Sage of Humanity-Chapter 1689 - 1687: White Moon Crystal

Lu Ye parted ways with Ma Shangsi to act independently. After wandering around for most of the day without any gain, he suddenly caught sight of a gathering around a stall, where the vendor was an elegant-looking woman. He wondered what she was selling to attract such attention.

Lu Ye approached to join the crowd. Upon closer inspection and listening for a while, he finally understood what the fuss was about.

A piece of White Moon Crystal!

The White Moon Crystal is essentially a Crystal Core from a star beast, but unlike the typical ones. While most star beast Crystal Cores possess various uses, they cannot be directly refined and absorbed by cultivators. Across the stellar space, only a few types of star beast Crystal Cores can be refined by cultivators, offering significant benefits.

The White Moon Crystal is one such item, coveted by virtually every Moon Jade for its ability to enhance the quality of a Magic Source.

The quality of the Magic Source affects a Moon Jade's cultivation efficiency. Generally, when a Moon Jade initially forms, the Magic Source quality tends to be low and inadequate for cultivation needs, necessitating efforts to enhance the Magic Source to a satisfactory level.

In the stellar space, while Moon Jades are not as numerous as Constellations, they are certainly plentiful. The treasures desired by all are naturally rare and hence valuable.

This piece of White Moon Crystal is about the size of a fist. Once the vendor displayed it, many Moon Jades came asking for the price; however, after learning the price, most left, leaving only a few to haggle.

Yet, the woman seemed adamant about the price, holding firm, to the frustration of those Moon Jades interested in the White Moon Crystal.

Some even showed signs of malice, evidently planning to ambush the woman when she left the marketplace.

Lu Ye was naturally intrigued by the White Moon Crystal. He had never seen such an item before, mainly because he hadn't needed it. Now that he was at Moon Jade, he needed it more than other Moon Jades, unsure of how much he needed to enhance his Magic Source to meet cultivation demands.

The price was indeed steep, a full twenty million spirit jade, comparable to an 8-star magic treasure.

However, while a magic treasure is ultimately an External Force, the Magic Source forms the foundation of oneself, making this comparison unsuitable. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Yet, twenty million spirit jade is quite hefty; even for a Moon Jade, it is not typically within their wealth. Despite Moon Jades' easier access to cultivation resources, they rarely have much surplus.

Consider the white-haired elder of Divine Wind, a galactic pirate kingpin, with assets barely over ten million spirit jade.

Lu Ye could gather enough spirit jade and spirit crystal if needed, but doing so would effectively bankrupt him.

As the saying goes, having reserves brings peace of mind; cultivators without spare spirit jade and spirit crystal would be at a disadvantage during emergencies.

The cultivators haggling with the woman eventually realized they wouldn't get a better deal and gradually dispersed.

Lu Ye stayed behind alone.

The woman glanced at him, expressionless: "Twenty million spirit jade, no negotiations." Had she not been in urgent need of spirit jade, she wouldn't have put such a treasure up for sale, intending instead to keep it for personal use.

"I wasn't negotiating!" Lu Ye replied, still waiting.

After a while, Ma Shangsi eagerly approached: "Saintly Venerable, what do you think of this item?"

Having recently joined Lu Ye's side and been granted treasure blood, Ma Shangsi was keen to prove himself, his luck was favorable—he found a promising item on the other side of the marketplace and bought it immediately.

He handed over a storage ring.

Lu Ye took it and delved in with his Mental Consciousness, discovering an object as large as several water jars, entirely black like a rock.

"What is this?" Lu Ye asked.

Ma Shangsi replied, "Saintly Venerable, after some domains shattered, they left behind ruins. Most ruins are worthless, but a small portion contains the essence of the domain. This item is a ruin from a shattered domain, though its quality seems lacking. Still, it resembles a World Devouring Beast's Crystal Core."

Lu Ye had him seek items similar to the World Devouring Beast Crystal Core, enhancing domain essence, but World Devouring Beasts are exceedingly rare, hard to find.

This domain ruins are comparatively more common.

Lu Ye nodded slightly: "Not bad!" and put the ring away.

Encouraged by the praise, Ma Shangsi was delighted. Observing Lu Ye linger at the stall, he asked, "Saintly Venerable, have you found something good?"

Lu Ye didn't reply, but the woman vendor spoke, her tone cold: "A piece of White Moon Crystal, do you want it?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Shangsi immediately understood. The Saintly Venerable was now at the Moon Jade Early Stage, clearly eyeing the White Moon Crystal to enhance his Magic Source quality.

He carefully inquired about the price.

His face darkened instantly, and he shouted angrily: "Such a White Moon Crystal, in All Phenomena Ocean it sells for merely around fifteen million; why is it twenty million here?"

Lu Ye couldn't help but glance at Ma Shangsi, surprised at his familiarity with the prices in All Phenomena Ocean; clearly, he had been there before.

The woman didn't argue with him, just said flatly, "If the guest thinks All Phenomena Ocean offers a better deal, you can buy it there."

These words left Ma Shangsi speechless.

He gave Lu Ye a look, "Saintly Venerable, no need to waste money here, let's go."

Lu Ye nodded. Although he was interested in the White Moon Crystal, he wasn't interested in being overcharged. The price difference of five million spirit jade was significant. No wonder the few Moon Jade cultivators earlier, though tempted, hadn't bought it.

He stayed here initially to wait for Ma Shangsi to buy it for him, since the spirit jade of his Blood Servant was essentially his own.

However, now knowing the real price of the White Moon Crystal, there was no need. They could buy it later at All Phenomena Ocean.

After walking a bit, Ma Shangsi unexpectedly handed over a storage ring: "Saintly Venerable, this item is of no use to me at the moment. I offer it to you with great respect. I hope you do not reject it."

Lu Ye took it and found, surprisingly, a piece of White Moon Crystal inside!

And it seemed to be even larger than the one the woman was selling.

Seeing Lu Ye's curious look, Ma Shangsi explained, "This was something I prepared to use after advancing to Sun Blaze, but the advancement still seems far off."

In fact, before meeting Lu Ye, he didn't even see the opportunity to ascend to Sun Blaze. Although he now had a chance, the advancement was not something that could happen overnight.

Lu Ye had an interest in the White Moon Crystal, but he didn't want to waste money, mainly because he couldn't afford it. It was just right that he had a piece to present.

"You're not bad!" Lu Ye patted him on the shoulder.

Earning this Blood Servant was a great gain.

Just a drop of treasure blood, he could easily condense it again. As for the lost saintliness, it was negligible compared to what he possessed. Not only did he gain a Peak Moon Jade subordinate, but also a piece of White Moon Crystal worth tens of millions.

Additionally, that piece of domain ruins wouldn't be cheap either, estimated to cost at least a few hundred thousand spirit jade.

Lu Ye even considered having Ma Shangsi lead the way to capture more Blood Race Moon Jades. Being at Peak Moon Jade, he surely knew other Blood Race Moon Jades, who were valuable resources...

However, comparing the two, returning to the Nine Provinces to settle the World King Flower was undoubtedly more important. There would be plenty of opportunities to capture Blood Race Moon Jades in the future.

"Relieving the Saintly Venerable's worries is my duty," Ma Shangsi said sincerely, for compared to these external items, Lu Ye gave him the hope of advancing to Sun Blaze, which was the true motivation for his dedication.

Moreover, having been taken as Lu Ye's Blood Servant meant he couldn't escape for life, so naturally, he had to perform well.

Soon, the master and servant rode their starboat out of the marketplace, heading towards the Grotto Void Galaxy under the guidance of the star map given by Lu Ye.

Ma Shangsi steered the starboat; Lu Ye, with nothing to do, prepared to refine a few more drops of treasure blood.

Treasure blood had many wonderful uses, so the more, the better. However, with Lu Ye's Constellation Late Stage foundation, he could barely condense three drops. Now, having advanced to Moon Jade, things might improve.

Yet, before that, he remembered something else.

Immediately, he placed the Boulder Mountain Saber across his knees, immersing his mind within.

He had been stuck at Wang Xiu's level of the inheritance within the Barghest, not because he couldn't comprehend it at all. In fact, he'd made significant progress compared to when he was instantly killed by Wang Xiu at their first encounter. During his last attempt, he had a vague sense of the meaning behind it, though he still ended up being slain with a single strike. Yet, it was a different scenario compared to before.

Lately, he had been busy and had no time for comprehension.

Now that he advanced to Moon Jade... he wondered if things would improve.

As his mind immersed, he found himself once again in that familiar blue hall, facing Wang Xiu, who, as always, was poised for attack, standing a little way off with a subtly bent posture, left hand gripping the sword sheath and right hand on the saber's hilt, a powerful aura flowing around him.

Moon Jade Early Stage!

The projections of the Barghest saber's predecessors, revealed within this blue hall, were intricately linked to Lu Ye's cultivation. Whatever cultivation level Lu Ye had when he entered, was the level of the projections.

When he came in at Constellation Late Stage, Wang Xiu was at Constellation Late Stage.

Now, entering at Moon Jade Early Stage, Wang Xiu was at Moon Jade Early Stage as well. They wouldn't lower in strength with Lu Ye's cultivation advancement.

Because fundamentally, the power of these projections originated from what Lu Ye infused into the Boulder Mountain Saber.

Compared to the Constellation Late Stage, the aura Wang Xiu now projected was undoubtedly many times stronger. Once again, Lu Ye felt like he was being observed by a natural enemy, his heart fluttered with unrest, as if he were about to face death in an instant.

In fact, he had experienced this many times before.