https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-195-The-Discovery-of-a-Starlight-Plant-The-Silver-Apple-Mother-Tree/12833858/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-197-Revisiting-the-Red-Curiosity-Law-Stones-and-Law-Crystals/12833860/
Chapter 196: Return, Over a Hundred Points of Golden Merit
Chapter 196: Return, Over a Hundred Points of Golden Merit
Song Chi couldn't help but think about the vast treasures hidden within the Tri-Eye race's super-gigantic flagship. The ship was an astonishing tens of thousands of kilometers long, and there was no telling what other rare items might be concealed in the areas he couldn't see.
The thought of exploring the ship again stirred a strong desire within him. However, after a few seconds, he shook his head, suppressing the urge.
The internal pressure of the ship was a formidable obstacle he couldn't easily overcome at his current level. Even the Void Shadow Assassin puppet, with its Tier 3 body, was instantly crushed upon entering the ship. This level of pressure was far beyond Tier 3.
Song Chi estimated that to explore the super-gigantic ship, he would need to upgrade the Void Shadow Assassin puppet's components to at least Level 40. With his current Tier 3 puppet, it was impossible to function normally inside the ship.
As he pondered the terms "Tier 3" and "Tier 4," his mind suddenly drifted to the red component, the "Enslavement Medallion."
In terms of Tier 4 power, the Skybound actually had it. Activating the "Enslavement Seal: Frenzy" ability of the Enslavement Medallion could temporarily grant Tier 4 power to Chel, Togu Hong, or the Thorn Dragon. This would likely be enough to explore the ship's interior.
However, upon further reflection, Song Chi quickly dismissed the idea. The "Enslavement Seal: Frenzy" ability had a very limited duration, and completing a thorough exploration within a few hours was highly uncertain. Additionally, while the ability was on cooldown, using it would result in another year-long cooldown period, which was too much time to risk for an uncertain reward.
Moreover, he was soon planning to hunt the Tier 4 Golden-Armored Colossus on the Copper Mountain Floating Land. The "Enslavement Seal: Frenzy" was his last line of defense, and using it now would not align with his original plan.
With his decision made, Song Chi glanced at the starry sky outside the spatial wormhole. He then turned the Skybound around and headed back toward the humanoid alien base.
Before returning, he had some matters to discuss with the last semi-Tier 4 humanoid alien. Additionally, he couldn't set the spatial beacon in the shattered starfield or inside the wormhole. His plan was to set it within the core space of the giant asteroid.
He also needed to visit Soul One and Soul Two. Over the past two months, they had accumulated a significant amount of resources, and with Zhao Lei sealed away, Song Chi needed to collect them himself.
Speaking of Zhao Lei, the Skybound's market currently had Zhao Lei, Togu Hong, and Chel sealed. The Enslavement Medallion had only one remaining seal, and he needed to decide how to use it.
Firstly, long-term sealing in the market was out of the question, as it could lead to a degradation of their life force.
After some consideration, Song Chi decided to temporarily give the last seal to the humanoid alien Chel. If anything went wrong during the Copper Mountain Floating Land expedition, Chel would be the most suitable user of the "Enslavement Seal: Frenzy."
As for Zhao Lei and Togu Hong, he had no immediate solution and would have to continue sealing them for now.
Soul One and Soul Two provided a steady stream of resources and each had a Tier 3 bodyguard, so he couldn't abandon them. The Thorn Dragon was also a valuable asset, having cost him a significant amount to enslave.
Regarding the semi-Tier 4 humanoid alien, aside from its own power, it was essential for guarding the spatial wormhole and managing the base, so he couldn't let it go either.
...
Inside the core space of the giant asteroid, Song Chi emerged from the wormhole and set the spatial beacon mark about 80,000 meters away from the wormhole entrance. He then gave the semi-Tier 4 humanoid alien some instructions.
Next, he visited the mining areas of Soul One and Soul Two, collecting the several ten thousand tons of resources they had mined over the past two months and storing them in the market's mineral exchange shop.
Before entering the market, Song Chi ordered the two Tier 3 soul spirits to work without restraint, maximizing their mining efforts. He had already arranged with the humanoid alien to avoid any conflicts, allowing them to mine freely.
With everything settled, Song Chi didn't linger. He recalled the Skybound and disappeared from the asteroid belt.
...
On the Dragon Spine Continent, at the Azure Moon Manor.
"Grandpa, Xiao Chi... It's been almost three months since he last showed up!"
In the courtyard of the Song family compound, Bai Xiuzhen wore a worried expression.
Behind her, the kilometer-long Lyre ship had taken the place of the Mountain ship, now suppressing the origin spring below.
To the side, Song Shan, who had just emerged from his meditation, tossed aside two third-tier soul cores that had been drained of their essence. Although he hadn't participated in the Soul Land expedition, Song Ming had still shared a significant amount of soul-related resources with him.
Song Shan shook his head and said, "Mom, didn't Dad check with the Inner Affairs Hall a few days ago? Xiao Chi's 'Ember Life Plate' is still as bright as ever, showing no signs of dimming. Don't worry too much. Go back to the ship and practice your Guiding Technique. You're still only at Level 28, and the Lyre ship has a long way to go!"
As they spoke, three figures walked into the courtyard: the smiling faces of Song Chao and his wife, and the recently returned Song Chi.
Chen Lixia was gripping her son's arm tightly, as if afraid that if she let go, he would disappear again.
Song Chi didn't know what to say in response.
Before leaving, he had informed his parents that his trip might take a while, but he hadn't given a specific timeline because he didn't know what would happen in the asteroid belt.
"Grandma, Uncle!"
Song Chi respectfully greeted them from the courtyard.
Hearing this, Bai Xiuzhen quickly stood up.
"Xiao Chi, it's good to see you back..."
Behind her, Song Shan also stood up, visibly relieved, though he quickly masked it. Song Chi, however, noticed the relief in his eyes.
Clearly, his disappearance had genuinely worried his grandma and uncle.
Soon, Uncle Er, Uncle Si, and the rest of the family gathered as well.
Of course, welcoming Song Chi back was only part of the reason for their gathering. The main purpose was to discuss the upcoming joint operation with the Bai family to explore the Copper Mountain Floating Land.
Half an hour later, a decision was reached.
They would set out in one week, with their destination being the Golden Moon Sector in the central part of the Lion Star Domain.
There was no other special reason; this sector had been chosen as the rendezvous point by the elders and the Bai family.
In the basement, after confirming the details of the Copper Mountain Floating Land operation, Song Chi, under the wide-eyed gaze of his family, took out over a dozen purple ship components.
Song Chi was well-prepared for the surprised looks from his elders. After all, even a seasoned third-tier Ember Captain would be shocked to see so many purple components at once, let alone someone who had only recently advanced to second-tier a year ago.
He had carefully considered his decision and was confident that this was the best course of action for both himself and his family.
Firstly, if he directly exchanged these components at the family's merit hall, it would attract a lot of attention. By having his elders exchange them first, he could avoid this issue.
Secondly, the components he was offering were at the family's acquisition price, saving his elders some gold merit points, a win-win situation.
"These purple components are part of what I've picked up over the past year from the market, and some I've traded for..."
After a moment's thought, Song Chi decided not to reveal the existence of the star battlefield, or at least not yet.
While he estimated that the shattered star region would likely not last much longer and would soon be swallowed by the expanding void rift, this was relative to the thousands or tens of thousands of years it had already existed. It wasn't about to be consumed immediately.
For at least the next ten years, there would be no immediate concern, and based on this, Song Chi planned to explore the region alone for five years.
After five years, regardless of his progress, he would report back to his grandfather or the family.
Given the scale of the exploration, involving a super-giant Three-Eyed flagship, it would require the family's fourth-tier elders or even fifth-tier ancestors to handle it.
Before that, Song Chi wanted to try exploring on his own. Reporting to the family would certainly bring rewards, and those rewards would be substantial. However, he knew that the benefits of exploring on his own would be far greater. The family would take the lion's share, so this wasn't about being selfish, but about human nature.
Song Chi felt no pressure at all.
In the underground chamber, Song Ming Song and the others exchanged glances, their eyes flickering with various thoughts. However, no one asked any questions, and they each began to pick their items.
"Xiao Chi, Uncle wants this purple ship armor. Here are 4 gold merit points, they're on their way to your account."
"Xiao Chi, Auntie isn't going to be formal with you. I need a suitable ship armor too..."
...
Soon, the thirteen purple components were down to six, with the rest taken by the elders.
Dad and Mom each exchanged one, further enhancing their personal ships' combat capabilities.
In return, Song Chi's personal account shot up to 63 gold merit points.
After leaving Grandpa and Grandma's courtyard, Song Chi said goodbye to his parents and summoned the Sky Vault, heading straight for the family's Merit Tower.
...
"Are you sure you want to exchange all six purple components for gold merit points?"
On the 59th floor of the Merit Tower, the clan member in charge of the exchange confirmed with a calm expression.
Seeing the calm demeanor of the clan member, Song Chi nodded lightly, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Each floor of the Merit Tower had dedicated exchange counters. He chose the 59th floor to avoid drawing too much attention.
It seemed his choice was correct.
From the 50th floor upwards, one needed at least 20 gold merit points to enter, and those who could afford it were usually third-stage clan members and above.
Given this, the items they exchanged were naturally far more valuable than those on lower floors. Thus, Song Chi's exchange of six purple components here wasn't too surprising.
Of course, this only meant he didn't draw immediate attention. The family's records were unavoidable.
"Six purple components, exchanged for 25 gold merit points. Hand over your communication bracelet!"
After the exchange, the gold merit points on his quantum communication bracelet reached 88.
After a brief moment of joy, Song Chi's eyes narrowed. He was still 2 points short for the [Light Energy Aggregation Engine] and 42 points short for the [Molten Core Fire].
After a moment of hesitation, he finally took out the [Space Expansion Pseudo-Dimensional Stone] component that he had already dismantled but hadn't immediately brought out.
Before exchanging it, Song Chi opened his quantum communication bracelet.
Channel: Blue Moon Estate Family Bond
"Song Chi: [Space Expansion Pseudo-Dimensional Stone] attributes JPG. Need it? If not, I'll exchange it with the Merit Tower!"
"Song You: Fifth Brother, how many purple components do you have? Jealousy!!!"
"Zhao Hongxue: Stop embarrassing yourself, angry JPG."
"Song You: Yes, Mother."
...
"Song Shan: Xiao Chi, save it for Uncle. Here are 13 gold merit points. I'll make up the remaining 3 points later, I'm a bit tight right now."
After the lively exchange, Uncle Shan finally took the space expansion component for 16 gold merit points.
As for Dad and Mom, Song Chi had already informed them, but both said they didn't need it.
Compared to the space expansion component, they preferred to use their limited funds to enhance their ships' combat and defensive capabilities.
With the additional 13 points, his gold merit points reached 101, but he was still far from the 130 points needed for the [Molten Core Fire], enough only for the orange engine.
Looking at his account with 101 gold merit points, just 29 points away from 130, Song Chi had a fleeting thought of borrowing some from the elders to directly exchange for the [Molten Core Fire]. However, he quickly shook his head.
Earlier, he had noticed that Auntie and Second Auntie were quite interested in the remaining six purple components but didn't ask for them.
He was initially puzzled, but now, considering that Uncle Shan only had 13 gold merit points and owed him 3, it was clear that the elders were not very well-off.
To prepare for the threat of the fourth-stage golden giant beast, they had used up most of their available funds recently.
So, even if he asked, it was unlikely he would gather the nearly 30 gold merit points needed.
Standing at the entrance connecting the 59th and 60th floors, Song Chi paused. With his gold merit points now over 100, he met the requirement to enter the 60th floor. He decided to check out the upper floors before exchanging for the [Light Energy Aggregation Engine].
(End of Chapter)
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