6 Leaping Through the Dragon's Gate

As he walked through the mountains, Jin extended his profound energy into the earth and began searching for changes deep within. His method requiring him to have started from the Northeastern or Southeastern mountains to comb over the area if it wasn't for his luck that he found it by simply wandering around and killing any beast that got in his way with a sudden azure flash of a crystal blade.

Even though he found the spot of the mine, it wasn't something simple to get to otherwise the Divine Phoenix empire wouldn't have needed so long to extract it. Checking his points and available Earth Style jutsu, the amount of points he obtained ended up at 56-SP of which he used ten to buy 'Earth Style: Mobile Core' which was the basis of the Vast Mobile Core used by the Shinobi Allied Forces to trap the Ten Tailed Beast during the Fourth Great Shinobi War inside a giant hole in the ground.

Making use of the jutsu, Jin began use it to dig through the ground and reinforce the walls to prevent the tunnel from collapsing in on him despite it being a straight shaft. After covering half the distance, he took a break to recover his energy despite it not having decreased that much after a couple of cast so that he could work on his control by walking up and down the shaft's wall as well as jumping wall from one wall to the other. Despite falling a few times at the start, wall-walking being the second easiest training method for control after the leaf training that involved having leaves stuck to their body with chakra and spinning them. This especially so since he remembered the trick to grasping the technique quickly being that you had to regulate the flow at the soles of your feet to maintain stability, using too much strength would send him flying while not enough would only result in him failing to stick to the wall.

Feeling the increase in his learning speed for matters like this redoubled his gratitude at the reward for the Ultimate Decision when he left the forest. Though, it did provoke a thought which he decided to ask. "Raven, how often will those Ultimate Decisions show up? And how come I haven't gotten a second mission since the first one?"

[Host will have to make such a choice once per volume as well as three main missions in the same span of time.]

"What volume? As in Against the Gods volumes?" He couldn't help but be confused at the use of the word.

[Host shouldn't worry. They will appear when they appear, but never before the third mission from the system.]

Accepting it as is, Jin got back to using Earth Style: Mobile Core to dig out the mine.

Finding what he was looking for not long after, he spread his Earth Release profound energy to break away the unneeded dirt and extract the pure Purple Veined Divine Crystals without any loss to surround himself with. Jin taking a seat and prepared to break through into the Nascent Profound Realm which would change the method of gathering profound energy, compressing the energy within the veins to break through while drawing in vitality from heaven and earth which is where the crystals came in since he only needed one of the smaller pieces to boost his cultivation from the tenth level of the Elementary Profound Realm straight into the middle of the Nascent Profound Realm.

He felt the changes in his body, noticing how his profound veins became thicker and wider at the same time. The sparks of lightning from his First Inner Gate running through his profound veins and increasing their durability as well as their flexibility while the wind sharpened his profound energy and increased its flow speed, making his activation speed faster. After checking the second gate that became active for the skill, which was called Wind Burst that released a blast of defensive wind with him as the center, he heard the system notification from Raven.

*Ding*

[Congratulations to host for fulfilling 2 out of 2 conditions for the Forge of Creation. The Forge is now available for use.]

[Realm Growth Package available. Would you like to open?]

If the first notification stunned Jin, the second surely snapped him out of it. His thoughts going back to when he first woke up in this world and the mail from Vion that mentioned the surprise at reaching his current level. If it wasn't for the fact his speed was too quick, he would have more than likely forgotten all about it. Since it was called a forge, he assumed it would only be able to make weapons or tools. Though, it never hurt to check the introductions so he brought up the option which resulted in a semi-transparent furnace appearing within his field of vision. The immaculate carvings of various dragons and phoenixes decorating the outer shell, each detailed to such an extent that it seemed that if one blinked then they would come to life and soar off to the heavens. The inside contained carvings of their own, but of the Eight Trigrams instead with the floor covered in a tianji diagram depicting Yin and Yang to symbolize all things coming from one and one leading to a myriad of changes.

[Forge of Creation: Nothing cannot be created within the forge. Grade of item determined by, in order of importance; The flames user creates the item with, the material going into the item which determines it's appearance, the user's imagination and hope for the item, and the user's profound energy which helps fine-tune the item's details. (Additional Effect: First time use of the Forge boost the Grade of the item by one, Grade determined by the flame.)]

Noticing something odd, he asked his feathery companion instantly since he was never one too proud to ask for help if he needed it and she was the best one to ask since she was always by his side.

"Raven, what does item grade mean? Is it like a ranking for my affinities or closer to a judgment used for items only?"

["The latter, host. Item Grades are determined from E Grade to EX Grade with beneficial abilities increasing the Grade while harmful ones lowering it.. E Grade are for items that have a little power but no unique properties such as the sword you created since the only power it has is to handle a moderate degree of energy to enhance it's own traits or be used to channel the energy. Worth barely 10-SP if sold to the system.

D Grade isn't much better but they are more durable as well as handling the amount of energy poured into them better. For a nation like the Blue Wind Empire, these could be considered minor treasures while something precious to branches of larger sects. Worth between 10 to 15-SP if sold to the system.

C Grade can be considered top tier for this Blue Pole Star world. Most of the top powers would attempt to get their hands on such items. These items tend to have one extra property to them that make them so desirable. Worth 50 to 100-SP if sold to the system.

B Grade items can only be found in the Realm of Gods and are held by middle-tier powers there. Holding either two properties or one unique or powerful one. Worth 1,000 to 5,000-SP if sold to the System.

A Grade items are limited to the top level powers in the Realm of Gods and are usually horded by them unless handed out to subordinate Realm Kings as a reward. They can have up to three properties, but tend to have less the stronger the abilities.

EX Grade are reserved for items that were either made by or used by a True God and could be called heavenly treasures. The Mirror of Samasera and Sky Poison Pearl that Yun Che possess are both classified as such items."]

"I see... Well, better not waste it now. Mind opening the Package now? Also, can you call me by name from now on when it's just us talking?"

["...Acknowledged, Jin."]

[Realm Package opened! Obtained: x100 Purple Profound Coins; x5 Sealing Scroll; 1,000 SP. Congratulations on increasing your Profound Realm!]

"...I won't be shocked by something I've seen before, so ha! Though, I suppose I should learn the enclosing technique for sealing things inside scrolls as well as the release... Also, since my Wind and Lightning Arts are of those elements, I should hurry and get those Affinities."

Checking the store, he couldn't help but have his cheek twitch when he saw the prices for affinities. Each basic affinity cost 500-SP while their evolved versions cost twice that! Not to mention Kekkei Genkai which were four times the price of a single base element despite only being a combination of the two.

Giving out a defeated sigh, he purchased the two he set out for as well as the basics such as Transformation, Clone, and Substitution Jutsu. The last one giving him a small headache since it was just a combination of Transformation jutsu with Body Flicker to replace his body with an object at the last moment that was transformed to look like him.

This did, however, give him an idea after considering both the Substitution technique and the Keikei Genkai. Since his Crystal Sword was just pure crystals shaped into a sword, why not try imbuing his crystals with the nature of his other abilities? Supercharging a gem with Yang should give it properties of increasing a person's vitality as well as dispelling various poisons even if it's a flame poison.

Looking at all the Purple Veined Divine Crystals around him, Jin began sealing them inside three out of the five sealing scrolls. The first containing only five Purple Crystals which he could use to sell for additional funds, the second containing ten kilograms which he had separate plans for while the third contained the rest of the crystals. This harvest being akin to a fish leaping through the Dragon's Gate.

Exiting the now empty cavern with his rewards, he casually moved his fingers to form the needed hand signs. "Earth Style: Mobile Core." and with that, the mine shaft disappeared as Jin filled in the ground while lifting himself back out into the mountains with fresh air and the setting sun peaking through the gaps of the mountains that warmed his face as it dyed the sky a madder-red