On the Ice Sand Snow Plain, Qin Cang had fought alongside his teammates for nearly a hundred years.
Throughout that time, Kailun had usually led the team in hunting Realm Lord squads and rarely targeted the undying.
This approach to hunting was slower and couldn't accumulate Military Merit and wealth as quickly as hunting powerful undying, but it was reliable.
In the beginning, Qin Cang had found this kind of hunting quite novel. But as time went by, it inevitably grew a little boring. After all, the Yan God Clan needed truly high-intensity battles. This hunting style suited a team like Kailun's, but it wasn't right for Qin Cang.
Still, it was a decent way to train, and Qin Cang had become increasingly proficient in using his claw techniques.
Qin Cang planned to leave once he had fully mastered Shattered Shadow and Seven Kills of Burning Sky and integrated them with the true meaning of Black Hole Evolution.
At last, the day came when Qin Cang went to see Captain Kailun.
"I knew you'd come to find me." Before Qin Cang could say a word, Kailun spoke first.
"Sorry, Captain. My cultivation requires high-intensity battles day after day, and this life isn't really suited to me. I need to fight undying, but I rarely get the chance to do that in the team," Qin Cang said.
Even setting that aside, there was the ten billion Military Merit on paper and the ten trillion Military Merit actually offered by the Virtual Universe Company. If he stayed here, when would he ever complete the task? Besides, he had plenty of other important things to do and couldn't waste all his time here.
"Haha, I knew someone as talented as you wouldn't stay in my team for long. I just didn't expect you to leave so soon," Kailun said with a laugh. He really had seen this coming; he just hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.
"Captain, I still have to complete my teacher's task, so I really can't stay with the team much longer. There are plenty of important things I need to do." Qin Cang respected Kailun a great deal. He might have been timid, but an ordinary Realm Lord could build up quite a fortune under his leadership. Kailun was also generous: when it came to spoils and the like, he never took an extra share just because he was undying, only what was rightfully his.
"Cao Benqi, do you remember the treasure I told you about?" Kailun suddenly asked.
"The treasure—the thing you said your team had been wanting to pursue?" Qin Cang asked. Over the past hundred years, Kailun had brought it up more than once. At first Qin Cang had been curious, but after so long without making a move, he had gradually put it out of his mind.
"That's right. Before a powerful member of the Machine Race died, he placed all his treasures in a location on the Third Battlefield. Almost no one knows where it is. I happened to witness the battle from a distance, and afterward I discovered a palace had appeared there. That's when I guessed the Machine Race powerhouse had left his legacy there. I've tried many times to open it, but every attempt failed." Kailun's voice turned solemn.
"If you can't open it, how are you supposed to get the treasure inside?" Qin Cang asked. If the palace couldn't be opened, that would be a real shame. Now he understood Kailun's feelings: having a mountain of treasure within reach but being unable to use it would be maddening.
Besides, the mere safeguards had left even an undying like Kailun helpless. Clearly, they had been left by someone at Marquis Level or higher. But considering Kailun's strength, the battle he had glimpsed was probably between powerhouses who were relatively capable among those at Marquis Level. He had no chance of witnessing a battle between King Level powerhouses.
"Of course it can be opened. Based on what I've learned over the years, the best way to open it is with a Fire God Source Crystal!" Kailun said with a smile, clearly ready with an answer to Qin Cang's question.
"A Fire God Source Crystal?" Qin Cang asked, puzzled.
"That's right. The palace's gate is made primarily of F9-grade Metal, and I can't budge it. But a Fire God Source Crystal could blast it open. In general, an attack at Marquis Level is enough to destroy F9-grade Metal.
"That Machine Race undying was on the verge of death at the time, so he didn't have the time to build himself a tougher fortress. The defensive runes carved into the F9-grade Metal gate were also quite rudimentary. Basically, the gate relied on the metal's own hardness to protect the fortress.
"At worst, even if we can't take anything inside, we could dismantle the gate and probably sell it for several million Hunyuan Units. And if we can get the treasures inside, we'll make a fortune!" Kailun explained, sharing the information he had gathered.
Of everyone he knew, Qin Cang was the only one who might be able to open that fortress of a shell. Besides, Kailun had already guessed a little about Qin Cang's identity. A Realm Lord with that kind of strength was usually a Core Member of one of the five great powers.
"But the biggest problem is, you don't have the money to buy a Fire God Source Crystal," Qin Cang said, immediately spotting the crux of the matter.
"Haha, I see you've figured it out. Fire God Source Crystals are too expensive, especially ones powerful enough to unleash an explosion on the level of a Marquis's attack. They cost several million Hunyuan Units, and I can't afford one. That's why I came up with this plan: slowly build up my wealth, then open the treasure later. Until then, I also have to keep myself safe. I can't let those powerful beings find out about it, and I can't die, or all my efforts will be wasted." Kailun smiled wryly.
"And there's another problem. The explosion from a Fire God Source Crystal is too powerful. If other powerhouses discover what happened, we could end up handing them the treasure. Then we'd lose not only the Fire God Source Crystal, but possibly the treasure as well," Qin Cang added.
"That's why I'm in a bind. I'm currently less than a hundred thousand Hunyuan Units short of being able to buy a Fire God Source Crystal with the power of a Marquis's strike. Why don't you come with me to the treasure site and take a look? We might find something worthwhile." Kailun didn't want Qin Cang to leave just yet. If he invited a Marquis, he'd surely end up with scraps while the other person took the lion's share. If he invited another undying, they might not get any treasure at all and could even die there.
But Qin Cang was Kailun's ideal choice. He was as strong as an undying, and, more importantly, Realm Lords like him usually had powerful backgrounds. They generally wouldn't care much for the ordinary treasures inside, and they also had plenty of ways to protect themselves. In Kailun's eyes, exploring the treasure site with Qin Cang was far better than inviting a Marquis.
Of course, the most important thing now was whether Qin Cang was willing to go with him—and how much of the spoils he would want.
As for the Fire God Source Crystal, Kailun figured he could save up enough before long. All he had to do was risk killing an undying. With a sound plan, his chances of success were quite high.
"If I go with you to explore the treasure site, can I choose one item first?" Qin Cang asked. He was genuinely interested in the treasures left behind by the Machine Race. If he could get the spaceship the Machine Race had left behind, he'd be happy to give everything else to Kailun.
If F9-grade Metal had been used to make the gate of a "tomb," then the spaceship was probably made of F-grade Metal too. But compared with Human Race ships, Machine Race ships were generally one grade higher in value. In other words, if the Machine Race spaceship was made of F9-grade Metal, it could be sold for the price of an ordinary G-class spaceship within the Human Race!
Getting the ship alone would make this a huge win. It was an opportunity he'd be foolish to pass up.
As for the other things, like secret techniques left behind by a Marquis, Qin Cang wasn't very interested.
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