CHAPTER 530: CHAPTER 479 TREASURE TREE AND KING MANSA MUSA’S TREASURE BOX

In the early morning, the smoke from the campfire lingered.

Olivia, nestled in Aiven’s arms, slowly woke up and lifted her head to see her boyfriend, who had been watching her for who knows how long. Although she was usually outgoing, her face blushed slightly as she greeted him:

"Good morning, Aiven!"

With the "Magic Pocket" sealed, their accommodation was indeed simple, but the girl slept quite peacefully, feeling secure and at ease.

Olivia believed that as long as Aiven was by her side, he would withstand anything for her, whether they were on a deserted island or if the sky were to fall.

And he had the ability to do so.

"Good morning, Hesi!"

Smiling slightly, he lifted the broad captain’s cloak they had slept in and the two of them got up, still in their clothes from the night before.

Even though his arm had been used as her pillow all night, the formidable physique of a Tier 3 made sure Aiven felt no numbness or soreness, enough to make any ordinary person envious.

Whether the girl was truly fragile or needed his protection, Aiven knew that if he had chosen to sleep separately last night, he would be deservedly alone forever.

After helping Olivia smooth out the wrinkles in her dress and putting on her temporarily enchanted crystal shoes, they quickly freshened up and had a simple breakfast.

Hiss—

At this point, the "Thorny Crown Sea Serpent," now incredibly docile, placed its flat head on the beach, allowing the couple hand in hand to leisurely walk up onto it. Kaka, who had shrunken back to its smaller size, quickly jumped onto Aiven’s shoulder.

"Pipi Snake, let’s go."

If it possessed enough wisdom, the "Thorny Crown Sea Serpent" might complain to itself:

’I suspect you named me this because you don’t respect me, even though I have no evidence...’

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!...

The thirty-meter-long giant serpent then dashed onto the island with the demeanor of a Sea Monster, making hard rocks, grass, and low hills seem nonexistent in its presence, sprinting with the wind.

Last night, despite the influence of the Adventurer’s Blood, both of them weren’t reckless enough to rush off immediately upon hearing news of treasure.

Since the treasure was placed here by someone, there might be other guardians besides the "Thorny Crown Sea Serpent," though the possibility was slim.

For treasures like these, unless placed directly under the eyes of a peak powerhouse, where others can see but cannot take, the best way is to hide them where no one can find, with any guarding force merely serving as decoration.

After all, no matter how tightly designed any barrier is, someone can pass through unscathed. Once discovered, it can potentially be breached!

At least in Aiven’s eyes, the eight forbidden effects on the island have already been excellently executed, and even if there are rare intruders, a "Thorny Crown Sea Serpent" under the Magic Forbidden Effect will be more than enough to deal with them.

Were it not for the coincidental Shadow Jump, even passing by the island from offshore wouldn’t have led to its discovery.

Sprinting all the way with lightning speed.

They soon arrived beside a valley, where Aiven finally found traces of human activity, a faint footprint nearly indistinguishable, with freshness dating at least half a year back.

In the subtropical growth of lush vegetation, other fine traces from the shore to here had long been erased by nature’s forces.

The Thorny Crown Sea Serpent Pipi didn’t stop here, swimming straight into the valley’s depths, eventually halting before a rather unremarkable weathered rock wall.

"Is it here?"

Looking at the high, rough rock wall covered in moss, neither "Data Visualization" nor "Low-pressure Pulse" revealed any anomalies to Aiven.

If they followed their original plan, even if they overturned the entire pirate hideout, they might not have found this place.

By then, they’d have to risk sailing out, crossing the whirlpool belt and beheading waves, exploring where this forbidden region’s boundary lies.

According to the meaning conveyed by the "Thorny Crown Sea Serpent," the human-transported treasure was behind the rock wall, though it had no knowledge of what lay within.

Boom—

Leading Olivia back a bit, he commanded Pipi, now a traitor from a mere gatekeeper snake, to smash the rock wall with a Steel Tail.

The camouflage was stronger than the defense; a dull sound echoed as the heavy rock wall revealed a large pitch-black cavern.

As the dust settled.

"No traps, Kaka leads, Pipi guards."

Leaving the overly large Pipi outside, unable to freely change form.

The pair and the Sub-dragon passed through an undecorated tunnel, filled with rough drilling marks and no sign of sanding work.

After careful inspection for physical traps, Aiven personally pushed open the coarse stone door at the tunnel’s end, made from raw materials at hand.

Crossing the high stone threshold meant to keep rodents out, they entered a space resembling a cleanroom’s buffer chamber, filled with sacks of quicklime and separated by a second stone door on the opposite wall.

Seeing this setup for physical protection, Aiven anticipated even greater wonders behind.

Pest and moisture proof, preventing direct air circulation... the items behind held value beyond mere gold or silver.

However, didn’t allow for more scrutiny.

"Ah—!"

With a piercing shriek, two knightly figures in heavy Hilus-style armor, completely spectral, broke free from the opposite door, engulfed in chilling winds as they charged.

They were met by a blaze of blue and white electricity.

Boom!

Aiven slowly withdrew his right hand, still crackling with electricity; despite the duo’s potential Tier 2 Limit as powerful evil spirits, there wasn’t even a speck of Dust of Evil Spirits left where they stood.

Pushing open the final gate, then...

In the pitch-black space, a resplendent golden treasure chest was boldly presented before them.

"Is it this simple?"

"This simple?"

"Simple?"

"Simple?"

"?"

Spiritual awareness gave no warning. After confirming there was no danger, Aiven muttered to himself, ready to step forward and take a look, when he suddenly heard a continuous echo and immediately raised his hand to release arcs of electricity in the air.

After seeing the space behind the treasure chest, he could see what was in the darkness of that wider space.

It’s not so much a treasure vault as it is a large warehouse.

There was nothing else, just heaps of timber, stacked like mountains of processed "iron oak," and they were not ordinary iron oak, but extraordinary materials with a dazzling spiritual light!

"This... is Treasure Tree!"

As the manager of "Treasure Tree Bay," Aiven had, of course, seen what real Treasure Trees looked like, and he had even personally appraised the roughly processed items temporarily stored at Tetadis Fortress.

He was very sure this was the extraordinary ship material from "Treasure Tree Bay"—Treasure Tree.

Thud, thud, thud...

Aiven walked forward incredulously, touching piece after piece of the spiritually glowing wood, almost thinking he was dreaming.

Because the volume of wood expands when it becomes moist, and it shrinks when sunlight causes evaporation, even extraordinary materials behave this way.

No matter the type of wood, in this ongoing cycle of expansion and contraction, with or without anti-corrosion treatment, deformation and cracking will occur.

Specific methods must be used for proper storage.

To prevent fungal and insect growth, the moisture content of the raw wood must be reduced to 25% or less, and to minimize cracking, measures such as rough debarking (keeping some bark), shading, and overall waxing were taken.

The ventilation system was obviously designed by experts; even though it’s on an island, the incoming wind is neither too moist nor too dry, creating laboratory-grade constant temperature and humidity physical conditions using the natural environment.

This ensured the proper storage of these precious extraordinary materials.

In a flash of thought.

Aiven immediately connected the dots; earlier, the Steel Knight mysteriously sailed south with three large cargo ships carrying goods.

Back then, south of Agulhas Cape, it wasn’t yet the stormy winter season; it was entirely possible to come here to collect ship materials.

As for the whirlpools, they weren’t difficult to navigate; there were two possibilities: first, whirlpools only appeared in specific seasons; second, the Steel Knight had a method to traverse them.

At least Aiven knew the Thorny Crown Sea Serpent had a certain [Wavecalm] ability, naturally able to soothe whirlpools and great waves.

"So after the Hilus People got their share from ’Treasure Tree Bay,’ why didn’t they take it back to their country but left it here?"

After a moment’s thought without understanding, he roughly estimated the raw materials could build the world’s largest Level 1 Battleship and still have leftovers.

It’s important to know an overlord Level 1 Battleship built with ordinary materials costs fifty thousand Golden Lions, while a Level 3 Battleship, which could be called a Battleship, only requires about thirteen thousand Golden Lions, showing the vast difference.

Moreover, these are extraordinary materials, requiring ten times the price of ordinary timber at least.

And all of the finest trunks are here, possibly the reserves started by Hilus after securing half of the Treasure Tree share following the countries’ battles for ’Treasure Tree Bay’.

"Aiven, come quickly and look at this. The source of the forbidden is found!"

Olivia’s voice suddenly came, showing a clear preference for treasure over a pile of wood; she had already examined the golden treasure chest.

Though not true treasure, it was a magical Ocean Treasure!

The information presented was open and the effects were clear at a glance.

[Ocean Treasure: King Mansa Musa’s Treasure Box]

Effect: In addition to freely enabling and disabling [Magic Forbidden Barrier], [Immune Divination], [Conceal Traces], [Direction Confusion], [Existence Concealment], [No-fly Zone], [Spiritual Isolation], [Shadow Realm Ban].

It can also bind one Treasure Guardian and two Guardian Spirits, capable of being manipulated through [Secret Covenant], which can be a token, a song, or a word, enabling unconditional obedience by the guardians.

King Mansa Musa was a famous monarch of the Southern Continent a hundred years ago, a devout believer of the "Brilliant Starry Night," mastering 50% of the then-world’s gold production.

Legends say his pilgrimage with 7,000 followers caused gold prices to plummet within the area of Heimar, with effects lasting twenty years.

After checking, Aiven casually disabled the Ocean Treasure’s forbidden ability.

Instantly, the mind network was restored, the magic element around became active, Kaka returned to the shadows, the "Magic Pocket" regained function... all restrictions vanished.

Once, when ancestor Galliot faced a storm on his return from exploring routes, he survived by following an enormous "Thorny Crown Sea Serpent" under the guidance of the "Golden Compass."

The "Thorny Crown Sea Serpent" was then regarded by Galliot as his lucky star and Guardian God, eventually becoming the family emblem.

The last time blocking the Steel Knight, who intended to remove all the accumulated ship materials, was too hasty to obtain a specific location.

Yet now, led by another "Thorny Crown Sea Serpent," Aiven discovered this batch sufficient to build a Legendary Battleship "Treasure Tree."

It could only be said, "The treasure was meant to be mine."

After disabling the forbidden effect, Aiven’s first reaction was:

"Kaka, don’t leave a single piece!"

After Kaka transformed into a Shadow Sub-dragon, the volume of the [Shadow Secret Vault] was no smaller than this cave. Even though there was a downside of shadow element erosion, brief storage wasn’t an issue.

Swish—

The shadow unfolded, and the entire cave was engulfed by swamp-like shadows.