Wood Bud Crystal

Mist Island, which was once shrouded in dense fog year-round, had seen its mists dissipate following the battle where Hong captured the Mo Yun Vine. Now, only ordinary flowers, plants, and trees remained on the island, and with the Spirit of Vegetation gone, the traces of many animals had gradually begun to reappear.

In the center of the island stood a massive Monster breeding center. Every day, a large number of baby Monsters were carefully raised here, and once they reached the Beast Soldier Rank, they were all released into the wild.

But now, the breeding center appeared incredibly desolate. As Xue Xi and the other three arrived, two figures flew out from within; one of them was Yao Rao, the personal guard who had previously visited the restaurant.

Yao Rao bowed respectfully to the group: "Master, two Speakers, and Shopkeeper, you have finally arrived. We can barely keep the situation under control!"

Beside her, Beast was covered in blood, clearly having just emerged from an intense struggle. Hong nodded, his vast perception expanding to instantly envelop the entire island and the surrounding waters for a dozen kilometers.

Xue Xi and Luo Feng also released their spiritual energy to investigate. Both on the island and in the water, Monsters were gathering everywhere, as if competing for some kind of treasure. The winners would swallow the treasure and their strength would skyrocket, far exceeding the highest level of this breeding base.

A pile of King-level Monsters appeared one after another in a steady stream. Some even gained more treasure after breaking through the King-level, their strength rivaling that of the peak of the Planetary Realm. Of course, these were rare exceptions; most Monsters would simply explode and die from the massive energy after swallowing the treasure.

Knowing the reason, Xue Xi frowned. What was going on? Did the original story have this many Wood Bud Crystals being used as bait? Had Babata gone mad, wasting resources like this, or had some accident occurred?

Hong, standing to the side, was somewhat delighted: "Crystal clear throughout, emitting a fragrance of rice—there is no mistake, these are the Wood Bud Crystals recorded in ancient civilization texts. And there are so many of them! It seems there are even better things underground!"

Thor's eyes also lit up, and he clapped his hands together with a heavy thud: "So that's why there were so many Spirits of Vegetation produced here! I see now. We've struck gold!"

Xue Xi and Luo Feng exchanged a glance. Both were now at the Stellar Rank, so their need for the energy of Wood Bud Crystals was no longer that urgent. In fact, none of the four people present needed them; they weren't even as effective as one of Xue Xi's baskets of steamed buns.

The reason Hong and Thor cared was that they had a whole group of people under them to support. Furthermore, if the energy of these Wood Bud Crystals were diluted several hundred thousand times and given to ordinary people, it would rapidly expand the base of Martial Artists, a result Xue Xi was also happy to see.

While Hong and Thor were busy clearing out the King-level and Emperor-level Monsters and collecting Wood Bud Crystals, Xue Xi and Luo Feng simultaneously felt as if something on the seabed was exerting a strong pull on them.

Xue Xi did not disturb the two busy men. She exchanged a look with Luo Feng, and enveloped in spiritual energy, they dove toward the seabed.

They soon reached the seafloor, stepping on the soft, fine silt. The faint, lingering attraction indicated that the source was still below. Luo Feng resorted to his old trade, transforming the Sky-Escaping Shuttle into the shape of a mountain-drilling cone and boring into the seabed.

Xue Xi watched with satisfaction as a pitch-black hole appeared beneath her feet—the Luo Feng-brand earth-drilling machine was truly useful. She then took a leap and jumped into the hole.

As the depth increased, there was no light at all underground. Although Xue Xi could see in the dark, she still ignited the golden Culinary Spirit Fire at her fingertips to illuminate the surroundings.

The age of the surrounding rock layers gradually increased, and fossils of unknown creatures rose rapidly before her eyes. You ask about dinosaurs? Sorry, that era had long since passed; the strata here were likely filled with fossilized rock layers from creatures left over from previous eras of Earth.

At first, it was narrow, barely wide enough for a person to pass through, but after traveling tens of thousands of meters, it suddenly opened up!

In the massive underground grotto, Xue Xi held the golden flame above her head to light up the surrounding space. Luo Feng flew back and forth, studying the strange-looking fossils and some massive fragments that clearly didn't fit the style of Earth.

"This looks like Wu Gong, but this size is a bit exaggerated, isn't it? Even Emperor-level Monsters don't have this build. If such things existed in ancient times, their combat power must have been formidable!"

"Huh, why does this thing look like Big Brother's gravity chamber? What a pity, it's already shattered."

"Hiss, what the..."

Suddenly! Luo Feng, who had been chattering away, seemed to step on something and gasped in pain.

Xue Xi stopped in her tracks and saw Luo Feng lift his foot. The Black God Suit covering his SS-grade combat boots had been torn open, and a gruesome wound had appeared on the sole of his foot.

Luo Feng was stunned. After drinking a cup of Highland Barley Wine, he laboriously picked up a piece of metal from the ground and examined it closely: "What is this? My Stellar Rank body, protected by two layers of defense, and it still managed to break through?"

Xue Xi coughed lightly at this moment: "Ahem, hmm! I have records of this in the Culinary God inheritance I received. It seems to be an F-grade metal called Red Chaos Copper Mother. It's extremely valuable. Third Brother, you've struck it rich!"