A Dao Lord's Gift, the Constant Source Summit

Lin Yi took a deep breath, reached out, and picked up the dark blue gift box from Dao Lord Lan Chen on the far left.

The box feels slightly heavy in the hand, with a warm and delicate texture, like some kind of extremely ancient high-grade crystal jade that has undergone natural sedimentation over a long period of time.

He held the gift box in his palm and examined it for a moment, then gently flicked the lid open with his fingertips.

The moment the lid popped open, a beam of silver-gray light burst forth from the box.

The light was not dazzling, but it carried an extremely calm and heavy texture, as if it were made up of countless layers of extremely fine metal fragments. Each fragment was rotating on its own, yet it was firmly bound within an extremely precise range by some invisible force.

The light slowly faded, revealing the true appearance of the object inside the box.

It was a miniature spaceship.

The spaceship was only the size of a palm, quietly hovering in a miniature void in the center of the gift box. The hull had a streamlined, spindle-shaped structure, with a long and sharp body, and was made entirely of a silver-gray alloy that Lin Yi could not recognize at all.

On either side of the bow of the ship is a dark gold crystal core, no bigger than a grain of rice. Layers of light patterns flow across the surface of the crystal core. Above the bridge floats an extremely complex phantom of a rune. The rune is octagonal, with densely packed inscriptions engraved along its edges. These inscriptions slowly drift through the void, each trailing a very fine and faint silver-gray tail.

Lin Yi's gaze fell on the faint patterns on the spaceship's hull, and a thought flickered in his mind.

He was very familiar with the style of these patterns.

During the time he was studying the Law Inscriptions, he read through a large number of ancient books and rubbings of inscriptions, including several books that specifically included illustrations of spaceship inscriptions from the Imperial Era.

Although the patterns on the spaceship in front of us have been covered and modified many times, the underlying inscription structure is clearly the style of creation from the most prosperous period of the Imperial Era.

The way the inscription lines convey extremely complex functions with minimalist lines is something that no shipbuilding master in Constant Domain can replicate today.

He stretched out his finger and gently touched the bow of the spaceship.

The instant they touched, an extremely condensed Information Flow surged from inside the spaceship, traveling along his fingertips straight to the depths of his consciousness.

That was the information left in the gift box by Dao Lord Lan Chen.

His voice remained calm and steady, but it had lost some of its condescending authority and gained a touch of casualness, as if he were chatting casually with a familiar junior.

"Lin Yi, this spaceship was obtained by me back when I was still Late Constant Source Realm cultivator in a ruin in the First Constant Domain. I won't mention which ruin it was, since you've never been there anyway. When I retrieved it from the core layer of the ruin, more than half of the ship was damaged. I repaired it while cultivating and collecting materials everywhere. Later, it underwent several modifications. Although it's a cobbled-together piece of equipment, it's still quite decent in terms of speed and defense. Even its worst attack can pose a considerable threat to a mid-level Constant Lord."

At this point, a barely perceptible smile appeared in Dao Lord Lan Chen's voice.

"It'd just gather dust here. You've been drafted by us old guys, and you'll be traveling all over the entire Constant Domain a lot in the future. A fast, sturdy, and durable flying treasure is really necessary."

The message ends abruptly here.

Lin Yi held the dark blue gift box, staring blankly at the quiet, floating silver-gray spaceship inside. His lips moved, and after a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a sigh.

"As expected of the Dao Lord, his actions are truly extraordinary."

He quickly did some mental calculations.

Although Dao Lord Lan Chen humbly referred to this spaceship as a "cobbled-together" item, according to him, even its weakest link could pose a direct threat to Constant Source Realm Mid-Rank. Therefore, it was at least comparable to a high-grade Constant Treasure, and it was a large and special type of Constant Treasure like a spaceship, which was simply impossible to build in the current Seventh Constant Domain.

With the current technology in the Constant Domain, the earliest spaceships would at most be at the Eternal Source Realm level.

All existing flying treasures at the Constant Source Realm and above are ancient relics excavated from the imperial-era ruins deep within the Black Mist Sea.

Lin Yi knew very well that if this spaceship were put up for auction, the starting price alone would not be less than 150 Origin Constant Crystal.

If Constant Lord in the game) urgently needs such a highly maneuverable and defensive flying artifact, or if several established Eternal Source Family are bidding simultaneously, the final transaction price exceeding two hundred Origin Constant Crystal) is almost a certainty, and may even be higher.

After all, the price of this level of special Constant Treasure is never lower than that of perfect Constant Treasure, and often even exceeds it.

Two hundred Origin Constant Crystal.

Lin Yi couldn't help but secretly click his tongue in amazement.

He fought a grueling battle outside Mist Sea City, taking on five opponents single-handedly and risking considerable danger. All his spoils amounted to only about a hundred Origin Constant Crystal.

The gifts from nearly a hundred Constant Lord at the Constant Source Celebration only amounted to 270 pieces in total.

Now, a single congratulatory gift casually given by Dao Lord Lan Chen is worth as much as two life-or-death battles where he fought one against five, or receiving gifts from an entire Constant Source Celebration.

For a fleeting moment, Lin Yi even had a ridiculous thought.

Why don't we just sell this spaceship?

Of course, this thought only flashed through my mind.

joke.

This kind of rare item is easy to sell, but difficult to buy back. If it were put out there, even those old monsters at the Perfection of the Constant Source Realm would probably be tempted.

Besides, this thing is too distinctive. If it gets on the market, Dao Lord Lan Chen will easily find out that the gift he just gave has been cashed in... It's better to wait until we don't need it anymore before considering it.

Lin Yi carefully put away the spaceship, then picked up the slender crystal box given to him by the Dao Lord Xi Mo, and gently ran his fingertip along the simple sealing pattern in the center of the lid.

The seal dissolved silently, and the box lid popped open.

No dazzling light burst forth from the box; only one object lay quietly in the groove in the center of the crystal box.

It was a fist-sized crystal with a polyhedral structure. Each facet was smooth as a mirror, but it didn't have a dazzling crystalline luster. Instead, it presented an extremely deep and restrained dark purple color.

Lin Yi's gaze fell on the crystal, his eyebrows twitched slightly, and he probed a wisp of his Soul Power into the crystal box, touching the message left inside by the Dao Lord Xi Mo.

The voice of the Dao Lord Xi Mo then resounded deep within his consciousness.

"Little one, the Smokeveil Mystic Furnace is useful, but it's ultimately only a mid-level Constant Treasure. The storage space inside is limited; it can only store up to three times the amount of mist Chaos Power of a fourth-level Constant Source Realm Chaos Force. It's enough for your current level, but it won't be sufficient once you reach the Mid Constant Source Realm."

"I obtained this Inkveil Crystal Jade by chance, and it's just sitting there. As a main material for upgrading the Smokeveil Mystic Furnace at the peak of the Perfection of the Constant Source Realm level, it's more than enough. Once you break through to the Mid Constant Source Realm, you can take it back to the blacksmithing masters on the island and have them remelt the core mist-storing structure of the furnace and replace it with this Inkveil Crystal Jade as the base. The upgraded furnace should be considered a pretty good quality among high-level Constant Treasure, enough for your use at the Constant Source Realm stage."

Lin Yi held the slender crystal box, a slight smile involuntarily curving his lips.

He recalled the scene when he received the Smokeveil Mystic Furnace in the tower last time.

The lazy Dao Lord had initially acted as if she didn't need this anymore and was just giving it to him, but he later discovered that she had just bought the Smokeveil Mystic Furnace for fifty Origin Constant Crystal at the Nokhan Commerce's auction preview.

It's like this again now.

What do you mean by "early years of acquisition"? It's too much of a coincidence that it's just right for upgrading the Smokeveil Mystic Furnace. And the details of when to upgrade, who to upgrade, and what the effects will be are all clearly explained.

"As expected, the Dao Lord Xi Mo is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and meticulous in his attention to detail."

Lin Yi sighed silently to himself.

He looked down at the piece of Inkveil Crystal Jade in the box and quickly calculated in his mind.

A perfect-grade Constant Treasure main material would be worth at least a hundred Origin Constant Crystal on the market, and it would be priceless.

Materials of this caliber typically do not appear at public auctions; they circulate only in small-scale barter transactions between Dao Lord- level forces and those high-ranking or even perfect Constant Lord.

If you happen to buy it at an auction, who knows how long you'll have to wait, and you'll have to compete fiercely with a bunch of Constant Lord clubs, ultimately spending much more than in a private transaction.

Lin Yi guessed that this item was most likely something that the Dao Lord Xi Mo had specifically sought out from other Dao Lord to obtain.

He stored the Inkveil Crystal Jade along with the slender crystal box into his inner Divine Kingdom, placing it in the same corner as the gift box from Dao Lord Lan Chen's spaceship.

Then, he picked up the third gift box.

The azure crystal box given Dao Lord Han Yu felt slightly cold to the touch. The moment the lid was opened, an extremely fine and light breeze escaped from the box.

The wind wasn't fierce; instead, it was gentle and warm, leaving only a faint coolness as it brushed against his cheek.

But Lin Yi's pupils contracted slightly at that moment.

At the same time, the message left in the box Dao Lord Han Yu also entered his consciousness.

"Lord Lin Yiheng. Entering the Eternal Origin after a million epochs is a rare feat, even in the Imperial Era. It is truly fortunate that the Seventh Eternal Domain has a Lord like you."

The voice of the Han Yu Dao Lord Han Yu was as gentle and calm as his appearance, yet it also exuded a composed demeanor.

His tone of voice was neither as lazy and casual as that of the Dao Lord Xi Mo, nor as expectant of a junior as that of the Dao Lord Lan Chen; it was more like a formal exchange between beings of the same level.

Even though Lin Yi's cultivation level was far lower than his, there was no condescending tone in Han Yu Dao Lord's words.

"While the crisis in Mist Sea City was a deliberate act of retaliation by the Lightless Ones, it also exposed the complacency inherent in our Constant Domain Office's defense system during long periods of peace, as well as its inadequacy in responding to such meticulously planned attacks. As the Dao Lord in charge of city defense affairs for Constant Domain Office, I cannot shirk my responsibility. I have ordered adjustments to the support and dispatch rules between the various major cities and increased the number of reserve Constant Lord stationed there to prevent similar situations from recurring."

Hearing this, Lin Yi felt a warmth in his heart.

Although Han Yu Dao Lord did not say it explicitly, his meaning was quite clear.

Constant Domain Office owes Lin Yi a favor.

"Leaving aside the digressions, the item in this box is called 'Voidwind.' It was collected by me years ago in the Core Zone of a storm-like Cosmic Sea Wonder deep within the Black Mist Sea. It is of the standard quality of a perfect Constant Treasure main material. It has an extremely special property: it is both tangible and intangible."

"The so-called 'fire borrows the power of wind' usually means that wind-attribute Constant Treasure can amplify fire-attribute source techniques. However, your Silent Nether Soul-Rending Flame is extraordinary, but because of this, the wind released by ordinary wind-attribute Constant Treasure cannot help the Silent Nether Soul-Rending Flame. Once it comes into contact with it, unless you expend a lot of energy to control it carefully, it will easily be directly devoured and assimilated by the flames, only serving as a small amount of fuel and not providing any amplification effect."

"But this Voidwind is different. As long as we find the necessary materials to forge it into a suitable Constant Treasure, it can continuously provide a wind amplification for the Silent Nether Soul-Rending Flame. As for the specific forging matters, if you cannot find a master who can forge a perfect Constant Treasure, you can come to Constant Domain Office to find me after you have gathered enough materials."

This message is now complete.

After the voice of Han Yu Dao Lord dissipated, the Voidwind in the box continued to rotate gently, the breeze it created brushing against Lin Yi's cheek and causing his hair to flutter slightly.

Lin Yi stared at the Voidwind for a long while, his lips twitching involuntarily.

This thing is indeed good, and Han Yu Dao Lord has thought of everything very thoroughly.

Ordinary winds simply cannot withstand the devouring Silent Nether Soul-Rending Flame; they would be consumed by the flames as nourishment as soon as they are released. However, this Voidwind is different; it will not be devoured by the flames while amplifying them, which ensures the continuity and stability of the amplification effect.

The problem is that having the main materials alone is far from enough to forge a perfect Constant Treasure.

The auxiliary materials are needed in greater quantities than the main materials, and each one is a rare commodity. The price of each auxiliary material is at least several Origin Constant Crystal, plus the cost of hiring a master craftsman...

Lin Yi roughly estimated that the entire process, from auxiliary materials to labor, would require at least another hundred Origin Constant Crystal.

Hundreds of them.

Although he has accumulated a considerable fortune, it is all for future cultivation expenses. At his current cultivation speed, his demand for Origin Constant Crystal will only increase.

"Sigh, the treasure is indeed a wonderful treasure, but the subsequent costs are too high. Besides, I don't know how long I'll stay at the Perfection of the Constant Source Realm..."

Lin Yi rubbed his temples, sighed silently in his heart, and then put the azure crystal box into his Divine Kingdom.

"Forget it, we'll deal with it later. If all else fails, we can sell this wisp of Voidwind. After all, there's no shortage of buyers for perfect-grade main materials."

After dealing with the congratulatory gifts from Han Yu Dao Lord, Lin Yi's gaze finally fell on the last gift box.

The wooden box was the simplest of the four gift boxes, with only a few natural wood grain patterns shimmering with a very subtle luminescence.

Lin Yi held the wooden box in his palm, and his fingers lightly touched the lid. The natural wood grain patterns lit up at the same moment.

The light flowed slowly from the beginning of the texture along the wood fibers, like several very thin and pale green streams meandering across the surface of the box.

Then the lid slid open silently.

There was no burst of light, no surge of energy, not even the slightest ripple.

Inside the box, only a small, diamond-shaped emblem lay quietly.

The emblem was only two fingers wide and had an indescribable color.

It is described as gold, but it is deeper and more understated than gold. It is as if countless layers of extremely thin and fine gold foil have been layered together by some ancient method, with each layer of gold foil having a very subtle dark halo around its edge.

Although it was described as dark, when Lin Yi's gaze fell on those halos, he discovered that countless colorful patterns, which were indistinguishable to the naked eye, flowed within them.

Red, orange, yellow, green...

Each color swirls rapidly within the halo, but because the speed of this swirl is so fast, when all the colors blend together, they appear to become an extremely deep and somber dark color.

Lin Yi stared at the diamond-shaped emblem for a moment, but couldn't figure out what it was at all.

He felt somewhat helpless.

He could at least glean some clues from the first three gifts, but he had absolutely no idea about this emblem.

However, Lin Yi remained calm.

He knew that, given the status of the Dao Lord Wei Shuo, the congratulatory gift he sent could not be something unremarkable.

Since this emblem was left behind, it must have been accompanied by relevant explanatory information.

Thinking of this, Lin Yi didn't bother to dwell on it anymore and directly sent a wisp of his Soul Power toward the rhombus emblem.

Sure enough, the moment his Soul Power touched the emblem, the voice of Wei Shuo Dao Lord deep within his consciousness.

"Lin Yi, the box contains the access pass to the Constant Source Summit Ruins."

The Constant Source Summit?

Lin Yi's pupils suddenly contracted.

He had certainly heard of that name before.

If the Eternal Source Ring is the most advanced training ground for the Eternal Source Realm stage in the entire Seventh Constant Domain, then the Constant Source Summit is the supreme training holy land in the hearts of all Constant Source Realm experts in the entire Chaos Tribunal Sea.

The difference between the two is almost entirely incomparable.

The Eternal Source Ring is used to select reserve talents for the Imperial Army and the Constant Guard. To put it bluntly, it's an internal competition organized by the military itself.

But Constant Source Summit is different.

The Constant Source Summit is a trial ground personally built by the Imperial Court. It is the highest-level trial established Imperial Era and is aimed at all Constant Source Realm experts in the entire empire.

Regardless of which Constant Domain or faction you belong to, as long as you obtain the entry certificate and are still in the Constant Source Realm, you can step into the Constant Source Summit and challenge the supreme trial created by the Imperial Court.

Because in the Imperial Era, those at the Path Source Realm were already important figures guarding a region, pillars of the empire.

Once you reach that level, there's no point in holding any more trials, and no Dao Lord would want to participate in any trials and be watched by others.

Therefore, the Constant Source Summit is the ultimate trial for the entire empire.

Throughout countless Universal Epoch, countless experts at the Constant Source Realm have ventured into it. Some rose to fame within, while others perished there.

However, many more Constant Lord, from their advancement to the Constant Source Realm to their demise for various reasons, never obtained the certificate representing their entry qualification.

Lin Yi had once looked through the records about Constant Source Summit in the Constant Guard's database.

The access certificate to the Constant Source Summit is formed by the Dao Lord using his own Dao Resonance.

Each Dao Lord can only accumulate three valid credentials in their lifetime.

To be precise, although you can continue to condense after three tokens, the Constant Source Summit will recognize duplicate imprints in the Dao Resonance. Once the same Dao Resonance has been recorded in three tokens, subsequent tokens will no longer be recognized by the Constant Source Summit.

Therefore, each Dao Lord only has three recommendation slots in their lifetime.

Who should receive these three spots, when should they be given, and on what grounds should they be given? All of these require careful consideration and deliberation.

Because the performance of the Constant Lord who participates in the Constant Source Summit with the certificate is not only related to his own opportunities and future, but also directly related to the face of the Dao Lord who condensed the certificate.

The better the trial participants perform, the more radiant the Dao Lord condenses the token will be in the Dao Origin Hall.

Conversely, if the recommended Constant Lord performs poorly in the trial, it's not just the Constant Lord himself who loses face; the recommended Dao Lord will also become the subject of gossip among other Dao Lord.

Moreover, it is said that each level of the Constant Source Summit will give a score based on the trial participant's strength. The higher the level, the higher the score, and the richer the rewards after passing the level.

Furthermore, the rewards at the Constant Source Summit are said to be personally allocated by the Emperor from the Imperial Treasury, and some of these rewards are even coveted by Dao Lord.

The most crucial point is that, because the Constant Source Summit has been opened very few times since the Black Mist Sea erupted, many of the rewards previously placed there are still in the ruins.

However, theoretically, it's better to attempt the Constant Source Summit as early as possible, because once you obtain the participation certificate, you can attempt it multiple times.

However, the vast majority of Dao Lord dared not gamble, and dared not place such a precious spot on a low-level Constant Lord who had not yet grown up.

If the initial stage of the Constant Lord doesn't go well, the opportunity will be wasted.

Sending out the credentials means linking your reputation to the achievements of the person you're recommending.

Moreover, the Constant Source Summit has an extremely unique rule.

If Constant Lord participates in the trial with the certificate eventually reaches a certain level, the Dao Lord condenses the certificate will also receive the reward from the Constant Source Summit. This reward is very generous and of great use to the Dao Lord.

This means that recommending someone is itself a form of investment.

If you recommend the right person, the Dao Lord himself can also gain tangible benefits.

Therefore, no Dao Lord would easily hand over the certificate.

After all, recommending the wrong person not only damages one's reputation but also wastes a valuable spot.

For this reason, throughout history, almost without exception, Dao Lord have left their credentials to veteran powerhouses who Late Constant Source Realm or even the Perfection of the Constant Source Realm.

Those people are strong and experienced, and their success rate in clearing the levels is much higher than that of beginners and intermediates.

Although the reward coefficient will decrease as the cultivation level increases, at least a decent result can be obtained steadily, and the face of the Dao Lord can be preserved.

Lin Yi stared at the diamond-shaped emblem lying quietly in the box and fell silent.

He finally understood why he hadn't been able to see through the essence of the emblem before.

This is neither Constant Treasure nor a high-level material.

This is a certificate personally condensed by the Dao Lord, containing the Dao Resonance of the Dao Lord's origin.

To be honest, when he saw the information about the Constant Source Summit back then, he thought that when he reached the Late Constant Source Realm someday, he would definitely find Dao Lord still had recommendation slots to befriend, and then try to get a certificate to go in and try his luck.

Unexpectedly, he had just broken through to the First Order of the Constant Source Realm and hadn't even thought about reaching the Constant Source Summit yet, when he actually obtained the admission certificate first.