Secrets Beneath the Deep Pit

Zhou Yi went out when it was late at night. Although she had gotten the key legitimately, what she was about to do was far from aboveboard.

The night was terrifyingly quiet. The distance from the dormitory building to the ruins was not short, and there wasn't a single person on the road. All she could hear was the sound of Zhou Yi's own footsteps.

But for Zhou Yi, whose Star Power had surged recently and whose night vision had improved along with it, the absence of darkness meant the absence of fear.

Following Lin Xu's method from earlier in the day, Zhou Yi used the key to open the door and squeezed inside. With a click, the large door behind her made a dull closing sound.

Because she could see clearly, Zhou Yi didn't use any lighting equipment.

Perhaps it was the ample light and company during the day that gave her courage, but the ruins had offered nothing more than awe.

However, at night, with the atmosphere set, Zhou Yi looked up at the colorful murals carved into the walls. She felt as if the Di Jiang's huge eyes were staring intently at her, like a beast sealed within the wall, ready to break free at any moment.

What she had told Aunt Lan during the day wasn't entirely nonsense. Zhou Yi truly admired the person who had created these murals.

"Lifelike" was an understatement.

Zhou Yi stood at the entrance and once again circulated the Star Gathering Art.

Star Power poured into her body like it had in the afternoon. This time, however, Zhou Yi was prepared. The moment the Star Power surged in, she activated the energy in her chakras, forming a small vortex to absorb all the incoming Star Power and integrate it.

The process didn't take long, and Zhou Yi stopped.

She looked at the smaller but deeper pit and slowly walked towards it.

She had been too far away during the day, but now, up close, she could truly see how deep the pit was.

It was about half a meter deep. Zhou Yi quickly jumped in, leaving only the upper part of her thighs exposed.

Zhou Yi didn't mind the dirt and sat directly in the pit, continuing to chant the Star Gathering Art.

As expected, her guess was correct; the Star Power was even stronger here.

This was the place.

Zhou Yi extended her right hand, and a small shovel, half a meter long, appeared in her hand.

She had spent almost all her savings on it on the Star Brain that afternoon and had immediately put it into her Space Ring.

She had felt that the pit was unusual during the day, and she couldn't resist the urge to dig it herself.

Without any hesitation, Zhou Yi began to dig.

The soil here was harder than she had expected. If Zhou Yi hadn't been training her muscles by moving Mechs recently, she might not have been able to do this digging work.

Her goal was simple: to dig down and see what was at the bottom of the pit.

But after digging for about half an hour, Zhou Yi still hadn't found anything.

If there was something here, it was likely what the Di Jiang had dropped and then accidentally kicked into the soil.

Because the energy fluctuations likely only affected people with growing Star Weaves, the people who came to clean up the battlefield at the time hadn't found anything.

Given the circumstances, the item couldn't have been buried too deep.

Zhou Yi stopped and felt the soil in the pit with her hands.

Then she stood up and cautiously began to dig around the edges of the pit.

With Zhou Yi's persistent efforts, the diameter of the pit gradually increased, and Zhou Yi dug with more effort.

Because she could already feel traces of overflowing Star Power.

Cultivation meant circulating the energy in one's chakras and actively sensing and absorbing external energy.

Now, she was passively sensing Star Power without even actively trying, so the strength of this energy was self-evident.

Bang.

The small shovel finally touched a hard solid object as expected.

Zhou Yi bent down, scooped the object out with her hands, and wiped it vigorously with the corner of her clothes, bringing it closer to examine it.

This is...

A stone?

The soil here was quite fine, with no small pebbles. A stone this large mixed in was so unnatural that even a fool would know something was wrong.

The stone looked ordinary, dark and black, about the size of a fist.

But Zhou Yi was certain that this stone was the reason her energy perception had surged.

The moment she held it, Zhou Yi felt as if she were immersed in a vortex of Star Power.

The world seemed to transform into a giant chakra, with her standing at the center of the energy.

Zhou Yi couldn't withstand such immense energy pressure and immediately knelt in the pit, dropping the stone in her hand.

As the stone fell from her hand, Zhou Yi felt a lightness spread through her body, and the vortex instantly vanished.

She felt a coolness on her lips. Sticking out her tongue to lick it, she tasted blood.

The immense pressure from that moment had caused her to get a nosebleed.

Casually wiping it with her sleeve, Zhou Yi ignored the physical pain and quickly touched the stone with her hand, storing it in her Space Ring.

After the stone was put away, the abundant Star Power in the surrounding area also dissipated completely.

It seems the storage space can isolate the energy emitted by that stone.

That's a relief.

Zhou Yi felt a bit more at ease.

If the ring couldn't isolate the energy, having to carry it around every day would be truly unbearable; he'd explode within a day.

A person's dantian and chakras are fragile. Injecting Star Power endlessly without long-term cultivation to widen and strengthen them might not be a good thing.

It could even cause energy rejection due to an inability to circulate and absorb it promptly. In that case, exploding wouldn't be strange at all.

After all, the Alliance Research Institute had conducted similar experiments, and the research papers could be found on the Star Brain.

After Zhou Yi dug out the treasure hidden for so many years, the ruins immediately became ordinary.

No, it should be said that all of Huadun became ordinary to Zhou Yi.

What Zhou Yi didn't notice was that after she put the precious stone into her space, the lifelike murals on the wall, which still had color, seemed to suddenly dim. Their eyes lost their spirit, becoming like ordinary paintings.

She tried chanting the Star Gathering Art again. This time, her energy perception returned to how it was before.

"That's more like it."

Zhou Yi touched her ring, expressing her great satisfaction. Enrolling in Huadun was indeed the right choice.

Of course, even after taking the treasure, Zhou Yi diligently took care of the aftermath.

What he dug out was put back, stomped on a few more times. Zhou Yi then took out a large broom and swept the excess dirt and debris back into the pit. It was basically back to how it was before.

After completing all this, Zhou Yi left, completely satisfied.

Having dug for almost the entire night, Zhou Yi changed his clothes, took a quick shower, and before he could even take out the stone to look at it again, he fell asleep.