As for the remaining Merit, Qian Chen gave it careful thought. He had originally planned to purchase two pre-selected blanks for magical implements to serve as his Dao-protecting treasures in the days ahead, but his earnings this time had far exceeded his expectations.
The profound iron meteorite was inherently extraordinary; it had withstood a strike from a Primal Spirit immortal with nothing more than a handprint left behind.
What was more, bearing the imprint of the Innate Primordial Qi Great Capture, it had been tempered and cleansed by otherworldly primordial qi within the Void Realm Sea across countless years, and then forged from within by the Heavenly Unity Pure Gang. In quality, it could already be hailed as Taiyi Primordial Gold.
"A pity that because of the repelling force of the Heavenly Unity Pure Gang, the starlight of the Void Realm Sea couldn't temper the iron core, meaning not even a few liang of Heavenly River Star Sand could coalesce. Still, Taiyi Primordial Gold is already counted among the nine finest divine metals in the cosmos for forging flying swords! I can hardly be greedy and ask for a few extra liang of Heavenly River Star Sand..."
"If I forge this piece of Taiyi Primordial Gold into a flying sword, it will become my natal flying sword. Wouldn't that be far superior to any magical implement exchanged from the Lord of Reincarnation?"
Nor did Qian Chen intend to entrust the forging of his natal flying sword to the Lord of Reincarnation. He casually stowed away the profound iron meteorite containing the Taiyi Primordial Gold, planning to wait until he had the ability to unlock it and forge it into his natal flying sword himself. Pinching his fingers in a brief calculation, Qian Chen determined that to refine this piece of Taiyi Primordial Gold, he would need at least the magical power of the Core Formation realm.
Next, he took out the Heavenly Net Umbrella. Battered by Hong Sihai's fierce blows, its exterior was thoroughly tattered, and its inner restrictions were fractured and ruined.
Considering that a magical implement was an external possession after all, having something usable right now took precedence over any potential future worries.
Besides, after this mission, Qian Chen felt that a modicum of trust had formed between him and the Lord of Reincarnation. They were practically acquaintances by now! He might as well give it a bit of business...
"Lord of Reincarnation, fuse the Heavenly Unity Pure Gang and the Heavenly Net Umbrella into one for me!"
*With the Heavenly Unity Pure Gang condensed into it, let's see who can break my umbrella next time!* Qian Chen thought ruthlessly. Given his usual caution, the fact that someone had managed to shatter his defensive magical implement was perilously close to disaster.
*If Hong Sihai had been ten times stronger, he might have broken through the rest of my contingency plans, and wouldn't I have been in real danger? I need to stack my armor first. And another thing: my internal qi couldn't keep up this time, and my mana pool was an issue. I nearly ran dry during the fight—even with several other backup plans, I wouldn't have been able to use them.*
*Although once I leave the Reincarnation Lands I'll be able to break through Sensing and cultivate true qi, so I won't be as starved for mana as I am now, as my cultivation attainment rises, the scope of my methods will expand too. I should still find time to concoct some elixirs to carry on me.*
*Best of all would be to refine a primordial qi external elixir... granting me magical power equivalent to Core Formation in an instant.*
The Lord of Reincarnation promptly produced a list of required materials, noting the prices if substituted with Merit, alongside the crafting fee. Without hesitation, Qian Chen skipped past the options of upgrading the Heavenly Net Umbrella into a magic treasure or a perfected magical implement... and selected the option to restore and complete its restrictions based on the form and nature of the Taishang Dao's Hunyuan Umbrella, then ritually refine it to the level of nine restrictions.
"Five Moral Points... not too expensive!"
Qian Chen saw that because he already understood the restrictions of the Hunyuan Umbrella, the Lord of Reincarnation hadn't charged him any licensing fee. Furthermore, using many of the natural treasures stashed in the Two Realms Bronze Tablets as supplementary materials kept the Lord of Reincarnation from gouging him on material costs, bringing the price down to an acceptable level.
He felt as if he had swindled hundreds of millions of... Kindness Points out of the Lord of Reincarnation.
*The Lord God bleeds red ink, Reincarnation goes bankrupt... I win again!*
White light welled from the void, sweeping up all the materials Qian Chen had laid out on the cloud platform. As if creating something from nothing, it dismantled and refined them into the Heavenly Net Umbrella in the blink of an eye.
The Heavenly Net Umbrella took on a brand-new look. Even its physical form had transformed into oiled paper sheathed in azure cloth, carrying quite an antique charm.
The white light then drew in the Heavenly Unity Pure Gang, continuing to refine the gangqi into the oiled-paper umbrella.
In just a few breaths from start to finish, a small umbrella with a pure azure canopy—colored like the clear sky after rain—settled into Qian Chen's hand.
Qian Chen closed his eyes to sense it. Though the restrictions had been restored, his own aura still lingered. He needed only to silently refine it for four hours to complete the initial ritual refinement of this new Heavenly Net Umbrella. Judging by its restrictions and materials, one could perhaps call it the Huantian Azure Silk Umbrella... but Qian Chen was accustomed to calling it the Heavenly Net Umbrella. He saw nothing wrong with sticking to that name, and even considered disguising its appearance to resemble its original state.
He would wait until he met Miaokong in the future, using it to catch him off guard.
After all, cautious people were always devious to the core...
As for his remaining Merit, Qian Chen prepared to exchange it for items needed for his next mission. After this solo trial mission, Qian Chen had become an official Reincarnator, and he had to be on guard against Miaokong ambushing him during the next mission. Qian Chen had asked the Lord of Reincarnation how to sever the guide authority tied to the Reincarnation Token, only to receive a figure he couldn't possibly afford.
"Thirty thousand Moral Points..." Qian Chen fell silent. "Forget it... I'll just find a way to deal with Miaokong myself!"
"If I had thirty thousand Moral Points, why would I even fear someone like Miaokong?" Qian Chen grumbled. "The Lord God's prices are as extortionate as ever... When you forged the Heavenly Net Umbrella earlier, I thought your conscience had grown back. Now I see your prices just surged back up!"
"Lord of Reincarnation, I want to check the next mission." Qian Chen bandied about names like "Lord God" and "Lord of Reincarnation" at random, but the Reincarnation Lands remained exceedingly patient, simply accepting both titles.
It gave no special favors nor any hard times based on whether Qian Chen showed respect.
"The Reincarnator has passed the trial mission. The next official mission will begin in one year. Each mission completed will elevate your evaluation and authority; the higher the evaluation and authority, the longer the interval between two mandatory missions. Failing an official mandatory mission carries penalties..."
"With the Reincarnator's current authority, mission details can only be revealed seven days prior to the start of the next mission."
"After each mission, there is a limit to the time a Reincarnator may remain in the Reincarnation Lands. Current remaining stay: one day, eight two-hour periods, and three quarters!"
"Official mandatory missions come in various types."
"When Reincarnators encounter other Reincarnators during missions, they may form teams, add friends, blacklist... Between Reincarnators, groups can be created, organizations joined, covenants formed, and Dao oaths sworn under the witness of the Lord of Reincarnation..." The Lord of Reincarnation cast down a beam of clear light, itemizing the benefits and privileges granted to an official Reincarnator one by one.
When Qian Chen saw the entry for the Void Cloud Platform, he finally realized why skins like the Lingxiao Treasure Palace and Ancient Heavenly Palace were so exorbitantly priced. It turned out that a Void Cloud Platform was equivalent to a Reincarnator's private realm. As a Reincarnator's authority increased, their freedom within the Reincarnation Lands expanded accordingly, allowing many highly rated Reincarnators to enter and leave the Reincarnation Lands at will.
Thus, a Void Cloud Platform was equivalent to their very own cave-heaven or blessed land.
Moreover, many Reincarnators who founded organizations would open partial permissions to their Void Cloud Platforms to serve as guild headquarters. Skins such as the Ancient Heavenly Palace or Lingxiao Treasure Palace inevitably came with all manner of wondrous functions, making them headquarters that large Reincarnator organizations could only drool over and desperately covet.
"So this isn't just a skin for personal space, it's a guild base!" Qian Chen nodded in understanding.
"Understood, completely understood... Exclusive to pay-to-win whales, not something a complete nobody like me should daydream about. But honestly, you feel more and more like the Penguin mogul! Tell me, might your father's surname be Ma?"
Qian Chen selected a few more useful sundries to exchange. He cultivated bitterly atop the cloud platform for several days until his allotted stay ran out, whereupon a beam of white light teleported him out of the Reincarnation Lands.
The primordial qi of the Reincarnation Lands was no less abundant than that of the Central Divine Continent, or even other worlds across the myriad heavens. What was more, its spiritual qi was exceptionally pure, and its primordial qi connected to the myriad heavens and realms, offering every variety imaginable...
Had Qian Chen not been so untrusting, it would actually have been a fine place to break through Sensing.
Now that he had returned to the Central Divine Continent, Qian Chen would formally break through Sensing...
Chapter 37