The Rich Cultivator
Chapter 444. A Bottle has Bounty?

Chapter 444: 444. A Bottle has Bounty?

Inside the Ship’s Pocket Dimension

"Mystic Ice Arts."

A sword made entirely of glistening ice materialized in Tyler’s hand, gleaming with a subtle mist of cold energy. Without hesitation, he swung it toward Lily Gomes.

Lily lazily flicked her wrist, her whip curling like a snake as it cracked through the air and shattered the icy blade into sparkling shards.

"Tsk... I really can’t use weapons properly," Tyler muttered with a twitch of his mouth. Despite all his cultivation progress, swordplay—or any kind of weapon mastery— remained elusive to him. Even in his forgotten past, his body had always rejected traditional martial techniques. It was as if he had been born with zero talent for weapons.

"Alright, alright... don’t be so down about it," Lily said, walking up to him. "That ice had a ton of explosive and cold energy packed in. You’re improving."

"Maybe," Tyler mumbled half-heartedly.

Lily’s eyes trailed upward. "Your hair... it’s turning silver."

She plucked a strand without warning.

"Ouch! Damn it, woman!" Tyler winced, holding the spot on his scalp.

"Sorry! But look— it really does look like ice." She held up the strand. The hair shimmered faintly, almost translucent at the tips like a frozen filament.

Tyler took the strand from her hand and inspected it. "Huh... you’re right. But it doesn’t snap like ice. It’s still my hair. Just... changed in appearance."

"Also," Lily added with a grin, rubbing his head. "It feels kinda cold to the touch."

Tyler said "Side effects of Mystic Ice Arts, I guess." He doesn’t care about it.

After staying in Verga City for a week, the White Pearl resumed its journey. During their time ashore, the White Merchant Group had invested heavily— purchasing shops, lands, and even a small commercial complex in the city. With the city slowly rebuilding after the pirate attack, his investments promised long-term returns.

Back aboard the ship, Tyler focused on cultivation. With Lily’s help, he had finally begun to control his Divine Sense with more precision. He also resumed practice with Mystic Ice Arts, pushing his limits further each day.

After a long training session, Tyler and Lily exited the sealed training room, visibly exhausted. As they stepped into ’outside’ of the training Grounds, they saw a curious scene: Mathilda dragging a reluctant goblin girl down the hall. The goblin clutched a rolled-up newspaper while Mathilda held a handful of empty vials.

"What are you doing with Grizzle Griffin?" Tyler asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lily casually snatched the newspaper from GG’s hand. The masthead read NN Daily, and the byline had editor as Grizzle Griffin’s name. "Looks like our goblin girl’s doing journalism now."

"I am helping Big Sis Serena. Even though she can Organise these in a second, she told me to do some work."

"Huh... Captain," Mathilda started with an awkward grin, "you know goblins are practically extinct. So, I asked her to give me some blood samples— for, you know, research. Just a bit of goblin blood can help me craft some rare potions or even identify ancient bloodlines!"

GG shot Tyler and Lily a pleading look.

Tyler sighed. "Show me your hand."

GG extended her palm obediently. Tyler made a tiny cut on her fingertip using an Knife made by ice. He then took one of the vials from Mathilda’s hand and let a few drops drip inside.

"You know what to do," he said with a nod. Even though Tyler didn’t say it out loud, Mathilda understood—he wanted her to find Mana and get the Copper Pot to replicate the blood.

Mathilda pouted. "Tsk... You already pushed her in bed several times why are you taking her side? Well, GG, come to my room tonight. I’ll see if your Captain can save you from me."

Grizzle Griffin shivered, but her expression hinted at reluctant excitement. Her green cheeks flushed red.

"We’ll talk about tonight," Tyler replied vaguely, ignoring the suggestive undertone.

The two girls parted ways, GG quickly ran while Mathilda skipped off with her potion equipment.

Tyler, now curious, glanced at the front page of the paper that Lily is holding.

A large image of a glass bottle took center stage. Inside it was a tightly rolled piece of parchment. Below the image, bold letters shouted:

"100 Million Lydia – Reward for the Bottle!"

He was about to ask Lily about it when she interrupted him, pointing to a smaller headline in another page.

"Look— it’s about the Pirate Challenge," she said, eyes narrowing as she began to read aloud.

> Veins Peak Island: The former Phantom Pirates were defeated in a three-part Pirate Challenge by the newly emerged Phantom Pirates from the South..... The first challenge was ..... The third challenge remains undisclosed, but sources report that the former captain, Kael Driftsbane, is dead. In his place, Talindra has risen as the new captain, rebranding the crew as the ’Dark Night Pirates.’

"What the heck? Kael is dead?" Tyler’s eyes widened.

Lily nodded solemnly. "Probably Talindra. Looks like she was waiting for a moment like that. If Kael was vulnerable... she wouldn’t miss that chance."

"Well... not really our problem anyways." Tyler’s gaze drifted back to the large image of the bottle. "Let’s look at this instead."

Lily leaned closer. "Yeah, that’s the bottle the Federation is searching for. According to the article, it might be drifting somewhere underwater, where an orange light illuminates the depths."

"Orange light?" Tyler frowned. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"They didn’t clarify," Lily said, tapping her chin. "But I’m guessing someone used divination or some future-seeing method. They probably saw the bottle near some orange-ish glow and just described it that way."

"Hmm... orange glow underwater... Could be a volcanic zone."

"Probably. We should keep an eye out for underwater volcanoes or geothermal vents," Lily said, stretching.

Tyler nodded. "I don’t really care about the money, but if something’s worth a hundred million Lydia, it’s bound to be more than just paper in a bottle."

"Maybe it’s a treasure map," Lily suggested. "who knows."

"Or an ancient secret technique" Tyler smirked. "Still This Bottle With Bounty, it’s worth checking out."