Helen Ruins

After several days of fleeing, the Gu Ding Team had gotten far away from Wayne's territory, but the repeated use of long-distance Space Shuttle had almost completely depleted the spaceship's Source Crystal, requiring a refueling.

Under normal operating conditions, the spaceship can actually replenish its energy consumption through light energy, and it almost never runs out of power. However, this kind of long-distance Space Shuttle incurs a huge energy loss every time it is used, which cannot be compensated for by light energy alone. It is necessary to find a professional spaceship maintenance company to replenish the Source Crystal.

The route arranged by Sea Emperor had been calculated well in advance, and the spaceship would arrive near Helen Star just as all its energy was nearly exhausted.

Helen Star is an extremely prosperous planet in the Della Universe, and it is also the residence of another powerful figure, Bucknell.

Like Wayne, Bucknell is a powerful figure in the Shallow Sea Zone, but he has a powerful backer, even stronger than Wayne. His cultivation level is also that of Two-Star High-rank God, but his strength is comparable to a five-star. He is considered one of the top-ranked powerhouses in the Shallow Sea Zone. Moreover, his territory far exceeds Wayne's, encompassing over three hundred universes.

Bucknell's power is also the main reason why Sea Emperor chose this planet as his landing point. Even if Wayne catches up, he will not be able to make a move on this planet.

As the spaceship docked, Liliath's gaze swept over the dense array of various spaceships at the port. She felt something was amiss. "Why are there so many spaceships?"

"I didn't expect this when I was planning the route. It wasn't until yesterday that the news broke that the Helen Ruins near Helen Star would open in the next few days. Many people must have come because of this news," the Sea Emperor explained.

"Helen Ruins? Can we go in too?" Gu Ding was no longer worried about Wayne's pursuit, because Wayne couldn't possibly make a move on this planet. He now desperately needed to find an opportunity to break through to the Demigod Realm and then enhance the strengthening effect of the Myriad Manifestations Emperor Body.

"Anyone below the cultivation level of High-rank God can enter," the Sea Emperor affirmed. "The Helen Ruins were left behind by the High-rank God Helen. Helen was a powerful woman from the Universe Sea over 200,000 years ago. She possessed the cultivation level of Five-Star High-rank God, yet had the Combat Strength of a Five-Star Peak-rank God. She was a hegemon in the Shallow Sea, a powerful being who was conferred the title of Headquarters Duke by the Federal Government. She occupied nearly one-fifth of the entire Shallow Sea territory."

"Five-Star High-rank God should have a lifespan of at least 500,000 years. With some special abilities, living for 700,000 or 800,000 years wouldn't be difficult. And with such great strength, why did she perish?" Elsa couldn't understand it.

"She perished because she encountered a great Heavenly Tribulation when she was ascending to the Peak-rank God. A Violet Flame Thunder Beast was attracted by the power of the Heavenly Tribulation. After she killed the thunder beast, she was severely depleted of her divine source and was reduced to ashes by the great Heavenly Tribulation." The Sea Emperor couldn't help but sigh when he told this story.

"The Violet Flame Thunder Beast ranks at least in the top 30 among the more than 300 Starry Sky Giant Beast. It's quite remarkable that she was able to kill it." Liliath also expressed some admiration for the woman. "Back then, a Crimson Blood Beast Violet Flame Thunder Beast killed us. That Crimson Blood Beast ranks outside the top 200 among the Starry Sky Giant Beast. You can imagine how terrifying the Violet Flame Thunder Beast was."

"Yes. Her strength is already very close to that of Forbidden King, but the reason she is so strong is said to be because she obtained a treasure from Ancient Era. And this treasure is also closely related to the opening of this ruin."

Gu Ding and his group's eyes lit up. According to the Sea Emperor's explanation, they still had a chance to obtain this treasure.

"It is said that this treasure is extremely spiritual and will choose its own master. Many Peak-rank God have tried to subdue it, but none have succeeded. Therefore, a marshal of the Federal Government set up a man-made secret realm here. Whenever the treasure acts up, the secret realm will temporarily open, allowing geniuses from all sides to enter and let the treasure choose its master. However, this secret realm opens once every thousand years, and it has opened more than two hundred times so far, but the treasure has not successfully chosen a master even once. Therefore, it has gradually been used by the Federal Government as a testing ground. Other geniuses from all walks of life also come to try their luck, partly to try their luck, and partly to train themselves."

"Of course, besides that treasure, this secret realm also contains Helen's life's wealth, which has been placed in different locations within the realm. There are also various treasures left behind by many geniuses who perished there. Even if you can't obtain Helen's treasure, you should still gain something by exploring it." The Sea Emperor explained the general situation of the Helen Secret Realm.

"Fortunately, if the High-rank God can't enter, our strength should make us relatively safe." Bigge nodded, feeling a bit itchy to try his hand at this rare secret realm.

"The reason why the marshal of that Federal Government set the limit to only those with cultivation levels below the High-rank God level is because, apart from that treasure, most of Helen's other treasures don't actually have much appeal to High-rank God. High-rank God enter the secret realm definitely for that treasure. But the previous owner of that treasure was a genius like Helen, who probably wouldn't even look at most High-rank God in the world, making the chance of her recognizing her as her master extremely small. Moreover, for High-rank God to enter, it wouldn't serve as a training exercise," the Sea Emperor explained the reason for the cultivation level restriction.

"This secret realm was set up by the Federal Government, so Bucknell's backer must be the Federal Government, right?" Gu Ding suddenly thought of this question.

"That's right. Bucknell is a retired Elite Legion military officer. The area he manages is actually within the sphere of influence of the Federal Government. The main reason why the Federal Government hasn't openly occupied this area is that this location used to be Helen's stronghold, and Helen was a highly respected and influential figure in her lifetime. Therefore, there are no military personnel stationed here, and the management is similar to that of the Freedom Alliance's locations—relatively loose, with virtually no restrictions on entry and exit," the Sea Emperor explained.

"Is there a limit to the number of people allowed to enter this secret realm?" Gu Ding suddenly wondered if he needed to conduct a test like last time.

"There is no limit to the number of people allowed, but forces outside the Federal Government will be charged per person. It's one hundred million Universe Crystal per person, regardless of age or cultivation level," the Sea Emperor reminded.

"Should we also accept animals like Tagore and Blue?" Gu Ding pointed to Blue in his shirt pocket. Blue Gu Ding teasing it and stretched out its two little paws to try and grab Gu Ding's fingers, but its two forelimbs were too short to reach.

"If you're going to collect them, you'd better put them in your Pet Beast Space and release them after you enter the ruins," Sea Emperor suggested. "It just so happens that the ancient civilization watch from last time had Pet Beast Space."

"I'm not going into the Pet Beast Space!" Tagore protested, extending his paw.

"Alright. If Tagore doesn't want to go, that's fine. Blue will have to make do; saving us a hundred million isn't bad." Gu Ding knew this too. Tagore disliked being treated like a cat.

Blue paused, startled by his own name, and looked up at Gu Ding with his small blue eyes. He didn't know why Gu Ding had called his name. He could only understand his own name; as for other human languages, he didn't understand them very well, and naturally, he couldn't protest like Tagore.

"Let's register as soon as possible, otherwise there will be even more people and we'll have to queue." The Sea Emperor had already seen that quite a few people were already queuing to pay.

Guided by the Sea Emperor, the group quickly arrived at the Registration Office.

There were still more than twenty people ahead of them in line, but Gu Ding and his group patiently waited until the very end.

They stood there for about ten minutes. There were only a few people ahead of Gu Ding, and then another ten or so lined up behind them. But then, another small team appeared from behind. These guys looked like they hadn't showered in days. Their clothes were shabby, and you could smell the alcohol on them from afar. Gu Ding knew that these guys were definitely Interstellar Pirate, but they all looked like Interstellar Wanderer.

There were about ten people in the group, all at the Mid-rank God cultivation level. The leader was probably around Three-Star Mid-rank God. His gaze swept over the queue, finally settling on Gu Ding and Liliath's group. Then he moved closer, "Hey kid, this spot is ours."

Before Gu Ding could make a move, Liliath glared at him, her Purple-Gold eyes flashing in an instant, and the group of people immediately lay sprawled on the ground.

"Shut up!" Liliath snorted coldly.

This scene was witnessed by many people in line and those who had just paid, and their gazes toward the Gu Ding Team immediately became somewhat wary.

Others, perhaps out of respect for Gu Ding and his group, didn't dare approach the fallen men and avoided them as they passed by.

Soon, the group arrived at Gu Ding's location. Gu Ding had already recalled Blue into his Pet Beast Space.

The registration staff glanced at Tagore on Gu Ding's shoulder. "Is your cat going in too? This secret realm is no joke. Besides, pets and humans pay the same price to enter, one hundred million Universe Crystal per spot."

Tagore was about to explode, but Gu Ding grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him into his arms, making it impossible for him to break free. "Well, we all need to go in, including him, a total of seven people. Please register us."

As Gu Ding said this, Tagore scratched him several times with his claws, causing a burning pain in his chest.

The registrar counted the number of people, had Gu Ding transfer the money, gave Gu Ding seven Iron Tag, glanced at Tagore, and kindly reminded him, "In this secret realm, everyone's teleportation location is randomly dispersed when they enter. If you don't want to be separated from this cat, it's best to put him into the pet space before teleporting."

"Understood, thank you!" Gu Ding hadn't expected there to be such a teleportation rule. He wasn't worried about Tagore, but Blue didn't have much ability to protect himself, so he had to put him in the pet space.

However, upon hearing the man call him a cat again and mention the pet space, Tagore became even more enraged. If Gu Ding hadn't intervened, Tagore, even if he didn't kill the man, would probably have scratched him until his face was covered in welts.

After registering, Gu Ding and his group headed towards the nearest spaceship repair shop, where they needed to recharge the spaceship's Energy Crystal.

~~~

Let me say a few words about Reed. This character's fate was already set before I even started writing the first chapter of the book; he was even formed before the protagonist. He and the protagonist are childhood sweethearts, practically inseparable since they were little. Because they are best friends, they are worthy of being the most respected rivals, mutually supporting each other in their Gu Ding. Personally, I believe there are many kinds of friends: casual acquaintances, loyal buddies... but I think the most indispensable friends in a person's life are those who can help you succeed, those who can benefit you immensely throughout your life. That's why the character Reed exists.