Universe Crystal

"Beibei, enter Dark Universe and head for the center of the Shattered Star Belt. Then exit Dark Universe and cruise at sublight speed while scanning for mineral resources," Zhou Yuan instructed Beibei in his mind.

After the tempering he had undergone in the Killing Ground, he clearly understood the importance of resources to cultivation. Only by obtaining sufficient resources could he rapidly increase his strength.

"Destination: central Shattered Star Belt. Coordinates random. Departing!" Beibei immediately replied, controlling the spacecraft to turn around and choosing a sufficiently open area to accelerate.

As the spacecraft accelerated until it reached light speed, it vanished!

Zhou Yuan felt the spacecraft tremble slightly. Roughly ten seconds later, everything around him was completely dark, before the ship steadied. This meant the spacecraft had already crossed into Dark Universe.

Dark Universe was a space parallel to the Primal Universe. Here, spacecraft could break through the limits of light speed and reach unimaginably terrifying speeds. Furthermore, traveling one light-year here corresponded to 10.081 million light-years in the Primal Universe.

More than ten minutes later, the spacecraft exited Dark Universe, returned to the Primal Universe, and began cruising at sublight speed.

Within the vast Shattered Star Belt, countless meteorites floated and collided in the starry sky, forming a region both dangerous and full of opportunities. Beibei controlled the spacecraft as it continuously weaved through the meteorite clusters, activating full-power scans in search of hidden mineral resources.

"Master, a B-grade Dark Iron Essence meteorite has been detected. Shall we mine it?" After cruising for half a month, Beibei's voice sounded in Zhou Yuan's mind, interrupting his contemplation of the Earth Origin Law.

"Don't mine it. Beibei, from now on, ignore all resources below C-grade. They're worth too little and would waste our time," Zhou Yuan replied calmly.

Dark Iron Essence in the Purple Chen Universe Nation sold for only about 0.005 Purple Zenith Currency per ton. His spacecraft was just over a hundred meters long, several dozen meters wide, and several dozen meters high. Its cargo capacity was limited.

Even if it were filled to the brim, it would only be worth several tens of thousands of Purple Zenith Currency. It simply was not worth spending the time and effort to excavate it. If they found Black Iron Essence, that would have some value.

"Understood, Master. Continuing the cruise," Beibei answered, continuing to steer the spacecraft through the Shattered Star Belt.

Beibei was left to automatically cruise and search for resources, while Zhou Yuan returned to the core room and continued immersing himself in his comprehension of the Earth Origin Law.

Zhou Yuan decided to first comprehend the Earth Origin Law to the point of earning the Law's recognition, then turn to comprehending the Space Origin Law.

At present, his understanding of the Earth Origin Law was the deepest, making it the easiest for him to comprehend. The Fire Origin Law came next, while the Space Origin Law was the most difficult.

However, both the Fire Origin Law and Earth Origin Law were subordinate Laws of the Space Origin Law, so their priority was naturally lower than that of the Space Origin Law.

Inside the core room, Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged on the cultivation platform, his consciousness sinking into his sea of consciousness as he sensed the fluctuations of the Earth Origin Law permeating heaven and earth. Like a sponge, his consciousness continuously absorbed the true essence of the Earth Origin Law, and his understanding of it grew ever deeper.

Half a year passed just like that. Zhou Yuan made obvious progress in the Earth Origin Law again. He could clearly feel his strength steadily rising as his understanding of the Law deepened.

"Master, a Universe Crystal mine has been discovered. Its reserves are approximately ten million cubic meters." At that moment, Beibei's voice suddenly rang out in Zhou Yuan's mind, carrying a trace of barely concealed excitement.

"How much? Ten million cubic meters of Universe Crystal?" Zhou Yuan abruptly opened his eyes. Shock filled his face, and his voice rose several notches.

Universe Crystal could be directly converted into Universe Coins. One cubic meter of Universe Crystal was worth 1,000 Universe Coins, equivalent to 2 million Purple Zenith Currency.

Zhou Yuan's current wealth amounted to only a little over a billion Purple Zenith Currency. These ten million cubic meters of Universe Crystal were equivalent to ten billion Universe Coins, or twenty trillion Purple Zenith Currency—more than ten thousand times Zhou Yuan's net worth.

"Yes, Master. Preliminary scans indicate around ten million cubic meters," Beibei answered with certainty.

"Beibei, get over there quickly. We're mining this!" Upon hearing the exact amount, Zhou Yuan's heart pounded, and his eyes filled with excitement.

"Understood, Master. We'll be there shortly." Beibei piloted the spacecraft toward it.

As the spacecraft drew closer, Zhou Yuan also left the core room and entered the cockpit. Beibei had already activated the panoramic simulation system, clearly projecting the scene outside into the cockpit.

A massive meteorite nearly three hundred meters in diameter appeared in the projection. Most of it was covered in ordinary rock, but a small portion of deep-blue Universe Crystal lay exposed, giving off a faint glow. Like stars in the night sky, it was utterly enticing.

The spacecraft slowly approached the meteorite. Zhou Yuan immediately flew out through the hatch and landed atop it. With a slight stomp of his feet, his Earth Domain instantly spread out like an invisible cover, enveloping the entire meteorite.

"Rise!" Zhou Yuan shouted softly, controlling his domain to directly strip away the outer rock layer. Enormous chunks of stone were lifted as though seized by invisible giant hands and flung into the distant starry sky, revealing densely packed deep-blue Universe Crystal within.

"Beibei, conduct a precise count of the Universe Crystal," Zhou Yuan ordered, his eyes fixed tightly on the Universe Crystal before him, his face filled with joy.

"Master, the total is 10.6513 million cubic meters of Universe Crystal, valued at 10.6513 billion Universe Coins. Master, we're rich! Even a poor World Lord would only have this much wealth," Beibei replied delightedly.

Zhou Yuan nodded, his heart surging with excitement. Through his domain, Zhou Yuan controlled his genetic energy and began separating the Universe Crystal. Piece after piece of Universe Crystal was stored in his spatial ring, and before long, the ring was full.

At that moment, Beibei suddenly issued a warning. "Master, a spacecraft has been detected one hundred million kilometers behind and to the left. It has just emerged from Dark Universe."

Zhou Yuan looked in the direction Beibei had warned him about. Unfortunately, the Shattered Star Belt contained too many meteorites, and the other party's spacecraft was too small for him to see it clearly.

"Beibei, send an open transmission. This resource has already been claimed. Please stay away." Zhou Yuan took a deep breath and had Beibei send the message, hoping the other party would follow the unspoken rules of the universe and stay away, avoiding an unnecessary conflict.

Although the Shattered Star Belt was a newly discovered secret realm, by cosmic standards, it had actually been known for nearly one era.

Since all cultivators here belonged to the Human Race, in order to avoid excessive and unnecessary conflict, when one party discovered a resource and sent out a claim message, the other party would generally choose to stay away if their strengths were not too far apart and the resource was ordinary.

However, the amount of Universe Crystal this time was simply too enormous. Zhou Yuan expected that this matter would not end so easily.

Without hesitation, he took out the Earth-Splitting Blade and gripped it in his hand. The genetic energy within his body slowly began to surge, ready for battle at any moment. At the same time, he flew directly toward the direction Beibei had indicated, intending to seize a favorable position.

While flying, Zhou Yuan informed Beibei in his mind, "Beibei, move the spacecraft behind the Universe Crystal meteorite and hide it. Don't let the spacecraft suffer any damage." The spacecraft was an essential support for his survival in the universe. Nothing could happen to it.