Chapter 498: Azure God Rebirth Technique |
The information on it was not insignificant. It roughly described the reason why each person's probability was higher than the average, while also pointing out their flaws, which was quite intuitive.
Su Chen didn't care about his own ranking on this list. What surprised him was that the number of people on this list was significantly more than those who had obtained the Recognition of the Three Dragons that day.
"I remember that day, including the Morning Stars, there were only forty-nine people in total. But there must be sixty people here..." Su Chen scanned through it. This list did not include people without the Recognition of the Three Dragons.
"No, it's more than sixty. Nearly ten people have already been defeated and lost their qualifications. In other words, within this past month, at least twenty more guys have obtained the Recognition of the Three Dragons?"
Su Chen lightly clicked his tongue. "I estimate that some guys who could obtain the Recognition of the Three Dragons but didn't go that day have also gone one after another."
Not going that day meant they had no desire to compete. The reason they went later on was probably due to other reasons.
Su Chen's thoughts spun slightly, and he roughly guessed it. "This is forcibly making up the numbers to walk the Ordained Path as quickly as possible."
Although there were more powerful figures at the Morning Star level, even if one walked the entire Ordained Path, they might not necessarily obtain the recognition.
But there was always some possibility, and the first person to complete the Ordained Path would inevitably hold a certain advantage.
This being the case, if guys like Xu Yingshen and Tong Zhuo wanted to finish the Ordained Path as quickly as possible, they had to use some methods.
Pulling those who could obtain the Recognition of the Three Dragons but had no intention of competing over to make up the numbers was also a method.
"But it probably cost quite a price. No one would become someone else's stepping stone for no reason."
After leaving the Tower of Spirit, Su Chen never went back again, but he could also sense the anxiety of the competition from these two leaderboards.
"However, this is just right. I estimate no one will care about the Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking updates anymore."
Su Chen switched to the Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking page. The page that was originally adorned with golden streaking light on the edges had already turned slightly red, and there was a countdown number in the lower right corner—23.
"There are still 23 days before it begins. There is still plenty of time."
Su Chen wasn't surprised either. He had deliberately checked the time before, but the flow of time in the Nether Realm was somewhat chaotic, plus he had spent a month in that eerie Abyssal Void, so he wasn't entirely certain.
This Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking only updated once a year. Because he had always lacked Faith Essence, he had set his sights on this long ago.
The benefits of making the leaderboard were not small. The most crucial part was that once listed, there would be two portions of rewards.
One portion came from the leaderboard itself, jointly provided by the Five Pillars, and the other came from the faction to which one belonged.
Except for Longevity, if the disciples of a faction ranked high on the Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking, there were additional rewards.
For example, in High Heaven, making the top five for the first time would directly yield a thousand portions of Faith Essence, and could also catalyze the birth of a Morning Star Spirit for one's Heaven, plus two opportunities for Divine Dawn metamorphosis.
Getting first place was even more extraordinary—directly receiving five thousand portions of Faith Essence, capable of catalyzing two Morning Star Spirits, along with four opportunities for Divine Dawn metamorphosis.
"Just the price of the Profound Limit Celestial Light alone is a little over three thousand, and this is five thousand at once..." Su Chen rubbed his fingers together, not to mention the other miscellaneous rewards.
Catalyzing two Morning Star Spirits would probably make Chu Lingyuan so excited that he wouldn't sleep for months. Those were foundations that could be passed down.
The rewards looked quite exaggerated.
But in reality, High Heaven's professional paths were relatively upright and balanced, not as eerie and bizarre as Great Heaven's, nor as capable of relying on external tools as the Machine Domain's, nor having things like the Longevity Root. Even the Buddha Land had the Seven-Branch Wondrous Tree.
Therefore, over the years, it had always been difficult for the people of High Heaven to occupy the top ranks on this Hidden Star Ranking, which was why the rewards were so exaggerated.
And the rewards from the leaderboard itself were also numerous, such as Great Heaven's Perfect-Grade Eldritch Source Power, Buddha Land's Grand Vow Crystal, and Machine Domain's intelligent brain core, and the like.
Added together, their value would sporadically total two or three thousand Faith Essence portions. Just like High Heaven, rewards were only given the first time one reached that rank.
People like Chang Geming, who had dominated the leaderboard for several years, only received it once.
"Actually, I could also slowly climb up from the tenth rank like before. But this thing is only once a year. I can't wait ten years for these things. Besides, I'm about to advance to Morning Star, so this will probably be my last time participating."
Su Chen shook his head. To him, these things were like money dropped not far ahead; he could pick it up just by walking over, but it wasn't worth staying for too long.
Exiting the leaderboard page, Su Chen finally noticed a red dot blinking continuously on his message page.
His expression moved slightly, and he clicked it open. Impressively, it was Chu Lingyuan, who had sent him several messages.
At first, he just asked where he was, but later on, his tone became increasingly urgent, asking him to reply.
"Old Chu is quite anxious..." Su Chen replied with a single sentence, "Senior Brother, I'm back."
The other party immediately responded, "Wait there, I'm coming right now!"
In the blink of an eye, the palace's management system popped up, revealing a hasty-looking Chu Lingyuan.
As soon as Su Chen opened the hall door, before Chu Lingyuan even stepped inside, he impatiently spoke: "Junior Brother, what did you go to Five Pillar City for? Although that place was established and managed by the Five Pillars, it's ultimately a mixed bag of dragons and fish."
He spoke while walking, simultaneously sizing up Su Chen. Only after finding that his aura was stable and there were no injuries did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"I made Senior Brother worry. I only went to Five Pillar City on a sudden whim."
Su Chen said apologetically. Mainly because that 'Abyssal Void' had attracted his attention, and he stayed inside for a month, which was why he had disappeared for so long. Otherwise, he would have returned long ago.
"It's good that you're back." Chu Lingyuan nodded and didn't press the matter.
Su Chen then asked: "Is there something Senior Brother needs me for?"
Under normal circumstances, Old Chu rarely sent him messages. The first message he sent half a month ago asking for his whereabouts definitely meant something was up.
"Oh." Chu Lingyuan finally remembered. A stream of green data light appeared in his palm, and he said: "Half a month ago, Sect Master came back for a visit. He couldn't find you, so he left a wisp of information flow, saying it contains what you wanted."
Su Chen's gaze couldn't help but shoot over. Recently, the only thing he had asked the Bronze Ancient King to handle seemed to be the Azure God Rebirth Technique.
Thinking of this, his heart suddenly tightened, and he couldn't help but ask: "Senior Brother, has the Dao Sovereign returned?"
"The Dao Sovereign?" Chu Lingyuan didn't know why Su Chen suddenly asked this, shaking his head. "As far as I know, he hasn't. A few days ago, he specially sent messages to the various Heavenly Lords. It seems he has other arrangements and won't be returning temporarily."
Su Chen couldn't help but nod, letting out a sigh of relief. He couldn't quite figure out this Dao Sovereign's thoughts.
However, judging from this Dao Sovereign's reputation, even if he saw through his flaws, it shouldn't be a problem.
After all, Taixuan Hong was truly dead. Even if he gained the selection again, no one would link him with Taixuan Hong. There were no hidden dangers in this regard, and Daoist Lord Lingxiao wouldn't make things difficult for him over the big picture.
But what worried him was that the time Bronze Heaven had joined was too short, and that Dao Sovereign might not consider him one of his own.
"But the Chosen must eventually be born. To the Dao Sovereign, I should be considered a relatively good choice; it's always better than being born in the other Pillars."
Various thoughts swept through Su Chen's mind. Because he had previously learned from the confidential intelligence that rebuilding the Abyssal Void required the Six Pillars to gather.
Therefore, he didn't consider this a monumental trouble. If he could hide until he naturally obtained the selection and completely put Taixuan Hong in the past, that would be best.
If he couldn't hide, at most he would just be discovered by Daoist Lord Lingxiao, which wasn't a big problem. After all, the other Radiant Suns couldn't possibly come to High Heaven to inspect him.
"It's just that it's been a while since those few came out of the Primordial Return-to-Void Realm, and they haven't returned. Could they have gone somewhere to harvest Origin Fire?"
Su Chen pondered secretly, but heard Chu Lingyuan call out: "Junior Brother?"
"Suddenly thought of something, sorry." Su Chen snapped back to reality, reached out, and took the wisp of information flow from Chu Lingyuan's hand, then asked: "How has the Sect been recently? Is development going smoothly?"
"Naturally smooth." Mentioning this matter, Chu Lingyuan couldn't help but smile. "The congratulatory gifts sent by the various Heavens when you previously reached the top of the Lingxiao Hidden Star Ranking have only now been roughly digested. Most of them have been properly arranged."
“Over in the Dust Star Sea, Qing Cang specifically searched for a group of newly pregnant sect members, preparing to try improving talent from the womb.”
"Next, we finally have some relaxing days."
The congratulatory gifts that piled up previously—some couldn't be used in Bronze Heaven at all, while others could only be used inside Bronze Heaven, and couldn't just be randomly placed to be used.
For more than half a year, he had been busy with this matter, working his fingers to the bone. With his Morning Star physique, he could bear it, but it consumed quite a bit of mental energy.
"That's good." Su Chen looked at Old Chu, who seemed to have laid down some burdens, and asked, "How are Old Wei and Shen Yi'an doing?"
"They're still slowly improving." Chu Lingyuan couldn't help but sigh. "Advancing to Morning Star is a certainty, but I'm afraid they won't go far in the Morning Star realm. After all, they're already set in their ways."
He couldn't help but feel depressed. Wei Zhenghong was his student, and Shen Yi'an was someone the Sect had previously focused on cultivating. Now fading into obscurity, they couldn't even reach High Heaven's average line, which made him feel somewhat awkward psychologically.
"Let's not mention these." Chu Lingyuan shook his head and chuckled lightly. "These two boys are recently preparing to participate in the Abyssal Hidden Star Ranking, wanting to go see the overall situation of the Abyssal Void and see if they can regain some confidence."
"You guys who have obtained the recognition of the Spirit of the Vast Sun basically won't participate in this ranking update to avoid unexpected situations. But quite a few people are raring to go."
As Chu Lingyuan spoke, he couldn't help but feel it was a pity. "If our Bronze Heaven had someone presentable, maybe we could take the opportunity to gain a lot of benefits."
Without the matter of the Sovereign of the Purple Zenith, those guys would still compete for it. But in front of the Radiant Sun Elect, this Hidden Star Ranking meant nothing.
Not to mention those who aspired to the Radiant Sun Selection wouldn't participate; even those who were making up the numbers, or planning to use their status of having the Recognition of the Three Dragons to hold out for a better price, wouldn't participate either.
How much benefit could getting a ranking bring? The price those Azure Gods paid them to finish the Ordained Path was not low.
And because of this, the overall strength of the people participating in the leaderboard update this time was weaker than ever before. If their Bronze Heaven had a few people with passable strength, there might not be a lack of opportunities to rank among the top.
Seeing Su Chen with a thoughtful look, Chu Lingyuan hurriedly said: "I was just saying that casually. Don't go getting any ideas. Although everyone believes you guys won't participate."
"But what if one in ten thousand decides to do the opposite? There are still some risks."
Chu Lingyuan was afraid Su Chen would hear his words and suddenly decide to try and snatch a cheap victory.
This junior brother of his was able to defeat Tong Zhuo before, and nine times out of ten could achieve a top rank. But what if the top five or even the top three people had a sudden inspiration to participate? Then it would be over.
Now Su Chen had the Recognition of the Three Dragons, and Chu Lingyuan had also received news that because of his youth, Su Chen was specially favored by the Sun Spirit.
Although he wasn't an Azure God or a Morning Star, the probability of obtaining the selection wasn't high right now. But it was still a hope, and it wasn't worth taking risks for those benefits.
"Don't worry." Su Chen didn't explain too much and nodded in agreement.
Chu Lingyuan chatted with him for a few more sentences before getting up to leave.
Before leaving, he specifically exhorted him not to run around blindly anymore, his expression solemn. "...Although your probability of obtaining the selection isn't high right now, you are specially favored by the Spirit of the Vast Sun. It's hard to guarantee no one will want to eliminate the threat early."
"Understood." Su Chen agreed. After watching Chu Lingyuan leave, he then slowly clenched the data flow in his hand. Green streams of light drifted out, gradually condensing into a phantom image in front of him. Impressively, it was the Bronze Ancient King.
Su Chen knew that separated by such a long distance, Old Yuan definitely couldn't control this projection, but he still bowed and said: "Sect Master."
"Mn." The phantom image nodded without much emotional fluctuation and said: "Half a month ago, the Dao Sovereign gathered the Heavenly Lords for a meeting. I asked him for the Azure God Rebirth Technique."
The phantom image pointed a finger, and a stream of information sank into Su Chen's mind.
"The Azure God Rebirth Technique is a method for True Radiance to metamorphose into an Azure God. It requires the Four-Pole Floating Light as a foundation, introducing Cloud-Glow Wood, Sacred Dragon Water, Rainbow Stone Spirit Soil, Glazed Gold, and Heavenly Kindling into the body."
"Every introduction has the possibility of causing a certain amount of damage to the body. At the same time, the shortest interval between introducing materials must be over half a year, and the longest interval must be within two years. Otherwise, the body will suffer from reverse boiling. If it exceeds five years, even a Dao Sovereign cannot save you."
"After laying the foundation, one must collect the Profound Mother Fetal-Membrane and Heavenly Spirit Heart within a year, and supplement it with the 'Mortal Shedding Ritual'. If successful, one becomes an Azure God!"
So complicated? After Su Chen finished comprehending the information, he inwardly clicked his tongue. Even if all the materials were complete and everything went smoothly, conservatively speaking, it would take three years to metamorphose, not to mention if the materials were incomplete.
Moreover, once it started, it couldn't be stopped; one could only keep moving forward.
No wonder apart from Zhong Yue, the other True Radiances of High Heaven hadn't attempted the Azure God Metamorphosis. Su Chen pondered for a moment, and the status panel slowly opened—
[The Unsullied, who was bitterly thinking and researching Azure God Blood, learned of the Azure God Rebirth Technique and felt like they had obtained a supreme treasure. A flash of inspiration supplemented the final piece of the puzzle.
If you can find Imperishable Bone, Spirit-Nurturing Marrow, Nine-Orifice Flesh Lingzhi Heart, Mysterious Mother Soul Core, and Mystic Origin Spirit Fetus, The Unsullied might be able to assist you in metamorphosing into an Azure God.]