Free Web NovelChapter 358: Chapter 351: Setting the Bait
’Since you’re so perceptive, Kun Kun...’
’I’ll just have to make you lower your guard.’
As he was leaving Earth’s Lung, Shi Ming left a small gift for the Ten Thousand Forms Kun.
He analyzed his own power and extracted a pure sliver of "Fallen Sanctuary," which he casually fused into a piece of rotten wood on the seabed.
Only Fallen Sanctuary.
It contained no other type of power.
Fallen Sanctuary was a power he had created by fusing "Ragnarok" and the "Third Law." It had never before appeared in the Endless Ocean, or even in history. It was at a level that had just barely stepped into the Holy Hall Tier. To a veteran Holy Hall-level Sea Beast, it was a complete rookie, making it an irresistibly tempting target.
It was the perfect prey.
The Ten Thousand Forms Kun was perceptive.
It could also sense an enemy’s malice.
It even had a clear grasp of fate.
But what if he used that against it? What if he made it believe from the bottom of its heart that its enemy was far weaker than itself? If it formed a preconceived notion based on this incomplete truth, becoming accustomed to the pattern and believing it without a doubt, would it lower its guard and take the initiative to attack the next time they met?
It was hard to predict.
But undeniably, it was a viable strategy.
After leaving behind the carefully concocted bait, Shi Ming, wearing the Golden Mask, stood atop Sun-Shooter and vanished without a trace into the depths of Earth’s Lung like an undetectable specter flitting through the abyss, heading back toward the Grand 운.
Along the way, he took in the grand spectacle that was Earth’s Lung today.
The former Amazon Rainforest, now decaying in the deep sea, had become a most peculiar "Plant Morgue." It was these decaying trees, under the high pressure of the deep sea and broken down by microorganisms, that produced vast quantities of methane clathrates. These combined marvelously with Sea Crystal Stones, forming the strange turbulent currents in the water, the dense fog on the surface, and the Fog Island Crystals.
Shi Ming even discovered a Crystal Ore deposit in the deep sea.
With a casual pry, a huge Crystalline Stone came loose.
Naturally, he wasn’t going to pass up such a windfall. In the blink of an eye, he extracted the three largest pieces and stored them in his inventory. He estimated there were at least several thousand in total!
WHOOSH~
In another blink, Sun-Shooter vanished from the spot.
...
...
...
An unknown amount of time passed.
In the dark abyss, light blue butterflies appeared one by one, their fluttering wings illuminating a large patch of the seabed. Then, they gathered together, transforming into a translucent, light blue, giant Kun that roamed the boundless depths.
WHOOO—
The Ten Thousand Forms Kun.
It had swum back into reality from the realm of illusion.
It had just faintly detected a ripple in fate, uncertain if it was good or bad, and had thus activated one of its skills, "Southern Netherworld Dream Illusion," to hide itself in the ethereal plane, awaiting the arrival of prey or an enemy.
But nothing had followed.
It didn’t give it much thought.
There had been many similar ripples.
Thirty years ago, fifteen years ago, seven years ago, five years ago, three years ago... disharmonious elements would appear at regular intervals, but most had nothing to do with it. Only the strange object it was currently guarding was its most important opportunity.
A gurgling mass of "Source Water" constantly pulsed with the purest, most concentrated energy.
It had turned the depths of Earth’s Lung into its exclusive treasure trove.
It was originally a Kun, a free and unfettered Kun. From the Extreme North, it would beat the water for three thousand li and soar ninety thousand li into the sky, traveling to the Far South, carefree and unrestrained. Now, being stuck guarding this several-hundred-square-li area in the depths of Earth’s Lung was indeed dull. Fortunately, its skills allowed it to experience all the myriad forms of existence, so it was usually not bored.
Occasionally, it would personally enter the stage.
Just like now.
An interesting story was playing out on the outskirts of this sea region. A human cub, only eight years old, stood at a crossroads of fate. What choice would he make?
Sometimes, it was a spectator.
Other times, it would ruthlessly seize control of destiny. freёweɓnovel.com
But no matter the time, it fancied itself the "director" of fate—the weaver, arbiter, and master of destiny.
This was the Ten Thousand Forms Kun.
A Holy Hall Tier beast.
...
...
...
"It’s extracted one!"
"It’s extracted one!"
The sudden joy made the crewman guarding the High-Level Sea Crystal Stone production device shout with exhilaration. His excited voice pierced through the thick fog, reaching every corner of the four Bronze-class drifter ships anchored here.
The machine they had pooled their money to buy had, after more than a month, finally extracted a single Fog Island Crystal.
Fortune favors the bold.
After so long in this godforsaken place, they finally had a harvest!
A Fog Island Crystal could be exchanged for one Pure Dome Crystal in the [Fire Seed] trading market, which was equivalent to 100 Dome Crystals. This was a fortune an ordinary person could never earn in a lifetime. Even split among four drifter ships, each ship would get a considerable share!
It was enough for all four captains to buy B-rank Sea Beast Blood!
To become even more powerful Awakened!
The good news spread quickly, and everyone gathered around, including the small, eight-year-old crew member, Krotos.
"This is great!"
Before the adventure began, Krotos’s father had already planned out how to use the wealth from "hitting the lottery." First, he would buy a dose of B-rank Sea Beast Blood for his son, letting him get a head start in life. If there were any Crystal Stones left over, he would get himself a dose of C-rank Sea Beast Blood to raise his own strength to the next level!
They weren’t afraid of anyone having ill intentions and trying to seize all the gains.
The captains of the ships knew each other inside and out, their strengths were comparable, and they were old partners. They wouldn’t turn on each other for wealth. In the Endless Ocean, alliances and mutual support among the weak were their greatest source of confidence in facing crises.
They would all advance together!
Honest smiles graced everyone’s faces.
But then—
The High-Level Sea Crystal Stone production device began to extract one Fog Island Crystal after another. Everyone was dumbfounded, their breathing growing ragged. Their faces flushed red, and the sun-and-wind-beaten veins on their foreheads bulged.
CHUNK, CHUNK, CHUNK.
The fog-wreathed crystals poured out of the device as if they were free—three, four, five, six... twenty, thirty, forty... one hundred...
Sometimes, when faced with an immense, joyous surprise, people wonder if they are in a dream.
SMACK!
The sound of a slap rang out.
A red-skinned captain’s hand had struck his own face hard, making it even more vibrant.
It wasn’t a dream!!!
Their minds went blank. They reached out with calloused hands to touch the cold crystals, clutching them tightly. The salty mist and seawater seemed to stop flowing in that instant; time itself felt frozen.
All was deathly silent.
Only the hearts in their chests pounded like furiously beaten war drums!
An unreal, dreamlike feeling intertwined with wild ecstasy.
"Son! Son!"
"With so many Fog Island Crystals, we’re rich! Forget just B-rank Sea Beast Blood, we can even buy a five-square-meter house in [Fire Seed]!"
"You’ll never have to drift on the sea like me for the rest of your life!"
"In the future, you’ll marry a wife in Fire Seed and be better than everyone else!"
The captain grabbed his son’s arms, his eyes wide and round with excitement.
...
A long, drawn-out cry of a Kun, inaudible to any human, echoed in an unknown corner of the world.
The director of fate was beginning to witness the myriad forms of the mortal world.
