Chapter 2599

When Su Xiao returned to the underground space, the magma here had already cooled, and Am dug out two scarlet cards from the solidified magma layer.

Having secured all the gains, Su Xiao immediately withdrew, as the commotion here was significant; he needed to return to the Tiger Wasp Zone, where there was a hive, and in case of sudden events, he could take refuge inside the hive to avoid danger.

Two hours later, Su Xiao returned to the semi-exposed mountain cave, lay on a large rock to rest, and it was already afternoon; he planned to rest until the next morning, after which he would wait for the resource drop notification—no matter what, he had to seize the essence of the Life Dragon.

"That..."

Xibeier wanted to speak but hesitated, her eyes seeming somewhat reluctant.

"Speak."

"In battle gains, can I pay a little less? I only have 50 soul coins left."

After saying this, Xibeier took out 50 soul coins.

"What is this?"

"After annihilating the Rain Throat Tribe, I obtained 11 three-star titles, which trigger when charm exceeds 10 points—don't you have any?"

"Of course, I do."

Su Xiao closed his eyes to meditate; as the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind, and during meditation, the mind becomes calm and peaceful.

"If these 11 titles were assessed in price, I would need to pay over 390 soul coins, but I don't have that many..."

"Shut up, go cool off somewhere."

"Huh? Are you angry? What did I say wrong?"

Xibeier felt a bit flustered and wronged, yet she didn't realize that, in her timid tone just now, she had uttered the most heart-wrenching words.

"Little sis, for your own safety, just honestly stay in a cool place—titles are fleeting clouds; you got them, so they're yours. We merely grabbed you handy to use as a tool. As long as you don't pull any tricks, we won't kill you, and we have no interest in your gains either."

Bahu's words made Xibeier retreat to the corner, continuing to be the punching bag.

Without comparison, there is no harm—171 points of true charm attribute, after annihilating the Rain Throat Tribe, she indeed gained 11 three-star titles. If obtained through negotiation, many achievement quests could be triggered in the Rain Throat Tribe, yielding titles likely exceeding 25.

"Clearly there are many titles..."

Xibeier muttered in the corner, but the smile on her face was hard to hide. With so many titles, if soul coins were sufficient, she could synthesize two four-star titles, then accumulate across several worlds to attempt crafting her main title—namely, a six-star title—and push it to seven-star.

Or, if she clung to a strong thigh in this world, perhaps by its end she could directly assault the seven-star title. Thinking this, Xibeier decided to temporarily act as a tool—not because she had submitted, but because the titles she gained were truly too many, and she had no choice.

After dealing with the illusionist, Su Xiao felt much lighter; the opponent's ability was too troublesome, capable of detecting his location at any time, preventing him from engaging in fierce battles. Once injured in combat, he might be ambushed by the illusionist bringing reinforcements.

Su Xiao had even killed Hishi, so he certainly wasn't a fake gentleman, and he felt the gentleman wasn't targeting him personally—the opponent likely had many 'dolls' deployed across multiple worlds, so encountering one wasn't coincidental.

That madhouse full of talents—after returning to the real world, Su Xiao somewhat wanted to see what kind of place could produce talents like Mr. J, the warden, the mad doctor, and the gentleman.

In meditation, time passed quickly; night fell, and the nocturnal rainforest remained as lively as ever.

When the first ray of dawn rose from the horizon, Su Xiao opened his eyes, having adjusted his state to peak condition. Today's melee would see no retreat, as many participants joined the survival trial precisely for the Life Dragon's essence.

At exactly six o'clock, an announcement appeared.

【Announcement: The Life Dragon's essence will break free from spatial lockdown at nine o'clock; location: center (coordinates: ……).】

Su Xiao wiped the water stains from his face; he knew where the center was—outside the water source zone, in an area called 'Initial Ground.' Entering it would trigger a prompt, but it was neither a danger zone nor a hidden zone.

In the melee, Xibeier was very useful, though her chance of ambush was not low. Su Xiao decided to let Am, Bahu, and her form a team; for seizing the Life Dragon's essence, he and Bubu Wang were more adept.

Su Xiao advanced toward the water source zone; after passing through the entire zone, his group exited the forest.

Arriving here, the ground grass began to wither and yellow; the further ahead, the more barren. Initial Ground lies at the center of the Frenzied Luxuriant Forest, but after going deeper, the ground becomes completely barren, with towering strange rocks standing upright.

After advancing over twenty kilometers, a stone pillar nearly a hundred meters thick appeared ahead; its surface somewhat resembled bark, and its total height exceeded 120 meters.

Upon approaching this massive stone pillar, Su Xiao discovered it was not rock but a tree stump nearly a hundred meters thick, with a raised root system below.

This tree stump was entirely grayish-white; from afar it looked like rock, the fracture surface uneven. The scene of this giant tree falling must have been spectacular—judging by its hundred-meter diameter, it must have stood several kilometers tall before falling.

Besides the Life Tree, other tree stumps would not be so magnificent—this tree that nurtured civilization, ultimately felled by ancient elves.

Upon reaching the center of Initial Ground, Su Xiao found many contractors already present—some sitting on the massive tree stump, others standing on half-weathered giant rocks.

"Was the illusionist dealt with by you?"

A voice came from behind—it was the smiling gourmet.

"Hmm."

"Last night dusk, I took explosives to the Rain Throat Tribe's settlement, but I was one step too late."

The gourmet clearly also sensed something off, so he prepared to deal with the illusionist.

"Illusion arts are abnormal—not only are behavior patterns erratic, sometimes actions are foolish, sometimes hard to handle, as if… being controlled? I can't figure it out."

The gourmet walked past Su Xiao's shadow toward the giant tree stump, clearly not preparing to temporarily cooperate, for the Life Dragon's essence is only one.

Boom—boom—boom~

The sky darkened, clouds and mist forming a phantom that roared downward.

"Roar!!"

Layer upon layer of air waves spread from above, a faint light appeared in midair, slowly descending.

【Announcement: The Life Dragon's essence has broken free from spatial lockdown; all trial participants may freely contend. Holding the essence for 24 hours grants ownership (originally 48 hours, but due to trial time reduction, holding time is reduced).】

With a whoosh, a residual image flashed past from midair—the Life Dragon's essence suddenly vanished, and the next moment, the sky began to set off 'fireworks.'

Flames and various energy waves spread; contractors hiding everywhere all emerged. The flying-capable contractor, at this moment, resembled a broken-winged bird, falling from the sky.

Seeing this, Bahu's eyes twitched—he had also prepared to leap ahead.

"Everyone, begin the revelry."

Xiaobaozi stood on the giant tree stump, her small face flushed, arms outstretched.

The Life Dragon's essence fell from the smoke, trailing a thread of mist, landing on a half-meter-high stone pillar.

With a boom, this stone pillar shuddered as if struck by a tank, shattering directly. Among the rubble, Tank Man gripped the Life Dragon's essence with one hand—just as everyone prepared to focus fire on him, he threw the essence away.

A residual image flew past—the gourmet caught the Life Dragon's essence. These two were not cooperating; rather, Tank Man sought to frame the gourmet.

The gourmet, of course not foolish, discovered the essence could not be stored in his space, so he immediately threw it to Gaske of Death Paradise—now it was time for revenge, for grudges to be repaid.

Gaske's pale face twitched; upon catching the essence, he immediately hurled it toward Su Xiao—true to the saying, if you can trap one, you trap one. Gaske sought to use the contractors' concentrated fire to eliminate Su Xiao first.

Black-blue smoke swirled around Su Xiao's left arm as he grabbed the life essence of the Life Dragon. In the next moment, the black-blue smoke enveloped his entire body. Gaske made a wrong decision—he should not have thrown the Life Dragon's essence to Su Xiao.