Swallowed Star: Primordial Artifact

Chapter 228 Trading
Jiang Ye's fingers unconsciously caressed the treasure chest at his waist, the bronze patterns gleaming with a cold light under the moonlight.

"Yanji natives..." His voice was exceptionally clear in the deathly silence, "Since you've been guarding this place all this time, then the treasure chest in my hand..."

Akagaki emerged from the shadows, his bronze skin covered in scarlet totems, each line moving as if alive.

"Intelligent!" the native Chi Yuan praised. "No wonder you come from the human race, one of the six top races."

He slammed his hand heavily on the stone pillar beside him, the dull sound echoing within the tower. "I've been inside the sacrificial tower for a long time, and the treasure chamber has always been open. If there were truly any rare treasures, would I have waited until now to hand them over to you alien races? These three treasure chests are nothing but empty shells. Since you can't detect their true nature anyway, I'll use them to make you invaders kill each other."

“Human.” The native Chi Yuan looked at Jiang Ye. “When you obtained those three treasure chests, you should have seen the inscription. It clearly stated that only members of my own tribe could open the chests. In fact, I opened them long ago and took some of the treasure.”

Jiang Ye's gaze lingered on Chi Yuan's face for a moment before he slowly nodded: "It is indeed written that way, but I won't believe it just because of a few words from you."

Akagi let out a harsh laugh, crossed his arms, and said, "Don't believe me? Then bring me a box, and I'll open it for you."

Jiang Ye frowned slightly, feigning thought. After a moment, he flipped his wrist, and a treasure chest appeared in his palm. The chest was covered with intricate sacrificial runes, exuding a mysterious and ancient aura. No matter how much brute force was used, it could not be opened.

"This……"

Seeing Jiang Ye about to give the box to the native Chi Yuan, Dark Thunder King pretended to be anxious.

"Don't worry." Jiang Ye's gaze was as sharp as a hawk's. "He managed to escape right under my nose; he's got guts!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he flicked his wrist, and the treasure chest flew towards Chiyuan.

Akagi caught it steadily, and with his withered palm he gently wiped the edge of the box. With a crisp "click," the lid slowly opened.

Dark Thunder King's muscles were taut, and lightning surged beneath his feet, ready to launch an attack at any moment, fearing that this guy would escape with the box.

as predicted,

The box was empty; there was nothing inside.

"Haha..." Akagaki burst into laughter, the sound echoing wildly within the sacrificial tower, "Foolish..."

However, seeing that Jiang Ye was not angered by this, his laughter stopped abruptly, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face.

"Native, if you hadn't shown yourself, I wouldn't have known you were here. But you did show yourself, not just to tell me this treasure chest is empty, right?" Jiang Ye deliberately questioned, his voice tinged with anger.

The native Chi Yuan glanced at Jiang Ye with slight disgust. "Hmph, you alien races, if it weren't for the real treasure in the sacrificial tower, I wouldn't bother with you."

"A real treasure?" Jiang Ye's eyes widened instantly, and he feigned surprise, perfectly displaying his desire for the treasure.

"Haha... You don't actually think that one percent of my entire tribe's wealth is hidden in such an ordinary treasure room, do you?" Looking at the surprised Jiang Ye, the native Chi Yuan laughed smugly. "Do you think... if I had already obtained the real treasure, I would be wasting my time here with a human like you?"

"The treasure is hidden in two places, one visible and one hidden." Chi Yuan suddenly stopped smiling, his expression turning cold. "The visible place is the chamber you see, and there are indeed treasure chests containing treasures, but they are quite ordinary. The hidden place... is where the clan's true treasure is concealed."

"The treasures that are in the open can be opened by members of our clan." Chi Yuan paused, a hint of pride in his eyes. "But the true treasures hidden in the shadows can only be opened by members of our clan, and they also need to carry a token. Having a token... is a symbol of status; clan members without a token are not qualified to open them."

Chi Yuan continued, "Back when my clan fled, the cosmic venerables within the clan were worried that ordinary clansmen would be controlled by their souls, so they decreed that only those who carried a token could open the Great Treasure. And those who carried tokens were all Kings! Controlling a King with one's soul is no easy feat."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ye nodded silently to himself, his mind racing.

"Human!" Akagaki suddenly stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Jiang Ye. "How about we make a deal?"

"What kind of deal?" Jiang Ye asked.

"Give me the token in your hand! I'll take you to the real treasure." A glint of greed flashed in Akagaki's eyes.
“If you leave, I will never obtain the true treasure. Without the token, it cannot be opened. But without me, even if you have the token, you cannot open it.” The native Chi Yuan leaned forward slightly, his eyes burning with fervor. “My request is simple: after finding the great treasure, I want half of it!”

……

At the exit of the treasure room, the indigenous elder "Chiyuan" spoke eloquently, revealing the secrets of the treasure hidden in the sacrificial tower.

Jiang Ye pretended to ponder, muttering to himself, "Fake treasure and real treasure?"

“The treasure chest I found earlier was empty, and given that this native could clearly sense our movements, there’s no doubt that he was already inside the sacrificial tower. That’s confirmed. But Chi Yuan! I’ve never heard of that name before. It shouldn’t be the sacrificial tower that Luo Feng found in the original story.”

Jiang Ye quickly processed the current situation in his mind. The fact that it was different from the original story meant that everything that followed was unknown.

"Two possibilities."

"The first possibility is that, although it is different from the original sacrificial tower, the original inhabitants of this sacrificial tower may have encountered the same situation, with a remnant lineage remaining but the lineage broken off. Therefore, Chi Yuan is eager to obtain the great treasure in the sacrificial tower, and the treasure can only be obtained through tokens... so he came to me for cooperation."

“The second possibility is that he fabricated all of this! The treasure room is a real treasure room, and he has already obtained the treasure. However, his race was wiped out back then... so this Chi Yuan harbors great hatred for us alien races. He deliberately plotted to make us kill each other before. Now that he sees that Dark Thunder King is my soul servant, he is even holding us back. He may be plotting another scheme... to take revenge on us,” Jiang Ye thought to himself.

Survivors of a tribe that was wiped out.

Jiang Ye believed without hesitation... that they would unleash a frenzied revenge on their enemies.

"Do you want to obtain the treasure? Or do you want revenge?" A hint of hesitation flashed in Jiang Ye's eyes.

Elder Chi Yuan sneered inwardly as he looked at Jiang Ye's expression. However, glancing at the imposing Dark Thunder King beside him, he thought to himself, "It seems that the aura and pressure of this alien race is likely that of a peak-level King. However, I can't sense the human's specific strength. Could it be that this human possesses a treasure that can conceal his aura and pressure?"

"Never mind, these two are doomed no matter what!!" Akagaki thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ye's eyes gradually hardened, and he confidently thought, "Never mind... I believe that in the face of a true difference in strength, all schemes are useless."

"Greed, ambition, and desire are things that even the strong cannot erase." Chi Yuan looked at Jiang Ye's expression and felt a sense of relief.

"Well? Humans, have you made a decision?" Akagaki asked in a low voice.

"Akagi, I hope you don't do anything foolish," Jiang Ye said with a cold smile. "We'll trust you for now."

Jiang Ye glanced at Dark Thunder King beside him, and the two exchanged a look and nodded slightly.

Elder Chi Yuan chuckled, "As expected, the treasure is tempting, but as I said before, I want half!"

"Okay!" Jiang Ye agreed outwardly. Inwardly, however, he sneered. Half? Hmph, he only said it. He would use any means necessary against these alien enemies. Once the treasure was truly opened... he would seize it with all his might.

"Follow me." Akagaki flew directly ahead.

"Wait a minute," Dark Thunder King shouted.

Chi Yuan abruptly stopped and looked at Dark Thunder King with a puzzled expression. Dark Thunder King coldly stepped in front of Chi Yuan and ordered, "For the sake of mutual trust, you, native, should remain between us."

"Heh, so strong, yet so cowardly." Chi Yuan sneered. "That's called being careful. A strong person who isn't careful would have already perished." Jiang Ye said coldly.

“Let’s go then, I’ll show you the way,” Akagaki said. “Follow this corridor on the left.”

Suddenly...

Led by Chi Yuan, Jiang Ye and the others began to walk through the sacrificial tower. Under Chi Yuan's guidance, Jiang Ye did indeed discover some hidden passages. By simply pushing open some seemingly solid walls, they could reveal a door behind which was a passage.

The core control room of the sacrificial tower.

The four of them—God Lord Yanxiao, Lomon, Hersta, and Messiah—watched the virtual projection with bated breath.

“Elder, elder…” Luo Meng clenched his fists, his eyes filled with worry and tension.

"The elder put himself in danger for the sake of the clan," said the God Lord Yanxiao in a low voice. "Now those alien invaders have done as the elder planned, and the plan is half successful! This time... no matter what the cost, we must obtain the inherited treasure."

"Yes." Hester and Messiah both nodded.

"Look."

Divine Lord Yanxiao slowly said, "According to the information from the Crimson Clan Elder, the alien invader's strength should be at the limit of the King-Sealing Realm. Although we can't see the specifics of that human, being able to explore alongside a King-Sealing Realm expert clearly indicates that his strength is not simple. Don't be careless!"

……

Along a dark, internal passageway.

Dark Thunder King and Jiang Ye surrounded the clan elder "Red Wall" in the center and carefully made their way through the passage. The further they went, the brighter the passage became. After a while, Jiang Ye and the others arrived at a brightly lit hall.

"Which way do we go next?" Dark Thunder King shouted.

"We've arrived." A hint of fervor flickered in Akagaki's eyes.

"arrive?"

Jiang Ye looked around in confusion. This huge hall was more than ten kilometers in diameter, but the walls of the hall were completely smooth, with only some complex sacrificial patterns. There was no way to see any hidden treasures.

"Where is the treasure room?" Dark Thunder King roared.

Jiang Ye looked at the native Chi Yuan, but Chi Yuan calmly walked directly to the distant wall. Jiang Ye naturally followed without daring to stray too far, lest Chi Yuan set a trap for him.

On the smooth wall...

The native Chi Yuan took a deep breath and murmured in his heart, "Countless people of my people who have died, I allowed these alien races into the treasure room so that our people could prosper. People... forgive me." Then he stretched out six palms and simultaneously reflected them on the sacrificial law runes on the wall. The runes immediately lit up, followed by a series of booming sounds.

"Hmm?" Jiang Ye turned his head to look.

The once seamless wall began to slowly open, revealing a passage only ten meters wide.

“The treasure room is inside,” Akagaki said.

"Very good, it's a pleasure to cooperate!" Jiang Ye smiled, but still cautiously surrounded the native Chi Yuan, and together they walked towards the passage.

The passage is only a hundred meters long.

At the end was a door shimmering with fragmented golden light. The laws and mysteries on the entire door were even more profound, and an aura permeated the air.

"Is this G-grade metal?"

"Hiss, a door cast entirely from G-grade metal... this door alone is probably worth hundreds of millions of demon crystals." Dark Thunder King exclaimed in amazement.

Jiang Ye, standing beside him, was also all smiles; even the door itself was so expensive.

It seems...

The treasures hidden inside the door will be absolutely amazing.

"Human, to open the door to this treasure, first, you must have a token, and second, you must be a member of my own clan," Chi Yuan said coldly. "Give me the token so I can open this treasure."

To give Akagaki a token?
Jiang Ye glanced at the spatial ring in his hand that held the message talisman.

"Hmph." Elder Chi Yuan snorted and sneered when he saw this scene. "Human, you and that guy are strong people after all. You want the treasure but don't want to give me the token... Haha, you're really dreaming. If you don't want to give it to me, then don't. I don't have the ability to forcibly take it from you. But without the token, I can't open the door to this treasure."

"Hmph! I refuse to believe that I can't open a door without you!" Dark Thunder King scoffed.

Jiang Ye stood aside and watched all this silently. He saw Dark Thunder King walk to the door with a faint golden halo, touch the door with both hands, and try to push it with force. He poured in immortal divine power, and the talisman floated in his palm to try to touch the door... He tried all kinds of ways to open the door that he could think of.

"Hmm?" Dark Thunder King frowned as he tested it.

But they kept failing.

This made Dark Thunder King's face turn somewhat ugly. He couldn't help but glance at the clan elder, Chi Yuan. Chi Yuan just watched this scene with a cold smile and sneered in a low voice: "Want to bypass me and get the treasure all by yourself? You're dreaming. Go ahead and try. You alien races think you can open my clan's treasure? You're dreaming."

"Shut up," Jiang Ye snapped.

"Hmph." Elder Chi Yuan glanced at him and said nothing more.

Jiang Ye turned to look at Dark Thunder King, who was still trying, and shouted, "If you can't open it, then stop trying."

Dark Thunder King was filled with displeasure, but he obediently walked back and said, "It seems that only the natives can open the treasures of the Yanji Continent's races."

“Native, you are also a King-level expert, not a fool. Don’t try any tricks on me,” Jiang Ye said in a low voice.

Akagaki merely glanced at him and said nothing more.

"Give!"

Jiang Ye tossed a token to Chi Yuan.

Akagaki reached out and took the triangular, semi-transparent talisman. His slightly trembling hands could not hide his excitement. His spiritual imprint merged with the talisman, and it successfully recognized him as its master. The talisman directly integrated into his skin. Akagaki's eyes welled up with tears, and he cried out in his heart, "My people, my people, I have finally obtained the talisman!"

(End of this chapter)