Death Seed

"This is...!"

Lin Yuan tightened his grip on the unknown object and pulled, wrenching a pitch-black sphere out of thin air above the platform.

The sphere was black all over, without a trace of luster on its surface, as though it absorbed every ray of light that fell on it.

At its very center, a faint speck of white light glimmered, so weak it was barely there.

"No! No! That's mine!"

The moment Lin Yuan took out the black sphere, the undead spirit, which had already shrunk into a corner, went mad again and lunged at the sphere in his hand.

The next instant, a strange suction suddenly erupted from the sphere, drawing the undead spirit completely inside!

Even the soul flames that had been left burning on Lin Yuan and Lilia were absorbed without a trace.

It all happened so quickly that the undead spirit vanished before it could even make a sound.

After absorbing the surrounding soul flames, the black sphere fell still again, lying motionless in Lin Yuan's hand.

"Huh? No description from the system? What exactly is this?"

Lin Yuan had expected the system to give him detailed information about the black sphere, just as it had before.

But even after a long wait, there was still no response from the system.

"Forget it. I'll put it away for now."

With a thought from Lin Yuan, the black sphere vanished from his hand and appeared inside the Lin Yuan.

He was about to put it in the warehouse when a strange feeling suddenly came over him.

His intuition told him that this thing could not go in the warehouse.

"But where else can I put it... wait, the treasure collection room!"

Of all the compartments aboard the Lin Yuan, the treasure collection room was the most unusual.

Lin Yuan had already tested it: ordinary materials, the flesh and blood of magical creatures, supernatural equipment-none of them could be placed in that room.

He had a vague intuition-

Things that lacked sufficient standing, that did not deserve to be called "treasures," did not deserve to be placed in this room.

That included the items Lin Yuan had obtained before.

But this black sphere was different.

It was something Lin Yuan had only managed to obtain thanks to the power exerted by the mysterious box in the treasure collection room.

"Put it in... the treasure collection room!"

With a slight shift of Lin Yuan's thoughts, the black sphere slipped into the collection room without the slightest resistance.

Inside the treasure collection room, numerous crystal pedestals stood in concentric circles. The closer they were to the center, the taller and more ornate they became.

After entering the collection room, the black sphere automatically chose a crystal pedestal near the edge and settled on it.

Light flickered across the crystal pedestal's base, forming words that floated in front of it, making it look like an exhibit on a crystal stand with an information plaque.

[Death Seed]

[Relic]

[Upgradeable]

[Moderate danger]

[A special product formed when a "Nature Shepherd" was twisted by an unknown power while attempting to condense the authority of "Life," reminding later generations of the strangely intertwined relationship between life and death.]

[The holder can actively channel Life Aura into the Death Seed to summon an army of undead obedient to the holder. The undead can persist until destroyed, with their number and types determined by the holder's strength.]

[The Death Seed will also demand Life Aura from its holder at irregular intervals. The holder cannot resist, even if this may cause the holder's own death.]

[Between every two new moons, the Death Seed will summon the Nether River into the world once without fail. Undead within the Nether River will be greatly strengthened.]

[The exact time at which the Death Seed summons the Nether River is random, but the holder can actively summon the Nether River between two new moons, after which the Death Seed will lose the ability to summon the Nether River for the remainder of that period.]

[While the Nether River exists, both the undead army previously summoned by the holder and any undead newly emerging from the Nether River will enter a state of indiscriminate slaughter.]

That was the description of the black sphere, or the Death Seed. Beneath it was another line in smaller text:

[None of the above abilities will take effect inside the collection room.]

At that, Lin Yuan could not help breathing a sigh of relief.

The Death Seed's abilities were undeniably powerful, but its negative effects were equally alarming.

Carrying it around as it was would be no different from strapping on a bomb that could explode at any moment.

Fortunately, the treasure collection room aboard the Lin Yuan was up to the task. With it stored inside, he would not have to worry about its negative effects.

From now on, Lin Yuan could simply take it out when he needed it, use it, then immediately return it to the collection room, minimizing its negative effects.

"Life essence should mean health points, which means durability for me. That's my strong suit, so it shouldn't be much of a problem."

"The strength of the undead army still needs testing, but I don't have a ship right now, so I can't take the summoned undead army with me. That's a problem."

"The most important part is summoning the Nether River. That's a self-destructive trump card that could turn things around at a critical moment."

"Looking at it that way, until I get my own ship, I'd better keep this thing as a trump card and take it out as little as possible, in case bad luck means it drains my Life Aura or summons the Nether River right then."

Lin Yuan soon settled on a plan for using it.

"This should be the biggest reward from this instance."

The Death Seed was undoubtedly the strongest item Lin Yuan currently possessed. This trip into the instance had been more than worth it.

Of course, on closer examination, the strongest item should actually have been that mysterious little box.

The crystal pedestals in the treasure room were probably arranged by power or standing. The little box sat firmly at the very center, while the Death Seed could only occupy the edge. Which was stronger was clear at a glance.

Moreover, the treasure room supposedly sealed items' supernatural abilities, yet the little box could freely transmit its power outside. That, too, showed how high its standing was.

But the little box's standing was far too high. Lin Yuan had no ability to use it actively and could only passively accept its arrangements, so he could not count it as part of his own strength.

"But what exactly is a relic, and how is it different from a supernatural item? Why won't the system give me any information about relics?"

Although the rewards had been considerable, the unanswered questions were piling up too.

There was no way to get answers now, though.

He could only wait until the instance ended, then ask "Research Institute 3154" and see whether they could provide any useful information.

"Lilia, get ready to head back."

Lin Yuan turned to call Lilia away, only to find her gaze still fixed motionlessly on the stone platform.

"What are you looking at? I already took that thing."

"Oblivious captain, didn't you notice that the space above this stone platform got a little strange after you took that sphere?"

"Huh? What's wrong with it?" Lin Yuan had only obtained the Death Seed earlier by borrowing the mysterious little box's power. Now that the power was gone, he could see nothing unusual about the space above the stone platform.

"The space above that platform is wobbling. I think I remember this. What was it a sign of again?"

"Space is shaking?" Lin Yuan froze, and a bad feeling welled up inside him:

"Shit, don't tell me it's going to explode?"

"Oh, right! I remember!" Lilia clapped her hands happily:

"It's a sign that space is about to explode!"

Before she had finished speaking, a deafening blast suddenly erupted from above the stone platform.

Boom!