An invasion from the Abyss? I, a demonic cultivator, laughed.

Chapter 433 The Threat from Chu Xiu

Chu Xiu's eyes widened slightly.

He didn't expect Zhang Zhengdao to be so decisive, destroying the Soul-Gathering Treasure Box without even the slightest hesitation.

This action at least indicates that the events of that year were most likely indeed unrelated to Zhang Zhengdao. If the person in this treasure box was someone Zhang Zhengdao intended to resurrect, he wouldn't have destroyed it so decisively.

Of course, it could also be a move to sacrifice the pawn to save the king after the incident. Chu Xiu had no way of knowing the truth, but now that the treasure box was destroyed, at least he no longer had a reason to be hostile to the Zhang family, which made him feel a little relieved.

“Brother Zhang, these are, after all, your clansmen.”

Chu Xiu's thinking speed was extremely fast at this moment. He finished thinking almost the instant Zhang Zhengdao shattered the treasure box. Duan Yan had just exclaimed in surprise at this moment.

Zhang Zhengdao sneered: "Everyone has their own destiny. How can I keep such a wicked and heretical person alive by trying to resurrect himself by using someone else's body?"

After saying that, he looked at Chu Xiu and said, "I do not expect that such actions will make you believe me. I can only assure you that if you need me to participate in the battle, I will do my best. But if you still have doubts, you can compensate me with additional resources."

Having said all that, Chu Xiu really couldn't find a reason to refuse.

Although he still suspected that Zhang Zhengdao's entry into the Corpse Demon World to help him might have ulterior motives, after all, his previous conversation with the leader of the Mountain Outer Tower indicated that this decisive battle was not as simple as it seemed, and that many forces had their own purposes in order to enter the fray.

But if he continues to doubt like this, he will have no one left to rely on, because everyone who enters the world of the dead could be a traitor or a spy, and he will be trapped in a chain of suspicion from which he cannot escape.

Therefore, Chu Xiu only maintained basic suspicion. Even when facing the people from Shanwailou, he only said that if they were willing to reveal their real identities, they could be trusted.

As the head of the family, Zhang Zhengdao must have had some reservations.

Thinking this, Chu Xiu quickly clasped his hands in greeting: "Senior Zhang, you flatter me."

"The Zhang family's strict discipline and upright reputation are evident to all the people of China. With tens of thousands of members, what's so strange about one or two scoundrels? Besides, everyone loves their son and has lovers. The Sixth Elder's momentary lapse in judgment was understandable, and he has already been dealt with. How can we blame him?"

"I am deeply grateful for your kind assistance, senior!"

Hearing him say this, Zhang Zhengdao's serious expression softened considerably. He clasped his hands and said, "Young friend, you are kind and generous, and you are willing to forgive the Zhang family. I am extremely grateful."

Upon hearing that the matter had been resolved satisfactorily, representatives from other factions offered their congratulations, and the atmosphere became much more harmonious.

With Zhang Zhengdao's help, Chu Xiu's combat power increased dramatically. With a powerful perfect demigod in command, the danger of the opposing high-level expert rushing to attack the core of the Titan machine was directly eliminated.

Another key point is that Zhang Zhengdao also indirectly helped Chu Xiu lower the price.

It's like an auction; if all the forces offer very low prices, then either the item will be sold at a low price or it will fail to sell.

Originally, Chu Xiu had specially invited Chen Huang to break this phenomenon, but now that Zhang Zhengdao was backing him up, Chu Xiu was much more confident. In this respect, he should thank the other party.

Just as he had expected, after Zhang Zhengdao finished speaking, Jiang Lingfu sighed and said, "Alright, I was originally going to wait until you, Chen, finished making your selection before we talked, but it's fine to talk about it now."

"Chen, do you remember the Hundred Ghosts Forge you went to with Miaoyin? There was a team from the Celestial Machinery Guild there."

Chu Xiu was slightly taken aback, then nodded. The four members of this team were all quite powerful, among the best of the King rank. Chu Xiu had originally wanted to recruit Shen Tianxie as the controller of the Titan Machine, but unfortunately, all four of them were killed by Qing Yunzi.

These four individuals all have decent backgrounds; although not as prestigious as the four great families, they are still powerful and influential clans in their respective regions.

Jiang Lingfu said, "After hearing about what happened in the Hundred Ghosts Furnace from my daughter, the four families behind the Heavenly Machinery Guild were extremely angry, especially the Shen family. Shen Tianxie was their chosen successor, and they could not let it go so easily after he was harmed by a ghost."

"So they asked me to make a suggestion to you, young brother: if you are willing to enter the Hundred Ghosts Furnace to avenge the four and try to bring out their remains, the four major families are willing to jointly provide a considerable reward."

"First, there are the four people's closest relatives, a total of five heroic spirits who are willing to fight for you. In addition, there are various supplies totaling 200 billion Chinese yuan that can be provided."

"In the coming period, the Awakened Ones in the Corpse World will be allowed to transport two more waves of supplies. These weapons and equipment should be of great help."

Chu Xiu hadn't expected such an extra surprise. Jiang Lingfu was dishonest, only revealing it now.

He was already planning to cause trouble for Qingyunzi in the Hundred Ghosts Furnace and to investigate the two stone tablets and other secrets, so he agreed without hesitation.

After that, only Shanwailou and Chen Huang remained.

Duan Yan simply stated that, in addition to the previous proposal with Chu Xiu, they were willing to provide an additional batch of large-scale war weapons worth 500 billion Chinese yuan, provided that Chu Xiu provided the anchor point.

However, Chu Xiu's reply remained unchanged: "Unless they are willing to reveal their real identities, they will have to go through the government's review to obtain an anchor point."

Duan Yan didn't say much after hearing this, but simply nodded to indicate that he understood.

As for Chen Huang, he was there to negotiate a lower price. Chu Xiu and the Sun King didn't have much of a relationship, so the other party naturally wouldn't sponsor him much for free. He only provided a few large magical puppets from the Wizarding Council, worth two or three hundred billion, which could barely be considered as a fighting force.

"The bulk of the support should still come from the three major powers," Chu Xiu thought to himself.

To his dismay, even after Zhang Zhengdao raised the price, the three major forces remained unmoved, as if they did not feel any pressure whatsoever.

This made Chu Xiu shake his head with a wry smile, thinking that he had underestimated these human elites. They had already analyzed him thoroughly, so how could his little tricks be of any use?

Finally, the gathering ended hastily as none of the parties were willing to back down.

But Chu Xiu was somewhat anxious because the most important goal of this trip had not yet been achieved.

That is... the Heroic Spirit Mechanic!
Over the past five days, the leader-level ancient remains have been traversing the ancient world, but have only retrieved a fragment of Aurora; the others are still being searched for.

Based on the average probability, it should be possible to collect all of Aurora's soul in the end, but the problem is that the probability of collecting each fragment is not even!

Because the search mechanism for the Old Remains is random, the last few fragments are destined to be much harder to find than the earlier ones. Not to mention, there is another logic at play: some fragments have never been found, which may be because they are hidden very deep, further increasing the difficulty of the search.

If Aurora's soul cannot be gathered, then we will have to rely on a hero-level mechanic. Otherwise, let alone being able to unleash the full power of the Titan Machine, it's hard to say whether we can even get half of it!
Not to mention that the Heroic Spirit Mechanic itself will also have a huge bonus to the Titan Machine, the difference before and after is probably three or four times!
Mechanics are extremely rare, and heroic mechanics are even rarer; you can count them on your fingers, and they are all within the three major powers!

Thinking of this, Chu Xiu frowned even more deeply.

Just as he was pondering this, Zhao Jie walked up to him.

Everyone else left, but he stayed.

Chu Xiu looked up and asked, "Brother Zhao, is there anything else?"

Zhao Jie looked at him and smiled, "Do you know why the three major powers offered such a low price?"

Chu Xiu said, "It's because we have difficulty reaching a mutual trust." Zhao Jie nodded, "That is indeed the main problem, but there is actually an even more important reason."

Chu Xiu was taken aback: "What else?"

Zhao Jie said, "Actually, I shouldn't say this from my position, but Brother Chu, you saved my life, and I can't stand idly by at this time."

"The real problem is that your talent is simply amazing!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu was taken aback at first, then revealed a thoughtful expression.

Zhao Jie continued, "We have kept your battle against the murderer strictly confidential, so apart from the Jiang family, no matter how much other forces investigate, they can only find out the identity of 'Qin Yu' at most. Their impression of you is still based on the near-demigod strength you displayed in Pengcheng."

"Although your talent is indeed extraordinary, and the time it took to achieve this level of strength is incredibly short, time is the least important thing for awakened individuals due to the existence of causal points."

"As long as there are enough causal points, one year can be equivalent to ten thousand or even one hundred thousand years of arduous cultivation!"

"As we all know, the early stages of the Awakening Trial are the easiest to obtain resources. If you have some fortuitous opportunity to obtain a large number of cause and effect points, it is not surprising that your strength will increase rapidly. Moreover, this growth will slow down rapidly as your strength advances to a higher level."

"After all, opportunities at the level of fierce general are everywhere, but opportunities at the level of heroic spirit demigod may not be found even after decades of searching."

"Therefore, while you are undoubtedly a genius unlike any other in China or even the world, and there is a significant gap between you and others, you are still within the comprehension of ordinary people."

"However, the information about your battle with the murderer, including your brief encounter with Astrid in the Corpse World, cannot be kept from the three Heavenly Kings!"

"To maintain such an unbelievable rate of power increase even after reaching the combat level of Heroic Spirit and Demigod, and to show no signs of stopping, is terrifying!"

"It's so terrifying that even the Heavenly Kings felt the pressure!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu's expression completely changed.

He suddenly realized that there was a fundamental conflict between himself and the Heavenly Kings!

That's right. Unlike the usual stories, the three Heavenly Kings are not either the final boss of the enemy or the mentor of the protagonist. Instead, they have a more complex identity: while being the greatest protectors and guides of the human race, they are also the de facto exploiting class!
Through their absolute advantage gained in the dark turmoil and the second path to godhood, they established an unbreakable monopoly, continuously extracting resources from the entire human society for decades! And these vast resources, in turn, further widened the gap between the Heavenly Kings and others!

At this point, no one really knows how strong the Heavenly King is!
In this positive cycle, virtually no one can break the monopoly of the superstars; the gap between them and others will only widen, unless an outlier defies common sense emerges.
“I don’t want to make malicious speculations about the three Heavenly Kings,” Zhao Jie sighed softly. “But the fact is, they are not kind-hearted, country-loving predecessors, or at least not entirely so. Regardless of their personalities, beliefs, and ambitions, there is always a ruling class aspect in their character. And every awakened one will feel this aspect more and more deeply as they grow stronger. To some extent, this is a fundamental contradiction that is difficult to resolve.”

These words made Chu Xiu gasp: "Brother Zhao, are you perhaps implying that I've already been seen as a threat by the Heavenly Kings?"

Zhao Jie remained silent for a long time before shaking his head and saying, "I don't know. No one can know what the Heavenly Kings are thinking."

"Even the Heavenly Kings are human. They have a selfless side, but they also have a selfish side. How do they think about and view an 'outlier' like you? No one knows except themselves!"

After saying this, Chu Xiu fell silent, and after a long while, he let out a soft sigh.

Yes, just like when the Sun King met him last time, she seemed completely unconcerned about his talent. But if she knew Chu Xiu's current strength, would she still be so indifferent?

Only the kings themselves know the answer, but from a human nature perspective, no one likes to be challenged. Even the most enlightened emperor would not tolerate anyone threatening his position.

"So, Brother Zhao, what do you mean?" Chu Xiu asked hesitantly.

"I suggest you lie low for a while after this battle," Zhao Jie said.

"As for the duel with Astrid, I can help you contact those powerful individuals, but you'll have to pay the price for getting them to help you."

Chu Xiu nodded, realizing that he had to make a sacrifice.

No one will help a stranger for no reason. Chu Xiu had been sucking blood from the system built by the government, but now he was too big, so big that he attracted the attention of the higher-ups, and there were no more benefits to him.

Just like the stock market, it's relatively easy to make money when you have little capital, but once you become a big fish, you become the target of countless people's attention and attacks.

It's time for him to invest his own money. The good thing of having others bear the risk for him in every adventure is probably not going to happen again.

In a split second, Chu Xiu made his decision.

With a wave of his hand, more than a dozen items appeared in front of Zhao Jie.

These items are the various legends of Heroic Spirits at their peak, supreme, and below that level that he had accumulated over this period.

Chu Xiu originally intended to keep these equipment to cultivate the "Myriad Weapons Return to the Source Technique," but after perfecting the "Great Freedom Heavenly Demon Body," and with the continuous strengthening of his body through tribulation and the star core, Chu Xiu's physical strength had reached another dimension, and he no longer valued these equipment.

As for combat, these things are of no help whatsoever. The armor among them is not even as strong as Chu Xiu's body. He can tear it apart like a wooden board with his bare hands.

In fact, even the legendary equipment was of little use to Chu Xiu. After all, Chu Xiu's strength far exceeded his own level. To make these equipment exert its full power, he needed to use both divine and demonic power and the essence of magic weapons at the same time. However, these two powers are limited consumables and could not be wasted on legendary equipment.

The two legendary Heroic Spirit equipment pieces that the government previously rewarded him with for information about the murderer had been sitting in his storage space gathering dust.

But for others, these items are priceless.

Although it hurts to lose money, it would be worth it if we could protect the civilization. If we could also kill one or two demigod blood demons and have our avatars absorb them, that would be an even bigger win.

"Brother Zhao, please do me the trouble of seeing if these items can persuade those powerful figures to take action."

"Especially the Heroic Spirit Mechanics, they are the most important targets."

Even Zhao Jie was momentarily stunned when he suddenly saw such a large number, but he quickly agreed.

"I'll contact you right away!"

"By the way, Brother Zhao, there's one more thing I need your help with."

As he spoke, Chu Xiu took out a list.

"Please help me collect the items on this."

After glancing at it, Zhao Jie said, "Leave it to me."

The item on this is Chu Xiu's final preparation for this battle—an item that can greatly enhance his combat power.

(End of this chapter)