Heavenly Material Treasure

"Mayfly?"

"That's right. All living beings trapped within a tiny space, unable to travel freely between spaces, are called Mayflies. Those pitifully weak creatures—we can crush swaths of them with a casual pinch. Their lives have no meaning whatsoever.

"But among the terrifyingly numerous Mayflies, one or two occasionally undergo a change, successfully break free from the shackles of space, and gain the ability to travel between spaces. They are called Strange Worms."

"And you—even if you have reached the Core Combination Level—are merely a Core Combination Insect. At your root, you are still a Mayfly. To us Void Spirits, mutated Mayflies like you are a great tonic, like a Heavenly Material Treasure. Any Void Spirit that devours you can see its potential soar, making it easier to transform from a lowly 'beast' into a higher-ranking 'spirit.' It is said that the Guan Long True Spirit of the Dragon Court Mixed Domain achieved a breakthrough after accidentally devouring a Strange Worm."

Zhuang Hong was speechless. "I'm actually a Heavenly Material Treasure? In other words, you were planning to devour me before, weren't you?"

Hei Jinhua gave an embarrassed laugh. "The enticing scent coming off you can be smelled from far away. It's perfectly normal that I was tempted, but I no longer have such thoughts now."

Zhuang Hong asked, "Is there a way to conceal the scent of a Strange Worm?"

Hei Jinhua said, "Of course there is, but I don't know it. If you're not afraid of dying, you can go ask in the Dragon Court Mixed Domain..."

A 'Heavenly Material Treasure' plunging into a crowd? Only someone tired of living would do that.

Hei Jinhua continued, "What surprises me is that a Strange Worm like you actually cultivated to the Core Combination Level without being devoured. That is exceedingly rare. But thinking about it, it is not all that strange. This region of space is simply too remote and barren, with only a few low-level Void Spirits scattered about. Besides... you Strange Worms are fundamentally different from Void Spirits."

Zhuang Hong asked curiously, "What fundamental difference?"

Hei Jinhua said, "I heard that you Strange Worms have special constitutions. Unlike us Void Spirits, you do not need to undergo long and arduous cultivation. You can grow rapidly by devouring Void Spirits, and occasionally gain some highly unusual abilities, such as your Fine Silk and armor.

"Of course, that is merely what I heard. I do not know whether it is true. And because of that, Void Spirits and Strange Worms are mortal enemies. Whenever a Void Spirit encounters a Strange Worm, it will instinctively kill it, refusing to let any Strange Worm grow.

"If a Strange Worm is allowed to grow, it will be a disaster for Void Spirits..."

At this point, Hei Jinhua seemed to realize he had said something wrong and abruptly fell silent.

Zhuang Hong chuckled. "Mortal enemies? It seems my situation is far from optimistic."

Just then, Hei Jinhua's body rapidly thinned and lengthened, eventually transforming into a lean praying mantis. The instant he broke free from the Fine Silk restraints, he lunged at Zhuang Hong.

This was the killing move Hei Jinhua had prepared for a long time—swift and ferocious!

Zhuang Hong merely swept his blade casually.

A dark crimson flash lit up, and blood sprayed.

Hei Jinhua passed away very peacefully.

Hei Jinhua, along with the twenty-odd Mantis Monsters from before, was swallowed by Zhuang Hong and became his nourishment.

This was the first time Zhuang Hong had eaten his fill since evolving to the Blue Core Combination Level.

Feeling the blue Source Power Orb within him slowly fill and grow, he was immensely satisfied.

But after learning the basic situation of this Infinite Space from Hei Jinhua, he also felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.

"I'm a Heavenly Material Treasure that all Void Spirits want to feast upon? This is absurd...

"I need to find a way to conceal my aura as quickly as possible. Otherwise, if I run into an opponent I cannot defeat next time, I'll be dead for sure."

As he thought, Zhuang Hong picked up the long whip studded with sharp barbs and toyed with it in his hand. Under the Manipulation of his thoughts, it transformed into all manner of shapes.

This long whip was called the Dragon Tendon Whip. It was incomparably tough and possessed two traits.

First, once infused with Source Power, its might increased dramatically. It could also be freely manipulated into all kinds of movements, as though it had come alive.

Second, the whip could retract and interlock into a Longsword. Its barbs then became the blade's edge, incomparably sharp.

When extended, it was the nimble Dragon Tendon Whip; when retracted, it became the sharp Dragon Tendon Sword. Such an exquisite design could often catch an enemy off guard at a critical moment in battle.

In truth, the whip had a third hidden trait: its material was special, allowing him to carry it through different spaces without any hindrance, and it did not take up any weight.

This was also what Zhuang Hong valued most.

Zhuang Hong's special constitution allowed him to travel freely through space, but bringing other objects made such travel difficult. The more he carried, the slower his traversal became.

This was why he had previously refused to help Xu Kaidong carry too many things.

Yet this Dragon Tendon Whip did not affect his spatial travel at all. This was the first time he had seen an item like it.

"Good stuff! This can replace my short blade."

He stored the Dragon Tendon Sword in his backpack, then took out a crystal sphere.

The sphere was slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball and exceptionally translucent. It was precisely the Treasure Pointer Hei Jinhua had mentioned.

He tried feeding a thread of Source Power into it. Immediately, a red-glowing pointer lit up within the crystal sphere. No matter how he rotated it, it pointed toward the same location.

"Treasure Pointer?"

Zhuang Hong admitted that his interest had been piqued. Perhaps this so-called treasure could solve his problem and conceal the scent of a Strange Worm.

After playing with it for a while, Zhuang Hong put away the crystal sphere and returned to Earth.

A few days later, Zhuang Hong left Earth once more and headed for Ji Ling Star.

Based on the time the doctor had given him, the injection to treat Chen Yuanfei should already have been completed. He looked forward to it somewhat.

After curing Chen Yuanfei's illness, he planned to explore new spaces and seek a way to conceal the scent of a Strange Worm. At the very least, he needed to find an ability that would let him sleep soundly.

Hei Jinhua's words were not something Zhuang Hong wholly believed, but one thing was certain: his situation was extremely dangerous.

The ways to avoid danger were simple. First, devour every Void Spirit he encountered, ensuring that no more Void Spirits learned of his existence. Second, explore new spaces and find Other-Space Zhuang Hong to devour, gaining greater power. Third, find the so-called 'Strange Worm scent' on himself and seek a way to conceal it. Perhaps the so-called treasure could be of use.

If all else failed, then he would kill! Kill every Void Spirit, kill every natural enemy.

As long as all Void Spirits were dead, he would naturally be able to sleep soundly.

Zhuang Hong suddenly appeared in an uninhabited wilderness on Ji Ling Star and headed toward Wu Miaomiao's home.

Not long after Zhuang Hong arrived on Ji Ling Star, Qu Wei suddenly shouted inside a massive Underground Base, "Boss, the All-Seeing Eye has spotted that Zhuang Hong."

Yao Wenshu immediately clacked over in her high heels and happened to see Zhuang Hong strolling leisurely in the footage.

Qu Wei explained, "The All-Seeing Eye has locked onto the target. Based on his route, we estimate that he intends to go to Guihua Residential Area, where Wu Miaomiao lives."

He glanced at Yao Wenshu and asked softly, "Should we attempt to make contact and communicate?"

Yao Wenshu frowned deeply, as though pondering something. In the end, she shook her head. "No. Follow the plan and capture him directly. The higher-ups believe that rash contact could very likely alert the organization behind him. That would be like striking the grass and startling the snake, and we might never catch hold of their trail again.

"It would be better to first block all signals in the area, then capture him with the fastest and fiercest means possible. Afterward, quietly pull him into the Divine Kingdom Virtual Network and find a way to coax information out of him there."

Qu Wei nodded. "Understood."

Yao Wenshu nodded without speaking, her eyes fixed tightly on the footage captured by the All-Seeing Eye.