Chapter 528: Harvest and Spirit‑Linking

Near Ximimu Island, in a sea area dense with reefs, the waves crashed and a few pirates were swept onto the reefs.

Their clothes hung loose and ragged, as if torn off violently; their lips were slightly open, showing a uniformly foolish grin, with viscous transparent saliva dripping from the corners, and they felt nothing as seawater filled their mouths; their faces also bore an abnormal flush.

Another wave broke, and after the high splash fell, a seductive, enchanting figure appeared on a nearby reef; her black hair fell smoothly down to her waist, the strands were thick, as thick as a baby's little finger, like living tentacles.

The exposed skin bore faint scarlet tattoos, looking like strange symbols, or like a layer of fine scales hidden beneath the flesh.

Her lower body was immersed in cold black seawater, indistinct to the eye, but she seemed an extremely charming woman.

She leaned against the reef, her gaze lingered on the pirates whose faces were still flushed, then, with a disdainful expression, she looked away.

Tiny brass‑colored glimmers suddenly rose from the void, swiftly roaming in midair, outlining an illusory gate covered with mysterious symbols.

A headless corpse wearing a charred, tattered suit fell out of it, its body emitting specks of black and dark‑red phosphorescence.

Then the Prophet's avatar stepped out of the illusory gate; a reddish‑tinged charred mark spread across his left arm.

The damage was caused by the lightning that entered the illusory gate; although he first used that demigod's corpse as a shield, his left hand that dragged the body still suffered some injury.

The Prophet's avatar simulated the "Wind Attendant" ability, summoned a swirling gale, and steadied his body to land smoothly on the reef.

He then extended his spirit, drew a secret‑representing sigil in the air, and whispered a spell in draconic tongue: "Conceal!"

A layer of tranquil night fell suddenly, shrouding the entire reef.

After completing all this, he finally had the energy to inspect the captured pirates.

The Prophet's avatar's calm gaze swept over them, taking in their condition, and finally rested on their hips, his mouth twitching slightly.

They were basically dead; the abnormal flush was not only from overstimulation but also because they were infected with disease, feverish, with kidney and other organ failure, plus pneumonia, blood disease, and their mental state seemed off—nothing could save them; at least a "Life Refinement"‑level method might work.

He then turned his head toward the "sea monster" half‑lying on another reef; the other party returned his smile, expression full of enchantment, bearing a bewitching power.

Snap! The Prophet's avatar snapped his fingers, tiny pale‑blue phosphorescence floated like a hovering insect, quickly engulfed the sea monster's body, turning her into a palm‑sized black figurine.

The figurine, the moment it formed, defied natural law and flew automatically into the Prophet's avatar's hand.

He looked down at the figurine; its expression still held a seductive smile, but now with a satisfied air.

"You came too hastily; I haven't named you yet. Not 'fish‑tail', calling you 'siren' seems inappropriate."

While the Prophet's avatar muttered to himself, A Meng's voice transmitted through "mind communication" into Lei Ke Dun's mind:

"Stop fussing over the name. After repeatedly using the Sea God's staff and activating the 'Conqueror' trait, my spirit can barely hold on. Remember to collect the lingering spirits of those pirates; I'll use them later for spirit‑linking."

Before the Prophet's avatar could answer, A Meng unilaterally cut off the "mind communication".

Sensing the link had been severed, the Prophet's avatar shrugged, and his gaze returned to the demigod corpse still exuding its traits.

He gently rubbed his fingers, generating tiny brass‑colored glimmers that darted over the corpse, outlining one mysterious symbol after another.

The corpse's trait‑emission speed suddenly surged; within half a minute those extraordinary traits coalesced: patches of black crystal interlaced with dark‑red, irregularly clustering into a bizarre crown, with a dark‑red eye at its center.

He placed the extracted "Fallen Count" trait into a pre‑prepared square iron box for sealing, then took out several light‑brown glass vials, poured in pre‑prepared herbal powder, and whispered an incantation.

The lingering spirits that had not fully dispersed solidified in midair, melting into droplets of translucent liquid collected in the glass bottles.

After finishing, he stepped two paces forward, bent down, and removed the black leather glove from the corpse's right hand; the glove bore azure patterns like layered waves.

The moment the black leather glove was in his hand, the Prophet's avatar felt his own anger swelling.

The negative effect was severe; merely holding it made him irritable and angry, prone to impulsive, irrational actions. As he sighed, a cold pale‑blue flash crossed his eyes, bearing a rational, detached tone. He examined the glove carefully for a while; the faint silvery haze in his eyes faded, and he roughly parsed its effect: corresponding to the "Wind Attendant" of Storm Path Sequence Six, it grants the creation of "Wind Blades", mastery of soaring on gale, levitation, flight, water control, and notable extraordinary abilities in wind and water domains.

The drawbacks: it makes the wearer prone to being struck by lightning, vulnerable to monster attacks in deep sea or darkness, induces irritability and anger that accumulate; if the emotion isn't released in time, it may cause loss of control.

The extraordinary abilities aren't strong for a demigod, and the drawbacks are many, but for a demigod on the Black Emperor (Title) path they are just right; he can twist the negative effects to minimize them, even "gift" them to enemies, and the amplified Wind Blades can easily reach demigod‑level lethality.

Lacking enough pre‑made iron boxes, he simply placed the glove into his coat pocket, using his rational state to suppress the irritability and anger.

Then he turned his gaze to the three pirates lying on a nearby reef; afflicted by disease, they collapsed before the Prophet's avatar could act, and tiny pale‑blue and crimson specks emanated from them.

After a brief pause, he stored the already extracted traits and sealed spirits, simulated the creation of a "Traveler's Gate", and left the sea area.

Deprived of hidden cover, the Sea King Ya En·Kao Te Man "scanned" the entire sea area, his spirit quickly locating this place.

After a short time, he rode the gale to arrive here.

His gaze was icy, full of anger as he looked around, muttering low: "Those who took the Kavituwa trait are still lingering in Rosside Archipelago."

Above the gray mist, Lei Ke Dun nodded to A Meng, then turned his gaze to the tabletop before him.

Besides the crystal ball he had previously given to the Prophet's avatar, there was another object: a strange crown formed irregularly by clusters of black crystal interlaced with dark‑red, with a dark‑red eye at its center.

It exuded a peculiar sense of majesty and eeriness; the dark‑red veins on the black crystal wove an odd pattern that seemed to follow normal rules yet was full of discordant meaning, as if harboring great madness and chaos.

His gaze deepened, scrutinizing the strange crown for a while until he saw all details, then slowly withdrew his eyes.

While he appeared to be pondering, Ke Lai En spoke first:

"Do you intend to take this trait to the God‑Abandoned Land? Why? That place shouldn't lack monsters and traits, should it?"

"I keep running into A Meng lately; I need this kind of rule‑twisting, rule‑using ability, at least to counter his 'deception' to some extent."

Lei Ke Dun tilted his head slightly, leaned against the chair back, and his confidence in saying this was not strong.

Ke Lai En fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked:

"If he directly stole this trait, or the magical item on you?"

". You still hope I'm good enough." Lei Ke Dun's mouth twitched slightly.

Ke Lai En, slightly embarrassed, changed the subject: "I have already performed spirit‑linking with the pirates on the 'One‑Eyed Skull' and that demigod."

He paused, organized his words a bit, and continued:

"That demigod was a major‑general in the Lu En Kingdom's army, named Charles, who represented a certain royal faction and the military in cooperation with the witch cult, conducting population collection and trafficking at sea; he oversaw the safety of pirate ships transporting people, and when necessary also performed silencing, erasing royal traces."

"He himself follows the Black Emperor (Title) path, sequence four 'Fallen Count', but I recall the Lu En military only possessed part of the formula for this path, lacking the full sequence four and above."

"Unless Solomon, the Trunsost family, or the 'King of the Five Seas' Naste also got involved."

As he spoke, he cast an interrogative glance at Lei Ke Dun.

Lei Ke Dun, leaning against the chair back, toyed with the "Fallen Count" trait while speaking:

"The 'King of the Five Seas' Naste is also a descendant of the Solomon family, but he probably won't join the human‑trafficking business; it brings him no benefit, and as a pirate king he already has enough money."

"Moreover, his current focus is on perfecting the ritual needed to ascend to sequence two, and on finding the corresponding alchemical ingredients."

(End of chapter)