Chapter 439 Chao Hanxiao's Request
However, given the speed of martial arts cultivators, even if Chao Hanxiao was slow, he would eventually reach the other side, and could only become a third wheel between the two of them, shining brightly.
The Zhong and Wu couple quickly noticed him as well.
Zhong Cai smiled and said, "Brother Chao, are you very tired? Come and rest."
Chao Hanxiao remained silent for a moment.
Why is he walking so slowly? Doesn't Brother Zhong know the answer?
Instead, they said you were tired.
Okay, let's just consider it a friendly gesture of concern.
Before Chao Hanxiao could finish his thought, he had already walked over and sat down with the couple.
Zhong Cai poured two cups of Clear Dew—a rare and precious herb that can regenerate and relieve fatigue and restore strength for cultivators.
This wasn't the first time Chao Hanxiao had been invited, but he figured his two friends were well-off, so he didn't stand on ceremony and drank it all in one gulp.
Wu Shaogan drank more slowly, clearly still having energy left.
Chao Hanxiao felt a pang of emotion.
Brother Wu's talent is truly astonishing. After arriving at the top continent, he has truly soared to great heights!
·
The group didn't chat much, but just sat and rested for a while, which was quite pleasant.
Chao Hanxiao also took some pills, allowing the medicinal power to slowly seep into his limbs and bones, gradually restoring his Xuan power.
A short while later, a servant brought over several delicious dishes.
Zhong Cai smiled and said, "Brother Chao, please."
Chao Hanxiao didn't stand on ceremony, simply saying "thank you" before joining the couple in enjoying the meal.
During the meal, the group talked about their previous sparring sessions, and Chao Hanxiao even discussed some secret techniques with Wu Shaogan.
Wu Shaogan had a deep understanding of this and told him about all the flaws he had noticed.
Chao Hanxiao was in a similar situation. Although his strength hadn't yet caught up with Wu Shaogan's, his keen eyesight and combat skills were undeniable. He could see Wu Shaogan's weaknesses, but often, even if he did, he couldn't address them on his own. Therefore, when he told Wu Shaogan what he saw, Wu Shaogan could compensate for it. This also prevented other, more powerful cultivators from seizing upon his weaknesses and launching targeted attacks…
Both of them gained a lot, not only by making up for their respective weaknesses, but also by developing some new combat strategies.
·
After a satisfying meal, we were full and had plenty of food and drink.
Zhong Cai leaned lazily against Wu Shaogan.
With no one to lean on, Chao Hanxiao held his teacup.
After a moment's hesitation, Chao Hanxiao asked, "Brother Zhong, do you have any Silver Frost Treasure Cloud Grass?"
Zhong Cai was taken aback.
Chao Hanxiao said frankly, "I have also seen the resource list that Brother Zhong posted when he offered the bounty. There is an eighth-level resource on it called Spirit Snow Frost, which can help cultivators reshape their physical bodies." He lowered his voice, "Spirit Snow Frost is a precious frost resource condensed on a rare ice-attribute medicine. Moreover, this rare medicine must be at least level nine to be effective."
"When the Silver Frost Treasure Cloud Grass absorbs the energy of heaven and earth, the breath it exhales is pure icy energy. When it lands on its own leaves, it can condense Spirit Snow Frost more quickly. The Spirit Snow Frost produced is often of excellent quality. I think the Spirit Snow Frost that Brother Zhong took out is indeed extraordinary."
"Therefore, I would like to ask if Brother Zhong has this item in his possession."
Zhong Cai looked at Chao Hanxiao and saw his sincere expression and expectant eyes, so she knew that the Silver Frost Treasure Grass would be of great use to Chao Hanxiao.
So he didn't hesitate much and nodded: "I do have it."
Chao Hanxiao's eyes lit up instantly, and a flash of excitement crossed his face.
Zhong Cai asked curiously, "Brother Chao, are you interested in this?"
Chao Hanxiao took a deep breath and said, "It's not just interest, it's a strong desire."
Zhong Cai blinked.
That's like revealing all your cards at once.
If we show such eagerness, wouldn't we just let him and Lao Wu set their prices?
but……
Zhong Cai said regretfully, "Brother Chao must also know that Spirit Snow Frost is of great use in the process of cultivators reshaping their physical bodies. As long as Silver Frost Treasure Cloud Grass is available, Old Wu and I will not lack this item. Even if it takes ten or a hundred years to condense, we will always have it. But once it is traded away, it will not be very cost-effective for the two of us."
Chao Hanxiao hurriedly said, "While I certainly desire it, I do not possess the resources to exchange for it at an equivalent price, therefore..."
He didn't keep them in suspense as usual, carefully taking out a stone about the size of a fist. Its surface was covered with a layer of stone shell, but to a cultivator's eyes, it was clear that the stone shell actually had countless extremely tiny holes that could absorb the energy of heaven and earth. And from those tiny holes, wisps of earth-attribute energy would slowly emanate.
Zhong Cai's expression changed slightly: "This is—a top-grade level nine earth-attribute refining material?"
Chao Hanxiao nodded and said, "It was obtained by chance." He said frankly, "I have received some information that the two of you need refining materials with Yin-Yang and Five Elements attributes. Among them, the Five Elements attributes seem to require refining materials of level nine or above. We buy all the materials we come across, but we are still continuing to search. I speculate that what the two of you need most are top-grade refining materials."
Zhong Cai smiled and praised, "Brother Chao is very thoughtful," then he pondered for a moment and said, "If you want to exchange this for..."
Chao Hanxiao immediately said, "That's not the case."
Zhong Cai looked at him again.
Chao Hanxiao said, "While ninth-grade refining materials are indeed valuable, their uses are not as widespread as those of rare herbs. Secondly, Silver Frost Treasure Grass not only has outstanding medicinal properties, but it is also relatively rare among rare herbs of the same level, and it can also produce many other types of medicinal materials... If I were to exchange refining materials for Silver Frost Treasure Grass, it would be shameless of me to put my friend in a difficult position."
"My intention is simply to exchange this refining material for a cluster of stems and leaves of the Silver Frost Treasure Cloud Grass."
Zhong Cai understood.
In that case, the value is indeed quite comparable.
Although the Silver Frost Treasure Grass needs some time to heal after losing a cluster of stems and leaves, the overall loss is not significant, and it can grow back over time.
Therefore, Zhong Cai readily agreed.
"Then it's settled!"
Then, Zhong Cai quickly contacted the Silver Frost Treasure Grass that grows in the mountains of the ancient city.
The ninth-grade precious herb was quite pragmatic; since its stems and leaves could regenerate, it plucked off a cluster and handed it to Zhong Cai.
As Zhong Cai thought about it, stems and leaves appeared in her hand.
·
Although it appears to be a branch, it is actually as long as an arm and has an overall pure silver color.
Many thin stems extend from the main branch, each adorned with numerous silver leaves, as if crafted from silver, exquisitely detailed, with every vein clearly visible.
When all the small stems are clustered together, doesn't that make a clump?
As the wrist flips, the entire branch rotates, creating a dazzling display of colorful clouds.
Its radiance was dazzling and incredibly beautiful.
·
Chao Hanxiao immediately showed a look of joy.
Without hesitation, he handed over the top-grade earth-attribute refining materials he had to Zhong Cai, and at the same time took over a branch of the Silver Frost Treasure Grass.
Chao Hanxiao then took out a rather spacious box made of top-grade jade, carefully placed the branch inside, and then carefully put it away. With his strength, his Dao Palace was capable of holding physical objects, so he directly stored the box away in his Dao Palace.
The entire process was carried out with extreme care.
Zhong Cai smiled.
This Silver Frost Treasure Grass was something Chao Hanxiao desperately needed.
He then looked at the refining materials in his hand.
Once these refining materials are in his hands, he will soon have a complete stockpile of the top-tier Yin-Yang and Five Elements resources that he needs most.
·
Chao Hanxiao spent a little more time with Zhong Wu and his wife before taking his leave.
Zhong Cai watched Chao Hanxiao leave, then snuggled closer to Wu Shaogan.
"Old Wu, what use do you think Brother Chao has for this Silver Frost Treasure Cloud Grass?"
After pondering for a moment, Wu Shaogan said, "Besides absorbing the energy of heaven and earth to condense spiritual snow frost, it seems that the leaves of this grass can be used as medicine?"
Zhong Cai nodded: "It's a very common ninth-grade auxiliary medicine, and it's basically not used as the main ingredient. But as far as I know, almost all pills used for body tempering can use it as an auxiliary ingredient. There are also some pills for repairing injuries to the primordial spirit that can use it as an auxiliary substance to stabilize their medicinal properties."
After pondering for a moment, Zhong Cai guessed again, "Could it be that Brother Chao took so many stems and leaves to stockpile the pills he needs after reaching the Tongtian Realm?" He frowned and shook his head, "That's not right either. I have whole plants here. When he can use level nine pills, I'll probably be able to try refining them too. And I have enough medicinal materials here. He's also a friend of ours. If he comes to ask for pills, I won't be stingy, and he doesn't need to prepare much."
"Or perhaps he prepared more medicinal materials because the refining process for level nine pills takes a long time, and he didn't want to be stuck in line here?"
"No, it doesn't seem like it. If it were really a stockpile of medicinal herbs, he wouldn't be so eager for it."
"He certainly didn't come to deliver the materials out of friendship... He could have just been honest, there was no need for all this beating around the bush. Besides, his expression and demeanor prove that he really does need the Silver Frost Treasure Grass."
Zhong Cai muttered to herself for a while, making many guesses, but immediately dismissed them.
Wu Shaogan ruffled Zhong Cai's hair.
"Besides being used in medicine, does this herb have any other uses? What if we use the whole plant or its branches?"
Zhong Cai recalled carefully.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he took out a tattered booklet and quickly flipped through it!
Strangely enough, even though the booklet is very thin, and Zhong Cai has been flipping through it so many times, only a small portion of the pages are still visible.
Finally, Zhong Cai stopped pointing and showed a page to Wu Shaogan.
"Old Wu, look!"
Wu Shaogan immediately looked over.
Sure enough, the question he had raised earlier was written on this page.
Whether it's a branch or a whole plant, the Silver Frost Treasure Grass has another use: it can store primordial spirits.
Wu Shaogan was taken aback.
Zhong Cai scratched his face and said, "Only cultivators before the Fusion Realm will definitely have their souls dissipate after death. Their primordial spirits may become obsessive primordial spirits and enter the Netherworld, or they may dissipate..." He speculated, "Could it be that Brother Chao prepared this for an important, lower-realm relative?"
Wu Shaogan pondered for a moment: "Very likely."
·
When a cultivator reaches the Fusion Realm, their primordial soul merges with their accompanying treasure. Therefore, if a cultivator at this level dies, as long as their accompanying treasure is not destroyed, their primordial soul will still exist and can quickly reshape their physical body to revive.
However, if one is below this level... the primordial soul might last a little longer than the divine soul, but if there is no way to protect it, it will soon dissipate into the world.
If you have the Silver Frost Treasure Grass, you can send your soul/primordial spirit into it and preserve it forever.
This herb even has the effect of nourishing the soul; its medicinal properties are very mild and can last for a very long time.
·
After thinking about it, neither of them could recall anyone in the Chao family that Chao Hanxiao cared about very much.
Zhong Cai chuckled: "Forget it, maybe that's not how it's used? Anyway, it's Brother Chao's business. He didn't say it explicitly, so let's not speculate."
Wu Shaogan nodded indifferently.
He wasn't interested in it to begin with; he was just playing along with A-Cai.
·
The Zhong and Wu couple quickly put Chao Hanxiao out of their minds and entered the ancient city together.
Inside the city gate, there are currently nearly three hundred dragon-armored soldiers, who have been gradually fed by the two.
They were all fed to their peak, just waiting to be synthesized and mutated.
Previously, due to the large number of summons, many special Dao soldiers appeared, of various realms... During those ten years, Wu Shaogan found a time to send them to the mountains outside and told them to find the Ancient City Sect to join.
The Ancient City Sect has grown much stronger, expanding its influence due to its large number of disciples and their considerable strength.
Overall, it is already a rather powerful level seven force.
Even though there were many special golden-armored soldiers among them, it was still very difficult for them to break through to the Nirvana Realm. So even with the pills that Zhong Cai occasionally supplied, they still failed to break through.
In addition, over the years, the Ancient City Sect has collected a lot of refining materials, which they have been accumulating for the two of them.
Whenever the couple sent some rare resources over by Dao soldiers, the other side would also send the Dao soldiers back with the collected refining materials.
The relationship between the two parties is very secretive.
·
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan went to the Starlight Arena to exchange for a top-grade metal-attribute refining material.
At this point, all the top-grade refining materials have been gathered.
Zhong Cai slowly exhaled and said, "It really wasn't easy."
Wu Shaogan's expression softened, and he replied, "Yes."
The two of them were considered fast, considering that Yin and Yang attributes had existed for a long time.
Before long, the two went to check out the other low-level materials with various attributes.
It was a specially designated resource hall. As soon as you entered, you could feel the energy inside was extremely surging. The energy of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements was mixed together, and it didn't seem very harmonious because of the difference in levels.
The Zhong and Wu couple also put all the top-grade refining materials in.
Immediately, they communicated with the ancient city telepathically, asking if they had enough materials for the upgrade.
The ancient city quickly provided an answer.
[The total amount of other refining materials in the ancient city is insufficient, and certain types are lacking, such as...]
The altar requires insufficient cinnabar essence; the missing cinnabar essence is...
After hearing this clearly, Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan couldn't help but exchange a glance.
The shortage of refining materials is not a big problem. We can just let the Ancient City Sect continue to collect them, and the two of them can also go to various auction houses and trading companies to buy some high-grade refining materials.
However, the Dan style is insufficient...
Zhong Cai's lips twitched slightly, revealing a wry smile: "I forgot, I still need to gather ten billion pill essences."
Wu Shaogan ruffled Zhong Cai's hair.
Ten billion strands of pill essence is no small amount; each time a seventh-grade top-quality pill is refined, it can only produce three hundred thousand strands of pill essence.
A Cai can only refine one batch of level seven pills every eight days, and at most she can only produce 900,000 pill essence.
If you calculate it this way, even if you refine it without sleep and even if every batch is a top-quality pill, it will still take more than twenty years!
Actually...
Even though he had sacrificed hundreds of millions of pill essences over the decades since the last upgrade of the ancient city, his pill-making skills were not high at that time, so it was still far from the number of "one billion".
·
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan both understood and leaned back.
Wu Shaogan pinched Zhong Cai's cheek and said, "In the days to come, will A-Cai spend more time refining pills?"
Zhong Cai pursed her lips: "I'll just go with the flow. It's okay to go slowly. Anyway, we've already gathered the most missing piece. Let's be patient and not let it affect our cultivation."
Wu Shao chuckled dryly, "I'll do whatever A-Cai says."
·
The two arrived at the city gate and entered the area where the Dao soldiers were synthesized.
Hundreds of dragon-armored soldiers stood there in neat rows, all staring at the two of them.
Its imposing presence was truly terrifying.
Zhong Cai looked at Wu Shaogan, took a deep breath, and said, "Shall we... synthesize it now?"
Wu Shaogan nodded as well.
Zhong Cai said softly, "Match them in pairs, let's begin now."
The next moment, the two dragon-armored soldiers at the front of the line walked into the pool and began to collide with each other.
There was a loud "bang".
The two dragon-armored soldiers turned into dust on the ground and disappeared.
Zhong Cai's heart tightened.
He was mentally prepared, but when he saw the dragon armor soldier, worth hundreds of thousands of high-grade mystic stones, perish, he was still heartbroken.
Zhong Cai couldn't help but bury her head in Wu Shaogan's arms and said in a muffled voice, "Let's try again! If you fail, you don't need to tell me, just continue."
The dragon-armored soldiers were very obedient to orders.
They quickly entered the pool and rapidly synthesized in pairs.
fail.
fail.
It was another failure.
Such a failure was within Zhong Wufu's expectations, but the noise of the failure still posed a great test to her mental state.
Before they knew it, dozens, even hundreds, of dragon-armored soldiers had vanished.
It's gone, it's gone, it's still gone.
All that remained was the "thump-thump-thump" notification sound, which merged with Zhong Cai's rapidly beating heart.
Zhong Cai buried her head even deeper.
Wu Shaogan put his arm around Zhong Cai, placed his hand on his back, and then rubbed the top of his head.
The atmosphere between the two was very warm.
The losses of the Dragon Armor soldiers... were still significant.
·
It's unclear how much time passed, but the ancient city probably finally felt that the losses of the dragon armor soldiers were enough.
This time, instead of the "thump" sound of consumption, there was a soft sound of armor trembling.
Zhong Cai almost immediately turned her head, still holding Wu Shaogan, and secretly looked at the synthesis pool.
At that moment, a golden light began to flash continuously in the pool.
The sound of the armor trembling came from the golden light.
Even more strangely, after a few breaths, a series of ancient dragon roars echoed from within the golden light...
Then the golden light spread out.
A tall, slender figure suddenly appeared among them!
·
Zhong Cai was suddenly jolted, and her whole body turned around.
Wu Shaogan and he were perfectly in sync; Wu would release his hand and then embrace him again, following Wu's movements.
So now the couple are still embracing each other, looking at the figure together.
Zhong Cai clicked her tongue slightly.
·
No matter what kind of ordinary Dao soldiers they are, even those with dragon armor, they all look like armor that has come to life, cold and without any mechanism.
There was no emotional fluctuation whatsoever; he was very rigid.
But the current situation is quite different.
Its aura is lively, and it even carries a hint of spirituality.
Of course, it's spirituality, not intelligence.
The feeling this person gave the couple was similar to that of Qingyu and Qinghui in their earliest days—no, perhaps even weaker in spirituality.
·
This mutated dragon-armored soldier was nine feet tall and exuded a powerful aura. At first glance, it looked no different from an ordinary cultivator.
It no longer wore a helmet, but its exposed face was quite ordinary, as if it could be lost in a crowd and never be found again.
Furthermore, unlike other ordinary Taoist soldiers who have no gender, it is clearly visible that this is a man.
The mutated dragon armor soldier's expression was not stiff; it was as calm as a human's.
There was even a slight smile on her lips.
It wore dark green light armor that fit perfectly, and the armor itself was at least at level nine.
Although the mutated dragon armor soldier did not deliberately display any imposing aura, just by standing there, it was as if it were a true human being who had reached the heavens.
It makes it impossible to see any trace of its "inhuman" nature.
The reason why the Zhong and Wu couple could see that it only had spirituality but not intelligence was because they were originally the masters of the ancient city.
However, if any outsider were to see this mutated dragon armor soldier, they would probably be completely unable to distinguish it from the real Tongtian.
·
Zhong Cai summoned the mutated dragon armor soldier and patted Wu Shaogan's hand.
Wu Shaogan loosened Zhong Cai's hands.
Zhong Cai darted over and circled the mutated dragon armor soldier several times.
Like a person.
It looks so human.
very good.
Zhong Cai was very satisfied.
These mutated dragon armor soldiers are visibly very agile, and they should be quite different from ordinary Taoist soldiers when fighting.
Having it guard the ancient city is a great help to the couple!
·
Zhong Cai couldn't help but return to Wu Shaogan's side and ask, "Old Wu, what do you think we should name it?"
Wu Shaogan thought for a moment and said, "Since we are guards of the ancient city, let's just use the surname Gu."
Zhong Cai thought for a moment and said, "Let's call him Gu Yuan."
Wu Shao chuckled and asked, "Is it because it's the first mutated dragon armor soldier that it's called 'Yuan'?"
Zhong Cai's expression was somewhat subtle.
Wu Shaogan chuckled and said, "I didn't guess right this time?"
Zhong Cai chuckled: "I didn't think that much about it. We're living on Qianyuan Island, so I just took a character from it and used it."
Wu Shaogan couldn't help but chuckle and ruffled Zhong Cai's hair again.
The two were very close.
However, when Zhong Cai thought of the other dragon-armored soldiers, he couldn't help but let out a wail.
ah!
He then realized that he had lost more than 260 peak-level dragon armor soldiers in exchange for a single mutated one!
Ahhh!
Wu Shaogan hugged Zhong Cai and carefully comforted him.
After a brief outburst, Zhong Cai slowly nestled into Wu Shaogan's arms.
Breathless...
Wu Shaogan kissed Zhong Cai, then picked her up and rolled them onto the bed.
Thinking about it is too painful, so let's stop thinking about it.
Zhong Cai's mind was foggy.
But it works very well.
After the couple had spent seven days and nights making love, when Zhong Cai looked at the remaining dragon-armored soldiers, he no longer felt any pain in his heart.
Instead, my legs felt weak.
I was careless.
I underestimated Lao Wu's abilities...
·
In the days that followed, the two of them continued to do things in the same way.
Although they could reach the top of the Immortal Rank if they improved their aptitude again, they are already at the top of the Heaven Rank, so there isn't much difference.
Moreover, they are both still young.
While top-tier Heavenly Grade talent may not be the absolute best, it certainly won't hold anyone back, and might even outshine 99.9% of cultivators!
There's really no need to worry too much.
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