Chapter 449: Sangwu Heaven, Nearly a Thousand Spirit Essences |
The two of them bargained as they walked, already ascending the steps. After verifying their identities, the hall doors opened silently.
However, Jiang Ce's heart suddenly skipped a beat because Xiao Cui, wrapped around his wrist, suddenly tightened her tail, locking around his wrist.
His inch-blood python had an extremely sharp perception of danger.
"Senior Brother Zhong?" His expression changed slightly, and at a glance, he saw the figure standing in the center.
As if sensing someone else arriving, Zhong Yue turned around, his indifferent gaze landing on him before moving past him, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Su... Chen?" Zhong Yue walked forward, completely ignoring Jiang Ce, who was standing respectfully to the side, and arrived in front of Su Chen.
Zhong Yue... Su Chen also recognized the other party. After all, he was the guy ranked third on the Lingxiao Hidden Star Ranking. There were pictures and information about him on the ranking, and he had just seen it recently, so he still had an impression.
"Brother Zhong..."
He said. The seniority between the various heavens was intricate and complicated, so within High Heaven, aside from special circumstances, seniority was generally not discussed.
"Yes," Su Chen replied somewhat conservatively, unsure of the other party's attitude.
Zhong Yue subtly scrutinized him. Focusing on his Main Profession, his strength didn't seem to be anything special, but due to protective rules, he would inevitably be promoted to Morning Star. Add to that the Dust Star Sea...
"Junior Brother Zhong," a slightly old voice came from behind. A short old man with snow-white hair and beard walked over carrying two metal cases. He glanced at Su Chen and said to Zhong Yue, "The cub you wanted."
Zhong Yue reached out and took it, putting it away, then added, "Senior Brother Liu, later, after this Star Seed Su selects the category of the Star Beast, find a cub with a Compatibility of 150%."
"Alright." The short old man was somewhat surprised, but he still agreed.
A Compatibility of 150%?
Su Chen didn't quite understand the underlying intricacies, but he could feel Jiang Ce's breathing become much more rapid, and the latter couldn't help but glance over.
Understood... It's good stuff.
Jiang Ce also noticed the meaningful implication in Su Chen's eyes, and his heart felt both bitter and excited. He was afraid he would have to go bankrupt this time.
"Thank you, Brother Zhong." Since the other party had given him a benefit, Su Chen didn't mind having a better attitude.
"You're welcome," Zhong Yue said with a smile. "Right, I heard that Tai Xuanhong became a Chosen in the Dust Star Sea. Do you know anything about this person?"
Hearing this, the short old man next to them couldn't help but look over.
News of the Sovereign of the Purple Zenith appearing had gradually spread. Putting the Abyssal Domain aside, many people among the Five Pillars knew about this.
"Tai Xuanhong, huh..." Su Chen looked at the other party and said helplessly, "Although it was in the Dust Star Sea, the distance is actually very far. When the incident occurred, I didn't know anything."
"Let alone knowing about him. Afterwards, I did hear from my Sect Master that he seemed to have defeated someone named Kong Ming."
"Kong Ming?" Jiang Ce couldn't help but say. "Kong Ming of the Buddha Land?"
"Kong Ming?" Zhong Yue's expression changed several times. Obviously, he was quite shocked by this news. After a few breaths, he gradually composed himself and said with an unclear meaning, "It seems he really didn't become a Chosen solely based on his bloodline. What a pity..."
He shook his head, his gaze falling on Su Chen again. He smiled amiably and patted his shoulder. "Star Seed Su, we are both from the Outer Heavens. Let's interact more in the future."
Outer Heavens... Su Chen's eyes flickered slightly. This was a collective term for factions that joined High Heaven later, but it was rarely mentioned internally.
Watching Zhong Yue leave, Jiang Ce finally breathed a sigh of relief. The python tail wrapped around his wrist slowly loosened, and he inwardly clicked his tongue, 'As expected of the third on the Star Potential Ranking. Just standing there made Xiao Cui this nervous...'
But suddenly, he remembered that when he shook hands with Su Chen, Xiao Cui had suddenly bitten him. That could no longer be called nervousness, but a stress response.
Just what...
"Su Chen..." The short old man glanced at him and said casually, "What type of Star Beast Cub do you want?"
Su Chen thought for a moment and said, "Hmm... I've had an affinity with snakes and pythons since I was young, so I'll choose the python type."
"Python type?" The short old man was a bit surprised. His gaze swept over Jiang Ce, but he didn't mind. "For python-type cubs, the ones whose Compatibility can reach 150% recently are mainly the Dragon-Transforming Celestial Serpent, the Nine-Curved Coiled Dragon, and the Heaven-Swallowing Profound Snake..."
Jiang Ce hadn't specified the exact species, so Su Chen thought about it and picked one that sounded nice. "I'll take the Dragon-Transforming Celestial Serpent."
"Wait a moment." The short old man walked deeper into the hall. Jiang Ce's breathing was rapid, and he seemed quite excited.
After waiting for a while, he returned with a metal case and gave a brief introduction:
"The Dragon-Transforming Celestial Serpent has a Compatibility of over 150% with the vast majority of beast professions. The incubation and rearing manual are all inside..."
"Sorry for the trouble." Su Chen took it and left with Jiang Ce, who had been silent all along.
The hall doors closed. Neither of them spoke as they passed through layers of halls and returned to the area where Su Chen had first arrived.
Seeing that the other party was about to leave, Jiang Ce finally couldn't help but send a spiritual fluctuation, 'Three hundred... and fifty portions. This is my entire net worth.'
I thought you could hold it in... Su Chen was also quite surprised inwardly. For a 50% increase in Compatibility, the price had actually gone up so much.
He remained noncommittal and smiled. "Once you are ready, you can come to Bronze Heaven to find me."
With that, he summoned a rainbow bridge and left with a step.
"Su Chen... Bronze Heaven... Truly cunning." Jiang Ce watched where Su Chen had left, his expression changing for a while before he gritted his teeth.
"A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I must get my hands on a Dragon-Transforming Celestial Serpent with a 150% Compatibility. Once I succeed, Xiao Fan will have a high probability of becoming a Star Seed."
.........
"This is Sangwu Heaven?"
The scenery changed, and Su Chen looked up. The top of his head was covered by an endlessly massive mulberry tree. Its layers completely covered the sky, and every branch was twisted and gnarled, its leaves a dark green.
Taking a slight breath, he felt a rich life force surge into his lungs.
The Practitioners walking around here looked much more normal. They didn't have any bizarre plants following them around.
Plants were different from Star Beasts. As far as he knew, most Plant Seeds needed to be rooted in the body, absorbing the body's nutrients to grow before feeding back.
"Star Seed Su..."
Su Chen heard a crisp shout coming from afar. He looked over and saw a colorful figure darting over, only stopping when it reached him. It was a short girl.
She looked to be only about 1.5 meters tall, her skin so pale it glowed, and she wore a long dress embroidered with colorful plant patterns.
"You are?" Su Chen asked as usual.
"You can call me Hua Rong," the girl seemed a bit nervous, her gaze drifting. She didn't exchange pleasantries with him. "Follow me."
She turned around and left, rushing forward with her head down, looking like a radish head.
Su Chen was speechless and could only follow. On the way, he tentatively asked a few questions, but this Hua Rong was vague or just hummed and hawed.
'It seems I can't scam anyone this time,' Su Chen thought to himself, speechless. He had just checked within High Heaven, and the price of this Plant Seed was even lower than a Star Beast Cub.
The average was around one hundred and fifty Spirit Essences, perhaps even lower.
Practitioners of this category were rare even in High Heaven. If they really wanted to sell it for a good price, they could only sell it to the Abyssal Domain, but they had to get the consent of Sangwu Heaven.
This Sangwu Heaven was full of plants. Even the palaces and residences were woven from a type of crystal-clear jade marrow vine.
Hua Rong led Su Chen to a giant pink tree, estimated to be hundreds of meters in diameter. They followed the trunk straight to the giant flower bud at the very top.
It was over ten meters high, its surface floating with fine patterns.
"Damn it, you really are a slut! Now that you have a kid, you know to come looking for me? I don't care!"
"Whose seed is it anyway? You're not going to say? If you don't say, I'll #%&..."
Before entering the door, Su Chen heard a burst of crude insults.
Hua Rong's cheeks flushed visibly red, and she hurriedly rushed into the flower bud. Su Chen also tentatively followed.
There was a whole other world inside this flower bud, like the depths of a secluded path. Vines intertwined, hanging down crystal-clear spores, and curled seedlings could be vaguely seen.
And what caught his eye was a tall woman, sternly scolding a pot of scarlet flowers. The flower drooped its head, the edges of its petals curled up like claws.
Hua Rong walked up and whispered something. The woman then suddenly turned her head, her expression sharp and her eyebrows like swords.
Su Chen recognized the other party. Tan Qingzhu, ranked fifth on the Lingxiao Hidden Star Ranking, second only to the two from Eternal Dragon Heaven.
"Su Chen from Bronze Heaven. You're here to collect a Plant Seed, right?" Tan Qingzhu restrained her expression and said lightly, "What type do you want?"
"Uh..." Su Chen paused and asked tentatively, "Which type is easy to sell?"
"As expected, another one to sell." Tan Qingzhu wasn't surprised. Most of the Plant Seeds that went out of Sangwu Heaven were to be sold.
"That one..." She pointed casually. "The top-tier Plant Seed, the Jade Body Tree. Planted individually, the fruits it bears under normal fertilization and breeding are also very valuable."
"Hmm..." Su Chen asked further, "I want to sell it to the Abyssal Domain. Can I?"
"Do as you wish," Tan Qingzhu waved her hand.
Su Chen was surprised and confirmed, "Sangwu Heaven has agreed?"
"Agreed." Tan Qingzhu glanced at him and sneered, "Plant Seeds aren't some core secret. Our Sangwu isn't as stingy as Eternal Dragon."
"However, I want to remind you of one thing. If the buyer is from the Buddha Land, remember to raise the price by 10% to 20%."
"Why?" Su Chen didn't understand. He watched as Hua Rong jumped up, picked a seedling of the Jade Body Tree, and handed it to him.
I haven't even decided yet... Su Chen took it speechlessly.
Tan Qingzhu explained casually, "The Buddha Land has the relic-grade profession seed, the Wondrous Nine-Job Tree. After being steeped by the Wondrous Nine-Job Tree, there's a chance the Plant Seed will mutate, so if someone from the Buddha Land is buying it, remember to raise the price."
"The relic-grade Wondrous Nine-Job Tree..." Su Chen couldn't help but say, "It must be very powerful."
"That goes without saying." Tan Qingzhu glared at the scarlet flower that intended to hop away before saying, "That's the foundation of a World-Honored One. Even the soil it's planted in has unimaginable effects. Even the Seven-Branch Wondrous Tree that splits from it is extremely powerful."
"The mulberry tree above our heads... should be about the same, right?" Su Chen asked.
"You..." Tan Qingzhu glared, almost thinking Su Chen was intentionally mocking her, but thinking of his background, she figured he probably really didn't know much about this aspect, so she said coldly:
"Old Sang is far from comparable. In the entire Dust Star Sea, only the Longevity Root can compare with it."
"Longevity Root?" Su Chen revealed an inquiring look.
"The foundation of the Longevity Lineage." Tan Qingzhu couldn't help but lick her lips, a green light shining in her eyes.
"Every generation of their lineage only has two or three people, but they can stably be recognized by the Spirit of the Vast Sun and consistently dominate the top spot on the Star Potential Ranking in the Abyssal Domain. The Longevity Root deserves the most credit."
"Consistently dominate?" Su Chen was surprised.
"Yeah. As long as there's a guy from Longevity Heaven, they will definitely dominate the ranking. Everyone is used to it," Tan Qingzhu's tone was casual.
"Impressive..." Su Chen couldn't help but sigh.
"Don't you..." Hearing this, Tan Qingzhu hesitated slightly, swallowed the words "bite off more than you can chew," and instead said:
"I suggest you go pick an Ascension Refining method first, and then supplement your Holy Class based on the Ascension Refining method. You're still young. By paying some price, you can barely keep up."
The Holy Class and the Ascension Refining method concerned his upper limit. This was what he needed to understand the most.
"Understood... Thank you for the reminder." Su Chen snapped back to reality. He didn't say anything more, pocketed the Jade Body Tree seedling, and took his leave.
Su Chen left the flower bud. Before he had walked two steps, he heard Tan Qingzhu's angry scolding coming from behind.
"...I provided you with good food and drink, and you ran out to steal a man behind my back? The thought of your pistils intertwined makes me sick!"
Su Chen's mouth twitched, and his pace quickened significantly.
That Hua Rong didn't come out to guide him out either. Fortunately, Su Chen remembered the way.
.........
In Bronze Heaven, a streak of light flashed and disappeared. Su Chen stepped back, his gaze unfocused, deep in thought.
'Being able to sell the rewards is good news for me.'
He had gone out this time and collected all his rewards.
'The Star Beast Cub already has a buyer, not lower than three hundred and fifty Spirit Essences. The Plant Seed from Sangwu Heaven can also be sold externally, but the armor from Xuanwu Heaven didn't get permission to be sold, so it can only be sold internally...'
'As for the Apocalypse Shell from Jade Sea Heaven and the Crimson Serum from Phoenix Return Heaven, their value isn't that great. Adding them up to one hundred Spirit Essences would be good.'
The three heavens of Xuanwu, Jade Sea, and Phoenix Return didn't have a Heavenly Lord. Over the past few thousand years, they had gradually declined.
Su Chen calculated sporadically. Adding what he had left, he estimated he could gather one thousand Spirit Essences.
'I need to take out two hundred portions to purchase the spirituality on the Morning Star Artifacts. After that, I'll buy Cinders first. If the shaping can't be completed, I can't change its attributes...'
'If I include the Harsh Gold Stone, I only have a budget of four hundred portions of Spirit Essence to buy Cinders.'
Su Chen frowned. 'I don't know how many portions of Cinders are needed to complete the shaping as soon as possible.'
Within High Heaven, they were all Cinders of high Morning Fire. The lowest would be two or three hundred. He wasn't too sure whether the amount of Morning Fire would affect the progress of shaping.
'It's best to have a control group. If I buy all of them from the Abyssal Domain, I can probably buy three Cinders. If I need to buy one from within High Heaven, I can only buy two...'
"Hmm?" Just as he was thinking, his footsteps paused, and he looked around. "Where is everyone?"
Hurrying into the palace complex, he realized that the sect members who were originally busy outside had disappeared.
After searching for a good while, he found that everyone was gathered at the Central Great Hall.
"...There's no need to be tense, nor do you need to worry. Our Bronze Sect has gone through hardships and stood tall in the Dust Star Sea for ten thousand years without falling. I believe that in this High Heaven, our legacy will likewise be unending..."
It turned out that the Ancient King had returned and was reassuring the people.
Upon arriving in this High Heaven, many people had indeed been heavily impacted.
Su Chen waited at the door for a while, only to find that although his Sect Master's words were useful, many people were just putting on a brave face.
After all, the tangible gap was right there. The Bronze Sect had a legacy of ten thousand years, which used to be the capital of their pride, but in High Heaven, no matter which "Heaven" it was, they easily had tens of thousands of years of foundation.
Yuan Shuo took in everyone's expressions, naturally knowing that many things couldn't be resolved with just a few words from him, but it had to be said nonetheless.
"Alright, everyone disperse. Su Chen, stay."
Yuan Shuo waved his hand. Chu Lingyuan led the others away, greeting Su Chen one after another.
Chu Ran glanced at Su Chen and forced a smile. "Old Su, I'm getting ready to go back and retire."
How old are you... Su Chen was speechless.
After everyone had left, Yuan Shuo waved his large hand, and the hall doors closed. Data and streaks of light intertwined, wrapping the two of them.
Before Su Chen could speak, he heard Old Yuan say solemnly, "You must clear your Tier and your Talent as soon as possible."