Chapter 159: It

Under the glow of a full moon, the boundless sea appeared unnaturally dark, as a flagship-class divine vessel with a whale-headed figure cut through the waves, thick mist clinging to its sides as if spectral entities escorted it.

Inside the cramped cabin, whale-oil lamps swayed gently with the ship's motion, casting an eerie light over the meeting room.

At the head of the table sat a middle-aged man clad in an outdated naval uniform, his eyes suppressing some emotion, fixed with a gaze that seemed ready to erupt in violence upon the red-clad man across from him—

"I'll ask one last time—are you certain you're not joking?"

Hearing the words of this Vice Admiral of the Sea Folk, the red-clad man laughed. Ignoring the wary, nearly weapon-drawn stares of the other Sea Folk, he rose and met the naval vice admiral's gaze with eyes full of aggression—

"If you didn't believe me, why let me board? Drop the formalities. Tell me—what do you really want to know? I'm just a nobody, not representing my family—but you, Vice Admiral, hold no small position!"

"Few in the Ried family wear red," the Vice Admiral said meaningfully, his fingers tracing the pearl-inlaid armrest of his chair:

"A follower of the Wolf of the Hunt seeking aid? Naturally, I must consider carefully. Why bring this news? Is such a piece of information worth the lives of the gods' children?"

The red-clad man tore open his shirt, revealing a chest still marked by unnatural scars amid the sound of medical tape peeling. He pointed to his wounds and smiled, chillingly:

"Not long ago, that divine strike hit me—suddenly, at least forty tons of sourceless weight crushed me. I still bear the full divine inscription! Does your Sea God Church even lack the technology to verify combat records?"

"Without that, you wouldn't even have earned the right to board, servant of the Wolf," the Vice Admiral replied coldly, his gaze sweeping over the man's scars, his tone still unnervingly calm despite his piercing eyes—

"Speak. What target have you refused to name?"

The red-clad man gently stroked the gray desert wolf crouched beside him, his voice regaining a measure of calm:

"A woman—white hair, red eyes, accompanied by a white wolf. She was meant to be part of a glorious hunt, but she fled the hunting ground. I must end this hunt myself."

"That's all?" The Vice Admiral's palm, pale as waterlogged flesh, rested on the table. The red-clad man replied with a seriousness far greater than when he revealed his wounds:

"Every hunt must be honored. You must not question this! Just as I would never question your hatred for the Earth's favored!"

"..." The Vice Admiral's lips moved slightly, but he only shook his head faintly.

"Continue."

"There's nothing more to say. That man is strong—I have no confidence. So I came to you. That's all." The red-clad man's tone suddenly turned casual, as if discussing tonight's meal—

"The children of the Hunt God never abandon their prey. If you won't help, fine—but that man..."

"I understand. The remnants of the Earth shall sink into the sea," the Vice Admiral interrupted calmly, his suppressed emotions vanishing as if they had never been.

"Nauseating divine craft," the red-clad man muttered inwardly, yet rose and followed the Vice Admiral onto the deck.

Yet at the very moment he stepped out of the cabin, the red-clad man's body froze—intense killing intent nearly shattered his consciousness.

The gray desert wolf merged instantly into his body; his red hooded cloak transformed into full armor enveloping him. He watched the suddenly explosive Vice Admiral warily—yet received a voice far calmer than he expected:

"Don't be impulsive. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't have had the chance to merge with your phantom beast."

Saying no more, the Vice Admiral fell silent—but his gaze, through the divine vessel's resonance, still gazed far across the horizon toward a faint, barely perceptible yet unmistakable green thread.

…

Beneath that thread, Feng Xue's fingertips trembled slightly; on the pure white rabbit, a persistent green hue now spread.

In Feng Xue's Qi-seeing vision, a four-armed figure—holding a clay jar, a conch, a medical scroll, and a lotus—persistently tried to emerge from the rabbit.

"So stubborn, huh?" Feng Xue squinted. He'd never seen this before. Whether the Moon Goddess Ma Wu's avatar or the Sea God's scout, all had crumbled under his shamanic arts—but this green deity of medicine, reduced to nothing more than a twisted remnant of worship, stubbornly resisted his will-formed shape.

"Something's off. Three Sea God vessels have already dropped their divine force locks, and that Sea Giant seems to be searching for something!" Fena frowned from the crow's nest. Feng Xue looked up at the green willpower and immediately understood why—but he had no intention of giving up. He gave Mo Ying a silent signal.

Mo Ying, attuned to Feng Xue's thoughts, immediately understood and began preparing all components for another ritual within Feng Xue's Pot Heaven pouch.

He had zero interest in underwater ruins or ancient civilization relics. All he wanted was the God of Longevity's divine power—leaving immediately would be worth it.

So...

"Let's gamble!"

Feng Xue gritted his teeth, called Little Bell to open the Public Channel provided by the Landseekers Forum for this operation, and declared:

"Within the fan-shaped zone from three to five o'clock relative to the temple, the Sea Folk's warships are behaving oddly—they seem to be searching for something! Anyone with spare capacity, investigate!"

The channel erupted in noise. Thanks to Feng Xue's earlier display of dispersing swordfish swarms, immediate responses flooded in. Within moments, new messages arrived—

"It's not just that area—my ships are also preparing to leave, even ignoring my cutting of chains! Something's definitely wrong!"

"Same here!"

"Mine already left—left behind a mirage. If you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have noticed!"

"They've definitely found something!"

Voices rose in chorus. Then, the veteran with codename 【Abyss】 suddenly spoke:

"My scout detected a Vice Admiral-class vessel approaching—estimated arrival in twenty minutes. Also, its course overlaps with the Sea Folk's current movements!"

The entire channel exploded in uproar. Some wanted to flee—but more Landseekers converged. Even if this wasn't about the Earth God's whereabouts, it didn't matter. All Landseekers knew: if the Sea Folk wanted to do something, stopping them was success.

"Sorry, but if this works, I'll just raise you a new Earth God later!"

Feng Xue silently apologized to himself for his ruthlessness, stared at the still unyielding God of Longevity, then fixed his gaze on the channel's message: "Vice Admiral-class vessel approaching"—and suddenly looked up at the full moon directly overhead—

"Funny—I've been in this world exactly fifteen days. Yunxi, can you hear me?"

"What is it?" Yunxi's voice responded instantly from the ring. Feng Xue pulled out three incense sticks, lit them, and said:

"Prepare to absorb lunar essence—take as much as you can! Might as well, since throwing it away is waste!"

"Huh?"

(End of Chapter)