Chapter 555 - 511: 70% Off Treasures! The Apocalypse Divine Artifact
To Shi Ming’s disappointment, the "Regent" title didn’t come with any sort of "base salary." It couldn’t provide a daily stipend of 1,000 Civilization Stones like "Heir of the Gods" did.
At this level, a stipend was a rather trivial matter.
Like a CEO’s one-dollar salary, it was merely symbolic.
Those who made the rules had plenty of other ways to acquire legitimate and reasonable benefits.
Shi Ming sensed the title [Regent of the First Civilization Cosmic Country] but didn’t equip it directly. This wasn’t because he needed the immunity to the Tomb Star Realm’s deathly aura that came with [Heir of the Gods]. The Primordial Star, as the origin point of the new will, was now free of that aura. He was safe here even without any title equipped.
The authority of a [Regent] relied on the existence of the Cosmic Country as an organization.
With no other living beings around, a Regent was just a general with no army.
It was a grand title, but it had no practical use.
At this stage, Heir of the Gods was still more valuable.
Never mind anything else, 1,000 Civilization Stones a day was a sweet deal.
The income from Heir of the Gods was passive; it came in even if he did nothing. Since the First Cosmic Country was still uninhabited, the Heir of the Gods title brought Shi Ming more benefits, the most direct of which was financial.
’Now, with over 3.5 million Civilization Stones in my possession, it’s time for a major spending spree!’
’Time to go.’
’To the Divine Treasure Vault!’
Near Ten Thousand People Square was a terminal for the Divine Treasure Vault. All such vaults on the intelligent planets of the First Civilization Cosmic Country were linked to the same unknown location. After a purchase was made, the corresponding treasure would be delivered to the buyer through an infrastructure that had remained flawless for 120,000 years. Shi Ming had experienced this miracle firsthand when he bought [Heavenly Questions].
He had no idea where the true vault, the one where the gods stored all these treasures, was actually located.
If it were possible, who wouldn’t want to clean the whole place out?
The Divine Treasure Vault near Ten Thousand People Square was also a pyramid-shaped monument. As the [Heir of the Gods] title resonated with it, lines of text once again materialized on the surface of the silent vault.
[Welcome, respected Heir.]
[Your vault access level is the highest, Level X, entitling you to an additional, stackable 20% discount. To redeem a treasure, simply select it and either place a sufficient amount of Civilization Stones into the vault monument or have the corresponding amount deducted from your personal account. The Divine Treasure Vault will then be activated, and you will receive the requested items.]
[Compiling list...]
[1. Title "God’s Descent" / Super Unpopular Item]
[2. Treasure "Apocalypse Divine Artifact" / Super Unpopular Item]
[3. Treasure "The Scales of Eternity" / Super Unpopular Item]
[4. Consumable "Shard of the Elder Mirror" / Super Unpopular Item]
[5. Title "Crucible of Life" / Super Unpopular Item]
[6. ...]
The 50% discount for Super Unpopular Items, combined with the additional 20% discount from his Heir of the Gods title, allowed Shi Ming to purchase any item in the Divine Treasure Vault for just 30% of its original price.
As Regent, he could manage the operational strategies for the Cosmic Country’s three core facilities—the Divine Treasure Vault, the Mercenary Terminal, and the Teleportation Vortex—but he couldn’t interfere with their fundamental logic. The prices and discounts for the treasures already in the vault had been personally set by the gods. Therefore, a Regent received no special treatment when purchasing existing inventory and couldn’t lower the prices further. However, if new treasures were ever added to the vault, he could use his authority to set rules specifically for them.
Simply put, a Regent had to follow the rules the gods had already established.
Only where the gods had not set rules did the Regent have room to intervene and add new ones.
’The "God’s Descent" title is ranked number one, but its effects are severely diminished now. I can ignore it.’
’The Apocalypse Divine Artifact... after the discount, the price is 3 million Cosmic Stones. That’ll wipe out most of my Civilization Stone reserve, but it’s worth it. A single top-tier treasure is far more effective than ten ordinary ones.’
Shi Ming added the [Apocalypse Divine Artifact] to his cart.
He continued scrolling down the list.
The remaining Civilization Stones would still be enough to buy one or two more decent items.
’The "Crucible of Life" seems like a life-attribute treasure, but its true nature is procreation. It smelts matter inside a crucible that’s like a miniature world, forging it into new life. It’s essentially a microcosm of evolution. Miraculous, indeed.’
’It’s just that I have no use for it right now.’
’And the price isn’t cheap either.’
’The ninth-ranked [Loom of Fate] is a rare destiny-attribute treasure. If this appeared in the Star Sea, it would be enough to start a war between two ordinary Cosmic Countries. Its price... certainly matches its power. I can’t afford it.’
After deciding to buy the [Apocalypse Divine Artifact], Shi Ming would only have a little over 500,000 Civilization Stones left, but that didn’t stop him from lingering on the highly-ranked treasures.
He turned his attention to the treasures ranked 30th and below.
In this range, the discounted prices had dropped to around 300,000 to 500,000 Civilization Stones.
Soon, Shi Ming identified another treasure worth purchasing.
[Treasure: The Reflected Sky]
[Tags: Super Unpopular Item, Spatial, Support, Mental]
[The Sea of Spirit is a sea, too, so why not make full use of it? The Reflected Sky can carve out a tangible space within your Sea of Spirit! This is a dual combination of Spatial Power and mental power.]
[Original Price: 1,000,000 Civilization Stones]
[Discounted Price: 300,000 Civilization Stones]
This was a treasure similar to a storage space, and for Shi Ming, it was something he desperately needed. Although the Captain’s Space on his ship, the Great Fortune, was vast, he had to be physically on board to access it. His personal inventory was extremely secure but far too small; it was convenient for important items but inadequate for bulk storage. This treasure, [The Reflected Sky], could convert his Sea of Spirit into a personal storage dimension, drastically increasing his carrying capacity.
After adding it to his cart, Shi Ming would only have a little over 200,000 Civilization Stones left.
He decided to hold on to the remaining Civilization Stones for now.
He would worry about them later.
[Respected Heir of the Gods, do you wish to redeem Treasure: Apocalypse Divine Artifact and Treasure: The Reflected Sky?]
Yes!
In an instant, millions of Civilization Stones vanished like a bursting bubble. Shi Ming once again felt the thrill of spending a fortune, and these Civilization Stones were far more precious than mere gold. A moment later, inside the pyramid-shaped vault, a twelve-meter-tall mechanical body materialized, radiating an incredibly oppressive aura!
Beside it floated a colorless, curtain-like sheet.