Chapter 1 Blackbeard's Treasure Trove

Blackbeard's way of hiding treasure was certainly unique.

He never hid his treasures in a fixed location on any prime material plane.

Because he knew very well... that time was an all-powerful force; it could turn love into hate, comedy into tragedy, dreamers into snobs, and of course... turn land into sea, mountains into lakes, or one island... into five smaller ones.

Once a treasure's location underwent geographical changes, the treasure could be exposed, or some unpredictable dispersal or movement could occur.

Blackbeard certainly didn't want his treasure to suffer such a fate, so his method was to "hide it in a phase space, leaving someone in charge of guarding it."

This approach had many advantages:

First, no matter how the external environment changed, the inside of the phase space would not be affected.

Second, even if outsiders found the entrance to the space, they wouldn't be able to do anything without knowing how to open and enter it.

Third, even if outsiders managed to enter the treasure space, there were powerful guards watching over it.

As for the possibility of the "guards getting greedy and pocketing the treasure themselves," Blackbeard had also considered it, so he only arranged one guard in each treasure trove... anyway, with only one person, if they really betrayed him, Blackbeard only needed to find that one target afterward.

In addition, Blackbeard had also set a special rule, namely—anyone capable of finding and entering his treasure space could take three treasures after passing the guard's "test."

Please note, it was "after accepting," not "passing"... meaning, as long as they "accepted," they were guaranteed to get the treasures.

Seeing this, some people might find it strange; when Brother Jue and Little Tan entered the treasure space on Planet Rabbit, Brother Rabbit didn't seem to say that, did he?

Now, we can reveal the truth... in fact, Brother Rabbit was just "acting" at the time, and he was very good at it, even Feng Bujue was fooled by him... to this day, Brother Jue doesn't know the real situation back then.

In reality, all of this... was Blackbeard's "strategy to attack the heart."

Blackbeard understood that those who could find and enter his treasure space must have gone through many hardships and possessed a certain level of strength. Facing such a group of people, if you let the guard tell them, "Everyone, please go back, I'm guarding this place," it would likely lead to this group fighting to the death, or, if they failed, finding a way to escape, go back, accumulate strength, and make a comeback.

But, if you let the guard tell them, "Although I can't let you take all the treasures, I can give you a chance to challenge me. Let's spar under relatively safe rules, and if you win, I'll let you take three treasures"... then, the other party would be very likely to agree.

After all, Blackbeard's guards were generally quasi-first-rate powerhouses in the multiverse, and treasure hunters with a little bit of discernment and intelligence wouldn't rashly fight them head-on.

Furthermore, Blackbeard's own reputation was deterrent enough, even if the treasure hunters really had the ability and intended to kill the guard at a terrible price and seize all the treasures, they would have to consider... whether they could withstand Blackbeard coming to settle the score in the future...

After calculating the pros and cons, being able to peacefully take three things from the treasure without risking their lives and retreat unscathed was a pretty good outcome... at least better than "returning empty-handed," right?

Therefore, after carefully weighing these not-so-complicated pros and cons, most people would choose to "challenge the guard"; and Blackbeard also instructed the guards to use "a combat power slightly higher than the other party's upper limit, barely losing," so that the treasure hunters would feel they "won by luck," creating the illusion that "getting three treasures was already a profit," so they would willingly leave the "items that could open the phase space" in their hands, and leave peacefully, never to return.

It could be said... that Blackbeard's "guard strategy" was interlocked, step by step, fully estimating the psychology of the treasure hunters, and even Feng Bujue was calculated.

Under this strategy, the burden on the guards was greatly reduced, and the security of the treasure was further improved.

As for... the guards' so-called "take any three items," it was undoubtedly a lie. If it were really "any three," then the entire Queen Anne's Revenge ship could be taken as "one item."

The guards would not specifically point out to the treasure hunters that "the ship also counts as one item," let alone tell them... "there is also a secret 'inner space' in this space, and all the 'good things that cannot be handed over' are hidden in there."

…………

"Found it... it's here..." Blackbeard stopped, looking at the crystal ground beneath his feet, and muttered.

At this moment, twenty minutes had passed since he and Honghu had fought.

During this time, Blackbeard and his subordinates had crossed the not-very-wide sea between the North Island and the Central Island and traveled quite a distance in the "Crystal Maze."

"If you knew the location... why didn't you come from the air? Or sail around the North Island and land directly on this island?" After Blackbeard finished speaking, Mad-Eye immediately asked impatiently.

"Nonsense, do I need you to teach me that?" Blackbeard replied in a matter-of-course tone. "The problem is... before stepping on this island, I didn't know exactly where the treasure entrance was." He paused, explaining, "The old Chew Devil Island didn't have such a crystal-covered area; the old Chew Devil Island... also wasn't divided into five pieces like it is now, and the topography on each piece is completely different from what I remember. I can only walk around on the island until I sense the seal I left at the 'entrance' to determine its location."

Hearing him say this, Mad-Eye understood and muttered, "Oh~ no wonder you suddenly sped up after stepping onto this 'Central Island'; it turns out it was because you were close enough to the 'sensing distance,' huh?"

"It's not just a matter of 'distance'; it's also related to how long I stay on the ground..." Blackbeard said, "Hmm... forget it, it's hard to explain to a boor like you..." He seemed too lazy to say more, casually waved his hand, and signaled Mark Hoof to come over.

"Captain, what are your orders?" Hoof was also obedient, trotting up to Blackbeard on his hooves.

"Smash the crystal under your feet and dig it open," Blackbeard said, already turning and walking a few steps away.

"Uh... how deep do I dig?" Hoof lowered his head to look and asked again.

"Deep enough for me to tell you to stop," Blackbeard replied.

"Yes!"

After answering, the half-beast pirate began to act...

His four hooves were not just for show; their stomping power was enough to split gold and crack stone. The broken crystals he dug up with his hooves splashed in all directions, forcing everyone except Blackbeard to retreat seven or eight meters.

About thirty seconds later, Hoof had stomped out a pit more than a meter deep in the ground.

"Enough," Blackbeard called out at this time.

Hearing this, Hoof immediately stopped and stood in the pit, looking at his captain.

Blackbeard didn't say much, took a step forward, jumped into the pit, and took out a small piece of white substance from his pocket; looking closer, it was... a small section of human finger bone.

"agulo...hah...muchii..." Blackbeard held the finger bone in his fist, raised his arm, and softly recited a piece of obscure incantation.

Immediately afterward, a buzzing sound of rune energy came from underground, and at the same moment, a golden light burst out from under the crystal, encircling the pit that Hoof had dug.

"Everyone, come in," Blackbeard had just turned his head and said these four words to Nesu and the others a few meters away when he and Hoof suddenly disappeared.

Seeing this, Nesu, Voge, and Mark Thick-Neck exchanged glances, and then,押着Mad-Eye, they walked into the golden light together.

…………

The cavern where the treasure was piled up did not need any lighting equipment, because there were many magical items placed there that could emit light almost indefinitely.

Blackbeard, Mad-Eye, Nesu, Mark Hoof, Mark Thick-Neck, and Mr. Voge, these six people, passed through the entrance of the phase space one after another and entered this place.

Arriving at this place, Blackbeard finally felt a long-lost sense of "déjà vu."

The outside world had long changed, but this place was the same as it had been more than three hundred years ago... before he left this universe.

Well... saying "the same" might not be accurate.

Although the changes were few, there were still some, for example... the guard he had left here, the one he called his "son," was gone.

Instead, there was a stranger wearing a monk's robe, hiding his figure entirely in the strange shadows under the robe.

"Long time no see, Blackbeard." At this moment, Twenty-Three used her real voice to say a word to the other party, and at the same time, uncovered the hood on her head.

"Master!" Before Blackbeard could respond, Mad-Eye couldn't help but widen his eyes in shock. "You... you're actually a woman?"

"Hmph..." Seeing Mad-Eye's reaction, Blackbeard just sneered. "You didn't even figure out whether she was a man or a woman, and you're working for her?"

"After seeing the fate of Red Ring, he has no choice." Twenty-Three answered this question in place of Mad-Eye, and continued to say to Blackbeard, "I believe... if you are smart enough, you will soon make the same choice as him."

"Oh?" Blackbeard said, "You think... I'll be like Mad-Eye..." He pondered for half a second and continued, "and like Weston, Toureus, Idient and those guys... bowing down to you?"

"Heh..." Twenty-Three smiled, and this smile, as well as the tone and expression when she said the next sentence... were very similar to another person. "... Who knows?"