Dark Plot

The second-stage Universe Level woman had a curvaceous figure wrapped in a skintight Battle Armor, every gesture flowing with endless seductive charm.

A faint pink glow flickered within her eyes.

"Little brother, how about the three of us join forces later and take care of that Imperial Sea Pavilion fellow? Then we can eliminate a powerful competitor and split the treasures on him..."

Her incomparably alluring voice softly echoed through Qi Yuan's Sea of Consciousness.

At the same time, an inexplicable force quietly invaded his Sea of Consciousness.

Under the influence of that force, Qi Yuan's mind suddenly became somewhat muddled, and he could not help but want to nod along with the woman's suggestion.

Yet in an instant, his consciousness gave a faint tremor, and he completely awoke from that muddled state.

"Illusion Attack?"

Qi Yuan's expression turned cold as he swept an icy gaze toward the second-stage Universe Level woman.

"Get lost!"

A hair-thin streak of purple lightning burst from his body alongside his furious shout, striking the second-stage Universe Level woman directly.

"Crackle, crackle~~"

The powerful lightning force within the purple bolt erupted in an instant, making the woman's body tremble continuously as her aura visibly weakened.

"Ah, h-how is this possible? Why could a first-stage Universe Level warrior resist my illusionary seduction so easily? And what kind of attack was that? S-so strong!"

The second-stage Universe Level woman, who had intended to employ some underhanded tricks, was instantly counterattacked by Qi Yuan. Her face turned pale, and her gaze toward him immediately filled with deep wariness.

"Stay away from me. Don't provoke me!"

Qi Yuan gave a cold warning, then rushed toward the next densely packed area of ruins without even looking back.

Who knew how many treasures lay buried beneath the vast ruins around them, waiting to be unearthed? He had no time to waste here.

"Damn it. That third-stage Universe Level man from Imperial Sea Pavilion is troublesome enough, and now there's another difficult one."

Watching his departing back, a venomous look surfaced on the second-stage Universe Level woman's face.

Not far away, the lean man from Imperial Sea Pavilion heard the commotion and glanced over from afar, a careless, mocking smile curling at the corner of his lips.

"Serves you right!"

After that brief interlude, the several Universe Level powerhouses seemed to resume their earlier unspoken understanding.

Including Qi Yuan, they all became Universe Level "cleaners," each rapidly advancing and clearing the ruins in a different direction.

Rumble, rumble~~~

Crash~~

Large swathes of ruined debris were continuously swept aside and scattered by powerful Origin Energy, and pleasant surprises were unearthed from time to time.

When intact, this area of ruins had likely been an immensely large city of Cultivators.

After countless years had passed, any traces of life that might have existed within had long been eroded by time into dust and scattered away.

However, inanimate objects such as weapons, armor, metals, and alloys had been preserved for a long time.

Qi Yuan swept forward like mad, and in less than a day, he had obtained at least forty or fifty second-stage and third-stage Psionic Weapons, Force Weapons, armor, and the like.

Naturally, second-stage weapons made up the majority, while third-stage ones accounted for only around a third.

Even so, it was enough to astonish anyone.

After all, unless they were especially wealthy, Star Travellers would not waste money buying third-stage weapons.

Second-stage weapons were already enough for Star Travellers to unleash their full strength.

Thus, generally speaking, a third-stage weapon could correspond to a Universe Level owner!

Yet Qi Yuan had already obtained more than ten third-stage weapons!

Could it be that more than a dozen Universe Level powerhouses had once lived in this small area he was exploring?

That proportion of powerful experts was simply terrifying!

Or perhaps... the lives that had once existed within this Secret Realm ruin had all been incredibly wealthy, to the point that even Star Travellers could casually afford third-stage weapons?

Qi Yuan made wild guesses, but his movements did not slow in the slightest. He kept targeting larger clusters of ruins and rapidly advancing.

As he searched, he also kept a thread of his consciousness focused on the Metal Life, Bumblebee.

For a Metal Life that could reshape and disperse itself at will, moving through the gaps among scattered ruined debris was as easy as child's play.

Qi Yuan still needed to overturn large stretches of ruins to inspect them, but Bumblebee seemed to possess some special sense. It could effortlessly discover all kinds of extremely precious metals and ores.

And when it split into clumps of Golden Liquid, it could travel through the ruins at an even faster speed.

Over the course of that day, Bumblebee's gains were even greater than Qi Yuan's!

Moreover, Bumblebee's range of activity was not limited to Qi Yuan's surroundings. It often visited the paths of the other three Universe Level powerhouses as well.

Shielded by the thick ruins, which could greatly weaken detection signals, Bumblebee moved through the ruins as freely as a fish in water.

Without the three Universe Level powerhouses noticing in the slightest, Bumblebee intercepted many of the gains that should have belonged to them...

Although Qi Yuan had arrived last, his gains accumulated at an astonishing speed that far exceeded the other three.

However, their peaceful days of quietly making a fortune did not last long.

Soon, the arrival of a group of uninvited guests completely shattered that peace...

Just as the exploration of the entire ruin field had reached the halfway point, a powerful team consisting of one sixth-stage Universe Level expert, two fourth-stage Universe Level experts, and one first-stage Universe Level expert suddenly appeared above Qi Yuan and the others.

"Everyone, stop!"

A thunderous shout suddenly exploded across the skies above the ruins!

Qi Yuan and the others, each busy with their own work, froze at the sound and looked up in unison.

"Hm? Those are..."

"They're members of the Eternal Empire's imperial family. The leader is the young master from Governor Lieyang's household!"

The lean man from Imperial Sea Pavilion, the seductive woman, and the other two quickly recognized the newcomers.

Qi Yuan, on the other hand, had always been immersed in cultivation and was slower to learn of such matters.

After a brief silence, the lean man from Imperial Sea Pavilion was the first to speak.

"Friends from the Lieyang Star System, I am Xing Ming of Imperial Sea Pavilion. We have explored less than half of this area. If you wish to participate, how about we each designate our own areas and refrain from interfering with one another?"

"Half? Participate together?"

The people in the air exchanged glances, then all burst out laughing.

"We want everything here! And hand over everything you took from this place earlier as well..."