Chapter 128 Awakening

Everyone's eyes lit up when they saw those spirit boxes.

These spirit boxes are made of metal mixed with jade, and are enchanted inside and out with arrays. They not only prevent the internal spiritual energy from escaping, but also have good defensive capabilities, and ordinary collisions cannot damage them.

The cultivators present could tell with their own eyes that only about a third of the scattered boxes were damaged, and everyone's hearts instantly calmed down.

These boxes must have been scattered when the ship sank. Even so, most of them are still intact, and the spirit boxes inside should be even better preserved. Thinking of this, the cultivators felt a surge of excitement.

"But what should we do with this demon king?"

Xu Hao shifted his gaze from the sunken ship and saw a huge head beside him, with a long beard and a horse-faced appearance, and fine scales covering the demon king's head.

"The Demon King is currently in hibernation. Once inside the shipwreck, do not make any noise. Communicate using gestures, and be careful not to open any spirit boxes inside."

"If the spiritual energy leaks out, I'm worried the Demon King will be awakened. Remember, you must remain quiet."

Everyone nodded hurriedly, and only after confirming that everyone understood did Cao Xiu dare to slowly walk over. Each step they took was extremely light.

Finally, they approached the first spirit box, which was also the one furthest from the sunken ship. Cao Xiu turned around and gave them a "ready" gesture.

The group glanced at it and, together with Cao Xiu, quietly observed it. Because they were afraid of disturbing the Demon King, their movements were unusually gentle and slow.

After lifting it up, everyone discovered that the spirit box looked fine, but there was a fist-sized hole in the bottom, deep in the mud and sand, and the spirit inside had long since disappeared.

Cao Xiu shook his head regretfully, and the group was somewhat disappointed. However, upon reflection, they realized there were still so many left, and they immediately felt relieved and reached for the second, seemingly intact, spirit box.

This is complete. Everyone was invigorated. Cao Xiu took out a new storage bag and, under everyone's watchful eyes, put the spirit box inside.

After the harvest, the cultivators present were invigorated and hurriedly turned their attention to the remaining spirit boxes. Cao Xiu led the group and spent half a day collecting all the intact spirit boxes. After turning back to confirm that the Demon King was still in hibernation, he quietly led everyone toward the sunken ship.

They filed in through the gap, with Xu Hao at the back. As he turned his head, he seemed to see the Demon King's head turn slightly. This discovery startled him, and he quickly took a second look.

To his astonishment, he found that the Demon King's head was still in the same spot as before, and what he had just seen seemed to be an illusion.

Xu Hao tilted his head, thinking he was seeing things, shook his head and went into the cabin.

The ship's cabin was in a state of utter disarray. The corpses of cultivators, reduced to mangled limbs by sea monsters, along with countless skeletons, lay quietly piled up in one corner of the sunken ship.

Cao Xiu led everyone in bowing, and then collected the corpses. In a sense, these corpses could be considered a kind of property. After taking them back, not only would the sect give a reward, but the relatives and friends of these people would also offer a considerable sum of money.

Of course, besides that, they also wanted peace of mind, since if they encountered such a situation in the future, they would naturally hope that someone would collect their corpse.

They moved very carefully and gently, and after collecting the body, they began to search inch by inch.

The entire ship was upside down, and they could only search bit by bit by stepping on the ceiling. To prevent making any noise, they didn't even dare to make any big movements. A dull and oppressive atmosphere permeated the shipwreck.

After a day's journey, they finally reached the cargo hold of the sunken ship. They crawled into the crevice and carefully swam inside. Once inside, everyone's breathing became much heavier, as the cargo hold was filled with countless spirit boxes.

These spirit boxes are all intact, and there are so many of them; their value is unimaginable.

Cao Xiu gestured for everyone to move the spirit boxes, and they hurriedly and quietly packed them into new storage bags. They dared not imagine how much they could earn this time.

Soon the entire warehouse was almost completely moved, and the smoothness of the operation exceeded everyone's expectations. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that the demon king was sleeping soundly.

Just as they were moving the last few boxes, because they were near the breach, some of the spirit boxes had already spilled out, and the stacking was not very tight. Cao Lin just casually moved one, but he didn't expect the balance to be broken instantly.

"Boom!"

Seven or eight spirit boxes collapsed with a crash, even breaking the ceiling beneath their feet. The sound wasn't loud, but it was incredibly muffled and carried far in an instant.

Cao Xiu's eyes were bloodshot, and he waved his hands frantically, signaling everyone to be quiet and hide.

The group quickly found a secluded spot to hide. Xu Hao approached the boat and heard the sound of water splashing against the hull.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

It felt as if something had rubbed against the hull. He quietly peered out through a crack in the hull, and the next moment his heart clenched and his pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints.

A red eye appeared outside, and the long-bearded, horse-faced demon king awoke. Its enormous body brought with it a current of water mixed with mud and sand, and the sunken ship creaked as it was propelled forward.

"Clang clang!"

Suddenly, the sound of fingernails tapping on the ship's hull came from the ship. Everyone was instantly terrified. The demon king's claws were gently tapping on the ship's hull. What did this mean? Was it testing them?

After a few breaths, the sounds gradually subsided, and the water flow slowly calmed down, as if the demon king had given up on them.

After a long while, Cao Xiu slowly stood up, cautiously peering out through the crack. He breathed a sigh of relief and made a hand gesture to the crowd to signal that it was safe. Xu Hao glanced at the culprit, Cao Lin, whose pale face finally brightened.

"Bang!"

Just then, a huge claw suddenly broke through the hull and reached in. Covered in scales, the claw, which was not much smaller than the spirit boat, churned inside the spirit boat, causing the entire ship to crack under the strain.

Cao Xiu's body instantly broke into several pieces, and Cao Lin, who had hidden himself, was hit by fragments of the ship's hull, his blood instantly staining the surroundings red.

"Run! Run!"

Meng Tao immediately turned to the outside of the ship in terror. He made a hand seal, preparing to use the Water Escape Technique, but a huge head suddenly appeared.

"Bang!"

The speed at which its mouth closed far exceeded their expectations. The impact caused the water to flow, forming a wall that slammed into them at an extremely fast speed. Meng Tao's body jolted, and all the bones in his body instantly shattered. He fell silently underwater like a lump of mud.