Chapter 555: Black Demon Corpse Smoke
"To vent your long-held resentment?" Marcus couldn’t help muttering under his breath. ’Was he asking me to desecrate a corpse?’
"Heh..."
While Marcus certainly didn’t mind wrecking something that deserved it, he wasn’t in the habit of working for free. Before agreeing to anything, he intended to hear exactly what Elder Eagle wanted.
At Jade’s command, the Twin-Winged Water Demon Cat reluctantly stopped trying to devour the soul. The little cat let out several pitiful mews, its eyes glued to Elder Eagle’s soul, clearly unwilling to give up such an enormous source of spiritual energy.
Putting on a courteous smile, Marcus addressed the old man. "May I ask what you need, Elder? If it’s within my abilities, and circumstances allow it, I’d be more than willing to lend a hand."
Elder Eagle fell silent for a moment before slowly beginning his story. "Over two thousand years ago, I was a cultivator who wandered the Eastern Seas. By chance, I discovered this whirlpool chamber and sensed the immortal spiritual energy hidden within it. I believed I had found an opportunity to step onto the Divine Path and ascend into the immortal realm."
His expression gradually darkened. "But before I could fulfill that dream, my own disciple betrayed me. He secretly cultivated the Ghost Race’s Corpse King Art, poisoned me, transformed me into a living corpse, and reduced me to nothing more than a tool under his control."
Marcus already knew most of this from Insight, but he remained silent. Sometimes, simply listening was the most respectful thing one could do.
"Who would have imagined..." Elder Eagle sighed, his voice heavy with exhaustion. "Two thousand years have passed while I drifted in a daze, imprisoned within my own corpse and forced to obey that traitor’s every command."
His gaze grew distant. "Two thousand years... Had fate been different, I might have already walked the Divine Path and entered the immortal realm."
The bitterness he’d suppressed for centuries finally burst free, and grinding his teeth, he glared at the crystal coffin suspended above the swirling whirlpool.
"That ungrateful beast!" he spat. "I nurtured him, taught him, and treated him like my own son, yet he repaid me with betrayal. His actions were beneath even beasts. Worse than pigs. Worse than dogs."
After venting his anger, Elder Eagle looked back at Marcus. "Stonehaven, that traitor now lies within the crystal coffin. He’s using the spiritual energy gathered by this whirlpool to refine himself into a Millennium Golden Corpse King, a corpse king that will possess power comparable to a Divine Beast and become immune to every element. If my calculations are correct, his cultivation will be complete in another five hundred years."
His expression became solemn. "I ask you to destroy his cultivation before that day comes. Otherwise... he will become a disaster for all humanity."
Marcus nodded inwardly. ’So I really am being asked to smash someone’s coffin.’ Technically, Elder Eagle wanted him to interrupt the Navy Captain’s cultivation, but the simplest way to describe the job was exactly that.
’At least the old man knows how to put things politely.’ Still, the mention of a Millennium Golden Corpse King caught Marcus’s attention. A corpse king with Divine Beast-level strength and complete elemental immunity sounded terrifying. The reward had better match the risk.
Almost as if he had read Marcus’s thoughts, Elder Eagle continued. "Stonehaven, if you are willing to destroy that beast’s cultivation, I shall reward you generously."
Marcus’s eyes brightened ever so slightly. ’Now we’re talking.’ A legendary cultivator who understood the importance of paying people properly. Marcus approved.
Without hesitation, he straightened his back and put on the expression of a righteous hero. "Elder, this villain betrayed the master who raised him and committed crimes that defy both conscience and morality. There are few things I despise more than treachery."
His voice grew increasingly impassioned. "A scoundrel like him deserves to be cut down a hundred times over. If I had the chance, I’d gladly kick his head across the room."
Then Marcus bowed respectfully. "Please tell me what needs to be done. As long as I can accomplish it, I’ll do everything in my power to avenge the injustice you’ve suffered."
Of course, Marcus wasn’t lying. He genuinely despised traitors. The fact that there was also a generous reward waiting at the end simply made justice that much more satisfying.
Still... Looking at Elder Eagle’s translucent soul, Marcus couldn’t help wondering what the old man could actually give him. A spirit sealed away for over two thousand years hardly looked like someone carrying treasures around.
’Hopefully this wouldn’t end up being an empty promise.’
Whether Marcus’s righteous speech had convinced him or whether his hatred for his disciple simply ran too deep, Elder Eagle was visibly moved. "Good. Good. Good!" Three consecutive praises, and the old man’s eyes even seemed to shine with approval.
His expression became grave. "Stonehaven," Elder Eagle continued, "that beast is every bit as cunning as he is vicious. He not only placed my corpse in front of his coffin as a guardian, but also surrounded the crystal coffin with an extremely deadly poison known as Black Demon Corpse Smoke."
"The instant anyone touches the coffin or attempts to damage it, the poison erupts immediately. Unless your Poison Resistance has reached at least three hundred percent, death is guaranteed."
Marcus frowned. Three hundred percent? He quickly checked his own Poison Resistance. 80%. Not even close.
He looked toward the crystal coffin again. It floated quietly above the center of the swirling whirlpool, completely motionless. There wasn’t the slightest trace of poisonous mist surrounding it. It looked perfectly harmless.
"Pebble," Marcus ordered, "give it a try." Standing about five meters away, Pebble calmly drew his bow and unleashed a Mountain Fang Shot.
The diamond-tipped arrow streaked through the air and slammed into the crystal coffin. Clang! A metallic impact echoed through the chamber. A bright red 0 floated above the coffin, not a single point of damage.
Before anyone could react, black mist suddenly burst from the surface of the coffin like a living creature and shot straight toward Pebble. It struck instantly, and the black smoke swallowed him whole. His health bar, which still held more than twenty thousand HP, vanished in the blink of an eye, and Pebble collapsed without even having the chance to struggle.
"Damn..." Marcus’s expression stiffened. This Black Demon Corpse Smoke was far more terrifying than he had expected.
If Elder Eagle hadn’t warned him beforehand, his own curiosity might have gotten the better of him. Had he approached the coffin himself, he would have died just as quickly and been forced to rely on the Ring of Resurrection.
Now the problem became obvious. Touching the coffin meant death. Attacking the coffin also meant death. Marcus couldn’t see any way to interrupt the Navy Captain’s cultivation.
He turned back toward Elder Eagle. "Elder... if neither touching nor attacking the coffin is possible, how exactly are we supposed to destroy his cultivation?"
"It’s difficult..." Elder Eagle murmured thoughtfully. "...but not impossible." He raised his head and looked directly at Marcus. "I possess a secret technique that can make someone completely immune to all poisons for five seconds."
Holding up one hand, he slowly spread all five fingers. "Those five seconds are your only opportunity."
"If you can knock the crystal coffin off the center of the swirling whirlpool before the spell expires, the spiritual energy feeding his cultivation will be cut off."
A cold smile appeared on Elder Eagle’s face. "Once that happens, it won’t take more than five minutes for the traitor to suffer cultivation backlash. His body will lose control, and he will crumble into dust."