22: Chapter 22 Upgrade

Chen Yuan shuddered upon hearing these words.

He quickly waved his hand in refusal; he had no desire to become a monk right now.

He still had the soft and fragrant Bai Weixi waiting for him to conquer her heart.

"Benefactor, as you depart this time, I hope you will protect yourself well. This monk believes we shall meet again."

Having said that, the monk's figure faded and vanished from in front of Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan looked with a grave expression toward the Buddha head on the mountain not far away.

The monks of the Pudu Buddhist Sect came and went without a trace; he had no idea how they cultivated.

"Forget it, important matters come first."

Chen Yuan did not linger here for long.

Everything that had happened here had already occurred in the simulator, so it was not a surprise to him.

However, not long after he left,

a hollow, ethereal sigh echoed from this place once more.

After traveling for another two days, Chen Yuan finally arrived at the boundary between the Western Regions and the Erosion Abyss: the Sea Palace Archipelago!

Although he had already been here in the simulator, Chen Yuan was still shocked by the scene before him.

Tens of thousands of small islands floated in the boundless sea.

And at the harbor stood towering palaces; these must be the Yin Yang Spirit Sea Garden, the top faction here.

One could also see many Sea Clan cultivators traveling about here.

The Human-Dragon Clan possessed a myriad of charms, while the shrimp soldiers and crab generals were majestic and solemn.

Walking here, Chen Yuan felt as if he had arrived at an aquarium.

Following the bustling streets, Chen Yuan headed straight for the market beside the Yin Yang Spirit Sea Garden.

He had just learned that there was a Treasure Pavilion and a Silver Fish Auction House here.

The Treasure Pavilion was backed by the Yin Yang Spirit Sea Garden, while the Silver Fish Auction House was backed by an unknown and mysterious Transformation Deity expert.

Chen Yuan headed straight toward the Treasure Pavilion.

As a faction of the Yin Yang Spirit Sea Garden, the Treasure Pavilion was relatively safer and more reliable.

Currently, Chen Yuan's storage bag contained various pills he had refined on the road over the past few days.

They should fetch at least ten thousand spirit stones.

Arriving at the Treasure Pavilion, this place was indeed different from other locations.

It had a total of nine floors, each representing the strength of the cultivators.

With his Nascent Soul cultivation, Chen Yuan could already enter the sparsely populated fourth floor.

He wondered if any cultivators ever went above the sixth floor.

Chen Yuan still wore a mask, fearing he might attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Right now, he only wanted to earn some spirit stones; he didn't want any unnecessary trouble.

As soon as he entered the fourth floor, a plump female manager approached him.

"Young Master, are you here to purchase items or sell them?"

"I am selling some pills."

Chen Yuan's hoarse voice came from beneath the mask; the voice had naturally been altered by him.

"Very well, please come this way to sell your items."

The young woman politely invited Chen Yuan into a room on the fourth floor.

This made Chen Yuan breathe a sigh of relief; fortunately, he hadn't encountered any of those cliché plotlines.

"What kind of pills would you like to sell, Young Master? Our Treasure Pavilion purchases pills above the Golden Core Stage at ten percent above market price."

The young woman clearly had a discerning eye; although she couldn't see through Chen Yuan's mask, she could tell from his confidence that he was at least a Third-Order Alchemist.

The Treasure Pavilion was not lacking in pills for Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment; what they lacked were pills above the Golden Core Stage.

Especially with the impending opening of the Ancient Inheritance in the Sea Palace Archipelago, the demand for pills was greater than ever.

That was why the Treasure Pavilion offered a price ten percent higher than the market rate for pills above the Golden Core Stage.

"These will do. If possible, I can provide pills to the Treasure Pavilion long-term."

Chen Yuan took a cloth bundle from his storage bag, which was filled with jade bottles of pills he had refined.

"This... Young Master, please wait a moment while I consult with the boss."

The young woman took the bundle, sensed its contents, and her eyes widened.

It was nothing else but that the bundle was filled with healing pills for the Golden Core Stage.

There were at least several hundred of them, which counted as a big deal.

Chen Yuan naturally had no objections; after all, this Treasure Pavilion would be his source of spirit stones for this period.

He believed that with its reputation, it shouldn't engage in treacherous behavior.

Before long,

a chubby middle-aged man walked into the room.

"Young Master, I am the manager of the Treasure Pavilion's main office. My name is Yuan Dabao. May I ask your surname?"

This manager, who called himself Yuan Dabao, immediately approached with a beaming smile to curry favor with Chen Yuan.

"My surname is Li. Just call me Young Master Li."

Chen Yuan did not intend to use his real name.

"Young Master Li, it is like this. I heard you are willing to provide pills to the Treasure Pavilion long-term. Our Treasure Pavilion offers a four-six split for Nascent Soul seniors. What do you think?"

Yuan Dabao stared at Chen Yuan nervously as he spoke.

This was a big deal for him. With the secret realm about to open, it was a time when pills were in high demand.

If he could close the deal, he would also get a lot of benefits.

"That is acceptable, but I need twenty thousand spirit stones right now."

Chen Yuan thought for a moment and agreed to the terms.

A four-six split was not a loss for him; he just needed to refine the pills.

"Certainly, certainly. Please check it. There are twenty-five thousand spirit stones inside; the extra five thousand is a personal gift from me. I hope we have a pleasant cooperation!"

Yuan Dabao was indeed worthy of being the main office manager; this gesture naturally won Chen Yuan's favor.

"Good. I will come to visit again in two weeks."

Carrying the spirit stones given by Yuan Dabao, Chen Yuan left the Treasure Pavilion without delay.

Back in the Treasure Pavilion, Yuan Dabao was still instructing the young woman to notify him immediately if Chen Yuan appeared.

There was a reason why he gave Chen Yuan such generous terms.

He had just inspected Chen Yuan's pills, and their quality was better than most pills on the market.

He even found a few healing pills he had never seen before.

Yuan Dabao certainly did not know that this was because Chen Yuan had comprehended the Ancient Inheritance of Great Emperor Wudan and had borrowed some pill formulas from it.

The inheritance of a Great Emperor was naturally more than a level higher than the pills refined by other alchemists.

...

"I should find a place to stay first."

Chen Yuan muttered to himself and decided to rent a central island from the Yin Yang Spirit Sea Garden, just like in the simulator.

With the protection of the Yin Yang Spirit Sea Garden, he could avoid a lot of trouble.

Moreover, even an Upper Realm Inspector would not dare to openly attack the Yin Yang Spirit Sea Garden.

After spending five thousand spirit stones,

Chen Yuan rented a small island named Kaige Island, which was located near the harbor.

It was equipped with an isolation array and a Spirit Gathering Array configured by the Yin Yang Spirit Sea Garden, which was much better than other places.

However, even if it didn't have them, it wouldn't be difficult for a Fifth-Order Array Master like Chen Yuan.

Although he was only renting it for a short time, he still needed to have a sense of ritual.

"System, upgrade for me!"

Without further hesitation, Chen Yuan directly deposited ten thousand spirit stones, intending to upgrade the simulator to 3.0 first.

As for 4.0, he would still need to save up spirit stones for a few weeks.

Before long, a mechanical voice sounded in Chen Yuan's mind.

[Ding! The simulator has been upgraded to version 3.0. simulator talent pool limit +1. The probability of three-star talents has increased to 10%, and the probability of four-star talents has increased to 1%.]

[Ding! Simulation branching function unlocked! The system can choose simulation paths during the simulation process; it can only be used once per simulation.]

"Simulation branching? That sounds pretty good."