620: One step at a time

"Scar, once the Ascension Tide determines which wave it is, help out if you can. It's said the waves rise ten thousand feet, and if you get separated halfway, you might die a terrible death. Thinking about how many fellow travelers might die for no reason, I feel bad..."

"Captain, don't worry, these fellow travelers, and those who used us as shields that day, will all die a terrible death!" Scar promised with a serious face, then sneered, "They took advantage of us, how could it be that easy!"

"No, I'm serious."

"Captain, don't worry, I understand what you mean!" Scar's expression grew even more serious, firmly believing that the Captain was laughing out of anger and saying the opposite...

It had been a long time since he'd seen the Captain angry. Scar felt he'd been doing quite well lately. His identity as a criminal was a bit troublesome, but his position as First Mate of the Ghost Ship was even more intimidating.

With his position straightened out, he naturally felt that those who used them as shields truly deserved to die.

"I'm serious, we're going to be good people this time." Shen Bei, fearing Scar would actually follow through, quickly grabbed him and added, "My meaning is, except for that pirate ship we saw that day that used us as a be made a scapegoat, forget about the others."

"Oh..." Scar was utterly confused, but at least he finally understood...

Shen Bei sighed inwardly, looking around, feeling exhausted.

Why did all these bastards think he was being sarcastic?

Was he that kind of person?

Even though the crew was a complex mix, he was officially a representative of the government!

Why couldn't he be a kind, helpful, good person?

A bunch of lunatics.

Shen Bei stopped explaining, standing high up, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding ships, looking for areas that required special attention.

That lavishly decorated multi-deck ship was the most conspicuous, but Shen Bei felt that if it didn't have something special, without a formation at its base, it probably wouldn't be able to ride the waves.

Then there was Duan Kong's steel battleship, which looked much stronger than ordinary battleships.

And then there were several ships with obvious pirate ship designs, with a group of fierce-looking individuals on board, clearly pirates.

The pirate ship that ran the fastest when they encountered the Headless Undead that day was among them.

Then there were a few ships isolated at the edge of the fleet.

The ships from the Lin family and the Shuang family, among others, that departed from the Imperial City did not take this route. They followed the regular path and even urged Shen Bei to join them and not venture into the Ascension Tide.

Shen Bei ignored them.

So many other forces, even people from the Great Wilderness, came here. It was definitely not for a market fair.

If worst came to worst, he would just waste time catching up with the Lin family's ships.

Unable to persuade Shen Bei, they left, abandoning Shen Bei, this official ship, to head towards the Ascension Tide.

Of course, for other forces, the Ascension Tide was not a place guarded by the state; everyone could do as they pleased.

Moreover, it was useless for Shen Bei to claim he was official; they only recognized the Ghost Ship as pirates...

Shen Bei took a deep breath and gazed out at the sea again.

A pitch-black ship, without sails, had a nine-story black pagoda in the center. Skull-shaped wind chimes hung from the pagoda's eaves. When the sea breeze blew, the wind chimes emitted mournful, weeping sounds that made people very uncomfortable.

Around the large ship, several smaller black ships followed, with no one visible on their decks.

"Those are people from the Fu Tu Demon Sect, right? Do you know who came?" Shen Bei pursed his lips and asked Scar.

"It's said the Little Devil Buddha of the Demon Buddha lineage has arrived, and the Blood Depletion Dao Consort of the Ferocious lineage has also come. I don't know about the others, but after all, it's just a barrier, and it's only thanks to the Seventy-Two Celestial Pillars that these young Geniuses come to seek Opportunity. Otherwise, barriers appear every day in the Great Wilderness, how could they all rush over..."

"Are these two very famous in the Great Wilderness?" Shen Bei asked casually. This was, after all, the edge of the South Sea, so it was normal for people from the Great Wilderness to appear. At the same time, the term 'Bloodline' appeared again.

Shen Bei even suspected that what people called the Celestial Human Attraction was what the Great Wilderness called 'Bloodline'.

After all, there were simply too many instances of the same thing being called by different names.

However, Shen Bei had not yet confirmed it.

Now, according to Scar, countless barriers appeared in the Great Wilderness every year. They couldn't just swarm to every newly discovered barrier. Only when its true value was confirmed would powerful forces make a strong move.

Even if these people knew where the Burial Sea Secret Lord's tomb entrance was, they wouldn't come in a grand manner. It was normal for them to send their talented Disciples to seek Opportunity. Not only was it inconspicuous, but their strength was also sufficient, and even if they gained nothing, they could at least gain experience.

"The Little Devil Buddha is the closed-door Disciple of the current Buddha King of the Demon Buddha lineage. He has a natural Buddha bone and demon heart, perfectly suited for the Demon Buddha lineage's Universal Salvation Demon Sutra. He is the second person in a thousand years to cultivate the Round Light to the second layer. His Realm is said to be only the second layer of the Divine Power Realm, but his strength is far beyond that. He is most famous for once forcibly converting an entire School.

As for Blood Depletion Dao Consort, this fellow is bloodthirsty, especially fond of handsome Body Cultivator male cultivators, from whom she extracts blood and refines marrow to create half-human, half-corpse Ku Xue Dao Soldiers. Not only are they incredibly poisonous, but they are also fearless of death and possess immense strength...

Within the Ferocious lineage, Body Cultivators are most looked down upon. The emphasis is on controlling enemies with spells, and between movement and stillness, great power is applied. Someone like Blood Depletion Dao Consort is naturally very unconventional, and because of this, she has killed many of her own Senior Brothers and Disciples from the same lineage..."

Listen!

Just Scar's introduction made his head ache.

Are these guys even human? They're all monsters, right?

As expected of the Great Wilderness, the style shift was a bit too fast.

Just as Shen Bei was complaining inwardly.

"Captain, someone's here."

As Scar's voice fell, three divine lights flew from the horizon and landed on the deck of the Ghost Ship.

Sect Leader Ding Dong, Ding Sanmou, and the silent middle-aged man walked out of the divine light together.

"This is the reward." Ding Sanmou threw over a Storage Pouch.

Opening the Storage Pouch, there were many shining stones used as currency, called "Spirit Crystals," which were also a universal currency in the Great Wilderness.

The price was not low. After all, the Ghost Ship also needed to take risks to rush into the Ascension Tide, and whether they could break even this time was an unknown.

Shen Bei didn't say anything. Anyway, he was already making a steady profit. The Ghost Ship was far more reliable than other battleships, not even on the same level.

According to the records in the log, the Ghost Ship had a record of rushing into the Ascension Tide.

However, after going up, the subsequent records made no mention of anything.

When it was recorded again, it was already back in the South Sea.

"Then I wish us a smooth journey, and I also wish the three of you abundant harvests." Shen Bei put away the Spirit Stones and politely said a few words with a smile.

"Scar, go tell the others to board now. One hundred sixth-grade Spirit Crystals per spot. Once the Ascension Tide appears, the price won't be this cheap!" Shen Bei's eyes rolled, and he told Scar to spread the word.

Since he was going to be a good person, letting more people go up, it wouldn't be good not to make a profit, especially since his subordinates didn't believe he wanted to be a good person...

Others probably wouldn't dare to believe it even more.

The news was widely spread, but no one paid attention to Shen Bei...

"One hundred sixth-grade Spirit Crystals for one person? Hahaha, even robbers wouldn't dare to ask for such an exorbitant price!"

"The new Captain of the Ghost Ship must be crazy for money, right? Are they that confident they can rush up?"

No one came, and Shen Bei was not surprised, still happily waiting for the Ascension Tide to appear.

Three days passed in a flash. The increasingly violent waves in the sea, within a short incense stick's time, mysteriously calmed down. The sea surface was calm, as still as a mirror.

Beneath the surface, a strange power emerged.

At the location of the collapsed Celestial Pillar, a whirlpool began to appear. The seawater was drawn into the whirlpool, its scope growing larger and larger. In less than half an hour, the whirlpool covered dozens of miles.

The center of the whirlpool was dim, with specks of orange phosphorescence emerging from within.

Countless Headless Lanterns, propelled by the surging waves from the whirlpool, shot into the sky, diagonally soaring towards the heavens. In the blink of an eye, the waves had already surged above the clouds.

The waves grew larger and wider. In a dozen breaths, the waves transformed into a width of tens of miles, and after rushing a thousand feet into the high sky, they inexplicably rolled over, forming a staircase-like structure. After surging forward for a while, another strange roll occurred, continuing to diagonally insert into the sky...

At a glance, it looked as if the entire horizon had been raised, a truly magnificent sight.

"One step, one ascent to heaven!" Shen Bei exclaimed in awe, then shouted, "Hoist the sails, set sail!"