Chapter 149: Predicament

Gao Jie Ming landed on a stretch of hard igneous rock (the general term for rock formed from solidified magma).

The moment his feet touched the ground, he sensed something amiss—this rock possessed an abnormal hardness. This book is first published on twQingsongDu, providing you with a reading experience free of errors and out-of-order chapters.

Without hesitation, Gao Jie Ming directly lifted a massive chunk of rock with his bare hands.

He placed the rock on the ground, then activated alchemy to conduct a careful examination of it.

His spiritual sense permeated the stone like quicksilver, analyzing its internal composition.

When he "saw" the material composition within the rock clearly, Gao Jie Ming could not help but widen his eyes.

He discovered with shock that the metal content within this rock reached as high as eighty percent!

Moreover, its internal structure was extremely complex, composed of at least seven or eight different types of metals, including some that could be called extraordinary materials!

How could this be ordinary igneous rock? It was simply a natural, giant block of metal!

Suppressing the joy in his heart, Gao Jie Ming did not pause.

He rapidly conducted random tests on other rocks solidified beneath nearby volcanoes, even directly extracting some flowing magma for analysis.

The results shocked him once again.

Whether solidified rock or scorching magma, the metal content fluctuated between sixty and ninety percent!

This had already exceeded the scope of a mere mineral vein!

It could be said with certainty that this was a plane constructed entirely of mineral deposits!

Rather than saying molten magma surged within these active volcanoes, it would be more accurate to say it was molten metal.

"This... such abundant mineral resources?!" Gao Jie Ming's voice trembled slightly. "This fully deserves to be called the 'Steel Earth'..."

The entire plane was a massive natural smelting furnace, constantly melting metallic minerals from the deep underground and then solidifying them into rock rich in metal.

This was simply a paradise dreamed of by any alchemist!

Without needing any particularly special metallic materials, merely this astonishing reserve of minerals was enough to make most wizards green with envy.

"The Plane Nuolun Workshop is truly generous..."

After all, when wizards cleared a plane, they surely would have already mapped out the local mineral conditions, yet even so, the Plane Nuolun Workshop was still willing to release this as a reward.

Truly extravagant!

Amidst his delight, Gao Jie Ming immediately activated the teleportation array to return to the Golden Garden.

Upon hearing earlier that he could choose a plane, Gao Jie Ming had already begun contemplating related designs and had formed ideas in his mind.

Now, having discovered such excellent conditions within this Purgatory Sulfur Plane, Gao Jie Ming could not resist the urge to begin transforming it immediately.

Returning to the underground laboratory of the Golden Garden, Gao Jie Ming quickly activated the Magic Net terminal and eagerly contacted Mentor Clark.

"Mentor, I need to consult regarding a Level Seven Large Elemental Pool," Gao Jie Ming said, getting straight to the point, his tone brimming with barely suppressed excitement.

On the other end of the Magic Net terminal, Mentor Clark's figure appeared; he looked calmly at Gao Jie Ming, a hint of understanding in his eyes: "It seems you are very satisfied with that demon plane."

"Extremely satisfied, Mentor!" Gao Jie Ming made no attempt to hide his emotions. "The resources of that plane are beyond imagination."

"I know its potential is immense; after all, the Workshop has always been generous," Mentor Clark interrupted him, his tone gradually becoming calm. "But regarding a Level Seven Large Elemental Pool... Gao Jie Ming, you simply have no use for equipment of this caliber right now."

Gao Jie Ming paused slightly, taken aback.

"Not to mention Level Seven; even a Level Six Large Elemental Pool is sufficient for a plane-level war fortress, serving as its core energy source. Indeed, once the specific rules and energy data of a plane are known, even a Level Five Large Elemental Pool can meet the demands of most high-intensity plane wars."

Mentor Clark explained, his voice devoid of any emotion: "Even I myself currently use only a Level Six Large Elemental Pool within my own Wizard Tower."

He continued to explain: "Elemental pools of this caliber are exceptionally troublesome to manufacture, with a failure rate that is frighteningly high. Even within the Plane Nuolun Workshop, few are willing to sell them publicly. The Level Seven you mentioned generally exists only on the private custom lists of a very few top-tier wizards."

Gao Jie Ming, of course, knew all this.

Regardless of the fact that he had already begun developing elemental storage-type inscribed wizard tools and had easily purchased small elemental pools, the technical difficulty and intensity of large elemental pools were not even in the same concept as small ones.

To make a true comparison, a small elemental pool was at best a high-capacity household battery, while an ordinary large elemental pool could be called a nuclear power plant.

And as for the Level Seven Large Elemental Pool Gao Jie Ming spoke of... it could roughly be called a Dyson Sphere.

If a Level Five Large Elemental Pool still operated at the technical level of connecting to the four major elemental planes to replenish energy, then a Level Six Large Elemental Pool had already directly created a projection of an elemental plane.

As for a Level Seven Large Elemental Pool, it was equivalent to directly creating a small elemental plane.

A Level Seven Elemental Pool was a creation that nearly transcended the limitations of mortal beings; its manufacturing difficulty and required resources had reached a level that made people shrink back in fear.

Even though Gao Jie Ming's Tier Two Cultivation Agreement allowed him to purchase anything without limit, items not available on the "market" could not be bought even without restrictions.

Precisely because he could not acquire it through normal channels, he hoped to rely on Mentor Clark's connections to find someone capable of manufacturing such equipment.

The saying that the Logistics Department was the orthodox faction within the Plane Nuolun Workshop was no joke.

Although he usually kept a low profile, Mentor Clark actually belonged to a faction.

He belonged to the Alchemy Department of the Plane Nuolun Workshop, and all students specializing in alchemy automatically became apprentices of this department.

Of course, many apprentices perished during their growth, but the number of those who survived remained considerable.

According to matters Mentor Clark had inadvertently mentioned and data Gao Jie Ming had checked himself, the Alchemy Department alone boasted over twenty Level Seven Wizards and more than a hundred Level Six Wizards.

It was just that these individuals were usually scattered across various Plane Nuolun Academies and plane frontlines, so their numbers were not obvious.

However, this quantity of high-tier wizards was sufficient to manufacture a Level Seven Large Elemental Pool.

"Mentor, I understand its difficulty," Gao Jie Ming said with firm resolve. "But I have my own considerations; ordinary elemental pools cannot fully meet my needs."

Gao Jie Ming did not explain in too much detail, but after a moment of silence, Mentor Clark ceased his excessive persuasion.

Every wizard must take responsibility for their own actions; moreover, he believed Gao Jie Ming was not an ungrateful person who couldn't tell what was important from what was trivial.

This disciple always managed to bring some unexpected surprises.

"Very well." Mentor Clark's voice carried a barely perceptible sigh. "I can attempt to contact my mentor; perhaps he will do me this favor, but he certainly will not manufacture it for you for free."

Joy surged in Gao Jie Ming's heart, but immediately afterward, he heard Mentor Clark raise another critical issue—remuneration.

"At the beginning of the term, I already told you that wizards uphold the principle of equivalent exchange," Mentor Clark said, his tone becoming serious.

"Even if my mentor wishes to craft a Level Seven Large Elemental Pool, he will need to seek assistance from many alchemist wizards of the same tier. Even though you are the disciple of his disciple, his lordship will at least require payment for labor and materials. And this 'cost price' is a price almost impossible for a wizard of your current caliber to afford."

He picked up a document and projected it onto Gao Jie Ming's Magic Net terminal: "This is the highest discounted purchase price for a Level Six Large Elemental Pool currently available from the Plane Nuolun Workshop. Even so, this amount of points is quite enormous. With your current assets, purchasing it would be quite difficult."

Gao Jie Ming opened the terminal, and upon seeing the number displayed there, his pupils contracted sharply.

It was a staggering astronomical figure, even exceeding the sum of all his points.

He had originally believed his points were already quite substantial, yet he never expected that the "cost price" of merely a Level Six Elemental Pool would be so terrifying.

Gao Jie Ming did a quick calculation.

Even with high-quality materials like orichalcum that never lacked buyers, and even ensuring an endless supply of raw materials.

Even if he worked like an ox and horse, manufacturing and selling orichalcum day and night without stop, the time required to gather enough points to purchase a Level Six Large Elemental Pool would still be measured in decades.

This estimate was even based on the assumption that the workshop would continue to buy his orichalcum at high prices.

But clearly, reality could not be so; not to mention that he would not allow himself to waste ten years.

Even if he truly produced that much orichalcum, its market price would inevitably fall.

After all, no matter how superior the properties of orichalcum might be, in the eyes of wizards, it was merely a Level Five material with excellent resistance.

And materials of this level were countless within wizard civilization.

As for the cost of a Level Seven Elemental Pool, it would only be even more shocking.

"Of course, if you believe you can truly earn points of this magnitude in a short time, I can also make contacts for you. But you must be clear that such a promise is no child's play," Instructor Clark emphasized finally.

Gao Jie Ming fell into thoughtful contemplation.

He indeed needed a Level Seven Elemental Pool; it was an indispensable part of his plan.

Yet this massive demand for points was a very real stumbling block.

He could not truly spend ten years mining and selling for money; doing so would strip away the meaning of moving forward.

Fortunately, Gao Jie Ming was not entirely without ideas regarding this.

However, there were certain matters he needed to verify, and he feared he could not confirm them in the short term.

"I understand, Instructor Clark. I should be able to give you an answer within about two months."

Seeing Gao Jie Ming's demeanor, Clark instead became interested: "Oh? It seems you already have an idea in mind. Interesting; I look forward to seeing what you do. Very well, rest assured—as long as you can solve the points problem, I will make the contacts for you!"

"That would truly trouble you!"

(End of Chapter)