Chapter 3878: Blood Night

Astral Realm, Soul Great Library, First Floor.

After humans arrive here, the hundred-meter-tall wooden amber-patterned bookshelves make one feel as if they are in a land of giants. In this ocean of knowledge and history, an individual appears insignificant.

In such an atmosphere, between the bookshelves at the back of the first floor, a lady with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a spider abdomen and chitinous legs did not appear insignificant at all. This was not because of her height of nearly five meters, but because of her aura—the aura of a peak Absolute Strong. If not for the Supreme One and the Leader, those two who transcended limits, "Peak Absolute Strong" would have been the pinnacle of individual combat power in the Astral Realm.

Indeed, this was none other than Spider Lady. Her milk-white hair reached not only her waist but draped down to her spider abdomen. A few supple strands hung onto the polished marble floor. Her blood-red slit pupils were no longer as cold as they once were, nor did they harbor the cruel laughter of the past.

At this moment, Spider Lady's gaze was peaceful. As she read an ancient tome, her other hand lifted the afternoon tea served by a sprite. Her elegant demeanor made one wonder if this was truly the terrifying powerhouse who had once slaughtered thousands of living beings.

Just as Spider Lady was enjoying her afternoon tea, two sprites flew over, jointly holding a wooden box. This box had been sent from the outside world. Because the recipient was marked as Spider Lady, the sprites had inspected it carefully. Although they respected Spider Lady, this was the order of the Soul Library's top-floor manager, the Soul Elder, and the sprites naturally had to comply.

"A gift? Sent from where?"

Spider Lady asked lazily. Although she knew perfectly well what this was—it was what she had commissioned her old friend, the Molten Giant, to forge—she now needed to pretend she knew nothing. This was the only chance she had to escape this place after being imprisoned for one hundred thousand years.

"It is a gift from the Wind Sea Continent," the sprite captain replied respectfully, letting the sprites carrying the box place it on the tea table.

Meanwhile, on the top floor of the Great Library, the Soul Sage, whose head was large and resembled a floating, giant transparent jellyfish, remained in a deep sleep, snoring sweetly. Thus, the management of the top floor remained the responsibility of the Elf Kingdom's Second Prince, Popoli.

However, two guests had arrived today. They were not outsiders, but the Elf Kingdom's Third Prince, the irritable sprite Diagu, and the Fifth Princess, Fennie.

The current Elf Kingdom was ruled by the First Prince, who governed it in perfect order. As the manager of the Soul Library, the Second Prince, Popoli, possessed both ability and connections. If he truly wanted to rebel, the First Prince might not be able to withstand it.

However, although the Second Prince, Popoli, spent his days complaining that his father had misjudged people and that he was the best candidate, he respected his older brother in his heart.

As for the third of the elf family, this guy, who appeared to be a rebellious and irritable youth, was actually quite capable; he just usually looked like a street urchin.

And the Fifth Princess, Fennie—this elf princess truly caused her two older brothers, the First Prince and Popoli, to wear masks of pain. Other sprite girls loved nature and botany, but she was rather eccentric; she liked Abyssology.

Even worse, she had a "wretched" second brother who served as the acting manager of the Soul Library, which gave her hobby plenty of room to grow.

Sprite clans had two relatively good paths: working at the Soul Great Library or forming contracts with others. The Fifth Princess, Fennie, chose the latter. The Saint Light Paradise contractor she formed a contract with, Amiel, was often tricked by her to the point of doubting life. Speaking of which, the last time the Amiel + Fennie combo encountered Su Xiao, in the moment before death, Amiel successfully played her life-saving card: "Offer 200,000 Soul Coins."

The Second Prince, Popoli, glanced at Fennie and asked, "Speak, what are you here for this time?"

"Second Brother, I just missed you."

Fennie sat on an ancient tome without any ladylike image, eating snacks. Hearing this, Popoli's brow twitched, and he asked:

"Speak, how many Soul Coins are you short?"

"Second Brother, am I really that unbearable in your heart!"

Fennie stopped her movements, her eyes moistening. Seeing this, Popoli couldn't help but feel a surge of guilt. After some comforting, he gave her 5,000 Soul Coins, and only then did Fennie sniffle and stop crying.

After dealing with her "wretched" second brother, Fennie glanced cunningly at her "wretched" third brother, only to find that her third brother was acting strangely today. Not only was he not holding his wine gourd, but he also looked exceptionally serious.

"Second Brother."

The usually irritable Diagu spoke, which made his second brother, Popoli, look surprised, as this was the first time his third brother had called him "Second Brother" since he was ten. Usually, it was "Hey," "That guy," or calling him by his name, Popoli.

"No matter what happens, do not leave the top floor of the library."

Diagu spoke in a deep voice. His only purpose for coming to the Soul Library today was to ensure his brother's safety, because he knew that Spider Lady was about to break free from her cage. This was something no one could stop, just as the Sun Star, Eternal Light, and Ancient Dragon, those transcendent worlds, had declined during the First and Second Eras.

At this moment, the Wind Sea Continent, as a transcendent world of the Second Era, would also usher in the beginning of its decline in the Third Era. And this beginning was happening right now within the Soul Great Library. This was destiny, this was karma, this was the cycle of the Astral Realm. Perhaps it could be delayed slightly, but it could never be stopped or changed.

Inside the hundred-meter-tall first floor of the Great Library, Spider Lady closed the ancient tome in her hand. The words "Love and Forgiveness" engraved in Void language on the cover did not match her current inner state. She had tried to forgive in her heart—to forgive the secret betrayal of the Sea and Beast clans on the Wind Sea Continent, and their kicking her while she was down, leaving her trapped in this cage for one hundred thousand years.

But the more she tried to forgive, the more it felt like soul flames were burning within her, causing the cruelty and violence she had suppressed to constantly erode her rationality, as well as the little kindness and pity she had left.

And now, Spider Lady appeared elegant and peaceful, but her heart needed an outlet. Only the desperate soul-wailing of the Sea and Beast clans could calm her heart.

Click—

The mechanism of the wooden box opened. When the box unfolded itself, inside was a pitch-black crown. A red gemstone was embedded in this black crown, but the stone was covered in cracks.

Never mind the sprites' inspection; even a master blacksmith wouldn't be able to find any flaws in this black crown. This had been forged by the Molten Giant, one of the three legendary blacksmiths.

Spider Lady picked up the black crown with one hand. Looking at the crown between her fingers, she muttered, "No matter how ancient an existence is, there is always a time when they sleep."

Crack, crack!

Fine cracks appeared on the black crown due to Spider Lady's grip. Then, with a "pop," it shattered. She loosened her hand, and the crown fragments scattered. She pinched the red gemstone between her index finger and thumb. The scarlet light gradually blooming within the gem was the most beautiful sight to her.

Boom!

A dozen rows of giant bookshelves nearby were blown away by the impact. The scarlet gemstone had actually blasted a jagged-edged spatial hole within the Soul Great Library. This was the Soul Library, a place that could be called a solid-state spatial seal zone.

The spatial hole appeared quickly and healed even faster. In the blink of an eye, it had healed by more than half. Spider Lady naturally wouldn't miss such an opportunity. Her four chitinous legs pierced into the area around the spatial hole. As poison was injected, the space in this area was eroded until it shattered with a crackle, and a spatial passage appeared.

The spatial passage was pitch black. Spider Lady walked into the darkness with elegant steps on her chitinous legs. A few seconds later, the spatial passage within the library closed, leaving only fallen bookshelves and broken books scattered around.

A hundred meters away, two figures appeared: the Leader, wearing a metal mask, and a tall beast-god with giant elk antlers on his head, draped in a cloak-like animal skin. Both were looking at the chaotic scene.

"Are you not planning to intervene?"

The antlered god asked in a deep voice.

"Why intervene? Deer God, this hasn't been our era for a long time. Besides, we... lost back then."

Hearing the Leader's words, Deer God's eyes narrowed slightly, and he retorted:

"You didn't lose; it was a draw. You blew a chunk of your nemesis's brain off back then. Speaking of which, that piece of brain is in the hands of a Hunter from your Samsara Paradise. Is that really okay?"

"It's fine."

"Give me one reason not to go take back and seal that piece of brain."

"He is the Chosen One, although not yet the only one. As a defeated former Chosen One, I will just wait for the final result."

The Leader's words held a hint of emotion. Deer God didn't take the bait, instead changing the subject: "How is the world you're creating coming along? If the darkness truly descends, can the world you've built really withstand it? Become the final sanctuary?"

"It can."

"Is that so? Then, after the darkness descends, will the world you've built become the kingdom you rule?"

"Not at all. That world belongs to the weak living beings who can preserve the sparks of civilization through three eras after the long darkness descends."

"It seems you didn't even leave a spot for yourself, so you certainly wouldn't leave one for me."

"Do you need one?"

"Of course not."

Deer God's tone was firm. If the Leader had said he'd left a spot for him, Deer God would have broken off his friendship with the Leader on the spot; that would have been like an insult to him.

"If you have time to create that world, why not go directly to deal with the Arcane Eternal Star? They are the root cause of the Abyss's invasion."

"They are not."

There was a hint of a smile in the Leader's tone.

"So, the depletion of natural elements in the Void is due to something else?"

Deer God was intrigued. In conversations with others, he was the silent one, but in conversations with his friend the Leader, he was the talkative one.

"No, the Arcane Eternal Star is the culprit."

"Then why did you say they aren't the root cause of the Void being invaded by the Abyss?"

"It is desire. As long as there are people who crave the power of elements, today's situation is inevitable."

Hearing this, Deer God was speechless. He couldn't out-talk the Leader, so he simply stopped discussing this point and said:

"If you gathered your strength to wipe out the Arcane Eternal Star, perhaps you could resolve this catastrophe. Your condition has recovered well; you've almost returned to the level you were at when you led the attack on the Dawn Paradise back then, right? You should be on par with the Supreme One's strength..."

Before Deer God could finish, the Leader rarely interrupted: "Deer God, in the Second Era, if you had to pick one of those Law-Breakers, would you have the confidence to win?"

Hearing this, Deer God chose silence.

"I am not a person from that era. Back then, you weren't as strong as you are now, but I never believed that the spellcasters of the Second Era could defeat those few ancient Law-Breakers. Even with a siege, it wouldn't work."

"You mean..."

"The Law-Breakers of the Second Era were actually killed by the Supreme One himself. Those spellcasters were only responsible for besieging and hunting down the ancient Law-Breakers who had been critically wounded to the point of death."

The Leader looked at the spatial crack that had completely vanished in the air and continued with emotion: "I don't need to step in personally this time. No matter the result, I just need to wait. My life has been wonderful enough. Such a wonderful life shouldn't end in a pathetic struggle, so I'll just watch. I'll be a competent observer."

The Leader stepped toward the spiral staircase. After reaching a landing, he pushed open the secret room where the Ancient One resided. In the secret room overgrown with tree roots, the Ancient One was sleeping.

"Stop pretending to sleep, old friend. The Law-Breaker I introduced is not bad, right?"

A few seconds after the Leader finished speaking, the Ancient One among the tree roots opened his left eye and said in a hoarse voice: "He... contributes more... to the library... than you."

"You say that... it seems there's no problem with that. What kind of structure are Bai Ye's luck and destiny composed of, that he actually sealed five Original Sins?"

After mentioning this, the Leader himself fell into silence. Even with his experience, he felt like he had seen something rare in his long life.

Sun Star, Dusk City, Inner City District, in a mansion on the back street of the South District, second-floor living room.

"I'm not listening, I'm not listening!"

Morei covered her ears with both hands. This was naturally not coquetry, but a firm refusal after receiving an invitation to "go shopping for goods."

Since they were going to the Soul Academy to "shop for goods," they naturally couldn't avoid the Faction Shop. And involving the Faction Shop naturally involved the Void Tree Reputation.

A sufficiently high Void Tree Reputation was the prerequisite for "shopping for goods" at a Faction Shop. But of the four people going to shop this time—Su Xiao, Caesar, Toad, and Rat—which one of them had a Void Tree Reputation above 0?

None of them. The four of them together couldn't even scrape together 1 point of Void Tree Reputation, and they were deep in the negative.

Therefore, dragging Morei onto the pirate ship was a necessity for this shopping trip. However, Morei was now at the point of: "Even if you beat me to death, I'm not going."

As a little rich girl of the Apocalypse Paradise, Morei was not lacking in money or resources. Coupled with her tendency to get beaten by Su Xiao due to her mischievous personality, she had successfully upgraded; she could continue to be mischievous even after getting her legs broken.

In this situation, breaking Morei's legs was useless, but she could be tricked. Su Xiao sat on the sofa and pointed to the single sofa opposite. Morei hesitated for a moment before sitting down.

"Last time I went to Tianren Star, I discovered a very interesting phenomenon."

The Tianren Star Su Xiao mentioned was Morei's hometown, and also the world where she was located. All her relatives were in that world.

Su Xiao began to popularize elementary abyssal knowledge to Morei. At first, Morei listened with great interest, but after a while, she became increasingly confused. She could understand every word Su Xiao said, but when put together, she felt these sentences were so strange.

Seeing Morei's increasingly bewildered little eyes, Su Xiao simply said: "Your hometown, Tianren Star, shows signs of abyssal infiltration. It is still very slight now, but your father, the monarch of the Atlantis Empire, along with the rulers of the Eastern Federation, Northern Alliance, and Archipelago Alliance, are secretly cooperating to deal with this matter."

Hearing this, Morei looked suspicious and asked: "Does the Apocalypse Paradise not interfere with this kind of abyssal invasion? This is the place where the Apocalypse Paradise selects contractors and battle angels."

"The Paradise does not interfere with the normal operation of a world. Moreover, that level of abyssal infiltration is fundamentally different from an abyssal invasion; there will be no abyssal passage."

"Our top battle angels in the Apocalypse Paradise should be able to handle it, right?"

Morei asked the question in her heart. Seeing this, Su Xiao knew Morei had taken the bait. He didn't answer the question directly; his shoulder-mounted Bahar explained:

"Abyssal infiltration poses no threat to contractors or battle angels, and the surge of dark-type creatures it triggers is actually beneficial to contractors. But it is a huge burden for local major powers. For example, the Atlantis Empire ruled by your father—once dark-type creatures run rampant within the empire, your father will have to spend at least two-fifths of the empire's fiscal budget to exterminate and contain these dark creatures. Ultimately, it is the local powers and residents of Tianren Star who suffer. Understand now?"

Through Bahar's explanation, Morei gradually realized the severity of the matter. Although she didn't know how to govern a vast empire, she knew that having to spend nearly half the budget to exterminate and contain these dark creatures would lead to disastrous results.

Seeing Morei lost in thought, Bahar tempted her: "Morei, we know you don't like to be in the limelight, but you can get a disguise to hide your identity, and then we will teach you how to completely resolve the abyssal infiltration in that area. Imagine, a master hidden behind the scenes—if your older brothers, sisters, younger brothers, and sisters knew your identity, tsk tsk tsk—how cool that would be. Besides, if they don't know, and only you know you are a master behind the scenes, that is also a particularly... pleasant experience, isn't it?"

After saying this, Bahar noticed Morei was still hesitating and immediately added: "Imagine, your tenth sister, who has always thought you were unmotivated, and who both hates that you don't live up to expectations and treats you as her most important relative—how incredulous would she be to know her sister is such a badass? And before that, you can still maintain the state of playing the fool to eat the tiger. Just imagine it."

Under Bahar's narration, a smile involuntarily appeared on Morei's face. She weighed it for a moment, gritted her teeth, and asked: "If I go help you shop for goods at the Soul Academy, how much Void Tree Reputation will be deducted?"

"How much do you have now?"

Hearing Bahar ask this, Morei chose to check her Void Tree Reputation and then said: "15,860 points."

"?"

Su Xiao, Ignoring Bubu Wang, Am, and Bahar all looked at Morei, which made Morei feel a bit embarrassed, and she asked:

"Is that a lot?"

Morei was a bit confused; it seemed that in her view, since she was already Tier 9, wasn't it normal for Void Tree Reputation to break 10,000?

"Cough—how did you manage that?"

Bahar asked everyone's question.

"I didn't do anything. This reputation just goes up on its own after promoting to Tier 9."

"..."

Su Xiao didn't speak. He looked at his own -??? Void Tree Reputation and felt that after this shopping trip, it would likely return to -???.

At Morei's insistence, the group did not go to the Academy Tower via the "Law-Breaker Teleportation Array," but first arrived at the outer city district of Dusk City, coming to the 90th district, which had become a cemetery. Many trees were planted here, making the place foggy and gloomy even during the day, with a dark and lightless atmosphere.

Morei took out an old copper bell and hung it on a tree branch, tapping it with her index finger.

Clang—

The sound of the copper bell came, stirring up layers of soul ripples in the air. After a brief silence, the sound of hooves hitting the ground and the roar of a carriage came. A pitch-black carriage, with two ghostly green flame lanterns hanging on the front and pulled by five undead horses, appeared.

The origin of this carriage was not small. It was said that it could be summoned anywhere to carry guests to their destination. As long as there were sufficient Soul Coins, even in an abyssal invasion zone, this metal beast-like ghostly carriage dared to charge in to pick up guests. It was said that this was a business under the Underworld Bank.

Speaking of the Underworld Bank, one had to mention its old rival, the Giant Bank. Looking across the myriad worlds, even the Void Bank, which had the Arcane Eternal Star as its largest shareholder and in which all major forces in the Void held shares, could not compare to either the Underworld Bank or the Giant Bank.

The Giant Bank's storage business was definitely number one in the myriad worlds. From the fact that even Dean Guya, a high-level official of the Arcane Eternal Star, stored items there, one could see the strength and credibility of the Giant Bank.

The Underworld Bank was not in the Netherworld. This force was so arrogant that it bought a world called the Golden Ring Star. The entire Ring Star had a total of 16 planets habitable for living beings, each with 160 world-level teleportation arrays. As for the main business of the Underworld Bank, it was loans.

No collateral was needed for loans, and no one dared not to repay. The Underworld Bank didn't even engage in debt collection. When the loan term expired, the Underworld Bank would begin to collect the borrower's luck and destiny. They didn't not want collateral; they determined the loan amount based on the guest's luck limit and collected luck when the time came. It was a sure-win business.

There were exceptions to everything. The only client in the entire Astral Realm blacklisted by the Underworld Bank was, naturally, the famous fraudster Nicholas Caesar. Caesar used to fleece the Underworld Bank, fleecing them until they were completely bewildered.

Speaking of which, the three wealthiest forces in the myriad worlds—the Goblin Chamber of Commerce, the Underworld Bank, and the Giant Bank—all suffered from a certain degree of "Caesar-phobia."

After the ghostly carriage stopped, Morei pressed her hand on it, and the door opened. After the group got on, they found that the interior of the carriage was a world of its own, with at least 20 square meters of space, and it was very luxurious, with all kinds of food and drinks on the table in the middle.

The door closed by itself, and the carriage began to move. There was almost no feeling of bumping, and the soundproofing of the carriage was also very good. Morei sat at the dining table, ready to enjoy lunch.

"Morei, are you a VIP client of the Underworld Bank?"

Bahar looked around at the layout inside the carriage, quite surprised by this ghostly carriage.

"No."

"Then how did you summon this ghostly carriage?"

"Oh, this? I'm actually a shareholder of the Underworld Bank."

"Pfft—!"

Bahar had just taken a swig of wine from the bottle, and it ended up coughing out of its nostrils. It looked at Morei opposite in shock, suddenly thinking of a point: Morei's mining ability was not special, except for her luck being better than others. Unlike Moon Apostle, who had a large number of moon-type summons to help her mine.

Her strength was not outstanding, her mining ability was not outstanding, and she relied on good luck to open treasure chests, but the income definitely couldn't reach a particularly exaggerated level. In this situation, why was Morei the richest of the three little rich girls? This didn't make sense at all.

Now it seemed it made perfect sense. Even if Morei had 0.01% of the Underworld Bank's shares, the Soul Coins she received every quarter were an unimaginable fortune for an individual.

"How many shares do you have?"

"Very few, 0.012%."

Hearing this, Bahar was stunned. It pondered for a moment and asked sincerely: "Morei, tell the truth, what color sack do you like? We'll prepare it immediately and try to kidnap you as soon as possible to blackmail the Underworld Bank."

"You wouldn't."

"Oh? You trust my boss's character that much?"

"Yeah, if you would harm partners, I would have been silenced after the first time Bai Ye blackmailed me for Soul Coins. I've been blackmailed by you about... eight times? Anyway, too many times to remember, and I'm still alive. That shows you have a weakness, Bai Ye—you don't attack partners. Haha, this Princess has seen through you, so hurry up and submit to my feet!"

A moment later, Morei's right eye was bruised, and she stood by the dining table, saying with some dissatisfaction: "I'm sorry, I got carried away just now. I'll do it again... ah no, I won't dare next time."

Just then, the carriage stopped. After the door opened, a large city appeared in front of them. This large city was about the size of one district of Dusk City, but don't underestimate the area of this large city. If the buildings were distributed reasonably, it could easily accommodate millions of people.

The towering city walls could not hide the tower in the center of the city; that was the Soul Tower, the location of the Soul Academy. However, the sun had already set to the edge of the sky. Although it was only dusk, the sky was pitch black.

Entering the city went smoothly. After all, the Soul Academy had invited Su Xiao to deal with two "Immortal Abyssal Creatures," but the problem was that night was about to fall, and the night on the Sun Star was terrifying.

There were four tiers of night: Dark Night, Black Night, Blood Night, and Eternal Night. Among them, Eternal Night was the most terrifying; once it descended, it was a sign that the Sun Star was about to collapse. And the tier below it, Blood Night, was something even an Absolute Strong wouldn't dare to act in the wilderness during.

When the sun completely set, a blood moon hung high in the sky. Blood Night... had descended.

Suddenly, a long, beast-like howl came from afar. Upon hearing this howl, Su Xiao's heart thumped—not out of fear, but a strange resonance, as if the abyssal existence that made the long howl was destined to fight him to the death, and it would be tonight in this Blood Night.

【Warning: Immortal Abyssal Creature, Abyssal Second Son Uwatoluo, is attacking you.】

【Abyssal Second Son Uwatoluo has identified you as a mortal enemy (this hostile relationship means you must fight to the death before this Blood Night ends).】

【Abyssal Second Son Uwatoluo has summoned all dark creatures, dark-type creatures, etc., in this large area to surround and kill you.】

【Due to this sudden event, you have successfully triggered the following trial. You can choose one of two.】

1. Trial of Bravery.

Content: Stay in the large city under the jurisdiction of the Soul Academy and participate in the defense of this Blood Night.

Trial Completion Difficulty: ★★

Danger Level: ★★

Reward Magnitude: ★

Hint: The above rating ★–★★★★★ is the lower limit to upper limit, and the star rating is based on the Hunter's current comprehensive combat power as the basis for judgment.

2. Trial of Iron Will.

Content: Leave the large city under the jurisdiction of the Soul Academy and, without any followers or teammates, fight the Abyssal Second Son Uwatoluo and the dark creatures, creatures, etc., he has summoned alone.

Trial Completion Difficulty: ★★★★★

Danger Level: ★★★★★

Reward Magnitude: ★★★★★+

I got home from the hospital today quite late and only finished writing now. My dad will be discharged tomorrow afternoon, but he has to be sent directly to a rehabilitation hospital, so I should ask for a day off tomorrow (I will try to update, but if I get back too late, I can only skip a day). However, after this, my updates will be much more stable.

Returning home from the hospital today, it was quite late. I've only finished writing now. My dad will be discharged tomorrow afternoon, but he needs to be sent directly to a rehabilitation hospital for recovery, so I should probably ask for a day off tomorrow (I'll try to update, but if I return too late, I'll have to skip a day). However, after this, my subsequent updates will be much more stable.