https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-169-Soul-Marks-Spirit-Souls-Blackwater-Mystic-Snakes-and-Chimeras/12833710/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-171-Spirit-Land-Essence-Root-Spirit-Quenching-Fruit-Tree/12833768/
Chapter 170: Soul Stones and Soul Cores
Chapter 170: Soul Stones and Soul Cores
The three second-stage Chimeras raced forward, their sole focus on closing the distance to the two escort ships before the Soul Piercers lost their effect. Or rather, they didn't consider the possibility that the Soul Piercers might not work at all.
This gave Song Chi the perfect opportunity to attack. The three Chimeras were almost flying in a straight line, all within the range of his Sword Intent Divine Light.
Naturally, Song Chi wouldn't miss such a perfect moment.
Why did he enter the Multiverse Market to avoid the Soul Piercer attack?
With the Blue Ember Seed and the [Abnormal Status Purifier] component, the Soul Piercers wouldn't pose much of a threat to him.
But wasn't it all for this fleeting, perfect moment to attack?
The Blue Ember Seed couldn't completely block the Soul Piercer's power. Like his second uncle, Song Hai, he would still experience a brief moment of disorientation due to the initial pain. The [Abnormal Status Purifier] component, on the other hand, would only activate after he had been affected by the Soul Piercer's attack.
In other words, before the [Abnormal Status Purifier] took effect, he would still be disoriented. Although it would help him recover faster than a regular Ember Captain, he wouldn't be completely unaffected.
He might miss this fleeting opportunity, but using the Multiverse Market completely avoided that risk.
Buzz!
The Sword Intent Divine Light hummed softly, then burst forth, charging straight toward the three Chimeras that were almost in a straight line.
Under the influence of the Chaotic Sun Sword Intent Divine Light, there was no surprise. The three Chimeras were completely pierced through, dead as could be.
As three first-stage Floating Land Essence streams entered the Celestial Sphere, the faces of the two second-stage Soul Spirits on the two mountains a thousand meters away changed. The soul marks on the Chimeras shattered, causing significant backlash to the Soul Spirits themselves.
As their divine soul power surged, before they could control their chaotic souls and turn to flee, several spatial fluctuations appeared on the side of the mountain.
Sensing the disturbance, the Soul Spirits' soul wave fields changed, instinctively preparing to defend themselves. But all they met were two flashes of cold light.
After the two second-stage Soul Spirits fell silently, several Void Shadow Assassin puppets emerged from the void, searched the bodies, and then disappeared back into the void.
Half an hour later, at the temporary assembly point.
In the Celestial Sphere's main control room, Song Chi played with a few small items in his hand while opening the Soul Spirit Floating Land Local Network.
The items in his hand were the spoils of war brought back by the Void Shadow Assassin puppets: two black stones and a pile of crystalline, translucent minerals.
Song Chi recognized the two thumb-sized black stones. They were Soul Cores, formed from the bodies of dead Soul Spirits. According to the information provided by the First Direct Line, these could be absorbed by Ember Captains, and when used in conjunction with visualization diagrams, they could accelerate the enhancement of mental power.
Currently, the family's acquisition price for a zero-stage Soul Core was 3 merit points.
A first-stage Soul Core was worth 30 merit points.
A second-stage Soul Core was worth 300 merit points.
A third-stage Soul Core was worth 3000 merit points. Submitting five third-stage Soul Cores at once would earn 15000 regular merit points and 1 gold merit point.
Song Chi looked at the two black Soul Cores, worth 600 merit points in total.
He had only 2000 merit points when he signed up for this Soul Spirit Floating Land expedition.
These two small items were almost a third of that, and if he included the two second-stage Soul Spirits he had killed, his total merit points now amounted to 3600.
As for the small pile of over three hundred crystalline, translucent mineral stones, after a search on the local network, Song Chi found their information.
They were called Soul Stones and could also be absorbed by Ember Captains, though their effects were far weaker compared to Soul Cores of the same stage, acting more like a weaker version of Soul Cores.
Of course, these Soul Stones were a mineral resource, different from the Soul Crystals that could appear on various Floating Lands in the Star Sea. They were a specialty of the Soul Spirit Floating Land, and while a Soul Core could only be formed by a single Soul Spirit, there were many more Soul Stones.
Additionally, these Soul Stones were divided into lower, middle, and upper grades. Large quantities of each grade could affect first-stage, second-stage, and third-stage Ember Captains, respectively, with each grade costing one percent of the same-stage Soul Core's price.
The three hundred stones in his hand were mostly middle-grade Soul Stones, effective for second-stage Ember Captains. If he exchanged them, each stone would be worth 3 merit points.
Of course, this didn't mean that middle-grade Soul Stones were only effective for second-stage Ember Captains. They would work even better for first-stage Ember Captains.
His eyes flickering, Song Chi was curious about the specific effects of the Soul Cores and Soul Stones, but a sudden shift in his perspective made him change his mind.
……
In a distant region under the control of the Soul Spirit Clan, four Void Shadow Assassin automatons were weaving through the forest. The lead automaton bore a mental beacon sent by Song Chi.
These four Void Shadow Assassin automatons were deployed by Song Chi using a Fixed Deployment Platform after he returned to his base. There was no other reason; he simply wanted them to scout the area, see if there were any additional opportunities, and map out the terrain and resource points.
Song Chi now had a clear understanding of the Soul Spirit Clan and their psychic resources. Just by killing two second-tier Soul Spirits, he had easily earned over 2,500 merit points. Such a good opportunity was not to be missed.
The key was that he could control the Void Shadow Assassin automatons remotely, allowing him to act without any risk to himself.
More than ten hours later, just before the Brainwave Remote Control System's duration was about to expire, Song Chi emerged from the base hidden within a hill. A Void Shadow Assassin automaton, which had traveled from a thousand miles away using the Flash Step ability, appeared from the void and handed him a small package.
Inside the package were not just any items, but over a thousand soul stones and more than a dozen first- and second-tier soul cores.
These were the total harvest of the four Void Shadow Assassin automatons over the past ten hours.
After a quick count, the corners of Song Chi's mouth curled up into a smile.
Excluding the initial two second-tier Soul Spirits, the four automatons had earned him over 8,000 merit points during the Brainwave Remote Control System's operational time. This was just one day. At this rate, 8,000 points a day would total 80,000 points in ten days. Without considering the gold merit points, in forty days, he could exchange for a third-tier Thorned Flying Dragon.
Thinking of this, Song Chi felt a surge of motivation.
Of course, whether he would turn these resources over to his family was another matter. He needed them as well.
……
Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, half a month had gone by.
During this period, Song Chi's daily routine involved patrolling and using the Brainwave Remote Control System and Fixed Deployment Platform to control the Void Shadow Assassin automatons to hunt Soul Spirits in the Soul Spirit Clan-controlled area, continuously harvesting soul cores and soul stones.
After the Brainwave Remote Control System's operational time ended, he would use the remaining time for practicing his Energy Guidance Techniques and resting.
The level 25 Brainwave Remote Control System component had a 15-hour operational time, leaving him with 9 hours. No matter how he allocated his time, he couldn't perfectly balance both activities. Normally, practicing the Energy Guidance Technique required about 10 hours a day, so he had to compress his daily rest time to 4 hours, leaving 5 hours for practice.
As for the Visualization Imprint, he had not yet tried using soul stones and soul cores to aid his cultivation, so he wasn't sure if they would be effective for him, who was currently at the peak of the first stage of the Mortal Thought State.
In these two weeks, the Void Shadow Assassin automatons had provided him with over ten thousand soul stones, more than a hundred first- and second-tier soul cores, and even two third-tier soul cores.
The total value exceeded 60,000 merit points.
The reason the total was not as high as expected was that not every day provided suitable targets. Occasionally, he encountered large groups of Soul Spirits, including nearly ten third-tier Soul Spirits, and Song Chi naturally didn't dare to have the automatons engage.
Additionally, there were two instances where, after a successful hunt, the automatons were ambushed on their way back, resulting in the loss of that day's harvest.
……
Inside the base, Song Chi returned to his cave after completing his patrol. In the next moment, his mind focused entirely on the perspective of the Void Shadow Assassin automatons thousands of miles away.
The four automatons were currently at a hillside on the shaded side, over 3,000 miles from the base.
Under Song Chi's command, the automatons had not wandered around searching for suitable first- and second-tier Soul Spirits. Instead, they had remained at this hillside for over four hours.
The reason for this was that Song Chi had noticed something unusual. Four hours ago, two third-tier Soul Spirits, who had been in his line of sight, suddenly vanished from this spot, piquing his interest.
An unusual event must have a reason, and he firmly believed this.
However, no matter how curious he was, he didn't dare to have the automatons get too close to investigate.
After all, these were two third-tier peak Soul Spirits with the power of fundamental rules. Although a third-tier Void Shadow Assassin automaton could escape if discovered, Song Chi was worried about alerting them.
If there really is something valuable hidden here, rashly revealing his presence would be the most foolish move, as it would undoubtedly alert the surrounding Soul Spirit Clan.
This area is under their control, and if he is discovered, not only will he lose the chance to investigate further, but he would also have to wait for his clan to push the front lines all the way here.
But the crucial question is, once the Song clan arrives, what would be left for him, Song Chi? He might be lucky to get a small share, if anything.
After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Song Chi grew increasingly calm and quietly waited.
However, after ten hours, the two Third-Stage Soul Spirits did not reappear.
Despite the urge to act, Song Chi remained still, waiting for the duration of the "Telepathic Remote Control System" to expire.
After a few more minutes, the four Void Shadow Assassin Soldier soldiers hidden in the mountain's shadow became increasingly lifeless. The telepathic beacon on the lead soldier had failed, and without it, the Void Shadow Assassin soldiers, which were over 3,000 miles away from their summoner, Song Chi, fell into a state of stupor.
In the warship summoning chamber beneath the base, Song Chi canceled the summoning of the four Void Shadow Assassin soldiers. A few minutes later, they were re-summoned into the "Soldier Statue Tree" component.
"Hopefully, those two Third-Stage Soul Spirits won't suddenly appear in the next three and a half hours!"
The "Telepathic Remote Control System" component, now upgraded to Level 25, had a cooldown time of only three hours and forty minutes. In less than four hours, he would be able to summon four more Void Shadow Assassin Warrior soldiers.
Suppressing his curiosity, Song Chi entered the marketplace of all realms, setting a timer on his communication bracelet. He then entered the all-attribute training room to continue his Guiding Technique practice.
Nearly four hours later, drenched in sweat, Song Chi ended his training.
In the warship summoning chamber beneath the base, he re-summoned the Azure Sky and activated the "Fixed Point Deployment Platform" component. A flash of light, and the four Void Shadow Assassin figurines on the platform disappeared.
3,000 miles away, at the same spot on the mountain's shaded side, the four Void Shadow Assassin soldiers resumed their surveillance.
Time passed, and soon another ten hours had gone by. Just as Song Chi was wondering if the two Third-Stage Soul Spirits had left, a faint spatial ripple appeared at the left base of the mountain.
Then, the two Third-Stage Soul Spirits, who had vanished into thin air the day before, reappeared in his field of vision.
From the perspective of the Void Shadow Assassin soldiers, Song Chi's heart raced.
"It's a bit like a spatial curtain. But isn't that something only a technological civilization can create? Or is it just similar?"
As the two Third-Stage Soul Spirits looked around and found nothing amiss, they moved toward the back of the mountain.
In the void, Song Chi pondered for a moment and ultimately decided not to attack the two Third-Stage Soul Spirits.
It wasn't that he was afraid of losing, but he didn't want to alert them.
After all, whether or not he could kill them, it would likely raise the South Domain Soul Spirit Clan's suspicions. Two Third-Stage Soul Spirits were not just any common soldiers; they were elite fighters, each with a significant status in their clan.
Now that he knew the hidden entrance to the spatial area on the mountain's shaded side, he was even more curious about what lay beyond the barrier that resembled a spatial curtain.
I'm sorry, but I don't understand your instructions. Could you please clarify the context and provide more details? I want to ensure I respond appropriately, but I need more information to assist you.
Of course, his order emphasized stealth to minimize the chances of the Void Shadow Assassin's soldiers being exposed.
3,000 miles away, in the base, Song Chi's breathing grew slightly heavier. He knew that once the Void Shadow Assassin soldiers touched the spatial barrier, there was a significant chance of exposure. However, after much consideration, he decided to dispatch them to investigate.
The reason was simple.
Only by knowing what lay beyond the spatial barrier could he determine its value. And only by knowing its value could he make further decisions.
If the four Void Shadow Assassin warriors could resolve the issue or retrieve what was lost, that would be the best-case scenario. However, what if they fail? What if the leader has to intervene personally and venture into the unknown himself?
That place was 3,000 miles deep into Soul Spirit territory, a place as dangerous as a dragon's lair or a tiger's den.
Therefore, he had to judge whether the potential reward was worth the risk.
(End of Chapter)
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