Chapter 552 - 305: Chain Reaction

"Something unexpected happened with the Flame Fire in the sky. It took much longer than usual to go out. I’m afraid other complications might arise, so I don’t plan on returning to the mine for now."

The Centipede Dragon looked up at the sky where the Flame Fire had gone out. The state of the Flame Fire had been a problem for over a century, and he’d been stuck in this push-and-pull for decades, but he’d never seen a change like this before.

He didn’t dare advance. If the Flame Fire suddenly reignited, there were plenty of people in the Bronze Sect who could kill him.

’This Centipede Dragon sure is cautious,’ Su Chen noted inwardly. But his tone was light as he said, "Don’t worry."

"What? Do you know what happened?" The Centipede Dragon detected the hidden meaning in the Faceless Ghost High Priest’s words and couldn’t help but ask.

Su Chen nodded. "Yes, the condition of the Flame Fire is improving. However, there shouldn’t be any more changes for a while."

"You’re sure?"

The Centipede Dragon was somewhat astonished. He wasn’t completely ignorant of the real world; he knew that ever since the Bronze Sect was tricked and harmed by a Great Deceitful God, they’d developed a deep-seated hatred for all Deceitful Gods, killing them on sight.

He hadn’t encountered any Deceitful God’s Followers using the Nether Realm for rituals or other purposes in this area for many years. The man before him was the first.

And yet, this guy had somehow managed to get information about the abnormality with the Flame Fire.

"My Lord’s Mighty Power is omnipotent."

It was rare for Su Chen to invoke his "Lord," but the Centipede Dragon didn’t doubt him. On the contrary, it seemed to agree wholeheartedly. "The Faceless God," it said, "is truly worthy of the title of Great Deceitful God of the Nether Realm."

Su Chen continued, "One more thing. I plan to have Xiao Hei bring a few more Netherworld Creatures into the mother lode. I have a greater need for Netherworld Stone lately."

The Centipede Dragon considered this for a moment. In the real world, Netherworld Stone was a precious material. In the Nether Realm, it served as high-grade sustenance for Netherworld Creatures.

In the past, it might not have agreed. Every piece of Netherworld Stone that was excavated depleted the power contained within the lode.

’But...’ It glanced up at the Flame Fire again. ’That thing could recover at any moment. And then there are the changes with this Faceless Ghost High Priest...’

The Centipede Dragon didn’t hesitate for long before agreeing. "No problem. Dig as much as you want. We probably won’t be able to stay here much longer anyway."

Hearing the Centipede Dragon’s generous tone, Su Chen couldn’t help but wonder, "Just how much is left in this Nether Realm mine?"

"I’m not familiar with the detection methods of the Outer Realm Spirit Bodies, but at the rate you’re digging, it’ll probably be emptied out soon," the Centipede Dragon said, shooting him a look. "We don’t just extract individual pieces of Netherworld Stone from the lode. The lode can gather Nether Fog and gradually recover, but when you dig out a piece, it’s gone for good."

"Alright." Su Chen considered it. ’The way these Netherworld Creatures do it is sustainable, but I’m just strip-mining the place.’

’After all, this mine is in territory controlled by the Sect. It doesn’t seem right for me to just empty it out...’

’But once the Flame Fire fully recovers, this bit of Netherworld Stone won’t be a big deal. Besides, part of what I’m mining is turned over to the Sect anyway...’

Su Chen quickly erased his faint sense of guilt and asked, "So, once the Flame Fire recovers, do you all have somewhere else to go?"

The Centipede Dragon shook its body, sending pebbles rattling to the ground with a dull thud. Its voice was deep and resonant. "The Nether Realm is vast. There are many other places with special materials similar to Netherworld Stone, but they’re all occupied by powerful Netherworld Creatures who don’t share easily. We’ll just have to find a new place then."

Su Chen was thoughtful and didn’t say much more.

With the information confirmed, the Centipede Dragon was less concerned and led its subordinates back toward the mine.

Xiao Hei selected more than a dozen Netherworld Creatures to follow it into the lode. They completely filled every branching tunnel and began digging furiously.

Once he confirmed everything was on track, Su Chen left, making his way to the edge of the Flame Fire to wait as usual.

The Flame Fire reignited. The brightened area spread toward him, stopping a short distance away.

’I timed that distance perfectly...’ Su Chen grinned, carving symbols on the ground to pray to Black Tuo. This time, the prayer took a while.

A full ten minutes later, wisps of black fog finally seeped out from the vertical-pupil emblem at his feet, swirling around him.

"It’s you."

This time, Black Tuo’s voice didn’t boom in his ear as it usually did. Instead, it was distant and ethereal, seeming to come from a great distance.

’Has he already entered the real world?’

Su Chen speculated. Before he could even offer the respectful pleasantries of a Believer, he heard Black Tuo ask, "What’s the latest news?"

’Looks like he hasn’t noticed anything unusual about me.’

Su Chen breathed a sigh of relief. The second trial of the Unity of Spirit and Body was to face Black Tuo himself.

Even after using a dose of High-tier Faceless Ghost Divine Power to create a "concealing mist" to hide his presence, Su Chen had still been worried. But it now seemed to be working quite well.

He quickly replied, "There is no news for now. I merely wanted to inquire when you will be arriving so that I can make further arrangements."

Hearing this, Black Tuo considered for a moment before replying, "In about two months."

’Two months? What remote corner of the universe is this guy coming from?’

Su Chen was surprised, but he quickly started laying the groundwork. "A short while ago, a figure of great importance within the Bronze Sect died suddenly. It’s suspected to be related to a Deceitful God."

"The Bronze Sect has been conducting strict inspections recently, so I may not be able to greet you personally. I can only send someone to meet you in my stead. I hope you’ll forgive me."

"It’s fine." Black Tuo wasn’t concerned. Deceitful Gods were extremely tolerant of Believers who were both absolutely loyal and highly competent.

He even added, "My disguise will be the head of the Dark Moon Group. The name is Zhao Cheng. When the time comes, just have your subordinate find me directly."

’He’s telling me his cover identity just like that?’

Su Chen was stunned. He had prepared a few excuses to try and coax the information out of him indirectly, but he never expected this Great Deceitful God to be so forthright.

Dark Moon Group, Zhao Cheng.

He committed the name to memory and continued setting his trap. "To eliminate any possibility of your identity being discovered, I’ll use an ordinary person to make contact."

"Mm," Black Tuo said, quite satisfied. Just as Su Chen was about to end the conversation...

...he heard Black Tuo ask, "I heard that Su Chen has already been promoted to a Tier Six Professional, defeated a Star Seed from within the Bronze Sect, and now ranks second on the Holy List. It’s caused quite a stir."

’News travels way too fast.’

Su Chen was speechless. It had only been about half a day since it happened, yet Black Tuo, who was still over two months away from the Bronze Sect, had already heard the news.

’In this interstellar age, there’s really no such thing as information lag.’

He quickly responded, "I am indeed aware of this matter. However, I am still trying to ascertain the specific details, which is why I haven’t reported it to you yet."

Black Tuo didn’t seem to mind. He simply asked, "Su Chen... is it possible he’s the one Zhou Yunyang was going to tell us about?"

Su Chen’s heart skipped a beat. ’Black Tuo still made the connection. This isn’t good news.’

’If Black Tuo decides to test me first instead of waiting to hear it from Zhou Yunyang, I’m screwed.’

The possibility wasn’t zero. If Su Chen and the person who purified the Fog Ashes were one and the same, Black Tuo could save himself a Heart of Spiritual Light.

Hearing Black Tuo’s suspicion, Su Chen didn’t respond immediately. He feigned a moment of thought before saying, "To be honest with you, My Lord, I had the same thought. I even tested Zhou Yunyang a little. But based on my deductions, I’m sixty to seventy percent certain they are not the same person."

"Not the same person?" Black Tuo sounded surprised. "Then who could it be?"

Black Tuo’s voice was faint and uncertain, as if he were asking Su Chen, yet also as if he weren’t.

Su Chen held his breath, concentrating. He was leveraging Black Tuo’s absolute trust in his followers to try and interfere with the god’s judgment.

’No matter what, I have to at least wait until I can plausibly feed him the name Qin Tianlin, and after I have the Heart of Spiritual Light safely in my possession.’

"So be it," Black Tuo’s voice began to fade. "It seems this Heart of Spiritual Light must be given away after all."

Su Chen quickly said, "It is my failure..."

Before the words had even left his mouth, the connection to Black Tuo was severed. Su Chen quickly erased the black vertical-pupil emblem from the ground beneath his feet.