Taken on its own, the story Tian Xin told was full of holes.
But rumors were full of holes by nature. Many of them were a hundred and eight thousand miles away from the truth.
Yet it was also possible that beneath those absurd rumors, some shocking truth lay hidden.
Perhaps it was not Heaven that had left the Ancient World King all alone. Perhaps his friends and family had not died in accidents. It was even possible that there had never been anyone who made the Ancient World King put his treasures into a chest.
Even if he had put them in, could the Ancient World King not have taken them back out again?
But if this key was real, what lock could it open? Could it truly be related to the Ancient World King? Perhaps a treasure chest really did exist, though it might not have belonged to the Ancient World King at all.
Lin Shen turned the key over and over in his fingers. Aside from the different shape of its teeth, it was extremely similar to the one on Lao Ye, whether in size or material. Even the heart-shaped design was exactly the same.
"If the Three Treasure Keys really exist, why does Lao Ye have one? If this story was something Tian Xin made up to save his life, then what are these two keys for?" Lin Shen could not puzzle it out. There were simply too few clues.
Putting away the key, Lin Shen did not ask Tian Xin anything more. He took the Water Pouch and went to collect the Gene Mutation Fluid flowing from the giant python's wound.
Wei Wufu had drunk quite a lot earlier and could not swallow any more now.
"Old Wei, how do you feel? Any better?" Lin Shen asked as he collected the Gene Mutation Fluid.
"Better," Wei Wufu said with a nod.
"That's good." Lin Shen lowered his mouth as well and sucked up the Gene Mutation Fluid seeping from the wound.
After only a few mouthfuls, Lin Shen stopped drinking.
This Gene Mutation Fluid truly was good stuff. The fact that it worked on Wei Wufu meant this was a Crystal Gene Level mutated creature.
Yet after Lin Shen drank it, the information on his watch still showed Gene Mutation Rate +0. For him, it could only rapidly restore stamina and energy; it could not increase his chance of successful gene mutation. Drinking it now would be a waste, and too much might even cause problems. After all, the energy content inside was extremely high.
Wei Wufu, on the other hand, gradually regained feeling in his legs after drinking a great deal of the Gene Mutation Fluid.
"Friend, everything I said is true. We can work together to find the treasure chests. There happen to be three of them, one for each of us. I'll even let you two pick first. Isn't that enough?" Tian Xin was still talking over there.
"How did you know the Ancient World King died on this planet? Didn't you say nobody knew where the Ancient World King died?" Lin Shen chatted with Tian Xin halfheartedly.
"To tell you the truth, my wife's younger sister's second maternal uncle's wife's paternal aunt's husband was a historian..." Tian Xin said with an utterly earnest expression.
After hearing that opening, Lin Shen had no interest in listening further.
A crisp phoenix cry suddenly rang out from the sky. Lin Shen immediately looked toward its source and instantly spotted that terrifying orange-red halo.
"It's that bird... Not good... It's flying this way..." Seeing the terrifying orange-red halo flying toward them, Lin Shen called Wei Wufu and ran without another word.
He could not even make out what the bird looked like, much less know what kind of terrifying existence it was. He did not dare face it at all.
"Friend... take me with you... I..." Tian Xin shouted anxiously as he watched Lin Shen and Wei Wufu prepare to flee.
After a slight hesitation, Lin Shen turned back, hoisted Tian Xin over his shoulder, and kept running.
The three of them had not gone far before the orange-red halo was already close. They could only find somewhere to hide amid the reef rocks.
Fortunately, the orange-red halo was not targeting them. They watched the sky-covering orange light descend, dyeing the entire white beach and ocean orange-red.
Their hearts trembled with unease, and all three pressed themselves farther behind the reef rocks. They had thought the orange-red light might carry scorching heat or some other kind of harm, but after it fell, they did not feel the temperature around them rise at all.
The giant python's enormous body was snatched up directly and flung into the sky in an instant.
That enormous body must have weighed who knew how many tons. An ordinary crane probably could not even lift it, yet it was thrown hundreds of meters into the air like a toy. It was hard to imagine what kind of terrifying strength that required.
Another phoenix cry sounded. The orange-red halo shot skyward and met the giant python in the air. The instant they made contact, the python vanished, as though it had been swallowed into the warped halo.
Under the three men's dumbstruck gazes, the orange-red halo flew toward the depths of the ocean and vanished in moments.
Steel Sacrifice +1... Steel Sacrifice +1...
Some information suddenly appeared in Lin Shen's mind. After thinking it over carefully, he realized that the Heavenly Sacrifice ability had reacted.
What's going on? Lin Shen looked around in confusion, but he did not see anyone nearby. Why had Heavenly Sacrifice suddenly responded?
Along with the information about the increased sacrifices, Lin Shen felt a stream of heat emerge from nowhere inside his body. It spread throughout him, as though his blood had begun to boil and every cell in his body had become active. His muscles brimmed with strength, as if he could punch through steel with a casual blow.
Alloy Sacrifice +1...
After that message, Lin Shen immediately felt the heat inside his body explode. Terrifying energy flooded his entire body, surging and roiling like a volcano on the verge of eruption, impossible to suppress.
He could clearly feel that his body had received a terrifying enhancement. Even the steel armor on his body was constantly being strengthened.
A blood-red halo actually bloomed across the mirror-like armor.
"What exactly is going on with that kid?" Tian Xin stared in astonishment, crying out in his heart that this was bizarre.
No matter how Tian Xin looked at him, Lin Shen was merely a little piece of trash at Steel Grade. Yet earlier, he had erupted with such terrifying speed, and he had even rendered Tian Xin unable to move with a single finger.
Now light was actually shining from his body, like blood-red Buddha light. It was becoming more and more outrageous.
Wei Wufu also stared blankly at Lin Shen, whose body was blooming with a blood-red halo. He had no idea what was happening either. Could a Steel Body come in colors? Could Steel Grade be enchanted? He had never heard of such a thing.
"You okay?" Wei Wufu asked.
"I'm fine. Keep an eye on him first. I'm going to take a look around." Lin Shen tapped Tian Xin's acupoint again. His strength was clearly many times greater than before. That single jab hurt Tian Xin so badly that tears and snot streamed down his face.
Lin Shen turned and left. He could vaguely sense the location of the sacrifices. The sacrifices were continuously increasing, all in the same location. He wanted to see what exactly was happening and what those sacrifices were.
With Heavenly Sacrifice empowering him, Lin Shen felt as though his whole body was filled with strength. The gravity here no longer affected him much. Wind seemed to spring beneath his feet as he rushed into the Steel Forest, heading in one direction.
From far away, he heard the sounds of fighting and screams. Lin Shen quietly crept closer and discovered that beyond the Steel Forest stood a mountain. At its foot, a group of people was being besieged by a horde of Gene Mutation Creatures.
Those Gene Mutation Creatures were extremely strange. Each was even bigger and more brawny than the Hulk, a monstrous giant built entirely from lumps of metal.
The most numerous among them were gray steel giants, likely numbering over a thousand. There were also several dozen taller giants whose bodies gleamed with blue metal, and they were likely Alloy Grade.
There were also several giants as black as ink jade, each around seven or eight meters tall. Every one of them possessed immense strength, with fists like massive ink-jade hammers. They were undoubtedly Crystal Grade.
Most terrifying of all, among those many giants stood a terrifying Giant King over ten meters tall, its whole body like obsidian and an obsidian crown upon its head.
The people being besieged by those giants were none other than the members of the Qi and Wang families, along with Bai Shenfei.
Bai Shenfei was fighting the Giant King alone, and the situation did not look very promising.
As for the members of the Qi and Wang families, people kept falling beneath the assault of the surging tide of giants. They were holding on solely because of the two Blackbirds.
Every time Lin Shen saw someone fall, a Sacrifice +1 notification appeared in his mind. There was no doubt that the sacrifices were these people from the Qi and Wang families.
The watch on his wrist was also vibrating constantly, and all his attributes were skyrocketing madly.
Before you continue