Chapter 250: Chapter 15: Its Name Is Shepherd of Spirits
The blueprint for the Spirit Summoning Association’s plan had already taken shape in Su Zhou’s mind.
No matter how insane and depraved their previous actions had been—be it inciting riots or spreading plagues—at its core, the Spirit Summoning Association’s objective was to gather the Evil Demon Factor.
’Yara said that humans could gather the Evil Demon Factor to create Spirit Pills or Magic Potions, enabling them to become a Celestial God’s Beloved. It’s just like the ancient Dao Mimic Cultivators, who transformed into various Extraordinary Creatures.’
’But those who transformed into Demon Beasts only did so to use the beasts’ power to protect their tribes and clans, even to safeguard human civilization—that’s why they were still part of humanity. But the people of the Spirit Summoning Association... no, they’re Evil Demons. They’ve completely abandoned their humanity, even using their own kind as raw material.’
As he flew through the air, Su Zhou’s heart burned with rage, but he still analyzed the situation calmly. ’The Orbit Array for gathering the Evil Demon Factor can’t be too far away. It must be somewhere around the South Sea, but that would be too easy to discover. So, they used the Mutants to create chaos, then killed them with a plague to recover the Evil Demon Factor and throw off any pursuers. Killing several birds with one stone.’
’Even I would have a hard time finding them in such a vast area.’
He could see the stream of light, the aggregation of the Evil Demon Factor, was already starting to fade, no longer holding its distinct luminous form. The prolonged flow had drained its Spiritual Light, leaving only a remnant of its Extraordinary essence. This forced Su Zhou to descend below the cloud layer and look down at the sea, which was being thrashed by torrential rain as if a typhoon were passing through.
’We’re almost in international waters. There are too many cargo and passenger ships passing through for me to search them one by one.’
For a moment, Su Zhou grew frustrated. ’If I used my Spiritual Vision at full power, I could certainly see an extremely long way. But while that range is decent on land, out here at sea, it’s like a drop in the ocean—utterly insignificant.’
’Besides, I can’t even be sure if the Spiritual Light I see belongs to a Transcendent from the Spirit Summoning Association or just a nearby Sea Beast.’
Su Zhou activated his Spiritual Vision, and he could see all the more prominent Spiritual Lights in the area flare up. But just as he’d thought, the ocean was teeming with Spiritual Light. Who knew how many Sea Beasts and hidden treasures were lurking in these waters, which weren’t covered by the Order Array and had been allowed to develop freely for over a year.
He could even see massive schools of Sea Beasts in hot pursuit, coming from the direction he’d just flown. They were the very same Dragon Blood Sea Beasts he had gathered along the South Sea coast earlier.
Earlier, when Su Zhou sensed the potential crisis in the city, he had immediately alerted the Zhengguo Government to dispatch armed forces to suppress the chaos. After that, he hadn’t had time to deal with the Sea Beasts—besides, they seemed pretty docile and weren’t causing any trouble.
But now, it seemed they had sensed the aura of the thunderbolts Su Zhou had left in the rain clouds, and they pursued him with even greater fanaticism.
’Sigh, I don’t have time for you all right now... Huh? Wait a minute. Sea Beasts?’
He landed on the surface of the sea, looking around at the Sea Beasts swarming around him. As he calmed them, inspiration suddenly struck, and he thought of a great plan. ’Easy now, easy... Hmm. I can’t let having this many Sea Beasts that obey my commands go to waste.’
’My public persona is already the "Sea King who can talk to fish," anyway. I don’t mind leaning into it.’
’As for the fact that I’ve already picked up other ridiculous nicknames online like "Flash" and "Thunder God"... well, that’s something I’ll worry about the next time I go online.’
’I need you to help me find a ship. It should have...’
With that thought, Su Zhou immediately began to communicate via their souls, broadcasting his request to all the surrounding Sea Beasts.
This time, Yara offered no reminder. Only after seeing that Su Zhou had realized this on his own did it give a slight nod.
—Only by thinking for oneself and finding one’s own solutions can one truly grow. Too many unnecessary hints are counterproductive, like pulling on a seedling to make it grow faster.
「July 2, 2015, 4:35 PM」
「The far reaches of the South Sea.」
An unremarkable Southern Ocean freighter.
Its two-toned russet and black hull moved slowly through the torrential rain and gales, leaving an inconspicuous white wake in the churning waves.
The deck was empty—obviously, on a modern vessel, no one would venture out on deck in such a torrential downpour. Faint figures of crew members could be glimpsed on the bridge. Everything appeared completely normal.
But deep in the cargo hold.
The ritual had reached its final stage.
A massive array—composed of blood, human bones, the dust of Resentful Souls, the juice of Yin Soul Grass, and powdered Black Nether Iron Wood roots—was nearing completion. Deep gray Spiritual Power formed a rotating disc of light, releasing a dark yet heavy Spiritual Light.
Within this vast Spiritual Light, a Spiritual Power Crystal in the shape of a trigonal trapezohedron was coalescing in the center of the array.
"Praise the Silent Lord! Source of life, destination of death, Master of Reincarnation!"
A low chant rang out. The ’Shepherd of Spirits,’ now fully transformed into a Bone Lord, cried out with a Spirit Sound that shook the Spirit Realm.
[THE SILENT LORD]
The source of life and death, leader of the dead and all who transcend death, protector of the newborn and the aged. He is the Source of Heroic Souls, the Judge of all Judgment, the supreme pinnacle of will, and the Dominator of Reincarnation.
He is the Demon named Entropy and the Deity who can reverse it. He is the first and the last, the Netherworld of eternal slumber and the very earth that births and nurtures all life.
