Golden sunlight slowly shone on the sea, sweeping away the feeling of fatigue, and a new day had begun.
Phil Gray stretched and drew back the curtains. The deep blue sea made his morning mood much more cheerful.
Only three days left, we'll be able to land on the island soon.
Now we should go find something to eat. Since the fat captain has let them enjoy the ship's food for free, it would be a waste not to have breakfast.
Phil Gray pushed open the door, only to see a shadow flash by in less than a second; he couldn't make out what it was.
A new layer of doubt crept into his mind, and he paused for a moment, just in time to see Eli's door open.
"Good morning! I heard your door open," Eli greeted him with a smile.
Phil Gray nodded. "Something just flashed by. That was strange."
"Could they be other passengers residing there?" Eli asked.
"I don't think so. Passengers wouldn't be going that fast." Phil Gray suddenly missed the surveillance on Earth. This world had such powerful supernatural abilities, but it lacked widespread technology, which was really inconvenient.
"Is it that important? Maybe it's just some passenger's pet? I'm just passing by, don't think about it." Eli shrugged indifferently. In his opinion, two prominent-level companions were already capable of handling most threats.
"Hmm, maybe. Shall we go have breakfast together now?"
“Great, I wonder if we’ll see that charlatan again.” Eli stood behind him with a smile.
They headed toward the restaurant, where most of the passengers had been drunk after last night's dance, and there weren't many people there at this early morning light.
After enjoying breakfast in silence, they saw Caroline arrive late. The young lady looked sleepy, her hair was a little messy, and there were several unidentified marks on her face.
"Oh, you guys are up so early. I haggled with that guy last night and finally managed to gather all the materials. But he said there's no spirit fire for the Commander-level Skeleton Undead on the ship, and he'll have someone send it over." Caroline gently stirred the milk in front of her with a spoon and added some more sugar.
"Have you thought this through? Do you really want to hand over so many valuable materials to that swindler?" Phil Gray asked.
“Anyway, we’ll all be there when the ceremony is being set up. He can’t just run off with everything in front of the three of us, can he?” Caroline thought for a moment and replied.
They discussed for a while longer, and then Bernie walked over. His plump body moved nimbly to Caroline's side, and he smiled. "Miss Caroline, the materials you requested will be arriving soon. Now, please come with me to greet them."
He has extraordinary patience and the most enthusiastic service attitude towards major clients.
So fast? Phil Gray was somewhat surprised. It had only been a few hours since last night, and they had managed to collect spirit fire from other places and deliver it here? He thought it would take at least two or three days.
“Really? Okay, I’ll go check the goods.” Caroline was equally surprised. She stood up and asked Phil Gray and Eli, “Come on, once we have the materials, we can go directly to the other Phil to set up the ceremony!”
They expected a small boat to come and deliver materials, but when they stepped onto the open deck, they saw a huge bird flying down from the sky. The bird was all white with a tuft of golden feathers on its head. After circling in the air a few times, it landed steadily on the deck and then let out a melodious cry.
Its voice was crisp and clear, but its size was enormous, almost the same as a human's height.
Bernie bent his fingers, put them to his lips, and blew a few times, perfectly mimicking its chirping sound.
The white bird raised one claw and extended it in front of Bernie, its round pupils filled with trust and affection.
Phil Gray then noticed a small sky-blue ring tied to the bird's claw, which he hadn't noticed before.
These anklets must be made of space stones, right?
Phil Gray thought to himself.
Sure enough, a golden light flashed, and Bernie took out a black box from it.
“This is it, the spirit fire of a Commander-level Skeleton Undead. I don’t know what you’ll use it for, Miss, but we sent people to the Church of the Dead overnight to purchase it, and we even had our Heavenly Gold Coin Number Three deliver it.” Bernie carefully handed the box to Caroline, his free hand stroking the white bird’s feathers. The soft feathers looked wonderful to the touch, and Phil Gray even wanted to try them out.
However, he was soon drawn to the black box.
I don't know what material it's made of, but it looks incredibly hard. The pattern on it consists of several connected white skull symbols, and mysterious patterns cover the surface of the box.
"Wow, this is the first time I've ever seen such a spirit fire!" Caroline opened the box, and a cluster of flames suddenly jumped out.
It was a deep blue color, carrying a somber, deathly aura. Those who gazed upon it felt as if a stone was pressing on their hearts, or as if they were shrouded in dark clouds, making it hard to breathe.
"As expected of the spirit fire of a commander-level skeleton undead." The moment the spirit fire appeared, a layer of pale golden light automatically appeared on Caroline's body. This was the divine power of the dawn protecting her. This automatic defense would only appear when she encountered a very dangerous undead threat. It was not even triggered when Tang came to cause her trouble that day.
“Of course, in the Abyss of the Dead, there are seven levels of undead: Undead Minion, Undead Leader, Undead General, Undead Commander, Death Lord, Death Knight, and Death Monarch. They correspond one-to-one with our levels. The Undead Commander is equivalent to a Divine Revelation-level Favored One, and this Spirit Fire is its entire soul power,” Eli explained.
“This gentleman is right. For skeletal undead, spirit fire is like the heart and soul, extremely important. However, as long as you have enough gold, Miss Caroline, we can find even spirit fire of the Death Lord level for you.” Bernie smiled slightly, placed his hand on his chest, and said with utmost confidence.
Caroline stuck out her tongue. If it weren't for the fact that guy needed it for setting up the ritual, what would she do with these things from the Church of the Dead? The Church of Dawn has never liked these kinds of things.
"Alright, let's go find that Pope Phil."
"OK."
They headed toward the cabin, while Bernie continued his affectionate interaction with his white bird.
"What kind of bird was that just now?" Phil Gray asked, as he heard a few calls behind him, followed by the sound of wings cutting through the air and soaring into the sky.
“It should be the legendary gold-carrying birds. In some stories circulating in the Commercial Church, the god of wealth, the Wizard of Wealth, used to send them to poor areas, and wherever they went, wealth would often follow. You might think that these merchants are particularly greedy now, but hundreds of years ago, the god of wealth was always known as the god of generosity, and the Commercial Church often helped the poor. It’s just that after several changes of presidents, things are a bit hard to say now…” Eli said in a low voice as he walked.
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