Chapter 381: Cooperation with the Blind Prophet!
Inside the Soul Sea, the three Demigod consciousnesses erupted into chaos.
Black Dragon’s roar shook the very foundations of the Soul Sea. "What? Those old fools actually dared to list me as an anomaly?"
"If it weren’t for their favoritism toward that traitor, the Origin Devourer, back then, how could I have been sealed?"
Yepera’s voice carried a hint of resignation. "The Ancient Tribunal’s rules have always been like this. We are inherently entities that disrupt the balance of rules, so being judged as anomalies is perfectly normal."
"Now our fates are tied to Logan’s. If he is labeled an anomaly, we cannot escape either."
Nyarlathotep’s soul wave remained steady. "Now is not the time to argue about this."
"The rule stripping technology can indeed cure Kane’s injuries. We need to cooperate with the people in the No. 46 Restricted Zone, but we must be careful about their conditions."
Logan took a deep breath, forcing the turmoil within his Soul Sea to settle.
He just gripped the coordinate rune when a faint golden wave of prophecy cut through the temple’s three-layer defense array.
The wave condensed into a blurry human figure in the center of the main hall.
It was an old man wearing a grey robe, his eyes covered by black cloth, holding a golden staff of prophecy.
He was surrounded by tiny, shimmering golden prophecy runes. This was the Blind Prophet, the leader of the advance team from the No. 46 Restricted Zone’s Observer organization.
Then, the Blind Prophet’s aged voice echoed across endless time and space: "Logan, we already know your intentions. We have arrived thirty li from the border of the No. 53 Restricted Zone."
"We can provide the rule stripping technology to completely heal Kane’s fundamental injuries."
"The condition is that after the battle, you must assist us in opposing the Ancient Tribunal’s excessive interference."
"We oppose the Tribunal’s absolute control over the Lost World and advocate for the free development of rules. Our interests align on this point."
Logan’s brow instantly furrowed, caught in a difficult dilemma.
Accepting this condition meant openly taking a stand against the Ancient Tribunal.
Since he was already on the Key Observation List, doing so would drastically increase the chances of him being judged as an anomaly, potentially triggering direct elimination by the Court.
Refusing was not an option. With only 40% of his strength, Kane could not withstand the final battle and would surely die.
If Kane died, even if Logan managed to escape by luck, the Lost World would be swallowed by the Origin Devourer. There would be no way out.
Kane’s spiritual voice rang directly in Logan’s mind, hoarse but firm. "Accept."
"I would rather betray the Tribunal than betray a comrade. Winning while alive is the most important thing. We can deal with post-battle issues after the battle."
"If the worst comes, my blade will simply chop up a few more pawns of the Ancient Tribunal."
Logan turned toward the chamber, clearly sensing Kane’s firm spiritual wave.
He took a deep breath, looked up at the Blind Prophet’s projection, and spoke with a calm yet resolute tone. "I accept your conditions."
The Blind Prophet let out an aged laugh, his surrounding golden prophecy runes glowing slightly. "A wise choice! We are entering the hall immediately to prepare for the healing ritual."
With those words, the Blind Prophet’s projection slowly faded away.
Logan stood in the center of the main hall, clutching the coordinate rune of the No. 46 Restricted Zone, his eyes deep with thought.
The three-way standoff was officially established in this moment.
The Ancient Tribunal held a neutral, observational stance, ready to judge him an anomaly and eliminate him at any time.
The Observer Organization of the No. 46 Restricted Zone was willing to provide healing technology, but in exchange, they needed his help to fight the Tribunal.
The Origin Devourer was the common enemy, set to arrive within eighteen hours.
He and Kane stood at the eye of the storm, forced to move forward step by step with no way to turn back.
Violet stood by his side, sensing his emotional fluctuation. "Master, do you need me to go to the border to greet them?"
Logan shook his head. "No need. Let them come in on their own."
"Order the troops to go to Level 1 Alert status. Activate all defense arrays. Do not let your guard down against traps."
Violet immediately accepted the command and turned to relay the orders.
Logan then turned toward the secret chamber to tell Kane the news and discuss the details of the healing ritual.
He knew the next dozen hours would determine the fate of the entire Lost World.
Half an hour later, the great doors of the Destruction God Hall slowly opened.
The Blind Prophet walked in slowly.
He stood three meters tall, wearing a grey robe embroidered with the mark of a retired observer. His eyes were covered by black cloth.
In his hand, he held a golden prophecy staff entirely, surrounded by tiny, shimmering golden prophecy runes.
Behind him followed two 48-star assistants, a man and a woman, both wearing matching grey robes.
Their cuffs bore the same mark as the Prophet, their expressions cold and stern. Their auras were completely suppressed.
Clearly, they were seasoned veterans of countless battles.
The Ancient Beast Clan guards stationed at the hall door instinctively tightened their grip on their bone spears.
Totem patterns on their bodies flared to life as they struck defensive poses.
Logan stood on the main hall’s steps and raised a hand, signaling the guards to stand down.
He had sensed no malice from the Blind Prophet, only pure waves of prophecy rules.
This was completely different from Observer No. 3’s Space Rules.
Kane had already stepped out of the secret chamber and stood beside Logan.
His ten-meter Demigod body had shrunk to two meters. He held his Blade of Destruction horizontally.
With only 40% of his strength, his aura remained stable. His grey eyes stared coldly at the Blind Prophet, saying nothing.
The Blind Prophet walked to the center of the hall and stopped. His covered eyes fixed on the black scar on Kane’s chest.
"The Devouring Erosion left by Observer No. 9 has already festered there for three thousand years.
It has taken root deep within his core. The rule stripping process will be agonizing. You must endure it."
Kane nodded slightly without a word.
He sat down on the jade bed prepared in the center of the hall, unbuckled his chest armor, and revealed the scar the size of a bowl.
The devouring patterns around the scar still writhed slowly, exuding a chilling aura.
The Blind Prophet glanced around, gazing at the mark on Logan’s forehead for a moment, then spoke unexpectedly.
"The three Demigod consciousnesses residing within you are truly unique.
Though your physical body was destroyed, your soul’s core coexists perfectly with your Five-Spiral structure. No wonder the Ancient Tribunal flagged you as a key observation target."
Logan said nothing, simply nodding slightly. "You may begin the healing."
The Blind Prophet turned to Kane, raised his right hand, and waved the prophecy staff slightly.
Golden prophecy rules poured from the staff’s tip, condensing into solid chains.
The chains were carved with ancient prophecy runes, radiating a warm Time power. They slowly pierced through the black scar on Kane’s chest.
Instantly, Kane’s body tensed rigidly. His grey eyes flew open wide, and he let out a suppressed roar.
He could clearly feel the golden chains gradually extracting the Devouring Rule that had rooted deep in his core.
Each pull brought heart-wrenching pain, as if tearing his very soul out of his body.
Golden Demigod blood kept oozing from the edges of the wound, entangling with the black threads of the Devouring Rule.
The chains slowly dragged these threads out of his body.
The black rule threads writhed and struggled within the golden chains, hissing as they corroded against each other.
They could never break free from the bonds of the prophecy rules.
The two assistants immediately stepped forward, holding special transparent crystal containers.
They collected all the extracted black rule threads and sealed them inside.
The entire process took over an hour.
By then, Kane’s back was completely soaked in golden Demigod blood, and the veins on his forehead were bulging.
His knuckles, gripping the heavy blade, turned white from the strain.
When the last trace of the black Devouring Rule was finally extracted, Kane’s Demigod aura began to surge rapidly.
45%...
50%...
55%...
It eventually stabilized at around 80%.
At this moment, the black scar on his chest shrank to the size of a coin. The devouring patterns stopped writhing, and no more black energy leaked from the wound.
As his aura stabilized, Kane gripped the Blade of Destruction. The blade immediately ignited with golden Chains of Destruction.
The chains resonated perfectly with the energy inside his body.
He could clearly feel that the backlash from his old injuries was gone.
Although using full power still consumed one ten-thousandth of his life force and limited his peak combat to just over half an hour, this was a huge improvement over his previous state.
At least now, Kane didn’t need to take potions just to maintain his fighting strength.
He could now fight at full power for the entire battle and figure out how to replenish his lost life force afterward.
For a Demigod like him, as long as the Devouring Rule no longer eroded his body and soul, he had plenty of ways to recover his life force.
Seeing the confidence on Kane’s face, the Blind Prophet smiled and nodded.
He retracted the prophecy chains and spoke, his voice tinged with exhaustion. "The healing is complete. This is the limit of the rule stripping technology; we could not restore you to your peak state."
Kane stood up, nodded slightly in acknowledgment, and offered a silent thanks.
He had lived for thousands of years and never owed favors lightly.
But he would return this debt on the battlefield.
The Blind Prophet turned to Logan and tapped the ground lightly with his prophecy staff. "We need assurance for this cooperation. I will implant a prophecy seal on your forehead."
"This seal will allow us to locate you at any time, ensuring you fulfill your promise to assist us in fighting the Tribunal’s excessive interference after the battle."
"Also, the seal will trigger an automatic warning when danger approaches, sending you a signal."
Hearing this, Violet stepped forward immediately. She slammed her staff into the ground with a heavy thud.
"No! This is surveillance!"
"Once the seal is implanted, Master’s every move will be exposed to you."
"If you conspire with the Ancient Tribunal, we’ll have no way to escape!"
Logan raised a hand and patted Violet’s shoulder, signaling her to stand down.
He looked at the Blind Prophet with a calm expression. "I accept."
"I have already activated the Devourer Core, so the Origin Devourer can already pinpoint my location. One more layer of monitoring makes no difference."
"Besides, this seal provides early warnings. The benefits outweigh the risks."
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