Chapter Seventy: Preserving Life

  "Ah," Mu Rongyun Lian was startled by Sun Ming's sudden appearance beside her and instinctively swung the Liu Yan Lie Kong sword she had just demonstrated at Sun Ming.

  "This senior sister, your cultivation in the Golden Elixir stage can't withstand a single sword from you." Just as Murong Yunfan's sword was about to strike, Sun Ming suddenly appeared above where he had just spoken, teasingly saying to Murong Yunfan whose small face had already turned slightly red.

  "Tomorrow, don't make a fuss, and explain to everyone the magical artifact you've refined." Xuan Xin looked at Sun Ming with a smile, after all, the outcome of this trial had already been basically determined, and from the expression of Lan Yunzhen, the leader of the Qixiu Alliance, who was furious and defeated, it could be confirmed that this was indeed the case.

  It's common knowledge that there are many types of magic treasures, but they can be broadly categorized into attack, defense, and support. Of course, attacks can be further divided into physical, spiritual, and magical attacks... etc., and defenses are the same. This also determines the value of a magic treasure. For example, if you were to estimate the price of a defensive-type magic treasure using crystal stones, it would often be able to buy several attack-type magic treasures of the same rank. However, there are exceptions.

  Support-type magic treasures are even more precious. As mentioned earlier, Sun Ming was particularly interested in that mirror that could detect the flow of true yuan because its craftsmanship was exceptional for a simple support-type magic treasure. The value of support-type magic treasures lies in their subtlety, as they quietly increase the user's strength without being directly noticeable like attack or defense-type magic treasures. This boost can be in terms of attack power, defensive capabilities, or even increased cultivation speed.

  As a result, this type of magic treasure often receives the favor of true cultivators. Among support-type magic treasures, there is a subcategory that increases speed, such as the Qingyun Dart mentioned earlier. The most powerful known magic treasure in the cultivation world for increasing speed is the Dingxing Disk, which can perform interstellar teleportation.

  Sun Ming's creation, the Shuntian Disk, cannot perform interstellar teleportation but can achieve instant movement. Think about it - no matter how fast you fly, can you compare to instant movement? This predetermines that this Shuntian Disk is not ordinary.

  "Uh, seniors, this treasure is called the Instant Sky Plate. It was inspired by the Fixed Star Plate of our sect's instrument spirit, which I observed some days ago. As you all know, Azure Empty Stone and Stellar Iron are both essential spiritual stones for building interstellar transmission arrays. I chose these two as the main materials, so to a large extent, this thing can be said to be a portable transmission array." Sun Mingxia began to explain matter-of-factly.

  "Uh, this treasure doesn't have any precious materials or powerful formations on it. I just combined some simple formations and refined some ordinary materials according to a certain rule. I think a good refiner isn't about using the best materials to refine the best treasures, but rather using ordinary materials to refine treasures that are even more valuable than precious ones."

  Sun Ming said this with a bit of embarrassment, thinking about his own Five Fire Seven Bird Fan, Golden Scissors, and Binding Immortal Rope - weren't those made from precious materials? Ah, wait, the Heaven-Defying Seal was different, that was truly a case of waste reuse. Sun Ming thought he had found justification for his words and began to speak grandly.

  "Uh, this treasure not only includes a compact version of the improved interstellar transmission array by his disciples, but also has an array that controls the output size of spiritual power. The output size of true yuan power can control the amount of spiritual power flowing out from the crystal stone, which indirectly controls the distance of teleportation." Sun Ming smiled and said.

  "Lingming little friend, what's the approximate distance of this Instant Sky Plate's instant movement? Is there a limit?" Kong Wu had unknowingly changed his way of addressing Sun Ming from "Lingming" to "little friend".

  "Uh, this is actually the same as interstellar transmission arrays. The transmission distance of interstellar transmission arrays depends on the amount of spiritual energy required. Distant planets require higher-grade crystals, while closer ones are inferior. This thing has a limited range and can only be used within a planet. If it's not an extreme-grade crystal, you'll need to replace it after a period of time. Even with an extreme-grade crystal, you can't perform long-distance teleportation." Sun Ming answered in a flurry of words, his hands gesturing wildly as he explained this or that about the Instant Sky Disk.

  "Hmm, I'd like to ask, little friend Lingming, how does this thing confirm its orientation? Whether it's a starry transmission array or a fixed star disk, they all have corresponding planetary coordinates. But no matter how I look at this thing, I don't see such a function. Moreover, in the Xiu Zhen realm, there are countless stars, and each star has a different terrain. Do you need to re-refine this treasure every time you switch to a new planet?" Lan Yun Zhenren fell silent for a while before suddenly asking this question, which made Sun Ming somewhat taken aback, as it was also the place where he thought this treasure was most lacking.

  "Hmm, I can answer this question like this," Sun Ming said with a smile after hesitating for a moment.

  "This thing doesn't have anything like coordinates, and of course it's not necessary to re-cast it on a different planet. The Instant Sky Disk can be controlled with divine thought within a range of about one square kilometer (one yuan is equivalent to one meter), but beyond that distance, the accuracy cannot be guaranteed." Sun Ming replied with a smile, but his confidence was gone, after all, this was a flaw.

  "What's the use of this high-grade spiritual artifact? If you don't control the distance of transmission well, you might accidentally transmit to the fire vein (volcano) or a place where demonic beasts are rampant. What then?" Lan Xian Zhenren seemed to have grasped Sun Ming's weakness, his voice growing louder and more pleased with himself, even laughing slightly in the end. After all, this uncertain treasure wasn't something just anyone dared to use. As expected, as soon as Lan Xian Zhenren finished speaking, the voices of discussion below began to rise again.

  Sun Ming slightly furrowed his brow, and like Kong Wu Lao Dao, he sent out a pleading gaze, after all, he was still a junior here.

  "Everyone, quiet down and listen to what Lingming has to say." Kong Wu Old Dao seemed to be quite fond of Sun Ming, and actually understood the meaning behind Sun Ming's gaze. He spoke out loud. Although these artifact refiners had many doubts about Sun Ming's thing in their hearts, after all, Kong Wu Old Dao was not only the chief examiner of this trial but also a respected senior in the artifact refining world. Who dared to not give him face?

  "Hmm, I'd like to ask the seniors to think about it, what's most important for us cultivators?" Sun Ming asked with a hint of retreat.

  Yes, what is most important for cultivators? Magical artifacts? Medicinal pellets? Crystal stones, or scriptures and secret techniques? These are all external objects that can be obtained with opportunity.

  "Life." Murong Yunfan's words made the crowd of cultivators feel ashamed, yes, the lifespan of a true cultivator is long, and in the long years, everything will have a chance to be obtained, but life, no matter who, only has one chance, and the end of life means that all returns to zero.

  "What does this have to do with you?" Lan Yun Zhen Ren was quite displeased, after all, the treasure that had a significant impact on the outcome of this competition and was considered threatening was about to be belittled to the point of being worthless. He didn't expect any problems to arise at this critical juncture, but this was exactly what Sun Ming had been counting on.

  "How can there be no relationship? Think about it, if a cultivator is about to meet with disaster and gives you two choices: the first is to wait for death, and the second is to instantly move to some place on this planet, which one would the cultivator choose? Of course, I'm talking about those cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage who can't instantaneously move." Sun Ming said with a smile.

  "This, of course, will be instantaneous, after all, there is still a glimmer of hope." Lan Xian Zhen Ren replied somewhat hesitantly, although he wanted to give a negative answer, but this was already a question with a correct answer, unless he, Lan Xian Zhen Ren, wanted to lose face, otherwise he could only respond like this, so he hesitated for a moment before speaking.

  "Then at this critical moment, could it be that the lifesaving item is actually a useless, high-quality spiritual artifact?" Sun Ming asked back.

  Lan Yun Zhen Ren paused for a moment and ultimately didn't say anything else under everyone's gaze. For a while, the atmosphere was a bit awkward, but fortunately, Kong Wu Lao Dao hurried over to mediate at this time.

  "Alright, alright. Since your treasure's specialness has been proven, you can go back first. The result of this trial will be discussed with the Qixiu Sect's cultivators and I'll give you an answer later." With that, Kongwu Old Dao finished speaking and waved his sleeve, leading a group of about ten or so loose immortals to the rear hall of the Xianyun Temple to discuss the results.

  "Lingming, you truly are the most gifted disciple in the field of alchemy that our sect has seen in hundreds of years! A top-grade spiritual artifact? Hehe, not bad. This time when we return, I'll definitely ask the Sect Master to exchange a Seven-Star Alchemy Spirit Badge for you. Such an achievement is probably something that even disciples of the same generation as your Shifu's junior brother, Xuanzi, can rarely attain." Zanxin smiled and said to Sunming.

  "The disciple does not dare, but this thing about seniority still needs to be followed." Sun Ming said in a low voice.

  "Ah, Tianyi, go tell Tianyan later that from now on, Sunming's generation will be the same as yours." Mingshen said with a smile, his expression revealing an indescribable sense of pride. Suiming followed his gaze and looked over, only to find that this cheap master was actually looking at Lanxian Zhenren with a gloomy face, feeling proud. Sunming didn't say anything, knowing that now this cheap master was in high spirits, even if he spoke now it would be useless, so he could only look at Tianyi and smile wryly.