Chapter 1531 - 54: Turns Out I Was Using It Wrong

Chapter 1531: Chapter 54: Turns Out I Was Using It Wrong

An hour later, after spending several thousand Paradise coins, the exclusive room was restored to its original state. The Bu Bu, Bennie, and A Mu trio had already left; they were in the trading market selling equipment.

While Bubu Wang was selling gear, Su Xiao needed to make purchases—specifically, items with Attributes similar to "Consciousness Conduction Resin."

According to the message Bennie sent, she and Bubu Wang hadn’t found anything similar to "Consciousness Conduction Resin" in the trading market, so Su Xiao could only turn to the Black Merchants and the God Emperor Adventure Group.

Frustratingly, neither the Black Merchants nor God Emperor had the stuff. Not because it’s rare, but because there’s basically no market for it. Maybe one out of ten thousand Contractors would ever need this. Over time, Contractors who obtained similar items would process them in a unified way—sell them to their exclusive rooms. The price was a bit low, but that was still far better than hoarding the items across several, or even a dozen, Derivative Worlds without being able to sell.

After realizing this, Su Xiao was getting a headache. But when he contacted those idiot merchants from Red Maple with a "might as well try" mentality, those guys turned out to be stockpiling material with similar properties to "Consciousness Conduction Resin." Judging from their tone, it sounded like they had as much as he could possibly want.

When Su Xiao proposed buying 2000 grams, split into two separate purchases, the Red Maple people agreed in one breath—but their asking price was a bit steep, 4000 Paradise coins per gram.

Su Xiao still needed 940 grams of "Consciousness Conduction Resin," which meant he’d have to pay 3.76 million Paradise coins.

Even if Bubu Wang and Bennie sold off everything they’d gotten from Treasure chests, they might not manage to raise 2 million Paradise coins, let alone 3.76 million.

The Red Maple people’s attitude was firm: if he didn’t buy, forget it. They’d just keep hoarding. They had already stockpiled across more than 20 Derivative Worlds; adding a few more world cycles, they didn’t care.

Su Xiao had asked every channel he could find. Among all the commerce associations, only Red Maple could take out 940 grams of "Consciousness Conduction Crystal." They were like Scorpion shit—deadly and one of a kind.

But before he bought "Consciousness Conduction Crystal" from Red Maple, Su Xiao had to clear up the doubt in his mind: why did he feel a familiar sense from this "Consciousness Conduction Crystal"?

Su Xiao started rummaging through his Storage Space. He took out everything and checked item by item. Two hours later, an irregular fist-sized Crystal appeared in his hand, smoke swirling inside it.

[???]

Origin: Xiya Continent

Quality: ??? (Pending appraisal)

Type: ??? (Pending appraisal)

Effect: ??? (Pending appraisal)

Rating: ???

Introduction: ???

Price: To be determined

...

The Crystal in Su Xiao’s hand was something he’d obtained after killing the Old King in the World of Xiya. For a long time, he had no idea what the hell this thing was. Even the appraisal fee was absurd: 600,000 Paradise coins + three Ice attribute Gold suits. But Su Xiao was sure [???] wasn’t Ice attribute.

Now Su Xiao finally knew what [???] was—a chunk of "Consciousness Conduction Crystal," with some kind of consciousness sealed inside.

After learning the rough traits of [???], Su Xiao set it on the wooden table. At the same time he drew Dragon Slash, he directly smashed down with the knife’s hilt.

With a crisp crack, [???] shattered, the Ice attribute consciousness sealed inside exposed to the air and rapidly dispersing. When Su Xiao checked [???]’s Attributes again, this time he could see them without any appraisal.

"Consciousness Conduction Crystal"

Quality: Legendary Level

Type: Material (670 grams)

Effect 1: Can conduct, seal, and block Consciousness Energy.

Rating: 530+

Introduction: An extremely Rare material.

Price: 1,752,800 Paradise coins

...

Su Xiao finally understood why the price of [???] had been "to be determined." If he didn’t smash it, it counted as a living-type material, and wasn’t worth all that much. But once shattered, it became "Consciousness Conduction Crystal," worth an absolute fortune.

Su Xiao had also been wondering why, when he got "Consciousness Conduction Resin" from Marvin Hwaltz, it felt familiar—as if he’d obtained it before. That was indeed the case; he just hadn’t known what it was when he first got it.

Now Su Xiao still needed 270 grams of "Consciousness Conduction Crystal." At Red Maple Commerce Association’s asking price, that meant 1.08 million Paradise coins.

Su Xiao checked his current Paradise coins. After Bubu Wang and Bennie’s round of selling, he now had 846,500 Paradise coins.

Once the time and place were agreed upon, Su Xiao went to meet the people from Red Maple Commerce Association on the east side of the trading market.

"Hello, Guests, I’m from Red Maple Commerce Association..."

Though Red Maple Commerce Association never cuts prices, their service attitude is mysteriously enthusiastic—so enthusiastic Su Xiao felt a bit uncomfortable.

"We’ve brought all the agreed 2000 grams of ’Consciousness Conduction Crystal.’ I wonder if you’re planning to..."

The merchant meeting Su Xiao looked to be about forty, with a Little Moustache and a face that lit up red when he smiled.

"First, 270 grams. Still smashing pots and selling iron over here."

Su Xiao had originally wanted to quote a larger quantity to try and press the price down, but it was clear now that the Red Maple people simply did not bargain.

"Only 270 grams?"

The Little Moustache seemed a bit disappointed.

"Or... we can throw in some freebies? You buy a bit more?"

The Little Moustache was obviously unwilling to let it go.

"Don’t need that for now."

"All right then..."

The Little Moustache sighed. Red Maple’s trading style looked idiotic, but this was their way of survival: rarely make a deal, but once they do, they eat for three years. No matter how strange or bizarre the item, these guys had stock. They specialized in risk investment.

Very soon, Su Xiao’s Paradise coins exceeded 1.08 million, and the 270 grams of "Consciousness Conduction Crystal" were in hand. The materials needed to drive the Blade Demon Sealing Device were finally all gathered.

According to Bennie’s estimate, the remaining items could sell for about 700,000 Paradise coins. Out of these 700,000, Su Xiao planned to use 500,000 to enhance his Abilities, and leave the remaining 200,000 to be split between Bubu Wang, Bennie, and A Mu. Whether they invested with that finance-cat Bennie or used it for something else was entirely up to them.

The remaining Paradise coins would take some time to arrive. Su Xiao headed straight for the Arena; it had been a while since he’d fought in ranked matches.

Ten minutes later, inside the Arena lounge.

[Arena Competitor: Su Xiao.]

[Status: Good.]

[Ranking: 9570 (Fourth Tier).]

[Win streak: 0.]

[Top five rewards: Not obtained.]

...

Last time he fought in the Arena, Su Xiao lost one match. Back then, every opponent inside the top ten thousand of the Fourth-tier Arena was nasty as hell.

But today, Su Xiao’s strength was very different from before. He chose to match an opponent.

[Matching opponent...]

[Match complete. Opponent rank: 9438.]

The familiar Teleportation sensation hit. When his vision cleared, Su Xiao was already standing on a circular battle stage. With both sides now in place, the atmosphere in the stands began to heat up.

Su Xiao’s opponent was a long-legged Whip Lady wielding a leather whip. Before the duel even started, she threw him a seductive wink.

"Beat me, and I’ll let you have a go."

The Whip Lady giggled, eyes full of charm.

Soon, a countdown appeared above the Arena.

[Arena match, start!]

As the fight began, Su Xiao didn’t charge at his enemy. After drawing Dragon Slash, he suddenly slashed his own chest.

Blood sprayed. Su Xiao checked his remaining Life Value; this was the first time he truly felt how Sharp Dragon Slash was. With his level of Constitution, one stroke had cut away 29% of his Life Value—and that was with the Blue Steel Shadow Damage excluded.

Su Xiao’s puzzling move made the Whip Lady hold back from rushing in. Just then, Su Xiao drew his blade across his own chest two more times.

"This is bad."

The Whip Lady’s body tightened, instinctively treating Su Xiao as some self-harming lunatic. Fighting an enemy like that was obviously far from pleasant. Winning would be fine, but if she lost, the process would definitely become a lifelong trauma.

Once his Life Value dropped below 35%, Su Xiao lowered his body.

Bang! A shockwave blasted out as Su Xiao vanished from his position, his Speed shooting beyond the limit. When he reappeared, he was already behind the Whip Lady, a thin blood line floating in the air—he’d activated the Shadow Flash Ability.

Crack, light particles burst apart, and the Whip Lady was Teleported back to the lounge. The entire fight had lasted 2.8 seconds.