Treasure Hunting System： The Ocean Conquerer

Chapter 674: Chapter 307: Land of the Spirits_3

Even standing right beside it, one could feel an abundant vitality emanating from this undead creature. It was so strange. This feeling made Alka scratch his cheek uncomfortably. It felt as jarring as seeing someone parade around in clashing red and green clothes.

Facing such a monster, Matilda showed incredible interest, constantly fiddling with it. Various cutting tools had already appeared in her hands. In front of everyone, she cut away a section of the vines, revealing the skeleton underneath. It looked as if she were skinning it.

”Truly peculiar!”

Looking at the complete structure below, Matilda was somewhat surprised.

Not to mention Matilda, even Pororo, who understood nothing of such things, could see it. It wasn’t as simple as they had imagined—merely an undead creature with a layer of vines wrapped around it. Rather, the undead and the vines were completely interwoven and fused, forming a symbiotic relationship where they seemed to substitute for one another.

Inside the skeleton, organs composed of plants mixed with some rotten flesh could be seen. This shark was dead, yet somehow alive.

The plants formed its internal life-support system. Using the skeleton as a framework, within its green, transparent, root-like vascular network, a sap-like liquid flowed, serving the function of blood. Objects resembling fruits or perhaps flower buds formed its organs; they pulsed faintly and even emitted a soft glow. Upon seeing its interior, one could also detect a faint, fresh fragrance of plants and flowers. It completely lacked the characteristic stench of the undead. If the bizarre shark’s skeleton were removed, it would be a creature made entirely of plants.

By the time they cleared their way to the head, the undead aspect became more pronounced because the shark’s head hadn’t completely rotted or been damaged. At least a third of it was still intact, and a relatively complete shark brain was visible. This part of its flesh and blood had completely merged with the plants, becoming inseparable.

They finally witnessed the bizarre, chaotic panorama of this intersection between life and death. The unique nature of this place could be glimpsed from this single vine shark.

An orange-red sphere floated over. The sphere had no eyes, but a huge mouth filled with sharp teeth took up almost half of its body. It bit into a stripped vine and chewed quickly, splattering dark green plant juice everywhere.

”What’s it like?” Jason asked, watching the scene.

Although he wasn’t eating it himself, Juanlu still got a basic sense of the taste through his connection to the sphere.

”To be honest, the taste is surprisingly not bad.”

”Really? Eat it yourself and show me.” Jason had clearly wised up and didn’t quite believe Juanlu.

Hearing this, Juanlu squatted down and picked up a piece of the stripped plant vine. A small knife appeared in his hand, and he quickly cleaned the vine. As the outer skin peeled away, it revealed a crisp, translucent core inside. He felt an inexplicable surge of appetite. He tossed it directly into his mouth and began to chew.

As he ate, he commented, ”The texture is a bit like gyro fruit—soft and yielding. The taste is just a bit odd, hmm... like sweet seafood sashimi? That’s roughly the idea.”

Hearing such an evaluation, Jason, standing nearby, furrowed his brows. He couldn’t quite imagine such a Combination.

”Forget it, I’d rather not try.”

The three spheres with mouths beside Juanlu began to devour the stripped plant vines.

”What kind of enhancement does it provide?” Alka asked, more concerned about this aspect.

”It can probably increase my Life Energy a little. It’s not much, but any such boost is precious.”

After all, items that enhance Life Energy were still very rare.

As the three spheres devoured the vines, the Energy they obtained began to transmit into Juanlu’s body. The others could clearly see Juanlu’s complexion become more radiant and his spirits visibly lift.

”This change is temporary,” Juanlu evaluated his own change. ”The permanent enhancement should primarily strengthen my Life Force and, incidentally, also boost my recovery speed a bit.”

Of the things Juanlu devoured using his Treasure and bloodline abilities, only a very small portion would be permanently retained to strengthen his constitution. Most of what he consumed only granted him a temporary status buff.

Matilda was clearly very interested in this shark. She packaged it securely and dragged it into the manufacturing room below.

Chadite, who had been observing all along, suddenly asked, ”Pororo, you used Annihilation Thunder, right?”

Pororo nodded.

”In that case, did you notice that when the shark was dragged up, the damage to its surface wasn’t very significant?”

Pororo said, ”I definitely didn’t hold back. It’s just that these vines seem to have a high resistance to instant-death type effects, like annihilation.”

The vines represented the living plant aspect, while the essence of the undead represented its connection to death. This intersection of life and death made direct, destructive powers like annihilation much less effective.

”Setting that aside,” Julia said, gazing into the distance, ”I think we might be about to leave this area.”

Hearing this, everyone turned to look towards the sea.

The dark green hue of the water was already beginning to recede from them. At the edge of their vision ahead, they could see an expanse of vibrant green. It was much brighter than their current surroundings, teeming with an even greater abundance of life’s essence.

Julia, who was exceptionally perceptive of such things, remarked, ”That should be the Land of All Spirits. I can sense that the chaos there is greatly diminished; it’s remarkably stable. The essence of life is being carried over by the breeze. It’s like... like being in a garden of the Seed of Life. The Seed of Life is an organization, much like the Holy Mother Church is to the Holy Mother. They are a religious group that reveres life.”

Julia herself had once been counted among their members.

Does its aura truly resemble life itself? Alka mused. Could there be some connection between these two places?

Hearing Julia’s words, Alka gazed at the verdant expanse in the distance and couldn’t help but speak.