The metamorphosis happened in an instant, and Huai Shi had no chance to react. Perhaps it was the inherent affinity between the iron chain and The Sorrow of Index. The former was made of iron, the latter of Source Substance. Now, they merged as if a soul had finally found its shell, intertwining to reveal a transformation Huai Shi himself had never imagined. It felt as if a part of him had become a Border Relic.

Now, all he needed was to designate a target, and the iron chain would fly out on its own, transforming within the realm of the nebulous, forcibly binding two objects together. If Huai Shi infused it with Source Substance, it could even suppress the effects of a Stigma. This was equipment seemingly tailor-made for him; owning just this one piece, Huai Shi felt thoroughly content.

Like a child with a new toy, Huai Shi couldn't wait to try it out. The Sorrow of Index seemed to move as an extension of his arm in the air, one moment binding someone in a tight hogtie, the next in a tortoiseshell bind, and then in a diamond hitch...

By the time he came back to his senses, Li Jian Amber's look of disdain was palpable, as if staring at something filthy. Ansali, however, with raised eyebrows and a look of surprise, showed admiration and awe, quietly giving Huai Shi a thumbs-up, as if to say, "Little brother, you've got the goods…"

Huai Shi coughed awkwardly twice, put away the chains, and pretended nothing had happened.

As time trickled by, Little Cat finally looked up.

"Are you ready?" he asked. "It's time for you to leave."

BANG!

It was like a bubble had burst.

With a wave of Little Cat's hand, Huai Shi's vision blurred for a moment. The next instant, he was dropping from the sky and found himself halfway up the grand hall of the castle.

There wasn't time to scream. Twisting in mid-air, he looked around, dumbfounded.

What the heck was Little Cat thinking... This was basically dropping right into a wolf's den!

At that very moment, in the castle's great hall, there were no fewer than eleven Sublimators!

He had underestimated how stingy the princes could be. They didn't even provide their subordinates with separate rooms, making them sleep on mats in the great hall of the castle?

The muted sound of a Space Break suddenly filled the room. Those dozen or so Sublimators looked up in confusion, only to see three figures plummeting from the sky.

Before they could react, Ansali, who was at the rear, paused strangely in mid-air. His cloak billowed as if he were a floating balloon.

In the air, he raised one hand, holding an ancient oil lamp. With a simple wipe, a wisp of dark smoke emerged and fell. This thin strand of darkness descended, swelling like boiling water. It expanded violently, quickly shrouding the entire hall.

It devoured not just the light; even the sound was swallowed up in an instant.

The odd thing was, in the areas covered by darkness, it was as if nothing had happened at all; not even the Sublimators' Source Fluctuation showed any changes!

Huai Shi saw everything clearly, and his temples twitched fiercely. A Stigma Relic! Definitely a Persian Genealogy Stigma Relic! According to his guess, that Stigma Relic was probably a piece of armament formed at a certain Rank within the Sublimation path of the Evil Sect, one of the Two Sects and Three Borders.

Just by manifesting for an instant, it spewed unbounded darkness from the oil lamp, turning this place into a dark realm reminiscent of the early end times, completely cutting off the inside from the outside.

No wonder Little Cat had him as support... This Ability to instantly shut off the lights and beat people up was incredibly convenient!

In an instant, Huai Shi landed.

Following that, in the dead silence of the darkness, a crisp CLICK from Huai Shi's hand was almost instantly swallowed by the quiet as he turned, placing the gun squarely on the forehead of a Sublimator who was on the ground sharpening his knife. The trigger was pulled.

A streak of bright light, accompanied by glowing Iron Sand, burst from the barrel but was immediately swallowed by darkness, like a fleeting night-blooming flower. Blood spattered.

Huai Shi stepped forward, pulling the bolt again, aiming at the sound of rushing air nearby, and firing once more. Amidst the violent shake, another streak of iron shot forth. Instantly, a warmth fell on Huai Shi's face. In that moment, two were taken out.

Caught off guard by the ambush, these Sublimators recruited by the princes were not just loafing around; they didn't give Huai Shi the chance to reload at ease.

An Iron Hammer, blazing with lightning, was already smashing down.

The thunderous noise was so intense that not even the darkness spewed from the oil lamp could cover it. A SIZZLE broke through the darkness. Though veiled by the thick blackness, one could feel the sting of the light that barely pierced through. Being hit by this thing would probably mean instantaneous disintegration.

Huai Shi raised his hand, and The Sorrow of Index instantly flung upwards, hooking onto the ceiling and lifting him into the air. As he flew past the thunderous boom, the chain detached from the ceiling and curled back towards the source of the Iron Hammer.

The hammer, constrained by the layered darkness, saw its lightning dissipate quickly, consumed and eroded. In the end, the released Iron Hammer fell silently, devoid of any magic.

Then, amidst a shower of sparks, the iron chains retracted. A sorrow as heavy as an earth burial, unleashed by them, settled across the attacker's chest. An explosive burst.

Taken by surprise, the attacker's eyes reddened, perhaps reminded of a sorrowful past. He sighed deeply, ready to shed tears. Huai Shi brushed past them.

Thus, his tears and sorrow flew into the air, along with his head, which fell to the ground. Such a poetic way to die, enviable and impossible to achieve.

Huai Shi moved forward quickly, distinguishing the footsteps and the whistling of the wind around him.

But the darkness swallowed everything, making it impossible to find any signs to distinguish friend from foe, until with a wave of Huai Shi's hand, a Grass Seed Fear Aura and Plague Halo spread in all directions.

In midair, Ansali seemed to feel something, his eyebrows slightly raised.

Ignoring the strong corrosive nature of the darkness, the Mountain Ghost's Stigma expanded as tough as grass roots growing beneath a rock, actually carving out a gap in Ansali's Lamp of the Dark Country!

Following that, a shocked face appeared in front of Huai Shi. Huai Shi raised the barrel of his gun and pulled the trigger. A corpse was flung backward.

A thread of hidden murderous intent suddenly emerged from behind him. A blurry figure appeared out of the darkness; from midair, a Long Knife swung horizontally at Huai Shi's neck.

TSK...

In Huai Shi's hands, the Spear of Compassion rose, blocking the blade. The Drummer's strength burst forth, a contained tremor traveling up the spear's shaft, along the attacker's Long Knife, and into her fingertips, silently conveying: "Sis, friendly!"

In the darkness, the slender, emaciated shadow quietly disappeared, leaving behind an illusion-like "tsk" sound.

Huai Shi sighed helplessly, then withdrew the gun that was pointed at her. Some regrets. After all, it's pitch dark, and friendly fire incidents are quite normal, right?

He pulled the trigger, dispatching the Sublimator who had started slashing wildly after being blinded. Then, he slung the shotgun onto his back, grabbed his Axe, and delivered a leaping chop, followed by another. It's such a pity that large-caliber bullets can only be accumulated four at a time.

Soon after, he felt a hurricane coming from behind.

The Dark Country was in turmoil. With the burst of the hurricane, violent explosions erupted. Intense light surged from the depths of the Dark Country, tearing the darkness apart layer by layer.

In the midst of the light, Sublimators, like burning embers, suddenly soared into the air.

As the perception of his companions' deaths mounted, even a fool would know that something terrible had happened—they were being raided. The priority wasn't to wipe out the enemies but to quickly send out an alarm.

After steeling his heart, one of them completely gave up on rescuing his companions. A Giant Wolf, its body emitting dazzling light, broke through the darkness. Its Source Substance suddenly converged as it opened its mouth, preparing to roar.

Disaster!

Huai Shi's eyes widened as a chain carrying sparks and black smoke flew out, wrapped around the wolf's mouth, contracted violently, and forcibly closed the Giant Wolf's open jaws.

Then, Li Jian Amber, rushing in, abruptly appeared in midair as if teleporting, her two Long Knives imbued with ice and flame descending. In an instant, sixteen intersecting knife lights converged into one.

Hot blood spurted out. The Dark Country undulated, engulfing the wolf again.

Huai Shi raised his Axe and swung down fiercely. The wolf's head hit the ground.

The manifested Stigma fell apart. Along with it, the Sublimator's body shook violently, blood spurting from every pore as it was pierced by a jab from Huai Shi's other hand. Immediately, it transformed into a streak of white light and dissipated. Golden Coins hit the floor.

Soon, the Dark Country's miasma faded away, revealing complete disarray.

The three of them looked at each other, breathing out in relief, the fear still lingering—the alarm had been so close to being sounded; they had almost failed at the last moment.

As Ansali rubbed the oil lamp again, black smoke flew out from it once more, manifesting several shadows that dispersed to various locations. They emitted the original Source Fluctuation of the Sublimators, as if nothing had happened.

Maintaining this Stigma Relic obviously consumed a significant amount of Source Substance. After catching his breath, Ansali took a small snuff bottle from his pocket. He carefully picked out a fingernail-sized amount and took two sharp snorts. He finally caught his breath, his complexion turning rosy again.

Most substances that restore Source Substance are stimulants for the brain, with serious long-term effects. The Thousand-Year Incense, which truly replenishes Source Substance, is literally priceless. A single dose could fill a Fourth Stage Sublimator. Using it on Sublimators Below the Fourth Stage would be an outrageous waste.

After recovering slightly, he once again raised the oil lamp and rubbed it. Soon, a wisp of smoke enveloped them, covering them. Both footsteps and any anomalies were muffled and hidden.

"You guys divide the Golden Coins among yourselves. I don't need any," he said first. "But we need to move faster next; I can't hold on for too long."

Huai Shi and Li Jian Amber exchanged glances, realizing they both had an 'I want it all' expression. They could only smirk at each other and split the loot fifty-fifty.

So this woman, with all her Border Relics, is already so rich and still competing with him over these paltry items. The richer one is, the stingier they become...

After dividing the spoils, it was time to get to work. Huai Shi pulled out the keys, leading the way.

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