Owen Bertram nodded: "All right."
He came to the side of the Fire Pond and sat down cross-legged. Geoff Ford took out some ancient bronze ritual utensils, a total of seven, and laid them around Owen Bertram, then muttered some words.
Suddenly, a faint black shadow floated out of Owen Bertram’s body, and his expression changed: there really was something Geoff Ford had left in his body! When was it planted? Was there something wrong with the food and wine at Carolin Garden?
However, Owen Bertram had no time to investigate. As the seven ancient bronze ritual utensils that surrounded him each emitted a gray light band, merging with the faint black shadow and tying Owen tightly.
Owen Bertram suddenly felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him, the seven ancient ritual implements were incredibly heavy!
Geoff Ford finally revealed a smile and said, "Thank you, Mr. Owen, for your sacrifice. The General government will surely remember your grace, hahaha..."
Owen Bertram shouted, "Geoff Ford, what the hell do you want to do!?"
Geoff Ford ignored the question, knelt down, and bowed his head loudly: "Welcome Commander Lord to Returning to Position!"
At this moment, all the Military Officers of the General government on the Sealed Sky Platform knelt down and said, "Welcome Commander Lord to Returning to Position--"
Their voices rang out loud and high, carrying years of repressed expectations, spreading far under the stars. Then, in the ten-mile forbidden area around the Sacrifice Platform, more voices echoed together: "Welcome Commander Lord to Returning to Position!"
On the stone steps stood eight tall Military Officers dressed in colorful Horizon Bureau uniforms, carrying a heavy black coffin. They moved swiftly, quickly reaching the top of the peak and respectfully placed the coffin down.
As the coffin fell to the ground, it seemed to resonate with the stars in the sky. Wisps of starlight drifted down and blended into the coffin.
A deep voice came from the coffin: "I’m here to answer you."
Owen Bertram was puzzled, "Harrison Ainsworth?"
"Indeed, it is me, hehehe..." The coffin lid creaked and moved to one side, and a figure sat up. Owen Bertram stared: this Harrison Ainsworth didn’t look human at all!
He wore the full official uniform of a Commander, his body withered like it was hanging on a wooden frame. His hair was gray and dry, his entire person like a dried corpse, clearly on the verge of exhaustion. He must have used some secret technique to maintain this state between life and death.
Owen Bertram only felt fear when the corpse-like Harrison Ainsworth looked at him. In the eye sockets, the eyeballs were completely shriveled, like two black and yellow beans, connected by dry blood vessels and meridians. As the "eyeballs" moved, these structures were pulled, creating an indescribable weirdness!
Harrison Ainsworth opened his mouth, his dry jaw moving, and, Owen Bertram wondered if it would crack and fall off with a few more words!
"I have been stuck at the Tire-6 Power Realm, and as I saw my life span running out, I had to resort to another method, using secret techniques to deceive the heavens and the earth, entering this state between life and death."
"But I am not without a way. I have a life-changing technique that can infuse all my consciousness and cultivation into another excellent body."
Owen Bertram exclaimed, "This is a great violation of the heavens! Even if you succeed, it will be difficult for you to enter the Seventh Level, it’s just lingering on! Even if you take my body, you will still be at the Tire-6 Power Realm. How can you compete with Abner Lane for control of the Horizon Bureau?"
Harrison Ainsworth had already stood up from the coffin, bringing with him a rotten smell, walking towards Owen Bertram, "You underestimate me too much. If it were really like that, there would be no shortage of Heaven’s Chosen in Great Wu, and I could choose anyone. Why would I have to wait for nearly a hundred years for a special choice like you?"