We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 264 The First [Deep Sea Hunt]

Just as the crew of the Warm Snow were discussing it.

The gentle and graceful woman, Ji Ya, came out of the cabin and said with a frown on her beautiful brows.

"Lucy, don't talk nonsense."

"elder sister!"

Lucy looked aggrieved and said, "I didn't say anything wrong."

"It was that captain who overestimated his abilities that caused his ship to end up like this."

"If only you had listened to my advice, you wouldn't have ended up like this."

Outsiders are unaware that the Black Swan possesses self-repair capabilities.

For an average captain, such severe damage to the hull would undoubtedly be fatal.

This not only means that almost all the profits from this voyage will be invested in ship repairs, but also that the ship will be unable to go to sea for a long time.

Many captains have been completely devastated and unable to recover because of a single failed voyage.

In the eyes of Lucy and the other crew members, although the captain of the Black Swan did not go to such lengths, he still learned a profound lesson.

Hearing Lucy's words, Gia's attitude remained stern: "Whether they succeed or fail, that's their own business."

"As outsiders, what right do we have to make decisions for them?"

Ji Ya looked at Lucy seriously and said earnestly, "Some things are fine to think about in your heart, but once you say them out loud, they will bring disaster upon yourself."

"Lucy, I won't say these words a second time."

Seeing her sister's serious attitude, Lucy straightened her expression and nodded.

"Sister, I know."

Lucy glanced at the Black Swan not far away and asked cautiously, "Should we still lend them a hand?"

Ji Ya shook her head: "That captain has the communication stone I gave him."

"He will contact us if there is an unavoidable danger."

"The fact that he hasn't done that yet means that the situation isn't that bad."

"Besides..."

Ji Ya glanced at the expressions of the other crew members and sighed softly, "If we let you meet them now, they might think you're going to mock them."

The crew members couldn't help but feel a little ashamed.

After making the decision, Jiya acted as if she hadn't seen the Black Swan and continued doing her job.

It didn't take long.

The Black Swan and Diamond Star then sailed away from this area.

Meanwhile, the Warm Snow ship has also located the target of this rescue operation.

This is a small merchant ship.

The captain of the merchant ship was a somewhat wealthy businessman.

Upon seeing Lucy and the others, the merchant stammered, "Fire! Fire...it's burning!"

Lucy looked bewildered: "What fire? What's burning?"

"Don't rush, tell me slowly."

The merchant took a few deep breaths and continued, "Yesterday, a great fire broke out in the depths of the sea."

"You wouldn't believe it, but back then, the entire sea area was burned to a deep red color, like lava flowing on the seabed."

As he said this, the businessman still looked shaken.

Clearly, the sight of the sea ablaze left a very deep impression on him.

The merchant rambled on and on, as if in a trance.

"I think I saw countless tree people, as well as the figure of a giant, and roars and wails echoing from the seabed."

"That's when the propulsion system on my ship broke down."

Upon hearing this, Lucy's first reaction was disbelief.

How could there be flames in the ocean?

"Could it be that you're hallucinating?"

The other sailors also looked at the merchant with suspicion.

People who sail on the high seas are prone to encountering indescribable things, thus witnessing bizarre and absurd hallucinations.

This businessman most likely encountered this situation.

But the businessman shook his head and insisted, "It's definitely not an illusion!"

"It wasn't just me; everyone else on the ship saw the exact same thing."

On the other side, Ji Ya's heart skipped a beat: "Tree people?"

"It's the City of Giant Trees!?"

From the merchant's words, she suddenly realized that something must have happened in the City of Giant Trees.

And considering that the Black Swan had just left the City of Giant Trees, it was hard for Gia not to connect the two.

So she immediately said it.

"Let's go check out the City of Giant Trees."

Although the crew of the Warm Snow were somewhat surprised by Gia's decision, the captain's authority was undeniable, and no one would object to her opinion.

As a search and rescue vessel, the Warm Snow naturally has its own salvage crew.

Wow! Wow!
As water splashed, several salvage workers jumped into the sea.

Lucy was among them.

It didn't take long.

Lucy's little head was the first to emerge from the sea.

But her face was full of astonishment and confusion, as if she were doubting that she was hallucinating.

Seeing her expression, Ji Ya couldn't help but ask, "Lucy, what did you see?"

Lucy said blankly, "[The City of Giant Trees]... is gone..."

"……what?"

Ji Ya was stunned for a full second before realizing what Lucy had said.

"You mean..."

"That underwater forest, that giant tree, those tree people... gone! All gone!"

The other salvage workers also looked like they'd seen a ghost.

What they saw in the sea was nothing but an empty ruin.

On the seabed, a layer of something resembling ash lay on the mud and sand.

The tree people who had previously hunted the ships and sailors had completely vanished as if they had never existed.

Not even a single tree spirit remained.

It's hard to imagine that this change happened in just a few days.

"I understand... It's... it's the Black Swan!"

One of the salvage workers suddenly snapped out of his daze and muttered, "It was them who destroyed the City of Giant Trees..."

Eliminate all possibilities, and even if the remaining one is the most unbelievable, that is the truth of the matter!

Lucy suddenly felt her face burning.

She had assumed that Xia En had suffered greatly before being forced to leave the City of Giant Trees.

Unexpectedly, in less than three days, they accomplished such a major feat, razing the City of Giant Trees to the ground.

The legend of the "City of Giant Trees," a forbidden zone of life, has probably come to an end.

Thinking of this, Lucy felt a sense of relief.

Fortunately, she listened to her sister's advice, otherwise the situation might have developed in a very different way!
Ji Ya looked in the direction the Black Swan had left, a faint sense of shock appearing in her eyes.

……

……

What happened behind us.

Xia En was neither aware of nor interested in the matter.

He has already decided on his next destination—the capital of the Seven Seas Federation, [Liuli Island]!
Shaun was almost certain that the few words left in [Lyra's Magic Notebook] were a hint given to him.

But he clearly couldn't decipher these clues on his own.

On [Liuli Island], there must be some secret practitioners and scholars from the realm of time and space who might be able to answer Xia En's questions.

On another front.

【Liuli Island】is also the place with the most complete and detailed record of history before the Great Flood.

To change history, you must understand history!
Shaun might be able to find some clues in those historical records to confirm some of his conjectures.

However, the Black Swan is still recovering from its damage, and its speed has been greatly reduced. It will take at least a month to reach Crystal Island.

Xia En planned to take advantage of this time to improve his strength as much as possible, and hopefully advance to the fifth rank.

After all, as the most prosperous island in the Seven Seas Federation, [Liuli Island] has countless experts and powerful individuals.

Even a fifth-tier combat strength is considered mediocre on [Liuli Island].

To avoid any unexpected situations, it is still very necessary to improve one's strength as soon as possible.

Wait until the [Submerged] count refreshes.

As usual, Shane sat in the captain's cabin and opened the control panel.

Based on the effects of "Deep Sea Hunting," projections will be made in random sea areas!

[Shall we begin submersible navigation?]

Without hesitation, Xia En shouted, "Submarine, activate!"

As his thoughts settled, his consciousness immediately perceived a sense of weightlessness.

Then it plummeted, and plummeted again...

A sense of disorientation, as if traversing endless time and space, yet also as if instantly arriving at the destination, passed by in an instant.

Then, the surroundings became quiet.

Xia En opened his eyes and saw only darkness in his field of vision.

Even with the talent of [Touch of No Light], this sea area still seemed too dark.

This "pitch black" seems to be more than just the effect of light; it's more like some kind of mysterious force silently permeating the seawater.

It's as if...

A field?
Upon realizing this, Xia En felt a chill run down his spine.

The domain itself is a form of control over mystical power.

In this world, Xia En wouldn't be surprised at all if he heard that deep-sea monsters could wield the power of domains.

He steadied himself and cautiously moved his limbs, immediately feeling a stagnant and blocked sensation, and his body felt unusually heavy.

This indicates that the depth of this sea area is greater than any of his previous dives.

Even with the adaptability of the [Projection Body] in the deep sea, it was still a little difficult to move around.

Xia En felt a little strange, thinking to himself.

"Where did you send this [Deep Sea Hunting] to?"

Just how deep is this ocean?

Shane had heard of a way to divide the deep sea.

The area 100 meters below the sea surface is called the "photosphere".

The area between 100 and 500 meters is called the "low-light zone".

500 to 2000 meters – [the anaplasm].

2000 to 20000 meters – [Abyssal Layer].

Further down, there are the Mohorovičić and Gutenberg layers.

However, that area is close to the mantle and crust, and may not even be considered part of the ocean.

Moreover, this world is not the Earth that Shaen knows. It is normal for the ocean and the Earth's core to have different depths.

According to Xia En's guess, this sea area is already at the depth of the "lightless layer," approaching the even deeper "abyss layer."

hum...

at this time.

A sudden, strong tremor came from the seawater.

It sounded like the breath of some enormous creature, or like the sea was in turmoil.

A powerful stream of water rushed in from behind, heading straight for Xia En's back.

In a moment of crisis, Xia En forcefully twisted his body, dodging the sneak attack at an incredible angle.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye and made out the attacker in the dim seawater.

This is a large fish covered in strange spines.

Bone spurs, resembling both fish fins and scales, extend from every joint of the body and drift in the seawater.

At first glance, it looks a bit like a lionfish, also known as a "scorpionfish".

However, compared to ordinary lionfish, this deep-sea monster was hundreds of times larger and hundreds of times more ferocious.

Where the eye sockets should have been, there was only an empty hollow, with a dark red halo shimmering inside.

The deep-sea monster displayed extreme aggression the moment it saw Shane.

Its ugly body swayed violently in the seawater, then transformed into a dark shadow and rushed over.

Seeing this, Shane pushed forward with both hands, actually wrestling head-on with the strange fish!

Boom!
A muffled sound immediately came from the deep sea, and the surging undercurrent spread outwards.

[Ship Soul Power - 10!]

Shaen glanced at his palm and discovered that the bone spikes on the strange fish had pierced through the flesh of the [Projection Body], leaving several holes in his body.

Not only that.

A strange sense of powerlessness emanated from the pierced spot, as if it were eroding his body.

"Is this...poison?"

Xia En was slightly taken aback, but quickly figured out the source of the feeling of powerlessness.

Under normal circumstances, the [Projected Body] will not be poisoned.

After all, this body doesn't even have real flesh and blood or nerves, so conventional toxins naturally can't take effect.

However, the toxins of this deep-sea monster are clearly extraordinary.

It is a highly potent poison that acts directly on the secret power!

Once poisoned, the toxins will continuously deplete your secret power.

Even a [projected body] will be significantly affected.

"It's careless."

Xia En thought to himself.

Ordinary lionfish already possess a considerable amount of toxins.

Therefore, he had already guessed that the deep-sea monster might be poisonous, but he chose to confront it head-on because of his trust in the "poison resistance" of the [Projected Body].

[Ship Soul Power - 1!]

[Ship Soul Power - 2!]

Seeing the numbers on the panel steadily dropping, Xia En knew he had to finish this quickly!

Fortunately, the previous encounter allowed him to roughly assess the power of the deep-sea monster.

When it comes to physical fitness, I'm still stronger!

Without hesitation, Xia En activated the [Dual Ship Soul] and [Giant Bracelet], transforming into an incredibly strong giant.

The previously enormous monster fish appeared tiny and delicate in his presence.

"Now, you are the challenger!"

……

……

The battle ended quickly after Shane transformed.

Before the [projected body] dissipated, he decisively enjoyed this feast of deep-sea monster fish.

This strange fish may look ugly, but its flesh is actually extremely tender.

Even when eaten raw, Xia En found it exceptionally pleasant.

However, since the strange fish contains unknown toxins, and the [Projected Body] is fearless and can eat it at will, it's best to avoid putting the crew at such a risk.

You have consumed the "Poisonous Stingray"!

[Overall Qualifications: 6.0 → 6.1!]

[Career compatibility +5%!]

[Talent "Devouring Evolution" activated!]

You can choose an evolution path from the following three talents.

【1. Abundant bone spurs (rare)】

2. Slippery surface (inferior quality)

3. Deep Sea Poison (Rare) (Can be stacked with the skill "Great Dark Heaven"!)

(End of this chapter)