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

Chapter 100 Second-Order Advancement Ritual!

"hiss……"

Upon seeing Shane not far away, Karlless's body suddenly emitted a hissing sound.

He also saw a faint starlight in those eyes, but fortunately, that power had quickly faded from the other person.

Carles glanced at Winston, who was undergoing mutation beside him, and quickly came to a conclusion.

"A portion of the power of the Secret Sea remains in his eyes."

"That old man probably saw those eyes, which is why he temporarily went mad."

That's right, for now.

For most people, the distortions caused by madness may be irreversible.

However, once you reach the level of a third-tier secret cultivator, you can still restore it to its original state with a little time.

As he pondered, the wailing of the human face on Winston's body gradually weakened, and it was about to recreate the original human form from flesh and blood.

But then, the many roots suddenly moved.

They rushed to pierce Winston's body, turning him into a hedgehog in the blink of an eye.

Knowing the importance of finishing off an opponent, Carles extended his right hand directly to him.

[Steam Magic!]

boom!
A surge of holy steam poured from his right arm, engulfing Winston's entire body.

"Aaaaaahhhhh..."

Winston's screams came from within the flesh and blood.

But as expected of a third-tier Mystic, he was still struggling fiercely even at this moment, crimson blood mist spreading out, attempting to seep into Karls's armor...

……

……

not far away.

After glancing at their battle, Shane quickly concluded that the steam knight's victory was only a matter of time.

At the same time, he was also silently observing this person.

"A third-tier Pathfinder, the Steam Church... Could they be powerful figures from the Federation? Well, judging by the timing, it's about time the Federation made its move."

"Judging from his appearance, it seems that he was exiled here along with this vampire."

"Just as they couldn't destroy me, the vampires couldn't deal with this Federation powerhouse either, which means... his strength is terrifying."

Xia En's mind raced: "In other words, as long as we bring him back to the surface of the [Blood Moon Secret Realm], the battle will be turned around instantly."

"That's easy!"

At this point, the [banishment mark] on his body had faded to the point of being almost invisible.

This is all thanks to the roots of the nearby ancient crimson tree.

On that very day, after obtaining the memories of the Crimson Ancient Tree using the Power of Blood, he attempted to communicate with it.

At first, he naturally failed several times in succession, and died a few times in an exceptionally tragic manner.

But by chance, Shane successfully made contact with them and expressed his goodwill.

After that, these roots gradually showed a friendly attitude, and even vaguely regarded Xia En as one of their own, and built a small sanctuary for him to cultivate.

That's why Carles and the other man witnessed what happened.

As for why it was in mid-air?
The closer one gets to the sky, the more concentrated the power of the secret sea flowing through the roots becomes.

Similarly, Xia En dared not go to higher places.

This height is the limit he can withstand; any higher and the ship's soul power will be consumed at an unbelievable rate.

It is precisely because of the erosion of the power of the Crimson Ancient Tree that the Exile Mark fades day by day.

In terms of the antiquity of their bloodlines, the Crimson Tree could even be considered the ancestor of vampires, so dispelling a Banished Mark is nothing to them.

Just as Xia En was thinking.

The situation on the field suddenly changed.

From within the sacred steam, Winston's extremely venomous voice rang out: "If you want to kill me, you won't get away with it either!"

"In the name of Crimson, with every drop of my blood and bone, I curse you to be tainted with defilement for life!"

All of a sudden.

His entire body—skin, bones, organs…all his flesh and tissues—suddenly transformed into a viscous, scarlet liquid, turning into cold, venomous snakes that clung to Karl-Heinz's armor.

Upon seeing this, Carles' steam core throbbed violently, a sign of impending doom.

His movements were incredibly fast; high-temperature, high-pressure steam immediately sprayed from the pipes, attempting to dissolve the viscous blood.

However, a curse placed by a third-tier Mystic at the cost of their life is clearly not so easy to deal with.

The blood serpent hissed, filled with Winston's intense resentment, and swallowed the steam back into its belly, accelerating its climb once more.

For the first time, the power of steam seemed unusually pale and powerless.

In a short while, several dark red blood snakes were deeply engraved into the platinum armor, leaving strange and ominous blood-red patterns on the chest, back, arms, and so on.

The entire platinum armor looked as if it had been desecrated, losing its original sacred and inviolable aura.

"Damn it!"

Carles' tone was unusually angry: "We actually got tricked by that old bastard!"

In fact, if that steam core were still intact, he certainly wouldn't have been affected.

but now……

Karl-Leigh clearly felt that his body's manipulation of the secret power was becoming somewhat uncoordinated and disjointed.

It's like a machine without lubricating oil.

Such a seemingly minor influence could create a fatal flaw in his combat.

An even more serious negative effect is that the sacred properties of steam are diminished, making it difficult to cast the divine spells of the Steam Church.

This combination of techniques directly reduced his combat power by 40% to 50%.

"We can only try to lift this curse after we return to the Steam Church."

Carles sighed, then turned to look at Shane behind him with some wariness and asked.

"Shadowless creature, are you awake?" He worried that this strange figure had long been corrupted by the power of the [Secret Sea] and had become some kind of indescribable monster.

Xia En nodded and said, "Of course."

Hearing this, Carles breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time became even more curious.

Just what is the origin of this "Shadowless One"?
In his memory, the only people who could directly draw upon the power of the [Secret Sea] without going insane were those few important figures in the Federation whom even he had to look up to.

However, questions involving identity and origin are always kept very secret, and Carles was too embarrassed to ask directly.

……

……

Not long after.

The two exchanged a few words, mainly to confirm the identities of their allies and to exchange some intelligence.

Shane learned about the current state of the Blood Moon Realm from Karlless.

"So, does that mean that Silvermoon Island's governor, 'Viper' Quinn, will also be making an appearance next?"

"It's not just him."

Karlless shook his head: "Conservatively speaking, there are at least two Tier 3 combatants on Silvermoon Island, as well as a considerable number of Tier 2 Mystic Path users."

"My original plan was to launch a strong attack and take over the Blood Moon Secret Realm before the Secret Pathfinders of Silvermoon Island could react."

"Then, through the words of pirates and salvage crew, spread the word and force the vampires in the Federation's upper echelons to abandon Silvermoon Island."

"If Silvermoon Island dares to make a move, it will be even easier; we can simply and logically label them as rebels."

"When the navy arrives, dealing with a small Silvermoon Island will be a piece of cake."

"Unfortunately……"

Carles sighed. In such a blitzkrieg tactic, time is of the essence.

His unexpected exile caused the entire plan to collapse.

"At this moment, in the Blood Moon Realm, Viper Quinn and his men are mostly besieging my subordinates and other survivors."

“I gave a steam core to Fei Ya, the leader of the Blood Hunter Society, which will temporarily give him the power of a third-tier Mystic, but it will only allow them to hold out for a little longer.”

Karllais said with unusual sincerity, "Therefore, the most urgent task now is to get me back to the Blood Moon Realm."

"Only a third-tier opponent can fight against another third-tier opponent!"

"Shadowless One, do you have any ideas?"

After thinking for a moment, Shane asked, "I have a question."

"In your current state, are you capable of fighting against two Tier 3 Mystic Path practitioners?"

Karlless's body stiffened slightly, and he admitted, "If we get the steam core back, dealing with one Tier 3 shouldn't be a problem, but two..."

This blood curse has a huge impact on his combat power.

In particular, the weakening of his divine attributes makes it even less effective at restraining vampires.

Xia En was not surprised and nodded, saying, "I understand."

"I have a few more questions, and I hope you can answer them truthfully."

……

……

After listening to these questions.

Carles asked in surprise, "Wait, do you mean to?"

"But the premise of this plan is that you have to be a second-tier Mystic, otherwise you will suffer a severe backlash."

As a third-tier Mystic, Karlless's eyesight is naturally excellent.

Therefore, it was clear long ago that although Xia En's aura was strange and profound, he was essentially just a first-tier Mystic.

"Second tier? I'll be one soon."

Xia En said calmly, but his tone was full of strong confidence.

"Wait here for a moment, and I will let these roots wash away your [banishment mark] as much as possible."

"I'll go advance to the second tier and then come back."

Carles: "?"

For a moment, he even doubted whether he had misheard.

Who said that getting a promotion is as casual as going out for a meal?

Under Carles's blank gaze, the deep figure rose higher, surrounded by roots.

Then, his body gradually shattered and disappeared into the chaotic starlight.

……

……

at the same time.

On the Black Swan, in the captain's cabin.

Xia En regained consciousness.

Immediately afterwards, a distant, vague, and untraceable call echoed in his ears.

This time, however, he heard many more voices.

That was the whisper of the tides, the murmur of the waves, and... the howl of the storm!

This invitation, of unknown origin, seems to contain some new information.

Just like last time, Shane accepted it gladly.

A familiar feeling of weightlessness suddenly came over me.

Consciousness traversed the deep, dark sea, passing through the flowing light and shadow, the shimmering stars...

A strange light flashed deep within my mind at the sight of the Eye of the Secret Sea.

When Xia En opened his eyes again, he found himself on the mysterious sea, which was both strange and familiar!
Thank you "Moon Dance Star Mark" for the 500-coin reward! Thank you so much!

I originally wanted to write about the hero finally reaching the Demon King after countless hardships, only to be instantly defeated. But it felt a bit too drawn out, and the writing wasn't very good. Ugh! Sorry everyone! If you're bad, you'll have to practice more!
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(End of this chapter)