Chapter 183: The egg case is the deity<hr>


    Sarina confirmed part of what had been said about the wilderness.


    Indeed, on the second level, there was a powerful deity known as the "Star Sea God"—to be precise, a demigod.


    However, Sarina had no dealings with this entity; she had merely passed through the second level while being pursued by Curse Insects. The Star Sea God neither hindered nor aided her; they simply crossed paths, which was the typical attitude among the gods of the Abyss.


    As for the environment of the second level, Sarina knew little. She only remembered that most of it was water, with very littlend.


    The Apostles had finished recuperating and were back to their optimal states.


    Only then did Lu Yao click to enter the vortex.


    The screen slowly disyed the prompt "ck Abyss Second Layer."


    The vortex on the secondyer was atop a cliff, and below was indeed a vast ocean, with stars twinkling in the water.


    At the base of the cliff were several Curse Insect monsters, gnawing on the corpses of two y figurines.Under Lu Yao’smand, Sarina swiftly dispatched the Curse Insects.


    An exmation mark appeared above Neville’s head as he made his way to the corpses of his kin. After the y people died, their bodies turned into heaps of brown y.


    "They’re all dead... All the friends who fled with me this time are dead..."


    Lu Yao thought to himself that since thisyer was a water world, it was necessary to bring in a professional water operator.


    He ordered the Apostles to stand by and controlled the Deep Sea Lord from the pixel world to rush over.


    u entered the water, and his body quickly swelled, reverting to the form of an ind-bearing colossus.


    Lu Yao had everyone board the ind and used the Deep Sea Lord, this maritime fortress, to navigate the waters.


    While Lu Yao was summoning reinforcements, Isabe learned a lot from Neville.


    "My lord, the y people live in something called a water nest," she exined.


    "It’s a wisdom bestowed upon them by the Star Sea God, allowing them to live in water. The y people’s foodes from algae, shellfish, and various fish in the water. Eating makes them feel satisfied, but in fact, they can endure for a long time without food..."


    Soon, Lu Yao spotted a water nest not far away in the sea.


    It was arge, floating mud ball with a sticky green substance smeared on its surface, looking like grease or paint.


    The water nest bobbed with the waves, slowly sinking and floating.


    Suddenly, a hole opened at the top of the water nest, and several long vines were thrown out, with a little mud person climbing out along the vines.


    Hey on the surface of the mud ball, pulling up the vines below, which were adorned with a string of shellfish of various sizes, looking like some strange decoration.


    The little person took down the shells and then crawled back to the water trough, and the hole was closed again.


    This was essentially the daily life of an adult y person.


    Drifting at sea, foraging, cultivating shellfish, waiting to encounter other water nests, and then possibly bing friends or forming a family as a couple.


    They mostly hid in their water nests, consuming little and living long lives.


    In the past, the y people only came ashore to live at two moments: when a baby was born and when they were about to die.


    To reproduce, the y people would control their water nests all the way back to their sacred birthce, also the site of divine revtion from the great Star Sea.


    In the sacred ce, newborn babies would receive the blessing of the deity, free from disease. There were also two most important things there: thepanion vine and the deity’s divine artifact, the "Wishing Star."


    Thepanion vine would apany each y person for life.


    It was a peculiar organism; each newborn would pluck a sprout from the vine entwined around the "Wishing Star," and thispanion vine would stick with the old citizen for life.


    Thepanion vine would not only be apanion, but it could also reinforce the water nest, secure the shells, and catch fish and shrimp. In times of danger, it would even save itspanion.


    This was a gift from the deity.


    Without thepanion vine, it was hard for the y people to survive here.


    And once they lost their initialpanion vine for various reasons, it was very difficult to get another piece of the vine. Because thepanion vines also needed time to grow gradually, forming trust and dependence with theirpanion, and they were distinctly xenophobic.


    During the escape, Neville’spanion vine was torn apart by the Curse Insects, plunging him into despair.


    The "Wishing Star" of the sacrednd was an artifact left by the Star Sea deity. Although the deity might have fallen, this artifact remained undying, impervious to the Curse Insects.


    The "Wishing Star" was the hope of all the old citizens.


    Every believer could make a wish to it, praying wholeheartedly and with utmost devotion. The deity could then hear the deepest prayers and desires of the believers’ hearts.


    Many believers received the attention of the Star Sea deity, and their wishes came true.


    Unfortunately, since the invasion of the Curse Insects led to the deity’s fall, the Apostle in charge of the Wishing Star also perished. The "Wishing Star" fell intoplete silence, no longer responding to wishes.


    On the ind transformed by the Deep Sea Lord, Neville showed a frightened expression with his hands clutching his head.


    He said, "Honorable Apostles, the sacrednd has been upied by the Curse Insects, they areying eggs there... we can’t approach the shore."


    "The sacrednd is at the center of the sea, surrounded by Curse Insects. They are hunting water nests everywhere, making life very difficult for the y people... Most of the time, we have to hide our water nests underwater."


    Whether this was a deliberate act by the Curse Insects or an unintended consequence was yet unknown.


    The current situation on the secondyer was that the Curse Insects were gradually recing the y people.


    The secondyer was muchrger than the first, and even with Isabe searching from the air and the Deep Sea Lord advancing on the water, it took Lu Yao half an hour to find the direction of the centralnd.


    Calling itnd was a bit of a misnomer; it was more like arge solitary ind.


    The ind was covered with white, web-like fluff, resembling a gigantic spider’s nest.


    At the very center was a huge spherical object, upying a third of the ind.


    It was wrapped from top to bottom in white threads, with something like a ck pod at the top, from which all the strands on the ind originated.


    Lu Yao activated the "Eye of True Sight" to inspect.<blockquote>


    【Parasite Egg Case LV70】: Curse Insect·Parasite’s egg case.


    Health: 8592/24180


    Damage: 42


    Defense: 94


    Speed: 0


    【Hatching】


    Consumes health to hatch Curse Insects.


    【Curse Mark】


    ces a curse mark to draw the fire of faith.


    【Ruminate】


    Curse Insects send captured mature curse marks into the egg case, concentrating the power of faith.


    ...


    【Godhood】: None.


    【Divinity】: Lowly as ants (13478).


    【Divine Body】: None.</blockquote>


    Lu Yao understood.


    This 【Parasite】 used curse marks to extract the fire of faith from each y person’s body, then sent it back to the egg case.


    Hunting the y people was just a means to an end.


    The egg case in the center of thend could be considered an idol made by the Parasite.


    At such times, it was the Snowman’s turn to take action.


    "Jimmy will definitelyplete the mission!"


    The Snowman was deployed.


    As the Deep Sea Lord collided with the edge of the solitary ind, Curse Insects emerged from the white webs of the sacrednd, reflexively rushing towards the intruders.


    Facing these low-tier monsters, the Tyrant and the Blood Knight began a one-sided purge.


    Jimmy moved like a shadow, quickly rolling up to the death ball, and his red glove grabbed at the egg case.


    Faith +9321 appeared in the upper right corner of Lu Yao’s vision.


    The egg case, panicked by this action, immediately spat out strands of thread to entangle the Snowman.


    But the Snowman was too fast, constantly maneuvering agilely, and even circled back to snatch another handful.


    Faith +1227.


    At this, the insects that were originally resisting the Tyrant and Blood Knight turned around, rushing towards the Snowman like mad.


    Seeing this, Jimmy sprinted back, receiving support from the Blood Knight in the rear.


    "Lord deity, that egg case has no items, very poor, only some fire of faith," Jimmy reported.


    Lu Yao thought it was not bad.


    A small profit of ten thousand.


    The ck Abyss was indeed a treasure trove of rich resources! He would have to visit more often when he had the time.


    Next up, it was time for Sarina and Neville to clear the field.