The Rich Cultivator
Chapter 168 - 167. Finding Clues

Chapter 168: 167. Finding Clues

As the sand monsters rose from the desert floor, towering over eight feet tall, Tyler was quick to react. Suddenly a Trident appeared and pierced the Sand Monster. The monster looked like a humanoid monster made of sand. The creature instantly disintegrated into a cloud of sand, scattering into the wind. Tyler’s flying boat cut through the airborne debris, gliding over the maze-like structure.

On the deck, Tyler stood tall, his phantom mask concealing his identity, the trident still glowing faintly in his hand.

"Captain Blackwood! The ruins we spotted earlier are close. We should arrive there soon!" a pirate called out from the helm. His voice was strained, and his body bore the marks of recent battles. He, like the others aboard, was one of the many pirates Tyler had subdued with his overwhelming strength. Now, they served him out of fear and, perhaps, awe.

"Good. Keep going," Tyler responded, his voice steady and calm, as he turned and walked back toward the small cabin at the rear of the boat.

Casually, he tossed a storage ring filled with aura stones to the pirate responsible for refueling the ship. The man caught it, his eyes widening slightly at the sight of so many precious stones. By now, he had grown numb to the staggering wealth of the Phantom Pirates. Still, a small part of him couldn’t help but hope that one day Tyler might offer him a permanent place in the crew.

Three pirates had been chosen for the essential tasks—one to navigate, one to refuel, and one to stand guard. Each of them knew better than to cross Tyler, his power and mysterious demeanor making even the bravest of them wary.

As Tyler sat in the cabin, he leaned back, idly copying aura stones in his copper pot, keeping a steady supply for the journey ahead. At the same time, he remained watchful, his senses attuned to the slightest movements outside the cabin. Though the pirates aboard were subdued for now, Tyler knew better than to let his guard down. Pirates were opportunistic by nature, and he wouldn’t give them the chance to act on any funny ideas.

Tyler’s boat glided smoothly through the sandy maze, but his eyes were drawn to something unusual in the distance. In the middle of the barren labyrinth, a shrine stood—isolated, ancient, and worn by the ravages of time. Its structure was simple, and the broken remains of a statue at its entrance seemed to hold something that had long since vanished.

He narrowed his eyes, observing the scene before deciding to put away the boat. The pirates he had taken with him looked at each other in confusion as they saw their captain stepping toward the shrine, leaving the boat behind.

"Where is he going?" one of the pirates muttered.

"Do we follow?" another whispered, but none of them dared to move without orders. As they hesitated, Tyler, without a word, walked past the arc of the shrine and vanished from their sight. Panic gripped the pirates for a moment.

"Let’s get out of here before something else happens," one of them finally suggested. They didn’t need to be told twice; they abandoned their post and scattered into the maze, each fleeing in a different direction.

Tyler, however, had entered the shrine with a different mindset. He had no idea where the labyrinth’s path would lead him, and in this confusing puzzle of desert and ruins, he needed to take every opportunity to find answers. The shrine, though small and unremarkable, might hold some clue. His instincts, honed from years of archeology adventure urged him to explore it further.

Inside the shrine, the air was cooler, filled with a quiet, almost reverent energy. The broken statue at the entrance had intrigued him for a moment—a figure seemingly holding a box—but without much left intact, it was impossible to discern what it had once been. He moved further inside, disappearing from view, hoping that the interior might offer more guidance.

---

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the labyrinth, Lily Gomes and Isadora Nightkiss were making their way through an ancient temple. Unlike Tyler’s desert shrine, this temple was more expansive, its architecture grand, though decayed with age. As they walked, the air around them seemed to thrum with an ominous energy, warning them that danger lay ahead.

The two women found themselves staring at a peculiar section of the temple: large blocks were floating in the air, suspended by some unseen force. Beneath them, a dark pit yawned, filled with writhing snake monsters—an ever-present reminder of the consequences of a wrong move.

"What’s the point of all this?" Lily muttered under her breath, eyeing the floating blocks.

"Why are we even exploring this temple?" Lily asked, her tone exasperated.

Isadora, walking a few steps ahead, glanced back at her with a small smirk. "You really don’t know, do you? The temple, shrine, church—whatever these places are—they’re all part of the labyrinth. They might hold clues to the center."

They both turned their attention back to the floating blocks. At the beginning of the section, a series of ancient symbols and text had been etched into the stone, offering a clue to the puzzle ahead.

"These Language." Isadora analysed it .

"Its just the same language but from like 500 years ago? I think I have read this somewhere." Lily said.

"So... what happens if we step on the wrong block?" Lily asked, though she already knew the answer.

Isadora pointed to the pit below, where snakes slithered ominously. "More of those come out."

Lily groaned. "Great."

"Let’s get this over with," Lily muttered, eyeing the blocks carefully, mentally preparing herself for whatever awaited them next.

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

Mathilda stood in the dimly lit church-like room, surrounded by statues so vulgar that they made even her pause. As her eyes scanned the eerie sculptures, she found an old, weathered book resting near one of the grotesque figures. The book’s pages were torn, and the strange symbols scribbled across them were impossible to decipher. She flipped through the book with curiosity but quickly gave up, slipping it into her pouch.

"I’ll just ask Silvia to translate this later," she muttered to herself, continuing forward with cautious steps.

Just as she rounded a corner, she heard the unmistakable sound of boots scuffling on the stone floor. A group of pirates emerged from the shadows, their eyes lighting up as they caught sight of her.

"Hey, look at that," one of them sneered, pointing in Mathilda’s direction. "There’s a chick over there."

"She’s wearing a mask, but even with that, her body looks... enchanting," another pirate added, his tone dripping with sleaze. They exchanged nasty grins and started to approach her, their eyes gleaming with sinister intent.

Mathilda stood her ground, her frown deepening. Without a word, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of small marbles, tossing them effortlessly towards the pirates. The marbles rolled silently across the floor, stopping near their feet.

The pirates glanced down, momentarily wary, but quickly dismissed the small spheres. One of the men smirked, his voice thick with mockery. "What, playing with balls? Why don’t you come play with our bal-"

Before he could finish his lewd remark, the marbles detonated with a thunderous roar.

Screams of agony filled the air as the explosion ripped through the pirates’ ranks, sending them sprawling to the ground, limbs twisted and bloodied. Smoke curled in the air as their bodies lay motionless, their earlier bravado reduced to ashes.

Mathilda didn’t even turn back and left.

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

Isadora glanced at the first clue with a smirk, her eyes narrowing as she read the bizarre riddle aloud.

"A flying sword is flying at the speed of a young phoenix. The person riding on the flying sword weighs 300 pounds. Calculate the mass of the sun above your head."

She raised an eyebrow. "What the...?"

Lily, standing beside her, sighed. "That doesn’t make any sense. Everything except the last part is just fluff. The actual question is about the mass of the sun, but I have no idea what that is."

Without missing a beat, Isadora grinned and stepped forward, leaping onto one of the blocks that was labeled with a zero.

Lily gasped, shocked at Isadora’s impulsiveness. Her heart skipped a beat, fully expecting the block to collapse beneath her companion’s feet and send her plummeting into the snake-filled pit below. But to her surprise, the block held firm.

"The mass of the sun above us is zero?" Lily asked, clearly baffled. "Is that because we’re indoors, so there’s no sun above us?"

Isadora chuckled, shaking her head. "Nope, it’s not about being inside. This is something most Northerners know... The sun above us is weightless."

Lily tilted her head in confusion. "Why? I mean, how?"

Isadora stepped closer, leaning in until her lips were almost touching Lily’s ear. "I’ll tell you if you reveal your identity, *Temptress*."

Lily’s face reddened, but she quickly composed herself, waving her hand dismissively. "Never mind... We’re heading north anyway. I’ll figure it out myself."

With a playful smirk, Isadora shrugged and moved to the next riddle, her teasing laughter lingering in the air.

Lily looked down at the stone and read aloud, but her voice quickly trailed off "How does a pair of panties smell like when a cucumber is inserted insi—"