"Exactly." Lu Ye nodded. It was because he noticed the strange connection during this cycle that he remembered the woman's previous warning and came to seek her out. Hai Tang said, "This connection will become increasingly close as the number of your deaths increases, until ultimately you and the Ghost Ship will fully merge, becoming inseparable." "Ghost Ship?" Lu Ye looked at him in confusion. "Yes, this Long Dragon battleship is the renowned Ghost Ship in stellar space! No one knows how it appears, but historical records can trace back tens of thousands of years." From Hai Tang's words, it seems this Ghost Ship is quite famous in stellar space, but as a fledgling who has just entered stellar space, Lu Ye has never heard of the Ghost Ship. Not just him; no one in the Nine Provinces knows about it. "The Ghost Ship drifts and wanders all over stellar space; traces of it could appear anywhere. Before entering, it looks like a tattered battleship from the outside, but once any creature steps inside, it triggers changes in the Ghost Ship." This change must be the dense Mist Lu Ye saw earlier. When the Mist disperses, the decrepit spirit ark transforms into the Long Dragon battleship, and the intruder naturally becomes the captain of the Long Dragon battleship. Lu Ye asked, "Is this change real, or is it an illusion?" Hai Tang said, "To you, it's an illusion, but to me, it's real." "What's the difference?" "You haven't fully integrated into the Ghost Ship yet, so you still have a chance to escape, whereas I..." Hai Tang's expression was somewhat dim. Lu Ye suddenly understood, "Senior Sister, could it be that you, too, were drawn to this ship and trapped within it?" Hai Tang nodded, "I fell into this place not long ago and have gone through everything you have experienced." Lu Ye laughed helplessly, "Since you knew this is the famous Ghost Ship, why did you still venture deep inside?" Hai Tang smiled bitterly, "I realized it after coming in." Shaking her head, she continued, "Now I'm trapped here, able to maintain my sanity for a short time. Once too much time passes, I will perish, and everything about me will turn into nourishment for the Ghost Ship. You're lucky; had you come a few months later, you wouldn't have seen me. Other crew members won't tell you any of this; they are the original existence of the Long Dragon battleship." Lu Ye suddenly realized, no wonder during the first cycle, Hai Tang transmitted audio to remind him. It turns out she is indeed different from the other crew members. The other crew members are all considered a part of the Ghost Ship, but Hai Tang is an outsider like him. Though trapped now, she still retains her sanity, so she kindly reminds Lu Ye. It seems that she, having been rained on, is willing to hold an umbrella for others. But such a state is destined not to last long; soon she will completely disappear. Lu Ye felt distressed and asked, "How can one escape from this?" "Control the Long Dragon battleship, lead the crew members, and defeat the enemy that invades. Only then can you break free from this ship and regain freedom!" That's precisely what Lu Ye wanted to do before, but thinking is one thing; accomplishing it is quite another. Not to mention, this is already the fourth cycle, and Lu Ye still hasn't gotten used to controlling the battleship, let alone battling the three incoming battleships in air combat. "The Ghost Ship has a mysterious secret." Knowing Lu Ye has little time, Hai Tang sped up her speech, "That is, no matter the cultivation of anyone entering this place, they can only wield power at the Constellation Early Stage, even those at the Sun Blaze Realm. This is the Ghost Ship's rule." Lu Ye actually did not know this, since he himself is at the Constellation Early Stage level. This rule has no significance for him. "This rule is extremely stringent, greatly limiting the cultivators' ability to exert their power, so even though they know there are opportunities on the Ghost Ship, cultivators who recognize it in stellar space do not rashly intrude. Generally speaking, as soon as they see it, they stay far away." "Opportunity?" Lu Ye raised his brows, "There are opportunities here?" Hai Tang chuckled, "In such a perilous place, naturally there are opportunities, especially for such peculiar entities as the Ghost Ship. However, if you can't defeat the invading enemies, you won't obtain that opportunity." Lu Ye then confirmed that the opportunity Fong Rumo had pointed out was indeed this Long Dragon battleship. He couldn't help but grumble; that sloppy old man did tell him the opportunity was dangerous, leaving it for him to consider. But nothing seemed dangerous before entering the Ghost Ship. Once inside, it was too late to realize! Fong Rumo's reminder was practically useless. Yet one can't blame him; it was a chance encounter, and after grabbing some of Lu Ye's food and wine, he not only pointed out the location of an opportunity to Lu Ye, but even sealed a secret technique on Lu Ye's Boulder Mountain Saber. From Fong Rumo's perspective, their exchange was clear. Whether Lu Ye dies because of the Ghost Ship… what does it matter to him? The stellar space is fraught with danger everywhere. Even without the Ghost Ship, other dangers abound. Moreover, nearly at every moment, cultivators perish for various reasons in stellar space. "What kind of opportunity?" Lu Ye asked. Hai Tang said, "It is said that there are various valuable treasures within the Ghost Ship, the kind that would tempt even Sun Blaze Realm cultivators. If you manage to free yourself from this ship and restore your freedom, you can freely choose an item from the ship to take away!" A valuable treasure that even those in the Sun Blaze Realm would covet! What quality must it be? If this is true, then it is understandable why this Ghost Ship holds such a great reputation in the stellar space. Such an opportunity is bound to attract heroes from all over to temper themselves. Cultivators have never lacked the spirit of adventure. "Senior Sister Hai Tang, I think we could collaborate a bit!" Lu Ye suggested. "How do we collaborate?" Hai Tang looked at him, puzzled. "Senior Sister has already experienced everything I have, so you must be more familiar with controlling the battleship than I am. How about this: I will transfer control of the battleship to you, and you..." Before Lu Ye could finish, Hai Tang interrupted him. Newest update provıded by 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✦𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✦𝕟𝕖𝕥 She looked at Lu Ye with a serious face: "You absolutely must not transfer your control over the Ghost Ship!" "The control over this ship is the essence of your captaincy. With this control, you remain the captain and can continue to face the trials of the Ghost Ship. But once you lose this control, you will immediately find yourself in my situation, trapped on this ship until one day you become nourishment for the Ghost Ship!" Lu Ye finally understood the unease he felt earlier when he was about to transfer control of the battleship to Qin Zong. There was more to it. Fortunately, he sensed something was amiss and halted the transfer. Otherwise, both he and Hai Tang would be doomed, stuck eyeing each other tearfully forever. Those bastards in Qin Zong's group surely knew what would happen if the control was transferred but none of them warned him. Instead, they wore sly smiles during the process. "Enemy attack!" From the deck came the sharp cry of warning from the lookout, and in the next instant, the crew on the Long Dragon battleship began to move. Time was running out for Lu Ye. He quickly asked, "Senior Sister, do you have any other instructions?" Hai Tang said, "All the crew on the Ghost Ship, though they are part of the ship, as long as you remain the captain, they will strictly follow your every command. This is one of the rules of the Ghost Ship. Make good use of this! Many cultivators have fallen to the Ghost Ship, many in the Constellation Realm, even in the Sun Blaze Realm. However, there are precedents where they successfully escaped, obtained valuable treasures, and left. As long as the final outcome is undetermined, never give up!" Turning away, he ran outside. While still on his way, he heard Qin Zong's panicked shout: "Captain, hurry back and take control of the battleship!" "Shut up!" Lu Ye dashed past him straight to the cabin, quickly arriving in front of the orb, where he stood still and channeled spirit force into it. After more than ten breaths, the Long Dragon battleship was shattered under the overpowering attacks from the approaching forces, leaving no crew members aboard alive. On the fifth cycle, when Lu Ye opened his eyes, he immediately checked the peculiar connection between himself and the Long Dragon battleship, finding that it was indeed more intimate than before. This connection continues to deepen with each death until it reaches a certain limit, at which point Lu Ye will become just like Hai Tang, completely trapped here with no escape. So everything he is experiencing now, Hai Tang has experienced before. Alone in such a strange environment, inching toward the end, unless one possesses a strong heart, they will quickly crumble. Lu Ye did not know how many times he could "die"; the feeling was not deep enough for him to make an accurate judgment, but he knew that escaping the Ghost Ship was a long and arduous journey. This death was not true death, as everything he is experiencing is just an illusion. However, this illusion unfolds under the rules of the Ghost Ship, far too sophisticated for Lu Ye to discern a single flaw. Steadying his mind, Lu Ye immediately raised his hand to press on the orb in the Central Hub, linking his mind with the Long Dragon battleship, and began familiarizing himself with controlling the battleship. But before that, he first increased the speed of the Long Dragon battleship, fleeing into the distance. He thought simply: Since a strong enemy is pursuing them, accelerating the ship could help maintain some distance and stall for a bit longer. But soon, Lu Ye realized he had thought too much. Because when that familiar call of enemy attack was shouted out, Lu Ye found that he had not stalled for any extra time. At the exact same moment, the lookout on the tower issued a warning! What is happening? With no time to ponder, Lu Ye continued to devote himself fully to maneuvering the Long Dragon battleship to fly forward. In no time, the enemy ships caught up, the distance closing constantly, their massive beam-like attacks surging from behind. Under Lu Ye's control, the battleship twisted and turned, dodging most of the attacks, but some still fell on the protective barrier, causing it to wobble and teeter.