World Devouring Insect, Fate's Arrangement, Hollow Mountain, Hollow Stone

The space is not large, with a narrow stone path winding upwards, the end of which can be seen at a glance.

At the end was an ancient altar built with just a few simple stone pillars, and something on the altar seemed to be glowing.

Ronan walked toward the altar. In the darkness, several bats flew toward him, which he casually shooed away.

Ronan had explored many lost realms, and this Secret Realm Space was definitely the least risky one he had ever been to.

Perhaps, as Alazan said, this is a "Treasure Inheritance Land" specially left behind by the ancient wizards.

Just like the hidden caves described in some martial arts novels of his past life, where the ground is piled with Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and the walls are covered with martial Martial Arts Manuals— "waiting only for the destined one!" He had done similar things more than once, such as leaving the "Ascetic Body Forging" technique under the bed in the Hoddam Treehouse Area, and leaving the Meditation Technique and magical artifacts in the secret room of the East Coast family castle. People always want to leave some trace of themselves in this world. A few seeds planted casually may become a tree for someone who comes after them to rest and find shade many years later.

Wizards are no exception.

Ronan strolled through the quiet space, able to hear the echo of his own footsteps.

With a peculiar feeling, he wondered what the owner of this hidden space would leave him, until he reached the end of the stone path and stood before the simple yet ancient altar.

Six stone pillars stand on the altar.

Five of them are arranged in the shape of a pentagram, and the remaining one is located in the center of the pentagram.

Apart from the largest stone pillar in the very center, the other five stone pillars each have a white, transparent crystal that emits a faint glow suspended on them.

There was nothing else besides that.

Ronan looked around and was about to approach one of the stone pillars to examine it when he heard Alazan sigh softly.

"It's a pity we arrived a step too late."

"What's the meaning?"

Ronan paused, then instinctively looked toward the stone pillar at the center of the pentagram.

Alazan said slowly, "There should have been a World Stone placed here, but I don't know if it decayed over time or if someone took it first."

"World Stone"

Ronan's gaze shifted slightly as he slowly walked to the central stone pillar.

There was a noticeable groove at the top of the stone pillar, with some powdery substance scattered in it, which did indeed look like traces of something having been placed there.

Ronan reached out and gently rubbed his hand inside the groove, picking up a little powder and rubbing it between his fingers.

Suddenly, his expression changed, and he took out a palm-sized, square black wooden box from his Space Ring.

The box was shaking violently, as if something was eager to jump out of it.

Ronan hesitated for a moment, then opened the wooden box. A jet-black Unicorn Scarab immediately flew out.

It landed directly in the groove on the stone pillar, and then slowly crawled around, sucking up the powder in the groove. At the same time, it expelled some translucent mucus from its tail, which sprinkled on the groove like "urine".

"You actually have this? Where did you get it?"

In his mind, Alazan exclaimed in surprise.

"What's this?"

Ronan stared at the actions of the Unicorn Scarab on the stone pillar and casually asked a question.

He bought the mysterious black beetle with Howling Fish at a Sunset Gathering stall in the south.

According to the stall owner, the beetle came from an unknown ancient wizard's tomb.

When it was first obtained, the mysterious beetle secreted a similar transparent mucus, which directly caused a change in the coordinates of the World Stone on Ronan's body.

Now, perhaps because of the World Stone, this guy has climbed out again.

"World Devouring Insect."

Alazan replied, "A strange creature that feeds specifically on the aura of impending world destruction, often referred to as the 'Harbinger of Doom.' Logically, it shouldn't."

Alazan suddenly couldn't continue speaking.

The atmosphere inexplicably became somewhat oppressive, with only the Unicorn Scarab beetle devouring the World Stone powder audible.

After a long silence, Ronan spoke in a low voice, "Is it that serious?"

"Only by finding and examining the place where this thing first appeared can I make a judgment."

Alazan paused for a moment and said, "Nothing in this world is absolute; many factors can lead to the appearance of the World Devouring Insect."

It's possible that a world on the verge of destruction is adjacent to ours, and a few World Devouring Insect just happened to fall in through a spatial rift. Or perhaps they were pets kept by a wizard who escaped from a laboratory. As long as the World Devouring Insect don't appear in large numbers, it doesn't mean anything.

Ronan nodded, realizing he had been worrying unnecessarily.

Whether a world is about to be destroyed cannot be determined by a single tiny insect.

He subconsciously touched the coordinates of a World Stone hidden under the back of his right hand, and felt that the two speculations Alazan had just mentioned were highly likely.

"Take good care of this thing. In an era where even Clarity Snake are hard to catch, the existence of World Devouring Insect is even rarer."

Once cultivated to a large scale, the World Devouring Insect become extremely powerful.

Alazan seemed to recall something and said in a low voice, "I remember there was once a wizard who successfully trained an army composed entirely of World Devouring Insect, someone who hadn't even reached the seventh level, yet it resulted in the deaths of several eighth-level wizards."

Ronan stared at the ordinary-looking Unicorn Scarab in front of him, a hint of surprise in his eyes. "So terrifying?"

"Don't underestimate any existence that can be associated with 'world-destroying level'. However, it is difficult for ordinary people to reproduce a large number of World Devouring Insect. You need to find a world that is in dire need of destruction as food to feed them."

Even in our time, this was an extremely difficult thing to do.

"Alazan said calmly."

Ronan took a deep breath and carefully put the motionless Unicorn Scarab, which had finished eating, back into the small wooden box.

Then they collected all the translucent mucus that it secreted.

Alazan was unaware that he possessed the precise coordinates to one day destroy the world. Or perhaps, maybe, one day, he might be able to cultivate this tiny World Devouring Insect!

Of course, that day is still too far away for him now.

The central pillar was devoid of even the dust left from where the World Stone had once been placed, so there was nothing left to see. Ronan turned his gaze to the remaining five pillars.

Each of these stone pillars is suspended by a piece of transparent crystal of similar size but irregular shape.

Ronan tried picking up a piece and found that the crystal was as light as a feather and could float naturally in the air after he let go.

The crystal appears to be hollow inside, and tapping it lightly with a fingertip produces a clear hollow echo.

Alazan

Ronan habitually used Alazan as an encyclopedia of wonders.

Alazan quickly provided an answer.

"This is Hollow Stone."

It is a type of associated crystal of the World Stone.

Ronan listened, then suddenly paused, "And then?"

"What do you want then?"

For example

Ronan glanced at the transparent crystals on the other stone pillars. "What is their purpose, and what is their value?"

"It has no special value."

Hollow stones are generally only used when activating the World Stone to open Space Passage. They are also used in some special magical experiments. Hollow Stone are not particularly precious materials, but they are still quite rare.

Because only wizards who possess the World Stone can reliably produce it, and this production process requires a period of time.

Is that all?

Ronan couldn't help but frown.

He looked around at the empty altar and the completely open Secret Realm Space, and suddenly felt a sense of loss, as if the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

On his way from the entrance to the altar, he had considered every possible way to obtain various inherited resources and treasures, but in the end, all he found were a few hollow crystals that were of little use to him at the moment!

Ronan was inevitably disappointed.

Alazan frowned and said, "It is indeed very strange."

Logically speaking, a specially designated treasure transfer space should not contain only such a small amount of items.

If the World Stone was taken away first, there's no reason why that person would leave the accompanying Hollow Stone untouched.

"Never mind."

Ronan shook his head, having already shaken off his sense of loss.

It was an unexpected joy, and it's already good enough that we gained something; there's no need to ask for too much.

Alazan didn't say anything more. Ronan began to remove the Hollow Stone from the pillar one by one. When he took the fifth hollow crystal, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

The Hollow Stone, which had originally hung lightly on the pillar like a hydrogen balloon, seemed to have taken root underneath. With a little force, runes began to appear on the top of the pillar.

"Take it and run."

Alazan reminded him in his mind in a serious tone.

"Um?"

Ronan was taken aback.

"This is Self-Destruct Rune."

Once all the Hollow Stone are removed, this space will self-destruct.

You need to be fast, otherwise getting caught in the spatial turbulence will be very troublesome.

It really is a dedicated space for storing treasures, and it even has a self-destruct mechanism. Ronan thought for a moment and decided to leave the last Hollow Stone behind.

"Let's save it for the next lucky person who gets to come here."

I can't be the only one to experience this feeling of being filled with anticipation only to be disappointed in the end...

"Perhaps the last person who took the World Stone had the same idea."

Ronan mentally gave Alazan the middle finger, then checked the entire altar again to make sure there was still space, and finally returned the way he came.

Between the two semi-circular stone peaks, invisible ripples of space appeared, and a tall, slender figure suddenly emerged from nothingness.

Two hungry and weak bats emerged with them, and upon being stimulated by the bright sunlight outside, they immediately plummeted downwards.

Ronan spread his mental energy and scanned the surroundings, but found no trace of anyone else passing by.

After taking out the "Spirit Lake Book" to determine the return route, he set off immediately without stopping for a moment.

"This time, upon returning to Spirit Lake, I must complete the condensation of all remaining Soul Rune in one go."

"I wonder how many resources I'll get in return for 'selling myself' to that wizard genius in the Deep Sea."

As Ronan flew, he silently made plans in his mind.

Suddenly, a suppressed, deep roar of a ferocious beast came from afar.

Accompanied by a strong spatial fluctuation that was still clearly visible when it reached him.

Ronan instantly rose to a high position and looked in the direction from which the sound and vibrations came.

Soon, he saw a strange, mountain-sized monster soaring into the sky, accompanied by countless hurricane tornadoes.

With a lion's head, a goat's body, a long tail of a black scorpion and a venomous snake, and enormous bat-like wings, it resembled a living, dark bronze sculpture that had stepped out of the pages of a legend! On the back of this enormous ancient monster, a dazzling light shone alone, a figure that Ronan knew all too well.

Juventus!

Ronan's pupils contracted slightly as he saw two semi-circular stone peaks rapidly collapsing beneath Juventus's feet, who was riding Chimera- blooded beast through the air. The intense spatial fluctuations were emanating from the center of the two collapsing peaks.

"Juventus also entered that hidden treasure space?!"

"He took the last Hollow Stone I left behind!"

Ronan slowly lowered his towering figure, carefully concealing his presence, and watched Juventus depart into the distance.

The time interval between him emerging from the space and Juventus entering was so short that it was practically one after the other.

What an incredible coincidence! "Luckily, we didn't run into this guy head-on in that space."

Ronan's eyes flickered.

He had already faced Juventus head-on once before, and he had essentially "frustrated" them. If they were to meet again under those circumstances, especially with their interests involved, they might just take action against him directly.

With a gap of an entire realm and the suppression of the seventh-level First Generation bloodline, he has absolutely no chance against Juventus.

Ronan hadn't forgotten that Juventus received a nine-star rating in the Spell Tower during the initial selection process!

"I really have to thank Goddess of Luck for her favor this time, saving me from an unnecessary trouble."

The situation might have been different if I hadn't chosen to leave a Hollow Stone behind.

All I can say is that everything happens for a reason.

As Ronan was thinking, two figures dressed in Gray Magic Robe suddenly appeared in his field of vision.

The two seemed to have been drawn over by the spatial fluctuations and the Chimera's voice, and cast inquiring glances at him upon seeing him.

Ronan didn't linger and left the area immediately.

Atop the towering stone peaks, the man in the grey robe slowly withdrew his gaze from the rapidly departing figure.

My gaze returned to the direction the Chimera had left in.

"The Spirit Lake Initial."

A grey-robed man spoke in a low voice, "Following in the footsteps of Helamus, at the Hollow Mountain, the Hollow Hall, and taking the Hollow Stone, several of the prophecies left by the Old Prophet have already matched him."

"It seems that Juventus is the one we've been looking for, the one predicted."

"As the Son of the Black Wizard King, he possesses unparalleled talent and ability. If this continent truly needs someone to turn the tide, that person can only be Juventus."

"A gray-robed man sighed."

"Don't rush to conclusions. The New Prophet gives us plenty of time. Let's wait and see."

What is the next prophecy?

One of the men in gray robes asked.

The companion carefully took out an exquisitely crafted box, opened it, and inside lay a square piece of parchment.

This time, however, there were no written instructions on the parchment, only a simple diagram.

The gray-robed man holding the box picked up the parchment, squinted, and examined it closely in the sunlight.

"Judging from its shape, it looks like a strange black snake."

"Do you think this pattern symbolizes the second tail of the Chimera under Juventus's rule?"

"Perhaps."

The two gray-robed figures spoke in hushed tones, their forms gradually fading until they disappeared completely into the air.

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