Chapter 452: Grand Vow Crystal, Sovereign of the Abyss |
"So it's a specialty of Great Heaven. Five hundred portions of Faith Essence..." Su Chen's gaze swept over it, and he couldn't help but click his tongue. This price was not ordinarily expensive.
He couldn't help but reminisce about the Flare Realm. He had successively obtained three portions of Perfect-Grade Eldritch Source Power from there, as well as the Great Heaven Pill. The combined value would be close to two thousand portions of Faith Essence.
"The Tower of Spirit is truly a good place." Su Chen couldn't help but sigh. It was a pity that he couldn't go there right now.
"However, although I can't afford this thing right now, it shouldn't be a problem for the Upper Three Heavens." He thought of Tong Zhuo, the first on Lingxiao's Stealth Rankings.
"If there's an unlimited supply of this thing, even if he has to prepare seven top-tier Holy Classes, it's impossible for him to be delayed until he's over a hundred and fifty years old."
Su Chen estimated that there must be something he didn't know about this, so he turned to search the public database.
He quickly found a paid article—"Methods of Using High-Level Resources for Weakening Profession Requirements."
With his previous experience, he was already too lazy to flip through those free articles.
"...Although high-level resources of the type that weaken profession requirements can help us save a lot of time and energy, because using them multiple times will produce antibodies, how to maximize their effects is a question very much worth studying..."
"Using this kind of thing multiple times will produce resistance?" Su Chen's brow furrowed tightly. However, this article talked about meticulous usage. For example, materials targeting attribute-based professions could be used as early as possible.
Or, for example, after using wood-attribute materials, using fire-attribute ones could minimize the resistance produced by the wood-attribute ones as much as possible.
But it didn't explain much about the resistance produced. He glanced at the signature, and it was "Taoist Wood" again.
"This guy is actually so versatile." Su Chen muttered a sentence and simply clicked on this guy's homepage.
The holographic projection changed color to a black-and-white tone. On the page was a gaudy, emaciated old man with deeply sunken eye sockets.
"Taoist Wood, former Heaven Lord of Sangwu Heaven, perished in... Dead?"
Su Chen was stunned. No wonder this guy dabbled in so many areas; it turned out he was a Radiant Moon, but...
"I was originally thinking that if I had to create my own Ascension Refining method, I could go to him for reference..."
Su Chen was helpless, realizing he had fallen into a mental trap. Lingxiao had existed for too long; it was impossible for these articles to have appeared only recently.
It was quite normal for the author to have perished long ago.
There were records of his life deeds and the articles he had authored above, densely packed. The number of views for each one was astonishing. Just these earnings alone could probably bring Sangwu Heaven a massive sum of Faith Essence.
He searched the page for the keyword "resistance".
Very quickly, he found what he wanted—"Analysis of the Causes and Rules of Resistance Produced by High-Level Resources for Weakening Professions"
"...The universe is vast, and the Nether Realm is boundless. The bizarre nature of creation is unimaginable. Some special materials born of the universe can affect one's own Path-based Pseudo-Spirituality, thereby weakening the difficulty of profession requirements, or even allowing one to directly acquire the profession..."
"...But karmic balance has its own divine will. If these kinds of things are used excessively, 'resistance' will be produced within the body, thereby gradually weakening the effect these materials can exert..."
"...Take a disciple under my command, codenamed Wood One, as an example. The related supply of materials was fully adequate, but after acquiring his second top-tier Holy Class, the impact the same materials could achieve was only about 20% of what it was previously. For different materials, the efficacy was also only 50%."
"...After acquiring four top-tier Holy Classes, the vast majority of materials could no longer affect him. Only a few extremely rare materials, like Perfect-Grade Eldritch Source Power or the Grand Vow Crystal, could be useful..."
"...However, from my observation, the materials used also influence each other. Perhaps the rules of their usage can be further explored to maximize their effectiveness..."
"So that's how it is..." Su Chen understood after reading it. This Taoist Wood explained profound things in simple terms.
To put it plainly, it meant eating too much of the same thing.
"However, when I use those materials, they are directly devoured by the spirituality through the Status Panel. I myself am not affected, so naturally, there's no resistance to speak of..." Su Chen pondered, but then shook his head. "That's not right either."
He remembered the characteristics of Professional Spirituality. Many things could only be used once and couldn't be used a second time. The only thing that could get rid of this influence was the Holy Sovereign's Defiled World Flame.
This should also be resistance, but because every kind of Professional Spirituality existed independently, even if resistance was produced, they wouldn't affect each other.
For a great treasure like Perfect-Grade Eldritch Source Power, the effect would begin to drop severely after a normal person used three portions, and after five portions, the effect would be nearly non-existent.
But he could use it once for every single Holy Class, and the effect wouldn't be weakened.
"Grand Vow Crystal..." He thought of the item Taoist Wood specifically mentioned that could be ranked alongside Perfect-Grade Eldritch Source Power, and immediately searched for it.
[Grand Vow Crystal—Buddha Land Specialty: Quoted at three hundred Faith Essence. Specially prepared by the Buddha Land. After use, one can directly acquire certain professions, but the profession requirements must be fulfilled after acquisition, or repaid using Faith Essence.]
"Taking up a profession with a loan?" Su Chen raised an eyebrow. Three hundred Faith Essence looked cheaper than Perfect-Grade Eldritch Source Power, but who knew how much Faith Essence would need to be supplemented later.
"But it's also a good thing..." Su Chen marked it. Putting aside other things, he hadn't fully supplemented the Holy Classes required for the Seven Treasures Refinement method yet; the demand for this thing in the future wouldn't be small.
"But this kind of thing can't be used continuously by stacking. For someone like Tong Zhuo, once the number of Holy Classes increases, they still have to honestly bide their time."
"Hmm, the Status Panel is still the fiercest..." Su Chen was in a good mood. He glanced at the Perfect-Grade Eldritch Source Power again. The Faith Essence he currently had on hand didn't have the budget for this thing.
"I can only prepare it after my talent and tier are cleared. The shortfall is a bit large..." Su Chen clicked his tongue.
Then he heard the sound of knocking from the mimicry, and Zhou Yunyang's voice came over. "Martial Uncle Su, someone is looking for you, claiming to be Jiang Ce."
"He moves really quickly." Su Chen stood up and said, "Coming..."
.........
The Buddha Land. This place was brilliantly glorious. Hundreds of millions of golden threads cascaded down from the firmament, weaving into a canopy that draped over the giant mountain in the center. The mountain body was neither stone nor earth, but formed from countless overlapping layers of light jade tempered by scriptures.
Countless Buddhist temples hovered around the giant mountain, some large and some small, hidden amidst faint golden clouds and mist, or reflecting the manifestation of a thousand hands and a thousand eyes, or Buddhas riding white rhinoceroses.
In one of the temples that could be considered extremely large, the light around the Immeasurable Buddha gradually faded, but his expression wasn't looking good. He had almost stumbled in that Dust Star Sea.
And Kong Ming had even been defeated. His interactions with the representatives of the other Pillars couldn't be considered pleasant.
"Damn it!" The Immeasurable Buddha couldn't suppress the gloom in his heart after all and gnashed his teeth.
He truly hadn't expected that so-called Galaxy Throne to be so powerful. And that Zhenwu Ancient King was really short-sighted; to actually dare to join Great Heaven, he probably wouldn't even know how he died.
"Master?" Kong Ming's voice came from outside the hall doors. The Immeasurable Buddha took a deep breath, and his expression gradually calmed down. "Come in."
Kong Ming pushed the door open and entered, but his face was somewhat ashen. "Master, we didn't find him."
"Didn't find him?" The Immeasurable Buddha's eyes went cold. "Did you use the Grand Vow Ceremony?"
Kong Ming said bitterly, "We used it, and it was hosted personally by Senior Uncle Wu Zhi, but we still didn't find him."
"How is that possible?" The Immeasurable Buddha found it unimaginable. "Hosted by Wu Zhi, the Grand Vow Ceremony, and the Seven-Branch Wondrous Tree is an item of my Buddha Land. How could we not find its whereabouts?"
"Could it be that a Hao Ri used methods to conceal it? But..."
He really couldn't figure it out. If a Hao Ri had taken action in the Flare Realm that day, why didn't they just take the Sovereign of the Purple Zenith away directly, and then kill them to silence them?
Kong Ming's expression was miserable, and he lowered his head and eyebrows. According to the World-Honored One's personality, since they had lost the Seven-Branch Wondrous Tree, he definitely wouldn't break off another branch for him to nurture.
Although he was terrified when he previously lost it, he had confidence in the Buddha Land, believing that they could find its whereabouts no matter what. But now, it was truly despairing.
He had already lost the qualification to contend for the Sovereign of the Purple Zenith. Losing the Seven-Branch Wondrous Tree, although it didn't mean losing the qualification to contend for the position of World-Honored One, it was pretty close.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but complain about his own master. If his master hadn't harbored his own little thoughts that day, they wouldn't have ended up in this state.
If he had reported it the very first moment he discovered the Sovereign of the Purple Zenith, not only would he not have lost the Seven-Branch Wondrous Tree, but he would also have been rewarded by the World-Honored One.
"Resenting me?" A voice suddenly reached his ears. Kong Ming abruptly raised his head, only to see his master's gaze deep and gloomy.
"I wouldn't dare..." Kong Ming hurriedly said.
"Wouldn't dare, not that you wouldn't..." The Immeasurable Buddha restrained his expression. Seeing Kong Ming wanting to explain with a terrified expression, he raised his hand to stop him and said indifferently, "We haven't reached the end of the road yet. Do you know why the World-Honored One wants that Taixuan Hong?"
Kong Ming hurriedly acted as if he was listening attentively. "Please enlighten me, Master."
"Some time ago, several Pillar Lords had a great harvest when exploring the Primordial Return-to-Void Realm, and they intend to rebuild the Abyss. The World-Honored One has ordered that the Sovereign must come from my Buddha Land."
"Rebuild... the Abyss?" Kong Ming's face was full of astonishment. "Sovereign... What does this have to do with Taixuan Hong? It's impossible to let him be the Sovereign, right?"
"Naturally impossible," the Immeasurable Buddha chuckled. "But with the Great Grand Vow ritual method, we can substitute the plum for the peach..."
Speaking up to this point, his expression gradually turned sharp again. "If we find Taixuan Hong, we'll have an explanation for the World-Honored One, and it wouldn't be impossible to bestow the Seven-Branch Wondrous Tree again..."
His previous sins could also be absolved.
Right now, the World-Honored One had gone to that Primordial Return-to-Void Realm again and didn't have time to deal with him, but after he returned, he would definitely settle the score again.
Kong Ming's heart wavered. Thinking again of the person who had defeated him back then, he couldn't help but ask, "Do you have a way to find this person?"
The Immeasurable Buddha shook his head, his gaze cold and gloomy. "Just because I don't, doesn't mean others... don't."
...
[Your purchase request has been accepted. A total of three damaged Morning Star Artifacts. Only the spirituality will be extracted, and the materials will be returned. The Office of Law has already processed it and is heading to the seller's location. If there are no accidents, it will be delivered tomorrow.]
"Delivered tomorrow?" Su Chen muttered a sentence. The transaction with Jiang Ce naturally went without a hitch; money with one hand, goods with the other. The other party took the Dragon-Transforming Celestial Serpent and left happily.
After getting the Spirit Essence, following some careful calculation, he directly purchased three damaged Morning Star Artifacts. Because the materials could be returned, the total cost added up to less than one hundred and eighty Spirit Essences.
"In this way, I still have about one hundred and forty Spirit Essences left on hand, which is enough to buy a Morning Star Embers from the Abyssal Domain."
Su Chen glanced at the delivery page. It was actually quite user-friendly, with three nodes labeled: Office of Law, Seller, and Buyer.
Currently, there was a little person heading from the Office of Law to the Seller's location.
But this user-friendliness wasn't without a price. Internal transactions also had a commission, but the fee was only 1%.
Immediately after, he also purchased the Morning Star Embers he had marked previously, which came from outside the Abyssal Domain. Adding the 10% transportation fee, the total cost was one hundred and thirty-eight portions of Faith Essence.
[Because the item in your purchase request is on direct auction, the seller has automatically accepted it. A total of one Morning Star Embers. The seller has been notified to proceed to the nearest 'Cosmic Void Node' to submit the materials as soon as possible.
Before you confirm receipt of the goods, the fees you spent will be kept by the 'Cosmic Void System' jointly managed by the Five Pillars. Please rest assured.]
"Tsk..." Su Chen looked at the popping-up instructions, always feeling an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
"Three months' time. Calculating carefully, it should be just in time for when my 'Metamorphosis' finishes."
Just as he was about to put away the token, another message bar popped up—
[Someone wants to purchase the Jade Body Tree seedling you put up for sale. The buyer is from the Five Pillars. Due to their own request, they are in an anonymous state. Do you accept the purchase request?]
"Hmm?" Su Chen raised an eyebrow. Selling things on this "Cosmic Void" didn't mean they had to be sold after the other party made an offer. You could set a direct auction, which would automatically confirm after someone made an offer.
You could also set an inquiry, which required the seller's agreement before it would be sold.
"From the Five Pillars, but anonymous..." Su Chen thought of what Tan Qingzhu had said. Following the buyer's link on the popped-up window, he clicked into the message bar and sent a line of text over—[Is Master an idiot?]
A moment later, the other party responded—[You bastard from Sangwu Heaven, to actually dare to be so disrespectful to the ! Do you dare state your name!]
"It really is the Buddha Land..." Su Chen couldn't help but be amused. What he actually wanted to send was "World-Honored One," but on this Cosmic Void, the heads of the Five Pillars were all blocked words; even if he sent it out, it wouldn't be displayed.
In certain contexts, the word "Master" was a substitute for "World-Honored One". This was what Tan Qingzhu had told him. It worked every time when testing if the other party was someone from the Buddha Land.
And because he used "Master," if they really got into a tangle, he also had something to say.
What was interesting was that he was also in an anonymous state, yet the other party could tell in one breath that he was someone from Sangwu Heaven. Evidently, there was an inside story.
"It's a misunderstanding. I was talking about my master, not your . If it made you feel offended, I apologize here," Su Chen gave his response. "You want to purchase the Jade Body Tree, right? Three hundred and sixty portions of Faith Essence."
"You treacherous scoundrel!" The other party was obviously extremely furious!
Su Chen didn't mind either, following the experience Tan Qingzhu had taught him. "How about this, I'll give you a discount of twenty. A fixed price of three hundred and forty portions of Faith Essence, how about it?"
Testing if the other party was from the Buddha Land first using "World-Honored One," raising the price, and then offering a discount; it would basically seal the deal.
More than half of the Plant Seeds sold externally by Sangwu Heaven were sold to the Buddha Land, and they had already exchanged experiences on this.
Sure enough, after a long time, the other party seemed to have gone through conflict and struggle, and sent over one word, "Deal!"
Su Chen could even imagine a bald man gnashing his teeth on the other side. Chuckling a couple of times, he swiftly changed the price.
[The Jade Body Tree seedling you put up for sale has been sold. The Office of Law is currently on their way to pick up the goods. Because it is ultra-long distance transportation, an extra 10% transportation fee will be deducted. You can obtain three hundred and six portions of Faith Essence. After the goods are delivered, you can extract them.]
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