Chapter 357 - 329: Silver Blood
Before him was a mountain range rising from the deep sea, with rolling peaks and scattered black reefs.
The surface of the underwater mountain range was riddled with caves of all sizes.
The mountain range looked as if it had been corroded, leaving it pockmarked with holes.
From time to time, cave-dwelling sea creatures could be seen moving in and out of the openings.
"Qin, if we want to lure it out, we need to prepare some bait first." The Fishman Leader searched the area and quickly found what it needed.
It was a type of red fish with a large head and a small body.
It had blue spots on its cheeks that, from a distance, resembled a pair of blue eyes.
The Fishman Leader clapped its hands together, smashing the fish into a paste.
Then, from a leather pouch at its waist, it took out a fine net and poured the paste inside.
A long, thin rope was attached to the other end of the net.
"When something takes the bait, you must act fast. Don’t hold back—that thing’s bite is painful." The Fishman Leader turned to look at Mogu, who stood beside Qin Ziwen.
Mogu merely shot it a disdainful glance, his pale gold pupils sweeping past.
"Begin."
The Fishman Leader set off, gripping the rope and swimming close to the surface of the mountain range.
The netted paste cut through the water, leaving behind a bloody trail.
Qin Ziwen noticed the trail followed a pattern, connecting the holes on the mountain’s surface in a line.
Just as it passed one of the cave mouths, a long, slender black shadow shot out from inside.
It instantly clamped down on the net, pulling the rope taut.
It was a silver-white water centipede with an iridescent sheen.
The section emerging from the cave alone was over two meters long. Its wrist-thick body was lined with sharp spines on both sides.
BANG—
Mogu vanished from his spot.
When he reappeared, he was already clutching it in his palm.
In his palm, the water centipede struggled desperately, trying to wrap itself around Mogu’s arm.
Mogu flicked his wrist, then squeezed.
A thick cloud of blood blossomed in the water.
Only then did Qin Ziwen’s Insight ability belatedly activate, falling upon the water centipede.
[Extraordinary Silver Bobbit Worm: ☆☆☆☆]: Level 1 Sharp Beak
Qin Ziwen took the Silver Bobbit Worm from Mogu’s hand.
He hadn’t expected it to be one of these; he’d heard of them before on nature documentaries.
Apparently, many movie monsters were based on it.
The Bobbit Worms on Earth, which live deep in the sandy seabed, are ferocious and bizarre-looking. They have chrysanthemum-shaped mouthparts and a pair of large mandibles.
The Bobbit Worms in this part of the sea were no different.
"Master, its blood is very valuable." Mogu held up the Silver Bobbit Worm. "After refinement, one can extract pure Silver Blood."
"What’s it used for?"
Mogu explained, "It’s an important ingredient. Many recipes that enhance innate racial abilities require something called Three-Colored Blood. This is made by mixing Gold, Silver, and Bronze bloods in a 1:2:3 ratio."
"Then isn’t all the blood leaking out of it being wasted?" Qin Ziwen pointed to the Silver Bobbit Worm in Mogu’s hand. From the twisted-off end of the worm, blood containing faint, silvery specks was pouring out continuously.
The blood mixed with the seawater and quickly dissipated.
’We need to go back first,’ Qin Ziwen thought. He then opened a Node right beside them.
’Coincidentally, the Node had just been upgraded, so there was an extra slot.’
The Fishman Leader saw the Node and grew curious. It had only ever heard of such things from the stone tablets passed down in its tribe; this was the first time it had actually seen one.
But without permission, it didn’t dare to step inside recklessly.
Mogu ducked his head and went through the Node, returning to the Home. Qin Ziwen followed and went to the kitchen to find an iron basin.
Though long, the Bobbit Worm was slender, like a python, and fit easily into the basin once coiled up.
Blood seeped from the wound, quickly forming a thin pool at the bottom of the basin. The bloody liquid shimmered with a faint silvery light, as if dusted with fluorescent powder.
’I’m really interested in the Silver Blood and Three-Colored Blood Mogu mentioned,’ Qin Ziwen mused. ’I wonder if I’ll ever get a chance to acquire the kind of structure he was talking about.’
’If I had it, I could make those nourishing tonics he described.’
Besides the Silver Blood, the Silver Bobbit Worm’s corpse could also be kept as a collectible.
’That makes five,’ Qin Ziwen counted silently. He had stored all the important materials from the Extraordinary Creatures he’d hunted previously in his cellar, with the exception of the Thousand-Eyed Snake.
The Fishman Leader had sacrificed the Thousand-Eyed Snake to the Snake Puppet. Since he had completed the quest and taken the three Cards it dropped, it wouldn’t have been right to ask for the corpse as well.
After returning to the underwater mountain range, the Fishman Leader repeated the process, switching to a fresh net and continuing to "fish."
Their luck wasn’t as good this time. After nearly half an hour, they finally hooked a second Silver Bobbit Worm from another hole.
This Bobbit Worm was larger than the previous one, nearly five meters long, and had an extra star in its rating.
Learning from the last encounter, Mogu didn’t crush it this time. Instead, with a flick of his arm, he made the Bobbit Worm flip over and go limp, draping over his forearm like a wet noodle.
Qin Ziwen narrowed his eyes and surveyed the area. ’Are these worms the only thing in this part of the sea?’ he wondered.
As if guessing his thoughts, the Fishman Leader spoke up. "These worms are the most common creature here. Their beaks are incredibly sharp. After they bite you, they’ll burrow into the wound and become a parasite inside your body."
"Besides these worms, there’s another type of Extraordinary Creature deeper in the mountains. But they’re extremely rare, so I don’t know if any are left."
The surrounding water was frigid and dim.
As they ventured deeper into the range, Qin Ziwen noticed that the mountains were not only vast and undulating but also strangely shaped.
The mountain was covered in densely packed holes. For some reason, it reminded Qin Ziwen of the Thousand-Eyed Snake.
He tried using Insight on the mountain range but got no response.
He chuckled at himself. ’I’m probably just overthinking it.’
’It’s just an ordinary underwater mountain.’
"Can’t we go inside?" Qin Ziwen asked, pointing to the caves on the mountain’s surface.
The Fishman Leader replied, "The tunnels inside are a complex, interconnected network. It’s easy to get lost."
As it spoke, it stopped in its tracks.
"There!" The Fishman Leader pointed ahead.
Following its finger, Qin Ziwen saw a reddish-brown, "pumpkin seed"-shaped creature lying in a depression in the rock face.
It had a flat back, two whip-like antennae near its head, and several pairs of pincers on its sides.
It looked like a crab, a hermit crab, and even a bit like a spider.
[Extraordinary Bloodthirsty Sea Mite: ☆☆☆☆★]: Level 1 Blood Boiling
’A sea mite?’
’Mites actually live at the bottom of the sea?!’
’At first glance, I thought it was some kind of crab. I never would’ve guessed it was a mite.’
’For a mite this big... what in the world could it possibly be a parasite on?’
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