"Thank you, Wei Wen." The Thunder God wore a grateful expression, while Hong beside him chuckled.
"By the way, Hall Master, to hide my own limitations, I didn't go all out to earn the Black God suit," Luo Feng said with a puzzled look. "Now, as I'm about to graduate from the elite training camp and become an inspector, I wear it daily. But honestly, I am fully capable of obtaining one myself... could you provide me a set?"
"If that won't do, how about I head to the trial tower now to see if my combat power amplitude can reach 16?"
In truth, considering Luo Feng's current strength, obtaining a Black God suit wouldn't be difficult. After all, if trading with Hong, a single Wood Essence Crystal (Mu Ya Crystal) was worth four sets of Black God suits. Moreover, Luo Feng was already a Planetary Level expert and the future inspector of the Extreme Martial Hall... so Hong didn't hesitate at all.
"Don't worry. I'll return to headquarters later and give you a Black God suit. Then we can prepare for our expedition to the Australian continent." Both Hong and the Thunder God were momentarily stunned by Luo Feng's words.
Soon after, Hong and Thunder God left the elite training camp to prepare for their upcoming adventure.
…
Extreme Martial Hall HQ.
"There should be Wood Essence Crystals on the Australian continent. If we find any this time, our strength should improve much faster..." Thunder God couldn't help but say excitedly.
"As for the undiscovered ruins, the benefits might be far greater than just Wood Essence Crystals."
"Well, we'll know the specifics once we get there," Hong nodded.
"Brother Hong, the newly discovered ruins are bound to hold great treasures. Don't compete with me for them," the Thunder God said hastily.
"Treasures?" Hong shook his head slightly. "We don't know the details yet. Let's not talk about benefits now. Of course, if you're lucky enough to find a treasure, I won't snatch it. But the treasures within such ruins naturally belong to those with the fortune to claim them."
"You also know... with ancient civilization ruins and the like, it's not just about strength. Luck and fate play a part too."
"There must be benefits this time. I refuse to believe my luck is worse than yours every single time," Thunder God said unwillingly.
"Then we'll see which of us brothers has better fortune. Though, I suspect Wei Wen and Luo Feng might have the best luck of all," Hong remarked thoughtfully.
…
Inside a blood-red triangular fighter jet, Wei Wen and the other three sat cross-legged.
"The coordinates for the ruins you mentioned should be here," Hong said, looking at Wei Wen.
A three-dimensional virtual projection in the cabin displayed the landscape of the lake below in full detail.
"The coordinates are correct, but why does it feel completely different from last time?" Wei Wen stared at the displayed Fog Island, unable to hide his shock.
A vast lake lay below, but now, Fog Island was devoid of mist. Even the central island in the lake had vanished, leaving only an expansive expanse of white water!
No fog, no island in the lake's center... Was this the same Fog Island he had visited before? To destroy such a large island—what level of combat power would that require?
Wei Wen didn't know that since his last departure from Fog Island, the mist had gradually dissipated. As for the so-called island, it had been destroyed by the Beast King and the Demon Cloud Vine cultivated by Babata. At the very least, the island's surface was completely ruined, with the deeper parts now submerged.
"Something's off?" Hong quickly activated his auxiliary AI to scan the entire Fog Island. Suddenly, his expression shifted slightly. "Wei Wen, my auxiliary AI has detected a Beast King-level monster in this lake, along with a strange life force fluctuation!"
"It's a terrifying creature with thirteen long tentacles. It's the third Beast King-class entity we've discovered on Earth. Additionally, the lake itself is peculiar. It contains a large number of aquatic monsters, including many Lord-level beings."
A terrifying, unknown tentacled life form. Besides the density of monster lords in these waters being far higher than in the ocean, there was also a Beast King. Logically, inland lakes like this shouldn't have the environment to nurture a Beast King. There must be treasures here, such as Wood Essence Crystals.
For a beast to grow to Beast King level, it must have consumed countless Wood Essence Crystals. There might even be a significant stockpile left!
With just a brief investigation, Hong was certain that relics of an ancient civilization were here. Furthermore, previous discoveries of ancient civilization ruins were never this exaggerated. This time... it might be earth-shattering.
Hong pointed around the three-dimensional projection of the lake. "Look, those flying saucer fighters and garrison bases. They belong to the five major powers, major base city factions, and some powerful legislators."
"A Beast King?" Wei Wen immediately frowned.
Last time he approached the Falling Star space ship, he hadn't encountered any Beast King.
It seemed that after he obtained a large number of Wood Essence Crystals from Babata previously, Babata had already taken action. However, since Babata had only recently begun cultivating the Beast King and the Demon Cloud Vine, they likely weren't extremely powerful yet.
"The Beast King and that strange vine are formidable. Whoever gets the treasure will depend on luck," Hong said with a grave expression. "Thunder God and I aren't afraid of the Beast King. As for you, if you encounter that Beast King, don't engage it head-on. Use the flight speed advantage of your Spiritual Master abilities to escape quickly."
"This vine life form somewhat resembles the Demon Cloud Vine. I never expected such plant life to exist on our planet."
According to ancient civilization relic information he had obtained before, the Demon Cloud Vine was an incredibly precious treasure even in the vast universe, its value no less than that of a Star-level powerhouse. This also hinted at the potentially immense richness of the ruin's resources.
After a brief explanation, Hong opened the hatch and flew out first. Wei Wen and the others exchanged glances before following, hovering silently above Fog Island.
"The place where you hunted for treasure last time wasn't near the Beast King, was it?" Hong looked toward the Beast King monster, now almost visible to the naked eye within the lake.
"That's right!"
Wei Wen could clearly see a massive shadow in the lake. Its size was enormous, estimated to span several thousand meters.
"According to my scan data, this strange beast has thirteen tentacles, each about 1,500 meters long," Hong pointed at the shadow below. "It also has something like a turtle shell on its head. It can likely retract all thirteen tentacles into the shell in an instant. The defensive power of that shell is estimated to far exceed that of the Beast King's tentacles."
"What should we do?" The Thunder God looked at Hong.
"If we don't deal with the Beast King, we can't hunt for treasure in peace. I'll test its strength first," Hong said after a moment of silence. "Thunder God, your strength is considerable. Help me contain that plant life form for now."
Although Demon Cloud Vine had been trained by Babata for some time, it wasn't exceptionally strong. Thunder God should be able to fight it on equal terms.
As for the Beast King's data, it was indeed frightening.
But data is just data. Whether we can defeat it or not depends on actually fighting it first.
Hearing Hong's words, Wei Wen couldn't help but frown.
He had thought this operation would be straightforward, but he hadn't expected his last action to trigger a butterfly effect again.
This time, Babata had actually trained the Beast King and Demon Cloud Vine ahead of schedule. Judging from Hong's expression, the Beast King's strength was no less than in the novel.
But this time, without the buff from Demon Cloud Vine, Hong might very well fail to defeat the Beast King in their first encounter, and it seemed Hong might even get injured.
…
12,000 meters underground.
Inside the Falling Star Ship.
"What a pity... That guy Wei Wen left Kirishima after taking a large number of Crystal remains, and hasn't come to accept the inheritance," Babata couldn't help but muse.
"I can only use the Crystal to raise a so-called Emperor-level beast and briefly cultivate Demon Cloud Vine, to see if it can attract some strong individuals in the future."
"Then I can use the Wood Essence Crystals to have them hunt for treasures on Kirishima. At the same time, I can select the one with the widest brain domain to become the inheritor."
It was just like when Babata probably got a bunch of Wood Essence Crystals, placing some at the entrance of the space ship and tossing dozens outside.
"Hmm?" Babata's detector suddenly sensed something, and his eyes lit up.
"I didn't expect this guy to come again, and he brought three helpers. One of them must be the person on Earth with the strongest brain domain, right?"
…
"A brain domain width of 22% might be average on the Falling Star, but on this planet, it's one in ten thousand! Oh well, you pick the tallest among the short. It'll be him. When the time comes, we can use him to lure that strange Wei Wen into the Falling Star Ship."
"But the Beast King is a problem. Had I known, I wouldn't have cultivated the Beast King and Demon Cloud Vine. I hope Hong can work harder and kill the Beast King."
In the novel, Babata also said that spiritual waves could only subconsciously influence Luo Feng.
Luo Feng was busy searching underground without a clear purpose. Guided by his subconscious, he was able to gradually move in the right direction!
But if he guided Luo Feng by saying—for instance, telling Luo Feng to commit suicide—Luo Feng would of course wake up instantly. How could he possibly agree?
Therefore, Babata cannot kill the Beast King and Demon Cloud Vine that he cultivated through mind waves.
…
"You two should stay away from the lake now, as it's easy to get caught up in the battle above it," Hong said, looking at Wei Wen and Luo Feng.
"Whether it's me, Thunder God, the Beast King, or Demon Cloud Vine, any random strike might be more than an ordinary Planetary-level warrior can handle. Don't be careless."
As soon as Hong finished speaking, he glanced at Thunder God. Their long-term sparring meant a single look was enough to roughly determine their next course of action.
Hong and Thunder God flew side by side to the center of the lake and then dove rapidly into the water.
After Hong comprehended his domain, he was indeed invincible among Planetary-level warriors on land. But the Beast Emperor was as at home in the water as a fish.
Trying to catch a 10-kilogram fish with bare hands, even a normal adult would struggle for half an hour without success. Moreover, underwater, every human movement is hindered by water resistance! The faster the speed, the greater the drag.
Of course, the most powerful presence under the lake was the Beast King. The Beast King was the biggest obstacle to obtaining the treasure. How could they get it without killing the Beast King?
Hong and Thunder God ventured deep underwater and soon engaged the Beast King and Demon Cloud Vine in battle.
The lake's surface began to tremble. The shadow of the Beast King, which had been squatting motionless, suddenly erupted as if gone mad, its tentacles whipping about wildly!
One of them was nearly 20 meters in diameter, and the length emerging from the water exceeded a thousand meters. The tentacles swept out, instantly covering a radius of several thousand meters!
Boom!!!
The air exploded, and the lake surface churned with turbulent waves. Numerous Lord-level beasts were sent flying into the air, instantly either pulverized or maimed.
With just a casual strike, a Beast King could cause earth-shattering waves.
Luo Feng watched in shock as the area hundreds of miles below trembled slightly from the Beast King's—the Tentacled Beast's—frantic counterattack.
"It cut off one of my tentacles so quickly. It seems this Beast King isn't as strong as those two old guys," Hong revealed a smile.
But Hong's smile soon vanished, because all of the Beast King's tentacles had retracted into its turtle-like shell.
Hong brandished the spear that had just severed the Beast King's tentacle and attempted to strike the shell. It didn't break at all, not even leaving a mark.
From this alone, unless he ventured deep into the shell to fight the Beast King to the death, killing it would be impossible.
Hong gritted his teeth and dove into the shell.
But he soon retreated from it, swiftly flew into the sky, and entered his Hong-level smart fighter.
He took out a pre-prepared bottle of Life Water and drank it to recover from his injuries.
The first battle between Hong and the Beast King ended abruptly. Seeing Hong withdraw from the fight, Thunder God no longer restrained Demon Cloud Vine.
"Brother Hong, can you kill this Beast King?" Thunder God asked solemnly, looking at the recovering Hong.
"This beast king is completely huddled in its shell. I thought it would be easier to kill since it's hard for it to move, but I didn't expect this. It's not that simple," Hong frowned, gazing at the lake below.
"If it's hard to kill, what should we do?" Thunder God frowned as well.
Ignore the Beast King and Demon Cloud Vine to hunt for treasures and explore the ruins? That was clearly unrealistic. After all, you can't let a potential threat sleep soundly beside you.
[Your bound friend, Ji Ning, has comprehended the Harmony of Water and Fire. Your understanding of the fundamental laws of Water and Fire continues to deepen. You have reached the Third Level of the Water and Fire Domain.]
The Crimson Bright Diagram of Nine Heavens practiced by Ji Ning in the Desolate Era: breaking through to the Xiantian stage involved drawing power from two supreme stars to automatically generate two major divine patterns.
After breaking through to the Xiantian Void stage, the two supreme stars also showered down the True Fire of the Sun and the True Water of the Supreme Yin... Water and Fire worked together to give birth to the divine body of an innate Godfiend!
Such a Godfiend body was no less than those of true Godfiend at their birth during the God-Demon era. Therefore, this method could be called the premier technique!
And due to the synergy of Water and Fire, the combined power of the Third Level in the Water and Fire Domain was no less than that of the Fourth Level in an ordinary domain.
[Note: Because the avatar in the Desolate World are projection avatar, hard attributes like Ki Refining and Body Refining realms cannot be fed back to the main body. This is also to prevent inexplicable breakthroughs.]
"How about I give it a try?" Wei Wen asked, looking at the silent Hong and Thunder God.
"You?" Hong and Thunder God glanced at Wei Wen and shook their heads slightly.
In their view, Wei Wen was only at Planetary Level Three. Even if his energy was stronger than theirs, he couldn't possibly be a match for the Beast King.
…
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