Shiraha's Secluded Cultivation, Orochimaru's Desperate Gamble!

Shiraha stopped absorbing Life Particles only when he felt a slight fullness in his body.

The amount of Gelel Stone contained in the vein exceeded his expectations. He didn't know if it could support his cultivation to Fourth-Level, but raising the purity and quality of his bloodline to another level and accelerating his cultivation to Third Level shouldn't be difficult.

Thanks to the Life Particles that escaped from the Gelel Ore Vein, his previously depleted life force was fully restored.

Furthermore, according to the Book of Gelel, the Gelel Stone probably has many other wonderful uses, but they have just not been discovered yet.

Of course, for Shiraha, simply increasing the purity of his bloodline is already a crucial function.

"According to the Book of Gelel, the energy in the mine is exceptionally strong. If attacked, the entire mine could potentially explode in a chain reaction."

The Gelel Ore Vein is too important; it must be guarded. However, there are only two pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan as the core of the Teleportation array. One pair was left at the Dragon Vein Seal in the Ruins of Loulan, and the other pair was left in the underground laboratory in the Land of Land of Whirlpools. Neither location can be easily changed.

Since that's the case, I might as well stay here and absorb the energy contained in the Gelel Stone in the vein first, and then we'll talk about it when I reach the bottleneck period.

Anyway, the situation is basically stable now. With Kushina and the Kurama in the Land of Whirlpools, they can handle most situations.

Shiraha pondered to himself, his body slowly flying out from beneath the mine, already having a plan in mind.

"Lord Shiraha, how is it?" Lanke came to Shiraha's side and bowed respectfully.

Shiraha looked at Lanke and smiled, "I feel great!"

As she spoke, Shiraha took out a glass Syringe and handed it to Lanke, indicating that she should give Timothy an injection.

The Syringe contained Shiraha's diluted blood.

Since Timothy possesses the royal bloodline of the Gelel Empire, it might be necessary to utilize Timothy royal bloodline when absorbing the energy from the Gelel Stone. Subduing him beforehand would save trouble later.

"Yes!" Lanke took the glass Syringe, feeling the aura emanating from it. His body instinctively felt a burning sensation, as if every cell in his body was craving the scarlet blood filling the Syringe —it was an almost instinctive reaction.

Of course, compared to instinct, Shiraha's orders were the highest priority in Lanke's mind.

Lanke knelt down next to Timothy.

At this moment, Timothy was severely injured by Shiraha. Although he regained his mobility under the powerful life force of the Gelel Stone, he still felt pain all over his body.

However, more than the physical pain, what Timothy found hardest to accept was the cruel truth before him.

Lord Hyde, whom he regarded as a believer, turned out to be the murderer of his relatives, and his so-called lofty ideal of bringing peace to the world was nothing more than a pretext to find the Gelel Ore Vein.

Having been betrayed by the person he trusted most, Timothy, who was deeply hurt both physically and mentally, had almost lost the will to live.

So when Lanke grabbed his arm and Syringe his skin, Timothy remained sitting there, stunned.

As the Scarlet Liquid had been injected into his body flowed through his meridians, a burning sensation quickly filled his entire body.

Soon, Timothy felt his whole body getting hotter and hotter.

"Ah~!"

The terrifying burning sensation emanating from his meridians surpassed the pain caused by both physical and emotional trauma. Timothy finally snapped out of his daze and rolled on the ground in agony.

After an unknown amount of time, Timothy lay motionless on the ground, his inner lining under his armor soaked through, looking as if he had been pulled out of the water.

He could clearly feel his body brimming with power, and his previously severe external injuries had completely healed—an effect that the Gelel Stone could not achieve.

"This is..." Timothy sensed the changes in his body and looked at Shiraha in front of him. He suddenly felt like he was a small snake that had just hatched from its egg, while Shiraha was a giant python that could support the sky. The shock from the depths of his soul made him feel awe for Shiraha, and a feeling of absolute invincibility filled his heart.

What did you do to me?

Timothy originally wanted to question Shiraha, but as the words left his mouth, he changed to a gentle questioning tone.

As Shiraha advanced to the second level "Spirit Summoning Warlock", his control over his bloodline descendants, especially his relatives, became stronger and stronger.

In this face-to-face situation, where control is at its peak, he doesn't even need to actively manipulate the power of his bloodline. The sheer difference in bloodline origin and the innate suppression of the superior over the inferior is enough to render his subordinates powerless.

"Wouldn't it be good to be my subordinate?" Shiraha smiled slightly, squatted down, and gently stroked Timothy's slightly immature face.

"Yes, Lord Shiraha."

Timothy couldn't help but smile. Shiraha gave him the feeling of being a baby lying in his mother's arms again, warm and comforting.

"Now you can go and avenge your loved ones." Shiraha stood up and looked at Hyde behind Timothy.

Shiraha obtained all the information that Hyde possessed through Genjutsu. This guy only learned about the Gelel Empire by chance, so he slaughtered all the remaining people of the Gelel Empire, seized the Book of Gelel, and then devoted his life to finding the Gelel Ore Vein.

After all, the Book of Gelel states that fusing a large amount of Gelel Stone can even grant one the ability to Eternal Life.

If it were merely about immortality, the Gelel Stone wouldn't be so appealing.

Immortality, however, leads to aging, making it a despairing solo journey. But not aging is a different story; with the body in its prime, there are many things one can do.

This is similar to the Wizarding World, where many Formal Wizard, excluding those who died unnatural deaths, actually have lifespans that exceed the lifespan limit of their realm.

Star-Level Wizard can live for up to a thousand years, and most Star Wizard can live past a thousand years, but their souls will rapidly weaken after a thousand years. This kind of weakening of the essence is something that no Wizard can accept.

Because of their bloodline origins, warlocks' souls are imbued with the characteristics of extraordinary beings, so their lifespans generally exceed those of Wizard of the same level. However, due to the existence of bloodline constraints, when a warlock's lifespan reaches the limit of the current level of their bloodline origin, their soul will perish within a short period of time.

This is another limitation for warlocks besides the bloodline constraint.

However, the Gelel Stone seems to possess a powerful life force that directly affects the soul, a fact that Shiraha personally experienced after entering the mine.

Although this force is not large, given the sheer size of the mineral vein, its vitality is quite remarkable.

"Yes!" After receiving Shiraha's approval, Timothy came to Hyde's side, drew the short sword from his waist, and forcefully stabbed it into Hyde's heart.

Having suffered a fatal injury to his vital parts, Hyde's life force rapidly drained away amidst excruciating pain. In his dying moments, he broke free from Shiraha's Genjutsu and stared wide-eyed at the short sword embedded in his chest and the person wielding Timothy. However, the massive loss of his life force rendered him unable to utter a sound.

Thump!

Hyde fell to the ground and died.

Timothy removed the Gelel Stone from the backs of Hyde's hands, wiped the blood off them, and then presented them to Shiraha with both hands.

Shiraha took the Gelel Stone, put it away, and then used Summoning Technique.

Bang!

Large plumes of white smoke rose up.

The next second, the White Serpent's enormous body appeared, its length now exceeding fifty meters.

If the underground hall weren't so spacious, it probably wouldn't have been able to accommodate the White Serpent's body.

The reason Shiraha didn't summon the Aoda was because the Aoda Serpent was over 100 meters long.

The moment the White Serpent appeared in the underground hall, it sensed the limited space it was in. It immediately shrunk its size, eventually becoming a Little White Serpent less than half a meter long and only as thick as a thumb. It fell from mid-air and landed steadily in Shiraha's palm.

"Lord Shiraha, you haven't summoned me in so long." The White Serpent's feminine voice rang in Shiraha's ear, and it affectionately nuzzled Shiraha's palm with its head.

"Because I haven't fought much in a long time." Shiraha smiled slightly, gently poked the White Serpent's head with his index finger, and then added, "I summoned you here because I hope you will go to the Land of Whirlpools and pass on the information to Kushina."

Tell Kushina that I may be staying overseas for a long time to come. If she has any urgent matters, she can contact me through Kashin Koji, and I will return to the Land of Whirlpools immediately.

"Yes, Lord Shiraha," the White Serpent replied respectfully, then added cautiously, "After the message is delivered, may I return here to serve Lord Shiraha?"

Shiraha paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Of course."

"Thank you Lord Shiraha." The White Serpent's joyful voice rang out.

Shiraha poked the White Serpent's head again, channeling Chakra and Magic Power into White Serpent body.

Through the memories transmitted through Chakra, the White Serpent quickly figured out the route back to the Land of Whirlpools.

The Magic Power flowing into her body will further enhance the White Serpent's physique and talents.

"Go." Shiraha lowered his hand slightly, and the White Serpent landed on the ground and quickly left the underground hall.

With the White Serpent's current strength, even if it encounters a top- Kage Level ninja and can't defeat them, it can still escape. Especially at sea, it can swim freely in the deep sea, a realm inaccessible to ordinary people.

After the White Serpent left, Shiraha turned to Lanke and Timothy beside him and said, "You two should stay a little further away."

"Yes!" Lanke and Timothy replied in unison and quickly moved towards the outer edge of the hall. Lanke even took Hyde's body with him.

After the two reached the outer perimeter of the hall, Shiraha took out a large number of bottles and jars, as well as some experimental equipment, from his Storage Scroll.

Refining Gelel Ore Vein also requires tools, and fortunately, Shiraha has a habit of carrying experimental equipment with him.

The energy fluctuations of the mine in front of him are huge, and the force field is unstable. Shiraha will be staying here for quite some time. Given the intensity of radiation emitted by the Gelel Ore Vein, if an accidental explosion were to occur, even with his defenses, he might not be able to withstand it.

To prevent any accidents, Shiraha decided to set up a barrier and Defensive Wizardry Array around the Gelel Ore Vein.

In about half a day, Shiraha Yu set up a double barrier and a triple Defensive Wizardry Array, which basically suppressed the mineral veins under the entire underground hall.

The next step is mining, and then extracting the crystals from the ore veins.

As Shiraha absorbed a large amount of the Life Particles that had escaped from the ore vein, his perception and Mental Power were already able to detect part of the ore vein. However, the Life Particles deep within the ore vein were too active and still blocked his perception. Therefore, he still had to dig deeper to find out what was inside the core of the ore vein.

After setting up the barrier and Defensive Wizardry Array, Shiraha did not rush to mine. Instead, he first set up a small laboratory in a corner of the hall and began to extract Timothy's bloodline for research.

Because Hyde has already studied Timothy's bloodline and achieved initial results, but has not yet found a way to perfectly fuse it with the Gelel Stone, Shiraha needs to conduct further experiments.

Hyde's so-called way of achieving world peace is actually to create more powerful weapons using the Gelel Stone.

The steel warships he commands are still deep in the mountains on the ground. If energy weapons are created using a large amount of Gelel Stone, even top-tier Kage Level powerhouses would probably be unable to withstand the energy cannons released by the warships.

Excluding those at the level of Super Kage-level combatants, if Hyde were to acquire this power, he could certainly establish a regional power base, on par with the original Great Nations, if not rule the entire world.

Hyde has combined technological power with supernatural power to create a completely new weapon.

"If we have some spare time, we could combine the Gelel Stone with technological power, which would be a major inspiration for the development of the Land of Snow's heavy industry."

Shiraha pondered to himself, and then began his research on the Timothy bloodline.

In the following period, Shiraha conducted research while having Lanke and Timothy mine, then began refining the ore, condensing the Gelel Stone, purifying the bloodline purity, and conducting other experiments.

On the other hand, Issei continued to secretly support the Hyuga Branch Family's independent actions, but the progress was slowed down because Shiraha remained in the Outer Sea.

Time flies, and four years have passed quietly.

Konoha Year 60.

Otogakure.

Underground stronghold.

In the innermost room of the dark laboratory, Orochimaru and Isshiki stood in front of a huge Culture Dish.

A tall male body was soaking in a light green nutrient solution; his skin was deathly pale.

Over four years, Orochimaru not only mastered Cloning Technology, but also, through continuous experimentation, finally cloned a completely new body using Shin's special physique and highly active Hashirama cells.

"Orochimaru, according to the timeline, this clone should be fully developed by now, right?" Isshiki couldn't help but ask, his gaze fixed on the body in the Culture Dish.

Shinnō's body was too weak. In four years, he barely recovered any Chakra. Although the main reason was that he did not absorb any source of Chakra, the more important reason was that the Vessel he was using was of very low quality.

Isshiki urged Orochimaru to research a new Vessel in order to regain his strength as soon as possible.

The Vessel before him was of extremely high quality, far superior to the Jigen Vessel he had used for over a thousand years.

For more than a year since the Vessel began to be cultivated, Isshiki had been using his own Original Chakra to nurture the Vessel when Orochimaru wasn't looking, so that he could be completely compatible with the Vessel when Vessel was replaced.

"To allow cell activity to reach its peak, it's best to wait another two weeks. We're running out of Hashirama cells, so I'll go to other sites to get some more."

Orochimaru's hoarse voice rang out, and his gaze swept toward ' Shinnō '.

Isshiki and Orochimaru exchanged a glance, both noticing something unusual in each other's eyes.

"Alright then, I'll wait another half month," Isshiki said calmly, then walked out of the laboratory.

Orochimaru stared at Shinnō's retreating figure, his pupils constricting slightly. After four years of getting along, he had long since noticed the abnormality in Shinnō, feeling as if Shinnō's body had been invaded.

Especially when Shinnō said he would help the organization leader cultivate Vessel, his caring attitude seemed a bit too enthusiastic for an organization member.

Orochimaru had many interactions with Shinnō and knew Shinnō quite well. He was definitely someone who would give up everything for profit.

How could someone like that possibly be willing to work wholeheartedly for others?

Just like Orochimaru himself, Shiraha was very good to him, but he was not willing to risk his life for Shiraha, or rather, he wanted to forge his own path.

He joined the organization that Shinnō mentioned, but he didn't actually believe in the so-called leader or the Otsutsuki. He just believed that there was something to be gained from it.

Becoming Shiraha's subordinate is a fallback option for him, but it is by no means his best option.

So after discovering Shinnō's abnormality, Orochimaru decided to take a gamble.

Night falls.

Isshiki, who was lying in bed sleeping, suddenly opened his eyes and then quietly left the room.

He returned to the innermost room of the laboratory.

Since only Orochimaru, Isshiki, and Shin lived in the laboratory, and the others were experimental subjects, the seal was only placed in the cells where the experimental subjects were kept; the other places were not sealed.

However, even with the seal, it is not difficult to overcome Isshiki.

Isshiki didn't trust Orochimaru, or rather, he never did. He could sense Orochimaru's ambition, so he decided to take advantage of Orochimaru's absence to complete the replacement of the Vessel.

As for improving cell activity, that can be done gradually later.

Upon entering the room, Isshiki approached the Culture Dish, opened the glass cover, and examined the Vessel. After confirming that Orochimaru had indeed left no Chakra inside, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Isshiki the activation of the 'Karma' seal, Shinnō's body surface was instantly covered with a large number of dense black Cursed Seal, mobilizing all of his Chakra.

Immediately afterwards, Isshiki placed his hand on the top of the Vessel in the Culture Dish and began to pour all of his Original Chakra and the life force of Shinnō's body into the Vessel, starting to change the Vessel.

Thump!

After an unknown amount of time, Shinnō's body fell straight to the ground, then shattered into pieces like porcelain, turning into dust.

The man lying in the Culture Dish was surrounded by powerful Chakra, and a diamond-shaped 'Karma' mark appeared on his chin. Then he opened his eyes.

Orochimaru stood next to the Culture Dish, staring intently at him.

At that moment, Orochimaru suddenly stretched out his neck and bit Isshiki's neck. The Heavenly Cursed Seal quickly condensed, and the black Cursed Seal crawled densely onto Isshiki's face and spread towards his chest.

"Orochimaru, are you asking for death!?"

He felt Isshiki tingling sensation throughout his body and immediately mobilized his Chakra to remove the Cursed Seal.

Orochimaru's body expanded rapidly, transforming into a gigantic eight-headed serpent that enveloped Isshiki's body along with the entire Culture Dish.

' Living Corpse Reincarnation ' activated!