Lu Ming came to an abrupt halt. "Connect."
The next moment, Carlos's slightly urgent voice rang directly in his mind. "Lu! Get to the coordinates I marked, fast! I've made a major discovery! The situation's complicated; we may need to work together to take it down! Man Ji and Shadow Shuttle are already on their way!"
As he spoke, a precise set of spatial coordinates was transmitted to Lu Ming's Optical Computer. The location was deep in the area Carlos was exploring, quite a distance from where Lu Ming was now.
Lu Ming's gaze sharpened.
Carlos was shrewd and cautious. If he was calling it a major discovery, saying the situation was complicated and that they needed to work together, then it definitely wasn't something as simple as an ordinary treasure!
"I understand! I'll head over at full speed!"
Lu Ming replied without hesitation.
After ending the call, Lu Ming didn't delay for a moment. With a thought, the D2-class ship bearing the Azure Bird insignia appeared beside him.
The hatch opened, and Lu Ming darted inside.
"Azure Kite, lock onto the coordinates Carlos sent! Start the ship and get there at maximum speed!"
"Yes, Master! Course locked!"
Vrrrrm—!
Brilliant blue flames shot from the ship's rear. It instantly broke free of the secret realm continent's gravitational pull and soared into the sky, then made an almost right-angle turn and accelerated wildly toward the coordinates!
It moved so fast that it left a long trail of turbulent air behind it.
Far from where Lu Ming was, at the top of a steep, sheer-sided peak in a desolate region of rocky spires,
Carlos was crouched in the shadow of a rock, suppressing his aura and blending into the darkness. His sharp gaze surveyed the vast valley below.
His expression was grave.
The valley below was no peaceful place. It was the lair of a massive pack of vicious beasts!
Even more alarming, the pack had not one leader but three!
One resembled a giant lion, but its entire body was covered in dark golden scales. A single horn grew from its forehead, and it was as large as a mountain. It lay there, the energy fluctuations around it like those of a dormant volcano. It had astonishingly reached the peak of Domain Lord Ninth Stage!
Another was a ferocious bird with a wingspan of over a thousand meters and feathers like forged metal. It circled low above the ground, its gaze sharp as a blade. Its aura was at Domain Lord Sixth Stage.
The last was a giant scorpion lurking in the valley's shadows. The poisonous barb on its tail gleamed with a faint blue light, and its aura had reached Domain Lord Fifth Stage.
Apart from these three Domain Lord-level beast leaders, thousands of other ferocious beasts gathered in the valley. Stellar-level and Universe-level beasts were everywhere, spread out in orderly ranks across the valley as if guarding something.
"Three Domain Lords...and one's at the peak..."
A storm raged in Carlos's heart.
"What on earth is hidden in this valley? Why does it need such powerful guardians?"
He had found the place by following a faint but remarkably pure energy fluctuation. He'd thought at most that a treasure was being guarded by one Domain Lord-level beast. He hadn't expected this to be such a den of danger!
With his strength at Domain Lord Fourth Stage, he would have his hands full fighting any one of them alone, let alone all three together, with a massive pack of beasts besides.
If he was discovered, he might not even be able to escape.
"No wonder the energy fluctuation felt so faint, yet somehow so high-level... I've really stumbled onto something incredible this time."
Carlos licked his dry lips, apprehension in his eyes—and an excitement he couldn't quite suppress.
Anything guarded together by three Domain Lord-level beasts, including one at the peak, was sure to be a priceless treasure!
He didn't dare make a move rashly. All he could do was wait patiently in hiding while urgently contacting Lu Ming, Man Ji, and Shadow Shuttle through the Virtual Universe Network.
Now, all he could do was wait for his teammates to arrive before planning their next move.
His gaze remained fixed on the deepest part of the valley. There, dense mist shrouded the area, so thick that even his spiritual power could not easily penetrate it. The treasure had to be inside.
About half an hour later, three auras, suppressed to the utmost, appeared silently behind the peak where Carlos was hiding, like ghosts.
They were Lu Ming, Man Ji, and Shadow Shuttle, who had rushed over at full speed.
Following Carlos's warning, they had put away their ship a hundred li from the valley. Relying on their own abilities to conceal their tracks, they had snuck closer on foot, so the ship wouldn't alert the sensitive beasts below too soon.
"How's the situation?"
Lu Ming was the first to speak, his voice barely above a whisper. His gaze had already passed over the ridge and fallen on the valley below.
He sensed the three Domain Lord-level beasts' unrestrained auras, especially the pressure of the Domain Lord Ninth Stage beast at the peak, which was like an abyss.
He raised his brows slightly.
"Good grief, three Domain Lords—and one's a real monster!"
Man Ji smacked his lips. Though his tone was still gruff, his expression had grown serious. He clearly realized how troublesome this would be.
Shadow Shuttle's figure was almost indistinguishable from the shadows. He merely gave a slight nod to show he understood.
Carlos quickly and quietly briefed them on what he'd observed. "That's the situation. There's something strange about the mist. My spiritual power can't get through, but I'm certain there's a great treasure inside. A direct assault won't work. Those three are cooperating closely, and with the beast pack as well, we'd be at a disadvantage."
Lu Ming studied the layout of the valley and the positions of the three beasts, then said thoughtfully, "Indeed. That Golden-Scaled Lion Beast at the Domain Lord peak is the biggest threat."
"What do we do? You've always got ideas, Lu. Let's hear one."
Man Ji looked to Lu Ming.
Carlos and Shadow Shuttle turned to look at him as well.
When tactics and teamwork were needed, Lu Ming was usually the one who took the lead.
Lu Ming actually wanted to say, You can just stand aside and watch.
He could wipe out every beast below all by himself.
After thinking for a moment,
Lu Ming finally made up his mind.
He stood up.
His gaze swept calmly over the valley below, and his tone was composed yet left no room for argument.
"Wait here. Don't join the fight. I'll take care of what's down there."
At his words, Carlos, Man Ji, and Shadow Shuttle all froze.
"Lu, are you kidding?"
Carlos hurriedly lowered his voice.
"You've only just broken through to Domain Lord. Even if your strength has improved greatly, there are three Domain Lord-level beasts down there, one of them at the peak! And then there's the beast pack..."
Man Ji frowned too. "That's right, Lu. I know you're excited about breaking through, but this isn't the time to show off!"
Shadow Shuttle said nothing, but he clearly disagreed as well.
But before they could finish speaking—
Whoosh!
Lu Ming vanished from where he stood without warning, his figure as elusive as a ghost!
"What?!"
"So fast!"
Their pupils contracted, and their hearts shook with alarm! His speed was far beyond anything they'd thought possible for a Domain Lord!
They hurriedly looked down into the valley.
Lu Ming was already standing proudly in the open space at the very center of the beast pack, as if he'd descended from the heavens!
Not a trace of powerful aura leaked from him, yet the savage beasts around him instinctively felt fear and let out uneasy growls.
The three Domain Lord-level beast leaders were alerted at once!
"Roar!"
The Golden-Scaled Lion Beast let out a warning roar, its sound rolling through the valley.
Lu Ming acted as if he hadn't heard it. He held out his right hand, and a battle blade wreathed in crimson flames appeared in it!
Without the slightest hesitation, he faced the beasts rushing at him from every direction, along with the three Domain Lord-level leaders, and unleashed his ultimate technique!
"Nine Absolute Blades of Ember Universe—Eighth Blade!"