Chapter 24: Bounty
In the deepest darkness of the Abyss, a towering grand hall stood.
This grand hall seemed naturally formed, though its surface, composed of a substance resembling petroleum, had a certain roughness, it also carried a heavy sense of having weathered endless ages, as if it would stand here for eternity.
Outside the Abyssal grand hall, Abyss Knights stood guard, clad in full black heavy armor, possessing three arms and a single eye on their chests. They were all in a state of slumber. If any intruder arrived here, they would first have to face these Abyss Knights. In essence, they were beings that could never be completely killed; they were one with the grand hall, a manifestation of the Abyss's power.
The hall's doors were tightly shut. Deep within the dim interior, the figure on the Abyssal throne tilted its head slightly downward. The messy, partially darkened wooden-like horns on its head were no longer a symbol of ill omen as in the past. If a newborn among the Abyss descendants had such a physique, the entire clan would feel honored—this was one of the most innate manifestations of Abyssal power.
Not far to the right of the high throne was a hidden door. Entering through it revealed a different world behind the thick walls of the throne. The area was not large, only about a hundred square meters, with an overall layout that exuded a dark, ritualistic mystery.
Drip, drip~
Dark blood fell from the wooden-like fingertips hanging above, dropping into a pitch-black pool below. Layers of ripples spread slowly. This scene had persisted for a very long time, but today, the black pool changed. An arm-shaped form rose from the viscous black liquid, slapping onto the edge of the pool. This right hand wore a red armguard, with threads of Abyssal power tracing patterns on it, forming rings on the back of the hand.
...
Su Xiao lay on the bed in the restroom. Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Beini had taken Jila to the Great Gathering Place of the Void Tree for a stroll. Regarding the three-way choice for the [Extreme Realm: Star Realm] ability, the first option was immediately ruled out, as it would clutter the current system.
Between the second and third options, one offered a longer duration of Star Realm stasis with a fixed range, while the other pushed to the extreme, potentially freezing the entire Star Realm for three seconds and continuously enhancing the intensity of the "Star Realm Stasis" process.
This raised a question: when facing a powerful enemy, with Su Xiao's attack methods, was there really a difference between freezing for 3 seconds and 15 seconds? If an enemy couldn't be eliminated in 3 seconds, could they be in 15? Moreover, the enemies that would require [Extreme Realm: Star Realm] to deal with could truly be counted on one hand.
First, consider the battle against the Lord of the Abyss. Su Xiao estimated that if he chose the second characteristic, [Star Realm: Stasis] would have no chance to appear in that fight. The third option, however, was different.
If Su Xiao truly had the ability to freeze the entire Star Realm for three seconds, then the frozen Star Realm would act like a massive radiation range for the [Extreme Realm: Star Realm] ability. There was a high probability that this stasis would extend to the grand hall where the Abyssal throne was located. Even if it couldn't freeze this Abyssal region entirely, in a battle of this level, even causing a brief slowdown to the enemy would be the key to victory.
Not to mention, the ultimate goal of continuously improving [Extreme Realm: Star Realm] was to counteract the Supreme Being's ability to freeze the Star Realm.
[Tip: [Absolute Stasis] can suppress other Star Realm stasis abilities within the same system, even breaking their effects.]
The good news was that with [Absolute Stasis], he could break the Supreme Being's Star Realm stasis ability.
The neither-good-nor-bad news was that the Supreme Being also possessed [Absolute Stasis], meaning both sides would still cancel out this ability. Thinking it over, this characteristic was the only choice.
[Your [Extreme Realm: Star Realm] ability has been upgraded.]
[Extreme Realm: Star Realm: Lv.MAX (Transcendent Rank · Active)]
Active Effect: You fully unleash the might of your Technique Grandmaster status, affecting the Star Realm's operation in your current world, causing this realm to enter a [Star Realm: Absolute Stasis] state for 3 seconds.
Tip: When this ability can freeze the entire Star Realm, its stasis intensity will reach its limit.
Tip: This ability can be used once every 5 natural days. Based on your current Supreme Stamina attribute, the cooldown can be reduced to a minimum of 3 natural days.
...
Su Xiao didn't need [Extreme Realm: Star Realm] to have too many characteristics. Purity, stability, and power—when these three coexisted, they never failed at critical moments.
[Life Rhythm, Lv.EX (Extreme Realm Passive)]
Passive Effect: You have gained further insight into the Star Realm, mastering one of the [High-Level Star Realm Rules: The Rhythm of Life]. When your Life Core is completely shattered and death approaches, you will draw upon a massive amount of [Star Realm Source Power] to resist this death. You will 100% resist this death, gain a 5-second [Invincible State], and immediately recover 50% of your Life Core.
Tip: After successfully resisting death, you can delay the activation of this ability for up to 600 seconds, after which the life awakening brought by this ability will activate automatically.
Tip: This ability can be activated in any environment, even if you are in an Abyss/Elemental environment, or even a Chaos environment.
Tip: This effect has a long cooldown, depending on the volume of your Primordial Life Force.
...
The separated life-saving ability was still formidable and had a deceptive quality. The moment death was successfully resisted marked the beginning of turning the tide.
Closing the skill list, Su Xiao soon fell into a deep sleep. He was awakened by the sound of mail notifications. Sitting up from the bed, he opened his mail to find over a dozen messages, most of which were about wartime council meetings. These had nothing to do with Su Xiao—they were about position adjustments on various defense lines.
There were still over 30 hours before the battle resumed. The participants at the base camp were more tense now than at the start of the war. Initially, everyone thought the Abyss Gate would open, unleashing an endless tide of Abyssal creatures.
But the reality was different. The current Lord of the Abyss commanded over a dozen Abyss legions. The might of the first to third legions had already been experienced by the participants. If not for the Abyss Gate projection on the main battlefield limiting these three legions, over 40% of the participants would have already died.
The Abyss faction was not driven by darkness-fueled beasts. The current Lord of the Abyss was ambitious and had clear goals. His legions were fearless and united. If the allied forces couldn't hold them back, everyone would die. Conversely, the Abyss races were now at a survival dead end. If the Star Realm didn't enter the Abyss Era, the Abyss races would perish. This was a war of survival for both sides.
It was worth noting that Abyss races and Abyss descendants/Abyssal creatures were not the same. The former were races that lived and thrived in the Star Realm during the Abyss Era, originally born in an Abyss-ified Star Realm. The latter two were born directly in the Abyss.
Ignoring these emails, Su Xiao saw a message from Kaisa. He had already finished plundering the Bronze Family and was now targeting the Fish Family. His next target was the New Insect Family. As for the Beast Family and the Collective, they had no family treasuries or resource storage habits.
Kaisa's plan was to split the treasures of the Bronze, Fish, and New Insect families in a 70-30 ratio, with Kaisa taking 70% and Su Xiao's side 30%. The reason was that Su Xiao had killed the patriarchs of the five major Abyss descendant families, giving Kaisa, who originally only had the chance to plunder the Bronze Family before waiting to settle the score with the [Abyss Hidden Vault], the opportunity to also clean out the Fish Family and New Insect Clan.
Kaisa was greedy, but when it came to sharing benefits, he never skimped on friends—provided they were his friends.
The next email was from the [Merchant Alliance], consisting of the [Giant Bank] and the [Underworld Bank]. Their intention was to acquire shares of the [Void Bank], but they could only offer 15 million ounces of Space-Time Power. Considering that the wealth of Arcane Eternal Star was concentrated in the [Void Bank], this price from the [Merchant Alliance] was tantamount to robbery.
Daring to offer such a price meant they had long since hidden themselves in unknown locations. Strangely enough, this offer came from the [Giant Bank]. The [Underworld Bank] expressed that they lacked the financial strength and dared not take advantage of the Law Destroyer at such a critical moment. Their words were pleasant, and their attitude was even better.
The [Giant Bank] stated that aside from them, no one would buy the [Void Bank] at this juncture. Even though the asset was under the notarization of the Void Tree and had been teleported to an unknown location, acquiring enough shares later could recall it to the Void.
Su Xiao currently held 65.19% of the [Void Bank] shares. Moreover, after this Abyss War, it was uncertain how many of the major factions holding scattered shares would survive. The current notarization stated that if a [Void Bank] shareholder died, their shares would be evenly distributed among the remaining shareholders.
Would Su Xiao accept the price of 15 million ounces? Of course. Who would refuse a free 15 million ounces? Additionally, the [Merchant Alliance]'s operation was so impressive that it achieved what even the "fence-sitting master" Demon Clan couldn't—they were preparing to sit on the fence.
This top-secret information was known only to a few high-ranking members of the [Merchant Alliance], Kaisa, and Su Xiao. Su Xiao learned it from Kaisa.
The [Merchant Alliance] had somehow acquired a method to achieve a high probability of Abyss-ification. With the Abyss power so vast at present, a Star Realm being retaining its sanity while undergoing Abyss-ification was almost unbelievable. But considering the [Merchant Alliance]'s wealth, after the fall of Arcane Eternal Star, they would be the top financial power among the Star Realm's major factions. The second-ranked Goblin Merchant Guild couldn't withstand the combined financial might of the third and fourth.
The [Merchant Alliance]'s plan was clear. Even if the Abyss Era descended, the Abyss races couldn't live like primitive tribes in the Star Realm. Where there was civilization, there would be currency. In a few hundred years, or at most a thousand, the [Merchant Alliance] would rise again in the Abyss Era.
Had the Demon Clan never considered this? They had, but they lacked the financial resources to acquire the rare treasures needed for Abyss-ification before the Abyss calamity began.
Speaking of which, whether it was Sha, who chose Abyss-ification, or the Undead Girl, who went further down the path of Abyss-ification, they should have met their ends by now. Even if they weren't dead, their situations were bound to be dire. Everyone had their own fate—this was the choice of Sha and the Undead Girl.
The [Merchant Alliance]'s even more audacious move was to send all their forces under the [Underworld Bank] to participate in this Abyss War.
The scenario would be: if the Star Realm faction won, the [Giant Bank] would be annihilated by its "enemies," and its wealth would be completely swallowed by its former ally, the [Underworld Bank]. Thus, the [Underworld Bank], having participated in the war, could continue as one of the Star Realm's major powers.
This was also why the [Giant Bank] was squeezing Su Xiao to the extreme.
If the Abyss faction won, the [Underworld Bank] would be annihilated by its "enemies," and its wealth would be seized by the [Giant Bank]. As a faction that stood by during the final battle, the [Giant Bank] had a low probability of being retaliated against by the Abyss faction.
In the end, the survivors would be the few Abyss-ified high-ranking members of the [Merchant Alliance]. They would lie low and gradually use their wealth to become a major power.
Su Xiao replied to the [Merchant Alliance]'s email, raising the price of the [Void Bank] shares to 20 million ounces. It wasn't that he didn't want to immediately get the 15 million ounces of Space-Time Power to strengthen himself. If he agreed to the [Merchant Alliance]'s price gouging, they would become fully alert and abandon the deal. It had to be admitted that, under these circumstances, the only ones willing to buy the [Void Bank] were indeed the [Merchant Alliance].
As for how to track down the [Merchant Alliance] later and kill them all without leaving a trace, it went without saying that they had extensive anti-tracking measures and were hidden in an extremely secretive area.
To this end, Su Xiao planned to use the [Malicious Prophet] to divine the [Merchant Alliance]'s location. Did this seem impossible? Understanding the principle made it easy to grasp.