87: Chapter 87 Black Market Trade Gene Map and Twenty Drops of Divine Power
The scarlet alarm in the void still echoed within the Divine Domain communication network. The sharp warning signals intertwined with the sickening divine fluctuations of the Corrupt Matriarch Spider, forming an ominous concerto.
Su Chen withdrew his will from the distant borders of the star field, his cold gaze sweeping over the pulsating incubation pools within his Divine Domain.
The shadow of war had already descended.
The Zerg Swarm needed a frenzied surge of troop production, using endless claws and carapaces to submerge that dark fleet, which was so vast it obscured the stars.
His gaze turned to the depths of his spiritual perception, where the golden pool representing his Divine Power reserves was now nearly empty.
The "Metabolic Overload" previously used to catalyze the [Mind Master] had nearly drained all the accumulations he had gathered over the past eight years.
He possessed endless resource veins but lacked the Divine Power to convert them into lethal war machines.
Even the most skilled chef cannot cook without ingredients.
Even gods are troubled by "money."
"Before the great war begins, I must prepare some 'gifts' for the guests."
Not a ripple could be heard in Su Chen's will, as if the impending event were not a bloody battle deciding the life and death of his Divine Domain, but a feast led by him.
His thoughts stirred slightly.
A long-sealed encrypted Divine Power channel was reactivated.
[God-Slayer Alliance].
A gray zone outside the order of the gods, composed of countless hunters, god-traitors, and avengers who had lost everything in the divine wars.
The next instant, Su Chen's consciousness was pulled by a powerful traction force, piercing through the barriers of the reality dimension.
Space distorted, and light and shadow peeled away.
When his vision stabilized, an avatar constructed of pure spiritual power had already appeared in an underground city floating in the sub-space.
This was the black market.
The light was distorted by some kind of force field, appearing dim and viscous. The air was filled with the scents of old blood, potion dust, and the ozone left behind by dissipating Divine Power.
Silent figures stood in every corner around him.
Without exception, they were shrouded in wide black robes, deliberately concealing their faces and auras with secret arts. But the gazes projected toward him were filled with the scrutiny and vigilance of predators.
There were no weaklings here.
Every member was a demigod whose hands were stained with divine blood, a hunter walking on the edge of a blade.
Su Chen's avatar also wore a black robe. He ignored the probing spiritual scans and walked straight toward the towering auction platform in the center of the black market.
His pace was not fast, but it carried an unquestionable sense of rhythm. Wherever he passed, the black-robed figures who had originally blocked his path subconsciously retreated to the sides.
Behind the auction platform sat an old man responsible for appraisals.
He was not a living being.
It was a lich, its soul fire burning dimly in its withered, yellowed eye sockets, with dense magic runes engraved on its exposed bones.
"I want to consign an item."
Su Chen's voice had been processed, becoming deep and hoarse, spreading through the silent black market.
He raised his hand and tossed something forward casually.
A stream of light cut through the dimness.
A crystal ball shimmering with a dark luster landed steadily on the stone platform in front of the old lich.
The inside of the crystal ball was not empty; it seemed to have sealed a concentrated piece of night. Countless fine shadows flowed, aggregated, and quietly dispersed within it, forming an arcane and lethal pattern.
The old lich's withered finger bones rested on it, and a sliver of divine consciousness probed inside.
In an instant.
"Click!"
A slight, crisp sound.
The old lich's previously motionless hand bones suddenly trembled violently. The finger bones rubbed together from the excessive force, nearly causing it to drop the crystal ball directly onto the ground.
The soul fire in its eye sockets leaped and contracted violently, as if it had seen something inconceivable.
"This... this is?!"
The lich's voice was no longer steady; its dry syllables were mixed with uncontrollable shock, almost as if it were screaming with its soul.
All the gazes in the entire black market, whether hidden or overt, instantly focused here.
To be able to make a lich appraiser, who was accustomed to divine remains and forbidden artifacts, lose composure to this extent meant the value of this item had already exceeded everyone's imagination.
Su Chen's avatar stood quietly, as if all of this had nothing to do with him.
He revealed the answer in that hoarse, emotionless tone.
"Tier 6 Shadow-Shifting/Invisibility Genetic Map."
Every word was like a heavy hammer striking the hearts of all the demigods.
"As long as it is implanted into a believer, it can allow the creature to simultaneously obtain the dual abilities of 'optical invisibility' and 'shadow stealth'."
"Mass-producible."
"No side effects."
When the last three words fell.
Boom!
The deathly silent black market was instantly ignited.
A spiritual storm composed of pure greed, shock, and desire exploded, causing the entire sub-space to tremble.
Invisibility!
And it was top-tier invisibility where both energy signatures and physical forms disappeared!
The most terrifying thing was... mass-producible! No side effects!
What did this mean?
It meant an army, a ghost army that could appear out of thin air and vanish into thin air!
It meant omni-pervasive reconnaissance, unpreventable assassinations, and lethal surprise attacks capable of overturning any conventional war!
For these demigods present, who struggled to survive every day amidst scheming and being schemed against, hunting and being hunted, this was no longer as simple as a "divine skill."
This was a trump card that could change fate! It was the foundation of survival!
"I offer five drops of Divine Power!"
A savage roar broke the brief deathly silence.
In a corner, a demon demigod whose body was burning with raging hellfire stood up abruptly. The black robe on his body was puffed up by the violent energy, and his greedy gaze was locked onto that crystal ball.
Before the words faded, another cold, chilling voice immediately suppressed it.
"Get lost, poor wretch! Do you deserve to covet such a thing? I offer eight drops!"
"Ten drops! I'll take it! Whoever dares to compete with me is an enemy of my 'Withered Hand'!"
The price was soaring at a frantic speed.
Five drops of Divine Power were already enough to make a low-tier demigod risk their life for it.
And now, this number had doubled in just a few breaths, and it was still continuing to rise.
Everyone's eyes were red.
The suppressed auras were no longer contained; powerful pressures belonging to demigods collided and rubbed against each other in the black market, stirring up ripples of energy.
The red light in the eyes of the golem guards maintaining order flickered, but facing so many demigods collectively losing control, they could only issue warnings in vain.
Just at the edge of the scene spiraling completely out of control.
"Twenty drops."
A cold, clear voice, devoid of any emotion, came from a VIP box on the second floor.
The voice was not loud, but it seemed to carry an absolute authority like a command, instantly piercing through all the noisy roars and clearly entering everyone's ears.
"High-purity Divine Power."
The final addition made the entire black market fall into a deathly silence.
All the fanatical demigods seemed to have had a basin of ice water poured over their heads, instantly calming down. Their gazes, unanimously, looked toward the box on the second floor shrouded in darkness, filled with awe and fear.
Twenty drops of high-purity Divine Power!
The value of Divine Power lies not only in quantity but also in purity. One drop of high-purity Divine Power contains laws and energy comparable to three to five drops of ordinary Divine Power, and it is free of impurities, allowing for direct absorption.
This was equivalent to a sky-high price approaching a hundred drops of ordinary Divine Power!
This was a huge sum sufficient to buy half a Divine Domain or hire a high-tier demigod to serve until death!
The bidder was a Nine-Turn Demigod.
A big-shot figure who truly stood at the top of the pyramid in the alliance.
No one in the entire venue dared to speak again.
That was not a bid; that was a declaration.
"Deal."
Su Chen did not hesitate at all as he spat out two words.
For him, the genetic map was data that could be infinitely copied. Selling one copy was no loss to him.
But these twenty drops of high-purity Divine Power were enough to cause his Zerg Swarm to undergo a monumental qualitative change in the shortest possible time!