Chapter 20: Results
At the dock of Minguang Island, the Doom Number was moored. Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the small wooden bed inside the captain's cabin, carefully sensing the black lines on his left arm. These were caused by the Demon Sea Curse, and the [Black Crow Ring] had merged into these black lines.
At this moment, black curse crows covered the top of the captain's cabin, both sides of the ship's railings, and the crossbeam of the main mast.
Su Xiao could now summon 15,000 black curse crows from Minguang Island to the outside world and had fully adapted to the burden brought by the [Black Crow Ring].
Exiting the captain's cabin, Su Xiao jumped off the Doom Number and walked toward a small wooden hut behind the dock. He planned to have the old hag there inlay 2 to 3 curse stones onto the [Black Crow Ring].
Pushing open the door of the small wooden hut, the old hag was still there. It was unclear what kind of existence this old woman was—she had survived for centuries without eating or drinking, perhaps even longer.
"You found Winnie Wanda."
The old hag spoke in a hoarse voice, seemingly smiling.
"Yes."
"If you want the curse stones, have her come see me."
"..."
Su Xiao narrowed his eyes, placing his hand on the sword hilt at his waist. He wasn't worried about Winnie encountering danger; rather, he was worried about this old hag becoming the danger. If this thing turned into a boss-class unit, it would conservatively rank within the top five of this world.
"Not agreeing? Then forget it. Here are the curse stones you need."
The old hag took out six curse stones. The Black Crow Ring could hold a maximum of six curse stones. Was this the old hag's generosity?
No, this was malice. Even with Su Xiao's soul strength, inlaying six curse stones onto the Black Crow Ring at once could cause him to lose control, allowing the Demon Sea Curse to instantly spread throughout his entire body.
"Two."
"You're the captain of the Doom Number. You decide."
The old hag picked up two curse stones in her hand and crushed them with a crack. A stream of gray-black energy surged toward Su Xiao.
Su Xiao removed the Black King Bracer and used his left hand to block the two streams of gray-black energy rushing toward his face. These two streams instantly sank into his palm.
A sharp pain came from his left arm. The black lines on his left arm bulged like blood vessels, spreading up his skin toward his upper arm. After passing his shoulder, they began to spread toward his neck and chest.
Cyan Steel Shadow Energy surged within Su Xiao's body, and soon, the spread of the curse stopped. The black lines, shaped like tree roots at their tips, had reached his neck at the upper part and spread to his chest at the lower part. This was just from "inlaying" two curse stones onto the Black Crow Ring.
Su Xiao tugged at his collar. The black lines could still be covered by clothing for now, but if he continued inlaying curse stones, the clothes wouldn't be able to hide them.
Sweat dripped from Su Xiao's chin. He glanced at the old hag and walked out of the small wooden hut.
When only the old hag remained in the room, she grinned, revealing her remaining three teeth, which looked somewhat terrifying.
"Will you... awaken?"
After muttering this softly, she lowered her head. Her aura was now indistinguishable from that of a dead person.
Just as he left the small wooden hut, Su Xiao raised his hand to grab Bubu Wang, nearly falling to the ground. Inlaying curse stones onto the Black Crow Ring imposed a greater burden than he had imagined. Fortunately, the burden was gradually receding, and his soul strength of 440 points played a crucial role.
Amu stood between Su Xiao and the small wooden hut. Su Xiao had forced himself to walk out. Minguang Island was relatively safe, yes, but the inside of that small wooden hut was a different story.
After resting for a moment, Su Xiao's left arm regained sensation, and a notification appeared.
[Notification: Due to the intensified erosion of the curse without affecting your mind, your Willpower has been permanently increased by 6 points.]
As soon as the notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared, Su Xiao felt changes throughout his body. The sense of burden was lighter. Aside from his left arm still being a bit numb, there were no other discomforts.
Checking the Black Crow Ring, Su Xiao found that after inlaying two curse stones, he could summon 85,000 black curse crows from Minguang Island through the ring.
The increase in black curse crow summoning from inlaying curse stones was not constant. Inlaying the first curse stone increased the summoning count by 30,000, and the second curse stone increased it by 40,000.
This was an incremental growth pattern: the third would increase by 50,000, the fourth by 60,000, and so on.
It seemed promising, but one must not forget the malice of Minguang Island and the old hag. Each additional curse stone inlaid increased the risk by one degree. By the last stone, the risk would rise to an extreme level.
Black curse crows had two abilities: 1. When they hovered over the battlefield, they would form a circling flock, releasing curse power below, thereby suppressing the enemy's life force recovery. The more black curse crows there were, the stronger this effect.