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

Chapter 204 Soul-Gathering Treasure Box
The message made Chu Xiu pause in surprise.

He had very few contacts in Yuancheng, and he never expected his identity to be exposed so quickly. He wondered how Shanwailou found out about it.

"Did Song Linchuan reveal this? Possibly, but more likely, it came from within the Investigation Bureau."

"Regardless of which one, it is enough to show the terrifying intelligence gathering capabilities of Shanwailou. The world's number one dark web organization is indeed worthy of its reputation."

Chu Xiu thought to himself, then readily nodded in agreement.

Upon seeing that he was indeed the Dark Night King, the message immediately became respectful: "Our senior officers wish to see you. Do you have the time at this moment?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Xiu couldn't help but show a surprised expression.

A high-ranking official from Shanwailou wants to see me?
Chu Xiu had a basic understanding of the structure of the Mountain Pavilion before.

Assassins are categorized into three levels from lowest to highest: bronze, silver, and gold. Only cadres are ranked above them.

Cadres are further divided into four levels: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow, with those reaching the Heaven and Earth level being considered senior cadres.

It's important to know that even Wen Feiyan, a king-level official, only possesses a Xuan-level Mountain Outer Tower token. Wouldn't that mean high-ranking officials...?
[Heroic Spirit]!
What business could someone of his status have with him?

Could it be because of Wen Feiyan's death?

Seeing that Chu Xiu's expression had become somewhat serious, the information agent quickly said, "Our current board members have learned that the assassins in our building have caused you some trouble and would like to personally apologize to you."

After saying that, seeing that Chu Xiu seemed a little confused, the information body added with a smile: "I'm not afraid to tell you, although we at Shanwailou are an assassin organization, we believe in making money through harmony."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu did not refuse, but followed the information body upstairs.

There wasn't much difference between the upper floor and the first floor of the Mountain Pavilion. In fact, in Yuan City, all the luxurious decorations had lost their meaning, since everything was just a stream of data coming together.

When everything can be seen through at a glance, its beauty will also disappear.

"This is truly a desolate world."

Chu Xiu couldn't help but sigh again. He had only stayed in Yuan City for a short while, but he already felt suffocated. This must be what the world looks like after being swallowed by the abyss.

Shaking his head and putting aside his sentimentality, Chu Xiu quickly followed the information body to the top floor of the Mountain Outer Building.

The information entity led Chu Xiu to the innermost part, to a spacious room.

At that moment, a huge humanoid tiger was sitting at the very back.

His body was covered in data tubes, and Chu Xiu could see a massive amount of data converging within his body.

"My lord, the Dark Night King has arrived." The information entity beside Chu Xiu bowed respectfully.

As the words fell, the burly humanoid tiger raised its head and sized up Chu Xiu.

"Hello, let me introduce myself. I am Sheti, the manager of Shanwailou this year."

Chu Xiu nodded: "My name is Chen Ce."

He had heard of the name Sheti, which is an ancient Chinese calendar system that uses the word to represent the zodiac animal "Tiger".

That does match the characteristics of the creature in front of us.

However, within Yuancheng, anyone can freely create their own appearance, making it impossible to guess what the person actually looks like.

“So it’s Mr. Chen,” Sheti said, his voice deep and polite. “I invited you here to apologize on behalf of Shanwailou for any inconvenience our staff may have caused you.”

"This is just a small token of my appreciation, please accept it."

As he spoke, he pushed a small crystal forward and handed it to Chu Xiu.

Chu Xiu could clearly feel that after the crystal was handed over, the information entity standing next to him widened its eyes, filled with envy and greed. However, as if to avoid losing his composure, it quickly lowered its eyelids, bowed its head and left the room, closing the door behind it.

"Boom."

With a soft sound, only Chu Xiu and Sheti remained in the room.

"What is this?" Chu Xiu asked after glancing at the crystal.

“This is the only universal currency in Yuan City,” Sheti said with a smile.

Chu Xiu glanced down and said calmly, "Currency needs an anchor."

In essence, Yuancheng is just a large-scale anonymous dating platform that cannot involve any material exchange. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to assign it a monetary meaning.

“That’s right,” Sheti nodded. “In Yuancheng, only information can circulate, so any entrustment or transaction must necessarily be conducted in the real world.”

"But how can we ensure the authenticity and reliability of the transactions?"

Sheti smiled and tapped the table with his index finger: "That's the work of Shanwailou."

"In Yuancheng, 85% of transactions and commissions are completed through our Shanwailou. This is the result and reputation we have earned through long-term operation."

"Once we gain everyone's trust, we will be able to provide more advanced services."

"What you see before you is our 'Yuan Coin,' which can be easily and directly exchanged for Chinese Yuan Coins at any of Shanwailou's offline locations. It does not require any personal information of the holder; you only need to provide the unique information code contained within the coin."

"One Yuan Coin can be directly exchanged for one million Huaxia Coins."

"But we do not recommend that you do this. It has many more uses, such as purchasing intelligence, issuing commissions, and so on. There are also many special services that can only be purchased with Yuan coins."

"And before you are ten thousand Yuan coins."

Ten thousand Yuan coins equal ten billion!
Furthermore, if what Sheti said is true, its real value is probably much higher than tens of billions of Chinese yuan!

Chu Xiu narrowed his eyes slightly, and without any politeness, he raised his hand to examine the crystal closely before putting it back on the table. He said unhurriedly, "I accept your kindness, but your establishment has paid such a high price, it must be more than just an apology."

Although the development of numerous abyssal worlds has brought in a massive influx of high-value items, resulting in a currency issuance that is more than a hundred times greater than in the previous world, and highly concentrated in the hands of the top echelons.

This resulted in little change in the lives and wealth of ordinary people, but the number of wealthy people increased by dozens or even hundreds of times compared to the previous life.

Those who awaken as Heroic Spirits possess an average wealth of trillions!
Even so, 10 billion Chinese yuan is still a huge number.

Even a King-level Awakened would be tempted by this!

Chu Xiu didn't believe that the other party would pay such a high price and send a high-ranking official to apologize in person just because they were afraid of his talent.

Although the message just now said something about "harmony brings wealth," Chu Xiu was no fool. He naturally knew perfectly well that the true nature of Shanwailou was a violent organization parasitizing the dark web!

How could someone with so many assassins and high-level awakened individuals possibly be an innocent and harmless white lotus?
Faced with Chu Xiu's questioning, Sheti was quite frank, saying, "If it were just because of the attack by our cadres, we would naturally not care so much. After all, the rules of Shanwailou are clearly written. We are just an intermediary platform. Unless it is a direct commission from Shanwailou, we always have a clear culprit. In the past few decades, no one has been stupid enough to take their anger out on us."

"And I also believe that you, Mr. Chen, are not such a fool."

"However, your situation is indeed somewhat special. One part of these 10,000 Yuan coins is to redeem Wen Feiyan's Mountain Outer Tower token, and the other part is because that Awakener named 'Li Zhan' accepted a special commission."

"You must have seen an item called the [Soul-Gathering Treasure Box] in his storage space, right?" Sheti's words made Chu Xiu look thoughtful.

He did notice the unusual item at the time, but because the final battle with the calamity was imminent, he didn't have time to examine it closely.

On Blue Star, Chu Xiu's true form had a thought and immediately took out the item.

Like the Mountain Beyond Tower token, this item is subject to a special restriction, making it impossible to easily read its information.

After using the Blood-Burning Golden Eyes to investigate, the item's information slowly appeared.

【Soul-Gathering Treasure Box (Legendary King-Rank)】

[Effect: Can temporarily hold one soul; when a soul is stored in the treasure box, its malleability is greatly enhanced.]

Current status: Fully replenished.

"This is."

A solemn expression appeared on Chu Xiu's face.

“This is a common tool used for ‘possession’,” Sheti said in a startling statement.

Even the usually composed Chu Xiu was startled.

"Seize the body?"

“That’s right,” Sheti said frankly. “I won’t hide it from you. In our Mountain Outer Tower, there has always been a commission with a very high reward, which is to find a suitable ‘body-snatching’ container.”

"The term 'possession' is commonly found in fantasy novels, referring to a special method of transferring one person's soul into another's body, thereby taking over that body."

"In recent years, as our exploration of the abyss has deepened, we have also discovered many small worlds related to cultivation. The various divine methods in ancient myths may not just be legends."

"This Soul-Gathering Treasure Box is a special item we found in a sect called 'Yan Shen Men'. It can have an effect similar to 'body possession'."

"Of course, it is still quite different from the 'body snatching' in myths and legends, and has considerable side effects and limitations."

"First of all, after the possession, there will be a sharp drop in talent, profession, and level. At the very least, it will drop by one level. If the soul compatibility is poor, it is not surprising to drop by three levels at once."

"Secondly, to achieve fusion, one must first obtain the blood of the possessed body and inject it into the treasure box to reshape the original owner's soul, making it more compatible with the possessed body. This process is extremely painful."

"Finally, the Soul-Gathering Box has a limited capacity to support souls of the highest rank, no more than King rank."

"Even so, they are extremely precious. We have discovered seventeen small worlds for cultivating immortality, but we have only found three treasure boxes. Their value is beyond measure in monetary terms."

"Let me tell you, the reward for this commission alone is three King-rank [Legendary] items!"

Three King-tier [Legendary] items!
Sheti's words made Chu Xiu gasp.

It has to be said that such a generous reward was tempting even to him! He even had the urge to hand himself over!
However, he quickly calmed down and figured out the key points!

It turns out that Li Zhan's true purpose was not just to strip him of his talent and profession, but to dedicate his entire body to a certain soul!

At the same time, he also understood many details that had previously puzzled him.

For example, when he first entered the world of Shiki, a Yakuza who possessed the ability of shadow magic came to ambush him. Now that I think about it, his purpose was to obtain his blood essence!

His subsequent tragic death in the underground passage was most likely due to Li silencing him after he completed his mission.

But figuring out these details didn't relax Chu Xiu at all; instead, his brows furrowed even more, and a deep unease welled up inside him.

This attack was jointly planned by Li Zhan, Wen Feiyan, and the Calamity.

In other words, the person behind the attack on him must have the ability to unite the Mountain Outer Tower and the Extreme Path!
Furthermore, he can casually offer three [King-Rank] legendary items as a reward!

A person with such abilities would be absolutely capable of directly summoning a Heroic Spirit to kill them, if it weren't for the need to avoid attracting attention!
In reality, the original personnel configuration was already quite impressive. Wen Feiyan was skilled in sneak attacks and restrained Qin Xiang, a top-tier King-level, with a single move. Li Zhan, after receiving the Extreme Blessing, also possessed combat power close to that of a top-tier King-level Awakener. Moreover, he was meticulous and ruthless, which was far more important than his combat power.

If Chu Xiu's strength hadn't been completely beyond reason, he would have been killed without any chance of resistance! Next, Qin Xiang would also be unable to escape the siege of the other three and would definitely die in the nuclear explosion.

This would create a perfect closed loop. After possessing Chu Xiu's body, the mastermind could simply change his appearance and appear in the public eye with a completely new identity!

This sent a chill down Chu Xiu's spine, and a strong sense of crisis welled up inside him.

Seeing his expression, Sheti knew that Chu Xiu had realized the seriousness of the matter, and said slowly, "This 10,000 Yuan coins is compensation to isolate this matter from our Shanwailou."

"Whether you destroy the treasure box yourself, hand it over to the state, or try to find the person behind it on your own, it's none of our business at Shanwailou."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu gave a wry smile, finally understanding why the other party had offered such a high amount of compensation.

The fact that an organization like Shanwailou, which exists in the shadows, has grown to its current size must have been due to the tacit approval of several Heavenly Kings.

However, such tacit approval must be conditional.

If Chu Xiu wasn't mistaken, prohibiting the release of any mandates that were detrimental to state public officials was one of them.

Now, Shanwailou is openly targeting Qin Xiang. If the mission succeeds, they can naturally escape unscathed. But now, they have to find a way to make amends. It's not something that can be easily dismissed with a simple "This is Wen Feiyan's private matter and has nothing to do with Shanwailou."

Otherwise, if they angered the most ruthless and murderous King who was in charge of the army, even if the Mountain Outer Tower was powerful, it would be destroyed in an instant, and these high-ranking cadres would become rats that everyone wanted to beat.

Chu Xiu said no more, but simply reached out and picked up the crystal. Instantly, a stream of information flowed into his body.

Seeing this, Sheti breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Chen. This is our stronghold near Jiangcheng. You can place the token of the traitor in our building anywhere you like."

Chu Xiu agreed and immediately walked outside.

At this moment, Sheti's voice rang out again: "By the way, Mr. Chu, there is something we must inform you: the soul is extremely fragile, and the Soul-Gathering Treasure Box's ability to shape the soul can only be used once."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu paused, letting out a soft sigh.

This means that the powerful figure's target for possession has already been set on him.

"Anyone who can mobilize such enormous resources will not give up easily!"

"These troubles just keep coming one after another."

Fortunately, thanks to Chu Xiu's consistent caution, his identity has been well hidden and should not be exposed in the short term. Moreover, since his movements are unknown, it is extremely difficult to ambush him in the Corpse Demon World.

Moreover, as long as he doesn't sell anchor points, the next anchor point slot won't be available for another four or five months, giving him ample time to develop.

Even so, Chu Xiu did not let his guard down.

After a moment's thought, he immediately entered the Bloodstained Arena after leaving Yuan City.

It's time to redeem some blessings with the points I've accumulated.

(End of this chapter)