The Seed's Anomaly

He nudged the beast's corpse aside with his foot and walked toward the three remaining beasts.

In the distance, the Green-Eyed Fox and the other two beasts bristled, snarling in warning as they rose onto their hind legs.

The Green-Eyed Fox fixed its gleaming green eyes on Yin Congyang and spoke in the Monster Race's common tongue. "Human, how dare you trespass into the heart of our territory? You won't be leaving here alive today..."

"Don't try your clumsy Illusion Technique on me. It won't work," Yin Congyang replied without slowing, using the Monster Race's Universe Common Language. "You can call the beasts on the outskirts to surround me, of course—but if you do, be ready to lose all nine of these divine trees..."

He pointed to the Purple Glow Trees around them. The Monster Race on the satellite didn't know their proper name and simply called them divine trees.

The Green-Eyed Fox fell silent. The Gale Tiger and Diamond Ape beside it roared and started to pounce, but the fox barked at them to stop. Then it turned to Yin Congyang. "Human, what do you want?"

Yin Congyang pointed at the Purple Glow Trees. "Give me one ripe fruit, and I'll leave at once. I won't come back!"

"Impossible!"

"Impossible!"

The Gale Tiger and Diamond Ape roared in unison.

Yin Congyang's gaze turned cold. He rotated the Heaven-Opening Axe in his hand, cutting through the air with a soft whoosh. Combined with the imposing aura he'd gained from killing seven beasts, it silenced all three of them.

Watching Yin Congyang stand there, utterly composed, the Green-Eyed Fox sighed inwardly. Without Universe Level combat strength, there was little chance of stopping him and protecting the divine trees. The Purple Hotaru Fruit was precious, but it wasn't the only one. Even if Yin Congyang took every ripe fruit, another crop would ripen in a few years. Besides, he only wanted one.

Still, eight members of their race had just died protecting the divine trees. Now they had to give their enemy a divine fruit instead of avenging them. The humiliation sat like a lump in its throat, and the other two beasts must have felt it even more keenly.

The Green-Eyed Fox was nearing the limit of its lifespan as a Star Level being. For the sake of its race's survival, it could endure anything.

It sighed again and sent its thoughts to the two beasts beside it. It was the oldest, strongest, and wisest among them, and had always commanded great respect throughout the beast race. After hearing its message, the Gale Tiger and Diamond Ape reluctantly closed their mouths and lowered their heads.

Yin Congyang watched the beasts communicate in silence, his heart undisturbed. In his mind, those who weren't of his race could never be trusted. The beasts that had rampaged across Earth had caused countless Earthlings to lose their families and homes. How many fine young men had sacrificed their lives defending the Base Cities and holding back the countless beast tides?

Of course, those beasts and the ones before him weren't of the same race. But to Yin Congyang, that made no difference. The Human Race and the other peak races had fought over territory for countless eras, and their hatred ran bone-deep. If the Training Camp's upper echelons hadn't wanted to keep these beasts and other races on the satellites to hone the trainees, they'd have no reason to let them exist.

The Green-Eyed Fox floated gently into the air, extended a claw, and chose the ripest, plumpest Purple Hotaru Fruit. A thread of force cut it from the branch. With a light flick of its claw, it tossed the fruit to Yin Congyang.

Yin Congyang caught it and carefully examined it with his psychic power. Once he was sure there was nothing wrong, he took out a jade box, put the fruit inside, and stowed it in his storage space.

He gave the three beasts a cool glance, then rose into the air and slowly flew back toward the passage he'd come through.

"Are we really just going to let that human go?" the Gale Tiger sent to the Green-Eyed Fox.

The Green-Eyed Fox nodded wearily. Facing that human, it had felt overwhelming pressure from his powerful aura. Though it was much stronger than an ordinary ninth-rank Star Level beast, it doubted it could withstand even two or three blows from Yin Congyang before being split in half.

"Tell their clans to come collect the bodies..." it instructed the Diamond Ape.

As soon as Yin Congyang floated into the passage, he concealed himself and turned toward another passage.

Back in the underground space, he'd felt a strange sensation from the fluctuations in his Dantian. It seemed that the place wasn't the satellite's true center. His soul power had faintly sensed something unusual beyond the underground space—a fluctuation that seemed to come from a Law.

Now that he had the Purple Hotaru Fruit he needed for his mission, he decided to investigate.

Following the sensation, he turned this way and that through passages of all sizes until he reached the end of one. It was one of the few passages that ended in a dead end. All the others connected to one another, with large passages branching into smaller ones.

He studied the rock wall at the passage's end. Deep within it, his soul could sense a faint fluctuation of a Law. It was extremely subtle; if his soul weren't nearly at Domain Lord level, an ordinary Star Level being wouldn't have sensed it at all.

The problem was that this wall was even harder than the ones outside. He'd tried cutting through it with the Heaven-Opening Axe, but it took great effort just to chip away a small opening. It would probably take him a long time to get any deeper.

Just as he was at a loss, the Mysterious Seed in his Dantian gave a sudden tremor. A faint, translucent root abruptly sprouted from it, passed out of his Dantian, and ran through his chest and abdomen to his left shoulder. It continued down his left arm to his palm, then emerged from his index finger, swaying gently at its tip.

Yin Congyang's heart stirred. He pressed his left index finger against the rock wall, and sure enough, the root shot into it with a swish, leaving the wall completely undamaged.

The root extended farther and farther. More than ten seconds later, he felt it pierce into a viscous space. Through the root, he sensed a place filled with Law Water, containing an extraordinarily pure force of the Law of Earth.

The seed in his Dantian seemed to contract, and the force of the Law immediately flowed along the root into Yin Congyang's body, through him and into his Dantian. The seed absorbed every last bit.

Yin Congyang was dumbfounded. You're living in my Dantian. Can't you share some of the good stuff with me?

As soon as he sent it that thought, the seed seemed to pause. Then it swelled, and a ripple of the Law of Earth flashed by, entering his soul in his Consciousness Sea. Yin Congyang immediately felt his soul fill with sudden enlightenment about the Law of Earth. His understanding of it surged, soon surpassing his comprehension of the Laws of Gold, Water, and Fire.

By the time he came out of his epiphany, only a few dozen seconds had passed. His soul power was strong, so he quickly digested the insights. Not only had he absorbed them, but his soul power had also grown considerably during those few dozen seconds, bringing him even closer to Domain Lord level.

Still, the experience had left him shaken. For those few dozen seconds, his consciousness had been completely consumed by the insights into the Law. He'd been left entirely unguarded in the passage. If some beast had happened by, it could've swallowed him in a few bites.

Just then, the root that had extended from his index finger rapidly retracted. With a swish, it disappeared back into the seed. He immediately sensed the fluctuation of the Law in the wall weaken more than tenfold, until it was almost imperceptible. The root had probably drained the force of the Law inside.

After a long silence, Yin Congyang guessed this must be one of the secrets of the secret realm. These eight satellites could absorb and refine the power of a particular Law on their own, then store it in their cores. The process probably took at least tens of thousands of eras.

The upper echelons of the Virtual Universe Company had likely placed them here and returned to collect the refined power once the storage was full. Even Chief Instructor Feilaoshen might not know about this secret.

Rubbing his chin, Yin Congyang decided to apply to visit the other seven satellites for training once he got back.

He'd originally planned to finish his mission on the Monster Race satellite and be done with it. After returning, he'd intended to apply for an off-world mission. But now that he'd discovered the secret of these eight satellites, how could he not investigate? If Heaven gave you a chance and you didn't take it, you'd only bring trouble upon yourself!

Still, he was a little troubled by how dangerous that all-consuming epiphany had been.

He sent a thought to the seed in his Dantian, which seemed a little lethargic after absorbing the force of the Law. Next time you find something delicious, eat your fill, but then wait for my signal before sharing the benefits with me, okay?

The seed pulsed, seemingly in agreement, much to Yin Congyang's delight.

He didn't linger. He quietly left the passage and, following the three-dimensional map in his memory, made his way back out.

Once he reached the surface, he submitted his mission item to the satellite's base headquarters and confirmed that his mission was complete. Then he boarded a small spacecraft and returned to the Training Camp on the main planet.

After staying at the Training Camp for half a month, he'd fully absorbed what he'd gained on Hell Star. He went to see Chief Instructor Feilaoshen again and applied to enter the satellite where the Machine Race was kept.

In the same spacious room, Feilaoshen looked at him in surprise. "You want to apply to enter the satellite where the Machine Race is kept?"

"Yes, my lord," Yin Congyang replied respectfully.

"Why?"

"My lord, I went to Hell Star, where the Monster Race is kept, half a month ago," Yin Congyang said, his expression bright with excitement. "It certainly lives up to its name. I fought the beasts there and gained a great deal. After spending this time digesting what I learned, I feel I've grown stronger, so I'd like to see what the other satellites are like..."

Feilaoshen nodded thoughtfully. The Training Camp had never lacked battle fanatics who loved to hone themselves. Whenever they made even a little progress, they couldn't wait to begin their next trial in hopes of improving their combat strength.

"I admire your determination to grow stronger," Feilaoshen said with a smile. "But I must remind you: training in dangerous places can help you improve rapidly, but danger lurks everywhere. One wrong step, one careless death, and it's all over. Have you thought this through?"

"Thank you for your guidance, my lord. I understand, and I know my own strength well. There's a saying in my hometown: 'Know yourself and your enemy, and you'll never be defeated.' So please don't worry. I'll plan according to my abilities."

"If you're determined, then go."

"Thank you, my lord!" Yin Congyang bowed and took his leave.