novelraw Chapter 435: The Plan to Kidnap Master and Disciple
Chapter 435: The Plan to Kidnap Master and Disciple
The Ice Witch asked curiously,
"Who is it?"
Chen Qi met the Ice Witch's curious gaze, paced back and forth, then pondered a moment before saying,
"Hmm, I can't really say this person's name..."
Hmm? A trace of pride flickered in the Ice Witch's eyes:
"Say it, and remember, most of the Steam Hand you meet won't join us."
The Rift Workshop is a secret of the Steam Hand.
"Don't worry, he's definitely not from the Steam Hand."
"Hmm?"
The Ice Witch grew even more curious.As a prophet who loved riddles, she was also an incurable curious soul!
Chen Qi looked at the light in the Ice Witch's eyes and murmured,
"Big White Hair, you'll know when the time comes."
When the time comes...
Crunch!
The Ice Witch couldn't help clenching her fists.
A riddler!
An infuriating riddler like her!
In that instant, the Ice Witch even wanted to activate time stop, yank Little Black Hair's mouth open, and then deliver a slap!
A chain of super slaps!
However, maybe he was offering her a hope... The Ice Witch took a deep breath, her exterior betraying no emotion.
"Is that so?"
She turned her head as if totally uninterested in the matter.
Totally uninterested!
Chen Qi looked out toward the sea.
If he told the Ice Witch outright, it would cause considerable chaos.
In fact, this person was his friend's teacher.
Aslina, the Book Saint of the Book Tower.
Although the Book Saint was an ancient, long-lived Book affinity master,
she was also a hammer-affinity master unmatched across the ages!
Even as a child, she could forge forbidden weapons;
any material in her hands would become a miracle.
In old legends, heroes who made outstanding contributions could receive the White Tower's permission to ascend to the top of the library and have the Book Saint craft a legendary weapon.
Countless people spent decades devoting themselves to the White Tower for the Book Saint's approval!
The Book Saint took every seeker seriously.
She spent decades forging one legendary weapon after another.
Across the seas, many powerful weapons bear the Book Saint's hand behind them!
Recruiting the Book Saint would mean more than just building a Rift Workshop;
fusion and forging of rift weapons would reach an unprecedented level.
Moreover, Chen Qi had recently learned from Mayor Damarro about An's situation.
An had already advanced to the fourth tier Book Witch, became her apprentice, and even successfully tamed a water spirit wielding a heavy machine gun.
As the sea rifts spread, the White Tower Federation had long joined the struggle for sea resources.
On that sea where no civilians could survive, the Book Tower's colossal ship had sailed into the abyss.
On that abyssal expanse, the Black Blood Empire and the Book Tower had been fighting for a long time.
In such chaos, the Book Tower's Saint would inevitably intervene.
This was undoubtedly a good opportunity to "recruit" her.
At that moment, the Ice Witch furrowed her brow and murmured,
"By the way, Qi, there is something important. Little Crow's condition has worsened recently.
Her output has been high, but the disease has seriously deteriorated."
Chen Qi frowned.
The Ice Witch shook her head:
"The Abyssal Sea Flower-based antidote relieved her symptoms, but her mind...
I have no more means. We need the Blackfin Crew's cure!"
Fen knit her brows.
These days she had slept beside Little Crow.
Fen cradled Water Spirit No. 2 and said,
"To study Abyssal Sea Flower, we still need Black Whale blood..."
Terminal illness, mental frenzy... Chen Qi pictured the tragic ends of many mutation disease sufferers.
Many transcendent powerhouses ultimately ended by walking a path into madness!
Perhaps, for the next actions, they had to bring Little Crow along... Chen Qi thought and went to see Little Crow.
Thunk!
Shortly after, Chen Qi pushed open Little Crow's door.
A strong medicinal smell hit his nose.
Chen Qi glanced around.
This room now closely resembled how Little Crow had arranged things back at the Blackfin Crew.
Jars everywhere, filled with all kinds of horrifying little sea beasts.
In the center, a newly grown Abyssal Sea Flower had been planted.
But the room's owner was in terrible shape.
Beneath the twisted abyssal flower, Little Crow sat with bloodshot eyes wide, biting a pen, thinking frantically.
Under the devouring Black Blood mutation, fresh wounds and black runes covered her skin;
the face that once had baby fat was now gaunt!
Sheet after sheet of drafts slid off her thighs!
"Yes, yes, that's it! Fen, Fen, I understand, I understand everything!"
Biting her finger and pen, Little Crow was lost in research on the Black Blood medicine.
Tick tock!
Blood dripped from Little Crow's finger.
Chen Qi picked up one of the drafts and skimmed it.
The Black Blood potion recipe and the Abyssal Sea Flower cultivation procedures were nearly complete.
The crazier she was, the sharper her mind!
At this pace, research on the Black Blood antidote only lacked some Black Whale blood!
No wonder Little Crow and the Flower Witch were brilliant!
A Little Crow in this frenzy was a genius among geniuses.
Chen Qi couldn't help but sigh, then asked,
"Little Crow..."
Hearing Chen Qi, Little Crow stopped writing, slowly lifted her head, and met his gaze.
"Qi..."
"I've finished research on the Abyssal Sea Flower, and I also..."
Seeing Chen Qi, a flash of joy crossed Little Crow's blood-streaked face.
"Cough cough cough cough!"
Suddenly she collapsed to the floor, coughing violently, expelling thick black blood from her mouth.
The jet-black blood hit the floor and began to writhe like a thousand centipedes.
Chen Qi watched the horrifying scene.
It felt as if Little Crow was trying to vomit out her innards.
The mutation disease was unthinkable... Chen Qi crouched down and used the Ember's Touch on his back to support her.
Chen Qi asked,
"Little Crow, what's happening?"
Her condition had dramatically worsened in a day.
At the same time, without any training, her spiritual energy was surging.
Little Crow bit her lip:
"I had a nightmare.
In it, the sky was pitch black, a huge Black Whale fell, hunting the last human refuge..."
Her pupils kept contracting:
"I saw the Great Whale trying to flee, trying to run, but it chased me to the human refuge—
Because of me, humanity was destroyed."
The Blackfin Crew can track anyone who consumes Black Whale blood.
Little Crow had always feared that her existence would expose the refuge's location.
As she thought this, blackness contaminated her pupils.
At that moment, Little Crow licked her lips and stared at Chen Qi with hunger.
It smells so good—
So fragrant meat—
Chen Qi's flesh smells so good!
Anyone who consumes Black Whale blood becomes an apostle of the Black Whale!
And ultimately, through mutation, becomes a powerful deep-sea monster called a "Child of the Black Whale"!
Because of such mutation, Little Crow opened her mouth;
her tongue was slightly forked, and she even wanted to bite Chen Qi.
Chen Qi watched the pitch-black void in Little Crow's eyes.
At this rate, Little Crow might not survive until the antidote is ready and would become a terrifying Black Whale apostle!
In the original fate line, Little Crow, in despair, took the Banshee Potion, became a terrifying despair banshee, and fought the Blackfin Crew...
Research on the Black Blood antidote had to speed up.
He had to obtain a large amount of Great Whale blood.
Besides, the Book Saint must be brought over by force.
Only then could he, before the catastrophe fully descended, face a Saint who controls fifth-tier domains, and finally confront the Great Whale!
All signs pointed toward the Blackfin Crew.
Chen Qi stroked his chin;
he had to set sail.
But this voyage would no longer be a simple adventurer trip.
He would be a pirate.
Moreover, Fen, the Ice Witch, and the Ice Demon Pirates could not accompany him to that mutated abyssal sea.
On that twisted sea, there would be endless monsters and enemies.
He would stand alone on the ocean and fight vast pirate fleets and seas of monstrous creatures!
Little Crow wanted to say something to Chen Qi.
She had a strong premonition that Qi was about to do something big.
But unlike before, Chen Qi was already a Saint.
A sad wall now separated the two of them.
Back then, Little Crow even thought Chen Qi could be her subordinate, and after working hard they could live a peaceful life.
Now she was no longer a doctor, but a dying patient, a complete burden!
And I can do nothing, nothing at all... Little Crow bowed her head, feeling pain surge through her body, suicidal thoughts flashing.
"Cough, cough..."
She coughed violently.
Chen Qi pondered the coming moves.
If the Book Saint and An could assist, the Rift Workshop problem could be solved.
If he could find the Black Death Doctor at sea, they could get Little Crow's antidote!
At the same time, he'd need to go to the Rift Sea to capture many lambs.
Chen Qi tilted Little Crow's head up with the Ember's Touch behind him:
"Little Crow, interested in doing something big with me?"
Little Crow lifted her chin:
"What big thing?"
Chen Qi smiled:
"To the Monster Sea, become a pirate, kidnap a tiny bookworm, a little girl who only sleeps, an old frail doctor..."
Kidnap, pirate, an elderly doctor... Little Crow blinked, and the blackness in her eyes gradually receded.
...
On the Nether Sea Ghost Ship,
Chen Qi stored Fen's potions and food into the Backpack Card.
"It's time to depart and become a beast tamer!"
Chen Qi clapped his hands.
Fen held Water Spirit No. 2 like a mother, worry in her voice:
"Qi, don't you really need me to come?"
Then she glared at Little Crow beside Chen Qi.
They had partnered on past adventures!
Their tacit understanding had once won the Golden Flower Bird Kingdom's Hunter Association the top duo award for "Flower Bird Hunters"!
And now Qi wouldn't bring her!
Fen was furious... Chen Qi explained:
"Fen, you need to recuperate. I'm taking Little Crow because she urgently needs the Blackfin Crew's antidote."
Fen continued:
"But beyond the near seas, the waters have become an abyss.
Qi, you've just ascended to Saint;
you can't alone face a Saint who controls a domain and their forces."
She thought of Blood Hunter, Whale Father, Blood Lion, and even near-abyss Great Whales—Saints from other nations coveted Chen Qi's body!
The thought of Qi being captured and tortured by Whale Father made her anxious.
"I know. Even if I lose, I won't be harmed. The sea is my domain."
Chen Qi stepped forward and stroked Fen's head.
"Fen, wait for me calmly. It will be quick."
He whistled.
The enormous Coastal Apex Predator dragged a steam blackship up to the Nether Sea Ghost Ship.
Chen Qi did not bring the Nether Sea Ghost Ship.
That ship was built from top-tier materials and now served as their base.
If they needed materials to construct a Rift Workshop, they might disassemble parts from the Nether Sea Ghost Ship.
Traveling with the Coastal Apex Predator on the open sea was the strongest mode of transport!
Chen Qi and Little Crow leaped onto the steam blackship.
"Fen, we'll be back soon!"
"Miss Flower Witch, we won't be harmed..."
Little Crow waved as well.
The Coastal Apex Predator carried the steam blackship slowly toward the abyss beyond the near sea.
Watching the ship recede, Fen gripped the railing and sighed softly:
"Come back soon..."
...
At the border between the Rift Sea and the White Tower Sea,
Boom! Boom!
A steam blackship slowly traversed the sea.
[You have entered a corrupted B-tier rift, the Alchemist's Black Fog Sea.]
Black lightning flashed across the sky.
A thick, dark mist covered the broad heavens.
The surface of the black sea floated with piranha flesh and blood foam.
Whenever a storm swept past, the crests burst sulfurous toxic fog that stained the clouds with ulcerous brown patches!
Ancient god blood seeping from deep-sea rifts mixed with rift waste to forge this desolate, lifeless place.
Dark and twisted, like a bottomless abyss—that was the sea's true face now.
Only top-tier strongmen could survive on this ocean.
Little Crow widened her eyes, stunned at the sight.
Was this still the sea she knew?
And this was only the corrupted domain of a B-tier rift!
According to the Beiguo Meteorological Bureau's latest forecast, two A-tier rifts lay along the border.
Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, a colossal pillar thrust up from the sea floor, charging toward them—
Upon that immense column were thousands of crimson blood-eyes!
A shadow-affinity titan monster, the Pillar of the Abyss!
"Watch out..."
"Mm."
Chen Qi snapped his fingers.
The sea's mutation speed exceeded his expectation.
Instantly five lamp-moon sea dragons leaped from the depths and coiled around the Pillar of the Abyss—
Then lamb patterns began to appear along the titan's body.
[You are attempting to charm the Pillar of the Abyss...]
[The Pillar of the Abyss resists with all its might. It is attracted by your massive tentacles and feels pleasure...]
[Charming...]
[Charm failed! The Pillar of the Abyss thinks you only have two eyes and is hideously ugly!]
[Capture failed!]
"..."
Chen Qi shook his head.
Indeed, capturing a shadow-affinity titan was still extremely difficult.
To his surprise,
the Pillar of the Abyss tore free and immediately charged toward the far side of the sea.
It was frightened...
On this mutated ocean, even the Pillar of the Abyss was prey.
What could it fear? Chen Qi wondered.
If the Pillar was afraid, it had to be a forbidden rift beast, on par with the Blizzard Dragon King.
No—maybe even greater.
"Qi, we..."
Little Crow's pupils shrank rapidly;
she recognized the approaching monster.
This was the ancient terror of the Witch Sea's legends, the most brutal deep-sea titan.
Boom boom!
At that moment, a massive shadow in the sky covered everything.
Chen Qi looked up.
Twelve tentacles like mountains rose around him.
Upon those titan tentacles, wreckage of a White Tower Federation warship still dangled.