"So this is a higher-end treasure chest?"
Alka asked, looking at the other chest.
Sofia nodded. These two chests weren't both spatial storage chests.
The other chest was a treasure chest specifically used to store treasures. The price of this type of chest was primarily due to its sturdy materials and internal protection.
The more extravagant the storage and protective materials, the higher the price.
This type of chest was much cheaper, costing only around 600 gold sails.
It wasn't exactly cheap, but compared to the spatial storage chests, it was truly inexpensive.
Alka took the chest and opened it for a closer look.
It had a distinct deep groove inside, and it was much larger than the spatial storage chest next to it.
Both the exterior and the interior of the chest were partially customizable.
"The craftsman who sold the box said that for things like this, it's best to tell him the treasure's appearance. Customizing it to the treasure's shape is best," Sofia said nearby.
Clearly, there were quite a few people who needed this kind of box.
Alka smiled. "It's okay, don't worry. I'm not using it to store treasures."
As he spoke, he lifted the box. In that instant, the sky suddenly darkened.
Thankfully, this sudden change of day and night didn't affect the people on the ship; they were already accustomed to it.
Alka, holding the box, said to the group, "Wait a moment. I'll give you a surprise."
With that, he sank directly into the world of dreams.
"What do you think the surprise will be?" Jason asked.
"Actually, I already have a guess. I think my idea is correct," Lucilia said with a smile.
"Tell me about it?" Juanlu asked curiously from a distance.
"Treasures, remember? Those cultists we faced earlier had treasures. But Alka left them all in the dream realm."
"Remember, didn't Alka say that? Those treasures have too strong a personal aura. They can only wait for time to wear them off."
Jason said, somewhat surprised.
Besides, they didn't have many boxes to store the treasures, and it was impossible to store them in pocket rings.
The ship's treasury was too well protected. If the treasures were placed there, the time it would take for the personal aura to dissipate would be slowed down.
So, they were left in the dream realm.
Alka had told them about this before, but with a personal aura that strong, of course, it would take time to dissipate.
It would take at least a year or two to master it.
"Yes, so I guess Alka may have found a way to expedite the removal of this aura in the dream realm," Lucelia said with a smile.
After all, the rules of dreams differ from those of reality.
Hearing this, Jason suddenly realized, "That's possible."
At this point, Alka had already sunk into his dream.
He left his dream bubble and arrived at the edge of the Crucible Tower.
The Crucible Tower had been slightly renovated, with a workbench constructed at the edge of the central furnace.
Shadow Robe was working on it.
"Your Majesty, you're here."
Alka nodded. "You said a few days ago that you'd already separated the treasures?"
Shadow Robe nodded, then waved gently.
Two lumps of light and shadow flew out from the edge of the furnace. They didn't touch the molten fire, merely absorbing its heat.
Seeing the two lumps, Alka opened the box he had brought with him.
This was why he had specifically asked Sofia to purchase this box. Shadow Robe had already told him to prepare it, but Alka lacked the tools to store it.
The previous box could only hold one, or be used with a protective spell.
But this newly separated divine essence was in a precarious state.
After all, this was a dream, a place extremely close to the essence of the world.
This divine essence could at any moment give the illusion of disintegrating into rules and merging into the world.
And Shadow Robe couldn't guarantee it, so Alka couldn't gamble. He had no choice but to purchase a larger, more protective box to store the divine essence.
Shadow Robe controlled the two lumps to drop into the box, then withdrew his light and shadow.
Alka could then clearly see the two divine essences.
One was dark green, the other purple. After reading, Alka immediately closed the box and then unlocked the protective spell, locking it.
After closing the box, Alka frowned and looked at Shadow Robe. "So you didn't make a mistake?"
Although Shadow Robe had given him two divine essences, Alka was certain he hadn't misjudged the green one.
It was indeed the very first artifact he had given Shadow Robe to practice with, one that could be scrapped.
Although it was scrappable, Alka was truly heartbroken.
But now the artifact had clearly been successfully separated, minimizing Alka's losses, but one was indeed missing.
Shadow Robe nodded. "Fortunately, I managed to master it in time the first time, so it wasn't scrapped.
As for the last one, it's still being separated. While the combination isn't perfect, it's still pretty good, so it'll take a little longer."
Hearing this, Alka nodded, a smile breaking across his face.
Losing one less treasure is a good thing.
Although this treasure has the side effect of forcibly altering one's physical form.
This is why Alka had taken it out as a test subject.
"Your Majesty, are you interested in seeing the separation process?
This one will be separated soon."
Hearing this, Alka immediately piqued his interest and nodded. He then followed Shadow Robe to the edge of the furnace.
Shadow Robe stared intently into the furnace, and Alka moved slightly to the side to avoid interrupting his work.
About ten minutes later, Shadow Robe suddenly moved, expanding dramatically, and the cloak that enveloped him spread out to the side.
Underneath the cloak, his true form could be seen, although for a dream creature, both the outer robe and the body within were part of him.
Inside was a mass of light and shadow. Two slender tentacles shot directly into the molten fire.
Under Arka's astonished gaze, they began to stir within the molten flames.
The two tentacles were clearly part of the Shadow Robe, but the molten fire within seemed to offer him no harm.
Arka's subtle eyes blinked, their penetrating gaze gazing into the molten flames. He saw a flickering golden light within.
The golden light flickered briefly, then extinguished in an instant.
But in less than a second, it reappeared.
Two tentacles of light and shadow dragged out.
A transparent crystal could be seen leaving the molten fire, quickly transforming into gas and disappearing. But from the other side, a divine essence emerged.
This divine essence was brown and swayed wildly, bound by the Shadow Robe's two tentacles. But it seemed like it wasn't enough, and several more were immediately ejected, firmly enveloping the divine essence.
A large amount of light and shadow began to spread along the divine essence's surface, slowly enveloping it. Only when it was completely encased did it finally quiet down and be dragged before him.
Seeing this, Alka touched his ring and opened the empty treasure chest that had been stored inside it.
Although this chest had originally been obtained from the Church during his time in the Home Sea,
its quality should be no problem.
As the chest opened, Shadow Robe immediately placed the divine essence inside and then withdrew his light and shadow.
Alka saw the brown divine essence appear within the chest, still swaying, and immediately closed it.
As the chest closed, isolating the connection between inside and outside, the divine essence immediately ceased swaying.
Clearly, this chest was sufficient.
Alka clearly noticed Shadow Robe's fatigue and nodded, saying, "Thank you for your hard work. Get some rest."
Shadow Robe nodded.
Alka stopped bothering him and returned to reality, carrying the two boxes.
As Alka opened his eyes, everyone noticed a new box materialize in his palm, a faint shadow of light.
After all, Alka had entered the dream in his true form, but the boxes had entered the dream itself. Upon exiting, he had expended a small amount of his gold and silver energy to bring them out.
Everyone saw that they were two special boxes used to store treasures, one large and one small.
"So Lucelia actually guessed right?" Jason said, looking at the two boxes.
Hearing this, Alka smiled.
"No, you definitely wouldn't have guessed."
Then he felt a weight on his shoulder. Lucelia sat on his shoulder, her eyes fixed on the boxes.
"Isn't this the treasure you were trying to remove the aura from?" Lucelia asked, somewhat incredulously, feeling confident that her guess was correct.
"Let's go to the treasury and discuss it."
After all, it was divine essence, so its energy was quite palpable. And this was a harbor. Many of the ships parked nearby were ghost ships.
Who knows if some powerful figure might suddenly pass by and sense this aura? While it wouldn't necessarily lead to trouble, being targeted would be very annoying.
Hearing this, everyone was slightly surprised and told Ululius and the puppet girls to be on guard.
"How annoying! If only it could be shrunk," Ululius grumbled.
She was also curious about what it was.
The group arrived at the treasury, which was already quite small, and even with their treasures stored inside, it was already a bit crowded.
"You guessed right. There are indeed treasures inside, but they may not be what you imagined."
With this, Alka opened the box.
Revealing them were three divine essences.
"Divine essences? Why divine essences?" Simon was instantly shocked upon seeing this and quickly demanded.
His curiosity was completely aroused.
"Could it be that those cultists were actually granted divine power by their evil gods, rather than possessing treasures?" Jason speculated nearby.
This was already the most likely answer.
At this point, Sofia stared at Alka and said, "Or perhaps our leader has found some way to separate the divine essences from the treasures."
Hearing this, everyone's eyes widened slightly and they all turned to Alka, awaiting his answer.
The reason they didn't think this was the case was because it was too outrageous.
Alka smiled and looked at Sofia. "Very clever! Congratulations on guessing right."
As Alka finished speaking, Sofia's pupils couldn't help but dilate.
Although she had stated the most unlikely possibility, she still found it somewhat unbelievable when it became a reality.
"How did you do it?" Simon asked, clutching his arm.
Seeing the looks in everyone's eyes, Alka smiled helplessly and waved his hand. "Okay, friends, don't be surprised. Calm down and listen. I'll explain."
With that, Alka closed the two boxes again and set them aside.
"Remember the newly built furnace tower in the dreamland?"
"Yes, it's magnificent."
After all, in Alka's dreamland, they could leave their dreams.
With the authority granted by Alka's power, they were at least relatively safe and free within the realm. Naturally, they could also see the newly constructed furnace tower after the demonic invasion.
"But isn't that tower used to smelt demons and create new life?" Jason asked, somewhat curiously.
"Yes, it gets a bit complicated, but you can simply understand it as follows: under specific control, the furnace can separate the divine essence within a treasure."
"Then can..." Lucillia's tattered flag floated out.
"Melt this thing?"
Not only Lucillia, but everyone else thought of their own treasures.
Some were satisfied, while others were naturally dissatisfied.
For example, Pororo.
He was holding his treasure, the Winter Flower.
A treasure shaped like a flower.
Of course, there were also those who were very satisfied with the appearance of their treasures, such as Sofia.
The headband and ring were perfect for her, fighting unarmed.
Alka couldn't help but pour cold water on everyone and said, "While I'd love to smelt it with you, I must tell you that smelting comes with conditions.
Perfectly fused treasures are very difficult to separate. There's a high chance the treasure will simply melt away, and the divine essence within will be smelted into the rules of the world and returned to the world."
"Is there such a risk?" Simon asked. If so, the risk would be too great.
No one could afford the risk of a treasure disappearing.
"Of course there is a risk, but the less compatible the treasure's appearance is with its abilities, and the inferior the material, the easier it is to separate, and vice versa."
He pointed to the flag in Lucelia's hand.
"For example, this one."
The tattered flag in Lucelia's hand didn't even require careful examination to tell. It definitely wasn't one of those perfectly fused ones.
Then he pointed at the Winter Flower in Pororo's hand.
"For something like the Winter Flower, I'd venture to guess it's one of those perfectly fused artifacts. After all, this type of artifact existed before the War of Gods, when the concept of treasure didn't exist."
This means that treasures from that time were likely specially crafted. Divine essence might have been a component, or even directly imbued with rules.
It must have been specially crafted and perfectly fused.
Hearing this, everyone nodded in understanding, except Pororo, who looked dejected.
Alka looked at the somewhat cheerful Lucilia and said sternly, "Your example won't work either. Have you forgotten your special circumstances?"
Hearing this, everyone remembered.
Yes, Lucilia doesn't have a body; her body is entirely sustained by this treasure.
Without this treasure, Lucilia's strength would decline and she might even have to start all over again.
That would be extremely difficult to accept.
Not to mention the puppet girls who were already awakening soul wisdom.
"Ah! What a pity!" Lucelia said with regret.
But she also knew her situation was unique. If a problem arose, it would be a major issue.
She could only regretfully put her treasure away.
"It's not that there's no chance, but we'll need to study it carefully and figure out a solution later."
There were many considerations involved in melting and separating Lucelia's treasure.
"Then, in the next period of time, we'll have to consider the storage capacity of these three divine essences?" Simon said, looking at the two boxes nearby.
Alka nodded: "And by the way, let's see which of your treasures can be melted and separated."
"While we're still on Gemini Island and we have money, we can buy the right materials."