Chapter 54: So It Was the Wrong Way to Open It
An hour later, after spending several thousand Paradise Coins, the exclusive room was restored to its original state. Bubu Wang, Beini, and Amu had already left the exclusive room; they were selling equipment in the trade market.
While Bubu Wang was selling equipment, Su Xiao needed to make purchases—specifically, items with properties similar to [Consciousness Conductive Resin].
According to a message from Beini, she and Bubu Wang hadn’t found anything resembling [Consciousness Conductive Resin] in the trade market. So, Su Xiao had to approach the Black Merchant and the Divine Emperor Adventure Group.
Frustratingly, neither the Black Merchant nor the Divine Emperor had this item. It wasn’t that it was rare, but rather that it had no market. Perhaps only one in ten thousand contractors needed it. Over time, contractors who obtained similar items would dispose of them uniformly—selling them to their exclusive rooms. Although the price was lower, it was still better than hoarding them for a dozen or more derivative worlds without being able to sell them.
After discovering this, Su Xiao was troubled. But when he tentatively contacted those idiot merchants from Red Maple, they actually had items similar in nature to [Consciousness Conductive Resin] hoarded up. From their tone, it seemed they had as much as he needed.
When Su Xiao proposed buying 2000 grams, to be purchased in two batches, the Red Maple people agreed immediately, but their price was a bit high: 4000 Paradise Coins per gram.
Su Xiao still needed 940 grams of [Consciousness Conductive Resin], meaning he would have to pay 3,760,000 Paradise Coins.
Even if Bubu Wang and Beini sold all the items from the treasure chests, whether they could get 2,000,000 Paradise Coins was uncertain, let alone 3,760,000.
The Red Maple people were firm in their stance: if he didn’t buy, fine, they’d keep hoarding. They’d already hoarded for over 20 derivative worlds; hoarding for a few more world progressions didn’t bother them.
Su Xiao had asked all available channels. The only merchant guild that could provide 940 grams of “consciousness-conductive crystals” was Red Maple. They were the sole source—the only game in town.
However, before buying the “consciousness-conductive crystals” from Red Maple, Su Xiao needed to clear up a doubt in his mind: why did he feel a sense of familiarity with “consciousness-conductive crystals”?
Su Xiao began searching through his storage space. He took everything out and examined each item one by one. After two hours, Su Xiao held an irregular crystal the size of a fist. Inside the crystal, wisps of smoke drifted.
[???]
Origin: Shia Continent
Quality: ??? (Pending Appraisal)
Type: ??? (Pending Appraisal)
Effect: ??? (Pending Appraisal)
Rating: ???
Introduction: ???
Price: To be determined
...
The crystal in Su Xiao’s hand was obtained after he killed the old king in the Shia World. For a long time, he had no idea what this thing was. The appraisal fee was also bizarre: 600,000 Paradise Coins plus three pieces of ice-attribute gold-quality equipment. But [???] wasn’t ice-attribute—Su Xiao was sure of that.
Now, Su Xiao finally knew what [???] was. It was a large chunk of “consciousness-conductive crystal,” with some kind of consciousness sealed inside.
After learning the general nature of [???], Su Xiao placed it on the wooden table. He drew Dragon-Slaying Flash and, instead of using the blade, struck it directly with the hilt.
With a crisp crack, [???] shattered. The ice-attribute consciousness sealed inside was exposed to the air and quickly dissipated. When Su Xiao checked the attributes of [???] again, he could view them without needing an appraisal.
[Consciousness Conductive Crystal]
Quality: Legendary
Type: Material (670 grams)
Effect 1: Can conduct, seal, and block consciousness-type energy.
Rating: 530+
Introduction: Extremely rare material.
Price: 1,752,800 Paradise Coins
...
Su Xiao finally understood why the price of [???] was “to be determined.” If you didn’t break this thing, it was a living-type material with low value. But if you broke it, it became [Consciousness Conductive Crystal], which was extremely valuable.
Su Xiao had been wondering why, when he got the [Consciousness Conductive Resin] from Mawen Hua'erzi, he felt a sense of familiarity, even a feeling that he had obtained something like this before. And indeed, he had—he just hadn’t known what it was at the time.
Now, Su Xiao still needed 270 grams of “consciousness-conductive crystals.” At Red Maple’s asking price, that would be 1,080,000 Paradise Coins.
Su Xiao checked his current Paradise Coins. After Bubu Wang and Beini’s sales, he now had a total of 846,500 Paradise Coins.
After agreeing on a time and place, Su Xiao met with the Red Maple merchant guild representative on the east side of the trade market.
“Hello, esteemed guest. I am from the Red Maple Merchant Guild...”
Although Red Maple wouldn’t lower their prices, their service attitude was mysteriously enthusiastic—so enthusiastic that Su Xiao felt a bit uncomfortable.
“I’ve brought the agreed-upon 2000 grams of ‘consciousness-conductive crystals.’ I wonder if...”
The merchant Su Xiao met was about forty years old, with a small mustache and a beaming, ruddy face.
“Let’s trade 270 grams first. I’m scraping together everything I have.”
Su Xiao had originally planned to report a larger purchase quantity to negotiate a lower price, but now it seemed the Red Maple people simply didn’t haggle.
“Only 270 grams?”
The mustached man seemed a bit disappointed.
“How about... we throw in some freebies? Buy a bit more?”
The mustached man was clearly unwilling to give up.
“Not needed for now.”
“Well, alright then...”
The mustached man sighed. Red Maple’s trading style seemed idiotic, but that was their way of survival: they rarely made a sale, but when they did, it sustained them for years. No matter how strange or rare the item, these guys had it in stock. They specialized in risk investment.
Soon, Su Xiao’s Paradise Coins exceeded 1,080,000. The 270 grams of “consciousness-conductive crystals” were in hand. The materials needed to activate the “Blade Demon Sealing Device” were finally complete.
According to Beini’s estimate, the remaining items could be sold for about 700,000 Paradise Coins. Of that 700,000, Su Xiao planned to use 500,000 to enhance his abilities. The remaining 200,000 would be split equally among Bubu Wang, Beini, and Amu. Whether they invested it in Beini, the financial cat, or used it for other purposes, it was up to them.
The remaining Paradise Coins would take some time to come in. Su Xiao headed straight for the arena. It had been a while since he last fought.
Ten minutes later, in the arena rest area.
[Arena Fighter: Su Xiao.]
[Status: Good.]
[Rank: 9570th (Fourth Rank).]
[Consecutive Wins: 0.]
[Top 5 Reward: Not obtained.]
...
The last time he fought in the arena, Su Xiao lost a match. Back then, opponents within the top 10,000 of the fourth-rank arena were all annoying.
But today, Su Xiao’s strength was vastly different. He chose to match an opponent.
[Matching opponent...]
[Matching complete. Opponent rank: 9438th.]
The familiar teleportation sensation appeared. When his vision cleared, Su Xiao was standing on a circular arena platform. With both contestants entered, the atmosphere in the spectator stands began to heat up.
Su Xiao’s opponent was a long-legged mature woman holding a whip. Before the match started, she winked at Su Xiao.
“If you can beat me, I’ll let you have a go.”
The whip-wielding woman giggled, her expression seductive.
Soon, a countdown appeared above the arena.
[Arena, begin!]
The battle started. Su Xiao didn’t charge at the enemy. Instead, he drew Dragon-Slaying Flash and, surprisingly, slashed his own chest.
Blood splattered. Su Xiao checked his current health. This was the first time he truly felt how sharp Dragon-Slaying Flash was. With his physique, one slash took 29% of his health—and that was excluding the damage from Azure Steel Shadow.
This puzzling move caused the whip-wielding woman to hesitate and not charge forward. Just then, Su Xiao slashed his chest two more times.
“Not good.”
The whip-wielding woman tensed up, instinctively categorizing Su Xiao as a pervert who enjoyed self-harm. Fighting an enemy like this was clearly not a pleasant experience. Winning would be fine, but losing would leave a lifelong shadow.
After his health dropped below 35%, Su Xiao crouched low.
Bang! An air blast spread. Su Xiao vanished from his spot, moving at a speed beyond the limit. When he reappeared, he was behind the whip-wielding woman. A thread of blood drifted in the air. Su Xiao had used the Absolute Shadow Flash ability.
With a crackling sound, light particles burst. The whip-wielding woman was sent back to the rest area. The entire battle lasted 2.8 seconds.