Chapter 623: Unexpected Windfall

"Uncle Grandmaster, I have another question—can I continue participating in the Thousand Stars Alliance's monthly trials?" Before leaving Star River Islet, Xu Jin specifically asked You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun this question.

Upon hearing this, You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun chuckled first, understanding Xu Jin's intent, his long eyebrows trembling with amusement.

The more he looked, the more he liked Xu Jin.

A kindred spirit who always seeks to pluck a few wool strands.

"Kid, I know you want to pluck wool—if this time you didn't gain any opportunity and your Thousand Star Token is below Gold Rank, you can certainly come pluck wool from the Thousand Stars Alliance."

"But you've lost the chance now," said You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun.

"I was hoping for at least some return," Xu Jin said, slightly disappointed.

What a pity.

If I could pluck wool, I'd get at least three to five hundred points monthly, plus a low-grade Star Token.

"You little rascal!"

You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun shook his head at Xu Jin, who was startled—then You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun said, "Your wool-plucking vision is still lacking."

Xu Jin was stunned, first dumbfounded, then bowed respectfully. "Please, Uncle Grandmaster, guide me."

"The biggest wool is right here!" You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun stomped his foot and pointed at the Black Tower.

Xu Jin didn't understand.

You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun added, "Try cultivating here."

Xu Jin was about to activate his spiritual sense to cultivate, but remembered Feng Hua Emperor's warning: "Uncle Grandmaster, my Master previously said the Star Force within Star River Islet is wildly chaotic—until one reaches Great Star Lord, one cannot absorb or cultivate it, correct?"

"That's true for your own Star River Islet—but this one has the Black Tower stabilizing and transforming the energy, like a terrestrial vein. You can safely absorb and cultivate here," said You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun.

Surprised, Xu Jin immediately began cultivating, directly drawing Star Force into his body to forge the Heaven and Earth Cloud Tower.

The moment Star Force entered his body, Xu Jin was stunned.

The Star Force was overwhelmingly dense.

Xu Jin had previously cultivated using a seventh-grade Star Jade Tablet paired with a Star Gathering Array—its concentration was already extremely high, an extremely lavish cultivation method.

But now, he finally understood what "dense" truly meant.

It felt several times stronger than when he used the seventh-grade Star Jade Tablet, though the exact multiplier still needed further experience.

Half an hour later, Xu Jin slowly opened his eyes—he now understood what You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun meant by "the biggest wool."

Cultivating inside the Black Tower of this Star River Islet, the Star Force concentration was six times that of his seventh-grade Star Jade Tablet.

Even using an eighth-grade Star Jade Tablet would be far less efficient.

And as things stood, Xu Jin could never use an eighth-grade Star Jade Tablet for cultivation.

He possessed only a handful of eighth-grade Star Jade Tablets.

Here, his cultivation efficiency was already nearly half of what he achieved with seventh-grade Pure Pearls.

"Uncle Grandmaster, you mean I can come here to cultivate regularly?" Xu Jin instantly realized.

Hearing this, You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun nodded. "As long as it's not a few days before or after the monthly trial day, you can come. After all, the Star Force here is better absorbed by you than left to accumulate in the Black Tower."

"Thank you, Uncle Grandmaster."

"Don't tell your Master—he doesn't like me doing this," You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun warned.

"Understood, understood," Xu Jin nodded vigorously.

In further conversation, Xu Jin learned You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun's current situation—it was essentially an external assignment.

Guarding this Star River Islet and overseeing the monthly trials.

His pay: three thousand points monthly.

It didn't seem like much.

But the real hidden benefit of guarding the trial Black Tower was the incredibly dense Star Force here—the ultimate place for spiritual insight.

Even the Star Force concentration in the Star River Yuan Domain was less dense than here.

And he was the only one here—free to use it all.

The only trouble? Loneliness.

Before Xu Jin left, You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun handed him a small sword with fish patterns.

"Keep this. In an emergency, it can aid you. But even as an eleventh-grade True Person, I cannot directly manifest my power into Kunling Domain—so if you're in danger within Kunling Domain, I likely can't help."

"But outside Kunling Domain—or if external forces forcibly interfere with Kunling Domain and threaten you—then I can act," said You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun.

"Thank you, Uncle Grandmaster," Xu Jin bowed again.

Hearing this, You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun suddenly felt bored. "Enough with 'Uncle Grandmaster'—you make me speak so formally. Just call me You Brother or Fish Brother—it's more natural."

"This—"

"Just don't let your Master hear."

"Alright then, Fish Elder."

"Am I that old?" You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun blew furiously at his long eyebrows.

"Uh… Fish Brother."

"That's better, Little Little Jinzi—go back quickly!"

"Oh, by the way, you should visit your own Star River Islet soon—it has many wondrous properties once it matures."

"It's a supreme treasure," said You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun.

This nickname instantly darkened Xu Jin's face. "Fish Brother, can we change the nickname? Not 'Little Little Jinzi.'"

"I got it, Little Little Jinzi!"

"Didn't we agree to change it?"

"I'll change it when I think of something—Little Little Jinzi."

Xu Jin's face turned black instantly—he realized You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun was deliberately teasing him.

"Old Fish, goodbye!"

The next instant, Xu Jin activated his Thousand Star Token—immense suction pulled him, and as half his Star Force drained, his vision shimmered with starlight.

A few breaths later, Xu Jin appeared in the quiet chamber within the Town Domain Prince's Mansion.

The moment he appeared, Ji Especially Ji Hongli's delighted voice rang out: "You're back! Safe and sound!"

Xu Jin immediately understood why.

Before leaving, he'd only said he'd return within a day.

But he'd been gone over four days.

Worse, the Mandate of Mandarins was useless on Star River Islet—he couldn't send any message.

But before leaving, he'd already obtained several Thousand Star Tokens from You Yu Tianyang Zhenjun.

In the future, he'd find a way to upgrade Xiao Xiao Yuer and others' tokens to second-grade Silver Tokens—they'd gain communication functionality and become much more convenient.

Holding Xiao Xiao Yuer, Xu Jin gently patted her to soothe her; within moments, she grew limp and soft—but still struggled to rise.

"I must inform Father and Jiang Er first—they must be worried."

Xu Jin was now the entire Town Domain Prince's Mansion's pillar—if he faltered, the mansion's future would grow bleak.

The moment Xu Jin returned safely, laughter and joy flooded the entire mansion.

But Xu Jin was thoughtful—he needed to accelerate Jiang Er and Xiao Xiao Yuer's cultivation.

One day, when he left Kunling Domain to cultivate, the mansion would enjoy his blessings for a while—but over time, it'd be uncertain. Better to strengthen himself than hope enemies show mercy.

That night, after Xu Jin had worn out Ji Especially Ji Hongli on the bed, she slept less than an hour before he pulled her up again for cultivation.

Of course, Jiang Er, Ying Ge, and others were no exception.

Xiao Xiao Yuer at least got an hour's sleep; the others were roused from dream-rest after only fifteen minutes and forced back into hard training.

The moment Xu Jin activated the Can Dou Lamp Domain to envelop everyone, he first upgraded his Thousand Star Token.

His current Thousand Star Token was only second-grade Jade Rank.

It granted many privileges, even access to certain secret realms within the Star River Yuan Domain.

But the discount for purchasing cultivation items from the Thousand Stars Alliance was still only ten percent off.

Based on second-grade status.

Rank and grade were two separate systems.

The moment his mind sank into the Thousand Star Token, Xu Jin selected the upgrade option.

He had previously obtained one S-class Star Token, two low-grade Star Tokens, and one mid-grade Star Token—he used them all to offset points during the upgrade.

They totaled nine thousand points.

Theoretically, Xu Jin needed only one thousand points to upgrade his token to third-grade Jade Rank.

But as he initiated the upgrade, another surprise appeared.

【Token Holder 765586: Holders of Silver Thousand Star Tokens receive a 10% reduction in upgrade point cost; holders of Gold Thousand Star Tokens receive a 20% reduction; holders of Jade Thousand Star Tokens receive a 30% reduction.

You are a noble holder of a Jade Thousand Star Token. Upgrading your token from second to third grade requires only seven thousand points.】

The moment this starlight message appeared, Xu Jin was overjoyed.

He immediately confirmed the upgrade.

Five breaths later, his second-grade Jade Thousand Star Token successfully upgraded to third-grade Jade Thousand Star Token.

He used only one S-class Star Token and two low-grade Star Tokens—zero points spent.

He still had one mid-grade Star Token left.

This profit was substantial.

A stream of starlight notifications appeared—he instantly understood.

The effects of the third-grade Thousand Star Token matched his expectations—the discount for purchasing cultivation items rose to twenty percent off.

Similarly, the points required to upgrade a Third-Rank Thousand-Star Token to a Fourth-Rank Thousand-Star Token rose from ten thousand to one hundred thousand.

However, because of the rank of his Thousand-Star Jade Token, Xu Jin needed only seventy thousand points to upgrade to the Fourth-Rank.

Xu Jin's total points, including the sixty thousand granted by Emperor Master Fenghua, his own savings, and that mid-grade Star Sigil, were just over seventy thousand.

He could upgrade, but then he'd have no points left for cultivation.

Xu Jin decisively chose not to upgrade.

Enhancing his strength was more important.

A ten percent discount meant nothing if he had no points left to buy cultivation treasures—it would be a huge loss.

Xu Jin immediately began purchasing cultivation treasures.

The most important was upgrading the Law Star in the Can Dou Platform to a Source Star.

This was crucial.

After the upgrade, Xu Jin estimated that using the Divine Way's True Meaning to contemplate and deduce Star Patterns would yield twice the results.

Currently, the Fire Law Star had already completed its transformation; the Earth Law Star still lacked nine Earth Spirits. The Wood, Wind, and Water Law Stars had all reached their peak, but the Metal and Thunder Law Stars had not yet reached perfection.

In the end, Xu Jin decided to exchange for nine Earth Spirits, ten Wood Spirits, ten Wind Spirits, ten Water Spirits, and one Metal Spirit.

Forty Spirits total, two hundred points each, amounted to eight thousand points.

That was why Emperor Master Fenghua had directly given Xu Jin sixty thousand points.

Otherwise, Xu Jin wouldn't dare spend so freely—he himself had only just over nine thousand.

After selecting these, Xu Jin did not rush to exchange them.

After searching awhile, his gaze settled on the Spirit Embryo Fruit.

The Thousand-Star Token not only sold Spirit Embryo Fruits but also bought them in large quantities.

Yet the highest-grade Spirit Embryo Fruit for sale was only the Fourth-Transformation, priced at five thousand points.

The Spirit Embryo Fruits it bought ranged from First- to Ninth-Transformation.

Among them, a Seventh-Transformation Spirit Embryo Fruit was bought at seven thousand points per fruit—but none were sold.

If any were sold, the price would be at least fourteen thousand points.

This showed that the treasure given by Master Uncle Youyu was quite valuable.

After thinking it over, Xu Jin used points to exchange for two Fourth-Transformation Spirit Embryo Fruits—the total cost was exactly ten thousand points.

Xu Jin exchanged for the Fourth-Transformation Spirit Embryo Fruits not for anyone else, but to conduct an experiment.

Since his Master, Emperor Master Fenghua, had said the Dao Embryo was the most critical foundation of cultivation,

Xu Jin wanted to make this foundation as perfect as possible.

The Spirit Embryo Fruit not only accelerated the formation of the Dao Embryo but also enhanced its quality during its gestation.

Even a slight improvement in quality was extremely important.

According to his Master, Emperor Master Fenghua, Seventh-Transformation Spirit Embryo Fruits were already exceedingly rare; Eighth- and Ninth-Transformation ones were merely legends.

Even he, in his youth, had used only a Seventh-Transformation Spirit Embryo Fruit.

It was sufficient.

But Xu Jin wanted to test whether he could use the Can Dou Platform to fuse and upgrade a Seventh-Transformation Spirit Embryo Fruit into an Eighth-Transformation?

If so, the medicinal effect would be even stronger.

But Seventh-Transformation Spirit Embryo Fruits were extremely rare; using one directly for fusion and upgrading risked total waste if anything went wrong.

Fourth-Transformation Spirit Embryo Fruits could be exchanged, but there was no second Seventh-Transformation one available.

Xu Jin decided to test first with a Fourth-Transformation Spirit Embryo Fruit.

If it succeeded, he could use the upgraded fruit to help the State Master or Ning Yuchan form their Dao Embryos.

The next instant, Xu Jin decisively exchanged for these items.

The total was eighteen thousand points, but after the discount, he paid only fourteen thousand four hundred—saving three thousand six hundred points.

Xu Jin's remaining points became fifty-five thousand.

Half a quarter-hour later, as light shimmered, a large mass of starlight appeared before Xu Jin.

All the cultivation treasures he exchanged for had been delivered to him.

The Thousand-Star Token was incredibly useful.

The next instant, Xu Jin placed the newly acquired Fourth-Transformation Spirit Embryo Fruit onto the Can Dou Platform.

He began attempting fusion.

(End of Chapter)