high alert. But after a few seconds, nothing happened. The gazes of the others shifted from solemnity to confusion.
"Hmm?"
The Goddess of Fortune couldn't believe it. She looked at the ritual array on the ground. It had activated, but there was no further progress. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"What's going on?"
Though puzzled, she didn't move. This was her first time conducting such a ritual, so unexpected situations were normal.
Buzz~!
The array fully activated. Dark gold, ashen gray, scarlet, golden, deep green, and black-red—six types of original sin aura spread from the **Book of Original Sin**. These original sin karmas intertwined, forming an absolutely pale karmic force. The original sin karma was so dense it took on a tangible form.
The original sin karma flowed along the array, heading straight for Su Xiao. Instead, it converged on the devouring-state Black A at the array's center. In an instant, Black A turned from pitch black to pale white.
"Fated."
Delona spoke, her eyes completely white, pointing at the pale Black A.
"Denied."
Ayesha, her eyes pitch black, also pointed at the pale Black A.
Black A let out a soul-piercing roar. According to estimates, if Black A could hold out for 10 seconds, it would separate the original sin karma from Su Xiao to a certain degree. That is, this massive fate ritual array would temporarily absorb the original sin karma. What came next was simple: Su Xiao would seal it and banish it.
As for completely neutralizing or breaking this original sin karma, that was not only arrogant but also a disrespect to the Daddy-level Original Sin Objects and several top-tier Star Realm forces. If original sin karma were so easy to resolve, why would these forces be so wary of Daddy-level Original Sin Objects?
1 second, 2 seconds... 5 seconds.
Boom!
The pale Black A exploded. It hadn't even lasted 10 seconds. Even with a dreamlike start, Black A only held out for 5 seconds. Without the previous preparations, Black A would have shattered instantly.
Of course, this was still far better than the original sin karma heading straight for Su Xiao. The two were entirely different matters. So, the MVP of this round could be given to Black A.
The Priest beside Su Xiao placed a hand on his shoulder. In an instant, Su Xiao felt temporarily separated from the surrounding world. His **existence** was temporarily hidden. More precisely, his existence was temporarily withdrawn from the Star Realm, placed in an unknown conceptual domain.
Because Su Xiao suddenly vanished, and from an existential level, the original sin karma spreading toward him began to flow along the fate ritual array.
Ayesha and Delona held hands. The intense fate aura made their presence extremely dark. They were further aligning the original sin karma with the fate array. Only then could enough sealing conditions be created.
Time passed. After 30 seconds, sweat appeared on the Priest's forehead. Not to mention the immense cost of temporarily **banishing the existence** of Su Xiao at his current strength, the original sin karma so close was constantly eroding the power of existence.
A crisp sound like a container breaking rang out. Su Xiao emerged from the state of existence banishment. He had already risen from the crystal seat, his hand gripping the back of Crystal Ji's neck. If he found that the original sin karma and the fate array weren't aligned enough, he would use Crystal Ji as a shield.
Though Crystal Ji didn't know the specifics, her frantically warning perception told her this was a life-or-death moment. She chose... to do nothing. Any choice now would be equivalent to seeking death prematurely.
After a preliminary observation, Su Xiao crouched down, pressing one hand onto the fate array. He didn't use his crystal left hand but his Abyss right arm. From a karmic perspective, this arm had a significant karmic mass.
The pale karma instantly spread, causing the arm pressing on the array to turn pale from the fingertips upward. Based on the current situation, his chances of success were still low. To be precise, everything before was more about provoking the original sin karma and ensuring he didn't die from it before it fully manifested.
This wasn't an exaggeration. This was the original sin karma accumulated by six Daddy-level Original Sin Objects.
"My dear friend, Caesar hasn't arrived too late, has he?"
Caesar appeared, wearing the Abyssal Jar on his head. It was clear from his voice that he was very tired.
After all, how could Su Xiao not spend enough Space-Time Power to summon Caesar for help in this original sin karma removal?
After appearing, Caesar tossed a fragment of a black stone tablet to Su Xiao. It was the size of a washbasin, less than ten centimeters thick, and gave a feeling of heaviness and solidity.
Su Xiao caught the stone tablet fragment with his right hand and pressed it onto the fate array. The problem was that the pale original sin karma continuously spreading toward him ignored the stone tablet fragment entirely, focusing solely on eroding him.
"Fated."
Ayesha spoke.
"Prepaid."
Ayesha's voice came faintly. She had Su Xiao prepay the fated without cost. What was obtained through the prediction was that the karma connected to the stone tablet fragment in his hand. This was why Caesar had been asked to manipulate the fragment to have a bit of Su Xiao's aura, which required a lot of his blood.
This item was called [Primordial Clan Emblem: Rune (1/10)]. It was obtained by Su Xiao in the previous world after killing the Exile Hatu. Caesar's operation this time was ingenious. This part of the [Primordial Clan Emblem] from the Abyss Descendant Rune family was naturally of Abyss characteristics. Su Xiao's right arm, though not of Abyss characteristics, had absorbed the purest Abyss energy from the previous Lord of the Abyss.
What Caesar did was deceive this ownerless [Primordial Clan Emblem], temporarily making Su Xiao the corresponding 'Abyss Descendant' of this [Primordial Clan Emblem]. Of course, this was only on the level of deception, not reality.
What Ayesha/Delona did was further tamper with the karma of this [Primordial Clan Emblem], making it, like Black A before, a shield for Su Xiao. To erode Su Xiao, one had to first pass through this [Primordial Clan Emblem], which was equivalent to incurring karma with the Abyss.
After this operation, the erosion speed of the pale original sin karma dropped sharply. Time passed minute by minute. Su Xiao, who couldn't have held out for 10 minutes, now only had his right arm pale. He determined the timing was right and immediately released the [Primordial Clan Emblem], his hands forming a virtual grip. Sealing runes instantly formed.
The first layer of the seal was formed, attempting to seal the entire **Fate Array**, but it was instantly torn apart by the pale karma. That didn't matter. Su Xiao's seal formation speed was 3,900 layers per second.
Quantity brought about a qualitative change. After 5 seconds, the layers of seals formed were finally no longer torn apart. According to the principle of karmic aggregation, more pale karma within the seal began to absorb the pale karma on Su Xiao's right arm. Soon, his right arm returned to normal. All the pale karma was sealed within the seal.
10 minutes, half an hour, an hour. Until eight hours later, a sealing sphere six meters in diameter was formed, with a total of 113 million layers of seals. If he hadn't run out of mana, Su Xiao would have continued. Compared to dying in a fierce battle with a strong enemy, dying from original sin karma erosion was something he refused to accept.
Looking at the sealing sphere ahead, the Priest, who always maintained a benevolent smile, suddenly couldn't smile anymore. For some reason, existential karma seemed to predict for him that if he didn't go further, this might be his end in the future.
Su Xiao took out the **Endless Ring**. First, using symbolic meanings from Abyssology, he informed the **Three Fingers** that this was unacceptable and dangerous. Then, he banished the sealing sphere to a distant place in the Abyss. This was the farthest place he could currently banish it to.
As for whether it would be obtained by the Lord of the Abyss, the probability was negligible. Even if the current Lord of the Abyss got it, the threat to Su Xiao afterward wouldn't be even a tenth of what it was now.
The moment the banishment black hole formed by the **Endless Ring** healed, Su Xiao felt an unprecedented lightness. This was the weight of sealing and bearing six Daddy-level Original Sin Objects.
Su Xiao's gaze turned to Crystal Ji beside him. Without a word, Crystal Ji pulled out the share certificate of the Shadow Merchant Guild.
Su Xiao didn't take it. This made Crystal Ji feel despair. If even buying her life with money failed, then she was definitely going to die here today.
"I... I know a secret."
Crystal Ji spoke. She didn't beat around the bush and said directly: "After coming to Doom Star, I vaguely sensed that the dead Ancient God corresponding to the Eye Ritual... seems to be showing signs of resurrection."
"..."
The hand blade that had reached her fair neck stopped. Crystal Ji's breath caught. She hadn't even reacted. If it weren't for this last-ditch survival attempt, her beautiful head would already be flying.
"Is that so."
Su Xiao took the Shadow Merchant Guild share certificate from Crystal Ji's hand.
Currently, the merchant forces in the Star Realm could be divided into two types.