Chapter 446: Chapter 445: Dark Spirit Paste, Star Secret Realm
Noon.
In a café on the streets of the capital, Li Jing was drinking coffee with satisfaction.
During the construction of the Sky City, Jiang Liao had gradually selected several reliable candidates and sent them into the Little Universe to comprehend the Heritage Stele.
Overall, the number of people was not many.
Jiang Liao was very particular about selecting people.
As agreed.
At one o’clock, Li Jing was supposed to go to the Administration Bureau to receive the last batch, and then their "transaction" would be completed.
Afterwards, he was free to leave the capital, as long as he brought the people back when he left the Blue Star.
While waiting for the time to come, the phone on the table suddenly began to play melodious music.
Hearing the sound, Li Jing instinctively picked up the phone.
He saw Ji Youyu was calling.
The passage to the Heavenly Saint Land had closed a half month ago, and exploration teams from various forces, including Longyu, had withdrawn back to the present world.
In collaboration with the Da Xia Dynasty, Longyu and the Northern God Kingdom were undoubtedly the biggest winners with the richest harvest.
Of course, other forces did not fare too badly either.
After all, that was the general trend.
The Da Xia Dynasty was going through a period of recovery and could not withstand too much turmoil.
As the new emperor, Xia Qianqian did not want to offend people, and she hoped to gain more benefits from the present world forces through transactions.
In many matters, those who offer the highest price are more reliable.
There was no guarantee that there would be any "discounts" for Da Xia from the two forces they were tied to, Longyu and the Northern God Kingdom.
Everyone was well aware of the situation if monopolies were allowed to happen.
Longyu and the Northern God Kingdom would not be so greedy as to hoard all the benefits and not even give the other forces a share of the soup.
Aside from other factors.
The Secret Realm Passage can only be opened for a limited time.
If someone was upset and started making trouble, possibly even causing damage, it would not be beneficial for anyone.
Putting all those aside.
Ji Youyu had been extremely busy since she returned.
Li Jing had tried to contact her multiple times but wasn’t able to have a proper conversation.
However, Ji Youyu did keep her promise to Li Jing in advance, stating that once her work was done, she would propose to the Canglan Holy Land to allow him to visit as agreed.
In a way, with Li Jing’s current state of laying his cards on the table, going to the Secret Realm where Canglan Holy Land is located wouldn’t be that troublesome.
He just had to mention it to Jiang Liao, and arrangements would definitely be made.
However, the price he would have to pay in the process is another matter.
Jiang Liao definitely wouldn’t scheme against him.
But this kind of thing, Jiang Liao couldn’t have the final say.
The most he could do was to help introduce Li Jing to those who could make the decision and allow him to go to the related Secret Realms.
What those people might plan, is uncertain.
A month passed.
The news of Li Jing’s visit to the White Hawk had already spread across the globe.
Not only within Longyu, but internationally, who knows how many people were eyeing him.
Li Jing’s existence severely disrupted the balance of the present world.
Among them, naturally, there were those who tried to deal with him, or counterbalance Longyu.
But more importantly, there were those who wanted to use Li Jing.
Li Jing himself was well aware of this.
He wasn’t afraid of anyone now and was quite dominant.
But no matter how strong he was, he was still one person, and he couldn’t withstand the deviousness of human nature.
Demons, ghosts, and goblins, annoying pests.
It’s better to avoid some troubles if they could be avoided.
Hearing that Ji Youyu had finally reached out, Li Jing felt slightly cheered up and pressed the answer button.
"Sister Youyu, have you finished your work?"
"Not yet."
On the other end of the phone, Ji Youyu responded and then laughed.
"But I have some good news for you. The Holy Land has approved me to bring you over as a guest and get in touch with the heritage of the Holy Land. I still have a lot of work to do right now, so my junior sister will come to see you in a few days. Then let her take you to Canglan Holy Land."
"Sure, I’ll wait for her."
Li Jing responded in an unusually straightforward manner.
His trip to Canglan Holy Land was not for the wine but for the sake of the drinker.
He was not going for the heritage of Canglan Holy Land, but to the Secret Realm where the Holy Land was located, so he could go to the heavenly Taoist school to find Chen Yuran.
He didn’t care whether he went to Canglan Holy Land or not.
And he cared even less about who took him there.
Just as he was about to say something else, Ji Youyu spoke.
"There’s a situation you need to be aware of. Your advancement to the Ninth Realm and staying in the present world have spread to the Secret Realm where the Holy Land is located. Since you’ve brought significant benefits to our Canglan Holy Land, the Holy Land will not trouble you over this. They may just ask you about it, but the same can’t be said for other forces."
Without waiting for Li Jing to respond, she smiled and said.
"You’re a smart man. You surely aren’t naive enough to think that just because there are no cultivators at the Ninth Realm in the present world, the same applies to the peristed Secret Realms where sect forces are established, right?"
Upon hearing these words, Li Jing had a strange look on his face.
He wasn’t as naive as Ji Youyu suggested.
But he hadn’t thought about this issue before...
Now that it was mentioned by Ji Youyu, he suddenly felt somewhat annoyed.
Ji Youyu had almost explicitly told him that there were practitioners at the Ninth Realm in the persistent Secret Realms where sects have bases, including but not limited to the Secret Realms where Canglan Holy Land and the heavenly Taoist school are located.
And then, the matter of him stepping into the Ninth Realm yet still being able to stay in the present world had spread to these Secret Realms.
He didn’t care about the other Secret Realms.
The one he was going to, however, likely wouldn’t be free of trouble.
After a moment of silence, Li Jing asked.
"In the Secret Realm where your sect resides, are there any cultivators above the Tenth Realm?"
"No."
Ji Youyu replied, saying.
"The Secret Realm Space is an independent world. Although it is not bound by the rules of the Big World, its own existence also has its rules. The Ninth Realm is the limit at which the Star Secret Realm, where our Canglan Holy Land is located, can accommodate. Once stepping into the Tenth Realm, one would also need to leave via the Immortal King Command and ascend to the Ascendant Celestial Realm."
After speaking, she continued.
"I don’t know what the situation is in other Secret Realms, but remember when you go to the Star Secret Realm that there are people above people, and heavens above heavens. As long as you don’t foolishly go running around."
"Understood."
Li Jing replied.
He verbally agreed, but didn’t take this seriously in his heart.
It was not that he was arrogant.
But with no cultivators in the Tenth Realm, just those in the Ninth, he didn’t feel he needed to be concerned.
It’s true that there are people above people and heavens above heavens in this world.
Undoubtedly the principle is correct.
But how could a normal Ninth Realm cultivator possibly be his opponent?
If someone was really not thinking straight, he wouldn’t mind making a fortune.
Ninth Realm.
They should be pretty rich, right?
Since the beginning of Longyu’s establishment, various sects with potential that had been persisting in the Star Secret Realm for countless years, made him envious.
Li Jing was always a practical person.
If no one was bothered about him, it didn’t matter.
If someone did start bothering him, he wouldn’t avoid the situation.
Just as he was thinking of telling Ji Youyu to hang up for the moment, she spoke again.
"Oh, there is another thing, Qi Chen asked me to ask you."
?
Li Jing slowly typed a question mark.
"Qi Chen? He needs something from me?"
"It’s not a big deal."
Ji Youyu began, saying,
"You previously submitted a gel-like spiritual object from the Heavenly Saint Land to the Research Institute for analysis, right? The analysis results are out now, and the medicinal value of the Dark Spirit Paste is substantial."
With that, she continued,
"After testing, the Research Institute concluded that single use of the Dark Spirit Paste significantly aids in healing all kinds of external injuries, and even has a minor effect on enhancing one’s cultivation level. However, its potential is really brought out when it’s integrated into various cultivation-related elixirs. With just a few grams, the Dark Spirit Paste can enhance the effect of the related elixirs by 30%."
Hearing Ji Youyu describe it this way, Li Jing was momentarily stunned.
He remembered the gel-like spiritual object he had stored in the Little Universe.
After all, he had quite a lot of it.
He had saved it without using, and decided it’s more worth it to swap it for a large amount of Merit Points.
Through the Eye of True Vision.
He had also realized that the gel-like spiritual object, named Dark Spirit Paste by the Research Institute, had the functions of healing external injuries and negligibly increasing cultivation level.
However, he couldn’t see with the Eye of True Vision that when used in the alchemy of cultivation-related elixirs, it could improve their effects by 30%.
This wasn’t just a minor benefit.
There are myriad supportive elixirs for cultivation.
Most of them serve to increase the speed of cultivation.
An additional enhancement of 30% on top of their original usage would undeniably make alchemists go crazy for it.
This is quite a price!
It was obvious that Qi Chen reaching out at this moment was in hopes that he would submit it for Merit Points.
Interesting!
Without giving it further thought, Li Jing replied,
"I’ve collected quite a lot of that stuff, roughly about 500,000 tons."
"Ahem!"
On the other side of the phone, Ji Youyu started coughing violently, seemingly she choked on the water she was drinking.
After a bout of coughing, she managed to say,
"Do you really have that much?"
"I’ve always been lucky."
Li Jing chuckled.
"Hold on, let me check with Qi Chen and see what he thinks."
After Ji Youyu had said this, the call was put on hold.
A moment later, her voice resounded again.
"Li Jing, are you still there?"
"I am."
Li Jing responded, clearly eager to know,
"What did Qi Chen say? How much is he willing to offer?"
"Well... "
Pausing in uncertainty, Ji Youyu then said,
"He asked me to tell you: ’I’m sorry for disturbing you.’"
"...."
Li Jing.
The Dark Spirit Paste’s "excellence" was something proven by the Research Institute, and they’d even pinpointed its best usage.
But Qi Chen’s message, ’I’m sorry for disturbing you,’ was something Li Jing hadn’t expected.
What’s the meaning of this?
Was he scared by the total weight of the goods and can’t afford it?
A district chief of the Administration Bureau of Longyu couldn’t afford such a small amount of money?
Li Jing was totally dumbfounded.
But considering the quantity that he had, Qi Chen probably couldn’t shell out that much Merit Points, so he felt it was understandable.
After all, Qi Chen was just a district chief for the eastern region of the Administration Bureau. His power wasn’t insignificant but also had its limitations.
Thinking of this, Li Jing said,
"Since it’s a disturbance, let’s leave it at that."
?
On the other end of the phone, Ji Youyu sent out a question mark when she heard this, and hurriedly tried to speak,
"Wait..."
Before she could say anything else, Li Jing decisively hung up.
Qi Chen’s ’disturbance’ was due to his inability to afford the Merit Points required- that much was certain. But it didn’t necessarily mean he didn’t want the goods.
Never mind the fact that as the district chief, he would receive a commission for this kind of good stuff Qi Chen had to submit, where’s the rule that said he had to buy it all in one go?
He definitely wanted to negotiate.
But Li Jing wasn’t in the mood to negotiate.
If Qi Chen couldn’t afford it, couldn’t he just find someone else who could?
After hanging up the phone, without any hesitation, Li Jing turned off his phone and got up. Then he took a step forward.
The next second,
He appeared in the office of Jiang Liao, the Chief of the Administration Bureau.
Before he could even stabilize his footing, he saw Jiang Liao sitting at his desk with a contented expression, sipping from a glass of what appeared to be a highly exquisite spirit wine.
Seeing this, Li Jing frowned.
On the other hand, Jiang Liao was slightly taken aback by the sudden appearance of Li Jing.
The two locked eyes.
Jiang Liao spoke with a smile.
"Xiaoli, it’s not time yet. Why are you here?"
As he spoke, he casually put away the spirit wine and the glass.
"......"
Li Jing.
The wine Jiang Liao was drinking was quite extraordinary.
Just the aroma of the wine lingering in the office was refreshing.
Furthermore,
An unusual spiritual rhyme was wafting about the office.
But that’s not the point.
The point is.
The director of the Administration Bureau drinking during office hours is certainly unacceptable.
Seeing Li Jing looks at him speechlessly, Jiang Liao looks slightly awkward, and then smiles politely.
"What did you just see?"
Facing these words, Li Jing’s mouth twitches slightly.
"I didn’t see anything, Uncle, I saw you were working."
Jiang Liao shows a satisfied smile when he hears the answer, he clears his throat, and says.
"Did you come here to see me because you have something?"
"Yes."
Li Jing replies promptly, saying.
"The Research Institute’s analysis report on the Dark Spirit Paste, did you receive it, Uncle?"
"Dark Spirit Paste?"
Jiang Liao blinks and nods.
"Yes, I received the report. The stuff is good, but I’m not sure how much we can harvest. The expedition to the Heavenly Saint Land is somewhat special, there is no compulsory rule for surrendering gains to exchange for Merit Points, and it is entirely up to the individual. Since there are regulations, the Administration Bureau will certainly not force anyone. The people below are still actively communicating with the person who obtained the Dark Spirit Paste, there is no result yet."
While speaking, he wonders.
"How did you get the message when it should have been a secret? Could it be that the Dark Spirit Paste was obtained by your Heavenly King Group?"
Facing these questions, Li Jing smiles shyly.
"Not the Heavenly King Group, but me."
"You?"
Jiang Liao is taken aback, and then he speaks in surprise.
"So, you came to see me...?"
"Naturally, I want a good price."
Li Jing grins.
Jiang Liao frowns when he hears the words.
"The rules of the Administration Bureau, Li Jing you should know that there is no such thing as a good price. The Administration Bureau’s pricing for both harvesting and resource exchange are fair and unchanging, so even if you come to me..."
Before Jiang Liao can finish, Li Jing interrupts.
"Uncle, don’t misunderstand. I didn’t come to you to use our relationship to negotiate. It’s just that the amount of Dark Spirit Paste I harvested is not small, and the person in charge simply doesn’t have the authority to deal with it."
When he hears this, Jiang Liao raises his eyebrows.
"So, how much Dark Spirit Paste do you have?"
"At least half a million tons."
Li Jing smiles.
"..."
Jiang Liao.
Half a million tons...
He calls this ’not a small amount’?
He had read the analysis report from the Research Institute in the early morning.
Only a few grams of that stuff is needed for refining Elixir...
No wonder Li Jing said that the person in charge does not have the authority to deal with it.
Hearing that this man had half a million tons of it, even he felt like backing out.
It’s not that he doesn’t want it, nor that he can’t afford it.
It’s just that the Dark Spirit Paste is quite valuable, but it is essentially just an auxiliary material for refining Elixir, and it is not cost-effective to requisition all at once.
The most reasonable way to deal with it is to collect some of it.
Then, gather more when it is used up.
Doing this ensures that the burden on the Administration Bureau’s Merit Points is reduced to an extent.
But the situation at hand is a bit complicated.
Li Jing has all of it, and in less than a year, he will leave the present world.
After being silent for a while, Jiang Liao speaks.
"Twenty million Merit Points, I can’t go any higher."
When Li Jing hears this, he looks upset.
"Uncle, this is... "
Before he can finish his sentence, Jiang Liao says.
"In exchange, you can take my daughter with you."
"..."
Li Jing.
What’s Jiang Liao doing...?
He’s selling his daughter just like that!
Yet, you know what, the condition is really bloody tempting.
Truth be told.
Li Jing really wants to take Jiang Yini to the Immortal Realm.
Li Jing has been pondering a lot about going to the Immortal Realm.
Forget about running errands, this goes without saying.
The Immortal Realm’s situation is complicated, and he needs a force of his own.
He doesn’t want to be constrained by affiliating with others.
With the Little Universe, he has sufficient capital to establish his own force.
In that case, he will need an administrator, right?
If this is left to Liu Sisi or Yulian, then these two women might be able to handle it, but the pressure will certainly be great.
No need to consider Chen Yuran.
Even though Yuran’s abilities and temperament aren’t bad, her stubbornness is a disadvantage, sometimes she is overly straightforward.
Li Jing needs a more professional and capable assistant.
Jiang Yini is undoubtedly a suitable candidate.
Whether this girl is willing to go with him, let alone act as a "tool", Li Jing cannot guarantee.
This girl has her own opinions.
If she is unwilling, it will be difficult to persuade her to change her mind.
After contemplating for a while, Li Jing looks up.
"If Yini doesn’t want to come with me, can you persuade her, Uncle?"
"No."
Jiang Liao rolls his eyes and says.
"If I could persuade her, would this girl have run away from home for so many years?"
While speaking, he adds in an indifferent tone.
"Besides, whether Yini will go with you or not is not my problem, but whether you are capable of it. Also, you already paid the betrothal gifts, and I have received it. In some ways, this girl is no longer under my control. In this exchange, I only get the right to embrace my grandchild in the present world. By default, you can take my daughter to the Immortal Realm."
"..."
Li Jing.
He had a taste of Jiang Liao’s shameless true colors a month ago.
Now.
People are becoming increasingly shameless!
What’s the right to hug one’s grandchild in the modern world?
Not to mention that he has nothing to do with Jiang Yini, even if he did, why should he worry about others not coming along with him?
This move is simply gaining something for nothing.
But you can’t deny,
Jiang Liao’s tacit consent is indispensable.
Although Jiang Yini is inherently rebellious and has her own opinions, when it comes to filial piety, she is no worse than others.
If Jiang Liao does not want Jiang Yini to go to the Immortal Realm, she is most likely not going to do so.
Unless Li Jing really has a relationship with her, and she can’t part with him, that would be a possibility.
Li Jing let out a soft sigh, speaking wordlessly.
"In this case, Uncle, our transaction has been established, and I hope that the twenty million Merit Points can quickly reach my account."
With that, he took a step sideways, disappeared into the void, leaving only a sentence.
"It’s about time that I should go to the school field to admit the last batch of candidates into the Little Universe. I’ll leave something on the school field later, so it would be troublesome for you to contact someone to come and collect it."
It’s clear that Li Jing left so bluntly because he was slightly reluctant, but he had to follow his own way. As Jiang Liao’s mouth raised a corner, he sighed.
Girl,
I can only help you this far.
...
Time flew.
Two days passed.
Two days ago, Li Jing sent the last batch of people into the Little Universe, and at the same time, he received the twenty million merit points approved by Jiang Liao at a more efficient speed than ever before.
Adding to the original five million merit points in his account, a total of twenty-five million merit points were spent by him.
After all, it was something that couldn’t be brought to the Immortal Realm, so there was no use keeping it.
These twenty-five million merit points did not translate into something grand. Instead, they got some spiritual objects of planting value, or those that were not rooted out and could continue to be planted.
The Little Universe is now quite vast.
Everything that should be there is there.
However, the related Spiritual objects are somewhat lacking.
It needs serious improvement.
The growth of spiritual objects and further improvement of the environment have a great impact.
It can even improve the concentration of Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth.
For the Aboriginal Living Beings and those living in the Little Universe, this is very important. The higher the concentration of spiritual energy in the environment, the higher their growth speed and limit.
In order to exchange more plantable spiritual resources, Li Jing also gave the Sanctuary in the Little Universe to Jiang Liao.
A large Sanctuary is no longer of use.
Better to give it to the Administration Bureau for some Merit Points instead of wasting space.
It is not only the Sanctuary.
The Holy Relic that had been stored in the Sanctuary before was also taken out by Li Jing and exchanged for Merit Points because it was useful.
Do not underestimate it.
The Holy Relic, which was of no use to the Orthodox Immortality Path, aroused the strong interest of the Research Institute and finally exchanged more merit points than an entire Sanctuary.
However, this is normal.
The value of the Sanctuary only comes from the books stored within.
The Management Bureau does not mind studying it first, and then tempting the Supreme Church when they’re in a good mood, but no one is willing to take this about.
On the other hand, the rare Holy Relic is more helpful for studying the Faith system.
...
In the early morning.
Li Jing woke up early, ordered the hotel breakfast, and quietly awaited a call from the juvenile.
She did not let him wait long.
The breakfast had just been delivered to the hotel. Before he could have a few bites, his phone sitting on the table vibrated.
Picking up his phone, he saw a message sent by the juvenile.
"I’m still on the plane coming over to the country. Wait until ten o’clock, we meet at the VIP Channel Nine at the National Capital Airport."
After reading the message, Li Jing replied with an "Understood".
After breakfast, he left the hotel, wandered around until it was almost ten o’clock, and directly teleported to the National Capital Airport lobby.
Upon arrival at the VIP Channel Nine, Li Jing instantly spotted the waiting juvenile.
He had no choice but to see her.
In the cool outfit, her dazzling long white legs underneath the hot pants were not the point. Her terrifying height could attract anyone’s gaze.
Li Jing saw the juvenile, and she saw him too.
Their eyes met, and Li Jing signaled with a hand.
The juvenile smiled, waving her hand in return.
As they walked closer, she laughed and hooked his arm.
"Follow me."
With that, she led him towards the outside of the airport.
Li Jing hesitated, asking suspiciously.
"Aren’t we going by plane?"
"The entrance to the Star Secret Realm is in the Capital, there’s no need to take a plane."
The juvenile chuckled.
"The entrance to the Secret Realm is in the Capital?"
Li Jing was astonished, then asked in a bizarre tone.
"If the entrance is in the Capital, then why did you ask me to come to the airport?"
"What? Is it too much to ask you to come and pick me up?"
The junior looked at him as though it was only natural.
With dumbfounded amusement, Li Jing replied with silence.
"You win."
The juvenile laughed softly at his response before continuing.
"Okay, I’ll stop teasing you. The location of the Secret Realm entrance is protected by spatial formations. It is usually impossible to reach. Even if one could, they wouldn’t be able to get close.
"Spatial formations?"
Li Jing raised an eyebrow.
Before he could say anything, the juvenile took out a black Jade Brand and said.
"Here, keep this with you. It will prevent you from getting lost in the spatial formation."
Upon receiving it, Li Jing immediately noticed something was wrong.
The Jade Brand contained a rather high level mini space formation.
Even though he controlled the rules of space, and had the cognition brought by the Reverse Space, he still couldn’t see it in detail, let alone break it.
The formation within this Jade Brand seemed to be slightly more advanced than the Seven-Star Formation he currently controls.
The person who forged this Jade Brand is by no means simple.
If the Jade Brand is like this, the formation shielding the entrance to the Star Secret Realm is likely to be even more advanced.
...
