Chapter 43: A Huge Sum of Money and Purchasing

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: A Huge Sum of Money and Purchasing

The Sea of Spirituality, which bore the True Spirits of all creatures in the world, was somewhat like the Six Paths of Reincarnation in Chen Shang’s impression. However, these concepts were far too distant for him at the moment.

After making an agreement with Wizard Yvette, Chen Shang walked out the door of the Spiritual Power development project team with a massive fortune—a whopping five hundred thousand Wizard Coins! Fifty thousand Wizard Coins were his remuneration for this time. Additionally, there was a three hundred thousand interest-free loan to be paid off over fifteen years, and another one hundred and fifty thousand as an advance payment for his cooperation in the next experiment.

Chen Shang stared at the Crystal Plate for a long time. He had never seen so much money in his entire life.

The purchasing power of a Wizard Coin was extremely potent when it came to buying raw Materials. Take the Merfolk Race he had first encountered, for example. Their entire race couldn’t even earn tens of thousands of Wizard Coins in a year, yet that amount of money was enough to elevate the living standards of the vast majority of Mermaids. But when it came to Extraordinary Items, it was a completely different story.

Chen Shang turned on his Celestial Net Access Device, pulled up the shopping page, and casually searched for a Magic Staff. The results ranged from a few thousand to over a million. The ones priced at a few thousand featured some basic Runes, which could accelerate the casting of Witchcraft, increase its power, and enhance affinity. As for the Magic Staffs costing tens of thousands, Chen Shang couldn’t even understand the Runes carved onto them, and their various peculiar functions were a chaotic jumble. Those costing hundreds of thousands or even millions would be considered Divine Artifacts capable of safeguarding an entire nation if placed in certain Planes.

Of course, there were even better ones, but those required finding someone to custom-make them. Overall, the Materials weren’t very expensive; what held value was the labor. The added value lay entirely in the knowledge. You could easily take the trouble to personally visit certain Native Worlds to find raw Materials without spending a single cent; the local natives might even gift you some. But did you have the skill to craft them into a Magic Staff?

Chen Shang closed the page and took a deep breath. He thought, "I can’t let myself get overwhelmed by the choices. I must develop specifically around my own advantages!"

He listed out three requirements for himself.

First, a large amount of blank Rune Carriers and Alchemy Materials. His advantage was his Golden Finger. First, he would collect traits, translate those traits into Runes, and then engrave the Runes to form Mechanical Armor. The finished Mechanical Armor could even be sold to create a profitable cycle, so the more of these basic Materials he had, the better.

Second, Potions for Spiritual Power concentration. A Second Level Apprentice needed to complete Spiritual Power Crystallization, and relevant Potions could assist in this concentration and accelerate the process.

Third, new traits. In his trait library, apart from Da Wa and Ben Bo’Erba, the rest were all fragmented white traits. If he wanted to synthesize more Mythical Characters, he needed to come into contact with a large number of creatures—the more, the better, and the more diverse, the better.

Having made up his mind, Chen Shang opened the Materials page and found what he needed. Blank Rune Carriers, Alchemy Materials, various alloy wires, powders, solvents, Stabilizers... After picking and choosing for an Hourglass of time, he spent a total of two hundred thousand. Due to the cheapness of raw Materials, these items would be enough to last him for several years. Calculated based on the engraving of Ben Bo’Erba, it was enough for him to raise an army of tens of thousands.

The second item was Potions. Chen Shang directly searched for the Spiritual Power concentration category, and a massive list instantly popped up. His gaze swept across the rows of Potions, finally stopping on a small pale Blue bottle.

The Potion’s nameplate read: "Lingxi Concentration. Assists in Spiritual Power concentration and accelerates Crystal Core formation. Suitable for a First Level Apprentice breaking through to the Second Level. Two thousand Wizard Coins per bottle; ten bottles make up one cycle."

Chen Shang gritted his teeth and bought twenty bottles, enough for two cycles, deciding to test their effects first. After paying, he turned off the Celestial Net Crystal Plate and prepared to stroll around the talent market to trigger some new traits.

This concept of a talent market was entirely created by some native creatures.

After the invention of the Wizard Celestial Net, many things underwent drastic changes, especially war. Before the Celestial Net era, Wizards needed Vassal Armies to fight wars, which were essentially cannon fodder recruited from various Native Worlds. They signed Contracts, trading their lives for money, resources, and opportunities for evolution.

But after the Celestial Net era began, artificial intelligent military units emerged. These things didn’t need to eat or sleep. They relied on High Towers to replenish Energy, didn’t require wasting Spiritual Power to sign Contracts, and followed orders absolutely. They possessed a hive-mind combat network, allowing their combat experience to be iteratively updated. The costs were low, and the efficiency was high... There were far too many advantages, which led to the old-era vassal units being rendered obsolete overnight.

But the vassal soldiers were unhappy. Although the danger was greatly reduced by no longer serving under Wizards, it also meant they rarely had the chance to come into contact with Extraordinary Knowledge! Without resources to cultivate and without mentors for guidance, they would be trapped within the evolutionary limits of their native races for their entire lives, never having a chance to rise above their station. Therefore, they came up with a way to market themselves by creating a market where they could put themselves on display, waiting for Wizards to pick them. It didn’t matter if they weren’t chosen; at least it provided an opportunity.

After several consecutive teleports, Chen Shang landed on a rather large Floating Island. Rows upon rows of bizarrely shaped humanoids occupied the entire place. Those capable of standing here were Elites from various worlds. At the very least, they were doing well for themselves—lacking neither food, drink, nor money; all they lacked was a chance for evolution.

When Chen Shang walked into the plaza, many gazes fell upon him. Upon seeing his First Level Apprentice badge, many people were somewhat disappointed, but there was still a steady stream of creatures coming up to recommend themselves. Only after Chen Shang explicitly expressed his intention to decline did the crowd gradually disperse. He weaved through the throng and headed straight for the Tier One and Two Creatures District.

The success rate with High Tier Creatures was too low, so Chen Shang consciously collected suitable traits. After wandering around for quite a while, he finally spotted an appropriate target.

[Extractable trait detected: Extraordinary Vision·Fragment (Green). Source: Three-Eyed Race Scout. Extract?]

"Extract!"

This should be one of the prerequisite traits for Erya. Of course, as it developed further, it could also potentially be a prerequisite trait for a certain Three-Eyed True Monarch. Although the hope was slim, one still had to have dreams.

Not long after, another one appeared.

[Extractable trait detected: Energy Perception·Fragment (Green). Source: Spiritual Race youngling. Extract?]

Chen Shang continued to collect traits in this manner. Finally, after fulfilling a certain condition, his panel vibrated.

[Mythical Resonance conditions met!]

[Extraordinary Vision·Fragment + Energy Perception·Fragment + Spirit Shock·Fragment. Fuse into Mythical trait: Huluwa·Erya (Blue)?]

"Fuse!"

Three streams of light intersected, followed by a flash of Blue light.

[Huluwa·Erya (Blue) core ability: Celestial Vision and Earthly Hearing. Thousand-Mile Eye sees through disguises and barriers, while Wind-Eared captures sounds from extremely far away, capable of distinguishing Energy fluctuations of different frequencies. Perception extension has undergone a qualitative change!]

He thought, "Excellent! I finally have a reconnaissance unit!"

Chen Shang felt as refreshed as if he had chugged a gulp of ice water on a scorching summer day. After activating the "Erya" trait, his search efficiency immediately skyrocketed.

[Extractable trait detected: Iron Bone (Green). Source: Stone Skin Race Warrior. Extract?]

[Extractable trait detected: Qi Blood Surge (Green). Source: Giant Race Descendants. Extract?]

"Extract, extract!"