Chapter 510 - 208: The Puppet Dancing with the Gods (4)

"A soul, an ascended soul!" the black-robed man said coldly. "Something’s not right with her body. Such immense Soul Power is far beyond what any ordinary Extraordinary could possess. It’s highly likely..."

’An ascended soul?’

Dis reacted as well, and together with the black-robed man, he uttered a single word: "Resurrector!"

"This must be the work of some old monster who survived the turning of an era..."

Then, as the black glimmers faded, the woman in the image gave a seductive smile, her lips parting slightly as if to speak.

The black-robed man watched her lip movements, repeating her words in his mind. ’Dusk, Dawn, are nothing but mottled specks cast off by the sun. Trash is tra—’

’Desecrator!’

"How dare you desecrate the great True Lord!"

The black-robed man glared angrily at the woman in the image. "Damned heretic!"

The giant, Dis, glanced at him in confusion. "What did she say?"

"It’s none of your concern!"

The black-robed man snapped back. As he watched the countless black Soul Threads shoot from the woman’s hands to control all the Secret Cultivators, a fragment of hidden lore surfaced in his mind.

’Soul Threads... a puppet dancing with gods?’

"It’s her!?"

"Her? Who is she?" Dis looked irritably at the startled black-robed man and said with displeasure, "Petel, as a party to this alliance, I have a right to know who killed Stacy."

"No, you’re not worthy of knowing who she is!"

Petel’s gaze grew several shades colder. He glared at Dis, retracted the Gemstone, and turned to leave. "I’ll be gone for a while. We’ll deal with everything else when I return!"

With that, he quickly left the small building, vanishing into the shadows in a corner.

Dis and a few pirates exchanged glances. After a long moment, the giant picked up his cask, took a few swigs, and grunted, "The Dusk Sect!"

"Boss, what now?"

"We wait!"

The pirates exchanged confused glances.

"Boss, I don’t get it. Why do we have to put up with him..."

"Shut up!"

The giant bellowed, glaring at his men. "You think I *like* putting up with them?"

"Then why do it?"

BANG!

Dis slammed the cask down, glaring menacingly at the one who had spoken. He was panting heavily, his anger threatening to boil over.

"Lord Dis..."

Just then, the small figure behind him reached out and patted his arm. Her delicate face still held the same timid expression.

When she noticed all eyes on her, the girl panicked and ducked behind the giant, whispering, "Don’t be angry. Have you forgotten? That captain said that when this is all over, you’ll earn the right to enter *that place*..."

’That place?’

The pirates looked at Dis in confusion. "Boss, what place is she talking about?"

Dis let out a long sigh, his expression turning a bit grim. "Fine, I might as well tell you... You remember half a month ago, when Suyade’s people came to me, wanting us to help them fight the Black Pearl?"

"We remember. It had to do with the Alanjia, right?"

"Yeah. These bastards are with them. The Dusk Sect, or whatever they call themselves... Dammit, why not just go all the way and call themselves the Dawn Church?"

A resentful look crossed Dis’s face as he said angrily, "If Suyade hadn’t promised to give us a piece of the Forbidden Sea when this is over, why the hell would I have agreed to let them on my ship?"

"The Forbidden Sea?!"

The pirates’ faces lit up. "Boss, where is it? The Cordo Sea Region? The Mashoman Sea Region, east of the Eastern Continent? Or..."

"The southeast, I believe." Seeing their expressions, Dis knew that with such a prize on the table, none of his crew could resist the temptation. "This information absolutely cannot get out, or else..."

"We get it, we get it!"

The small figure behind him also quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Her small hands clutched the belt at his waist, a look of longing on her delicate face.

’A Forbidden Sea you can enter and leave freely... I wish I could stay inside forever and never come out...’

...

...

On the other side of things, Wei’en still hadn’t opened the Era Relic.

It wasn’t that he particularly valued his agreement with Clelia, nor was he incurious about her secrets. It was just that at that exact moment, his black communicator chimed. Teresa had run into some problems gathering the materials.

"You’re telling me that even Dean Josue couldn’t get ahold of the scroll written by a Legendary Mage, *An In-depth Study on the Modification of Undead Creatures*?"

"Yes, Director."

Teresa looked dejected, her head bowed, not daring to look at the screen formed of gray mist. "The Dean has already gone to find Master Boras, but the earliest we can expect an update is tomorrow."

"And besides that research report?" Wei’en nodded. He wasn’t surprised that problems had arisen with collecting the data.

The Ghost Soul School was a large organization; it was impossible for everyone inside to be on the same page.

That had nothing to do with the school’s structure. It was simply human nature.

"Most of the data has been acquired. As for the reports and Era Relics held by other research centers, the Dean has already contacted them. They’ll send us copies as soon as possible."

At this point, Teresa pulled out a sheet of parchment and glanced at it. "In addition, Ausel and the others have managed to acquire some knowledge on mechanical modification through their own channels, but it’s not much, and most of it only concerns the Junior Mage level..."

"Mm,"

Seeing her disappointed expression, Wei’en smiled. "This is enough for now. Go ahead and organize the data, make a backup, and then send it all my way."

"You’re not going to wait?" Teresa was taken aback. "But the knowledge in that Legendary Mage’s research report... it details the structural secrets of Undead Creatures. I believe it’s extremely important for our work."