Chapter 189: Even Relatives of the Tyrant Boss Must Ride a Weak Ship

Wu Chang frowned after hearing this, his expression growing less friendly.

It wasn't that he was dissatisfied with Cui Chengze's chosen target, but that he disliked how the side hidden quest reward was structured.

With no one else around, he didn't need to maintain his tyrant CEO persona—he wrapped his arm around Cui Chengze and said:

"Come on, old Cui, isn't this a bit unfair? I saved you an entire ship of people, and this is your reward—a nuisance?"

Wu Chang squeezed tightly; Cui Chengze felt like he was under the guillotine, trying to pry off Wu Chang's arm, but seeing Ai Lin standing behind Wu Chang, he stayed still.

He knew his own limits better than anyone—back on the Star Leap, both evil gods had their projections shattered by Ai Lin's hammer; his old bones and joints couldn't take that kind of punishment.

He forced a pleading smile and said: "How could I not help? Of course I'll contribute to dealing with that thing underwater, and…"

Here, Cui Chengze paused, looking at Wu Chang: "If I'm not mistaken, you have sea folk blood in your veins."

Wu Chang shrugged: "Of course the Long Wang can see through me—I once swallowed a golden flying fish, and since then, I've possessed the bloodline of the Ocean's Chosen."

A few of the fish caught in the Quiet Town still remained; he grabbed one and held it out to Cui Chengze.

Cui Chengze looked at the golden flying fish and shook his head dismissively: "This fish's bloodline is impure. Though it may, in some sense, match the eater's innate talent, the bloodline power isn't clean."

"If I'm right, your acquired bloodline carries severe side effects—you must constantly consume these fish or other aquatic celestial treasures to prevent your bloodline from collapsing."

Wu Chang nodded—just as Cui Chengze deduced, after gaining the Ocean's Chosen transformation, he periodically entered a dry state and had to eat golden flying fish or equivalent water-element treasures to suppress it.

It hadn't been long since the Quiet Town instance; he still had some golden flying fish in his personal space. At this consumption rate, in another month he'd need to find alternative water-element items.

Since Cui Chengze brought it up, he must have a solution—he asked: "Old Cui, can you fix my bloodline defect?"

Cui Chengze smirked: "Of course. Back a thousand years ago, my status was at least that of a Long Wang—this is trivial. But to mend your bloodline defect, the solution lies with that thing beneath the deep sea."

"The origin of this golden flying fish's bloodline comes from Him. Kill Him, harvest the remaining flesh for your final ritual, and I'll use it to mend your bloodline defect—and further awaken its power."

Wu Chang frowned. At first he thought Cui Chengze was lying, but then he recalled—during the Quiet Town instance, when he used the Whale Transformation to slaughter the merfolk docks, he'd heard a call from the deep sea, similar to the one in the Silent Passage.

Briver Island, where Quiet Town was located, had once been a penal colony—harsh terrain, scarce resources—how could golden flying fish that awaken bloodline transformations suddenly appear there?

If the calls from both dimensions came from the same entity, then Cui Chengze's words made sense.

Deep beneath the sea near Briver Island lay something similar to the Wreck Belt—He infused His bloodline into fish schools, luring Briver Island's villagers to eat them, turning them into His Chosen.

When the time was right, He would call—and the villagers would transform into merfolk, diving into the deep sea under His command to become His food or offerings.

Wu Chang pieced it all together: "Tell me honestly—what exactly is hidden beneath the sea?"

Cui Chengze said: "He is the remnant body of an evil god. You've already heard part of His origin."

Cui Chengze told Wu Chang about the evil god beneath the sea.

On the Star Leap, Yin Junhao of the Gao Mu Occult Research Society mentioned that over a thousand years ago, Gao Mu was targeted by an evil god. Gao Mu appealed to its suzerain state for aid; Daoist Priests from the suzerain established a terrestrial divine realm, summoned a deity to descend, and slew the evil god deep in the ocean.

The thing beneath the sea was the very evil god recorded in those accounts.

As for Cui Chengze—he was a native half-god of this instance dimension, born from the people's wish for safe voyages. As more worshippers offered incense, he gradually gained a sliver of divine power.

When the evil god first ravaged, the Gao Mu king heard of his efficacy and held a grand ceremony, begging him to confront the evil god.

At that time, he had just formed, his reason still undeveloped, in a state of blank innocence, automatically complying with whatever came his way.

He was a spirit that hadn't even triggered the Wasteland Realm's rule suppression, while the opponent was a high-tier deity capable of rupturing dimensional barriers and hurling part of His body into the Wasteland Realm—the gap between them dwarfed even the difference between Bang Bo Ba and Sun Wukong.

He went to exorcise the demon—and nearly had his soul and body obliterated by a single slap from the evil god.

Later, the Daoist Priest's summoned high-tier deity descended, moved by his difficult birth, healed his wounds, and transformed him from a naturally formed half-god into a true lower-tier deity.

The deity summoned by the Daoist Priest slew the evil god's projection, then buried the corrupted evil god flesh deep within the Wreck Belt, and ordered Cui Chengze to guard it, preventing the evil god flesh from reviving.

Wu Chang looked at Cui Chengze: "So you've existed for over a thousand years?"

Cui Chengze said: "When the Supreme Deity came to exorcise demons in this sea, I beat the drum to amplify His might—recorded in the texts."

Wu Chang shrugged: "If you're also a deity and tasked with guarding this sea, why haven't you stopped the Xinyuzhou Sect from running amok here?"

Cui Chengze: "Because I can't. Most of my power is spent maintaining the suppression of the evil god remnant. What I can exert is less than yours or Zheng Ruiyuan's. If I act, I'll draw their attention—and expose the suppressed evil god remnant."

"All I can do is secretly escort a few passengers away, hoping they'll expose the Xinyuzhou Sect's crimes—but apparently, they failed."

"Fortunately, I met him—Cui Chengze. He carries the blood of an ancient imperial occult master, a bloodline blessed by the Supreme Deity, tied to me. Through this faint connection, I've been able to possess his body and use his strength against the Xinyuzhou Sect."

Wu Chang looked at Cui Chengze—the old man survived a catastrophic accident, stumbled upon a loyal ancestral spirit, and under its guidance, reinvented himself in retirement, becoming Gao Mu's top occult master.

Aside from the old man's archetype, in any novel, he'd be the protagonist.

Cui Chengze continued: "You should also feel it—the thing in the sea is waking up. I'm losing control over His suppression. With you here, and you having summoned a powerful deity through the terrestrial divine realm, the three of us together can permanently eliminate this threat."

Wu Chang nodded: "Let's go see what's happening."

Cui Chengze waved his hand—the seawater split apart, revealing a path down to the seabed.

As they descended, the call in Wu Chang's ears grew more urgent, trying to pierce his will and control his mind.

"Ai Lin, can you silence that thing?"

Ai Lin spoke in his mental world: "This call is a divine power—I can't erase it, but I can try to cancel it out."

Ai Lin began chanting in his mental world. Her chant had no lyrics, yet it evoked a paradise of bliss—within it, all troubles vanished, leaving only joy and peace.

The pure, ethereal chant drowned out the dark, ominous call; Wu Chang instantly felt lighter.

Following the call, they saw a massive pit on the seabed.

The pit's diameter exceeded a hundred meters, utterly black—even Wu Chang's mystic-source-activated eyes saw no light within; it seemed to connect to an endless abyss.

Beside the pit stood a wooden statue, holding a long spear, clad in armor. Its colors had nearly faded, yet it still radiated majestic might—evidence of the carver's extraordinary skill.

Cui Chengze said: "This is the Supreme Deity who slew the evil god. I remember the Daoist Priests called Him Wuqu Star Lord."

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow—no wonder such a crude wooden statue could chase down and slaughter the evil god flesh's projections. This one could really fight.

Cui Chengze said: "The color on the Supreme Deity's wooden statue represents the residual divine power within. Soon, the statue's power will be exhausted. With only my strength, I won't be able to suppress the evil god any longer. Let's lift the seal now—while He hasn't fully recovered—kill Him outright!"

"I only need to move the statue to break the seal. Are you ready?"

Wu Chang nodded: "Go ahead."

They'd come this far—the atmosphere was set—could they really leave the instance without fighting the boss?

"Good!"

Cui Chengze formed a few hand seals in his hand, then pointed at the wooden carving and recalled it.

"The evil god has been suppressed for over a thousand years and is in a weakened state. If we can slay it completely, then this wooden carving won't need to stay here."

Saying so, Cui Chengze handed the wooden carving to Wu Chang.

"Item Name: Wu Qu Star Lord Wooden Carving"

"Item Type: consumable"

"Item Grade: a"

"Item Skill: Divine Descent"

"Skill Description: Summon the Wu Qu Star Lord to assist in battle. Duration: 30 seconds." "Note: The Wu Qu Star Lord is upright in nature, mighty and unyielding. If used by a person of great villainy, beware that the Wu Qu Star Lord may strike you down first."

Wu Chang: …

Taking the wooden carving, the look in his eyes as he glanced at Cui Chengze instantly changed.

Old Cui, look at this mess we're in. We're all on the same side, we fought the Tranquil Sect together on the Star Leap. If you'd told us earlier you had such a good thing, there wouldn't have been the previous misunderstanding, right?

Before Wu Chang could examine the wooden carving closely, the entire seabed began to tremble violently, as if something extraordinary was about to break free.

Cui Chengze shouted: "Get up!"

Wu Chang and Eileen followed Cui Chengze as they floated up, breaking through to the surface of the sea. The sea that had been clear and sunny moments ago was now overcast.

The entire sea surface was terrifyingly black. Through his spiritual sense, Wu Chang could feel a colossal ill omen brewing beneath the waves.

What was suppressed on the seabed was a projection of the evil god's flesh-and-blood incarnation. In terms of power, it was no weaker than Eileen's pure energy projection, and the other side also possessed Authority. Relying on Eileen alone seemed a bit insufficient.

Probably only Li Yuanzhi descending in his full state, fused with the left eye he had previously smuggled into the sub-plane, could reliably suppress the seabed monster by a margin.

These Tranquil Church fellows — they couldn't have been after the evil god's remains from the very start, could they?

!

Wu Chang stroked the Wu Qu Star Lord statue in his hand with reluctance. Surely such a treasure wouldn't have to be used before it's even warmed up.

Half a minute later, giant waves began to rise on the sea surface, each one higher than the last. In the final massive wave, the sea bulged out like a great hump, and as the water fell away, it revealed what was inside.

It was a colossal octopus. Like the Kraken of myth, the head alone that poked above the surface exceeded three hundred meters in height, and on its back grew a pair of enormous bat wings.

Any player seeing this sight would, like Wu Chang, exclaim:

"Holy crap, Boss Cthulhu!"

But very soon, Wu Chang sensed something was off. In his memory, the foreign idol squatting on the stone pedestal did have octopus and bat elements, but Boss Cthulhu's main torso was that of a giant, not an entire body being a giant octopus.

Did Boss Cthulhu's head become sentient?

Or is this thing a relative of Boss Cthulhu?

Even though the evil god before them was not Boss Cthulhu, the sheer oppressive pressure still made it hard to breathe.

Wu Chang said to Cui Chengze: "This is the weakness you were talking about?"

The smile on Cui Chengze's face was a bit forced. He braced himself and said: "When I said weakness, I meant compared to how it was over a thousand years ago."

Wu Chang: "…"

He took a deep breath, held back the urge to blurt out a string of profanities, and asked: "So what do we do now? You're not planning to let us charge in while you hang back like you did over a thousand years ago, playing cheerleader and cheering us on, are you?"

Having his old secrets exposed, Cui Chengze's face couldn't quite hold it. He stuck out his neck and said:

"Let me tell you, never underestimate a deity who has survived for over a thousand years. You young people who don't know how to respect your elders — do you even know what experience is, what the accumulation and settling of wisdom means?"

Wu Chang nodded and said: "Go on."

Cui Chengze snorted angrily and said: "Watch closely. Dealing with an evil god requires not just brute force, but brains. You think I've really been wasting my time these thousand-plus years?"

Having said that, Cui Chengze waved his hand, and over a hundred large ships assembled into a fleet, bearing down on the three of them.

The fleet ranged from all-wooden tower ships, to three-masted sailing vessels, to steamships, and finally to large ocean liners like the Song of the Sea. The variety of ships was almost a microcosm of human maritime history.

Wu Chang stared at the enormous fleet, momentarily too astonished to speak.

If Cui Chengze, this old fox, wasn't simply showing off his collection of figurines over the years, then could it really be what he thought?

Cui Chengze snorted coldly and said: "The reason this place is called the Shipwreck Belt is that I've salvaged all the great ships that sank in the sea, restored them, and gathered them here. Everything I've done has been in preparation for this moment. The weakness of this evil god is that it's afraid of ships!"

"You young whippersnapper, who are you looking down on? In this battle, I'm the main force!"

Boss Cthulhu fears ships, and the giant octopus before them really is related to Boss Cthulhu.

Under Cui Chengze's command, over a hundred large ships launched suicide runs against the evil god.

Logically, an evil god possessing Authority wouldn't be easily hurt by such simple collisions, yet every impact from these ships broke through the evil god's defenses, as if striking its weak spot each time, causing it to wail continuously.

The evil god certainly wouldn't sit and wait for death. While awaiting the fleet's ramming, it moved its body and swung its massive tentacles, slapping at the ships.

The all-wooden antique ships were extremely fragile before it — a single slap would snap them clean in half. Iron-hulled ships and steamships fared a bit better, but still struggled to get close amid the waves stirred up by the evil god and the strikes of its tentacles.

Only modern large ocean liners like the Song of the Sea could withstand the evil god's attacks and ram into it.

But each time a liner breached the evil god's defenses, the liner would also suffer backlash from the evil god's origin power and sink completely.

In just over ten minutes, the once-massive fleet had all sunk.

Looking at the evil god, half of its tentacles were broken, its pair of bat wings were nearly completely shredded, and its bulbous octopus head had been smashed into irregular dents. Compared to when it had just broken free of its seal, it was far more than a little miserable.

However, it wasn't over yet.

Cui Chengze said boastfully: "The reason I dared to propose breaking the seal early is that, besides you summoning a powerful deity, you also got your hands on a ship more powerful than anything in my collection."

The moment Cui Chengze finished speaking, the massive amphibious assault ship Landao appeared over the Shipwreck Belt.

This time the evil god panicked. It trembled slightly while trying to flee, as if saying, "Oh no, this won't do — if something this big rams into me, I'm gonna break."

One must remember that back then, even an ordinary small motorboat could disperse the energy body Boss Cthulhu created.

A big fellow like an amphibious assault ship ramming in — even Boss Cthulhu himself would tremble, let alone this youth-version mini Boss Cthulhu before them.

Accompanied by a tremendous collision and a pitiful howl, as the Landao sank, the evil god was rammed into a limp heap on the sea surface, barely alive.

Wu Chang patted Cui Chengze on the shoulder and gave him a big thumbs-up. Now this situation finally met the standard of "weakened" in his mind.

Eileen beside them once again condensed a massive hammer of holy light and brought it down on the evil god's head.

If it had been able to foresee this fate, it would probably have chosen to stay cooped up in its deep-sea cave forever, rather than rushing to the surface the moment its seal was broken.

The Evil God's projection was completely shattered by Eileen, and the giant octopus's body crumbled apart, revealing a single five-meter-long tentacle that looked as though it had been wind-dried into jerky.

That tentacle was the flesh and blood the Evil God had squeezed into the dungeon world.

The tentacle looked dried out, but if you squeezed it hard, you could still wring out a fair amount of blood.

Following the ritual arrangement Wu Chang had provided, Cui Chengze used the Evil God's blood to set up an improved version of the final class-change ritual for him.

Wu Chang stood within it, rubbing his hands together in excitement, wondering just how much the third ring of the class change, completed with Evil God's blood, would raise the final quality of the class change.

As his consciousness began, he felt a vast surge of energy flood into him.

According to the original procedure, the final ritual should have relied on a transcendent creature's innate mastery of the mystic arts to remodel the secret-knight's meridians and bones, letting him emulate a transcendent creature and enter a state of mystic affinity.

But Wu Chang had already completed this step on his own during class-change quest two.

Driven by the final ritual, the energy circulated once through Wu Chang's body, further reinforcing his meridians and bones, and still a large portion of the energy remained unused.

Since it could no longer enhance him further, the only option was an ascension.

"Player has completed class-change quest three: In the dungeon world, hunt a transcendent creature born with the ability to manipulate the mystic arts, use the prey's blood to draw the final ritual, and complete the class change."

"Beginning quest evaluation."

"Class-change quest three completion rating: Perfect!"

(End of chapter)