Reborn as a Transcendent-Chapter 682: A Crisis Slowly Approaches?

The waves surged violently. After swallowing the little girl, the silver fish dove back into the depths, swimming happily through the sea. This silver fish was called a Deepsea Arrow Bass. Though enormous in size, it boasted astonishing speed.

Every year during this season, Deepsea Arrow Bass would migrate south to spawn. Now, this particular one was also headed in that direction. Like an arrow loosed from its string, it shot through the ocean at blistering speed.

Time passed minute by minute, and the sun climbed higher into the sky. Yet the Deepsea Arrow Bass maintained its pace, not slowing down in the slightest. Their stamina was just as formidable as their speed.

Suddenly, the fish’s belly gave a spasm, and a flicker of pain flashed in its large eyes. With a splash, it twisted several times in the water as if trying to relieve the cramps in its gut, then leapt into the air.

At that moment, a griffin circling high in the sky caught sight of it. Its eyes gleamed as it dove down and seized the massive fish in its claws. Flapping its wings with strength, it lifted off once more, sending up a spray of seawater.

“Gwah!” it cried in delight as it soared. The thought of bringing back a delicious fish for its hungry little cubs filled it with joy and satisfaction.

The griffin flew at full speed, swift as a fighter jet. Time flew by, and soon the sun was half-submerged in the ocean, dyeing the sea gold. Not far away, an island came into view. Jagged peaks dotted the island, and the griffin’s nest was located atop the tallest one.

By now, signs of fatigue were showing on its face. Its flight altitude had lowered considerably. Carrying such a hefty and succulent fish over a long distance, there was no way it wasn’t exhausted.

Even so, the sight of its home sweet home on the horizon and the thought of its waiting cubs gave it strength to flap its wings once more. But just as it tried to ascend again, a jet of cerulean water suddenly burst from the sea below.

Sensing danger, the griffin quickly tried to evade. Unfortunately, it reacted a fraction too late. The powerful jet clipped it, eliciting a sharp cry of pain. Its talons loosened involuntarily, and the Deepsea Arrow Bass tumbled toward the ocean like a falling silver boulder.

The griffin couldn’t bear to lose such a prize. It steadied itself and dove after it. But then, its sharp eyes caught sight of a massive shadow lurking beneath the surface. At the same time, it felt a terrifying aura radiating from the water below.

“Gwah!” With a cry of frustration and alarm, the griffin turned tail and fled at top speed. It knew perfectly well that the massive shadow behind the attack was far beyond anything it could handle.

At that moment, the silver fish was about to hit the water. With a deafening splash, the surface exploded as a blood-red maw emerged and swallowed the Deepsea Arrow Bass whole.

Then the monster sank back beneath the waves, and the sea gradually calmed again.

Deep beneath the surface, a creature that looked like a mix between a fish and a snake, with thick limbs and a hulking frame, swam rapidly toward the southern seas.

The sun had completely set, and night had fallen. Inside Layna’s ancestral home—

“Finally done.” Yaeger let out a long sigh of relief.

“Yeah. After testing over a hundred containers, we finally found the right one. It wasn’t easy,” Layna said, gazing at the transparent bottle filled with vivid green liquid.

Though it looked like glass, the bottle was actually made from ice crystal. Each one of these bottles cost 100 gold coins.

“The cost is too high,” Yaeger remarked.

Like all the other containers, the ice crystal bottle had been filled with purifying liquid from the start. As time passed, one container after another had failed, except this one.

Several hours had gone by, and the liquid inside still remained in perfect condition. They estimated that the bottle could preserve it for at least a dozen hours. They’d know the exact duration by tomorrow.

“It wouldn’t be a big deal if we only needed a few,” Layna said.

Unfortunately, Yaeger needed to prepare at least a million of them. ‘Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?’

“Why not discuss it with the Church?” Layna suggested. “They might have a solution.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Yaeger nodded.

If she were planning to profit from the holy water, she could sell it at any price. After all, life was priceless. When it came to survival, people would pay anything. The problem was, Yaeger had no interest in making money from this. To her, there were some types of money that simply shouldn’t be earned.

‘Everyone calls me black-hearted… but am I really?’ Yaeger gave a self-deprecating smile and gently shook her head. ‘Rather than ruthless, one-time deals, I much prefer slowly trimming the fat off the flock.’

Everything she was doing now was to protect the “vegetables” in her garden. As long as those vegetables grew strong and healthy, she could continue harvesting them again and again.

A single, sweeping cut might bring a surge of profit in the short term, but harvesting over time was the true path to sustainability. Yanking the crops out by the roots was nothing but foolish.

“Princess, as long as this bottle is sealed properly, it can preserve the purifying power for five hours. That should be more than enough for the surrounding towns,” Layna said as she picked up a glass vial and looked over at Yaeger.

“How much is that bottle worth?” Yaeger asked.

“Ten copper coins. These glass vials are pretty basic in craftsmanship, not really worth much,” Layna explained.

“That’ll work,” Yaeger nodded. “We’ll use these for now.”

“Princess, I actually think these vials are already good enough,” Layna added.

“Oh? Why do you say that?”

“On their own, they can preserve the purification effect for five hours. But if you engrave a glyph onto them, that duration could be extended several times over,” Layna said.

At those words, a spark flashed in Yaeger’s mind, Aurora’s face immediately surfaced in her thoughts.

“Do the glyphs need to be high-tier?” she asked without hesitation.

“No, mid-tier ones will do. That way, the cost stays manageable,” Layna replied.

“But if we used high-tier ones, would the storage time increase even further?” Yaeger caught the hint in her tone.

“Yes, it would. But the cost would also go up significantly,” Layna said, clearly concerned for Yaeger’s wallet.

“No need to worry about that part. I’ve got someone perfect for the job,” Yaeger smiled.

Aurora was a genius enchanter, using high-tier glyphs was as effortless to her as drinking water.

“Too bad I can’t bring her here just yet,” Yaeger said with some regret, glancing at the pile of vials on the floor.

With the situation being so tense right now, she couldn’t risk going back to Jade City. Who knew when Richard might suddenly launch another massive manhunt?

‘Once things calm down in the city, I’ll sneak back in and bring the Aurora siblings over to help.’ Yaeger made up her mind to make a quick trip to Jade City in two days.

Her eyes shifted as she looked at the vial in Layna’s hand. “How many of these little bottles do you have?”

“Thirty more,” Layna replied.

“I’ll take them all,” Yaeger said.

“No problem. Just wait here a moment,” Layna responded, then turned and headed to her workshop to fetch the bottles.

“As for Aureole Town, I’ll leave it to the church in Aoma Village to handle. That charlatan’s influence is way stronger than mine anyway.” Looking in the direction of Aoma Village, Yaeger murmured to herself.