Chapter 744: The Price of Knowledge and the Bargain of Life

The items brought out by the master of the Pure White Tower weren’t many, but every single one was exactly what the Ashura Emperor had just asked for.

An eighth-tier Chaotic Blood Heart.

One eighth-tier Wizard’s Mana Training Chamber.

Three seventh-tier Wizard’s Mana Training Chambers.

Fifty sixth-tier Wizard’s Mana Training Chambers.

Three tier-seven Silver Apples.

A wisp of the black Fireseed Artifact — Abyssal Demonflame.

……

The Ashura Emperor’s gaze swept across the items one by one, sending a real-time report of everything to Song Chi.

Instantly, Song Chi’s interest was piqued.

Setting aside those three Silver Apples, the rest were exactly what he needed.

Following his signal, the Ashura Emperor met Wayne Green’s distant gaze and said:

“At present, my master can only bring out two seventh-tier Timeworld Fruits. How many of these would you be willing to exchange for them?”

“Of course, you can leave out the Silver Apples.”

During the previous three hundred years of secluded cultivation, the Cultivation Sanctuary’s Timeworld Tree produced one more seventh-tier Timeworld Fruit, so now he held three in reserve.

Song Chi’s plan was to keep one as a backup, in case the Heavenly Ruin failed to get another mature seventh-tier Timeworld Fruit before making the push for the Star River-class Battleship.

Even if another fruit ripened down the line, Whitebrow had been promised one in advance, so that one would go to him.

After the Ashura Emperor finished speaking, the reception room fell silent for dozens of seconds.

Wayne Green closed his eyes again, calculating the value and logistics of trading for each item.

Half a minute later, he gave his answer.

“How about all the Mana Training Chambers, plus that Abyssal Demonflame?”

……

Over at the Omniverse Market, Song Chi mulled it over, not rushing to reply.

‘The Wizard’s Mana Training Chambers are something my family and I sorely need, but since they’re a standard product of the Witcher Civilization, I can just focus on getting the eighth-tier one first…’

Following his transmission, the Ashura Emperor quickly responded:

“The eighth-tier Chaotic Blood Heart, the black Abyssal Demonflame, and the eighth-tier Mana Training Chamber!”

Both parties haggled back and forth for quite a while. In the end, though the Pure White Tower side conceded to all their demands — bringing out the Chaotic Blood Heart, the eighth-tier Mana Training Chamber, and the Abyssal Demonflame — the Ashura Emperor in turn had to offer an extra sixth-tier Timeworld Fruit.

Don’t think a sixth-tier Timeworld Fruit is a small concession — for any being below the Sovereign realm, an item that allows you to directly achieve small success in the Law of Time is nearly priceless, and that goes for Witchers too.

Time and space — ever wonder why time is always mentioned before space?

Both are supreme laws of the Sea of Stars, but one is harder to grasp than the other. Comprehending the Law of Time is far more difficult than the Law of Space.

That’s why so few beings in the Sea of Stars walk the path of time — they’re truly as rare as phoenix feathers.

Just setting foot on this law is like climbing to heaven itself.

……

After striking the deal, the Ashura Emperor didn’t rush to leave, but instead continued:

“Lord of the Pure White Tower, since you can bring out so many Mana Training Chambers at once, you must have a unique source. Would your tower be interested in a long-term trade agreement?”

“The Wizard’s Mana Training Chamber is a high-tier auxiliary device co-developed by several major powers of the Witcher Civilization. Each round of production is limited…”

Seeing the other side about to refuse outright, the Ashura Emperor quickly interrupted:

“Please, Lord of the Pure White Tower, don’t be hasty! At least hear out my master’s sincerity first!”

As he spoke, the Dimensional Spatial Stone in his hand flared again. Then, out of thin air, a silver token appeared.

“This is the Market-Walking Token. With this token, you can freely enter the Omniverse Market every month and trade with beings from every galactic cluster in the limitless Sea of Stars.”

“As for the profits behind these trades, you can ask Brook — he’ll tell you just how valuable this is!”

……

After some enticing words, Song Chi had the Ashura Emperor quiet down and let Wayne Green consider for himself.

After all, the man was a True Spirit Witcher just one step away from the ninth tier, and he knew what he wanted. One nudge might work wonders, but try too hard and it’d only seem desperate.

Sure enough, after some silent thinking, Wayne Green opened his eyes and looked at the Ashura Emperor again.

“It’s possible to set up a long-term deal for the Mana Training Chambers — but what are you offering in return?”

Prepared for this, Song Chi answered through the Ashura Emperor:

“That depends on you. We can provide all sorts of raw materials needed to craft magical potions, including many rare minerals. If that’s not enough, we can offer Quenching Spirit Fruits, Dragonblood Fruits, Law Fruits, even high-quality enslaved creatures from the Floating-lands. Name your price.”

Song Chi put all the resources and power both he and the Song Family of Longji could muster on the table. After hearing his offer, Wayne Green grinned.

“Looking forward to working together!”

Song Chi wasn’t at all surprised by this result.

Between the allure of the Omniverse Market and the resources he and the Song Family could now command, even a true giant like the Pure White Tower Witcher Alliance could hardly remain indifferent.

Not to mention, the drift of Quenching Spirit Fruits and a horde of high-quality enslaved creatures would be nearly impossible for them to turn down.

The Witcher Civilization is founded on meditation; they strengthen their spirits to control endless knowledge and, in turn, leverage that knowledge for power.

If the Torch Seed and Torch Battleships are the roots of the Torch Human Civilization,

then knowledge research and the system of Witcher Towers are the bedrock of Witcher Civilization.

And the main force behind knowledge research, besides the tower system itself, is the mental strength of the Witchers. The Quenching Spirit Fruit is an exceedingly rare resource that directly boosts spirit.

Of course, the Pure White Tower Witcher Alliance surely has its own spiritual boosting resources, but any new kind of soul resource is a big deal for them.

Furthermore, the Witcher Civilization’s armies of enslaved beings are famous across the stars. No matter how many Floating-lands they’ve conquered, high-grade enslaved creatures are always among their most coveted imports.

With this, the two sides struck another agreement. Soon after, the Pure White Tower Witcher Alliance dispatched several sixth-tier Witchers, including a seventh-tier True Spirit Witcher, who traveled to the Omniverse Market alongside Brook Benjamin to continue business.

During this process, the higher-ups of the Pure White Tower quickly gained a deeper understanding of the Omniverse Market. The more they saw, the more excited they became.

Knowledge lies at the core of the Witcher system. The more a Witcher knows, the more powerful they’re likely to become — not always, but at least nine times out of ten.

Of course, knowledge isn’t easy to obtain. It often takes thousands of years for a Witcher organization to amass real wisdom.

So where better to get precious knowledge than a public market where the myriad races of the deep stars gather and trade?

……

Leaving the thoughts of those Pure White Tower Witchers aside, the Ashura Emperor kept up the conversation with Wayne Green in the reception room.

“Tower Master Wayne, I’ve heard much about the renowned magic potions of the Witcher Civilization. Do you, by any chance, have any widely applicable life-extending potions?”

“Or any kind of spirit plant that can be produced in large quantities to prolong life?”

“Something universally useful, mass-producible and can extend life? I’m afraid…”

Wayne Green shook his head before the question was even done, and Song Chi in the Omniverse Market couldn’t help but sigh.

Life-extending items are rare by nature. He’d braced himself for disappointment, but the answer was still frustrating.

Still, he had the Ashura Emperor press on:

“Even if it only works on ordinary beings with no combat power, that’s fine. Side effects aren’t a dealbreaker, as long as they’re not too severe.”

These two new conditions seemed to trigger something in Wayne Green’s memory. His movement to shake his head paused.

A few seconds later, Wayne Green pulled out an item.

A vial — or really, an alchemical potion developed by the Witcher Civilization. Its vivid crimson hue hit the eye with a jolt.

With its eighth-tier power, the Ashura Emperor could clearly detect fresh blood factors in the potion. It wasn’t just colored red; it must have been concocted directly from the blood of some lifeform.

Before the Ashura Emperor could ask, Wayne Green explained on his own.

“This potion is called Crimson Moon. The main ingredient is the blood of the Crimson Blood Clan. By leveraging the vitality within this vampire-like race, it extends life.”

“Crimson Moon comes in low, middle, and high grades. Low grade can prolong life by fifty years, mid grade by two hundred, and high grade by five hundred. However, it only works on tier-zero beings. Once taken, your genes can never evolve or awaken further — you’ll never be able to break through again. Also, no matter the grade, each person can only use it once.”

To most denizens of the Sea of Stars, the side effects Wayne Green listed would be utterly unacceptable. But from what the Ashura Emperor relayed, Song Chi’s reaction was the opposite.

He actually looked even more interested.

After all, this life-extension potion wasn’t meant for the Torch Captains under the Song Family’s command, but for their essential research staff.

Given their current circumstances, anyone who could awaken the Torch Seed and make an effort would get advancement opportunities. Once promoted to tier-two, their lifespan was three hundred years — there wasn’t much need to burn resources on extending their lives.

Anyone with talent would never stop at tier-two. Only those who stalled would get stuck there. And for the Song Family, they only needed those at tier-six or tier-seven as real backbone. What use cultivating the stuck ones?

From the start, Song Chi had always sought life-prolonging resources for those researchers in the clan who never awakened any power. They handled the most vital projects, though they gained no combat through the Torch Seed.

Take, for instance, the complete set of production data for the Truth Mechanica Behemoth and the incomplete Truth Mechanica Battle Star: all these required the clan’s research staff to have enough years to finish them.

Imagine nearly finishing a crucial breakthrough only to have the lead scientist die of old age mid-project — suddenly, all that work goes down the drain. It’s enough to make anyone’s head ache.

This wasn’t an isolated case, either. Over the past centuries, research academies under the Song Family had repeatedly suffered setbacks like these, badly hampering progress.

Sure, you could swap out a project leader, and data logs tracked every step, but new leaders and researchers always needed time to catch up — to digest the theories, the logic, and all the earlier mistakes.

That’s why nearly every research project slowed down far more than anyone wanted.

When it comes to a massive project like building a seventh-tier Truth Mechanica Behemoth or the star-devouring Truth Mechanica Battle Star, you feel every day lost.

Faced with this, there’s only one answer: extend the researchers’ lives.

Wayne Green was surprised to see that the Ashura Emperor showed zero concern for the Crimson Moon potion’s side effects — but then excitement took over.

The Crimson Moon potion was a recent invention by the Pure White Tower Witcher Alliance. They’d poured resources into its research, yet with the finished product usable only by tier-zero beings, its value had been slashed.

But if a deal went through now, it wouldn’t be an instant windfall, but at least the investment could be recouped over time — with enough sales, it could even turn a profit.

Of course, the side effects meant they couldn’t make a fortune overnight, but the Pure White Tower Witcher Alliance’s Research Division could use that income to fund further magic potion breakthroughs.

……

Dragon Spine Continent in the Chipan Galaxy.

Song Family Internal Affairs Hall, Research Division.

First Research Academy.

“Have you heard? The family’s gotten their hands on an all-new life-extension potion through special channels.”

“They say it’ll let regular folks like us live for decades, maybe even a hundred years more.”

“Really? No way!”

“Swear to it! My uncle’s the deputy director of the Second Academy. He says the highest-grade potion can extend your life by five hundred years!”

“I have to hurry and exchange for one. I’ve racked up tons of clan merit over the years as it is!”