Chapter 1152 Treasure Hiding

Blackbeard's way of hiding treasure was, of course, unique.

He would never hide his treasures in a fixed location within a given prime dimension.

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

Once the treasure's location underwent geographical change, the treasure itself might be exposed, or some unpredictable dispersal and movement might occur.

Blackbeard certainly didn't want his treasure to suffer this fate, so his method of hiding treasure was—"hide it in a phase space, and leave someone in charge of guarding it."

This approach had many benefits:

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

Second, even if outsiders found the entrance to the space, they would be wasting their time if they didn't know how to open it and enter.

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

As for the possibility of "the guards becoming greedy and pocketing the treasure," Blackbeard had also considered it, so he only arranged one guard in each treasure hoard... anyway, with just this one person, if they really did betray him, Blackbeard would only need to find that one target afterward.

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

Note that it was "receiving," not "passing"... which meant that as long as they "received" the test, they were guaranteed to get the treasures.

Seeing this, some people might find it strange; wasn't Brother Jue and Xiao Tan told something different by Brother Tu Fa when they entered the treasure space on Planet Rabbit?

Now, we can reveal the truth... in fact, Brother Fa was just "acting" at the time, and his acting was very good, even Feng Bujue was deceived by him... to this day, Brother Jue doesn't know the real situation at the time.

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

Blackbeard understood that those who could find and enter his treasure space must have gone through untold hardships and possessed a certain degree of strength; faced with such a group of people, if you let the guards tell them, "Go back, everyone, I'm here to guard this place," it was very likely to lead to these people fighting to the death, or escaping and going back to accumulate strength for a comeback.

But, if you let the guards 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 away three treasures"... then, the other party would be very likely to agree.

After all, Blackbeard's guards were generally quasi-first-class powerhouses in the multiverse, and any treasure hunters with a little bit of insight and intelligence would not rashly engage in a head-on confrontation.

Moreover, Blackbeard's own reputation was intimidating enough; even if the treasure hunters really had the ability and intention to kill the guards and seize all the treasures after paying a painful price, they would have to weigh... whether they could withstand Blackbeard coming to their door to settle accounts in the future...

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

Thus, after carefully considering these not-so-complicated pros and cons, the vast majority of people would choose to "challenge the guards"; and Blackbeard also instructed the guards to try to use "a combat strength slightly higher than the other party's upper limit, narrowly losing," making the treasure hunters feel that they "won by luck" and create the illusion that "getting three treasures is already a profit," so they would willingly leave behind their "items that can open the phase space" and leave obediently, never to return.

It can be said... that Blackbeard's "guard strategy" was interlocked and 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 also a lie; if it were really "any," then the entire ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, could be counted as "one item" and taken away.

The guards would not specifically point out to the treasure hunters that "the ship also counts as one item," nor would they tell them... "there is also a secret 'inner space' in this space, and all the 'good things that can't be handed over' are hidden inside."

…………

"Found it... it's here..." Blackbeard stopped and looked at the crystal ground beneath his feet, muttering to himself.

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 stretch of sea between the North Island and the Central Island, and had traveled a considerable distance through 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 that sentence, Mad Eye immediately asked impatiently.

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

As soon as he said this, Mad Eye understood and muttered, "Oh~ no wonder you suddenly sped up your pace after setting foot on this 'Central Island,' it turns out it's because you were already close to the 'sensing distance,' is that right?"

"It's not just a matter of 'distance,' it also has to do with how long I stay on the ground..." Blackbeard said, "Well... forget it, I can't explain it clearly to a brute like you..." He seemed too lazy to continue, waved his hand casually, and motioned for Mark Hoof to come over.

"Captain, what are your orders?" Hoof was also obedient and quickly trotted to Blackbeard's side.

"Smash the crystal under your feet, then dig it open." Blackbeard said as he turned and took a few steps away.

"Uh... how deep should I dig?" Hoof lowered his head to look, then asked.

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

"Yes!"

After a loud response, the half-beast pirate began to act...

His four hooves were not just for show, their trampling force was enough to split gold and shatter stones; the broken crystals he dug out with his hooves flew in all directions, forcing everyone except Blackbeard to retreat seven or eight meters.

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

"Enough." Blackbeard called a stop at this time.

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

Blackbeard didn't say much, and immediately took a step forward, jumped into the pit, and took out a small piece of white material from his arms; 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 series of obscure incantations.

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

"Come in, all of you." Blackbeard had just turned his head and said these four words to Nesru and the others a few meters away when he and Hoof's figures suddenly disappeared.

Seeing this, Nesru, Wogg, and Mark Thickneck exchanged glances, then escorted Mad Eye and walked into the golden light together.

…………

The cave where the treasures were piled up didn't need any lighting equipment because there were many magical artifacts that could emit light for almost an infinite amount of time.

Blackbeard, Mad Eye, Nesru, Mark Hoof, Mark Thickneck, and Mr. Wogg, these six people, passed through the entrance to the phase space one after another and entered this place.

When he arrived at this place, Blackbeard finally felt a bit of a long-lost "déjà vu."

The outside world had long been unrecognizable, but this place was no different from three hundred years ago... that is, before he left this universe.

Well... saying "no different" might not be accurate.

Although the changes were few, they did exist. For example... the guard he had left here back then, the one he called his "son," was gone.

Replacing him was a stranger wearing a monk's robe, his figure completely hidden in the eerie shadows beneath the robe.

"Long time no see, Blackbeard." At this moment, Twenty-Three used her own voice to say a word to the other party, and at the same time, she 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 the other party was a man or a woman, and you're working for her?"

"After seeing what happened to Red Ring, he had no choice." Twenty-Three answered this question in place of Mad Eye, and then continued to say to Blackbeard, "I believe... if you're smart enough, you'll 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, Ediante and that bunch of guys... submit to you?"

"Heh..." Twenty-Three laughed, and her laughter, as well as her tone and expression when she spoke the next sentence... were extremely similar to another person, "... Who knows?"