Cursed Immortality

Chapter 1255: The Harvester of Life (3)

Inside the command chamber of the flagship, Jacob remained seated alone.

The emerald blessing token rested quietly in his palm while countless fleet operators continued their duties around him, completely unaware of the thoughts moving behind the Myth of Black Archer’s cold gaze.

Hours had already passed since Blanklet left.

Suddenly, a lazy voice echoed in his mind.

“Jac…I mean, Sir…” Nyx sounded unusually pleased, “I finished examining your little believer.”

Jacob’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What did you find? Report.”

A soft giggle followed, “The Nightmare Conqueror Seed rooted itself inside Blanklet’s Dreamscape Realm without any resistance. His mental defenses are laughably weak whenever the Order of Everlife is involved, just like any Legendary King, or might be even weaker.”

Jacob wasn’t surprised, as blind faith often created blind spots.

“As for what I found…” Nyx paused before she stated, “You were right.”

Jacob’s expression became serious, “Oh? Continue.”

For the first time, Nyx’s tone carried genuine curiosity, “His lifespan is there, but it seemed to have been contaminated.”

Jacob’s fingers stopped tapping the armrest. “Contaminated?”

“Indeed, not damaged.” Nyx corrected herself. “Not corrupted either, just contaminated. I’ll explain in easy terms: imagine a perfectly pure river. Now imagine someone pouring a golden substance into it. The river still flows. It even becomes larger. But it is no longer natural.”

“I know what contamination is…”

Jacob’s eyes flickered as he instantly understood what Nyx was implying, even without that childish analogy.

Nyx ignored Jacob’s displeasure as she continued.

“Anyway, it turns out that every strand of vitality inside Blanklet contains traces of an unknown power, and this unknown power seems to be the source of this contamination.

“Not only that, but the contamination has intertwined with his life vitality so thoroughly that separating them would be nearly impossible. It is changing the nature of his lifespan itself, which includes both blood vitality and soul vitality, directly affecting the Life Vitality itself!”

Jacob remained silent, as this wasn’t entirely unexpected; the moment Blanklet explained the so-called blessings of the Blissful Everlife God, Jacob had already suspected some form of interference.

Still, the extent of it was alarming.

He calmly questioned, “What about the hidden danger to us?”

Nyx immediately understood, “You mean whether we can devour it?”

“Yes.”

Nyx laughed, “Of course we can. But that’s not the interesting part.”

Jacob raised an eyebrow, “Get to the point.”

Nyx’s voice became excited, “The contaminated lifespan actually contains MORE life vitality than Blanklet’s original lifespan.”

Jacob’s pupils contracted, “What does this mean?”

“You heard me correctly. Much more! His natural lifespan is only a fraction of what he currently possesses. As a matter of fact, the contamination appears beneficial. It literally increases life vitality itself.”

For a moment, even Jacob was stunned, as this exceeded his expectations, since lifespan wasn’t something that could simply be created. At least not without paying an equal price somewhere, yet Blanklet genuinely possessed more life vitality than he should have.

Nyx continued, “However, there seemed to be a catch.”

Jacob’s eyes sharpened, “Explain.”

“The contaminated lifespan is sealed by that mysterious power, which means Blanklet can’t freely use it. The contamination wraps around it like chains, and only a small portion remains accessible, which is the uncontaminated life vitality, while the rest sits dormant.”

Jacob immediately thought of something, “Wait, that guy told me about the divine favors which required sacrificing his lifespan…could it be that?”

“Exactly, I thought the same!” Nyx sounded delighted, “The contamination isn’t actively transforming lifespan. It’s dormant, like a seed waiting for rain. If our speculation is right, it requires a trigger, and that trigger is most likely those blink fools’ faith!”

At that moment, everything clicked into place as Blanklet’s words resurfaced in Jacob’s mind about offering lifespan, then receiving blessings, gaining power, and breaking bottlenecks.

Suddenly, the mechanism became far clearer as the followers accumulated this contaminated vitality. Then, through sacrifice and worship, portions of that sealed lifespan were released and converted into cultivation, comprehension of law, breakthroughs, and power.

Like a perfect cycle or at least, a seemingly perfect one.

‘The Order isn’t merely taking lifespan, but it’s storing it, managing it, and controlling it right within the believers themselves. It’s like a banker controlling wealth, and whoever controlled that system…controlled the believers themselves!

‘Furthermore, if this contamination power is coming from the faith power of the believers, then what will happen once the believers die? Where would all this accumulated lifespan go? It’s so obvious…’

Jacob’s eyes became colder, and a chill ran down his spine because now he knew something important and probably the biggest secret of the Blissful Everlife God’s terrifying authority!

At this moment, Nyx spoke again, and this time she sounded positively thrilled, “Anyhow…none of that matters to us.”

Jacob immediately sensed trouble, “What did you do?”

Nyx laughed proudly, “I tested it.”

“…”

“And I’m confident.”

Jacob stopped himself from berating her and continued to hear her explanation.

“I can devour the contaminated lifespan.” A brief silence followed, and then she continued with ecstasy, “All of it.”

Jacob’s eyes narrowed, “Without consequences?”

“Without consequences, as whatever that power is…it’s impressive. But not impressive enough to stop me!”

Nyx sounded almost offended, “Did you forget who I am? I’m the Primordial Nightmare. If it’s a dreamscape realm, I can eat it, whether it’s pure, contaminated, or even divine lifespan. It’s all part of the Dreamscape Realm…all the same!”

Jacob remained silent, but inwardly, his thoughts surged, ‘There are millions, no…perhaps tens of millions or maybe even hundreds of millions of true followers of the Order of Everlife across the Legendary Plains, and currently present within the Mythical Coalition’s fleet.

‘If every single one of them possessed enhanced lifespan and enhanced life vitality, they’d become a resource that Nyx could harvest…’

A hint of greed finally surfaced in Jacob’s eyes, a very rare sight, as even he understood what it meant. They had just hit a jackpot!

“Nyx.”

“Yes?”

“From now on…” His eyes turned cold, “Prioritize the Order of Everlife.”

Nyx immediately understood as a delighted laugh echoed inside his mind, “Now you’re speaking my language!”

Jacob suddenly thought of something, his eyes shimmering as he ordered, “Another thing: see if you can collect a raw sample of this contaminated lifespan; it could be something worth researching!”