Chapter 2722: Xuanming Heavy Water, Ice Soul Divine Jade

Celestial materials are rare. Crafting celestial treasures requires a considerable amount of them, and a single piece of Heavenly Starwood isn't enough. If celestial materials weren't so difficult to collect, Wang Changsheng wouldn't have traded the Heavenly Starwood.

He Feng pondered for a moment. With a flick of his right hand, an ancient-looking black cauldron flew out and hovered in mid-air.

"One drop of Mysterious Dark Heavy Water, plus a Sixth-tier spiritual flame," He Feng transmitted, "but you'll also need to add Flying Crane Divine Wood and Golden Magnetic Spiritwood. What do you say?"

"Mysterious Dark Heavy Water? Deal," Wang Changsheng agreed readily.

Gongsun Yang had gifted a drop of Mysterious Dark Heavy Water, and with He Feng's drop, Wang Changsheng now possessed two drops. The Sixth-tier puppet beast wasn't successfully traded. This wasn't due to a lack of interest from other Integration cultivators, but because Wang Changsheng wasn't interested in what they offered.

He Feng then presented three sets of Seventh-tier arrays: two offensive and one defensive.

"I'm trading for celestial materials, one of the Ten Divine Woods, or one of the Ten Miraculous Stones. Materials for transcending tribulations are preferred," He Feng announced in a solemn voice.

Seventh-tier arrays are rarely seen, even at large auctions. The protective arrays of sects like Zhenhai Palace, Coldflame Sect, and Nineflame Gate are Seventh-tier. Eighth-tier arrays, on the other hand, are deployed by only a select few forces, using raw materials, which makes them unsuitable for portability.

The Wang family currently doesn't possess any Seventh-tier arrays, and can only deploy multiple Sixth-tier arrays instead. To pass the Seventh-Ninth Thunder Tribulation, their Four Seas Azure Wave Array was directly discarded, as it had already been damaged. A single piece of celestial material naturally couldn't be exchanged for a Seventh-tier array. While Nine-Radiance Divine Clay could secure one, that would be too great a loss. Treasures refined from Nine-Radiance Divine Clay are far more effective at resisting thunder tribulations than ordinary defensive arrays.

Even among Seventh-tier defensive arrays, their power varies greatly. If an array is set up using Eastern Yi Divine Wood, the older the wood, the stronger the defensive effect. Additionally, a Seventh-tier Thunder Absorbing Pearl refined into an array also provides excellent resistance against thunder tribulations.

The defensive array He Feng presented was just an ordinary one. It could still play a significant role for Integration cultivators facing their first Grand Heavenly Tribulation, but its effectiveness would diminish with each subsequent one. Wang Changsheng indeed wanted to acquire a Seventh-tier array, but alas, he was financially constrained and could only watch.

True Monarch Jindong exchanged for the Seventh-tier defensive array, Song Yunlong acquired a set of Seventh-tier offensive arrays, and Li Yuqing also traded for a Seventh-tier array. Possessing a Seventh-tier array made it easier for Integration cultivators to hunt demon beasts and also represented a significant foundation. During the last racial war, the Li family's stronghold, Golden Leaf Island, was breached by Seventh-tier demon beasts, and their Seventh-tier array was damaged. Li Yuqing had originally intended to trade for a defensive Seventh-tier array, but failing to do so, she had to settle for something else.

Chen Yuyao then took out dozens of materials, including refining materials and a mid-grade Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure. A golden shimmering shield particularly caught the attention of the cultivators.

"A mid-grade Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure!" Song Yunlong exclaimed, his gaze burning with eagerness. This was a defensive mid-grade Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure; with it, the first two Grand Heavenly Tribulations would be considerably easier.

"The Golden Rampart Shield is for trade for calamity transcending materials like Eastern Yi Divine Wood, Seventh-tier Thunder Absorbing Pearls, or Nine-Radiance Divine Clay. Other materials can be exchanged for items of equal value," Chen Yuyao announced. Her voice wasn't loud, but all the cultivators heard her clearly.

"Madam Chen, what's wrong with that Ice Soul Divine Jade? What contaminated it?" asked Cultivator Flying Snow, pointing to a pure white jade.

Ice Soul Divine Jade is a Seventh-tier refining material, originating from glaciers over one hundred thousand years old. If enough of it is collected, it can be refined into a high-grade Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure.

"This piece of Ice Soul Divine Jade was tainted by the poisonous blood of a Six-eyed Sand Spider," Chen Yuyao explained. "It's extremely difficult to remove the poisonous blood. If used for refining, a significant amount of time would be needed to extract even a small portion of the pure Ice Soul Divine Jade." She added that with a Seventh-tier spiritual flame or a special treasure, the poisonous blood could also be separated.

"What, a Six-eyed Sand Spider?" exclaimed a nine-foot tall, fair-faced old man in green robes. "That's a rare insect ranked eleventh on the Myriad Insect List! It's extremely venomous. Even Integration cultivators would retreat a considerable distance if they encountered a Seventh-tier Six-eyed Sand Spider. This insect has poisoned and killed Integration cultivators before." This was Long Tianheng, the newly advanced Integration cultivator of the Long family. To Wang Changsheng's knowledge, the Long family currently had three Integration cultivators, possibly more.

All things in creation have their complements and their counters; every creature has a weakness. Some unique poisons can even kill Mahayana cultivators, though they are extremely rare. The Six-eyed Sand Spider was ranked eleventh on the Myriad Insect List, a very high position. Eighty thousand years ago, True Monarch Golden Spider, a poisonous cultivator of the Integration stage from the Myriad Spirit Sect, raised a Seventh-tier Six-eyed Sand Spider. During the racial war, the Six-eyed Sand Spider, with its unique poison, single-handedly killed an Integration-stage Yaksha, a process witnessed by many cultivators. Unfortunately, True Monarch Golden Spider went to the Barren Lands to seek treasures and never returned. It's extremely difficult for spirit insects to advance, with Grand Heavenly Tribulations being a major hurdle. Most cultivators who raise Seventh-tier spirit insects are from the Myriad Spirit Sect.

Cultivator Flying Snow's face showed regret. If it was tainted by the poisonous blood of a Six-eyed Sand Spider, its value for refining would be greatly reduced, even if the poisonous blood could be removed. Wang Changsheng's heart stirred. Others might not have a solution, but with his Azure Lotus Creation Cauldron, it should be no problem. He had already used the demon core of a Seventh-tier Blazing Fire Toad to exchange for five different Seventh-tier refining materials, including Ice Soul Divine Jade. Even if Wang Chuanming and the other five didn't make significant gains, it was still worth it for Wang Changsheng to have acquired so many items.

The Integration cultivators exchanged cultivation resources and discussed their insights into the Dao. Meanwhile, the younger cultivators within the Profound Spirit Cave engaged in their own battles for resources.

In a dense red bamboo forest within the Profound Spirit Cave.

Wang Chuanming's face was full of vigilance as he walked slowly, not in a hurry. The map provided by Wang Changsheng proved very useful, allowing him to avoid many dangerous areas.

Wang Chuanming frowned. He transformed into a series of afterimages, rapidly retreating as thousands of thick green thorns burst from the ground, lashing out at him like long whips. Wang Chuanming simultaneously cast defensive spells on himself and summoned a golden shimmering long saber. With a horizontal slash, a golden hazy saber qi swept out, shattering the incoming green thorns into dust and raising clouds of smoke.

The bamboos in the forest seemed to come alive, moving rapidly. Large quantities of red bamboo leaves floated down, then blurred, transforming into sharp red blades that rushed straight towards Wang Chuanming. Wang Chuanming quickly summoned a golden shimmering shield that continuously spun around him. The red blades successively struck the golden shield, emitting dull thudding sounds, but the golden shield remained motionless.

Wang Chuanming then summoned a golden shimmering metal sphere and infused it with a magic incantation. With a mechanical whirring sound, the metal sphere burst with spiritual light, transforming into a giant ape puppet beast over a hundred zhang tall, its body shimmering with golden light. With a slight flick of his wrist, a five-colored spiritual light flew out from his spirit beast bracelet and vanished into the ground.

The moment the giant ape puppet beast appeared, numerous green thorns emerged from the ground, entangling its feet. The giant ape puppet beast struggled vigorously, tearing the green thorns apart, and then stomped its right foot heavily on the ground. With a booming sound, the ground cracked open, and clouds of smoke billowed. It opened its mouth and sprayed out thousands of thin golden lights that shot out in all directions.