### Chapter Seventeen: Shadows of the Past

As the content of the manuscript clarified, the entire matter began to grow increasingly enigmatic.

King Willipol, Chief of the Merman Tribe, Ruler of the Emerald Sea Region—why was he studying the secrets of the Ghost Sea in a hidden chamber?

What connection did this have to his sudden disappearance?

And the most crucial question—how did King Willipol obtain such detailed information about the inner workings of the Ghost Sea? It was clearly a forbidden zone where no living being could step foot, let alone explore…

At that moment, a name suddenly popped into the Priestess’s mind, as if inspired, and Princess Nitira seemed to have thought of it at the same time.

They exchanged glances, nearly speaking in unison.

“Pirate King Rashid Bachiri?!”

Indeed, if anyone was likely to understand the intricate details of the Ghost Sea and convey them to King Willipol, it could only be that pirate king rumored to freely enter and exit the Ghost Sea.

Even if it wasn’t him directly, this situation definitely had ties to that guy.

Last night, Miss Silisa, the Sea Priestess, indeed mentioned that the initial spark of this entire incident was Rashid’s solo infiltration of the East Sea Pearl royal court for a meeting with King Willipol.

Thus, to uncover the truth, it seemed they had to understand another matter first.

What exactly did those two discuss during their meeting?

However, when Vilyric relayed similar thoughts to Nitira, she received a slightly helpless response.

“Sorry, I don’t know anything about that. The only participants in that meeting were Rashid himself, my father, and my mother. But my father is missing, and my mother keeps tight-lipped about the situation. I’ve asked her about it several times, and all I get is that I shouldn’t pry; if I push too hard, I even get scolded…”

“I don’t know what she’s afraid of, but even if I went to find her now, I’m sure her attitude wouldn’t change. Sorry… I asked Miss Vilyric to help investigate, yet the Merman Tribe can’t provide the necessary support at such a critical moment…”

The Priestess smiled and waved her hand, seemingly unconcerned.

“No need to apologize. It’s really no big deal.”

If it were that easy to find answers, Nitira wouldn’t have sought help from outsiders. The fact that this princess made her request in her personal capacity rather than from the perspective of the Mingjiao royal family showed that some people within the royal family, for certain reasons, actually didn’t want her probing too deeply into this matter.

Vilyric’s goal was to decipher the situation of the Ghost Sea and find a safe method to traverse it quickly. If possible, she also hoped to satisfy her curiosity by solving this complex mystery, and Nitira’s request provided her with a convenient way in.

King Willipol’s mysterious disappearance on the eve of the Deep Sea Ghost and the mobilization orders he issued beforehand were obviously interconnected, so investigating the reason behind his disappearance was tantamount to attempting to unravel the secrets of the Ghost Sea.

If it were an ordinary person, they might only choose to approach Queen Anies for assistance, attempting to persuade her by all means and pry open her mouth.

But Vilyric didn’t intend to engage in such troublesome efforts.

From the Queen’s demeanor, it was clear she wouldn’t cooperate easily, and the Priestess didn’t have the luxury of time to dally with her.

Dealing with abnormal, bizarre events required equally unusual and special methods.

“Princess, could you give me some of your blood?”

“…Huh?”

Seemingly caught off guard by the sudden topic change, the girl, adorned with a few patterned scales that accentuated her beauty, blinked in surprise, but quickly nodded without hesitation.

“Of course, how much do you need?”

Seeing her pull out a delicate little knife, seemingly preparing to cut her wrist to draw blood, the Priestess couldn’t help but shake her head in exasperation.

“Are you not even going to ask what I need it for…? Never mind, it doesn’t need to be that dramatic; just a few drops as a medium will suffice.”

Nitira seemed unconcerned.

“After all, Miss Vilyric wouldn’t harm me; there should be some basic trust in the partner I invited~”

“Your trust definitely exceeds basic levels…”

Sticking out her tongue playfully, the princess said no more; she just pricked her finger, allowing several droplets of blood, not a vivid red but completely sea-blue, to fall. In mid-air, they were drawn together by Vilyric into a larger, coalescing form, floating silently.

Seeing this, Miss Le Qiao Qiao and Hong Yan perked up, observing with curiosity.

As top-tier young talents from the Ancient Spirit Realm, they were well aware that rituals requiring blood as a guide were usually more intricate and advanced, not something just anyone could casually attempt.

What they didn’t know was that Vilyric was also trying this ability for the first time; had this been before she went to the Ancient Spirit Realm, she would have been practically powerless against a case that happened years ago, with no way to find the parties involved.

“Well then… let’s begin.”

The girl closed her eyes as the Divine Spark of Rebirth hidden within her stirred momentarily, releasing some unfathomable power.

When she opened her eyes again, the world she saw had transformed into an entirely different, pure white color.

Yin-Yang Eye

This was a power the Spiritual Fox Priestess Ming Xi had before becoming a god, possessing the Divine Spark of Rebirth—a mysterious talent unique to her. After ascending to godhood, this power evolved again under divine influence, becoming a divine skill more in line with the concept of Rebirth.

The powers of the Spiritual Fox Priestess primarily manifested in the cyclical changes of things. For instance, when she unleashed the power she left behind in the Nameless’s ancient tomb, it reset the entire tomb back to its original state. Therefore, the evolved Yin-Yang Eye also held the ability to observe the states of things at different times.

In other words, it was the so-called Retracing.

She waved her hand gently, and the droplets of blood from Nitira swayed abruptly under the Priestess’s control, evaporating rapidly as if subjected to intense heat. But that breakdown of matter transformed in the pure white space before Vilyric’s eyes, morphing into a dark figure sketched in heavy ink, sitting at a table.

This was the lingering shadow left by King Willipol in that hidden chamber, restored by Vilyric leveraging the causal link of bloodline with Nitira, allowing her to see what he did during that last period before his disappearance from a different perspective.

As the hazy figure formed, it immediately began to move independently, for it was not a spirit controlled by Vilyric, but simply a pure reenactment of King Willipol’s past actions—an extraordinary surreal phenomenon that could only be observed with the power of Rebirth.

At that moment, he seemed to be rapidly sketching something on the table. Based on the remnants in the hidden chamber, it should have been those Ghost Sea maps that later scattered on the ground.

But soon enough, Vilyric noticed a detail through the shadow’s actions.

King Willipol wasn’t painting from memory; he was obviously referencing and comparing something.

That something should have been on the table, as he displayed distinct movements resembling glancing sideways before each stroke.

Was this the reason he was able to draw those sea maps…?

   

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