Chapter 145: Such an Expensive Useless Relic! (Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets Requested)

"Fair enough, let's skip it. If I keep looking, I'm bound to go crazy. Damn, this one's even more insane: a purely female-inhabited habitable planet for sale, going for just 13,000 Cosmic Coins!" Blue Sky imagined tens of millions of women swarming toward him, and his face instantly paled in terror.

They say three women make a crowd; with tens or hundreds of millions of women, who knows what kind of chaos would ensue...

Next, ignoring Bai's suggestion to search for elemental combat skills, Blue Sky locked his keywords directly onto "Arcane Techniques." In the next second, whether in the sales or request sections, all information vanished completely, leaving the entire light screen empty.

"No way... Not a single piece of information on arcane techniques?!" Blue Sky was dumbfounded. He knew arcane techniques were precious, but surely not to this extent, right?

In the vast territory of the human race, not a single trade for an arcane technique existed?

"Heh, I told you already. Arcane techniques are restricted-level entities. The Virtual Universe Network operates entirely under real-name verification; absolutely no one would or dare to sell them. The target is simply too prominent. Even if someone genuinely wanted to sell an arcane technique, it would be impossible to trade it on the Virtual Universe Network. Do you understand?" Bai explained. "Think about it, if a person were truly wealthy enough to sell an arcane technique, would they lack other fine treasures? Would they dare to expose themselves?"

"In the universe, there are only four ways to acquire an arcane technique. The first and most dangerous is venturing into secret realms or minor worlds to take risks, where one has a chance to obtain arcane techniques left behind by predecessors. My former master acquired his arcane techniques this way. The second way is to pledge allegiance to a major faction. Major factions generally possess arcane techniques—likely quite a number of them—but you must contribute sufficiently to the faction to exchange for them. As for this contribution, hehe, I don't need to tell you, you probably already know it's basically akin to risking your life. The third way, much like you, is through inheritance or catching the eye of a powerful figure who takes you as a disciple and imparts arcane techniques to you."

"Of course, don't think that simply becoming the disciple of a mighty figure guarantees you an arcane technique. First, you can never be certain whether the mighty figure you bow to actually masters any arcane techniques. Second, powerful figures are human too, and humans have biases. If you possess high talent, an agreeable personality, and deeply please the master, they might impart an arcane technique to you the moment they take you in. However, it is equally possible that despite taking you as a disciple, they will still put you through gradual trials, passing down techniques layer by layer. If your luck is bad, they might never impart an arcane technique to you at all."

"Alright, the way you put it makes me feel like all your master's wealth combined probably isn't as precious as the Nameless Cultivation Technique!" Blue Sky thought to himself with quiet joy, then asked in confusion, "Right, didn't you say there are four methods in total? That's only three. What's the last one?"

"Heh, as for this final method, it's creating your own arcane techniques. The universe has never yet witnessed anyone below the realm of Immortal Divinity capable of creating their own arcane techniques, so..." Bai left the sentence unfinished, giving Blue Sky a sidelong glance whose meaning was self-evident.

"...You must think I have time to spare, inventing my own arcane techniques. Up to now, I've only cultivated the *Soul Suppression Pagoda*, and there are still several arcane techniques in the Nameless Cultivation Technique waiting for me to practice slowly. No joke at all, I feel like I'm truly a mega-typhoon of wealth, haha! I reckon my collection of arcane techniques could rival an entire major faction!" Blue Sky said with a smile.

"Pfft!" Bai let out a scoff and said, "A mere Nebula-grade rookie thinking of rivaling a major faction? You must have cultivated your brains out..."

"Come on, can't I just talk big for a moment!" Blue Sky said with a darkened face. This Bai only ever knew how to cut him down!

"Short of reaching Immortal Divinity, no matter what kind of faction you build, it's nothing more than a flock of chickens and dogs. But once you reach Immortal Divinity, even if you don't wish to form a faction yourself, numerous factions will fight and scramble to pledge allegiance to you. Work hard, young man! Immortal Divinity is your ultimate goal; everything else is illusory!" Bai seized the opportunity to brainwash him.

"Nonsense, save your breath, of course I know," Blue Sky scolded with a smile. "Alright, enough chatter, let me check out elemental combat skills."

"Mn, there are no arcane techniques, but there should be plenty of elemental combat skills traded here. Have a look," Bai nodded. "Just don't set your expectations too high. Some high-tier elemental combat skills are actually not much inferior to arcane techniques, and their prices are absurdly expensive. You'd better mentally prepare yourself."

"Besides, elemental combat skills are... how should I put it? Unlike arcane techniques—where top-tier ones like the *Soul Suppression Pagoda* can already be practiced when you are at the Starlight grade—elemental combat skills require your cultivation level to support them. If your cultivation is insufficient, you can't even begin to cultivate them at all."

"Actually, you could also ask Qipeng for his elemental combat skills to practice. Although they are the most basic, common street-tier goods, they are sufficient for your current cultivation level. As for anything higher—to hit you with some harsh truth—you probably couldn't cultivate them anyway..."

"Then why are you making me look?! Are you messing with me?!" Blue Sky's face darkened once more.

"Haha, not necessarily. There are also some mid-to-high-tier elemental combat skills that don't have such stringent cultivation requirements. However, the prices for those kinds of skills tend to be rather steep. Take a look first; maybe with good luck, you can snag a bargain," Bai laughed.

Following that, Blue Sky changed his search keyword to "Low-tier Elemental Combat Skills," and dense rows of sales and purchase listings immediately appeared on the light screen.

"Tier-2 Metal Elemental Combat Skill *Golden Extreme Sword*, Minimum cultivation requirement: Stellar grade. Can transform cosmic astral energy into metal-edged swords, executing enemies from a thousand miles away. Price: 5 million Cosmic Coins."

"Unranked, Non-elemental Combat Skill *Breath Concealment Technique*, Minimum cultivation requirement: Starlight grade. Can conceal the aura of one's entire cultivation level. Enemies within two tiers above the user cannot probe the user's true cultivation level. Price: 1.2 million Cosmic Coins."

"Tier-1 Fire Elemental Combat Skill *Radiant Sun*, Minimum cultivation requirement: Nebula grade. Can transform cosmic astral energy into scorching flames, coatable onto various divine weapons. Price: 1 million Cosmic Coins."

"Unranked, Non-elemental Combat Skill *Invisibility Technique*, Minimum cultivation requirement: Starlight grade. Can simulate the surrounding environment using cosmic astral energy, covering the entire body to achieve an invisibility effect. Ineffective against those above the Starlight grade. Price: 3,000 Cosmic Coins."

"Tier-3 Water Elemental Combat Skill *Glacial Mantra*, Minimum cultivation requirement: Planetary grade. Can refine cosmic astral energy into a glacial source, stimulating endless cold qi with extremely low temperatures. Price: 13 million Cosmic Coins."

...

"Tier-1 Water Elemental Combat Skill *Soft Light Slash*, Minimum cultivation requirement: Planetary grade. Can stimulate cosmic astral energy to form a cold gleam for attacks. Price: 900,000 Cosmic Coins."

Browsing through the low-tier elemental combat skills roughly, leaving aside the eccentric *Invisibility Technique*, and aside from the *Breath Concealment Technique* offering some convenience, Blue Sky concluded the rest were essentially expensive, useless chicken ribs!