The sourceboxes in the Ancient Spirit Sea had to be traded for if one wanted to take them out. Lockbreakers were allowed to trade the sourceboxes in the sea for ones that they brought in from the outside world. Without this rule, the Ancient Spirit Sea naturally would have been depleted long ago.
Lu Yin easily approached a sourcebox. It was only a Discerning Elementary sourcebox, and the danger field was not even powerful enough to pierce through his skin. He easily recorded down its shape and danger field before leaving to find the next one.
He quickly found a second sourcebox, which was easy given the size of his domain. Even though he was being cautious and not directly observing the runes, his domain and sensitivity towards star energy fluctuations were enough for him to easily find sourceboxes.
The third, the fourth… the twelfth. Finally, the thirteenth sourcebox that he encountered was not a Discerning Elementary sourcebox, but rather a Perceptive Intermediate one. It had a powerful danger zone with a repulsive aspect that would make it difficult for most Enlighters to get close to it.
Lu Yin confidently entered the danger field and recorded the sourcebox’s danger field before leaving.
Half a day later, another Lockbreaker found the same sourcebox and attempted to move closer to it. He was hoping to exchange the Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox that he already possessed for one of the sourceboxes in the sea. The danger field of this sourcebox was very well suited to the man’s cultivation art, and if there was anything inside it, it would most likely be beneficial to him. Unfortunately, he could not even get close to the sourcebox and ended up having to leave in defeat.
Over the course of a single day, Lu Yin recorded twenty-seven sourceboxes. Given his speed, it should not take him long to complete the task that Xiu Ming had given him. However, Lu Yin had not realized that he had already circumnavigated the entire Ancient Spirit Sea. Thus, he would need to drop down to a deeper level to find more sourceboxes. However, the further down one went, the more dangerous the sourceboxes became.
Elsewhere, Dao Bo climbed back up the cliff once more, feeling frustrated.
Today, he had found no fewer than three sourceboxes, but each one had possessed a powerful danger field that he did not dare to approach. Thus, he had not been able to record down even a single sourcebox.
Casanova had encountered the same situation, and the two met up with each other as they had agreed upon earlier.
“Out of the sourceboxes that Wu Dan recorded, it seems that there was a Boundless Advanced one as well, right?” Casanova asked.
Dao Bo nodded. “That’s right.”
Casanova felt frustrated. “How can we compare to him? Even if a Boundless Advanced sourcebox fell down right in front of us, we wouldn’t be able to record it since we can’t even get close to one!”
Another figure burst out of the sea at this time. It was Qing Zhiyu, the leader of the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society’s Distinguished Five. He was also a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, which meant that he was only a single step behind Wu Dan. However, this was a step that Qing Zhiyu simply could not take.
“How was it?” Casanova asked.
Qing Zhiyu’s face fell. “I can’t compare to Wu Dan.”
“Bullshit!” Casanova rolled his eyes.
“Hey, kid! How many sourceboxes did you record down?” someone asked. All of them were paying attention to Qing Zhiyu, as he was said to be the junior who was second to Wu Dan, not Lu Yin.
Qing Zhiyu looked up. “Thirty-two. Seven intermediate sourceboxes and twenty four elementary ones.”
“That’s only thirty one.” Casanova responded. His eyes suddenly snapped back to Qing Zhiyu in surprise. “You recorded down a Boundless Advanced sourcebox?”
Everyone nearby was similarly shocked.
Qing Zhiyu lifted a hand, showing everyone that it was black. Clearly, he had been poisoned. “I did manage to record down an advanced sourcebox, but the danger field was poisonous, and it infected me.”
“You’re crazy! Are you alright?” Casanova’s expression changed greatly upon hearing Qing Zhiyu’s news.
Qing Zhiyu shook his head. “It’s not actually that bad. Just painful.”
A firm determination entered Dao Bo’s eyes. “I’m going back in.”
He jumped back into the Ancient Spirit Sea.
Casanova felt cornered by Qing Zhiyu’s eyes, so he also jumped down. Meanwhile, Qing Zhiyu rested for a bit before racing back into the Ancient Spirit Sea as well. The three of them represented the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society, so they could not allow themselves to fall too far behind Wu Dan.
As he dove deep into the sea, Dao Bo found another sourcebox. He had already recorded down most of the sourceboxes close to the surface, which were Discerning Elementary sourceboxes. His gaze was firm, and he continued swimming further down.
After a while, he sensed another sourcebox, and he quickly rushed towards it. This sourcebox was shaped like a gourd and as large as a hill. It had red lines that periodically radiated off of it like waves, but they disappeared past a certain distance.
Dao Bo was not able to determine what sort of danger field the red lines were. He lifted a hand to sense the ambient star energy, but he was unable to detect any undulations, let alone the sourcebox’s field. After thinking for a moment, he slowly moved closer until he reached the place where the red lines disappeared each time. Even at this distance, he was completely unable to sense anything.
Another red line spread out from the gourd-shaped sourcebox in the distance, and it moved through the surrounding area, slowly approaching Dao Bo.
In order to record a sourcebox’s danger field, it was necessary for a Lockbreaker to fully understand the danger field. Thus, Dao Bo hesitated. He had fully released his domain, but he could not sense anything at all when the red line moved through it. In the end, he raised a hand and slowly moved forward to touch the red line.
His hand inched closer, but at the last moment, right before he made contact with the red line, a hand clasped his shoulder.
Dao Bo was terrified when he realized that someone had snuck up on him without him sensing anything. His domain was still out, and he spun around, only to see a familiar face. “Lu Yin?”
Lu Yin smiled. “Senior, it’s not good to try to kill yourself.”
Dao Bo was taken aback, and he glanced at where the red line had disappeared less than a centimeter in front of his finger. “Are you talking about that?”
Lu Yin moved past Dao Bo and raised his hand. His index finger swept over the red line, twisting it and shredding it as his finger moved through it. Dim spots of red light drifted away, and one of them fell onto Dao Bo’s hand. In an instant, his hand was painfully burnt. He had not been able to react at all, but after Lu Yin casually pressed his hand down, the scorching temperature that had been burning Dao Bo’s hand suddenly disappeared.
Dao Bo felt confused. “What is this?”
Lu Yin threw the bit of the red line twined about his finger back to the gourd-shaped sourcebox and absorbed the shocking temperature with his Creation realm star energy control. Otherwise, it would have been very difficult for him to remove the burning sensation from Dao Bo.
Though the red light had only touched Dao Bo’s hand for an instance, he had still been severely burned. However, the injury was not important, as Dao Bo had some ointment to treat it.
“Thank you,” Dao Bo said in a low voice, afraid to even look at his hand. It ached terribly. If not for Lu Yin, such pain would have scorched Dao Bo’s entire body, and he would have been burned to death. Such a death would be truly miserable.
Even while realizing this, Dao Bo was absolutely dumbfounded by Lu Yin’s strength. Just a spot of the red light had hurt Dao Bo so badly, but Lu Yin had been completely unaffected even when he toyed with the red line itself. Just how strong had Lu Yin become?
“Why is Senior doing here?” Lu Yin asked in an odd tone.
Dao Bo bandaged his hand. “No matter if one is from the Outerverse or the Innerverse branch of the Lockbreaker Society, all can come to the Lockbreakers World to train, as long as you qualify. That’s why we’re here.”
“Are all of the Distinguished Five here?” Lu Yin asked.
Dao Bo shook his head. “How could the Distinguished Five still exist? Two of us died when the Sixth Mainland invaded the Innerverse. Before ZENITH, I managed to pass the exam to become a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, so I was added to their numbers. However, we’re still short one person to make five.
“Lu Yin, I heard that you’d disappeared. What happened?” Dao Bo asked.
Lu Yin had a good impression of Dao Bo. The young man had helped Lu Yin out in the Astral Combat Academy, and even though nothing had been said, Lu Yin had later learned that Dao Bo was someone worthy of respect.
“I was unlucky. I went to a miserable place, but after two years, I was finally able to return. I actually just got back.”
“That’s good. The Neohuman Alliance is everywhere now, so be careful. With your strength and talent, they’ll definitely be watching you.”
Lu Yin silently laughed. At this moment, as far as the Neohuman Alliance was concerned, the stronger Lu Yin became, the better. It would be best for them if he managed to merge the Fifth and Sixth Mainlands, as that would allow them to mount a better resistance against the Perennial World. To a certain extent, even though the Neohuman Alliance was Lu Yin’s enemy, they were also on the same side, which was a truly revolting thought.
“Do you want this sourcebox?” Lu Yin asked.
“Just to record it down. Upon arriving in the Lockbreakers World, we were given a task, and we also want to see how far behind Wu Dan’s talent ours is right now.”
You’re too far behind, Lu Yin wanted to say, but he stayed silent. Their motivation was quite surprising. “I’m also recording down sourceboxes. Senior, would you like me to help you?”
Dao Bo grew somber. “No, I’ll do it myself.”
Lu Yin nodded. “Well then, Senior, take care. It’s better to not touch a sourcebox that has an undetectable danger field like this one. By the way, this sourcebox might actually be a two star advanced one that not even Wu Dan might be able to get close to it.”
Lu Yin then bade his goodbyes to Dao Bo.
Dao Bo stared at Lu Yin’s back. Suddenly Dao Bo remembered that his junior was also a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. Not only was Lu Yin’s combat strength absolutely horrifying, but his lockbreaking ability also had to be incredible if he could easily deal with a danger field from a powerful sourcebox like this one. It seemed likely that Lu Yin had already surpassed Wu Dan.
Talent was something that could not be forced. Dao Bo was admired by countless people in the Human Domain, and innumerable people envied his talent. However, he felt the exact same way when looking at Lu Yin. The difference between them was suffocating.
Dao Bo was ignorant of the fact that even Wu Dan, Dao Bo’s goal when it came to lockbreaking, felt the exact same way when looking at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin recorded down the gourd-shaped sourcebox and continued his search.
After Lu Yin had recorded down fifty sourceboxes, he realized that the entire process was becoming more difficult as he proceeded further. In particular, there was an oddly shaped sourcebox no bigger than his palm that had made him feel helpless. While looking at it, he could not find anywhere to start unlocking it, as the sourcebox did not have a fixed shape, but rather constantly shifted. On top of that, the danger field only radiated about a meter away from the little sourcebox, which was tiny. Lu Yin was unable to approach the sourcebox, and he was forced to skip it.
Right after that, he encountered similar situations with increasing frequency. In the depths of the Ancient Spirit Sea, he found another a sourcebox that had released a truly terrifying attack. Lu Yin had already lost his universal armor, and his puppet had also been destroyed. And since this particular sourcebox’s danger field’s power level exceeded 600,000, he had been forced to retreat.
Boundless Advanced sourceboxes gave off danger fields of various strengths. There were some that could even injure Envoys, and Lu Yin had no choice but to skip such sourceboxes.
Even after spending more than ten days in the Ancient Spirit Sea, Lu Yin had only managed to record a bit more than 70 sourceboxes. Even though people would occasionally exchange for one of the sourceboxes, the overall number of sourceboxes in the sea rarely ever changed.
Lu Yin suddenly had a thought; could there only be 100 sourceboxes in the Ancient Spirit Sea? If that was actually the case, then Xiu Ming was truly despicable, as he had given Lu Yin a task that was essentially impossible for him to complete at present.
One day, Lu Yin came across a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox that looked easy enough to record. However, it was actually a part of a sourcebox array that had been arranged with two other sourceboxes, all at the Perceptive Intermediate level. The three sourceboxes’ danger fields had overlapped to form an array, and Lu Yin was unable to get close to even a single one of the sourceboxes.
OMA’s Thoughts
Translated By: OMA
Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox
TLC’ed By: OMA
