While Rob and the others waited anxiously...
Kroya emerged from the sea before long, carrying an exquisite shell with intricate magical patterns etched across its surface.
One glance was enough to tell that it was a special magical implement.
"Master, are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Let's head back."
Rob hurried forward to help Kroya, but Kroya shook his head and declined, his eyes filled with unmistakable wonder.
These Merfolk were filthy rich!
When the Merfolk Archmage heard Kroya's estimate of roughly five hundred first-grade magic crystals, she had simply taken out a spatial magical implement and handed it to him.
It was the shell he was holding.
Inside were six pearls produced by fifth-grade magical beasts, Sea-Swallowing Clams. Each pearl could be exchanged for one hundred first-grade magic crystals at any trade guild dealing in mage supplies.
Six pearls meant six hundred first-grade magic crystals.
Needless to say, the extra pearl and the shell itself were her payment to Kroya-and she had also generously allowed him to take a pile of waterlight crystals.
She had further stated that as long as he could refine half of them into waterlight essence, she would generously give him the rest as a gift.
She really was filthy rich. After all, the original owner of this body had worked himself to the bone for ages and only managed to save up a box of twenty first-grade magic crystals.
As for the waterlight crystals...
According to the description on the Parchment, he should be able to learn some special waterlight spells through them, further expanding his store of knowledge.
For a mage, knowledge was everything!
Honestly, Kroya really hoped he could meet a few more loaded patrons like her.
Ahem.
In any case, he now had enough resources and had accepted her deposit, so he needed to get started immediately. Things would get troublesome if that Merfolk lost her temper.
Fortunately, the original owner had spent time at the Mage Association in the Royal Capital and knew how to contact trade guilds.
He just needed to test whether this method actually worked.
The original owner had only heard about it, never tried it himself.
So Kroya immediately led everyone back to the castle, then entered the laboratory alone and found a clean sheet of parchment.
He focused his mind and entered a meditative state, also bringing over the thirsty sea glow algae to supply him with mana and mental energy.
He began drawing strange patterns resembling flowing spring water and rolling waves on the parchment, adding a different emblem to each of its four corners.
At the very center was a spring that seemed to bubble with water.
Once he finished drawing the patterns, he took out two magic crystals with considerable reluctance and placed them over the spring at the center of the parchment.
Gathering mana between his lips and teeth, he chanted, "Sacred spring, Deep Blue Sacred Spring! Everlasting sacred spring leading to boundless, infinite worlds, answer me!"
His mana began to resonate with the magic crystals.
One of the magic crystals slowly dissolved. Blue radiance flowed along the spring's patterns on the parchment, soon dyeing them entirely a mysterious deep blue.
Then something miraculous happened-
An extremely thin stream of water actually began flowing from the spring, slowly gathering into a real pool of spring water.
It was as though a mysterious force in the air were shaping it.
Seeing this, Kroya hurriedly placed the parchment bearing his list of materials into it, then tossed in the six pearls.
Though the sacred spring looked no larger than a jar, it swallowed the parchment and pearls like a bottomless abyss, without so much as a ripple.
"Why does the Sacred Spring Trade Guild feel even more prestigious than the Mage Association?"
He muttered as he watched the sacred spring outlet formed from mana, his eyes filled with obvious curiosity. He had learned about this thing at the Mage Association.
Supposedly, as long as one successfully summoned a sacred spring outlet using this method, one could purchase any materials one wanted from any corner of the human realm on the Main Plane.
Of course, there was a small additional fee.
But compared with being able to buy whatever materials one needed at any time, such a minor expense was nothing. Many Archmages were lifetime members of the Sacred Spring Trade Guild.
"Could this be some intricate spatial spell formula? But opening spatial gates all over the world with so few materials... can that really cover the cost?
"Or is it constructed through some divine artifact?"
He pondered for a while, then shook his head.
Speculation was only speculation. So many Archmages in the Mage Association had failed to figure it out; he was merely letting his imagination wander.
Just then, water suddenly bubbled up from the sacred spring outlet with a gurgle, and it sprayed out a pile of test tubes, bottles, and jars like a real fountain.
There was also a crystal-clear card.
The sacred spring emblem of the Sacred Spring Trade Guild was engraved on it, and it appeared to be made from magic crystal. As he picked it up, a voice sounded from within-
"Esteemed customer, in recognition of the precious Sea Folk materials you have provided, you have been specially promoted to Level One Member. You may use this card to summon a sacred spring outlet.
"We wish you a pleasant shopping experience and a swift promotion to a higher membership level.
"More rare materials will become available to you."
It was an elegant, refined female voice. Simply listening to it conjured the image of a scholarly female mage wearing glasses.
After the voice faded, the parchment and the remaining magic crystal burned to ash. In effect, Kroya had paid an additional fee of one magic crystal to purchase these materials.
"A Level One Member of the Sacred Spring Trade Guild? Is that because they really need materials from the Sea Folk?"
Kroya toyed with the crystal card briefly, then put it away and gave it no further thought. Who knew how long it would be before his next transaction?
"Water-melting solution, the Gold Marrow Brush, spiritlight zigzag thread..."
He checked everything carefully and found that all the materials were of good quality. Though not top-grade, they were still above average.
Besides the materials for constructing the Seven Luminaries Divine Law Array, there was also a magic plant seed he had purchased.
It was a second-tier magic plant called Magic-Storing Hanging Flask Grass. Once mature, it would grow a hanging flask that could hold any liquid potion.
Once a liquid was stored inside, its potency would not diminish. If cultivated for long enough, the plant could even develop the remarkable ability to increase that potency.
For mages who frequently concocted various solutions and then drew magical arrays, it was practically indispensable-though his main reason for buying it was that he could not afford test tubes made from spirit-stabilizing crystal and could only use this as a cheaper substitute.
"This must be it. Let me take a look." He picked up the crystal box containing the Magic-Storing Hanging Flask Grass seed-inside was a seed resembling a walnut.
A single seed cost twenty magic crystals.
Honestly, it was extremely expensive, but he could not do without it. He could only hope it would offer a little pleasant surprise.
If it really was good and proved practical... he would buy more.
As his gaze swept over it, a notification suddenly appeared-
[Magic plant suitable for Astral Spirit Inscription detected: Magic-Storing Hanging Flask Grass. Please activate the inscription technique to inspect the magic plant's astral spirit body and inscribe a spell.]
Kroya's heart immediately leaped with joy. This was exactly what he had been hoping for!
A magic plant he could inscribe!
Before you continue