by <unknown>
However, after discussion, they had realized that the Devastating Icy Revenant was too dangerous and out of their control. Once it was released, it would attack everything it met indiscriminately.
Besides, no one in Team Blue Bronze was good at controlling spiritual energy of the ice class. It was hardly likely that the power of the Devastating Icy Revenant would be best utilized with them.
Therefore, it was decided that it would be a better choice to sell them to Occult Orbs Fellowship for contribution points which could be used to purchase more practical magical equipment and Cultivation arts for the preparation of the big event in several months' time.
As a result, the Devastating Icy Revenant and the corresponding magical equipment was traded for more than a hundred thousand contribution points. Together with the reward of the Nine-hold Stones and the Soul Melting Crystals, and deducting the loss of a star shuttle, they earned about 110 thousand contribution points.
It was quite a large fortune for them. Even during the time when their former captain Yin Qingfeng had still been alive, such a large number of contribution points were still a remarkable achievement.
Li Yao scratched his head and said, somewhat embarrassed, "Captain, I think we should divide our revenue evenly. Everybody tried their best to make sure all of us survived the disaster. I wouldn't have been able to take the Devastating Icy Revenant down if I had been alone."
Li Yao meant what he said.
After the trip of Mystic Glacier, the importance of teamwork was clearer to him than ever before.
Scout, sniper, defense, attack, mental interference… Every Orb Patroller was irreplaceable for the mission to be completed.
If he had been there by himself, he would've barely been able to collect any resources, if he survived at all.
Hong Tong waved his hand and said frankly, "No need to hesitate. This is the tradition of Team Blue Bronze. We've all agreed to this decision.
"Besides, we all have our savings, more or less. But you've already run out of contribution points since you are a newcomer. With the thirty thousand contribution points, you will be able to purchase things that you need for your Cultivation, which will be of great help for the team and our future missions, too!"
Pausing for a moment, he rubbed his hands in excitement. "I didn't expect you to be so capable. It appears that we can adjust our plan and apply for missions that are more dangerous but reward more contribution points!"
Li Yao thought for a moment and realized that it did make sense. Whatever remarkable performance he had offered, he was still at the beginning level of the Building Foundation Stage, the lowest in the team, after all. It would be for the best if he could improve his strength fast in case he became a burden for the team.
Making up his mind, he nodded his head and said unhesitatingly, "Alright. I will try to raise my Cultivation as soon as I can, so that Team Blue Bronze can be stronger and return to the top 10 of the Star of Ranks sooner!"
Li Yao was grinning while he was talking.
That was more than thirty thousand contribution points! It was a huge fortune for anybody. Many kinds of powerful magical equipment that he had been dreaming about were all affordable to him right now.
"Great."
Hong Tong continued, "Do you have anything that you want to buy yet? Do you need our advice?"
Li Yao licked his lips and nodded with a smile.
"There are indeed a few kinds of magical equipment that I'm interested in. Firstly, 'Seven Star Fire Dragon Grenade', which is a kind of powerful explosive magical equipment from the Star Ocean Imperium. Once it was triggered, it could fly to almost a thousand meters away and turn into seven explosive spots. In each spot, dragon-shaped fire will burst out, which are powerful enough to directly burn the souls of the demons into ashes!
"Secondly, 'Frigid Prison Grenade', another kind of explosive magical equipment. Similar to the Devastating Icy Revenant that we met, it will freeze almost a hundred square meters to below minus two hundred degrees while releasing a weird wind that can seal the internal organs of the demons directly!
"Thirdly, 'Illusive Venomous Grenade', still another kind of explosive magical equipment which can launch attack to the brain of Cultivators and demons. After they explode, the enemy will be put in the worst nightmare. However solid the soul of the enemy is, they will lose their consciousness briefly!"
"Fourth…"
Li Yao talked about almost ten different kinds of explosive magical equipment in a row, all of which had been retrieved from the Occult Orbs and were still too advanced for the Heaven's Origin Sector to provide.
Everyone was stunned. 'Dummy' Ba Weiqi muttered to himself, "Well well well. If we can gather enough of them, our firepower will be multiple times greater than it is right now. We might be even to invade the Blood Demon Sector!"
Li Yao smiled and said, "I'm not just buying the magical equipment because I want to use them. I'm more interested in dismantling them, study their design and structure, and see if there is any possibility for us to replicate them or mass-produce them.
"If the magical equipment inherited from the Star Ocean Imperium can be manufactured, the power of the federal army will be greatly improved!"
Everyone's faces turned even more pale, while they were eyeing Li Yao as if he was a lunatic. Ba Weiqi clicked his tongue and said, "You dare to disassemble and study the explosive magical equipment from the Star Ocean Imperium? That's crazy enough! But please don't do it in our home here. Our contribution points won't suffice if you blow this building up!"
Everybody laughed.
Hong Tong continued, "Li Yao, whatever you need to buy, just buy it. I can help you contact the refining workshop that has the most advanced facilities here. But I suggest you spare some contribution points. In a few days, a 'secret treasure exchange' will be held. This time, we've got plenty of contribution points in our pockets. We can go there and take a tour!"
"Secret treasure exchange?"
Li Yao's curiosity was immediately aroused. As a refiner, he wouldn't miss the opportunity to visit the largest secret treasure exchange in the federation for the world.
…
Two days later, in the secret treasure exchange held in the biggest convention center in Empyreal Star City.
Almost all the Orb Patrollers who were not out on missions had gathered in this place, partly to choose items that fit their need, and partly to get to know more people, make more friends, and strike more deals with potential partners.
"It's Team Blue Bronze!"
"I'm told that they've made a fortune! They earned 110 thousand contribution points out of a simple exploration and collection mission."
"I've seen the video clips. The new Team Blue Bronze had complementary personnel and professional tactics. They took down the demon squad made of more than ten demons without any trouble. Very impressive!"
"Indeed. Inferno Witch Ding Lingdang and Vulture Li Yao are only in their twenties, but they do not look like newcomers at all. Their attacks are brutal, and they are very confident!"
"True that. Vulture Li Yao dismantled and cracked a piece of magical equipment from the demon clan in less than five minutes!"
"This was the first time that they've ever cooperated, and they've already made such remarkable achievements. It seems that Team Blue Bronze is very likely to return to the top ten of the Rank of Stars!"
As the only team exclusively made of outside-world Orb Patrollers that had been in the top 5 of the Rank of Stars, Team Blue Bronze had always been paid close attention to by many teams.
Li Yao was not someone who liked to keep a low profile, either. No sooner had he entered Empyreal Star City than he beat Guo Yu up terribly, which was quite shocking news at the time and made him the focus of public attention.
Ding Lingdang and he were both under twenty-five. Although they were not the strongest of all the Orb Patrollers right now, their potentials were definitely among the top.
Many well-informed Orb Patro
llers came close and greeted Team Blue Bronze, trying to become acquainted with them.
Many missions in the exploration of the Occult Orbs required several Star Teams to work together. A powerful and dependable team was definitely worth befriending.
Even the Star Teams made of Children of Occult Orbs were also eyeing them in amazement.
In the Occult Orbs, capability was everything. Children of Occult Orbs worshipped the strong more than common Cultivators did.
The accomplishments and capability of Team Blue Bronze had been appreciated by them, if not somewhat with respect.
Chapter 381: Eggs and Fossils |
As a refiner, Li Yao paid great attention to other Orb Patrollers, too, because helping them maintain or modify magical equipment could earn him a lot of contribution points without any risk.
His feat in cracking a piece of magical equipment from the demon race in Mystic Glacier in a very short time had become known by a lot of people. If he behaved friendlily right now, he expected that many people would seek out his service very soon.
Many stronger refiners could call on a lot of Cultivators when they needed to. Most of the time, their friendship originated from the simple relationship of a refiner and a customer.
Hong Tong and his other teammates found a few old acquaintances and started chitchatting enthusiastically, planning to work with several other Star Teams for some difficult missions that demanded cooperation.
Soon, the lights in the hall dimmed. Many ivory, translucent crystals appeared out of thin air, emitting mild brightness that illuminated the room like a warm spring morning but was not in the least dazzling.
Almost a hundred booths rose up from the ground of the hall.
As for the plants, minerals, fossils, and remnants of magical equipment which were too large to be showed in a booth, they were displayed in front of everyone via holograms. Anyone interested in them could go to the warehouse below the convention center to study them more closely.
Ba Weiqi jabbed Li Yao with his elbow and said, smiling, "What do you think? A real eye-opener, isn't it?"
"It truly is; it really is incredible."
Li Yao's eyes were glowing, like those of a wolf which had been offered with a fat, roasted lamb after having nothing to eat for three days. He was so excited that he almost forgot where he was.
All the showpieces in the secret treasure exchange of Empyreal Star City were treasures that Star Teams had retrieved from the Occult Orbs. Not only was the scale of the secret treasure exchange ten times large than what Li Yao experienced in Serpent City, the exhibited items were also significantly more elegant.
Although Li Yao failed to recognize the background and attributes of most secret treasures, he was still deeply impressed by the intense spiritual waves that they released which swept over him like surging tides.
Any refiner would find it hard to control themselves in such a soul-stirring place.
Taking a deep breath, Li Yao started to study each item with his eyes wide open.
99% of the secret treasures were unknown to him, but the 1% that he had recognized were all invaluable and once-in-a-hundred-years rare treasures in the Heaven's Origin Sector.
'This is the egg of a 'Gold Spirit Ice Boa' infiltrated by a 'Phantom Thread Venomous Bee' which has injected its own eggs into the host. Then, the egg of 'Gold Spirit Ice Boa' provides nutrition for them. When it breaks out of the shell, it will become a 'Gold Thread Venomous Bee' that has attributes of both spiritual beasts. It is the king of insect-type spiritual beasts!
'Although the egg is lifeless after being buried in the underground for almost a thousand years, there is still a 1% likelihood that the Gold Thread Venomous Bee could be revived after thorough treatment. Even if the endeavor proves to be in vain, I can still retrieve more than ten constituents from the egg for other magical equipment. Part of the power of 'Gold Thread Venomous Bee' can be carried out, too!
'I can even refine a batch of beast puppets in the form of bees with this egg. They will be perfect for scouting and attacking lone soldiers!'
Li Yao's heart was pounding.
Triggering the vitality of this strange egg was not something that he was good at. But it was his specialty to get the useful constituents out of the egg as ingredients to refine other pieces of magical equipment.
On the second floor of the Heavenly Refining Tower, there were almost twenty books on the subject of refining magical equipment with the eggs and bones of spiritual beasts.
Looking at the price tag, Li Yao almost laughed out aloud. Such a precious secret treasure was only selling at 800 contribution points!
It was possible that except himself who had seen the Gold Spirit Ice Boa Egg in the 'Gallery of the World' on the second floor of the Heavenly Refining Tower, other people might know nothing about the item at all. Even if they knew a thing or two about its usage, they had no idea how to get the useful constituents out. That was why it had been set at such a low price.
This was the charm of the secret treasure exchange.
In this place, knowledge was money!
In the eyes of those who were ignorant, these items were garbage; in the eyes of those who were informed, they were the real treasures!
Cultivators usually did not like other people idling around when they were studying Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. Therefore, every booth was surrounded by several crystal processors whose light beams hid the excavation process and the preliminary conclusion of the experts.
If they saw eye to eye with the item, they could place an order on the crystal processors directly.
Li Yao typed on the virtual rune keyboards and search for relevant information. This strange egg was discovered in an Occult Orb named 'Endless Frost'.
Endless Frost was home to Gold Spirit Ice Boas. The purpose of the mission had been to hunt down a Gold Spirit Ice Boa King. The team discovered the strange egg accidentally after they finished the hunting.
Li Yao's judgement was further supported.
He stopped hesitating and bought it instantly. As the contribution points in his account were deducted, a string of words appeared on the strange egg: Li Yao, Team Blue Bronze.
Then, the booth containing the strange egg gradually sank to the underground.
After the secret treasure exchange was over, all the things that he bought would be packed up together. There was no need to take it with him right now.
After buying a bargain such as the egg of the Gold Spirit Ice Boa, which was far beyond his expectations, Li Yao was greatly satisfied. He strolled in the hall, only to notice that Ding Lingdang was standing in front of a giant slate, tempted and hesitating.
A few other Cultivators were also pointing at the slate.
Li Yao stepped close to look at it more carefully. The slate was more than ten meters both in length and width. It was made up by more than ten smaller slates, which were full of bumps and hollows. Countless traces were interweaving on them.
Li Yao squinted. From the bottom of the hollows, he saw uneven stripes that looked like two extremely long bones, together with dozens of paw marks.
It was a fossil of two dragons.
The two dragons tangled each other tightly. After millions of years of time, their flesh and blood had turned into dust. The only things remaining were the scattered bones, which were still releasing an intimidating scent nonetheless.
Closing his eyes, Li Yao seemed to be able to see two dragons fighting each other in a prehistoric world where volcanoes were erupting and land was collapsing.
"Hiss!"
While Li Yao was dwelling in it, one of the dragons suddenly dashed at him and slapped his forehead, which chilled him and forced him to take a step back. Li Yao didn't come back to himself after he retreated from the hallucination for a long time.
What tremendous mental power! What a marvelous fossil!
The two dragons were dozens of meters long. This fossil was only part of their bodies. If the fossil of their entire bodies
was gathered together, the mental power contained within would be enough to slay a low-level Cultivator directly.
"Do you want to buy the fossil?"
Li Yao was somewhat astonished. Ding Lingdang was the purest battle-type Cultivator. Since when had she started studying fossils?
"Yes."
Ding Lingdang's passionate eyes were fully focused on the fossil, unable to be moved to anywhere else at all. She mumbled to herself, "I don't know what's happening, but the moment I got here, my whole self was attracted to the fossil, and I pictured two fighting dragons which were shaking the sky and the earth. I felt enlightened!
"You know that I'm practicing 'Nona-colored Fire' as my main Cultivation art right now. But when my spiritual energy bursts out, it is always in the form of dragons! If I can buy the fossil and feel the spirit and soul of the ancient beasts restrained in it, it will be useful for me when condensing my spiritual energy, which will definitely improve my combat ability!"
"That's why you've been standing here."
Li Yao nodded his head. Feeling the spirit and soul of the deceased beasts through fossils was an advanced art in Cultivation. He didn't know that Ding Lingdang had grasped such an incredible skill after only several months of training.
"Then what are you waiting for? If you can't walk away from the fossil, it means you are connected to it. Just buy it already!"
Ding Lingdang was somewhat embarrassed. She grimaced and said in a low voice, "But it is too expensive."
Different from the egg of Gold Spirit Ice Boa that Li Yao picked up just now, the fossil was quite easy to see through. Anybody who was not blind could tell that it was a dragon-type fossil which boasted quite a long history, even if they couldn't feel the calling from it. Therefore, it was much costlier, with a price of nine thousand contribution points.
Although Ding Lingdang joined Occult Orbs Fellowship a few months earlier than Li Yao, it was quite possible that she did not have too many points saved, since she had never been thrifty. After the trip to Mystic Glacier, she only got some ten thousand contribution points. Naturally, she was hesitating to pour all of them into this one fossil.