Chapter 148 Top-Tier Earth-Grade Qualification
Zhong Cai finished checking his reserves of medicinal pills and was satisfied.
Wu Shaogan quipped from the side, "A daily treat, Ah Cai."
Zhong Cai snorted: "Don't you, Old Wu, find it pleasing to the eye?"
Wu Shaogan immediately straightened his expression and said, "Indeed, it is pleasing to the eye."
The two exchanged a smile, and then, with perfect understanding, they went into the main hall where the altar was located.
·
The ancient city has now been upgraded once again.
However, it was only recently upgraded, and it took countless efforts to barely achieve this.
After ten years of alchemy, Zhong Cai had long since met the required standards for alchemy; Wu Shaogan had even summoned and trained a million Dao soldiers long ago.
The biggest challenge actually lies in preparing all the necessary materials for refining.
Until recently, the Dao soldiers who were fighting in a distant state sent over level eight Yin-Yang and Five Elements attribute refining materials.
This is extremely rare, because the minimum value of each piece is at least several million low-grade Xuan stones.
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan have indeed accumulated a considerable amount of Xuan Stones, but the main source of these stones is still the gifts from their two masters, totaling only a few million low-grade Xuan Stones.
Not to mention, the higher the grade and the rarer the attribute of the refining material, the harder it is to find.
During this period, the two summoned the Dao soldiers several times, gradually giving them all the wealth they had accumulated to make plans.
Even so, it wouldn't be enough to buy all those refining materials. Those Dao soldiers had been operating in other states for many years and had accumulated a lot of wealth. It's likely that they had to combine all of their earnings to barely manage to buy them.
·
After the ancient city was successfully upgraded, the whole place changed again.
Without excessive frills, it still represents a comprehensive upgrade in terms of area, outer city buildings, wall height and defensive capabilities, wall firepower, etc., reaching the level expected of an eighth-grade top-quality mystic weapon, or even exceeding it by several times.
With their defense and firepower reaching level eight, the two now only need to be wary of experts at the Tongtian Realm!
Then, there is the inner city palace complex.
There are still no fancy features; it's the same as when we upgraded before. Apart from their "little home" remaining the same, the small palace continues to expand, adding buildings with various functions, including multiple storage functions, cultivation assistance functions, and so on.
Especially in the cultivation room, the suitable realm can reach the Nirvana Realm—both of which can be controlled by the two of them.
Next, we'll upgrade the Command Platform and the Altar individually.
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The changes inside the inner city gate tower are:
The number of weapon pools has increased to ten, and the area of each pool has also doubled compared to before;
The area of the side room where the weapon racks are located has been increased, and different types of weapons have been divided into zones. The total number has also increased again, reaching at least ten times that of before.
The pool for summoning Dao soldiers has increased in size many times over, and now it can summon up to a thousand Dao soldiers at a time.
The pool specifically for synthesizing Dao soldiers has been increased, allowing for the simultaneous synthesis of multiple batches of Dao soldiers.
The number of passages connecting to the inner city wall has also increased again, more than tenfold.
All other existing side rooms will have multiple new rooms added to them, and the existing rooms will also have their area expanded...
·
Due to its unique characteristics, the altar has remained largely unchanged.
Aside from increasing the size of the altar and the main hall where the altar is located, there is no increase in the probability of drawing cards through sacrifice.
Just like the last upgrade, the only change is the addition of the option to guarantee a 10-pull.
Last time, it was a choice between one rare medicinal herb and two other resources; this time, it's a choice between one rare medicinal herb and three other resources.
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...This was actually expected.
Both Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan understood that the reason why the Command Platform had so many changes was to fully accommodate the increase in Dao soldiers, and also to reduce the tedious procedures of summoning and training Dao soldiers.
And you can get level 9 resources from the altar in ten pulls, what more benefits do you want?
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Finally, there are the changes to the portable medicine garden.
The area of the medicinal garden that takes one day to one year expands to a hundred times its original size; the area that takes one day to ten years expands to ten times its original size; the area that takes one day to one hundred years expands to twice its original size; and the area that takes one day to five hundred years remains unchanged.
The soil in all the herb gardens became more nutrient-rich, allowing the gardens to sustain themselves for longer.
In addition, the medicinal materials that take a hundred years to produce in one day and five hundred years to produce in one day can further reduce the consumption of Xuan Stones.
·
Zhong Cai had plans for these medicinal herb gardens.
He cultivates medicinal herbs of every level—yes, both common and rare herbs.
All the plants, from level one to level four, will be planted in the largest garden, which lasts for a day and a year.
Level 5 and Level 6 are medicinal gardens that take ten years to grow in a single day.
Level 7 and Level 8 herbs, whenever encountered, are planted in the Hundred-Year Herb Garden.
If I can obtain level nine medicinal herbs in the future...
Only then will it be sent to the medicinal garden where a day can last for five hundred years.
Although only rare herbs that have lived for more than 10,000 years can be classified as level nine rare herbs, it does not mean that all herbs that have lived for 10,000 years are level nine. Many more herbs, even after living for a long time, are still strictly limited to a certain level.
The age limit for those level nine medicinal herbs is usually unlimited.
It can be kept in the best medicinal garden indefinitely, constantly increasing its medicinal age and efficacy...
·
Currently, Zhong Cai has filled all the gardens with plants. If the plants do not need to be harvested immediately, they are left to grow in the garden until they are needed. If the plants will decay after a certain period of time, they must be harvested promptly.
And these tasks do not need to be completed by Zhong Cai herself.
He only needs to place some puppets near the herb garden and instruct them to work, and the problem will be completely solved.
The puppets are meticulous in their work, but absolutely obedient, and they never compromise on their duties.
Therefore, Zhong Cai's original medicinal herb storage halls were already full, and the large and small palaces that were recently expanded also had a large number of rooms set aside as storage rooms, which were used to store different medicinal herbs.
Now there are several more small halls, and the place is completely filled...
·
The ancient city now possesses an eighth-grade top-tier mystic artifact.
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan, whose companion treasures reached this level, both had their aptitudes upgraded to the top of the Earth grade.
It can be described as a leap forward.
However, compared to the previous few aptitude levels, the improvement is not difficult. The standards for the Heavenly and Immortal aptitudes will be many times more difficult.
The amount of refining materials required for upgrading is also extremely high!
Zhong Cai had previously planned to use sacrifices to obtain level 8 refining materials—after all, when he was at level 6 or 7 in the ancient city, he had obtained quite a few refining materials using the altar.
Level 8 resources can only be obtained from the Golden Flame Pool.
However, Zhong Cai tried to offer sacrifices several times, but to no avail. Even though he kept chanting in his heart and even dragged Wu Shaogan into chanting with him, it still didn't work.
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan had a vague premonition that this was perhaps the inherent difficulty of upgrading the ancient city.
Even in the future, when you want level 9 refining materials, it may be difficult to find suitable materials in the Golden Flame Pool of the Ancient City even with a ten-pull guarantee.
That's why Zhong Cai brought out all of their savings.
Currently, the two of them only have 20 million Xuanzhu left to circulate.
Of course, they are only at the Suspended Illumination Realm, so these Mystic Pearls are sufficient for their cultivation.
·
At this moment, Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan were both sitting on rather spacious and comfortable stone seats.
These are even very large stone beds.
The pool in front of them had grown to the size of a small lake, and the colorful clouds floating above formed patches of bright, flamboyant, and gorgeous clouds that were almost dazzling.
Because he couldn't find the level 8 refining materials he wanted, Zhong Cai decided to avoid the area and hadn't been here for quite some time.
Resources everywhere are already in a positive cycle, and low-level resources are almost no longer needed to be produced from the altar. Therefore, he no longer needs to come in frequently to make low-level sacrifices. Instead, he plans to accumulate the Dan Yun and draw the largest amount when he needs to!
He thought that once the ancient city was upgraded again, there would be some improvements, so he would wait until then to make the sacrifice!
then……
When Zhong Cai entered, he suddenly saw the large amount of cinnabar energy and felt a strange yet excited feeling.
There are so many!
There was no need for Zhong Cai to go into detail; the ancient city had already spontaneously provided them with the relevant information.
Even disregarding the odd amounts, the total number of these floating cinnabar auras has now reached a staggering 53 million!
In addition to the four sacrifices Zhong Cai made to extract level eight resources earlier...
Over the past decade, Zhong Cai obtained approximately 57 million units of elixir essence through alchemy.
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Zhong Cai stared blankly for a while, then suddenly said, "Old Wu, shall we sacrifice all 53 million?"
Wu Shaogan usually had no objections and replied with a smile, "Fifty-three ten-pulls in the Golden Flame Pool, A-Cai, we can guarantee fifty-three pieces of level nine resources."
Zhong Cai took a deep breath: "This is true wealth!"
Wu Shaogan nodded slightly.
·
The two of them, with their current strength at the fourth level, are able to accumulate a large amount of level nine resources.
Everything seemed to have come too easily...
But in reality, it wouldn't have been so easy if Zhong Cai's alchemy skills hadn't been so advanced.
The same level four pill yields 200 pill essence when it is of low grade, but 1,000 pill essence when it is of high grade!
Then consider the success rate of pill production, the number of pills produced each time, the time required to refine each batch of pills, and the speed at which one can become a level four alchemist...
Zhong Cai is exceptionally talented in every aspect, which is why she was able to accumulate such a vast amount of Dan Yun so quickly!
If it were someone with less outstanding talent, he might only be a level two or three alchemist, barely managing to gather one or two hundred pill essences each day, and even after ten years, he still wouldn't be able to gather a million pill essences.
I can't even manage a single 10-pull in the Golden Flame Pool.
·
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan looked toward the sacrificial pool.
At this moment, golden flames were swirling inside.
Zhong Cai calmed herself down and began the sacrifice.
"Golden Flame Pool, ten times in a row."
In an instant, a large patch of colorful clouds above parted and plunged into the huge pool.
The rolling golden flames became incredibly terrifying. The pool was ablaze with raging fire, tongues of fire leaping and suddenly surging upwards with continuous crackling sounds. Many fire snakes struggled and darted in the pool, occasionally rising high and exploding with a series of loud bangs! It was as if the entire palace was about to be scorched!
Zhong Cai's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but say, "Ten million pill essences sacrificed at the same time, and this is what happens?"
Wu Shaogan grasped Zhong Cai's hand and echoed, "Right?"
Zhong Cai exclaimed, "How intense!"
Wu Shaogan couldn't help but smile and said, "It's also very beautiful."
Zhong Cai immediately agreed: "Indeed..."
In the brief exchange between the two, the flames in the Golden Flame Pool churned even more fiercely.
Suddenly, it seemed as if ten giant golden snakes poked their heads out and "opened their mouths" to spew.
Immediately afterwards, a full one hundred dark gold seals rose into the air and hovered in front of Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan!
Zhong Cai exclaimed, "Magnificent!"
Wu Shaogan agreed: "It's spectacular."
The two looked at each other, both a little excited.
I've never actually opened a hundred Dark Gold Seals before...
I've never consumed so much Dan Yun at once before...
Horrible, horrible.
Then, they both laughed.
·
Without hesitation, the two opened all the seals together.
The resources produced by the Golden Flame Pool range from level four to level nine, with the most frequently occurring "common resource" being high-grade Xuan Stones.
The first envelope that appears each time, which is the same as the bottom resource in the pool and does not have a rotating golden halo, is the "common resource".
Of the one hundred envelopes, forty-two are trembling together, without any golden light appearing.
The next moment, smoke filled the air, enveloping the envelopes!
What was produced were thirty-five high-grade mystic stones and seven level-four resources.
·
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan looked at the level four resources.
Although it was the "lowest quality" item in the Golden Flame Pool, it was exactly the same level as their current strength.
Zhong Cai murmured, "We're both at the very bottom compared to the Golden Flame Pool..."
Wu Shao chuckled and ruffled Zhong Cai's hair.
Zhong Cai rubbed his head and then pulled Wu Shaogan aside, telling him to keep an eye on future resources.
·
A golden halo surrounds nine level-five resources;
Two golden rings, eight level-six resources;
Three golden circles, sixteen level-seven resources;
Four golden rings, fifteen level-eight resources;
A vast expanse of golden light, ten batches of guaranteed level nine resources... a phantom selection.
·
Zhong Cai stared blankly at the resources, somewhat stunned.
Although, if it were all based on his own luck... he didn't draw a single level 9 resource.
However, there are a full fifteen level-eight resources here!
Fifteen items!
Zhong Cai's mind was buzzing, and when his gaze fell on four of the refining materials, he was somewhat at a loss for words.
All four of these items possess the attributes of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements.
Although the quality is generally mediocre, I couldn't get any pulls before, but now I've gotten several all at once...
How could I not have mixed feelings?
Of course, the continued upgrade of the ancient city requires a lot of level 8 refining materials. These four items are not a drop in the bucket, but they don't even reach half of the resources. They can only be said to provide some assistance.
Wu Shaogan put his arm around Zhong Cai and patted him on the back to help him catch his breath.
Zhong Cai snapped out of her daze and said with a bit of a laugh, "No, no, I'm not that angry."
Wu Shaogan smiled slightly and patted Zhong Cai to calm her down.
Zhong Cai pounced on him and rolled around several times in the large stone seat with him.
Wu Shaogan laughed loudly and ruffled Zhong Cai's hair into a mess.
Zhong Cai was not convinced and did the same thing.
·
After the laughter subsided, the two of them put away the resources and categorized them before storing them in the Resource Hall.
Next, they began selecting level nine resources.
Perhaps because level nine is the highest level of resource, even if there are multiple choices, the most valuable option will not be given out casually. Among the phantoms that you can see, most of them are actually the lowest quality among level nine.
It's nothing, even the worst is still level nine, and the fact that they always give you the best makes people feel... subtly reassured.
Excessive wealth can be unsettling.
·
Zhong Cai summoned ten illusory figures directly in front of him.
Most of them are rare and precious medicines.
For example, among the four phantoms at the very front, three are rare herbs, and the other is a level nine ordinary refining material.
The kind that doesn't carry any Yin-Yang or Five Elements attributes.
Zhong Cai selected a Bodhi seed from among several rare medicinal herbs.
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This stuff is rare; consuming it can increase your comprehension speed.
Although it is indeed a level nine resource, it is actually intended for cultivators at the peak of the Nirvana Realm (eighth rank) – allowing them to use it to perceive certain rules of the Heavenly Realm (ninth rank), thereby increasing their chances of reaching the Heavenly Realm.
At the same time, it can refine level nine pills, such as the Bodhi Immortal Pill.
It is extremely difficult to refine, and after it is made, it is only taken by Nirvana cultivators. The medicinal effects are similar, but the time that can be perceived through it is two to several times longer than that of taking Bodhi seeds raw, depending on the quality of the pill.
Zhong Cai knew, of course, that it would take him many years before he could use this precious medicine, but both he and Lao Wu had masters!
When Master Sang's alchemy skills reach level nine, Master Jiang's realm will be close to reaching the Heavenly Realm. At that time, Master Sang will definitely be willing to refine the Bodhi Immortal Pill, and with Master Sang's alchemy skills, it will most likely be no problem.
Afterwards, Master Jiang took the elixir and attained enlightenment, naturally owing Master Sang a considerable favor. In the future, he would certainly be willing to travel to various forbidden areas to find more Immortal Bodhi seeds and return them to Master Sang to refine elixirs.
Therefore, Master Sang could also prepare multiple Bodhi Elixir pills for himself to take when he reached a certain level of cultivation.
It's a win-win situation.
·
Zhong Cai carefully put away the Immortal Bodhi, and then selected resources from the second batch of level nine resources.
This time it's two kinds of rare medicines and two other types of resources.
Other resources consist of low-quality, grade nine refining materials and grade nine mystic artifacts, while rare herbs include some that are relatively uncommon.
There's no need to hesitate; just choose the rare and precious medicine.
Then came the third batch, the fourth batch, the fifth batch...
This is an altar created by Dan Yun's sacrifice, and the quality of the guaranteed rare medicines that are willing to be selected is mostly very good. Even if they are not very good, they are usually not common or ordinary goods.
Other types of resources are far inferior.
Of the ten batches selected by Zhong Cai, eight batches consisted of rare and precious medicinal herbs.
In the other two batches, he chose a mid-grade level nine pill, the Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill—as the name suggests, this thing is a pill that can heal cultivators in the Tongtian Realm.
In the other batch, he chose a low-grade level nine Xuan weapon of decent quality, the Crimson Flame Heavenly Blade.
·
And so, the first sacrifice of ten million was completed.
Zhong Cai had packed everything up... and was quite satisfied.
Strictly speaking, his luck is neither good nor bad, but as the saying goes, with so many level 8 and 9 resources, how could he possibly complain?
Wu Shao chuckled dryly and asked, "Continue?"
Zhong Cai said decisively, "Continue!"
Without a word, the two made another sacrifice worth tens of millions!
·
Each sacrifice involved one hundred dark gold envelopes floating in mid-air.
There were five such sacrifices, each involving tens of millions of people!
During each grand sacrifice, Zhong Cai could obtain thirty to forty high-grade Xuan Stones, each of which was worth ten thousand low-grade Xuan Stones... In total, that amounted to more than one million low-grade Xuan Stones.
Although the losses incurred in upgrading the ancient city have not been fully replenished, they have still provided a significant boost.
Or perhaps because the Great Sacrifice consumed so much energy, the relatively low-level resources released from the Golden Flame Pool were actually quite limited.
Of the one hundred resources each time, the number of level four and five resources combined usually does not exceed twenty.
The resources that appear most frequently in the Golden Flame Pool are actually level six or seven resources.
It's rare to get more than ten level 8 resources; usually, you'll get six or seven out of every hundred.
Even so, it's still an incredibly terrifying number!
The types of resources at level eight are also very diverse.
It can be said that if Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan are now Nirvana Realm cultivators, then they have already gathered all kinds of resources that they can use.
They can go a long time without having to seek external things.
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The hardest to obtain is still level nine gold.
Zhong Cai even felt that the difficulty of getting gold in level nine was much higher than in the previous pools, and the chance of getting gold was extremely small, which made him doubt that he could get it at all.
You should know that Zhong Cai has now done fifty 10-pulls!
Of those withdrawals... there were only two instances.
Yes, twice.
However, perhaps precisely because of this high level of difficulty, among the four options offered for level 9 resources obtained without a guaranteed minimum payout, at least one or two will be of decent quality. The other options will also not be of relatively poor quality.
·
One of the withdrawals offered resources of level nine or higher.
Zhong Cai did not hesitate to select the defensive array plate from among them.
Although it was only a mid-grade level nine array plate, there were even high-grade level nine mystic artifacts among the other options. However, the two of them had no use for level nine mystic artifacts. Instead, they could place the level nine array plate in the ancient city to become a new defense!
If a cultivator at the Tongtian Realm were to attack them and breach the city walls... then they would still have this level nine array plate to defend against it.
The two of them will be safer.
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Another resource that yields gold is the ninth-level rare and precious materials.
This rare and precious material is a regenerable body-refining treasure.
It is called Tai Sui Bao Li. Its color is like glass, but its shape is like Tai Sui, and many of its features are similar to Tai Sui.
It has medicinal effects, but it is not considered a rare or precious medicine.
Each time you cut off a piece from the top, it will recover completely on its own after a period of time. Even if you only leave a small piece, it will gradually recover over time. If you place it in a place with abundant natural energy, the recovery speed will be even faster.
Its medicinal effects are very mild, and it can be taken by cultivators of any level—the lower the cultivator's realm, the less it is consumed.
Once a cultivator takes it, it will immediately exert its medicinal effects, allowing the cultivator to quickly begin body tempering. The medicinal power will then flow throughout the body, providing them with the energy for body tempering and comprehensively enhancing the cultivator's physical strength.
It works very well.
Therefore, Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan can also be used.
The higher the level of body refinement, the stronger their external defense will be when their strength reaches an extremely high level, and the greater their chance of surviving the tribulation.
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