Chapter 3649

In the dilapidated yet magnificent temple, Su Xiao had drunk the Vitality Essence to restore his life points, but his entire body still felt waves of numbness, dark attribute energy raging within him.

Fortunately, Su Xiao was the Shadow of Annihilation; his cyan steel shadow energy possessed a strong energy-devouring property, otherwise, even if he had defeated the Abyss Archbishop, he would have died in the subsequent erosion of dark energy.

Su Xiao looked toward the direction of Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang and Bahamut; the insect warriors that Bahamut had held back earlier, after the death of the Abyss Archbishop, had no idea where they had rushed off to, clearly not preparing to continue fighting here, Su Xiao did not let Bahamut pursue, as it held little meaning and carried high risk.

Su Xiao endured the intense pain throughout his body as much as possible, rose, sat cross-legged in meditation, using his cyan steel shadow energy to devour and annihilate the darkness that had invaded his vitality, clearing about one-tenth of it as quickly as possible to ensure he was not in mortal danger, then he ended his meditation, rose, and walked toward the Abyss Archbishop.

When Su Xiao stopped beside the Abyss Archbishop, he found the opponent reduced to skin and bone, with a puddle of skin-like, beast-like black substance nearby—this should be the indestructible trait·Abyss spawn after being stripped of its source energy.

What is the Abyss Archbishop? It is the indestructible trait·Abyss spawn + Platinum Archbishop + Abyss Leader·Silvis + Hatred, fused together, forming the Abyss Archbishop.

This is also why the Abyss Archbishop became so powerful; in this battle, Su Xiao could win due to many factors, but the greatest reason was that Su Xiao did not choose to drag things out with the Abyss Leader·Silvis in the Ghost City, but instead, upon arriving at the Ghost City and just stabilizing his footing, chose to launch a surprise attack.

This led to the newly fused Abyss Archbishop exhibiting the following disadvantages:

1. He had not had time to use the Abyss Hole to summon large numbers of dark creatures or Abyss spawn, failing to unleash the terrifying methods of the Abyss Summoning flow.

2. His body and soul had just successfully fused; various abilities were not yet particularly familiar, making mistakes in battle inevitable.

3. He had not yet fully devoured the soul of the Platinum Archbishop, resulting in an inability to frequently use sun-based abilities, and his recovery and countermeasures were greatly weakened.

4. Because the fusion had just been completed, the beastly nature of the indestructible trait·Abyss spawn was intense, placing him in his most irritable phase, which is why, at the end, upon discovering Su Xiao attempting to retreat, he chose to charge at Su Xiao—proven by the fact that even an Abyss Summoner cannot actively charge at a practitioner of the Three Techniques of Annihilation.

These factors combined, Su Xiao still fought perilously; is his combat strength weak? To be precise, no—against an enemy like the Abyss Archbishop, such a being simply should not exist in this world.

Su Xiao narrowed his perception range to enhance his perception, but felt no trace of the Platinum Archbishop's aura; evidently, the Platinum Archbishop was already gone. Upon realizing this, he clasped his hands together in the air, activating the Soul-Eater talent, still only stripping away soul memories for viewing, not absorbing them.

Even the soul memories of the Sand King, Su Xiao refrained from absorbing due to danger; this one, however, was even more lethal—he could be certain that if he absorbed the soul memories of the Abyss Archbishop, whether he would grow stronger was unknown, but being severely eroded by the Abyss was certain.

A sphere filled with black, flocculent structures appeared between Su Xiao's hands; he began stripping away fragments of soul memories for viewing—most were scenes of the Sun God Sect and battles against Abyss creatures, while others were pitch black, within which a faintly glowing purple creature could be seen swimming; merely seeing this memory image caused a chilling dread in the heart, a fear rising from the depths of the soul, as if it were about to spread outward.

If I am not mistaken, this is the soul memory of the indestructible trait·Abyss spawn, and the massive glowing purple creature swimming in the darkness should be a terrifying entity among the Abyss spawn.

Continuing to view the soul memories, after several minutes, Su Xiao finally found the image he sought: a vast, boundless forest, lush and teeming with flora and fauna; at its deepest point stood a forest cabin.

A figure in loose clothing, with a full head of gray-white long hair, sat before the cabin, his posture casual, holding a bottle of wine, wearing round-rimmed glasses; though aged, he possessed exceptional male charm, his muscles weakened by age, yet from his frame one could tell he had once been a man of formidable physique; most striking were his eyes, which held a sharp gleam—just one glance, and Su Xiao judged this man must be a swordsmanship grandmaster.

This is none other than the traitor, or rather, Su Xiao's greatest enemy in this world: the Shadow of the Abyss.

Su Xiao continued examining the soul memories, discovering this should be from several months prior; suddenly, the soul sphere in his hands exploded—this is normal, such soul spheres gathered after slaying an enemy do not last long.

The soul sphere rapidly dispersed; Su Xiao had just prepared to check the newly appeared kill notification, but felt a wave of Abyss aura coming toward him—it was a small black sphere remaining after the soul sphere's outer layer dissipated, about the size of a marble, with a slightly illusory texture, as if condensed from a mass of darkness.

Su Xiao held it aloft with an open palm; upon sensing it, he discovered this object was some dark knowledge about the Abyss, preserved using soul energy as a medium.

Undoubtedly, this dark knowledge is ancient and powerful, but mastering it leads to mental madness and distortion, causing the whole person to go mad—this is the best outcome; worse, one might undergo bodily and spiritual mutation into a monster.

Su Xiao's thought was: if he could survive and return to the Reincarnation Paradise this time, he would visit the Soul Library to see if this dark knowledge could be made safe to master; if not, he would sell it to the Soul Library, which should fetch a large sum of library silver coins.

Taking out a charcoal box, Su Xiao, without touching the black sphere, placed it inside, then began applying multiple seals—this area, Su Xiao was already highly professional in; it was not that he wished to master this ability, but with the Three Original Sin Objects at his side, his sealing ability had to be professional and strong.

After doing all this, Su Xiao checked the kill notification that had just appeared.

【Notification: You have slain the Abyss Archbishop·Silvis.】

【You obtained 6120 Soul Coins.】

【You obtained Golden Skill Points ×2.】

【You obtained 32.8% World Origin.】

【You obtained Dark Wriggling (Abyss·Ritual Object).】

【You obtained Abyss Treasure Chest (upon opening, has a chance to yield Abyss products).】

……

Seeing the notification for the Abyss Treasure Chest, Su Xiao subconsciously furrowed his brow—this was indeed a rare good thing, obtainable only by slaying powerful Abyss creatures or strong beings with Abyss traits, but the problem was, he had already opened two "Dad-tier" items from Abyss Treasure Chests, and he truly did not want to open a third.

The 【Abyss Treasure Chest】 gives a special feeling—if luck is good, any treasure can be drawn; if bad, original sin objects are assigned, with both great wealth and terrible misfortune lying within.

Compared to the 【Abyss Treasure Chest】, Su Xiao was more interested in the 【Dark Wriggling】, which is a black liquid of collective wriggling, containing scattered specks of crimson granules; upon checking its attributes, he found only a brief introduction.

【Dark Wriggling (Abyss·Ritual Object): Can greatly enhance the success rate of summoning or sacrifice (minimum increase of 35%, maximum of 70%); if not worried about angering the summoned entity, it can also greatly disguise the value of sacrificial offerings and the summoning scene.】

Undoubtedly, for summoning practitioners, this item is a rare treasure; outside of combat, the biggest headache for summoners is failing to summon powerful combat beasts—with this, they can completely bluff their way into summoning such beasts, especially within the Paradise, where they need not worry about the summoned beasts turning on them, the worst being a failed contract, which carries little risk.

But in Su Xiao's view, this item should not be used for summoning combat beasts—it is practically a divine tool for fishing out evil gods: first, prepare an evil god-related tool or material, then construct a proper summoning/descension diagram, place the evil god-related items upon it.

Then use the 【Dark Wriggling】 to disguise everything—whether sacrificial offerings or the sacrificial scene—wait for the evil god to descend, and the subsequent steps need not be elaborated.

Su Xiao quite satisfiedly put away the 【Dark Wriggling】, focused his mind, sat in stillness, and after eliminating over seventy percent of the darkness within his body, he rose and came before the Abyss Hole, activating the corresponding seal permit.

Click-click-click~

Black-red chains appeared behind Su Xiao, climbing up his right arm; after receiving the blessing of the Reincarnation Paradise, he pressed his palm toward the Abyss Hole with one hand.

Boom!

In Su Xiao's ears, it was as if a muffled thunder rang out; amidst the intertwining of dark and white light threads, the Abyss Hole before him gradually contracted, growing smaller and smaller, until it vanished completely; before vanishing, it seemed to emit a 'pop' sound, as if something had been snapped—this sensation was like snapping a thread, an invisible line that had spread from within this world, through the Abyss Hole, into the Abyss itself.

The thumb-thick black-red chains on Su Xiao's right arm contracted one by one, finally disappearing entirely into the air behind him; he tried to grasp that invisible line just now, but grasped nothing.

A muffled thunderous boom came from afar, rubble and dust falling from above; having endured the earlier battle, this temple could not last much longer; before the temple collapsed, Su Xiao picked up the remains of the indestructible trait·Abyss spawn from the ground, left the Abyss Archbishop's corpse in place, then walked outward along the upward steps.

All the way along the underground passage, Su Xiao arrived before a stone door; Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang pulled the mechanism lever, and the stone door slowly opened; looking outward, it seemed to be a side hall of an underground palace.

Entering the side hall, Su Xiao found the place very clean; a few hours ago, someone should still have been living here; a stack of scrolls on the low table caught his attention; he picked up one scroll and opened it, discovering it was actually a secret transmission of the Sun God Sect.

Su Xiao estimated this should have been the place where the red-eyed girl was previously imprisoned; interestingly, the Platinum Archbishop, the Abyss Leader·Silvis, and Hatred, due to various reasons, were in opposition to each other, yet all three paid special attention to this lone descendant of the Sun God Sect, the red-eyed girl.

When Su Xiao reached the upper level of the gloomy cathedral, at the main gate before him, the melee was exceptionally brutal, with the members of the Dark God Sect led by the Resentful Ghost Archbishop being especially ferocious.

Boom! Boom!

One loud bang after another came from ahead; Su Xiao did not prepare to strike again; he needed to quickly clear the dark energy within his body, and fortunately, quelling the melee here did not necessarily require his intervention.

Su Xiao threw the remains of the Abyss spawn in his hand; this remnant, like the fur of a black beast, landed with a slap near the Resentful Ghost Archbishop; the latter initially paid no attention, still preparing to strike, but suddenly sensed Su Xiao's aura, causing him to immediately halt, first looking toward Su Xiao standing within the main gate, then shifting his gaze to the remains on the ground—this clever and ferocious fellow turned and fled without hesitation.

In such a melee, as one of the main forces, the Resentful Ghost Archbishop fled, and the other Dark God Sect members realized something was wrong; just then, terrified shouts came from behind the Dark God Sect members: "Run! The leader lord has fallen, the Resentful Ghost Archbishop has run!"

Upon hearing this shout, all the Dark God Sect members turned toward the dark-aura-emitting remains; after a moment, they all fled in utter disarray.

Tasha ordered her subordinates to prohibit pursuit—this was a correct choice, not because she wanted to let these people go, but because pursuing now would inevitably drive these fellows to desperation; it was better to let them flee first, as one could imagine these Dark God Sect members would likely turn on each other afterward, or at least split into several groups, or even act alone.

Tasha's subordinates were the Hunter Squad, most skilled in tracking, and moreover, the surroundings of Ghost City were all hazardous terrain, making pursuit easier afterward; these Dark God Sect members, few could escape the Hunter Squad's tracking.

Two hours later, on the spacious terrace of the upper level of the gloomy cathedral, Su Xiao sat cross-legged in meditation, simultaneously using his cyan steel shadow energy to clear the dark energy within his body; it did not take long, and the dark energy within his body was completely cleared.

Su Xiao finished his meditation, exhaling a mouthful of turbid qi, his injuries largely healed and the dark energy cleared, leaving him feeling much more at ease. At that moment, footsteps came from behind—it was Tasha, who took off her shoes and walked onto the terrace's blanket.

Tasha, holding lunch in her hands, sat diagonally behind Su Xiao. After setting down the tray, for some unknown reason, she suddenly leaned forward, pressing her body against his back. Her left arm first rested on his shoulder, then wrapped around his neck. Noticing this, Su Xiao inhaled deeply and then held his breath.

In the next instant, Tasha suddenly locked her arms around Su Xiao's neck, her legs entwining his waist, forming a perfect rear naked choke.

"You bastard! You let my sister enter the Nightmare Manor—today I'm fighting you to the death!"

"..."

Su Xiao remained unusually calm; his resistance to this technique was extremely high.

"Speak! Why did you choose my sister?"

"Miss Tasha, with you choking me like this, my boss can't say anything."

"I know—I did it on purpose."

Tasha released the choke, then fell silent for a moment before asking: "Give me a reason—why did you choose my sister for the Nightmare Manor?"

"No reason. Chi Hong and your sister—each chose the other."

"So you mean my sister went to that ill-fated manor willingly?"

Tasha's gaze still held a hint of disbelief.

"No, I tricked her into going."

"You..."

Tasha was so angry her eyes twitched, then she shook her head with a laugh and said: "My sister isn't stupid enough to fall for that—spit it out, what did you give her?"

"..."

Su Xiao said nothing, merely pulling out Elisa's resource supply list. Tasha stared at the long list of potions and their effects, plus the various grandmaster-level secret records. After hesitating, she restrained herself, but moments later, she asked with a hint of probing:

"Actually, I still have considerable room for growth. Is that Devourer still idle? Give me one too, plus everything on the list—I want a full set. I don't want the sword secret manual; I want energy control."

"..."

Su Xiao remained silent, clearly unwilling to entertain Tasha's attempt to freeload.

"My sister—she won't die, will she?"

"I don't know."

"Tch."

Tasha looked conflicted, said nothing more, and clearly wasn't prepared to keep indulging and protecting her sister, because she knew that without facing external dangers, one could never become strong.

Tasha stayed a while before leaving; afterward, she was the busiest person. Su Xiao continued his eyes-closed meditation, waiting for the outcome of the contention battle while also considering one matter: the whereabouts of the traitor.

According to the soul memory's vision, it was a vast forest. In this world, only one forest of that scale exists—the "Baal Great Forest," adjacent to the Saint Lan Kingdom. Its area is only slightly less than the Northern Border, larger than both the Saint Lan Kingdom and the Alliance, and it is the domain of the beastfolk.

As for it being beastfolk territory, there's no need to consider it further—the beastfolk dare not provoke the traitor, nor have they heard of anyone leading them. It seems the traitor simply doesn't deign to bother with such matters.

At this stage, Su Xiao will not only avoid seeking the traitor but will also guard against a possible attack, because the Dragon-Slaying Flash has just devoured the origin of an immortal trait·abyss-spawning creature, requiring 3 to 10 days to complete the digestion, during which he cannot use the Magic Blade ability.

Even at his peak, Su Xiao's chances of defeating the traitor are low. If he were to face the traitor while unable to use the Magic Blade, he would surely die.

Moreover, once the Dragon-Slaying Flash finishes this devouring, its power will significantly increase—undoubtedly improving his odds against the traitor.

Time passed quickly in meditation. As nightfall approached, a prompt about the contention battle appeared.

【Prompt: The combatant Elisa, under your command, has slain the manor's owner, the Female Count.】

【Elisa obtained the "Underground Palace Key".】

【As the victor of the first stage, the Hunter faction leader, you may choose one from the following supplies.】

1. Abyssal Sediment (2 ounces).

2. Supply Crate ×1.

……

Su Xiao naturally chose the first option—an irregularly shaped crystal appeared, which he caught with one hand. Inside the transparent crystal, sealed within, was a dark, viscous semi-fluid—exactly the "Abyssal Sediment."

Su Xiao used these "Abyssal Sediments" to exchange for 20 "Sediment Glazes" in the Abyssal Shop, precisely because he didn't want to bear the risk of holding "Abyssal Sediment"—this substance is far more dangerous than Abyssal Energy.

Checking the current status of the contention battle: originally five teams, now only four remain—the Juggernaut Family team was wiped out, losing eligibility to continue. Moreover, due to their long-standing collusion with the Dark God Cult, they will almost certainly be dealt with by Tasha afterward.

Remaining are: Dark Team's Black A+Vivi, Alliance Team's Tasha, Merchant Alliance Team's Lu. Tis (Sun Apostle), and the Ghost Clan's Fuen and Necromancer.

Among everyone, Black A has slain 10 enemies, Elisa 2, Lu. Tis (Sun Apostle) 0, and the Ghost Clan's Fuen and Necromancer also 0 each.

This situation is unsurprising—though Tasha appears to hold the World Ring plus a potion set and sword secret manual, the main factor boosting combat power is actually the potions; the World Ring requires accumulation, and the sword secret manual needs time to comprehend.

In contrast, Black A first absorbed large amounts of Abyssal Energy specially treated by the Abyssal Leader·Silvester, then obtained the "Abyssal Fall" sword—both are massive combat boosts. Thus, among the remaining combatants, Black A is the absolute ceiling of power, as demonstrated by him single-handedly crushing the Juggernaut Family team in a one-sided duel.

Ultimately, who wins isn't about who obtains the "Ancient Emblem" inside the Underground Palace or wins the final battle. For the three Devourers, whoever gains the 【Life Source Essence Aggregation Crystal】 from Su Xiao is the true victor—because this item can remove all bindings from a Devourer.

Su Xiao meditated a moment longer, but fatigue from his death battle with the Abyssal Archbishop crept in, so he simply broke off meditation, leapt onto the dragon's back, and returned to the main camp to rest.

When the morning sun rose the next day, Su Xiao sat up from bed. Due to his death battle with the Abyssal Archbishop, several spots on his body where the dark mark had erupted still felt faintly numb—he would need at least two or three days of rest to recover.

After washing up, Su Xiao felt exceptionally refreshed. He checked the contention battle progress and the situation in the Underground Palace beneath the manor—he couldn't know the details, but could see that Black A, Elisa, and the Sun Apostle had already approached the final boss of the Underground Palace, the family patriarch, on whom the "Ancient Emblem" was worn—this is the origin of all misfortune.

Seeing the progress had reached this point, Su Xiao mounted the Storm Flame Dragon. He didn't bring Drey, Silver Face, etc., because, as members of his faction's notary body, they cannot act against combatants. Taking them to the High Wall area would be useless, so he only brought Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang and Bahamut—more accurately, Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang and Bahamut wanted to come.

Cloud mist rushed past on both sides at high speed. After a brief flight, the Storm Flame Dragon landed behind the high wall surrounding the old district—this is the sole exit of the Underground Palace.

Su Xiao descended along the dragon's wing and found that, aside from Tasha not having arrived, the other Hunter Squad members were basically present, standing in a loose semi-arc before the fog gate on the city wall ahead.

In theory, all five factions of the contention battle should be here—but the Juggernaut Family team has been eliminated, and they're having trouble there, so naturally they won't come. The Ghost Clan is similarly situated, while the Merchant Alliance did send people—though they stood left and right of the Hunter Squad members, politely asking whether they had ties to the Dark God Cult.

In the Ghost City, any faction able to stand firm basically has some connection to the Dark God Cult—either colluding or mutually exploiting.

Thus, this Merchant Guild representative, under the "friendly" questioning of the Hunter Squad members, slipped away citing poor health. As for the Dark God Cult faction, it's even less likely anyone would come here.

Su Xiao sat on the chair brought by Tasha's deputy, began waiting silently for the contention battle's result. Time passed in waiting, feeling somewhat drawn out.

With a whoosh, the fog gate rippled—Elisa burst out in a few steps, leaving droplets of blood on the ground along the way. She didn't care about the surrounding people, instead taking out a bandage, simply wrapping her wound, then gripping the sheathed long sword and waiting for Black A at the fog gate.

From Elisa's gaze, it was clear the "Ancient Emblem" wasn't with her. She and Black A had just defeated the Underground Palace's great boss, the family patriarch—but then the Sun Apostle appeared, seized the "Ancient Emblem," and vanished—truly a seamless move.

Under these circumstances, Elisa and Black A naturally wouldn't let the Sun Apostle go—but upon giving chase, they discovered the Sun Apostle was a decoy; the "Ancient Emblem" was recovered, but all the ancestral secret treasures Black A had obtained were stolen by the Sun Apostle.

When Elisa and Black A chose to pursue the Sun Apostle, they discovered something: the Sun Apostle had actually joined the Monster faction, allied with several manor and Underground Palace minor bosses, plus a large horde of monsters.

"Well, correct choice, they'll have to leave the underground palace sooner or later, you just need to block the door, neither of them can escape."

Bahar spoke, and Elisa, who was receiving treatment from the hunter team members, pulled out a black clay jar from her backpack; seeing this, Su Xiao, Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Ignoring Bubu Wang, and Bahar's gazes all became solemn.

"I didn't obtain the 'Ancient Emblem,' but I got this; this thing was hidden deep inside the underground palace, so it should be useful, right? On my way out, all the monsters chased me because of this jar."

Elisa handed over the clay jar; Su Xiao, with crystal layers clinging to his hand, confirmed it was merely a specially made clay jar containing 7 ounces of 'Abyssal Sediment,' and chose to put it away—this thing really does resemble the Abyssal Jar.

Su Xiao glanced at the progress of the battle for supremacy, still showing ongoing; ending the battle for supremacy is simple: among the five factions participating in this battle for supremacy, whichever faction's leader or representative obtains the 'Ancient Emblem' wins; currently, the 'Ancient Emblem' is in Black A's hands.

"That is to say, it's that guy called Black A who injured you?"

A man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, smiling softly, asked Elisa; upon hearing, Elisa hesitated for a moment, looked at Su Xiao, saw that Su Xiao ignored her, then looked at Bahar, Bahar nodded, seeing this, Elisa also nodded.

Elisa naturally didn't know these hunter team members; the two hunter members she knew, namely Tisha's two assistants, were not present at the moment, busy helping Tisha at the Gloomy Cathedral handle various affairs.

Although Elisa didn't know the hunters present, the hunters knew this young lady, because their leader's favorite thing to do is get drunk, pull out his sister's photo, and brag about how talented his sister is; now, the hunters finally got to see the real person—though it's Elisa who got beaten by Black A.

More than half an hour later, the fog gate ahead fluctuated, and two figures walked out from within—namely Black A, who held the 'Ancient Emblem,' and behind him, Vivian.

As Black A just stepped out of the fog gate, he suddenly felt something was wrong; he was about to retreat back into the fog gate behind him, when spreading ice sealed the fog gate, and the hunters surrounding this area all looked at Black A with smiles on their faces.

PS: (Sunday, resting one day, to prevent old illness from flaring up, readers' grandparents, please forgive.)