Chapter 2923

The space fissures in the secret chamber disappeared, and the Frenzy of Overgrowth left. The Void Tree did not interfere with its arrival because Su Xiao was intentionally drawing a Void Alien Existence; interfering with this process did not conform to the principles of notarization.

Of course, if the Frenzy of Overgrowth were allowed to fully descend, it would be a different matter entirely and would lead to very serious consequences.

Regarding the First Generation finger bone, Su Xiao had been researching it. The conclusion he reached was that he could use this item immediately to enhance his own Qing Gang Ying energy, but whether his current body could withstand such an enhancement was an unknown variable.

Only when he himself became strong enough, and after further enhancing his Qing Gang Ying ability, would it be safe enough to use the First Generation finger bone.

In the trade just now with the Frenzy of Overgrowth, Su Xiao wanted to maximize the benefits and use the First Generation finger bone in a more effective way.

He had asked the Tuanzhang, White Bull, Andromeda, and others about this issue. The conversations at the time were as follows:

Su Xiao: "How can I use the First Generation finger bone more effectively?"

Tuanzhang: "Devour it with your Qing Gang Ying energy? Perhaps that's feasible."

White Bull: "Eat it."

Andromeda: "I know, I know! You turn it into a potion, then use that potion to soak in a bath. Why are you ignoring me? This must be feasible."

Su Xiao ignored Andromeda at the time. White Bull's suggestion was not even worth considering, and while Tuanzhang's answer had some reference value, it was too simple and crude.

An unavoidable problem was that Su Xiao had to explore his own path to becoming stronger. As for Marv Waltz, Su Xiao had already discovered that the unscrupulous fellow wasn't unwilling to tell him these things, but simply didn't know. Marv Waltz was a practitioner of practical combat, and his theoretical knowledge was extremely poor.

If the remnant soul of Grimm Gillian were still around, that madwoman would definitely know the best way to use the First Generation finger bone.

Su Xiao put away the black sphere in his hand. This item was a consumable that could be used multiple times. Each time he used it, he would soak it in water, place it beside him, and then enter a meditative state.

There was no doubt that using this item carried significant risk. It would be safer to use it after returning to the Reincarnation Paradise.

Su Xiao walked out of the secret chamber. He still hadn't found the Byrne family heirloom, which was related to the main quest.

Returning to the second basement level, Su Xiao searched around Baron Byrne's corpse but found nothing suspicious. There were no mechanisms or the like on the walls either.

As an heirloom, it must be kept in a place that was sufficiently secure, and this item was definitely within the castle. This was the Byrne family's lair; for Baron Byrne, there was no place safer than this.

A place that was sufficiently secure, one that Baron Byrne visited frequently, yet one that outsiders could not easily reach—this place was somewhere in the castle.

Su Xiao first came to the third floor of the castle, which was Baron Byrne's bedroom. He took out a can of spray and began spraying the bedroom walls.

A few faint fingerprints appeared on the wall. Su Xiao took out the 【Soul Whisper】 dagger and cut out recessed grids in the wall, but found nothing.

Having found nothing in the bedroom, Su Xiao headed straight for Baron Byrne's study. For Baron Byrne, these two places were actually safer than the family treasury.

Arriving at the study, Su Xiao began spraying the walls. A section of the wall with fingerprints caught his attention.

The fingerprints on this section of the wall overlapped many times; conservatively estimated, there were dozens of them. Baron Byrne frequently pressed his fingers against this spot on the wall.

Su Xiao tapped the wall lightly with his finger and pressed a suction cup connected to a laptop onto the wall.

Through the captured sound waves, the laptop screen fed back the image inside the wall. Embedded in the wall were many gemstones and metal pipes, and there was a meat-like mass pulsing, resembling a heart. In this situation, opening it with brute force was not a wise decision.

Su Xiao had Baha go and retrieve one of Baron Byrne's fingers and some of his blood. Before long, Baha returned.

Su Xiao took out several test tubes, poured different solutions into them, and finally mixed in Baron Byrne's blood to amplify the faint life force within it. Although Baron Byrne was dead, his body had not completely died; it would take some time for the life force in the body to dissipate completely.

Waiting for half a minute, most of the solution in the test tube evaporated, leaving only a small amount at the bottom. Su Xiao poured this small amount onto Baron Byrne's severed finger. The solution immediately seeped into it, and the finger's previously waxy-yellow skin regained a hint of color.

Pressing the severed finger against the wall, a sound like a heartbeat emanated from within. This was life force resonance.

The bricks on the wall recessed, and a lidless stone box rose from below, containing three items.

Half of a horn from some creature, a golden skull the size of a goose egg, and a letter.

The moment of harvest had arrived. Su Xiao first picked up the half-horn.

【You have obtained the Byrne family heirloom. This item is the Sea King's Horn (1/3).】

【Main Quest: Notorious - First Ring (Completed)】

【You have obtained the quest reward: Growth-type Equipment Chest.】

【Main Quest Second Ring has been successfully triggered.】

【Main Quest: Wrath of the West Sea King (Second Ring)】

Difficulty Level: lv. 70 - lv. 74.

Quest Information: Because you annihilated the Byrne family, the interests of the West Sea King, who was secretly cooperating with them, have been damaged. You will face the West Sea King's retaliation.

Hint: This quest will have two branches.

1. Compromise with the West Sea King and share the Byrne family heirloom, the Sea King's Horn (1/3), with him. At this stage, the West Sea King also possesses a portion of the Sea King's Horn.

Hint: If you choose to compromise with the West Sea King, you will cooperate with him to compete for the final part of the Sea King's Horn.

Hint: The holder of the final part of the Sea King's Horn is the Great Pirate, Twin Towers Empress.

2. Annihilate the West Sea King's pirate fleet and seize the Sea King's Horn he possesses.

Hint: The complete Sea King's Horn is a necessary item for the Hunter to undergo the final trial.

Hint: Completing all parts of the main quest will also allow the Hunter to complete the 200-point attribute barrier assessment.

Quest Duration: 10 days.

Quest Reward: None.

Quest Penalty: Forced execution.

Seeing the second ring of the main quest, Su Xiao was somewhat surprised. He had wiped out the Byrne family and hadn't offended their collaborator, the Duke, to death, but instead had angered the West Sea King, whom he had never met?

The function of the Sea King's Horn was temporarily unknown. Judging from the quest data, this item itself was very precious.

The Sea King's Horn was divided into three parts: one segment was with Baron Byrne, one with the West Sea King, and the final one with the Twin Towers Empress.

The West Sea King had been secretly cooperating with Baron Byrne, and his purpose was to obtain the segment of the Sea King's Horn in Baron Byrne's possession.

Looking at it this way, Baron Byrne was a double-crosser; on the surface, he cooperated with the Great Pirate Duke, but in secret, he had long been thick as thieves with the West Sea King.

Su Xiao currently had two choices: one was to compromise with the West Sea King and deal with the Twin Towers Empress together. In this case, the segment of the Sea King's Horn in his hand would have to be used as a gesture of sincerity and given to the West Sea King.

The second choice was to take it all—to deal with both the West Sea King and the Twin Towers Empress, and then piece the Sea King's Horn together. What would happen after that was temporarily unknown.

Based on Su Xiao's experience, this Sea King's Horn was highly likely used to summon some powerful sea beast beneath the sea, or perhaps the strongest sea beast in this world. This Sea King's Horn might be the horn broken off by that strongest sea beast, with the patterns on it shrinking it for easy storage.

If the strongest sea beast wanted its horn back, as long as he set things up properly, he could completely use this as leverage to make that strongest sea beast accomplish a certain task.

A bolder conjecture was that once the Sea King's Horn was pieced together, one could use it to forcibly enslave that strongest sea beast.

Su Xiao felt that this alone was not enough to make the great pirates greedy. The strongest sea beast might not be as simple as just being powerful itself; it might be able to command other sea beasts in the Magic Sea, forming a sea beast army.

How many transcendent sea beasts were there in the Magic Sea? To date, it was impossible to count. Not to mention if the strongest sea beast could command all sea beasts, even if it could command one-fifth of them to form a sea beast army, that would be the strongest force in the Magic Sea. This point was indisputable.

Only then would it be worth the greed of a great pirate like the West Sea King. Even the Duke knew Baron Byrne had this segment of the horn, which was why he gave the big fat piece of meat that was Shipwreck Island to Baron Byrne, to avoid Baron Byrne jumping over the wall like a dog and destroying this segment of the horn.

This was not impossible. Baron Byrne had just blown his own head off with a gun; this guy was ruthless enough to kill himself, so destroying a segment of the Sea King's Horn would be a piece of cake.

This was a mad dog, a mad dog that the three great pirates—the West Sea King, the Twin Towers Empress, and the Duke—couldn't do much about.

Complete Sea King's Horn = Control the strongest sea beast = Possess a sea beast army = Become the hegemon of the Magic Sea!

The West Sea King wanted the Sea King's Horn for this purpose; this guy wanted to dominate the Magic Sea.

The Twin Towers Empress, on the other hand, was not too eager for the Sea King's Horn. This female pirate's current situation was the best. Anyone dominating the Magic Sea, including herself, was not a good situation for her. If someone else dominated, she might be caught to warm their bed; if she dominated herself, she would worry about being assassinated at every moment.

After having a rough estimate in his mind, Su Xiao put away the 【Sea King's Horn (1/3)】. He had no interest in a sea beast army because he was the captain of the Doom. Even if the strongest sea beast had the ability to command other sea beasts, it would be of no use to him.

On the Magic Sea, all sea beasts feared the Doom—a fear that came from their souls. Since Su Xiao entered the Magic Sea, he hadn't seen a single transcendent sea beast.

Transcendent sea beasts possessed intelligence no lower than humans. If they knew they were working for the captain of the Doom, any pressure from the strongest sea beast would be bullshit. Those transcendent sea beasts would scatter and try their best to stay away from Su Xiao, the captain of the Doom, because they were too afraid.

In Su Xiao's cognition, the complete Sea King's Horn = Summon the strongest sea beast = A high-quality essence = Enhance Qing Gang Ying ability.

This was very tempting. If he obtained the essence of the strongest sea beast, his Qing Gang Ying energy would inevitably see a significant boost.

Moreover, with the Doom, why would he need a transcendent sea beast army? Those transcendent sea beasts had to be coaxed, and his Charisma attribute would need to be high enough to ensure their loyalty, unlike the Cursed Ones, who would go east if told to go east, without the slightest hesitation or questioning.

Su Xiao looked at the remaining two items, the letter and the dark golden skull. He chose to pick up the letter.

A moment later, Su Xiao tossed the letter back. This item was a love letter Baron Byrne had written to his sister. Perhaps when he was young, he was afraid of having his legs broken by his father, so he didn't dare to take it out. Aristocratic interpersonal relationships were very messy; some aristocrats, in order to ensure so-called bloodline purity, would engage in incestuous marriage.

In Su Xiao's view, so-called bloodline purity was complete nonsense. Except for checking if a bloodline is pure when buying a dog, it was irrelevant in other aspects.

The inheritance of bloodline power was not such a superficial thing. The key was not in purity, but in inheritance—generation after generation of healthy and stable inheritance, as well as the development and wisdom of each generation, were the keys to the strength of bloodline abilities.

Picking up the final golden skull, this goose-egg-sized golden skull gave Su Xiao quite a surprise. It was not only crafted from gold but also contained Magic Sea energy, which could be used to break the curse of the Doom. Its effect was estimated to be equivalent to about 16,000 Magic Sea gold coins.

After looting, Su Xiao walked out of the castle and headed toward the pier.

A dozen minutes later, the Doom set sail. The number of casualties among the Cursed Ones and the Black Curse Crows had not yet been tallied.

As the Doom sailed away, the flock of crows blocking the sky retreated, and the black fog shrouding the entire Shipwreck Island dissipated, reflecting the evening sunset.

An hour later, a dozen pirate ships appeared on the horizon. These raiding ships sailed at high speed and soon docked at the pier.

Several wooden planks were laid down diagonally. A strong figure draped in a blue coat stepped onto the pier along the planks. His hair was meticulously groomed, and his eyes were cold—it was the Great Pirate, the Duke.

The Duke looked at the town behind the pier; it was too quiet, quiet enough to make one feel uneasy.

"Captain, we've checked. There... are no living people left on the island."

The pirate who said this lowered his head, fearing that his words might offend the Duke. Everyone on Shipwreck Island related to pirates had been wiped out.

"Go find a segment of the horn. No matter what method you use, you must find that thing."

"Yes."

A dozen pirates nearby trotted forward. Just then, a sound of wind breaking came, followed by an explosion. Shattered ship planks splashed everywhere, and the mast of a raiding ship collapsed with a roar.

The Duke looked out to sea. Over twenty large ships appeared on the surface, approaching the pier of Shipwreck Island.

"It's Murray's men."

The Duke watched the Royal Navy ships pressing in from the sea. He knew it was Rear Admiral Murray who had arrived; this was his old rival.

"Captain, we..."

"Shipwreck Island belongs only to me."

"Understood."

All the raiding ships under the Duke's command changed direction, heading toward the twenty-plus large Royal Navy ships. A massive naval battle began.

In an unknown sea area, strong winds whipped up angry waves, mercilessly battering a small sailboat. By the looks of it, this small sailboat could be overturned or fall apart at any moment.

On the small sailboat, a figure clad in full armor stood tall; neither the wind and rain nor the waves could shake him in the slightest.

"Firefly, I have received your will."

The armored man representing Greed spoke in a deep voice. A blood bead emitting red light floated in front of him. This represented that the enemy was ahead; that contractor named Bai Ye was right ahead.

When the blood mark first formed, the armored man had confirmed this. Appearance, clothing, the weapon at his waist, and even his aura were all that of the contractor named Bai Ye. Everyone's aura was unique; this could not be wrong. The other party was fleeing in terror ahead.

At this moment, ten nautical miles ahead of the armored man, a black shadow was swimming at high speed in the seawater. This was a Cursed One, and it was the target the armored man was pursuing. The two sides maintained a distance of nearly ten nautical miles, making it impossible for the armored man to sense this Cursed One, so he could only track it by direction.

On the sailboat in the storm, the armored man's gaze was firm. Even if he pursued to the ends of the earth, he would not let the enemy go. Even if the rain was heavy, even if his stomach was hungry, even if the sea was fraught with crises, the armored man would not give up. He looked ahead and shouted:

"You cannot escape!"

The shout was drowned out by the rain. Cold raindrops pelted the armored man; the rain grew heavier, and the waves grew higher.

At the same time, in the captain's cabin of the Doom, Su Xiao had just finished his daily meditation and was considering what to eat tonight.