Grinding EXP From a Demon Hunting Ship

Chapter 498: Chapter 452: Sun Crystal Core, The Temple’s Transformation

There were still some texts written in the Demon Seed Language on the Xuan Continent, but they were exceedingly rare in the Yaoguang Islands.

Even as a Jade Void True Inheritor who was interested in arrays, he had only seen one or two Array Plates, so he couldn’t be certain.

Seeing everyone’s wild guesses, Su Ye casually agreed with a few comments, feigning deep thought.

But in his mind, it was all crystal clear. ’This temple’s Array shares the same origin as the ones I saw in Tewa Kan City, Aino City... and the Mist Forest Divine Kingdom.’

’With this evidence, I can basically confirm that this ruin is a temple... and given the sophistication of this Array, this temple was definitely a place of great importance back in its day.’

Su Ye was secretly on guard.

However, looking at the fellow cultivators around him, Su Ye wasn’t worried anymore.

The reason was simple.

You don’t have to outrun the bear; you just have to outrun your friends.

Su Ye was confident that no matter what danger arose, he could definitely escape faster than any of them!

...

「Soon.」

The group arrived at the temple.

CREAK.

With a push of Magical Power, the long-sealed temple doors were slowly pushed open.

Without needing any reminder, the cultivators focused their minds, raising protective barriers, summoning their Protective Treasures, and holding several talismans at the ready.

WHOOSH.

As the temple doors opened, every cultivator present shuddered.

Not from fear, but...

"It’s so cold!"

Literally.

An incomparably cold, ghostly wind howled out from the temple as the doors opened, blasting toward them!

The sinister wind rushed over them. In the group, a Crystallization Realm cultivator shivered violently, his face pale. He hastily tore off the blue and white "scarf" wrapped around his neck.

The "scarf" rolled on the ground, revealing a head, tail, and four limbs. It was an adorable spirit beast that looked like a weasel or a fox, its fine fur radiating a cold aura.

Quite a few cultivators had a similar reaction. To cope with the extreme heat of the Volcanic Grotto Heaven, almost everyone had prepared methods to ward off the heat.

The most common of these were items of extreme cold.

But who would have thought that a single door would separate two completely different worlds? One side was scorching hot, the other bone-chillingly cold!

The extreme cold inside the temple was in no way inferior to the searing heat of the Volcanic Grotto Heaven!

In fact... it was even more intense!

Caught off guard, the Crystallization Realm cultivators who hadn’t prepared any means of protection against the cold nearly froze solid!

Su Ye was quick to react, slapping several fire talismans onto a few of the Crystallization Realm cultivators. If he hadn’t, they might have literally frozen to death right there.

"Phew..."

"Th-Thank you, Mr. Yehai."

These few Crystallization Realm cultivators were deathly pale. They clutched the fire talismans tightly, their expressions horrified. It took them several breaths to recover enough to offer their thanks.

"No need for formalities. Take some pills and heal yourselves."

Su Ye paid it no mind.

He didn’t care for such pleasantries. The abnormal, sinister cold inside the temple was far more concerning.

HUM.

Su Ye narrowed his eyes and peered into the temple.

The temple’s interior was extremely dark, but with Su Ye’s vision, he could still make out the general layout.

A wide audience hall was paved with smooth obsidian tiles. A carpet ran down the central axis, leading from the entrance deep into the hall.

On either side of the carpet were rows of long benches.

Su Ye had seen such benches on the Far South Continent, used by worshippers for prayer.

Then, he raised his head and looked toward the deepest part of the hall—at a solemn, majestic marble statue of a heroic man holding a long halberd!

A deity.

This was a hall of worship.

However, a flicker in Su Ye’s eyes revealed that this once sacred and peaceful hall of worship was now... in his perception, filled with an ominous, deathly stillness.

The carpet, the stone tiles, the benches... even the statue itself, all exuded an indescribable aura!

Sinister, decaying, and deathly still!

Faced with such a scene, even the Golden Core cultivators were wary.

After settling the Crystallization Realm cultivators, the Golden Core masters from the three sects stood at the entrance, their faces pensive.

"How strange... A place of extreme yin and extreme yang. According to the principles of feng shui, this is a place of great misfortune..." Feng Shaochai’s pupils constricted.

"This cold, ominous feeling... it’s more than ten times worse than when I ventured into the Sinking Jiao Abyss..." Wu Yiling was no longer joking, her gaze heavy.

"The decor in this temple doesn’t match our immortal cultivation style either... It actually feels more like something from the indigenous tribes of the Yaoguang Islands."

"Why don’t we... retreat for now and discuss this further?"

The Golden Core cultivators murmured among themselves, hesitant.

But just then, a sharp-eyed Golden Core cultivator spoke, his voice trembling with an odd tone. "Everyone, look at the statue! The crystal embedded in its halberd... doesn’t it look like a... Sun Crystal Core?"

A Sun Crystal Core, a sixth-rank ore!

In an instant, the hearts of every cultivator present leaped!

A sixth-rank ore?

An object coveted even by Divinity Transformation cultivators was just... sitting right in front of them?!

"Let’s grab the Sun Crystal Core and then leave!"

It was unknown who said it.

The suggestion was indeed incredibly tempting!

Of course, even so, the Golden Core cultivators hadn’t lost their minds.

A Sun Crystal Core was wonderful, but if they weren’t careful trying to obtain a sixth-rank ore, they could very well lose their lives!

However, the Golden Core masters weren’t too worried. They hadn’t forgotten that they had brought forty Crystallization Realm cultivators with them on this trip.

In the previous battle with the Fire Element Lord, the Crystallization Realm cultivators had basically done nothing.

But now... it was their time to be useful.

"Who is willing to go and retrieve the Sun Crystal Core? I, Lu Chen, swear on the honor of the Jade Void Sword Sect to guarantee a Golden Core cultivator for your family and grant you a fourth-rank Spirit Vein," Lu Chen announced the reward solemnly.

A guaranteed Golden Core! A fourth-rank Spirit Vein!

The weight of this promise was simply too heavy!

Even knowing the danger, a few moments later, several Crystallization Realm cultivators still stepped forward.

"Mr. Lu, I am willing to go."

"I’m willing too!"

So many Crystallization Realm cultivators volunteered that Lu Chen had to choose, selecting the one with the highest cultivation to go and retrieve the treasure.

At the same time, many of the Golden Core cultivators retreated far away. Some of the most timid ones even cast spells and instantly fled several hundred li away.

"Hah... timid as mice."

A trace of disdain appeared on Qin Wuyou’s face.

"To think these so-called elites from the inner sea are so cowardly. In my opinion, they can’t hold a candle to Yehai!"

The incomparably handsome Qin Wuyou, dressed in blood-red robes, looked at Su Ye beside him with a sincere gaze.

At that moment, Su Ye stood looking poised and untroubled alongside Lu Chen, Qin Wuyou, and a few other great cultivators, ten li from the temple entrance.

"Er..."

Hearing this, Su Ye’s face twitched, and he felt a little strange.

’I’m not about to admit that I’ve only left a shadow clone here. As for my true body... it already fled a thousand li away!’

...

"Hoo..."

The middle-aged Crystallization Realm cultivator with the goatee took a deep breath and stepped into the temple.

One step.

The temple was silent, with no reaction.

His tense face relaxed slightly.

Then, two steps... five steps... ten steps... a hundred steps...

The man with the goatee moved slowly, not using any Magical Power. It took him about a minute to walk steadily to the front of the statue.

Throughout the entire process, apart from the extreme cold in the temple and the mental pressure from the deathly still environment, there were no other obstacles!

Now, the Sun Crystal Core was right in front of him!

"Hoo..."

In the dead-silent hall, the only sound was the goatee’d man’s breathing.

Not only him, but the Golden Core masters outside the temple were also focusing their minds, watching him closely.

True, the Sun Crystal Core would probably fall into the hands of the Jade Void Sword Sect. But, having obtained such a great treasure, and given the Jade Void Sword Sect’s way of doing things, the other Golden Core cultivators who had contributed to annihilating the Fire Element Lord would definitely get a reward.

The goatee’d man reached out and, through a pair of treasure gloves, took the Sun Crystal Core.

"Got it!"

Seeing this, Lu Chen’s heart filled with joy.

But in the next instant, his expression changed!

"Something’s wrong!"

As the Sun Crystal Core was removed, in an instant, the sinister, cold energy inside the hall surged, increasing several times over!

The shadows in the dim corners seemed to come alive, as if they were living creatures!

Before the man with the goatee could even react, he was engulfed by the darkness. His life force was extinguished, and his corpse fell to the ground!

"Fall back!"

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