Chapter 4144: Zuco

Zuco is a Horned Jelly Sea Horse, a pretty common Sea Demon Beast of the Western area of the Cloco Divine Ocean. As far as common demon beasts go, he was doing quite well. He only took three hundred and fifty-seven years to reach the Void Tempering Realm, and right now, he was in the Middle Stage of that same Realm.

At the moment, he was in Dou-Kuli City, one of the few Sea Demon Cities under the water in this continent. Demon Beasts were never known for making cities to start with, and underwater ones were even rarer.

"Hum? You again, uh?" A serpent-like sea-demon beast asked, looking at Zuco. He was called Vutyr, and he ran a small business of Deep Sea Materials, especially those capable of helping with cultivation. Behind him, all kinds of sea materials could be seen, one of which caught Zuco’s attention.

However, Zuco first took out a red and blue stone, passing to Vutyr. "I found this one."

Vutyr used his Divine Energy to grab the stone, bringing it close and checking it with his Divine Sense. After a moment, he nodded, his attention returning to Zuco. "This is a good specimen. It is not easy to find Magma Sea Rock of this quality. Did you go to the Lugor Seabed again?"

Zuco didn’t answer. "Does that matter?"

Lugor Seabed was a place with several active underwater volcanoes, some several tens of kilometers wide. That was a propitious environment for the birth of Magma Sea Rocks, which were especially useful to outsiders visiting the city from nearby land continents to the west.

The problem with that was that everyone knew about the advantages of the Lugor Seabed, but no one risked entering it. That’s because that area, as big as it was, was controlled by the Koik-Dot Sea Demon Urchins. Those Urpins weren’t a power comparable to the big five of the Cloco Divine Ocean, but they did have quite a big reputation in this area.

To enter that area and take Magma Sea Rocks without them knowing usually didn’t end very well. Of course, that was only the case if you were found out. The Lugor Seabed wasn’t the only place where you could find Magma Sea Rocks, so even if the Urchins appeared right now, there would be no way they could prove the rock Zuco had brought came from Lugor.

Hearing Zuco’s question, Vutyr nodded slightly, smiling. "I guess it indeed doesn’t matter. I can offer Eleven Star Sea Crystals for this rock."

Zuco narrowed his eyes. "Eleven? A Magma Sea Rock of this quality should be worth at least twenty."

Vutyr then threw the rock back at Zuco. "Sure, and that difference would be my profit, acquired through my connections. If you think you can get a better price somewhere else, then go ahead and leave. Just be careful that the Urchins don’t catch your trails. There aren’t many businesses out there where the owners keep a tight lip about the origins of their products, you know?"

Zuco seemed to struggle a little, but ended up throwing the Magma Sea Rock back to Vutyr. "Fine, eleven. You must be rich already if you keep doing business like this."

"Hahaha!" Vutyr laughed in satisfaction. "I obviously make sure to do the best with what I have. But hey, it took me many years to be able to conduct business like this, so you can’t blame me for profiting from my own hard work now."

Suddenly, eleven egg-sized blue rocks appeared in the middle of the water, with several spots of darker and lighter blue light flowing within, looking like stars in the night. They gave a chilling sensation, but above all, the Divine Origin Energy inside was of the Water Element. Those Star Sea Crystals were great for the cultivation of Water Element creatures, which was obviously Zuco’s case.

Zuco put the crystals into his Pocket Dimensional Realm, turning around and preparing to leave. However, he noticed that the other sea demon beasts in that area were quite agitated, which made him curious. "Vutyr, what is happening? I’ve noticed that everyone is quite lively on the way here."

Vutyr looked over and immediately understood. "Oh? That? It’s because of a rumor that has been circulating around."

"Rumor?" Zuco asked back.

Vutyr continued from there. "Yes. Do you remember the Jade Turtle Search from a few decades ago that’s still ongoing?"

Zuco confirmed. "Something about a small turtle that changes into Jade Color if infused with the Divine Energy of Void Tempering Realm Experts or higher. It’s been over forty years already, no? Could it be someone found it?"

"That’s not it," Vutyr shook his head, seemingly uninterested. "There are new rumors that this so-called Jade Turtle actually carries a curse."

That made Zuco even more suspicious. "What kind of curse?"

"Hum... what was it they were talking..." Vutyr tried to remember. He truly didn’t care much about that topic. "Oh, right! The Jade Color was not really just a simple reaction of the Divine Energy infused into it. Instead, it was the confirmation of the link between it and the owner of the Divine Energy being completed. From the looks of it, the Jade Turtle lives off its host’s life force, and its host can’t even detect it."

"At the end of the day, it’s host will die at least twice as fast as it should have. If you had ten years remaining of your lifespan, now you have five, and you will only notice it when the day of your death arrives. They even began to call it the Invisible Jade Curse."

Zuco sighed. "That sounds kinda ridiculous. How could someone not notice that their lifespan is being diminished?"

And Vutyr agreed. "Right? But then again, the big five of our Cloco Divine Ocean are after this turtle. It definitely has something incredible about it. So, is the curse really a lie? Well, using the word ’curse’ is a little too much if you ask me."

Zuco decided to ignore that. "Well, whatever. I definitely wouldn’t waste my time looking for this ghost. There is supposed to be only one in the entire Cloco Divine Sea, isn’t it? What a joke. We will never find it."

Zuco turned around. "Anyway, I’ll take my leave. I might come by in the next few weeks with another rock or two. Will you take them... and stay quiet?"

Vutyr faintly smiled. "It is all business, and my business works best if I speak nothing. You can come at any time. You’re more than welcome."

Zuco nodded and swam away. He left the city a few minutes afterward, disappearing into the underwater world.

A day or so later, he arrived at his hiding place, a cave, which he entered before concealing its entrance. He had a grave expression on his face once he got inside.

Then, he dove deeper into the cave, arriving in an open area that was illuminated by a few green rocks. The area didn’t matter much, though. What mattered was what was inside that area... A turtle, no more than a meter long, and above all, with a Jade Color!

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