Chapter 6: Souvenir H (Item of No Practical Value, after collecting 10 types of souvenirs, you may consume these 10 items to designate the next item opened from the Supreme Treasure Box.)
Price: 5000 ounces of Space-Time Power.
Total Stock: 268 units (this stock accumulates with each refresh of the Honor Shop).
...
[Malicious Misfortune (Overlord Rank Equipment · Due to the expiration of multiple seals, this Overlord equipment's seals have been removed)]
Category: Super-Rated · Overlord Equipment.
Price (Original): 85,000 ounces of Space-Time Power.
Price (Current): 1 ounce of Space-Time Power.
Total Stock: 1 unit.
...
Seeing the price of [Power Source Matter], Su Xiao was somewhat puzzled, but after seeing "Supreme Rank · One Standard Unit," he understood what was happening. The amount absorbed in one go at the Absolute Strength Rank was clearly different from the Supreme Rank. Moreover, the "Supreme Rank, One Standard Unit" of [Power Source Matter] might be a hundred times greater than the "Absolute Strength Rank, One Standard Unit."
In other words, this was the true portion of one standard unit of [Power Source Matter]. The portion obtained at the Absolute Strength Rank could be understood as an ultra-ultra-ultra-small trial bottle, which was why it was only sold for 350 ounces of Space-Time Power in the Honor Shop before.
Seeing that the [Emergency Assistance (Permission)] option was gone, Su Xiao felt a pang of regret. It seemed he could no longer fish for Battle Angels in the future.
Scrolling to the bottom, [Malicious Misfortune] came into view. Last time, after returning to his Exclusive Room from Blazing Sun Star, he had seen the unsealed [Malicious Misfortune] in the Honor Shop. This was an old acquaintance. It seemed this old friend who had its sights set on Su Xiao hadn't given up.
Su Xiao hadn't submitted all his Space-Time Power earlier. When he sold the parts of the "Equipment Enhancement Machine" before, he had kept 10,000 ounces. The reason was that while [Supreme Potential Points] were precious, if he didn't keep some Space-Time Power, he wouldn't be able to accept bounties in the next world, which would stall his acquisition of Space-Time Power. By then, not to mention repaying Kaisa, he wouldn't even have the necessary Space-Time Power.
Therefore, compared to over 80 "Supreme Potential Points," Su Xiao reserved 10,000 ounces of Space-Time Power. Now it seemed that being prepared was indeed correct. He decisively exchanged for [Malicious Misfortune].
[You have paid 1 ounce of Space-Time Power.]
[You have obtained Malicious Misfortune.]
[You are about to complete a Soul Binding with Malicious Misfortune.]
[You have submitted Overlord Equipment · Malicious Misfortune.]
[You have received 612 "Supreme Potential Points."]
...
[Malicious Misfortune] was an Overlord equipment worth 85,000 ounces of Space-Time Power. However, the cost-effectiveness of submitting Overlord equipment was far lower than submitting Space-Time Power, hence it was reduced to 612 points.
Even so, it was still a massive profit. As they say, risk and opportunity coexist, and this was the case. [Malicious Misfortune] had its sights on Su Xiao for a long time. After this incident, [Malicious Misfortune] should hate Su Xiao to the core. This was simply getting something for nothing.
Su Xiao's current "Supreme Potential Points" reached 7,557 points, but this wasn't the final number. He still had a trump card he had been accumulating for a long time.
Pushing open the door to the planting area, he arrived under the Black Maple Tree. The Black Maple Tree was now 10.5 meters tall. Su Xiao was certain that the Black Maple Tree was a highly precious resource that could be submitted in exchange for "Supreme Potential Points." The problem was, not to mention the future benefits this Black Maple Tree could bring, the acquisition of "Supreme Potential Points" must have a limit.
If he submitted it and directly reached the acquisition limit, and also lost the Black Maple Tree, even if there was a compensation mechanism, it would still be a huge loss.
However, submitting all the Black Maple Tree yields accumulated so far was still feasible.
[You have submitted all currently held Black Maple Tree yields.]
[You have received 5,536 Supreme Potential Points.]
...
It could only be said that this was worthy of the Black Maple Tree. Even before growing to its complete form, it had such production value.
However, this was also because Su Xiao's strength wasn't sufficient before, and he couldn't reveal that he had a Black Maple Tree, otherwise, various ancient Star Realm beings would come looking for him. This concealment and accumulation happened to allow him to save most of the Black Maple Tree yields for this submission. It was an unintentional move that yielded a huge harvest.
Checking the time, the people from the Alchemist Guild were delayed on the road and wouldn't arrive for a while. Su Xiao came to the room where the "Awakening Stele" was placed. Feeling that his condition was good, he sat cross-legged in front of the "Awakening Stele" to upgrade an ability he had been holding back, which was "Demon Spirit Awakening, X+++++ (Passive)."
This ability could previously only be upgraded using "Awakening Stones." Now he discovered that was because the "Awakening Stele" was incomplete. Now that the "Awakening Stele" had been certified and repaired, it could naturally upgrade the "Demon Spirit Awakening" ability normally.
The three abilities of the Demon Spirit—Substitution, Transmission, and Dual Blade—were all particularly practical. The reason he hadn't been upgrading the "Demon Spirit Awakening" ability was to prevent a sudden surge in Demon Spirit strength. With his current Soul Strength of 1,500 points, he could suppress the Blade Demon Spirit with a Demon Spirit strength of 1,700 points. With the current Demon Spirit strength of 850 points, there was plenty of room for improvement.
Moreover, regarding the enhancement of his right arm, even if the Demon Spirit strength became extremely high, it would only be dangerous, not lead to backlash.
Su Xiao used Golden Skill Points to upgrade "Demon Spirit Awakening." The five plus signs after the level indicated that Golden Skill Points had already been used to upgrade it to the limit five times. Generally, a max-level ability uses 5 to 7 Golden Skill Points to reach the absolute maximum of X. It seemed the upper limit of the "Demon Spirit Awakening" ability was quite high, allowing for two more tiers of upgrades.
He had 14 Golden Skill Points remaining. He invested 2 points into "Demon Spirit Awakening." Just as he was about to confirm the upgrade, he noticed that the golden plus sign after the ability hadn't disappeared. This meant he could continue adding Golden Skill Points. Seeing this, he was quite surprised, but he added another point. A high skill potential upper limit was undoubtedly a good thing.
However, after adding another Golden Skill Point, the golden plus sign still existed. This made Su Xiao narrow his eyes slightly. He started adding points one by one to test the ability's limit. Yet, after adding all the Golden Skill Points, the golden plus sign still remained. He chose to begin the ability upgrade.
Boom!
The Blade Demon Spirit surged out from Dragon-Slaying Flash, forming a tall figure composed of dark blue smoke. Its long hair fluttered without wind, and its azure eyes looked at Su Xiao with an ancient, well-like calm.
The upgrade of the "Demon Spirit Awakening" ability made the Blade Demon Spirit's form more solid. Overall, its physique was female, which had nothing to do with Su Xiao.
Generally speaking, the Demon Spirit's image is similar to the corresponding Law-Destroying Shadow. Su Xiao is male, so the Demon Spirit form should definitely be male. However, he had previously possessed a strange treasure that contained a sealed consciousness—one of the Tianba Clan leaders, the Drowning Leader, Tide Hunter—which was nearly devoured by Su Xiao's Blade Demon Spirit, causing the Demon Spirit's image to become feminized.
Feeling the ability upgrade was complete, Su Xiao placed one hand on the hilt of Dragon-Slashing Flash. The Blade Demon Spirit once again turned into dark blue smoke and merged back into Dragon-Slashing Flash. He checked the upgraded ability.
[Demon Spirit Awakening, X+++++++++++++++++++ (Passive)]
Skill Effect 1: Blade Demon Spirit Strength +299 points.
Skill Effect 2: Substitution (Passive), instantly "substitute" positions with the Blade Demon Spirit, with no activation delay, during the process, etc. This characteristic cannot be interrupted, sealed, blocked, etc., by any means. It can be "definitely completed."
Usage Count: 5/5 (Safe usage limit per natural day. Exceeding this limit will risk Demon Spirit backlash, leading to a high probability of ability failure and damage to the user.)
Skill Effect 3: Spirit/Body Resonance (Passive), when the "Blade Demon Spirit" is externalized, this characteristic can be activated by resonating with the Blade Demon Spirit, achieving spirit-body resonance. 50% of the damage you take will be transferred to the "Blade Demon Spirit." This state lasts for 5 seconds.
Usage Count: 1/1 (Using more than once per natural day will greatly increase the risk of backlash from the Blade Demon Spirit.)
...
The "Dual Blade" and "Transmission" abilities disappeared. This was related to the single, massive increase in Demon Spirit strength. Both abilities required extremely precise control. A short-term, substantial increase in Demon Spirit strength would naturally lead to a loss of fine control.
However, in actual combat, these two abilities weren't used much, especially "Dual Blade," which required pulling the Demon Spirit close to use. This conflicted with the divine skill "Substitution." Maintaining a certain distance from the Demon Spirit for "Substitution" was more suitable for evading enemy attacks.
The later the stage, the more Su Xiao felt that "Substitution" was more useful than the "Dragon Shadow Flash" ability. Dragon Shadow Flash was better for charging forward, not dodging. While the power level of penetrating space was high enough, enemies in the late game might have means to break through space penetration. For example, when fighting the Abyss Guard Captain, Su Xiao used space penetration to evade attacks but was still heavily injured.
In contrast, "Substitution" had no flaws. However, at that time, Shenfu, Platinum Apostle, and Hao Tiao were all present. Fighting together as a team, using the divine skill "Substitution" meant losing a trump card for the final life-or-death showdown.
Besides this, Su Xiao had a new conjecture about skill type judgment. For instance, "Substitution" and "Spirit/Body Resonance" were both active effects but were displayed as passives. This wasn't the first time he had seen this. Some abilities with usage limits but could be forcibly used seemed to be judged as passive characteristics.
The increase in Demon Spirit strength from "Demon Spirit Awakening" was a phased climb. The first 7 Golden Skill Points each increased Demon Spirit strength by 7 points. But starting from the 8th point, it jumped to 30 points per point. Su Xiao estimated that if he kept investing Golden Skill Points, the next cumulative qualitative change wasn't far off.
As for whether "Demon Spirit Awakening" was worth investing Golden Skill Points in, in Su Xiao's view, as long as he could suppress the Demon Spirit and ensure no backlash, this investment was worthwhile. The stronger the Blade Demon Spirit, the more powerful the "Undying and Indestructible · Abyss Spawn" it could devour.
Now, through the "Demon Devouring Constitution," Su Xiao could increase "Abyss Resistance" and "Health Points." Roughly one unit of Demon Spirit energy could increase Abyss Resistance by 1 point and Health Points by 50,000. This was an excellent choice for steadily improving "Abyss Resistance" and "Health Points" at the Supreme Rank.
Checking his messages, Crystal Ji had already arrived and was waiting at a tea house in the Great Gathering Place. Su Xiao brought Beini and Amu along. Half an hour later, Su Xiao stopped in front of a tea house with a very natural style.
Su Xiao, Crystal Ji, Beini, and the representative of the Alchemist Guild, a young man with bottle-bottom glasses named Aiersuo, sat around the tea table. Crystal Ji deliberately remained silent, and the atmosphere immediately became quiet. Beini looked at Su Xiao, then at the bespectacled youth Aiersuo, her expression clearly saying, "Well, say something! Are you waiting for me to talk?"
"Sorry, Mr. White Night, I was delayed on the road."
Aiersuo's voice was somewhat neutral, his tone weak. Su Xiao wondered what those old immortals at the Alchemist Guild were thinking, sending such a timid representative. Perhaps this was also a strategy? To minimize the chance of conflict during the exchange of interests.
Su Xiao guessed that Aiersuo was a young prodigy in alchemy, the kind who rarely left the secret medicine workshop. Going out once required mental preparation the night before—a super social phobic. The reason he was late this time was that he was too nervous and took the wrong cross-realm train.
"Mr. White Night, these are all the formulas you requested."
Aiersuo practically presented a stack of alchemy formulas with both hands. Seeing this, Su Xiao frowned slightly. He wanted to trade with the Alchemist Guild, not extort formulas from them. He looked at Crystal Ji.
Crystal Ji, who had been preparing to watch the show, was also stunned. She maintained an elegant yet slightly playful shrug, indicating that she had discussed a trade with those few old alchemists.
"If... if there's nothing else, I'll be going back, Mr. White Night."
Aiersuo stood up to leave. From his pale complexion, it was clear that this long trip had nearly broken him.
"Wait."
"Huh?"
Aiersuo was extremely nervous.
"You haven't named your price yet."
"Ah? Oh, is that so?"
Aiersuo sat back down. Then, he actually pulled out an action planning notebook from his pocket, flipped through a few pages, and stammered:
"I, I offer a unique formula, one that hasn't..."
Reciting up to this point, forgetting his lines, Aiersuo quickly glanced at his notebook and continued, "One that isn't available on the market."
After saying this, not knowing what he was talking about, Aiersuo sat up straight and waited. He needed the other party to speak first so he could deliver his next line. As for whether the conversation would make any sense, Aiersuo was already falling apart; please don't mind the details.
In the end, Su Xiao chose to offer the "Ancient Secret Medicine Formula" in exchange for...
Just as Su Xiao was selecting which recovery potion formula to exchange for, Aiersuo had already stood up, politely and nervously took his leave. But not long after he left, he was brought back by Amu, who was waiting outside. The original agreement was a one-for-one exchange, as this was a top-tier recovery potion. However, the nervous and mentally confused Aiersuo had already forgotten this.
Out of a total of sixteen recovery potion formulas, Su Xiao first eliminated the twelve that the Alchemist Guild considered most valuable. The reason was that for this selection, he didn't consider storage time, only effectiveness.
Of the remaining four, Su Xiao eliminated two more because their properties were too mild. The remaining two were named "Soul Nectar" and "Miracle Potion Spring."
Both potions shared the same characteristic: a short shelf life. Therefore, they were only circulated within the Alchemist Guild, or sought after by powerful individuals about to venture into dangerous places.
First, "Miracle Potion Spring." This was a peculiar potion with an extremely high initial preparation cost but could be used at zero cost for a long time afterward. This potion required first preparing a "Spring Source" and setting up a suitable array and environment, allowing the "Spring Source" to continuously produce "Miracle Potion Spring." This potion spring could be preserved for about two months, had a strong recovery effect, and had mild properties.
"Soul Nectar" was a very unique recovery potion. It wasn't a vitality-type or life-type potion, but a soul-type one, using pure soul power to nourish life force. This also meant that after "Soul Nectar" was prepared, its validity period was only half a month.
Even for Su Xiao, this time wasn't enough, but he still chose "Soul Nectar." The reason was that this potion had a very large room for improvement. The alchemist who originally developed this potion was a genius. Unfortunately, high-tier recovery potions were in an awkward position and hadn't received further development.
The transaction was concluded, and Aiersuo hurriedly left. It could only be said that those old immortals at the Alchemist Guild were all shrewd. Sending someone like Aiersuo ensured they wouldn't suffer a loss and also made this transaction seem like a favor, making it easier to catch the other party off guard when they truly sought benefits later.
Returning to his Exclusive Room, Su Xiao walked into the Alchemy Laboratory and began improving "Soul Nectar." First was the storage time issue. "Soul Nectar" used relatively impure soul energy. Su Xiao replaced it with "Soul Crystal (Complete)." Roughly one "Soul Crystal (Complete)" could be used to prepare one bottle of "Soul Nectar."
When the soul energy was pure enough, and with modifications to the container, including engraving ultra-small sealing runes on it, its validity period could reach about 60 days.
Since it was a recovery potion with soul characteristics as the main ingredient, the method of consumption didn't have to be limited to oral intake. It could be absorbed through the skin. This also solved the problem of having to first remove the sealing rune on the crystal bottle before drinking the potion. Instead, one could simply crush the bottle, allowing the potion to contact the skin for rapid absorption.
In this case, the potion's consistency should preferably be semi-fluid, to prevent the potion from splashing everywhere when the crystal bottle is crushed during intense combat, causing waste and affecting the recovery effect.
The core formula of the improved "Soul Nectar" began to take shape. Developing a formula required a lot of time, but with Su Xiao's Alchemy at Lv.95, improving a formula wasn't difficult, especially since this formula had a lot of room for improvement.
Bottles of potions were prepared, accompanied by occasional explosions and the potion becoming a temporarily agitated living entity due to over-activation. The potion improvement proceeded methodically.
Two days later, in the Alchemy Laboratory, Su Xiao placed a bottle of bright red finished potion on the operating table. This was his best result from the current improvements.
[Unnamed (Peak)]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise · Holy Flame Alchemist
Quality: Eternal Rank · Peak
Type: Recovery Item.
Effect: After use, rapidly recovers 50% of maximum Health Points, and for the next 30 seconds, recovers 1% of maximum Health Points per second.
Note: Due to the rank of this recovery potion, it can provide full recovery effects to targets with less than 1,500 points of True Stamina and less than 15,000,000 Health Points. If Stamina Attribute and Health Points exceed this limit, the recovery effect will be reduced.
Peak Rank Bonus: Using this potion immediately recovers 10% of Stamina Points.
Rating: 5,160 points (Eternal Rank quality potion ratings range from 3,000 to 6,000 points)
Description: To be determined (You may freely set it)
Price: To be determined (You may freely set it)
...
Through Su Xiao's improvements, "Soul Nectar" was completely unrecognizable from its previous form. In fact, within the certification system, it had become an unnamed potion. For naming this potion, each member of the Dawn Team would submit a name. Whoever's name was more evocative and fitting would be used.
Amu: Iron Bull Potion.
Baha: Arrogant and Invincible Divine... (Name too long, twenty characters omitted).
Bubu Wang: Soul Awakening Elixir.
Beini: Eternal Dewdrop.
Su Xiao: Crimson Secret Medicine.
After a difficult selection, the potion was finally named "Crimson Secret Medicine." From Beini's extremely raised little head and Bubu Wang's bared-teeth expression, it could be seen that they accepted their defeat 'wholeheartedly.'
The fatigue from developing the potion washed over him. Su Xiao went to the bedroom and fell asleep. When he woke up, it was the next morning. Checking the time, after finishing his preparations, it was time to go to "Ancient Dragon Kingdom · Ebo'asi."