Chapter 858: Is This How You Test a Merchant?

Adams absolutely did not believe this place was man-made, because the precision involved was too high. Over an area of several hundred square kilometers, not a single undulation could be seen, yet it allowed a silver coin to roll such a long distance and land accurately on the formation eye. It was simply a miracle.

No, even gods might not be able to pull this off, because many gods are unlearned and unskilled. Give them a magical configuration, and they might not even be able to restore it. Some gods' power stems from brute force, some from bloodlines, and some from knowledge.

If this were a miracle, it could only stem from a god of knowledge.

While Adams was lost in his wild thoughts, Silver Ingot began embedding magic crystals and soul crystals into the magic formation. Adams took a look and discovered that the slots for the magic crystals and soul crystals were identical.

He didn't know what Silver Ingot relied on to distinguish which position to place a magic crystal and which to place a soul crystal, or if it could be placed anywhere? As long as the ratio was correct.

Just from these arrangements, one could see that the level of the designer who built this treasury was absolutely extraordinary.

Most of Adams' memories had been wiped; his current memory only went back to when he was first projected onto the Chaos Plane. Therefore, his understanding of the Void was only at the level of a spirit mage, and the arrangement before him had already exceeded his cognitive range.

Once the magic crystals and soul crystals were embedded, Silver Ingot pressed the silver coin in his hand into the groove at the core of the formation. So, this silver coin was not only a guide to finding the magic formation but also the activation key?

*Whoosh—* A mass of black shadow rose up, transforming into the phantom of a magician wearing a top hat and a cape.

"Welcome, everyone. Magician Du Luo Ken is at your service. Welcome to the Paradise of Reality." The magician tipped his hat and bowed in greeting.

Xiao Gu was stunned for a moment. Of course, he recognized Du Luo Ken, but the figure before him was not Du Luo Ken; it was an illusion, not real.

Xiao Gu steadied his soul and looked intently at Du Luo Ken. Very quickly, he saw through Du Luo Ken's phantom. His gaze fell on a certain spot outside the magic formation. Xiao Gu walked over, swept it with his will, and discovered an egg of a Saya buried underneath.

Du Luo Ken's phantom was manifested by that egg. The entire area around the magic formation had been unknowingly shrouded by an illusion.

Xiao Gu saw through the illusion, but Silver Ingot and the guards did not. At this moment, they all let out gasps of surprise in unison, their voices trembling.

Xiao Gu relaxed his mind and was soon affected by the illusion. Before his eyes appeared a magnificent palace, with glittering gold, mithril, magic crystals, soul crystals, holy crystals, antiques, and artworks piled up on both sides, almost filling the entire palace and leaving only a narrow path.

The two guards excitedly threw themselves into the pile of treasure, forcefully tossing the riches into the air, shouting excitedly: "We're rich! We're rich! We've struck it rich! The wealth here is more than a thousand merchant associations combined. President, we're rich!"

Silver Ingot's face, however, involuntarily revealed a bitter smile, muttering softly: "Ancestor, if this is a test, couldn't you have arranged something less stimulating to start with?"

As he spoke, he closed his eyes and walked quickly forward. The two guards were so immersed in the ocean of treasure that they didn't even notice Silver Ingot had already walked ahead.

Xiao Gu followed, and the manifested phantom of Du Luo Ken followed as well, saying as he walked: "So you are a descendant of Silver Coin. What happened? Was the merchant association taken away? That's too easy. The treasures here are yours to take; it's enough for you to build dozens more merchant associations. Then, post some high-value bounties, and mercenaries will naturally bring your enemies' heads to you."

Silver Ingot smiled bitterly: "My enemy's influence is very large; mercenaries might not dare to provoke them."

"Don't dare to provoke them?! That's because the money wasn't enough. Put up a double super-task, and they'd dare to slaughter gods. Even if no living person dares, go find the dead; someone at the Home of the Departed will certainly dare," Du Luo Ken's phantom said.

Silver Ingot shook his head with a bitter smile.

Soon, they passed through the palace piled with treasure and entered a warm-toned palace. The surroundings were all ambiguous warm colors—pink, yellow, green—which made one feel very relaxed at first glance.

More than a dozen beauties of various races came forward—humans, elves, succubi, snake people, dragon maidens, and even plump minotaurs, dwarves, and gnomes. Each had their own charm, dressed quite revealingly, with charming smiles and spring in their eyes. In just a few seconds, Silver Ingot's heart raced more than a dozen times.

But thinking of something, Silver Ingot gritted his teeth, pushed past the beauties of various races, and continued forward. Soon, he arrived at the next palace. This palace contained countless exquisite machinery, alchemy materials, blacksmithing tools, fishing gear, and intimate items. If someone had addictive hobbies, they definitely wouldn't be able to leave once they arrived here.

Silver Ingot already had the experience from before, so he walked straight past as if he saw nothing. Pushing open the door, he arrived at a piece of farmland planted with golden rice, emerald green vegetables, sturdy saplings, and all kinds of flowers. It was simply a botanical garden.

Silver Ingot could even endure the test of the beauties of various races, so these colorful plants were even less of a problem. He even doubted if this counted as a test. Using this to test a merchant? Which merchant couldn't withstand this kind of test?

Without looking back, he walked forward. Only one ordinary palace remained ahead. Pushing open the door, he saw a mighty armored angel.

Du Luo Ken applauded at the right moment: "Congratulations, congratulations. You have completed all the tests and obtained an Armored Holy Spirit left behind by Silver Coin. It possesses powerful combat strength and can be armored onto your body, allowing you to immediately possess combat strength not inferior to a Four-Winged Angel."

"Ah? Just this? I..." Silver Ingot was stunned, feeling somewhat disappointed. He had endured the temptations of treasure, beauty, and hobbies, only to receive a suit of armor at the end?

The legendary treasury of the treacherous merchant only had one suit of armor? That would be worse than the treasure in the first palace. With those treasures, he could assemble dozens of armies and drown his enemies.

Now, with only one suit of armor, even if he possessed the combat strength of a Four-Winged Angel, could he defeat a Duke? The other side had a bunch of Great Swordmasters and Great Mages under their command.

"I, can I not take the armor and go back to choose the treasure from the first palace? Eh? Where is the Summoner?" Silver Ingot turned his head to ask, only to discover that Xiao Gu, who had been following behind, was gone.

Du Luo Ken's phantom shook his head and said: "Either is fine. Put on the Holy Armor, and everything here belongs to you. As for the Summoner? You mean Xiao Gu? He is in the farm."

Xiao Gu? Silver Ingot was stunned for a moment, thinking he had misheard. However, he had no leisure to ask, because when he heard that everything here belonged to him, he couldn't hold back anymore.

"How do I put it on?" Silver Ingot asked.

Du Luo Ken's phantom said: "Put the silver coin into its chest, activate it, and that's it."

"Silver coin? I embedded it in the magic formation. How do I bring it in?" Silver Ingot said in astonishment. ===== CHAPTER 859 =====