Chapter 1314 - The Imperial City of Eternal Darkness
How many creatures would perish if that were true? This gentle-looking woman had an unusually callous heart.
“Now that your people are safe, you could consider aborting the child,” Su Yu said.
However, Xiang-er shook her head gently. Despite the sorrowful tears trickling down her cheeks, there was no trace of emotion on her face.
“No! I’m going to give birth to the child, and I’m going to destroy the Yaksha tribe. I will destroy whoever used to hurt me, and whoever used to hurt Fengxuan!”
Fengxuan? Su Yu recalled the solitary grave standing on the wasteland. Was that her lover’s grave?
“There is hope where there is life…”
Xiang-er shook her head. All the colors faded from her eyes. “Sometimes being alive is torture! You don’t need to persuade me anymore, I am determined! Back when I offered myself to the Yaksha Prince, I have already made up my mind.”
“I will certainly cultivate this World Annihilation Poison inside me, and avenge Fengxuan, as well as all my people who are dead!” Resolution and madness were flickering in Xiang-er’s eyes.
Su Yu looked at her for a long time and stopped trying to talk her out of it.
Turning around, Su Yu descended and searched Fengli’s body, but found nothing valuable.
Then his glance swept across the rest of the emperor’s people.
When his eyes fell upon them, they went completely silent and still, especially the group of people who supported the captivation of the Evil God. They were trembling in fear now.
“Let me ask you something. Millions of years ago, your Imperial Sacred Faction joined forces with the other Sacred Factions and created an extremely powerful treasure for the search of the Endless Chasm. Do you know anything about that?”
That was Su Yu’s main purpose of rescuing them.
Facing his question, they shook their heads in bafflement, seemingly clueless about the subject.
Su Yu sighed. It was just as expected.
Countless years passed between this generation of people and those that lived a million years ago. As the empire gradually declined with time, chances of acquiring information from millions of years ago were very slim.
“Are you talking about the replica of the World Annihilation Plate?” Right at that moment, Xiang-er asked.
Su Yu was taken aback. “Do you have any documents regarding the replica of the World Annihilation Plate?”
However, Xiang-er shook her head. “It was too far back in the ancient ages. How could an ordinary person like me own something like that?”
Right as Su Yu was disappointed, however, Xiang-er continued, “The Empire of Darkness has replaced our Empire of World Annihilation, and many of our resources have been obtained by them.”
“The documents of the World Annihilation Plate replica that you’re looking for are most likely in the hands of the Empire of Darkness rulers now.”
The Empire of Darkness was one of the four great empires reigning the Ancient God Realm these days.
Beyond the empire was the descendant of the former Emperor of Darkness, the Sacred Faction of Eternal Darkness.
The Master of the Sacred Faction was shockingly powerful. Based on Su Yu’s speculation, the master most probably possessed abilities as powerful as those of the Demonic God of Six Paths.
In the face of such a formidable figure, obtaining the World Annihilation Plate replica would be as tough as climbing up to the heavens for Su Yu.
As if noticing Su Yu’s predicament, Xiang-er raised a hand and retrieved a jade vessel from the Prince’s storage space. Lying in it were three transparent drops of divine blood.
“The blood of the World Annihilation Emperor. It is extremely popular in the black market, and even a drop of it is a priceless treasure,” Xiang-er stated with complicated emotion.
“With this in your hands, you can certainly find someone in the empire’s black market who would be willing to help you.”
The blood of the World Annihilation Emperor? Su Yu reached out and accepted it, secretly wondering about the use of an emperor’s divine blood.
Staring at Fengli’s mesh of blood and flesh scattered on the ground, Su Yu waved his sleeve and collected all of it.
Xiang-er had an approving look on her face. “Fengli had more divine blood than any of the remaining descendants of the World Annihilation Emperor. You could extract his bloodline power and use it to your advantage.”
When she finished, Xiang-er gave a slight bow. “Take care, benefactor.”
She turned into a delicate shadow and vanished into thin air.
Su Yu heaved a soft sigh. He didn’t know if she would still be alive once the World Annihilation Poison was released.
Tucking away the precious emperor’s blood, Su Yu cast a look at the descendants of the World Annihilation Emperor and said dispassionately, “Take care, all of you!”
When he finished, he took the Evil God and headed straight for the capital city of the Empire of Darkness.
——
In the Imperial City of Yaksha, inside the palace.
The Yaksha King looked up at the sky, watching the divine blood fall incessantly with a glum look on his face.
A harsh light glinted in his eyes. “Who was the bold man that killed the Blood Corpse Yaksha?”
At that moment, Xiang-er clutched at her arm, from which blood was gushing out, and scurried over with faltering steps and a pallid look on her face. “King, we have been ambushed! The Blood Corpse Yaksha has perished!”
The Yaksha King gasped in shock. “Where is the Prince? The two of you are inseparable…”
Xiang-er put on a grief-stricken look and began sobbing. “King, I let him down. The Prince chose to sacrifice himself for the sake of the child inside me. He let me run away first, while he, he was slaughtered by the enemy!”
The Yaksha King was stunned as if struck by a thunderbolt.
He recovered his senses a moment later. “Who was it? Who was the enemy, and why did he ambush you?”
“He was an old acquaintance of the World Annihilation Emperor, and he was there to rescue the Emperor’s descendants. When the Prince heard about it, he led the Blood Corpse Yaksha and many strong men to hunt them down, and did not expect to be ambushed by them instead…”
Hearing that, the Yaksha King was furious. “What did you say? The descendants of the World Annihilation Emperor were rescued? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
The Yaksha King hurried over to the Prince’s mansion immediately. Looking at the deserted, empty hall, his face was as gloomy as dark water.
“What does that person look like? Where is he now?” The Yaksha King always had a solemn look on his face, but it looked even more awful now that he heard about his son’s death, as though the sky was about to collapse.
With a wave of her dainty hand, Xiang-er described Su Yu’s appearance in the air and said, “They are heading for the Imperial City of the Empire of Darkness!”
“The Imperial City? Great!” The Yaksha King was frenzied and gave a series of commands instantly. It concerned the delegation of authority within the tribe while he was away.
Finally, the Yaksha King cast a look at Xiang-er’s belly, and gladness filled his eyes. “Xiang-er, rest well in the tribe, while I make a trip to the Imperial City!”
——
Three months later.
After a long and arduous journey, Su Yu and the rest finally arrived at the Imperial City of the Empire of Darkness.
Unlike it was in the tribe, the Imperial City was teeming with people of diverse races.
For the sake of convenience, Su Yu summoned Lüzhu out. She was more familiar with the environment than he was.
“Sir, the most famous intelligence agency in the Imperial City is the Hall of One Man’s Word. As long as you’ve got money, you could acquire any information,” Lüzhu said. “The precondition is that you’ve got to have loads and loads of money.”
In fact, Su Yu did not have the coins of the Ancient God Realm.
“Take me there,” Su Yu ordered.
Lüzhu thought for a second and said, “Sir, the Hall of One Man’s Word only recognizes money but not authority. Without enough gold coins of the Ancient God Realm, I’m afraid that you will only suffer humiliation.”
“Haha, then I’ll make them pay me instead!”
What? Lüzhu’s mouth hung open in shock. Since the ancient ages, the Hall of One Man’s Word had only taken money from people. It was the first time she heard of them paying someone instead.
The Hall of One Man’s Word was situated in the southern part of the Imperial City at a far-flung area, but it was clamorous, bustling with people and activities.
Su Yu and the others waited patiently in line for three days before it was their turn to enter.
It was more like the Palace of One Man’s Word than the Hall of One Man’s Word.
The Hall of One Man’s Word was divided into nine sub-halls, and each sub-hall was constituted of ten chambers.
Su Yu and the rest entered one of the chambers.
Inside the chamber, there was an old man, whose body was half-transparent and half-black. He was sitting on a stone bed with crossed legs and a bored, impatient look on his face.
“Information is classified into three grades, the grades of Sun, Moon, and Star, according to their extent of secrecy. The grade of Star is the lowest, costing ten thousand God Realm’s gold coins per service.”
“You must show you have the money before you raise questions,” the elder recited the rules mechanically, with an indifferent look.
With the elder’s experience, it was easy to see that the three of them had no prominent backgrounds.
Lüzhu was slightly stunned, and exclaimed softly, “It only cost 3,000 gold coins when I came ten years ago! Since when was the price raised this high?”
The translucent elder stated calmly, “Since now. Have you any objection?”
Lüzhu was offended. She knew that the people of the Hall of One Man’s Word were arrogant, and even the Mermaid Emperor suffered their disdain back then.
However, the Hall of One Man’s Word had an extremely powerful influence supporting them, thus the Mermaid Emperor had no choice but to bear with it.
She was truly worried that Su Yu might not be able to hold his temper.
“We have no gold coins,” Su Yu replied casually and calmly.
The translucent elder stiffened. “Why are you here if you have no money? The Hall of One Man’s Word does not welcome beggars!”
His words were very harsh and rude.
Su Yu wasn’t provoked at all. Without saying a word, he retrieved a jade vessel filled with a transparent drop of divine blood, and said, “But I have this.”
The translucent elder snorted in contempt. “I told you, all we want is money, don’t you present me with beggars’ stuff…”
His words trailed off because right after Su Yu opened the jade vessel, a whiff of scent filled with the mighty will of an imperial ruler wafted through the air.
The old man’s eyes went saucer-wide. Staring unblinkingly at the tiny jade vessel on Su Yu’s palm, he gasped in shock. “This, this is…”
Su Yu recapped the vessel as if nothing happened. Placidly, he said, “Never mind, just some beggars’ stuff, I suppose you wouldn’t be interested.”
“Let’s go.”
The translucent elder recovered from his stupefaction, and embarrassment and anticipation flickered across his face. Seeing that Su Yu about to leave, he called out hurriedly, “Hold on! If you give this item to me, the price of service would be reduced by half!”
Su Yu chortled scornfully. “You’re really treating me like a clueless peasant! This is the divine blood of the World Annihilation Emperor. Are you trying to get it by scamming me like that?”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it was very self-assured.
The words ‘World Annihilation Emperor’ were undoubtedly a famous legend in the Ancient God Realm.
The mere mention of him instantly stimulated people’s imaginations.
“Did he just say ‘the divine blood of the World Annihilation Emperor?’”
“I think he did, I’ll ask.”
The translucent elder jumped in fright. He sealed the stone door immediately, shutting out the people who had come forth to inquire.
He forced a friendly, benevolent look onto his arrogant face, and said laughingly, “Dear clients, we could talk about it properly. Everything can be solved through negotiation.”
His eyes stared unblinkingly at the jade vessel in Su Yu’s hand, so intent that his eyes seemed to be popping right out of their sockets.
That was the divine blood of the World Annihilation Emperor. It was extremely rare and valuable.
“I wish to purchase this drop of divine blood. Would you let me know the price?” The elder asked amiably.
Su Yu shot a glance at him from the corner of his eye, and questioned in return, nonchalantly, “Can you afford it? This isn’t something that people like you can usually get their hands on!”
The translucent elder had an awful, shamed look on his face. All along, only he had the right to insult people, never the other way round.
Lüzhu felt profound satisfaction. That’s what you get for being so rude and proud!
“I looked for you to present you with an opportunity to earn some money. If you’re the only one who knows where this drop of World Annihilation Emperor’s blood is sold, how much do you think this piece of information will cost?” Su Yu pocketed the jade vessel and sat down casually as he asked.
The translucent elder immediately grasped what Su Yu was implying.
He could earn a great deal of money by selling this piece of knowledge to the right people.
Although it was a pity that he couldn’t trick Su Yu into giving him the drop of divine blood, wouldn’t he be a fool if he missed the opportunity to get rich?
“Alright, what do you want to know? I will provide you with star-grade information free of charge.”
Unexpectedly, Su Yu shook his head coldly. “Free of charge? Do you take me for a fool? Give me 500,000 gold coins of the God Realm, and I’ll decide whether to accept your service.”
“Otherwise, I’d rather go to the other agents. I’m sure the agents in the rest of the 89 chambers will be more than happy to collaborate with me!”
So he had to pay this stranger instead? The translucent elder was dumbfounded for quite a while.
