Chapter 291 The Couple Sets Up a Stall 4
It took about an hour in total, and there were quite a few transactions.
Zhong Cai glanced furtively at the stack of notes displayed on the table in his and Lao Wu's residence in the ancient city, feeling somewhat strange.
Old Wu, we've taken a lot of favors today, haven't we?
Wu Shaogan had a smile on his face.
[Congratulations, A-Cai, you've become a major creditor.]
Zhong Cai remained expressionless, but complained in her mind.
[These aren't even considered major creditors; there are only about ten of them.]
Wu Shaogan raised an eyebrow slightly.
[Aren't ten or so a lot? Those who went to watch wouldn't have noticed this side, and of those who didn't go to watch, only the first two didn't come.]
·
There were more than sixty Battle Kings on the Sky Ranking who came to the banquet this time, and dozens more who had been on the list before, were comparable to the bottom of the list, and were invited. The total number of people was more than one hundred.
Five level-five Dan Kings, including Zhong Cai, came.
After the banquet ended, several top-ranked fighters, who were ranked around tenth, "set an example" and went to fight in the Stone Forest.
Most of the Dou Wangs went to watch the battle, leaving only about a dozen Dou Wangs and a few Dan Wangs behind.
Such battles between Dou Wang cultivators are not to be missed by those who are not Dou Wang, and naturally they all flock to the scene.
However……
The number of Battle Kings who traded with Zhong Cai reached a total of fifteen – including Yao Pipa, who was summoned by Zhao Yuan.
If you do the math, all the Fighting Kings who didn't go to watch the battle up close, except for Chao Hanxiao and Weng Yuxian, all of them made a deal with Zhong Cai!
Almost all the fighting kings who had made transactions left behind IOUs.
The IOUs all listed the names of level eight resources—this is not surprising, after all, level five battle kings have substantial wealth, and they wouldn't be at the point of being unable to produce any level seven resources to trade with. The only resources that could put them in debt and that they would rarely be able to produce of equal value are naturally level eight.
·
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan exchanged several words back and forth simply by looking at each other.
However, because the two of them had a lot of casual exchanges, the other Dou Wangs were already used to it and didn't pay much attention to it.
Among the Battle Kings who had nothing left to exchange, a few, perhaps feeling a little embarrassed after signing IOUs, quietly took their leave and went to watch the battle from the Stone Forest; most Battle Kings remained seated on nearby stone seats, not exchanging anything themselves, but wanting to see what the other Battle Kings on the same list had exchanged.
Hosts like Cui Yushou naturally stayed by his side. Because he arrived early, he took in all the resources traded by the guests. At the same time, he silently estimated how much progress these people on the same list would make in the future, and how he could cultivate to maintain his position or even advance further... If he could break into the top five, he would receive a lot of rewards from the dynasty.
·
Since there were still quite a few people left, Zhong Cai offered another resource—he wouldn't mind if they wanted to write two IOUs!
and……
Zhong Cai blinked.
Although he didn't say it outright, he actually really wanted the top two spenders to give him IOUs as well.
However, those two have been dominating the rankings for a long time, and they are both only forty-seven years old. They are highly valued in their respective forces, and they must have had countless experiences and adventures. They must also have a lot of resources at their disposal. It is impossible to calculate how rich they are.
If you want to attract them... you have to use something very rare that they especially need.
Getting them to sign IOUs... frankly, that's going to be a tough challenge.
Consider the other ranked Battle Kings; a few of them can carry level eight resources. If they were facing the top two on the leaderboard... how expensive would those treasures be to prevent them from having the corresponding resources to exchange for them?
·
Zhong Cai's mind raced, her thoughts rapidly searching through the numerous resources.
Although he had already traded away more than twenty level-eight resources, he still had a lot of level-eight resources on hand.
Previously, I had already obtained seventy or eighty items from the Golden Flame Pool in ten consecutive runs. Although most of the level eight resources given by the Pill God Wood were related to alchemy, there were also dozens of other types of resources.
That's over a hundred.
In addition, there were those obtained piecemeal from other channels.
Although Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan had auctioned, traded, and gifted some of their items, they had only actually sold a small portion of them.
Inside the Level 8 Resource Hall, all kinds of resources are displayed in abundance, each radiating a strange brilliance.
In short, it is a truly magnificent treasure trove.
Furthermore, in the Golden Flame Pool's ten-pull event, only the guaranteed level 9 resources are considered "the best of the worst," while the level 8 resources obtained through normal draws are mostly of very good quality.
In particular, similar resources often appear in consecutive ten-pull runs.
For example, the dragon soul resources given to Cui Yushou were only one or two items each time in several consecutive ten-pulls.
This was considered a particularly lucky segment.
·
Zhong Cai quickly found something, and her eyes suddenly brightened.
He excitedly transmitted the message.
"Hey Lao Wu! How about we sell this thing?"
Wu Shaogan's soul had actually been searching in that ancient city with Zhong Cai all along, and now, upon hearing his words, he followed his "look".
Then his smile deepened.
【Ah Cai made a very good choice.】
Zhong Cai was beaming with pride.
That's right!
The next moment, Zhong Cai took out this item.
In an instant, a terrifying pressure spread out.
Zhong Cai quickly reminded everyone, "Be careful!"
The other Battle Kings all carried defensive items, so they wouldn't actually get hurt, but they still needed to make some preparations, otherwise they might embarrass themselves under the pressure.
They reacted quickly, without needing much prompting, and immediately took precautions.
At the same time, the eyes of the Fighting Kings all drifted over.
Moreover, this time it even attracted the attention of the Pill Kings!
This is--
A piece of charred, almost dried-out wood.
There are some cracks on it.
Only in this seemingly broken but not quite broken place can one vaguely see a new bud with a hint of red amidst the green.
The wood exudes a powerful energy, as if approaching it would plunge one into an extremely agitated state, while the new buds contain vibrant life, emitting a refreshing and subtle fragrance.
·
Many Battle Kings and several Pill Kings couldn't resist being attracted by the piece of wood and observed it carefully.
Several Pill Kings hurriedly left their stone seats and, accompanied by their martial arts cultivators, quickly arrived at this location.
The fighting kings were somewhat surprised.
When those resources were traded before, these Pill Kings at most just watched from afar, but this time, they actually did it like this...
Undoubtedly, what King Zhong Dan brought out this time was also very tempting to the Dan Kings.
Zhong Cai greeted the many Dan Kings with a warm smile.
One of the alchemists, dressed in yellow, asked somewhat anxiously, "Alchemist King Zhong, is this the Wutong Immortal Wood?"
Another green-robed Pill King blurted out, "Judging from the state of the broken section, could it be a phoenix-reborn immortal parasol tree?"
A female alchemist in a red dress frowned, pondering for a long while, before finally speaking, "I sense something unusual about that new sprout; perhaps there's something extraordinary about it. If it has undergone a phoenix rebirth, then..."
The last Dan King in the colorful dress stammered, "The new buds are tinged with pale red, and the pressure they exude is very unusual. Could it be—"
·
This piece of dead wood is definitely extraordinary.
Unfortunately, its design was too simple and its features were not very clear, so the fighting kings could not recognize it at a glance.
However, as the Pill Kings listened to each other's words, they quickly matched the information with some ancient books they had seen before.
Could it really be the phoenix tree immortal wood that the alchemists spoke of?
Or is it the kind with all sorts of special experiences?
Is what the Pill Kings said really true?
They didn't seem entirely sure, and there was still some hesitation in their words.
So……
·
At that very moment, a bright red light suddenly appeared, bringing with it a vibrant atmosphere.
What followed seemed to be the chirping of thousands of birds, melodious and pleasant, with a hint of intimidation, but it was hidden deep within, and was mostly just pleasant to listen to, without any sense of aggression.
Almost at the same moment, a purple light flashed, accompanied by a chilling wind.
It's a very domineering aura! And it's probably because his emotions are somewhat fluctuating that he's exuding such an aura.
Two beams of light settled.
It was a proud young man in purple robes standing tall, and a stunningly beautiful young woman in a red dress fluttering in the wind.
The two men, one on the left and one on the right, each occupied a territory, their positions clearly defined.
They were the First and Second Fighting Kings.
As Zhong Cai was not disappointed, they were indeed drawn to the place!
·
The other fighting kings were somewhat surprised.
Why would this piece of dead wood attract the attention of these two people?
That's truly rare.
But the Pill Kings quickly realized that these two Battle Kings had probably already figured it out and were aware of the situation.
At the same time, everyone saw that when the two people arrived quickly, Wu Douwang's aura surged instantly.
The top two Dou Wangs were fast and powerful. Wu Dou Wang quickly protected Zhong Dan Wang, and his own aura also surged instantly.
The two forces clashed, creating a powerful gust of wind.
Everyone's long hair was fluttering in the wind.
The two Battle Kings quickly concealed the auras they had inadvertently revealed.
Zhong Cai suppressed a barely perceptible laugh.
Wu Shaogan narrowed his eyes slightly, then noticed his Ah Cai's little excitement, and couldn't help but feel a little helpless and amused.
·
The Fighting Kings keenly sensed something from Wu Shaogan's aura.
Since Wu Douwang arrived here, he has never actively revealed his strength. Based solely on what we see on the Sky Ranking, we cannot truly grasp Wu Douwang's true capabilities.
But they suddenly sensed something when Wu Douwang unleashed his aura.
It's a feeling that makes your hair stand on end.
It's very strange.
This strangeness seems completely different from the seemingly upright and virtuous Third Dou Wang, and even seems quite incongruous with this Dou Wang who is always clinging to his Daoist partner and never leaves his side.
But for some reason, when many Battle Kings actually noticed it, they didn't feel anything was amiss.
There's only one reason for this, and that is...
Even if it's not obvious on the surface, the Battle Kings are, after all, a group of top geniuses with extremely strong combat power and extremely keen combat perception. Subconsciously, they have long been able to instinctively glean some information.
·
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.
Soon, Zhong Cai said with a smile, "What you fellow practitioners say is correct. This is indeed a piece of Wutong Immortal Wood."
Many Battle Kings and Pill Kings noticed that this Pill King Zhong's tone was very calm and his emotions were also very stable.
He was completely unaffected by the arrival of the first two Fighting Kings.
Perhaps it was because King Wu Dou had already shielded him from those external pressures, which undoubtedly proved the strong trust between King Zhong Dan and King Wu Dou, as well as his own stable state of mind; or perhaps it was because King Zhong Dan had never been afraid of the pressure from the former two Dou Kings. Although he was only at the Suspended Illumination Realm, his calmness proved his own insight, courage, and his extremely strong endurance.
Regardless of the reason, it once again proves Zhong Danwang's own abilities.
As a Dan King, he is already quite remarkable.
Then, everyone listened attentively to Zhong Cai's explanation.
Zhong Cai, still smiling, quickly gave her introduction.
"This piece of phoenix tree wood comes from ancient times and was once a peak eighth-tier ancient tree..."
·
The phoenix tree and the phoenix clan complement each other.
If a phoenix has a sacred parasol tree as its dwelling place, it can absorb the powerful wood energy within to enhance its abilities.
The Wutong Immortal Tree can temper and strengthen itself by absorbing the fiery aura of the phoenix.
Immortal trees are difficult to awaken to intelligence, but the phoenix is a shortcut for the phoenix immortal tree. Often, once it accepts a phoenix, the phoenix quickly improves its strength, and the immortal tree also improves. The phoenix awakens its intelligence, and the immortal tree does the same.
Of course, since both sides can improve rapidly by helping each other, there will also be limitations.
Each rare beast faces greater challenges as it progresses through its breakthrough stages.
Even true dragons must shed their scales and horns, and some even undergo tribulations of lightning; the phoenix's tribulation is Nirvana.
The reason why the eighth level of human strength is called the Nirvana Realm is to echo the phoenix's rebirth, highlighting the difficulty involved.
Another way to describe the phoenix's rebirth is...
Accept the test of fire.
When a phoenix reaches the peak of the eighth rank, it will be burned by raging fire, burning all its flesh and blood until it turns to ashes, leaving only the phoenix essence blood, which will then be tempered by the flames and transformed into a ball of phoenix essence.
Feng Yuan continued to absorb the flames, and then his flesh and blood were reborn, transforming him back into a phoenix.
This period is extremely dangerous. Seven or eight out of ten phoenixes will die during the rebirth process. Their life force cannot be maintained at all. After being burned to ashes, they are truly reduced to ashes, leaving no essence or blood behind, let alone phoenix essence.
But if a phoenix finds the sacred parasol tree, lives alongside it for many years, and undergoes nirvana directly on the tree...
Because the Wutong Immortal Tree had already absorbed a lot of Phoenix True Fire to nourish itself, it could reduce much damage in such terrifying flames. With the help of the Phoenix, it was often burned very slowly.
At the same time, the phoenix is constantly provided with vitality by the parasol tree, and after accepting this vitality, the phoenix can greatly increase its chances of successfully undergoing nirvana.
A phoenix that possesses the Wutong Immortal Wood has a 60-70% chance of surviving.
After the phoenix successfully undergoes its rebirth, as long as the phoenix tree is not completely burned and its heartwood remains, it can absorb the vitality provided by the phoenix after its rebirth, allowing it to quickly sprout new buds and grow stronger!
Why must the phoenix tree accompany the phoenix through its cultivation and rebirth...?
The main reason is itself.
The Wutong Immortal Tree is a special kind of immortal tree that can only live for 100,000 years.
As long as a certain type of immortal tree is not deliberately destroyed by humans or beasts, its lifespan is very long, and some can even live for hundreds of thousands or millions of years!
Compared to the phoenix tree, the lifespan of the phoenix tree is very short.
Besides, the Wutong Immortal Wood can only be upgraded to level eight at most.
If it wants to live even longer, there is a special way to allow it to break through to level nine.
This is precisely what it means to be born alongside the phoenix and to accompany the phoenix through its rebirth.
After the phoenix's rebirth, it reached the ninth level.
After being reborn with the help of the phoenix tree, it broke through to level nine.
At that time, although the Wutong Immortal Wood will still be unable to move on its own, a section of its core will be separated and carried by the Phoenix to travel between heaven and earth.
This is also a kind of freedom.
For many immortal trees, this kind of freedom simply doesn't exist.
·
The piece of withered wood that Zhong Cai took out was the Wutong Immortal Wood that accompanied the Phoenix through its rebirth but failed along with it.
The phoenix fell, and the immortal tree withered away.
This phenomenon is often caused by insufficient vitality provided by the immortal wood; when the phoenix is burned away, the immortal wood is also burned away.
However, there was a tiny new bud on the dead tree, tinged with a pale red...
This actually proves that after the phoenix fell, there was no hope for its continued existence. Most of the phoenix essence was burned, but it disappeared into the withered immortal tree.
For some unknown reason, the interaction between the life force within the Phoenix Essence and the Immortal Tree spurred the growth of this new bud.
And inside the Immortal Tree...
·
Zhong Cai explained slowly, saying, "There should still be some Phoenix Essence remaining inside the Immortal Tree."
Many of the fighting kings were shocked, and their pupils immediately contracted.
The several Pill Kings also breathed a sigh of relief, unable to hide their excitement, and said one after another:
"Phoenix Essence can be used in medicine. The Dragon-Phoenix Pill refined from it can help Nirvana cultivators perceive the Heavenly Realm earlier and increase their chances of breaking through. Almost every time there are three to five Dragon-Phoenix Pills, it is nearly enough to create a Heavenly Realm cultivator!"
"I've seen it before. When the new shoots are only half an inch long, the Phoenix Essence inside can be refined about four or five times. If you're lucky, you can get one or two batches and then produce pills!"
"It's not necessary to extract the pill directly. You can use some auxiliary medicines to neutralize it and take Phoenix Essence raw before breaking through, which can also increase the chances, although the effect is slightly weaker than the Dragon-Phoenix Pill. But if you don't have a pill refiner with enough confidence to help you refine the pill, it's better to take it raw to avoid wasting it!"
"That makes a lot of sense, but what I value is the new shoot itself..."
Many of the fighting kings were listening attentively.
Their understanding of the Wutong Immortal Wood was clearly far inferior to that of the Pill Kings.
Even the first and second Fighting Kings remained silent, their eyes flickering as if they were deep in thought.
·
The alchemists continued speaking:
"If we are lucky, we can pick the new shoots and cultivate them carefully, and they may survive."
"If it can grow successfully, what we will obtain is the Phoenix Immortal Wood!"
"The Phoenix Immortal Tree may be able to directly produce Phoenix Fruit, which has a similar medicinal effect to the Dragon and Phoenix Pill, and is even better than taking Phoenix Essence raw."
"However, if it fails to grow, it will be a complete waste of this wood."
"It's not certain that a Phoenix Fruit will grow. If one doesn't, then the Phoenix True Fire will probably be nurtured within it. Once refined, it will add an extremely powerful new attack method!"
"If it's just an offensive method, there are other ways to replace it, but I've heard that if one can refine the Phoenix True Fire during the Nirvana Realm, not only can the cultivator's own strength be tempered, but it can also assist in transcending tribulation during the Heavenly Realm, reducing the power of the lightning tribulation. The stronger the Phoenix True Fire, the greater the weakening effect on the lightning tribulation..."
"It doesn't seem to weaken the lightning tribulation, but rather enhance the ability to resist it. Moreover, the Phoenix True Fire can grow after each lightning tribulation, and can continue to contribute during the next one!"
·
As the many Pill Kings discussed the matter, the Battle Kings compared their own knowledge with the facts and each confirmed the subtleties involved.
At that time, many of the fighting kings became excited.
If it were just other resources, they wouldn't be like this, but every Battle King wants to reach the heavens.
If they were just ordinary martial arts cultivators, Nirvana and Heavenly Rebirth would be extremely far away, and there would be no need to consider such a distant future.
But they are all the pride of the younger generation, and if nothing unexpected happens, it's a sure thing that they will at least be reborn.
After reaching Nirvana, refining Dragon-Phoenix Pills, forming Dragon-Phoenix Fruits, or obtaining Phoenix True Fire will all be extremely useful to them. The first two are practically guaranteed to propel them to the Heavenly Realm! Phoenix True Fire, on the other hand, will propel them into the Second Tribulation, the Third Tribulation, and many more...
Who wouldn't be tempted?
Therefore, the First and Second Battle Kings were also tempted.
With their richer experience and greater knowledge, they were able to identify the situation more quickly than other Fighting Kings and arrived to observe almost simultaneously.
Through such observation, they were indeed certain.
·
Zhong Cai was very pleased to see everyone's reaction.
[Old Wu! I knew I could get them both excited!]
Nobody can escape!
Wu Shaogan continued to praise.
[A-Cai is a master strategist.]
Zhong Cai became even more smug.
However, it's not good to show such smugness in front of so many people, as it might attract hatred.
·
The phoenix-infused parasol tree, such a superior resource, would naturally be of great use to Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan.
But why would they still put it out for sale?
The reason, of course, is...
They have extras.
·
In one of the gacha draws, Zhong Cai drew a giant, charred tree.
Yes, charred black, giant wood.
It is called a "giant" tree not just because it is a short section, but because it is a very large tree, at least ten feet tall, with many branches extending in all directions.
New buds sprout on every branch.
There are as few as one or two, and as many as seven or eight.
Zhong Cai consulted many ancient books before recognizing the giant tree, and after recognizing it, he also discovered its various wonderful uses.
Zhong Cai also knew all the Dan Kings who recognized them.
Therefore, Zhong Cai allocated these phoenix tree trees at that time.
Some of the shoots with new buds were cut down and planted in the medicinal herb garden, while the branches of those shoots with only one or two new buds, which were not easy to plant, were cut off and stored away.
Only those with a single new bud, or about ten in total, were collected by him into the Resource Hall.
They were all unremarkable.
The section that's being shown right now is the most inconspicuous of all the unremarkable ones.
·
Currently, in Zhong Cai's herb garden, thanks to the large amount of resources invested and the assistance of the time array, a Phoenix Immortal Tree has actually grown into a tree that is about three feet tall.
It will take quite some time for it to grow into a giant tree and bear phoenix fruit.
However, Zhong Cai has already managed to grow one of them.
Each Phoenix Immortal Tree can only produce one Phoenix Fruit, but if nothing unexpected happens, he can grow several more trees.
It's enough for him and his husband.
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