The "gem" Ertos had mentioned was placed deep underground beneath the Great Temple. The ancient city's priests had clearly considered it extremely important. They had drilled a Vertical Shaft several hundred meters deep into the city's bony foundation, built a secret chamber, and completely sealed it with molten metal. It was precisely this utterly insane method of storage that allowed the gem to escape both the battle between Hao Ren's group and the Evil Spirit, as well as the rebellion that had taken place at the Great Temple thousands of years ago.
However, a Vertical Shaft only a few hundred meters deep and a layer of cast metal were no obstacle to Hao Ren's Autonomous Mechanical Units. The machines quickly dug an inclined passage beside the high ground, then extracted the "gem."
Just as Hao Ren and Vivian had expected—it was a blood crystal.
Mysterious radiance flowed through the crystal-clear, blood-red gem. Every facet reflected the turbulent, constantly shifting vortices at the boundary of the other dimension. It looked magnificent and mysterious. Vivian held the gem in her hand and gently rubbed its surface. "An Evil Spirit... Not only did she act rationally for nearly a century, she even deliberately created a blood crystal like this before she went completely mad... Hao Ren, what do you think is inside?"
"Perhaps it's a 'message' from that Evil Spirit," Hao Ren said with a frown. "But to be honest, I strongly advise you not to absorb this thing recklessly. That Evil Spirit was far too special. She even possessed divinity—so the blood crystal she left behind is definitely very different from the ones you obtained before."
"I'll consider it carefully." Vivian shook the "gem" in her hand, a faint smile appearing on her face. "But you should know my personality. If I