Chapter 2986: Chapter Three: Punishment

After reading the world introduction, Su Xiao gained a general understanding of the Dark Star World. First, the place he was in was the 'Old Royal Capital·Taluo', once the political center of humanity, where the Palace of the King of Light was built in the rear area of the 'Old Royal Capital·Taluo'. Now that palace lies abandoned, desolate and dilapidated.

The King of Light is neither the monarch of the empire nor the king of any particular kingdom. On human territory, there are dozens of large and small kingdoms, each with its own king, while the King of Light stands above these kings. To say he rules is less accurate than to say he maintains balance, preventing the kingdoms from going to war with each other—though this is now a thing of the past.

In the past, the 'Royal Capital·Taluo' saw many kings come each year to pay homage, and not all kings were qualified to see the King of Light. One could say that the original King of Light was like a nameless divine spirit—at least in the hearts of humanity in the Dark Star World.

Since the ancient gods were sealed, the King of Light gradually faded from people's sight. Corruption did indeed cease, but the conflicts among the various kingdoms within human territory have been fermenting day by day. The fear brought by the ancient gods lasted only a hundred years before being forgotten, and wars broke out among the kingdoms.

As for the wars among humans, the beasts have become mere spectators, eating melons. They only respect the King of Light and have no goodwill toward human kings, lords, and the like.

The insect children of the underground kingdom, however, have no choice. Humans have never been friendly toward them, and going to 'mediate' at this time is like pouring oil on fire.

One could say that during these few hundred years since the ancient gods were sealed, the human realm has been lively, with various wild royal houses appearing in batches and then disappearing in batches.

By the end, even farmers marrying off their daughters would claim they were marrying off a distressed princess, and for a time, the matter of marriage became flooded with false distressed princesses.

During these few hundred years, a few figures indeed emerged who could lead humanity toward glory, but a heavenly wall blocked their path—the King of Light.

Once someone tried to integrate all human factions into one, someone would immediately jump out, using the accusation of blasphemy against the King of Light as a pretext to launch a joint attack.

This situation continued until the container showed cracks, the corruption of the ancient gods descended again, and combined with prolonged warfare, it caused the major factions of humanity to fragment in a short time. Originally, several kinds of currency were already chaotic, and now they all lost credibility, becoming worthless.

The current situation is that, aside from a few major cities, other places are in a state of ungovernability—just like the 'Old Royal Capital·Taluo'.

Saying this world has no currency at all is also inaccurate. Here there is a hard currency called 'Crystal Fat', which is an extract of a rare crystal. To this day, it is unknown where this substance comes from—some say it is refined by the insect children, others believe it comes from the 'Last Green Land'.

At room temperature, Crystal Fat has hardness and weight comparable to metal. When exposed to high heat, it does not burn but instead dissolves. Through tools, it can be cast into various shapes via melting and molding.

The use of Crystal Fat is simple: wearing it on one's body makes corruption less likely. But if one dares to approach the 'Sealing Ground', corruption occurs instantly. Otherwise, wearing Crystal Fat on one's body is relatively safe.

Crystal Fat has become one of the three essentials for survival, alongside food and fresh water. Ordinary people can survive without Crystal Fat, but they cannot live long. The damage to the container has become increasingly severe.

Su Xiao has not yet seen Crystal Fat. He plans to obtain some of this substance to see if he can replicate it through alchemy. If successful, it would bring him a fortune comparable to a great windfall.

Crystal Fat was originally a necessity for ordinary people. A few years ago, the insect children's foreign trade reopened, and they used Crystal Fat as a item of stable value.

The insect children are more numerous, and some have very weak consciousness. Crystal Fat has become a necessity for them. If one dares to remove the Crystal Fat from their body, they will be corrupted in the next second.

The insect children's urgent need for Crystal Fat has made it an absolute hard currency. With Crystal Fat, human extraordinary beings can buy various extraordinary items and materials in the insect children's underground kingdom. Moreover, the beasts also need it—their newborn cubs must immediately wear Crystal Fat upon birth.

"Woof."

The Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang beside Su Xiao barked, meaning: "Master, this Wang has smelled the 'taste' of the ancient god."

"Certain?"

"Woof."

After receiving Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang's affirmative reply, Su Xiao looked toward Bahha, who nodded, indicating he too had sensed the fluctuation of the ancient god—not that corrupting power, but another kind.

Su Xiao's eyes showed a thoughtful expression. In this world, the ancient god is sealed, so why did a momentary aura of the ancient god appear nearby just now? The feeling was very much like being probed.

Regarding that sealed ancient god, Su Xiao is very interested. Such world-sucking ancient gods are eight or nine times out of ten evil gods. Su Xiao is not interested in what they have done, nor will he go forth under the banner of justice to judge such an ancient god. But if he were to slay that ancient god, the growth degree of the 'Divine Judgment' ring would increase significantly, plus divine spirit bones.

An ancient god capable of corrupting the entire world is eight or nine times out of ten capable of producing immortal-grade divine spirit bones. Su Xiao already has two pieces of immortal-grade divine spirit bones. If he gets one more, he could upgrade a piece of holy spirit-grade equipment to immortal grade.

The ancient god is sealed by the container, but the container alone is insufficient to fully seal the ancient god. Outside the container, there are still soul chains wrapped around it—these chains are built from parts of the souls of the King of Light, the Great Sage, and the Wolf Spider Queen.

Currently, the opinions of these three have diverged. The King of Light is the most stable, advocating re-nurturing the container for a second sealing. The Wolf Spider Queen is radical—she has long been unable to endure and wants to fight the ancient god to the death. The Great Sage, however, advocates holding on, arguing that the container is not easy to nurture. The King of Light nearly died during his last union with the mother goddess, and the success rate of a second nurturing of the container is too low. Fighting the ancient god to the death is also too reckless—even in their most glorious era, they never won. Now, can they win? Better to hold on and buy the last bit of time for the strong ones of the three races.

Whether these three are right or wrong is actually hard to judge. They are the parties involved, and some situations are beyond outsiders' understanding. Willing to become the soul chains outside the container represents that these three have already prepared themselves to die at any moment.

Su Xiao has clearly judged the current situation. Regarding the transaction of spacetime power, he will not interfere for now. There are still 5 to 12 days. Before the contractor teams of the two sides trade, Su Xiao's side can receive a hint.

Open the task list, and two tasks appear before Su Xiao's eyes.

【Resource Task: Spacetime Power Contention (This task awaits activation).】

【Main Task: King of Light (First Loop)】

Difficulty Level: lv. 73

Task Information: Find the King of Light, meet with him, and obtain important information.

Task Introduction: The King of Light has been missing for many years. Only the 'Soul Bell Tower' and the 'Cedo School' two major forces know his whereabouts.

Mission Introduction: The King of Light has been missing for many years, and only the Soul Bell Tower and the Cordo School know his whereabouts.

Task Reward: Real Attribute Points ×2.

Task Penalty: Real Stamina Attribute −3 points.

Mission Penalty: Real Strength Attribute -3 points.

……