Chapter 309: 307. Life Core (4/4) Updated Yesterday
Zhantian Qingxuan nodded and immediately began searching through the Jade Box.
"Got it!"
Saying so, Zhantian Qingxuan took out a Golden Leaf from a Jade Box, long and slender. Wenping only glanced at it and felt very familiar—wasn’t this one of the items from Fierce Demon’s Storage Ring? That day, Wenping had paid particular attention to it. When Wenping took the Golden Mist Leaf into his hand, Zhantian Qingxuan continued to search.
Soon, Zhantian Qingxuan’s voice was heard again.
In one Jade Box, there lay a green Crystal Stone, about the size of a thumbnail—something else he discovered when tallying the spoils of war that day.
What is luck?
Heaven is on my side!
"It’s complete!"
Wenping rejoiced and immediately asked, "Elder Qingxuan, with all the materials gathered, do you have confidence in crafting the Two-Star Vortex Map?"
Zhantian Qingxuan did not nod, contemplating with some hesitation, "A Two-Vortex, namely a Two-Star Vortex Map. If an Anomalous Vein is used, the minimum enhancement is forty percent, and for High Quality, it can reach fifty percent. Such a high enhancement is rare, and few have ever put it up for sale, and the corresponding crafting demands highly skilled techniques."
"Why does no one sell it?"
"Because no one buys it. It’s said that a Two-Star Vortex Map can range from 700 to 1,000 White Crystals. Even if it’s of Low Quality, not reaching fifty percent enhancement, it’s still priced at 700 White Crystals, which is the baseline. If it’s High Quality and can also be paired with an Anomalous Vein, it absolutely goes for 1,000 White Crystals or possibly even more. This rarity relates to the scarcity of Two-Star Vortex Divine Artisans. If there were more Two-Star Vortex Divine Artisans, the price wouldn’t be so outrageous. In the area around Bright Mirror Lake, there’s only one such artisan. His Two-Star Vortex Maps are generally contracted by Major Sects, bought by real great figures above the Divine Profound Upper Realm, who would never allow a Two-Star Vortex Map to leak out." Zhantian Qingxuan knew that Wenping understood the Vortex Map was the only way to bridge the gap between his Vein Technique and Innate Anomaly Veins, so there was no need for excessive explanation.
"Do you have confidence?" Wenping asked again.
"Rest assured, Sect Leader, I can try. I certainly won’t proceed without full confidence."
"Alright, I’ll leave this matter to you." Whether it succeeds or not, it’s destined by fate, but Wenping believed, since Han Wen delivered the materials into his hands, fate wouldn’t play a reversing joke on him.
If it truly succeeds, with another Anomalous Vein added, coupled with its fifty percent power enhancement... there should be no need for the Long Yue Sword to slay a Half-Step Divine Profound.
Just as Wenping was about to let Zhantian Qingxuan leave, she spoke.
"Sect Leader, what about my friend?" She had checked; Ji Liangping was trapped in the Thousand Layers, unable to find his way out no matter how he tried.
"We’ll talk about it in a few days."
If he isn’t taught a lesson, Wenping felt it would be unfair to Ji Liangping himself for walking into the Thousand Layers.
Zhantian Qingxuan gave a slight bow and retreated, "Then I’ll excuse myself, Sect Leader."
Wenping nodded.
As soon as Zhantian Qingxuan left, Wenping immediately opened the in-built store.
In the last upgrade, the Main Hall didn’t refresh with new items, only increasing the purchase limit of Life Cigars from five per day to seven. After this upgrade, the daily quota of Life Cigars further increased to ten. As for Life Cigars, Wenping felt the more the merrier.
After all, its effect was quite significant for him currently.
Then Wenping turned his eyes to the second slot—a pendant!
The pendant bore a purple crystal, exuding an aura of luxury, giving off an impression of high value.
"Life Core." A name full of meaning, "System, what function does this pendant serve to justify its price of 50 White Crystals!"
The system responded, "Life Core, Core of Destiny. When it swings, whatever is being done will have its success rate increased. Additionally, it brings unexpected joys. For instance, on the eighth floor of the Ten Layers Tower, there’s a chance not to get a Long Yue Sword fragment. But when it swings, a fragment is guaranteed, and possibly two, three, or even a complete Long Yue Sword."
"Not bad, an aid-type item." People, fear encountering bad luck, "So, does it swing on its own, or do I have to do it manually?"
The system responded, "The host must manually operate it, but the Life Core’s swing probability is ten percent. It can only be used on a matter once. If it doesn’t successfully swing, it cannot be reused. Once it successfully swings, the swing count resets, and it cannot be used again for the next three days!"
"Once every three days." Paying 50 White Crystals seems acceptable, "By the way, system, if I use the Life Core during the Two-Star Vortex Map crafting, what effect would it have?"
"If it successfully swings, it will increase the success rate,"
"Heaven helps me indeed." Wenping now felt that fate was aligning to help him acquire this Two-Star Vortex Map, else there wouldn’t be such continuing support from destiny.
Click to purchase!
Wenping immediately held a pendant in his hand; the purple crystal appeared quite mysterious.
However, when Wenping tried to shake it, it remained unmoved—eternally vertical, fixed at a point like the base of a roly-poly.
...
Dormitory area.
Zhantian Qingxuan returned to her room and immediately closed the door.
Since Wenping promised not to kill Ji Liangping, she was no longer worried. Letting him be stuck at the Thousand Layers could be treated as a lesson. Being almost two hundred years old, he still seemed so confused, always centering on himself, forgetting the saying ’there’s always a taller mountain.’
Those ten pieces of One-Star Vortex Maps didn’t worry her either, for she knew the crafting method like the back of her hand, relying on muscle memory akin to combat.
Currently, she just wanted to delve into understanding the Two-Star Vortex Map Creation Book!
If she could successfully craft a Two-Star Vortex Map, she would officially take a big step forward.
"Let’s begin!"
Murmuring softly, Zhantian Qingxuan pulled out a Celestial Material—a red stone.
BAM!
The Meridian Gate activated.
A whirlpool spun on her wrist, and yellow flames suddenly materialized in her hand.
This time, she didn’t use the conventional Melting Technique, which sufficed for crafting One-Star Vortex Maps, but the Two-Star Vortex Map Creation Book described a new method. It was a method she had never heard of, which greatly differed from using flames to melt and then fuse multiple Celestial Materials—it required concentration!
Only the essence!
Extracting the essence of Celestial Materials is the hardest.
One misstep leads to total failure.
Thus, Zhantian Qingxuan began experimenting with other materials, melting the red stone in her vessel into a red liquid first. Then, she waited for it to solidify. At the moment it began to solidify, Zhantian Qingxuan attempted to remove the outermost layer with a tool—since during solidification, the essence tends to move toward the center, this outer layer protected the essence and Spiritual Qi!
However, her hand was too slow!
She barely removed half before it completely solidified, leaving Zhantian Qingxuan unable to resume heating it with flames to preserve the essence and Spiritual Qi.
As a result, the other half without shell protection lost its Spiritual Qi outwardly.
A Red Refining Stone worth fifty to sixty thousand Gold became a mere lump of waste.