Murong Qingcheng was not surprised by Ye Chen instantly killing the Flame Bird and hook-nosed man. Even before entering the half-step King realm, he was almost as strong as the ‘strongest’ half-step Kings. Now that his cultivation base had increased by leaps and bounds, his strength had reached an unfathomable state. Ye Chen’s sword domain allowed her to broaden her horizons.
She could see that the power of the individual cyan-colored swords within the sword domain was not too high, more or less around late Sea of Soul realm. After all, the cyan-colored swords were manifestation of the sword Qi and not some physical treasures. They were not the result of any profound martial skill, and were merely pure destructive power. However, when tens of thousands of such swords were unleashed together, their power was the same as thousands of late Sea of Souls realm experts’ combined assault.
“This is the change brought by Green Lotus Sword Arts?” Murong Qingcheng asked.
Ye Chen nodded, “The Green Lotus Sword Arts have improved to the heaven grade, and have many clever applications. I’ve only discovered one of them for now—the Sword Domain. Heaven grade techniques are heaven grade alright…my speed of Zhen Yuan recovery has improved by ten times, and the circulation rate has also skyrocketed.”
A cultivation technique wouldn’t usually ameliorate battle strength, but were still extremely important. If one thought about it, one couldn’t always rely on pills during a prolonged battle, since they caused an accumulation of impurities in Zhen Yuan. At some point, one would no longer be able to circulate the Zhen Yuan. Therefore, the speed of Zhen Yuan recovery was quite significant. At such a moment, the grade of cultivation technique showed its superiority. Secondly, during a battle when both sides exchanged full power blows, it would create numbness in one’s body. The side with the higher grade cultivation technique could circulate their Zhen Yuan faster, and thus, expel the numbness quicker. This was an advantage that couldn’t be ignored.
Ultimately, the higher the grade of cultivation technique, the faster one would cultivate. Without any exaggeration, a hundred years of ordinary half-step Kings’ bitter cultivation might not even be equal to ten years of Ye Chen’s cultivation. The disparity between earth grade and heaven grade cultivation techniques was this absurd.
Not to mention, heaven grade techniques had their own unique powers; for example, Ye Chen’s sword domain. If used correctly, it could allow him to disregard numbers. If he ran into thousands of Sea of Soul realm experts, he would no longer have to flee, and could kill them all by himself.
If he encountered such numbers in the past, he could only flee.
“Sword Domain…no wonder!”
Murong Qingcheng had a flash of understanding. Domain was a special existence; even Life and Death Kings with domains were exceptionally rare. Although Ye Chen’s sword domain couldn’t be considered a true domain, since it hadn’t formed the power of laws, it was an absolute ace within the same level of strength.
When Ye Chen entered the half-step King realm, he didn’t have the time to use Zhen Yuan crystals to increase his cultivation base. After settling the four demonic beasts, he intended to spend some time on increasing his cultivation base to the limits of his control. Otherwise, so many Zhen Yuan crystals on his body would simply go to waste.
At late Sea of Soul realm, Ye Chen had only spent less than ten Zhen Yuan crystals to reach the peak Sea of Soul realm. But after attaining half-step King realm, this number had a hundredfold increase. It was not to say that half-step King realm’s Zhen Yuan was hundred times purer than peak Sea of Soul realm; that would be simply be too exaggerated. The principal reason was that Zhen Yuan in half-step King realm was already attaining severe levels of purity. At this point, it would be the same as looking for bones in an egg.
However, at this point, nobody would complain about their Zhen Yuan being too pure. This was because the purity of Zhen Yuan would slightly increase one’s chances of entering the Life and Death realm.
Consuming eight hundred Zhen Yuan crystals, Ye Chen’s cultivation base eventually reached the limits of his control. If he continued any longer, he would suffer more of a loss. As of this moment, his cultivation base had surprisingly caught up with Murong Qinghcheng’s. The disparity between the two’s soul power and cultivation technique’s grade was too high, and not much could be done about it.
“At Sea of Soul realm, I was absolutely incapable of bringing out the full might of the Evil Shattering Sword, much less to speak of the Sky Scorpio Sword. As a pseudo extreme grade artifact, the Evil Shattering Sword consumes a lot of Zhen Yuan. With my current strength, I should be able to use it about five times.”
In Mysterious Yin Pagoda, the Evil Shattering Sword in Ye Chen’s hands was only slightly more powerful than the Thunder Disaster Sword. Of course, at that time, he valued the sword’s evil destroying power far more than its might.
The reason Ye Chen was able to behead the Flame Bird and hook-nosed man with one sword strike from a hundred li away was because he had exhibited the sword’s full power. The greater the distance, the more one’s attack would weaken. After all, this was different from the sword domain. The latter encompassed a region, and within this region, no strike would weaken.
With his cultivation increased to the limits of his control, it was time to leave.
They didn’t go to the Four Square Island. Instead, the two traveled five days and five nights and arrived at another prosperous region of Rihlight Oceanspan—the Gemstone Islands.
One island among the Gemstone Islands couldn’t compare to the Four Square Island, but combined, their area was ten folds greater. When looked from afar, they looked like dozens of different-colored gemstones laid on the great ocean, reflecting beautiful, multi-colored lights under the sun.
The islands were named according to their colors such was Azure Island, Fiery Island, Orange Island, and so on. The two were not familiar with the place, and thus, landed on the Azure island, which was at the edge.
As the two landed, a young woman came running over. Her cultivation base was neither high nor low, at the late Astral Reaching realm.
“Sir and Madam, it seems like your first visit to the Gemstone Islands. I, Wang Lan, can be your guide. You can ask me anything you don’t understand about this place. It will only cost you five thousand mid grade spirit stones.” The young woman, Wang Lan, somewhat expectantly gazed at Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng.
Ye Chen said, “What is the exchange rate of mid grade spirit stones and upper grade spirit stones here?”
Wang Lan replied, “There are a lot of treasures in the ocean, but few spirit stones. In Gemstone Islands, one upper grade stones can be exchanged for eighty mid grade spirit stones.”
“Eh, that’s quite a high exchange rate!”
Usually, one upper grade spirit stone could at least be exchanged for fifty mid-grade spirit stones. An exchange rate of sixty-seventy was normal, while more than that was considered high. As for hundred, such a rate would only occur in auctions. The rate couldn’t be so high in the markets.
“Here are forty upper grade spirit stones…consider it as half your payment. You’ll get the other half when we no longer need you. Now, take us to a high-end treasure exchange point…the higher-end the place, the better.” Murong Qingcheng handed over forty upper grade spirit stones to her.
“Many thanks!” Wang Lan’s face lit up as she accepted the upper grade spirit stones.
“Alright, let’s go!” Ye Chen said indifferently.
“This way!” Wang Lan flew up and led the two toward the center of the islands.
“The islands with a red tag are usually involved in artifact transactions. The dim red island is the lowest grade, and usually deals with upper-mid to upper grade artifacts. Meanwhile, the fiery island deals with upper grade and peak grade artifacts. Above the fiery island is the Scarlet Island, which even has pseudo extreme grade treasures appearing every once in a while. It’s the highest end island of Gemstones island in regards to artifact transactions.” Wang Lan briefed the two en-route.
Murong Qingcheng asked, “You said that pseudo extreme grade artifacts appear in the Crimson Island?”
Wang Lan faintly nodded, “Mountain dwellers live off mountains, shore dwellers live off the ocean. Richlight Oceanspan is filled with treasures. Someone is getting their hands on an extreme grade treasure every once in a while. They can neither use it nor feel assured by carrying it on them. Therefore, they put it up for sale to buy things that they can actually use. If your luck is good, you might be able to buy something convenient. However, the prices here are exorbitant. Sir and madam better be prepared.
Ye Chen only gave a faint smile in reply.
After conversing for a while, Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng found that Wang Lan was born and raised in Gemstone Islands. Apart from cultivation, she acted as a guide for the tourists. Although an Astral Reaching expert acting as a guide seemed a bit unsightly, she gained a hefty profit in return. After all, all those capable of arriving here were at least Sea of Soul realm experts, and carried at least tens of thousands, or even a hundred thousand upper grade stones on their person. They would not bother to bargain over the price. An Astral Reaching expert had a hundred thousand mid grade spirit stones on them at most. The number of spirit stones she would make from this one trip would allow her to cultivate for a long time. Of course, this business was not so easy either. There were a lot of competitors, and one needed to have luck and discerning eyes.
A little while later, the three arrived at Scarlet Island.
“Scarlet Island’s biggest artifact transaction site is Glorious Exchanges at the island’s center. A minimum of Sea of Soul realm cultivation base is required to enter.” Wang Lan informed.
Arriving before Glorious Exchanges, Murong Qingcheng stopped and handed over forty upper grade spirit stones to Wang Lan as she said, “Wait here! We still need you to guide. We’ll be back in a while.” Eighty upper grade spirit stones were like a breeze for Murong Qingcheng. She had gained more than a hundred million upper grade spirit stones in True Water Palace ruins. It was a number that ordinary people would find hard to even imagine.
“Okay.”
Wang Lan cleverly waited outside. She could tell that she had come across a big client this time. Although she couldn’t see through their cultivation bases, from their actions, she could tell that they were at least at the late Sea of Soul realm.
As they entered, the two were startled by the streams of people. It was simply too crowded, with Sea of Soul realm experts numbering in thousands. As far as the eye could see, the entire Glorious Exchanges was stacked to the point of bursting. Passionate shouts could be heard from every direction.
“Wind Thunder Staff, upper grade treasure, three hundred thousand upper grade spirit stones!”
“Fire Smelting Sword, upper grade treasure, three hundred and twenty thousand upper grade stones!”
“Resplendent Armor, upper grade treasure, five hundred and fifty thousand!”
“Godwind Boots, upper grade treasure, four hundred and eighty thousand.”
In this exchange point, even the lowest artifact was a peak upper grade treasure. As Wang Lan said, the treasures here were truly a bit too expensive. Common upper grade artifacts didn’t exceed a hundred thousand upper grade spirit stones. Although the treasures here were all peak upper grade, they were more expensive compared to outside by a hundred thousand spirit stones. Fortunately, one could haggle over the price and also compare it with other shops. The reason the starting price was so high was precisely to allow customers to bargain.
Roaming in the Glorious Exchanges, the two found a staircase leading to the second floor. Four Sea of Soul realm experts were guarding the entrance.
“Sorry, you can’t pass without late Sea of Soul realm cultivation base.” The four stopped a mid Sea of Soul realm middle-aged man.
“I’ve spirit stones.” The middle-aged man seemed unresigned.
“Sorry, rules are rules.” The guards remained unmoved.
Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng felt quite strange. Low cultivation base didn’t imply low riches. The rules of this place were certainly strange.
Anyhow, the two headed towards the second floor without a pause.
The four guards sized them up and were stunned inwardly. They were actually unable to see through even a hint of their cultivation. This only meant one thing—the two were half-step Kings. Half-Step Kings were the Kings of Richlight Oceanspan.
“Please!” The four opened a path for them.
Upon arriving at the second floor, the two didn’t see a lot of people, and it was relatively empty. Estimating roughly, there were only about a few hundred people. However, the quality of treasures was exceptionally high, as they were all semi extreme grade treasures. Similarly, the shop owners were also sitting quite far apart.
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