Entering the Core Region

The 25th day after entering the Secret Realm ruins.

"Whoosh~"

Qi Yuan sped through the void between two fragments of the continent.

Ever since his bountiful haul in that cave last time, it seemed his good luck had been completely used up in advance.

Along the way, aside from accidentally discovering more than a dozen pieces of Void Sand in a dried-up river valley that could be used to forge Tier 2 Force Weapons, he had found almost nothing.

The immense contrast had even made him consider turning around and heading back.

After all, the new month's System Return opportunity would soon refresh. Any random return would be better than picking up rocks all over this place!

"This Secret Realm ruin is so barren. No matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem like a powerful civilization ever existed here... If that's really the case, then what was the identity of that fallen Realm Lord found in the cave? Could he have been an outsider who happened to die here?"

Qi Yuan's thoughts wandered wildly, but he had already arrived above a new continent fragment.

The moment he arrived, his gaze was drawn to the endless stretch of ruined structures at the edge of his vision!

"Ruins!"

For nearly a month since entering the Secret Realm ruins, all he had seen was dry, dark brown land.

Now that he had finally encountered something different, Qi Yuan immediately felt invigorated.

Ruins meant that a civilization had once existed here. A place like this was the most likely to yield something!

"Let's go take a look!"

His figure instantly transformed into a streak of lightning as he rapidly approached the ruins in the distance.

How fast was a Universe Level cultivator? Just a few minutes later, the previously indistinct ruins gradually came into focus.

However, Qi Yuan had no choice but to slow down at that moment.

Across the boundless black earth, countless broken walls and collapsed structures spread out from beneath his feet, extending across a region of at least ten thousand kilometers.

And amid those vast ruins, more than one figure was moving about rapidly.

"Crash~~"

"Boom~~~"

From time to time, ruined buildings were violently overturned, and powerful figures darted through them, scavenging for any treasures that might have been left behind.

When Qi Yuan appeared, the three Universe Level cultivators busy within the ruins almost simultaneously stopped what they were doing and looked over.

"Two Level 2 Universe Level cultivators, and one Level 3 Universe Level cultivator."

As they looked at him, Qi Yuan curiously sized them up as well.

Among the three, the lean, short-haired man in Black Armor at Level 3 Universe Level wore an identity medal on his chest representing a member of the Imperial Sea Pavilion.

The other two, a man and a woman at Level 2 Universe Level, wore no markings that indicated their identities.

Moreover, judging from how they stood near each other while remaining faintly wary, they clearly did not come from the same faction.

After a brief standoff, the short-haired man in Black Armor, the only Level 3 Universe Level cultivator among them, spoke first.

"Search your own areas. Don't interfere with anyone else, or everyone will turn against you!"

With that, he ignored Qi Yuan and went back to his great endeavor of overturning ruins and picking up treasures. Clearly, he did not think much of Qi Yuan, a mere Level 1 Universe Level cultivator.

After exchanging a glance, the other two Level 2 Universe Level cultivators also said nothing and dispersed to continue their work.

"Crash~"

"Rumble~~~"

The sounds of piles of building debris being tossed aside rang out once more.

Qi Yuan could not help but smile faintly at the sight.

"Pretty harmonious. This is how it should be. Everyone makes money peacefully—why start swinging blades around?"

After all, he was a "civilized person" who had received a higher education in the new era. If he could avoid fighting and killing, he naturally would.

These people's conduct suited him perfectly.

"Judging by how impatient they are, they must have found quite a lot around here!"

While carefully watching the movements of the other three Universe Level cultivators, Qi Yuan approached a section of ruins that appeared not to have been searched yet.

The entire area seemed to have once endured some immensely destructive force. Across the ruins stretching for over ten thousand kilometers, almost no building remained intact.

Even many sections of buildings buried hundreds of meters underground had been utterly wrecked.

To make matters worse, the building ruins seemed to contain some kind of signal-weakening material, preventing the Detector's signals from reaching very far.

That was why the three Universe Level cultivators had constantly been violently overturning one ruined building after another during their search.

"This is going to be a pain to search."

Following their example, Qi Yuan locked his gaze on a sizable section of ruins. Vast Force instantly spread out, directly blowing the large stretch of ruins before him away!

"Crash~~~"

As large amounts of building debris were blown aside, several passageways leading into the underground sections of the buildings appeared on the ground.

"Whoosh~"

Qi Yuan's figure flashed rapidly. When he appeared again, a strange expression had appeared on his face.

Without stopping, he immediately headed to the next area of ruins.

After repeating the same process in four different areas, the delight in his eyes could no longer be concealed.

"Holy shit, are the drop rates in this area really this high? I've only cleared such a tiny area, yet I've already found five or six treasures at the level of Tier 3 Force Weapons!"

He first looked at the various weapons and special metals lying quietly in his World Ring, then at the ruined region stretching for over ten thousand kilometers around him. A faint blood-red glint immediately rose in his eyes.

My god!

If every part of such a massive area could yield this much, how many treasures would he find in the end?

"No wonder those three Universe Level cultivators couldn't be bothered with me. They really are busy picking up treasures!"

Qi Yuan did not dare hesitate in the slightest as he charged toward the next area of ruins.

If it was truly as he suspected, then these ruins were practically a blessed land for him!

He was different from everyone else. He had the Return System! Every treasure he obtained here could potentially bring him returns hundreds or even thousands of times greater after going through the System Return!

Not to ask for too much—if he could gather several hundred or even a thousand treasures at the level of Tier 3 Force Weapons, he would definitely make a massive fortune in one go!

"I'm rich, I'm rich! Who said these Secret Realm ruins were barren? This place is dripping with wealth!"

Just as he excitedly rushed toward the next area of ruins, a powerful thought suddenly rang out in his mind.

"Want to eat. So many. I search."

"Hm, Bumblebee?"

Qi Yuan's heart stirred. "You want to go out?"

"Yes, Master. Tasty. Many."

Bumblebee, the Star Level Metal Life, could only convey extremely vague thoughts, but its desire to rush out was exceptionally intense.

"Then go. Oh, and take this with you!"

Qi Yuan's face remained calm, but when he landed, a mass of Golden Liquid wrapped around a Space Ring and instantly detached from beneath his feet.

"Whoosh~"

The Golden Liquid first seeped underground, then used the gaps between the collapsed ruins to race into the distance!

It moved so quickly that it was even much faster than Qi Yuan's method of blowing open sections of ruins as he advanced.

Not long afterward, an extremely vague yet delighted thought came from ahead. Bumblebee, in the form of Golden Liquid, had already instantly swallowed a jet-black ore radiating icy cold air into its "belly."

"It found something that quickly?"

"Haha, with Bumblebee helping me, it looks like my search speed can at least double!"

Qi Yuan felt a surge of joy, but he quietly changed direction and headed toward another area of ruins.

Just then, the Level 2 Universe Level woman searching another section of ruins seemed to casually glance in his direction. A telepathic message then quietly sounded by Qi Yuan's ear.

Dear readers, please help by keeping up with the latest chapters over the next couple of days—just scroll to the final page of the newest chapter. Every round of recommendation advancement depends on Tuesday's chapter follow-up reading, so please lend me a hand and keep reading over these next few days. A deep bow to you all~~~