Lu Ming smiled faintly. Naturally, he wasn't about to reveal the secrets of the system and the Hundredfold Gene, so he gave a vague explanation instead. "This breakthrough was a little unusual. I suppose it was the result of long accumulation finally paying off. I was lucky enough to come across some opportunities."
He changed the subject.
"Now's not the time to discuss that. Let's see what's hidden behind this fog."
Seeing that Lu Ming didn't want to say more, Carlos tactfully stopped asking. Everyone had their secrets.
He collected himself and nodded.
"That unusually pure, high-grade energy fluctuation is coming from behind this fog. It's strange. My mental power can't penetrate it."
Man Ji and Shadow Shuttle came over as well, and the four of them gazed into the vast expanse of fog.
They formed a diamond-shaped battle formation, with Lu Ming in front, Carlos and Man Ji on the left and right flanks, and Shadow Shuttle bringing up the rear. They cautiously entered the dense fog.
The fog was thicker than they'd expected. Visibility was under ten meters, and it also greatly interfered with their ability to sense Origin Force.
The four could only advance slowly by sight and by keeping track of one another's auras, their minds on high alert.
After they'd gone a few hundred meters, the fog around them began to thin.
They took a few dozen more steps, and the view suddenly opened up!
They had crossed the edge of the fog and emerged into a relatively open valley within the inner valley.
Yet the sight before them left all four stunned.
There were no exotic flowers or rare plants as they'd imagined, nor were there divine artifacts or secret manuals radiating treasure-light. Before them stood a mountain!
A colossal peak, pitch-black all over, with a surface smooth as a mirror. It soared into the clouds and gleamed with a cold metallic sheen!
The mountain took up most of the space in the inner valley, and it was certainly not made of ordinary rock.
"Is this... a mine?"
Man Ji scratched his head, looking disappointed.
"All this fuss, just to guard a black lump of rock?"
Carlos furrowed his brow, stepped forward, and touched the black mountainside.
It was cold and hard to the touch. He tried to press down with all his strength, but even with the power of a Domain Lord, he could leave only a faint white mark!
"This hardness... It's no ordinary material!"
Carlos's expression changed.
Shadow Shuttle crouched down and carefully examined the patterns on the mountain's surface, then shook his head to show he didn't recognize it.
Lu Ming could tell that the black metal was extraordinary, but he didn't recognize it either.
The universe held an immeasurable variety of materials. Even after living for ninety thousand years, he couldn't possibly know them all.
"Let's scan the database with our Optical Computers."
Lu Ming suggested.
The four of them raised their wrists and activated their Optical Computers' scanning function, aiming it at the black mountain.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Almost simultaneously, all four Optical Computers chimed to indicate a successful identification. Detailed information about the material appeared on their screens.
When they read the information, all four of them unconsciously held their breath for a moment, their eyes widening!
[Material Name]: Ink Meteor Mother Gold
[Grade]: E9-class
[Properties]: Extremely high density and hardness, excellent energy conductivity, and some resistance to Soul Attacks. It is one of the finest materials for forging Fifth-Order Force Weapons, top-grade spaceships, and cores for advanced puppets. Extremely rare, it is usually found at top-tier auctions.
E9-class metal!
Ink Meteor Mother Gold!
They looked at the information on their Optical Computers, then back up at the enormous mountain before them, thousands of meters tall and probably several kilometers across at its base...
Gulp.
Man Ji swallowed instinctively.
Carlos's hands were trembling.
Even Shadow Shuttle, who was always calm, was breathing more heavily.
Lu Ming could feel his heart betraying him and speeding up.
They'd struck it rich!
This time, they'd really struck it rich! A staggering fortune!
An entire mountain of pure, high-grade Ink Meteor Mother Gold!
Its total reserves must be measured in trillions of tons!
Its total value... would be astronomical! Far greater than the surprise the Life Fruit Tree had brought Lu Ming!
This was a treasure that would make even World Lords—and no, even undying beings—covet it!
"E... E9-class... An entire mountain..."
Man Ji's voice wavered, his eyes bloodshot.
"I'm not seeing things, am I? How many Universe Coins would this be worth? A few trillion? Or tens of trillions?!"
Carlos took several deep breaths before he could barely suppress his elation. His voice hoarse, he said, "It's priceless... This is practically beyond price! It can't be measured in Universe Coins alone! We... We've really found the secret realm's core treasure this time!"
Everyone's gaze burned with excitement!
After the initial euphoria, a practical problem presented itself: how were they going to move this priceless mountain of Ink Meteor Mother Gold?
"Let me try!"
Man Ji was the most impatient. He growled, his muscles bulging as the power of a Domain Lord erupted, then swung a Giant Axe and hacked at the base of the mountain!
CLANG!!!
A deafening crash rang out, sparks flying everywhere! Man Ji staggered back several steps from the rebound, his arm numb.
The mountain bore a gash about half a meter deep. Compared to the entire peak, it was no more than a drop in the ocean!
"Damn it! It's too hard!"
Man Ji bared his teeth in frustration.
Carlos also tried stabbing it with a thin sword infused with Origin Force, but with even less effect. The blade penetrated less than a foot.
Shadow Shuttle's attacks leaned more toward the mysterious and the elusive, so they were even less effective against such a hard substance.
E9-class metal was far harder than they'd imagined. With their Domain Lord-level strength, they'd make painfully slow progress mining this mountain. It would probably take hundreds of years to carry it all away.
"At this rate, someone else will discover the secret realm before we finish digging it out."
Carlos stopped with a helpless look, his brow furrowed.
Just as the others were at a loss, Lu Ming calmly spoke up. "Let me handle it."
The three of them immediately looked at Lu Ming, anticipation in their eyes.
After seeing Lu Ming's strength earlier, they believed he might have a solution.
Lu Ming's thoughts stirred, and the Thunderlight Vine wrapped around his body shifted slightly.
"Little Thunder, it's your turn."
"Yes, Master!"
Little Thunder's thought reached him.
The next moment, to the astonishment of Carlos and the others, hundreds of vines crackling with dark golden electricity unfurled from behind Lu Ming!
The vines didn't lash at the mountain. Instead, like precision drilling machines, they twisted and spun at the tips, growing razor-sharp before rotating at high speed with a deep hum!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Countless vines, as if alive, struck precise spots across the mountainside!
To everyone's amazement, the impossibly hard Ink Meteor Mother Gold was easily pierced by the spinning vines, as though it were tofu!
Chunks of Ink Meteor Mother Gold, all evenly sized and weighing anywhere from a few tons to several dozen, were sliced cleanly away, as if the vines were cutting a cake. They coiled around each piece and lightly stacked them in an open area nearby.
The efficiency was astonishing! It was more than a hundred times faster than Man Ji and the others' clumsy mining!
"Th-this is your Thunderlight Vine, Lu?" Carlos's eyes nearly popped out of his head.