Suddenly, a large net appeared in the first layer of the Divine Tree space. Woven from silver threads, it exuded a mysterious aura.
Ji Xia's thoughts moved slightly, and the Tianxian Net floated toward him from the void. As it drew closer, it gradually became smaller. By the time it landed in his hand, it was roughly the size of a palm. The moment it touched his palm, Ji Xia immediately understood how to use the Tianxian Net, which was rather strange.
"The Divine Tree is truly treacherous, playing games with words," Ji Xia gritted his teeth in frustration, still feeling the sting from the two thousand spirit seeds. "Two thousand spirit seeds... If I had used them to buy Essence Cleansing Crystals, the Silver Guards and Cangshou Army could have drunk Taillai Spirit Water for five months!"
But then he thought, "Though two thousand spirit seeds are precious, if I can't store the flowing lights or mysterious lights I desire, I'd have to rely on luck every time I come to exchange. Alternatively, I could waste a lot of time searching for them."
"Thinking about it that way, the Tianxian Net, though expensive, is indeed very useful."
Ji Xia comforted himself, then turned his attention back to the myriad of flowing lights and mysterious lights in the air. Apart from the two thousand spirit seeds spent on the Tianxian Net, he still had around six thousand five hundred spirit seeds left to spend.
He decided not to hold onto these spirit seeds any longer. Without major military campaigns, even if the emotions of the Taicang citizens were all elevated to the level of endorsement, it would only add about three thousand more spirit seeds, and waiting would bring little improvement.
It was better to use these spirit seeds to acquire things that could improve his own strength or enhance Taicang's power.
He observed the two kinds of lights that passed by, occasionally reaching out to grab one or two, sensing the divine artifacts contained within them, then carefully weighing whether they were needed at this stage.
If they weren't needed, he let them go. If they were potentially useful, he didn't rush to exchange them. Instead, he casually tossed them into the Tianxian Net, which glowed brightly and captured the flowing lights and mysterious lights that caught Ji Xia's eye.
After several hours, he had gathered nine divine artifacts. He then carefully considered which four of them would be most useful at this moment.
[Xuanjian Mirror]
Required spirit seeds: 1200
Information 1: Object identification
Information 2: Reveals true form
Ji Xia wanted to exchange for this Xuanjian Mirror because he had two mysterious items that he had been researching in his spare time but had gotten nowhere. His intuition told him that these two mysterious items were extraordinarily powerful. If he could learn about their origins and use them, they would undoubtedly be a huge asset to him.
[Pulse-Building Crystal]
Required spirit seeds: 1200
Information 1: Essence Cleansing Stone, an upgradeable divine artifact.
Information 2: A crystal used by the ancient tribes to build spiritual foundations for their youth. Soaking in water and drinking the water after it has absorbed the essence of the crystal enhances talent, solidifies the foundation, and boosts cultivation. One crystal can be used by ten thousand people for one month.
Information 3: Repeated exchange possible.
Ji Xia had been searching for Essence Cleansing Crystals. The last time he selected one, the mysterious light surrounding the crystal didn't vanish like other divine lights; instead, it remained, likely due to the "repeated exchange" attribute.
Without a storage method for the light points at the time, he had to let it go when leaving the first layer of the Divine Tree space. Now, with the Tianxian Net, he could repeatedly exchange for Pulse-Building Crystals, greatly improving the strength of the Taicang army.
[Serpent Stone]
Required spirit seeds: 300
Used for engraving runes and forging magical artifacts, this metal has serpent-like patterns.
Information 1: Strong energy conduction, enhancing rune power.
Information 2: Easy to forge, highly durable after molding.
When Ji Xia first saw the Serpent Stone, he casually let the mysterious light go, but later reconsidered. He hurriedly grabbed the light again.
"Based on the description, this Serpent Stone is perfect for engraving runes."
He naturally thought of the Great Fu Kingdom. Since the Great Fu Kingdom appeared in his consciousness, Ji Xia had always wanted to visit it to see how a powerful nation operates, witness the many wonders on its vast land, and experience its majestic sights. He had even wanted to exchange for some spiritual crystals from the Great Fu to solve the food problems of Taicang's people.
Now, having plundered the Jiukou King's treasury, Ji Xia's coffers had become much fuller. He began to hope that he could also find a way to solve the issue of his people's cold in the Great Fu.
There was another, more important reason: Before Taicang became stronger, Ji Xia wanted to establish secret connections with the Great Fu, to strategize in advance and prevent these powerful figures from easily destroying Taicang.
"I wonder how much I can sell this Serpent Stone for in the Great Fu. It's only a little less than the Essence Cleansing Crystal, which can supply water for thousands of people, so it should be worth quite a bit."
The Serpent Stone would serve as a bridge for him to make contact with the Great Fu's high-ranking figures.
"Maybe I'll even get to see some of their powerful leaders."
Ji Xia couldn't help but feel excited. His cultivation was already progressing well, and he knew that to truly advance, he needed to witness the strength of various experts. Without this, it would be hard to improve.
After thinking for a moment, Ji Xia suppressed his excitement and focused on the third mysterious light in his hand, the one he held the most hope for.
[Ancient Vein Secret Fruit]
Required spirit seeds: 3500
Information 1: A secret fruit cultivated by the ancient human tribes of the Great Wilderness that awakens hidden ancient bloodlines deep within the body.
Information 2: Consuming the fruit will grant a powerful, evolving ancient human bloodline.
Information 3: Consuming it will randomly grant part of the ancient bloodline's inheritance.
Information 4: If the person's talent is weak, the fruit will significantly enhance their physical talent.
"Not finding the Heavenly Saint Army is a regret, but at this stage, Taicang doesn't urgently need a powerful military. With Jiukou and Crocodile Horn at war, they have no time to worry about us."
"The fact that the Zhouqing Kingdom withdrew from Cangqing Mountain is strange, but it indirectly shows that they currently have no plans to invade Taicang."
Ji Xia's eyes glinted coldly and… expectantly.
"Once the Taicang army digests the newly exchanged Pulse-Building Crystals, what Zhouqing Kingdom or Jiukou Kingdom? I'll smash them all to pieces!"
"If the Great Fu wants to deal with Taicang, even the Heavenly Saint Army won't help. I am about to travel to the Great Fu, where the Heavenly Obstacle blocks my path. But this Ancient Vein Secret Fruit will greatly enhance my power, giving me more leverage when I enter the Great Fu!"
With his decision made, Ji Xia's thoughts moved, and faint golden light began to radiate from his body, enveloping the four mysterious lights in his hands. Three of them immediately floated, expanded, and then dissipated.
The light surrounding the Pulse-Building Crystal remained, and Ji Xia placed it into the Tianxian Net.
After thinking for a moment, he took another shining light from the Tianxian Net, his eyes full of desire.
[Divine Man Secret Fruit Seed]
Required spirit seeds: 12000
Information 1: By exchanging for the seed, a Divine Man Secret Fruit will grow on the Forbidden Decay Tree.
Information 2: When the fruit matures, it will randomly birth a Divine Man.
"I'll need to save spirit seeds now. I wonder which Divine Man will emerge from this fruit."
Ji Xia smiled lightly, then disappeared from the Forbidden Decay Tree.