Demon Bible

Chapter 181: Probing and Cultivation

"Even if it is scarce, not being able to find a single drop is simply abnormal," Nemus muttered, already forming a vague hypothesis in his mind.

The energy quality of Whale Oil was exceptionally high, surpassing that of most entities at the Golden Rank.

This indicated that its properties were far closer to the power of the Mythic Rank—Divine Power.

As for who desperately needed a massive amount of Divine Power at this critical juncture, he already had a few suspects in mind.

"Either the God of Precepts is in a poor state and has resorted to hoarding Whale Oil to heal his injuries."

"Or the Church has completely lost contact with the God of Precepts. Since many of the Church's operations, such as the Grand Baptism, require the presence of Divine Power, they have placed Whale Oil under strict lockdown to maintain those functions."

"Or perhaps... it is a combination of both."

Possessing far more insight than the average person, Nemus could naturally deduce a few things from the current situation.

This was one of the reasons why Nemus gradually ruled out the possibility of Rhine being a Demon Warlock. Rhine's issues likely stemmed from the Saint Child Project on one hand, and the Church's unusual movements under these special circumstances on the other.

A Demon Warlock was more like an individual strictly walking a wicked path, intending to use such dark methods to ascend to the Golden Rank."If that is the case, then acquiring Whale Oil is an absolute necessity," Nemus declared, his resolve hardening.

At present, securing Whale Oil through alternative channels was practically impossible.

The upper echelons of the Church had likely sealed off every possible route long ago.

Therefore, to get his hands on Whale Oil in Tail Fin Town, he had to keep a close eye on existing stockpiles.

While he could not vouch for other locations, Nemus was absolutely certain that some of the noble families possessed hidden reserves of Whale Oil.

The substance served as the primary ingredient for most variations of the Golden Elixir.

Any noble family with the means would squirrel some away whenever the opportunity arose. Even if they had no immediate use for it, it bolstered the foundational strength of their household.

Perhaps in a few decades, a family member might reach the Peak Limit of the Iron Rank and seek advancement.

"So, who do we target?" Opper asked, narrowing his eyes. Beside Nemus, Purr also stood up, awaiting his orders.

The number of nobles in Tail Fin Town was neither large nor small, but many were mere minor nobles. Given their limited wealth and manpower, it was unlikely they had the capacity to hoard Whale Oil.

"Naturally, we strike those most likely to have it," Nemus replied, bringing out the intelligence reports he had gathered earlier.

Angel A had briefly scouted Tail Fin Town and found that there were roughly three individuals qualified to advance to the Golden Rank.

Rhine was one.

As for the other two, one was a noble named Jacquard Ben.

The other was the Guild Master's Son of the Baiter Merchant Guild—Baiter.

Since they possessed the qualifications to reach the Golden Rank, the probability of them owning Whale Oil was significantly higher.

Among the three, Rhine was estranged from his family. Moreover, his family had only recently recovered their strength over the past few years, meaning they likely lacked any stockpiles of Whale Oil.

The same could not be said for the other two households, however.

"Let us test them both," Nemus decided shortly after.

Although both factions were tough nuts to crack, tearing them down would yield remarkably lucrative rewards.

"Understood!" Opper immediately agreed, a glint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

As a merchant, he was not typically fond of fighting due to the immense risks involved.

But things were a bit different for him now. After advancing to the Iron Rank, he was still rather unfamiliar with his newly acquired spells.

He was currently in a state where, having just obtained a hammer, he wanted to knock on everything in sight just to get a feel for it.

On the other side, Purr gave an earnest nod.

Over at the Construct Protocol, it was inconvenient for the others to make a move at the moment. Therefore, he and a few agents who had been deeply hidden would have to spring into action.

The Whalefied Soldiers were originally intended to serve as the core fighting force of the Construct Protocol. However, thanks to the massive profits brought in by the Lesser Demon Park and the equally impressive, yet far more controllable, nature of the Berserk Accessories, the Whalefied Soldiers had not been deployed on a large scale as initially expected. The surgical procedure had only been performed on a select few individuals.

However, this did not mean Nemus had abandoned his research on the Whale Transformation Sickness.

Nemus was a man of vision. Demonic powers and the Berserk Accessories could, in most cases, only be utilized by those in the Black Iron Rank—the peripheral members of the Construct Protocol.

Even if the Berserk Accessories continued to receive upgrades, they would merely allow the majority of ordinary people to attain the attribute values of the Black Iron Rank.

Exceptionally compatible individuals like Fass were extremely rare. The fact that he possessed such power was largely due to Nemus heavily investing resources to groom him.

The Whale Transformation Sickness, however, was entirely different.

This affliction was intrinsically linked to the Floating Whales and possessed an incredibly high upper limit.

Once their combat capabilities fully matured, they were completely capable of becoming the vanguard among the Iron Rank.

'Having nurtured them for so long, it is about time I checked on their combat prowess,' Nemus thought, waiting patiently until nightfall descended.

Opper's and Purr's groups did not mobilize in full force.

Their current objective was primarily to probe the enemy.

Thus, Opper chose to test the waters with the Ben family.

Meanwhile, Purr headed out to investigate the Baiter Merchant Guild.

Nemus's breathing shifted rhythmically before gradually leveling out into a steady, tranquil pace. He then crushed the Whale Meat in his hand, just as the stick of Whale Ambergris on a nearby table burned down to ash.

"My attribute value has reached sixty-six." As his body calmed along with his breathing, Nemus's Mind-Spirit withdrew from the state of the Precept. He took a moment to inspect his physical condition.

His current cultivation required the daily consumption of several different Whale Products.

The Whale Meat possessed a robust vitality that nourished his flesh, allowing his body to endure the grueling toll of the Breathing Technique for extended periods.

Igniting the Whale Ambergris smoothed out his respiration, preventing the intense breathing exercises from damaging his lungs and blood vessels.

Furthermore, the Whalebone Products granted a levitation effect, which significantly reduced external interference during his cultivation.

Although Whale Blood could not be ingested directly, it could be fed to various poultry, vastly increasing the nutritional value provided by those animals.

If one felt particularly extravagant, it could even be blended into potions to water crops and flora.

Beyond that, he needed to consume a potion brewed from rare medicinal herbs and materials once a month to stabilize his bodily condition.

This ensured that his body would not fall into an imbalanced state from the continuous exploitation of its potential, which would otherwise result in a complete loss of that very potential.

If one wished to accelerate their cultivation speed, they simply had to burn through resources at a ferocious pace.

Nemus subsequently centered his focus to inspect his internal state.

Deep within his Divinity, a massive amount of feedback had accumulated.

For the past six months, Nemus had rarely utilized the feedback from his Precepts to manifest new Traits.

As it stood, he was not lacking in Traits.

Some of the Traits he had previously acquired through his Precepts were even lying dormant and neglected.

Whether he had them or not made little difference to him now.

As a result, Nemus had chosen to store this feedback instead.

As long as he did not condense it into specific Traits, it could be safely housed within his Divinity.

Although a certain amount of the energy would naturally dissipate over time, the loss was still within acceptable margins.

'Rather than wasting it on condensing Traits I have no use for, it is far better to save it for a critical moment and forge a truly devastating one,' Nemus concluded.