Pillar of Yita

The ajar door creaked open, a beam of cold light shot in from outside, illuminating a gray, misty world.

Fang Hong waved the Illumination Crystal around, as a musty, decaying smell wafted over, with slowly drifting dust floating in the air.

He frowned, waved his hand, and took out a Purification Crystal, tossing it inside.

The crystal fell to the ground, shattered with a bang, and the Wind Element stored within began to circulate, dispersing the stagnant air in the cabin.

It was actually a small Wind Making Technique, something an Elementalist could create, a necessity for exploring underground ruins.

Of course, it’s also suitable for occasions like this.

”What kind of ship is this?” Ai Xiaoxiao asked quietly.

Fang Hong shook his head.

He had earlier sent the Clockwork Fairy to take a look at the stern, but the nameplate there was already too corroded to recognize, covered in verdigris. Only barely discernible were the letters De...a…

There was no flag flying on the ship, nor any identifying emblems or markers on the sails—speaking of emblems and markers, Fang Hong suddenly remembered that the Seven Seas Travel Group also needed a symbol of their own, but now wasn’t the time to consider this, he decided to design one later.

Supposedly, such a large ship must be extraordinary in origin, with the design being that of a winged sail ship, not a merchant ship but possibly either an exploration vessel or a military ship, or perhaps even a pirate ship.

Overall, the likelihood of it being a pirate ship was greater, as a military ship would not lack identifying marks; next, an exploration ship was also possible.

At this moment, there was a cracking sound, Luo Yu’s foot plunged into the deck, prompting everyone to turn around. Luo Yu shook his head slightly, embarrassed, indicating he was fine.

”This ship is already so decayed,” Fang Hong glanced over and cautioned, ”everyone be careful, the deck could turn into a trap at any time in such a place.”

”Could there be treasure on this ship?” Ai Xiaoxiao asked.

”It’s possible.”

Although Fang Hong spoke without certainty, the group came aboard precisely to investigate the potential treasure.

”If Parker were here, he might enjoy a place like this.” Luo Yu said as he extracted his foot with Tang Xin’s help.

Xiangzi nodded, expressing agreement with this view. He had the best rapport with the Papalarians among them, thus was the most convincing.

”The most likely places to find valuable relics are the lower hold,” Fang Hong addressed the group while waiting for the ventilation and exhaust, ”followed by the Captain’s Room, the Material Store, and the Magic Guided Pilot Cabin. Check the Captain’s Room to see if any personal items can be recovered to ascertain the true identity of this ship. The Material Store may have spare valuable materials, and the Magic Guided Pilot Cabin itself contains many valuable things. Additionally, there are functional compartments like Alchemy Workshops and Magic Potion Rooms, not found on every ship; it depends on our luck.”

Everyone nodded.

Fang Hong then added, ”The Captain’s Room should be the closest to us, the Magic Guided Pilot Cabin is usually midship, we’ll go to the Captain’s Room first, then the Magic Guided Pilot Cabin, and finally the Material Store and lower hold. Normally, splitting up saves the most time, but no one knows if there’s any danger below, so we’ll proceed as one unit.”

Everyone was still nodding, Tang Xin thought for a moment and saw no problem with this.

Only then did Fang Hong take out the Communication Crystal, and relay the situation back.

There was no obstruction in communication, the Seven Seas Traveler had Bakins, Luo Hao, the Papalarians, and domestic managers like Atira and Tianlan on standby. Upon hearing that a sunken ship and possible treasure were found, Parker’s eyes turned green with envy, and Tianlan exclaimed that the Captain was biased.

But Fang Hong couldn’t be bothered with them. After reporting his safety, he closed the Communication Crystal, and after waiting for a while under the effects of Wind Element magic, the foul air in the lower decks should have dissipated enough.

”Ai Xiaoxiao,” he said, ”you lead the way.”

”What?”

”What what? You’re the Ranger, the most observant, now that Miss Atira has stepped back, you and Elisa will need to take on the role of the team’s eyes, near and far; you handle defense, she offense,” Fang Hong stated, ”Don’t worry, I’ll have my Flexible Construct protect you.”

”But I heard that the Sword Bearer is quite an outdated model, Cousin Ade,” Ai Xiaoxiao asked quite honestly, ”Can it really protect me?”

As she asked, she knocked on the Construct’s copper shell which sounded hollow.

”That depends on who is controlling it; if it’s your Captain, even an old model can be effective.”

Fang Hong became serious, using words to cover up the fact that he had no better Constructs on hand.

Tang Xin gave him a dirty look. She shook her head and gently pushed her friend on the back, ”Trust him, Xiaoxiao, this dead pigeon may be unreliable, but he does have some skills.”

Ai Xiaoxiao already had immense trust in her cousin, and with these words, she harbored no doubts. She awkwardly drew out a pair of curved blades and cautiously stepped forward.

Her cousin said that she could become the team’s eye in the future, which Ai Xiaoxiao quite liked. Staying in this world meant her homework would be indefinitely postponed.

Of course, this was just the little girl’s wishful thinking; we’ll leave this matter to discuss later.