"We need crystal cores." Hearing the anxious inquiries from members of the super-powered families about how to purchase them, Wang Yanran spoke up at this moment.
Crystal cores?
What are those?
Seeing the puzzled looks exchanged among the crowd, Wang Yanran pulled out the crystal core Ye Chuan had temporarily entrusted to her from her pocket.
"This—rare materials found inside monsters. Every monster has a chance to drop them, though the probability isn't very high."
The crystal core resting in Wang Yanran's palm emitted a faint glow, causing some of the super-powered individuals to suddenly recall—they had seen this material before, though they had handed it over to the alliance for research.
"Ten crystal cores can be exchanged for a Level 9 transformation device, and three can get you a Level 5 one," Wang Yanran announced. "Limited stock available."
Ten!
"Ten doesn’t seem like much… We can buy them… There might even be opportunities to procure them from rifts abroad." Some of the sharper super-powered individuals quickly grasped the situation, realizing they needed to act fast to gather crystal cores, and promptly excused themselves.
The others, seeing this, also hurriedly left the Wang residence, intending to inform their families and mobilize efforts to collect these materials from monsters in the rifts as quickly as possible.
Soon, all the super-powered individuals had departed, leaving only Wang Nuonuo standing nearby in her armor, resembling an oversized figurine.
"Sis, can I deactivate my transformation now?"
"Mm, go ahead."
The armor dissolved into particles of light and vanished. Wang Nuonuo stared at the transformation device in her hand, her eyes practically sparkling. "Sis, can I keep this?"
"No, Nuonuo," Wang Yanran immediately refused. "This doesn’t belong to us, and you’re still too young to handle this kind of power."
"But I can! I just flattened that uncle earlier!"
"No—"
"Fine." Wang Nuonuo obediently handed over the device, though her eyes darted around mischievously as she watched her sister take it. "Sis, if I collect crystal cores, can I exchange them for a transformation device too?"
"You think it’s that easy to gather them?" Wang Yanran poked her sister’s nose. "Alright, go play in your room."
"Okay, I’m off then."
"Mm."
Meanwhile, Ye Chuan received a message from Wang Yanran—
"Ye Chuan, the news has spread. The families responded very enthusiastically. I’ve heard even super-powered families from other regions are interested, including some from overseas."
Hearing the voice message, Ye Chuan grinned.
This was perfect. Transformation devices that cost him just tens of thousands to produce could be traded for so many crystal cores. The power of numbers truly was immense.
He’d been scraping by, barely managing to extract two cores a day through exhausting effort.
The idea of cultivating an agent had definitely been the right move—it saved him an enormous amount of trouble.
Ye Chuan glanced at the manufacturing interface on his phone and mass-produced several dozen Level 9 transformation devices. To him, these were trivial to make. If they could be traded for crystal cores, it was practically like picking up free loot.
"Ah, this is the life." He checked his tech tree. Though the densely packed skills required a terrifying number of crystal cores, the thought of sitting back and waiting for them to roll in eased his mind considerably.
After organizing his backpack, his gaze landed on the item labeled "Anywhere Door."
[Item: Anywhere Door
Can travel to any visited location, ignoring spatial constraints (3/3)
Rechargeable]
"Could this thing take Qian Shuang back to Tianxuan Continent?" Ye Chuan pondered. If it could go anywhere he’d been, and he’d been to Tianxuan Continent, then logically, it should work.
Especially since it explicitly stated "any space."
A conceptual-level artifact.
"Only three uses left—meaning just one round trip would nearly exhaust it." He tapped his fingers, then noticed the recharge condition: crystal cores.
Both tech-based items and unlocking the tech tree required crystal cores.
"If recharging just needs crystal cores, that’s manageable."
Having settled on this, Ye Chuan decided to test the Anywhere Door’s effects.
A trip to Tianxuan Continent it is.
He pulled the Anywhere Door from his backpack—a simple door that could adhere to any surface like a magnet.
"Take me to Tianxuan Continent, my quarters in Qingyun Sect." Ye Chuan silently willed the destination.
He pulled the door open, revealing a blue glow reminiscent of rift energy, and stepped through.
"..."
The light obscured his vision at first, but as it faded, Ye Chuan looked around and found himself in an unfamiliar place.
The air carried a faint antiseptic smell, with a hint of… urine?
A… restroom.
"A restroom?" Ye Chuan blinked, staring dumbly at the urinals nearby.
Wait, where the hell am I?
This made no sense. Wasn’t this supposed to bypass any space?
Why was he still in the modern world?
There’s no way Qingyun Sect had places like this, right?
A thought struck him. He pulled out his phone and checked his location—only to find himself in Jining, over two thousand kilometers from Haizhu City.
"Huh?"
This was still his modern world, not Qingyun Sect.
Did it malfunction?
Ye Chuan glanced back at the Anywhere Door, then stuck his head through it, confirming the other side led back to his room.
In the end, he returned to his room, closed the door, and stowed it away in his backpack.
[Item: Anywhere Door
Can travel to any visited location, ignoring spatial constraints (2/3)
Rechargeable]
"I don’t get it. I clearly aimed for Qingyun Sect." Ye Chuan scrutinized the Anywhere Door in his inventory. Logically, it shouldn’t fail.
"Could it be because the distance is too great?"
If it couldn’t reach Tianxuan Continent, then taking Bai Qianshuang back might be impossible.
"Or is this thing broken?" He took the Anywhere Door out again, placed it against the wall, and willed another destination—
Luo Xi’s room.
Click. He turned the handle and stepped through.
His vision flickered briefly, and a familiar, delicate fragrance greeted him.
Ye Chuan now stood inside Luo Xi’s room. Nearby, a girl was changing clothes, humming a cheerful tune as she flipped her hair. "I’m a little meow~ a happy starry meow~"
Luo Xi, holding a hair tie in her mouth, suddenly froze when she sensed something and turned around.
Her eyes locked onto Ye Chuan, who stood just a few steps behind her.
Several seconds of silence passed.
"Eh? Chuan?!" Luo Xi yelped in surprise.
"What’s wrong, Xi?" Luo's mother’s voice called from outside the door.