The Rich Cultivator-Chapter 409 - 408. Masha, Isadora Nightkiss

The sun cast a golden shimmer over the vast sea, where a majestic adventurer’s ship floated silently across the endless blue.

The breeze was gentle, but there was something peculiar about the scene—every crew member on board wore the same lovestruck expression, eyes twinkling with adoration, as they worked with exaggerated grins.

In the captain’s quarters, a woman sat at a large wooden desk, her boots resting on the map-strewn surface. She wore a weathered cowboy hat, and her long, purple hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall.

This was Isadora Nightkiss, infamously known as the Manhunter—though her current expression looked more like a bored librarian than a deadly seductress.

Suddenly, the entire ship shuddered.

Her eyes snapped shut, and in that moment, her consciousness flickered through the vision of one of her crew members stationed on the deck.

There, standing at the bow of the ship, was a striking blonde woman. Her spiky hair seemed to defy gravity, and her muscular figure radiated raw strength. She was surrounded by crew members with weapons drawn—but they still wore those goofy, heart-filled expressions.

"Ho ho..." the woman chuckled, her voice deep and bemused. "You’ve really leveled up, Isadora. Your charm magic has improved drastically. And you’re still not even at the Divine Seeker Realm yet."

Back in the captain’s office, Isadora narrowed her eyes.

"Back off," she whispered.

Instantly, the crew lowered their weapons and returned to their tasks, as if nothing had happened.

With a sudden crash, the blonde woman leapt through the air, landing inside the captain’s office with enough force to shatter the window—and the floorboards beneath her boots cracked from the impact.

"Savage as always, Masha," Isadora groaned, not even bothering to look up. "Honestly, that’s probably why you never get a boyfriend."

Masha snorted, tossing her spiky bangs out of her eyes. "Hmph. As if men are worth the trouble. Besides, it’s not like you, the legendary Manhunter, have a harem following you around either. Aren’t you technically still a pure little virgin?"

"Sh-shut up, you muscle-headed brute," Isadora muttered, cheeks slightly pink.

Masha grinned devilishly and turned her attention to a plate of food resting on the desk. Without hesitation, she grabbed a fork and began devouring it like she hadn’t eaten in days.

"A-are you okay?" Isadora asked, hesitating as she watched Masha stuff her face.

"You have no idea how much crap I had to wade through just to make sure you escaped those people." Masha sighed between mouthfuls. "One of my teammates found out the truth, so I... handled it."

"Handled it?" Isadora repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"I smashed him to pieces and blamed the Federation," Masha said nonchalantly, licking her fingers.

Isadora sighed and sank into the seat beside her. She gently placed a hand on Masha’s muscular arm.

"Oh? What now? Trying to seduce me?" Masha teased. "I told you, I’m in a committed relationship... with food. But if you can promise me unlimited food for life, I might just elope with you."

"Even the richest person in the world would go broke trying to feed you," Isadora replied, deadpan.

"Richest person...?" Masha paused, tilting her head. "That would be Empress Lydia, right? She’s basically printing her own money."

"Dyamn... D-don’t casually say an Immortal’s name like that!" Isadora whispered harshly, eyes darting around. "What if she hears you?"

"Relax," Masha said with a shrug. "Everyone knows Lydia’s name and face. She’s famous. We’re nobodies—just low-tier Immortal Practitioners. Not even in the False Immortal Realm yet. Oh yeah, Atleast ManHunter is Little Famous than me."

As she said that, she nonchalantly pulled out a currency note and tossed it onto the table. The note bore the image of Empress Lydia herself—a mermaid.

Isadora frowned. "Still... be more careful."

Masha ignored her. "Oh no. The food’s gone," she said, staring at her now-empty plate with genuine heartbreak.

"Don’t worry," Isadora said, snapping her fingers.

A moment later, several crew members entered, arms full of dishes stacked with steaming food. They laid them in front of Masha and quickly exited the room.

"Speaking of immortals..." Masha mumbled, already chewing on a roasted leg of something, "Where is it?"

Isadora’s eyes gleamed.

After making sure the crew had left, she stood and walked over to the shelf, where a small wooden box sat in plain sight. She picked it up and carried it carefully back to the table.

"I buried this in that forest... then got caught trying to retrieve it. If you hadn’t been there..." Isadora paused.

"I took that mission because When I saw they were after you." Masha nodded. She watched as Isadora opened the box to reveal a glowing cube the size of a fist. Its surface was etched with intricate, shifting symbols, and emerald light pulsed from within the patterns.

"This is our ticket," Masha said, her voice low with awe.

"The Orion Cube Fragment," Isadora whispered, almost reverently.

"When the Tesseract Phenomenon happens again, this fragment guarantees us entry. No tribulations, no mental demons, no danger of becoming a Loose Immortal. Just... bam! True Immortality."

"Exactly. But until then, you hold onto it. And don’t lose it," Masha said, a rare seriousness in her tone.

"I will," Isadora promised. "I just hope they don’t find me."

As if summoned by her fear, an alarm bell rang on the deck. Isadora’s eyes closed again, linking her vision to another crew member’s perspective.

A pirate ship approached rapidly, its sails black with a skull-shaped insignia. Cannons emerged from the side—and they fired.

"Oh great," Isadora muttered. "We’ve got trouble, just some random pirates."

Masha stood abruptly, dropping her half-eaten chicken thigh. "I hate when people interrupt my mealtime."

She stomped her foot—and with a burst of force, shot through the ceiling and the remaining unbroken window.

Isadora sighed. "Even if I’m technically in charge here, she’s just gonna keep wrecking everything, huh?"

Outside, Masha hurtled across the sky and landed on the pirate ship like a meteor, causing the entire vessel to lurch.

She crossed her arms and gave the trembling pirates a disinterested look.

"Any last words?" she asked.

One of the pirates raised a shaky hand. "U-uh... we surrender?"

A few minutes later, Masha casually floated back. Behind her, the massive pirate ship was sinking fast—plumes of smoke and flame rising as sailors jumped overboard in panic.

Isadora watched her through the shattered glass.

"Show-off," she muttered affectionately.

Masha returned to the office and picked up her food as if nothing had happened.

"You know..." she said, chewing again, "this turned cold."

"Unbelievable," Isadora said with a laugh.

"Where are you going to hide?" Masha asked, tearing into a roasted leg of meat, her tone casual despite the gravity of the conversation.

"I don’t know," Isadora admitted with a shrug. "It’s not like I have real friends. The last girl I worked with—I pushed her down a stone staircase."

Masha raised an eyebrow. "Charming."

"I know, right?" Isadora deadpanned.

There was a pause before Masha spoke again. "Do you know anything about the Phantom Pirates?"

Isadora tilted her head. "Which ones? The ones from the South or the North?"

"South," Masha replied, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Oh, them. They rebranded themselves as the Blackwood Pirates later on. Probably realized there was already a Phantom Pirate group up North. If two crews have the same name or even a similar Jolly Roger, it usually leads to a Pirate Gamble—winner takes the title."

"Hmph. Sounds messy."

"Yeah. I haven’t seen them since the Rosefall Labyrinth Incident. They’ve been laying low, probably hiding their tracks," Isadora said thoughtfully.

"Any way we can bring them out of hiding? You’ve always been good at manipulating the shadows," Masha said, glancing sideways.

Isadora smirked. "I might have something. What if we use the Northern Phantom Pirates? Stir the waters, make some noise using their name. That might force the Southern ones—the Blackwoods—into the open."

"What are you planning to do when you find them?" Isadora asked, tone innocent.

"I’m going to crush Phantom Blackwood into pieces. That’s the only way I can avenge my idiot brother," Masha said flatly, as she returned to eating. No fury, no drama—just a cold, calm declaration.

Isadora’s eyes lit up like a child spotting a rare candy. "Oho~ If you’re destroying that crew, then dibs on their Vice Captain. She’s mine."

Masha gave her a slow, suspicious glance. "To kill, right?"

Isadora just grinned.

Masha paused, then nodded. "Deal."

---

Meanwhile, far away on Fun Streak Island, breeze drifted through a partially constructed building.

Lily sneezed.

Mana, perched nearby while sipping on a chilled drink, looked up. "What happened? Catching a cold?"

Lily blinked, insulted. "A cold? Me? I’m a Grandmaster. Do you think my body is that fragile?"

Mana raised an eyebrow.

"It’s probably just someone talking bad about me," Lily said with a confident smirk, brushing her nose with a gloved finger. "Or maybe someone just made a terrible mistake and invoked my name."

Mana chuckled. "Maybe your girlfriend, Isadora."

Lily’s mouth twitched. "Tsk. She’s NOT my girlfriend. But I do hope I meet her again." A cold smile flickered across her lips. "I have a lot of things to give back to her."

The air around her grew heavy with murderous intent.