Lord: Sequence Master

The mechanical mount retracted its wings, moving like a massive serpent as it dove deeper into the Muddy Swamp.

Hydras loved the swamp, often immersing themselves completely in the murky waters while resting. However, they still needed to breathe and had a preference for light rain. If the Muddy Swamp were to be divided into layers, the surface was inhabited by countless Hydras, the middle layer teemed with swarms of catfish—the primary food source for the Hydras—and the bottom layer was nearly devoid of life.

Rosen shared his burrowing ability with his mount, thanks to his connection with the Gray Rat. The mechanical mount could now use this ability as it moved. Within minutes, it had dived tens of thousands of meters beneath the swamp's surface.

At this depth, there was almost no sign of life. Rosen steered the mount toward the swamp's center. The deeper they went, the more concentrated the spiritual energy became.

He summoned several Cave Demons, Sequence 7 creatures, who easily drained the surrounding water and created a dry underground space. The area his Virtual Realm eye had scanned for high spiritual energy became clear.

What Rosen saw nearby surprised him: a magical formation and a territory structure built upon it. In front of the building stood a stone monument, and with a glance, Rosen quickly understood the situation.

The magic formation was drawing spiritual energy from the spiritual realm and continuously generating Hydras through the unit building. Most of the Hydras in the Muddy Swamp were spawned this way, slowly reproducing over time.

This magic formation and territory structure had been built by a past ruler of the Thunder Empire. The area was officially designated, and any attempt to damage it would result in being hunted by the empire.

Shaking his head, Rosen realized that a well-known place like the Muddy Swamp had already been thoroughly explored. The reason this secret wasn't widely known was probably due to a mentality of "misery loves company"—no one wanted to be the only one unlucky enough to stumble upon it.

Just as Rosen was about to leave, a thought struck him. He had forgotten something important. The surface of the spiritual realm in the Thunder Empire was highly dangerous due to the collapse of the Thunder God's divine kingdom there. Anyone below Sequence 5 who entered it was courting death. However, this magic formation had been drawing spiritual energy from the spiritual realm for years, and no spiritual creatures had ever crossed over into the real world?

Although the formation had been set up by a Sequence 2 demigod, Rosen could tell its level was only around Sequence 5. After all, a more powerful formation would be unnecessary for the Muddy Swamp.

In theory, a Sequence 5 magic formation shouldn't be able to block all threats from the spiritual realm. This led Rosen to suspect that the formation might be connected to a particularly safe region of the spiritual realm.

If he entered the spiritual realm from here, the danger level would be greatly reduced. He also realized that if he could figure this out, others might have as well. After several days of studying the formation, Rosen discovered its hidden secret: while it was indeed a Sequence 5 formation, it was a one-way transmission. Spiritual energy could pass from the spiritual realm to the real world, but entering the spiritual realm from here would be disrupted by the formation.

For others, it would be difficult to locate the other side of the portal once inside the spiritual realm. However, thanks to his Lazy Foot, Rosen could ignore such interference and force his way into the spiritual realm.

He activated the power of Lazy Foot, allowing him to shadow-sneak into the formation. Shielded by its energy, he followed the passageway into the spiritual realm.

The moment he arrived, he saw the magic formation on the other side, continuously absorbing spiritual energy and sending it to the Muddy Swamp.

Surrounding him was a vast thunder world, illuminated by constant lightning strikes that painted the entire landscape in shades of blue and purple. Not far from the formation lay a thunder-filled lake, and in the center of the lake stood a golden apple tree, towering hundreds of meters high, continuously being struck by lightning.

"A golden apple tree?" Rosen blinked in disbelief, rubbing his eyes to ensure he wasn't seeing things.

He restrained the urge to approach the tree and immediately contacted Gray Rat through the Nightmare Shackle. Gray Rat, who was in the snowy mountains of Frost Snow Coast, quickly logged into the virtual world to gather information.

It turned out that during the reign of the Thunder Empire ruler who had constructed the magic formation in the Muddy Swamp, the empire was much closer to the borders of human territory. At that time, it frequently came under attack by foreign gods. That emperor, in a stroke of bad luck, was ambushed by two foreign deities and fell in battle.

Rosen pieced the story together. It appeared that the Thunder God had once planted a golden apple tree in his divine kingdom. When the Thunder God fell, the tree, along with fragments of his divine kingdom, scattered into the spiritual realm above the Muddy Swamp.

The emperor likely discovered the golden apple tree but was unable to transplant it. Therefore, he built a magic formation to siphon the surrounding spiritual energy, transferring it to the real-world swamp. Unfortunately, before he could complete more extensive preparations, he was killed by the foreign gods.

As for why the emperor set up such a formation, it was due to the nature of the golden apple tree, which thrived on thunder-aligned spiritual energy while rejecting other types of energy, which would harm it.

Rosen guessed that many had discovered the formation over the years. However, those with less than Sequence 5 strength who hunted Hydras in the swamp lacked the power to cross the passage safely. And those with the necessary strength had no reason to risk venturing into the swamp.

Over the next two days, Rosen thoroughly searched the space surrounding the golden apple tree. He spent a significant amount of God Coins from the Main God Network to research everything available about the tree.

The results were mixed. The bad news was that the golden apple tree was not as valuable as he had hoped. This tree wasn't the mythical Sequence 0 version, but rather a third-generation offspring of the original, with a power level only at Sequence 2.

Rosen melted a large quantity of gold and, using his Morning Star Divine Authority, crafted a golden pair of scissors. From a distance of over a thousand meters, he carefully used the scissors to cut down the nine Sequence 2 golden apples hanging on the tree. As the apples fell, they were caught by golden nets that Rosen had prepared.

He stored the nine apples in separate golden boxes and then turned his attention to the tree itself.

Unlike its mother tree, the offspring golden apple tree only bore fruit once. Afterward, it could no longer produce apples. Nevertheless, the tree remained an extraordinary material, embodying top-tier gold, wood, thunder, life, and divine attributes.

It took Rosen half a month to fully chop down the tree. Once done, he stored the entire golden apple tree in his Scavenger Space, leaving behind only its roots and the thunder-filled lake.

Back in the real world, Rosen immediately contemplated how to handle this unexpected treasure.

The leaves would be useful as canvas for spiritual paintings with special effects. The branches could be sold, while the trunk was something he intended to keep for future use, whether to upgrade territory structures or build extraordinary buildings.

As for the nine golden apples, Rosen didn't hesitate to consume one himself. Golden apples were safe for anyone to eat. Consuming one would significantly enhance one's physique, drastically improve one's extraordinary bloodline, regenerate lost limbs, purge all negative curses and damage, and finally, bestow golden divinity.

Rosen could feel his physical limit double. His three extraordinary bloodline abilities—Gluttony, Greed, and Sloth—now had their caps raised from Sequence 3 to Sequence 2, representing a leap from extraordinary power to demigod status.

And that wasn't even the full potential of the golden apple; most of its power lay dormant, waiting for his Sequence level to increase further.

Physically, the changes were substantial, but there was more. Rosen's spiritual strength rose from 31 to 34. The three points he had permanently lost—one from Earl Fritz's curse and two from his resurrections—had been restored by the apple.

Finally, Rosen sensed a golden lightning bolt coiling around the ancient tree in his Sequence. This was the golden divinity from the apple, which could temporarily convert his spiritual power into divine power.

In many ways, this golden divinity was similar to his Feathered Serpent God transformation. However, its real value lay in its ability to ease his path to becoming a demigod. When he reached the peak of Sequence 4 and aimed for Sequence 3, the golden divinity would not only make the transition smoother but also increase his chances of gaining a pseudo-divine authority as a demigod.

If not for the diminishing returns of eating multiple apples, Rosen would have been tempted to consume them all in one go.

As he pondered what to do with the remaining apples, he noticed a message from someone through the Main God Hall.

It turned out that when he had posted bounties for information about the golden apple tree, someone had noticed and suspected that he possessed the apples. They wanted to negotiate a trade.

The entire transaction was handled through the Main God Hall, ensuring that both parties had no reason to worry about potential consequences.

Rosen glanced at the message from the person proposing the deal and found the terms very tempting.

The offer came from a Sequence 2 painter. If Rosen could provide three golden apples, the painter would offer a branch from the golden apple tree and some sap extracted from the tree's heart. In return, the painter would create a Sequence 3 spiritual painting for Rosen.

This painting would allow him to plant golden apple seeds and grow fourth- and fifth-generation golden apples. Once the cultivation process was complete, the painting could also be used as a spiritual realm for future planting. The cost of painting this artwork was two golden apples, while the remaining one apple would serve as the painter's payment.

From this proposal, Rosen wouldn't be at a loss. In the long term, he could harvest 81 Sequence 3 golden apples, 729 Sequence 4 golden apples, and a Sequence 3-level spiritual painting.

However, after careful consideration, Rosen declined the offer.

Firstly, golden apple trees mature very slowly—it would take at least a thousand years for the fourth-generation tree to bear fruit. By that time, Rosen wouldn't know what Sequence level he would be at, and Sequence 3 golden apples would likely be of little use to him.

By then, he could create his own Sequence 3 spiritual artworks. This trade would be a long-term loss unless he planned to establish a family legacy for future generations.

Rosen shelved the idea for now and spent his days in his divine domain, acclimating to the surge in strength from eating the golden apple.

However, the Sequence 2 painter privately messaged him again, realizing that Rosen might not be interested in the spiritual painting. This time, the painter proposed trading other valuable items for one golden apple, listing what he could offer in exchange.

Rosen skimmed through the list casually, but then found something that truly piqued his interest.

It was an unranked miracle item—an ordinary-looking crystal vial for holding potions. This Miracle Potion Bottle could automatically create perfect-quality potions based on any potion recipe. What intrigued Rosen most was that it had a similar feel to his Dragon Blood Bottle.

After some consideration, Rosen responded to the message, expressing interest in trading for the Miracle Potion Bottle. After brief negotiations, they settled on a deal—Rosen would trade one golden apple in exchange for the Miracle Potion Bottle and 5,000 Main God Coins.

Once Rosen acquired the Miracle Potion Bottle, he immediately compared it with the Dragon Blood Bottle. Sure enough, they were very similar, almost as if part of the same set.

Rosen quickly searched the Main God Network for more information and soon found what he was looking for.

It turned out that this was indeed part of a miracle set called the Primordial Potion. The first-ever Sequence 9 potion in the world was concocted using this set of nine bottles. Each bottle had since become an unranked miracle item.

No one knew how the bottles were separated, but each possessed special miraculous properties. Many believed that if all nine bottles were gathered, they would produce unimaginable effects. After all, the very potion system and Sequence hierarchy that now shaped the world began with these bottles.

However, collecting all nine bottles was nearly impossible. Once, someone had gathered six of the bottles, only to vanish without a trace, never to be seen again.

The remaining three bottles had surfaced sporadically throughout history. Apart from the Dragon Blood Bottle, valued for its ability to counter dragons, the Miracle Potion Bottle was considered less useful—after all, anyone could commission a witch or chemist to brew potions. As a result, the bottle's true value had been overlooked.

This was why the Sequence 2 painter had also compensated Rosen with Main God Coins worth five billion spiritual energy crystals.

As Rosen was about to store the two bottles, a thought crossed his mind—would the two bottles react to each other?

With nine bottles possessing such incredible potential, could two of them together create some sort of effect?

After some contemplation, Rosen retrieved a Sequence 9 Hunter potion set from his divine domain. Hunter potions were unique in that they could be made with various core ingredients.

He poured a portion of diluted Sequence 9 dragon blood from the Dragon Blood Bottle, using it as the core ingredient, and willed the Miracle Potion Bottle to craft the potion. The process required only that he think of the potion formula, and the bottle followed his thoughts, mixing the ingredients automatically.

Soon, a perfect-quality Sequence 9 potion was created. When Rosen used his Main God Computer to analyze it, he was startled.

This Hunter potion wasn't just of perfect quality—it also granted a faint dragon bloodline, indicating that the combination of the two miracle bottles had already exceeded the limits of a normal potion.

Rosen could only imagine the effects if all nine bottles were gathered and used to concoct a potion—the amplification of power would be unimaginable.

If those six bottles hadn't been lost for over ten thousand years, Rosen knew there was no way he could have acquired such a key piece of the set so cheaply.

Storing the two miracle bottles, Rosen summoned his Nightmare Slime and fed it a golden apple.

The Nightmare Slime benefitted even more than Rosen had. While it didn't awaken Greed's Hand or Sloth's Foot, it did acquire Gluttony's Stomach. However, this Gluttony's Stomach differed slightly from Rosen's.

Rosen's version could imprison beings below Sequence 2, while the Nightmare Slime's version could digest beings of that level.

One focused on sealing, while the other specialized in digestion. With their abilities now shared, Rosen could feel his Gluttony's Stomach growing even more powerful.

As for his other pet, Gray Rat, Rosen reserved a golden apple but decided to wait before giving it to him. He didn't want Gray Rat's recovery to outpace his control.

The remaining five golden apples were stored away for future use. Such treasures were always in demand, and if Rosen ever needed something valuable, he could easily trade them for whatever he required. Additionally, they served as life-saving tools in case of severe injury or curses.

This experience had opened Rosen's eyes to the treasures hidden within the Thunder Empire's spiritual realm. However, obtaining such treasures required strength, and not all of them would be as hazard-free as the golden apple tree.

Just as Rosen was preparing to hunt more Hydra variants, he suddenly felt something wrong with himself.

Mysterious whispers echoed in his ears, and his vision blurred with hallucinations. The sensation was eerily similar to the mad murmurs of fallen deities, which accompanied the consumption of Hunter potions from the Sequence system.

Rosen's first instinct was that the golden apple was at fault, but the whispers soon faded.

If the apple had been tainted, surely the Sequence 2 painter from the Main God Hall would have noticed during their transaction?

No, the issue wasn't with the golden apple but with his spiritual strength, which had risen to 34 points.

As he recalled the hallucination, it seemed to resemble a vortex forming a spiritual realm entrance.

After eliminating other possibilities, Rosen remembered something. He thought of the Howard family's guardian spiritual realm—the one that had led to the deaths of young Rosen's parents and had been involved in the murder of the fifth-generation Howard baron. Could this anomaly be connected to that realm?

Even without invoking the incantation to activate the spiritual realm, it seemed that his growing strength—nearing the limit of Sequence 7—was triggering these events.

Most Sequence 7 nobles had a spiritual strength cap of 33 points. With his now at 34, this might explain the sudden appearance of the whispers and hallucinations.

Since the spiritual realm wouldn't release its hold on the Howard family, Rosen realized he had no choice but to confront it. However, he needed to prepare first.

Given that the realm could induce whispers similar to those heard when taking potions, it was likely connected to Sequence 0 in some way. Otherwise, the golden apple's power to purge curses would have already had an effect.

Perhaps the golden apple had worked, preventing him from being forcibly pulled into the realm.

Rosen placed a bounty on the Main God Network, and soon arranged two deals.

By trading two golden apples, he obtained two life-saving artifacts.

Tearing open a return scroll, Rosen disappeared from the Natural Rainforest, teleporting back to the wizard tower in Frost Snow City.

The only drawback of these return scrolls was their slow transmission speed. Otherwise, they were flawless.

After waiting two hours, Gray Rat returned from the snowy mountains.

During their journey back, Rosen and Gray Rat discussed the mysterious spiritual realm. Gray Rat, once a demigod, was even more anxious than Rosen, knowing all too well how dangerous mysterious whispers could be.

He could only hope that the whispers Rosen had heard were fakes.

Once Gray Rat arrived at the hotel, still digesting the effects of the golden apple, they both entered the Main God Hall once again.

Though Rosen had acquired two powerful life-saving tools, Gray Rat's greater experience and knowledge led them to make further purchases. After careful selection, they spent 1,000 Main God Coins on a Sequence 4 miraculous item called Void Guardian. Satisfied, they finally left the hall.

With life-saving precautions taken to the extreme, Rosen retreated to the time-looping spiritual realm to paint.

He worked tirelessly, creating various spiritual paintings that could serve a purpose or prove useful. He continued to accumulate these works, all in preparation for the inevitable moment when the mysterious whispers could no longer be resisted and he would have to enter that spiritual realm.

Finally, after two months in the real world and several years inside the time-loop realm, Rosen could no longer resist the call of the whispers. He reluctantly opened his Life Atlas and recited the incantation that would lead him into the spiritual realm.

(End of Chapter)