novelraw Chapter 357: Sea God! Accept My Grand Offering!
Chapter 357: Sea God! Accept My Grand Offering!
Whoosh!
In the next instant, the Tentacle Merchant's tentacles suddenly extended, pulling Chen Qi and Little Crow into her embrace.
Her eyes contained indescribable fanaticism and excitement!
Little Crow trembled uncontrollably.
As they watched, more and more monsters began to gather around them.
Some were ghosts floating in mid-air, others were monsters with shark heads, some were foreign merchants without heads, and others were skeleton captains.
"New friends, new residents..."
"He looks so delicious, I really want him to touch my butt..."
"Yes, I want him to kill me, stabbing my throat again and again with a knife..."
"Sacrifice! Sacrifice! Sacrifice!"Responding to the Tentacle Merchant's call, the monster merchants wandering in this broken city surrounded Chen Qi and Little Crow like a pack of wolves.
Dense crowds of monster merchants shouted in unison, revealing fanatical eyes as if looking at two delicious little lambs!
A horde of monsters... Chen Qi silently took out his Daylight Lantern.
Chen Qi could vaguely sense that his Deep Sea Affinity wasn't completely ineffective against these humans corrupted by the deep sea.
The way these deep sea monsters looked at him had a strange gentleness.
But the bad news was that it seemed to only work halfway, making them develop a strange feeling toward me... Chen Qi had an ominous premonition.
Sometimes, being liked by others isn't necessarily a good thing.
Chen Qi couldn't help but think, if he didn't have the Daylight Lantern or the Shell affinity principles of the Merchant's Coffin, what would these monsters who coveted him do to him?
Little Crow was shocked - every one of these monsters was a terrifying creature that required fourth-tier power to deal with, and the spiritual energy field they gathered was already like a vast abyss!
The Tentacle Merchant lifted her small head, leaning close to their ears, and whispered in a soft, seductive voice:
"You two~"
"The method of sacrifice is very simple - whether it's transcendent objects, food, or crimson life, all are worthy of sacrifice."
"Of course, the most valuable thing in the world is one's own life!"
"Dear guests, I won't take your lives, but if you cannot pay the price, you need to become one of us under my witness. We will grant you the ability to survive by drinking cold seawater..."
"And you will follow the will of the great Sea God, conquering the entire real world with us! Awakening the great Sea God's sanity!"
The sea witch merchant puffed out her chest, corners of her mouth raised as she looked at two pitifully poor ants.
"..."
Little Crow's lips moved as she wanted to retort.
She licked her lips, revealing her monster nature:
"Alright now, you two newly joined small fries, begin your sacrifice~"
Small fries? Chen Qi frowned. As expected of a cunning merchant from the Great Sea Coffin, and a famous monster on the forums.
Chen Qi suppressed the impulse to teach her a lesson and looked with interest at the massive Sea God statue before him.
"Sacrifice, so this is really possible..."
His original idea was to earn enough currency by selling food.
In the food-scarce Great Sea Coffin, food was the 'perfect currency' surpassing gold coins and ancient coins.
Whether it was the Tentacle Merchant or other intelligent monsters, they would all accept food.
The price of food in the Great Sea Coffin also exceeded ordinary imagination.
A single delicious meal in the Great Sea Coffin was enough to exchange for a fourth-tier profession card that ordinary people could never obtain in their entire lives in the real world!
At the same time, the place where the Tentacle Merchant resided was not only a place of strange encounters but also a rare gathering place for sea beasts.
Whether powerful sea beasts or deep-sea titan-level powerful existences, they all wandered here.
Although he didn't have enough ancient currency now, he had plenty of food.
Chen Qi was confident that in this place, he could obtain enough food through fishing to complete this transaction.
Fifty percent discount, meaning the final price was ten thousand ancient coins... Chen Qi glanced suspiciously at the crazed Tentacle Merchant.
The Tentacle Merchant pouted, her stray hair and her small tentacle hair wriggling frantically.
Currently, the situation had somewhat exceeded his expectations.
If he couldn't raise ten thousand ancient coins within two days, something extremely terrifying might happen.
This was an unimaginably huge sum that even legendary merchants couldn't produce immediately if they bankrupted themselves.
Chen Qi casually threw the big black fish he had recently caught on the ship onto the altar.
Chen Qi recalled the Sea God Pirates' prayer words about this evil god:
"Master of storms and waves, arbiter of trade and order."
"Eternal existence above the seas, Lord of the Abyss, Father of Waves."
"I offer this precious food to you, inviting you to enjoy a dinner in the boundless darkness."
Soon, from the statue's wave-like robe, a azure, wave-like sticky tentacle extended, sucking away the black fish from Chen Qi's hand.
Under the tentacle's touch, the black fish's skin and bones instantly turned into crimson mush, then were completely absorbed by the bloody hand.
Crunch! Crack!
Then, the scales in the Sea God statue's hand shook slightly, and two ancient coins covered in moss appeared on the scales.
As expected, even for the 'Sea God', food was hard currency... A smile curled at the corner of Chen Qi's mouth.
"It really works..."
Little Crow looked astonished. Even as a transcendent, she had never seen a deity display power like this on the high seas.
When Little Crow was young, she had prayed to the Lord of Wisdom of the White Tower Federation, hoping to get high scores without studying, but ended up getting all multiple-choice questions wrong.
Chen Qi wasn't particularly surprised.
On the forums, there were detailed investigations about the Sea God. As described by the Sea God Pirates.
This was a bound god sealed in the deep sea, its power extremely weak, only able to corrupt some special humans to expand its followers.
Compared to the true world-ending crisis of the Witch Sea, the 'Great Whale', the difference was like that between shrimp and shark.
Of course, even with this extremely weak power, caution must be maintained.
Chen Qi looked at the two ancient coins on the scales and couldn't help but frown.
These ancient coins were still far from enough...
A soft sensation came from behind Chen Qi.
The Tentacle Witch had somehow pressed against Chen Qi's back.
Unconsciously, she had transformed into a beauty with a voluptuous figure, speaking in a nightingale-like seductive voice:
"Guest, I have a premonition that as long as you're willing to sacrifice your own life, you can buy the Nether Sea Engine worth ten thousand..."
"Come! Continue sacrificing! Sacrifice! You can try sacrificing an eye first, or the girl beside you, or that sick girl on the ship... these are all worth quite a bit~"
"..."
"Don't rush."
Chen Qi held the lantern and said calmly, ready to activate his Daylight Lantern at any moment.
This Tentacle Merchant's fanaticism somewhat exceeded his expectations.
Still thinking of resisting... The Tentacle Merchant no longer disguised her true nature, revealing her crimson fangs:
"I'll say it again! Weak small fry! Poor otherworlder, quickly sacrifice yourself! Become one of us in exchange for the Sea God's blessings!"
These ordinary words pierced into Little Crow's heart like one sharp sword after another.
Chen Qi turned his head and looked quite speechlessly at the Tentacle Merchant.
This creature's tone was really asking for a beating!
Little Crow had already clenched her fists, wanting to punch her.
But after all, the other party was a saint-level monster. With their current strength, they could only barely protect themselves.
Chen Qi touched his chin and smiled slightly.
In the Goldenfinch Kingdom, there were operations where ordinary believers sacrificed their cult leaders together.
Unfortunately, this Sea God statue wouldn't absorb followers corrupted by its own power.
Otherwise, I'd sacrifice you all too... Chen Qi thought for a moment, took a few steps forward, and cast his fishing rod.
No choice, had to sacrifice whatever was available!
In this abundant Merchant's Coffin, the probability of catching fish should be quite high.
Boom! Boom!
Soon, a thirty-meter-tall ice sea shark was caught by Chen Qi.
The moment Chen Qi caught it, he casually threw a fish bait into the Sea God statue's sacrifice circle:
"Great Sea God, I offer you another ice sea shark."
The stone-made corners of the Sea God statue's mouth faintly revealed a smile, extending tentacles to turn the ice sea shark into bloody mud, then absorbing it.
A moment later, the scales in the Sea God statue's hand increased by one hundred ancient coins!
Indeed, even in the Sea God's eyes, food from the Great Sea Coffin was far more valuable than that from the real world... Chen Qi smiled.
"Continue."
Then, under the astonished gazes of numerous monsters, Chen Qi continued fishing while throwing fish bait into the Sea God Pirates' sacrifice circle.
Splash! Splash!
One sea beast after another, tempted by Chen Qi's fish bait, jumped into the deep sea statue's tentacle circle.
Pig sharks, ice sea spiders, snake-tailed sea dragons, succubus cup fish...
In front of numerous monsters, Chen Qi completed sacrifice after sacrifice.
"It can be done like this..."
The Tentacle Merchant's tentacle hair scattered on the ground, completely stunned.
She had been in this sacrifice business for so long, managing the Merchant's Coffin for so long.
But this was the first time she had seen someone with nothing, mass-producing non-human sacrifices on the sacrifice altar!
The sacrifices were continuously increasing!
No, to be precise, cruel and ruthless deep sea beasts were attracted by a strange spherical spirit energy ball and jumped into the sacrifice circle.
The sacrifices were lining up!
Normally, at this point, people should be sacrificing the souls of lovers, relatives, friends, subordinates, or their own limbs in exchange for great power!
Why don't you sacrifice that small fry beside you... The Tentacle Merchant gritted her teeth, anger flashing in her eyes.
And why does the great Sea God love eating fish so much!
Does this damn adventurer only know how to sacrifice fish?
Sea God, stop eating! The Tentacle Merchant clenched her fists, a trace of disrespectful thought emerging in her heart.
Ding! Dang!
As Chen Qi continued sacrificing.
They saw fresh blood appear at the corners of the Sea God statue's mouth, and its belly visibly rounded out a bit.
Fortunately, sea fish aren't expensive... The Tentacle Merchant raised her head.
But even so, the ancient coins on the scales had reached an astonishing four thousand!
If Chen Qi had six thousand ancient coins, he could complete this transaction!
By then, Chen Qi wouldn't owe her anything!
She wouldn't be able to force Chen Qi to sign a indenture contract, nor could she keep Chen Qi forever in the Great Sea Coffin!
No, no, absolutely not... The Tentacle Merchant's eyes became profound.
She had to stop him!
She raised her hands and whispered:
'Storm.'
Instantly, the sea area beneath the Sea God statue was swept by boundless waves!
Boundless waves swept through this city.
Forget fishing! Even if fish wanted to become sacrifices, they couldn't reach the shore at all!
The Tentacle Merchant didn't conceal anything, displaying her terrifying power to manipulate the sea!
As the master of the Great Sea Coffin, even without breaking the 'Shell affinity principles', she could still dominate every transaction!
The Tentacle Merchant raised her hands wildly:
"Guest, the supreme Sea God is angry! Your sacrifices are too monotonous! It desires souls! It craves your body!"
"Give up! No matter how many fish you catch, you won't gather ten thousand ancient coins!"
"Come, recite the prayer! Sacrifice your soul! Become one of us!
Amid the tides, guest, I promise you, you will become the great master of Moonstone City, breeding countless descendants in the royal palace!"
Crunch! Crack!
The monsters around the Tentacle Merchant also shouted in unison:
"Souls! Souls!"
The enormous roar even made Little Crow tighten her grip on the 'Banshee Potion'.
Once they attacked, Little Crow would fight these monsters to the death!
"..."
As expected, can't expect these monsters to be quiet... Chen Qi looked up and glanced at the supreme Sea God statue.
His intuition told him that this ancient existence sleeping in the deep sea wasn't full at all!
The scales in its hand shook lightly, clearly craving more sacrifices.
The Sea God has limited influence even over direct followers... Chen Qi touched his chin.
Swish!
Then, Chen Qi took out a small knife, sharply cut his finger, and sprinkled blood into the waves.
His Deep Sea Affinity sensed the ancient existence deep beneath the sea.
After advancing to legendary rank, his blood was more delicious food for sea beasts than fish bait!
Blood dripped into the sea, rushing through the waves.
Boom! Boom!
The entire broken city suddenly shook violently.
Chen Qi remembered that beneath the Merchant's Coffin, there was a huge monster that had been entrenched here for a hundred years!
Houses collapsed as a massive vortex suddenly appeared.
Then, a sea dragon with a body like dark starry sky broke free from the wave restraints, standing tall above the sea!
Its eyes were two circular points of light, with twelve wings on its back, each wing shimmering with deep blue-purple radiance like the gorgeous aurora of icy seas.
It stared at Chen Qi with a gaze that transcended time. Just being stared at made the entire space briefly stagnate.
"The Merchant's Coffin's former guardian deity, Lord of Condensation..."
The Tentacle Merchant's excitedly wriggling tentacles stopped for a moment.
What's happening?
This was one of the most terrifying behemoths of the Merchant's Coffin, the Lord of Condensation. As a natural disaster, wherever it passed would experience heavy snowstorms.
At the same time, it was also the guardian deity of them monsters in the Merchant's Coffin!
Without doubt, this was a deep-sea titan! A walking natural disaster!
An uncontrollable deep-sea titan... Chen Qi took a deep breath and looked at the enormous giant beast before him.
Times had changed - he was no longer the weak existence who could be killed by the aftershocks of a deep-sea titan.
Before the enormous power of the deep-sea titan, he was still frail.
These ancient existences, Chen Qi could neither control nor rationalize their behavior.
Like the Illusion Beast, even if they showed sufficient 'affinity', their massive power and desires would still destroy him.
Chen Qi took a deep breath and looked at Little Crow whose pupils had contracted beside him.
"It's alright."
Chen Qi patted Little Crow's shoulder, then hooked his finger, guiding the Lord of Condensation into the Sea God statue's sacrifice circle.
The Lord of Condensation's soft dragon head arrived beneath the Sea God statue.
Chen Qi shouted loudly:
"Sea God, I offer you the terrifying giant beast that masters space and time, the Lord of Condensation..."
"May you enjoy a fine meal."
"!!!"
Beside them, the Tentacle Merchant's small mouth widened into an egg shape.
Only now did she realize that Chen Qi wanted to sacrifice their Merchant's Coffin's guardian deity to their great Sea God!
Using a titan as sacrifice - was this something a human should be doing!
Don't worry, normally, the great Sea God wouldn't accept such a sacrifice, wouldn't swallow their guardian deity! The Tentacle Merchant curled her lips.
The Sea God was evil, ambitious, chaotic, a great existence of the deep sea!
It wouldn't devour deep-sea titans with similar power!
This isn't an evil god!
However, the next second, something unexpected happened.
Under Chen Qi's devout prayer words, the Sea God statue didn't hesitate for even a moment, excitedly extending its tentacles toward the Lord of Condensation, wrapping around it, trying to absorb the 'sacrifice' Chen Qi offered!
The Sea God didn't hesitate for even a moment.
The Tentacle Merchant hurriedly drew the pattern of the Sea Goddess on her chest, praying in her heart:
"Sea God! Calm down!"
However, no matter how the Tentacle Merchant called out or prayed, she couldn't stop the Sea God statue's massive primitive appetite.
So gluttonous... Chen Qi also didn't expect the current situation.
He originally just wanted to create chaos through the deep-sea titan.
But he never expected the Sea God statue's appetite to be this big.
"This actually works..."
Chen Qi couldn't help but sigh internally.
"Huh?"
Beside him, Little Crow looked terrifiedly at Chen Qi's cold face.
What background does this person have, what kind of operation is this... Little Crow was bewildered in the fierce wind.
The tentacles extended by the deep sea statue transformed into a city-sized octopus, binding the two-hundred-meter-long Lord of Condensation. Between the two, a terrifying struggle unfolded!
The Sea God statue's enormous power absorbed the Lord of Condensation's strength!
And the Lord of Condensation struggled continuously, trying to devour the Sea God statue completely!
The two tangled together, the air seeming to solidify, the sea shocked. Their powers swirled on the ground, in the air, and across the sea, releasing waves of sharp whistling. The sound waves cut through the air like sharp blades, striking the eardrums of the entire city!
The entire city instantly condensed with thick frost!
The two continuously fought, gnawing at each other. Ultimately, the 'Sea God' that had been nourished by countless monsters gained the upper hand.
And as the Sea God statue continuously devoured the Lord of Condensation, ancient coins continuously burst forth from the scales in its hand!
Clang! Clang!
One thousand ancient coins!
Two thousand ancient coins!
Three thousand ancient coins!
Soon, the ancient coins in the scales exceeded ten thousand ancient coins, and were still increasing!
Finally, when it reached twelve thousand ancient coins, cracks suddenly appeared on the sea snake statue!
The struggling Lord of Condensation gradually stopped moving.
"This..."
Chen Qi covered himself from the massive dust cloud.
The struggle between the two had somewhat exceeded his imagination.
Chen Qi looked up at the coins in the scales.
Twelve thousand ancient coins!
This amount of money was enough to buy the Nether Sea Engine, and even purchase some forbidden weapons for future battles.
This is enough to buy a ship... Chen Qi let out a long breath.
The power of both the Sea God statue and the Lord of Condensation far exceeded the legendary level.
A battle of this level would inevitably cause massive natural disasters.
Fortunately, the sacrifice didn't encounter any accidents.
However, a deep-sea titan was only worth twelve thousand ancient coins?
This price was lower than he imagined.
To be precise, much lower.
You should know, in this food-scarce place, the price of a deep-sea titan should be several times higher!
"Cough cough..."
Chen Qi coughed twice, preparing to take the money and find someone.
And in that instant, he also felt the Sea God statue's crimson gaze!
The Sea God had something it wanted to say to him!
What did it want to express? Chen Qi's pupils contracted.
He could feel that at this moment, the Sea God was expressing some indescribable sublime decree!
Compared to him and Little Crow, the countless monsters throughout the city were even more shocked!
All the monsters raised their heads in unison, endless fear flashing in their eyes.
"How is this possible..."
The leading Tentacle Merchant looked up terrifiedly at the cracks on the Sea God statue and the pleading gaze beneath its robe directed at them.
For a hundred years, these followers could only feel the Sea God's two most primitive commands.
First, continuously conduct trade in this city, continuously assimilate others, to awaken its Shell affinity power and thus revive it!
Second, appetite - at regular intervals, they must offer precious spiritual food to it.
For a hundred years, the Sea God never had any other decrees. They followed the Sea God's will, salvaging shipwrecks and corpses from around the world in exchange for sellable goods.
They cheated and deceived, exhausting every means to squeeze dry every adventurer's value.
They exhausted everything to express their respect to the Sea God.
However, no matter how hard they tried, they never received any other decrees.
And now, they felt an unprecedented decree from the Sea God:
It was a fear of money hidden in countless people's hearts.
It was what Shell affinity people feared most.
The Tentacle Merchant's small face watched as gold coins fell from the scales, her mouth corner continuously twitching.
The master of maritime trade, Father of Waves, the bestower of their power!
The Sea God, it had gone bankrupt!