Star Martial Era: The Way of Star Light Cultivation

Chapter 409: Chapter 181 Gratitude_2

This was an excuse Xu Jin had thought of long ago.

Prior to this, Xu Jin had inquired from various sources that the millennia-aged turtle shell was a precious ingredient and one of the main components of the Dragon Turtle Soul Refining Pill. Ordinary people, even ordinary alchemists, couldn’t get their hands on it.

But many wealthy individuals sought to purchase it simply because it could nourish the heart and calm the mind. This effect, although faint, was effective on ordinary people.

After some thought, Xu Jin found such an excuse.

It seemed reasonable.

”Lord Xu’s filial piety is commendable!”

Ling Mao began with a compliment, then furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, ”Lord Xu, the millennia-aged turtle shell is in high demand, and due to its age, it’s very rare. May I ask if Lord Xu wants a small piece or an entire shell?”

”Of course, an entire shell.”

Hearing this, Ling Mao rubbed his hands and said, ”That will be somewhat difficult! Not to hide it from Lord Xu, when the millennia-aged turtle shells are used as an ingredient in medicines, usually only a piece the size of a fingernail is needed. When Alchemy Masters purchase it, they generally buy by weight.

Usually, they buy three to five taels.

Occasionally, when making Heart Protecting and Mind Nourishing Armor, they will buy about eight or nine taels, even just over a catty will do, which is about the size of a palm.

It’s essentially impossible to acquire an entire shell.

And...”

Here, Ling Mao glanced at Xu Jin and said, ”And it’s too expensive, most people can’t afford it.”

”It’s that expensive? How much is one tael?” Xu Jin was astonished.

Ling Mao knew how many Taoist Merit points he had at his disposal.

Doesn’t that mean, with nearly thirty thousand Taoist Merit points, Xu Jin still couldn’t afford a piece of the millennia-aged turtle shell.

”One tael is not expensive, a tael of millennia-aged turtle shell is worth only a hundred Taoist Merit points.

But an entire millennia-aged turtle shell is huge, really huge.”

Ling Mao glanced and then gestured to Xu Jin, ”The smallest millennia-aged turtle shell I’ve seen was four to five meters in length and width, and the large ones can be over ten meters or even dozens of meters.

They can weigh from several thousand catties to tens of thousands of catties.”

This description left Xu Jin stunned.

At one hundred Taoist Merit points per tael, even the smallest millennia-aged turtle shell would be out of Xu Jin’s reach.

Seeing the look of difficulty on Xu Jin’s face, Ling Mao said, ”Generally speaking, a palm-sized piece of Heart Protecting turtle shell is enough, at most one or two catties. If that’s the size you’re looking for, I might have ways to help Lord Xu acquire some.

But for an entire shell, you’ll first need to prepare sufficient funds, then wait for an opportunity.”

An entire shell, estimated at three thousand catties, would cost at least three million Taoist Merit points. Not to mention Xu Jin couldn’t afford it now, even ten years later, he probably still couldn’t afford it.

The piece of millennia-aged turtle shell needed for the Candou Platform Upgrade couldn’t be that exorbitant, could it?

If it really needed an entire shell, within ten years, he could forget about upgrading the Candou Platform.

After some thought, Xu Jin said to Ling Mao, ”I have not considered this carefully. Since Hall Master Ling has a way, could you help me purchase three pieces about the size of a palm? I have several elders I’d like to honor.”

”Three pieces! That’s a bit much, many Alchemy Masters only purchase one at a time,” said Ling Mao with a look of difficulty.

”This... if not three, then two pieces would also be acceptable.”

”Hmm, I can only say I’ll do my best to help Lord Xu acquire them. If I can’t get enough, please do not blame me.”

”How could I? I’d be too happy to have your help.”

A few minutes later, Xu Jin left the Foreign Affairs Hall.

Most of his business at the Foreign Affairs Hall today had been accomplished.

He had some leads on the millennia-aged turtle shell; it was just a matter of how much the Candou Platform Upgrade would actually require.

Hopefully, it wasn’t an entire shell.

Otherwise, it would truly be a pitfall.

Before leaving, Xu Jin inquired about the situation regarding Star Artifacts with Ling Mao.

The outlook wasn’t good.

Xu Jin’s intention was to obtain one or two more Fourth Tier or even Fifth Tier Star Artifacts.

The power of a Star Artifact was truly formidable. If used well, it absolutely could turn the tide of battle.

Previously, Xu Jin had already proven the might of the Star Artifact, Chaotic Star Pendant, despite being only of the Fourth Tier.

However, the news he received from Vice Hall Master Ling Mao was that the Foreign Affairs Hall never sold Fourth Tier Star Artifacts, nor did they have any.

Compared to the so-called military control of other materials such as Star Fallen Iron, the control over Star Artifacts was even stricter.

Many Artifact Refining Masters needed to consume a vast amount of materials in the early stages.

This was actually a common requirement.

Mid-High Tier Alchemists, Emblem Masters, and Artifact Refining Masters—pouring the wealth of one’s own family into a clan might not guarantee the emergence of a Mid-High Tier Master.

In addition to the massive material support, various heritages were also crucial.

Therefore, most of the Mid-High Tier Masters were officially cultivated and had certain requirements. Almost all of their output was given priority to be sold to the National Taoist Institute.

Of course, the most important point was the high difficulty and low output rate.

Simply put, supply did not meet demand.

The general source was official rewards; exchanging within the Star-picking Tower meant facing exorbitant prices.

There were occasional appearances at auctions, of course.

But as soon as they appeared, they would fetch astronomical prices.

Generally speaking, the starting price for an ordinary Fourth Tier Star Artifact was two thousand strands of Starlight, and it was even higher at auctions.

The key point was, even with money, it wasn’t necessarily possible to buy one.

Power, status, information, wealth—all nearly equal—then there might be a chance to obtain a Star Artifact.

Now, Xu Jin had a rough understanding of the true value of the Fourth Tier Star Artifact, Chaotic Star Pendant, rewarded to him by the State Preceptor.

It was probably starting at five thousand strands of Starlight.

Especially the Chaotic Star Skill, if it were to hit the auction, would likely fetch an astronomical price.

However, Ling Mao did provide Xu Jin with a direction. In contrast, the circulation of Star Artifacts on the Galaxy Battlefield was more abundant.

Many people got their Star Artifacts from the Galaxy Battlefield.