Ye Qin gazed into the cave dwelling, astonished by the dazzling array of thousands of components and magical artifacts piled high, each emitting varied auras of spiritual energy.
He exchanged a look with Huangfu Bing'er.
Though they knew the warship was a massive artifact assembled from numerous parts, the sheer volume of components still sent a shockwave through them.
“These components alone cost three hundred million for raw materials of the tenth rank and above, and nearly two hundred million more were spent refining them into artifacts and inscribing them with various formations. This final assembly is likely to demand a great deal of effort. No wonder ordinary cultivators can never possess such a warship. Only Palace Masters and Elder Cultivators of the Immortal Palace could possibly own one.”
Ye Qin picked up a component whose function he couldn't even discern, sighing with a wry smile. Without the assembly blueprints for the warship, possessing these pieces would be meaningless—he wouldn't know how to proceed.
“Once this Great Winged Warship is assembled, it will be a small Divine Ability-level war implement. Cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage will be no match for you, Husband. Even if you encounter an early Nascent Soul cultivator, if you cannot defeat them, you will certainly be able to make a swift escape.”
Huangfu Bing'er smiled.
“Mhm, let’s start the assembly!”
Ye Qin nodded, retrieving the jade slip containing the Warship Artifact Refining Arts and reviewing the design blueprints for the initial-stage Great Winged Warship once more.
Then, he handed the jade slip to Huangfu Bing'er.
Ye Qin extended his right hand and powerfully grasped towards the thousands of components.
Whoosh!
The colossal keel, over two hundred zhang long, floated suspended in the center of the cave dwelling.
This hull keel, refined from tenth-rank Star Black Primal Spirit Wood, was entirely inky black, exceptionally tough, yet light in material. Formations for stability, defense enhancement, and agility had already been carved onto the keel.
The warship’s deck, masts, sails, and other crucial components also bore various inscriptions of magical formations.
Immediately following this, he beckoned with his left hand, causing a component to fly out from the mass of parts and snap into place on the keel.
With the assembly blueprints for the Great Winged Warship in hand, he needed no complex deliberation; he could proceed directly with the assembly.
Huangfu Bing'er quickly scanned the blueprints, then joined Ye Qin in assembling the warship.
What Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er needed to do was assemble these components one by one, and for the formations, carefully place high-grade spirit stones to supply the warship's spiritual energy attacks. The entire warship consisted of five-element magical artifacts assembled differently, meaning the required spirit stones varied significantly based on the formations.
The warship's keel was of the Metal element; the deck was inscribed with Earth element defensive formations; the ten light-weight Heaven-Shattering Cannons were offensive Metal element magical artifacts; the massive wind sails were Wind element acceleration artifacts; and there were also armored puppets.
This colossal undertaking required Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er to work day and night. It took them a full month to complete the assembly of this Great Winged Warship.
Although it consumed a significant amount of time, it allowed them to thoroughly familiarize themselves with the formations on every part of the warship. The two knew the functions of the entire Great Winged Warship inside and out. Should the ship sustain damage, they could immediately pinpoint the compromised sections.
A month later, a sleek Great Winged Warship hovered silently within the cave dwelling.
Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er stood watching the completed Great Winged Warship, the result of countless hours of labor, and the surge of excitement and accomplishment they felt was immeasurable.
This awe-inspiring, early-stage small Divine Ability Great Winged Warship stood over a hundred zhang tall and spanned more than three hundred zhang in length. Its hull was cyan, crafted from Star Black Primal Spirit Wood, granting it not only formidable defense but also lightness, which reduced overall weight and boosted flight speed.
The bow was adorned with a Metal element Dragon Head magical artifact, forged to be strikingly lifelike, immensely grand and majestic, while also being incredibly sturdy—sufficient to serve as a battering ram capable of shattering mountains.
The warship’s towering mast and sails were the primary magical apparatus driving its flight, inscribed with small Divine Ability-level Wind element formations, powered by spirit stones supplied from the spirit stone compartment within the hull.
However, on both flanks of the hull, a pair of cyan, enormous wings, appearing to be made of both wood and feather, remained folded back.
Ye Qin consulted the warship’s schematics: when these massive cyan wings unfurled, combined with the sails catching the full wind, the speed and agility would rival that of an early Nascent Soul cultivator fully harnessing a Divine Ability-level flying sword.
Even among various classes of warships, this Great Winged Warship was classified as having exceptionally high speed and maneuverability.
This was the origin of the name "Great Winged Warship," and the primary reason Ye Qin chose to refine this model over others. After all, high flight speed offered a much greater chance of survival on the Immortal-Demon battlefield.
On either side of the Great Winged Warship’s hull, there were five cannon emplacements, each housing five small Divine Ability-level light spiritual cannons. The dark, massive muzzles projected an aura that instilled immediate dread upon sight.
On the warship’s main deck, there was a crucial Teleportation Array, identical to the one in Donghai Immortal City. In the most dire circumstances, they could abandon the ship and instantly teleport back to Donghai.
At the very front of the vessel, there was a smaller sail artifact inscribed with the three massive characters “Heavenly Dao Alliance” () alongside the Alliance’s lightning-and-sea insignia.
Ye Qin had deliberately placed this marking there.
This way, other cultivators would instantly recognize it as a warship belonging to someone from the Heavenly Dao Alliance, making identification easier during battles. Within the cultivation world of the East Sea, it was unlikely anyone would dare tamper with a warship bearing the Heavenly Dao Alliance mark.
However, he dared not affix the insignia of the Purple Sword Palace.
Should enemies of the Purple Sword Palace—such as cultivators from Shangtang Palace, Wanluo Palace, Wunuer Palace, and others in the Nascent Soul stage—encounter it, he feared he would be drawn into unnecessary trouble.
On the deck sides near the bow and flanks, there was also a battle drum artifact and eighteen formation flags used for deploying arrays—better safe than sorry.
Simultaneously, several Golden Core armored puppets and over ten Foundation Establishment-level puppets were arrayed on the deck. Each of these Golden Core puppets had cost nearly ten million spirit stones to create. Their main purpose was to assist cultivators in operating the warship, though they possessed some offensive capability. Nevertheless, these puppets usually remained within the hull to control the vessel, rarely emerging for combat.
As for the interior of the hull, it was not drastically different from ordinary warships. It contained dozens of rooms, including bedrooms, cultivation chambers, alchemy rooms, a living room, guest quarters, and a spirit stone reserve—essentially a compact, self-contained residence.
“Husband, is this the small Divine Ability warship we assembled with our own hands?” Although Huangfu Bing'er had participated in the entire process, seeing such a magnificent, imposing warship silently poised within the cave dwelling still made her doubt her own eyes.
“Indeed, this Great Winged Warship is finally complete!”
Ye Qin stretched his slightly weary hands, gazing at the finished vessel with profound satisfaction.
“I am currently at the seventh layer of the Golden Core stage, and Bing’er, you are at the peak of the seventh layer. If we cultivate for a few more decades, we can reach the peak of the late Golden Core stage. It is time for us to prepare artifacts for weathering the Great Heavenly Tribulation. This warship is meant for the Immortal-Demon battlefield; we must not allow it to be damaged in the Great Tribulation unless absolutely necessary. I personally witnessed a Skeleton Demon undergoing its Great Heavenly Tribulation. Relying only on my five Primordial Spirit magical artifacts and your Ice and Fire Twin Swords, I fear it will be far from enough to survive safely. Moreover, during the Great Heavenly Tribulation, the heavenly lightning is overwhelmingly powerful and highly likely to destroy any artifacts used for weathering the tribulation. Our Primordial Spirit artifacts are not easy to refine; confronting the tribulation head-on might destroy them instantly. As for the Minor Divine Ability artifacts, the Xun Thunder Ancient Mirror and the Red Flood Dragon Sword, they require expending vital energy to activate, making them equally unsuitable.”
“Mhm. Since the spirit stone expenditure for the Great Winged Warship has been settled, and we’ve accumulated substantial spirit stones from selling the tenth-rank spirit pills, perhaps we should visit the major commercial establishments in Linhai City’s market to procure items needed for surviving the tribulation—high-power defensive artifacts, talismans, and array deployment artifacts that will be consumables.”
Huangfu Bing'er nodded and smiled.
Ye Qin took out a large storage pouch and managed to fit the three-hundred-plus zhang warship inside. Afterward, he and Huangfu Bing'er departed the temporarily rented reef island.
...
One day later.
Linhai City, Market, Fengqing Commercial Hall.
“Elder Ye, what a grand visit! We failed to properly welcome you! Does Elder Ye intend to sell spirit pills as usual today, or are you looking to purchase magical artifacts?”
At the counter, a manager who had been lazily sipping spiritual tea immediately put down his cup and rushed forward with a face full of smiles as soon as he saw Ye Qin entering the hall.
To raise the enormous amount of spirit stones required for the warship, Ye Qin had sold quite a few ninth-rank spirit pills in Linhai City’s various commercial halls over the past two decades, including the Fengqing Commercial Hall. However, after Ye Qin became a Divine Artifact Master, he hadn't visited this place again.
The manager dared not show any disrespect. Alchemy Grandmasters like Ye Qin were the steadiest source of income for their hall; they treated such individuals as honored guests.
“Manager Li!”
Ye Qin nodded slightly.
“And this is…?”
Manager Li looked slightly surprised.
Huangfu Bing'er, standing gracefully beside Ye Qin, rarely showed herself in public, so Manager Li did not recognize her.
Manager Li had entertained countless cultivators in the hall and seen many peerlessly beautiful women, but few possessed an ethereal and transcendent temperament like Huangfu Bing'er. Still, observing the mannerisms between Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er, he vaguely guessed their relationship.
The intimately related lady beside Elder Ye must be Madam Ye. I heard she is also an Alchemy Grandmaster, which is why Elder Ye has so many spirit pills to sell. They both appear quite young, yet possessing such cultivation and alchemy mastery is truly unbelievable! Manager Li thought inwardly, his expression becoming even more deferential.
“This is my wife, Madam Huangfu. Manager Li, there’s no need to be so distant. I am here today to procure defensive magical artifacts and magic treasures suitable for late-stage Golden Core cultivators. I wonder if your hall has treasures of sufficient weight?” Ye Qin said with a faint smile.
He wasn't overly concerned whether he could find suitable artifacts and treasures here. The city also housed the Tiandao Pavilion, the Tianmo Pavilion, the Bloody Commercial Hall, and numerous other large merchant associations. He intended to visit them all; surely, he would find enough artifacts for weathering the Great Heavenly Tribulation.
“Elder Ye, you jest. Elder Ye frequently visits our hall and knows it deeply. While the scale, variety, and quantity of treasures at the Fengqing Commercial Hall may not surpass the other major merchant halls, we certainly possess no shortage of excellent magical artifacts and treasures! Elder Ye has arrived at the perfect time; our hall has just received a new shipment of top-tier defensive magical artifacts, talismans, and some rare and hard-to-find treasures. I guarantee that your esteemed couple will not leave our hall disappointed!” Manager Li was momentarily stunned, then overjoyed when Ye Qin mentioned purchasing artifacts and treasures, his face beaming with practiced politeness.