Witch, I'm really not the Deep Sea Ancient God!

The sea breeze blew, and flowers drifted far away with the fallen leaves.

"Pleasure doing business with you!"

Chen Qi and the Flower Witch high-fived, sealing their first deal on Flower Island.

The Flower Witch repeatedly cautioned that she bore an important mission and must not have her whereabouts exposed.

If he truly obtained Dragon's Breath Grass, the Flower Witch would naturally find a way to contact him.

Before leaving, the Flower Witch took out two strong Healing Potions from her withered medicine bag and handed them to Chen Qi,

"According to my information, the Dragon Nest in this place is not a Blade Phase crack, but a Floral Appearance crack, which may have a special way to clear it.

These are all I have left. I hope they can help you a bit. Please be careful."

The Flower Witch shook her head. When she arrived in the Shell Country waters, her ship was attacked, and all her belongings fell into the sea.

Therefore, she had been so poor as to eat grass earlier.

Now, relying on the money earned from the previous hunting ground, she barely managed to purchase herbs and produce two new potions.

But because of the ship fare and the cost of the herbs, she was once again penniless.

Chen Qi took the potions.

[Healing Potion - Modified:

Nature Form: Floral

Description: Transcendent potion that boosts overall stamina and strength within ten minutes, while also increasing the body's healing speed.]

High-end stuff!

These Transcendent potions were worth at least thirty thousand Shell Coins per vial.

Moreover, if the potion was made personally by the Flower Witch, the price would be even higher.

Chen Qi accepted the potion,

"Thank you, I'll do my best to get the Dragon's Breath Grass."

After the deal was done, the Flower Witch said her farewells and disappeared into the woods.

Chen Qi clapped his hands and returned to the village on Flower Island to gather more information about the cracks.

...

...

Near the sea along Flower Island, where the Hunters resided.

Chen Qi came to this place.

The Dragon Nest was a crack that remained open for a long time and could only be entered at night.

Here, there was a specific Red Crystal Hunter Group that tackled cracks.

Chen Qi looked around.

In this place, Pei Lu was asking people for information.

Besides her, there were some people in fancy clothes who were likely village officials or wealthy merchants from Flower Island.

So many people... Chen Qi approached the traveling Transcendents and joined their discussion.

They were discussing a simple battle plan.

"Dragon Nest, indeed, it's impossible to drive away the dragon. Our mission this time is still to gather herbs. As a Floral Appearance crack, the herbs within it contain unimaginable Transcendent power."

"Don't say that, dragons can be driven away! The leader of the Red Crystal Hunter Group said, as long as we work together, we can defeat the dragon. Moreover, the dragon on Dragon Nest Island isn't as powerful as the Sea Dragons in the Witch Sea."

"Yes, there are so many of us!"

"Exactly, we're so many, and the villagers of Flower Island still look down on us!"

"Keep your voice down, better not provoke these villagers, we are outsiders after all."

Chen Qi listened and summarized the personnel composition for the crack expedition into roughly three factions.

First, lone wolves like him who came to this place.

Second, the Red Crystal Hunter Group.

In this world, Transcendents who specialized in dealing with cracks were also called Hunters.

Organizations that aimed to clear cracks were called Hunter Groups.

In gaming communities, 'Hunter Group' was also the name of many guilds.

The Red Crystal Hunter Group was a registered Hunter Group with all its members being second-order experts.

The third and the most dangerous faction according to Chen Qi.

He looked at the villagers here.

Many villagers were gazing at the distant sea.

After a while, as the moon rose, a loud steam roar came from afar.

Everyone stopped their discussions and looked towards the distance.

On the horizon, a blood-red flag flew in the sea breeze.

On the flag, a long knife was thrust into a sea of corpses.

"The Blood Blade Pirate Group's flag!"

Chen Qi was startled.

At that moment, some villagers smiled.

They had been waiting for the Blood Blade Pirate Group.

From the fringe of the near sea, it was pirate territory.

Flower Island was a fertile island with a population of a thousand. Without the protection of a powerful faction, normal life couldn't be maintained.

Places abandoned by the navy would be governed by pirates.

Surprisingly, the one protecting Flower Island turned out to be one of the Four Great Pirate Groups, the Blood Blade Pirate Group!

Chen Qi took out his black knife from the backpack card.

Transcendents from the Hunter Group also drew their weapons.

"This is the Blood Blade Pirate Group's ship! There shouldn't be any former navy members here! Nor any Black Whale Group members!"

"Put away your weapons, don't act rashly. We don't need to confront the Blood Blade Pirate Group head-on."

"Why is the Blood Blade Pirate Group here?"
Explore more at m,v l'e-m|p| y r

Pei Lu, who was gathering information nearby, rarely showed a frightened look as she backed away.

Pei Lu was almost a universally taunting unit in the near sea.

A massive red steamship stirred up huge waves and docked at the shore.

Soon after, a gangway dropped down from the ship.

Sh-sh-sh!

Fifty members of the Blood Blade Pirate Group, dressed in red uniforms, disembarked from the ship in neat steps, holding heavy firearms at their chests, forming a straight-line formation.

They were uniformly outfitted in red and white military-style clothing and equipped with weapons from the Magic Bullet Company.

The Blood Blade Pirate Group was born from an internal navy war; its founder was also the former admiral of the navy.

Therefore, both its uniforms and its system bore traces of the navy.

They viewed themselves as the true navy, ruling over many near-sea islands!

Are there participants from the Blood Blade Pirate Group in this crack expedition? Chen Qi felt a bit uneasy.

Under everyone's gaze, a man and a woman descended the gangway.

The woman was petite, wearing a red cloak.

The young man was tall, dressed in a wolf-hide coat, with a terrifying black wolf tattooed on his chest.

Chen Qi had seen them in the newspaper.

Fierce Wolf Fenrir and Little Red Riding Hood, two recently notorious pirates.

Little Red Riding Hood, slender, a second-order Transcendent, with the profession of [Blood Soldier], had a bounty of three million Shell Coins!

Fierce Wolf Fenrir, a third-tier Transcendent, and a key member of the Blood Blade Pirate Group, had a bounty of thirteen million Shell Coins!

"Little Red Riding Hood, this person..."

Seeing the two in front, Chen Qi was secretly amazed.

These two were not only famous in the Witch Sea but also prominent on gaming forums!

Especially Little Red Riding Hood.

Chen Qi thought for a moment. Given her physique and appearance, coupled with the Blood Blade Pirate Group affiliation,

he hadn't expected to encounter her in this place!

This person was also a significant NPC in the Witch Sea.

In the near future, Little Red Riding Hood would acquire another title—the Blade Witch.

But completely opposite to the gentle Flower Witch, the Blade Witch's temper was notoriously irritable!

Of course, at this point in time, no one knew her witch identity.

The Flower Witch did not know the Blade Witch at all.

Chen Qi shook his head. Frankly, he didn't want to meet the Blade Witch here, nor did he have any intention of getting acquainted.

Her temper was bad, and she frequently resorted to violence.

Countless players, attracted to Little Red Riding Hood's beauty, joined the Blood Blade Pirate Group, only to die by her blade.

The appearance of Fierce Wolf Fenrir and Little Red Riding Hood caused a brief panic.

If the Blood Blade Pirate Group attacked, all fifty people here might die!

Chen Qi took a deep breath.

The Blood Blade Pirate Group had their pride.

Especially Little Red Riding Hood and Fenrir, who valued their reputation even more than the navy did and would not attack without reason.

Little Red Riding Hood stepped forward, scanning everyone present from the Red Crystal Hunter Group's leader to the village head of Flower Island, then to Chen Qi and Pei Lu the journalist.

The village head did not speak, subtly signaling Little Red Riding Hood.

Here was a reporter known for her taunts.

Suddenly, Little Red Riding Hood conjured up a red Blood Crystal Spear.

Blood manipulation, a primary skill of the second-tier Blade Phase profession [Blood Soldier].

She pointed the red spear at Pei Lu,

"Ms. Journalist, our Blood Blade Pirate Group won't harm you out of respect for the press.

But no matter why you're here, we don't want to see our whereabouts in tomorrow's paper."

"Okay, got it."

Pei Lu obediently raised her hands.

The Blood Blade Pirate Group loathed the current navy, while Pei Lu had recently been close to them.

After the warning, Little Red Riding Hood moved to the center of the community. Checking the time, she addressed everyone,

"Ladies and gentlemen! Our Blood Blade Pirate Group is not like the Black Whale Group, those cowards who bully the weak, nor are we the navy, those backstabbing bastards.

We have our own rules. As long as you don't attack us, we won't attack you.

This journey, like you, we are participants in the crack! Like you, we are brothers seeking strength in this vast sea!

"Exactly! We are just here to send our charming Little Red Riding Hood to the crack.

Of course, if you pay us, we don't mind protecting you. Rest assured, every agreement with us is a contractual one."

Fenrir said lazily, showing their confidence in securing everything.

Chen Qi gripped his black knife. The Blood Blade Pirate Group was also a participant in the crack.

This added a formidable competitor! Chen Qi thought.

The Blood Blade Pirate Group did not display overt hostility, setting up like the navy amidst the Hunter Group, waiting for the crack.

As dusk turned to night,

cracks appeared in various forms and entry methods.

E-grade cracks were often just wormholes you could crawl into.

With higher crack levels, entry methods varied.

In this place, a mysterious unmanned boat appeared nightly.

To enter the Dragon Nest, one must board the boat when the moon rose.

Only clearing the crack could stop the nightly appearance of these boats.

People gathered around bonfires, anxiously waiting.

This hunt differed from before; the Blood Blade Pirate Group's involvement implied the crack might be cleared tonight!

"Everyone, time is running out."

"This is our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..."

The Red Crystal Hunter Group decided to go all out after discussions!

Both the Red Crystal Hunter Group and the Blood Blade Pirate Group probably knew about the Hunter's treasure... Chen Qi observed from behind a tree.

This expedition, as the Flower Witch said, not only posed threats from the dragon but also from people.

A tense atmosphere filled the area.

Finally, at midnight,

with a misty breeze, over a hundred flower-laden unmanned boats sailed toward them.

A prompt for the crack finally appeared before them.

[Inspiration Appraising...]