Knowing why he couldn't find rare resources like the Canglan Conch in the past, Qin Chuan naturally came up with an approach to locate them.
First, he had to determine a safe distance.
That is, after locking in the new location of the Canglan Conch, the distance from which it could be acquired within 30 minutes.
Given the known characteristics of rare resources, if the Canglan Conch wasn't stored in the Item Equipment Bar, even after acquisition, it would continue to transfer.
Therefore, Qin Chuan himself must reach the corresponding location within 30 minutes or allow his Contracted Spiritual Beast to bring back the rare resource within 30 minutes.
The latter, though requiring the spiritual beast to run a round trip, would still be faster than the former.
Among the four spiritual beasts he and Yue Li had, the fastest was Xiao Qing.
But Xiao Qing had no contract with him and couldn't achieve telepathy; it would fail to find self-concealing rare resources even at the designated location.
Therefore, only Water Flower could be dispatched.
Now that Water Flower was executing Water Dipping at full speed, its velocity was about 40 meters per second.
Considering a round trip, theoretically, it could bring back rare resources from 36 kilometers away within 30 minutes.
Taking into account possible unexpected factors, the final safety distance was set at 30 kilometers.
The first method was to use the Third Talent of the Sun Needle to lock onto the Canglan Conch, timing it right when it was about to transfer, and have Yue Li bless him with luck.
That way, the Canglan Conch's next transfer would most likely be to a location closer to him; as long as it was within 30 kilometers, he could securely obtain it.
The second method, without using the Third Talent of the Sun Needle, was to wait until the last moment to utilize the Sun Needle's Second Talent after the luck had been increased.
This would provide a ten-minute window; with the Canglan Conch transferring every thirty minutes, there was a one-third chance it would transfer during the window and appear in the exploration results of the Second Talent.
Of course, the feasibility of this method hinged on the luck allowing the Canglan Conch to refresh within ten kilometers, as beyond this range the Second Talent of the Sun Needle wouldn't be able to detect it.
Thinking up to this point, Qin Chuan had a plan.
First, find the next exploration point, then time the Canglan Conch's transfer perfectly, have Yue Li bless him with luck, complete the creation of Starshine Equipment within the lucky ten minutes using the Second Talent, and wait for the appearance of the new coordinates of the Canglan Conch; then have Water Flower go collect it.
Calmly, three steps at a time.
After reviewing the plan once more and confirming there were no flaws in his thinking, Qin Chuan casually tossed the Equipment Forging Stone back into the Item Equipment Bar, "Let's head to the next exploration point."
Yue Li caught up with Qin Chuan and smiled, "The chance of Equipment Forging Stones isn't high, right?"
"Only 30%," Qin Chuan spread his hands.
"That's already quite good," Yue Li nodded slightly, "The chance for regular Equipment Forging Stones is even lower, with only a 10% success rate using nine pieces of Starshine Equipment Material focused in the same direction."
"I remember the Special Affairs Group once released some intel," Qin Chuan thought for a moment, "If using top-grade Equipment Forging Stones, under the same conditions, the success rate goes up to 90%."
"That's why expensive things have their value," Yue Li spoke with a smile.
"That means luck equates to saving money," Qin Chuan said seriously.
The two exchanged a smile.
Before long, they arrived at the next exploration point.
Qin Chuan constantly monitored the Canglan Conch. It had been 25 minutes since the last transfer, so increasing luck now would be effective during the transfer period.
Let's see if his conjecture held true.
Qin Chuan nodded at Yue Li, and Yue Li quickly performed the Luck Blessing.
After receiving luck, Qin Chuan took out the Equipment Forging Stone and once again inserted it into the slot.
This time, facing the same confirmation page, he immediately pressed "Yes."
Before "Prayer," you must turn it into 100% for me!
The next instant, the quality Equipment Forging Stone vanished, and in front of Qin Chuan, a phantom of a huge Casting Hammer appeared, striking heavily on the nine pieces of material on the forging interface.
With a loud noise, the nine pieces of Starshine Equipment Material instantly turned into myriad points of light. They converged, whirled, and fused rapidly before exploding into a burst of light a few breaths later.
[Congratulations, Player, on successfully forging Starshine Equipment: Shape-shifting Water Crown, obtaining Equipment Entry: Canglong (Starlight Level 9)]
[Canglong (Starlight Level 9): Attribute Control Power increased by 84%]
Looking at the Water Crown, which was made entirely of water currents and constantly changing in shape, after the light dissipated, an excited expression appeared on Qin Chuan's face.
Completing the forging of the Starshine Equipment, he had finished half of the journey to the Elite Rank.
Without hesitation, he embedded the just-obtained Shape-shifting Water Crown into the evolution page, and the next moment a prompt appeared in front of him.
[Please complete the embedding of the Advanced Array first.]
It seemed he couldn't evolve it alone.
Qin Chuan turned his gaze back to the Canglan Conch.
Right now, the Canglan Conch had three minutes remaining to transfer.
"My Starshine Equipment forging was successful," Qin Chuan said with a smile, noticing Yue Li beside him looking expectant during the wait. "The equipment entry increases the Attribute Control Power by 84%."
"That's so high!" Yue Li exclaimed in surprise. "Can you evolve it?"
"Not yet," Qin Chuan shook his head, "Only when the Advanced Array is fully embedded can the Starshine Equipment be embedded in the evolution page, they are integral to each other."
"So, we still need to find that rare Intermediate Resource." Yue Li rested her chin in her hand, and the soft flesh on her cheeks squeezed together, so cute that one couldn't help but want to give it a bite. "Even with my luck and your Talent, we can't find it, advancing to the Elite Rank is too difficult!"
"There's always a way out when we get to the mountain. Don't worry." Qin Chuan said, but his gaze couldn't help falling on Yue Li's cheeks.
The soft light shone down, and they were so close that Qin Chuan could clearly see the fine down on Yue Li's cheeks.
Perhaps the joy of successfully completing the Starshine Equipment loosened a tense string in his heart. It wasn't until his finger touched Yue Li's cheek that Qin Chuan suddenly realized something was amiss and withdrew his hand awkwardly, "That..."
A blush flew onto Yue Li's pretty face, and she glared at Qin Chuan cutely yet fiercely, turning her eyes away, but her ears gradually took on a cherry color.
The atmosphere was both sweet and awkward, leaving Qin Chuan at a loss for words—after all, that move had really been subconscious.
However, in the next moment, the transferring Canglan Conch shifted Qin Chuan's attention in a flash.
Staring at the new location of the Canglan Conch, his eyes widened with surprise.
The Canglan Conch was only twenty kilometers away from his current position!
"Water Flower! Charge!" Qin Chuan called out, pointing towards the direction of the Canglan Conch, "Full-speed sprint, the Canglan Conch is over there!"
Water Flower barked, and a blue halo rippled on its four paws, instantly turning into a blur as it burst forth.
"Did you find the Canglan Conch?" Yue Li stood up abruptly, putting aside the previous embarrassment, "Do you need Xiaoqing's help?"
"Xiaoqing can't find it under my direction."
Qin Chuan shook his head, full of confidence.
"Don't worry, this time, it won't escape!"