Chapter 18: Moonlight and Spider
[Tip: Your main quest has changed, shifting from a survival mission to a strategic mission.]
[Due to the change in mission characteristics caused by the Hunter themselves, mission rewards will see a certain degree of increase.]
[Main Quest: Supreme Destiny (Third Ring).]
Difficulty Level: Lv.105
Mission Brief: Ensure that the "Ritual Container" of this world is filled with Supreme Source Blood.
Mission Duration: 20 natural days.
Mission Reward: Reincarnation Emblem × 20 + 5.
Mission Penalty: None.
……
Closing the mission list, the Balgu Ruins where Su Xiao stood were rapidly decaying and collapsing, as if weathered by millennia. This was caused by the local formations being shattered by the blade aura from earlier.
Su Xiao walked out of the ruins' main hall. The moment he stepped through the entrance, the hall behind him collapsed with a roar, turning into rubble and broken walls. Bright sunlight shone down, and the sky, once shrouded by black clouds, now bore a single slash mark across it.
"Hehehe, a guy who destroys everything wherever he goes, so rude."
Crimson-red skin, bare upper body, a miniature skull ornament on his right ear, a powerful physique covered in all kinds of scars, and that beast-like aura—no mistake, it was the Crimson Beast, Di Luo.
If anyone else said that, it might be one thing, but Di Luo had no right to say it. After all, it was him, Su Xiao, and Deer God who had together blasted the "Barren Stone Mountains" into nothing.
Di Luo sat on a thick stone pillar. For his eight-meter-tall frame, the pillar was like a small park bench. Not far away stood Deer God, draped in tattered animal hide, arms crossed, leaning against a tens-of-meters-tall Abyss totem.
Seeing Su Xiao's gaze, Deer God nodded at him. Deer God rarely spoke, and unless someone caught his eye, he would outright ignore them. Strangely enough, whether someone caught Deer God's eye had no direct relation to their strength. If he encountered a wicked and evil person, Deer God would definitely take notice—and greet them with a battle staff.
Tap, tap, tap~
The sound of high heels clicking on stone came. A tall figure in a moon-white long dress approached, her demeanor both dignified and gentle. With her arrival, a full moon appeared in the sky above. Yes, it was the Moon Witch, Sesshirisu.
Su Xiao had no idea what method the Moon Witch, Sesshirisu, had used to temporarily leave the "Moon Holy Temple" without causing problems in the Witch Realm.
In the Second Era, the three great Transcendent Worlds each had a Supreme Peak as their pillar. The decline of the Wind Sea Continent came precisely because, in the Third Era, it lost its Supreme Peak—or rather, the Supreme Peak sealed to this Transcendent World had run into trouble, that being the Spider Lady.
The grudge between the Spider Lady and the Wind Sea Continent had nothing to do with Su Xiao. His only thought regarding the Spider Lady was: kill her.
Seeing the Moon Witch arrive, Di Luo narrowed his pitch-black eyes slightly and asked, "White Night, is this a helper you found?"
Di Luo seemed reckless, but he wasn't. This remark was meant for Deer God to hear: if the Moon Witch was a helper the Law Destroyer had brought, then the two of them, after this cooperation ended, would have to be careful—don't get taken out one by one in a two-on-one.
"Collaborator."
Su Xiao spoke. Hearing this, Di Luo grinned, revealing a mouthful of flat teeth. He licked the transparent bloodstains on his fangs and stuffed the last writhing, space-type aberrant creature into his mouth to chew.
Su Xiao, Di Luo, the Moon Witch, and Deer God officially formed the Supreme Team. Speaking of which, the four members each had their own traits. Di Luo was as bold as a beast and talked the most. The Moon Witch appeared dignified yet gentle, but that was from a subordinate's perspective. In daily interaction, one would find that this stunningly beautiful and powerful being, who always wore a gentle smile, often said something tender that left people silent and emotionally shattered.
This wasn't a sharp tongue; it was stating facts in a way that made the recipient deeply uncomfortable from the inside out. For example, when Di Luo fought the Blade Demon and lost, the Moon Witch's comment was:
"You were never his equal to begin with. Your so-called surpassing was just a self-delusion. So losing isn't worth being disheartened."
That was the truth, wasn't it? But hearing it was very~, especially with her gentle smile, soft voice, beautiful face, and status as a top-tier powerhouse in the Star Realm.
In the team, Su Xiao was the type who, if he could fight, generally wouldn't argue.
Deer God, on the other hand, either completely ignored someone or smashed them with a battle staff until their form and soul were obliterated, even their causal fate exploding.
Therefore, if any negotiation was needed later, the Moon Witch would handle it. Of course, for physical communication, Su Xiao was more skilled. If the other party was stubborn, Di Luo's number one iron fist in the Star Realm could make them eat their fill. If they still held out, Deer God would be responsible for physically destroying them from the concept of causal fate.
Verbal negotiation → Physical negotiation → Heavy fist interrogation → Physical annihilation.
It could be said that while the Supreme Team's current combat ceiling was unknown, their negotiation capabilities were quite comprehensive.
The Supreme Team had one basic rule:
Before the Ritual Container was filled, no member could attack another without reason (if there was a valid reason, the two parties could resolve it themselves, or simply fight to the death, with the victor rejoining the team afterward).
"So, who is our first enemy?"
The Moon Witch spoke. Hearing this, Di Luo tilted his chin slightly toward Su Xiao, meaning the Law Destroyer had already chosen.
"Spider Lady."
Hearing this name, the Moon Witch looked at Su Xiao with a smile in her eyes and said, "You really never delay when it comes to revenge."
"..."
Su Xiao said nothing. A Law-Destroying Teleportation Array formed beneath his feet, enveloping everyone present. As for where the Spider Lady had gone, the fact that she was in the "Hidden City of Argo" was indeed unexpected to Su Xiao. It wasn't what Di Luo had said; Di Luo didn't know the Spider Lady's whereabouts either. After fighting Deer God and completing one resurrection, the Spider Lady's trust in Di Luo had greatly diminished.
Knowing the Spider Lady's whereabouts was thanks to Zuiyasi's father-in-law, Chief Priest Bergman. And it wasn't Su Xiao who asked; the other party contacted Su Xiao, mentioning that the Spider Lady had arrived at the Hidden City and formed an alliance with the Night Mother.
It seemed like Bergman was just being helpful, but in reality, he was subtly indicating: the matter with "Yinmi Maosi" has been handled for you. As for my grandson's matter, you see...
To this, Su Xiao naturally had to give a response. He had already contacted the Goblin Merchant Guild's general manager, Kingwo, to send Zuiyasi's son, Griffin, away through the guild's channels.
Actually, sending Griffin himself would have been simpler and faster. The problem was, after arriving, whether Griffin still had breath depended on his vitality. In contrast, the Goblin Merchant Guild's transmission channel was very slow, taking a full four days, but it was safe and comfortable.
As for Griffin's causal seat in the Ten Thousand Races Realm, Su Xiao found it a bit puzzling. He indeed didn't have the ability to grant such a thing. However, if he personally went to the Ten Thousand Races Realm, he could use the causal volume of the "Book of Original Sin" to temporarily access the "Ten Thousand Races Realm World Causal," then tear off a large chunk and feed it to Griffin.
Hearing Su Xiao's approach, Chief Priest Bergman was silent for at least a minute. Because it was both feasible and extremely beneficial for Griffin. Chief Priest Bergman's original idea was to let his grandson receive some baptism from the World Causal. Cough, to put it bluntly, just touching the World Causal would be enough. Being able to directly eat some was a whole different concept.
However, Chief Priest Bergman then thought of another question and asked directly: 'White Night, aren't you afraid of the causal backlash from the Ten Thousand Races Realm?'
This question hit Su Xiao's blind spot of knowledge. He was silent for a few seconds before asking back: 'What is causal backlash?'
The power of this sentence was comparable to a top-tier "Silence-type Ability," leaving Chief Priest Bergman silent for another minute. It wasn't that he didn't want to speak, but he organized his words several times and still didn't know what to say.
Chief Priest Bergman then thought: Yes, this is the holder of the "Book of Original Sin," the only living Shadow of Law Destruction in the Star Realm, the creator of the Ten Thousand Races Realm, the Dead Silence White King, the Eternal Light Ruler—how could he possibly suffer causal backlash?
Moreover, back then, the half-dead, endlessly mutating Realm of Gods was cleansed by this person through a bout of killing, successfully transcending into the Ten Thousand Races Realm. With such a status as the world's guardian in the Ten Thousand Races Realm, consuming some World Causal would hardly provoke any reaction from the Transcendent World Consciousness of the Ten Thousand Races Realm.
……
Hidden City of Argo, Dawn Night Hour (since the Hidden City is in night over 90% of the time, Dawn Night Hour is roughly equivalent to 6:00 AM to 7:30 AM in the outside world).
Ever since the Hidden City existed, the number of Night Mother's followers had begun to grow steadily. It seemed like a victory, but only the high-ranking members of the Night Mother faction knew what had been sacrificed. Offending the Argo School to that extent meant losing the scholar system. Knowledge was sometimes not only power but also wealth.
To put it bluntly, over 95% of the resources produced by the most special Transcendent World, Doom Star, had backlash properties or causal toxicity. The only ones who could handle this well were the oldest scholar faction in this world, the Argo Academy.
Looking at the Hidden City from afar, the surrounding area was a chaotic, sprawling lower district, the largest in scope, encircling the central district. In the center stood a super-massive cylindrical building, like a giant tower, with winding staircase roads spiraling around it. At the top of this giant tower was the upper district, about one-fifth the area of the lower district.
The buildings in the upper district were taller and more developed, comparable to the central district of "Yinmi Maosi."
At this moment, on the Prayer Path that coiled around the giant tower like a serpent, a team of pilgrims was climbing the winding staircase road. They carried huge metal baskets filled with glowing round stones, each the size of a leaf.
The youngest in the team was only a teenager, but she wasn't lagging behind. Pera wiped the hot sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. Although she couldn't fully understand why she had to believe in the Night Mother, it didn't hinder her piety. All her relatives were followers of the Night Mother. In her family, not believing in the Night Mother was itself a heretical act, an ingratitude for protection.
Actually, this statement wasn't entirely wrong. Without the Night Mother's protection, these followers would either have to accept the ocean's curse, go to the polar cold regions to survive, or go to the Dead Sea to become drifting tribes. If they believed in other Ancient Gods, that would be the beginning of suffering and nightmares.
When the pilgrimage team reached the outskirts of the upper district, Pera gazed at the distant cityscape, her eyes filled with barely concealed hope. She had heard too many wonderful rumors about the upper district, and her longing for this place where the Divine Lord slumbered grew even stronger.
The pilgrimage team leader pulled out an old copper watch, checked the time, and breathed a sigh of relief. This transport of Sacred Insect Stones was 20% more than usual, yet the given time limit was three days shorter. Now, they had finally reached their destination.
"Exhausted, Pera? The sacred items weren't this heavy before. But it's good—if you can bear this, it means you're an excellent pilgrim."
The team leader was a strong, gentle middle-aged man. A docile-looking old man further back said, "Being chosen is our honor."
"Yes."
"The Divine Lord's blessing."
The pilgrims closed their eyes and tilted their heads slightly, as if receiving the blessing of the Divine Lord above.
Leaving aside how the Hidden City came to be, at this moment, it was indeed quiet and peaceful.
Boom~!!
A dull, heavy sound came from above, causing all members of the pilgrimage team, who were still grateful for the Night Mother's blessing, to tremble. They looked up at the sky. It felt as if something enormous, beyond the sky, had violently struck the Hidden City.
Boom!!
This time, the sound was closer. The team leader and Pera both felt as if the earth beneath them had forced them to jump up slightly.
Boom!!!
The sky was pierced. A crimson giant fist broke through the night sky, hovering above the upper district. After the giant fist withdrew, a massive figure, tens of thousands of meters tall with a mouthful of fangs, peered through the hole with one giant eye.
Yes, it was the Crimson Beast, Di Luo. As for why he hadn't used this Raging Beast Avatar when fighting Su Xiao and Deer God—was he crazy? Was Dragon-Slaying Flash not sharp enough, or was the battle staff "Tao Shou" lacking in force?
"So hard to find. The Night Mother's lair actually has over a dozen phantom cities."
A voice like a great bell came from beyond the sky.
The next moment, the team leader, Pera, and the others, looking up with stunned eyes, saw the dark red crescent moon in the sky gradually become whole, beginning to transform into a silver full moon.
With a roar, a golden figure charged into the hole in the sky. It landed with a crash, the impact fierce, shattering large swaths of nearby buildings. But it didn't harm the innocent. The upper district was entirely composed of high-ranking Night Mother faction members and their families, with no exceptions. The reason was that, having been in constant conflict with the Underworld God Cult, the Night Mother faction had suffered no small losses in this regard.
The lower district, on the other hand, was over 90% civilians. Therefore, after the golden power spread to the inner edge of the upper district, it didn't fall like molten golden liquid but rapidly cooled. Otherwise, the entire southern part of the lower district would have been in trouble.
As soon as Deer God appeared, he headed straight for the Sleep Sanctuary where the Night Mother resided.
A piercing sound whistled as a torrent of crimson meteors, burning with black flames, rained down, bringing devastating destruction and beginning to scour the upper district. Clearly, Di Luo had an old grudge with the Night Mother. In their long lives, having no intersection at all would have been strange.
The top-tier combatant echelon of the Star Realm wasn't as large as imagined. From the First Era to the Third Era, aside from the Abyss and Element factions, the number of Supreme Peak seats in each era was limited.
Di Luo didn't occupy this seat. Deer God and the Moon Witch were Supreme seats from the Second Era. The Undying Old Man was a Supreme Peak seat from the First Era. Su Xiao and the Night Mother were Supreme seats from the Third Era. Speaking of which, the Supreme seats of the Third Era still had vacancies, as it was only the early part of the Third Era.
After the meteors landed, violent explosions occurred. The meteor bombardment was spectacular and terrifying, but the Night Mother faction was only stunned for a short while. Over 80% of the upper district's residents had considerable combat power, while the remaining 20% were support personnel. This was the result of years of conflict with the Underworld God Cult.
In a lakeside courtyard, the Spider Lady watched this scene expressionlessly. She indeed hadn't expected Deer God, Di Luo, and the Moon Witch to join forces so quickly, and their first target was the Night Mother.
But thinking that the Night Mother was a newly ascended Supreme Peak, making her the easiest to strike first, the Spider Lady felt relieved.
Regarding the current situation, the Spider Lady had already made a decision: join the Supreme Team. Her temporary alliance with the Night Mother was merely to observe the situation. Both sides were aware of this. Since one of the Supreme Team's members was Di Luo, it meant the Spider Lady's entry wouldn't be too difficult.
As for staying in the Supreme Team permanently, the Spider Lady wasn't prepared to do that. She already knew that the awakening phase of the "Abyss Eye Ritual" required the source blood of five Supreme powerhouses. This meant that any Supreme powerhouse who came to this world either had to leave immediately or choose a side to join. Continuing to act alone would inevitably lead to being surrounded and attacked.
From this perspective, the subsequent conflict would be between the Supreme Team and the Underworld God Team.
Current known intelligence:
Underworld God Team: Underworld God, Soul Lord, Demon Old Hag, Night Mother, Underworld Lord.
Supreme Team: Deer God, Moon Witch, Di Luo.
Unaligned powerhouses in this world: Undying Old Man, Blade Demon, Goblin Elder Maza Bia Dorty.
Having made up her mind, the Spider Lady lazily picked up her red teacup and took a small sip. Suddenly, her hand froze.
A blood-red pillar of light descended, instantly turning the area into a vast sea of blood. The scarlet blood sea spread, even flooding the entire upper district.
Everything around the Spider Lady was washed away by this blood sea, turning into powder. Her expression turned very ugly. The appearance of this aura signified that one of the Supreme Team's seats was the Law Destroyer, Kukulin Bai Ye.
A green, toxic domain expanded, causing the encroaching blood sea to instantly dissolve into blood smoke that dissipated. Not only that, as the toxic domain expanded, a faint white spider phantom formed behind the Spider Lady. This spider phantom had pitch-black, densely patterned legs, a pristine white body, and fluorescent green eyes. Anything its gaze fell upon was immediately corroded by the poison, even hissing as it corroded space and the world itself.
Just as the deadly poison domain was about to engulf Su Xiao, a gray-white domain spread. Unlike the explosive toxic domain, the gray-white domain spread slowly and steadily. A throne symbolizing the power of death appeared behind Su Xiao, with white fluff drifting in the air.
The toxic domain and the death domain eroded and spread against each other, eventually holding firm. This was inevitable in a clash between domain powerhouses. However, there was a problem: Su Xiao was not a "Domain-type Powerhouse"; he was an "Extreme Realm-type." He had a domain solely because of the Death Descent from the Black King Bracer.
The continuously pouring blood-red pillar of light finally subsided. Bare-armed, Su Xiao slowly drew the long blade at his waist, holding it in his right hand, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground.
Across from him, the Spider Lady suddenly sensed something was wrong. The opponent's domain wasn't weak, but it wasn't perfectly attuned to him. Although the compatibility was at least 98%, any Supreme powerhouse had a 100% compatibility with their own "Supreme Domain."
"I grant you, death."
The Spider Lady merely spoke, and a terrifying poison force erupted at the center of Su Xiao's chest, where the world was located. With a tearing sound, most of his body was tainted by the poison, but it didn't develop further. Because this was simply an afterimage Su Xiao had left behind—an ability that naturally manifested under extreme physical speed.
Whoosh!
Wind pressure rushed toward her. The Spider Lady's pupils violently contracted. The Shadow of Law Destruction, holding the Blade of Law Annihilation, was already in front of her.
An intense death threat erupted from the Spider Lady. If it came to direct combat ability, she might rank near the bottom among Supreme powerhouses. But in terms of danger, the Spider Lady, whose Supreme ability was "Despair Poison," was extremely dangerous and lethal.
'Final Fate: Bloom!'
A massive phantom of a dark purple poison flower appeared, about to bloom.
'Extreme Realm: Star Realm.'
With Su Xiao at the center, everything around him came to a standstill.
When the scene before the Spider Lady's eyes returned to normal, she was already in a flower field several kilometers away, surrounded by pure white moonlight flowers. But the sharp pain in her throat made her press her hand to it, yet she found no wound. Among her three life cores, one had shattered, clearly indicating that she had just experienced a fatal threat.
In fact, each Supreme powerhouse's "Life Core" had different effects. For example, the Spider Lady's Life Core, when shattered, allowed her to instantly escape from the place of death, leaving behind a shell that would erupt with "Death Poison," while her true body appeared thousands of kilometers away, or even farther.
The Spider Lady hadn't managed to escape thousands of kilometers, because this Life Core shattering occurred while her consciousness was frozen. She naturally didn't know that she had just been decapitated with one slash, and her body cut in two with a second.
The truly terrifying thing wasn't that the enemy was stronger than oneself, but that one had died once without even knowing how.
"Illusion type?"
The Spider Lady immediately dismissed this thought. No matter how strong the illusion system, with a Life Core shattered, she would have awakened. She began to recall carefully. The moment before her memory was interrupted, it seemed like everything had frozen. The world frozen? Time stopped? Neither. The Spider Lady had faced such abilities before.
What she faced this time was on a different level from these abilities. Not only was there no possibility of breaking free, but even the thought of attempting to break free never had a chance to surface.
A horrifying conjecture surfaced in the Spider Lady's mind. Could this Law Destroyer have the ability to freeze the Star Realm?
The good news was that this Law Destroyer had already used this ability, so there was still a chance to win later. The Spider Lady stabilized her life force and adapted to her body, which had just been resurrected through the "Life Core."
Yes, after becoming an Abyss Descendant, the Spider Lady's "Life Core" had gained an additional resurrection trait. The price was that her original six "Life Cores," obtained by devouring the "Wind Sea Treasure: Endless Life," had been reduced to only three. Even so, among Abyss Descendants, her number of Life Cores was still considered high.
It seemed the Spider Lady's Life Core had more functions and stronger survival capabilities. But don't forget, this Life Core had a flaw: it would abandon the current physical body. In contrast, Su Xiao's Life Core, though lacking such functions, could lock his health when it dropped to 0.1%, meaning he would never give up his original body.
The Spider Lady looked up at the full moon in the sky. The entire Hidden City was sealed and trapped, which was why she hadn't used any means to temporarily escape this place. Facing four Supreme powerhouses, retreating wasn't shameful at all. The key was that she couldn't leave now.
Her aura quickly stabilized, but another problem made the Spider Lady's expression very ugly: her body energy was almost completely depleted. She naturally knew that fighting a Law Destroyer would cause her body energy to be lost with each attack, but she hadn't expected it to be so exaggerated.
Although the Spider Lady was skilled in close combat, she would never be stupid enough to engage in melee with close-combat Supreme powerhouses like Su Xiao, Deer God, and Di Luo. This meant that she was now essentially a poison-type mage with no mana, about to face a top-tier Technique Grandmaster who couldn't be controlled, had peak speed, peak strength, 50 million health points plus four Life Cores, 95% damage reduction, and all Supreme main attributes at 500 points.
Yes, Su Xiao's strength, speed, vitality, and blade technique were all formidable. When these simple strengths accumulated to a certain level, it created a very unsolvable situation.
On the flower field, a gentle breeze blew. The Law Destroyer, holding his long blade, walked slowly forward, with light purple blood droplets still dripping from the blade tip.
The Spider Lady took a deep breath, then her gaze turned resolute. She raised one hand, palm up, and an ancient, dark blue urn with archaic patterns appeared in her hand. As this ancient urn appeared, the surrounding air became as thick as seawater. Moreover, the atmosphere of a large area around them changed, as if they were deep in the ocean.
It was clear that the Spider Lady wasn't intending to use this item—at least, not until she was on the verge of death. But even just holding it was already a tremendous deterrent.
This was none other than the Big Daddy-level Original Sin Object, on the same tier as the Collector, the Necronomicon, and six other Big Daddy-level Original Sin Objects: the Deep Sea Ancient Urn!