Emerging from Seclusion
"Phew! Purgatory is too difficult. I've already advanced to Comet Level 8, but my completion rate is only 19%, I can't even complete 20%."
Lin Zhen put away the Yin-Yang Long Spear, marveling at the insane difficulty of the Purgatory.
"Master, don't be ungrateful. You should know that you are only at the Comet Stage right now. Others at your level are still struggling in the normal difficulty Simulation Field, while you have already reached Purgatory."
Lin Zhen was stunned for a moment, and realized that he had unknowingly surpassed so many others at the same level.
Let alone Comet Stage, even ordinary Star Stage are no longer a concern for Lin Zhen. After all, he is not simply Comet Stage; he also possesses Dark Star within him. The combination of these two Star Power has made his Star Power comparable to that of an ordinary Star Stage.
With his various methods, he would be hard to find an opponent even in the Star Stage.
Lin Zhen calculated the time; there was only one month left until the World Stone began.
"Time flies, another year has almost passed in the blink of an eye. I have been training in the Simulation Field for a full ten months."
"Master, do you want to go out now?" Chris asked.
"Let's not go out yet. There's still a month left. I've calculated it, and I can use this time to break through to comet level nine. Then I can go out. I'll have a few days, enough time to make preparations."
"Master, I suggest you buy Mithril Essence now. After you break through to Comet level nine, you will break through to Satellite Stage after using Fire Copper Essence once. It takes three months within the World Stone, so you need to buy at least the Mithril Essence for the first two uses."
Lin Zhen nodded. In his Dark Star Space, all the Qilin Coin were used to exchange for Sanjiang Coin and purchase Fire Copper Essence.
Six hundred billion Qilin Coin! That's equivalent to sixty trillion Sanjiang Coin! And it's all gone just like that!
"Yes, you're right, let's buy it. But Mithril Essence is too expensive, 100,000 yuan per gram. The cultivation of the Satellite Stage has basically emptied my current money."
"Master, as long as you have the strength, you can obtain it no matter how much money you have. This World Stone is an opportunity, so strength is the most crucial factor."
"You're right, let's buy it now."
Lin Zhen didn't focus on cultivation during this period. Whenever he had free time, he would exchange all the currencies of the various advanced Cosmic Nation he had for Qilin Coin.
Now, after exchanging Qilin Coin again, Lin Zhen bought enough Mithril Essence to cultivate to the Planet Stage level.
He had used up most of the advanced Cosmic Nation currency he obtained within the World Stone. Apart from keeping 100 million of each item as a souvenir, Lin Zhen only had 100 billion Qilin Coin left.
"Although 100 billion Qilin Coin is still a lot, compared to before, this is like going back to square one."
While purchasing Mithril Essence, Lin Zhen took a moment to check the situation outside.
The Baichuan Star is currently in turmoil, with countless people from various factions participating in the World Stone Challenge.
They recruited experts from all over the world, sparing no expense to gather them, all in the intention of making enough profit in this great battle.
When experts gather together, there are more battles. At this time, the Star River Giant Beast Alliance, to which Lin Zhen belongs, actually does little.
Because the Star River Giant Beast Alliance primarily considers genetics, only those whose genes match can be selected, resulting in a very small number of members and a weak and isolated force.
The other parties involved in the conflict also disregarded the Star River Giant Beast Alliance.
Therefore, during this period, what circulated outside was the deeds of certain masters. Some people had already shone brightly, stood out, and were hailed as strong contenders for the World Stone.
Lin Zhen had no time to worry about outside matters and focused on cultivating diligently during the last month.
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"Breaking news! Breaking news! The World Stone Map has been revealed!"
"Complete Guide to the Yellow Springs Underworld, Internal Documents, 1000 RMB per copy!"
"Beware, enemies of the Tongtian Tower! Jin HaoNan says he will snipe their enemies on the banks of the River of Three Crossings."
"With all the top experts from the Dragon Totem faction participating, they are guaranteed at least five spots in the top twenty!"
"With the expulsion of the only expert, Holly, the Star River Giant Beast Alliance is suffering from a talent Wither this year and is being viewed negatively by various parties. It is likely that they will come away empty-handed."
News about World Stone flooded the internet, overwhelming everyone.
In addition to the statements from various forces, a lot of information about the experts has also spread.
Almost every faction has a leader and a key objective.
To ensure that these key figures could successfully exit the Yellow Springs Underworld, various factions dispatched numerous experts to protect them.
In this World Stone, the strongest person is at the Black Hole Stage, and the weakest is almost at the peak of the Planet Stage.
Ghosts roam freely in the Yellow Springs Underworld, not a virtual environment, but the real world. Failure here could mean certain death.
However, few of the maps sold online are reliable. Only one person at the Black Hole Stage has seen the situation inside this World Stone, and that person died not long after emerging. It can be said that no one knows the specifics.
Based only on that person's account, people roughly described some scenes.
Legends about the River of Three Crossings, the Judgment Platform, the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the Underground Palace Temple, the No Return Road, and so on have filled people with anticipation for this World Stone.
********
As the day of the competition drew closer, all factions made preparations and constantly instilled knowledge in the participants, telling them who should focus on breaking through and who should focus on protection.
At the Star River Giant Beast Alliance, Han Sha gathered everyone together for a final talk.
The Star River Giant Beast Alliance now has over a hundred members. Because Han Sha and his group realized that their own numbers were too small and their strength too weak, they gathered those who were previously considered promising but not the main focus of their training, making them the second batch of trainees.
Unexpectedly, among the second batch of trainees, there was actually a talented individual named Hong Hao from a Elementary Civilization Universe Country. He actually obtained the Intermediate Star River Beast Flash Bee Gene Serum, giving Han Sha and the other two a pleasant surprise.
"There are only three days left until the World Stone. I want to remind everyone again that your enemies are not only the ghosts and monsters of the Yellow Springs Underworld, but also other contestants. As competitors, if you die inside the World Stone, no one will be able to avenge you."
"You should pay special attention to two places: the Tongtian Tower and the Apocalypse Mining Group. The participants from these two places are very hostile towards us."
At this moment, a new student said, "We know that we offended the Tongtian Tower because Lin Zhen, Holly, and their group fought with them in the Dimensional Universe, and we offended the mining group because Holly was expelled."
"Yeah, I heard about it too. Teacher, you didn't expel Holly because of Lin Zhen, did you? Otherwise, how come Lin Zhen is completely fine? It's almost time to enter the venue and he still hasn't come back."
"Lin Zhen started the fight, right? I heard he even forced Holly to pay for the Holly expenses. Why are we being blamed for his wrongdoing?"
The relationship between the new and Old Trainee students is not good, especially after seeing that the strongest of the Old Trainee, Tai Shan, obtained the primary Star River Beast Gene Serum, they looked down on the Old Trainee.
Hong Bo was surrounded by a large group of people. As the recipient of the intermediate-level Star River Beast Gene Serum, he had become the leader of many people.
Hearing these people's complaints, before Han Sha could say anything, Hong Bo waved his hand and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Instead of complaining, you should hone your skills. As long as you have the ability, you don't need to take the blame for anyone."
"Boss Hong Bo is really imposing. After entering the World Stone, I'll follow him. I heard that Lin Zhen is just a beginner Star River Beast Gene Serum recipient. How can he compare to Boss Hong Bo?"
"That's right. I heard that more than 200,000 people entered the World Stone this time. I don't think I have the ability to stand out from the crowd, so I can only follow the strong. Without a doubt, Boss Hong Bo is a strong person, at least much stronger than Lin Zhen."
The Old Trainee remained silent. There was an invisible chasm between the new and Old Trainee, and they didn't think much of each other.
The new students are led by Hong Bo, while the Old Trainee are hoping for Lin Zhen's return.
Regarding Lin Zhen's strength, the Old Trainee had also discussed it privately. Cao Yang said that Lin Zhen's strength was unfathomable. During the battle in the Fairy Forest, no one saw Lin Zhen use his full strength, but he seemed very powerful.
Adding to Holly's situation, some of the Old Trainee quietly began to speculate that perhaps Lin Zhen had obtained Advanced Star River Beast genes, and that Han Sha and Jerry were deliberately hiding their abilities.
Han Sha continued, "After you enter the World Stone, don't rush to go deeper inside. You have three months. Remember, the key is to find Cosmic Crystal. A small Cosmic Crystal is worth 100,000 Qilin Coin, which is 100 million Sanjiang Coin. If you can find tens of thousands of them, you'll be rich."
"Mentor, besides searching for the Cosmic Crystal, what if we find the treasures left behind by Yan Jun, the King of Hell? Wouldn't they belong to us?"
"Yes, but I advise you to keep a low profile. You might have the chance to take the King of the Realm's treasures, but you might not have the chance to use them. So be careful not to get caught."
"Understood. I've heard that every named location in the Yellow Springs Underworld contains a treasure of the Realm King. I must search for it carefully."
Looking at the excited martial artists, Han Sha didn't give them many instructions.
In his mind, it would be good if these people could achieve good results, but it wouldn't matter if they couldn't, as long as Lin Zhen could succeed smoothly.
Judging by the time, Lin Zhen should be back soon. I just spoke with Lin Zhen yesterday, and he said he would be out of seclusion today.
It's been eleven months since I last saw him. I wonder what level Lin Zhen has reached in his cultivation.
Two more days passed in this way, until the morning of the third day, the day before Han Sha was about to enter the World Stone, when he received a message from Lin Zhen about the Dimensional Universe.
"Mr. Han Sha, I have completed my cultivation. In order to save time, I did not go back to your place, but came directly to the entrance of the World Stone. Please come and find me here."
Han Sha, who had been on edge for the past few days, was relieved to see that Lin Zhen had finally caught up.
"It's time to enter the World Stone, everyone, let's go!"