Chapter 287

The most important thing is that this thing can be used in conjunction with the sleeve arrow box, and even when the tip is closed, it can be directly inserted into the arrow box, suitable for various models.

In addition, he also bought several inspiration maps.

This was an original creation of Yunlingdao; it looked like ordinary sheepskin parchment, but when opened, it was a detailed map of the Panlong Wasteland and its surroundings. You only need to mark the starting point and then state the destination, and a dashed line will be generated on the map to guide your direction.

Interestingly, no matter how far you walk in reality, the distance on the map will be scaled proportionally.

One map can be used seven times, and one use is deducted when you reach the destination; the price is quite affordable. However, this is also the best-selling product of Yunlingdao; after all, every shop needs a signature product to attract traffic.

He Lingchuan read the introduction of this thing, clapped his hands, and said: "Give me ten copies!"

Isn't this, isn't this...

Bai Guo packed them up for him and said diligently: "I'll teach you how to use them."

"No need." He Lingchuan said amusedly, "I'm familiar with this, no need for you to teach me."

He had used it plenty in another world.

This shop's goods were very complete; He Lingchuan even replenished some consumables here and ordered some ghost cicada sloughs from the shopkeeper, giving away all the rent he had just collected and even adding quite a bit more, only then remembering he had forgotten to ask what Sun Fuling wanted to buy.

It seemed like he should be the one paying for the shopping expenses? She smiled and said: "No need, what I like isn't here."

Bai Guo listened from the side, very unconvinced: "There is nothing I can't get! Just tell me what you want, and I'll go find it."

"Books."

Sun Fuling said: "I want a special notebook from the Northern Demon Kingdom."

"Notebook?" Bai Guo was stunned for a moment, "What kind?"

"I heard that the monarch of the Northern Demon Kingdom, Wu Chen, wrote his lifelong insights into a notebook called 'Record of Respecting Gods,' and then made many copies, which were collected by the upper-class nobles of the Beijia Kingdom. I really want to get one to see."

Bai Guo wondered: "The current monarch of the Northern Demon Kingdom is not called Wu Chen."

"Yes, that was more than three hundred years ago."

"This..." Bai Guo conceded defeat, "You are amazing, I can't get it."

Walking out of the shop and getting back on the donkey cart, He Lingchuan asked Sun Fuling: "The shopkeeper felt you were making things difficult for him."

"He didn't feel wrong." Sun Fuling snorted, "The things he sells are ridiculously expensive; I don't like this kind of slick businessman."

It was rare for Miss Sun to have emotions. He Lingchuan looked back at the shop and suddenly remembered the old woman he met the day he came to pack his things.

He had already forgotten the old woman's surname, only remembering that she was as thin as a stick but her belly was a bit bulging.

She had taken a jar from this shop.

He also remembered the shopkeeper next door joking that the old woman seemed to be several months pregnant.

"What's wrong?" Sun Fuling saw him suddenly blank out.

"Nothing." The thought that flashed through his mind was a bit crazy and not suitable to be spoken to others.

The donkey cart took several more turns, passing by the Military Merit Department.

"Hey." Sun Fuling suddenly tugged at He Lingchuan's sleeve, "Don't you think the patrol guard you met today was unusual? Why not go to the Pengcheng Office and see if the military merit you earned today has been recorded?"

"That makes sense. But we have to go to the God-Descending Platform...?"

"The Heavenly Sacrifice won't start that quickly."

"Alright." He Lingchuan jumped off the donkey cart, paid the money, and walked into the Pengcheng Office with Sun Fuling.

He began to feel that this Miss Sun seemed a bit assertive, or perhaps she was a bit indifferent to the Heavenly Sacrifice Day.

The person on duty at the Pengcheng Office today was also an acquaintance of He Lingchuan, Clerk Liu.

Clerk Liu saw Sun Fuling and actually greeted her first: "Yo, Miss Sun!"

Sun Fuling nodded at him: "Long time no see."

"Ah..." Clerk Liu paused, "Yes."

"Two hours ago, I caught a man-eating monster in the city and asked the patrol guard Liu Xinyi to bring it back to be handed over." He Lingchuan greeted Clerk Liu and began to inquire, "Please help me check?"

"Two hours ago?" Clerk Liu put down his pen and picked up the file on the desk to flip through it.

After a while, "Hmm, here it is! Caught one Jin-Crossing Ghost Cub."

"Jin-Crossing Ghost Cub?" He Lingchuan was startled, "Officially certified?"

What surprised him even more was that this military merit had actually been recorded for him!

So the patrol guard from before wasn't weird at all and had come back on time to finish the job; it was he who had misjudged the person. "It has already been investigated; this thing is a cub produced by a Jin-Crossing Mother. The Jin-Crossing Mother can borrow a womb to give birth, so the ghost cubs all have skin-bags and are not afraid of traveling during the day; they are not ordinary ghost objects."

"Borrow a womb to give birth?" He Lingchuan muttered, "In that case, it borrows a living person as a mother?"

"The ghost cub you handed in today was still stained with amniotic fluid, so the city has already begun a thorough investigation of pregnant women." Clerk Liu turned the file, "This is the military merit you earned for capturing two ghost cubs; what do you want to exchange it for?"

He Lingchuan looked and saw the rewards were rich; it should be because he had accidentally completed the bounty, and the key was that his military merit, which had already bottomed out, had risen back quite a bit.

"Exchange for a cultivation technique." He thought for a moment, "This time I want a divine ability." He wouldn't choose martial arts for now; he hadn't fully grasped the Wave-Slashing Blade and the Swallow-Returning Movement Technique, and being greedy for too much would make it hard to digest.

Instead, divine abilities had a wider range of applications and could be used as a masterstroke when used as an auxiliary during combat.

Clerk Liu immediately pulled out the list for him to choose from.

"This Mirror Image Technique is good." He Lingchuan took a fancy to this divine ability at a glance; it could allow him to transform and create mirror images, each possessing combat power equivalent to twenty percent of the main body, lasting for four breaths, and disappearing if they suffered heavy injuries or left the main body by twenty zhang.

Of course, the number of mirror images, attack ability, and duration would increase with his level of attainment. When cultivated to a profound level, he could summon up to four mirror images at the same time.

Using this skill was equivalent to having a group of henchmen with weapons following behind him, pointing at whoever he wanted to hit.

Of course, it could only be used for combat.

At the very least, it could make up for his lack of group attack skills.

He looked at two other divine abilities and also felt tempted. Unfortunately, his military merit was limited, and he couldn't take them all at once.

Sun Fuling saw him hesitating and asked him: "Where is your short board in combat?"

"Short board?" He Lingchuan was actually considering this question too, "You're right, let's solve the short board problem first." Other divine abilities, no matter how good, were just icing on the cake; filling his own short boards first was the way to save his life.

He immediately pointed to a divine ability in the list: "I want this one."

Clerk Liu looked and kindly reminded him: "This one is expensive."

"I know." Money is a bastard; if he could exchange money for his life, he wouldn't hesitate.

So Clerk Liu went into the warehouse, took out this scroll of secret techniques, and slapped it on the table: "Congratulations on getting the 'Bankrupting Golden Armored Man.' There are no more than five people in the entire Panlongcheng who have learned this technique."

Sun Fuling also exclaimed: "You'll have to work hard to save money."

The scroll of secret techniques He Lingchuan exchanged for was less of a divine ability and more of a blueprint, because the cover was written:

Golden Armored Copper Man.

This was the secret technique for refining a Golden Armored Copper Man.

He had seen Dong Rui command ghost apes and werewolves, beating government soldiers into a mess, and he had also seen Zhao Pan's subordinates use grass-head talismans to summon Green-Scarf Warriors, knowing well that such helpers were useful. Not only could they output during combat, but they were also great at moving supplies and exploring paths.

The copper skin of a Golden Armored Copper Man was certainly much thicker than that of a Green-Scarf Warrior, and it could certainly block blades for its master in critical moments, so this was a good thing that combined output and defense.

Wu Shaoyi also had a Golden Armored Copper Man. He couldn't refine it himself; this treasure was bestowed by Hong Xiangqian and played a huge role in the Battle of County Magistrate Village.

But the quality of that thing was relatively ordinary.

After several battles, He Lingchuan felt deeply that his biggest short board was insufficient defense. This could be slightly compensated for by various defensive magic tools, but he still needed to find a way to turn passive into active, and the Golden Armored Copper Man was very suitable.

If there was danger, it would take the lead; if there were flying arrows, it would eat them first. If there was a roadblock, it could also charge out and output in the enemy's face.

This thing was refined first and then stored; during combat, it could be thrown out, and after a perfunctory summoning incantation, it could turn from a doll the size of half a palm into an armored warrior over a zhang tall.

However, its control difficulty was not small, and it required the master to divide his attention to control it throughout, otherwise, it wouldn't be able to take a single step.

This was different from the Mirror Image Technique; the latter could act freely after receiving an instruction.

The more copper men summoned, the more the control difficulty increased geometrically, especially since the battlefield environment changed in an instant, making it easier for the master to become flustered.

It is said that those who have mastered it can summon six copper men at once, which is already the limit.

Moreover, the Golden Armored Copper Man can be upgraded; a copper man can be upgraded to a guard, and a guard can be promoted to a copper general, with huge improvements at each level—the full set of secret techniques had long been lost in the Yuan Realm, and even if Hong Xiangqian could make a Golden Armored Copper Man, he shouldn't even think about the subsequent improvements.

Clerk Liu did not deny the advantages of the Golden Armored Copper Man, only saying that very few people in Panlongcheng refined it. The reason was also very simple: it burned money.

Among the twenty-one materials for making a Golden Armored Copper Man, seven were very precious. Not to mention anything else, He Lingchuan must have a deep impression of the old acquaintance, Yu Gold.

To refine the Fusheng Blade, he had almost gone bankrupt, and he had to thank Sun Fuping's legacy for that, otherwise where would he get hundreds of thousands of silver taels?

This time, refining the Golden Armored Copper Man also required Yu Gold; although the amount for each one was very small, incomparable to a money-eater like the Fusheng Blade, in a place like Panlongcheng, Yu Gold was priceless and unavailable, and there was nowhere to buy it even with money in hand.

Not to mention that the money consumption required for each upgrade would go up two more levels, making it a bottomless pit.

It just so happened that its military merit exchange price was also very high, with almost no cost-effectiveness; who would be brainless enough to exchange for this?

Oh, forgot to mention, the power of the Golden Armored Copper Man comes from profound crystals.

But none of the above were problems for He Lingchuan... maybe.

(End of chapter)