Chapter 275: Chapter 268: A Call for Help from the Nameless Cocoon

The description for the 11th-ranked Wonder, the Jiuzhou Platform, was quite brief. When the mysterious text was parsed into the Dragon Country’s language, it was just a single paragraph.

[11. Jiuzhou Platform]

[A heavy teleportation stone platform, two meters long and half a meter wide, engraved with the landscapes of Jiuzhou from the Land Era. It is now a stone trough filled with ceaseless seawater. Of the former magnificent sights on its surface, only one remains.]

It only described its appearance and mentioned the word "teleportation," but it didn’t explain its specific functions or uses.

The "Overview of Wonders in the Endless Sea Region" was similarly vague for most items. Even after obtaining one, Shi Ming would have to use his Eye of the World to investigate it or figure it out on his own.

Intuitively, it seemed a bit like the Map of the Endless Sea.

Both had transformed from representing land to representing the sea.

The Map of the Endless Sea was ranked 108th, and its abilities were already extraordinary. The Jiuzhou Platform was ranked 11th, so its value went without saying. Although it couldn’t compare to the fourth-ranked Wonder at the center of the great maelstrom, the "Four Feared Vedas," the Four Feared Vedas was impossible to obtain or use, making its high rank meaningless.

In a matter of seconds, Shi Ming’s gaze swept across the holographic stele, giving it a quick but complete overview.

He also memorized the rankings and descriptions of these Wonders.

"Shi Ming? Spacing out?"

Li Jiuyuan patted Shi Ming on the shoulder, seeing that he seemed to have been stunned by the stele.

"Hahaha, Li Jiuyuan, this is just a corner of the stele, and only a holographic projection, yet it’s so breathtaking. I can’t imagine how magnificent the actual great stele must be to see in person!"

"You’ve certainly asked the right person about that," Li Jiuyuan said with a hint of smugness.

’How did you know I’ve seen the great stele with my own eyes?’

"The environment at the Top of Mount Everest is brutal. Sub-zero temperatures and Sub-Blade Storms are a constant presence. Its harshness is second only to the great maelstrom, the Sea of Boiling, the Extreme North, and the Earth’s Lung. Not many people in this world have seen the great stele in person. The [Jiu Ding] faction relied on the Wonder, Jade Sea Cangwu, to ignore the extreme conditions at the summit and went to great lengths to install the holographic projection equipment on the stele."

"But I... I climbed it step-by-step with my own two legs!"

"The great stele! It’s twenty-seven meters tall and densely packed with thirty-three thousand characters. Facing it is more suffocating than facing a Spiritual Illusion Dragon. The projection you saw today was only a few hundred characters, barely one percent of the whole thing."

Li Jiuyuan’s S-class skill was "Idealism." Whatever he believed in from the bottom of his heart would inevitably come true. When he climbed Mount Everest, he believed he could conquer nature without any external aid and reach the summit on his own two feet. And that’s exactly what happened. Everything went surprisingly smoothly that day; even the storms grew calm.

"Amazing! Just hearing you describe it... is enough to make one yearn to see it!"

Shi Ming said with genuine admiration.

"Shi Ming, although the conditions at the Top of Mount Everest are more extreme and the climb is harder than what was recorded in the Land Era, with your abilities, you’ll surely be able to reach the summit and witness that miracle of creation."

’Then I thank you for your kind words, Li Jiuyuan,’ Shi Ming thought to himself.

When he had first arrived in the Sea of Soaring Dragons, he had used his Eye of the World to probe Mount Everest from a distance. The feedback he received was a pile of black squares, plus a single line of text: "Explore the area ahead at a later time."

Not even the Great Black Heaven Dragon or the Abyss Lord had warranted such a response from the Eye of the World. It was clear that the only remaining landmass on the sea must be extraordinary.

And Shi Ming himself was an anomaly.

If he rashly ignored the Eye of the World’s warning and just charged in, it might trigger some bizarre chain reaction.

It was better to go only after making full preparations.

At the very least, he had to wait until the "Fallen Sanctuary" had finished merging. That way, even if something unexpected happened, he would be capable enough to handle it. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The fusion progress between "Third Law" and "Ragnarok" had already reached 71%. The progress was incredibly fast, with only 29% remaining!

’It should be soon...’

After viewing the stele’s projection, Shi Ming and Li Jiuyuan returned to the main research lab of the Xirang Research Institute branch. There, they met Captain Kunwu, Rong Bing, who had just returned from another mission.

He had been on a special, secret mission:

[Travel to Africa and deliver an item to the King-level Wandering Ship, Black Gold.]

The Kunwu was extremely fast. It made a round trip from the Sea of Soaring Dragons to the Sea of Silence in less than a day, completing the mission successfully. After reporting for duty at the Jiuzhou Platform, he passed by the Xirang Research Institute. Learning that Shi Ming was there, he decided to stop by with a word of caution:

"The Purifying Marrow is far more precious than you can imagine."

"Shi Ming, many major powers have already heard about it. If the Lighthouse tries to buy the Purifying Marrow from you, do your best not to sell it to them. Of course, they might be too proud to ask directly. It’s more likely they’ll use a third party as a go-between to make the purchase."

Rong Bing said gravely.

Normally, the Purifying Marrow Shi Ming had obtained was his personal property. Rong Bing had no right to question how he handled it or whom he sold it to, but he couldn’t help but interfere. The Lighthouse’s affairs ran very deep, and their ideology had always been at odds with Da Yu’s. Da Yu could gift the Purifying Marrow to Black Gold for free, but when it came to the Lighthouse, they could only offer a polite refusal.

Shi Ming, of course, understood.

"Don’t worry, Captain! Neither the Lighthouse nor any other power will get a single drop of Purifying Marrow from me."

’He barely had enough for himself as it was. He would never sell it to a sworn enemy.’

"Hahaha! You rascal! We really are kindred spirits! Are you sure you won’t consider being the captain of the Kunwu? Just say the word, and I’ll apply for resignation right now to recommend you! You probably don’t know this, but Elder Zhou also thinks very highly of you!"

"No need, Captain. The Kunwu can’t be without you, just as the West can’t lose Jeru—"

Shi Ming cut himself off mid-proverb.

’That saying isn’t popular in this era.’

Li Jiuyuan opportunely chimed in.

"Captain, what’s the Sea of Silence like? Does it have any specialty products?"

"Specialty products? I came right back after finishing my mission; I didn’t have time to look into any specialties. That place is the former site of the Great Rift Valley, and it’s abnormally hot and dry because it’s near the Sea of Boiling. I heard several super sea beasts are stirring there. I felt uncomfortable staying even a minute longer. I remember Shi Ming spent some time there. You can ask him."

"Specialties of the Sea of Silence..."

’What kind of specialties could the Sea of Silence possibly have? Mummy dust? Four-Eyed Cobra Fragments from the Pharaoh? Talk about stereotyping. I think merchant ships sell that stuff in the seas around Da Yu anyway.’

Suddenly, at the mention of the Sea of Silence, Shi Ming’s eye twitched as if a keyword had been triggered. Familiar lines of text appeared before him once again.

[Thanks to the reminder from this materialist who possesses ’Idealism’!]

[Look what the Eye of the World has discovered!]

[The Nameless Cocoon, thousands of nautical miles away, is using the biological link from the blood it once gave you and its own powerful Spiritual Power as a bridge to send you a message! Unfortunately, its efforts are being blocked by your inventory!]

[Interesting.]

[The Eye of the World is very curious about what it wants to say.]

[If you’re also curious, remember to take out those drops of blood when you are alone.]

Shi Ming blinked.

’So Ah Jian’s blood really is something special. It can force a connection and transmit a message via Spiritual Power from so far away. But why is it trying so desperately to contact me right now?’

Shi Ming didn’t know the purpose of Rong Bing’s trip to the Black Gold.

Nor did he know that Da Yu had gifted a portion of the Purifying Marrow to the Black Gold.

Making an excuse, Shi Ming left Xirang and returned to the Da Yun. On his own territory, he took out the blood of the Nameless Cocoon, which he hadn’t touched in a long time.

Even after so long, the three drops of black blood still emanated a terrifying pressure. The viscous liquid seemed less like blood and more like Spiritual Power concentrated to its absolute limit. A mere glance could send an Awakened with low Spiritual Power into a state of confusion.

He just waited.

A short while later.

WHOOSH. The blood seemed to sense something, and a powerful spiritual fluctuation surged from within it.

Immediately after, Shi Ming synchronized with that spiritual fluctuation and, through its unique rhythm, received the message sent by the Nameless Cocoon.

[Return to the great ship! I need your... help!]

’Oh? So desperate? Ah Jian, you still haven’t learned one simple truth—no matter the situation, if you put yourself in a position of weakness, you become passive and easy to manipulate.’

He had already guessed most of it. Rong Bing’s trip to the Black Gold—nine times out of ten, he had brought something that could threaten the Nameless Cocoon. The Nameless Cocoon was immortal; the only thing that could threaten it was a seal. And since Rong Bing had just mentioned the Purifying Marrow back at the Xirang Laboratory... could it be that the Black Gold had used the Purifying Marrow to buff the "Sealed Prison," leaving the King Insect struggling to breathe?

Shi Ming smiled.

Things were different now.

’Asking for my help can’t be bought with just a small investment anymore.’

He recalled the gift he still had in his inventory, one he hadn’t had a chance to deliver yet: the progenitor of the Infinity Virus.

The stick and the carrot.

’This time, I’m going to get you, you little two-year-old bug, completely under my thumb!’