Chapter 611: World Treasure

The white-robed elder looked at Meng Chuan, sighing. "After all these years, the Old Master's homeland is finally producing a Six Tribulation Emissary. Cangyuan Realm can finally grow again."

"Only after I survive the tribulation can I help Cangyuan Realm," Meng Chuan said.

A small tree needs soil, water, and sunlight to grow slowly over time.

The growth of a living world is far more complex, requiring more resources and taking much longer. It also needs to be overseen by a powerful being who has reached at least the Six Tribulation Realm.

"Meng Chuan, I'm confident you'll succeed in your tribulation," the white-robed elder said with a smile. "However, I have some less-than-favorable news."

"Oh?" Meng Chuan looked at him.

"If you don't succeed in your tribulation, you can only acquire treasures worth up to one million foreign elemental crystals from the Cangyuan Treasury," the white-robed elder explained. "Combined with the previous three hundred thousand, your cumulative total will not exceed one million three hundred thousand. This is the limit set by the Old Master."

Meng Chuan, however, was quite satisfied.

A cumulative total of one million three hundred thousand — Cangyuan Patriarch had given his descendants more than enough! Meng Chuan felt deeply grateful.

Based on what he knew, only a few Six Tribulation Emissaries managed to accumulate over one million units of resources on their own.

"The Old Master also considered the future of Cangyuan Realm," the white-robed elder stated. "After you survive your tribulation, the treasures you receive will be far greater than what you have now, depending on your age at that time."

"Far more?" Meng Chuan asked, surprised.

"When the Old Master reached the Seven Tribulation Realm, he left years of accumulated wealth in his homeland. If your potential is high enough, you could receive up to half of that treasure," the white-robed elder said with a smile. "However, if you are very old after the tribulation and your potential is low, the amount of treasure you receive will be proportionally reduced."

"Half?" Meng Chuan was stunned.

As far as he knew, Cangyuan Patriarch had lived for over a hundred thousand years during his Seven Tribulation Realm phase, ultimately succumbing to old age.

His accumulation over countless years of travel and conquest was truly astonishing.

If a descendant became a Six Tribulation Emissary with extremely high potential, they could receive up to half of the treasure? Meng Chuan was awestruck just imagining the sheer amount that "half" would represent.

He knew that items like Eight Tribulation Realm secret treasures and exotic artifacts such as "mini-universes"—things Six Tribulation Emissaries yearned for but couldn't acquire—Cangyuan Patriarch had accumulated in abundance. In the outside world, these items couldn't be bought even with ample foreign elemental crystals, because the more precious a treasure, the scarcer it was. For instance, copies of the "Void Atlas" were rare, and items more valuable than it might be unique in the entire outer void, or numbering only a handful.

Due to their extreme rarity, transactions for such items were typically conducted through bartering.

Only 'Seven Tribulation Emissaries' at the pinnacle of the River of Spacetime, or even at the highest echelons of top-tier forces, could control such resources.

These were the resources he was aware of.

There were also certain treasures that Cangyuan Patriarch had explicitly forbidden him from investigating, indicating they were even more extraordinary.

"No wonder those high-tier worlds remain prosperous for long ages, even if their Eight Tribulation Emissaries are long gone," Meng Chuan marveled inwardly.

Cangyuan Patriarch's treasure trove was astonishing enough; what level of wealth would an Eight Tribulation Emissary leave behind?

He knew that while the home worlds of most Seven Tribulation Emissaries eventually declined, the vast majority of high-tier worlds consistently thrived.

Even 'Eight Tribulation Emissaries' born as special life forms, if they diligently perfected their clan's bloodline, could create powerful clans such as the Dragon and Phoenix races, leaving a legacy for generations.

"If I could reach the Eight Tribulation Realm in this lifetime, my home, Cangyuan Realm, would also be able to shine for endless ages," Meng Chuan thought. However, he also knew that goal was impossibly far away for him.

The cumulative limit of one million three hundred thousand was Cangyuan Patriarch's gift to a Six Tribulation Emissary descendant who was about to undergo tribulation. Meng Chuan fully understood the Patriarch's reasoning. After all, failure in the tribulation would render everything meaningless, so the Patriarch's investment was already substantial.

"I've spent a lot over time, but fortunately, I've also earned quite a bit," Meng Chuan mused.

Over the years, he had incurred substantial expenses on his cultivation, secret treasures, and formations, with "Void Atlas" Volume Three representing his largest investment.

Fortunately, he had also earned a significant amount: the beginner Eternal Order, the gains from sweeping through the Three Bay Galaxy's plundering forces, and the harvest from Demonic Mountain. All these accumulated, he still had a surplus of over fifty thousand units.

"That brings the total to one million three hundred fifty thousand units," Meng Chuan mused, sitting in the backyard of the Cave Heaven Pavilion. "I need to focus on three main things: preparing for my tribulation, acquiring life-extending treasures, and preparing for my home world."

Before the tribulation, he absolutely had to awaken his parents, father-in-law, and Qi Yue to extend their lifespans.

If he failed his tribulation, there would be no one else to extend their lifespans.

Secondly, what would become of his home world if he failed the tribulation? Naturally, he had to make arrangements for it. He still had Emperor Peng's outer realm true body imprisoned, and that threat also needed to be dealt with before his tribulation.

"A total of one million three hundred fifty thousand units," Meng Chuan reflected.

Life-extending treasures would require the largest expenditure.

Ordinary life-extending treasures were affordable even for Five Tribulation Emissaries, costing only a few thousand units.

However, the stronger a cultivator's power and the more unique their bloodline, the greater the cost of extending their life.

For cultivators like Sun Godfiends and Marquis Godfiends, who are below the Venerable level, a few thousand units of life-extending treasures could add several centuries to their lives. To reach the two-thousand-year lifespan limit, ten thousand units would suffice. For his three elders, thirty thousand units would certainly be enough, making it relatively easy for Meng Chuan.

But his wife was different.

His wife possessed the Phoenix bloodline and had awakened the 'Phoenix Divine Fire,' making it harder to extend her lifespan than that of an ordinary Venerable.

However, since his wife's strength was still relatively modest, extending her life should be less difficult than for an Emperor.

"Extending my wife's life to two thousand years will likely cost fifty thousand units. As for a longer lifespan..." Meng Chuan pondered, "the price would be substantially higher."

Lifespan had three major thresholds.

The first threshold was two thousand years. It was not uncommon for mortals who acquired rare treasures in living worlds to live for several centuries. Rare treasures from the outer void made extending one's lifespan to two thousand years even simpler.

The second threshold was five thousand years. For beings below the Emperor level, five thousand years was the absolute maximum lifespan! This was an unbreakable rule of the River of Spacetime. Meng Chuan wanted his wife's lifespan to exceed two thousand years, and the higher he pushed it, the greater the cost.

The third threshold was one hundred thousand years, the ultimate limit of an Emperor's lifespan.

Emperors typically had a lifespan of ten thousand years, and extending it was incredibly difficult; adding another ten thousand years came at a terrifying cost. However, if they were truly fortunate enough to acquire some legendary rare treasures, they could theoretically reach a hundred thousand years of lifespan. Of course, such immense fortune was exceptionally rare, perhaps occurring only once in an era of the River of Spacetime, making it far more difficult than the emergence of a Seven Tribulation Emissary.

As for Tribulation Emissaries extending their lives? Most wouldn't even consider it.

Given their already vast lifespans, adding merely two or three centuries offered little meaningful extension and didn't justify the effort. And attempting to extend their lives by tens of thousands of years? The cost would be so astronomical it would drive them to despair.

"In this era, aside from me, Cangyuan Realm doesn't have a single Emperor."

"If I fail my tribulation, Cangyuan Realm will rapidly decline," Meng Chuan mused, his brow furrowing slightly. "I can only place my hopes on Master; he has already comprehended the Heaven-Earth Realm rules."

Qin Wu had comprehended the Heaven-Earth Realm rules, but his primordial spirit realm was still insufficient.

Meng Chuan could only provide better conditions and cultivation guidance; ultimately, cultivation depended on one's own efforts. Even Cangyuan Patriarch... could only hope that over a long period, geniuses would emerge among Cangyuan Realm's descendants. At the very least, while Cangyuan Patriarch was alive, he had done his utmost by nurturing a few Emperors and a 'Primordial Spirit Tribulation Emissary.'

"I must extend Master's lifespan."

"Master is a Venerable with no special bloodline, so extending his life should be less difficult than for Qi Yue. However, Master already has a two-thousand-year lifespan, and breaking that threshold for him will still incur a significant cost," Meng Chuan mused.

"Since life extension requires a considerable amount, I'll only refine one World Secret Treasure," Meng Chuan decided.

For the tribulation alone, a single World Secret Treasure would suffice.

World Secret Treasures represented the largest expenditure for Primordial Spirit Tribulation Emissaries. These treasures could make the illusory Primordial Spirit world more tangible, significantly boost its power, and stabilize the Primordial Spirit itself. They offered the greatest assistance in combat, self-defense, and undergoing tribulations.

A 'World Secret Treasure' for a Primordial Spirit Five Tribulation Emissary typically cost several thousand units! For a Primordial Spirit Six Tribulation Emissary, most 'World Secret Treasures' exceeded one hundred thousand units.

"I can economize on other items, but not on the World Secret Treasure," Meng Chuan mused. "I will use the finest materials for its refinement."

"I wield the Lightning Rule, so the most suitable refining material is 'Nine Tribulation Thunder Sand.' I must acquire a single grain of it," Meng Chuan thought.

Nine Tribulation Thunder Sand had a very unique origin.

Legend had it that a Physical Body Eight Tribulation Emissary faced their ninth heavenly tribulation on the Primal Star.

The ninth heavenly tribulation for the physical body was a thunder punishment tribulation. That thunderous bombardment utterly pulverized the Primal Star, and from its shattered remains, under the 'thunder punishment,' unique substances formed, which came to be known as 'Nine Tribulation Thunder Sand.' Whether the Physical Body Eight Tribulation Emissary survived that tribulation remains an unsolved mystery. However, 'Nine Tribulation Thunder Sand' is unequivocally the most supreme lightning-attributed material in the River of Spacetime; at least to Meng Chuan's knowledge, it ranks first.

It is traded by the 'grain'; each grain of Nine Tribulation Thunder Sand is immensely precious and extremely difficult to acquire.

"A World Secret Treasure with Nine Tribulation Thunder Sand as its core is the most suitable for me," Meng Chuan mused. "My primordial spirit will also be more stable, and my chances of surviving the tribulation will be significantly higher."

Even a slight increase in primordial spirit stability could be the critical difference between success and failure during the tribulation.

The assistance Nine Tribulation Thunder Sand offered to cultivators of the Lightning Rule was far more than merely a slight advantage.

"Unfortunately, Cangyuan Patriarch didn't cultivate the lightning lineage, so while he collected many treasures, he didn't specifically gather Nine Tribulation Thunder Sand," Meng Chuan mused. He understood that there were countless treasures in the outer void, and even Eight Tribulation Emissaries lacked the time and energy to collect them all.

"I need to acquire it as quickly as possible through the Eternal Tower's channels. If I can't find it, I'll have to choose a different material," Meng Chuan thought. He estimated his tribulation would occur in about a century, leaving him very little time to gather materials. If he failed to acquire it, he would have no choice but to forego the Nine Tribulation Thunder Sand.