Chapter 454: Thoroughly Cleared, Transformation |
After entertaining himself for a while, Su Chen looked up at the pillar of light passing through the top of the palace. "This commotion will probably attract some people's attention."
The True Radiance talent couldn't be considered numerous in Lingxiao, but it wasn't rare either. The birth of one in Bronze Heaven wouldn't cause too much of a stir.
However, this was primarily to prove to the outside world, echoing the Profound Limit Celestial Light, which was an important process for clearing his identity.
This kind of display had to last for a period of time anyway. After waiting for a while, another notification popped up on his token—
[The Jade Body Tree you sold has reached the buyer's hands. Three hundred and six portions of Faith Essence have been remitted to your account. Please check.]
"What a coincidence." Su Chen raised an eyebrow. "In this way, I have enough Faith Essence to buy the Harsh Gold Stone."
During this period, the other rewards he obtained from advancing to Star Seed were also sold off one after another. A couple of days ago, Jiang Ce's final payment had also arrived. Counting what had just arrived, he had obtained a total of about seven hundred portions of Faith Essence.
However, he didn't touch them for the time being. After all, he was in the process of his talent's metamorphosis; how could he have the mind to buy things?
Those items sold externally had all been placed with Zhou Yunyang in advance. The members of the Office of Law who came to pick up the goods also all went to him.
Following that, he found a portion of Morning Star Embers he had marked earlier, valued at two hundred Faith Essences. It was the forging-type Cinders with the lowest value within Lingxiao.
He placed the order directly.
"As for the Harsh Gold Stone..." Su Chen thought about it and decided to wait and see.
The remaining Faith Essence he had on hand was enough to buy it, but if two portions of Morning Star Embers were still unable to finish shaping the Mystic Yellow Clay, he would probably have to buy another portion.
"The energy supply method for the Sky-Scars must be changed, otherwise even if I get on the ranking, it'll be a huge loss."
He estimated that without the help of the Sky-Scars, it would be very difficult for him to defeat those guys at the very top of the Lingxiao Morning Star Ranking.
"And changing the attribute isn't urgent. Shaping the World-Slaying Manifestation is the top priority."
Thinking of this, Su Chen looked at the second portion of Morning Star Embers he had marked. The second cheapest forging-type Cinders within Lingxiao still cost over three hundred Faith Essences.
"It's really expensive." Even though he had looked at it many times, Su Chen couldn't help but sigh. However, because of his focused study of Taoist Wood's paid articles...
He happened to learn that the primary use of Morning Star Embers wasn't to squeeze out the leftover Professional Power from them, because it was too unstable.
Assisting Morning Stars in tempering Morning Fire, and even strengthening Holy Classes to gain characteristics, was its primary use. The mainstream users were Morning Stars, so the price was naturally high.
"Buying from the outside guarantees a wait of three months. The time is a bit long, but this Faith Essence is really in short supply, so waiting isn't impossible."
Su Chen pondered for a while, then got up and walked out of the palace. Just as he stepped out, he sensed a large number of gazes gathering in unison.
Many sect members had already gathered outside the hall, all looking somewhat surprised.
"Old Su, what's going on with you?" In the crowd, Chu Ran couldn't help but ask. "Did you really undergo metamorphosis into the True Radiance talent?"
Su Chen wasn't surprised that Chu Ran knew about this. Old Yuan had definitely spread the news of him using the Profound Limit Celestial Light secretly.
"You could say that." Su Chen nodded in acknowledgment.
"True Radiance?"
"Martial Uncle Su (Your Excellency) has achieved the True Radiance talent?"
The sect members suddenly became noisy, their expressions all somewhat agitated and elated.
"Ha, we also have a True Radiance talent now." Chu Ran clenched his fists and waved them around.
"This..." Seeing everyone so excited, Su Chen was somewhat surprised, but he then understood the underlying reason.
It was still the natural competition and comparison between the various heavens. The Bronze Sect was at least one of the Five Great Sects in the Dust Star Sea, only slightly weaker than the Royal Court. Wherever they went, they held their heads high.
After joining Lingxiao, although they had mental expectations, aside from having an Ancient King to hold the fort, their overall strength was even inferior to the weakest Xuanwu Heaven. The psychological gap was naturally massive.
Now that his talent had undergone metamorphosis into True Radiance, he supposed it acted as a shot in the arm.
"Why is everyone gathered here? Disperse, disperse."
The crowd parted to make way. Chu Lingyuan walked over slowly, his brows tightly furrowed as he shouted a reprimand.
The sect members gathered nearby immediately dispersed in a hubbub, but they remained quite excited and agitated.
"Senior Brother," Su Chen called out.
Chu Lingyuan nodded and asked somewhat hesitantly, "True Radiance?"
"Mm." Su Chen nodded.
"True Radiance..." Chu Lingyuan sighed. There was no explicit record of this kind of talent in the entire Dust Star Sea.
And since Su Chen had become a True Radiance, nine times out of ten he could succeed the Ancient Bronze King's position, which was enough to guarantee the sect's legacy for thousands of years.
Thinking of this, Chu Lingyuan couldn't help but sigh, "The burden on your shoulders is heavy."
"Uh..." Su Chen was slightly taken aback. Where... was it heavy?
He shook his head and said, "Senior Brother, the heavy responsibilities of the sect are all on your shoulders. I'm just idling my time away right now. What heavy responsibilities do I have?"
"I'm not talking about right now." Chu Lingyuan was helpless. "Right now, our sect has initially integrated into Lingxiao. Benefiting from the value of the Dust Star Sea and the care of the Dao Sovereign, we obtained a portion of Profound Limit Celestial Light."
"Your potential is boundless, bringing out the best in each other. But after you succeed Master's position, you might not have suitable talents under you, and the situation at that time will probably..."
Although he was the one coordinating the affairs of the Bronze Sect right now, in reality, these affairs didn't carry much pressure; it was nothing more than following a routine. The one truly bearing the pressure was the Ancient Bronze King.
The value of the Dust Star Sea was extraordinary. Would Lingxiao allow Bronze Heaven to control it forever?
In his master's generation, they had initially integrated into Lingxiao. Even if the other heavens made small moves, they would be scrupulous of the impact and wouldn't be too blatant. But the situation Su Chen would face after taking over would probably be completely different.
"You really think far ahead..." Su Chen looked at Chu Lingyuan, whose brows had hardly ever smoothed out since arriving at the Bronze Sect, and couldn't help but say, "The old giving way to the new, the legacy continuing unbroken. Each generation has its own affairs to handle. Don't worry about it, Senior Brother."
Chu Lingyuan sighed deeply. "Although that's the case, how can I truly let it go?"
Seeing this, Su Chen didn't delve deeper into this topic. He looked around and couldn't help but say, "This Bronze Heaven has changed quite a bit."
The distance between the surrounding halls, and even their styles, had changed a lot.
"Yeah." Chu Lingyuan restrained his emotions and said, "We changed some layouts, and quite a few people came over from the sect's side."
As they walked, Chu Lingyuan introduced the changes to him. During the three months of his "secluded cultivation," the remodeling work hadn't stopped. The previous Bronze Heaven had only been simply arranged, and many places were irregular.
Now, the areas for working, inventory, and resting had been separated, making it well-ordered.
"Is that... the Bronze Core?"
Walking out of the Core Zone, Su Chen caught sight of a large building standing on the right, which was impressively the Bronze Core.
"Are we selling usage slots for the Bronze Core?" He saw a middle-aged man arriving on a rainbow bridge and entering the Bronze Core under the guidance of sect members.
"Yeah..." Chu Lingyuan nodded, a rare hint of a smile on his face. "The other heavens all have what they excel at, which can be exchanged for Spirit Essence to purchase various precious resources. After thinking it over, I realized only the Bronze Core has unique competitiveness."
"After moving it here, we set the minimum price at ten Spirit Essences based on usage time and difficulty, and it's been quite popular."
Su Chen couldn't help but nod. Old Chu's mind was sharp. Although there were many resources in Lingxiao that could weaken the difficulty of profession requirements, their value was not cheap, and they were also affected by the important factor of resistance.
The Bronze Core created a mimicry environment and accelerated the flow of time. It couldn't weaken the difficulty of professions, but only compress a certain amount of time. The corresponding price also wouldn't be high, and it wouldn't produce resistance.
A minimum of ten Spirit Essences was indeed very competitive.
At the end, Chu Lingyuan added regretfully, "It's just that the number of people it can hold is limited. We'll have to see if we can improve it after Master returns."
He already had a pretty good understanding of the Abyssal Domain. Faith Essence was hard currency. If they wanted to cultivate the next generation of sect members to be stronger and build a better foundation, this thing was indispensable.
"Master has returned to the Dust Star Sea?" Su Chen looked back.
Chu Lingyuan nodded: "Together with the Heaven Lord of Sangwu Heaven and the Heaven Lord of Grand Firmament Heaven."
"Oh..." Su Chen looked thoughtful and said, "Senior Brother, I'll go to the Yingyuan Office first to supplement the relevant materials. The process wasn't fully completed last time."
"Go ahead."
Taking leave of Chu Lingyuan, Su Chen summoned a rainbow bridge and arrived in front of the Yingyuan Office in one step. The place was just like when he last visited, with a continuous stream of people coming and going.
His appearance was no longer unfamiliar here. Several people immediately recognized him and even greeted him. Although Su Chen didn't know them, he responded to each one.
Finding the manual window with ease, he saw that the person on duty had changed this time.
"Submitting blood and spiritual samples?"
Inside the window, the somewhat lethargic staff member was stunned to hear Su Chen's request. He took the token, scanned it, and said in surprise, "A Star Seed from Bronze Heaven?"
"You didn't submit them last time?" he asked subconsciously.
"No, there was a slight accident," Su Chen shook his head.
"Hmm..." He paused and didn't ask further, merely taking out two specially-made metal grooves.
Su Chen squeezed out some fresh blood. The crimson blood, faintly gleaming with golden light, struck the groove with a crisp clinking sound. It was unknown what material this metal groove was made of, but it could even hold his Psionic Power, transforming it into a wisp of hazy mist.
"Just a moment..." The other party reached out to take it, seemingly operating something under the counter.
A moment later, he suddenly let out an exclamation of surprise, "True Radiance, 8th-Tier?!"
He looked up in astonishment and couldn't help but ask, "Weren't you Divine Dawn 7th-Tier?"
"I was lucky enough to undergo a metamorphosis and advance..." Su Chen explained.
"Profound Limit Celestial Light?" The other party seemed to recall something and asked in a low voice.
Even this staff member knew. Old Yuan wouldn't have gone and shown off to every heaven, right? Su Chen muttered to himself, nodding without changing his expression.
A look of envy appeared on the staff member's face. Reminded by Su Chen, he suddenly realized and continued his work.
A moment later, he handed the token back. "Alright, the relevant information has been updated. Additionally, since you've advanced from 7th-Tier to 8th-Tier, your potion supply will also be refreshed."
"Oh, quite user-friendly." Su Chen took the token and casually merged it into his body. He hadn't dared to do this before, but after clearing his identity, it didn't matter.
Giant holographic screens floated above the metal Pixiu windows, impressively displaying tasks issued by the various heavens or private individuals.
These tasks could also be accepted through the token, but certain materials or proofs could only be submitted here.
"[Explore a Guixu Minor Realm. Must be at least a Single Ninth-Rank, with an Intermediate Cultivation Technique...]"
"[Hunt a Flame Prison Wolf. Must be at least a Dual Eighth-Rank, possessing a top-tier Holy Class...]"
"[Explore a Guixu Mid-Realm. Must be at least a Lower-Level Morning Star, with a High-Level Cultivation Technique...]"
"[......]"
"The proportion of exploration in the Guixu is very large..." Su Chen glanced over roughly. They were mainly Minor Realms, with very few Mid-Realms, let alone Great Realms.
"Star Seed Su, interested in exploring the Guixu?" A hoarse voice suddenly sounded nearby. Su Chen swept his gaze over. It was an emaciated middle-aged man.
"And you are?" Su Chen narrowed his eyes.
"Jade Firmament Heaven—Feng Cheng, Dual Ninth-Rank." The other party introduced himself, a fleeting look of arrogance crossing his face. "I have six experiences exploring Guixu Minor Realms."
"Brother Feng," Su Chen greeted.
Seeing that Su Chen didn't show much respect, Feng Cheng felt somewhat displeased and said indifferently, "If you want to explore the Guixu, it's best to find someone experienced to accompany you, otherwise it's easy to die inside."
"Thanks for the reminder." Su Chen shook his head. "I don't have any thoughts of exploring the Guixu for the time being."
Although he felt displeased, Feng Cheng still suppressed his emotions and said, "If you want to explore the Guixu, you can seek my help."
"Alright." Su Chen was puzzled but still agreed before taking his leave.
"Not here to submit tasks, what did he come to the Yingyuan Office for." Feng Cheng watched Su Chen's back as he arrived at the manual window.
"Elder Feng..." The staff member hurriedly stood up. "What brings you here? Is there a problem with the receiving Pixiu?"
"What did that Su Chen come here for?" Feng Cheng asked carelessly.
"He missed some procedures during his last registration and came to complete them this time," the staff member explained in a low voice.
"That's it?" Feng Cheng frowned slightly. Seeing the staff member looking like he wanted to say something but was holding back, he snorted coldly in his heart and tossed out a piece of shattered, glowing blue crystal.
The staff member's face lit up with joy. He hurriedly put it away and said in a low voice, "There is one more thing. This person is already a True Radiance talent and has advanced to the 8th-Tier."
"True Radiance? 8th-Tier?" Feng Cheng looked slightly surprised. "Profound Limit Celestial Light?"
"That's right." The staff member nodded, sighing with emotion, "Even unearthing a Guixu Great Realm might not be enough to exchange for a portion of Profound Limit Celestial Light and its supporting materials."
"This Bronze Heaven is truly favored by the heavens."
Bronze Heaven obtaining a portion of Profound Limit Celestial Light was no longer a secret within Lingxiao.
"To actually use it directly on this Su Chen..." Feng Cheng couldn't help but say, "To advance to the 8th-Tier after only being here for a few months means he almost maxed out his 7th-Tier development progress before."
Recalling this, Feng Cheng became even more amazed: "He's only twenty-six, right? This speed is too fast."
"Who says it isn't?" The staff member echoed.
"Heh..." Feng Cheng then shook his head. "Since that's the case, he should have properly prepared his Holy Classes and sought a compatible Cultivation Technique at the 7th-Tier. Advancing rashly to the 8th-Tier is truly unwise."
The staff member didn't dare to respond, and Feng Cheng had already left the window.
......
Deep within Eternal Dragon Heaven, in a certain hall. This place had transformed into a crimson magma purgatory, the high temperature scorching the air until it distorted.
In the center of the poisonous flames, Zhong Yue sat cross-legged in the void. His skin and flesh undulated continuously, and golden threads could faintly be seen traveling across his entire body.
A fire phoenix stood on his shoulder, its wings covered in streaking light. It held its head high, and beside him lay a crimson giant elephant.
Until a certain moment, he abruptly opened his eyes, and two streams of fire poured out from his nostrils.
"...No one could have thought that Glazed Gold would be born in a Guixu Minor Realm... Counting this thing, the Azure Deity Metamorphosis is already less than halfway done."
Zhong Yue stretched his body and stroked the giant elephant's trunk beside him, experiencing the changes in his body. "The Azure Deity Metamorphosis is not accomplished in one step. Every time a resource is integrated, it can bring a certain degree of enhancement. My True Radiance abilities have strengthened quite a bit."
"Since that's the case..." He stood up to his full height. A holographic projection reflected from his body, which was impressively the Lingxiao Morning Star Ranking.
His gaze lingered on Tong Zhuo's name. He said in a deep voice, "Having harmonized with the Cultivation Technique, I'm no match."
"Du Yunfei..." His gaze fell on the second place, his eyes cold and severe. "The seventh Holy Class has not yet been forged. Before undergoing metamorphosis into an Azure Deity, I'll take you down first. After the metamorphosis, I'll challenge Tong Zhuo!"