The dark environment could not block Ye Tianxie’s sight. He had only meant to feel around and see whether anything really had been hidden or overlooked here, without holding out much hope… but his gaze had barely swept round before he saw something out of the ordinary under a scattered patch of rubble.

He walked over quickly and picked the thing up… a square tablet, pitch black, ice-cold in the hand, as if it had been cut out of a block of ice. Looking closely, he found a single large character stamped on it: Demon.

Something shifted in Ye Tianxie’s expression. He turned the black tablet over… and on the back, printed vertically, were four characters, warped but still easy enough to make out — Dark Nether Ghost King.

Demon King Token — Dark Nether Ghost King: The Demon King token the Dark Nether Ghost King never lets leave him. It seems to be purely for declaring his own identity. But what particular use it has, presumably only he knows.

The Dark Nether Ghost King’s Demon King token!? Ye Tianxie looked it over for a good long while, then put it back in his pack. It had plainly been dropped when the Holy Sword War God he had become was hitting the Dark Nether Ghost King so hard. From the description alone, what it did was certainly not so simple as proving whose it was.

And whatever a Demon King-class great BOSS drops is hardly likely to be simple.

He searched the place a while longer and found nothing else worth taking away. Not entirely satisfied, Ye Tianxie sat down on an old stone chair and called out the Hour of Fate and the orange Fate Core he had only just come by, Orange Fang.

This time Ye Tianxie did not summon the excessively self-adoring Guoguo. Instead he thought back to what she had said the first time Blood Feather was fused, and touched the Orange Fang in his hand to the second hollow from the top in the Hour of Fate.

When a Fate Core is being fused, Blood Feather and Orange Fang alike have to be held in that state. Blood Feather’s power incarnation had been struck down by the blue-haired man; Orange Fang’s had been unable to form because of the Dark Nether Ghost King. That was how Ye Tianxie had been able to set both of them into the Hour of Fate with nothing standing in the way — and it also meant that if he wanted a Fate Core to return there, the first thing he had to do was beat it, break it or bring it to heel, so that it would turn obediently back into its Fate Core state.

Given how strong the creatures a Fate Core turns into are, there was simply no possibility of beating or subduing one by his own power. Blood Feather and Orange Fang had both been turned back into Fate Cores by somebody else’s strength. So for the five left — each stronger than the last — could he still be lucky enough to find them and bring them home to the Hour of Fate?

Orange Fang touched the Hour of Fate’s second hollow, and a flash of deep orange light went across Ye Tianxie’s vision.

Exactly as with Blood Feather’s fusion, the flicker of light lasted no more than an instant. And when that momentary orange glow scattered, the Orange Fang in his hand had vanished — set whole and entire into the hollow. A closer look showed that the fang-shaped hollow that had been there was gone, and in its place was a long pointed tooth giving off a strange orange light.

The abilities Blood Feather had granted the Hour of Fate were the stripping away of life and the sacrifice of it, each of them enormously strong and each carrying a quality other items essentially cannot have. So what about this Orange Fang? What sort of marvelous ability would it bring?

“Ding… Because new power has been poured in, your Hour of Eternal Fate’s attributes have changed and its ability has risen further. Its grade has risen to high-grade Immortal Spirit item. The skill ‘Fate’s Magic Devour’ is unlocked, and the second Kill of the ‘Seven Kills of Fate,’ ‘Mana Reaper,’ has been unlocked.”

Hour of Eternal Fate (Damaged). Requirement for use: none. Grade: high-grade Immortal Spirit. The power core of the world of Fate, with mysterious origins unknown and mysterious power unknown. Currently in a damaged state through the loss of its Fate Cores. Master already forcibly bound; master: Xietian. Cannot be traded, cannot be dropped, cannot be stolen, cannot be discarded. Fate Cores already held: Blood Feather, Orange Fang.

Attributes: Attack +300. Attack +15%. Four base attributes +40. Normal attacks deal damage to all targets within attack range at once. On attack, a 2% chance to absorb the damage dealt as your own health. On attack, a 2% chance to absorb the damage dealt as your own magic.

Skill — Gift of Fate: The master of the Hour of Eternal Fate receives the blessing of fate, raising the fixed talent attributes: Luck +20, Comprehension +20, Charm +20. (Forcibly attached; the effect cannot be switched off. Unless the Hour of Eternal Fate leaves the body, the effect will not disappear even when it is not equipped.)

Blood Sacrifice of Fate: Takes the last of the blood as an offering to set off a berserk surge of energy. When health falls below 10%, attack power increases by 100%; below 5%, by 200%; below 3%, by 300%; below 1%, by 400%. Forcibly triggered; cannot be canceled.

Fate’s Magic Devour: Releases the magic-devouring ability of the Fate Core Orange Fang, inflicting an irresistible devouring of magic on all enemies within thirty meters at once. Every enemy that meets the devouring has its resistance to all elemental properties reduced by 100%, and suffers a powerful magic seal lasting 10 to 30 seconds. No cost. Usable once every 600 seconds; may last up to 60 seconds each time.

Seven Kills of Fate: Uses the judgment-power of the Hour of Eternal Fate to inflict seven successive and distinct judgments of fate upon a target. Judgment effects cannot be resisted and cannot be stacked. Blood Reaper and Mana Reaper may currently be triggered together. Costs 300 MP. Skill cooldown 1 hour.

First Kill — Judgment of Life: Blood Reaper. Uses the judgment-power of the Hour of Eternal Fate to inflict a judgment of life upon a single target. Ignores level and grade, ignores any form of defense, and forcibly strips 10% of the target’s HP, with additional damage equal to a normal attack. Cannot be stacked on a single target. Costs 100 MP when triggered as part of “Seven Kills of Fate”; may also be used individually. When used individually, costs no MP and has no cooldown.

Second Kill — Judgment of Magic: Mana Reaper. Uses the judgment-power of the Hour of Eternal Fate to inflict a judgment of magic upon a single target. Ignores level and grade, ignores any form of defense, and forcibly strips 10% of the target’s MP, 10% of its magic attack power and 10% of its resistance to all magic, with additional damage equal to 200% of a normal attack. Cannot be stacked on a single target. Costs 200 MP when triggered as part of “Seven Kills of Fate”; may also be used individually. When used individually, costs no MP; cooldown 1 minute.

Third Kill — Judgment of Heaven’s Might: Divine Collapse. Effect unknown. Costs 400 MP. Fate Core missing; cannot be used.

Fourth Kill — Judgment of Guardianship: Venom Blight. Effect unknown. Costs 800 MP. Fate Core missing; cannot be used.

Fifth Kill — Judgment of Life and Death: Departed Soul. Effect unknown. Costs 1600 MP. Fate Core missing; cannot be used.

Sixth Kill — Judgment of Yin and Yang: Slain Spirit. Effect unknown. Costs 3200 MP. Fate Core missing; cannot be used.

Seventh Kill — Judgment of Heaven’s Mandate: Heaven’s Execution. Effect unknown. Costs 9999 MP. Fate Core missing; cannot be used.

Forbidden Technique — Fate’s Forbidden Sin: Heaven Slaughter. Effect unknown. Fate Core missing; cannot be used.

Ye Tianxie: “……”

Different from Blood Feather’s judgment on life, but of a similar kind… what Orange Fang held was judgment on magic — extremely strong, and just as forcible.

Blood Feather can drop the threat any enemy poses by a whole grade in an instant, and in certain particular situations, facing an enemy who cannot be beaten to begin with, it produces something very like a miracle. And the magic judgment Orange Fang holds is the nightmare of every purely magical enemy there is.

One Mana Reaper out of the Seven Kills of Fate will, while dealing its damage, cut a full tenth off the other side’s magic and its magic attack power, and the threat it poses drops on the spot. And the forced magic seal that comes with a Fate’s Magic Devour amounts to nothing less than hacking the hands and feet off a magic-type enemy — a mage who cannot use magic, however strong he is to begin with, becomes no threat at all, and is there to be carved up as anyone pleases.

And at the same time, Orange Fang’s ability will make a mage who holds it stronger still. The most terrible effect of Fate’s Magic Devour is not the seal, but the forced devouring of resistance — and it runs as high as 100%. For instance: a player whose resistance to all magic was originally 0% will, after meeting a Fate’s Magic Devour, have all resistances drop to -100%, and any magical damage taken will be doubled outright. A player whose resistance to all magic was originally 50% will, after meeting a Fate’s Magic Devour, have all resistances drop to -50%, and any magical damage taken will be tripled outright. What a mage would gain from having this skill can be imagined.

And from the abilities the two Fate Cores had added, Ye Tianxie noticed that everything they held carried a “forced” property. It meant the effects they attached simply could not be defended against. That was more terrible than anything else.

Against the powerful ability Orange Fang added, the near-doubling of the Hour of Fate’s own base attributes was the lesser matter.

“Yee-yaa! I can feel it… I can feel it! Master has gotten even stronger again!”

Guoguo turned up in the end after all. First she poked her head out, then drifted excitedly back and forth in front of Ye Tianxie’s eyes, that swaying snow-white body making him a little dizzy to look at.

“Oh la la… Master got two Fate Cores back in such a short, short time! Just what you’d expect from Guoguo’s master — you did so well under clever Guoguo’s guidance! Master, shall we go and find the third Fate Core right away? Shall we? Shall we?”

As Ye Tianxie listened to Guoguo, a black line came down his face.

This little girl… how did all the credit end up on you!!

And besides, he had never once gone looking for a Fate Core on purpose. Every one of them had turned up beside him of its own accord, each in a different way. He had gotten Blood Feather and Orange Fang both with no preparation at all — and it was with no preparation, too, that he had learned where the Blue Soul was… the great blue wolf at the blue-haired man’s side.

“…It’s getting late. Let’s get out of here first, go to the City of Heaven’s Sun, and then eat.” Ye Tianxie sounded a little worn out.

“Ah… eat? Wuu… I’m hungry, I’m hungry. Can we go and eat right now, can we?”

Ye Tianxie: “……”

“…Huh? Master, there seems to be something glowing over there. What is that?” Guoguo suddenly cried out in surprise, one slender, pale little finger pointing behind Ye Tianxie.

“Something glowing?” Ye Tianxie blinked, looked behind the chair he was sitting on, and found nothing… He stood up, and only then did he see that there really was something over there giving off a very faint light — so faint it was almost impossible to notice.

Because of the angle, Ye Tianxie had flatly missed it when he searched here earlier, while Guoguo, floating in the air, had spotted it at once. He walked over and found that it was a dim object buried in the rubble, with only a very small part of it showing and giving off that weak light.

Ye Tianxie brushed the broken stone aside and picked it up, and saw that it was a small black gourd with a little gold in it. That thread of light came from the small amount of gold, too. In the dark it would not have reflected any light at all; it was the white glow off Guoguo’s body once she appeared that had lit it, which was the whole reason she had picked it out so quickly.

Red Goat’s Lost Gourd: A strange gourd the Dark Nether Ghost King picked up somewhere. It seems to have been lost by a goat called Red Goat. After appraising it a number of times, the Dark Nether Ghost King established provisionally that it can only hatch a decorative pet called a “Golden-Ass Circle-Jerk Boy,” and so left it alone.

Ye Tianxie: (⊙﹏⊙)b……

(End of Chapter 254)