Chapter 4216

The underworld, a wasteland of bones.

Blood dripped from the fingertips of Avila, shadow of the dark tide, as the dark strike from the heavens that had just come made half her body vanish; fortunately, she was currently in a state of "self-coexistence," meaning her past and future selves were both present, so to kill her one must first slay the past, then execute the future, and only when both are destroyed can her present self possibly be erased.

As for the three Avilas present, the difference is actually none—do not mistakenly think that the other two Avilas present, one appearing as a girl and the other slightly aged, are easily distinguishable.

The truth is, the three Avilas present are: one is Avila from 0.001 seconds before using "self-coexistence," one is from 0.001 seconds after, and the three are indistinguishable; more troublesome is that past, present, and future Avilas exist in three different time dimensions.

Su Xiao sensed that whichever state of Avila he tried to attack, he himself would immediately enter the past, present, or future state, meaning that even if his next-level attack's range engulfed the entire star realm, it would not simultaneously slay all three Avilas in one blow.

And Su Xiao is indeed stronger than Avila now, but this does not mean it is a pure crushing domination; at this moment they face the supreme realm, and a slight lapse leading to an on-the-spot reversal is inevitable, especially with Avila's time system—if she is banished by the opponent into the Chaos Realm, she might well follow the priest's fate.

With a boom, the earth where Su Xiao stood shattered, the surroundings like curling gales, and he stood at the center of this temporal storm; the region named "Bone Wasteland," as the time storm reversed, began to show its former appearance.

This is a circular towering giant structure of solemn ritual, the entire building actually being the largest city in the underworld at that time, located atop this structure is a black-iron floating island, on which sits a colossal skeletal figure upon a towering golden throne—this is the former ruler of the underworld, the Skeleton King·Hessus, an ancient supreme power of the underworld.

Creak—creak—creak~

The massive metal gears turned, causing the iron-black floating island to shift direction; above, the Skeleton King·Hessus raised his sky-covering skeletal hand, adorned with various exquisite jewels, and pressed down—deathly power came face-on, it is……the Initial Death!

Feeling this power, Su Xiao immediately thought the priest had taken the wrong path, or rather, each "death" who masters the Initial Death, according to their own different choices, walks a different path; the priest's ultimate path is merging with death, undoubtedly a shortcut, is the priest willing to do so?

Of course not; from a certain perspective, the priest was forced into this, because he had an opponent who rapidly grew strong through steady, solid progress—though "steady and solid" and "rapidly growing stronger" are often contradictory, this time they were not.

The Skeleton King·Hessus seen now is precisely one who step by step advanced forward, ultimately achieving the supreme realm, becoming the "First Death" by means of the Initial Death, occupying that supreme position.

Deathly power descended from the heavens; Su Xiao, wielding a long blade, his long coat's hem flapping loudly in the wind, though his stature was small compared to the Skeleton King·Hessus……

"Extreme Blade·White Night."

Clang!!

The golden slash met the hand of death, the two forces briefly stalemated, then the blade's light pierced the deathly hand, slashing the Skeleton King·Hessus seated upon the golden throne, his body explosively scattering into bone fragments—after all, this was merely a supreme being pulled back by time reversal.

The surrounding time storm gradually ceased and dissipated, and with it vanished the ancient capital of the underworld; ahead, among the three Avilas, the one representing the past held in her right hand a black, spiked tip—this object is named "Eternal Night."

The past Avila had already driven "Eternal Night" into her left palm; just one second before the "time storm" vanished, the banishment was completed, and the calm Avila said:

"They follow and believe in us, believe the Abyssal Era will descend, so I……cannot lose."

As Avila spoke, a hint of pain appeared on her face; among her three selves—past, present, and future—she used the banishing property of "Eternal Night" to exile her past self into the Chaos Realm; as a supreme being, one banished there can endure for a long time—needless to say, the priest did not die quickly, let alone a supreme being.

Thus, the past Avila not dying means the present and future Avilas are effectively in an unkillable, constantly regenerating state; Avila drew a sharp sword from the river of time, while the future Avila wielded a black long spear—this is clearly an Abyssal weapon.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The long blade and sharp sword connected in slash after slash, layer upon layer of icy impact spreading, a roar sounded, the black spear pierced past Su Xiao's face and exploded behind him in a massive blast; far off, a small to medium-sized ruined city was instantly flattened.

A bloodstain appeared on Su Xiao's cheek; he stomped the ground with one foot.

Thud!

The entire underworld trembled from this, a colossal blood beast formed behind Su Xiao.

"Roar!!"

The blood beast roared madly, waves of air spreading outward, causing both Avilas to feel numb and freeze in place, then, bolstered by the "Azure Shadow King," a blade slash descended.

Pfft!

The long blade cut through Avila's body, terrifying true damage erupted within her, causing her body to instantly rupture and fly backward.

Clang!

Perfectly blocked the incoming black spear.

"Extreme Blade·Dead Realm."

The underworld's netherworld power infused the long blade; with a pfft, a jade-green netherworld long spear pierced the future Avila's shoulder—this was clearly her prepared strike aimed at Su Xiao, but, made to rebound via netherworld power as a medium, it struck her instead.

Ding-ding!

Two blades sliced apart the incoming soul arrows; located several hundred meters away, Avila drew her bow again and shot an arrow—facing this incredibly fast arrow, which could still be sliced apart, Su Xiao did not slash but instead entered phantasm, causing his "Azure Shadow King energy" to drop sharply.

Having only recently grasped the "Spirit Life Core," and having done a trial move, Su Xiao had not stored enough "Spirit Life Core" before this battle, so he could only consume "Azure Shadow King energy" on the spot; now his Azure Shadow King energy is low, allowing only two more uses of Dragon Shadow Flash.

With a whoosh, the soul arrow flew to the distance; seeing this, Avila secretly felt regret—this is a weapon she stole from the river of time, named "Headhunter"; each person can fire only three arrows in a lifetime, whether blocked or hitting, the three arrows are karma-level hits, then the enemy is doomed to die; although this cannot slay the opposing slayer, it will still cause them to lose many life cores.

With a boom, the moment the phantasm ended, Su Xiao's Azure Shadow King strike shattered Avila; the long blade and black spear continuously clashed, the resulting shockwave shattered the earth and made the sky seem about to shatter.

Avila again fell like a torn sack to the ground, her pupils showing two cracks dimmed; at this moment in her consciousness.

"Avila."

"Avila, wake up!"

"Wake up!"

In the ruined dark settlement, white-hot light seeped through, the sky radiating intense scorching heat; the settlement's darkness evaporated, losing this dark coolness, one would be exposed to the elemental forces' scorching—nor is it that they do not wish to hide underground, for this settlement originally lay underground, and further down lies the subterranean current, which connects to the bottom of the Abyss, bearing intense sedimentation and corruptive power.

Avila huddled with her legs drawn up in the corner of a wooden hut, not by choice, but because the remaining shadows were too few; if she did not maintain this posture, she would be burned by the elemental forces; ahead lie several piles of white bones emitting dark vapors, they sat or lay peacefully before death, without competing for this sole vitality, for they are all Avila's family; the entire family, only Avila did not suffer the scorching sickness, making her most likely to survive.

"Avila!"

The call made Avila suddenly open her eyes; she rose from the ground, her white hair fluttering in the wind, she lifted her arm and saw her arm covered in black scales; looking at Avila now, her whole body is black-scaled, her head bears chaotic wooden horns, the depths of her eyes are black, her pupils turned into vertical crimson slits.

Avila and the future Avila are both like this, granting them greatly enhanced close-combat power, yet when facing the aged Su Xiao, they both, when slashed, harbor some doubts about life; otherwise, they occasionally exchange brief words, signifying they are gradually splitting from one entity into two individuals—this is the result of repeated deaths.

Each death of Avila and the future Avila is a total death of body, soul, and karma; thus, reversing from such death carries extremely high risk and cost.

As for why Avila does not undo Su Xiao's aging state, she also wishes to, but once this slayer enters the third stage, his full-body emanated blade pressure makes time-system abilities ineffective against him.

Simply put, Su Xiao at full health is stage one; when his health drops below 30%, he enters stage two; as for stage three, it originally did not exist—it was stage two fought to the end; this time, Avila herself crafted a third stage for the enemy.

When Avila stood up for the fifteenth time from death, her vision swirled; gazing at the long blade in her hand—swift as a startled goose, mighty as vast heavens—the slayer, this monster, took the strongest killing move of the "Slayer System," named Azure Shadow King, and used it as an ordinary slash.

Yes, Avila finally recalled why this move looked so familiar; at her peak, she had indeed clashed many times with slayers, but she did not recognize it this time because the "Azure Shadow King" used was an ultimate enhanced version, and using the极致-enhanced Azure Shadow King as a plain slash—that is the most absurd part.

A plain slash is precisely the ultimate form of the ultimate move—just so.

What makes Avila feel she will lose is the slayer's endurance in prolonged combat; the opponent has fought to now without showing the slightest fatigue, instead his aura grows ever more ferocious—a kind of aura from finally meeting a worthy foe.

The future Avila was again shattered into fragments, flying to Avila's side; Avila raised one hand, and a temporal barrier appeared between them; this transparent barrier divides the underworld into two, lasting five seconds—this is absolute, unless the opposing slayer forcibly endures the temporal backlash and slashes down this blade, in which case Avila could seize the chance to undo the slayer's aging.

"Come on."

The newly risen future Avila spoke in a deep voice; Avila's cheek twitched, she thrust her hand into the future Avila's nape, drew out her spine like pulling a sword, the future Avila cried out in pain, her whole body cracked like shattered porcelain—one can see how agonizing this process is.

Pfft!

Aweila gripped it with both hands, driving the spine, sharp as a cone, into her chest and abdomen. She staggered backward several steps, the black scales on her body rapidly shedding to reveal skin and flesh as white as luminous jade. At this moment, Aweila reached a limit she had never known before. From the darkness beside her, she drew with some grace a sword that seemed crystalline in form—a weapon forged by giving substance to "time."

This weapon is named "Whisper of Time." Those it cuts fall into an endless cycle of temporal rebirth, causing the enemy's causality to collapse and leading to their death.

With a crack, like shattering glass, the sound appeared between them—the temporal boundary wall shattered after five seconds. Aweila's aura erupted explosively, and from her center, intense dark tides surged outward in fury.

With a boom, the underworld region behind Aweila shattered, the scene immensely spectacular. In an instant, she stood before Su Xiao. At this moment, Aweila felt time slow, and she gradually began to gain confidence in slaying the formidable foe before her, even if it demanded a more terrible price.

"Eternal Boundary Reincarnation."

Aweila's aura grew stronger by a notch, and the "Whisper of Time" in her hand emitted a deafening hum.

"State of Selflessness·Bai Ye."

Raising the longsword that surged with golden technique energy toward the surroundings, at this moment Aweila knew: it was over. This was the enemy's ultimate killing move.

Clang!

One slash descended, and the entire underworld seemed to tremble. Fortunately, the underworld was under the notarization of the Void Tree; otherwise, it would have entered a countdown to collapse.

Aweila, flying backward after the blow, began to feel relieved. The temporal gate that had been backlashing her suddenly ceased its retaliation, and she had not been flung far. Logically, this strike should have hurled her to the edge of the underworld, yet she landed after flying back only a hundred meters.

Aweila underwent rebirth once more, holding the now-shattered "Whisper of Time," reduced to one-third its original length. After taking a single step forward, with a crack, her left leg fell away like shattered crystal. Then came her right leg, her arms, most of her torso, and even her disordered, semi-transparent horns began to disintegrate.

"So that's how it is."

Having spoken, the Aweila lying on the ground had her skull shattered.

In the next instant, whether in the star realm, the abyss, or the elemental lands, all who knew Aweila instantly forgot the existence of this supreme boundary, for her causal essence had been utterly shattered. Under the absolute force of the strike, even her existence was hewn apart—and this is the true cause of death for the seemingly immortal Aweila.

Of course, to say Aweila was forgotten by everyone is inaccurate; in fact, three people still remember her: one is the Lord of the Abyss, one is Su Xiao, and the last is the former regiment leader she once wounded.

Su Xiao's temporal power gradually drifted away, restoring him to peak condition. Though aging would enhance his "Heavenly Edge Severing Shadow" ability, his physique indeed suffered considerable weakening.

The longsword in his hand returned to its sheath with a click.

Abyss Supreme Boundary·Aweila, annihilated.

【Hint: You have slain the Abyssal Tide Shadow·Aweila.】

【You obtained the Abyssal Treasure Chest (★★★★★★★★★★★★).】

You obtained the Abyssal Treasure Chest (★★★★★★★★★★★★).

Su Xiao believed the nine-star Abyssal Treasure Chest he obtained was the limit, but this time he received a twelve-star Abyssal Treasure Chest. He estimated this was the limit, and if he could truly defeat the Abyss Lord afterward, the reward would likely not be an "Abyssal Treasure Chest."

Unable to confirm whether the Abyss Lord would attack, despite having the regiment leader's timely reinforcements, Su Xiao still chose to apply for rest at the Void Tree—that is, to return to the Reincarnation Paradise.

This application was approved instantly. Naturally, having just slain an enemy Supreme Boundary, it would be absurd if such a rest request were denied under these circumstances.

Six hours later, in the planting area of the exclusive room beneath the black maple tree, Su Xiao's wounds had recovered through the use of healing permits. Fortunately, this Abyss campaign had begun with three healing permit quotas; otherwise, the cost of this single healing permit alone would not be a small sum, given that his current total Supreme Attributes stood at 203 points.

Amid the rustling of black maple leaves stirred by the wind, Su Xiao opened his eyes. He never neglects his daily meditation unless he is bedridden from severe injury in a mission world, in which case he might pause it for a few days.

Checking his remaining rest time, he found five natural days left, though he doubted whether their main base could still hold out for five natural days.

The Abyss Legion's offensive grew ever fiercer. After the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Legions suffered near-total casualties, the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Legions were dispatched. If the offensive intensity of the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Legions had been 2000, it had now surged to at least 5000. Without the regiment leader's past resurgence, their side would already have been overwhelmed in defending the main base.

Given their current state of successive retreats, it was indeed true they could not hold out much longer. On the battlefield, thirty percent of peak-boundaries had already fallen in death, with the strongest and absolute strongest suffering even more losses. As for ninth-rank contractors, they had already begun transmitting reinforcements in batches. Not to mention the chaotic battlefield, even those reserve ninth-rank contractors had started to feel despair.

As the side's Supreme Boundary, Su Xiao ought to have gone to stabilize the scene and meet the four Abyss Legions, but if he had done so, their side would have effectively entered a state of chronic decline.

Now it was absolutely impossible to strike at the Abyss Gate. As for bringing the Abyss Purification Device deep inside—don't dream of it. In that case, the only viable path to victory was for Su Xiao to enter the Abyss from the Underworld, rush straight to the Abyss Great Hall, and there determine life and death with the Abyss Lord. If victorious, the Abyss faction's core offensive would collapse like rotting walls.

Under these circumstances, Su Xiao needed more resources, and the various forces participating in this war had also noticed this—especially after he slew the Abyssal Tide Shadow·Aweila, and after the side's logistics chief, Taylor, deliberately promoted this fact.

The first installment of temporal-spatial power Su Xiao received came from the "Gilthurell Family," totaling as high as 25 million ounces of temporal-spatial power, both because he had ties with the "Gilthurell Family" and because such moments always called for their style of large-scale investment: the greater the risk, the greater the investment.

If they lost, there was no need to say—losing would mean the death of all star realm beings. But if they won, the "Gilthurell Family" would, in the subsequent star realm, undoubtedly be one of the most formidable forces to provoke.

Besides, since the Goblin Merchants' Association had been operating steadily, they usually conducted business with some greed, but this time they came to the great gathering and met Su Xiao, bringing 15 million ounces of temporal-spatial power.

Furthermore, slaying the "Abyssal Tide Shadow·Aweila" allowed Su Xiao to complete the "Abyss Mission·Bestowal of Death" to full capacity—no, it exceeded it. This Abyss mission had been completed three times consecutively, and in contrast, the mission had disappeared, leaving only the "Abyss Mission·Guardian." It seemed the Abyss missions were not infinitely acceptible, but had a cumulative completion cap.

Having maxed out the "Abyss Mission·Bestowal of Death," he obtained a total of 6.19 million ounces of temporal-spatial power, and additionally received:

【Void Tree Vault Application Permit VIII (half-price) ×3.】

This was likely the limit of the discount.

These were not the main event; the real windfall was the "bounty" for hunting the Abyssal Tide Shadow·Aweila, totaling 50 million ounces of temporal-spatial power. Worth noting is that among the gains this time was a backstab weapon named "Spit Upon," which Su Xiao had already sold at fair value.

To think this was the biggest gain? No—the resource supplement promised by the logistics chief Taylor had arrived, totaling……60 million ounces of temporal-spatial power!

This figure already inspired astonishment, but Taylor's original words were: "Recently, resource allocation has been tight; I can only get you this much."

Su Xiao believed the resource tightness of the Initiation Paradise was genuine, for every time he increased one point of Supreme Attribute, the Initiation Paradise had to, due to certain permit reward reasons, compensate him for all expenses beyond 350,000 ounces of temporal-spatial power.

As for Supreme Attribute itself, the higher it rose, the greater the resource consumption required. Once above 200 points, it took nearly 2.4 million ounces of temporal-spatial power per point of Supreme Attribute. Thus, raising Su Xiao's Supreme Attribute from 200 to 300 points would require the Initiation Paradise to compensate a total of 200 million ounces of temporal-spatial power.

To ensure this could be achieved, after defeating the Abyssal Tide Shadow·Aweila, Su Xiao applied to the Reincarnation Paradise for this advancement—similar to a reservation. Previously, this would have been impossible, but having slain a Supreme Boundary of the Abyss faction, his application succeeded and was approved by the Void Tree.

The result: the Initiation Paradise's total of 200 million ounces of temporal-spatial power entered a scheduled allocation state. Though still belonging to the Initiation Paradise, under Taylor's permit authority, this staggering sum was in a state of temporary reservation for use. By now, Taylor had fully understood what was happening.

Therefore, when handing Su Xiao the 60 million ounces of temporal-spatial power, she still wore a playful expression and asked: "Bai Ye, that fellow who stole temporal-spatial power from the Initiation Paradise—how's the investigation going? You'd better, good, good, in, vest, ig, ate!"

By the end, Taylor's expression toward Su Xiao was already one of gritted teeth, but to say she wanted to pursue it—how would she pursue it? This was the last possible chance for their faction to win, the sole hope of the entire star realm.

Su Xiao had not yet moved to enhance his own Supreme Attribute, but first took out the treasure chest obtained from slaying Aweila, activated "Fate Reversal," and now the effect of "Fate Reversal" had greatly increased, because another mighty name had been added above:

Su Xiao did not immediately enhance his own supreme attribute, but instead took out the chest obtained from killing Avela, activating "Fate Reversal," whose effect has now significantly increased, due to the addition of a powerful name above it:

Quality: Reincarnation Tier

Base Effect: Possessing this equipment exempts one from all detrimental effects brought by negative fortune attributes upon oneself.

Equipment Effect 1: Fortune Power (Core·Active). Upon activating this state, each second consumes 1 point of equipment durability, reversing one's fortune. With the current reversal ratio at 85%, and given the current fortune attribute of -50 million points, after reversal, in subsequent profit-generating activities, one will be judged based on 42.5 million points of positive fortune.

Equipment Effect 1: Fortune Power (Core·Active), upon activating this state, each second consumes 1 point of equipment durability, reversing your fortune; the current reversal ratio is 85%, and based on the current -50,000,000 fortune attribute, after reversal, you will, in subsequent profit-generating activities, be judged according to 42,500,000 points of positive fortune.

Equipment Effect 3: Peak Fate (Passive). By engraving on this equipment the names of peak powerhouses personally slain by oneself, using their peak causality, one can permanently enhance this equipment's strength.

Current peak powerhouse names engraved on the front: 4/10.

The peak powerhouse names are: Spider, Abyss, Madness (Abyssal Incarnation), Time (Aweila).

Rating: 30,000+ points (Reincarnation-tier equipment scores between 15,000 and 30,000 points).

Rating: 30,000+ points (Reincarnation-tier equipment rating is 15,000–30,000 points).

Price: Cannot be sold.

……

Originally thought the names of ten powerhouses could be fully inscribed, but now only four have been engraved, yet this already allows the "Fate Reversal" equipment rating to reach 30000+.

The original plan was, among the ten positions above, eight would be for peak realm powerhouses; the gold content of Spider Lady's powerhouse name is not mentioned, but this is the first peak realm name inscribed above, allowing "Fate Sovereign" to undergo transformation—this is very important.

The eight peak realm powerhouses are respectively: Spider Lady, Death God, Mad King·Errode, four chieftains of the Abyss Race, and the Abyss Dragon; however, the situation has ultimately changed—needless to say, Mad King·Errode is not as strong as imagined, and only the "Abyss Incarnation" descended by the joint effort of the five great chieftains truly qualifies for inscription, while the next one would leap directly into the Supreme Realm.

Just the single powerhouse name of Avela is enough to outweigh "Mad King·Errode + four Abyss Race chieftains + Abyss Dragon"; although Avela's existence is fragmented, her supreme causality once existed—this is a fact, and for the purpose of inscribing powerhouse names, this is sufficient.

Even so, due to Avela's existence being severed, this powerhouse name is already one of the few causal manifestations of Avela, causing the gold content of this Supreme Realm powerhouse name to surge significantly; if one were to say that the powerhouse name of the Abyss Lord equals the strength of about three "Supreme Realm" powerhouse names, then the current Avela is at least equivalent to five.

Gazing at the twelve-star "Abyss Treasure Chest" in hand, opening this Abyss Treasure Chest this time can be described as exceptionally reassuring—not for any other reason, but because holding nine Great Father-level·Original Sin items, Su Xiao, among all methods to avoid drawing Original Sin items from the Abyss Treasure Chest, chose the most unimaginable elimination method.

"Meow."

Bennie leapt onto Su Xiao's crossed legs; Bu Bu Wang, who rarely had rest time, pressed its dog head from under Su Xiao's armpit—these two fools have never had a clear understanding of their own size.

【You have opened the Abyss Treasure Chest (★★★★★★★★★★★★).】

【You obtained the Deep Sea Urn (Original Sin Item).】

【You obtained Eternal Inscription·Supreme Consciousness (Reincarnation Level).】

……

At the moment the "Deep Sea Urn" appeared, the "Book of Original Sin" also appeared—originally consisting of exactly ten pages, now each page is a Great Father-level·Original Sin item.

Logically, the "Deep Sea Urn" should be in the Fish Family's possession, but this time the Fish Family patriarch is dead, the great elder also kicked the bucket, the second elder remains as steady as an old dog—certainly hiding away; the third in line, the Sea Witch·Witcherles, is actually an internal spy sent by the Grand Marshal to the Fish Family; the fourth, Scaleless Sea King·Nezemo, died long ago; the fifth, Wan Bao, followed the second elder in hiding; the sixth, Deep Sea Shadow, previously stationed at the "Gate Node," was instantly slain by Su Xiao's wide-range sword strike.

Thus, though the Fish Family may not be said to exist in name only, all Fish Family powerhouses causally linked to the "Deep Sea Urn" have also kicked the bucket, so the "Deep Sea Urn" has returned to a state of no holder.

Su Xiao can clearly feel that the "Book of Original Sin" cannot maintain this level of seal for long, but this is already sufficient; he previously gathered the three legendary blacksmiths to forge the "Endless Ring," and adding the treasure obtained from destroying the Arcane Eternal Star—named 【Origin of Original Sin】—he also used it in this forging.

Su Xiao still does not intend to directly use these Great Father-level·Original Sin items, especially after learning their origins, but he has an alternative method—even if this method causes the "Endless Ring," painstakingly forged at great cost, to be destined to shatter, as long as he can persist for over a month to complete his deathmatch against the Abyss Lord, the "Endless Ring" will have fulfilled its full value.

Exactly—using the "Endless Ring" to contain ten Great Father-level·Original Sin items to demonstrate its true mighty effect; this is the strongest preparation in the history of this deathmatch against the Abyss Lord, the most powerful Abyss Lord ever.