Chapter 3772

Light particles formed from daylight slowly drifted upward, and Su Xiao sat on a strange rock, his breath having recovered considerably compared to just moments ago.

Although the Archpriest of the Abyss escaped his prison, from a long-term perspective, he is a troublesome strong enemy, but it cannot be denied that this situation is currently more advantageous for Su Xiao, as he at least does not need to exhaust all means to deal with this strong foe.

Su Xiao felt that he would meet the Archpriest of the Abyss again soon, and before that, he must reach the peak of strength.

Once the Archpriest of the Abyss reaches the outside world, he will naturally no longer be restricted by the Eternal Light World's "Super·World-Level Sealing Technique," which also means his strength will recover to the peak level.

Even if the opponent cannot quickly recover to his original peak, Su Xiao is not prepared to fight a peak-level enemy with absolute superiority, as that would be tantamount to seeking death.

After drinking several more bottles of recovery potion, Su Xiao felt his condition had recovered to over seventy percent, and after resting for another dozen hours, he would fully recover; just as he was about to leave, a breath made him grip the hilt of Dragon-Slashing Flash once more.

Clang—

The long sword was drawn from its sheath, and Su Xiao leapt down from the strange rock several meters high, walking toward the source of the breath; due to the floating daylight particles around him, his steps were not swift.

Upon reaching the source of the invisible breath, Su Xiao saw a palm-sized piece of transparent flesh struggling and surging on the ground, appearing as if trying to form some shape, yet failing each time and collapsing into a puddle.

After observing this object for a moment, Su Xiao confirmed it was not the Lord of Eternal Darkness, even though the aura of this invisible flesh was identical to that of the Lord of Eternal Darkness, but the Lord of Eternal Darkness had already died.

The previous strike of heavenly might was too terrifying, instantly slaying the Lord of Eternal Darkness; now this mass of invisible flesh is actually the indestructible and undying characteristic of the Lord of Eternal Darkness. Assuming the indestructible and undying characteristic of the Lord of Eternal Darkness is a core, then this mass of invisible flesh is one-tenth of that core; although it still possesses the indestructible and undying characteristic, it can no longer allow the Lord of Eternal Darkness to maintain that state.

This does not mean these apocalyptic beings are easy to kill; having been imprisoned in the Eternal Light World for so many years and still possessing such undying traits, one can imagine how difficult they were to kill at their peak.

Comparing the world's power to the food of apocalyptic beings, the Eternal Light World is then a barren prison with not a single morsel of food, and the Four Great Heads of the Lightless Temple have basically all been starved to near death.

Su Xiao released a spirit-shadow thread, pulled up the invisible flesh, and sealed it in a glass column container, immersed in solution; this thing might be useful in the future.

The spirit-shadow thread at his fingertips dissipated, and Su Xiao set up a one-time teleportation array; after activation, he teleported to the abandoned high tower near Sanctuary City. Being there, he saw that the area he had just been in was now a huge cylindrical pit, and because its diameter exceeded a hundred kilometers, being at the bottom gave no sense of being underground.

Within this magnificent giant cavern, fist-sized white light orbs continuously drifted out, like a magnificent elemental power fountain.

The extreme elemental power of the Eternal Light World caused elemental power to stagnate here, stagnation led to deposition, deposition led to growth, and growth led to mutation.

This is also why the Eternal Light World has many exceptionally powerful monsters that die immediately upon leaving this world; they all rely on the turbid, deposited elemental power for their existence and proliferation.

The current situation is that the strike which condensed heavenly might blew open this stagnation, and the newly flowing natural elements flushed away the sediment accumulated over years, leaving it completely clean; and the magnificent sight before him is precisely the eruption of elemental power.

Su Xiao leapt down from the high tower, released his senses, and in the next second appeared beside a cave, then summoned the magic spirit.

Not long after, the magic spirit dragged out from the cave a gray-scaled monster resembling a giant lizard; previously, this monster had peak ninth-rank combat power, but now it is weakened and powerless, appearing as if it will not live much longer.

These monsters rely on elemental deposits for their abnormal strength; now that the elemental circulation of this world has been cleared, the "filth" deposited at the bottom has naturally been washed away, and after losing their source of power, these monsters can no longer maintain their former ferocity, let alone stand up—they are limp and weak.

The clash with the Archpriest of the Abyss just now can be said to have ushered in the contractors' revelry phase in this world, as daylight was greatly released, meaning even outside the sanctuary, one can remain outdoors for a long time.

The combat power of native monsters in the Eternal Light World has sharply declined, meaning these originally terrifying monsters will all enter the contractors' killing list.

After the battle between Su Xiao, the Lord of Eternal Darkness, and the Archpriest of the Abyss, the danger level in the central area has greatly decreased, and the western saline marsh area is actually no longer as dangerous as before; most of its danger comes from the underground world and native monsters, and now, one has been cleared by the nightmare blood shadow, while the other has been greatly weakened by the washing away of elemental deposits.

Putting it this way, the highly dangerous areas remaining in this world are three: the Corrosion Rain Land, the Sand Sea, and the Frenzied Growth Land.

Su Xiao activated the Observer's Ring; when the spatial mist dispersed, he had already returned to the Gray-Robed Sanctuary. Upon returning, he saw the Dark Woman with her hands bound at her lower abdomen, standing silently to one side; he was not sure if it was an illusion, but he faintly sensed that the dark aura on the Dark Woman had become slightly more active, while her own aura had slightly weakened.

"Lord Extermination of Law, you have been corrupted by the Crimson."

After speaking, the Dark Woman walked ahead, then sat on a stone chair close to the wall, gesturing for Su Xiao to sit in the chair opposite the stone table; after Su Xiao sat down, the Dark Woman said:

"Lord Extermination of Law, please give me one of your hands."

"..."

Su Xiao placed his left arm on the stone table, and after the Dark Woman sat opposite him, her translucent blue crystal hands virtually grasped his left hand, and strands of darkness surged on her hands, which caused the small amount of Crimson power that had invaded Su Xiao to be drawn out and sealed into her delicate finger ring.

"Lord Extermination of Law, have you found the Awakening Stone?"

Upon hearing this, Su Xiao asked: "So, you know what is stored in the treasury pointed to by the treasury map?"

Su Xiao said this because the 【Crimson·Awakening Stone】 was found in a Crimson treasury, and the map fragment pointing to that treasury was provided by the Dark Woman.

"Of course I don't know, so, Lord Extermination of Law, have you found the Awakening Stone?"

"..."

Su Xiao said nothing, took out the 【Crimson·Awakening Stone】, and placed it on the table.

"Lord Extermination of Law, you…… truly prepared to face the source of this Crimson, the Crimson Sovereign? He is stronger than the Archpriest of the Abyss, the Star Realm Devourer, the Ancestor, and the Lord of Eternal Darkness."

"Hmm."

Receiving the answer, the Dark Woman spoke again in her usual gentle tone:

"Following your will, I need to make some preparations and will be away for a time, but I promise it will not be long, Lord Extermination of Law, please take care of yourself, and do not again nearly lose your life while seeking to increase your power."

The Dark Woman rose, bowed slightly with gentleness to Su Xiao, then walked at a moderate pace toward a statue, drew the sheathed sharp sword from above, tightly wrapped it in black cloth, then stepped onto the teleportation array and left this place.

Due to the impact of the earlier elemental flood, Su Xiao still felt somewhat weak at this moment; he walked toward his temporary lodging, passed by the workshop, and saw Solomon inside; Su Xiao nodded at Solomon, indicating matters were settled, and seeing this, Solomon also nodded, indicating understanding.

Upon arriving before his temporary lodging, Su Xiao noticed that among the several doors beside it, a wooden door that had previously been locked was now open; he stepped forward and tried to push it, but found it locked from the inside.

It should be a member of the Gray-Robed Sanctuary who had gone out and returned; Su Xiao did not knock, but returned to his own room, sat cross-legged on the bed, and meditated to rest.

Bubu Wang, Am, and Bahar were not in the Gray-Robed Sanctuary; earlier, when in the outside world, Su Xiao had sent them three to Sanctuary City in advance, to prevent any trouble from the Lightless Temple there, at least until a new Four Great Heads were chosen, this force must not encounter problems.

After resting a moment, Su Xiao's weakness faded somewhat; he checked the gains from slaying the Star Realm Devourer: golden skill points, eternal-level treasure boxes, and source substance treasure boxes were temporarily stored, while the 【Star Crystal Core】 is a good thing; when added as material in strengthening eternal-level weapons, it can raise a +0 eternal-level equipment to +5 enhancement, saving many rare origin stones.

The minimum standard for strengthening eternal-level weapons is rare origin stones, namely precious origin stones with unique suffixes; the higher the rarity of the origin stones used, the higher the success rate of this strengthening.

The strengthening of eternal-level weapons is particularly special: each strengthening level is a hurdle; being able to strengthen to +5 is already uncommon, strengthening to +7 is very rare, strengthening to +10 is extraordinarily difficult, and as for above +10, unless one has top-tier origin stones, one should not lightly attempt it.

After storing the 【Star Crystal Core】, Su Xiao checked his over 500,000 prestige points and chose to exchange them for title boxes.

【You have exchanged 538,000 title boxes.】

【Title Box: Upon opening, obtain ★～★★★★★★★★★ titles.】

【You have opened 538,000 title boxes.】

【You obtained one-star attribute-less title ×538,000.】

【Because you have opened boxes multiple times without obtaining tradable titles, your box-opening results will no longer be announced on the World Contact Platform……】

【Because you continuously obtained 1,000,000 one-star attribute-less titles from title boxes, this behavior is unprecedented and meets one condition for triggering an achievement mission; you will receive achievement rewards, special title: Unyielding and Indomitable.】

……

Su Xiao opened the title column, and a star-less special title appeared within it.

【Unyielding and Indomitable】

Origin: Void Tree.

Quality: Special.

Type: One-time title (after wearing once, this title will be consumed).

Title effect: After wearing, you can open the title quest list, displaying the trigger locations or trigger conditions of all title quests within this world.

Introduction: As the first person to obtain this title, you may freely write the introduction for this title.

Price: Cannot be sold.

……

This one-time title is unexpectedly useful; Su Xiao activated the title smelting disc, and it is the smelting disc certified by the Void Tree, activated together with the smelting disc certified by the Reincarnation Paradise, and through two title discs, he simultaneously performed a large number of one-star attribute-less title syntheses.

The synthesis speed of one-star attribute-less titles is very fast; after over two hours, Su Xiao obtained five eight-star attribute-less titles. He brought a title smelting disc close, took out the eight-star title 【War Lord】, and inlaid it into the central groove. Then, in the five grooves appearing around it, he inlaid one eight-star attribute-less title each, and finally chose to begin smelting.

After doing this, over 400,000 one-star attribute-less titles remained. Su Xiao pushed the smelting disc undergoing smelting away, and with another smelting disc, began synthesizing one-star attribute-less titles. Shortly after, he used 78,125 one-star attribute-less titles to synthesize five seven-star attribute-less titles, then took out 【Ancient Scholar】, and inlaid this title into the center of the smelting disc.

Correct, Su Xiao prepared to raise the 【Ancient Scholar】 title to nine-star, because later he needs to further improve Seal Studies, and improving Seal Studies ability is not through skill scrolls or similar means, but requires self-mastery, so this title that enhances reading and learning ability becomes especially crucial.

The level of Seal Studies directly relates to Su Xiao's life and safety; if the four original sin items he sealed lose control, then it is ten deaths and no life.

Finally, Su Xiao consumed a total of 468,750 one-star attribute-less titles, allowing the 【Ancient Scholar】 title already raised to eight-star on the smelting disc to be surrounded by five inlaid eight-star attribute-less titles. He chose to begin smelting, and after this smelting ends, 【Ancient Scholar】 will be raised to nine-star title.

After doing this, Su Xiao lay on the wooden bed; although the bedding had become somewhat hard due to long years, compared to the invading fatigue, this was nothing.

When Su Xiao woke up, it was already noon the next day. After sitting up, he was dazed for a moment, and upon regaining clarity, he felt yesterday's fatigue completely gone. Not only that, because yesterday he was in the midst of rich and pure elemental power, he now feels exceptionally clear-minded and refreshed.

【Title smelting completed.】

【War Lord has been raised to nine-star title.】

【Ancient Scholar has been raised to nine-star title.】

……

Two titles have been raised to nine-star, and further down, there is a contact-type prompt, indicating that Ai Duo'er has already raised the 【Miracle】 title to nine-star on her side, and has invited him to trade in Black Iron City.

After eating something simple, Su Xiao walked out of the bedroom, glanced at the door next door—this door remained tightly closed, but faint snoring could be heard from inside; it seems this unknown member, after long travels, has finally returned to the Gloomy Sanctuary and is now sleeping exceptionally soundly.

Arriving at Black Iron City via the Annihilation Law Teleportation Array, the teleportation impact could be said to be invigorating; Su Xiao arrived at the Black Iron Coin Exchange when it was already approaching noon.

Inside the Black Iron Coin Exchange, a figure clad in black robes with a mask on the face sat in the seat next to Su Xiao.

「……」

Su Xiao frowned at Ai Duo'er, not understanding why she was wrapped so tightly.

「Bai Ye, this should be our last title trade in this world; after this, I will leave. 」

「Huh? 」

Su Xiao felt somewhat doubtful in his heart; logically, after he slaughtered the Four Giants, the danger level in this region had decreased considerably. Under such circumstances, Ai Duo'er should seize the opportunity to gain some benefits, yet she actually wants to leave early—this makes no sense.

Ai Duo'er has no habit of being vague; she directly said: 「I used a small portion of spacetime power yesterday to buy a good item, but this information was told to the Nightmare·Cain by the seller. Now Nightmare is very interested in killing me to explode the Crimson Treasure Chest, and my perception-type equipment now warns every half hour. 」

Hearing the name Cain, Su Xiao was somewhat puzzled; this soul-system scrapper often pits teammates, but not to the extent that, just because Ai Duo'er revealed spacetime power, he would stare at her, preparing to find an opportunity to kill and explode the Crimson Treasure Chest.

「What did you buy. 」

「This. 」

Ai Duo'er took out a crystal eyeball; Su Xiao received it, examined it for a moment, and found it was clearly a quest item. Thinking this way, it makes sense: Ai Duo'er bought the other party's key quest item, so of course they would stare at her.

「This is a quest item. 」

「Eh~? 」

Ai Duo'er froze; she raised her hand to take back the crystal eyeglass, examined it carefully, and finally scratched her head, saying with a somewhat exciting expression: 「So this means I accidentally bought someone's key quest item? 」

「……」

「Then, what should we do? Stuck like this—I can't possibly sell it again to Nightmare. 」

「Sell it to him at double price. 」

「This~ isn't good, 」 Ai Duo'er said with her mouth, but actually felt somewhat tempted in her heart; she tentatively asked: 「What if I just give it to you. 」

After speaking, Ai Duo'er handed the crystal eyeball to Su Xiao.

At the same time, in a civilian residence several miles outside, the forward image was real-time synchronized showing Ai Duo'er handing the crystal eyeball to Su Xiao. Seeing this scene, the expressions of Thunder Law God·Aegis, Witch·Lilia, and Nightmare·Cain were all particularly wonderful.

Inside the Black Iron Coin Exchange, Su Xiao looked at the crystal eyeball in his fingers; not long after, a figure walked toward him face-on—it was Thunder Law God·Aegis.

「Bai Ye, name your price for this thing, we……」

Before Thunder Law God·Aegis could finish speaking, Su Xiao had already thrown the crystal eyeball; Aegis caught it with one hand, then looked doubtful.

"There is something later I want to entrust you with; this will serve as a deposit."

Before Thunder Law God·Aegis could reply, Su Xiao had already activated the Observer's Ring and vanished from the spot.

「Wait……」

As Aegis's words just left his mouth, he discovered Su Xiao opposite him had already vanished without a trace, which made him feel a bit uneasy. This hunter who had recently extorted 200,000 soul coins from him now appeared so generous—Aegis grew more anxious the more he thought about it.

……

Inside the Gloomy Sanctuary, spatial mist dispersed; Su Xiao sat on the steps of the recovery point. His condition had not yet returned to peak; after resting a few hours, it would be fine. At that time, he would go to Refuge City, discuss subsequent matters with the priest, and before his condition fully recovers, he will not see the priest.

Su Xiao opened the title column; 【War Lord】 and 【Ancient Scholar】 had both been raised to nine-star titles, and in the title column, there were also seven nine-star attribute-less titles. He simply decided to perform the first extreme smelting on 【War Lord】; after inlaying the title properly on the smelting disc, a prompt appeared.

【Proceed with this extreme smelting?】

【Up to 5 extreme smeltings allowed for all nine-star titles.】

【Remaining extreme smelting count for this title: 5/5.】

【This is the first extreme smelting, success rate: 100%.】

……

Su Xiao chose to proceed with smelting; as long as this smelting completes, he can subsequently use this title to clear the apocalyptic-level tribes in the Frenzied Growth Lands, thus completing the legendary quest. However, before that, dealing with the Nightmare Blood Shadow takes priority.

Flipping through the title column, Su Xiao checked the 【Ancient Scholar】 raised to nine-star; after attempting to view it, he found the title was in pending selection state. After seeing the prompt that appeared, he learned that after this title is raised to nine-star, it can undergo one trait selection, and this selection will determine the final attribute tendency of this title.

This decision has two options: respectively, mastery of black technology knowledge, and mastery of mysterious system knowledge. Su Xiao naturally chose the latter, as both pharmacology and seal studies belong to the mysterious system, especially seal studies, which is a major branch of the mysterious system.

【Ancient Scholar Title Transformation in Progress……】

【Transformation Complete, You Obtained Nine-Star Title: Mystic Scholar.】

【Mystic Scholar】

Origin: Reincarnation Paradise

Quality: ★★★★★★★★★

Category: Rare·Title

Title Effect 1: Scholar (Passive), wearing this title increases reading efficiency by 95% (increase of 12.5%), reading immersion by 92% (increase of 59.3%), knowledge mark interpretation efficiency by 82% (increase of 72%), "significantly" improving knowledge mastery efficiency.

Title Effect 2: Focus (Passive), while mastering knowledge, there is a chance to enter "Focused State"; upon entering this state, the bonus from "Scholar·Passive" increases 2~5 times (can reach the upper limit, depending on one's mental strength and soul strength upper limit).

Title Effect 3: Inspiration (Passive), when engaging in knowledge mastery or knowledge absorption, your mental strength will gain permanent growth enhancement (the deeper or more mysterious the knowledge absorbed, the more pronounced the permanent enhancement from this bonus).

Title Effect 4: Rational Being (Passive), can directly read high-risk records or ancient texts, such as terrifying knowledge from extraterrestrial beings, even directly reading dark knowledge from the abyss, and discern the graspable parts from them.

Introduction: Maintain caution and reverence, explore that mysterious and fascinating knowledge, savor the mysterious sweetness.

Price: Cannot be sold.

……

Although this title does not directly enhance combat power, it is especially important; retrieving it into the title column, Su Xiao took out the upgraded Nine-Star 【Miracle】, this transaction with Aidoer was indeed profitable, merely 260 ounces of spacetime force to obtain a practical Nine-Star title.

【Miracle】

Title Effect 1: Nurture (Passive), through this title, you can temporarily wrap any held title and nurture it, transferring the current star level of this title to the wrapped title.

Hint: Activating this ability will consume this title……

……

Among Su Xiao's existing titles, totaling four, worth using this title to upgrade them to Nine-Star are respectively 【Blood Intent】, 【Miracle Maker】, 【Natural Resonance】, and 【Old Hunter】.

【Blood Intent】 relates to blood qi enhancement, 【Miracle Maker】 relates to potion formulation, 【Natural Resonance】 relates to meditation, and 【Old Hunter】 relates to this identity as a hunter.

If encountering Platinum Apostles or Abyssal Archbishops before, Su Xiao would certainly prioritize upgrading 【Miracle Maker】, then 【Blood Intent】, then 【Natural Resonance】, while the upgrade priority for 【Old Hunter】 would come last.

However, after experiencing these late-game monsters and deities, Su Xiao feels that becoming a hunter and obtaining the three-star title 【Old Hunter】 might be one of the strongest titles in the late game.

Su Xiao took out the 【Old Hunter】 title, activated the 【Miracle】 title, and the 【Miracle】 title gradually turned into a gel, wrapping the 【Old Hunter】 title within it.

Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the recovery point, closed his eyes to meditate, and after several hours, a prompt appeared.

【Old Hunter upgraded to Nine-Star title.】

【Old Hunter】

Origin: Reincarnation Paradise

Quality: Special (Only obtainable by Hunters)

Category: Title

Title Effect 1: Hunting Mark (Active), using a medium, continuously track the target (medium can be the target's bloodstain, hair, personal belongings, clothing fragments, residual aura, or even trace bodily energy about to dissipate).

Hint: This skill consumes nothing, each tracking can last 10~48 hours (depending on the medium), even if the target is in another world, tracking can still be maintained.

Hint: This skill can be used once every two natural days.

Title Effect 2: Ruthless Hunter (Active), without any medium, forcibly lock onto a specified target within the same world, thereby continuously sensing the target's exact position for the subsequent 12 hours.

Hint: If this hunt is completed, using this ability incurs no cost this time.

Warning: If this hunt is not completed, your real strength, agility, stamina, intelligence, and charm attributes will permanently decrease by 5%.

Title Effect 3: Old Hunter (Passive), each successful hunt of a target, this title will permanently stack one layer of "Hunting" effect; every accumulated five layers of "Hunting" effect will bring this title a permanent combat-type enhancement effect.

Introduction: Flee in fear, then……die in despair.

Price: Cannot be sold.

……