Chapter 3505: Chapter Twenty-Five: Fallen Divine Blood

In the second floor of the wooden tower, Su Xiao released the spirit shadow threads beneath his feet, landing on the floorboards, his gaze always fixed on the floating Book of the Dead ahead.

Although the appearance of the Book of the Dead was sudden, it was not abrupt; after the team had surrounded and slain the ancient divine spirit, Sacred Oak, the exile stored in the team's storage space had sent out a throbbing sensation through its tentacles.

The exile reacted this way because, earlier in the city of Bei in the Treeborn World, Su Xiao, while in the side chambers of the palace, had encountered the Abyssal Guardians in the passage leading to the great ruins.

At that time, Su Xiao's left arm was a crystal arm, and the exile had merged into it to enhance the crystal arm's agility, strength, and so on.

Back then, the situation was too dangerous, so Su Xiao only used his crystal arm to grab the Book of the Dead and flung it toward the Abyssal Guardian.

After losing an arm, the Abyssal Guardian fled, and Wood then welcomed a new father on behalf of the devil race.

Su Xiao also paid a price; at that time, after touching the Book of the Dead with his crystal left arm, the exile within the crystal arm underwent some kind of mutation, and from then on, he never used the exile again, fearing that contact between his spiritual power and the exile would cause a similar mutation.

The current situation confirms that Su Xiao's caution was correct—the Book of the Dead indeed has some connection with the exile; otherwise, it would not have appeared here.

The reason for the Book of the Dead's appearance is actually easy to understand: over these many years, the devil race has been impoverished by the calamity of the Abyssal Jar, and as the new father of the devil race, the Book of the Dead is deeply dissatisfied with this.

Previously, the Book of the Dead had clearly sensed, through its connection with the exile, that Su Xiao was fishing for an evil god, and felt that this was very good.

Although Su Xiao fishes for evil gods, he never fishes for ancient gods, mainly because ancient gods are too deceitful, and there is indeed a real possibility of hooking one that cannot be beaten, which would be embarrassing.

Su Xiao stared at the floating Book of the Dead ahead; regarding cooperation in fishing for the evil god, he certainly would not refuse, but he did not intend to agree immediately—at the very least, he wanted to reserve a few hours of buffer time.

"I'll give you a reply by noon at the latest."

Su Xiao spoke in a calm tone, always ready to activate Dragon Shadow Flash to retreat; whenever facing any "father-level" artifact, he would always respond with the highest vigilance—other things aside, the devil race's situation alone is enough to illustrate the terrifying power of "father-level" artifacts.

Su Xiao is indeed a Slayer of Laws and a Hunter, but this more so makes "father-level" artifacts dislike him and not stay by his side; it does not mean that "father-level" artifacts cannot kill him—on the contrary, with his current strength, though he has reached the level where he can make contact with "father-level" artifacts and even cooperate to a certain extent, these artifacts still pose a deadly risk to him.

Upon hearing Su Xiao's reply, the floating Book of the Dead gradually faded, leaving only exile fragments forming the shape of a book's framework, suspended motionless in midair—this clearly indicates that before noon, Su Xiao must give the Book of the Dead an answer here.

Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the ground, pondering in his mind how to deal with this matter and how to profit from it.

With the Book of the Dead involved in fishing for the evil god, our side fundamentally does not need to deploy combat forces, nor even set up traps like alchemy arrays; the Book of the Dead's meaning is actually quite clear: Su Xiao is responsible for luring the evil god into this world, and as for how to kill it afterward, he need not worry—the Book of the Dead will arrange that evil god.

Su Xiao has witnessed the frenzy of Mao Sheng and the clash of the Abyssal Jar, but he has truly never seen the power of the Book of the Dead; this time, he happens to be able to peek at it, to prevent future events from causing a falling-out with the Book of the Dead, and also to have some advance preparation—at the very least, knowing how to flee.

The problem is, luring an evil god is not simple; previously, Su Xiao fished for evil gods once because he had that evil god's finger, and another time by using 【Sacred Oak Wood】 to fish for the ancient divine spirit, Sacred Oak.

As for other items related to evil gods, in this regard, Su Xiao had Beini purchase them; the problem is, those items are at most only connected to evil gods, unlike 【Evil God's Tail Finger】 and 【Sacred Oak Wood】, which have the most direct connection with a particular evil god.

Without such a directly affiliated object, attempting to lure an evil god into this world is basically impossible, and those evil gods are not stupid.

While Su Xiao was pondering, a prompt appeared.

【Prompt: You have obtained 5000 soul coins.】

Su Xiao looked toward the morning light streaming in through the window; today is the seventh day since he entered this world, and it is time for the fame ranking settlement.

He currently has -32,600 fame points, temporarily ranking first, with Black Magic, Undead Sister, and Cain closely following behind.

Black Magic, Undead Sister, and Su Xiao are all negative fame, while this guy Cain makes people increasingly unable to guess—his teammates are all dead, yet his fame points have not slowed down; on the contrary, they have increased even faster than before, truly becoming a case of teammates sacrificing to heaven, with boundless magic power.

Or rather, Cain has completely torn off the "good team leader" mask, revealing the true face of an evil spirit—that is, he has begun to take things seriously, no longer like before, when he would coax the teammates in the Hall of Heroes into becoming step by step prey.

Cain's previous behavior style was basically: "Young man, want to join an adventuring team? SSS-level large adventuring team, after joining, everyone is one family—would you like to consider it?"

Aside from Cain's side, the priest's situation is also off; the priest's fame points never surge much, but in the past three days, the increase has not stopped, rising at a not-so-fast pace of 1 point, 1 point.

Currently, the priest's fame points have already exceeded 20,000, and the rate of increase is getting faster and faster—heaven knows what he has done on "Aoke Star."

Good and bad news mixed: the top five—Su Xiao, Black Magic, Cain, Undead Sister, and Priest—have fame points, whether positive or negative, all exceeding ten thousand, reaching the sixth place where the style shifts abruptly—Anonymous, that is, Lu Ge, who obtained 1200 fame points.

Judging only by the top five, it's really hard to say who will ultimately seize first place; Su Xiao's side needs no further comment—Black Magic, from beginning to now, has never stopped its devouring.

Undead Sister alone is like a legion; if she seizes a good opportunity, her fame points will absolutely plummet into negative explosion.

Cain and Priest's sides are both inscrutable—who knows what kind of trick they might pull.

One thing is quite interesting: Cain and Priest, these two peculiar fellows, actually have positive fame points, which is especially puzzling.

These two fellows—one is a madman who devours teammates, the other is a professional who pits teammates—their fame points are actually positive numbers; heaven is unjust.

Su Xiao closed the fame ranking; the usage interval of 【Sacred Oak Wood】 is also 48 hours; he took it out and, as before, sacrificed his charm attribute as payment to activate it.

【Prompt: You have obtained 1 golden skill point.】

Su Xiao has obtained a total of 4 golden skill points through 【Sacred Oak Wood】; the durability of this item still has 6 points left.

After putting away 【Sacred Oak Wood】, Su Xiao's thoughts returned to fishing for the evil god; based on his gradually accumulating experience in fishing for evil gods, what he currently lacks is an item directly affiliated with a particular evil god.

Such items, Su Xiao first thought of Caesar; he took out his communicator and contacted Caesar.

After a moment, Su Xiao hung up the communicator; Caesar's side was naturally willing to participate in this evil god fishing—this guy, as long as there is benefit, is definitely especially proactive.

The reasons for contacting Caesar are two: Caesar's connections are relatively broad, so he might have some evil god's affiliated item; furthermore, Caesar's arrival also represents the entry of the Abyssal Jar.

For Su Xiao, everything about the Book of the Dead is unknown; rather than entrusting his safety to an ancient, evil, and deceitful artifact, it is far better to find a force that can restrain it, from which he can maneuver.

Su Xiao estimates that the power of the Book of the Dead and the Abyssal Jar are likely evenly matched; if so, the arrival of the Abyssal Jar will definitely restrain the Book of the Dead.

Although the Abyssal Jar will take away a large share of the benefits, Su Xiao firmly believes one thing: when one should not be greedy, one must know how to choose and let go.

Contacting Caesar also has another benefit: when luring the evil god later, Su Xiao, Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang, and Bahu are all unsuitable, especially Su Xiao, whose aura is likely to trigger the evil god's vigilance.

Caesar is different; his aura carries no threat at all, and he can fully perform an evolved version of the immortal's leap, letting the evil god experience the "goblin jump."

Su Xiao increasingly feels this plan is feasible; he dispatched only the host to go to the ancient ruins to meet Caesar.

After more than half an hour, the fully translucent host descended, and Caesar walked out from within; his steps were hurried, clearly showing he was especially interested in fishing for the evil god.

Inside the wooden tower, Caesar had just sat down when he picked up the snack tray; for free food he could eat, he would never let it pass.

"My dear friend, it's regrettable—I don't have the kind of item you mentioned; that kind of good thing, I once obtained it before, but I've already used it up."

Caesar felt great pain; if he had known earlier about this, that item would definitely not have been used.

"Used up? Did you complete a sacrifice with the evil god?"

Bahu was somewhat surprised; such evil god-affiliated items are generally not used by ordinary people.

"Yes, we conducted a fair exchange."

Caesar gave a treacherous smile; last time, he had offered his hemorrhoids as a sacrifice to the evil god, and presumably that evil god is now probing Caesar's whereabouts.

The problem still lies in the affiliated item; without this affiliated item, nothing can be done at this time.

Su Xiao sat on the chair by the window, watching the gradually constructed "Brutal Cannon Tower" ahead; the Empire and the Company side, this time very trustworthy, even before dawn, had sent 1,050,000 units of life ore, and the mother nest had totally converted it into 10,500,000 points of biological energy.

These 10.5 million points of bio-energy are nearly exhausted, with a total of 53 "Brutal Turrets" currently under construction; in about ten to fifteen minutes, they will all be completed.

Taking this morning as the reference point, Su Xiao inspected the defensive forces of his own hive.

Demon Beasts: 101,950.

Solar Flame Dragons: 1,300.

Lord-tier Demon Flame Dragons: 1.

Insectoid Scientists: 1.

Brutal Turrets: 75.

……

Everything of our main base is situated on a fungal mat with a diameter of 5 kilometers; around this circular fungal mat, Brutal Turrets are arranged in a ring.

Currently, the spacing between each Brutal Turret is somewhat wide; once the number of Brutal Turrets reaches 200, the distance between them will be approximately 48.5 meters, plus the city walls formed by biological tissue, making the defense impregnable and providing a strong sense of security.

The remaining 125 Brutal Turrets require 25 million points of bio-energy to be constructed; moreover, afterward, even more expensive Plasma Defense Towers need to be built, as well as enhancing combat power against all Demon Beasts, which would require 40 million points of bio-energy—such resource demands are too great.

Regarding the development of the main base, in Su Xiao's view, the current stage has entered a bottleneck; before the Netherworld invasion, our side's resources can at most complete the construction of 200 Brutal Turrets.

Further development beyond this can only depend on whether there is a turning point after the Netherworld invasion; given the current situation, if one wishes to obtain more bio-energy, hunting supernatural beings would be futile—only by raiding the Empire or the Corporation could it be achieved.

However, once one goes to those two sides to raid, turning hostile and engaging in battle is inevitable; under the circumstances of the impending Netherworld invasion, initiating an internal conflict beforehand is no different from courting death.

Therefore, Su Xiao feels that the current development speed has entered a bottleneck, or perhaps a limit; the only good news is that the fungal mat underwent transformation after Ji La advanced to Sovereign-tier.

Whether this time we can withstand the Netherworld forces' assault mainly hinges on one point: whether the fungal mat can absorb Netherworld-tier杂兵 and thereby convert them into bio-energy.

If not, our side can only rely on the source ore beneath the main base to hold out here, defending until the main quest is completed or the time limit of this world's progress is reached.

If the fungal mat can absorb the corpses of Netherworld-tier entities, then once a certain amount has accumulated in our hive, Su Xiao will take a risk and have Ji La advance beyond Sovereign-tier to Overlord-tier; after that, he will launch a counteroffensive against the Netherworld forces.

No one stipulates that this time we can only passively endure attacks; Su Xiao's ultimate goal is to counterattack, and for this, he has already begun preparations.

Ji La entered this world initially as a Queen-tier, then advanced to Mother Emperor-tier, and now to Overlord-tier; during this period, the hive has enjoyed three evolutions in total.

These three evolutions, logically speaking, should have produced more Insectoid troop types and Insectoid structures.

What is the result? The new troop types are only jellyfish and hosts—units without combat power; as for the Solar Flame Dragon, it was developed by Su Xiao, not appearing due to the hive's evolution.

As for new Insectoid structures, there are none at all; sensing towers, Ji La spiral towers, and the like are all Insectoid architectural genes we already possessed; the only newly added research room is still an organ of the hive, not a standalone Insectoid structure.

Making an intuitive analogy, the hive's acquisition of three evolution opportunities is equivalent to gaining 30 evolution points; logically, combat troop types should gain 10 points, Insectoid structures 10 points, and the final 10 points should be added to resource extraction.

Su Xiao, however, added none of these; regarding combat troop types, he plundered the gene banks of other Insectoid Mother Emperors, continuously enhancing the Demon Beasts and Flame Dragons through warfare—even without using "evolution points," they are equally powerful.

As for resource extraction, he directly captured the Spider Queen, also without consuming "evolution points."

Where did this heap of "evolution points" go? The answer is, Su Xiao dumped them all onto the fungal mat; whether this plan succeeds or not still mainly depends on the fungal mat.

Su Xiao is not worried that the Netherworld faction consists entirely of dead matter; according to the priest's intelligence, those Imperial citizens eroded by Netherworld power are likewise flesh and blood, merely undergoing painful mutation, with their intellect completely eroded.

Looking from another angle, these monsters are still biological entities, only they are no longer human but Netherworld-tier beings; since they are biological, as long as the fungal mat is strong enough to absorb and generate bio-energy, it is still possible.

Having confirmed that the main base's development currently has no room for improvement, Su Xiao's thoughts turn to fishing for evil gods; this time, fishing for evil gods using the Book of the Dead and the Abyssal Jar, from a certain perspective, is also a backup plan.

If our main base truly cannot withstand the Netherworld assault, using the Book of the Dead or the Abyssal Jar, taking Ji La, Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang, Am, and Bahar to leave Pandora Star would be an unavoidable choice; losing once is better than dying here, and moreover, as long as Ji La does not die, there may still be a chance to turn the tide later.

Currently, the most reliable way to obtain evil god-related items is to purchase them within the World Contact Platform; Su Xiao opened the World Contact Platform to speak.

Bai Ye (Cycle Paradise): "High-price purchase of evil god-related items."

Biting Cat (Watch Paradise): "Boss, long time no see, do you still remember me?"

Bai Ye (Cycle Paradise): "Hmm."

Anonymous (Initiation Paradise): "Is anyone still collecting evil god-related items? This thing's only use isn't selling it to the Paradise, is it?"

Priest (Holy Domain Paradise): "Actually, it can also be eaten."

Anonymous (Initiation Paradise): "?"

Biting Cat (Watch Paradise): "Forcing a smile while watching the terrifying remarks upstairs."

Goat Man (Death Paradise): "The priest has been missing for a long time; be careful he stirs up trouble."

Liliya (Holy Light Paradise): "Goat Man, big shot, does the team still need a hanging accessory? Count me in."

Diviner (Holy Light Paradise): "May the Holy Light guide you."

Snow Monster (Death Paradise): "We don't need the Holy Light's guidance."

Goat Man (Death Paradise): "Isn't the Hall of Heroes destroyed except for Cain? How come this thing didn't die together?"

Anonymous (Initiation Paradise): "Previously, the Silver Pheasant expelled him from the group; he refused to accept it and even argued with the Silver Pheasant here."

Snow Monster (Death Paradise): "Hah, without me, they really are incapable—look, the group was wiped out."

Biting Cat (Watch Paradise): "If we're talking about shamelessness, I'd willingly call you the strongest."

Cain (Death Paradise): "Although the Hall of Heroes suffered heavy blows, it was not completely wiped out; currently recruiting contractors from the Death Paradise side as new members, after joining they can enjoy..."

Snow Monster (Death Paradise): "Team leader, I... can I rejoin the team? Please."

Cain (Death Paradise): "Let this not happen again; in the future, handle matters with more restraint."

Snow Monster (Death Paradise): "Thank you, team leader!"

Goat Man (Death Paradise): "You idiot."

Cain (Death Paradise): "Goat Man, are you insulting my team members?"

Goat Man (Death Paradise): "No, I just farted; don't mind it, I apologize."

Biting Cat (Watch Paradise): "Why are you being timid on the contact platform? Anyway, you can't hit anything."

……

As the saying goes, kind words cannot persuade the damned ghost; previously, the Snow Monster was expelled from the Hall of Heroes and did not die, but now is preparing to rejoin the Hall of Heroes for the second time.

Facing this situation, Cain is actually very welcoming; in fact, if it weren't for the Silver Pheasant's firm stance, Cain would not have agreed to expel the Snow Monster from the team; sometimes he really needs pig teammates.

For a team, pig teammates are deeply resented, but for a slaughterhouse, pig teammates are welcome; the pork obtained after slaughtering will only taste better.

Su Xiao closed the contact platform; he originally wanted to purchase evil god-related items, but the topic gradually drifted off, and after Cain's speech, Su Xiao knew that no one would pay attention to the purchase content above afterward.

Since there's no hope here, I can only go to the Empire and try my luck; in this regard, Su Xiao doesn't hold high hopes, for the Empire is arrogant toward mysticism and dismissive in attitude, destined that not many such items will be kept there.

As Su Xiao picked up the communicator to contact the Empire side, he received a temporary message: someone had contacted him through his remarks on the World Contact Platform, offering soul currency as payment, and that person turned out to be Morel.

Morel's message was simple: she has an item related to an evil god, but she won't sell it; no wonder she's called "Skin-Breaking Leg."

Morel isn't just joking around—she wants to ask Su Xiao why he's collecting such items; from her attitude, there are many hidden circumstances involved.

Su Xiao's reply was simple: let Morel come to our headquarters for a talk; normally, Morel wouldn't walk into a trap willingly, but just an hour ago, Su Xiao had released her, the Moon Envoy, and the Rich Sister.

This would make Morel and her two companions feel that the Sun Holy Nest isn't so dangerous—exactly the effect Su Xiao wanted; later, when the Netherworld invasion comes, those three will have nowhere to hide and will have to obediently pay money to take refuge in the Sun Holy Nest.

Su Xiao waited over forty minutes on the first floor of the wooden tower; Morel and the Moon Envoy walked in, while Rich Sister's whereabouts are unknown, due to both fear of having her blood drawn and preventing the three from being caught in one sweep by Su Xiao.

"Do you have an evil god-related item?"

Su Xiao stared at Morel opposite him; Morel said nothing, but tapped the Moon Envoy's back, signaling her to respond.

"It's like this..."

The Moon Envoy gritted her teeth and began explaining: as a summoning specialist, she frequently encounters divine beings—benevolent gods, neutral gods, evil gods, and evil gods—but never ancient gods, as she doesn't wish to court death.

Earlier, the Moon Envoy contacted a group of evil gods through a "Spirit Medium Summoned Beast"—indeed, a group.

This group of evil gods shares a common trait: they possess within them a malevolent power called "Fallen God Blood," which is why they gather together.

The "Fallen God Blood" of these evil gods, when diluted, can be accepted by humans or other intelligent races, at the cost of a terrible price; after becoming slaves, they can gain certain power—either to control blood, corrupt blood, or strengthen their own blood, etc.

The Moon Envoy's purpose that time was to find a new neutral or benevolent deity to trade with; though risky, the rewards were high—but unfortunately, she stumbled into the evil gods' lair.

Had it not been for the Moon Goddess protecting her, the Moon Envoy would have fared poorly even if not completely ruined; though she escaped this calamity, she lost considerable equipment.

The Moon Envoy came here this time to test Su Xiao's intent in seeking evil god-related items—what exactly he plans to do—and whether she could take the opportunity to send those evil gods a "greeting," given that her past experience left her with some trauma.

The Moon Envoy produced a palm-sized scrap of cloth; around it floated tiny blood droplets, and a strong stench of blood assailed the face, even causing dizziness and blurred vision.

"This is an item related to an evil god, known as the Primordial·Fuerde, one of the Four Pillars Gods of the 'Initial Divine Temple.'"

The Moon Envoy's revealed information was substantial; beside her, Bahu asked: "Initial Divine Temple? Four Pillars Gods? What are these things?"

"The Initial Divine Temple is a major force with many followers, and the Four Pillars Gods are its four most powerful evil gods."

Upon reaching this point, the Moon Envoy pressed again: "You still haven't said what you need the evil god-related items for."

"To lure evil gods."

"Ah?"

The Moon Envoy stared blankly at Bahu; though she could understand each word individually, when combined, she didn't grasp the meaning.

"Just like fishing—hook non-human-shaped evil gods, which come with kill rewards and can be used as food; human-shaped ones aren't eaten to avoid affecting appetite, but can be cold-stored as materials for battle diagrams, with many uses."

Hearing Bahu say this, the Moon Envoy became even more confused; after all, the idea of stir-frying evil god hearts with chili peppers simply doesn't exist in her knowledge.

"After talking so long, name your price."

Bahu raised his head, meaning this was truly a business deal, no force would be used, so Morel and the Moon Envoy needn't worry.

"I'll give it to you."

The Moon Envoy presented the torn cloth in her hand—sell this item? No, the Moon Envoy isn't short of money; she'd rather see the Four Pillars Gods of the 'Initial Divine Temple' dealt with.

Everything is ready; only a suitable location remains—east side's ancient ruins, a decent spot.

Su Xiao went upstairs, opened the wooden box in his hand, displayed the scrap inside, and the Book of the Dead appeared within the exile-formed frame; the next second, the Book of the Dead floated to Su Xiao's rear.

Su Xiao stowed the exile, turned, and went downstairs; moments later, Su Xiao, Caesar, Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang, Bahu, Morel, and the Moon Envoy mounted a single host and headed east toward the ancient ruins.

This time, Morel and the Moon Envoy are just tagging along—eating snacks and watching the show all the way; the Book of the Dead and the Abyssal Jar will wait until the Primordial·Fuerde is lured over, then one side will fully drag it into this world, while the other handles its annihilation.

Su Xiao is responsible for setting up the scene to make it sufficiently attractive; as for Caesar, he's the main character of this operation—goblin jumping entirely relies on him.

One hour later, in the abandoned main hall at the center of the ancient ruins, the doors and windows are sealed, pitch black inside; the ground is etched with concentric patterns filled with blood, and around each pattern ring, candles are placed, creating a strong sense of evil ritual.

At the center of the patterns, clad in black robes and wearing a strange headdress, Caesar kneels, babbling in goblin tongue and bowing repeatedly; around his neck is a large necklace he made himself, strung from soul crystal cores—such a wasteful act, one glance tells you he's a "rich fool."

What evil god could resist such temptation?

A hidden micro-monitoring device in the corner transmits everything happening in the main hall in real time to a stone house kilometers away, now shrouded in a black mist.

Morel and the Moon Envoy stare at their terminals; the Moon Envoy appears slightly tense, and she whispers to Morel: "Won't there be any problems?"

"I've analyzed it—absolutely not."

Morel spoke with extraordinary certainty, glancing at Su Xiao, as well as the Book of the Dead and Abyssal Jar floating beside him, and adding Caesar in the main hall—this lineup is certainly not just for catching one evil god; it's very likely to lure one, kill it, and immediately have the next victim step forward in dazzling fashion.