Chapter 148: Days of Imprisonment

"Damn virgin, get your ass out here!"

"Did you hear me?"

"This young lady is running out of patience! Get out here right now, or you'll regret it tonight... Humph! I'm definitely going to drain you dry!"

Inside the large trading vessel, the young girl's exasperated shouts quickly echoed through every cabin. She paced up and down, changing positions, her tone growing increasingly overbearing and more than enough to spark wild imaginations.

Needless to say... who else could it possibly be, daring to act so unbridled on a vessel right under Pudong's nose, except for Xiaobi?

The journey from the Blood Alliance to the Dark Empire required at least two consecutive months of sailing. The moment Xiaobi heard that Xu Wen had passed the test, she began coming over every single day to give him a hard time, using every trick in the book to tease, seduce, and even launch midnight raids, pushing the boundaries of Xu Wen's patience to the limit.

After a week, Xu Wen could no longer take it. Every day, he would run away using all sorts of methods, sleeping in this cabin for a bit, hiding in that one for a while, acting as if he were an underground revolutionary, suffering immensely.

"Bi'er! No matter what, he is an honored guest the master specifically instructed us to treat well. Why are you still shouting and yelling like this?" Ku'er closely followed behind Xiaobi, blushing on her behalf.

Xiaobi had been carefree since childhood, thoroughly spoiled by her master with a rebellious streak, so how could she possibly listen? She akimboed her hands, crinkled her nose, and let out an indignant huff:

"Just look at this damn virgin! Over the past seven days, he wasted so many of our medicinal ingredients and only gave us a total of seven Restoration Pills... Seven! How could that possibly be enough?" With a toss of her head, she showed Ku'er the back of it, continuing to mutter through gritted teeth:

"Damn virgin! He's no good! Concealing the refinement method is one thing, but his heart is more cunning than a fox... He listed over a hundred kinds of herbs just to fool us, wasting a small boatload of ingredients every single day!"

"In just seven days, he squandered the medicinal materials we accumulated over half a year! What is the meaning of this? For the next two months, we won't even be able to find materials for him to refine medicine, leaving him with all the free time to cultivate... Humph! I won't let him have his way! Once I find him, I'm going to teach him a serious lesson!"

Just as the final word fell, the corner of Xiaobi's eye caught a fleeting dark shadow quickly withdrawing around the bend of the corridor.

"You saw me and you're still running? What are you running for? Get your ass out here!"

Xiaobi let out a cold huff and snapped angrily in that direction.

A figure emerged from around the corner... Elder Xie stood there, looking awkward and helpless as he faced the two approaching young women.

Over the past few days, Elder Xie had come to understand one thing clearly.

On this ship, the most troublesome person of all was the young girl right before his eyes—a genius in the dark-attribute mental-control magic branch. Although she was only at the six-star realm, when she unleashed her abilities, even seven-star experts found it hard to resist.

There was simply no one on the ship who hadn't suffered at her hands.

Once she targeted you, you might wake up from an erotic dream at night to find yourself hanging upside down from the ship's bow, enduring the cold wind and drinking seawater; or lying spread-eagled on the deck taking a moonbath, surrounded by a crowd of men.

Even the "freakish" Xu Wen, whom Elder Xie held in god-like reverence, had been toyed with so badly on the very first day that blood trickled from the corners of his mouth. Later on, he genuinely feared he might have some physical ** relations with this woman.

Upon learning from Ku'er that it was all the effect of dark mental magic—the "Charm Arts"—Xu Wen completely deflated. The moment he finished refining medicine, his top priority was always to hide in some remote corner of the cabin where Xiaobi couldn't find him.

"Miss Xiaobi."

"Humph."

Xiaobi turned up her nose, glanced at Elder Xie, and spoke with unmistakable arrogance:

"Where is your master?"

"Answering Miss Xiaobi, this humble servant is also looking for him," Elder Xie replied cautiously. After all, standing behind her was a master who was a nine-star dark magus. While Xu Wen had Restoration Pills to protect himself and remained unharmed, Elder Xie dared not easily provoke or offend her, and thus answered with the utmost care.

"You wouldn't know?"

Xiaobi stared at Elder Xie with contempt; she wasn't so easily fooled. "Is your soul pact signed just for fun? Would a servant not know where his master is? Take me to him immediately, or I'll find someone to throw you into the ocean to feed the sharks later."

Upon hearing this, Elder Xie's face instantly turned completely pale.

"Alright, betraying a master will damage the soul flame and lower one's cultivation realm; don't give him a hard time," Ku'er spoke up at the right moment, rescuing Elder Xie, who responded with a wave of deep gratitude.

"Humph, I couldn't care less if his cultivation drops or not! Damn virgin, tonight I'm going to make Xiaoxue and the other three turn fake play into reality and have their way with him! Let's see if he dares to be so arrogant then!" Watching Xiaobi's haughty and domineering demeanor, Elder Xie couldn't help but break into a cold sweat inwardly:

*Eldest Miss, who on earth dares to be arrogant in front of you?*

"Alright, Bi'er, didn't Master say so as well? One-on-one, with your current strength, you simply have no way of gaining the upper hand against Xu Wen. Do you really think Xu Wen will lose consciousness again and give you an opening?"

Ku'er's assessment left Xiaobi somewhat displeased. She gave a light snort, crossed her arms over her chest, and retorted, "Humph, who says so? Last time, I actually used my genuine ability to mesmerize him."

"Yes, and he also used his genuine ability to kick you straight out of the bed."

"Sister!"

Having such an unpleasant experience exposed by Ku'er right in front of an outsider made Xiaobi somewhat embarrassed.

"What are you still standing here for? Get lost!"

Dismissed by Xiaobi, Elder Xie felt not the slightest bit of annoyance; instead, he felt as if granted a full pardon. He hastily turned and fled, putting as much distance as possible between himself and this little witch.

The moment Elder Xie left, Xiaobi suddenly turned around, staring at Ku'er with utmost seriousness. "Sister, just watch this time. I'm going back to cultivate right now. Before we disembark, I will definitely make him grovel at my skirt! Humph! Let's see how hard his mouth is then... I'm going to make him stay a virgin for the rest of his life!"

"Achoo!"

In a deserted little cabin at the bottom of the ship, an abrupt sneeze suddenly rang out.

Xu Wen vigilantly reined in his focus, swiftly sweeping the surrounding area with his spiritual power. Only after confirming there was no one within fifty meters did he breathe a sigh of relief. Rubbing his perfectly fine nose, he thought to himself that this sneeze had come in a truly bizarre fashion.

The cabin was not large, and a dim oil lamp was enough to illuminate the moderately cramped space. The walls reflected Xu Wen's seated silhouette, completely motionless for a prolonged period of time.

This was Xu Wen's sanctuary of refuge, where a faint, fishy odor lingered in the air. He had learned from Ku'er that Xiaobi was most reluctant to go anywhere near places with fish.

However... Xu Wen did not believe for a second that staying here made him safe and hidden.

The nine-star dark magus on the top deck possessed spiritual power so formidable that it could cover the entire vessel, including everything within a radius of one thousand meters centered around the ship. No one's actions could possibly escape his notice.

This was precisely why the other party had readily agreed to return all the storage rings and equipment... In the eyes of a nine-star dark magus, Xu Wen and his companions were like three ants crawling in the palm of his hand; with the slightest sign of trouble, he could crush them to death with a casual flick.

Xu Wen had been acutely aware of his predicament from the very beginning, which was why he had never harbored any crooked thoughts.

Upon probing his storage rings and treasure belt, he found that only a few insights left by necromancers were missing, along with a "Turbulent Element Pill." The crystal ball housing the divine will of Halman was safe and sound, having gone undiscovered by the other party, which allowed him to completely set his mind at ease—as for Principal Halman's grimoires, Xu Wen had burned them immediately after recording all their contents. Holding such treasures in his possession could invite mortal danger at any moment, and destroying them was a precaution for his own self-preservation.

Xu Wen knew he still had a chance.

The "Restoration Pill" was of immense help to dark magi! First, he had given the other party confidence and longing by successively handing over seven Restoration Pills; then, citing an extremely high failure rate in refining them, he had squandered the ship's medicinal herbs, legitimately halting the medicine-refining activities on board to buy time. For now, it seemed the other party had no suspicions.

Even if there were suspicions, they could find no reasons or evidence!

Furthermore!

Xu Wen knew that after disembarking, the nine-star dark magus could not possibly guard him at every single moment. The moment the sensation of being monitored vanished would be the time for his escape—after all, he possessed a secret unknown to the nine-star dark magus.

His identity as a necromancy archmagus was enough to allow him to rapidly blend into the Dark Empire, vanishing like a single drop of water in the vast ocean. Elder Xie and Wang Xiaoshuai wouldn't be too difficult to shake off either, given that they were practitioners of the dark faction as well.

Before stepping off the ship, what he needed to do was cultivate, study Principal Halman's magical insights, and elevate his cultivation realm as much as possible—the bottleneck of the seven-star fire magic was right before his eyes; the moment he broke through, he would become a magus.

A seven-star magus stood out from the multitude of advanced mages, symbolizing that Xu Wen had officially become an independent powerhouse capable of standing on his own. In fact, Xu Wen had possessed this capability shortly after advancing to the six-star realm. Becoming a magus brought even greater pressure for Xu Wen, but the room for growth and strength was likewise immense... It was just that starting from the seven-star rank up to the eight-star rank, the insights recorded only a meager three Earth-Emperor-tier spells (two seven-star and one eight-star).

Aside from those, there remained only a fragmented "Rebirth from the Ashes"—a spell Xu Wen absolutely hoped he would never have to study or use.

On the top deck, "Pudong" closed his eyes in deep concentration, quietly locking his awareness onto the single person, the single avian, and the single beast at the bottom of the vessel. He sensed them quietly through his spiritual power without disturbing them.

Days passed... Apart from periodically fetching a little food, Xu Wen wouldn't even shift his posture at all the rest of the time.

His iron will and the quiet, bitter-struggle style of cultivation left even the nine-star dark magus on the top deck showing a look of solemnity and astonishment.

Xu Wen's demeanor during seated cultivation actually reminded him of accomplished, high-level eight-star or even nine-star mages.

With a chill in his heart, a profound, murderous intent flickered in his eyes.

This kid's future achievements... were simply too hard to predict!

He was too dangerous.

Yet... Pudong flipped his hands over, revealing two small porcelain flasks resting in his palm, his face displaying hesitation and indecision.

Restoration Pills!

The attraction of such medicine to a dark magus was second only to divine artifacts.

The two subjects of his previous test had both maintained their original appearance and cultivation realm within three days, during which they could freely demonize or even engage in high-level battle qi and magic cultivation.

He was virtually certain that with this item, even if he were to encounter that lifelong formidable rival upon returning, he would no longer need to blindly endure in patience.

Having endured for so many years, trampled down every single time... Now!

Pudong's other hand clenched tightly into a fist:

The moment for his family to rise to prominence was right before his eyes; how could he possibly be willing to give it up so easily?

"Even if I kill him, it won't be now. I'll wait until I personally defeat 'that person' and make him taste what it's like to be trampled underfoot..." Pudong's face twisted triumphantly as he muttered to himself, finally reaching a resolute decision in his heart.

(To be continued)