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Sea monsters… Mermaids with melodious voices and Obninsk, controlled by the Church of the Lord of Storms, instantly appeared in Louise's mind. These were also the most common characters in maritime strange tales.
"In the relatively peaceful Second Epoch, after the fall of the Ancestor and the Ancient God, Kvastir, the 'Mutant King,' and Flegrea, the 'Annihilation Demonic Wolf,' the five major races—Giants, Elves, Dragons, Devils, and Phoenixes—coexisted, dividing the rule of the Northern and Southern Continents and the five major oceans."
"Races like the Sanguine, Demonic Wolves, Treants, Sea Monsters, Mutants, and Humans were attached to different forces, occupying the middle and lower strata, until the Ancient Sun God appeared…"
Listening to Marquis Mistral's explanation, Louise's eyes brightened slightly. Although she had studied "A Comprehensive History of the Northern Continent in the Fifth Epoch" and the "Book of Secrets" from Shaman King Klarman, which she traded from Sharron, before leaving Backlund for the Southern Continent, those did not include these hidden ancient histories.
Marquis Mistral stood with his hands behind his back, finally adding:
"Currently, under the deterrence of the Church of the Lord of Storms, Janna is mainly active in the dangerous waters north of Sonia Island, seemingly dedicated to finding the rumored underwater city where powerful monstrous creatures are sealed, which is also the object of their faith."
"These Pirate admirals more or less have some background. You can now be considered a banner for the Sanguine at sea, so you must think twice before acting."
"You also need to be more careful; various organizations will certainly want to do something in secret, especially those who had deep grudges with the Sanguine during the War of the Four Emperors at the end of the Fourth Epoch."
Feeling a slight chill in her heart, Louise nodded with a heavy mood, then cleared her throat and softly said:
"I still lack several metals and gemstones representing different states of the Moon, as well as the blood of Beyonder creatures. I've searched for a long time at sea but haven't collected them all. Hmm, I need two sets."
A Sanguine Viscount corresponds to the Sequence 5 Scarlet Scholar of the Moon Pathway. One of the conditions for the advancement ritual is to be under the illumination of the full Moon. Besides this, one must also gather metals and gemstones representing different states of the Moon, as well as the blood of Beyonder creatures. The ritual is quite complex.
Upon learning that Louise wanted to exchange Beyonder characteristics, Marquis Mistral had already guessed what his junior wanted to do. In any case, rather than handing them over to the clan, it was better to cultivate this new generation of Sanguine who had truly experienced combat.
The "Gate of Summoning" behind him, engraved with complex patterns, opened slightly. A mass of blood-red energy dissipated onto a nearby shelf, revealing various materials emanating spiritual fluctuations.
Marquis Mistral's figure then disappeared into the "Gate of Summoning." Louise examined the spiritual materials gifted by her grandfather, a hint of surprise appearing on her face.
A blood-red bat phantom appeared behind her. The immense Yin power condensed by Marquis Mistral's arrival had not yet dissipated, and it was drawn by the Darkness-type spell Louise cast, integrating into the magic circle runes inscribed on the "Moon Shadow."
Blood-red energy surged, and Louise's voice echoed in every crew member's ears:
"Plan canceled! Everyone, get ready!"
Hearing the Captain's words, the experienced crew members of the "Moon Shadow" quickly moved away from the ship's rail and returned to the cabins. Beyonders of non-Moon Pathways and a very small number of ordinary people took out the charms Louise refined and affixed them to their foreheads to avoid damage from the infusion of Yin power.
The faint moonlight under the storm, stimulated by the Yin power, entered a temporary "full Moon" effect. The "Moon Shadow" instantly transformed into a blood-red light, moving away from this sea area at a speed almost like teleportation or flashing.
It took a full quarter of an hour for the "Moon Shadow" to solidify again. Besides the spiritual disturbance caused by the teleportation and the corresponding strong sense of weightlessness, the crew members had no other negative effects.
Because the "Moon Shadow" itself was huge, the materials required to completely transform it into a Ghost Ship were too expensive, which is why it didn't become one. However, it was personally modified by Marquis Nibbs, who set sail with them at the time.
After engraving numerous advanced runes from the Moon domain, it could barely be considered a semi-Ghost Ship, though it required the Sanguine to provide spiritual energy and manipulate it.
Now that she knew the Sanguine high-level's recent plans, Louise decided to give "Vice Admiral Twilight" a pass for now and slowly settle accounts later.
Without leaving the storage room, Louise conveyed the next task to her First Mate and Boatswain. These two Sanguine Barons were also part of her plan to cultivate, as her own power.
Skillfully setting up a Wall of Spirituality, Louise placed two sets of Sequence 5 Beyonder characteristics in the center of the altar, chanting the honorific name of the "Lord of Order."
Watching the two dark red boxes disappear into the Gate of Sacrifice and Bestowal, Louise quietly added:
"Great Lord of Order, I have prepared the items Mobet and Sharron desire. Please convey this to them…"
Inside the magnificent palace enveloped in dark golden mist, Aaron, who had been observing the sea around Mid-Range Island with a sub-consciousness through his True Sight, watched the Beyonder characteristics float out of the Gate of Sacrifice and Bestowal. He skillfully pressed them onto the "Sun Chaser Scepter."
This Grade 0 Sealed Artifact extracted Beyonder characteristics below the demigod level very quickly. Watching the clusters of pure Beyonder characteristics of various Sequences enveloped in dark golden mist, Aaron contentedly placed the "Sun Chaser Scepter" back into the pile of sundries.
Aaron cast Louise's prayer image and the two pure Marionettist and Wraith Beyonder characteristics, extracted after separating other Beyonder characteristics, into the prayer light points symbolizing Mobet and Sharron.
Not only Louise, but most of the Beyonder characteristics or Sealed Artifacts sacrificed by Cavendish and the Moon City High Priest Nim earlier had undergone this process.
The final destination of those progressively extracted Beyonder characteristics was mainly divided into three parts: one part, after removing pollution and madness, was returned to Moon City; another part was entirely sent to East Tucker County or the Southern Continent to cultivate more Beyonders loyal to the East Tucker family.
The last part was handed to Alvin Gallows, to stabilize the condition of the loyalist specters in the City of the Dead after the "Gate of Rebirth."
With the help of the potion formulas stored in Moon City, although Beyonder characteristics would only be preferentially supplied to those absolutely loyal guards, under this method of cultivation regardless of cost, the number and Sequence strength of the Beyonders controlled by the East Tucker family now were more than double what they were before.
This was both a reserve of power for intervening in the future world war and a cultivation of their own fundamental base.
After the Evernight Goddess killed the God of Combat, she still needed to modify doctrines, appease believers, and then incorporate those Beyonders from churches that originally believed in war. Fundamentally, this was because the surviving Beyonders of the Church of Evernight at that time were insufficient to take over the vast territory of the Feysac Empire and its overseas colonies.
The most direct impact of this forced choice was that the Evernight Goddess needed to spend a considerable amount of time balancing the influence of the anchors that originally believed in the God of Combat on herself.
This lesson made Aaron, who still had time to prepare, not hesitate to use even drastic measures like depleting family resources to cultivate more Beyonders.
The East Tucker family, simultaneously wielding the Red Priest Pathway and the Justiciar Pathway, could maximize the power of both the army and Beyonders, whether in offense or defense.
The Iron-Blooded Knight's control over the army, combined with the mysterious law that weakens reality and strengthens it, was the reason why, on the Southern Continent, despite being at a disadvantage in terms of Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts and demigod numbers, they could still fight for more than half a year.
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In a barren, uninhabited mountain range in the central part of the Loen Kingdom, Sharron, who had deliberately stayed away from Backlund, quietly watched Maric play cards with her Zombie.
More than a month ago, Sharron killed a Scarlet Scholar from the Rose School of Thought, which attracted the attention of the irritable old men from the Church of the Lord of Storms. Not wanting to implicate Kaspars, Sharron immediately took Maric and temporarily left Backlund.
Sharron, whose eyes were slightly hollow, stirred slightly. Under Maric's surprised gaze, she set up a ritual. After sacrificing the Beyonder characteristic she had promised Louise earlier, she handed the pure Wraith Beyonder characteristic to Maric.
During her time in Backlund, Sharron had already helped Maric collect all the supplementary ingredients.
The most crucial part of the ritual to advance to Sequence 5 Wraith is to consume the potion while the spirit and flesh are separated, transforming into a true Wraith under the baptism of the Spirit World.
This requires setting up a specific ritual array. The initiation of the ritual until the baptism and transformation are finally completed must rely on the peculiarities of the Spirit World, and this will produce a special resonance.
This special resonance is extremely difficult for Beyonders of other Pathways to detect. Even at the demigod level, it is difficult to detect without authority related to the Spirit World.
But for other Wraiths and even Beyonders of higher Sequences on this Pathway, this fluctuation is like a lighthouse, conspicuous and dazzling.
This is why Wraiths naturally possess the ability of divination and anti-divination, and it also acts as an amplifier. This was also Sharron's long-planned scheme; she wanted to thoroughly awaken her teacher.
After Reinette Tinekerr's "fall," the Indulgence Faction of the Rose School of Thought completely took control of the situation, and the Temperance faction was purged. Now, Sharron and Maric can be said to be the only remaining members of the Temperance faction, and also the last anchor maintaining Reinette Tinekerr. This is also why the Rose School of Thought has been searching for their whereabouts.
Even with Sharron as a demigod, even with the mark Reinette Tinekerr left behind, it would be difficult to awaken a former Angel with ritual magic alone.
But the special resonance produced by Maric's advancement ritual to Wraith, combined with Sharron's ritual, could truly reach deep into the Spirit World. Relying on the connection with Reinette Tinekerr, this was a very likely success.
To ensure the smooth progress of the matter, Sharron, after obtaining the Wraith Beyonder characteristic, prayed for the gaze of the great "Lord of Order," hoping that this hidden existence would provide some assistance if necessary.
Although the honorific name helped to make the ritual's direction clearer, Sharron could not be sure what would be attracted by this fluctuation first. She always remembered the terrifying figure she had seen in the Spirit World of Bayam before.
Maric, who was already mentally prepared, did not hesitate. After preparing the potion, he took a deep breath and, after drinking the potion, stepped into the pre-engraved array.
Watching Maric's physical body dissolve in the potion, a hint of worry flashed in Sharron's eyes, then became resolute. The process of transforming from a Zombie to a Wraith was not long, and Sharron did not have much time left.
Slashing her wrist with her finger as a knife, somewhat unreal blood gushed from the wound. Sharron swiftly drew a complex magic circle on the ground.
Taking out a black box from her embrace, after undoing the Wall of Spirituality, a dark, viscous, evil liquid distorted and surged out as if alive, accompanied by a silent shriek, causing Sharron's thoughts to momentarily freeze.
This was the remaining blood of Sequence 3 Disciple of Silence, Mahmosi, who was corrupted by Sauron's descent in Bayam. It was also Sharron's confidence in finding and successfully awakening her teacher.
However, this required a certain risk. After all, Sharron was only borrowing a ritual, and the medium of transmission was themselves. The blood contained not only power but also terrifying pollution, especially for Maric, who was currently advancing. Losing control could happen in an instant.
Recalling Maric's resolute gaze earlier, Sharron took a deep breath, pouring the dark, viscous blood onto the blood-outlined magic circle. At the same time, she placed her hand on it. The mark left by Reinette Tinekerr spontaneously revived under the stimulation of multiple forces, absorbing everything in the magic circle.
Invisible fluctuations passed through Maric's already ethereal body, spreading deep into the Spirit World, leveraging the special resonance with the Spirit World brought by the advancement ritual.
The seven clear lights covering the "sky" flickered slightly, and faint, ethereal mist subtly floated, revealing a floating castle hidden within the mist. It was entirely black, with towering spires, covered in vines, and possessed a strong Gothic style.
At the top of this castle stood a translucent woman. She was almost as tall as the castle, wearing a complex, luxurious, yet dark and gloomy black gown.
She had no head, with a neat cut at her neck. Her drooping hands held four golden-haired, red-eyed, brightly beautiful heads. If one looked closely, they would find that these heads were identical.
The dark, viscous, evil liquid appeared but was quickly absorbed by the complex, dim symbols on the black gown. Reinette Tinekerr's four pairs of scarlet, blood-red eyes followed the sensation, looking beyond the Spirit World.
"It's…" "Sharron…" "and…" "Maric…"
Reinette Tinekerr, wearing a gloomy and complex black gown, stood quietly there. Her four drooping heads spoke one after another, using ancient Feysac.
Her body rapidly shrank, and the black Gothic-style castle behind her also etherealized and merged with her. Her aura at this point was only slightly stronger than Sharron's; this was the maximum strength she could retain while stabilizing her state due to lacking anchors.
Above the dark golden mist, Aaron, upon hearing Miss Sharron's plea, temporarily stopped monitoring the sea area near Mid-Range Island. Compared to hunting the Iron-Blooded Knight, Reinette Tinekerr's awakening was clearly more important.
Even with True Sight, it was not omnipotent after all. Aaron only felt a certain power surge into the depths of the Spirit World and could not sense further. His main priority now was to prevent certain accidents from happening.
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