Modern World's Martial Dao Human Immortal

Chapter 156 Encounter

Zong Yan, Kong Xuan, and Xie Yushu had left, and Alkaid's life once again entered its normal course.

He had no relatives or close friends here, and his only acquaintance, the Hundred Refinements Sect, had not provided pleasant interactions, mainly due to Huang Yunqi.

As for social interactions...

He suddenly found himself in circles too lofty, frequented by great cultivators.

And in the Nine Cauldrons Sect, which was teeming with initiatives, wasn't every great cultivator holding a significant position?

None came to him for casual conversation.

Therefore, he focused on Artifact Refining, aiming to earn enough spirit stones and gather enough experience first.

...

"The Nine Cauldrons Sect is very efficient with payments."

Alkaid smiled slightly.

He briefly perceived the gold foil in his storage bag that represented his account balance...

"Total assets have exceeded three hundred thousand."

Alkaid thought to himself.

Three hundred thousand spirit stones!

What a staggering amount of money.

"If all these spirit stones were invested in one person, apart from valuing talent in Divine Refinement and Qi Refinement, anyone with a talent score of 60 could be pushed to become a great cultivator in ten years. If the talent score were 80 and of superior grade, the time could be compressed to three to five years.

Moreover, if I were to buy elixirs, given my advantage of not having to consider cultivation realms, I could directly cultivate a Fifth Rank Divine Demon Body and easily withstand the Purple Cloud Divine Thunder in the Primordial Spirit aspect."

However, Alkaid had no intention of buying elixirs.

He did not even plan to buy some as a reserve.

The alchemy of the Nine Cauldrons Sect...

Common elixirs and spirit pills were acceptable, but the treasure pills had such poor refining technology that the elixirs produced contained varying degrees of pill poisoning. Consuming too many would do more harm than good.

To buy nearly poison-free treasure pills, one could only shop from places like the Ascendant Tower, Plucking Stars Tower, Divine Beast Pavilion, and Great Sun Tower.

Like the treasures, these places charged a stunning premium for treasure pills consumed by great cultivators.

Rather than letting these forces profit unwarrantedly from the spirit stones he had earned, he would rather wait.

In case a branch of Alchemy developed later, why worry about not having treasure pills for cultivation.

As Alkaid was tallying his gains, a voice from outside, Xiang Guangming, reached him.

"Chief, Master Rose has arrived."

"Oh, please come in."

Alkaid called out.

Under the guidance of Xiang Guangming, Purple Rose entered, holding several jade talismans in her hand.

Glancing at the workbench activated beside Alkaid, she smiled and raised the jade talismans in her hand: "Take a look?"

"What are they?"

"Some modifications for the Purple Cloud Model Twelve Flying Sword formation patterns,"

Purple Rose said.

"Hmm?"

Alkaid took the jade talismans, somewhat surprised, "Aren't you an array master? You understand Artifact Refining too?"

"My official level in arrays is Fifth Rank One Star, and in Artifact Refining, it's Fourth Level Two Stars,"

Purple Rose explained.

Upon hearing this, Alkaid looked at her with a bit of astonishment.

Fifth Rank One Star in arrays meant she could set up initial Fifth Rank formations.

Fourth Level Two Stars in Artifact Refining indicated she could craft Second Generation interior grade spiritual artifacts.

Moreover, looking at Purple Rose dressed like a twenty-something-year-old girl, her cultivation had already reached the Primordial Spirit Realm!

Although she must have been in her thirties or forties, such an age for a great cultivator...

was absolutely genius!

True genius!

"Miss Purple Rose, you truly are talented and exceptional. I reckon you already hold the position of an elder in various halls. I apologize for any oversight."

Alkaid sincerely expressed.

"Chief Alkaid, you flatter me. Compared to you, what are my modest achievements? If you were to take an exam for an Artifact Refining title, you could directly achieve a Sixth Level Three Stars result. I fear less than ten artifact refiners in the entire Nine Cauldrons Sect possess such ability,"

Purple Rose remarked.

"A count on two hands?"

Alkaid blinked, surprised, "Less than ten people?"

"Yes."

Purple Rose nodded her head, "Generally, after being able to craft superior grade spiritual artifacts, artifact refiners tend to focus more on crafting treasures, hence many either stay at Sixth Level One Star or jump directly to Seventh Level One Star, representing a grandmaster of Artifact Refining."

Alkaid showed understanding.

Compared to a master artifact refiner capable of crafting Third Generation superior grade spirit swords, the Nine Cauldrons Sect needed more grandmasters of Artifact Refining.

Spiritual artifacts were minor; magical treasures were truly crucial national assets.

"I came here because Master Dong Liu of the Eastern Sea School showed me the Purple Cloud Model Twelve Flying Sword you crafted. He believes that your flying sword still has room for improvement..."

Purple Rose spoke, quickly adding, "I do not mean to doubt your Artifact Refining skills. Any Sixth Level Three Stars artifact refiner could not fault you in terms of Artifact Refining Technology, but... in terms of formation patterns, the Purple Cloud Model Twelve Flying Sword could have a better design.

If it could be further optimized in this aspect, the Purple Cloud Model Twelve could even step into the realm of Fourth Generation interior grade spiritual swords, by then, it could allow us to carve out a share in the Fourth Generation spiritual artifact market monopolized by the Limitless Star Palace and the Immortal Alliance."

"You mean, for external sale?"

Alkaid quickly grasped the implication.

"Correct. Third Generation flying swords have already achieved world-leading standards with strong market competitiveness. But the Third Generation market is saturated. If the Purple Cloud Model Twelve truly wants to break through in the interior grade spiritual artifact market, the best strategy is to strike from the Fourth Generation market!

By leveraging the hype of Fourth Generation flying swords, to speak nothing of far-fetched objectives, we could definitely secure the market of the Heavenly Star Continent."

Purple Rose stated with confidence.

With that, a new world opened up for Alkaid.

Indeed, his flying swords could not only be sold within the Nine Cauldrons Sect but also to other sects.

Spiritual artifacts were not as strictly prohibited from sale as treasures.

Simply requiring slight adjustments or leaving small backdoors would prevent purchasers from using these flying swords to threaten the Nine Cauldrons Sect.

Moreover, Fourth Generation flying swords were rare...

Raising the profit margin to 30%, or even 40%, 50%, wouldn't be excessive, would it?

At that moment, Alkaid took the jade talisman from Purple Rose and projected it from the workbench, examining it closely.

He didn't understand formations, but when he embedded the formation patterns supplied by Purple Rose into the Purple Cloud Model Twelve Flying Sword, he recognized the improvement potentials of the Purple Cloud Model Twelve.

It was as if some sort of shackle had been broken, the upper limit of Purple Cloud 12 had suddenly been raised a notch.

Next, he only needed to modify Purple Cloud 12 by filling up those limits.

As Alkaid pondered, Purple Rose waited quietly.

Without the slightest hint of rushing him.

After several hours, Alkaid opened his eyes and confidently gave an accurate reply, "It can be changed!"

"Really?"

Purple Rose looked at Alkaid with some surprise.

"Hmm."

Alkaid nodded, "However, I think that fitting these formation patterns should not start from the fourth level, but directly from the sixth level of formations. Then, the heavier version of Purple Cloud 12, namely Purple Cloud 12B, can be further improved. At that time, its performance could even rival that of a First Generation Treasure."

"Rival a First Generation Treasure!"

Purple Rose couldn't help but widen her eyes.

"Hmm, I'm confident."

Alkaid said.

Even the Fourth Generation Flying Swords were not the limit of his mastered information.

If he spent a bit more time and effort, advancing to the unprecedented Fifth Generation Flying Sword wouldn't be unthinkable.

"I need to ask my father... the Hall Master..."

Purple Rose continued, "But if the Fourth Generation Flying Swords really have the performance you mentioned, such revolutionary Spirit Swords definitely cannot be sold externally… So, for external sales, we should still prioritize Interior Grade Spiritual Artifacts."

When she had finished, she added, "Moreover, we must consider the purchasing power of other sects. Compared to superior-grade flying swords that are better in performance but also more expensive, they value cost-effectiveness more."

"Is that so?"

Alkaid frowned.

The profits from selling Superior Grade Spiritual Artifacts were undoubtedly higher than those from Interior Grade.

However...

Purple Rose had studied Purple Cloud 12 for several months before tentatively proposing a plan.

This was because she had studied Artifact Refining as well.

Had it been another Array Master...

Unless his Artifact Refining skills reached the Sixth Level, who knows how long it would take to make a suggestion.

Considering that the orders for Purple Cloud 12 were already completed, and there were only orders for four hundred units of the improved Purple Cloud 12, Alkaid then said, "I will first study how to optimize Purple Cloud 12 up to the Fourth Generation, and determine in which aspects to create variations for the export model."

"Okay."

Purple Rose nodded her head.

She also had to report this news upwards.

After Purple Rose left, Alkaid seemed to think of something suddenly and slapped his forehead, "That was rash."

This move might increase his responsibilities yet again.

Had he known that there was hope to improve Purple Cloud 12 to the power rivaling a First Generation Treasure and that the improved B model Flying Sword wouldn't be willingly sold, he would not have guaranteed so much.

Shaking his head, he still focused his mind and turned his gaze to the formation patterns on the workbench.

At the same time, he projected the design diagram of Purple Cloud 12 Flying Sword, which had been collecting dust for half a year.

However, his improvements lasted only a moment as he seemed to sense something and his heart stirred.

"Such a large scene?"

The next moment, from the "Sky Net" talent derived from the Artifact Refining branch, his thought and perception seemed to directly span the tens of thousands of miles between the workbench and the East Sea Archipelago, appearing in a sea area not far from Posuo Island.

To be precise...

It appeared over several Flying Swords.

"Hmm!? Friends again."

...

Three thousand miles west of Posuo Island in the Eastern Sea.

Yun Qing, leading Zhan Yunfei, was rapidly controlling their swords, while constantly calling other squads through the Heavenly Palace Cultivator relay, "We've found a nest! We've spotted an enemy nest! Thirty-two High Rank Sword Cultivators! Repeat, thirty-two High Rank Sword Cultivators gathered!"

As he spoke, he confidently said, "Gathering so many elite High Rank Sword Cultivators here, they surely have an unspeakable purpose!"

"Captain Yun Qing, four squads are currently converging towards your location. In one minute, the Divine Sense of Hall Master Bai Lu will arrive and cover you. Please gather manpower to coordinate with Hall Master Bai Lu for the counterattack!"

Soon, he heard the command from the rear command center in his ear.

"Counterattack? The enemy also has Primordial Spirit Realm Cultivators! Our twenty people fight against their thirty-two!?"

Yun Qing was somewhat astonished.

"Trust the swords in your hands!"

The command center spoke up, leaving no room for him to refuse, "Now connecting to Black Hawk Squad, Falcon Squad..."

"The swords in our hands!"

Yun Qing looked at the Flying Sword in his hand, which was said to be of the improved Purple Cloud 12 type.

So far, it seemed that only four hundred swords had been produced, with less than two hundred people successfully refining them for use.

But, as the data on this Flying Sword flashed through his mind...

"Purple Cloud 12 has already given us a significant advantage in previous battles, as an improved model of Superior Grade Spiritual Artifact..."

Yun Qing quickly made up his mind.

The order had already been issued, leaving them no room for refusal.

"Black Hawk, Falcon... converge on me... prepare to meet the enemy!"

Yun Qing swiftly entered the communication channels of the other four teams.

"Understood!"

Soon, responses from others reached his ears.

Before long, at the horizon, streaks of sword light cut through the clouds, appearing in the view of Yun Qing, Zhan Yunfei, Tu Hong, and Zhang Lie.

"How should we fight?"

"The enemy has numerical advantage, should we leverage our speed advantage?"

"Hey, I just love this kind of intense battle!"

One voice after another rose in the virtual channel under the jurisdiction of the Void Divine Realm.

However, before they could finalize their strategy, a powerful Divine Sense enveloped the void like a massive net.

"I am Bai Lu."

The Divine Sense released information, and then without any pause, "Follow my command, 27 degrees east, coordinates 177:816:291, everyone, strike with full force! I will guide you, destroy the enemy!"