Cursed Immortality

Chapter 1172: Void Ichor! (1)

The moment Jacob mentioned the mysterious monolithic quartz, the Brocade Box suddenly stiffened its patterns, as if it had encountered something it had not wished to remember.

”...You noticed,” it murmured.

”What is it?” Jacob asked, clearly noticing the trepidation within the Artifact Spirit’s voice.

For the first time since their conversation began, the Artifact Spirit’s voice carried genuine unease.

”That,” it said slowly, ”I don’t know what it is, but it’s an extraordinary object!”

Jacob’s flaming eyes flared as his interest was instantly piqued. After all, if even this Divine Artifact has no idea what this ’quartz’ was, not to mention it wasn’t stored within the Brocade Box as well, then it has to be extraordinary.

”How is it extraordinary? Could it be you can’t store it in your so-called ’Divine Repository? Moreover, since you called it ’extraordinary,’ you definitely know about its uses or what kind of power it holds.” Jacob inquired curtly.

”It’s not like I can’t store it in my Divine Repository, but its true value only materializes when a Void-Born, especially someone like the Void Mantis, keeps it inside their Soul! Mind you, one can only ’keep’ it, not ’refine’ it!” The words of the Artifact spirit echoed unnaturally within the infinite space.

Jacob instantly understood the underlying meaning of the Artifact Spirit’s words and demanded, ”Explain...”

The Artifact Spirit continued with a hint of hesitation, ”Lord Whiteness called this quartz the Void Ichor because it has a profound effect on Void Mantis bloodline, and greatly helped Lord Whiteness in his journey towards becoming a Higher God of the Fantastic Insect Race.

”Moreover, this Void Ichor couldn’t be sensed by even the ’Supreme One’ and Lord Whiteness, despite his loyalty towards the ’Supreme One’ never revealing its existence either.

”Which struck me as strange because Lord Whiteness or anyone, as a matter of fact, under the Supreme One’s authority had never hidden anything from the Supreme One, for they simply couldn’t.

”Yet this ’Void Ichor’ was an anomaly, an exception, and maybe for this reason Lord Whiteness never revealed it, nor I ever asked about it, since everyone has a right to keep their secrets.

”Truthfully, even I can’t sense anything profound from it, and even under powerful perceptions, this Void Ichor would react and appear like an ordinary object. But it can’t be destroyed!

”Only Void-Born seemed to have a peculiar attraction towards it, especially the Void-Born with bloodlines like the Void Mantis!” The Artifact Spirit explained.

Jacob’s eyes flickered in realization as he profoundly glanced towards the ’Void Ichor’, and he could also sense nothing from it despite the Infinite Space.

Yet when he tried to probe it with his Soul Sense, it seemed to have failed to preserve the Void Ichor despite it being right in front of him.

’An object that not even a Demiurge can sense? It can also help a Fantastic Insect like the Void Mantis to reach the Higher God Rank, and then compel Whiteness to suppress its instincts and not reveal it to the Fantastic Insect Demiurge!’

The more Jacob thought about this mysterious ’Void Ichor’, the more astounded he became, and he felt he had stumbled upon something extraordinary, even more so than the Divine Artifact.

”Where does Whiteness acquire it, from the Universal Void? Was there something else beside it?” Jacob cynically asked as he wanted to know if there was more to this ’Void Ichor’ than this Artifact Spirit was letting on.

The brocade box again hesitated, but Jacob’s aura suddenly flickered at that moment, and the Infinite Space’s pressure abruptly intensified.

The Artifact Spirit knew Jacob was using the infinite space to sense its already weakened fluctuations, and because of its weakened state, the Artifact Spirit couldn’t fool Jacob at all.

After a moment of struggle, the Artifact Spirit spoke carefully, ”Lord Whiteness acquired it in the Universal Void... together with me.”

Jacob’s attention instantly turned fully toward it as the Artifact Spirit had already revealed vague details about its past.

”You mean this ’Void Ichor’ was in the hands of Immortal Nimrod before the Void Mantis stole it with you?” Jacob instantly caught on and demanded because anything related to the Immortal Nimrod was vital for him.

”Indeed, and the Void Ichor was with the Void Monarch even before I fell under his hands. Moreover, unlike most of the Void Monarch’s collectable items, like myself, the Void Ichor was something the Void Monarch deeply cherished because he would come time and time again and just stare at it for an unknown amount of time, like someone who was obsessed!

”Yet, instead of keeping it on his person, it was left within his secret vaults until Lord Whiteness arrived. When I asked how Lord Whiteness found the secret vaults, his answer stunned me for a long time.

”According to Lord Whiteness, when the ’Supreme One’ liberated him from the Void Monarch’s tyrannical control, he was supposed to flee. But instead, from the depths of his bloodline, he heard a calling, so strong that he didn’t flee instantly and took a deadly risk to find the source.

”And Void Mantis couldn’t be contained as long as it wanted to find something within the Universal Void. So, by following the ’calling,’ Lord Whiteness stumbled on the Secret Vaults of the Void Monarch!”

Jacob was astounded when he heard this unexpected secret, and he could already guess what the Artifact Spirit was trying to imply.

He uttered while glancing towards the Void Ichor, ”Let me guess, that ’calling’ was actually coming from the Void Ichor, right?”

”Well, isn’t it obvious?” The Artifact Spirit sneered, ”The Void Ichor attracted Lord Whiteness, and he seemed to be so obsessed with it, I almost thought it was the Void Monarch’s avatar.

”However, unlike the Void Monarch, Lord Whiteness directly grabbed it, and I instantly knew it wasn’t the Void Monarch because he NEVER touched the Void Ichor.”

Under Jacob’s astounded gaze, the Artifact Spirit’s voice was filled with nostalgia and dread, as if terrified of even remembering the memory.

”But Lord Whiteness not only touched it but directly held it, and that was something that he shouldn’t have done because the Void Monarch was instantly alerted.

”At that moment, Lord Whiteness seemed to have come back to his senses once he held the Void Ichor!”