The Great Purge

"Congratulations on your tremendous increase in strength, Master!"

The six Universe Level bodyguards gathered around him, offering their respectful congratulations.

"Hahaha, this really does call for a celebration."

Chu Yuan grinned from ear to ear.

He could hardly be blamed for being pleased with himself. He was thirty-three this year, had comprehended the sixth-layer fire domain, had crossed the thresholds of both the fire origin law and the space origin law, had gained a clone ability, had increased his genes to a hundredfold, and possessed wealth exceeding a million, or even ten million, Hunyuan Units.

So what if he was pleased with himself?

He had the capital to be proud!

There was nothing wrong with being pleased with himself, as long as he did not let it go to his head and forget how high the heavens were and how deep the earth was.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Rumble!

The mountain shook, the cave passage cracked, and loose stones rained down.

Two Universe Level 8 experts were flying through the passage at top speed. One belonged to the Snake-man Race, trailing a tail, his entire body covered in green scales.

The other belonged to the Ape-man Race, with feet shaped like hands. He was a spirit reader, riding a shield with a Star Level 9 young man clutched in his hand.

The young man had fiery-red skin and stripes across his face. He cast a cold glance behind him, his eyes filled with anger. "What's gotten into these natives? Do they have to chase us this relentlessly? There are so many other people they could chase! Why are they coming after us?"

The Universe Level Snake-man Race fired an energy attack behind him, blasting apart the passage and blocking it completely.

His voice was low. "Fourth Highness, now is not the time to talk about this. We must find a way to escape as quickly as possible!"

The Ape-man spirit reader nodded in agreement. "That's right. The natives have launched another great purge. Every so often, the natives of the Turbid Abyss Continent launch a great purge of outside adventurers."

"They come out in full force, sealing off the ground and the sky, using every means at their disposal to hunt down outside adventurers."

"If they catch us, we're certain to die!"

The young man gritted his teeth and growled, "Escaping is easier said than done! There are natives everywhere outside. The moment we show our heads, they'll surround us and kill us."

"Even a spaceship can't break through their encirclement. Their Domain Lord experts are all stationed in outer space, just waiting for us to throw ourselves into their net."

The Ape-man spirit reader spoke firmly. "That's why we have to hide in the mountains. The Heavenly River Mountain Range is comparable in volume to a red giant. There are tens of millions, perhaps even hundreds of millions, of caves inside, and the underground passages are as numerous as the stars. Once we shake off our pursuers, they won't find us as long as we hide well enough."

"We can leave once things blow over."

Before he finished speaking, a deafening explosion came from the passage behind them, followed by the natives' furious roars.

"Invaders from beyond the heavens, stop running!"

"This is bad! They're catching up!"

All three of their expressions changed drastically. The Universe Level Snake-man Race pointed ahead and shouted, "There's a branching passage up ahead! Go there!"

The three rushed into the branching passage. The Universe Level Snake-man Race fired another energy attack behind them, blasting apart the cavern and sealing the passage.

Taking turn after turn, the three continued deeper along the passage.

"We're so lucky!"

The young man laughed in excitement. "This passage actually goes this deep! Someone must have dug it before us."

"Not having to dig saves us a lot of effort. At this rate, we'll shake off our pursuers soon!"

The Ape-man spirit reader examined the marks on the stone and soil of the passage, his expression somewhat grave. "These marks are still fresh. It was dug not long ago."

"Why did they dig this deep?"

Everyone who came to the Heavenly River Mountain Range to hunt for treasures had dug passages, but no one had ever dug this deep.

They were already seventy to eighty thousand kilometers underground, yet the information returned by the Intelligent Optical Computer's scans showed that the passage was still nowhere near its end.

"We can't worry about that now. As long as we can shake off our pursuers!"

The three continued deeper, blasting apart the passage behind them every time they changed direction.

After countless twists and turns, the three reached an underground world 170,000 kilometers beneath the surface.

The moment they entered the underground world, the three froze in midair. "To think there's such a vast space beneath the Heavenly River Mountain Range!"

"Fourth Highness, there must be undiscovered treasures here!"

The Snake-man Race shouted excitedly.

"Survive a great calamity, and good fortune is sure to follow!"

The Ape-man's face flushed, and all the fur on his body stood on end.

How many treasures might be hidden in an underground world no one had ever discovered?

Unearthing them would surely earn them a fortune.

"Hahaha! My great fortune has finally arrived!"

The young man was so excited that his grin went crooked.

"We should still be careful. It's too early to celebrate."

The Ape-man spirit reader reined in his smile. "Someone reached this place before us. If there were treasures, they must have taken them."

A cold gleam rose in the Snake-man Race's eyes. "Let's hope they haven't left yet."

A longsword appeared in the young man's hand, and he gave a cold smile. "As long as they haven't left, the treasures are mine. If they know what's good for them and obediently hand over the treasures, I can spare their lives. Otherwise, heh heh..."

Meanwhile, Feiluan had already detected their arrival.

"Master, someone has entered the underground world. Three people in total: one Star Level 9 and two Universe Level 8."

Feiluan projected a virtual screen. In the image, three people were approaching Chu Yuan's location.

"Can they detect us?"

"No. Their intelligence system is no match for me. I've already blocked their scans."

Feiluan lifted her chin and smiled smugly.

Chu Yuan folded his arms across his chest, watching the three people on the screen with an icy gaze. "I can feel their killing intent even through the screen!"

Black Blade One tightened his grip on his battle saber and barked coldly, "Master, let's do it. Kill them all!"

Star Pupil No. 1 nodded. "They only have two Universe Level 8 fighters. We have six, along with plenty of powerful weapons. Killing them all would be effortless."

Chu Yuan looked at the red-skinned young man. "With two Universe Level 8 bodyguards accompanying him, his background definitely isn't simple. I wonder how strong he is?"

"Kill the two Universe Level 8 fighters first. Leave him for me so I can test my skills."

"Yes, Master!"

Star Pupil No. 1 grinned, shouldering a D9-class laser gun and taking aim.

Against Universe Level 8 humans, just two percent power was enough.

Half a second to charge, plus another half a second to aim.

One second later, Star Pupil No. 1 pulled the trigger, and two energy beams tore through the air.

The beams traveled at the speed of light. With the targets 6,000 kilometers from Chu Yuan, they would strike in just 0.2 seconds.

High in the air, the Snake-man Race, the Ape-man Race, and the young man flew side by side. The young man was in the middle, protected by a Universe Level bodyguard on either side.

"How many treasures do you think we'll find this time?"

The young man smiled as he asked his bodyguards, imagining himself getting rich in one stroke.

He had only just turned his head when he saw an energy beam strike the Ape-man bodyguard beside him, instantly vaporizing him.

At the same moment, the Snake-man Race bodyguard on his right was also vaporized by an energy beam.

The two laser beams struck the mountain behind them, melting the rock and penetrating an unknown number of kilometers.

"Where did they go?"

The young man froze, his rigid body stopping in midair, his eyes terrified and his expression blank.

Only after remaining stunned for quite a while did he belatedly realize what had happened.