Chapter 437: Divine Wood Body
Lu Fantian turned around and was about to leave, preparing for his decisive battle with Zhang Ruochen on the Heavenly Level Battle Platform in three days.
This battle still put considerable pressure on him.
After all, in the martial arts world, Zhang Ruochen’s evaluation was even higher than Bu Qianfan’s.
“Hold on.”
Zhang Ruochen took out a half-foot-long box, held it in his palm, and handed it to Lu Fantian. “Inside this box is a piece of Purple Cloud Sinking Wood, weighing eleven jin. Consider it a gift for Brother Lu.”
“Purple Cloud Sinking Wood.”
Lu Fantian’s eyes lit up. Staring at the box, he waved his sleeve and executed a technique of fetching objects from afar. A surge of true qi surged out, rolling the box into his hand.
The five spiritual treasures of the Five Elements Ruins Realm had already caused an uproar in the Eastern Domain recently.
Lu Fantian had certainly heard of Purple Cloud Sinking Wood. It was a wood-element source spiritual treasure. Once refined, it could save a martial artist ten years of bitter cultivation. It even offered the chance to cultivate a Wood Element Spiritual Treasure Body.
Thus, countless martial artists coveted Purple Cloud Sinking Wood.
Zhang Ruochen had wiped out the Evil Wood Palace and obtained over two hundred jin of Purple Cloud Sinking Wood, but that was not all of it in the Five Elements Ruins Realm. Other human forces and barbarian beast races also had small amounts of Purple Cloud Sinking Wood.
In fact, deep underground in the Five Elements Ruins Realm, vast quantities of Purple Cloud Sinking Wood were still buried, yet to be excavated.
Therefore, during the third round of assessment, Zhang Ruochen was not the only one to obtain the five spiritual treasures. Other talented disciples also got some, though not as much as Zhang Ruochen.
Recently, due to the five spiritual treasures of the Five Elements Ruins Realm, over a dozen bloody incidents had occurred in the Eastern Domain, with even Half-Saints joining the scramble.
In the Martial Market of the Eastern Domain Sacred City, one tael of Purple Cloud Sinking Wood had been driven up to a sky-high price of sixty thousand spirit crystals, yet it remained in short supply with no market availability.
Lu Fantian was naturally born with a Divine Wood Body. From birth, he could absorb sunlight and moonlight, devour the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, and convert it into his own energy.
Thus, from infancy, Lu Fantian had never eaten any food.
In ancient times, martial artists with a Divine Wood Body could receive the protection of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree. At the moment of birth, they would be taken into the Divine Wood Sect and become the heir to the sect leader.
Of course, after the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree was cut down, the Divine Wood Sect vanished without a trace.
If the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree had not been severed, martial artists with a Divine Wood Body could absorb its power, with potential even surpassing that of a Saintly Body.
Since the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree had disappeared from the world, the Divine Wood Body was no longer as powerful as before, even inferior to a Saintly Body by a notch.
Purple Cloud Sinking Wood had infinite wondrous uses for martial artists with a Divine Wood Body. Once refined, it could cultivate a physique stronger than a Dual Spiritual Treasure Body, enough to rival a Triple Spiritual Treasure Body.
Opening the box and seeing the Purple Cloud Sinking Wood inside, Lu Fantian appeared quite calm. He looked at Zhang Ruochen with some confusion. “Zhang Ruochen, are you sure you want to give me the Purple Cloud Sinking Wood?”
Zhang Ruochen nodded. “That’s right.”
Lu Fantian was a descendant of Zhang Ruochen’s sixth senior brother, Lu Yuanzhi. Since his Divine Wood Body needed Purple Cloud Sinking Wood, why couldn’t Zhang Ruochen give it to him?
Lu Fantian stared deeply at Zhang Ruochen. “Alright! I’ll consider you a friend.”
Lu Fantian understood very well that Zhang Ruochen had set the battle three days later precisely to give him three days to refine the Purple Cloud Sinking Wood.
“In three days, if I refine the Purple Cloud Sinking Wood, will you still have a chance to win?” Lu Fantian countered sharply.
“Since I dared to hand over the Purple Cloud Sinking Wood, I naturally have absolute confidence.”
Zhang Ruochen smiled, clasped his hands behind his back, and followed a disciple of the Divine Sword Sacred Land toward a stretch of ancient buildings halfway up the Spirit Mountain.
“Wow! So handsome! Brother, compared to Zhang Ruochen, you really fall short.”
Lu Xuan held her hands to her chest, looking like a lovesick fool as she gazed at Zhang Ruochen’s retreating figure, her round eyes sparkling nonstop.
Lu Fantian wasn’t the least bit angry. “This man is quite open and upright, worth befriending.”
...
The external affairs elder of the Divine Sword Sacred Land was named Lu Youcai. He was in charge of all external financial matters, including purchasing forging materials, mine management, personnel transfers, and so on.
Thus, Lu Youcai wielded considerable power and enjoyed ample perks. Moreover, he was a strong cultivator himself, having reached the fourth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm and opened his Saintly Meridians.
At this moment, Lu Youcai sat across from Zhang Ruochen. He had a round figure and a plump face, appearing to be about fifty years old. Of course, his actual age was far beyond that.
Lu Youcai was a smooth and shrewd man. He had already heard that this young king had once been received by the ancestor.
Therefore, though he represented the Divine Sword Sacred Land, he showed no arrogance, always wearing a smile and appearing very amiable.
“Young Master Zhang personally visits the Divine Sword Sacred Land. Is there anything I can help with?” Lu Youcai said with a smile.
Zhang Ruochen took a sip of tea. “I have some items I’d like to sell to the Divine Sword Sacred Land. I wonder if Senior Lu would be interested in buying them?”
Lu Youcai’s eyes rolled slightly. Though his smile remained, he was inwardly dismissive.
What kind of place was the Divine Sword Sacred Land? If they wanted something, they could always obtain it. Why would they need to buy from a young junior?
Lu Youcai was indeed a smooth operator, but sitting in his position, he couldn’t shake a bad habit—excessive pride.
Even if he didn’t show that pride outwardly, he was still quite arrogant inside.
Thus, he couldn’t help but look down on Zhang Ruochen.
Lu Youcai pursed his lips and said tactfully, “If Young Master Zhang truly has some remarkable treasure, you could consign it to an auction house. Selling it through auction would maximize its value.”
Zhang Ruochen had not taken the Purple Cloud Sinking Wood and Black Water Glass Crystal to auction precisely because he didn’t want to benefit outsiders. He wanted to sell them to major forces he was familiar with, even if it meant taking a slight loss.
He hadn’t expected that the external affairs elder of the Divine Sword Sacred Land, without even asking what he wanted to sell, would directly decline. Did Zhang Ruochen have to keep offering his goodwill to someone who wouldn’t accept it?
“Very well, then. I’ll look elsewhere. If I really can’t sell it, I’ll go to the auction house later.”
Zhang Ruochen stood up, preparing to take his leave.
“Whoosh!”
Just then, a white light point appeared in the center of the room, emitting a dazzling radiance.
That light point grew larger and larger, transforming into the phantom of Yu Sheng.
It was a single Saintly Thought of a Saint.
“Greetings, Ancestor.”
Lu Youcai immediately knelt and kowtowed to that Saintly Thought.
His heart was filled with anxiety, wondering what major event had occurred, for the ancestor’s Saintly Thought rarely appeared. Once it did, it meant something extremely important.
Yu Sheng’s Saintly Thought spoke: “Lu Youcai, within three days, spare no expense to purchase one hundred jin of Black Water Glass Crystal. This Saint has a great use for it.”
With that, the Saintly Thought vanished.
“One hundred... jin of Black Water Glass Crystal...”
Lu Youcai kept wiping the sweat from his forehead, inwardly lamenting.
Now, it was hard enough to buy even one tael of Black Water Glass Crystal, let alone one hundred jin. Wasn’t this asking for his life?
But since the ancestor himself had spoken, it was like a sacred decree. If he failed to complete the task, even if the ancestor didn’t punish him, others in the Divine Sword Sacred Land eyeing the position of external affairs elder would certainly make trouble for him.
At that point, his position as external affairs elder would be unstable.
(Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and all the best!)