Chapter 1308: Treasure Vault

Lu Ye fought alone, not joining any battle arrays. This was primarily due to his exceptional agility; he used his artifacts to create void spirit patterns, appearing and disappearing unpredictably. While the enemies were entangled by his allies' battle formations, he moved like a ghost, freely cutting them down. His Panshan Blade, enhanced by Divine Edge, was incomparably sharp; among the Constellation cultivators, no one could withstand the power of a single strike from him.

The battle did not last long. Less than an incense stick's time after the golden exotic beast vanished, the last enemy was struck down on the spot.

Holding his blade, Lu Ye surveyed his surroundings and let out a long breath.

On one side of the battlefield, within the battle array led by Qin Zong, Haitang watched the scene, utterly captivated.

He did it; he actually did it.

During her time trapped on the Ghost Ship, she had been constantly reflecting and deducing the possibilities of all the hopes she once held. However, no matter how she tried, she could only arrive at a conclusion that left her in despair.

With her current strength, once she fell into the Ghost Ship, there would be no hope of escape.

She had always believed that no one could fully complete the Ghost Ship's trial, as the biggest challenge was the issue of spiritual energy reserves.

Cultivators who entered this place were different from the Ghost Ship's crew; their spiritual energy was constantly depleted and would not reset with each reincarnation.

Furthermore, the Ghost Ship had a rule that regardless of a cultivator's level, they could only exert power equivalent to the early Constellation stage. Therefore, even if a Sun-Gazing realm cultivator entered, their performance would likely be no better than hers.

Although each death offered a fresh start, allowing one to accumulate more experience in dealing with challenges, what good was accumulating extensive experience if spiritual energy reserves were insufficient?

Haitang didn't know how Lu Ye had solved this problem; after nearly twenty reincarnations, he could still maintain abundant spiritual energy flow without showing the slightest sign of fatigue. This was undoubtedly his unique capability.

She felt a touch of envy, but also a sense of relief.

This way, Lu Ye wouldn't be trapped on the ship forever, like her, until he became nourishment for the Ghost Ship.

In the silent starry battlefield, no sound could naturally be transmitted unless one activated divine sense.

Lu Ye turned to look at his crew members. Logically, after such a hard-fought battle and finally achieving victory, there should have been some celebratory actions.

But the crew members were not living beings after all, so they stood stiffly in place.

When Lu Ye's gaze fell upon them, almost all the crew members, except Haitang, collectively turned their gazes towards the Long Dragon warship, their movements uniform and stiff.

Lu Ye's mind stirred, and he understood.

The Ghost Ship's trial was passed; now it was time to collect his spoils.

He could already sense the aura of treasures from within the Long Dragon warship, something he hadn't sensed before.

He immediately sheathed his blade and flashed towards the warship. The many crew members followed silently behind him, like ghosts.

Following the aura of the treasures, Lu Ye quickly arrived before a large door on the lowest deck of the ship. He was certain that this door had not been there before, or if it had, he hadn't been able to see it due to the Ghost Ship's mysterious rules.

The door was thick and heavy, made of an unknown material. The aura of treasures Lu Ye had just sensed was actually emanating from this very door.

If a mere door was so valuable, what precious items could be sealed inside?

Lu Ye didn't push the door rashly. Instead, he turned his head, looked at Qin Zong and the others who had been silently following him, tilted his head, and unceremoniously ordered, "Open the door!"

Ever since the trial ended, Qin Zong and the others had maintained stiff, expressionless faces. Now, upon hearing Lu Ye's command, a hint of a ferocious expression flashed across each of their faces, as if they wanted to devour someone.

Lu Ye knew then that these individuals had always hoped he wouldn't pass the trial, and they were very unwilling that things hadn't gone their way.

But constrained by the Ghost Ship's various rules, their unwillingness was futile.

Qin Zong and Xiao Jianming stepped to either side, each pushing one half of the door. With heavy exertion, the door slowly swung open.

There was no dazzling display of treasures. Instead, a swirling mist met his eyes. The mist twisted, followed by a sinister, eerie laugh entering Lu Ye's ears: "What an impressive young man! Since you've passed the Ghost Ship's trial, you may choose one item from everything on this ship to take with you. Sharpen your eyes and discern carefully!"

After the voice faded, the mist also vanished, and the true appearance of the treasure vault finally came into Lu Ye's view.

Lu Ye didn't rush to examine the treasure vault. Instead, his divine sense quickly spread out, searching for traces of the mist he had just seen. However, after a moment, he found nothing.

He wasn't sure what the mist was, but judging by the speaker's tone, it seemed to be the controller of this treasure vault.

After a brief ponder, Lu Ye stepped forward. He looked around and was slightly startled, as the layout of this treasure vault was quite similar to that of the War Merit Pavilion.

Stone platforms stood scattered throughout, each displaying a single treasure. He didn't know their exact quality, but at a rough glance, there were at least a thousand treasures displayed here.

"Wow, so many things," a voice said, reaching Lu Ye's ears. He glanced over and chuckled, "Senior Sister Haitang."

Haitang winked at him. "I came in with you to see the world."

She could only enter; she couldn't take anything from here.

Lu Ye then looked outside the treasure vault. He saw Qin Zong and the others standing there like wooden stakes, staring sinisterly at him and Haitang, as if looking at powerful intruders in their own home, filled with extreme resentment yet utterly helpless.

It seemed these crew members couldn't enter.

Lu Ye didn't bother to investigate further. He transmitted a message: "Perfect, since Senior Sister Haitang is here, please help me look around. To be honest, I've only just entered the starry sky, and my experience is limited, so I don't know which items are good and which are not."

"Sure," Haitang readily agreed. First, she offered Lu Ye a suggestion: "Brother Lu, don't bother with the offensive treasures. While these items are extremely valuable, perhaps enough to make even Sun-Gazing realm cultivators envious, for Constellation cultivators like us, even if we took them, we wouldn't be able to unleash their full power, so they wouldn't be very meaningful."

This suggestion was very pertinent and practical. It's a common understanding among cultivators that one should use treasures commensurate with their cultivation level. It doesn't mean that a low-level cultivator can run rampant just by obtaining powerful treasures. If one cannot activate a treasure's full power, it's like a three-year-old trying to wield a great hammer; it's useless even if they possess it.

Lu Ye nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

With this premise, the number of items to consider was immediately halved.

The two immediately split up and began their search.

Lu Ye's gaze swept past the items clearly meant for offense, focusing only on the other treasures. But he soon discovered a problem: each stone platform was covered by an unknown restriction. This meant he couldn't remove the sealed treasures for closer examination and could only rely on his eyesight.

How keen could his eyesight be? Everything looked incredibly valuable, making it difficult to choose.

Just then, Haitang's voice called out: "Brother Lu, over here!"

Lu Ye flashed over. He saw Haitang pointing at a stone platform in front of them and saying: "How about this treasure robe? I've noticed you don't seem to have a protective treasure robe, and battles are full of dangers. For this robe to be displayed here, its quality must be high. Even if your cultivation isn't enough to unleash its full power, its inherent material alone would be enough to help you avoid many risks in combat."

Lu Ye nodded. "This is good. Let's keep it as a backup choice!"

Having received approval, Haitang was delighted and became even more enthusiastic in helping him discern items.

Lu Ye returned to his original position and continued to look around.

From time to time, Haitang would call out to him, clearly having found a suitable treasure. Lu Ye himself also found a few good items, and although he couldn't discern their exact functions, he had some educated guesses.

Undeniably, the treasures within the Ghost Ship were indeed numerous and valuable. There were all kinds of types; any cultivator, regardless of their cultivation level, could find what they desired here.

Not to mention those Sun-Gazing realm powerhouses.

For a Constellation cultivator like Lu Ye, being able to take a high-quality treasure from here, even if he couldn't use it himself, meant he could exchange it for desired cultivation resources, potentially saving him decades or even a century of effort.

Of course, the risks were also great. If Lu Ye hadn't possessed a way to rapidly replenish his spiritual energy, he would have long since exhausted it during the repeated reincarnations.

Therefore, in the starry sky, even though the Ghost Ship was widely renowned and many who saw it knew it contained opportunities, almost no one dared to trespass here.

Feng Rumou, for unknown reasons, guided Lu Ye to seek opportunities here. It's likely that when he guided Lu Ye, he didn't care about Lu Ye's life or death.

For a powerhouse like him, the life or death of an unknown junior at the early Constellation stage was indeed not worth caring about.

Nevertheless, Lu Ye ultimately relied on the method Feng Rumou had sealed within the Panshan Blade to secure the final victory.

He couldn't blame him, nor did he need to feel grateful. Their connection ended there.

With over a thousand treasures, examining them was still quite troublesome.

It took a full two hours for Lu Ye and Haitang together to select nine treasures. As for which specific one to choose... Lu Ye wanted them all!

This made things a bit difficult. By this point, Haitang would no longer offer him any advice, so Lu Ye had to make the decision himself.

Although he was indecisive, a choice ultimately had to be made. Lu Ye finally stopped in front of a stone platform. It wasn't the treasure robe he had seen earlier, but an inconspicuous-looking pearl.

But Lu Ye could sense that this pearl was of extraordinary value, definitely worth far more than most other treasures in the vault. This was because, even with the restriction isolating it, a faint aura still seeped out.

Seeing his decision, Haitang smiled faintly and stepped towards the exit.

Lu Ye raised his hand to grasp the item on the stone platform. However, just as his hand was about to touch the restriction, he suddenly seemed to remember something and looked up at Haitang's retreating back.

After a brief thought, Lu Ye looked up, his divine sense surging: "Come out!"