Suonsai Secret Realm

Seven days later, Luo Zhiyuan returned to Qingyu Planet and first headed to the free trade zone.

He found a fairly large specialty store for adventure supplies, where one could find almost anything related to space exploration. His goal was to purchase detectors for his adventure.

Although Luo Zhiyuan had managed to buy an E9-grade Machine Race spaceship, that ship did not come equipped with any detectors.

Other ships were only equipped with the most basic, general-purpose detectors. While they were fine for space travel and scanning the general conditions of a planet, they were completely inadequate for space adventures, especially for exploring Secret Realms.

The primary target customers for this adventure store were adventurers below the World Lord level, so the equipment sold there was generally not high-end. Shops catering to Immortal-level powerhouses typically operated on a member-referral basis, and Luo Zhiyuan had no way to gain entry.

Of course, the term "not high-end" was relative to those above the Immortal level. For ordinary space adventurers, spending hundreds or thousands of billions of Universe Coins was still a massive expense, which was why the store didn't get many customers on a daily basis.

As Luo Zhiyuan walked in with a squad of Star Level 9 personal guards, a receptionist approached him with a sharp eye. Being able to have so many Star Level 9 guards meant he was likely a scion of at least a Domain Lord-level family, or perhaps even a World Lord-level family; he was definitely a major client.

The receptionist smiled and asked, "Sir, may I ask what you need? I can introduce our products to you."

Luo Zhiyuan nodded and said directly, "I need to buy two sets of detectors. One set should be a short-range detector with high precision; the range can be smaller, that's fine. The other should be a long-range detector. What can you recommend?"

"A short-range detector?"

The receptionist's eyes lit up. This was considered high-end configuration. Ordinary adventurers would only buy general-purpose or long-range detectors, which offered a larger range with lower precision—a more cost-effective choice for many Star Level or Universe Level adventurers.

Short-range detectors were generally only used for exploring Universe Secret Realms and were typically purchased by World Lord-level adventurers.

This customer was only at the Star Level, yet he was buying World Lord-level gear. How extravagant! He must be the young master of a World Lord-level family at the very least; he had to be served well!

"Please step this way. We have many different models of detectors with varying functions and price points. Here are the detailed descriptions. For example, this TCY1068 detector, its detection range is..."

After listening to the clerk describe a few models, Luo Zhiyuan raised a hand to interrupt and asked directly, "Just tell me, which are the small and large detectors you have with the highest precision? What are their detection ranges? And what are their prices?"

"Very well, sir. The small detector with the highest precision is this FN281. It has a detection diameter of 10 kilometers, and even a World Lord-level expert cannot escape its detection."

"As for the large detector with the highest precision, it is this FN065. It has a detection diameter of 5,000 kilometers and can detect energy fluctuations of a Universe Level 9. Both of these detectors are products from the same company."

"However, because these are the most precise detectors we have, the price is quite high. Actually, you might want to consider other models with better cost-performance ratios..."

"How much?"

"Uh... the small one is 1.135 trillion Universe Coins, and the large one is 2 trillion Universe Coins! Sir, with my authority, if you buy both, I can give you a discount of 50 billion Universe Coins at most. Any more than that, and I would have to consult our store manager."

Luo Zhiyuan waved his hand again and said, "No need for that much trouble. Just go with the price you gave me. 3.13 Hunyuan. Let's transfer the funds."

The receptionist was stunned. He hadn't expected this customer to be so decisive, without haggling, and to use the unit "Hunyuan." He had only heard the store manager mention that term once; only large-scale transactions used that unit.

After blankly reciting the store's transaction account, he received a notification: "A transfer of 3.13 Hunyuan has been received from five-star account XXX. Please verify."

A five-star account! The receptionist was completely shocked. Their store had only ever served a four-star client once, and now a five-star client had arrived! Heavens, this gentleman must be a direct core disciple of an Immortal-level family. No wonder he didn't haggle.

Seeing the receptionist frozen, Luo Zhiyuan frowned and tapped the counter.

Thud!

The receptionist immediately snapped back to reality, bowed deeply, apologized profusely, and quickly retrieved the two sets of detectors for Luo Zhiyuan.

After receiving the detectors, Luo Zhiyuan nodded and walked out of the shop, not paying any attention to the receptionist, who was sprinting toward the manager's office like a madman.

He stored the detectors in his World Ring and handed them over to Bulieni to operate, then headed to the Universe Mercenary Alliance's station on Qingyu Planet.

This was his second time here. He went straight to the high-level client reception room, collected his qualification certificate for the Suonsai Secret Realm and a scanner specifically for Radiance Stones, then boarded his ship to leave Qingyu Planet once more, heading directly for the Suonsai Secret Realm.

On the ship, while chatting with Xingxing, Luo Zhiyuan continued to practice the Shadow Divine Weapon in the Virtual Universe Killing Field. He could already execute the second level of the Shadow Divine Weapon, but he wasn't very proficient yet, so he needed more practice.

After fifteen days of flight through the dark universe, the ship arrived at the Suonsai Secret Realm.

Luo Zhiyuan opened the ship's external simulation and saw an incredibly vast landmass appearing in the starry sky ahead.

The ship was flying from below the landmass toward its top, but from the ship's current perspective, the outline of the land's edge filled his entire field of vision. It took a full ten minutes of flight to rise above the edge and see the surface of this continent.

Above the continent were patches of white mist, which remained perfectly still, as if it were a frozen film.

Luo Zhiyuan looked toward the horizon of the land, only to find that it was boundless. Everywhere he looked, there were towering mountain rocks and floating giant boulders. The boulders and rocks were intertwined, and occasionally, he could see figures darting rapidly between them.

Following the coordinates obtained from the Universe Mercenary Alliance, the ship flew above a massive square city.

The city was surrounded by walls 3,000 kilometers long and wide, standing 300 meters high. Only one city gate was left open—a 100-meter-high archway. Above the city, many floating defensive devices were visible, giving the entire city the feel of a heavy fortress.

This was the only city in the Suonsai Secret Realm, Radiance City, named after the secret realm's specialty, the Radiance Stone.

Flying over the walls, the ship landed in the hangar inside the city under guidance. Luo Zhiyuan led his guards off the ship.

The hangar staff warned Luo Zhiyuan that because many defensive devices were deployed over Radiance City, flying was prohibited within the city, or else one would be killed by the defenses. After Luo Zhiyuan acknowledged this, he took his guards to the city's administrative office.

Upon arriving at the office and completing the registration procedures, Luo Zhiyuan wandered around Radiance City. He wanted to first understand the basic situation here, such as which areas had produced the most Radiance Stones in recent years and which areas were largely ignored.

After wandering for half a day, Luo Zhiyuan found a probationary mercenary who had been in Radiance City for many years. He was a coward who hadn't found any Radiance Stones and, after his teammates died, was too afraid to venture out of the city alone.

After gathering plenty of intelligence and paying the down-and-out mercenary a fee, Luo Zhiyuan prepared to leave the city.

Because his personal guards were not probationary mercenaries, the Xuanyi Universe Kingdom did not allow them to leave the city and enter the continent. After arranging for his guards to stay in a managed residence, Luo Zhiyuan headed toward the city gate alone.

However, the sight of him strolling through the city with 10 Universe Level 9 guards had been noticed by many, who speculated about which young master was out for training, and they quickly warned their brothers and friends not to provoke this guy.

After walking out of the gates of Radiance City, Luo Zhiyuan chose a direction at random and flew away from the city.

"Bulieni, turn on both detectors, and turn on the Radiance Stone scanner at the same time. I don't want to be ambushed by a secret realm storm without knowing it."

"I turned them on the moment you left the city, do I need you to tell me? After equipping these two detectors, although it's more comfortable than the scanning system on the original ordinary ship, it feels like I'm wearing a pair of reading glasses while holding a magnifying glass in my hand. It's very annoying."

"Also, I have to complain: their Radiance Stone scanner has a larger scanning range than your small detector! Even though it can only detect one type of Radiance Stone, it can scan a 20-kilometer diameter. What kind of junk did you buy!"

Well, Luo Zhiyuan didn't quite understand the state of an intelligent life form, but it seemed he would have to equip Bulieni with a more advanced detector in the future; he couldn't keep letting Bulieni be visually impaired, hehe.

After flying a distance out of Radiance City, Luo Zhiyuan arrived near a floating giant rock. It hadn't looked that big, but up close, he realized it was actually about 1 kilometer in diameter. He had no idea how such a massive boulder managed to stay suspended.

Although the Radiance Stone scanner didn't give any prompts, indicating there were no Radiance Stones here, Luo Zhiyuan still circled the floating rock in amazement.

He wasn't in a hurry to find Radiance Stones; instead, he flew around the vicinity at a leisurely pace, occasionally darting over to a towering rocky mountain to take a look, or flying to the underside of a floating rock to peek around, acting exactly like someone out on an excursion.

Bulieni didn't urge him either. It was his first time in the Universe Secret Realm, so he was bound to be curious. He would let the kid satisfy his curiosity first.

Emerging from a cave in a floating rock, Luo Zhiyuan flew directly into the white clouds and mist above this time, and the dense cosmic energy instantly enveloped him.

"Mm~" He let out a comfortable groan, then jumped in fright and hurriedly flew out of the clouds.

Just now, being surrounded by that dense cosmic energy had caused his body to automatically start absorbing it, and he had nearly broken through to the ninth rank of the Star Level. It had scared Luo Zhiyuan enough to make him stay far away from those white clouds.

Bulieni teased him, "What's wrong? Is your butt on fire?"

Shaking his head with a wry smile, Luo Zhiyuan ignored Bulieni's teasing. After lowering his altitude, he stepped onto the Lightning Shuttle and flew off in one direction; he had to hurry up and "find" Radiance Stones. Two months was still a very tight schedule.

PS: Brothers, the recommendation we got today is actually having some effect; in just half a day, the number of favorites has increased by about as much as it usually does in a full day. Thanks to the editor for that.

However, our recommendation votes are about the same as usual. Could it be that those new brothers who added it to their favorites are planning to read for free?

Tomorrow is Monday again. I want both favorites and recommendation votes! Of course, if there are tips, that would be even better :P

I hope you all continue to support me so this week's recommendation doesn't go to waste. Thank you!