Chapter 251: Chapter 15: Its Name Is Shepherd of Spirits
From the dawn of birth to the dusk of decay. Death, senescence, and putrefaction. Life, rebirth, and renewal. All fall under His Authority.
The Ten Thousand Realms are His subjects, repeating the cycle of decay into dust and rebirth from the soil under His gaze.
All the Earth Gods and all the Gods of the Underworld are but aspects of Him. Compared to the Ancient Immortal Gods who have departed, the Silent Lord is the one true, supreme Great Being, the one who truly fits the definition of a "God"!
"I need Your power!"
But in his heart, the Shepherd of Spirits felt not a single shred of true faith.
It was precisely because they knew the power of these Great Beings that no leader of any Mysterious Organization could possibly develop an iota of faith in them.
’Perhaps at first, there was a feeling that could be called awe. But after understanding their own insignificance and the other’s greatness, this emotion twisted into a bone-deep dread... Faith? Were they even worthy? The power of just one of these Great Beings’ Clans would already be considered that of a Deity to an ordinary civilization!’
Whether it was the "Soul Abyss Lord," who could command all Spirit Bodies; the "Immortal Heroic Soul," a symbol of conquering death as one of the undead; or the many other Clans whose powers were no less than the former—obtaining just one would be enough to rule this world!
’So, power was all that mattered. It was better to treat it as a transaction. Such Great Beings would not bestow the slightest blessing because you believed in Them, nor would they deliver the slightest punishment because you blasphemed Them.’
They were simply the natural order of Reincarnation, just as no one would worship a cosmic constant.
"Finally, I’ve accumulated enough Celestial God Factor!"
’Decades have passed, and I can finally surpass my current state as a ’Skeleton Shepherd’ and advance to ’Dead Tutor’!’
The Spirit Summoning Association, unlike the Continuous Prayer Meeting, did not serve a single Great Being. Instead, it nominally served several. Their method of advancement was to collect the Extraordinary elements from a Celestial God’s Favored Clan, merge them with themselves, and become a new Celestial God’s Favored Clan.
The power of a Celestial God’s Favored Clan was indeed far superior to that of humans and various monsters, a very straightforward path to heaven.
This was a fundamental ascension, a way to elevate one’s life essence level by level, becoming a more powerful individual closer to the Immortal. Moreover, as long as one chose a Celestial God’s Favored Clan that matched their own aptitude, this advancement method didn’t even have bottlenecks. With enough Celestial God Factor, one could advance rapidly!
At the Shepherd of Spirits’ mental command, dozens of Spirit Body Threads, invisible to ordinary people, extended from his body and touched the tetradecahedron at the center of the Array. At the same time, he pulled another tetradecahedral crystal from his robes. This one was smaller than the one in the Array, but its golden light was more brilliant and pure. He pressed it to his forehead.
’"The Celestial God Factor collected from a degraded Celestial God’s Favored Clan that has turned into a Hungry Ghost is mostly tainted with negative Attributes. If I don’t want to lose my sanity and become a pure Hungry Ghost King, I must use a large amount of pure Soul Power to dilute the influence."’
The Spirit Body Threads absorbed the power of the deep gray crystal, while his forehead absorbed the power of the golden crystal. The Shepherd of Spirits’ body began to change and ascend rapidly.
His body, which was originally nothing but white bones, began to fade, undergoing Spiritualization until it was a completely Spiritual State. His somewhat savage skull also reverted to his human form: the face of a man from Southeast Asia.
But unlike before, a ring-like Spiritual Light now flashed above his head, and the Shepherd of Spirits’ eyes had become pure Soul Light, no longer possessing pupils or irises.
Extraordinary, achieved!
BOOM! In that instant, the souls of all the living crew members in the cargo hold were ripped from their bodies. Their lifeless husks crumpled to the ground. Dazed, the souls were guided by the Spirit Body Threads extending from the Shepherd of Spirits and brought before him.
The Shepherd of Spirits opened his mouth, extended his hand, and devoured all the souls.
’Dead Tutor’ was a Clan meant to bring Enlightenment to unintelligent Undead, allowing them to regain their mortal wisdom and find new life in the Netherworld. Besides bestowing intellect, they also had the power to erase an Undead’s memories, achieving an effect like Meng Po Soup, and grant them a new beginning. Every Dead Tutor possessed a small patch of pure land in the Netherworld that was uniquely theirs, which could be expanded by collecting enough souls and gradually developed into a true Netherworld.
And this freighter, inscribed with an Array, had now become the core of his Netherworld.
But right now, the Shepherd of Spirits had no need for these ordinary, fragile souls. The ones he wanted to shepherd had to be powerful Cultivators, at the very least.
So, he ate them.
’"Too many impurities... The souls of ordinary people are always like this. Only children’s souls taste a little better. The older they get, the weirder the taste."’
Smacking his lips, the Shepherd of Spirits was about to make a few remarks, or perhaps even sing a song to celebrate his advancement to the Extraordinary Tier.
But with a loud RUMBLE, the entire freighter shuddered.
A violent impact came from the bottom of the ship’s hull.
’"A Sea Beast attack? Did it smell the leaking Spiritual Power? It seems the Array isn’t tight enough."’
After a moment’s surprise, the Shepherd of Spirits wasn’t particularly shocked. He knew very well how many Sea Beasts prowled the ocean. ’"But an ordinary Sea Beast wouldn’t dare approach a freighter protected by an Array, would it? Could it be... a Sea Beast that also became one of the Beloved, drawn to me?"’
If that was the case, he was somewhat interested—subduing a powerful fellow Sea Beast of the same affiliation would be a significant boost to his strength. This was especially true for the Spirit Summoning Association, whose headquarters were in the Southern Ocean; they knew the importance of Sea Beasts better than anyone.
But when the spiritualized Shepherd of Spirits appeared on deck, he saw that a rather sturdy great white shark—its body even partially lignified—was swimming rapidly into the distance. It was likely the one that had just rammed the freighter. But why was it leaving?
’Was it just a hit-and-run?’
Before he could figure it out, the Shepherd of Spirits seemed to sense something and immediately turned his head, looking seriously toward a section of the sea.
In the distant waves, a human figure flickered in and out of sight.
’"Extraordinary Tier? A Holy Seat from Zhengguo? Alone? This fast?"’
Questions sprouted in his mind like weeds, but the Shepherd of Spirits didn’t leave immediately. Having just advanced to the Extraordinary Tier, he didn’t fear anyone else at the same level.
The power of a Celestial God’s Favored Clan was inherently stronger than a Transcendent of the same tier. What’s more, the Dead Tutor path he had chosen was similar to the Immortal Spirit Path—as long as his preparations were sufficient, he could ascend to the heavens in a single step!
He had used the advancement ritual to take a shortcut, completing his body’s Spiritual Power circulation. He was now at the initial stage of the Extraordinary High-tier!
Filled with this confidence, the Shepherd of Spirits gazed into the distance. From the area of the sea where the figure was, an extremely young voice carried over, cutting through the wind and rain, yet still clearly audible.
"I can’t see any Life Spiritual Light anymore, but I’ll ask anyway—besides you, you monster, there’s no one else alive on this freighter, is there?"
’The voice was icy, seemingly filled with immense rage, yet the words were so naive that the Shepherd of Spirits couldn’t help but find it amusing. If he answered, "There are still people alive," would this person actually hold back? Would he give up on capturing me and refuse to fight, all for the sake of those mortals?’
So, his reply was: "I ate them all."
Then, in the next instant, a brilliant flash of Thunder Light lit up the space between the sea and the sky.
