Life Source Stone (Part 2)

Shiraha looked at the Giant Palace before him with some surprise. The rich life force filled the entire palace, yet it still interfered with his senses.

"It seems that even someone with my level of perception can be affected. In other words, it can also affect others. I might as well use the life force of the Gelel Stone to do some special processing."

Shiraha thought to himself that this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

Sensing that his bloodline connection with Lanke was getting closer and closer, Shiraha stopped lingering and entered the palace entrance in a few flashes.

Upon entering the palace, one is greeted by a narrow passage less than a meter wide, with steep cliffs on both sides, and a pitch-black abyss below.

Shiraha went straight through the narrow passage, using his blood connection with Lanke to make his way into the depths of the palace without stopping for a moment.

Soon, a glimmer of light appeared deep within the dark palace.

Just as Shiraha was about to head out, he found that a large number of humanoid creatures wearing full armor and carrying heavy weapons such as spiked clubs blocked his way.

Seeing this, Shiraha took a deep breath and activated his Breathing Technique. A powerful heat flowed into his lower abdomen, where it merged with his Chakra, and then flowed throughout his limbs and bones.

A crimson vortex gathered around Shiraha, eventually transforming into a scorching stream of air that completely enveloped him.

In order to speed up his journey, Shiraha immediately activated "Crimson Dragon Calamity".

Boom--!

Shiraha, like a crimson flying sword, darted over a hundred meters and charged straight at the heavily armored soldiers blocking his path.

With a series of loud bangs, these heavily armored soldiers were all blasted to the sides as if hit by cannonballs, and Shiraha forcefully shoved a path through them.

Shiraha burst out of the narrow passage, his vision suddenly opening up, and he found himself in a huge underground hall.

In the underground hall, directly opposite, two men and a woman were facing away from Shiraha when a sudden loud noise startled them all, and they turned around at the same time.

The middle-aged man standing at the back was wearing a light purple robe; he was the Lord Hyde that Lanke had mentioned.

Beside Hyde was a blond, red-eyed boy in armor, who was Hyde's subordinate, Timothy.

As for the woman in purple armor, it was none other than Lanke they hadn't seen for many years.

When Lanke saw Shiraha, her face showed both surprise and joy. She hadn't expected Shiraha to arrive so quickly.

Lanke was initially unsure how to seize control of the Gelel Stone Vein, since even with the Shiraha bloodline and her increased strength, she was still no match for Hyde.

Moreover, Hyde has Timothy, whose strength is only slightly weaker than hers, by her side.

Now that Shiraha has arrived, all the problems are solved.

"How did you get in?!" Hyde stared coldly at the suddenly appearing Shiraha. Enveloped in Crimson Airflow, Shiraha resembled a war god, radiating a terrifying aura. This made Hyde, who had just found the Gelel Stone and was preparing to break the seal, feel apprehensive.

With that, Hyde ordered Lanke and Timothy, who were standing to the side, "Lanke, Timothy, kill him! Don't let him interfere with my opening of the mine seal."

"Yes, Lord Hyde."

Lanke and Timothy said in unison.

Timothy drew a short sword from behind him and charged toward Shiraha.

Lanke, standing to the side, revealed a murderous aura as he activated the Gelel Stone transplanted into his body. His body rapidly expanded, transforming in an instant into Giant Ape Monster Form.

She possessed arms as strong as an ape, and her entire body became thicker, several times her normal size. Her originally fair skin turned black, her hair turned white, the whites of her eyes disappeared and her eyes turned completely red, two white lines appeared on her face, and her purple armor stretched along with her increased size, becoming a more form-fitting soft armor.

Lanke raised her hands above her head, and powerful lightning gathered between them, seemingly gathering strength to launch a fatal blow against Shiraha.

Seeing this, Hyde quickly turned around and, based on the information recorded in the Book of Gelel, placed his hand on the stone platform extending from the ground and began to remove the seal on the Gelel Stone Vein.

Boom!

A massive arc of electricity flashed by, instantly striking Hyde, who had turned his back. Lanke hit his target, and simultaneously swung his fists, aiming a powerful blow at Hyde's head, intending to kill him instantly.

Boom!

Hyde's robe was torn open by the lightning, but his exposed skin remained fair. Hyde's body rapidly expanded, bursting his shirt open and revealing his muscular, dark skin.

Hyde slightly turned his body, swung his left arm, and blocked the full force of Lanke's double fist attack with one arm. The Gelel Stone embedded in the back of his left hand flashed with blue light, and a terrifying force instantly struck Lanke's chest.

Thump thump thump!

Lanke was forced back several steps by the enormous recoil, his expression pained as he stared at Hyde in disbelief. Although he knew Hyde was hiding other uses for the Gelel Stone, he hadn't expected it to be so powerful. Luckily, he hadn't been greedy and acted rashly, but had waited for Shiraha to arrive before launching a sneak attack on Lanke.

"Lanke, do you know what you're doing? How dare you betray me?!"

Hyde stared coldly at Lanke. The interruption of the mine's seal-breaking process had left him in a terrible mood, especially since Shiraha seemed to be toying with Timothy under Timothy's relentless attacks, which made him sense something was wrong.

"I'm sorry, Lord Hyde. I have already chosen to pledge allegiance to Lord Shiraha since I was captured last time. Anyway, you don't treat us subordinates like human beings. It is naturally the wisest choice for me to join a better master."

Lanke said calmly, and attacked Hyde again.

Boom!

After testing Timothy's ability to use the Gelel Stone, Shiraha punched him in the chest, denting his breastplate. Timothy was sent flying, crashing through a stone pillar before slamming into a wall and embedding himself in it.

On the other side, Hyde was also taken aback by Shiraha's sudden burst of strength. He suddenly flashed and knocked Lanke back, then immediately ran to the extended stone platform and pressed his palm on it.

Shiraha unleashed "Crimson Dragon Calamity" and charged forward.

Hyde suddenly turned around, keeping one hand on the stone platform, while raising the other hand. The Gelel Stone on the back of his hand flashed blue light, and a blue energy wave shot out.

Shiraha ignored it completely. His body was covered in fine, silvery-white scales. Then he threw a punch that struck the blue energy wave, shattering it.

Boom!

After Shiraha's second punch dispersed the energy wave released by Hyde, he arrived beside Hyde, grabbed Hyde's hands tightly, and squeezed hard. Hyde screamed as the bones in his wrists were instantly broken by Shiraha.

The Gelel Stone emanated a powerful life force, continuously healing Hyde's injuries; however, Shiraha's hands gripped Hyde tightly like iron clamps.

The next second, Shiraha's jet-black eyes suddenly turned crimson, and three black Tomoe appeared. They then converged towards the pupils, forming a pattern of multiple overlapping triangles that looked a bit like an inverted pyramid made of building blocks.

As their eyes met, Hyde's expression suddenly became confused, his violent struggles ceased, and his body went limp.

Then, Hyde stood there like a statue, expressionless and motionless.

"Lord Shiraha." Lanke knelt on one knee beside Shiraha and bowed respectfully. She stopped activating the power of the Gelel Stone when she saw Shiraha make his move.

"Lanke, thank you for your hard work."

Shiraha smiled at Lanke beside her, and seeing the blood on her lips, he threw a vial of "Vitality Potion" to her from his Storage Scroll.

"Lord Shiraha Lord Shiraha. It is not hard work at all." Lanke accepted the potion and became even more respectful. She had witnessed Shiraha's ruthless methods and dared not be the slightest bit presumptuous.

Seeing Lanke administer the potion and stand aside again, Shiraha turned around, looked into Hyde's eyes, and said calmly, "Tell me how to open the mine, and where is the Book of Gelel?"

"Opening the mine requires following a special Sealing Jutsu technique recorded in the Book of Gelel."

Hyde, his expression blank but his tone unchanged, slowly spoke, then took out a thick book from the Storage Scroll at his waist and handed it to Shiraha.

Shiraha took the book and quickly flipped through it. With his current Mental Power, he could basically remember all of this kind of pure textual knowledge after just one glance.

"Lord Hyde! Release Lord Hyde at once!"

Just as Shiraha was flipping through the Book of Gelel, he heard the voice of the knight Timothy from behind. He was seen limping over, clutching the dent in his chest armor, as if he still wanted to fight.

Shiraha turned his head to look at the sound, raising his eyebrows slightly. He hadn't held back just now. With his current physical condition, if he activated "Crimson Dragon Calamity," even a Jōnin was proficient in Nintaijutsu and taijutsu would probably be paralyzed if he took a punch from him head-on, even if he didn't die.

This knight named Timothy, who was clearly only at the level of an ordinary Jōnin, was able to stand up, which was quite unexpected for Shiraha. It seems that it was mainly due to the effect of the Gelel Stone that he was spared from death.

In such a one-sided situation, Timothy's willingness to fight is truly commendable.

Shiraha admires people like that, but he only likes those who are loyal to him.

"Lanke." Shiraha winked at Lanke beside him, while he continued to quickly flip through the Book of Gelel.

The Book of Gelel contains detailed information about the Gelel Stone, as well as its currently known uses.

Thousands of years ago, a powerful kingdom was established on this continent because of the Gelel Ore Vein. The refined Gelel Stone can play a huge role, making wells never dry up, livestock grow overnight, crops bear fruit all year round, and there are also experiments on immortality being conducted.

However, the nation was destroyed because ambitious individuals used the Gelel Stone in battle, leading to the rapid demise of the powerful empire. As a result, the remaining people sealed the Gelel Ore Vein and left their homeland.

"Is the Gelel Stone most compatible with people who have royal blood?" Shiraha wondered to himself as he read the last page.

At this moment, Lanke subdued Timothy, pinning him down firmly, and then said, "Lord Shiraha, Timothy possesses the royal blood of the Gelel Empire, which I believe should be of some use to you, so..."

"Royal bloodline?!" Shiraha was stunned for a moment and looked at Timothy.

"What are you saying? You traitor!" Timothy yelled at Lanke.

Lanke looked at Timothy and sneered, "Don't be stupid. It was Hyde who led people to destroy your village, kill your relatives, and seize the Book of Gelel from you remnants of the Gelel Empire."

The reason he didn't kill you was because he wanted to use the power of your bloodline.

The reason why Camilla, Fugai, Hyde, and I, who are not of royal blood, are able to use the Gelel Stone is because Hyde transplanted your bloodline through experiments.

"All your friends died because of failed experiments!"

"Impossible, this is impossible! Lord Hyde wouldn't do such a thing!"

Timothy yelled, his face filled with disbelief.

Seeing this, Shiraha used Genjutsu to manipulate Hyde, making him reveal the truth of what happened back then.

Timothy was completely stunned when he heard this.

Shiraha ignored him. Since he had royal blood, it should be helpful for his future actions.

Of course, if Timothy doesn't cooperate, he doesn't care and will just use force.

Moreover, he was not hindered when he absorbed the power contained in the Gelel Stone. His main purpose was to use the Gelel Stone to purify his bloodline. As for whether it could be transplanted into his body, he did not care much.

Shiraha arrived at the stone platform and, following the method recorded in the Book of Gelel, broke the seal.

Rumble!

The entire Underground Palace hall began to tremble. Then, the floor in the center of the hall slowly opened up, revealing a dazzling blue light, followed by an overwhelming sense of life.

Shiraha felt every pore on his body was sensing this life force, and his cells felt joy.

Shiraha opened his senses and, upon closer inspection, discovered that the entire underground area was filled with countless Gelel Stone.

He used "Flight Technique" to enter the underground mine, and Life Particles rapidly entered his body.

Lanke and Timothy were stunned by the terrifying energy fluctuations.

It took Shiraha more than ten minutes to absorb most of the Life Particles that had escaped from the ore vein.

[Bloodline: World Tree Companion Serpent - Fourth-Level (White Phosphorus Serpent - Half Fourth-Level + Divine Tree - Half Fourth-Level); Bloodline Purity 80.5%, Quality "Excellent"]

Lifespan: 1500 years

'His lifespan was restored to its peak, and his bloodline purity increased by 0.5% without any side effects.'

As the body's data changed, Shiraha's unrestrained laughter echoed from below the mine.

Hahahaha!