Su Yuan had been monitoring the operations of the Seven Star Market. This time, he had invited over a hundred Great Ascension Realm cultivators—a modest number for a trial run. Overall, things were progressing smoothly.
His attention then turned to his system panel. His reputation level in the Underworld had recently increased, prompting him to check his status.
[Name]: Su Yuan
[Region]: Immortal Origin Realm [Level]: Lv4: Widely Known (18,510/100,000)
[Region]: Demonic Origin Realm [Level]: Lv2: Somewhat Famous (241/1,000)
[Region]: Underworld Origin Realm [Level]: Lv3: Rising Reputation (1,200/10,000)
[Realm]: Early Human Immortal Stage (5/100)
[Entry 2]: Daoist Techniques Naturally Lv7 (200,000/1M) (Can Modify)
[Entry 3]: Seven Stars Shine Bright Lv7 (110,000/1M)
[Entry 4]: Mind Echo Lv6 (50,000/100,000)
[Entry 5]: Great Being’s Demeanor Lv5 (9,510/10,000)
[Entry 6]: Rise to the Occasion Lv5 (5,541/10,000): Lifespan: 15.15M years
[Entry 7]: World Traveler Lv4 (500/1,000)
[Entry 8]: Corridor of Time Lv3 (15/100)
[Entry 9]: Tempering Heart in Mortal Dust Lv3 (15/100)
Su Yuan was surprised to find that the first entry, [Work-Rest Balance], no longer offered the option to modify but instead displayed [Can Mutate]. Meanwhile, the second entry, [Daoist Techniques Naturally], had gained a modification opportunity.
He first modified the second entry.
[Daoist Techniques Naturally]: You excel at comprehending nature. You can more easily gain insights into the Dao from the mysteries of heaven and earth, Daoist classics, and battles.
He added "battles" to further expand the scope of comprehension.
Then, he turned his attention to the first entry. When he mentally clicked "Can Mutate," a prompt finally appeared:
[While retaining the original effect of the entry, mutate an additional effect.]
Curious, Su Yuan examined the options:
[Work-Rest Balance]: You excel at balancing work and rest. The longer you rest or cultivate, the better the cultivation effect. Accumulated rest time: 5 years!
[Mutation 1]: Laziness is the original sin. The longer you rest, the more karma you accumulate.
[Mutation 2]: Plunder is an art. Your rest time is long? Hand it over! Killing allows you to plunder a suitable target's lifetime accumulated rest time.
[Mutation 3]: Cultivation Maniac Possession. Rest time is permanently reset to zero, and cultivation effects are permanently increased by a hundredfold.
Su Yuan's lips twitched. These so-called mutations were outrageous. The first mutation nearly made him lose his composure—who wouldn't suffer misfortune from karma? Only a fool would choose that!
But then he reconsidered. For cultivators specializing in karma systems, this first mutation would be invincible. Unfortunately, he wasn't one of them.
The third mutation, which permanently increased cultivation effects a hundredfold, was also excellent. But what did "rest time permanently reset to zero" mean? Would he never be able to rest again?
The second mutation was the most intriguing. His rest time could only be accumulated slowly, but now that he could also stack cultivation effects, accumulating rest time had become more challenging. This second mutation perfectly solved that problem.
Cultivators were still human and needed rest, especially slackers who had accumulated absurd amounts of rest time. If he could take that rest time for himself, wouldn't he skyrocket?
With that thought, he immediately chose Mutation 2!
A golden light flashed over the [Work-Rest Balance] entry on the system panel, but nothing else changed. The description remained the same as before.
He wondered how the mutation actually worked.
Casually, he arrived at a mountain forest and casually swung his sword, striking a wild boar. The boar died instantly.
[Ding, rest time +0.0001 seconds.]
After a brief silence, he took a step and instantly appeared elsewhere, casually slaying a seventh-rank magical beast.
[Ding, rest time +5 minutes.]
"Surely these creatures didn't only rest for five minutes in their entire lives?"
But Su Yuan had already guessed that "suitable targets" likely referred to beings at or above his realm. Those below his realm would yield drastically reduced rest time.
"Even if it's reduced, slaughtering countless beings across a world would still accumulate a massive amount of rest time!"
A strange glint flashed in Su Yuan's eyes. This was truly a "mutation"—it tempted one toward the bizarre!
Option one was "sinner," option two was "slaughter," and option three was "berserk." Each had its drawbacks.
However, Su Yuan's mental state, bolstered by Entry 9, was now fully stable and unaffected by such fluctuations.
He believed Entry 9, [Tempering Heart in Mortal Dust], was the most broken entry of all. Seemingly unremarkable, it was the true king.
Suddenly, Su Yuan's gaze sharpened as his attention was drawn to the actions of a Great Ascension Realm cultivator.
His consciousness traversed countless worlds, arriving at a special realm.
Zheng Jicheng was a Great Ascension Realm cultivator, a superpower in the Cloud Sky Realm. On the surface, he was a native, but in truth, he was a member of a realm-pirate group.
The "realm sea" referred to the chaotic spatial currents and the realms of spirits and mortals.
Though seemingly empty, the spatial currents housed many cross-realm organizations. These groups weren't particularly high-level—the truly powerful ones operated in immortal and demonic realms. Those in the spatial currents were mediocre at best.
Zheng Jicheng had unexpectedly obtained access to the Seven Star Market, which had caught his interest.
His discernment far surpassed that of ordinary natives. He could tell that the so-called market master was merely at the Early Human Immortal Stage. After several rounds of observation, he hadn't detected any strong cultivators—not even Earth Immortals.
The invited guests were mostly Great Ascension Realm cultivators, with some even at the Tribulation Transcendence Realm—clearly a low-tier operation.
The so-called Seven Star Tower only had a few simple immortal materials. The floors above the second level were undoubtedly empty—just for show! He had confirmed this through special means.
Thus, Zheng Jicheng was certain this was an extremely ordinary small cross-realm faction.
However, even if the faction was small, their immortal ship was a rarity. Immortal ships capable of lingering long-term in spatial currents were at least mid-grade immortal artifacts, each incredibly valuable!
So Zheng Jicheng immediately contacted his captain.
He stored his Seven Star Card in his cave dwelling and headed alone to a teleportation array.
Soon, his figure vanished. When he reappeared, he was in a completely new world.
He had used a cross-realm teleportation array!
"Oh, Little Zheng?"
On a small natural void island, three immortal ships of varying sizes were docked. Members of the Sacred Hall Realm Pirates were stationed here.
An Earth Immortal elder guarding the array smiled at Zheng Jicheng. "Didn't you return to your world to cultivate? Have you broken through already?"
Zheng Jicheng shook his head. "No, Elder Tu. I encountered something important and need to report to the captain."
"Oh? What requires the captain's attention?"
Zheng Jicheng cut to the chase. "I discovered a small cross-realm faction that seems new to the realm sea. They have a high-quality immortal ship!"
"Eh? An immortal ship? That's no small matter!"
"Exactly!"
"Come, I'll take you to the captain."
The two soon arrived at the captain's residence.
The captain of the Sacred Hall Realm Pirates was a stunning blonde woman. Her beauty was striking, but her aura radiated ruthlessness.
Her cultivation had reached the Mid Xuan Immortal Stage!
"What is it?" the captain asked.
"Captain Sacred Hall, I encountered a small cross-realm faction!" Zheng Jicheng quickly recounted his observations and even presented a jade slip containing his memories.
The captain glanced at the slip. When she saw the Yellow Spring Water, her pupils contracted.
"Yellow Spring Water? They actually have Yellow Spring Water?" Her face lit up with delight.
Zheng Jicheng was startled. "Captain, do you need this? I bought samples of all four immortal materials!"
"Show me!"
Zheng Jicheng hastily produced the four materials.
The captain carefully took the Yellow Spring Water. After breaking the seal, her eyes gleamed. "It really is Yellow Spring Water. To think they could obtain this... This Seven Star Trading Association isn't simple!"
Zheng Jicheng was puzzled. "But I didn't see anything special about them."
The captain nodded. "Your information is valuable. I'll take this Yellow Spring Water. Your contribution is significant, so I grant you one opportunity to exchange for a treasure from the vault!"
Zheng Jicheng was overjoyed. "Th-thank you, Captain!"
"Mm. As for that faction, we shouldn't act hastily. Return and continue visiting the Seven Star Market. Find a way to confirm their location in the realm sea. Only after investigating their background or trump cards should we strike."
The captain wasn't blinded by greed. Though she coveted the Yellow Spring Water, she remained cautious.
Elder Tu patted Zheng Jicheng's shoulder, envy in his eyes as he transmitted, "You hit the jackpot. The Sacred Hall vault contains treasures beyond your imagination. Choose wisely—don't settle for mediocrity. The captain clearly intends to let you pick freely."
"I understand!" Zheng Jicheng said excitedly.
But he knew better than to push his luck. He wouldn't aim for the most precious treasures. He had already decided on a mid-grade immortal artifact saber!
Mid-grade artifacts were suitable for Earth Immortals, and many ordinary Earth Immortals didn't even possess them. For a Great Ascension cultivator to obtain one was a heaven-defying opportunity!
The captain was decisive. She immediately led Zheng Jicheng to the heavily secured vault.
Upon arrival, Zheng Jicheng was dazzled by the sea of treasures. Many radiated such powerful auras that he couldn't even approach them. Fortunately, the captain's protection shielded him from harm.
Composing himself, he headed to the immortal artifact section and selected a mid-grade saber. "Captain, I'll take this one."
"Oh? Just this? Your information is worth more than a mid-grade saber."
The captain's tone was calm. The ship was secondary—what intrigued her was their ability to sell large quantities of Yellow Spring Water at reasonable prices.
Yellow Spring Water was an ingredient for longevity pills, which had extremely low tolerance buildup and could be taken repeatedly. For someone like her, nearing her lifespan limit, this was invaluable!
Xuan Immortals lived for ten billion years—a long time, but still finite.
And she was a Xuan Immortal with only a hundred million years left. This was exactly what she needed.
"Yes, this is enough for me!" Zheng Jicheng said.
He marveled inwardly. The so-called Seven Star Trading Association was trash compared to the Sacred Hall vault. Now this was true wealth!
"Very well."
The captain casually sealed the saber and handed it to Zheng Jicheng.
The two soon left the vault.
Only a wisp of consciousness remained, leaving behind a [Mind Mark].

Comments

Loading...