Yuan paused for a moment, then continued dissecting the beast as if nothing had happened. He stirred his Spiritual Force, and the silver ring immediately flew into the combat pack on his back.
No one noticed Yuan's little trick. He lacked a lot of experience, but that didn't mean he was clueless.
What could a ring be worth if someone had gone to such lengths to hide it inside a Desolate Beast's belly and transport it in secret? The answer was obvious!
He wasn't foolish enough to tell anyone else. A man may be innocent, but his wealth can make him a target!
Just the Space Rings Shenghui and the others had were worth far more than all the other assets of the Starship Humans combined!
Their total value even exceeded that of all the treasures Shenghui had offered the younger members of the village in exchange for their accumulated contribution points!
Everyone knew Shenghui favored Yuan's talent and was simply making a friendly gesture.
In truth, the Starship Humans' village didn't have to give up much of anything tangible. Why wouldn't they do it?
If Shenghui and the others learned the ring existed, Yuan would have only one fate: death! There was no other possibility!
Would they really trade the village's entire treasure trove for it? Or risk offending an Isis Race genius by keeping the Space Ring for themselves?
Those outside our race are sure to have alien hearts!
After all, the Isis Race had once endured a prolonged, devastating civil conflict simply because of differences in skin and hair color.
And that was nothing compared to the Starship Humans, who came from the far side of deep space and merely looked very similar to the Isis Race!
Yuan slowed down, but he still finished his work before everyone else had collected all the fur.
At Shenghui's direction, he left the battlefield quickly alongside the others...
Dongyuan Planet — Former Borders of the North Rock Federation—
Eisenwell Defense Line — Ruins of Biweituo—
Ruins of the Central Sacrificial Altar — Lava Heart
What was the fastest way to wipe out an Alien Race? Answer: an Immortal God's Void Immortal Divine Power!
The North Rock Race, once a flourishing civilization of rock beings, had sealed its fate the moment several Immortal God Lords of the Light-Deriving Snake descended.
Countless North Rock Race lives, humanoid figures seven or eight meters tall and made of gray-green stone.
Whether they were World Rank powerhouses or fragile Apprentices, whether they were cultivating or nurturing the next generation...
When the Void Divine Power of the Immortal God Lords swept over them, the life fires of every North Rock being were extinguished in an instant!
The extermination was over almost as soon as it began!
All that remained was a celebration for the Light-Deriving Snakes at the Universe, Domain Lord, and World Ranks...
The Central Sacrificial Altar was the most sacred place in every North Rock city. It housed various wondrous cultivation treasures left behind by the North Rock Race's Immortal God Lord, for the use of its geniuses.
The Lava Heart was one such treasure. It lay underground, dozens of kilometers beneath the sacrificial altar, and had been made from a dead star core. It was like a miniature sun.
It was ideal for the younger North Rock Race members, whose Genetic Origin Energy had a fire attribute, to cultivate Conception and comprehend the Flame Domain.
Thanks to its secrecy, its location underground, and the Lava Heart's unique energy fluctuations that concealed it,
hundreds of survivors had been left there after the Light-Deriving Snakes' extermination campaign.
For countless millennia afterward, even though the world above had become a wasteland, they had carefully avoided going outside.
They had built a small refuge city beneath the Lava Heart.
There was no need to describe how bitterly they had suffered...
In a spacious hall, several glowing stones provided light. A rock giant, burlier than most of the North Rock Race, stood at the front and roared.
His booming voice made the whole hall tremble. "What a brilliant idea you came up with! You used a tamed Desolate Beast to transport resources. And what happened?!"
The other rock giants below him fell silent in fright, grumbling inwardly, If you hadn't agreed to the plan in the first place, we never would've gone through with it. Now that something's gone wrong, you're blaming us!
The burly rock giant knew that was true. The losses were simply too great.
Never mind the large-capacity Space Ring. They'd also lost all the treasures and resources intended for trade with other North Rock Race survivors.
Now they had to prepare another batch for the deal with Yuan, and he felt as if his core were bleeding.
One of the rock giants below gritted his teeth and stepped forward. "I secretly left a Spiritual Imprint on the Tier 3 Origin Energy Weapon we traded away."
"It might have been nothing more than an ordinary Desolate Beast fight. I can use the imprint to search for the ring. It might still be there!"
"No!" The rock giant at the front rejected the idea outright. "We can't risk losing another member of our race!"
Even if the Light-Deriving Snakes encountered their mortal enemies, the human members of the Isis Race, out in the wasteland, they wouldn't necessarily pursue them to the ends of the earth. Killing a weaker one could bring a stronger one down on them.
But if they saw a North Rock Race survivor, they would definitely call their allies over and wipe them all out!
And that was without even considering the threat posed by Desolate Beasts.
"Ordinary Desolate Beasts wouldn't be interested in the sour, stinking meat of Iron-Backed Hyena Rats. And ordinary Earth Rank beings are nowhere near as fast as those beasts, while powerhouses above Flying Star Rank wouldn't care about them!"
"So it was likely a powerhouse traveling with younger companions who happened to run into the Iron-Backed Hyena Rats and slaughtered them to temper the youngsters!"
The North Rock Race survivors weren't fools. They quickly pieced together most of what had happened, but there was still little they could do.
A North Rock Race member below suggested, "How about sending another tamed Desolate Beast to investigate? We might be able to find the ring among the remains."
"Even if we don't find it, we can look for clues. Maybe we'll learn what kind of being picked up the ring, and where they're from!"
"I agree. That's much safer than searching aimlessly and risking discovery by the Light-Deriving Snakes!"
They had no better option, so that was the plan they settled on...
Late that night, at the Starship Humans' hunting party's temporary camp, everyone was busy restoring the Genetic Origin Energy they had expended during the day. After a brief rest, they would continue hunting under cover of darkness.
Yuan, meanwhile, was eagerly wondering what the ring contained and how he could reasonably take its contents out to exchange with the Starship Humans for high-grade energy and try to restore the Purple Crystal in his mind.
The Purple Crystal was his greatest trump card! I hope there are high-grade energy ores in the ring!
Though Yuan couldn't stop thinking about the ring, he kept up appearances and rested as usual.
Then he remembered that he still hadn't managed to cultivate the first level of his Dieguang Sword's Dark Force. He couldn't help feeling anxious.
Could it be that I really have no talent for cultivation? Did I only comprehend the Light Artistic Conception because of the Purple Crystal? Yuan shook his head and stopped dwelling on it, then lay down in the grass to rest.
Combat really was the best whetstone for a powerhouse. After several days of honing himself, Yuan had reached the peak of the Earth Rank, third-tier warrior and Spirit Reader. He could break through at any moment.
His combat ability had improved enormously, too. Apart from the blue scales missing from his cheeks, he now looked just like an ordinary Starship Human boy.
He kept most of his gains with Shenghui, a small portion in his own pack, and the ring hidden at the bottom of his travel pack.
He had no idea whether Shenghui and Sijian, both Universe Rank and right beside him, might notice it. All he could do was resist the urge to investigate.
Once they ventured deeper into the forest, the Earth Rank members stopped hunting, because Flying Star Rank Desolate Beasts had begun appearing in greater numbers!
The hunting party proceeded cautiously, avoiding danger more than ten times and killing countless powerful Desolate Beasts. At last, they reached their first destination.
At the end of Arbor Forest lay a lake where Universe Rank Desolate Beasts roamed: Xingduo Lake.
It stretched for thousands of kilometers in every direction and was named after Xingduo Gold, a D3-grade metal commonly used by Domain Lord Rank powerhouses, which had once been found there.
Shenghui and Sijian took most of the Flying Star Rank members and left the group. Riding Yuan's Action Mecha, they continued deeper into Xingduo Lake to explore.
The other Earth Rank members stayed behind, hiding near the lakeshore under the protection of a few Flying Star Rank members.
Everyone climbed to the tops of the trees and found branches to rest on. Only then did they begin to relax a little.
"Everyone, stay alert. A Desolate Beast could spring out from anywhere along this lake," one of the Flying Star Rank members warned them.
Yuan, among the group, was quietly delighted. At last, he had a chance to inspect the ring!
Several days earlier, he had found a few Flying Star Rank members and tried out what it felt like to control a Storage Belt.
"Let a thread of Spiritual Force seep inside and merge your Spiritual Imprint with it. You only need to do it once. After that, you won't have to do it again," the Flying Star Rank member had explained with a smile.
"Spiritual Imprint?" Yuan had asked, puzzled. "How do I do that?"
"Idiot." The Flying Star Rank member had looked exasperated. "A Spiritual Imprint is the unique difference in each person's soul, no matter how strong that soul becomes!"
"No two souls are exactly alike. Just let your Spiritual Force seep inside. Don't worry about anything else!"
"Oh!" Yuan had focused, and a thread of Spiritual Force quickly traveled down his arm, entered his finger, and seeped into the Storage Belt.
The Storage Belt had changed subtly. In just a moment, Yuan felt as if it had become an extension of his own body.
He didn't even need Spiritual Force to know everything inside the Storage Belt.
He saw a three-meter cube filled with all kinds of materials. The feeling that he could retrieve any item at will was incredibly strange.
Yuan found a secluded branch where he could still keep an eye on the lake. He sat down, lowered his head, and pretended to meditate with his eyes closed.
His Spiritual Force slipped into his pack and took out the ring, which he held in his palm.
He tried to probe it with his Spiritual Force, but encountered an unmistakable resistance. He tried to break through it, but got nowhere!
Yuan wasn't surprised. The ring really did have an owner!
For a Spiritual Force Reader like Yuan to be unable to break through a Spiritual Imprint without its owner's support, that owner had to be at least Universe Rank.
For some reason, that owner couldn't act in the wasteland and had resorted to this risky method. That was how Yuan had come across an incredible windfall!
Following the method he'd learned from the Flying Star Rank powerhouse, Yuan imagined his Spiritual Force as a cone and slowly wore away the original owner's Spiritual Imprint.
As the Spiritual Imprint slowly eroded, Yuan slipped the ring, much thicker than his own finger, onto his thumb.
It silently flowed like mercury and seeped into his skin. Yuan felt a chill, and then the ring disappeared completely from his finger.
Yuan: "..."
Feeling that the ring was still there, Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. Making a Space Ring was extremely difficult, and even in the universe it was considered a luxury item.
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