We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 233 [The Witch of Annihilation] and [The Sea of ​​Annihilation]

While Shane and Joey were talking, the Black Swan was gradually moving away from the sea where the orb of light was blooming.

Therefore, they did not know...

Before long, the dazzling light gradually subsided, revealing the true appearance of the pirate ship.

On the ship, the pirates controlled by the Gray Mask all collapsed on the deck.

However, they did not die, but instead fell into a coma.

When the pirates wake up, they will probably forget everything that happened before, and will only remember that a blinding white light appeared before their eyes.

Among the pirates lying scattered about, the five [Radiant Guards] remained calm and composed, showing no change in emotion.

Upon closer inspection, one can discover that these [Radiant Guards] possess a unique aura that sets them apart from ordinary people.

Indifferent, cold, sacred.

Or rather, certain...inhuman characteristics.

Just like Joey when he was first promoted.

This is the effect brought about by "divinity".

These Radiant Guardians had long ago decided to dedicate their lives to serving that great radiance, and thus relinquished some of their human qualities.

For example, the emotions that humans should have.

Similarly, this is one of the prices to pay for gaining power.

At this moment, the leader of the [Radiant Guards] was holding the head of a gray-haired woman.

It was the face that Jia Xiu, the "Thousand Transformers," had shown.

The Thousand Shapeshifter ultimately died.

Although her methods were indeed unpredictable, in the face of a formidable lineup of two legendary figures and three sixth-tier warriors, she could only prolong her life for a few dozen more seconds.

The guard opened the [Radiant Crystal Mirror] with his other hand and reported without any change in tone.

“Jassius Rosas, the Thousand-Faced One, is dead.”

"However, the forbidden relic, the Gray Mask, has disappeared and is suspected of escaping on its own. Please provide instructions, Archbishop."

When the quality of a forbidden artifact reaches a certain level, it will develop sentience.

Of course, this intelligence may not be very high. More likely, it will be like a naive young animal, instinctively seeking advantage and avoiding harm.

Therefore, they will use their own abilities to stay away from those overly powerful enemies.

This is the meaning behind the "voluntary escape" mentioned by the Radiant Guard.

Soon, Archbishop Musa's voice rang out: "Our target is only the [Thousand Shapeshifter]."

"It's just a forbidden artifact, not worth paying too much attention to."

For ordinary practitioners of secret paths, such forbidden relics are undoubtedly coveted treasures.

But for the Hui Cult, which has a deep-rooted tradition, it may not be so important.

Take this sudden "suppression of heretics" operation as an example.

The Radiant Guards located Jaxiu using a more mysterious and ancient artifact, and then opened her box.

Musa continued, "Now that the mission is complete, return as soon as possible."

"The war against the Truth Society is about to begin, and you will play a crucial role in it."

Upon hearing this, the five Radiant Guards replied, "Yes, Bishop!"

Immediately, a magnificent gate opened before them.

The five of them stepped inside together and disappeared from sight.

……

……

at the same time.

A corner of the cabin of the Black Swan.

A withered, grayish-white mask lay there quietly, too weak to even move.

The mask was covered in cracks, as if it would shatter completely at any moment, and the expression on it was even more unsightly than crying.

"Finally... we escaped..."

The not-yet-mature intelligence of the [Gray Mask] thought to itself, and a feeling of relief arose.

Its previous host was indeed dead, and dead beyond any doubt.

The Gray Mask used his abilities to enter the ship's cabin when the orb of light appeared.

The reason it's called the "Black Swan" is partly because the distance between the two ships isn't too far.

On the other hand, it's because the Gray Mask left a hidden mark on this ship.

This is why the "Thousand Changes" was able to pinpoint the location of the "Black Swan".

Guided by this mark, the Gray Mask was transported to the Black Swan, but in doing so, it exhausted its remaining power.

However, Gray Mask was not alarmed.

In its long "masked life," it has actually encountered this situation many times.

Once it encounters a host, and if it has even the slightest bit of greed, it will be unable to resist putting on this mask, thus falling step by step into the great net it has woven.

Using forbidden relics usually comes at a price, and the more powerful the relic, the more dangerous the price.

This is why they are called "taboo".

The price to pay for using the [Gray Mask] is one's soul.

Once you put on this mask, it means that the "contract" has been completed.

Each time the host uses the [Gray Mask]'s power, a portion of their soul will be assimilated by the mask.

In the end, his soul was completely devoured by the Gray Mask, and he became a puppet of this relic.

As for the previous host, the "Thousand-Faced One," he actually used a very clever method.

She chose to trade with [Grey Mask].

Each time the ability is used, the [Transformer] will offer the souls of those individuals as sacrifices.

In addition, the Truth Society uses some methods to maintain a balance.

This is what has allowed the two sides to maintain a delicate balance and coexist "harmoniously" for so long.

For now, getting rid of its former host may not be a bad thing for [Gray Mask].

This is equivalent to removing some of the constraints and restrictions.

"...Someone's here?"

[Grey Mask] Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blue figure flash by not far away.

Its mood suddenly became somewhat excited.

It doesn't want to spend its whole life in a dark cabin.

Its original plan was to wait until nature had accumulated some power before secretly appearing on the deck.

Then, naturally, it was discovered and picked up by the captain of the ship.

[Grey Mask] had long observed that the captain of this ship was extraordinary, especially the quality of his soul, which was completely different from that of ordinary people.

If the souls of ordinary secret cultivators are likened to everyday dishes, then Shane's soul is equivalent to a Manchu Han Imperial Feast prepared by a group of five-star chefs.

It exudes an exceptionally enticing fragrance at all times.

[Grey Mask] even has a premonition that if it can completely devour the captain's soul, it might undergo a transformative metamorphosis.

Of course, if it were found by other crew members, Grey Mask wouldn't be disappointed.

The crew members on this ship each possessed extraordinary abilities, making them excellent food for the ship.

At this moment, the figure that appeared in the cabin was its first prey!
Soon, the person walked up to the Gray Mask.

Precisely.

It's not walking, it's floating?

The ghostly lady, dressed in a blue robe and whose figure was elusive, was on her daily patrol.

Due to the ghostly nature of the ship, Vivian can ignore walls and appear anywhere on the Black Swan.

Xia En simply assigned her the daily inspection and wheel-finding tasks, which was also a way to give her something to do.

Vivian looked down, staring in astonishment at the extra masks on the wooden board.

"Where did this thing come from?"

"I don't think this happened before?" she asked in surprise, and [Gray Mask] was even more surprised.

"This little girl, is she a ghost?!"

[Gray Mask] has served several hosts, including powerful figures like [Thousand Shapeshifters].

In terms of knowledge, it should surpass eighty percent of the secret travelers on the Seven Seas, and naturally it has seen the existence of ghosts.

But the ghost in front of it was not quite the same as the one it remembered.

As a remnant of life, a ghost is actually very unstable.

Many ghosts can only last for a few days, while others become insane, with abnormally chaotic memories and emotions, like a landmine that could explode at any moment.

But right now, this blue-haired, blue-robed ghost's demeanor and tone are exactly the same as a normal person's.

The soul is perfectly intact.

However, this situation didn't give [Gray Mask] much time to think.

"Fine, a ghost it is then."

"Her soul, perhaps, is also quite delicious..."

Then, the Gray Mask whispered in a seductive voice, "Come on... come on..."

"Wear me, and I will give you strength..."

Vivian paused, startled: "What was that sound? Was that mask speaking?"

After a brief hesitation, Vivian picked up the mask.

"I figured nobody would want it anyway."

Unlike the other crew members on board, Vivian practically stayed on the Black Swan—in order to escape that cage-like island.

Her relationship with Shane wasn't as close as that with the other crew members.

Although Xia En had said that Vivian could not refuse when she needed her help.

But in reality, there has never been a situation so critical that Vivian has had to step in. Her greatest achievement so far is probably the plates of barbecue at the victory celebration.

Therefore, even Xia En did not know her true combat strength.

At this point, Vivian decided to study the peculiar mask herself first before handing it over to the captain.

And this was exactly what [Gray Mask] wanted.

[Gray Mask] A smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Young girl, wear me, and you will have the power to control people's hearts."

"Oh? That's amazing? Really?"

Without much thought, Vivian directly covered her face with the [Gray Mask].

A surge of wild joy immediately appeared on the face of the Gray Mask.

It never expected that this ghost would be so easily fooled, and it foolishly put itself on the mask.

"Since that's the case, the contract has already been established..."

At this moment, Gray Mask suddenly stopped speaking.

"No...no! You..."

It suddenly realized that the soul it had come into contact with was not some sheep it could seize, but rather...

A cold, profound, and lifeless entity, like a millennium-old iceberg.

She should have been asleep.

His touch brought her back to her senses slightly.

In an instant, a power called "annihilation" rapidly infected the [Gray Mask].

The mask developed more and more cracks, and the expression on it became increasingly stiff.

[Gray Mask] finally felt a fear more intense than ever before—

It sensed its power rapidly diminishing.

Its remaining soul, like ice and snow melting in spring, is rapidly leaving its body!

Like the hosts it devoured in the past.

In the midst of immense fear, a trembling voice finally came from beneath the mask: "You...you're not an ordinary ghost, what exactly are you...?"

During this process, the mask gradually blended into Miss Ghost's face.

That beauty mark under her eye became a part of her.

Or perhaps, she already had a beauty mark under her eye?
"Witch."

The ghostly girl suddenly laughed: "Someone once called me... the Witch of Annihilation who controls souls."

However, at this point, the Gray Mask could no longer hear it.

Ten seconds later.

Vivian looked at what was in front of her, then touched her face, and asked in confusion.

"Where's my mask? Where's my huge mask?"

She wasn't the type to dwell on such trivial matters, and after a moment of confusion, she continued with her patrol duties.

No one knows what happened deep inside the ship's hold.

The Black Swan and Diamond Star continue their steady journey toward their destination.

Seven days later.

The two ships sailed into an unusual sea area.

On the deck, Shane looked around at the sea and could clearly feel the change in the environment.

The sky over this area of ​​the sea seemed to have darkened somewhat.

A sea breeze blew by, bringing a slight chill.

The seawater was noticeably deeper in color, and upon closer inspection, it faintly showed red and black hues, as if a sea monster had recently died here.

On the contrary.

Fish, and other marine life, seem to have become scarce in the sea.

Not to mention the ships on the sea.

At first glance, the entire sea area gives people a feeling of desolation and death.

"This is the [Sea of ​​Annihilation]?"

Xia En was secretly amazed: "It feels somewhat similar to the Dead Sea on Earth."

"But the Dead Sea is sparsely populated with life because of its extremely high salt concentration. Here... it's because of a special, mysterious power within the seawater?"

"Could it be related to the kingdom that existed here before the great flood?"

To be honest, Shane wasn't particularly interested in exploring history.

He was just a captain, not an archaeologist.

But after traveling back to Emerald Island in the past, he realized that if he wanted to change history, he had to understand it first.

Only then did they begin to pay attention to problems they had previously ignored.

"Captain!"

Joey stood beside him and asked curiously, "I heard that if you go east from the Sea of ​​Annihilation, you'll find the Sea of ​​No Light."

What would the sea be like without sunlight?

【Sea of ​​No Light】

The last time Shaen heard this name was when he was communicating with the apostles during the ascension ceremony.

This sea area still existed even after the Great Flood.

Moreover, the hidden treasures within also attract countless captains.

In fact, some ships appear in the Sea of ​​Annihilation specifically to cross this sea and reach the bountiful Sea of ​​Lightlessness.

Xia En has no immediate plans to explore the [Sea of ​​No Light], but he has silently noted the name down as a backup option.

at this time.

The String Song, which had been hovering above the Black Swan, landed and reported.

"Captain Shane, an unidentified ship is approaching from the northeast!"

(End of this chapter)