Emperor of the Source

Chapter 285: Research in the UNI-Market

Adrian stepped out from the center, and immediately the ambient noise of the UNI-Market returned. Thousands of conversations overlapped in the air, mixed with the steady hum of passing cultivators and the distant announcements echoing from various centers scattered throughout the vast marketplace.

Adrian paid no attention to any of it. His thoughts were already occupied with the next step of his plan. Without slowing down, he began moving toward another blacksmith center located deeper within the marketplace. Although Adrian had already obtained some promising materials from the Blackfire Smith Center, the UNI-Market contained numerous blacksmith centers. Each of these centers belonged to different minor sects within the Andromeda Galaxy, and every one of them specialized in different materials and alloy composites.

Since Adrian possessed almost no prior knowledge regarding artifact materials, he decided to treat this entire process as both research and learning.

The second center he entered bore a crimson sign reading Forgeborn Metals. The interior stretched wider than the previous center.

Over the next several hours, he visited multiple blacksmith centers scattered throughout the UNI-Hub. Some establishments were larger than the Blackfire Smith Center he had visited earlier, while others were smaller. Despite their differences in scale, each center displayed its own collection of materials and composite structures.

As Adrian explored, he gradually began noticing a clear pattern. Void Alloy appeared almost everywhere. The metal had effectively become the foundational structural material used across the Andromeda Galaxy. Its ability to remain stable under spatial pressure and distortion made it extremely valuable since cultivators constantly traveled through space, and many battles also occurred in the void itself. Void Alloy ensured that artifact bases could withstand most environmental stresses encountered in outer space. Because of this reliability, nearly every blacksmith center used Void Alloy as a primary structural component when crafting artifact bases.

Space itself was the universal constant; every cultivator traveled through it, fought within it, stored items inside compressed pockets of it. A material that could withstand spatial distortion naturally became essential.

However, a pure void alloy could not efficiently support every type of inscription. Certain divine spells placed strains on the material that could either destabilize the structure or dramatically increase the mana required to activate the inscription.

In one particular center, Adrian encountered a material called Aquarite Crystal. The attendant there explained that the crystals were combined with void alloy to create hybrid bases optimized for water-based divine spells.

The crystals themselves resembled frozen tears, perfectly transparent with faint blue luminescence.

"Pure void alloy resists water-based divine essence," the attendant said. She was humanoid, with pale blue skin similar to Lyra's. "The molecular structure creates friction against flow-based rules. If a cultivator attempted to inscribe a water-type divine spell onto a base made purely of void alloy, the mana cost required to activate that spell could easily double or even exceed that threshold."

She gestured toward a display case containing hybrid rings.

"By integrating aquarite crystals into the alloy structure, the hybrid base stabilizes the water-rule fluctuations and allows the spell to operate with normal or even improved efficiency."

Adrian nodded slowly. Through explanations like these, Adrian gradually began to understand how materials functioned within the universe's artifact-crafting system. Different materials were not simply stronger or weaker; they were designed to resonate with particular arcane concepts and stabilize specific types of rule structures. Some blacksmith centers offered alloys that could withstand corrosive environments, while others specialized in materials resistant to toxins or extreme atmospheric conditions.

Each material served a purpose. Each composite solved a specific problem. Adrian absorbed it all, cataloging the information within his mind.

But despite this extensive exploration, Adrian could not find any material specifically suited to the rule structures used within his willforce recovery spell. After several hours of examining different composites, he gradually reached a clear conclusion. Among all the materials he had encountered, the Void Alloy and Graviton composite remained the most suitable option. That hybrid offered the greatest structural stability and could support extremely powerful inscriptions without suffering structural degradation.

With his research on materials concluded, Adrian shifted his attention toward artifact centers. His goal now was to better understand how artifacts were used throughout the universe. Up until now, the only artifacts he truly understood were starships and spatial rings. Although he had seen weapon bases in blacksmith centers earlier and heard their use case, he did not yet fully understand how most of the artifacts functioned in practice. In truth, Adrian realized that even his knowledge of spatial rings was surprisingly limited.

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He knew they stored items, and the internal space was large. But Adrian had no idea of how large the actual internal space was, how a ring prevented unauthorized access; all of that remained unclear.

Curious to learn more, he entered one of the artifact centers. An attendant approached him immediately, but Adrian politely dismissed the assistance, explaining that he wished to browse the products on his own.

"Of course," the attendant said, bowing slightly. "Please, take your time. If you require anything, simply activate the service formation near any display."

Adrian moved deeper into the center.

The first section he explored contained spatial rings. He checked the specifications and learned that a spatial ring constructed entirely from pure Void Alloy typically contained ten thousand cubic meters of internal storage space.

That capacity alone was enormous. In fact, it was far larger than most cultivators would ever need. Adrian recalled a case from his own experience. When he left the Milky Way Galaxy, he had carried approximately 3.5 billion low-tier mana crystals with him. Even though that number sounded absurdly large, the crystals should have only occupied about three thousand five hundred cubic meters of space inside his spatial ring. That still left a vast amount of unused storage capacity.

For the majority of cultivators, a simple spatial ring made entirely of Void Alloy was more than sufficient.

However, that was not the absolute limit of the technology. Adrian could see several other types of spatial rings. Hybrid spatial rings made from Void Alloy combined with materials like Graviton Steel could increase the internal storage space significantly. Some rings offered more than twenty thousand cubic meters of storage, and in certain advanced models, the capacity could exceed that even further. The artifact center displayed these specifications clearly, along with their respective prices.

Adrian observed the displays briefly but did not linger long. Storage capacity wasn't his concern. He continued exploring deeper into the center.

The ambient lighting shifted as he moved between sections, growing warmer and brighter. Soon, he entered a section filled with highly advanced armor artifacts. Rows of armor sets stood on display platforms, each constructed from various composite materials and embedded with complex inscriptions.

Adrian paused before the first platform. The armor resembled interlocking plates of dark metal, each piece floating independently around a central framework.

Some armors were designed purely for defense. These could generate temporary barrier fields capable of absorbing even high-level divine spells. Other armor sets contained inscriptions that enhanced the wearer's movement speed, allowing cultivators to react faster in combat situations. There were even armors that contained healing inscriptions capable of gradually repairing injuries during battle.

Adrian studied the displays with increasing interest. If Lara or the other disciples of the Crimson Vital Sect had possessed such equipment during their expedition within the relic, they would not have needed to rely so heavily on authority simply to survive the chaotic environmental energies. Artifacts like these could compensate for such weaknesses by providing built-in divine spell structures to counter the chaotic energies.

He imagined Lara wearing one of these suits, advancing through the relic without needing to constantly maintain her domain. The disciples could have conserved their willforce for actual combat instead of wasting it on environmental hazards.

However, the practicality of owning such equipment became clear the moment Adrian examined the pricing information. One particular defensive armor set that claimed it could withstand high-level divine spells was priced at twelve million UNI-Coins.

Adrian's hand paused over the display.

Twelve million!

That was only the cost of the armor itself. In addition to the initial purchase, each armor required specific divine essence crystals as fuel to power its inscriptions. Depending on how intensively the armor was used, the rate of consumption could vary significantly.

According to the information he saw from the hologram, if the armor had been used inside the relic site to withstand chaotic energy, a single divine crystal containing 1,000 mana units would only sustain the defensive inscriptions for a few hours before being depleted.

Adrian read the specification twice to confirm he hadn't misunderstood.

A few hours.

Once exhausted, the crystal would need to be replaced. Adrian immediately understood the implication. Only extremely wealthy cultivators could realistically afford to operate such artifacts during long expeditions or prolonged battles.

Adrian did not yet know the exact market price of divine essence crystals for these, but it was obvious that the operational cost would be immense.

This also explained why neither the Crimson Vital Sect nor the Everlasting Pill Sect had deployed armor artifacts during their exploration of the relic.

The reason was simple. The cost would have been absurd.

Adrian continued exploring many artifact centers for some time. Some specialized in weapon artifacts, displaying weapons inscribed with poisonous and corrosive divine spells. Others focused entirely on defensive armor or utility equipment.

In one center, he found a spear that could extend its reach, effectively striking targets from hundreds of metres away.

Another center showcased a saber capable of injecting highly infectious corrosion into its target.

The UNI-Market truly contained an astonishing array of technologies developed across the Andromeda Galaxy. If someone wished to explore everything in detail, it could easily take years.

Eventually, Adrian decided to stop. While observing these artifacts had been fascinating, it had also triggered a certain temptation within him. Many of the items he had seen would undoubtedly strengthen him and his companions.

Unfortunately, he did not possess the wealth necessary to purchase them. Rather than discouraging him, the experience only strengthened his resolve.

Lysandra's plans suddenly felt far more urgent. Money would not only allow him and his people to expand their mana capacity more quickly, it would also grant them access to powerful artifacts capable of dramatically increasing their overall combat capability.

Adrian clenched his fist briefly, then relaxed it.

Step by step.

First, create the willforce recovery artifact. Sell it. Generate revenue. Then expand from there.

Adrian raised his hand and summoned a portal leading directly back to his suite within the Crimson Vital Sect.

Without hesitation, he stepped through.