Extraordinary Pedigree.

Chapter 1041 Active Coronal Region

In the center of the East China Sea archipelago lies a small island called Cape Kailan Inner Island. Ostensibly, it belongs to the Harmony Association's civilian port area. The island's inhabitants are mainly fishermen and repairmen. At night, lights are scattered, and during the day, it is shrouded in sea fog.

The shepherds were lurking in this seemingly ordinary residential area.

The island's north shore is a gentle beach, littered with rusted iron nets, dilapidated fishing boats, and wooden crates washed ashore by the waves. Further inland, there are clusters of low-rise buildings—dried fish shops, taverns, old warehouses, and a dilapidated temple dedicated to the sea god. The shepherds' stronghold is hidden beneath the temple, the ground covered by old wooden planks concealing the passageway; to outsiders, it would simply be mistaken for a hidden storage room for fishing gear.

The underground space wasn't large, but they transformed it into a makeshift intelligence room.

Xia Xiu was sitting at the old wooden table, which was covered with a shipping route map and energy distribution map of the East China Sea, and the screen was flashing ocean current data. His expression was calm, and his gaze was focused on the Kailan Cape oil field area on the map.

“Black God Blood?” he repeated softly, his tone calm yet tinged with amusement. “Interesting… This move looks like the Four Lords of Chaos, but it also seems a bit like the remnants of the Fifth Church making their move.”

Beside him stood Lupercal, the son of the First King, and half a step behind him was Monfort, clad in heavy powered armor. Monfort was tall and imposing, his two-meter-tall figure almost making the basement ceiling appear lower.

"Father, what do you intend to do with the members of the Harmony Society?" Lupercal asked respectfully, his eyes slightly lowered.

Xia Xiu did not answer immediately, but tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, his rhythm slow and calm.

The data on the screen flashed before him, and the golden reflection on his face made his expression appear almost indifferent.

"The so-called Seven Tide Leaders..." he finally spoke, his voice low and steady with a hint of disdain, "are nothing to fear for the current horizon."

He slightly raised his eyes, his pupils reflecting the circular East China Sea defense line on the light screen.

"They may be able to stir up storms or churn the ocean currents, but in essence—they are nothing more than slaves to the fruit. If a real fight breaks out, they will only be kindling for Abelio's sword."

Xia Xiu raised his hand and tapped the projection a few times with his fingertips. The sea and strongholds on the screen zoomed in and out accordingly. He turned to look at Lupercal, his golden eyes unwavering, but his voice carried an undeniable rhythm: "At this stage, how many Saint-forging surgeries has the Wolf Pack completed?"

Lupercal replied in a steady voice:
"The First Company has completed all nineteen Holy Forging Operations. With the combat strength of the First Company, it can withstand and suppress at least three LV5s."

The second to fourth companies each completed twelve rounds, and were able to maintain the stability of the front line during the midst of the conflict.

With the addition of the bio-iron tide of the Fumi Ants and the infiltration and special attacks of the Shepherd Corps, our combined strength is enough to contend with the entire Harmony Society's regular main force.

Xia Xiu nodded slightly upon hearing this, a satisfied expression on his face:

"Then let's get straight to the battle plan."

"Your core objective in the first phase is to destroy their oil extraction and refining infrastructure, and cut off their energy chain and logistical supply for chaos technology."

Lupercal nodded respectfully, and Xia Xiu continued:

"Once their ground and sea-based facilities have been uprooted, and their fuel and testing sites have been burned to ashes, we will turn the battlefield to the East China Sea Islands and take down their strongholds one by one."

"However, in the early stages, we should not rush into a direct confrontation with the leaders of the Seven Tides."

He added casually, his words carrying a chilling edge:

"This time, you will still be in command. You will use the Violent Terrorist Mobile Company to conduct mobile warfare against the Fumi Ants, wear them down, disrupt their supply lines, attack their outer defenses and floating refineries, gradually deplete and weaken their main force, and then slowly reap the rewards."

You need to wage a war of attrition, drawing them into your rhythm, rather than engaging in a direct confrontation with the seven tide leaders on the high seas.

Lupercal was silent for less than a moment, then clenched his fist to his chest, his tone resolute:
“Yes, Father. I will let them taste the fear of being hunted on this sea first.”

Xia Xiu turned his gaze away from the light screen and towards the man standing to the side, who was like an iron wall.

"You will be responsible for assisting Lupercar."

Monford's two-meter-tall frame trembled slightly, then he bowed his head and replied, "Understood, Your Majesty."

Xia Xiu nodded slightly and said no more.

The command was given, and the psionic fluctuations in the air seemed to quiet down. The Firstborn and Monford exchanged a glance, bowed, and turned to leave. The metal boots echoed rhythmically on the ground until the heavy footsteps completely disappeared at the end of the corridor.

The room fell silent again.

Xia Xiu slowly rose, his body gleaming with a pale golden light in the dim light. He walked to the window, pushed open the heavy security window, and a gust of damp sea breeze blew in.

He looked up to the sky.

At this moment, the day-night sphere suspended high in the sky has turned to the dark side. When the dark side appears, it means that the East China Sea has entered the night cycle.

The sky lost its sunlight, leaving only a thin layer of cold blue mist.

The sea quickly descended into darkness; there was no twilight, only a darkness that seemed to have its light forcibly cut off, like a curtain pouring down from the sky, swallowing the entire East China Sea.

The port on the island gradually lit up with lights, and the signal lights of buoys and patrol ships flickered in the sea fog. In the distance, the sea wind howled, whipping up waves that crashed against the breakwater, and the smell of water vapor mixed with rust hit the air.

Xia Xiu stood at the window, looking down at everything.

He didn't leave immediately, but reached out and touched the slightly vibrating glass. Through the reflection, his gaze pierced through the entire dark sea and landed on that spot on the navigation map—the Cape Kelan oil field.

His voice was so low it was almost swallowed by the wind, yet it remained clear.

"Black God Blood... Let's go take a look."

He turned to the side and reached for the silver cane that was placed to the side.

The ground suddenly flickered the next moment.

The space beneath Xia Xiu's feet seemed to be folded by some invisible force, revealing a rotating circular geometric pattern.

The toroidal surfaces twist, entangle, and overlap, forming endless spatial loops.

The psionic energy gathered in an instant, his figure was stretched and folded, and finally turned into a ray of light, which disappeared completely on the spot as the space flowed back.

[Möbius strip] - Warp!
……

……

Kailan Cape Oilfield.

This area is located at the southernmost tip of the East China Sea Islands, in a deep seabed zone.

The area is perpetually shrouded in thick fog and ocean currents, preventing sunlight from fully penetrating. The entire sea area takes on an eerie gray-black hue, and the surface seems to be constantly trembling slightly.

A massive drilling platform floated on the sea, composed of huge supports and an Abelio alloy float. In the distance, several tower-like refining units were in operation. Each tower emitted a dark red light, like some kind of breathing biological organ.

The air was filled with the smell of burning oil and the acrid smell of ozone.

Waves crashed against the metal pontoon bridge, splashing up black spray, and faint shimmering light could be seen beneath the surface—not a reflection, but the light of the oil layer itself.

Xia Xiu's figure appeared in mid-air, with a layer of pale golden psionic energy aura floating beneath his feet. He hovered there quietly, overlooking the entire oil field.

The drilling rigs below resemble the skeleton of a giant beast, while the sea surface... is breathing.

The waves weren't high, but the rhythm of the seawater's movement was unusually regular. It wasn't wind-driven waves, but a kind of internal, outward rhythm. The water surface swelled and sank, as if a living organism was slowly wriggling on the seabed.

"...It seems the rumors are not unfounded."

Xia Xiu murmured softly, his golden pupils reflecting the undulating black liquid. The liquid flowed like a living thing, viscous and smooth, yet possessing an indefinable texture. Its color was deeper than black, and its surface occasionally shimmered with tiny golden-red specks, like the reflection of light from an eye.

Xia Xiu's gaze lingered over that sea area, the golden light deep within his pupils constantly shifting.

He saw the details inside the liquid.

Beneath the surface of the oil, there seemed to be countless linear structures moving about.

Sometimes they intertwine with each other, and sometimes they disperse into independent vortices, each vortex maintaining a tiny breathing cycle.

That breathing was real.

Xia Xiu could even feel the air and EVE particles being drawn into the liquid and then expelled, the rhythm extremely slow, the entire sea rising and falling in sync with its movement.

A sea breeze blew by, and the originally deathly silence suddenly became heavy, carrying the smell of burning tar.

The smell of that oil was mixed with the sweet, metallic taste of blood and iron.

When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you!
He could see some blurry images emerging beneath the oil—like people.

At first, it was just a face.

A very pale, almost transparent human face slowly rose from the depths of the oil, expressionless with its eyes closed.

Then came the second, the third… They were stacked and rotated one after another, finally forming a chaotic jigsaw puzzle on the sea. Every face was slightly distorted, and the lips were moving, as if uttering some kind of silent whisper.

Xia Xiu couldn't hear the sound, but he could clearly sense the presence of those words.

It wasn't human language; it was more like a substance trying to mimic the structure of sound production. With an oil layer as its throat and air bubbles as its vocal cords, it produced not syllables, but a chilling rhythm.

"...exhale...inhale...exhale...inhale..."

The low, rippling energy wave traveled through the air and struck the psionic barrier surrounding Xia Xiu.

At that moment, he even felt a slight tremor in his psychic energy, as if the resonance of the oil was trying to invade his domain of law.

He slowly bent down, his gaze becoming even more focused.

Beneath the oil, the faces began to slowly sink, and below them—new outlines emerged.

Those were not human bones, but the skeletons of beasts, broken mechanical arms, and twisted ship wreckage.

Everything that was "swallowed" by the oil field did not sink into the abyss, but was remembered by it.

Xia Xiu watched as countless fragments intertwined in the darkness, forming a massive, semi-transparent structure. This structure resembled a pulsating vascular system, with the entire seabed as its heart, through which oil flowed, surging to the surface and then flowing back into the depths.

The entire Cape Kelan was like a breathing corpse.

"Thump—thump—thump—thump—"

The sea of ​​oil seemed to be stirred by an invisible force, and a deep rumble suddenly rose up.

The air was being compressed by something, making a very faint "crackling" sound.

Immediately afterwards, the sea surface swelled up, and streams of black liquid were thrown into the air.

Those oil flows were not natural splashes, but rather actions carried out with some kind of will.

They coalesced, extended, and intertwined in mid-air, rapidly changing their shape into thin, long, black ribbon-like structures, like arms reaching out from the abyss.

These tentacles twisted in the air, their movements barely audible, yet precise enough to sniff out a target.

They have no eyes, yet they can accurately sense Xia Xiu's presence.

call out--

The next moment, all the tentacles locked onto their direction and pounced on him.

At that moment, a strange tearing sound came from the air.

It was neither the sound of wind nor the sound of water, but the timbre of oil and psionic energy rubbing together—sticky, sharp, and with a strong burnt smell.

The tentacles struck his location, compressing the air into a blazing flash. A massive black wave instantly surged across the sea, spraying oil and viscous liquid that, under the influence of gravity, slowly suspended in mid-air, like solidified liquid metal.

However, the place was already deserted.

Xia Xiu's figure was elongated by the light, flashing through the air. The [Möbius strip] beneath his feet appeared, like a twisted geometric imprint. The ring folded and rotated, bending space accordingly. His entire existence was instantly pushed away from the origin, appearing on the other side of the oil field.

"...So this is what is called Black God Blood, an anomaly similar to an active crown domain."

The oil sea below seemed to sense the provocation and launched another surge.

The black liquid broke through the sea surface, and the splashing oil re-aggregated in the air, constructing a temporary "structure"—shaped like a human, blurry and ever-changing. It was not a single entity, but countless molecules mimicking the human form. The floating golden-red specks on the surface now flickered densely, forming pairs of "eyes," hundreds of pairs, all staring at Xia Xiu in the air.

“Imitative reflexes…” Xia Xiu’s lips curled slightly. “It seems to also have a neural feedback mechanism.”

He made no move to defend himself. He simply turned sideways and took a step forward.

The Möbius strip beneath his feet flickered again, the golden threads spinning rapidly, the space twisting like a rope, the folded air emitting a low rumble. The next second, his figure vanished completely; the oil ripples swept past, only leaving a wisp of an afterimage.

He reappeared in another airspace, hundreds of meters away from his original location.

"Roar--"

A muffled roar came from the sea, like hundreds of vocal cords vibrating simultaneously. The surface of the black oil suddenly ruptured, and countless tentacles stretched out, like an upside-down forest. They intertwined into a net, tearing at the air, their speed increasing rapidly.

Xia Xiu's pupils contracted slightly.

Those tentacles are no longer chaotic and disorderly; they are forming a pattern—ring-like, layered, and cyclical oscillations, almost like a temporary oily crown.

“Interesting…” he murmured, raising his right hand slightly, and a golden light flashed from the tip of his silver cane.

The oil surged forth instantly, like a flowing wall. Countless oil droplets converged, solidifying into a massive spherical structure, engulfing him with an indescribable sticky sound. On the surface of the oil sphere, one could vaguely see human figures struggling and rolling, as if the souls sucked into it had not yet completely dissolved.

Xia Xiu did not rush to retaliate.

He simply took a light step, and the Möbius strip beneath his feet vibrated at an extremely high frequency, with spatial rifts extending from beneath his feet like shattered mirrors.

He entered through one fissure, and the next second, he reappeared from another halo in the distance. With each leap, a golden energy wave burst forth from the air, causing the waves to lose their shape.

"Speed ​​response... auto-lock... somewhat like a predatory algorithm." He said calmly, his voice so steady it didn't sound like he was in battle.

The tentacles surged into the sky again, carrying with them the immense pressure of the oil slicks, causing the sea surface to tremble violently. They coiled around him like giant pythons, only to miss their target the moment they reached him. Xia Xiu's figure leaped and leaped again, each flash leaving a circular afterimage in space, as if countless versions of him simultaneously occupied the entire oil field.

The Black Sea grew increasingly turbulent, the golden-red specks in the oil flashing more frequently, as if it were either enraged or terrified.

Xia Xiu floated in the air, looking down at the sea below that had been swallowed by the active oil.

"It does possess self-awareness—but it is not yet complete."