Treasure: Beyond the Light-Year

The journey that followed went fairly smoothly. They only encountered several groups of Planetary level and Stellar level Qiu Shi Race members, all of whom the squad easily dealt with.

At last, the spacecraft landed on the docking platform in District F of Exterminate Qiu Star.

The hatch opened, and the familiar metallic scent rushed over them. Everyone filed out, letting out long breaths in unspoken unison.

Outside the base, they had to keep their nerves taut every moment, wary of ambushes. Now that they had returned to the safe zone, the tension they had carried for days finally eased.

"I'll turn in the mission." Xiong Kui put away his saber and swept his gaze over the group. "Rest in the combat room for a while. There's food and drinks in the cabinet beside it. Help yourselves."

With that, he strode away.

Golden Horn entered Combat Room 328 in District F with the others, and each of them collapsed into a chair.

About half an hour later, Xiong Kui pushed open the door and entered, a faint smile on his face.

"The mission's complete." He raised the intelligent terminal in his hand. "The Sector Lord knows what we ran into. We were lucky not to be wiped out. The mission status has been updated, and both the reward contribution points and kill contribution points have been credited. Check for yourselves."

Everyone lowered their heads to inspect their terminals.

Golden Horn opened his account and saw that 500 points had arrived. Added to what he already had, his balance had risen by quite a bit. He nodded slightly, fairly satisfied with the amount.

"The higher-ups gave us some extra compensation," Xiong Kui added. "This mission really was dangerous. Making it back alive was already a profit."

Smiles appeared on everyone's faces.

"Next, we divide the spoils." Xiong Kui placed several space rings on the table, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

"Everyone knows the rules. We divide according to contribution." Xiong Kui looked at Golden Horn. "Silver Horn contributed the most this time. Without him, none of us would have made it back. You pick first and take forty percent. How about it?"

Golden Horn considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "Thirty percent. Without everyone's cooperation, I wouldn't have made it back alone either."

He did not stand on ceremony. He directly picked up the space ring that belonged to the Qiu Shi Race prince and sent his spiritual power inside.

The next instant, his pupils suddenly contracted.

"What is it?" Scorpio leaned closer.

Golden Horn said nothing. With a wave of his hand, a mountain of Cosmic Crystals appeared out of thin air in the open space of the hall.

The pale-blue crystals emitted a gentle glow of energy, illuminating the entire combat room. Every piece was cut neatly and contained incomparably pure energy.

Several thousand cubic meters filled over half the hall.

Everyone was stunned.

"Are those Cosmic Crystals?" Iron Hammer stammered.

"The universe's hardest currency—pure energy crystals that only World Lord-level experts can condense." Xiong Kui took a deep breath, and even his voice changed. "Every cubic meter is worth a fortune. They aren't just currency; they can power formations, feed insect race broodmothers, forge world rings, and even serve as energy reserves for breakthroughs."

Golden Horn forced himself to calm down and calculated quickly. The total was probably more than 15,000 cubic meters!

After the Cosmic Crystals were divided, several thousand tons of Grade B and Grade C alloys, as well as hundreds of Mu Ya Crystals, poured out of the space ring. Even Xiong Kui could not help swallowing at the energy fluctuations they gave off.

"Just how much wealth was this prince carrying?" Greedy Wolf muttered.

Golden Horn did not answer. He merely divided the Cosmic Crystals into ten portions with swift movements.

"I'll take thirty percent." He took his own share, around 5,000 cubic meters. That was already twice the entire fortune of an ordinary Universe level expert.

"The captain gets ten percent." Xiong Kui took one portion.

"Scorpio, Frost Blade, and Shadow Stinger get eight percent each." The three of them each took their shares.

"The rest will be divided equally by headcount." Golden Horn looked at the others. "About two percent each."

After the Cosmic Crystals were divided, the alloys, Mu Ya Crystals, and other materials were distributed in the same proportions. Golden Horn then took out several rare, invaluable one-of-a-kind items. After everyone examined them, none of them knew how to divide them, so they all pushed them toward him.

"Keep these. They're useless in our hands anyway, and we've already received plenty." Xiong Kui waved a hand.

Golden Horn did not refuse. He put those strange items into his ring.

When the final space ring had been passed around and they confirmed that nothing had been overlooked, everyone smiled.

This trip had made every one of them rich.

Golden Horn's wealth was equivalent to the combined fortunes of three or four Universe level experts. As for those Stellar level veterans, this haul equaled decades of their income.

The mission had been dangerous, but the rewards had truly been immense. Mainly because that prince had simply been too wealthy.

What they did not know was that the prince they were talking about was currently being harshly scolded for losing this batch of supplies.

"Good. The mission ended perfectly." Xiong Kui stood up. "Let's add each other's contact information. If there are missions in the future, we can team up again."

Everyone exchanged communication numbers. Golden Horn also added Scorpio, Frost Blade, Shadow Stinger, and Xiong Kui as contacts.

"I'm leaving." Xiong Kui strode away.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Golden Horn returned to his own courtyard as well.

He was exhausted. Though a Stellar level body and mind were tough, he had been stretched too tightly both mentally and physically throughout this mission. Within only a few breaths of lying down, he fell into a deep sleep.

He slept for an entire day and night.

When he woke up, it was already the morning of the third day. Sunlight streamed through the stone window into the room, and Golden Horn felt as though every cell in his body had come alive.

He sat up cross-legged, opened his space ring, and began inventorying the spoils he had not yet had time to inspect carefully.

He sorted away the Cosmic Crystals, Mu Ya Crystals, and various alloys.

Hm?

From the depths of the ring, he pulled out a spherical object no bigger than an adult's palm. Its surface was smooth, yet he could clearly see layers upon layers of spherical shells inside it, each capable of rotating independently.

At first, Golden Horn thought it was some kind of ornament.

But then he reconsidered. How could the prince's space ring possibly contain an ordinary ornament?

More importantly, he vaguely sensed an extremely faint fluctuation of Space Law. He had been too excited while dividing the spoils earlier and had failed to notice it entirely.

Golden Horn sent his spiritual power into the sphere and examined it carefully.

The surfaces of the spherical shells were engraved with dense ancient secret patterns. Their lines were so intricate that even his spatial talent made his head spin.

Could this be a treasure?

He recalled the method of claiming ownership from his inherited memories and tried slowly merging a thread of spiritual imprint into it.

The next moment, a torrent of complex information flooded into his mind.

Treasure Name: Beyond the Light-Year

Status: Damaged

Function: Directional teleportation, with a maximum distance of one light-year.

Charging Mechanism: Can store enough energy for up to three teleportations. After energy is consumed, it can automatically absorb cosmic primal energy to recover, requiring approximately five years for a full charge; it can also be rapidly charged with external energy treasures, taking only a few breaths.

Usage Restriction: Unless space is sealed, it can be forcibly activated under most circumstances.

At the end of the information was also a secret technique, Beyond the Light-Year, specifically used to refine and activate this treasure.

Golden Horn stood frozen for a long while.

Was this a legendary supreme treasure?

With it, he had effectively gained another life. Three chances to teleport—unless he encountered one of the strongest Immortal gods, no one could keep him behind!

Golden Horn took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the wild joy in his heart.

Quick! Refine it quickly!

After drifting and wandering for so long since his birth, he finally had a trump card to preserve his life!