The Rich Cultivator
Chapter 446. Stampede

Chapter 446: 446. Stampede

"Give it to me... please?"

"Like hell I’m giving you that."

"Pretty please? I promise I won’t play with it this time..."

"Dyamn girl," Tyler sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I gave you the Copper Pot to copy GG’s blood— not to replicate deadly poisons. You almost made the Pocket Dimension rot!"

They were both standing on the deck of the ship, speaking in low voices. Tyler had created a small soundproof barrier using only his divine sense, enclosing just the two of them so no one else could overhear their conversation.

Mathilda rolled her eyes but quickly glanced away guiltily. Her gaze drifted toward Tyler’s head, narrowing with curiosity. Her irises shimmered briefly, and then her eyes changed— literally turned into strands of hair that twitched toward him like feelers.

Tyler noticed instantly.

"Don’t tell me... You’re eyeing my hair now?"

"Ehehe..." Mathilda laughed awkwardly, her animated hair retreating as her expression stiffened.

"Don’t even think about it," Tyler grumbled, canceling the sound barrier with a flick of his fingers. He then raised his voice and shouted, "Hey! When are we going to reach the next island? It’s been over a month since I last saw solid land!"

From the upper deck, Lily Gomes poked her head out. She was leaning casually over the railing, munching on dried fruit.

"Soon, soon... The Guiding Needle reacted three days ago," she called back. "There might be an island nearby. Or... a Titan Beast."

Tyler blinked. "Why do you think it’s a Titan Beast?"

"Because it’s moving," Lily replied. "Well, there’s always a chance it’s a moving island too."

That was the challenge of navigating the Northern Waters— there were no permanent maps, no fixed routes, and no stable landmarks. Everything was constantly shifting. Islands drifted. Oceans twisted. What was calm one day might turn into a whirlpool the next.

Tyler sighed as the sea breeze whipped against his coat. "Yup... the Northern Seas. One big watery dice roll."

Suddenly, Lily’s playful tone changed. Her smile faded as her gaze turned serious.

"Hmm..."

She stepped closer to a set of mounted Guiding Needles placed neatly on a stand in front of her. Ten of them, all arranged in a fan-like formation, spaced apart so none would detect the same source.

Now, every single needle was wobbling.

"Something’s wrong," Lily muttered.

Tyler lightly bonked Mathilda on the head, earning a glare, then shot up into the air, landing next to Lily. His eyes fell on the trembling needles.

"What does it mean?" he asked. "Multiple islands?"

Lily shook her head. "No. I calibrated each one to only react to different signatures from different directions. If they’re all shaking —something big is going on. Possibly multiple powerful presences converging. Should we send out a scout?"

As she spoke, she tapped her wristwatch and gave a command. "Stop the ship."

The ship’s arrays activated. Runes etched into the side glowed like burning gold, and a mechanical hum filled the air. Even though their anchor couldn’t touch the seabed, the ship halted as if rooted in place by invisible chains.

"No need to send anyone," Tyler said calmly. "Let me check."

"You sure about that?" Lily asked, frowning. "It’s still difficult for you to control, right?"

"I’ve been practicing," Tyler assured her with a confident smile. "I can handle it."

He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. A heavy pressure pulsed outward from his body— a wave of Divine Sense rippling through the air and diving into the ocean. It expanded rapidly, stretching miles into the distance, far beyond what ordinary Immortal Practitioners could perceive.

Silence followed.

Then Tyler’s eyes snapped open.

"...It’s a stampede?"

Lily blinked. "What?"

"There’s a massive surge of sea creatures," Tyler explained, brows furrowing. "Thousands of them, maybe more, moving together like a torrent. All of them heading west. And yeah —we did find an island. But it’s right in the path of the stampede. If anyone’s living there, they won’t be for long."

"Damn," Lily muttered. "This far out, too..."

Tyler turned to her, expression resolute. "Keep the ship here. Me, you, and Mana will go check it out."

"Mana agree, Man barely gets Screen Time nowadays.," came Mana’s voice, sudden and soft.

"Don’t causally break the Fourth wall..." Tyler touched her head. She purred like a cat. Unlike before, Mana looks like a 16 year old girl. She no longer has Devil wings or Tails on her back.

She had appeared beside them without a sound, as if she’d simply popped into existence. Her hair fluttered like feathers, and her eyes reflected the sea’s endless horizon.

The three of them exchanged nods. Without another word, they shot into the sky like streaks of light, vanishing into the distance

Back on the deck, Su Fei yawned and lazily glanced at the departing trio. She was perched on the edge of the ship with her legs swinging freely above the glistening waves. A fishing rod rested in her hands, line cast into the blue sea, though she didn’t look particularly invested in catching anything.

"Hmm..." she muttered, half to herself and half to the sea, "I wonder if I can catch a sea rabbit this time..."

Tilting her straw hat lower to shield her eyes from the afternoon sun, she leaned back with a hum, rhythmically flicking her fluffy white tails. Her straw hat had tiny holes cut into it, perfectly accommodating her soft, twitching fox ears. They wiggled lightly with the sea breeze, making her look more like a lazy tourist.

The calm didn’t last long.

Her ears suddenly perked up, catching a strange ripple in the air. Without even turning, she slowly rose to her feet and looked over her shoulder to the opposite side of the ship. Her eyes narrowed.

A giant fish, resembling an oversized piranha, erupted from the sea with a violent splash. It soared toward the ship, its grotesque teeth gleaming under the sunlight. The beast was easily more than three times the size of an average human, its gaping maw aimed straight at the deck.

Before it could even reach the ship, however, the monstrous fish froze in midair – completely motionless. Water droplets still clung to its body, suspended in the air like pearls. The creature blinked in confusion, its eyes darting around wildly.

A glowing red shrine had already appeared above the water beneath it.

Su Fei scratched her cheek casually. "Rever– no wait...." she muttered under her breath.

Then she called out, "Hey! Someone go bring Mr. Taka or Darla here."

The crew member nearest to her— who had been mopping the deck until moments ago —was standing completely frozen, his jaw practically unhinged. His wide eyes were locked onto the bizarre sight of the levitating fish, which thrashed ever so slightly despite being stuck in a red-glowing stasis field.

"Go!" Su Fei said again, kicking lightly at the deck beside him.

That finally snapped him out of his daze. "Y-Yes, Miss Su Fei!" he stammered and bolted across the deck.

Moments later, he returned with Taka— the ship’s resident cook and octopus-man. But the moment he caught sight of the giant piranha floating in the air, his face twisted in immediate disapproval.

"Nuh-uh," he said flatly, shaking his head. "T- That thing? Absolutely n-not."

"But why not?" Su Fei pouted. "It looks... fresh?"

"That thing’s flesh is toxic, and it smells like fermented swamp socks when cooked, Not worth it." Darla replied, who just walked out due to commotion.

"Aww..." Su Fei mumbled with visible disappointment. She had hoped to taste something exotic today. But if the ship’s cooks refused, then it probably wasn’t worth it.

With a sigh, she snapped her fingers. The glowing shrine beneath the fish pulsed once—then the giant creature exploded into hundreds of pieces mid-air. Blood and scales rained down like crimson confetti, painting the sea below in a deep red hue.

She took her fishing pole again and calmly cast the line into the now-bloody water, humming the same lazy tune as before.

"I bet sea rabbits love blood-scented currents..." she mused thoughtfully, her ears twitching once more.

And just like that, the chaos ended, and the lazy fox girl returned to her quiet fishing, as if nothing had happened.

"Where is Captain and Vice Captain?" Darla asked Su Fei.

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

"We’re here..." Tyler said calmly as he hovered in the sky, flanked by Lily and Mana. His sharp gaze swept across the ocean below, where countless sea creatures surged in one direction, like a living tide drawn to something unseen.

The island before them— Lonely Island —looked as though it had already suffered devastation. Entire sections of the shoreline were submerged, the trees stripped and crushed, and buildings reduced to ruins.

Tyler narrowed his eyes as he analyzed the situation. "Huh... Looks like most of the stronger residents managed to escape. Only a few weak life signals remain... scattered. It’s like the island’s already been picked clean."

Suddenly, Lily’s eyes widened. Her body tensed as if struck by a wave of emotion.

"Impossible..." she whispered.

Tyler turned to her, brows furrowed. "Hmm?"

"I sense someone... from my race," Lily said slowly, her voice trembling slightly with shock. "It’s faint, but I’m sure of it."

Mana’s expression shifted subtly, while Tyler’s curiosity deepened. Someone from Lily’s race? Here, of all places? First of all, what race is Lily is from? He still doesn’t know.

Tyler crossed his arms and nodded. "Then we better move fast. Lead the way."