The Lava Secret Realm

Su Zhe first spent ten billion Black Dragon Coins on a C9-Class Spaceship made of C9 Grade Alloy to replace his Black Dragon Spaceship.

C-class spaceships were the equivalent of Universe Level, and a C9-Class Spaceship could withstand attacks from Universe Level 9 fighters. It would serve Su Zhe well for some time. Better D-class spaceships—even a D1-class one—started at a trillion Black Dragon Coins, far beyond what he could afford.

The spaceship Su Zhe bought was triangular in shape and more than two hundred meters long. It was a fairly cost-effective choice.

After buying the spaceship.

The remaining ten-odd billion Black Dragon Coins weren't enough to help Su Zhe break through to Universe Level.

Even the cheapest Universe Level 1 slave cost over a trillion Black Dragon Coins.

So Su Zhe didn't buy any cultivation resources. He bought a fairly good Tier 3 Force Battle Suit, which cost him nearly another ten billion Black Dragon Coins, and kept the rest for now.

December 2061.

Su Zhe returned to Earth. After resting for a while, he left the Black Dragon Spaceship behind and set off again in his new alloy spaceship, heading for the coordinates of the Lava Secret Realm.

Luo Feng was spurred on by Su Zhe's rapid progress. Although his clone hadn't been nurtured yet, he kept studying Secret Techniques and Domains, hoping to master the Domain of Metal as soon as possible.

It would take about fifty days to reach the Lava Secret Realm.

Aboard the spaceship.

Su Zhe's gaze was fixed on the screen, where the mission details about the Lava Secret Realm were displayed.

The Lava Secret Realm's specialty was Fire Marrow Crystal.

Fire Marrow Crystal was a versatile mineral. It could be used to make Force Weapons, Force Battle Suits, and Psychic Weapons, or even directly as a source of energy.

Those cultivating the Origin Law of Fire could also improve their comprehension of the law by spending extended periods surrounded by large quantities of Fire Marrow Crystal.

Su Zhe cultivated the Origin Law of Fire.

"My Domain of Fire has already reached the Domain Second Layer."

"Perhaps I'll get a chance to improve it further in the Lava Secret Realm."

Su Zhe murmured to himself.

Fire Marrow Crystal was extremely valuable. A single unit was worth 150 million Black Dragon Coins. That high payout alone was enough to make Su Zhe willing to take the risk.

"Master, according to the mission details and the information available in the Virtual Universe, Lava Monsters usually hide Fire Marrow Crystal in their lairs. Their lairs are generally guarded by Universe Level Lava Monsters."

Xiao Yu reminded him.

Su Zhe nodded slightly.

No problem.

He had already figured out how to get the Fire Marrow Crystal.

Perhaps he could even use the environment there to break through to Universe Level, or find a way to cross the threshold into the Law of Fire.

Su Zhe planned to stay there until Luo Feng's clone was ready, or perhaps even longer.

There wasn't much danger on Earth for the time being, aside from the Nolan Mountain Family. But unless Nuo Lanshan himself made a move, his family wasn't much of a threat to Su Zhe.

Once Su Zhe broke through to Universe Level, he should be able to deal with most members of the Nolan Mountain Family.

The spaceship continued toward the Lava Secret Realm.

During this time, Su Zhe decided to try the Decisive Battle Space again.

January 20, 2062.

A deep-blue, triangular spaceship emerged from the Dark Universe at the edge of a crimson star system.

This star system was controlled by the Universe Mercenary Alliance. Because of the Lava Secret Realm, it had simply been named the Lava Galaxy.

The Lava Galaxy was more than twice the size of the Milky Way. None of the planets on its outskirts had any life on them; they were occupied only by staff from the Universe Mercenary Alliance. At the heart of the galaxy lay a vast secret realm: the Lava Secret Realm.

The entire star system was under the control of the Universe Mercenary Alliance.

Only after passing the identity check was Su Zhe's spaceship allowed to enter the star system. It followed the guide toward a planet called Emerald Fire Planet.

On Emerald Fire Planet, Su Zhe would have to take a spaceship arranged by the Universe Mercenary Alliance to enter the Lava Secret Realm. The whole process was extremely tedious.

In the entire Black Dragon Mountain Star Sector, only the Universe Mercenary Alliance bought Fire Marrow Crystal. Any mercenary who tried to take it elsewhere to sell would be hunted by the Universe Mercenary Alliance.

Of course, the alliance didn't care about small private trades, as long as they weren't too brazen.

In short.

After a long wait, Su Zhe finally boarded the spaceship bound for the Lava Secret Realm. Hundreds of others were traveling with him, all Star Level fighters and Universe Trainee Mercenaries from various parts of the Black Dragon Mountain Star Sector.

"Hey, buddy, is this your first time in the Lava Secret Realm?"

The burly man seated beside Su Zhe looked very much like a Black Ape and struck up a conversation.

"What? Have you been here many times?"

Su Zhe asked with a raised brow.

"Of course!"

The Black Ape said proudly.

"This is my third time in the Lava Secret Realm. I made quite a bit of money the first two times. This will probably be my last visit. Once I leave the Lava Secret Realm, I'll go back and try to break through to Universe Level!"

Su Zhe replied expressionlessly, "Congratulations."

"Hey, no need to be so formal, buddy." The Black Ape scratched his head and grinned. "The mission may be classified as death-level, but generally speaking, the Lava Secret Realm is fairly safe as long as you don't go into the Lava Monsters' lairs or provoke Universe Level Lava Monsters."

"Scattered Fire Marrow Crystal can also be found in the wilderness of the Lava Secret Realm. Usually, only Star Level Lava Monsters dig up those scattered deposits. You just have to fight them for it."

"See this?" The Black Ape pulled out a large blade shaped like a pickaxe.

"I had this Tier 2 Force Weapon custom-made. It doesn't look like much, but it's incredibly fast at mining Fire Marrow Crystal," the Black Ape said boastfully.

"What's that for?" Su Zhe asked, puzzled.

"The mission says Lava Monsters produce Fire Marrow Crystal, but it never says we can't mine it ourselves," the Black Ape said smugly. "Fire Marrow Crystal is unstable. The slightest hard knock can make it explode."

"It took me a long time to figure out how to mine Fire Marrow Crystal safely, but I can't tell you how I do it."

"Fair enough."

Su Zhe smiled faintly and nodded.

Come to the Lava Secret Realm to mine?

There was no way Su Zhe would do that. Collecting Fire Marrow Crystal that way was far too slow. Only a mediocre fighter like the Black Ape would think of making money that way, right?

After that, the Black Ape did most of the talking while Su Zhe listened, occasionally responding. Before long, he had a fairly good understanding of the Lava Secret Realm's environment.

The man was a "miner," but his knowledge of the Lava Secret Realm was still worth taking into account.

He even told Su Zhe things like how the Lava Monsters' lairs were usually located deep in volcanic veins.