Chapter 253: Universal Currency

"Even a secret treasure worth tens of thousands of reward points is quite good," Di Qing chuckled.

"By the way, are the several secret treasures left behind by Di Yuan after his death difficult to sell?"

"Yes, they're quite difficult to sell. We only managed to sell two out of five." Luo Feng waved his hand, revealing the remaining three secret treasures: a red cloak, battle boots, and gloves.

"You sold the two more valuable ones, leaving the three most ordinary," Di Qing observed. "These three are secret treasures from the early God-Emperor stage. How about this: my Ancient Yanfeng Kingdom will buy them back. Let's make it a round sum of ten thousand Origin Crystals."

A single Origin Crystal is equivalent to the merit points a guest elder in either of the two great ancient kingdoms would accumulate to exchange for one item. Ten thousand Origin Crystals, therefore, equate to ten billion merit points.

This is an enormous amount of merit, enough to make ordinary Dual-Stage God-Kings look on with awe. Even for emperors and monarchs, accumulating such a vast sum of merit is exceedingly difficult.

"Alright," Luo Feng said, nodding with a smile.

With a sweep of Di Qing's hand, a pile of shimmering Origin Crystals floated beside them.

Luo Feng's eyes lit up. Each Origin Crystal was about the size of a fingertip, perfectly round, and emitted an aura that made him feel an urge to absorb them.

"Origin Crystals are the universal currency outside the Origin World," Di Qing explained. "They are refined essences of endless Origin Force, condensed by the Origin Beings who have transcended the confines. Each one is made so small to facilitate our transactions."

Luo Feng waved his hand, collecting the pile of Origin Crystals, but kept three in his palm to examine closely.

"Origin Crystals are beneficial for the cultivation of all beings within the confines," Di Qing stated.

"Universal currency?" Luo Feng mused, understanding, as he carefully examined the three Origin Crystals in his palm.

"Absorbing them aids cultivation, but moderation is key," Di Qing advised. "For those at the early God-Emperor stage, do not absorb more than a hundred crystals per epoch. If the absorption quantity is too great, the effect will diminish, perhaps even becoming entirely ineffective."

"Every cultivator's physical and soul strength varies, so the optimal amount also differs. You'll need to slowly discover this through your own cultivation."

"In short, as soon as you feel the effect lessening, you must immediately reduce the quantity," Di Qing reminded him. "As long as you maintain a lower dosage, the Origin Crystals will remain quite effective and can be used continuously until you transcend the confines." Luo Feng marveled, "They are indeed miraculous."

Origin Crystals could be used by ordinary guest elders of the two great ancient kingdoms, and also by God-Emperors... they were truly versatile treasures.

"Brother Galaxy, once your secret technique is complete and all preparations are made, inform me at any time," Di Qing said, handing Luo Feng a token. "When you crush the token, I will sense it immediately."

Other emperors of the Ancient Yanfeng Kingdom only had communication tokens to send messages to Di Qing, and he wouldn't check them when in seclusion. However, with Luo Feng's token, Di Qing would sense it instantly.

"Alright, once I'm fully prepared to leave the Origin Continent, I'll certainly inform you, Brother Di Qing," Luo Feng readily promised.

Di Qing smiled and nodded, then took a step and departed.

In Qingdu, within the Ancient Yanfeng Kingdom, at Di Qing Palace.

Eleven emperors in total — including Emperor Fu, Emperor Yan, Emperor Jiufeng, and Emperor Chu — had gathered here, either in their true forms or as avatars.

"Di Qing battled the Lord of Galaxy. The Lord of Galaxy ultimately released a nine-story pagoda, and it seems he defeated Di Qing?" These emperors were somewhat dismayed. The Ancient Yanfeng Kingdom held a lofty position, with its greatest confidence stemming from Ancestor Yanfeng and Di Qing.

On the Origin Continent, under the power limitations, there wasn't a significant gap between Di Qing and Ancestor Yanfeng.

Di Qing appeared on the throne within the main hall.

"Di Qing," all eleven emperors looked towards him.

Di Qing looked at his clansmen, frowning and shaking his head. "This Lord of Galaxy is incredibly strong. He even possesses an extremely powerful secret treasure. With that pagoda-like secret treasure, I cannot defeat him."

The eleven emperors were stunned.

Even Di Qing couldn't defeat him?

"Due to the power limitations on the Origin Continent, even if our Ancestor were to act, he would need to rely on powerful secret treasures to gain an advantage over the Lord of Galaxy," Di Qing shook his head. "And even with an advantage, he still wouldn't be able to harm him."

"The Lord of Galaxy's foundation is already established." Di Qing gently shook his head, then disappeared.

This left the eleven emperors looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Even if the Ancestor intervenes with a secret treasure, he can't harm this Lord of Galaxy?" Emperor Yan's heart sank.

Emperor Fu sighed, saying, "We emperors are already powerless against Ancestor Thunder and Ancestor East Pole. Now there's simply one more Lord of Galaxy."

"It seems Di Yuan's vengeance must simply be endured," Emperor Kong sighed from the side.

"Emperor Kong, stop gloating," Emperor Yan reprimanded him from the side.

"I'm merely stating the truth. Do you dare seek revenge?" Emperor Kong scoffed, then took a step and departed.

"Let's go, let's go. Another Ancestor-level being," Emperor Chu, Emperor Jiufeng, and the others also left, one by one.

Emperor Fu, however, was quite troubled.

"The Lord of Galaxy is so powerful that with his secret treasure, he can even suppress Di Qing. Is he truly Luo He?" Emperor Fu was no longer so confident. "With his strength, would he truly leave the Origin Continent with me?" Companions were chosen by mutual consent.

He had chosen the other party. But... the other party also had to deem him, Emperor Fu, worthy. With such a vast disparity in strength, the Lord of Galaxy might not even bother with him.

"Cultivation, in the end, depends on oneself. One must be strong enough," Emperor Fu mused to himself. "I must find a way to reach the Ultimate Realm."

His mastery of formations was clearly profound, with only a thin veil separating him from the Ultimate Realm, yet he simply couldn't pierce through it.

Emperor Fu was also greatly distressed.

"Di Qing finally made his move, seeking revenge for Di Yuan." "Di Qing and the Lord of Galaxy's strength is terrifying." "Huh?"

"Di Qing lost?"

"That nine-story pagoda defeated Di Qing?"

Anyone with a bit of insight could tell that Di Qing had been outmatched in this exchange. This left them somewhat shocked.

Because there was a consensus on the Origin Continent: unless the ancestors of the two nations intervened, Di Qing was invincible.

Yet this time, with the nine-story pagoda in hand, the Lord of Galaxy had suppressed Di Qing.

"In our Ancient Thunder Kingdom, besides the Ancestor, there are no beings above God-King," the monarchs of the Ancient Thunder Kingdom mused. "We must be even more careful from now on." They were even more flustered than the emperors of the Ancient Yanfeng Kingdom.

"Isn't that the Star Tower I forged?" Through the footage recorded by the Thunder Merchant Guild, Guest Master Mountain clearly saw the entire battle between Di Qing and Luo Feng, as well as the appearance of the Star Tower at the end.

"The Star Tower, a secret treasure of the First-Stage God-King realm, could actually be used to defeat Di Qing?" Guest Master Mountain was bewildered.

"It seems that the golden light which merged into the Star Tower when I forged it was quite special," Guest Master Mountain thought.

Given his strength, he was incredibly cautious during the forging process, ensuring there wasn't the slightest error in the materials used. Yet, a golden light disregarded the formations he had set up, ignored his domain, and directly merged into the Star Tower. Guest Master Mountain had sensed something amiss back then.

At that time, after the golden light merged into the forged Star Tower, the tower quickly took shape. From his perspective at the time, the Star Tower was indeed a First-Stage God-King secret treasure.

He simply couldn't discern the Star Tower's true nature. Its acknowledgment of a master was also much more difficult than Guest Master Mountain had anticipated. Only Luo Feng, on the verge of life and death, had gained the Star Tower's recognition.

"A good treasure needs a suitable master," he mused. "Only in Luo Feng's hands can the Star Tower truly unleash its power." Guest Master Mountain felt a surge of emotion. As its creator, and as a First-Stage God-King, he couldn't even discern the true mysteries of the Star Tower.

Yet, Guest Master Mountain only felt joy.

He was happy for his disciple.

After avenging his profound blood feud, Guest Master Mountain's heart was incomparably calm. Now, his greatest concern was his disciple, Luo Feng, and he was naturally delighted to see his disciple shine even brighter.

"The little fellow who came from Earth has, without realizing it, already reached the peak of the Origin Continent," Guest Master Mountain thought, and smiled.

In Huyang City, at the City Lord's Mansion, within the quiet chamber.

Luo Feng was currently in seclusion cultivating here. Matters of the Galaxy God Kingdom were primarily handled by Molosa, though at critical moments, a single thought was enough for him to arrive at the Galaxy God Kingdom.

"During this sparring session, Di Qing intentionally helped me," Luo Feng realized.

Luo Feng understood this point.

From beginning to end, Di Qing only employed the 'Three Thousand Killing Array', without using any other powerful techniques or secret treasures. Could a being above God-King, who had adventured outside the Origin World for countless years, truly lack desperate measures?

And in his homeland, would he really have no secret treasures at all?

If Di Qing truly fought without reservation, it was hard to say if Luo Feng would still have the upper hand. While Luo Feng's secret treasure might have been superior, Di Qing's realm was higher than his. If Di Qing were to wield secret treasures of the late God-Emperor or peak God-Emperor level, they might very well be able to contend with the Star Tower.

"Within the Origin Continent, due to power limitations, whether it's me, Di Qing, or the ancestors of the two nations, even if one gains the upper hand, they cannot truly defeat the other."

"But outside the Origin Continent, the disparity would be immense."

Luo Feng clearly understood that his current so-called invincibility was due to taking advantage of the Origin Continent's supreme rules limiting power.

"I must cultivate diligently—at least until I reach the Ultimate Realm." Luo Feng flipped his hand, revealing an Origin Crystal in his palm. This finger-sized, rounded, jade-like treasure, Luo Feng swallowed in one gulp.

The Origin Crystal, once inside his body, began to be slowly absorbed.

"Hmm?"

Origin Crystals were refined essences of Origin Force. As long as one hadn't become an Origin Being, they were normally beneficial.

At this moment, Luo Feng's physical body and soul were being nourished. His thought processing speed increased several times, and his comprehension felt like it was improving.

"It even has the effect of strengthening the body and empowering the soul," Luo Feng exclaimed.

The Origin Crystals slowly but steadily strengthened his physical body and soul. Theoretically, with an infinite supply of Origin Crystals and infinite time, one's physical body and soul could become terrifyingly powerful.