Murong Qingcheng wasn't too surprised that Ye Chen had instantly killed the two. Before entering half-step King realm, Ye Chen already had the strength of a 'strongest' half-step King. Now that his cultivation base had increased by several folds, his strength had naturally reached an unfathomable level. However, Ye Chen's Sword Domain had broadened her horizons.
She could tell that any of the blue swords within the Sword Domain didn't have much offensive power, only at late Sea of Soul realm. After all, the blue swords were merely sword Qi, and didn't have the amplification of artifacts or profound martial skills. They only had pure killing power. However, when tens of thousands of blue swords shot out at the same time, their momentum wasn't inferior to the combined attack of thousands of late Sea of Soul realm experts.
"Is this the change brought about by the Green Lotus Sword Arts?" Murong Qingcheng asked.
Ye Chen nodded, "After the Green Lotus Sword Arts became a heaven grade cultivation technique, it has many more wondrous uses. So far, I've only discovered the Sword Domain. Of course, a heaven grade cultivation technique is a heaven grade cultivation technique after all. Its Zhen Yuan recovery speed is ten times faster than before, and the circulation speed of Zhen Yuan is also extremely fast."
Cultivation techniques normally wouldn't increase one's battle power by too much, but they were extremely important. Thinking about it, one couldn't always rely on pills in a prolonged battle. If one took too many pills, their Zhen Yuan would become impure, and they wouldn't be able to circulate it. Therefore, one's Zhen Yuan recovery speed had to be impressive. At this moment, the advantage of a high grade cultivation technique would be obvious. Secondly, during a battle, both sides would become stiff, and those with high grade cultivation techniques could rapidly circulate Zhen Yuan to expel the stiffness. This was an advantage that couldn't be ignored.
Lastly, the higher the grade of the cultivation technique, the faster the cultivation would be. Without any exaggeration, an ordinary half-step King who cultivated bitterly for a hundred years might not be able to reach the result of Ye Chen's ten years of bitter cultivation. The gap between a heaven grade cultivation technique and a peak earth grade cultivation technique couldn't be calculated with common sense.
Moreover, heaven grade cultivation techniques usually had special powers. For example, Ye Chen's Sword Domain. If used well, it could allow Ye Chen to ignore group attacks. If he encountered hundreds or thousands of late Sea of Soul realm experts, he would no longer need to run, as he could annihilate them all by himself.
In the past, he could only retreat.
"Sword Domain, no wonder!"
Murong Qingcheng suddenly understood. Domain was an extremely special existence. Even among Life and Death Kings, only a few possessed a domain. Although Ye Chen's Sword Domain was not a true domain, and hadn't formed the power of rules, it was a great trump card in the same realm.
Ye Chen had just stepped into the half step king warrior realm, but he still did not have the time to use Zhen yuan crystals to increase his cultivation. After taking care of the four beasts, Ye Chen planned to spend some more time to increase his cultivation to the limit that he could control. Otherwise, all these Zhen yuan crystals would be a waste.
When he was at late Sea of Soul realm, Ye Chen had spent less than ten Zhen Yuan crystals to raise his cultivation base to peak late Sea of Soul realm. However, after reaching half-step King realm, this amount increased by a hundredfold. It was not that the Zhen Yuan of half-step Kings was several hundred times thicker than that of late Sea of Soul realm, which would be too exaggerated. The main reason was that the Zhen Yuan of half-step Kings was even purer, to the point that it had reached a demanding level of purity. It was like gold. Even if the purity of gold was not high, it would still be valuable, and no one would be willing to throw it away. However, at half-step King realm, it was like picking bones in an egg.
Even the slightest flaw would be discarded. However, at this moment, no one would complain about their Zhen Yuan being too pure. In fact, the purer the Zhen Yuan, the better, because it would increase their chances of breaking through to Life and Death realm.
After consuming eight hundred Zhen yuan crystals, Ye Chen's cultivation base had finally reached the limit of what he could control. Any more and he wouldn't be able to control it, and the gains would not make up for the losses. At this moment, Ye Chen's cultivation base had actually caught up to Murong Qingcheng's. The gap between the two's soul power and martial arts was too huge, and it couldn't be helped.
"At peak late Sea of Soul realm, I couldn't use the Evil Vanquishing Sword's might at all, not to mention the Sky Scorpio Sword. The Evil Vanquishing Sword is a pseudo extreme grade artifact, and it requires too much Zhen Yuan. Right now, if I use it with all my strength, I should be able to use it five times."
In the Mysterious Yin Pagoda, Ye Chen wielded the Evil Vanquishing Sword, which was only a bit more powerful than the Thunder Disaster Sword. Of course, at that time, the Evil Vanquishing Sword's power was more important than its might.
The reason why Ye Chen was able to kill the aquiline-nosed man and the Giant Flame Bird from a hundred li away was precisely because he had unleashed the full might of the Evil Vanquishing Sword. Otherwise, at such a distance, its might would have been weakened by a lot. After all, this was different from Sword Domain, in which attacks would not be weakened.
Raising his cultivation base to the limit of his control, it was time to leave.
Instead of going to Quadrant Island, the two spent five days and five nights before arriving at another bustling island in Richlight Oceanspan — Gemstone Archipelago.
Gemstone Archipelago alone couldn't compare to Quadrant Island. Added together, their total area was more than ten times that of Quadrant Island. Gazing into the distance, the ocean seemed to be embedded with dozens of different colored gems, emitting a beautiful radiance under the sunlight.
Gemstone Archipelago was named after the colors of the islands, such as Azure Island, Azure Island, Fiery Island, and Orange Island. The two weren't too familiar with this place, so they landed on the edge of Azure Island.
As soon as the two landed, a young woman ran over. Her cultivation base was neither high nor low, at early Astral Reaching realm.
"It's your first time at Gemstone Archipelago. My name is Wang Lan, and I can be your guide. If there's anything you don't know, you can ask me. The price is very cheap, only five thousand mid grade spirit stones." The young woman looked at Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng with some expectation.
Ye Chen said, "How do you exchange mid grade spirit stones and upper grade spirit stones in Gemstone Archipelago?"
Wang Lan honestly said, "There are many treasures in the deep sea, but few spirit stones. In Gemstone Archipelago, one upper grade spirit stone can be exchanged for eighty mid grade spirit stones."
"Oh, a very high exchange rate!"
Generally speaking, one upper grade spirit stone could be exchanged for at least fifty mid grade spirit stones. One to sixty to seventy was the most common, and exceeding seventy was already very high. As for one to one hundred, it would only appear in auctions. The exchange rate in the market wasn't that high.
"Here are forty upper grade spirit stones, half of the price. When we don't need you anymore, we'll give you the other half. For now, take us to a high grade artifact exchange site. The higher the better." Murong Qingcheng handed over ten upper grade spirit stones to Wang Lan.
"Many thanks!"
Wang Lan accepted the upper-grade spirit stones with a joyful expression.
"Alright, take us there!"
Ye Chen said indifferently.
"This way."
Wang Lan soared into the sky and brought the two toward the center of Gemstone Archipelago.
"Gemstone Archipelago, red islands are generally used for the trading of artifacts. Light red islands are the lowest, and generally only mid and upper grade artifacts are traded. Fiery red islands are for upper grade artifacts and peak upper grade artifacts. Above the fiery red islands is the deep red islands, where you can occasionally see pseudo extreme grade artifacts. It's the highest grade island in Gemstone Archipelago."
On the way, Wang Lan explained to the two.
Murong Qingcheng asked, "You're saying that pseudo extreme grade artifacts have appeared on the deep red islands?"
Wang Lan nodded, "Depending on the mountain, depending on the river. There are many treasures in Richlight Oceanspan, and people often obtain some extreme grade artifacts. They can't use them themselves, and they don't feel safe keeping them on them. Therefore, they sell them and buy things that they can use for themselves. If you two are lucky, you might be able to buy a suitable artifact. However, the price here is very high, so you two better be prepared."
Ye Chen faintly smiled, but didn't say anything.
After some conversation, Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng learned that Wang Lan was born and raised in Gemstone Archipelago. Apart from cultivating, she was a guide for others. Although Astral Reaching experts didn't look good, they earned a lot of spirit stones. After all, those who could come to Gemstone Archipelago were basically Sea of Soul realm experts, and they would have tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of upper grade spirit stones. They wouldn't haggle with you. An ordinary Astral Reaching expert would have a net worth of a hundred thousand mid grade spirit stones at most, which would be close to a thousand upper grade spirit stones. Leading the way once would allow one to cultivate for a long time in peace. Of course, this kind of business wasn't easy to do. There were too many people competing with one another, so one had to rely on luck and discernment.
In a short while, the three arrived at the deep red island.
"The largest artifact trading place on the island is the Splendid Exchange at the center of the island. The minimum requirement to enter is Sea of Soul realm."
Wang Lan said from the front.
Arriving outside the Splendid Exchange, Murong Qingcheng stopped and gave Wang Lan forty upper grade spirit stones, "You wait here. When we come out later, we'll need you to be our guide." Eighty upper grade spirit stones were nothing to Murong Qingcheng. She had obtained more than a hundred million upper grade spirit stones in the ruins of the Mysterious Yin King, which was hard to imagine for ordinary people.
"Alright."
Wang Lan obediently waited outside. This time, she had encountered a big customer. Although she couldn't see through their cultivation bases, judging from their actions, they were at least rich late Sea of Soul realm experts.
Entering the Splendid Exchange, the two were startled by the flow of people inside. There were too many Sea of Soul realm experts inside, numbering in the thousands. As far as the eye could see, the Splendid Exchange seemed to be packed with people. Heated discussions could be heard from far away.
"Wind Thunder Staff, upper grade artifact, three hundred thousand upper grade spirit stones!"
"Smelting Fire Sword, upper grade artifact, three hundred and twenty thousand upper grade spirit stones!"
"Dazzling Armor, upper grade artifact, five hundred and twenty thousand upper grade spirit stones!"
"Divine Wind Boots, upper grade artifact, four hundred and eighty thousand upper grade spirit stones!"
Among the treasures being sold in the Glorious Bazaar, even the worst ones were top high-rank treasures. Of course, as Wang Lan had said, the treasures here were indeed expensive. Ordinary high-rank treasures would not exceed one hundred thousand high-rank spirit stones. Although the lowest grade of the treasures here were top high-rank treasures, it was still more than one hundred thousand high-rank spirit stones. Fortunately, one could bargain here. You could also compare the price. The higher the price was, the better it would be for bargaining.
Walking through the entire Splendid Exchange, the two found a staircase leading to the second floor. There were four Sea of Soul realm experts guarding there.
"Sorry, you can't go up without late Sea of Soul realm cultivation base."
The four obstructed a middle aged man with mid Sea of Soul realm cultivation base.
"I have spirit stones."
The middle-aged man was unwilling.
"Sorry, there are rules."
The guard's expression didn't change.
Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng were baffled. Low cultivation base didn't mean low wealth. The rules of the Splendid Exchange were indeed strange.
The two didn't stop and proceeded to the second floor.
The four guards carefully sized up Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng and were astonished. They couldn't see through the two's cultivation base at all. There was only one explanation — the two were half-step Kings. Richlight Oceanspan had numerous half-step Kings, and they were the true kings of this place.
"Please!"
The four opened the way.
Upon arriving at the second floor, the two didn't see many people. It was quite spacious and empty. Based on a rough estimation, there were only a few hundred people here. However, the artifacts sold here were of high grade, all of them being semi extreme grade artifacts. Moreover, the stalls were quite far apart, so there wouldn't be a crowd.
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