Douluo Continent: Martial Soul Young Gilas, Sandstorm King!

Chapter 149 Imperial Vault!
Lin Xia followed closely behind, with the young Gilas curiously craning its little head beside him, its scarlet eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

The passage was not long, and at the end was a much more magnificent giant door, cast entirely from an unknown dark silver metal. The door was decorated with a totem of a star crown and a ghostly cat intertwined, radiating an ancient and powerful soul force pressure.

Dai Tianxing used the key again to open it, while simultaneously injecting his immense soul power into the star crown totem on the door.

The giant gate slowly opened inward, and an indescribable radiance, accompanied by a dense energy of heaven and earth that was almost tangible, poured out in an instant!

Even though Lin Xia was somewhat prepared, she was still deeply shocked by the scene before her!

What came into view was not the rows of shelves that I had imagined, but a huge palace that seemed to exist independently of the real world!
The dome soared high, inlaid with countless self-illuminating star stones, their soft light scattering like a real starry sky. The entire space was divided into several enormous areas, separated by flowing energy light curtains.

The area closest to the entrance displays hundreds of soul bones!
Arm bones, leg bones, skull bones, and even torso bones, radiating various elemental lights, floated like the finest works of art within a specially crafted soul power shield.

From ordinary thousand-year-old soul bones emitting a faint white light to dazzling ten-thousand-year-old soul bones with a vast aura, and even a few soul bones deep within that are imprisoned by a special force field and whose aura is terrifying... suspected to be at the hundred-thousand-year level!
The air was filled with various powerful soul energy fluctuations, which intertwined to form a kind of oppressive aura that made people's blood boil.

On the other side, there are rows of transparent crystal display cases that reach all the way to the dome, containing all kinds of rare treasures: including "Molten Crystals" the size of a fist, with flames seemingly flowing inside.

There is a type of jadeite chalcedony that is entirely green and exudes a rich sense of life.

There are heavy metal tablets that record ancient soul guidance technology.

There were even several fragments of unknown soul tools that emitted powerful spatial fluctuations, their structures far more ingenious than anything Lin Xia had ever seen before!
Further away, an area was shrouded in hazy starlight, making it difficult to see clearly, but faint fluctuations of stellar power could be felt, suggesting that it contained a treasure related to the Star Crown Martial Soul or stellar power.

Lin Xia's main focus—the mineral materials area—is like a miniature museum of rare minerals!
Ores of various shapes, colors, and properties are displayed in categories.

The "star sand" is about the size of a fist and has a liquid metallic sheen.

There is a crystal called "Celestial River Crystal" that is entirely dark blue and contains spatial fluctuations.

It possesses the "Gengjin essence" that emits a sharp golden light.

There is a "moonstone" whose interior seems to be sealed with moonlight.

There were even a few pieces of "star marrow" the size of a baby's fist, containing a halo of light like a galaxy vortex!
Although they are all much smaller than the core gem on the Starry Crown, they are all rare and top-tier treasures!
Lin Xia's heart began to pound uncontrollably. He suppressed the urge to rush into the mining area immediately, his eyes quickly scanning the alluring ores, his brain racing as he compared their shapes and auras with the characteristics of the "Mineral Compendium" and the core gem of the Starry Crown.

'Stardust's energy is too scattered... Celestial Crystal's properties are too rigid and insufficient... Moonstone is too yin... Star Marrow! Star Marrow's aura is the closest! But its volume is too small, and its total energy and purity are far from enough... Sure enough, there's no material here that can perfectly replace that gem.'

Lin Xia quickly made a judgment in his mind, but this did not disappoint him. On the contrary, it strengthened his determination to find the Illusionary Star Glaze.

At the same time, a bold plan took shape in his mind—since Dai Tianxing said, "As long as it's useful, I can use it as I please," then these top-grade ores are the perfect materials he needs to forge super mechs in the future!
It would be a shame not to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Dai Tianxing stood with his hands behind his back, taking in the shock, scrutiny, and finally, the barely perceptible "burning" look that flashed in Lin Xia's eyes.

He didn't spell it out, but simply said:
"Xia, this is the Imperial Treasury. You can search for whatever materials you need for your experiments. If you have any questions, you can ask the Treasury Steward who is on duty here." He pointed to an old man who stood like a statue in the shadows, his aura unfathomable.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Lin Xia suppressed her excitement and focused her gaze firmly on the shimmering mineral area.

"Young man, we need some special ores with high affinity for the power of stars and containing spatial properties or excellent energy conductivity for testing and comparison. Could we start with that area?"

"On your own."

Dai Tianxing nodded, signaling to the warehouse manager to cooperate.

Lin Xia immediately strode towards the mineral area, and Young Gilas excitedly let out a "yo-yo" and pointed his little paws at several ores with strong energy reactions, as if he were advising his master.

Lin Xia pretended to pick up a piece of star marrow, closed her eyes and concentrated, and carefully sensed it by injecting a wisp of soul power into her fingertips. Sometimes she frowned, sometimes she shook her head, and she muttered incantations.

"There are differences in energy fluctuation frequencies... the spatial resonance is not stable enough... and the anti-interference is insufficient..."

He picked up and put down pieces of rare ore one by one, his movements seemingly casual, but in reality, he was highly focused, memorizing the characteristics of each ore and secretly calculating which ones would be most valuable to the mecha's core, armor, and energy transmission system.

After carefully "testing" more than a dozen top-grade ores and "regretfully" stating that he had not found a core substitute that perfectly met the requirements for repairing the Starry Crown, Lin Xia changed the subject, pointing to several top-grade materials, including the Star Marrow, as well as several other rare metals crucial for mecha forging. With a serious expression of "experimental necessity," he addressed the main storage pipeline:
"Senior, while these materials cannot be directly used to repair the core, some of their properties are crucial for verifying the stability of my 'Star Link Matrix' and simulating the energy load limit. Some need to be used for destructive testing. Also, these few items will help in simulating potential energy dissipation paths during the repair process..."

The warehouse manager remained expressionless, only casting his gaze upon Dai Tianxing.

Dai Tianxing glanced at the priceless treasures Lin Xia pointed out, but didn't even flinch before waving his hand.

"Since it's what's needed for repairs, take it! Provide the full amount as Brother Lin Xia requested!"

"Yes!"

The warehouse manager bowed and accepted the order, immediately taking out a specially made storage soul tool and carefully collecting the materials Lin Xia had specified, sealing them in sufficient quantities.

Lin Xia was secretly delighted. These treasures were enough for him to upgrade the materials of several key subsystems of the mecha by several levels!

Having obtained the item, Lin Xia immediately cupped his hands to Dai Tianxing and said:

"Your Majesty, these materials are of great benefit to the experiment. However, the special material required for the core is not readily available in the treasury. I need to immediately begin preparations to go out and search for it, striving to find it as soon as possible so as not to delay the restoration plan!"

(End of this chapter)