Chapter 1780 (Raw 1792): Preparations
Why exactly did the Black Cutla.s.s ask the Wolf Smoke Pirate Group for help? That was the part of this conflict that Xiao Chen needed to know the most.
He thought for a while before saying, "Chief Manager Ding, I need you to help me with one more thing."
"Young Master Xiao, just speak; there is no need to be polite."
"I would like to know what the Black Cutla.s.s asked the Wolf Smoke Pirate Group for help on."
"This…I"ll do my best, but I cannot guarantee anything."
"Many thanks."
After Ding Yuan left, Xiao Chen continued looking at the Wolf Smoke Pirate Group"s information and thinking about it.
The middle of this month would be the birthday banquet of that Wolf King Jiang Hengchuan.
Counting the days, that was merely ten-odd days away. If he deducted the travel time, he would be left with only eight days to prepare.
After careful consideration, he walked out of the courtyard and went to the market of the Pirate Hall.
Xiao Chen never fought a battle that he had no confidence of winning. He would not act rashly.
Eight days were sufficient for him to make ample preparations.
The Pirate Hall"s market was always a bustling place.
In this place, one might be cheated, or one might get a good deal.
The market was not as formal as an auction house, which meant it contained more possibilities. Hence, a few big spenders would frequently visit such free markets.
Xiao Chen needed some materials—a set of materials that were of a berserk nature and filled with baleful energy yet could be carved.
A mere eight days was not enough to search auction houses. He could only come to the market to try his luck.
As Xiao Chen walked around, his expression appeared rather casual. His eyes gleamed as he checked out the various stalls, not letting anything slip by.
He did not even miss the stalls in the nooks and crannies.
"I"m pretty lucky."
After a while, Xiao Chen revealed a faint smile when he saw a stall that interested him, hoping that he would succeed.
"This little brother, from the moment I laid eyes on you, I can tell that you have especially sharp eyes. This piece of beast bone of mine is the wing bone of the Dragon Shadow Condor, one of the overlords of the ancient sea. Here"s my offer, five hundred thousand Medial Grade Spirit Jades."
The stall owner was a skinny old man with deep and unrevealed cultivation. He was dressed very ordinarily and kept his aura withdrawn. However, Xiao Chen could tell that this was a low-profile Star Venerate.
There was only one treasure in this stall, just the expensive wing bone. Clearly, this old man was waiting for someone with sharp eyes to come and buy it for a good price.
Previously, several youths were interested in his wing bone. However, after hearing the price, they all left cursing, scolding the stall owner for being too greedy.
Xiao Chen knelt down and checked out that wing bone. Then, he spoke unhurriedly in a soft voice.
"The Dragon Shadow Condor was one of the rare bird beasts with dragon blood. What"s more extraordinary was that aside from dragon blood, it also had the bloodline of the Underworld Ghost Bird. For this to survive until now, it was definitely a Sovereign-Personage-level overlord."
As Xiao Chen spoke, he sent a strand of his Spiritual Sense containing Soul Energy into the wing bone.
"Whoos.h.!.+"
A gigantic black condor immediately appeared before his mind"s eye.
The wingspan of that gigantic black condor was three hundred meters. The beast stayed close to the surface of the sea as it flew quickly, kicking up huge waves.
The wind from the flapping wings sounded vaguely like dragon roars, shaking the sea.
What was stranger was that the gigantic black condor"s figure seemed somewhat illusory.
It was like how the Faux G.o.d Flame had been, lying between reality and illusion. Xiao Chen could see some splashes going through the condor"s wings, pa.s.sing through like the wings were air.
It was indeed genuine. The stall owner did not lie.
"This little brother, you have good eyes."
The stall owner"s originally listless eyes immediately brightened. He originally thought that Xiao Chen would be like the other youths who had not recognized what it was.
Unexpectedly, when Xiao Chen spoke, he waxed eloquent about the wonders of the Dragon Shadow Condor.
Xiao Chen withdrew his Spiritual Sense and sighed softly, "Unfortunately, although it is strange and can turn part of its body immaterial, its true offensive power is not comparable to the Nine-Winged Thunder Roc"s. Its ability to immaterialize is also not comparable to the actual Underworld Ghost Bird"s.
The stall owner smiled to himself. This is a good prospect.
This person is now going to bargain.
However, the stall owner really misunderstood. Xiao Chen truly felt that it was unfortunate. If the bone were from a Nine-Winged Thunder Roc or an actual Underworld Ghost Bird, it would be ideal for Xiao Chen"s purposes.
This was barely usable.
Before the stall owner could say anything, Xiao Chen directly handed over a storage ring, which contained exactly five hundred thousand Medial Grade Spirit Jades, no more and no less.
"This…little brother, you are really straightforward."
The stall owner reacted only after being stunned for a while. Without saying much, this deal closed.
This was truly unexpected, causing the stall owner to feel some regret. Was the price too low?
"Please wait!"
Xiao Chen, who already put away the Dragon Shadow Condor"s wing bone, turned around and asked cautiously, "Do you want to back out of the deal?"
"No. This old man"s word is gold."
The stall owner smiled and said, "I still have something to sell. Little brother, how about you check it out first?"
Xiao Chen"s time was limited. Since he already obtained the material that he wanted, he no longer had the patience to remain here.
No matter how precious any other treasure was, he could not use it.
"Never mind, show it to me, then," Xiao Chen said casually.
The stall owner took out a transparent jade bottle containing a liquid that seemed to be blood. Xiao Chen took a look and could not pull his gaze away.
The blood apparently had a demonic nature. As it moved about, it gave off a strange light.
Xiao Chen recovered his wits and looked at the stall owner in amazement. He said, "This is a drop of pure Dragon Shadow Condor essence blood. I"m really curious. Did you hunt down a Dragon Shadow Condor that survived to this age?"
That was an overlord of the sea that equaled a Sovereign Personage. With this old man"s strength, he would not even be sufficient to fill the gaps between its teeth.
Furthermore, the strongest person in the Grave Sea was merely a Holy Venerate.
No Sovereign Personage had appeared for hundreds of years already.
"Naturally, this old man is not that capable. I obtained this drop of Dragon Shadow Condor essence blood after a fortuitous encounter in a forbidden sea."
A forbidden sea?
Xiao Chen frowned slightly. He had once heard Xiao Suo speak about it before.
There were a total of seven forbidden seas in the Great Thousand Realms. These forbidden seas floated independently in the Starry Heavens and were the dreamland of every pirate.
These were seas where the true pirate experts wandered, the true starry seas.
Xiao Chen seemed to connect some clues in his mind. However, he could not capture the crux of it.
"Little brother, what do you think? Do you want this Dragon Shadow Condor essence blood?"
Xiao Chen collected his thoughts and shook his head. "No."
Although this was something good, he really did not need it.
While carving the statues for the Life Bestowal Spell did require essence blood, it only required Xiao Chen"s essence blood.
Xiao Chen"s Azure Dragon bloodline was even more n.o.ble and tyrannical than the Dragon Shadow Condor"s. When used together, his Azure Dragon essence blood would just a.s.similate the Dragon Shadow Condor essence blood.
Hence, using the Dragon Shadow Condor essence blood would be pointless.
The stall owner felt very frustrated. If you don"t need it, just say so earlier instead of waiting for so long. I thought that I could close another big deal.
Xiao Chen was disinclined to pay further attention to the stall owner. He immediately brought the wing bone back to his courtyard.
Then, he entered a secret room and took out a carving knife and started to shape the wing bone seriously.
Xiao Chen"s actions were slow and deliberate. With each cut, his complexion paled noticeably.
In his Soul Pool, the azure-colored dragon seal that represented his will of soul slowly dimmed.
Since Xiao Chen came to the Great Thousand Realms, this was the first time he spent so much effort and focus on carving.
Every stroke was infused with his Soul Energy.
From the first stroke, Xiao Chen infused the item he was carving with Spiritual Energy and spirituality.
Such high-level carving was also a test of his craftsmans.h.i.+p.
Even more so, it was a test of his physical body and soul. If he was not careful, he would suffer a rebound on his soul and hurt his foundations.
Xiao Chen"s movements in the secret room possessed a certain kind of charm.
It was like the entire world slowed down because of his movements.
After seven days, Xiao Chen released seven drops of pure Azure Dragon essence blood. His complexion turned terrifyingly pale.
Previously, no matter what he carved, he would use only one drop of essence blood.
This time, he used an unprecedented seven drops of essence blood, which was the limit of what his physical body could endure.
However, after Xiao Chen did all this, his wan face revealed a rare relaxed smile.
This was already sufficient. The trouble that was the Wolf Smoke Pirate Group was no longer a trouble.
What exactly did Xiao Chen carve for him to be so confident?