Chapter 276: Chapter 276

For a moment, the only sound echoing through the dim space created by the Nomadic Merchant was the agonized screams of the emaciated child.

Onlookers like Jiang Ye, Lin Ling, and Administrator 0000, no matter how shocked they were internally, didn't dare to even breathe loudly.

What surprised these spectators even more was—

The Nomadic Merchant allowed Salvation to writhe in pain on the ground, then suddenly reached into the air again with his bare hand.

Like a black curtain being torn open, another rift appeared in the dark space above.

This time, what got pulled out from the rift was...

None other than Administrator 4444 who had just disappeared and fled.

This was already the second time Jiang Ye's Administrator 4444 had been forcibly dragged back by the Nomadic Merchant.

This time, however, he appeared much calmer.

Landing steadily, he even had the leisure to clear his throat twice.

The black-robed Nomadic Merchant glanced at him and said coldly:

"Without my permission, no one leaves!"

"..." Administrator 4444 forced a smile: "Yes, yes, yes."

Wasn't it just because he thought there was danger earlier... Misunderstanding, purely a misunderstanding!

Fortunately, the Nomadic Merchant simply pulled him back through space and didn't pursue the matter further, turning his attention back to Salvation rolling on the ground.

At this moment, Administrator 0000 was shocked once again!

So Administrator 4444 wasn't sent away by the Nomadic Merchant...

He genuinely escaped from the space created by the Merchant on his own!

Administrator 0000's eyes darkened, but with Salvation's example before him, he didn't dare even breathe loudly.

His entire body stiffened as he waited for the Nomadic Merchant's next move.

Seeing Salvation writhing and screaming on the ground without taking any countermeasures or showing any resistance, the Nomadic Merchant finally said lightly:

"At least you know your place."

With that, the Nomadic Merchant raised his right hand.

The black cross that had been handed over by Administrator 4444 to Zhou Qiming suddenly appeared in his palm.

Casually holding the [Reincarnation Key], the Nomadic Merchant looked down at the child rolling on the ground.

His voice remained light, yet still carried immense authority:

"Now, let me ask you again—"

"Did you forcibly intercept the [Reincarnation Key] really just to nourish the Moon Phase Clock?"

The child rolling on the ground seemed quite stubborn. Suddenly biting off a piece of his own flesh, he let out an extremely sharp scream before speaking with the flesh still in his mouth, his words muffled:

The Nomadic Merchant played with the cross while asking casually:

"Then what was it for?"

"For reincarnation? But you said yourself that even I couldn't achieve reincarnation with the [Reincarnation Key]..."

"With your abilities, it should be even more impossible, right?"

"What gave you the courage to take such a huge risk for an utterly hopeless cause?"

Only after the Nomadic Merchant's light voice paused did the child on the ground dare to respond tremblingly:

"Not for reincarnation... it was... it was for..."

"For Lightburn?" Seeing how difficult it was for him to speak, the Nomadic Merchant directly took over his words.

The child froze, then nodded repeatedly before saying tremulously: "Yes, it was the Crow's prophecy..."

"Oh, I see." The Nomadic Merchant's tone was almost playful as he chuckled lightly, "Did the Crow prophesy that the Reincarnation Key could spare you from Lightburn's pain?"

"Or that you had a chance to snatch the Reincarnation Key from me?"

When saying this, Jiang Ye vaguely felt the Nomadic Merchant glance in his direction.

At that instant, alarm bells rang loudly in his mind!

The Crow's prophecy...

How was that any different from when he asked the Silent Tombstone about the Nomadic Merchant?

So could it be... that whether it's the Crow or the Silent Tombstone, their answers about the Nomadic Merchant are inaccurate?

What the hell? If they're inaccurate...

Could it be that the Nomadic Merchant actually has the ability to enter the Reincarnation Graveyard using the [Reincarnation Key]?!

Just as he was lost in these wild thoughts,

the Nomadic Merchant spoke again: "The Crow's prophecy isn't wrong—"

"The Reincarnation Key can grant you the Death State effect, which can suppress your Lightburn pain."

"But correspondingly—while in Death State, if hit by light-based skills, you'll be instantly purified, dead beyond dead."

"The other prophecy isn't wrong either—"

"I can give you the [Reincarnation Key]."

These light words shocked Jiang Ye once more!

What?! The Death State can suppress Lightburn pain?!

How come he didn't know that?!

When he experienced Lightburn pain, Administrator 4444 was in the sealed puppet state.

In that state, without even consciousness, naturally he couldn't feel the Lightburn pain...

But the real question was—the Nomadic Merchant was going to give the [Reincarnation Key] to Salvation?!

Before Jiang Ye could finish his thought, the Nomadic Merchant added:

"Of course, not for free—it's a trade."

"How about exchanging this [Reincarnation Key] for your divine bird, the Crow?"

Facing the Nomadic Merchant, Salvation naturally had no real choice either.

Jiang Ye wasn't sure which was more important to Salvation—the Reincarnation Key or the divine Crow.

But he saw the already pale child's face turn even whiter.

With the piece of flesh still in his mouth, the muffled voice attempted:

"The Crow is bound to me... it... it can't be traded..."

The Nomadic Merchant seemed to smile: "Don't worry, with me, there's no such thing as impossible."

"You just need to answer me—are you willing, or not?"

Jiang Ye could see clearly now—

If facing Administrator 4444 or Zhou Qiming, Salvation would absolutely refuse to trade the Crow for the Reincarnation Key.

But facing the Nomadic Merchant...

Salvation truly had no choice.

Willing or not, the answer had to be—

"Good." The Nomadic Merchant seemed to smile again, even sounding rather pleased, his tone more polite, "As a merchant, I always believe in fair, consensual transactions..."

With that, he waved his hand and threw the black cross toward the emaciated child.

"Here, take this first."

With these words, the black cross actually merged directly into the child's body!

The Reincarnation Key...

Just given to Salvation like that?!

After obtaining the [Reincarnation Key], Salvation seemed to immediately master the Death State.

The state of writhing in pain on the ground instantly ceased!

He appeared to be in much less pain, though his face remained deathly pale.

Jiang Ye immediately realized—

In the Death State, one couldn't feel pain either.

Previously, he thought it only numbed physical pain.

Now it seemed even soul-level pain like Lightburn couldn't be felt in Death State.

And this Death State originally belonged to him!

Now it was Salvation's...

Jiang Ye watched with burning eyes.

He almost wanted to immediately cast a light-based skill...

To purify this guy... no, this kid.

But after all, this was the Nomadic Merchant's territory, and with so many people watching, he didn't dare act recklessly.

The now pain-free kid slowly stood up.

He gave Administrator 4444 an inscrutable look, then turned to the Nomadic Merchant.

Taking a deep breath, he suddenly placed two fingers to his lips and produced a coarse, guttural sound: "Kee—aa—"

Just hearing this sound, Jiang Ye instantly understood what "harsh and unpleasant to the ear" truly meant—poor Bai Juyi really had it rough...

But then, he heard faint "kaw-kaw" sounds approaching from afar.

Hearing this, Jiang Ye looked around.

Mainly because it felt strange—

The sound seemed to come directly into his mind, without any clear direction.

However, while looking around, he soon noticed—

A pure black bird seemed to emerge directly from the darkness, flying out of it.

It flapped its wings, clearly moving through the air.

But from Jiang Ye's perspective, it almost seemed the black bird wasn't moving at all, but rather that his vision was zooming in on it... Follow current novᴇls on novel·fire.net

Both the sound and the sight of this black bird gave him a very peculiar feeling.

It immediately reminded him of what the Nomadic Merchant had said—that the world he saw was different from others'.

So much so that at the moment he saw the black bird, Jiang Ye felt strangely dizzy.

As if this thing existed in a different world from his own...

Involuntarily, the scene from Room 2064 when the White-Robed Woman first appeared flashed through his mind.

Layer after layer, emerging from the television.

Each time, it seemed she was coming from the TV into reality...

But in truth, it was layer after layer of worlds within televisions.

Until finally, truly emerging from that giant screen...

Now the black bird's cries grew clearer.

Somehow it flew over and suddenly perched atop Salvation's head.

This bizarre sight made Administrator 0000 and Lin Ling exchange uneasy glances.

After all, this was the Nomadic Merchant's territory!

Where did it come from?

If you said it had spatial abilities? But its appearance was completely different from how the Nomadic Merchant tore open space to pull people through.

Moreover, both Lin Ling and Administrator 0000 had sharp eyes—they strongly sensed—

This black bird's manifestation had nothing to do with spatial abilities!

It must possess abilities beyond their comprehension!

Meanwhile, Jiang Ye was also examining the black bird.

Only, when the bird stopped moving and calling, simply standing quietly on the kid's head,

he suddenly felt it seemed like just an ordinary black bird, nothing special at all.

This thing was a divine bird?

But just as he thought this...

The black bird's dark eyes seemed to glance in his direction.

Jiang Ye's heart skipped a beat!

Damn! Could this bird read minds too?!

He quickly composed himself, then saw—

The Nomadic Merchant beckoned to the black bird: "Come here."

After a moment's stillness, as if sensing something, the bird instantly teleported from the kid's head to the Nomadic Merchant's shoulder.

Just like that, it seemed the trade of the divine Crow was effortlessly completed.

In fact, the black bird's style matched the Nomadic Merchant perfectly.

Both pitch black, creating a strikingly harmonious image.

Just when Jiang Ye thought the trade of [Reincarnation Key] for the divine Crow had concluded so smoothly,

the Nomadic Merchant suddenly beckoned to the kid again, uttering two words: "Come here."

Then, just like Zhou Qiming earlier, the kid suddenly floated into the air!

The Nomadic Merchant waved his hand, and though Jiang Ye couldn't see it, a rune's dark glow shot into Salvation's body!

This time, unlike Zhou Qiming, Salvation didn't scream.

Instead, his originally deathly pale body suddenly began turning red, then black!

Soon, his entire body became pitch black!

Then, wisps of black mist began emanating from his body...

Upon contact with air, they transformed into black feathers that slowly flew back to the black bird on the Nomadic Merchant's shoulder.

The black bird absorbed these black feathers, showing no visible change.

But Salvation, having lost those black feathers, underwent a dramatic transformation!

His entire body began growing from its emaciated child form.

Like a child rapidly maturing.

In the blink of an eye, he transformed from a child into an adult.

Even appearing older than Administrator 0000—clearly a middle-aged man now.

Even his skin tone changed from vampire-pale to a normal human's tan.

In short, he looked completely different from the kid moments before.

When the last wisp of black mist left his body...

Like Zhou Qiming earlier, he fell from the air to the ground.

Though the entire process seemed painless,

the middle-aged man now lying on the ground seemed inexplicably lost and panicked.

He abruptly looked up at the black bird on the Nomadic Merchant's shoulder.

The black bird let out another hoarse, unpleasant cry—