Chapter 155: Chapter 17: The Treasure Ship of the Three Isles, Random Routes
Given that the Treasure Ship only appears for a maximum of three days before departing again, the members of the Heavenly Craft Workshop set off immediately.
Considering the various gains to be found within the Treasure Ship Secret Realm, ranging from the Foundation Establishment Realm to the Nascent Soul Realm, this time the entire Workshop was mobilized. Not only did Second Sister Lei Caiyan, Third Sister Liang Ruohua, and Fourth Brother Shi Wenshi join the trial, but even Elder Shi Ding decided to personally search the secret realm for treasures.
Since the first senior brother, Linghu Chu, had already reached the Great Perfection of the Golden Core Realm and was still some time away from forming his Nascent Infant, the fortunes and treasures aboard the Treasure Ship were not of great value to him.
Therefore, he would be taking Luo Yan, who was at the Marrow Cleansing Rank, and Shi Liuli with him, and would protect them throughout the journey.
After all, the Treasure Ship was not as harmless as the Pavilion Secret Realm, and Elder Shi Ding only had this one daughter. If something were to happen to her, the people of Heavenly Craft Workshop would certainly not accept it.
Luo Yan also breathed a sigh of relief. Since the eldest senior brother would protect them throughout, couldn’t he simply coast through?
Not only that, it seemed that he could also use this opportunity to “break through the Marrow Cleansing Rank” and “enter the Refining Mansion Rank” in front of everyone at Heavenly Craft Workshop, which would truly be wonderful.
In the Meng Chong warship, Elder Shi Ding was explaining the many “rules” of the Treasure Ship:
“After boarding, you will enter an independent oceanic secret realm.”
“You will be randomly transported to the deck of a ship within the secret realm, from where you can steer the ship to reach nearby islands.”
“The Treasure Ship’s secret realm will only be open for three days, after which you must be on the ship to return. You absolutely must not miss the time limit, or you will be trapped in the secret realm and unable to come out.”
“The locations of the islands seem to be fixed, but there are too many of them. According to the records of Yuqing View, less than one-tenth has been explored so far.”
He took a map out of his sleeve:
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“This is the complete record of the previous generation within the View who explored the Treasure Ship Secret Realm. Luo Yan, you have a good memory, so memorize these charts. Once you enter the secret realm, you will navigate for your senior brother.”
“Okay,” Luo Yan took the charts and quickly flipped through them, allowing the Kunlun Mirror to record all their contents.
Shi Liuli sat in a chair beside him, shaking her leg. She didn’t seem nervous at all; instead, she was quite eager to try.
But the eldest senior brother, Linghu Chu, looked solemn and asked in a low voice:
“Teacher, can we control the direction and route of the ship’s voyage?”
“Yes, there is a steering wheel at the back of the deck that can control direction, but not speed,” Elder Shi Ding said with a sigh, “but that sea area is vast and largely unexplored.”
“Only in very few cases will you be lucky enough to encounter an explored island, and then you can follow the routes marked on the map.”
“Huh?” Shi Liuli immediately said, “So if we encounter only unfamiliar islands, wouldn’t that mean…”
“Right,” Elder Shi Ding said with a wry smile, “in such cases, you leave what gains you might find entirely up to fate.”
Luo Yan listened quietly on the side while quickly leafing through the charts.
He saw that in the map, which “merely recorded information on one-tenth of the islands,” there were already over seven thousand entries.
Of these, only three islands were marked with “enhance the efficacy of the Jade Mansion,” and that was it.
Considering the mission was certainly to prioritize Miss Shi’s Marrow Cleansing first, it would be best to pick an island from all those marked with “increasing the Marrow Cleansing rate” that was closest to one of the three “Jade Mansion” islands. Once Marrow Cleansing was complete, they would then quickly proceed to the Refining Mansion.
But the problem lay in the fact that the secret realm was only open for three days—how many islands could they explore within these three days? Taking sailing time into account, the number of islands they could probably explore was extremely limited.
Moreover, considering that 90% of the islands in the secret realm were unfamiliar islands that had never been explored…
“In addition to the islands, you also need to be wary of the dangers that come with encountering other cultivators in the secret realm,” continued Elder Shi Ding. “The Treasure Ship is different from the Pavilion Secret Realm; it’s not only Yuqing disciples who enter, hence there might be loose cultivators or even Demon Cult Cultivators who kill without a second thought.”
“Because in the Treasure Ship Secret Realm, the rewards range from those suitable for practitioners in the Foundation Establishment Realm to those for the Golden Core and Nascent Soul Realms, the danger of encountering unfamiliar cultivators is extremely high.”
“The safest course of action, naturally, is to avoid contact with any ship as much as possible. Upon spotting one on the sea, quickly steer clear.”
“When arriving at an island, it is also necessary to conduct a long-distance reconnaissance before landing. If traces of a magical competition are found on the island, one must determine the realm of the other party before deciding whether to go ashore.”
“Disciple understands,” Linghu Chu said solemnly.
“Simply letting Luo Yan and Liuli go, as a teacher, I would certainly be worried,” Elder Shi Ding said with a sigh, “Chu, with your ample experience and knowledge, their safety on this trip is in your hands.”
“Disciple will not let down Master’s trust and will bring back junior brother and junior sister safely!” Linghu Chu immediately assured earnestly.
Shi Liuli is Master’s only daughter, and Luo Yan is a formation genius from Heavenly Craft Workshop. If these two encounter any misfortune in the secret realm, it would be a severe blow to Heavenly Craft Workshop.
Linghu Chu understood the stakes and thus continued to discuss various emergencies with Elder Shi Ding, clearly intending to devote his utmost efforts to the task.
The other senior brothers and sisters were each adjusting their condition in their cabins.
But Shi Liuli couldn’t sit still and thus went out onto the deck to observe whether there were any traces of the Treasure Ship ahead.
Luo Yan continued to swiftly and steadily record all the information about the islands in the charts and part of the map into the Kunlun Mirror.
Finally, the Meng Chong sailing in the waters suddenly came to a stop.
Everyone quickly went on deck and saw at the far end of the vast sea, the silhouette of a three-masted ship looming in and out of sight on the sea.
The giant masts stood tall, their straight tips piercing the sky, like three towering mountains—that’s why it was named the “Treasure Ship.”
Elder Shi Ding raised his right arm and gestured towards the distant Treasure Ship, saying,
“The entrance is right here.”
After speaking, he stepped forward and suddenly vanished from the deck.
Luo Yan, watching from behind, felt a shiver and understood why Master had said earlier that they couldn’t prevent other cultivators from entering the Treasure Ship Secret Realm.
It was because the way to enter the secret realm was to approach the Treasure Ship to a certain distance, and then you would be automatically pulled into the realm.
From this point stretching towards the Treasure Ship at the horizon, the radial area delineated was much too large for Penglai Jade Pure Sect to possibly seal such a vast boundary.
Any cultivator approaching the Treasure Ship from any direction could likewise be transported into the secret realm— and among these, there could be Nascent Soul cultivators from the Demon Cult that are hostile to the Orthodox Sect…
Upon this reflection, Luo Yan saw his senior brothers and sisters had already stepped forward, one after another, entering the secret realm of the Treasure Ship.
Only the eldest senior brother, Linghu Chu, was still tirelessly explaining things to Miss Shi,
“…In short, inside you must listen to my arrangements, and you absolutely must not wander about.”
“I know, I know!” Shi Liuli said impatiently, “Eldest senior brother, you are even more long-winded than father! Can we go in now?”
“Yes,” Linghu Chu nodded gravely, and then looked at Luo Yan.
But Luo Yan didn’t respond immediately, instead calling out in his Sea of Consciousness,
“Ah Jing.”
“What is it?” Kunlun Mirror asked.
“Help me save a record here, noting the time and spatial coordinates,” Luo Yan said.