Star Gate

Chapter 569: Exchange (II)

“How much Water of Life can these be exchanged for?” Li Hao looked at the little tree. “Give me an exact figure.”

The little tree seemed stuck in a daze. It took a while for its mental ripples to appear. “Are you sure... you want to give me all of this? These weapons should’ve been difficult to obtain and some of them are decent quality...”

Combined with the one it’d already been paid, it made for twelve origin weapons. Li Hao had consumed some in times past, but he’d collected an abundant amount of these items in recent times. He kept very few, only those with a special purpose like the Divine Kun Ship. The rest were of no use to him as he’d grasped the wood sword aura and wasn’t particularly interested in the path of core origin.

He would rather obtain more Water of Life. It possessed a significant quality that made it more useful than sword energy—no matter how injured one was, even with a severed arm or leg, it could regrow the missing limb. Li Hao had one such drop on hand, but that wasn’t enough. He needed more!

“If I digest all of these divine weapons... I’ll be able to gather more energy if they’re from plant spirits, but less if they’re from monster spirits. How about ten drops of life essence?”

Li Hao looked at the little sword. It’d previously said that one drop required ten thousand mysterious power stones. The value of origin weapons was difficult to estimate, but they should be more than ten thousand stones.

It depended on their rank. The Night Watchers in the central region wouldn’t give up the Heavens Dictate even for one hundred thousand stones, much less ten thousand. But he could also hear a note of guilt in the plant’s transmission. Plainly, eleven origin weapons could produce far more than ten drops. It must be keeping a lot of energy for itself!

But that was to be expected since the tree wished to recover.

“Fifteen drops!” Li Hao countered after some thought. “We’re counting by drops, but I’ve read in the ancient books that the Human King even built a Lake of Life...”

“It’s not the same frame of reference at all, don’t think that much.” The little tree swayed. You said it yourself, that was the Human King.

“Fifteen drops aren’t too much, are they?”

“Very well!” agreed the little tree upon consideration. “But, do you really want to reduce all of these to energy?”

“Yes!” Li Hao responded decisively. “These items are just external objects. I have Stellaris and now a Windchaser Boot. I have no use for these things, but I lack a defensive item. The Black Tortoise in Battle Heaven suits my purposes, the rest isn’t much to look at!”

“......” The little tree didn’t respond, neither was Battle Heaven aware of Li Hao’s intent. Otherwise, the old turtle would be quite surprised. So you’ve got your eyes on me, little guy?

Li Hao’s thoughts were simple. One treasure for attack, one for defense, and one for escape. Three were enough. Stellaris, the Windchaser Boots, the Black Tortoise Seal or the Black Tortoise Shield were the ideal lineup of his heart. He didn’t care about the rest, even the Revolution King’s wind chime. If he did, he would’ve put it to use long ago.

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The young man took out two more items—the bronze mirror he’d obtained from Qiao Feilong, one that could obscure the presence if worn on the body, and the long blade that he’d obtained after killing Sea Shark. The blade was of a very high caliber to not break after Stellaris hacked into it.

“Senior Tree, do you recognize these two weapons?”

The little tree gave the blade only a cursory look. “This is a weapon crafted in the late New Martial era. The quality is high and it is not made from plant or monster spirits. Sophisticated artistry forged it, it is a new innovation created from formidable skill! The blade is of good quality and a high rank.”

But that was all there was to it. Li Hao understood.

The tree then turned to the bronze mirror and answered after a long moment, “I’m... not sure what this is, but it is sealed. It might... be... an imitation of an ultimate treasure?”

It rifled through the old tree’s memories—there was a lot to scan before some names appeared in its heart. “The ultimate among mirror treasures back in the day was the Sky Gander, but it later shattered. It could peer into anything and everything! The second among mirror treasures was the Stable Sea Mirror, one that was crafted to imitate the Sky Gander. It could suppress the Forbidden Sea!

“However, there were those who said that the second was Sky Inquiry Mirror. That treasure could capture a snapshot of every being’s vitality and create a ranking of life force on a stone obelisk. That also turned into a ranking of powerhouses...” The little tree hesitated. “Your mirror... may be an imitation of these treasures. Of course, nearly all of them originate from Sky Gander, but the specifics won’t be known unless it is unsealed.”

“How should we unseal it?” Li Hao thought of another weapon, the sword that’d been turned over to the Night Watchers. Hou Xiaochen might’ve taken it with him. He rarely saw sealed ancient weapons. Other than the bronze mirror and the weapons of the eight families, the mirror was the only instance.

“Treasures hide themselves when it’s been too long since their last usage. They will naturally seal themselves away and sometimes, you don’t need to purposefully unseal them. You just need to use them for a long period of time and use energy to nourish them. They will unseal of their own accord when sufficient time has passed.”

Li Hao understood. Just say that you don’t know and can only wear away at it bit by bit! He was much more at ease after confirming that the bronze mirror was something valuable.

The little tree didn’t say anything. A wood origin weapon shattered beneath its roots. A weapon soul seemed to appear, but it instantly dissipated.

“Senior Tree, these weapon souls...”

“They’re the spirits of plant or monster spirits. It’s good that they break, it’s a kind of release for them. These weapons fell out of use long ago. To think that so many would be left behind... Perhaps the latest technology was taken away to be used in the battlefield, leaving behind these old reserves.”

The new creations were rarely seen—such as the blade that Li Hao had obtained. But as he thought about it, perhaps the armor was also a new kind of equipment. Origin weapons were possibly scattered about outside, used by cultivators not of the ancient system and thus easier for others to obtain them.

Origin weapon upon origin weapon broke, emitting howls and roars of beasts or other oddities before the little tree’s began glowing more vibrantly. Aura—or rather, mental strength—surged and grew bigger.

Li Hao furrowed his brows, but held himself back with effort. The Demon Hunters were around him and he’d made his choice. He could only passively wait for the results now. Once the little tree recovered its strength, it would be much stronger than before. Sometimes, one just had to put everything on the line!

There were countless people keeping an eye on him from outside. They all wanted to kill and dissect him, so Li Hao would have to make a large gamble!

One weapon, two, three... Origin weapons crumbled away on the ground, as did mysterious power stones. The little tree grew much taller. It was only the height of a person before, a sapling compared to the tree that’d collapsed by the side. It was now almost six meters tall and a crystalline energy circulated rapidly through its trunk.

Li Hao could clearly sense that the ruins had grown a little bigger, that the darkness in the surroundings had receded somewhat. The little tree seemed to be expanding its territory.

All of the mysterious power stones crumbled after a while and the origin weapons disappeared. An indistinct face formed on the tree’s trunk. Only the outline could be seen, not its features. Another surge of mental strength washed over Li Hao, “You’re very bold.”

Truly!

“We both benefit,” Li Hao said calmly. “No one will help the senior like this if you kill me! You have already seen the benefits of working with me. I dare say that no one, perhaps the various major factions can, but not a single person is able to collect all of the treasures that I have in a few short days. There are even fewer people who are willing to let the senior absorb them!

“I have enemies all over the world and everyone wishes to kill me. I want to kill them too, so people like me find it easiest to obtain treasure!”

Enemies all over the world!

The little tree shook slightly upon hearing these words, finding it strange that geniuses of this age like to make enemies. All of the powerhouses of this era seemed to have enemies throughout the land.

But it made sense upon further thought. The process naturally stepped on many toes and affected their profits. On the other hand, these people were the best resources for the growth and development of these geniuses.

“You are right... and I can coalesce life essence for you...” Energy surged within the little tree as a peculiar ripple of life emanated from itself. As it spread through the premises, Li Hao and the rest felt like they’d been washed clean.

The little tree hadn’t gone back on its word because Li Hao was right. If it coveted today’s gains and refused to give Water of Life to Li Hao, then there would not be a next time. There was no need to lose sight of the bigger picture for small gains at hand. Condensing fifteen drops wasn’t much. Truth be told, it was keeping at least seventy percent of the energy from the origin weapons!

If it could only just manage to rebuff Li Hao before, the little tree was much stronger now. Drops of Water of Life floated toward the young man after a while.

“This item cannot be stored in ordinary containers. It’s best to use energy crystals to keep it...”

“What’s that?”

“The shards of the mysterious power stones that you speak of. Just craft them into a flask...”

Li Hao summoned a handful of shards to his hand, as well as the ferocious tiger of his heart. Fire blazed and melted the fragments, forming a large jug.

“......” The little tree was dumbfounded. I’m only giving you fifteen drops, a flask will do! What did you make a jug for?

Li Hao’s thoughts had traveled ahead. It was fifteen drops now—the one on him made for sixteen. There would only be more of these things to come. Take mysterious power for instance. One cube was precious to him before, but now he couldn't be bothered with extracting anything from a Nova. The same went for mysterious power stones...

What was special about Water of Life, in that case? He’d be better off obtaining some nice things for the little tree to absorb energy and produce more Water of Life. Therefore, he should save himself future effort and just create a large container this time. He would fill it sooner or later!

Li Hao wanted to try what it felt like to bathe with Water of Life.