Zhang Yan noticed something peculiar in Yin Zhishou’s tone and asked, "Is there something wrong with this vessel?"
Yin Zhishou shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "Let me have someone fetch the blueprint. You’ll understand once you see it, fellow Daoist."
He gave some whispered instructions to a nearby servant. The servant promptly left and, after about as long as it takes to drink a cup of tea, returned carrying a rolled-up blueprint and a black box.
Yin Zhishou reached out to take them. He carefully placed the black box on the table and then unrolled the blueprint in front of Zhang Yan. Infusing it with a trace of Spiritual Energy, he said, "Fellow Daoist, take a look. This blueprint details the dimensions of the sea boat, the materials used in its construction, the number of prohibitions set upon it, and the layout of its various levels—it’s all clearly illustrated."
The blueprint, activated by his Spiritual Energy, immediately projected a radiant image into the air.
Within the glowing projection stood a colossal sea vessel with nine towering levels, exuding an imposing majesty. On the left side floated a row of text that read: "Dragon Country Engineered Breaker of Waves—Da Wei Sea Boat."
After glancing at it for a few moments, Zhang Yan shifted his focus to the annotations at the bottom of the blueprint. The more he read, the more astonished he became.
This vessel was an extraordinary 1,200 feet long and 900 feet wide. To put it into perspective, the typical sea vessel was only 20 or 30 feet in length for the smaller ones, and even the larger ones rarely exceeded 100 feet. In comparison, this "Dragon Country Sea Boat" appeared utterly gargantuan.
He couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, "For the Yin Family to craft such a sea boat—truly the work of master artisans. But with its sheer size, wouldn’t it be difficult to control?"
Hearing the hint of hesitation in Zhang Yan’s voice, Yin Zhishou quickly pointed toward the three-foot-long black box and said urgently, "Fellow Daoist, take a look at this."
Zhang Yan examined it, his thoughts stirring, and he asked in amazement, "Oh? Could this perhaps be... the ship’s core?"
Yin Zhishou looked at him in astonishment and praised, "Your discerning eye is impressive, fellow Daoist. Indeed, this is the ship core of the Dragon Country Sea Boat!"
Zhang Yan’s interest was piqued. If the sea boat possessed a ship core, it meant its construction had followed the methods used for crafting Magic Artifacts. This was similar to the flying boats he had traveled in—they could shrink or expand according to the wielder’s needs. Furthermore, there was the potential for refining a Magic Artifact into a Dharma Treasure through fortuitous opportunities.
However, creating a sea boat of such enormous size was unheard of. To allow a Magic Artifact to adjust its size at will, each component material had to be inscribed with hundreds or even thousands of prohibitive spells, all forged and refined within the same Furnace Tripod.
Beyond 100 feet, the size of the artifact would exceed the capacity of any Furnace Tripod, requiring a colossal earthly furnace to refine.
Based on the scale of this sea boat, the Yin Clan must have utilized an earthly furnace larger than 1,000 feet in diameter to craft it.
From what he knew, such enormous furnaces were rare; even the Mingcang Sect had but one of such size.
Observing Zhang Yan’s apparent intrigue, Yin Zhishou seized the opportunity and added, "Fellow Daoist, this vessel has three levels of Artifact Restrictions. Unlocking each level increases its capacity. If you were to purchase it, there’s no need to fully unlock its restrictions. Merely refining the first level would reduce it to a manageable size of just 400 feet."
Zhang Yan couldn’t help but laugh. "Only 400 feet? You have quite the sense of humor—it’s already comparable in size to the ’Da Wei Cloud Palace’ used by Nascent Soul True Masters."
However, land-based flying boats didn’t need to contend with raging tides and tempests, nor were they meant to navigate rivers and oceans. The materials used for them were inherently of inferior grade. Thus, even if they shared the same dimensions, they could never match the durability of a sea boat.
With a faint smile, Zhang Yan asked, "Judging by this boat, it could indeed be considered a treasure. Why, then, are you willing to part with it, fellow Daoist?"
Yin Zhishou was forthright, sighing as he explained, "To be honest, fellow Daoist, this vessel was originally intended as the flagship for the Immortal Market fleet. My grandfather spared no effort assembling the finest materials for its creation, even incurring substantial debts of favor. But then, the immortal boat’s master met with an untimely demise, and the project was abandoned, leaving the boat in the possession of my Yin Clan. It’s been sitting idle for over fifty years now."
This was no secret, and anyone with a little curiosity could unearth the details, so he saw no point in concealing it.
After the previous owner’s death, the Yin Family had been eager to sell the vessel, even at a loss. Yet the cost of its construction was so immense that even at a marked-down price, it remained costly.
Moreover, interested buyers were deterred by the superstition surrounding a ship whose previous master had perished. Many preferred commissioning a new vessel to taking on such ill-omened goods.
However, Zhang Yan wasn’t bothered. Since the ship core was intact, it meant the vessel had never been sacrificially refined by anyone. He inquired, "What price are you asking?"
Hearing this, Yin Zhishou was overjoyed and quickly replied, "If Daoist Zhang has taken a liking to it, it’s yours for Ten Thousand Spirit Shells. Additionally, I’ll include two smaller sea boats as a gift. Though they cannot compare to the great vessel in durability nor undertake long journeys, they’re more than adequate for withstanding ordinary winds and waves."
The ten thousand Spirit Shells were merely the base cost of its construction, not accounting for the numerous rare materials from the Yin Clan’s reserves that had gone into its making. Yet, the vessel’s prolonged uselessness justified an expedited sale to the right buyer.