Chapter 59: The Mysterious Drifter

Sailing on the ocean, especially in deep-sea areas.

You never know how long the harsh weather will last.

On the second day after Gune and the others left the Misty Shadow Island.

The Demon Whale seemed to have entered a region of continuously raging stormy weather.

Under the howling hurricane, waves thirty to forty meters high surged violently. Some towering waves even reached sixty to seventy meters.

In such weather, even an aircraft carrier would be capsized.

Fortunately, the Demon Whale could submerge.

But the speed of submerged travel was naturally incomparable to sailing on the surface.

Thus, over ten consecutive days, the Demon Whale had only covered a third of the distance.

One day.

After more than ten days of howling winds and towering waves, the weather finally cleared.

Once it cleared, the mist in this sea area had evidently dissipated.

Gune was also fortunate to see clear weather on the Misty Sea.

In the afternoon, the sea surface sparkled, and under the gentle caress of the breeze, the Demon Whale sailed quietly.

On the deck, Gune lay comfortably on his wooden chair, enjoying the afternoon sun.

After more than ten days of deep-sea immersion, Gune felt as if his body had moldered.

The warm sunlight shone on him, and he took a sip of hot coffee.

"How pleasant!"

Gune couldn't help but exclaim.

Feeling the gentle afternoon sunlight.

Gune closed his eyes to rest while sensing his own realm.

Now, Gune had reached the peak of the third-order late stage.

More importantly, Gune felt that his "Blood Curse Master extraordinary profession" was about to undergo its second awakening.

The first awakening was naturally when the blood pool was opened.

And this second awakening signified that Gune's Blood Curse Master extraordinary profession was beginning to show its power.

"During the second awakening, it would be best to awaken a special blood origin ability like 'Blood Source,' so that the sinister and mysterious side of the Blood Curse Master will be revealed."

"Using blood to cast curses, enter dreams, enter souls—uncanny and unpredictable."

"Hmm... The 'Blood Curse Master' extraordinary profession, in the hands of the extraordinary master 'Gewu,' was quite insidious and ruthless."

"Various strange methods like blood sacrifice curses, blood gu cultivation, blood true names, void guidance, blood curse killing, and so on emerged endlessly."

"There were even reverse blood cultivation methods; with a drop of an enemy's blood, one could cultivate a whole bottle of the enemy's blood, allowing one to toy with the enemy however one wished."

"Its fearsome reputation in that era was formidable. Although it ultimately suffered a crushing defeat and was tricked by the Fate Coin, a likely destruction-level magical item, it was still a relatively strong existence in that era."

"In my hands, well... the strangeness of the Blood Curse Master doesn't seem to be much."

"Only a few of these Blood Curse Master techniques remain."

"There's no help for it; after all, the Blood Curse Master lineage seems to have been cut off since Gewu's line."

"Those peculiar methods have also been lost in the dust of history. I can't find them now even if I want to."

"Although I lack those uncanny abilities, my attainments in the blood pool are unique."

"Now my blood is beginning to turn dark gold."

"It probably won't be long before my physical body can transform into a powerful lord-level existence."

"You know, even Blood Curse Master Gewu didn't fully obtain a lord-level powerful physical body."

"Moreover, the Blood Curse Master's physical defense wasn't very famous; presumably, his defense wasn't too formidable."

"But I'm different. My physical body can first absorb the writhing flesh affected by the Unnamable Flesh, and now it has perfectly absorbed the Death Beast flesh and even begun to advance and grow."

"Now I've also condensed the physical rune 'Holy Shadow Rune,' which brings my physical toughness nearly to the level of Demon Copper Armor."

"Although I've lost strangeness, I've gained terrifying survivability."

"At the same time, the Blood Curse Master abilities I've awakened, though currently weak, have immense potential for advancement."

"When I undergo the third or even fourth awakening, these abilities will become high-level incantations, even secret-pattern-level incantations."

"At that time, the powerful characteristics of these abilities will manifest one by one."

"Moreover, if I truly awaken extraordinary abilities like 'Blood Source,' I can still retain the strangeness of the Blood Curse Master."

The reason the Blood Curse Master, aside from blood curses, could be rated as a six-star extraordinary profession.

Is because it can deeply tap into the power of blood and undergo layer-by-layer awakenings.

When at least the third awakening is reached and all awakened abilities become high-level incantations.

At that time, the powerful aspects of the Blood Curse Master will gradually emerge.

"Speaking of incantation skills, my skills are now almost all at level five."

"Some spells should be upgraded to level six or even seven."

"This way, the effects will be even stronger." Gune pondered silently.

Just as Gune was deciding which spells to upgrade to level six or seven first.

"Captain... someone's coming."

Martel rushed over and said quickly.

"Hmm?"

Gune was startled.

"Someone coming? Pirates?" Gune asked.

"No, just a human, drifting on a piece of wreckage from a demon ship, heading our way. Seems like a survivor from a shipwreck."

"That means he could be a pirate." Gune responded.

"But his clothes look decent, not like a pirate who lives rough."

"Then he might be a pirate leader."

Martel was speechless.

"Do you really want him to be a pirate that badly?"

Gune patted Martel on the shoulder and smiled. "Always prepare for the worst. For example, this guy might be an extraordinary expert with unusual skills. He approaches, maybe to use some means to control all our crew, and thus take over this demon ship."

"Even plunder all our wealth, kill us, and throw us into the sea to feed the sharks."

Martel's mouth fell open, looking at Gune in disbelief.

"Captain... you're thinking too badly of people, too exaggerated! That guy is probably just a castaway."

Gune smiled and patted Martel's shoulder.

"Young man, this is the real way to open this supernatural world."

"Go have the first mate deal with this guy."

"Yes! Tell Arson Howell he is now the captain; he'll understand what that means."

"Okay." Martel nodded.

In a place Martel couldn't see, a puppet thread had silently wound around him.

"A man drifting alone at sea, and in waters after a big wave."

"If it were shallow waters, that's one thing, but this is the Misty Sea, and quite deep."

"A guy who dares to approach a large demon ship alone—there's no way he doesn't have some skill."

"The only question is whether this guy is trouble." Gune pondered.

The demon ship "Demon Whale" was not large.

At the bow, Gune could sense many things at the stern using the puppet thread.

When he sensed Martel contacting Arson,

Gune manipulated the puppet thread to directly wrap around Arson Howell.

Even using the World Essence, Gune could clearly hear Arson's conversation with others.

Basking in the sun, Gune listened to what was happening with Arson.

...

A dozen minutes later.

Inside a cabin.

A young man with blue short hair, handsome face, and a warm smile always on his face, spoke while eating the food on the plate before him.

"I was the captain of a merchant ship, but on the way we were attacked by a group of sea undead. By the Sea God, you can't imagine how ferocious those sea undead are; they devour human flesh and soul to nourish their broken bodies."

"Fortunately, my sailors were skilled enough, and we eventually drove off those undead."

"But unfortunately, later we encountered a very powerful demon."

"That terrifying scene filled with intense dark aura still haunts me."

"In the end, we couldn't defeat that demon, and my merchant ship was shattered."

"I jumped into the deep sea, and when the big waves surged, I was lucky to escape."

"I'm so glad I met you all today."

"I think this is truly the Sea God's protection over me."

"Let me thank the Sea God once more!"

Then came what seemed to be the young man's prayer to the Sea God.

"Well, Captain Arson, these are my experiences these days. Now... can you tell me about your and your adventure group's story and experiences?"

After a long pause, Gune heard a sentence that left him stunned.

"I... am not... the captain!" Arson slowly stated.

Arson's words were not stiff, nor did they have the wooden feeling of being controlled. Gune's puppet thread was inside Arson, and he didn't sense anything unusual.

This sentence came entirely from the heart.

The more it was so, the more bizarre and uncanny Gune felt.