Mist Island, which had once been shrouded in dense fog all year round, had cleared after Hong captured the Mo Yun Vine. Now only ordinary flowers, grass, and trees remained on the island. With the Spirits of Vegetation gone, traces of many animals had gradually begun to appear there as well.
At the center of the island stood a huge monster breeding center. Every day, countless baby monsters were carefully raised there, then released once they reached Beast Soldier Rank.
But now the breeding center looked unusually quiet. When the four of them arrived, two figures flew out. One was Yao Rao, the personal guard who had come to the restaurant before.
Yao Rao bowed respectfully to them. "Curator, both councilors, and shop owner, you're finally here. We can barely keep things under control!"
A nearby beast was covered in blood, clearly having been through a fierce fight. Hong nodded, then unleashed his immense perception, instantly covering the entire island and the waters more than ten kilometers around it.
Xue Xi and Luo Feng also released their mental power to investigate. Monsters were gathering everywhere, both on the island and in the surrounding waters, as if fighting over some treasure. The winners swallowed the treasures and surged in strength, far surpassing the breeding center's highest rank.
King Rank monsters appeared one after another in endless waves. Some even seized more treasures after breaking through to King Rank, their strength rising to rival Planetary Level Peak. Of course, those were extremely rare. Most monsters burst apart after swallowing the treasures, unable to withstand the tremendous energy.
Knowing the reason, Xue Xi furrowed her brow. What was going on? Were there really this many Wood Bud Crystals being used as bait in the original story? Had Babata gone crazy, wasting resources like this, or had something gone wrong?
Hong, standing nearby, was also somewhat delighted. "Translucent all the way through, with a fragrance like rice—there's no doubt about it. These are the Wood Bud Crystals recorded in ancient civilizations. And there are so many of them! Looks like there's something even better underground!"
Thor's eyes lit up too. He clasped his hands and brought them down with a heavy thump. "So that's why so many Spirits of Vegetation appeared here! We've struck it rich!"
Xue Xi and Luo Feng exchanged a glance. They were both Stellar Rank now, so they didn't need the energy from Wood Bud Crystals as urgently. In fact, none of the four present needed them. A basket of Xue Xi's buns would be more effective anyway.
Hong and Thor cared because they still had a whole crowd of people to support. If the energy in the Wood Bud Crystals were diluted hundreds of thousands of times before being given to ordinary people, the number of Martial Artists could grow rapidly. Xue Xi was happy to see that happen.
While Hong and Thor went around clearing out King Rank and Emperor Rank monsters and collecting Wood Bud Crystals, Xue Xi and Luo Feng simultaneously sensed something on the seabed, as if it were exerting a powerful pull on them.
Xue Xi didn't interrupt the two busy men. She exchanged a glance with Luo Feng, then the two of them wrapped themselves in mental power and plunged toward the seafloor.
They soon reached the seabed, where soft, fine mud lay beneath their feet. That faint, elusive pull still came from below. Luo Feng put his old skills to use, transforming the Sky-Escaping Shuttle into a Mountain-Drilling Awl and burrowing beneath the seabed.
Xue Xi looked with satisfaction at the pitch-black hole that had opened beneath them. Luo Feng's personal underground-boring machine really was handy. She leapt straight into the hole.
As they descended, the light gradually disappeared, until there wasn't a glimmer to be seen underground. Xue Xi could see in the dark, but still kindled a golden Culinary Spirit Fire at her fingertip to illuminate the area.
The surrounding rock layers grew steadily older, and fossils of unknown creatures flashed past her eyes. Dinosaurs? Sorry, those had been around ages ago. The strata here probably contained fossils left behind from Earth's previous eras.
At first, the passage was so narrow that only one person could pass through. After traveling tens of thousands of meters, it suddenly opened into a vast space!
In the enormous underground cavern, Xue Xi held a golden flame over her head to light up the surroundings. Luo Feng flew back and forth nearby, examining the bizarre fossils and enormous fragments that clearly didn't belong on Earth.
"This looks like Wu Gong, but isn't it a bit too huge? Even Emperor Rank monsters aren't this big. If creatures like this existed in ancient times, they must have been pretty powerful!"
"Huh, why does this thing look like Big Brother's gravity chamber? What a shame. It's already broken."
"Whoa, what's that?"
Suddenly, Luo Feng, who had been chattering away, seemed to step on something. He sucked in a sharp breath.
Xue Xi stopped and saw Luo Feng lift his foot. Even the Black God Suit beneath his SS-grade combat boots had split open, and a vicious gash had appeared in the sole.
Luo Feng was dumbfounded. After drinking a cup of Highland Barley Wine, he struggled to pick up a piece of metal from the ground and held it in front of his eyes, turning it over and over. "What is this thing? I'm Stellar Rank, and I had two layers of protection on. How did it break through my defenses just like that?"
Xue Xi cleared her throat. "Ahem. Well, the Chef God inheritance I received mentioned this stuff. It seems to be an F-Grade metal called Red Chaos Copper Mother. It's extremely valuable. Third Brother, you've struck it rich!"
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