Others Level Up, but I Pursue Cultivation!

Vassal?

Su Xing paused for a moment. He was all too familiar with this term.

In every simulation he'd experienced, under the command of the Inferior Demon Armor, there were countless vassals.

From Saint Level Foreign Races to Third-Tier Deities, all were willing to serve Su Xing, this unprecedented Inferior Demon Deity.

But vassals of the Foreign Races—shouldn't they all be Foreign Races?

To resolve the perplexity in his heart, Su Xing chuckled lightly and said:

"Oh? Becoming your vassal... what benefits does that bring?"

Upon hearing Su Xing's words, the Alien Deity seemed baffled instead and responded:

"Surviving—isn't that the greatest benefit?"

"Are you new to the Upper Three Layers of Heaven?"

"Your Human Race won't last much longer… Once the Main Gods break through the Ninth Layer of Heaven, it'll be the moment of your race's extinction!"

"Becoming vassals to us Foreign Races is the only way for you to preserve your lives..."

"If you achieve great merit, you might even meet the Mother Goddess and become one of us Foreign Races... At that point, you'll possess even greater power!"

The Alien Deity spoke a few sentences, yet Su Xing gleaned significant information from them.

Main Gods freeing up their hands?

This at least indicated that the Nine Heavens Domain contained more than one Main God (equivalent to a Daluo Golden Immortal)!

As for the Mother Goddess mentioned by this Shadow Deity, Su Xing had already seen her… That enormous mass of flesh and blood capable of granting power to the Foreign Races!

But now, upon hearing this, that mass of flesh and blood not only grants power to the Foreign Races but can also transform the Human Race into part of the Foreign Races?

Several thoughts raced through Su Xing's mind.

"The main battlefield of the Human Race's resistance against the Foreign Races isn't just the Three Thousand Worlds but also includes this Nine Heavens Domain?"

"No... it should be the Upper Three Layers of Heaven!"

Su Xing recalled—Emperor Bai had mentioned before that the Heavenly Secret Pavilion Master resides within the Upper Three Layers of Heaven.

Thus, the Pavilion Master of Heavenly Secrets wasn't unwilling to descend to the Lower Realm for rescue...

Rather, he couldn't spare the time!

Are there even more terrifying enemies here?

Su Xing continued to ponder. Based on the intelligence he had, all he could do was speculate.

To truly understand the reality, he would need more information.

But at the moment, Su Xing was clearly unwilling to become the vassal of this Shadow Deity.

If he wanted to gather intelligence, he could directly transform into a Foreign Race Deity!

Therefore, Su Xing flatly refused and said:

"Heh, surviving?"

"Well, that depends on whether you have what it takes!"

Su Xing lifted the Ink Ice Sword in his hand. In an instant, several powerful streams of Sword Qi surged forth.

The two continued their fierce clash.

After hundreds of rounds of battle, the Shadow Deity seemed to lose patience.

Suddenly, it revealed a look of irritation and cruelty, saying:

"In that case, you'll die here!"

Without further ado, the Shadow Deity performed an unexpected action that stunned Su Xing.

Its three-inch-long claws were plucked out one by one.

Blood trickled down its arms continuously.

Witnessing this scene, Su Xing suddenly thought of something...

Indeed, the next moment, a strange fluctuation emanated from the Shadow Deity's hand.

With a flash of black light, the ten claws in its hand transformed into a one-foot-long black dagger.

Su Xing fell silent upon seeing this, unable to hold back his sarcastic comment:

"Foreign Race Deities are all this self-mutilating with their techniques, right?"

"Back then, the Six-Winged Deity ripped the wings off its back..."

"This Shadow Deity takes it further, pulling off its claws one by one."

"Seriously, ten fingers linked to the heart, don't they get it?"

"How painful must that be?!"

Before Su Xing could finish mocking, the Shadow Deity lunged at Su Xing forcefully.

With the black dagger in hand, the Shadow Deity's speed increased by more than double, and its strength multiplied severalfold!

In a flash, the Shadow Deity appeared in front of Su Xing.

A streak of black light flashed, and the dagger slashed toward Su Xing's neck.

Su Xing reacted swiftly, raising the Ink Ice Sword in his hand to block.

Crack~

The next moment, Su Xing's expression shifted.

The Ink Ice Sword now had a thumb-sized chip from the dagger's strike.

Su Xing seemed to hear the faint cries of the Ink Ice Sword.

"This is... the third time... The Ink Ice Sword is still too fragile, huh!"

Su Xing took a deep breath.

If he was correct, this was the third time the Ink Ice Sword had been destroyed!

The Six-Winged Deity's bone sword, Red Moon's eerie energy, and now this Shadow Deity's dagger—all possessed the power to destroy Acquired Treasures!

"This can't go on... It's unacceptable!"

"Finding a new weapon must be prioritized..."

Su Xing reluctantly stowed away the Ink Ice Sword. With his weapon suppressed, he could only rely on Divine Skills and the power of his physical body to fight the opponent!

But this approach quickly caused Su Xing to fall into a disadvantage...

Sword Dao was one of Su Xing's strongest offensive techniques.

Now, with the Ink Ice Sword damaged, it was as if he had lost an arm. How could he possibly withstand the attacks of a Shadow Deity who was nearly at the First-Level Divine Being?

After only a few hundred rounds of combat...

Su Xing's body was riddled with countless wounds.

Each wound seemed as if carved by a blade, with chunks of flesh gouged out, exposing bone beneath.

The most troubling thing for Su Xing was that his ability to recover seemed suppressed by the black dagger.

Not only did his injuries heal at a miserably slow pace, but the wounds themselves felt excruciatingly painful, far more than usual.

The searing pain increasingly placed Su Xing at a disadvantage in combat.

Eventually, after half a day of fighting...

Su Xing's stamina began to wane.

Even though his Origin Force and Mana remained abundant, the toll of severe injuries was simply too great!

"No, if this continues... I'll die here!"

Su Xing took a deep breath, deciding not to continue fighting the Shadow Deity.