Endless Ocean: Escape Starting from a Canoe

Chapter 265 The Fallen Saint-Level Sea Beast?

Yu the Great, Jiuzhou Terrace.

What did he exchange for?

While reviewing the letters from Lighthouse and Black Gold seeking to purchase the "Essence of Purification," Old Zhou asked his assistant a question.

He knew that Shi Ming had gone to the Great Yu Treasury today.

"Old Zhou, Shi Ming used 1000 contribution points to exchange for a combat vest and 500 contribution points to exchange for 12 kilograms of flesh and blood samples from the Eighteen-Winged Teng Snake. Apart from that, he did not exchange for any other items. Currently, he has 11000 contribution points, and he still has 9500 points left."

"really."

Mr. Zhou had anticipated this outcome.

That seed was something he deliberately placed there.

He knew very well that Shi Ming did not currently have enough contribution points to exchange for.

This seed exudes an extraordinary aura; anyone with a modicum of discernment can clearly sense its exceptional nature. Yet, even so, few would spend 20000 contribution points to buy it, as it is simply too expensive.

Shi Ming, on the other hand, was very restrained during this offline exchange. He only used 1,500 of the 11000 contribution points, leaving most of them unused, which clearly indicated that he had something in mind.

This is a good thing.

After several encounters, he increasingly felt that Shi Ming was the "blurred figure" he had sensed.

The most important point is—

The seed that was placed there was the only thing Jiuding found when exploring the outer perimeter of the "collapsed pillar of heaven".

Like the "blurred figure," the "collapsed pillar of heaven" also possesses golden aura. Its precise coordinates are located inside Mount Everest, impossible to detect with current methods; excavation and scientific research can only be conducted from the outside. Combining the intelligence gathered by Da Yu over the past few months with the perception of the Fortune-Fixing Toad, Elder Zhou has a bold guess: the so-called "collapsed pillar of heaven" seems to be a fallen Saint-level sea beast…

This conjecture is very bold.

When this thought came to mind, even Old Zhou himself was startled.

However, this is not a far-fetched idea; there are four main reasons for it:
1. According to the detection records of the Fortune Toad over the past thirty years, even the S-class sea beast ranked 6th and the rare object ranked 11th have not escaped the category of purple fortune. The energy that can be transformed into golden fortune is either a Holy Hall-level sea beast or a rare object ranked extremely high.

2. Several special places were faintly discovered on Mount Everest, which seemed to be leaks inside the mountain. A large amount of life force was surging, and even gave birth to a strange object with abundant life force called "Snow-capped Greenery". Its energy rhythm was very similar to the Great Black Dragon under Mount Fuji in some ways.

3. Although there is a life force present, no signs of large living organisms can be detected within Mount Everest.
4. A collapsed pillar of heaven has the symbolic meaning of falling from grace.

Speculation can be bold, but verification must be done with caution.

As the one who set sail for Yu the Great, he had to be extremely cautious.

Unfortunately, for Yu the Great, the two golden omens comparable to the "Great Stone Tablet"—the "collapsed pillar of heaven" and the "blurred human figure"—have both reached a dead end. There is only speculation, and no way to find a further breakthrough.

Professor Zhou hoped that Shi Ming could bring about a new chemical reaction.

He is also working hard to promote this.

To this end, some somewhat radical methods are not spared.

She even went so far as to set aside all dissenting opinions and present the seed to him.

"Recently, I asked Rongbing to recommend some tasks that can earn contribution points."

Old Zhou put down the letter in his hand.

"Tell Terlinden of the Lighthouse that the redundant Purification Essence has been promised by Yu the Great to be donated to Black Gold to help seal the Nameless Cocoon. There is currently no remaining. If the Lighthouse urgently needs it, have them purchase it from Shi Ming, or wait for the Bodhi Tree to extract new Purification Essence, which will probably take three years."

"Okay, Mr. Zhou."

……

……

……

"Handsome!"

"This defensive vest is perfect for me! Besides increasing my external defense by 30 points, it can also adjust its shape according to my body's changes, mimicking various skin tones, isolating dirt and energy pollution, and automatically cleaning itself, saving me so much trouble!"

Shi Ming looked at himself in the mirror; his vest clung tightly to his body, outlining the perfect physique he had developed through combat.

He was very satisfied with the new equipment.

He spent 1500 contribution points on this treasure vault exchange.

Regardless of Yu's motives in placing that seed before him, he had a reason to exchange it. As a perceptive former member of the organization, he could most likely deduce that the seed was only visible and redeemable by him. This was not a bad thing.

As early as at the banquet, Elder Zhou from Dayu Jiuzhoutai made a special trip despite his busy schedule to secretly use the "Harmony with the World" technique on him. Shi Ming knew that Dayu had "keep an eye" on him to some extent.

The biggest difference between humans and marine animals is that humans can use their strength to their advantage.

Yu the Great was leveraging external forces.

The same applies to Shi Ming.

Sometimes, leveraging others' strengths can be very helpful, as long as you can make sure you won't be betrayed.

Shi Ming was not afraid of being betrayed. He believed that Elder Zhou and the decision-makers of Jiuzhoutai were by no means short-sighted.

On his way back from the Great Yu Treasury, he also visited the Xi Rang branch and showed Chongwen and others his "Divine Revelation Stone Tablet" without reservation. After seeing the actual object, Chongwen confirmed that the stone tablet was of the same origin as the Mount Everest Stone Tablet and said that he would take the lead as soon as possible to promote the plan of Great Yu and Xi Rang headquarters to acquire the stone tablet.

Going with the flow, Shi Ming expressed his desire to see the "holographic projection of the Great Stone Stele" of Yu the Great.

They looked at each other, you looked at mine, I looked at yours.

As it should.

Chongwen granted this small wish, but it still required going through the proper procedures. Maintaining the holographic stele is extremely energy-intensive, and the environment at the summit of Mount Everest is still harsh. Therefore, only a portion of the stele was projected at the Dayu branch, which is the "A Glimpse of Wonders in the Endless Sea (Part 1)" that Chongwen and his team are currently working on.

For the next period of time, Shi Ming will devote himself to exploring the Shadow of the Moon while waiting for good news from the Breath of Earth.

……

In the Shadow of the Moon, besides the treasury and warehouse, there are three areas worth paying attention to.

Hall of Fame, Frost Pavilion, Control Panel.

The Hall of Fame displays portraits of eight women, all leaders of the Snow Kingdom organization. Hanging prominently at the top are "Empress of the Snow Kingdom," Catherine the Great, and "Two-Dimensional Girl," Pandora. Both are Tsar Beasts, yet they are constantly wanted and have bounties placed on their heads by Katyusha. Shi Ming checked Katyusha's bounty system these past two days; the Empress's bounty is 5000 Pure Crystals, and Pandora's is 3000 Pure Crystals.

The bounties for the other minor leaders vary, ranging from 300 to 1000 Pure Crystals.

"Unfortunately, I won't be able to collect these bounties."

"Just consider it doing a good deed anonymously!"

The Empress escaped unharmed, and Pandoria, after being corrupted by the Abyss Lord and dying, left no body. To claim the bounty, one must provide evidence of the kill, which Shi Ming could not produce. Some minor leaders left in the Moon's Shadow, due to their low defense, could not withstand the zero-degree temperatures and were frozen into ice sculptures. Their bodies became glassy, ​​and during the heat recovery process, they collapsed and twisted, becoming unrecognizable, thus ineligible for the bounty.

Frost Pavilion is the administrative center of the Snow Kingdom, storing a large amount of intelligence and various underwater transactions.

Assassination, buying and selling, training assassins, slave trade...

The shadow of the moon lives up to its name as a shadow.

To Shi Ming's surprise, Empress Catherine herself was a victim of the slave trade. She was captured at the age of seven and sold to the Moon Shadow's affiliated drifting ship, Ice Lake. She endured countless hardships and survived in a process of being raised like a venomous insect. Gradually, she gained favor and at the age of thirteen, through stealth and cunning, she stole the awakened power of the S-class sea beast, the Baikal Sea Serpent, before the unsuspecting former captain of the Moon Shadow. She then brutally murdered the previous captain, successfully staged a coup, and within three years, seized control of the Moon Shadow's captaincy.

The dragon slayer became the new dragon.

After the Empress ascended to the throne, the Moon's Shadow became even more rampant.

Over the course of more than a decade, they accumulated a great deal of wealth; the liquid assets placed on the ship alone amounted to 7500 Pure Crystals.

Now it all benefits Shi Ming.

Of course, the most precious items were the "Star of the Seas" nautical crystal on the "control panel" and another "Heart of the Seas" found in the warehouse. Unfortunately, Shi Ming searched the entire ship but did not find any strange objects similar to the "Ivan Matryoshka doll". It seems that the valuable treasures were carried by the Empress and were not placed on the ship.

With the help of the Eye of the Mortal World, Shi Ming conducted a thorough search of the general-class drifting ship, and his findings were roughly as follows.

1. 7500 pure dome crystals, and countless other sea crystals.

2. One Star of the Sea and one Heart of the Sea.

3. A large amount of secret intelligence, which can indeed be exchanged for a bounty from Katyusha.

4. Several pieces of high-end equipment, several collections, and several works of art. The most famous is a large oil painting called "Torowski in Poland." In times of wandering, the value of artworks would be greatly reduced, but they still add up little by little.

5. A map of the endless icy sea in the far north, marked with a peculiar location only about 40 nautical miles from the North Pole. No information can be gleaned from the map's coordinates, but the Eye of the Mortals indicates that the map is made of the fur of the S-class sea beast, the "Heartless Silver Fox."

Additionally, if the remaining wreckage of the Moon's Shadow and the other equipment damaged by the extreme cold are sold, approximately 5000 Pure Crystals can be obtained.

Snow Country is a secret organization inherited from the Land Era. Now, most of its foundation and tens of thousands of pure crystals belong to Shi Ming.

Thank you for the Empress's gift.

(End of this chapter)