Chapter 71
However, when it came to this secret knowledge, Yu Xunge didn’t think she could just brush it off because of their slight teacher-student bond. Instead, she proactively offered to pay, and quite generously at that. This made her increasingly satisfied with Yu Xunge. Recently, there had been no shortage of odd characters wandering around her place—various races and forms, all calling her “teacher” with an attitude so respectful it was as if they were about to polish her shoes or feed her. Yet, none of them offered anything of real value...
What a joke.
After accepting the payment, Hecqipa straightforwardly provided three methods.
The first was to make a deal with a demon, pledging one’s divine gift in exchange for what one desired. Not only could this secure the desired item, but if someone attempted to strip away that divine gift, it would provoke the demon, who would then act first to eliminate the threat.
The second method involved creating a potion that infused one’s soul with the power of holy light. This not only enhanced one’s affinity for light magic but also rendered the soul untouchable by demons.
The third method was still alchemy. At this point, Hecqipa had Yu Xunge repeat after her, “Alchemy can do anything.” Yu Xunge shouted it out, but Hecqipa wasn’t satisfied and insisted she speak louder. Yu Xunge dug her toes into the floor and shouted again, and only then did Hecqipa continue.
**[Heart of Undying]**, a master-level alchemical creation, was a cursed gem that required sacrificing a portion of one’s divine gift to obtain the **[Undying]** curse. It was said that the first undead race in the world was born this way. However, as the bloodline power weakened, today’s undead no longer possessed the attribute of immortality. Still, this gem had its market; many feared death more than they desired power.
Although the sacrificed divine gift could still be stripped away, due to the curse, a part of the divine gift and the curse would be deeply imprinted on the soul. Even if a depriver attempted to take the divine gift, they could not fully seize it, nor could they take away the **[Undying]** attribute.
Even demons wouldn’t strip a person of their divine gift a second time, provoking the gods. This meant that if someone attempted to strip away the cursed divine gift, they would only end up with a half-finished product, and they would never get a second chance.
More importantly, even if only a part was stripped away, the transaction would still be considered complete, and the depriver would have to fulfill the promise made to the demon, or face punishment.
Two thousand gold coins was no trivial sum, even on Zelan Star. Hecqipa not only provided the methods but also detailed the specific operations for each of the three methods to Yu Xunge.
**[Ding——]**
**[Hecqipa has imparted knowledge of demons—Dark Trade]**
**[Hecqipa has imparted a master-level alchemical formula—Word of Redemption]**
**[Hecqipa has imparted a master-level alchemical formula—Heart of Undying]**
Upon seeing the master-level alchemical formulas, Yu Xunge abandoned her plans to concoct them herself. She asked Hecqipa if she had the Word of Redemption and the Heart of Undying for sale.
Hecqipa casually pulled out a vial of golden potion. “499 gold.” Then she produced a black gem shaped like a heart. “1999 gold.”
Yu Xunge: “…”
She was getting corrupted.
A good Zelan Star citizen, going bad.
**Chapter 92: Pledging Gifts for Immortality**
She bought them!
You get what you pay for. She had just acquired ten thousand pounds of gold from the Su family, so she could afford it! Moreover, the Heart of Undying was exactly what she needed! As long as it could make Yu Xunhuan suffer, two thousand gold was nothing!
Just as Yu Xunge was about to pull out her money, she remembered that many alchemical formulas required gold. She asked, “Do you accept gold?”
Hecqipa shook her head. “Not needed.”
Yu Xunge promptly handed over 2500 gold coins to Hecqipa.
That was just how she was; even after being reborn, it was hard to change. Whoever treated her well, she would be generous to them. Half of the money she earned in those years went to the Yu family. Only people like Yu Xunhuan and Yu Qingshan were never satisfied. In reality, those who knew about Yu Xunge’s behavior all said she was generous, with some even calling her foolish.
She treated Hecqipa the same way. It wasn’t about trust; to her, having a master of Hecqipa’s caliber willing to teach her was a rare opportunity worth more than gold. Whatever Hecqipa asked for, she would pay without thinking of checking the auction house for cheaper options.
Hecqipa happily accepted the money and handed over the Word of Redemption while tossing her a deep gray crystal. She acted on a whim; once she took a liking to someone, she enjoyed giving them gifts. “Here, take this to play with.”
Before Yu Xunge could examine the information on the Word of Redemption and the Heart of Undying, she reached out to take the deep gray round crystal, which was about two centimeters thick and roughly the size of a hamburger patty.
**[Alchemy Residue]** (Curious Object): A subpar item created from the remnants of a failed alchemical experiment, crafted by a master alchemist. When thrown into the cooking fire, it has a chance to cause the dish to mutate, with unknown effects.
Unlike items and equipment, curious objects have no level because their effects are unpredictable—good or bad, strong or weak, they are impossible to gauge. However, since it came from Hecqipa, even if it was trash, it was still a gem among garbage. Yu Xunge was pleasantly surprised and tucked it away.
After thanking Hecqipa and watching her leave, she finally examined the vial of golden liquid and the heart-shaped gem.
**[Word of Redemption]: Bestows the power of holy light upon the soul.**
A very brief introduction. If it weren’t for Hecqipa’s explanation, an ordinary person receiving this potion wouldn’t know its value. However, many high-level alchemical formulas only had a single line of description, and without some knowledge, even if one managed to concoct them, they wouldn’t know how to use them.
Without hesitation, Yu Xunge drank the potion right there.
In an instant, she felt a mysterious warmth surge from deep within her soul. This power quickly radiated throughout her body like sound waves, then vanished just as swiftly.
She opened her character panel and saw a golden shield icon appear next to her ID.
**[Radiance of Ita]: You are protected by holy light.**
While others might feel nauseated when faced with riddles, being the riddle-maker herself felt exhilarating.
Yu Xunge was quite pleased with this description. However, she suddenly wondered if Hecqipa had dodged her question about whether alchemy could enhance the level of divine gifts.
Wasn’t it said that there was no problem alchemy couldn’t solve?
If there was, she could just pretend she hadn’t heard it, right?
Forget it. Just looking at Hecqipa’s expression made it clear that it wasn’t realistic. Even if it were possible, the cost would be enormous. Otherwise, S-level divine gifts wouldn’t be so rare on Zelan Star. In the entire Dark City, including the city lord Yu Xunge, she had only seen three S-level divine gifts, and Hecqipa was one of them.
She then examined the black gem, about the size of a baby’s fist.
**[Heart of Undying]: Embed it in your heart to inscribe the curse, sacrificing a portion of the power granted to you by the divine to gain immortality. (Undying: Your health can never drop below 1.)**
A multitude of wicked ideas flashed through her mind.
Yu Xunge was satisfied as she stored the Heart of Undying.
After hearing Hecqipa’s three methods, her first instinct was to dismiss the Word of Redemption. As for the Dark Trade, that wouldn’t work either. What if Lin Chengze used the Dark Trade to regain his strength and turned the tables? Or what if, during the Dark Trade, he asked the demon to help him kill the person who gouged out his eyes? Wouldn’t she be paying to have herself killed?
No need to think too much; the cursed gem was the best choice. As for Lin Chengze benefiting from it and becoming **[Undying]**, that could just be considered compensation for gouging out his eyes.
Just another day of being a living bodhisattva.
After resolving the most troubling matter in her heart, Yu Xunge continued to browse the auction house. Thinking about the instance portal in her villa, she wanted to buy something to hide it, but after checking the prices, she found everything too expensive. The most cost-effective options still required hundreds of gold coins, which didn’t seem worth it. The instance on the rooftop of her villa was only valuable for the next six months; after that, it would be pretty useless. By then, she would definitely hand it over to the authorities for profit.
In fact, she might hand it over to the Special Affairs Bureau in two months.
She was already fed up with Yu Qingshan and Yi Qiuguo occasionally coming over to mooch off her. The issue with the backyard cats was hard to resolve...
Yu Xunge simply ran back to the alchemy shop and described the portable fairy abode from the xianxia novels she had read, asking if there was anything similar.
Hecqipa looked at her oddly, as if she were a fat sheep. “Sure, a legendary engineering creation, a magic house. You can set the rules, and as long as you want, it can remain undetected by anyone. Do you want to buy it?”
Yu Xunge glanced at her savings of over twenty-seven thousand gold coins and confidently asked, “How much?”
Hecqipa replied, “A legendary engineer takes about two years to make one. The last time I saw one at the auction house, it started at fifty thousand gold and had a buyout price of one hundred thousand gold.”
Yu Xunge fell silent for a few seconds and said seriously, “Forget it. I don’t have anything to hide. I suddenly feel like where I live now is just fine.”
Hecqipa squinted at Yu Xunge, sizing her up. “Aren’t you also studying engineering? A high-level engineer could make a mini version. If you turn into a fat cat, it would be enough for you.”
At first, Yu Xunge thought Hecqipa was joking, and she laughed and replied a few times. However, after returning to Blue Star, she couldn’t shake the idea that it was feasible. If a mini magic house could also set rules, she could place one in the backyard, visible only to real cats, and put a cat bed inside. Wouldn’t that solve all her problems?
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