Chapter 311: Chapter 298: Soul-Imbued Celestial Book
The Flying Giant Ship stood tall in Immortal Sun City, and countless cultivators from the Liuyun Continent, who had been waiting for a long time, surged towards the location of the giant ship from all directions.
Zhouyang was no exception.
Since cultivators below the Golden Core Stage were not allowed to fly within Immortal Sun City, he had to, like the vast majority of cultivators, travel to the berth of the Flying Giant Ship by taking Void Traveling Tower Ships and Beast Vehicles.
Meanwhile, as he hurried along, his eyes gleamed with golden light as he looked at those notices on the giant ship.
The notices outlined the trading rules of the commercial group.
According to the notices, cultivators from the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm wishing to enter the Flying Giant Ship for trade must be at least at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Additionally, transactions within are primarily conducted by bartering, and if one wishes to use Spirit Stones for shopping, the shopkeeper’s consent is required.
Furthermore, the fourth layer within the Flying Giant Ship is an auction venue where, for the next year, auction events will be held daily for three hours, featuring treasures brought from the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, and they will also accept treasures from cultivators of the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm for consignment sale.
Lastly, any transactions within the Flying Giant Ship are final and non-returnable once outside the ship, applicable to both parties involved.
Most importantly, within the Flying Giant Ship, no attack magic is allowed; even a minor Tier Two magic is prohibited!
If anyone dares to cast attack magic inside the Flying Giant Ship, no matter who it is, they will be immediately executed on the spot by the three Nascent Soul Stage cultivators stationed therein!
Zhouyang’s gaze lingered on those trading rules for only a moment before shifting to the scrolling names of the treasures.
The treasures eligible to scroll on that screen are undoubtedly valuable items. At a glance, Zhouyang saw quite a few names of Tier Five Spiritual Objects, and even Tier Five Spirit Pills and Tier Five Spiritual Artifacts being directly sold there.
That made him click his tongue in wonder, strengthening his desire to enter and broaden his horizons.
Half an hour later, Zhouyang finally arrived at the bridge of clouds connecting to the Flying Giant Ship, and after releasing the aura of a Purple Mansion Stage cultivator, he received a nod of acknowledgment from the Profound Sun Immortal Sect cultivators guarding the bridge before stepping onto it and flying towards the Flying Giant Ship.
By this time, a significant number of cultivators from the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm had already arrived on the Flying Giant Ship, including some Golden Core Stage cultivators who had soared through the clouds onto the ship and entered inside.
As Zhouyang’s feet landed on the deck of the ship, he followed the crowd towards the nearest cabin entrance.
The entrance was a dimly glowing light door, which Zhouyang knew to be a typical feature of a Pocket World Spiritual Artifact.
A "Pocket World Spiritual Artifact," as the name implies, is a large advanced spatial spiritual artifact featuring an internally self-contained pocket world, typically only Tier Six spatial spiritual artifacts qualify to be named as such.
And as he stepped into the light door with great curiosity, a feeling of weightlessness rapidly enveloped his entire body, but before he could fully experience this sensation, his vision brightened, and he found himself in a bluestone plaza.
The plaza was circular, covering an area of thirty to forty acres. Surrounding the plaza were shop pavilions with open doors, where various glowing Tier Three and Tier Four Spiritual Objects were displayed on counters like cabbages, waiting for customers to inquire about purchasing.
Zhouyang’s eyes swept over the scene, noticing that several cultivators from the Liuyun Continent who arrived earlier were inside the shops negotiating and conversing with shopkeepers, apparently having found items they favored.
Seeing this, he didn’t stand idly any longer; he immediately stepped towards a pavilion named "Donghua Tower."
This "Donghua Tower" was opened by the real owner of the Flying Giant Ship, the Donghua Sect, naturally occupying the best site and largest area in the Pocket World.
Upon entering, Zhouyang’s gaze swept over the treasures inside, which were divided into five categories: pills, artifacts, talismans, arrays, and miscellaneous items, each occupying a section of the store. In each section, there was a Purple Mansion Stage cultivator and two Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators serving as shop assistants, while a Golden Core Stage cultivator personally sat behind the counter at the shopkeeper’s position.
Most cultivators aren’t talkative people. Moreover, those capable of entering the Flying Giant Ship have at least Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, so even when wanting to inquire something from the shop assistants, they would choose to communicate via transmission rather than loud chatter.
Thus, although there were twenty to thirty cultivators present, including Zhouyang, inside the tower, there was no noise at all.
Zhouyang’s gaze glanced at the interior of the tower, then he directly stepped towards the elixir section.
The elixir section contained numerous medicine cabinets, each with ten or more compartments, housing a bottle of elixir with a jade token hanging outside, inscribed with the elixir’s name.
As long as a cultivator in the store projects a trace of Divine Sense into that jade token, they could understand the grade and effects of the elixir, as well as consumption contraindications, akin to reading a Jade Scroll, which was very convenient.
But the most important aspect, the price, was not marked.
Zhouyang didn’t look at those Tier Five Spirit Pills, as they weren’t within his current budget.
As for the Tier Four Spirit Pills that could enhance Purple Mansion Stage cultivator cultivation, he didn’t need them for now, especially since he hadn’t consumed any of the Spirit Pills purchased from the Profound Sun Pavilion yet.
Though there are many kinds of elixirs on the counter, there are not many that can truly pique his interest.
"Greetings, fellow cultivator. May I inquire how to trade for the [Spirit Awakening Pill] and [Beast Spirit Pill]?"
Zhouyang’s gaze withdrew from the numerous elixirs on the counter, quickly transmitting his inquiry about the price of his coveted elixirs to one of the Foundation Establishment shop assistants nearby.
The "Spirit Awakening Pill" is a Tier Four High-Grade Spirit Pill, which can help demon beasts to prematurely develop spiritual wisdom. Although seldom seen, once available in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, it’s quickly snapped up.
Zhouyang is currently hatching a "Golden-winged Thunder Eagle" egg. If he can administer a "Spirit Awakening Pill" to the fledgling after it hatches, it would be greatly beneficial to its future development.
As for the "Beast Spirit Pill," this is the first time Zhouyang has heard of this Tier Three Spirit Pill. According to the information in the Jade Token, if a spirit beast cub consumes one of these pills, its growth rate can increase three to five times in the following year, with each spirit beast capable of consuming ten of such pills in its lifetime.
With such powerful effects, it’s expected that these two types of elixirs will fetch a high price.
After bargaining with the shop assistant for almost half an hour, Zhouyang finally traded a large portion of the Tree Demon Root and half a pound of "Fire Separation Essence Gold" for one "Spirit Awakening Pill" and ten "Beast Spirit Pills."
Having exchanged for the elixirs, Zhouyang visited the magical artifact section to examine what unique artifacts the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm offers compared to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm.
Indeed, he found a particularly intriguing artifact there.
This artifact is called the "Soul-entrusting Tome," allowing cultivators to entrust a wisp of their divine soul onto it. If a cultivator with a soul entrusted to the tome unexpectedly meets their demise, their relatives or elders can arrive at the scene within seven days and use the artifact to display the deceased’s perspective from their final moments.
However, the "Soul-entrusting Tome" isn’t omnipotent. For instance, if the deceased’s divine soul is taken by a demon cultivator post-death or if they fall to divine techniques with "Soul Devouring" or "Soul Annihilation" attributes, the tome cannot uncover the perpetrator’s identity.
Even so, the "Soul-entrusting Tome" remains an invaluable treasure for factions lacking the presence of Nascent Soul Stage cultivators.
One aspect Zhouyang admires is that the Donghua Sect has undertaken tiered sales of this special artifact.
There are three grades of "Soul-entrusting Tome" on display at the counter, with the highest-tier equivalent to a Tier Five Spiritual Artifact, capable of entrusting the divine soul of a hundred cultivators, including those of the Golden Core Stage.
The mid-tier "Soul-entrusting Tome" corresponds to a Tier Four Spiritual Artifact, accommodating the divine souls of thirty cultivators, including those of the Purple Mansion Stage.
The lower grade "Soul-entrusting Tome" corresponds to a Tier Three Spiritual Artifact, allowing the divine souls of ten Foundation Establishment cultivators to be entrusted onto it.
Yet even the lower grade "Soul-entrusting Tome" can fetch a price equivalent to a Tier Four Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact!
Zhouyang certainly wasn’t satisfied with a lower grade "Soul-entrusting Tome," even though at this stage, a lower grade would suffice for the Zhou family.
Nevertheless, this "Soul-entrusting Tome" is a unique artifact of the Donghua Sect. If this chance is missed, acquiring this artifact later would mean waiting another one or two hundred years until the Donghua Continent trade consortium visits the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm again, or venturing personally to the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm to purchase it.
Therefore, after much deliberation, Zhouyang decided to grit his teeth and traded a complete "Golden Light Celestial Stabilizing Mirror" Talisman Treasure for a mid-grade "Soul-entrusting Tome."
A complete "Golden Light Celestial Stabilizing Mirror" Talisman Treasure may not equal a Tier Five Spiritual Artifact in value, but its potency surpasses Tier Five Lower Grade Artifacts, and can be used by Purple Mansion Stage cultivators.
If not for the rarity of the "Soul-entrusting Tome," Zhouyang would never part with such a prized treasure just to exchange with others.
This exchange left him with only a "Golden Light Celestial Stabilizing Mirror" Talisman Treasure that had been used once and another unused Tier Five Middle Grade Artifact Talisman from the three talisman treasures he originally acquired from the storage rings of two Golden Core Stage cultivators.
Afterward, Zhouyang toured the spirit talismans, arrays, and miscellaneous sections in Donghua Tower. Although he found several items of interest, considering his dwindling treasures available for exchange, he restrained himself.
Yet he only restrained himself within Donghua Tower. Later, when he stumbled upon more compelling treasures in other shops, Zhouyang didn’t hesitate to seize the opportunity.
Completing his rounds and beyond those treasures exchanged in Donghua Tower, Zhouyang purchased a Tier Four Spiritual Artifact "Spirit Rhinoceros Jade Pendant" and a Tier Four Middle Grade Spirit Pill "Chongxuan Pill."
The "Spirit Rhinoceros Jade Pendant" is crafted from the horn of the ocean exotic beast "Twin Unicorns," consisting of male and female pieces. Worn on the person, it offers water-shielding and cleansing properties, and during an attack automatically generates a protective shield equivalent in power to a Tier Four Lower Grade Defense Magic.
Its most significant feature, however, lies in its ability to enable communication between two wearers across a distance of tens of thousands of miles, with one wearer able to guide the other to their location.
The "Chongxuan Pill" substantially enhances the success rate of a Third-Layer Purple Mansion cultivator in advancing to the Fourth-Layer of the Purple Mansion.
To acquire these treasures, Zhouyang respectively paid the price of a Tier Four Pill Formula and one pound of "Fire Separation Essence Gold!"