Chapter 396: Chapter 362: Celestial Demon Value, Undying Mother Tree, Zero-Dollar Purchase System!
The military martial artist finished speaking and said no more.
Everyone remained silent, contemplating the words that had been spoken.
When a giant building is about to collapse, who can possibly escape unscathed...
...
In the military camp within Desert 011.
The scene before Meng Chuan seemed to take him back to the era when humans plowed with knives and ignited fires...
Low earthen barracks were scattered about, soldiers’ faces pitted by the wind and sand.
Bonfires burned around the camp, with sparks crackling amidst the yellow sand.
Meng Chuan felt that the entire camp was permeated with the raw breath of survival.
Civilization here had already reverted to a primitive era.
Knowing that everyone had questions, Shang Ruyi explained:
"I know what you’re thinking. Inside the Demon Nest, all the progressive means of humanity will fail, that’s the rule of the Celestial Demon Realm.
Just as Celestial Demons are bound by the rules when they come to the human world.
As we enter the Demon Nest, we too must abide by their rules and cannot go against them.
Forget about electricity, generating power through fire, water, or wind is impossible.
Being able to light a fire for a hot meal is already good enough..."
After that, Shang Ruyi assigned rooms and barracks to everyone.
Meng Chuan arbitrarily chose a room at the far end, planning not to return to camp after a couple of days.
He had already decided to scout the nearby area for the first two days.
If all goes well, the last five days will be spent diving right in and hunting to his heart’s content!
Although the trial period for the four schools was said to last a week.
But if by then, he was still deeply inside and couldn’t get out, unable to make it back before the deadline.
General Yang Zhuo couldn’t possibly rush in and drag him out, right...
"Well, that wouldn’t be bad, saving me the trouble of having to run out later..."
No one can stop someone who loves hunting Celestial Demons, what he’s doing also counts as eliminating harm for the people, not violating military discipline...
The crowd saw Meng Chuan with a shiny bald head, a dark smile on his face, which inexplicably sent a chill down their spines...
Xu Qingfeng knew well that whenever Meng smiled like that, it meant someone was in for trouble.
But he didn’t know that this time, the one in trouble would be the Celestial Demons...
...
After the people from Northern United University claimed their accommodations, they joined Shang Ruyi by his side.
"The other three schools are located in different camps, no more than fifty kilometers from here.
If you encounter people from other schools during exploration, you can lend a helping hand if needed.
We may be in a competitive relationship, but facing the Celestial Demons, we must unite externally."
Chu Yanhu raised his hand and asked:
"Teacher Shang, can we snatch the demons?"
"It’s not encouraged... ahem... you’ll know when you explore further.
Upper Rank Celestial Demons are relatively scarce, Middle Rank ones begin to increase, and Lower Rank ones are quite numerous.
Don’t think that with nearly a thousand of you, the territory inside Desert 011 is so vast that even if you all lived there, it would take months to deal with all the Celestial Demons."
Upon hearing this, Chu Yanhu looked as if he realized something.
Only the Celestial Demons that are valuable and bring high combat merits, which the opponent’s strength must be greater than one’s own, are not to be snatched.
The military’s [Combat Merit Jade Talisman] is a peculiar artifact that records only the one who delivers the final strike to the Celestial Demon based on the blood left behind.
It’s unwise to make enemies with strong outsiders over a few mere combat merits, and no one present was a fool.
As for the abundant Lower Rank Celestial Demons mentioned by Shang Ruyi, there’s no need to do such things.
And so, everyone followed Shang Ruyi’s guidance and left a drop of blood at the Northern United University’s allotted Combat Merit Jade Talisman location.
Shang Ruyi finally said:
"Alright, from here on out, I’m not managing you anymore. Inside the Demon Nest, there’s no distinction between day and night—explore according to your physical capacity, it’s best to go in groups.
Of course, those confident may go solo, you’re free to choose, I don’t care as long as United University doesn’t come in last, then my task is complete."
He mentioned this last part casually.
In his view, the strength of the last two batches of martial artists at Northern United University was not inferior to previous ones, but rather superior in many aspects—coming in last was out of the question.
"Finally, remember the words to have awe for nature, as these apply within the Demon Nest as well.
Have respect for the weather phenomena, especially the zones ravaged by sandstorms as noted in the Demon Nest guidelines.
Apart from She Yu, all of you are One-Limit Martial Arts Masters, but even a Two-Limit entering wrongly is likely to not return.
Don’t fantasize about countering the elements with human strength—you aren’t qualified yet."
Meng Chuan nodded silently, despite having impressive physical prowess, he had no intention of trying the ’puny men strive against heaven’ approach.
Better to spend the effort hunting more Celestial Demons...
...
After the crowd dispersed, Meng Chuan wandered the camp, preparing to set out on a hunt.
At the quartermaster’s station, he gathered details on the value of Celestial Demons within the Demon Nest.
For Lower Rank Celestial Demons, the specific number must be hunted depending on their strength, ranging from a few dozen to cash in for 1 point of combat merit.
For Middle Rank Celestial Demons, you can get at least 1 point per demon; the Combat Merit Jade Talisman will precisely record the specific strength of the Celestial Demons hunted, with those nearing Upper Rank strength earning up to five combat merit points.
For Upper Rank Celestial Demons, the minimum is ten combat merit points, and those close to the Great Demons’ title, akin to the Three-Limit Martial Arts Master level, can net up to a hundred combat merit points.
Of course, these are regular combat merits alone.
To exchange for the Dawn Divine Sword—special combat merits—Meng Chuan knew it could only be acquired through major competitions.
The staff happened to provide other channels:
"Student, when you have the ability to kill those renowned Great Demons later on.
You can freely choose between earning a large amount of regular combat merits or a small amount of special combat merits.
I see that you are already a Silver Medal recipient, quite remarkable at your young age.
In the future, when you have special battle merits, you can choose to upgrade your medal.
To upgrade from Silver to Gold Tiger, 500 special battle merits will suffice.
The [Diamond Dragon] is a significant milestone, requiring a full five thousand. Even our commander only holds a Gold Medal.
However, I heard from others that he has saved up enough special battle merits for an upgrade and is currently considering whether to advance to Diamond Dragon or exchange them for rare resources beneficial for breaking through to Celestial King."
Meng Chuan nodded, feeling a deep respect in his heart for Commander Yang Zhuo.
The Diamond Dragon Medal is second only to Great Chu’s highest honor—[Pillar of the Nation].
He hadn’t heard of anyone other than the Seven-Limit Great Saint receiving the latter...
The Seven-Limit Great Saints are one in hundreds of millions, so the Diamond Dragon is virtually the pinnacle of honors in Great Chu.
According to what he said, Commander Yang Zhuo must have achieved numerous victories to accumulate so many special battle merits.
Thinking of this, Meng Chuan mused:
"Special battle merits are extraordinarily precious, every point hard-earned. My winning the first national championship at the Martial Artist level earned me just 100 special battle merits.
The Treasure Pill level [Little Creation Bone Pill] is worth merely 100 points, while the Gold Tiger’s value is five times that.
This shows the difficulty of obtaining them is not as simple as the other person suggested."
Meng Chuan didn’t ask in detail about how many special battle merits can be exchanged after specifically hunting a Great Demon.
According to specific strength, it will undoubtedly fluctuate, and once you reach that level of strength, you will naturally know.
This time, I aim to gather more regular battle merits, which are far more useful than money.
Meng Chuan had already identified his desired Martial Arts resources in the Armory.
There is an advanced version of [Five Elements Soup], a medicinal soup that assists in cultivating the true skill Five Elements Fist.
There is also something like [Qi Armor Spirit Pill], a great pill that helps to condense the Qi Blood of the core technique.
Although Qi Armor Spirit Pill is useful for the Two-Limit, its effectiveness is not the best.
The cultivation great pill most suitable for the Two-Limit is called [Moistening Vein Spirit Pill].
Its main ingredients are the same as the Qi Armor Spirit Pill, but the auxiliary ingredients are even rarer, and the refining process is more complicated.
The effect of the Moistening Vein Spirit Pill is more than twenty percent better than the Qi Armor Spirit Pill for the Two-Limit.
The Martial Arts family from Great Chu’s top-tier aristocratic families daily consumes this pill.
Apart from being twice as expensive, there are no other faults.
Meng Chuan pondered:
"The cost is my problem, unrelated to the pill...
After this mission, if the harvest is abundant, I’ll buy the Moistening Vein Spirit Pill."
If the harvest doesn’t meet expectations, I’ll just stick with the Qi Armor Spirit Pill...
...
Meng Chuan finished practicing the last bit of his technique circulation and was ready to set off for hunting.
Today, the primary focus is on exploring the area around the camp and helping friends assess the situation.
The Dragon-Tiger brothers, Xu Qingfeng, and Chen Jingyi, along with other members from Yong’an campus, were waiting by Meng Chuan’s side.
The group had just visited the military supply office for the first time to check the Armory exchange catalog.
Each person’s expression was full of excitement, as the resources within were far richer than those at the United University mall.
Xu Qingfeng exclaimed excitedly:
"Meng, the Armory is fantastic! If I had a [Zero Purchase System], I could probably be a Grandmaster within ten years!"
Meng Chuan replied speechlessly:
"You’re dreaming, stop reading so many mindless feel-good stories..."
Demon Nest resources are incredibly valuable, and you think you can get them for nothing...
Everyone was chattering about which treasures caught their eyes.
Some, like Meng Chuan, were targeting items beneficial for cultivation.
The good things in the Armory were all produced with Demon Nest materials as the main ingredients.
Not only were there sharp weapons and treasured armor, but various spirit pills too.
There were even long-lost items from the outside world.
Items that extend life.
In the Level Four Demon Nest, [Terrifying Tree], that had already been conquered.
The identity of the Demon Nest Master’s true body within was an [Immortal Mother Tree] from the Celestial Demon Realm.
It hadn’t been killed but was sealed by the Seven-Limit Great Saint and made into a [Immortal Fruit] production machine.
The Immortal Mother Tree can produce about a hundred Immortal Fruits each year, each allowing an ordinary person to extend their life by decades.
Although useless for the mutated bodies of Martial Arts families, it can be combined with other rare auxiliary materials.
It can be refined into the top-tier treasure pill [Evergreen Immortality Pill], capable of extending life by more than ten years.
Meng Chuan himself certainly doesn’t need it, as his current lifespan is assuredly extended beyond estimation due to a certain blessing.
"But my uncle and aunt... and my master, they definitely need it."
Immortal Fruits can be exchanged for battle merits, but as for the Evergreen Immortality Pill, Meng Chuan had only heard of it and never seen it available for sale, even in the Armory.
At present, his uncle and aunt are still robust, in their prime.
So, he should first use the battle merits for his cultivation needs, and when the two elders require it in the future, Meng Chuan would exchange it without hesitation.
As for the Evergreen Immortality Pill... it will have to rely on chance.
He didn’t know that Luo Guanyun had consumed this pill before, costing him a Fifth-Grade Divine Weapon [Golden Linglong], along with several billion in costs.
Meng Chuan would need to work hard to fulfill his filial piety...
...
After everyone checked their equipment, including Meng Chuan, the group from Yong’an headed out along the right side of the camp.
After comprehensive consideration, Northern United University decided to form exploration teams based on campus units.
On one hand, this makes collecting battle merits more efficient.
On the other hand, Martial Arts families’ techniques significantly surpass those of Martial Artists, being familiar individuals helps prevent accidental injuries.
