The octagonal pagoda had five floors. Except for the first floor, which was a vast, empty hall, the remaining four floors stored immense quantities of immortal treasures, spiritual pills, elixirs, cultivation techniques, divine abilities, and various precious materials.
Zhang Fan, already possessing abundant immortal treasures and cultivation techniques, directly headed to the third floor.
Within the expansive hall stood rows of wooden shelves, laden with countless jade bottles and treasure boxes. These containers held various immortal-grade spiritual pills and elixirs.
The hall's walls were densely inscribed with formation patterns, and a spirit-gathering formation was active, maximizing the preservation of the elixirs' potency.
Immortal-grade spiritual pills, rarely seen elsewhere, were commonplace on these shelves.
"Silver Dragon Grass, requires thirteen hundred military merits."
"True Dragon Blood, one drop requires three thousand military merits."
"Three Revolutions Profound Origin Pill, eight thousand military merits per bottle?"
Zhang Fan browsed through the dazzling array of spiritual pills and immortal elixirs on the shelves, musing that the Zi Xiao Star Domain was indeed exorbitant. Silver Dragon Grass, a common immortal herb, was not particularly precious, yet its price here was nearly equivalent to an ordinary immortal treasure.
Despite his thoughts, Zhang Fan understood that in the Star River Battlefield, spiritual pills and elixirs could indeed be rarer than immortal treasures. After all, they were consumables. For cultivators honing their skills in the Star River Battlefield, power enhancement was paramount; immortal treasures were merely tools to suffice.
In a short while, Zhang Fan found what he needed.
"Nine Bends Origin Nurturing Grass, thirty stalks."
"Profound Origin Blackwood Root, thirty stalks."
With these two immortal herbs as the main components, Zhang Fan also selected over a hundred other heavenly medicines as auxiliary materials for refining the Nascent Soul Origin Nurturing Pill. Although high-grade heavenly medicines were cheaper, their sheer quantity added up to a formidable sum. The cost of medicinal materials alone exceeded eighty thousand military merits for Zhang Fan.
After making his selections, Zhang Fan proceeded to the fifth floor to choose some auxiliary materials for refining the Blood Refining Divine Weapon, in conjunction with the Flame Devouring Fire Essence Stone. Since its creation, the Blood Refining Divine Weapon had been of the highest heavenly treasure tier. Over the years, accompanying Zhang Fan in countless battles and absorbing the essence blood of numerous powerful cultivators, its might had increased. However, for his current strength, it was still somewhat insufficient.
Upon exiting the octagonal pagoda, Zhang Fan held his battle token, sensing the change in his internal military merits, and felt a pang of regret. As his strength grew, the resources he consumed became increasingly terrifying. He had started with two hundred and eight thousand military merits, and in such a short period, he had expended nearly half. He noted that this sum of over two hundred thousand military merits could have been exchanged for around a hundred ordinary immortal treasures.
Returning to his cultivation chamber, Zhang Fan laid out the dense array of medicinal herbs. A rich fragrance immediately filled the entire chamber, bringing a sense of relief to his spirit. After a brief period of meditation and calming his mind, Zhang Fan quickly entered his focused state.
As arrays of formation discs flew from Zhang Fan's palms, scattering around the chamber, his hand seals became intricate. Waves of light spread from the formation discs, soon enveloping the entire chamber. The Myriad Beast Cauldron's use involved significant risk, and even within the war base, Zhang Fan had to be cautious. Despite his current strength, he was not considered top-tier in this advanced star domain.
After completing his preparations, Zhang Fan retrieved the Myriad Beast Cauldron from his astral space. Its pitch-black body was adorned with countless beast carvings, each rendered with lifelike detail. Some beasts bore ferocious visages, while others had eyes brimming with divine wisdom.
*Boom!*
A scorching flame erupted from the cauldron. Zhang Fan methodically tossed in the spiritual herbs, one by one. Under the precise control of his powerful divine soul, he began to extract the essence from each herb. The Nascent Soul Origin Nurturing Pills he was now refining were top-tier immortal spiritual pills, intended for his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm. Not only was the quantity immense, but the refining process was also extremely complex. The extraction step alone was a lengthy endeavor, with over a hundred types of spiritual herbs totaling more than a thousand individual plants, making it dozens of times more complex than any pill he had refined previously.
Meanwhile, Nan Zun and Xue Mo Jiao, upon their return to the war base, had also exchanged a considerable amount of spiritual pills and treasures from the octagonal pagoda. After months of secluded cultivation, both had made advancements in their strength.
Presently, by the decisive battle arena of the war base, True Immortal Pu Ji was surrounded by numerous cultivators eager to join his team. True Immortal Pu Ji was already formidable, ranking among the absolute top of the Five-Star Generals. Now, his rating had been set as a Six-Star General, making it extremely easy for him to recruit teammates. After all, following such a captain on expeditions offered greater opportunities for military merits and a higher chance of survival. However, True Immortal Pu Ji had stringent recruitment conditions, requiring a minimum strength of a Three-Star Warrior. Even so, after announcing this requirement, his team was fully recruited in less than half a day.
"Not bad. You've been recognized as a Two-Star Warrior, almost catching up to me from half a year ago," Xue Mo Jiao boisterously clapped the Pang brothers on their shoulders and laughed heartily. He and Nan Zun now possessed the strength of Three-Star Warriors. While not weak, they were still among the lower ranks within the team. Fortunately, with the Pang brothers at the bottom, Xue Mo Jiao felt less embarrassed. Facing Xue Mo Jiao's relentless mockery, the Pang brothers could only exchange helpless smiles. Despite their diligent efforts and substantial resource expenditure, achieving this in just half a year was commendable. However, the number of powerful cultivators in the Star River Battlefield was simply too great; those in the Nascent Soul realm were considered the lowest tier.
"Captain, our team is now full. When do we plan to set out on an expedition?" a burly Four-Star General asked, standing beside True Immortal Pu Ji.
"No rush," True Immortal Pu Ji shook his head, his gaze drifting towards Zhang Fan's cultivation chamber. He spoke softly, "Fellow Daoist Shi Jue has been in seclusion for nearly half a year. It seems he won't emerge until he breaks through to the Nascent Soul realm. I had intended to pay him a visit before our expedition, but it seems that opportunity is lost."
Upon mentioning the name True Immortal Shi Jue, a hint of reverence appeared on the faces of all the team members. Although True Immortal Shi Jue had only been at the war base for a short time, less than a year, he was undoubtedly one of the most renowned powerful figures in the base. Even some veteran Marquis-ranked cultivators might not be his match. After all, a cultivator who, at the God Refining realm, mastered the true intent of the Great Dao and was bestowed the title of Marquis was extremely rare in the history of this war base. Considering such talent, one could only imagine the level of strength he would attain upon reaching the Nascent Soul realm.