Demon Cultivator in Abyssal Era

Chapter 91: Chapter 89: When You Gaze Into the Abyss, the Abyss Gazes Back at You

”A full 3440 Cause and Effect Points!”

Upon seeing the long list of information prompts in front of him, even Chu Xiu couldn’t help but reveal a look of ecstasy!

It was worth risking his life against that Evil-breaking God; this alone made all his adventures fruitful!

The value of Cause and Effect Points far exceeds its recycling price. To collect such an amount, the heirs of major corporations would surely pay over a billion, and ordinary people wouldn’t even have the means despite having money!

Besides that, there were also a lot of item spoils!

[Elder of Pain Robe]

[Level: Warrior]

[Quality: Perfect]

[Attribute One: Defense +5.4.]

[Attribute Two: Shield +200. When a shield is present, provides 40% damage filtering. The shield value can be replenished by nearby pain energy within a certain range.]

[Attribute Three: ”Quality” of pain from one’s own body +1200%.]

[Evaluation: Reward from the Outer Realm Demon Az Ilituay Mgos to his most devout believer, unfortunately, it ultimately fell into the hands of an outsider.]

A Warrior-tier [Perfect] quality equipment!

All three attributes of this equipment are extremely strong!

Don’t be fooled by the defense only being 5.4, as the key is that this robe can be worn over the Bone Armor, not occupying the armor slot.

And the second shield attribute is even more exaggerated. 40% damage filtering doesn’t mean that the original 100 points of damage only ends up causing 60 points to the wearer. It means a bullet with an original kinetic energy of 3000J fired at Chu Xiu would be reduced to 1800J upon filtration!

This is very exaggerated, meaning only when the opponent’s damage approaches infinity does it equate to a 40% damage reduction. Most of the time, it will exceed this value, even converting minor injuries into no harm!

Chu Xiu carefully felt the specific information, and quickly had a general estimate.

A shield of 200 points is roughly equivalent to filtering two hundred thousand J of kinetic energy, meaning it would take thirty to forty rounds from a heavy machine gun to break the shield.

The only downside is the cumbersome replenishment method, needing pain energy. Fortunately, the third attribute compensates for this, allowing the pain generated by Chu Xiu himself to provide a thirteenfold charge.

This means that wearing the robe turns him into a Berserker who recovers the shield while fighting! At critical moments, he can even self-harm some unimportant parts to quickly replenish the shield value.

This combat style is quite in line with the methods of Demon Cultivators.

However, the trait [Pain Numbness (E)] isn’t very useful and can only be sold for money.

Chu Xiu never considered pain sensation a bad thing, as it helps better perceive the body’s state and make more reasonable combat decisions.

In fact, at this point, the gains were enough to satisfy and even surprise Chu Xiu.

But the last two items made his expression turn into ecstasy!

[Directed Deep Dive Scroll (Perfect): After use, allows entry into another’s world through an [Anchor Point], or use an existing world fragment as a base to search for and locate the next related world fragment with 100% accuracy.]

Whether it’s a major force entering a newly discovered world or expanding an already discovered world fragment, they all require it! Extremely valuable!

This kind of item typically has a very low probability of appearing in Fierce-tier dungeons or higher, unexpectedly giving one directly to Chu Xiu this time!

And the other item is equally rare!

[Perfect Level Hand of Deprivation (Perfect): Can be used on targets of Fierce-tier and below who have no ability to resist, to deprive them of one highest S-Class talent and convert it into absorbable traits, with the grade decreasing by three levels post-deprivation (upgradable).]

At first glance, this seems like a completely detrimental tool.

Depriving an S-Class talent reduces it to C-Level trash, which would even cause concern for alienation reactions if given for free.

If used to harm enemies, it must be applied on those unable to resist.

But in reality, its value is very high!

This is because, when used on certain special talents, it has the potential to exhibit unexpected effects!

For instance, the profession [Summoner (B)], which has a core talent called [Damage Sharing].

With or without this talent, a Summoner is basically two different professions!

Those without are fragile mages, easily taken down even if their summons are strong; however, with [Damage Sharing], they transform into battlefield overlords, with both high durability and damage. If the summoned creatures are well-matched, fighting an A-level or even an S-Class profession single-handedly becomes possible!

For this kind of trait, even just [Damage Sharing (D)] is quite precious and can easily sell for millions.

And most importantly, this item also has an [Upgradeable] attribute. Three of the same quality Hands of Deprivation can potentially merge into a higher quality one.

The grade reduction of high-quality Hands of Deprivation is much smaller! Once upgraded to the highest quality, it only drops by a single tier!

Even if he doesn’t use it himself, he can sell it for a lot of money!

Of course, that’s something for the black market. Such items that disrupt social harmony and stability are at least officially banned from trade.

However, at this moment, he suddenly recalled a widely circulated conspiracy theory on the internet.

”It’s very apparent that the Abyss is intentionally encouraging newcomers to join and veterans to kill each other. As people gain power, they are also gradually integrating into the Abyss.”

”As you gaze into the Abyss, the Abyss also gazes into you.”

”Perhaps what people bring back from the Abyss isn’t power and treasure, but rather... calamity.”

Shaking his head, Chu Xiu stopped pondering over it and set aside the speculation that seemed too remote for him to consider.

Happily storing away all the items, he exhaled lightly and, following the guidance of his soul, returned from the Awakening Space to Blue Star.

As the surrounding scenery transformed into his familiar study, the fresh evening breeze blew in through the window, and Chu Xiu felt a long-lost sense of security and completely relaxed.

He directly lay down on the bed and had a sweet sleep.

He slept soundly until the sun climbed high at noon the next day, before waking up.

Stretching lazily, Chu Xiu noticed that his phone had received quite a few messages.

Zhang Qingshan sent him a lengthy message. The gist was that he was going to participate in a rank advancement trial, and if he didn’t return, what then—it could essentially be seen as a farewell letter.

Luckily, eight hours later, good news of him successfully passing came through.

Chu Xiu checked the forum and found that this time, among the nine members of the One King, One Queen, and Seven Knights, all had participated in the rank advancement trial. Three didn’t pass; one died, while the other two, though failing, managed to barely make it back alive. Whether they would attempt it again in the remaining three days was not mentioned.

Besides Qingshan, the ones who messaged him the most during this period were Shen Zhuo and Guan Ke.

These two had been persistently inviting him to tackle dungeons together. After Guan Ke revealed his strength, Shen Zhuo didn’t mind; instead, he teamed up with him due to his high-grade Mechanician (A) profession.

According to Shen Zhuo, he performed moderately in the trial, and his family’s expectation was for him to make it into the top thirty in the final world mission to grab a [Positioning Anchor Point].

Since the level of the Corpse Demon World is very high, the family’s investment was also significant. Even Guan Ke was recruited to Shen Zhuo’s side and received considerable investment.

Mechanicians are known for consuming a lot of resources, with their strength depending on the quantity and quality of mechanical creations. Compared to combat professions, they are more aligned with support professions, focusing on accumulation and refinement over many battles instead of honing combat skills through continuous battle.

Shen Zhuo and Guan Ke sent several videos to Chu Xiu, showcasing their achievements during this time.

Both leveled up to Level 7. Shen Zhuo’s family bought him two extra general skill books for the warrior profession, and with cause and effect points, they were leveled up to a significant extent. Combined with his Gilded Heavy Sword, a single strike was enough to slash through six millimeters of Steel Armor, even injuring Warrior Tier monsters.

As for Guan Ke, he bought quite a few extraordinary items and crafted a total of eight mechanical dogs. These mechanical creations were small and agile, serving well for reconnaissance. They also had single-use launch ports on their backs capable of firing bullets with power comparable to an assault rifle.

”My parents found four additional C-level profession members for me, so now our team has both melee capabilities and long-range output. These mechanical dogs can also sneak into narrow areas for reconnaissance. Our team setup is pretty decent among the many teams exploring the Abyss.”

”Would you like to join us? I told my parents about you, and they’re willing to offer an investment of two million. If you grab a [Positioning Anchor Point], they’ll give you a 25% share! How about it? That’s higher than many B-level professions!”

Looking at the invitation video sent by the two, Chu Xiu smirked and then declined with a look of disdain.

Honestly, their strength indeed improved significantly, and together, they could perhaps evenly match his strongest Fierce Ghost.

Five minutes to kill them five times.

However, the two did remind him of something.

It’s time to approach the Lin Financial Group for the investment earned through passing the Warrior Tier trial.

Chu Xiu quickly scanned through the information from others.

Among the people at the stronghold, excluding Shen Zhuo and Guan Ke, Yun Lu was faring the best.

Her talent was recognized by Ye Junlin’s guild, and she signed a temporary B-level contract. Yun Lu excitedly told Chu Xiu that the Morning Star Guild even sent someone to assist her in leveling up, aiming to refine food that could enhance attributes for the next visit to the Abyss.

Logistical support is still important, especially for large forces with many people, so Chu Xiu wasn’t surprised that Yun Lu could get a big contract.

As for the rest, only the male with the [Darts Master] profession was still willing to continue entering the Abyss and joined Shen Zhuo’s team. The others were too scared to continue; support professions opened stores to work, while combat professions either worked as security guards or joined gold farming squads.

Taking two minutes to casually reply to messages and maintain connections, Chu Xiu geared up with the [Robe of the Elder of Pain], put on a mask, and headed out towards the Lin Financial Group.