Bizarre Voyage: Summoning The Fourth Crisis

Before long, by sparing no expense, he finally succeeded in cultivating a pot of Demon Base Spirit Leaves at the cost of about fifty units of Wax Oil.

Mushroom shook his head.

If it took this much to cultivate a single pot of Demon Base Spirit Leaves, then it was a huge waste.

After all, based on his observations over the past few days, he had discovered something.

The crops in the Demon-Storage Basins could grow on their own, even without being watered.

Take the Demon Base Seed, for example. It only took about a day to advance to the next growth stage.

If watered once a day, they could mature in two days, with a total cost of only a few drops of Wax Oil.

Forcing them to grow was a gamble that cost at least dozens of units of Wax Oil. It was far more cost-effective to just buy more Demon-Storage Basins...

Shaking his head, Mushroom bought another Demon-Storage Basin, planted a seed in it, and then walked over to the Refining Platform.

’Now that I have Demon Base Spirit Leaves, I’ll try swapping the variables to Mad Talk Mushroom and Mad Talk Spore Powder today.’

He got right to it.

Mushroom quickly took out the Demon Base Spirit Leaves and Mad Talk Spores and began his potion-testing journey.

After some tinkering, he soon succeeded in creating a new Magic Potion.

[Acquired: Unnamed Magic Potion · Tier One ×1]

[Unnamed Magic Potion · Tier One]

[Type: Consumable]

[Effect: After consumption, slightly reduces the user’s Spiritual Attribute for a long period. The user will occasionally lose control of their ability to speak, and toxin accumulation will increase.]

[Explanation: A Magic Potion created from fungi from the Land of Madness combined with Demon Base Spirit Leaves. The brilliant, blood-red liquid contains ultimate Madness.]

’Success!’

Looking at the blood-red Magic Potion in his hand, Mushroom’s eyes lit up, and he named it Madness Potion.

”Keep going, keep going...”

Mushroom grew more and more excited. He felt as if he had found his true calling and began to delve deep into the art of potion-making.

...

Seeing the bustling vitality on Candle Island, with all things flourishing, Luo Ge was very satisfied.

As the Spirit Candle officially advanced to the Molten Slag Ash Tier, more functions gradually unlocked, giving the players a wider range of options.

After glancing at his replenished supply of Wax Oil, Luo Ge thought for a moment and decided to open a new dungeon.

However, just as he was about to set off, the Spirit Candle suddenly sent him a completely different kind of feedback.

Luo Ge, who had been in a good mood just a moment before, felt his heart sink. He then went to the entrance of the Reef Cave.

”Come with me.”

Without waiting for her to react, he said no more, grabbed Noxia’s arm, and vanished on the spot.

...

「Seaside Town, inside a player’s dungeon instance.」

”Whoa, so this is Seaside Town? The graphics are incredible, so realistic...”

A player with the ID ”Hair-Raising” marveled at the sight of Seaside Town, clicking his tongue in amazement.

He had entered the dungeon with his partner as usual, but his partner had something urgent to attend to today, so he decided to explore on his own.

At first, everything was normal.

The Blood Robe Priest in the plaza killed the player a few more times, much to his frustration.

In the end, he could only mutter timidly, ”Forget it. I can’t beat him, but I can sure as hell avoid him. I’ll go check out the fortress first...”

He then followed a guide for a clever workaround posted by Niuniu and, after some effort, managed to enter the fortress from a nearby rooftop.

However, just as he was admiring the fortress scenery and lighting the Milestone Spirit Candle, he suddenly glimpsed a strange person slowly walking out from the fortress gate behind him.

The man was dressed in clean, immaculate, platinum-white Cultivator’s Attire, but his head was covered by a clay pot, giving him an indescribably eerie aura.

He carried a rusty, serrated long saber. A strip of platinum-white banner cloth was wrapped tightly around the hilt, covering his hand.

Seeing this, the player was stunned for a moment.

At first, he thought his partner had come online and called out a couple of times.

But he soon felt something was not quite right. This person seemed to have a clear purpose, coming straight for him, and the information displayed was extremely strange—just question marks.

[?]

’Could this be the ”Firewood Gatherer” mentioned on the forums?’

The player asked this while also drawing his weapon and becoming vigilant.

”If you don’t state your purpose, I’m going to attack!”

However, the other party remained silent.

He gave the banner cloth on his hilt a slight shake, reached up with his other hand, and tapped lightly on the pot. A muffled sound echoed, and a vortex of swirling black and red began to form on top of the pot.

The player froze after just one glance.

The vortex seemed to possess some kind of Magic Power, completely captivating his attention.

And at this moment, the Pottery Man made his next move.

He took the rusty, serrated blade and sliced open his own chest. Then, he reached his other hand into the wound and grasped his own still-beating heart.

THUMP.

The heart’s beating was brought to a dead stop.

”What is... hngh...” The player suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe. His body instantly weakened, and he collapsed, clutching his chest.

DRIP... DRIP...

The downpour washed over him, carrying with it streams of blood.

The area around the Pottery Man was stained red with blood.

But he still stood there calmly, and even had the strength to walk forward and approach the player.

”Cough...”

The player’s face was flushed, his body was drained of strength, and his consciousness began to fade.

However, he didn’t die, nor could he commit suicide. He could only be at the mercy of others in this state.

SQUELCH!

After reaching the player, the Pottery Man removed the pot from its head. There was a sickening tear of bloody flesh and tissue, revealing new, tender flesh underneath—also in the shape of a pot.

Then, he forced the pot he had just removed directly onto the player’s head.

”No...”

The player, his consciousness already fading, saw only a blur of flesh and blood as strange, worm-like bloody tendrils drilled into his ears, nose, and throat.

After struggling for a moment, the player stopped moving completely. Then, in an incredibly bizarre fashion, he stood up. The body beneath the pot now moved like a walking corpse.

”What the fuck? What’s going on?”

The player’s vision had gone completely black, and there were no interactive prompts or anything of the sort.

But in the next moment, an azure Firelight enveloped his consciousness.

The next moment, he appeared on the login screen, where an extremely conspicuous message appeared in his view.

[Your Candle Spirit Body has been stolen. Now consuming Wax Oil to reconstruct it. Please wait...]

”What the fuck? What do you mean, stolen?”

He couldn’t help but exclaim, feeling utterly wronged.

Meanwhile.

After taking complete control of the player’s Candle Spirit Body.

With a wet SQUELCH, the Pottery Man pulled his gory hand from his chest. He then produced a live, serrated worm and pressed it onto the wound, forcing it to clamp the gash shut.

The live worm’s body pressed tightly against the wound and began to fuse with his flesh.

The pot on his head also began to harden.

Then, his blood-stained hand holding the banner cloth gave it a shake.

A blood-red, swirling Teleportation Gate appeared before him.

At the same time.

WHOOSH! Azure flames flared up, and Luo Ge’s figure appeared, instantly locking onto the Pottery Man.

But the Pottery Man remained silent, his movements quickening as he picked up the player’s body and threw it straight in.

Luo Ge had already channeled the Spirit Candle’s power to sever the connection, but a formidable force erupted from the vortex Teleportation Gate, blocking his attempt.

Although Luo Ge reacted instantly, appearing before the Pottery Man in the next moment to seize and completely restrain him, the player’s controlled body still fell into the vortex Teleportation Gate.

FWOOP.

The vortex Teleportation Gate closed without hesitation.

This Pottery Man had seemingly been left behind as a disposable pawn.

Luo Ge’s eyes narrowed, his gaze cold as he stared at it.

”Who are you?”

The Pottery Man said nothing. It was unclear if it was unable to speak or simply unwilling.

Indeed, its head, formed from a clay pot, betrayed no expression whatsoever.

He glanced at Noxia, who gently shook her head.

Luo Ge took a deep breath, and roaring azure flames spread from his hand to envelop the Pottery Man.

It began to tremble uncontrollably.

A moment later, the last of its Ashes had been burned away.

Of course, Luo Ge hadn’t killed it. He had handed it over to the Spirit Candle.