Another Realm?

The lingering heat of slaughter had yet to disperse from the cave, and the bloodstains on the ground still reeked of iron.

Xu Yang's group subtly drew closer to Lu He's five, facing off against the team led by Gongshu Jing and Hao Wu.

The conversation eventually returned to the two green-skinned gourds.

"These gourds still need a few more days before they fully mature."

Gongshu Jing raised his eyes and swept them over the spirit vine on the rock wall. His tone was certain. With a light tap of his fingertip, a wisp of mana brushed over the gourds' surfaces. "This vine was born alongside a spirit vein, nurtured by heaven and earth, its spiritual essence rich and pure. If an artifact refiner from the Famous Artifact Pavilion handled it, they could probably forge at least two mid-grade dharma artifacts."

As a disciple of the Famous Artifact Pavilion.

He disdained concealing anything and stated it outright.

Naturally, he was also confident enough in his own strength that, with two gourds available, there was no chance he would fail to claim even one.

The moment he said this.

Across from him, Xu Yang's eyes lit up, while Chen Zhengchu's breath caught.

Mid-grade dharma artifacts—

Not to mention them, even among the monsters ranked in the top hundred of the Scorching Sun Golden Ranking, perhaps only those born into the core branches of the great clans could possess such things.

"A tremendous opportunity!"

"If I obtain one, wouldn't I be able to squeeze straight into the top hundred of the Golden Ranking, perhaps even the top thirty? One step ahead, every step ahead! Maybe even the legendary Heavenly Being inheritance..."

The two exchanged a glance without speaking, a scorching flame igniting in their eyes.

After a moment of silence.

"Since that is the case, we should work out a proper arrangement. We cannot keep dragging this out. If something else goes wrong, it will only cause trouble."

Xu Yang spoke first, his gaze shifting between Gongshu Jing and Hao Wu.

A faint smile rested on Gongshu Jing's lips, as though he had everything under control. "We are all on Prodigy Island. We will see each other sooner or later, so there is no need to harm our harmony over two mere gourds."

He paused, and his tone abruptly gained several shades of forcefulness.

"How about this? The four of us may each choose one of the exotic treasure gourds. If several people choose the same one, then we shall spar before the gourds mature and decide the victor. The loser leaves on his own."

After saying that.

As though remembering something, Gongshu Jing looked around and smiled at the other Seeds, including Lu He. "Oh, right. You may participate as well."

Under his appraising gaze.

The other Seeds clearly knew their own limits. They understood that even if they joined in, it would mean nothing, so they repeatedly waved their hands in refusal.

"Senior Brother Gongshu is joking. We would not dare entertain such thoughts."

"Fine."

Before Chen Zhengchu could respond, Xu Yang had already voiced his agreement.

Of course he knew what Gongshu Jing was planning.

But the other man was the strongest among them; there was no choice but to agree.

If they truly fought without restraint.

Gongshu Jing, ranked one hundred and nineteenth on the Golden Ranking, and Hao Wu, who excelled at battle and spell combat—if those two joined forces, then Xu Yang and Chen Zhengchu alone... would likely find them difficult to handle.

The others continued arguing.

Lu He did not say a word from beginning to end.

His gaze followed the spirit vine until it finally landed on the divine spring suspended in midair.

It was Lu He's first time witnessing the formation of a spirit vein.

At that moment, all he felt was something strange—

Rather than taking shape, it would be more accurate to say that it was forcibly squeezed into this world. And this gourd vine also seems to have grown over from the other side along the spirit vein. Spirit vein, spiritual opportunity node, passage...

Could there be another realm on the other side of the spirit vein?

And was the Origin Creation Spirit Radiance needed for the Golden Book to condense pages actually coming from that realm beyond?

A flash passed through Lu He's eyes, and he suddenly felt the urge to burrow through the spirit vein before him and take a look.

Yet the instant this thought surfaced, an indescribable terror inexplicably rose in his heart, while his spiritual instincts screamed warnings.

I'll die! If I go over, I'll die!

Buzz! At the edge of his vision, the Golden Book suddenly trembled with a hum, directly wrenching Lu He's mind back.

Huff, huff—

"Something is wrong. There is something very wrong with this world!"

His breathing quickened slightly as he shifted his gaze away from the miniature spirit vein before him.

It was only at that moment.

That Lu He finally noticed what was wrong.

It was not the spirit vein, but beneath their feet—

The ground tremors from when the spirit vein had appeared not only had not stopped, but had instead grown increasingly violent.

The rocky ground cracked faintly, fine stone chips pattering down, while the moisture in the air suddenly became much heavier.

Lu He had thought it was merely the commotion caused by the emergence of the spirit vein, but now it seemed...

In an instant, a sudden change erupted.

Rumble—

A deafening roar far greater than that caused by the spirit vein's emergence rolled out from the depths of the cave. Like ten thousand waves crashing against the shore, like thunder exploding across the sky, it instantly drowned out everyone's argument, shaking their eardrums with pain and making their mana churn.

The next moment, countless Flame-Armored Demon Ants came surging madly out from the depths of the cave.

Yet this time, the demon ant swarm did not even glance at them. It only fled outside like mad.

Everyone froze, their faces filled with confusion.

But in less than half a breath.

The entire cavern began to shake violently. Huge rocks crashed down from overhead, a massive ravine split open in the depths, and muddy floodwaters surged out along it, carrying shattered stones and sand as they spread rapidly.

Everyone's expressions changed sharply.

They were all only at the early Breath-Feeding stage and possessed no means of surviving underwater.

Moreover, they had entered the Earth-Vein Caverns, not the waters of White-Scale Lake. No one would spend precious Dao Merit to buy water-repelling talismans beforehand!

As the floodwater bore down in the blink of an eye and the cave was about to be completely submerged.

Everyone instantly fell into chaos and fled toward the cave entrance.

Yet amid this, several figures charged against the current, all flying toward the gourds hanging from the spirit vine.

They were the five, including Gongshu Jing, Chen Zhengchu, and Lu He.

Clearly, they could no longer afford to care whether the gourds had matured. Something was better than nothing.

Before they could even reach the two gourds, the group clashed in midair. Spirit creatures roared, sword light crisscrossed, and mana thundered as none yielded a single inch.

Amid the chaos.

Lu He's eyes narrowed. Seizing the opportunity, he flashed forward like an afterimage to below the spirit vine. With an outstretched hand, he instantly summoned a great swath of mist and condensed it into two ropes, about to loop them around the two green-skinned gourds.

"How dare you lay hands on a treasure?!"

Hao Wu, who was wielding a longblade dharma artifact and fiercely trading blows with Chen Zhengchu's Frost Centipedes, happened to glimpse the scene. He immediately let out an enraged roar.

Any of the four of them could claim an exotic treasure born from a spirit vein, but if someone else picked up the prize for free, would that not make them a laughingstock?

With that thought.

A sharp glint flashed through Hao Wu's eyes. He directly endured one of Chen Zhengchu's strikes, borrowing its force to flee toward Lu He.

At the original spot.

"Tell me, aren't you simply courting death?"

Chen Zhengchu watched Hao Wu's retreating back with a half-smile, showing no intention of stopping him. A look of amusement appeared on his face.

Shaking his head.

He turned around and began joining forces with Xu Yang to besiege Gongshu Jing.

"Haha, so Zhengchu had arranged this long ago. This strategy of dividing their forces is brilliant!"

At the sight, Xu Yang burst into laughter, then immediately began fighting with all his strength.

That junior brother Chen Zhengchu had arranged would likely not hold out for long. The two of them needed to end this quickly.