Chapter 361: Yalina Soren

The deep of the Spirit Realm, Rekton and Tu Ba Ge sat side by side on a long bench formed from gathered starlight.

In front of them was a mirror surface made of converging water light, within which a silhouette floated—Ke Lai En, dressed in a gold‑red long dress, her hands bound and taken into the captain's room.

Tu Ba Ge curiously examined every detail of the mirror, until Te Lei Xi appeared; it adjusted its hat, turned toward Rekton, and asked with some puzzlement, "Is it only the beautiful who can become pirate generals?"

Rekton was momentarily stunned, images of several pirate generals he had seen flashing through his mind, and he chuckled, replying, "No, it's just that you've only seen a few of them."

As Rekton and Tu Ba Ge spoke, the scene within the mirror shifted.

Perhaps because she knew Rekton was watching through the Eye of Secrets, Ke Lai En dared not let herself and Te Lei Xi remain here as events escalated beyond limits, which would become a lifelong stain, recorded and constantly reminding others! Transforming into Yi Lian, Ke Lai En, at the moment she neared the "Disease General", launched an attack on her.

Her left hand, supple as if boneless, easily broke free of the rope, and the flesh‑colored glove snug on her palm instantly took on a golden sheen; two bolts of soul‑piercing lightning flashed in her emerald eyes.

Te Lei Xi's expression turned to shock, gravity, and disbelief.

The instant Ke Lai En touched her body, the Te Lei Xi before them shattered like an illusion, turning into shards of glass scattered on the ground.

The mirror avatar method indeed failed; a demigod‑level witch had been on the Black Death, and being skilled in divination, she likely sensed Te Lei Xi's impending misfortune—though not fatal, a proper warning would surely appear.

After a moment of thought, Rekton's eyes flashed; his gaze became profoundly deep, like the sea before a storm, his pupils clearly losing focus, a blank stare.

Vague images floated in his mind: the battle between Ke Lai En and Te Lei Xi, and the ending where both were wounded and Ke Lai En fled the Black Death.

There was no danger; Te Lei Xi was simply prepared for an attack, and there was no hidden witch nor extra arrangement on the Black Death. Rekton's eyes cleared, he frowned slightly, and as his gaze fell on the Black Death, a vague unease rose within him.

After pondering briefly, he turned his body toward the Tu Ba Ge sitting beside him, placed a hand on its neck, and after a slight pause said:

"I will have a few knowledge rabbits send you to the library deep in the Spirit Realm; if I don't come to fetch you later, you should ask the old gentleman in the library to bring you to meet me."

"Will you encounter any danger?" Tu Ba Ge asked anxiously, looking around.

"Not necessarily, just a somewhat bad feeling."

Rekton let out a light laugh and rubbed the back of Tu Ba Ge's head beneath its hat.

He rose from the starlight‑formed bench, his spirit spreading outward; behind him, ripples of starlight expanded, and a slightly imperfect ring composed of interlocking gears materialized.

Using the connection between the rear ring and the Spirit Realm, he bypassed the ritual steps and whispered:

"Spirits that wander in illusion, communicable friendly beings, rabbit‑shaped spirits favored by knowledge."

His words turned into a signal, merged with the Spirit Realm for a moment, and two semi‑transparent ethereal entities drifted in from afar.

If one ignores their translucent bodies, they are simply ordinary, somewhat dazed rabbits.

Tu Ba Ge stared at the approaching knowledge rabbits for a moment, then, with a look of sudden realization, said:

"There are two clueless rabbits nearby!"

The two knowledge rabbits quickly approached; Rekton glanced at the normal rabbit‑sized knowledge rabbit, then at the obviously plump Tu Ba Ge.

He doubted whether these two knowledge rabbits could pull Tu Ba Ge while roaming the Spirit Realm.

"Hmm, boss! Your gaze is quite impolite," Tu Ba Ge seemed to sense Rekton's inner sarcasm and said irritably.

Rekton chuckled, patted Tu Ba Ge's head, ignored its remark, and asked the two knowledge rabbits, "Do you know the location of the library deep in the Spirit Realm?"

The two knowledge rabbits nodded repeatedly.

Seeing the knowledge rabbits knew the place, Rekton sighed in relief, then pushed Tu Ba Ge before them and said, "Can you take it to that library for me?"

"The reward is that you may freely choose any book to read in the library," the two knowledge rabbits nodded more broadly and faster.

Then they each lifted one of Tu Ba Ge's paws and dragged it toward the deep of the Spirit Realm.

Tu Ba Ge panicked, looking at Rekton; it and the two knowledge rabbits were back‑to‑back, unable to see ahead, feeling as if it were being kidnapped.

But the knowledge rabbits moved swiftly; before it could finish speaking, they vanished from Rekton's sight.

The two knowledge rabbits seemed delighted to stay with Tu Ba Ge. Rekton sighed inwardly, turned his head toward the scene in the mirror.

Because he couldn't tear off the magical item on Te Lei Xi's hand that possessed strong defensive power, Ke Lai En's battle with the pirate general grew stalemated.

On the Black Death, Ke Lai En's figure trembled uncontrollably as black illusory flames burned him from within.

His body rapidly thinned and became brittle, finally turning into scraps of paper burned to ash by the black flame.

His silhouette then manifested from another place,

the moment it appeared, it fell into a bizarre paralysis and sluggishness, as if enveloped in a soft embrace that offered a sinking comfort, impossible to escape.

Something was off; Te Lei Xi's earlier reaction seemed off, as if she already knew she would be attacked. Ke Lai En still maintained Yi Lian's appearance, thoughts flickering in his mind, his intuition grasped something.

The witch, also skilled in divination, the red‑haired witch spoken of by Yi Lian, had sensed the anomaly in Te Lei Xi's fate? Why had I overlooked that then? As thoughts turned, Ke Lai En spread his arms, and the glove on his left hand instantly emitted a golden glow.

A magnificent, pure, blazing column of light descended from the heavens, enveloping Te Lei Xi and the layers of frost throughout the room.

Te Lei Xi stared intently at Ke Lai En, or rather at Yi Lian, her hoarse voice saying:

"Who exactly are you? Where is Yi Lian? What have you done to her?"

Ke Lai En, still in Yi Lian's guise, gave Te Lei Xi a bright smile, opened his mouth slightly, and a deep male voice resonated, "She went to a place you cannot find."

"Before that, she told me all your secrets, of course, including her own."

Te Lei Xi's body trembled slightly, her expression twisted with pain.

The surface of the glove on Ke Lai En's left hand writhed, swiftly retracting the golden light and revealing layers of fine dark‑gold scales; his pupils began to elongate vertically.

The next moment, a strong sense of danger surged; Ke Lai En's left‑hand reaching forward froze, and an image rose in his mind:

Crimson flames surged continuously, and in an instant they engulfed the captain's room, covering him and Te Lei Xi.

"No, she's going to drag me down with her? Is this witch love‑obsessed?" The thought in his mind barely formed when layers upon layers of crimson surged like waves, swiftly devouring everything in the room.

Inside the captain's room, the crimson flames instantly consumed everything.

Ke Lai En intended to use the flames to perform a flame‑jump to escape the captain's room, but strangely found himself unable to control the crimson fire.

His silhouette rapidly thinned and became brittle within the flames, turning into a crudely cut paper figure.

The next moment, his figure appeared near the captain's room doorway, his clothes and hair instantly ignited.

Using the flames ignited on his body, he employed the flame‑jump ability; though he could not relocate, the accompanying fire‑immunity during the jump prevented him from taking damage.

Simultaneously with his flame‑jump, an eye made of dazzling starlight—cold, indifferent, without lashes—materialized on his forehead.

Radiant glimmers quickly burst from his body, instantly coalescing into a massive transparent amber that fully enveloped him, shielding him from the external crimson flames.

(End of chapter)