Purchasing Treasures

The team meeting lasted about half an hour before ending. After learning that Zhou Zheng had become a Bronze Token Divine Envoy, Herk never mentioned the matter of the captain again.

However, he did indeed remind Zhou Zheng and the other two of quite a few things.

For example, Zhou Zheng had obtained many treasures from the three Transcendentals who had died in another team. Herk reminded him that these could all be sold to the Temporal Temple in exchange for Time-Space Points.

Furthermore, if they needed any treasures that were not especially precious, it was best not to rush into buying them from the Temporal Temple's marketplace. They could first check out some of the shops on Time-Space Island No. 954, where they might be able to buy them more cheaply.

The reason for adding the condition that they could not be especially precious was that items bought on the Time-Space Island might be counterfeit or defective.

Ordinary treasures were one thing, but if an especially precious treasure turned out to be defective, there would be nowhere to cry.

In addition, according to Herk, Time-Space Island No. 954 was actually enormous. Their current location was merely the central city; beyond it lay vast territories.

Many people were unwilling to live in their own Private Spaces and instead preferred staying in certain places on Time-Space Island No. 954.

Of course, although Time-Space Island No. 954 prohibited Slaughter, it did not prohibit fighting. Staying outside carried a certain degree of risk.

All in all, Herk spoke of many things, giving Zhou Zheng a deeper understanding of the Time-Space Island and the Temporal Temple.

After the meeting ended, the four of them immediately went their separate ways.

In a place like the Temporal Temple, wasting time was shameful. As for the team's actual coordination, that would depend on how many of Herk and the other two were still alive nine years later.

That was right. With Zhou Zheng's mission time extended to nine years, Herk also had to undertake a personal mission every three years. Thus, he would have to go through two personal missions during those nine years.

And since they were missions, there was naturally a possibility that Herk might die.

There was even less need to mention Feng Zhuhong and Jit. If neither of them broke through to become Transcendental, then by the end of nine years, they would have to carry out a full eight personal missions.

Therefore, what would become of this team would have to be seen nine years later.

If they were lucky, all three would survive. If they were less fortunate, it was entirely possible that all three would die!

After parting with the three of them, Zhou Zheng wandered around the city, roughly verifying the accuracy of the information Herk had provided. Then he left the city and took a look outside.

The result was indeed as Herk had said: the territory outside the city was incomparably vast.

There were mountains and forests, oceans, deserts—essentially every type of terrain commonly found in the Material Realm.

There were even some extraordinarily peculiar environments.

For example, colossal airflow vortices stretching for tens of thousands of miles, or boundless rivers of stars descending from the starry sky. These were clearly sights that could only be seen in the God Realm.

I've really broadened my horizons!

After wandering outside for several days, Zhou Zheng stopped wasting time.

He focused his consciousness on the Temporal Temple mark on his wrist and selected the "Private Space" option.

The next moment, as a wave of fluctuations descended, Zhou Zheng's figure abruptly vanished. In the blink of an eye, he appeared within his Private Space.

It's time to make some plans for my future cultivation!

As Zhou Zheng pondered, he began browsing through the Temporal Temple marketplace.

The entire marketplace was divided into three major categories.

They were weapons, secret techniques, and special items.

The weapons and secret techniques categories were places where one could exchange for weapons and secret techniques, while the special items category encompassed everything imaginable, containing all sorts of strange things.

For instance, the special item Herk possessed that could conceal his Demon identity to a certain extent belonged to the treasures in the special items category.

Zhou Zheng did not currently lack offensive weapons. His Transcendental longsword was forged entirely from Deep Sea Gold, and it was sufficient for his current battles.

Thus, after browsing for a while, Zhou Zheng ultimately chose a Black Fiend Dao Wind Robe and a pair of Extreme Shadow Dragon Pattern Boots.

Even after the discount privilege granted to a Bronze Token Divine Envoy, these two treasures still cost Zhou Zheng eight hundred Time-Space Points.

Transcendental weapons came in three ranks: Human Tier, Saint Tier, and Demigod level.

Among them, the Extreme Shadow Dragon Pattern Boots were a Saint Tier Beginner weapon, originally priced at one hundred Time-Space Points. The Black Fiend Dao Wind Robe, meanwhile, was Saint Tier Peak, worth a full nine hundred Time-Space Points.

As a Saint Tier Peak defensive robe, the Black Fiend Dao Wind Robe naturally possessed astonishing defensive power. Once Zhou Zheng put it on, an ordinary Flying Celestial level transcendent might not be able to harm even a hair on his head even if Zhou Zheng stood still and let them attack.

Even an attack from a Saint level transcendent would be weakened significantly when it landed on Zhou Zheng.

The reason Zhou Zheng had paid such a price for this robe was naturally to preserve his life!

In the Temporal Temple, staying alive was the most important thing. And if one wanted to stay alive, one could not be stingy when investing in life-saving items.

A defensive robe concerned life and death, so Zhou Zheng naturally attached the utmost importance to it.

After purchasing the weapons, Zhou Zheng went to browse the secret techniques.

In this world, comprehending the mysteries of the laws of heaven and earth could not be aided by secret techniques. Every secret technique that existed without exception directly enhanced combat power.

The secret techniques Zhou Zheng could see were divided into two types: Transcendent Secret Techniques and God Tier Secret Techniques.

Both types were further divided into low-grade, mid-grade, and high-grade!

The only secret techniques Zhou Zheng could afford right now were Transcendent Secret Techniques. God Tier Secret Techniques were far beyond his reach.

However, as a Bronze Token Divine Envoy, I can freely choose one Mid-grade God Tier Secret Technique, so there's no need to buy one! As Zhou Zheng thought this, he began browsing through the many Mid-grade God Tier Secret Techniques.

After choosing for a long time, Zhou Zheng finally set his sights on a secret technique called the Nine Spirits Divine Light Domain.

The essence of this secret technique was the refined use of the power within one's body.

For example, Zhou Zheng cultivated Battle Qi. After cultivating this secret technique, he could transform his Battle Qi into a special state.

Battle Qi in this state would not only greatly increase in power, but could also form a domain during battle to suppress enemies.

The Nine Spirits Divine Light Domain was divided into nine levels. Each level cultivated would double the power of Zhou Zheng's Battle Qi and form one layer of domain.

Once all nine levels were cultivated, Zhou Zheng's Battle Qi power would increase ninefold. More terrifyingly, it would form the power of nine layers of domain, greatly restricting an enemy's movements.

With one side strengthened and the other weakened, there would be a difference of dozens of times in strength. Against opponents of the same level, he would be able to slaughter them with ease.

That was the terror of a God Tier Secret Technique!

I have weapons and a secret technique. Next comes improving my realm. Zhou Zheng did not browse further this time. Instead, he went directly to the special items category and purchased six hundred jin of Origin Stones.

Origin Stones were special existences formed from the world Origin of certain Transcendent Worlds within the Material Realm. They contained the purest power of heaven and earth.

Transcendentals could directly absorb this power of heaven and earth to advance their realms.

Zhou Zheng was currently at the early Flying Heaven level. Theoretically, as long as he absorbed all six hundred jin of Origin Stones, he could become a Saint level transcendent.

In truth, if Zhou Zheng wanted to improve his realm, he could only rely on absorbing the power within Origin Stones.

If he insisted on absorbing the power of heaven and earth by himself, then advancing from early Flying Heaven level to Saint Level would probably take six or seven hundred years. A Flying Heaven level transcendent's lifespan was only around eight hundred years in total.

Therefore, relying on himself to absorb the power of heaven and earth was not feasible. Only Origin Stones were the best choice.

Of course, even though Origin Stones contained the purest power of heaven and earth, Zhou Zheng's physical strength was limited. He still had to absorb their energy bit by bit to nourish his body and soul.

He definitely could not absorb six hundred jin of Origin Stones in a short time.

The weapons cost eight hundred Time-Space Points. Six hundred jin of Origin Stones were originally six hundred Time-Space Points, or four hundred and eighty after the discount. I have seven hundred and seventy Time-Space Points remaining.

As Zhou Zheng pondered, he prepared to look through the special items category to see whether there was anything that could help him.

However, the special items were too numerous and too varied. There were also many incredibly miraculous items that Zhou Zheng wanted, but unfortunately, he could not afford them.

After searching for a long time, Zhou Zheng's eyes suddenly lit up slightly.

"Tian Cong Poison, worth two hundred Time-Space Points!" After discovering that its price was fully within his means, Zhou Zheng chose to purchase it without hesitation.

This Tian Cong Poison was a poison unintentionally refined by a Deity named Tian Cong. Although it was poison, it was not actually lethal. On the contrary, it had a tremendous benefit: it could stimulate the potential of a living body.

The living beings of this universe were divided into two types: innate and acquired.

Innate lifeforms were generally nurtured by heaven and earth and were born Transcendental!

Moreover, such lifeforms were born with all manner of talents. Some controlled water and fire, some controlled lightning, and some even controlled time and space.

Acquired lifeforms, meanwhile, were born from their mothers' wombs. Zhou Zheng, for example, was one.

But over the long course of reproduction, some acquired lifeforms also came to possess the bloodlines of innate lifeforms. Once these bloodlines were awakened, acquired lifeforms could likewise command the abilities of innate lifeforms.

However, those capable of awakening such bloodlines were exceedingly rare. Usually, not even one could be found within a million miles.

Zhou Zheng came from the Xia Clan World. As far as he knew, ordinary humans in the Xia Clan World possessed various Primordial Bloodlines.

These so-called Primordial Bloodlines were, in truth, the bloodlines of those innate lifeforms.

Once these Primordial Bloodlines were awakened, they could grant all kinds of abilities.

It's worth a gamble. If I awaken some powerful ability, I'll have another major trump card! Zhou Zheng felt a faint anticipation. Naturally, he hoped to awaken the ability of "time," as that would be immensely beneficial to his future research into the Mystery of Time.

But Zhou Zheng also knew that the possibility was minuscule—so minuscule that it could be ignored.

Still, Zhou Zheng wanted to gamble. Even if he did not awaken the ability of time, awakening some other powerful ability could still greatly increase his strength.

After the twenty percent discount, Zhou Zheng spent one hundred and sixty Time-Space Points to purchase a portion of Tian Cong Poison.

Finally, Zhou Zheng spent another one hundred Time-Space Points to transform his Private Space into a training ground roughly ten li in length and width.

At this point, Zhou Zheng had spent seventy percent of the two thousand and fifty Time-Space Points he had obtained from his previous mission. He had just over six hundred Time-Space Points left.

However, Zhou Zheng soon sold all the treasures he had obtained from the three members of the other team to the Temporal Temple, replenishing his funds. His Time-Space Points once again rose above one thousand.

This time, however, Zhou Zheng did not buy anything else.

In the Temporal Temple, nothing could be done without Time-Space Points. Even killing teammates or failing missions could be offset with Time-Space Points.

There was no harm in keeping some Time-Space Points in reserve.

Not long after Zhou Zheng finished making his purchases, a wave of Space-Time fluctuations suddenly appeared within his Private Space.

Immediately, the weapons, Origin Stones, Tian Cong Poison, and other items Zhou Zheng had purchased were delivered. The Nine Spirits Divine Light Domain secret technique he had selected was among them as well.