Chapter 440 A Sacrifice of Four Hundred Million
In the blink of an eye, another ten years have passed.
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan stood by the altar, preparing to offer sacrifices.
The crimson clouds swirling in the sky were almost tangible, and there were so many of them that the colors were so densely packed together that they were dazzling and even dizzying if you looked at them for too long.
The Dan Yun here is counted in "hundreds of millions".
In order to make the ancient city upgradable, Wu Shaogan needs to spend at least one hundred high-grade Xuan Stones to summon Dao Soldiers—this is not difficult, he has already reached the standard—the biggest cost of Dao Soldiers is actually the training after they are summoned.
Zhong Cai, on the other hand, is to offer a sacrifice of ten billion Dan Yun.
Yes, sacrifice a billion, not accumulate a billion.
In previous years, Dan Yun had sacrificed many resources, but a few years ago, because the couple had no shortage of cultivation resources, they simply saved them all.
Now that they've finally gathered enough Dan Yun, the couple should now complete the sacrifice.
·
The flames inside the altar were boiling.
Zhong Cai turned to Wu Shaogan and said, "Old Wu, let's spend more money each round this time."
Wu Shaogan thought for a moment and said, "A-Cai, are you saying that Ke Dan Yun is used to ensure the extraction of level nine resources?"
Zhong Cai nodded and counted on her fingers.
"There are 400 million pill essences here. At one million for every ten consecutive Golden Flame Pool attempts, that's 400 attempts."
Wu Shaogan raised an eyebrow: "That's a minimum of four hundred level-nine resources, but most of them are probably not of high quality and won't be of much use."
Zhong Cai nodded again, paced back and forth a few times, then stroked her chin and stated her plan.
"I remember that every time I did a ten-pull in the Golden Flame Pool, as long as I spent an extra ten million Dan Yun, I could guarantee that I would naturally draw a level nine resource."
"Then let's each spend 300 million of that money on 30 ten-pulls."
"Of the other 100 million ten-pulls, 30 were guaranteed to be level 9, and 70 were regular ten-pulls."
Wu Shao chuckled dryly, "Alright. In this way, besides the guaranteed level 9 resource of 100, we'll have at least 30 decent level 9 resources. Although we haven't reached level 9 yet, we're not far off, so it's necessary to prepare the items needed for that level in advance."
Zhong Cai chuckled, looking equally confident.
Admittedly, both of them knew that the time it would take to break through the Spirit Transformation and Nirvana realms would be far longer than that of the lower realms, but Wu Shaogan was about to break through to the mid-stage of the Spirit Transformation realm...
If nothing unexpected happens, Wu Shaogan will be able to pass away in another fifty or sixty years at most.
Although Zhong Cai's cultivation level is definitely inferior, he is very confident in his ability to create pills that transcend levels. After he transforms into a spirit, producing level eight pills will be a piece of cake—because when he reads pill books now, he finds that he can understand quite a few level eight pill techniques.
He will certainly still be able to provide his old man with medicine in a timely manner.
·
After agreeing on the terms, the two began the sacrifice.
Zhong Cai announced it again without hesitation, just as she had planned.
The next moment, all the elixir energy was poured into the huge pool, and from the churning sea of fire, countless dark golden seals began to spew out wildly, neatly arranged in mid-air.
Fortunately, after several upgrades, the space in front of the altar has been greatly expanded, so even with dozens of dark gold seals arranged in rows, it is still quite spacious.
At this moment, a full thousand seals were activated by Zhong and Wu together.
·
The first thing to appear was a total of 456 dark gold seals, all trembling together!
There was no radiance flowing through it.
As the tremors subsided and the smoke dissipated, what appeared before the couple were a full two hundred and sixty high-grade mystic stones and one hundred and ninety-six level-four resources.
Among the level four resources, there are many refining materials with Yin-Yang and Five Elements attributes.
·
Seeing this, Zhong Cai couldn't help but laugh and turned to Wu Shaogan, saying, "It seems that our shortage of refining materials has even extended to the altar."
Although it's unclear why, even though the altar usually draws resources randomly, the chances of drawing certain resources from the altar do increase when the couple is in dire need of them.
Take now, for example.
Wu Shaogan smiled and pulled Zhong Cai closer to him.
Zhong Cai sighed softly.
They initially thought that once they got their hands on the top-tier refining materials, leveling up would be no problem.
First, they said they didn't have enough pill essence, then they said they didn't have enough refining materials...
That's right, we don't have enough materials for refining.
How easy would it be for an ancient city to be upgraded to the top level of level nine?
The difficulty in finding the best refining materials is one aspect; in order to achieve even higher quality, a great many other refining materials are also required.
There was so much that the progress bar was only about three or four-sevenths full!
To level up quickly, the two of them need to gather even more materials. They've already acquired countless refining materials, yet they still don't have enough...
That's really too exaggerated.
Wu Shaogan kissed Zhong Cai on the forehead and said, "Cai, look! A level 5 resource with golden light has appeared after spinning around."
Zhong Cai glanced over and muttered, "Speaking of which, how much of this level five resource will there be..."
·
After the smoke cleared, a total of 133 level-5 resources were exposed!
It contains twenty-two different materials needed by the couple.
Next are 121 level-six resources, including 15 refining materials; 89 level-seven resources, including 8 refining materials; 60 level-eight resources, including 4 refining materials...
Then, level 9 resources finally started appearing naturally!
·
Zhong Cai counted on her fingers and soon came up with the result, her eyes widening in surprise: "If I'm not mistaken, after deducting the guaranteed 100 items, there are still 41 level 9 resources left! Even after deducting the 30 items I got from spending 300 million, there are still 11 left!"
"This undoubtedly means that, based solely on our luck, the chance of drawing a level nine item is almost ten percent."
"It's pretty good."
Wu Shaogan played with Zhong Cai's fingers and said with a smile, "Ah Cai is very good at math."
When Zhong Cai heard him teasing her like that, she finally couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Wu Shaogan chuckled, grabbed Zhong Cai's hand, and said, "Cai, look! The first one is out."
·
What appeared before the two of them was a level nine alchemy furnace that was entirely crimson red.
What a great stove!
There are also some flame patterns engraved on it.
If you use it to refine pills, as long as you can activate the patterns on the furnace and carefully control the heat, you can increase the chances of successfully refining the pills.
Zhong Cai looked at it again and smiled at Wu Shaogan: "I cultivate the five elements, this thing is very suitable for me." He then added mischievously, "But if Dong Xiao also has a chance to reach level nine in the future, I might as well make him write another IOU."
Wu Shaogan raised an eyebrow: "Then what should we use?"
Zhong Cai said nonchalantly, "If I can draw a more suitable one, I'll resell it. If I can't... Dong Xiao can rent it from me!"
Of course, Zhong Cai did not believe that he would not have a new alchemy furnace. After all, he must have reached the ninth level earlier than Wu Dongxiao, and he had already reached that level by then. How could he only have one alchemy furnace?
Therefore, this stove will likely change hands sooner or later.
Wu Shaogan chimed in with a joke: "Dongxiao had grown up by then and was no longer a child. Acai wouldn't need to give him a discount anymore; instead, she should give him a high price."
Zhong Cai chuckled: "Since you, as his uncle, have said so, then I must take advantage of him too."
Wu Shaogan chuckled and then gave Zhong Cai's hair a good rub.
Brother Zhong thought for a moment and then said, "But he's the main character. Once he's stronger, he might not even need me to give him anything. He can get the right things himself and even bring me the right things." At this point, he couldn't help but laugh again, "If he dares to sell them to me at a high price then, Old Wu, you'd better give him a good beating for me."
Wu Shaogan pinched Zhong Cai's cheek and laughed, "I definitely won't let him have the guts."
Zhong Cai pondered the meaning behind those words...
Fine, anyway, it's still the uncle "instructing" the nephew.
·
As the Zhong and Wu couple continued to open the seals, they collected all the resources that had appeared and now carefully stored the alchemy furnace in the level nine resource hall.
Then, the second level 9 resource also appeared.
It was a large, golden spear, metallic in nature, and extremely sharp.
The quality is medium.
It's of little use to the couple; it'll probably just be the highlight of future auctions, or a treasure used to trade for other valuable level-nine resources.
Zhong Cai waved his hand and put it away.
There is a third level 9 resource.
A level nine superior teleportation talisman can instantly transport someone hundreds of thousands of miles away, constantly changing direction along the way.
In other words, as long as this talisman is activated, there is a chance of escaping from the presence of a powerful cultivator.
Zhong Cai thought for a moment and then put it aside.
Wu Shaogan, perfectly in sync with him, asked in a low voice, "Are you going to give this to Dong Xiao?"
Zhong Cai sighed, "Didn't that kid ruin the Jin Palace Master's clone protector again? The one who explored the dangerous place. When he comes back, we'll have to send a lot of resources, and it will take at least another year or two before he can regain the protector status. If he doesn't bring something to protect himself when he goes out to train again, we'll be the ones who outlive him."
Wu Shaogan's eyes were gentle, and he didn't say anything, but he understood perfectly well.
Actually, this was just Ah Cai worrying about the kid. The kid is the protagonist, always surviving, at most suffering a bit more, but practically impossible to kill. Ah Cai probably considered that the world has deviated from the original storyline for a long time, so she wanted the kid to have more protection…
Zhong Cai buried her head in Wu Shaogan's arms and snuggled against him, continuing to examine the level nine resources with him.
·
The fourth item is a Grade 9, Low-Grade Mind-Clearing Pill.
Neither of them knows how to use it, but they can trade it later.
The fifth item: the ninth-level Bodhi fruit.
Because a level-nine rare herb can only produce one such fruit in its lifetime, it is extremely precious.
Coincidentally, this fruit possesses both yin and yang attributes, making it most suitable for the future Wu Shaogan.
Zhong Cai became cautious and took out a rather large box, putting the Bodhi fruit inside—there were also several other resources inside, all of which were level nine and suitable for Yin and Yang attributes. These were resources he had carefully stored for his old man, Wu.
As Wu Shaogan watched, he felt a tenderness in his heart.
He had actually prepared a large box filled with resources suitable for Zhong Cai's cultivation, which he had carefully selected from various resource halls and kept for himself.
As for the rare medicines that Zhong Cai also needed... Wu Shaogan didn't interfere, since he didn't know much about them.
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The sixth item: Grade 9, low-grade Heaven-Reaching Pill.
The seventh item: a level nine superior Xuan Guang finger glove.
The eighth item: a level nine, mid-grade carefree fan.
Ninth item: Amber with flowing core, a rare and precious material.
The tenth item: a level nine, medium-grade earth-attribute refining material!
The eleventh item...
·
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan leaned together and looked at them one by one, then categorized them accordingly.
As time went on, all forty-one naturally drawn level-nine resources were revealed.
Among them, mystical artifacts are the most numerous, followed by rare and precious materials, and the rest are more scattered.
For example, resources to help one overcome the Heavenly Tribulation, such as pills, talismans, array plates, cultivation techniques, secret skills, two rare beast embryos with the potential to reach the ninth rank, and some special items...
Two pieces of level-nine refining materials were obtained.
The probability of drawing it is already quite high.
For Zhong and Wu, this will significantly accelerate the progress of the ancient city's upgrade.
·
Finally, all that's left are those one hundred level-nine guaranteed resources, each with several options.
The couple needs to carefully select and choose for themselves.
At this time, since it is rare to find valuable items among the other options, it is usually the time to collect level nine rare medicines.
Before long, four illusory figures appeared in front of Zhong Cai.
At the very front, of course, is the ninth-grade rare herb – the Twin Phoenix Soaring Grass.
That's exactly what Zhong Cai didn't have.
Among the three options, there are ancient stones—which may contain resources or may be empty, making it a gamble. If it weren't for the grass mentioned earlier, Zhong Cai might have taken the gamble. There are fragments left behind by some unknown ancient artifact. There are small ancient artifacts—also broken, which may have some research value, but they are only of some benefit to the artifact maker and are not very valuable.
Zhong Cai chose the Double Phoenix Trumpet Grass without hesitation and quickly planted it in a suitable mountain hollow.
From then on, the mountain valley and the surrounding area for several miles all belonged to this grass.
·
The second backup option arrived very quickly.
We will still choose the first option, which is the level nine rare medicine that Zhong Cai does not have stored.
The third item is rare and precious medicinal herbs. So even though Zhong Cai already had some of these rare herbs in his possession, he still chose them and placed them on the same land as another member of the same family.
Fourth, fifth...
Zhong Cai made her selections quickly, completing half the task in about half an hour.
Surprisingly, there was also a low-grade level nine refining material available.
In addition, there are two level-nine pills, one talisman, three mystical weapons, fragments of three cultivation techniques, and fragments of one secret skill...
The rest are all rare and precious medicines.
·
In the latter half of the guaranteed amount, there were 39 rare medicinal plants.
There were also two fragments of the alchemical text, one level-nine beast core, one wisp of level-nine wood and fire, one ancient rare beast dragon tendon, one phoenix feather, and so on.
The last thing Zhong Cai played with in her hand was the ancient stone from the first of the four guaranteed options.
Many of the resources that are not selected will appear in other backup options, allowing cultivators to choose them a second or even more times.
This stone appeared in the eighty-second guaranteed option.
Zhong Cai was willing to take a gamble, so she made the choice.
The sacrifice is now officially over. All other resources have been stored away, and all that remains in front of the couple is this stone.
Wu Shaogan put his arm around Zhong Cai and asked with a smile, "Opening a stone?"
Zhong Cai solemnly said, "Open the stone."
Then, he shoved the stone into Wu Shaogan's hand.
Wu Shao chuckled and took out a dagger, placing it on the surface of the stone and beginning to gently peel away the outer shell.
Zhong Cai held her breath, feeling a little nervous.
Could it be empty...?
He felt that he and Lao Wu shouldn't be that unlucky, but what if they were?
·
Fortunately, the result did not disappoint Zhong Cai.
It took Wu Shaogan about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea to peel away the stone shell and finally extract what was inside.
It is round and has a dark gray surface, but it is not very smooth and has some small pits.
However, the potholes were not deep, and there were no cracks.
Zhong Cai clung to Wu Shaogan's arm to observe him.
After looking at it for a while, he suddenly couldn't help but say, "What I'm seeing looks like the egg of a rare animal?"
Wu Shaogan had clearly recognized it as well, nodding slightly as he said, "It's still a rare beast egg that's almost lifeless." He turned the round object over and continued, "Something drastic must have happened. The outer stone shell preserved the egg, but it also blocked much of the life force, so..."
Zhong Cai also noticed this and added, "Therefore, the rare birds can only maintain their own life by constantly consuming their own resources. If they are not selected by us now, it won't be long before even their last breath dissipates."
The couple exchanged a glance.
Zhong Cai smiled brightly: "It can be considered fate."
Wu Shaogan nodded.
·
In a flash, the two arrived hand in hand in a large resource hall.
Despite its name, the Resource Hall is actually a nest for rare and precious animals and birds...
Upon entering, the couple immediately noticed various rare animal eggs and fetuses, each placed in a different small nest they had prepared.
They are classified according to their potential level and variety.
Basically, all of these were extracted.
The majority of those selected were "physically healthy," but there were still a few who showed signs of congenital deficiencies or disabilities when they were chosen.
Zhong Cai is an exceptionally outstanding alchemist, and naturally he can also concoct many "nutrient solutions" or healing substances that can assist these beast eggs and fetuses in their needs. His alchemy skills have improved much faster than those of his peers, and in fact, "treating" beast eggs and fetuses can also be helpful to him.
Therefore, Zhong Cai became even less stingy with this "treatment fee".
·
This time, the rare animal egg was the most severely "injured".
If Zhong Cai doesn't prepare medicine as quickly as possible after the couple opens the stone shell, they might not be able to save him.
Fortunately, Zhong Cai had previously prepared several medicinal liquids to nourish the fetuses of a certain rare beast and stored them in reserve. Now, after selecting some, she found one that could be used temporarily to prevent the rare beast's eggs from dying completely.
Wu Shaogan was not idle either. He quickly went to fetch the tools that Zhong Cai usually used to help with the rare animal eggs. He also took out a large basin specially used for this kind of treatment, which Zhong Cai would put into the basin at any time to mix the medicine.
Zhong Cai's hands were busy, and when her ten fingers were weaving together, they were almost smoking, creating a phantom that made it almost impossible to tell which finger was where.
He hurriedly instructed, "Old Wu, pour the No. 4 medicine into the basin, and then put the rare beast eggs in as well."
Wu Shaogan readily agreed and quickly got to work.
Zhong Cai also quickly proceeded with other refining processes.
After the dying rare beast eggs were soaked in the medicinal liquid, the dark gray color of their outer skin visibly faded slightly.
This proves that the medicine is indeed effective.
The rare animal eggs lay quietly at the bottom of the basin, their entire shells submerged, continuously absorbing the medicinal power.
This guy was almost lifeless, but his will to survive was extremely strong.
Seeing that it was cooperating, Zhong Cai quickened her pace again.
We have to give it a way out, don't we?
Before long, Zhong Cai added several kinds of medicinal liquid to the basin. After each one was added, the surface of the rare beast egg would become more moisturized, or its dark gray color would fade a little.
It seems that the rare animal egg is about to be "whitewashed".
Zhong Cai was quite satisfied.
Wu Shaogan put his arm around Zhong Cai and stayed with him to observe the scene.
The rare beast egg was still frantically absorbing the medicinal liquid to replenish itself, and Zhong Cai continued to add the medicinal liquid to it at appropriate times.
After several hours, the rare animal egg finally began to "eat and drink" normally, instead of "binge eating".
After Zhong Cai applied the new medicine to the rare beast egg, she and Wu Shaogan left hand in hand.
On the way, Zhong Cai couldn't help but ask, "Old Wu, can you tell what kind of bird's egg that is now?"
Wu Shaogan shook his head: "I didn't see it."
Zhong Cai tilted his head and pondered, trying to match the countless rare birds he knew and had encountered in the Land of Living Beings, but none of them matched.
Wu Shaogan looked at Zhong Cai, indicating that he felt the same way.
Zhong Cai stroked her chin: "Then we can only wait. If we still can't tell from the eggshell, we'll have to wait until they hatch to see."
Wu Shaogan nodded.
They both decided that if they still couldn't tell what was going on after the hatchlings emerged, they would search the library in the Temple of the Azure Sky.
You need to know what this thing is before you can decide what to do next, right?
·
After the couple finished sorting and categorizing the resources, they had collected a large pile of them.
Zhong Cai said, "Let's go to the Land of All Beings and hold another auction. This time, we can only use materials with Yin-Yang and Five Elements attributes for bidding."
Wu Shaogan chuckled: "Then I'm afraid their refining materials won't be of such high value."
Zhong Cai thought it made sense and changed the approach: "That is, you must bring refining materials with every auction, even if it's just one or two pieces."
Wu Shaogan agreed, "Once the auction is over, we should be able to carry out the final upgrade of the ancient city."
·
We do what we say.
The Zhong and Wu couple quickly entered the land of the living beings and spread the news far and wide.
The auction will be held a month later, and in the meantime, the creatures will naturally be able to collect spirit stones and prepare materials for refining.
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