Chapter 87: Helmet

Chen Mobai decided to stay.

The天河界 (Tianhe World) was his greatest opportunity, and without a doubt, he would spend a long time in this world. In a world filled with battles and dangers, he could not keep avoiding them forever.

This time, guarding the Green Light Island would allow him to directly observe the large-scale combat levels of this world.

Moreover, with the Divine Wood Sect leading the charge, such an opportunity was rare.

Even if the Divine Wood Sect could not hold out and had to retreat through the teleportation array, the commotion would be significant and impossible to hide. He could return to the city in just eight seconds, and if the island really fell, he could dig a hole under his wooden house and hide for eight seconds, which would still be safe.

After leaving Ba Jiang, Chen Mobai first went to the market street on the island, hoping to purchase some magical artifacts or talismans that could increase his combat power. However, he was already too late, and almost everything had been snapped up.

What remained were either defective items or damaged magical artifacts with greatly reduced power.

As for the elixirs, they were truly all bought out. Even the herbs that could restore spiritual energy or treat injuries when eaten raw were purchased by cultivators willing to spend the money.

The shops set up by the Divine Wood Sect were even more so. After the order to seal the island was issued, the shop doors were closed, and all the supplies were controlled by Zheng Deming, with some distributed to the sect's disciples on the island.

On the street, there were still many wandering cultivators who wanted to make a fortune, selling items they usually dared not sell at prices two to three times higher than usual.

Chen Mobai was interested in a magical mirror that combined both offensive and defensive capabilities, but the stall owner asked for 80 spirit stones, forcing him to shake his head and leave.

After wandering around, he realized he was too poor and returned to his wooden house, only to find someone waiting at the door.

"Manager Wang, why are you standing at the door?"

Chen Mobai greeted him. This person was the Divine Wood Sect manager who had rented him the wooden house. The manager had just arrived and was hesitating whether to come back later, but seeing Chen Mobai return, he felt relieved.

"Brother Chen, this is the Divine Wood Sect's mobilization order. As a late-stage Qi Practitioner, I have come to notify you. We hope you can help defend the Spirit Island at this critical moment and lend a hand to our sect."

Manager Wang handed a mobilization order stamped with the Divine Wood Sect's seal to Chen Mobai. Since he had already decided to stay, he naturally did not refuse.

"Sure, but where can I collect the spirit stones?"

The conditions for recruiting wandering cultivators to defend the island, as stated on the mobilization order, were exactly as Qi Hou had revealed. As long as they accepted the Divine Wood Sect's recruitment, they would receive their daily reward of spirit stones before each battle.

Such conditions were very sincere.

"If you are willing, you will be under my command, and I will distribute the spirit stones."

Manager Wang's words made Chen Mobai nod, and he immediately signed the mobilization order.

"According to Uncle Zheng's spirit talisman, the first wave of demon beasts will arrive in about two hours. I still need to deliver the mobilization order to about a dozen other wandering cultivators. Please gather at this location in one hour."

Chen Mobai nodded again, and Manager Wang, being very generous, immediately paid him 5 spirit stones.

After all, the Divine Wood Sect's island protection array was already activated, and even if these wandering cultivators wanted to escape, they could not. There was no fear of Chen Mobai taking the spirit stones and then reneging.

However, what Manager Wang did not know was that as soon as he left, Chen Mobai immediately used the Turtle Treasure to return to the Earth Origin Star.

Of course, he was not running away but going to purchase combat supplies.

At his doorstep, over 200 talismans from the Wood Spirit Talisman Shop were casually glanced at and stuffed into his backpack. Chen Mobai then called Wu Wan.

While the Green Light Island was experiencing inflation, the prices of magical artifacts on the Earth Origin Star remained stable, although combat artifacts were abnormally expensive.

There was no way around it; to produce powerful magical artifacts, one needed to apply and get approval from the relevant departments of the Immortal Sect. After approval, the buyer had to register, and each use required a report, leading to the prices of combat artifacts skyrocketing.

However, the production of defensive artifacts only required registration, so their value remained stable.

Chen Mobai believed that in combat, it was best to prioritize safety and survival. Although he had cultivated the Water Element Shield and had the Wood Shield Talisman and Wood Armor Talisman, he still felt the need to purchase a defensive artifact to feel secure during the island defense.

"A defensive artifact, with a budget of about 80,000 merit points."

After clearly stating his requirements, Wu Wan, as a first-rank appraisal master, indeed had several resources that met his needs, with three artifacts fitting his criteria.

Due to the urgency, Chen Mobai did not take the bus this time but directly took a taxi to Wu's Gold Shop.

"I only have this one now. If you need the other two, they will need to be shipped from other blessed lands."

"How long will it take?"

"One is in the same city and should arrive tomorrow. The other needs to be shipped from the Weiyu Blessed Land. If you are willing to spend the merit points, it can arrive in three days at the fastest."

In the Immortal Sect, shipping within the same city was free, but shipping from other blessed lands was not cheap. However, Chen Mobai was not concerned about this at the moment; he just needed the time.

So, he looked at the defensive artifact that Wu Wan had taken out from his safe.

It was a helmet, entirely golden and looked very cool.

"A mid-grade first-rank artifact. Wearing it can defend against spells that directly attack the mind. I also embedded a spiritual shield restriction during its creation. If you pre-charge it with spiritual energy, it can release once without using your own spiritual energy."

Wu Wan introduced the helmet with a hint of reluctance.

"Oh, I didn't expect it to be personally crafted by Master Wu."

Although every appraisal master had a desire to become an artifact master, Wu Wan's words still surprised Chen Mobai.

"I originally created this helmet to help enhance my mental awareness during the Foundation Establishment stage, as I only obtained the Meridian Protection Pill and not the Spirit Enhancement Powder. Unfortunately, my foundation was insufficient, and I failed to establish my foundation. It will take several more years to reach the Qi Mastery stage again. If you need it, I can sell it to you at a discount."

Although Wu Wan spoke lightly, Chen Mobai could sense his sigh.

The difficulty of the Foundation Establishment stage was like climbing to the heavens for ordinary Immortal Sect cultivators.

"What price does Master Wu plan to sell it for?"

"This artifact is made from refined gold essence, and the material cost is not trivial. Considering our long-standing relationship, 100,000 merit points."

"That's too expensive. I only have a budget of 80,000 merit points."

Chen Mobai had spent a lot of merit points on talismans and auxiliary herbs for the Qi Restoration Spirit Water. Of the 160,000 merit points that Chan Si had transferred to him, only half remained. This time, to participate in the island defense, he did not plan to save, and 80,000 merit points were all he had.