Taking Stock of the Spoils, a Surprising Discovery

After the Martial Ancestor left,

Lu Chen and the others quickly brought the battle to an end. Northern Dark Dragon Kun struck, slapping the barely alive Black Dragon Sovereign to death before taking the two of them to support Tai Cang Dean and the others.

Several days later,

Northern Azure Spiritual Academy.

Within a quiet little courtyard.

"Ling Xi Jie, this is everything I know."

Lu Chen handed Ling Xi a pale green Jade Slip and said with a smile.

Ling Xi accepted the Jade Slip. With a sweep of her spiritual energy, she memorized its contents, then nodded and said coolly, "Thank you."

"I should be the one thanking you, Ling Xi Jie. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you may come to Da Luo Territory to find me. Lu will certainly do everything in his power to help."

Lu Chen smiled as he made the promise, then took out a Communication Jade Talisman and handed it to Ling Xi.

Ling Xi did not refuse. She reached out and accepted the jade talisman, the frost-like coldness on her face melting away as her gaze visibly softened. She said quietly, "If you need a spirit array set up in the future, send me a message as well. So long as it is within my abilities, I can come and help."

Lu Chen nodded slightly. This was also why he had made that promise. Establishing a connection with a Spirit Array Grandmaster was something countless people could only dream of.

Moreover, if he remembered correctly, after recovering her memories, she would become a genuine Spirit Array Ancestor, capable of rivaling an ordinary Earthly Supreme.

If the Northern Boundary Great Hunting War began in the future and the Lord of Da Luo Territory failed to break through once more, he could at least ask her to act and save his own life.

As a transmigrator, he had to make arrangements early. Otherwise, would his transmigration not have been for nothing?

Lu Chen continued, "I wonder what arrangements Ling Xi Jie has next? Will you be seeing Mu Chen?"

Hearing this, Ling Xi shook her head. "Since Aunt Jing does not wish for him to know about these matters, there is no need for me to see him."

"The Ancient Buddha Clan is still too distant for him."

"His current strength is also far too weak. Knowing these things would bring him no benefit."

Lu Chen nodded to show his understanding, then said, "Then, if there is nothing else, Lu will take his leave first."

"In this arrangement, I also won over several people. I need to visit them one by one and thank them."

Ling Xi nodded gently. "I'll see you out."

Not long after,

At the Nine Summer Merchant Guild's branch in White Dragon City.

Lu Chen sat in the seat of honor.

In the main hall, the leaders of the forces within a thousand-mile radius stood respectfully on both sides, handing their Mustard Seed Bracelets to Bai Xuan one after another.

A moment later,

Bai Xuan collected all the Mustard Seed Bracelets and brought them before Lu Chen. He said carefully, "Senior, the thirty percent proceeds you requested have all been collected. Would you like to inspect them?"

Unexpectedly, Lu Chen picked up the pile of Mustard Seed Bracelets, selected only a few items from within, and handed them back to Bai Xuan. "Consider the remaining items payment for asking the Nine Summer Merchant Guild to act."

"Since President Xia has matters to attend to, Lu will not stay any longer. Please convey my thanks to him. If there is an opportunity in the future, Lu will treat him to a drink."

With that, Lu Chen left without the slightest hesitation.

Bai Xuan nodded slightly and said nothing more, because he knew that this collaboration had been a process of mutual exploitation from the start.

Those Mustard Seed Bracelets were merely a bonus.

The shares of the two major merchant guilds were what the Nine Summer Merchant Guild truly wanted!

Inside a pavilion,

Lu Chen took out a pair of dark crimson bracelets and handed one each to Mu Chen and Luo Li.

One bracelet was shaped like a dragon, while the other was shaped like a serpent. As spiritual light bloomed from them, they emitted an exceptionally powerful spiritual energy fluctuation. Faintly, the sounds of dragon roars and serpent cries seemed to echo from within.

"This is a set of high-grade Spirit Tools called the Dragon-Serpent Spirit Rings. They are among the best Spirit Tools from the White Dragon Spiritual Treasury, enough for you to complete the academy mission."

"I still have important matters to attend to, so I won't disturb your good time."

With that, Lu Chen smiled faintly at the two of them and vanished from where he stood.

After he left, Mu Chen and Luo Li exchanged glances. Mu Chen grinned, picked up the serpent spirit ring, and placed it on Luo Li's hand. Seeing her flushed face, he could not help but feel delighted. Lu Ge really understands me. This came at just the right time...

If Lu Ge needs anything in the future, I'll have to go help him out...

A moment later,

Inside a cultivation room in Northern Azure City,

Lu Chen took out a green bracelet and began taking stock of his gains from this trip.

The green bracelet was called a Sumeru Bracelet. It was a storage Spirit Tool he had taken from the Red Dragon Sovereign earlier, containing a full thousand cubic meters of storage space.

As the saying went, Sumeru contained a mustard seed, and a mustard seed contained Sumeru. Mustard Seed Bracelets and Sumeru Bracelets were both widely known storage vessels in the Great Thousand World.

However, the latter was a supreme-grade Spirit Tool. Compared with the low-grade Spirit Tool Mustard Seed Bracelet, its storage space was ten times greater.

Lu Chen gripped the Sumeru Bracelet as a ball of purple flame rose in his hand, quickly burning away the imprint upon it.

Then, he sent his consciousness inside and saw numerous items neatly stacked within.

Most were ordinary spiritual materials and spiritual techniques. Divine techniques were pitifully few and not worth mentioning.

However, one item caught Lu Chen's attention.

With a flash of spiritual light, the item appeared in Lu Chen's hand. It was a crimson spiritual pearl, crystal clear and radiating scorching heat.

Wisps of mist swirled within the spiritual pearl like a sea of clouds. A deep dragon's roar rang out, and a crimson dragon could vaguely be seen swimming inside.

"A Low-Grade Divine Artifact?"

Lu Chen's eyes lit up. He had not expected the Red Dragon Sovereign to possess not only a Sumeru Bracelet, but also an offensive Low-Grade Divine Artifact.

Divine Artifacts were powerful weapons that surpassed ordinary Spirit Tools. Generally speaking, only Supreme experts could fully unleash their power.

Like Spirit Tools, Divine Artifacts were divided into four tiers: Low-Grade Divine Artifacts, Middle Grade Divine Artifacts, high-grade Divine Artifacts, and Supreme-Grade Divine Artifacts.

Although only Supreme experts could fully unleash the power of Divine Artifacts, items that could directly increase one's strength were even more expensive than divine arts.

Therefore, not every Supreme expert could possess a Divine Artifact of their own.

As Lu Chen knew, the Blood Hawk Hall, one of the nine king-level forces under Da Luo Territory, possessed only a Middle Grade Divine Artifact as its hall-protecting treasure. This showed how precious they were.

Seeing this, Lu Chen hurriedly took out the Sumeru Bracelets of the remaining people and began searching through them.

A moment later,

Lu Chen stared blankly at the five spiritual pearls laid out before him.

"Red Dragon Pearl, Yellow Dragon Pearl, Wood Dragon Pearl, Water Dragon Pearl, Earth Dragon Pearl... These are actually a set of Five Elements Attribute Low-Grade Divine Artifacts?"

"Then why didn't those guys use them in the previous battle... Oh, right. They died too quickly and never had the chance to use them..."

"They really handed such good treasures over to me."

Lu Chen happily stored the five Low-Grade Divine Artifacts in his Sumeru Bracelet, then transferred everything from his previous Mustard Seed Bracelet into it as well.