A crock weight worked wonders-extra-crisp pickled cabbage
The Black Dragon sped swiftly through the deep sea, carried by the winds and waves of its return journey.
The shallow beach in the open sea was right in front of them. Ling Yun stood on the large iron dragon head at the bow of the ship and snapped his fingers.
Several Water Blades slid across the surface of the water, making a few crisp cracking sounds, and the thick iron chains around the necks of the twenty Demon Soul Great White Sharks were all cut open.
These sea overlords, some hundreds of thousands of years old, didn't even entertain the slightest thought of turning back to retaliate. Each of them had a large forehead worn raw by the chains, and they were wagging their big tails in the water with tears streaming down their faces. They even used their big noses to push out several fist-sized handfuls of deep-sea white Pearls onto the deck, nodding and bowing repeatedly as if sending away a plague god.
"Alright, get lost."
Ma Hongjun, leaning on the ship's railing and chewing on dried meat, waved his hand and said, "Next time you pass by, remember to be more careful and don't keep bumping into our anchors."
The great white sharks, as if granted a pardon, plunged into the deep water and disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving not a trace of white foam.
A strong, tangy aroma was wafting from the bottom of the cabin.
In the center of the hold stood three large earthenware jars, each about half a person's height, which the pirates had originally used to pickle rotten cabbage. But now, right in the middle of the fattest jar, stood the 108,000-pound, dark and gleaming Sea God Trident!
The sheer weight of over 100,000 jin (approximately 50,000 kg) dropped down, packing the coarse Brine and cabbage stalks inside tightly, leaving no space whatsoever.
"Snap!"
Dai Mubai up his sleeves, picked up a large piece of thoroughly pickled cabbage from the jar with two long bamboo chopsticks, took a big bite, and the crisp sound echoed in the cabin, with juice dripping down his chin.
"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!"
Dai Mubai's two Shiny tiger eyes widened, his face beaming with delight. "Brother Yun, this black iron fork is absolutely amazing as a weight-pressing stone! Even with 100,000 jin of weight, the cabbage stalks didn't rot at all, and they even had a strangely pleasant, refreshing, watery aroma!"
Ma Hongjun had already lit the Pure Yang Phoenix Fire under the big iron pot. The broth in the pot was boiling and bubbling. Several plump sea cucumbers and large yellow croakers that had just been caught from the sea were cut into thick slices, mixed with chopped pickled cabbage, and poured into the pot. Minced garlic and chili powder were sprinkled on top, and the aroma wafted up to the deck.
"Hurry up and scoop it out! The glass noodles at the bottom are almost overcooked!"
Tai Long held up a large bowl and stood in front, while Oscar and Ning Rongrong sat cross-legged on small stools beside them, each holding a rough porcelain bowl and slurping away, sweating profusely.
The divine artifact left by the Sea God to protect the four seas is now firmly inserted into the sauerkraut soup, serving as the heaviest and most elaborate sauerkraut jar Gravity press in the world.
Ling Yun leaned against the cabin door, took a sip of the half-eaten bowl of pickled fish soup, and smiled as he looked at the white foam in the bowl:
"When we get back to Heaven Dou City, we'll take this fork off and use it as a tether for the donkey in front of Old Huang's mutton restaurant. That way, the Carriage won't keep blocking the road."
At the same time.
In the barren black stone quarry behind Sea God Island, the sun was so scorching it felt like kerosene had been poured onto the ground.
"Smack!!"
A cowhide whip soaked in bitter Brine lashed out with a sharp crack as it struck a large Plate, scattering gravel everywhere.
"What are you dawdling for?! Hurry up and get to work!!"
A Sea Soul Master deacon, his face dark, gripped a leather whip and roared at the figure in the mud pit, "If you don't deliver thirty truckloads of granite before nightfall, and don't finish repairing that half of the load-bearing wall in front of the Sea God Hall, you won't even get half a rotten dried fish tonight!!"
In the muddy ditch of the quarry, Tang San, bare-chested and wearing worn-out coarse hemp gloves, was gripping the handle of a wheelbarrow.
Thirty large, millstone-sized stones were neatly stacked on the cart.
Tang San's skin was sunburned so badly that it peeled off three layers, his face was covered in black lime powder and smelly sweat, and the bloody welts on his back from being whipped were mixed with Brine, causing him excruciating pain.
The arrogance that once characterized his bloodshot eyes as a self-proclaimed master of the Tang Sect Clan had long been worn away by the heavy stone cart.
"When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it first tests their resolve and strengthens their body..."
Tang San Crunch his teeth, repeatedly muttering those sour words in his mind, his legs trembling, and he managed to push the heavy wheelbarrow forward an inch:
'This is a divine rebuke... Yes! The Sea God must be watching me from the shadows! He's testing my resolve! As long as I repair this temple, as long as I can swallow all the bitterness in the world, the Sea God will surely reward me with his true power!'
"Boom!"
The wheelbarrow got stuck in the mud pit, the cart lurched to the side, and more than a dozen large stones smashed onto Tang San's feet.
Tang San was in so much pain that tears and snot streamed down his face. He dug his hands into the black soil, and the four golden characters "Bricklaying Laborer" on his forehead gleamed with an extremely dazzling white light under the sun.
The Heaven Dou Empire, the Heaven Dou City Imperial Palace, the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace.
The doors and windows inside the main hall were tightly shut, and the air was filled with a strong scent of calming incense and precious herbs.
Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, was wearing a loose, bright yellow silk robe and was sitting behind her desk reviewing military reports. The Heaven Dou Imperial Palace was in turmoil lately. Xue Ye had been taking a slow-acting poison she had been administering for years, and his health was deteriorating day by day; he was even bedridden.
Qian Renxue's influence has already secretly infiltrated the Imperial Guard and most of the court. She is just waiting for the old emperor to take his last breath so that she can rightfully ascend the throne and bring the entire Heaven Dou Empire into the hands of the Spirit Hall.
A muffled "bang"!
The heavy, hidden door to the study was suddenly flung open, Snake Lance Douluo She Long tumbled in, forgetting all his usual rules of concealment. His old face was as white as a sheet of old white paper used to cover windows.
"What's the panic?!" Qian Renxue frowned sharply and reprimanded coldly, "The palace is full of spies, what kind of behavior is this?!"
"Young Master... something... something terrible has happened!!"
She Long didn't even bother to wipe the foam from the corner of his mouth. His hands trembled as he handed over a military report, its contents smelling of sea salt, delivered with urgent news from 800 li away. His voice shook like a leaf.
"A letter just sent back from the Spirit Hall Main Hall of Vast Sea City... Blue Tyrant his gang of bandits... they've returned unscathed from the deep sea in their black ships!!"
Qian Renxue's vermilion brush suddenly stopped, and a drop of bright red ink splattered onto the memorial.
"They're back? The Sea Demon Pirates didn't sink them? The Demon Whale King didn't eat them?!" Qian Renxue stood up in disbelief.
"He's more than just not dead!!"
She Long swallowed hard, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets, pointing tremblingly at the secret letter:
"The pirates of Vast Sea City are all talking about it! Those little devils rammed their big black ship into Sea God Island, splitting the Sea Horse Sacred Pillar in two! They used water pumps to make the steps of Sea God Mountain a slide, they even dismantled a pulley system from the roof beams of the Sea God Hall, and they stole the 108,000-pound golden fork from the Sea God's hand like a rotten radish!!"
"What's even more deadly is..."
She Long's legs went weak, and he almost knelt on the ground. "They carried the Sea God's giant golden fork back to the ship and used it as a stone to weigh down sauerkraut in the earthenware jars! The entire Black Market smuggling ship in Vast Sea City is now talking about these living devils who dare to rip off even the gods!!"
"Crack!"
The entire carved rosewood chair that Qian Renxue was sitting on was instantly shattered into countless flying dust by the violent divine Soul Power!
Qian Renxue's usually calm face was completely distorted, and a bead of white sweat, enough to crack the bones, shot up from her spine.
She subconsciously reached up and touched her right shoulder.
The terrifying memory of Ling Yun pinching her shoulder with his hands covered in mutton fat and the pungent smell of garlic and scallions assaulting her senses at Old Huang's Mutton Restaurant in Heaven Dou City came crashing back like a tidal wave!
She schemed and plotted, treading on thin ice for over a decade, and was on the verge of successfully usurping the throne.
It just so happens at this critical juncture.
Those lowlife bandits who dared to demolish even a temple dedicated to a deity and use a magical artifact from the Sea God to suppress a sauerkraut jar...
Reeking of street thugs and the stench of garlic, he swaggered back to Heaven Dou City!