Chapter 108: The Blood Crystal

Yan Youcai was deeply troubled. He could not fathom how Yi Tian and his companions had managed to harvest Millennium Wind-Spirit Wood from the Skywind Gorge. One had to understand that Millennium Wind-Spirit Wood was almost always guarded by mid-level late-stage ferocious beasts, serving as the heart of their lairs. To seize such a treasure from those immensely powerful beasts in the Skywind Gorge was a feat that even Human-rank powerhouses at the Yuan Dan stage would find nearly impossible. Opportunities were slim, and it would typically take a team of Yuan Dan-stage experts to stand any chance of success. Consequently, Millennium Wind-Spirit Wood was exceptionally rare.

Gritting his teeth, Yan Youcai said to Yi Tian, "Our Four Seas Trading House can purchase one piece of Millennium Wind-Spirit Wood for a price of thirty Yuan Crystals!"

Upon hearing this, Yi Tian felt a hint of regret. Clearly, not every organization possessed the capacity to consume such a resource. Entities holding vast quantities of rare Yuan Crystals were extremely scarce, and Yi Tian realized it might be difficult to offload all ten pieces of Millennium Wind-Spirit Wood. As for the price of thirty Yuan Crystals per piece, Yi Tian had no objections. Although the wood had once fetched a sky-high price of forty-five Yuan Crystals at a previous auction, that event had been a grand gathering where countless factions converged, driving the price up. In regular transactions, two-thirds of that price was already considered quite high.

The members of the Samsara Battle Team listened from the side, their hearts racing with excitement. While they had made estimates regarding the value of the wood, witnessing the Four Seas Trading House offer thirty Yuan Crystals for a single piece left them feeling somewhat incredulous. In the Imperial Capital, many factions were willing to pay hundreds of thousands of high-grade Yuan Stones just to acquire one Yuan Crystal. Even then, few were willing to trade Yuan Crystals for a mountain of Yuan Stones; it was a market where there was a price, but no goods to be found.

After completing the transaction with Yan Youcai, Yi Tian found himself with thirty additional Yuan Crystals. Yan Youcai was a mix of excitement and heartache. Those thirty Yuan Crystals were a significant resource—enough for their Four Seas Trading House to foster a dozen or so Human-rank powerhouses in the near future. That was the true value of a Yuan Crystal. Even Earth-rank titans and Heaven-rank overlords required Yuan Crystals for their cultivation, just as ordinary martial artists craved Yuan Stones.

"Farewell!" Having concluded the trade, Yi Tian prepared to leave with his teammates.

Just then, Yan Youcai’s eyes flickered with hesitation before he called out, "Everyone, please wait!"

Yi Tian stopped and asked, "Is there anything else, Shopkeeper Yan?" He felt no fear that the other party would resort to foul play. After all, this was the Imperial Capital, and they were all Human-rank cultivators; unless the other party deployed an Earth-rank titan, they could not silence them without causing a scene. The Four Seas Trading House would never be so unwise, as any battle would immediately alert the major factions of the capital.

Yan Youcai said to Yi Tian, "Young Master Yi, if you wish to sell the remaining Millennium Wind-Spirit Wood, there is a place you might consider visiting. It would be very easy to sell them there!"

"Really?" Yi Tian and Yi Feng were pleasantly surprised. Truth be told, Yi Tian had been worried about the remaining nine pieces. Selling them all within the Imperial Capital of the Skywind Kingdom would be incredibly difficult, as few factions could afford to buy them all at once. Furthermore, offloading them in such large quantities would undoubtedly attract the attention of malicious organizations, inviting constant harassment and ambushes.

Yan Youcai grew certain: Yi Tian and his group truly were unaware of that place. Perhaps they came from some reclusive family, otherwise, how could they not know of Huangqin City?

With a troubled expression, Yan Youcai said, "That place is Huangqin City, located on Mount Luofeng in the Fulong Mountain Range. It is at least eighty thousand miles from the Imperial Capital. It is a trading hub for major sects, clans, noble houses, ancient organizations, and even rogue powerhouses. In Huangqin City, you can find treasures from all sides—rare battle techniques, cultivation methods, mid-grade spirit pills, high-grade spirit pills, and powerful magical artifacts."

As Yan Youcai spoke, his face was filled with longing. However, his expression soon darkened. "While there are rules in Huangqin City forbidding bloodshed, outside its walls, treasure-snatching and slaughter occur constantly. I advise you not to go; it is too dangerous. In Huangqin City, Human-rank experts are everywhere, and even Earth-rank titans appear occasionally."

He concluded, "Only those with Human-rank cultivation can enter and exit Huangqin City freely. Those below Human-rank require a Huangqin Token to enter. A single token costs one Yuan Crystal and is valid for one use, requiring one to leave after three months."

"Many thanks for the information, Shopkeeper Yan!" After hearing his explanation, a sense of longing stirred in Yi Tian’s heart. Huangqin City was a nexus for major sects and a trading ground for countless treasures.

When Yi Tian and his team returned to their rented manor, they did not immediately set off for Huangqin City. Based on what they had learned, while the city was a treasure trove, everyone there possessed formidable strength. Some unscrupulous individuals made a living by tracking and robbing practitioners entering or leaving the city. Yi Tian now held sixty-six Yuan Crystals. He decided to bolster the strength of the Samsara Battle Team before embarking on the journey.

Yi Tian gave eleven Yuan Crystals to each member of his team, and they promptly began secluded cultivation. Eleven Yuan Crystals was a substantial amount. An ordinary Human-rank practitioner only needed two or three crystals to progress from the early stage of Yuan Gang to the peak. However, when Yi Tian and his companions emerged after more than half a month, their cultivation had still not reached the peak of the Yuan Gang realm. After all, they were cultivating two Supreme Arts, one of which was an ancient technique, and they had yet to reach the absolute limit of the Yuan Gang energy.

Even so, their Yuan Gang energy was three to four times stronger than before, and their combat effectiveness had surged several-fold. Although the eleven crystals hadn't pushed them to the peak, Yi Tian was pleased; it meant their potential was immense and they had yet to reach their limit at the Yuan Gang level. Once they did reach the peak, they would likely be invincible among their peers. These eleven Yuan Crystals had significantly elevated their strength. Had they relied on high-grade Yuan Stones, it would have taken at least ten times longer to achieve the same results.

In the following days, after resting in the capital, the group set off for the Skywind Gorge once more. Knowing of Huangqin City, the entire Samsara Battle Team was invigorated. They collectively decided to harvest a large quantity of Millennium Wind-Spirit Wood in the gorge so they could trade for the artifacts and resources they needed in Huangqin City.

Over the next half-year, they visited the Skywind Gorge three times, harvesting forty-one pieces of Millennium Wind-Spirit Wood. The team’s achievements were brilliant: they hunted six mid-level late-stage wind-attribute beasts and obtained six Blood Crystals—the energy cores found within those beasts. To a mid-level beast, a Blood Crystal was equivalent to the Essence Pills of low-level beasts. Unlike the Essence Pills, the energy within a mid-level beast was vastly more abundant. When such a beast died, its energy core fused with its vital blood to form a Blood Crystal, which served as the source of its power.

The team realized that what they had previously thought were mid-level Essence Pills were actually called Blood Crystals. These were categorized as low, medium, or high grade based on the beast's cultivation stage. Mid-level beasts yielded Blood Crystals, high-level beasts yielded Superior Blood Crystals, and Super-level beasts yielded Dan Pearls—spheres condensed from soul, vital blood, and life force, containing a trace of ancestral bloodline power. As for the low-level Essence Pills, they were considered beneath notice by anyone above the Human-rank.