I Pick Up Talents on the Interstellar Battlefield

Chapter 639: Chapter 83: Entering the Treasury, Puppets, and a Bountiful Harvest

"Ice God Treasure Vault?!"

Huo Yuansheng stood in front of Qin Tian and his companions, his eyes suddenly widening, his face full of surprise.

He had only been in the ruins for half a day, but he absorbed more than a dozen Ice Elements, steadily increasing his Spiritual Energy, witnessing the "abundance" of these ruins. Little did he expect there was an even greater treasure behind this abundance.

"That’s right." Qin Tian’s mouth curved into a smile, "Opening the vault requires a specific ritual. During this process, external interference must be avoided, so I need you to guard me. Once the ruins are open, we’ll enter together and share the treasure."

"No problem!" Huo Yuansheng agreed solemnly, "Leave it to us. We’ll ensure none of those demons get near you!"

"Great, then let’s not delay and set off now." Qin Tian wasted no time. A faint silver ripple emanated from his palm, and a Gate of Space appeared out of thin air, revealing deep darkness beyond.

"Let’s go!"

Zhuge Yu, Taishi Feng, and Huo Yuansheng stepped in one by one, with Qin Tian entering last. The Gate of Space closed behind them, vanishing in the wind and snow.

......

At the location of the Ice God Treasure Vault, piles of ice bones and demon remains stacked mountain-high, corpse after corpse nearly covering the entire ice plain. The air was filled with an ancient black mist, chilling to the bone.

"Swish—"

The Gate of Space opened again, and Qin Tian’s group of four stepped out in succession.

Their arrival was like sparks tossed into a pot of oil, instantly igniting this quiet ice field.

"Crack-crack—!"

The sound of bones snapping was incessant as demons emerged from the piles of corpses.

Some were left with only half a body, dragging broken spines as they crawled on the ground; some had intact bodies, enveloped in thick impenetrable black mist, with ghostly green flames igniting in their hollow eye sockets; others burrowed out from underground, their sharp claws scraping against the frozen soil, producing a teeth-aching sound.

In just a few breaths, a dense mass of demons surrounded them, their empty, chilling gaze fixed on the four, filled with bloodthirsty madness.

"Form a battle formation!"

Zhuge Yu shouted sharply, retreating instantly to the center position of the formation, the bronze Array Plate in his hand suddenly ablaze with a blue-gold glow.

Taishi Feng and Huo Yuansheng coordinated perfectly, arranging themselves one on each side, forming a stable triangular formation, with Qin Tian standing at the center, holding the Ice Monument, already entering a state of focus.

This was the Zhuge Family’s Trinity Array, centered around the array mage, linking with the aura and Spiritual Energy of the other two, integrating offense and defense.

"Attack!"

Taishi Feng took the lead, sweeping out with the Heaven-piercing Halberd, golden Spiritual Energy surging along the halberd tip, transforming into a several-meter-long halberd blaze, slicing three incoming demons in half.

Black blood gushed out, sizzling as it landed on the frozen soil, yet the demons behind showed no fear, continuing to surge like a tide. Some swung sharp claws toward the three, while others opened their mouths from afar, spewing clusters of pitch-black Energy spheres, bombarding the formation.

Huo Yuansheng wielded a Longsword, his strikes steady, each precisely targeting the demons’ weak points, be it eye sockets or gaps in scales. As sword light flickered, demons fell one after another.

He not only had to slay close-range demons but also defend, intercepting incoming Energy spheres with a deft slice, shattering them into pieces, the residual Sword Qi pushing back surrounding demons.

Zhuge Yu stood in the center, fingertips rapidly forming incantations, while the eight trigram patterns on the bronze Array Plate flowed continuously.

On the frozen ground at the four’s feet, threads of blue-gold array patterns slowly emerged, weaving into a giant Energy net, following which a semi-transparent energy barrier surged up, enclosing the four within.

"Boom, boom, boom—"

Countless black Energy spheres slammed against the barrier, creating layers of ripples, yet it remained unbreached.

Even more remarkable, the Trinity Array kept the three’s auras tightly connected, their Spiritual Energy shared, akin to forming a single indestructible unit, resisting wave after wave of the demons’ frenzied attacks.

At the center of the formation, Qin Tian had long isolated himself from the external chaos.

He gradually injected Spiritual Energy into the Ice Monument, its previously dim surface erupting with a radiant blue glow, the chill spreading along the monument, causing the surrounding demons’ movements to pause slightly.

A peculiar wave dispersed from the Ice Monument as if echoing an ancient call, the ice ground began to shake violently, and ancient Ice God Race runes emerged from the frozen soil, swirling and sparkling in the air, resonating with the monument’s wave.

This was the key to opening the vault—like aligning a password, allowing the monument’s Energy to resonate with the vault’s sealing runes.

As time passed, more and more demons awakened.

Initially, there were only a few hundred, soon surpassing thousands, tens of thousands, densely surrounding the Trinity Array layer upon layer, even blocking the view of the sky with flying demons.

Among them were formidable Tier Six demons, their sharp claws leaving marks on the energy barrier, while their sphere attacks were astonishing, making Zhuge Yu’s trio gradually strain under pressure.

Taishi Feng’s Battle Armor accrued several new scars, sweat mixed with blood sliding down his cheeks, slowing his halberd swings; Huo Yuansheng’s breathing grew heavy, the glow on his Longsword dimming slightly, his arms trembling from exertion; Zhuge Yu’s forehead was slick with cold sweat, fingers numb from controlling the array plate, the energy barrier no longer as vibrant.

Facing countless enemies and powerful foes, the pressure was beyond imagination, yet the three did not utter a single complaint nor urge Qin Tian. They simply gritted their teeth, persevering with all their might to maintain the formation and buy Qin Tian enough time.