Chapter 981: Nine-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform (First update, requesting all)

Xiang Yutian naturally did not refuse; besides, there would be no benefit if he were to advance in the Dai Kingdom.

But if he were to advance to the King rank in the Kailing Empire, he could leverage the celestial phenomena during his advancement to significantly increase his influence within the Kailing Empire.

After Xiang Yutian left, Li Zhangsheng did not linger and returned to Hurricane Fortress without stopping.

Li Zhangsheng gained a great deal from this trade, but the only pity was that Xiang Yutian did not have a special treasure like a Forbidden Bead; otherwise, he could have used it to open the few items he had obtained from the Huang Jia Nei Ku.

As for those few items, it would be a lie to say Li Zhangsheng was not curious; if nothing went wrong, those items were at least Heaven and Earth Rare Treasure grade, and there was a significant possibility that they included a World Wonder.

Not long after, Li Zhangsheng returned to Hurricane Fortress.

The first thing Li Zhangsheng did was summon Kailan and Adai from the Secret Realm.

"Kailan, these are five Nether Moon Lotuses; you can try to refine the Moon Soul Star Snatching Pill. You can go to the Central Medicine Garden to pick any missing materials. By the way, you can use at most four of the Nether Moon Lotuses; I will try to see if I can cultivate the remaining one."

The so-called Central Medicine Garden was naturally the area where the Dangkang Necklace Space had merged into the Secret Realm.

As for cultivating the Nether Moon Lotus, Li Zhangsheng also wanted to give it a try; if it could be cultivated, he would be able to produce and consume it himself in the future.

However, he did not have much confidence, as simply trying to simulate the environment required for the Nether Moon Lotus to grow was a huge challenge.

Demonic Qi could be provided by Magic Stones, but if Abyss Consciousness was required, Li Zhangsheng would have to give up; after all, not only could Abyss Consciousness not be controlled, but it also posed a huge hidden danger, and he could not take such a risk.

Kailan took the container holding the Nether Moon Lotuses and returned to the Secret Realm, where she would refine the Moon Soul Star Snatching Pill.

More than a year had passed since he obtained the formula for the Moon Soul Star Snatching Pill, and Kailan would often take it out to study in her spare time.

Although the steps for the Moon Soul Star Snatching Pill were notoriously numerous, they had already been etched into Kailan's mind, and now with four Nether Moon Lotuses, she had great confidence in successfully refining it.

As for the final success rate, besides alchemy technique, it was also related to luck.

While Kailan went to refine the pill, Li Zhangsheng handed the piece of Geng Metal Elite to Adai.

He had once obtained a portion of Geng Metal Elite that was originally intended for Adai, but it was ultimately used to upgrade the Star Palace Lotus Platform; now that he had obtained another portion, he naturally had to give it to Adai, which would more or less improve Adai's combat power.

Adai lay on the ground and began to absorb and refine the Geng Metal Elite, his entire body beginning to be enveloped in a rich, earthy-yellow radiance, making him look like a hill.

Li Zhangsheng was not idle either, as he prepared to upgrade the rank of the Star Palace Lotus Platform.

As Li Zhangsheng moved his mind, the Eight-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform flew out from his Consciousness Sea and hovered before him.

As long as it advanced to a Nine-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform, Li Zhangsheng believed his cultivation speed could increase by another notch.

To upgrade the Eight-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform, it required 20 drops of Three Lights Divine Water, ten catties each of branches from top-grade spiritual root trees of the five attributes—Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—and one top-grade spiritual root fruit containing the five elements.

The Three Lights Divine Water went without saying, and Li Zhangsheng had also prepared Geng Metal Bodhi Tree branches, Tree of Life branches, Water Shadow Light-Splitting Tree branches, Red Fire Dragon Scale Tree branches, and Xuanhuang Linglong Fruit Tree branches.

In addition to these, there was also one Xuanqiong Five-Colored Glazed Fruit.

Li Zhangsheng began to process the branches of the five attributes; after cutting off ten catties of each, he ground them all into powder.

The other materials did not need processing; among these materials, the Xuanqiong Five-Colored Glazed Fruit was mainly used to replenish the origin consumed by the lotus platform, while the Three Lights Divine Water and the five top-grade spiritual root branches served as the key to the upgrade.

After everything was ready, Li Zhangsheng began to form hand seals; his movements were so fast that only a blur of phantoms could be seen, which would make an ordinary person feel a splitting headache just by looking.

After a few breaths, Li Zhangsheng pointed at the Eight-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform.

In an instant, the Eight-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform began to spin rapidly, its body blooming with dazzling starlight, and the previously tightly closed flower buds began to slowly bloom.

The moment the flower buds fully bloomed, Li Zhangsheng moved his intent, and the Xuanqiong Five-Colored Glazed Fruit and the twenty drops of Three Lights Divine Water turned into streams of light, quickly falling into the flower buds.

It only lasted for an instant before the flower buds began to close rapidly.

Li Zhangsheng formed hand seals again, and every lotus petal of the Eight-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform turned translucent.

It was also at this moment that the powder ground from the five top-grade spiritual root branches was sprinkled over the petals of the lotus platform.

In the blink of an eye, this powder miraculously permeated the petals and slowly disappeared.

The next moment, the Eight-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform began to manifest five colors—gold, green, blue, red, and yellow—which intertwined with the starlight, filling almost the entire backyard with these colors.

At this time, a pillar of starlight was drawn down by the Eight-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform, but compared to the amount needed for the Eight-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform to advance, it could only be described as a drop in the bucket.

Without hesitation, Li Zhangsheng began to shatter a large number of materials containing Starlight Power, and the extracted starlight was quickly drawn in and absorbed by the Eight-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform.

After ransacking the Langya Kingdom Imperial Treasury, Li Zhangsheng had obtained countless materials containing star power.

Of course, the vast majority were lower-grade materials.

The Eight-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform began to devour them like a whale; as a large amount of Starlight Power was digested, petals began to emerge on the outermost layer of the lotus platform, causing its volume to gradually expand.

Judging from the consumption, the energy required to upgrade from the eighth to the ninth rank was about the same as the last time; the reason for this was simply that the Nine-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform did not yet fall into the category of Zifu Qizhen.

Soon, ten minutes passed, and the Eight-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform finally stopped devouring Starlight Power and began to emit intense, invisible ripples, faintly resonating with the world, successfully advancing to the Nine-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform.

The moment it advanced, a starry sky appeared above the Nine-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform once again, becoming much clearer than before, allowing more details to be discovered.

However, Li Zhangsheng checked it carefully and still had no clue.

In an instant, the Nine-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform turned into a stream of light and surged back into Li Zhangsheng's Consciousness Sea.

This time, the Nine-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform began to sink deeper into the Consciousness Sea, surpassing not only the Imitation Demon Refining Pot and the Qiankun Immeasurable Bell, but even the Original Light, and it was not far from the Zifu Qizhen-grade Hunyuan Golden Lamp and the Sun Moon Shuttle Heavy Light Wheel.

If nothing went wrong, the Nine-Rank Star Palace Lotus Platform had already reached the critical point of a Mid-grade World Wonder, and the next advancement would inevitably reach the Zifu Qizhen level.

Li Zhangsheng began to check the requirements for upgrading to the Ten-Grade Lotus Platform, and as expected, the materials listed left him speechless.

(End of chapter)