"So, is there any result yet?"
Han Ling turned her head to look at Shen Heng.
Shen Heng refocused his attention and nodded slightly under everyone's gaze.
Seeing this, everyone who hadn't really held out much hope was slightly taken aback.
"Did we find a similar crystal here, or is the one we encountered before here?" Han Ling was the first to come to her senses and ask.
"I encountered them here before, along with several other crystals that were the same or slightly different." Shen Heng's eyes narrowed as he gazed into the distance.
"Why... why did the Calamity Beast put so many crystals here?" Zhou Xuan asked subconsciously.
"I'm not sure, but those crystals were placed in different locations, and every now and then, a kind of energy would emanate from the crystals. If I had to say..."
Shen Heng lowered his head slightly and pondered for a moment:
"Perhaps it resembles a formation?"
"An array? What's the use of that?" Zhou Xuan frowned.
The others did not reply, but they also frowned.
This is also what they are wondering about, concerned about, and is the purpose of their visit.
Qin Yu stood to the side, watching the crowd with a slight frown.
Han Ling then turned her attention back to Shen Heng and asked, "How is the situation with the Calamity Beast over there?"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned their attention to Shen Heng.
If the number of Calamity Beast is small and they are not strong, then perhaps they could try to force their way through?
Just leave one of the Calamity Beast to interrogate last!
If all else fails, you can take the crystal back and let the Research Department study it.
However, to their disappointment, Shen Heng slowly shook his head.
"More than two hundred of them, including twenty-three Fourth Tier and one Early Fifth Tier. This number is beyond our ability to handle!"
Everyone frowned subconsciously, their gazes fixed on the distant valley.
With that number of casualties, let alone their small team, even if all the exploration teams that went out were sent out, there would probably still be some casualties.
Ideally, perhaps we should send everyone from the base out? Or maybe we should Daoist Master Li out?
But if that happens, the base will be left empty...
Zhou Xuan clicked his tongue and looked at everyone.
"Speaking of which, why are there so many more Fourth Tier Calamity Beast here than at the Profound Crystal Griffin, but the Fifth Tier ones are weaker?"
"With combat strength remaining constant, let's balance it this way," Shen Heng said casually, his eyes lowered in thought.
"Does that mean the two sides are probably evenly matched?" Zhou Xuan asked.
"No, it's much stronger over there. Just one Profound Crystal Griffin might be equal to, or even surpass, all the Calamity Beast here," Shen Heng replied.
"I see!" Zhou Xuan looked at the distant valley and nodded with a hint of realization. "Does the way the Calamity Beast arranged things mean that this side is less important than that side?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Heng paused slightly, halting his thoughts.
He glanced at Zhou Xuan, then looked up again, gazing at the distant valley.
He hadn't really thought about this angle before, but...
Shen Heng pondered for a moment, then said:
"Indeed, in that sense, this place is probably much less important than the other."
"Judging from the arrangement of the Calamity Beast, I understand now, but why is there a discrepancy?" Zhou Xuan nodded, then turned to look at Shen Heng. "According to you, there might be some kind of formation set up here. Shouldn't that be quite important?"
"It is indeed quite important, but the crystals are produced by the Profound Crystal Griffin, and the Calamity Beast are arranged by the Ruins Realm. The only thing that is somewhat scarce, and whose substitutability is uncertain, is this location, and..."
Shen Heng paused, his gaze slightly unfocused as he looked towards the distant valley where the beast shadows lingered.
"I suspect there's more than one place like this."
"Hmm? How did you know?" Zhou Xuan looked at Shen Heng with some curiosity, as did the others.
"Based on the location, the situation of the Calamity Beast, and its possible uses..." Shen Heng said in a low voice.
"Hmm?" Zhou Xuan looked over with some confusion, his eyes full of incomprehension.
Han Ling pondered for a moment, then said somewhat uncertainly, "As for the location, if it were the only one available, it probably wouldn't be arranged in this position."
"After all, this place is relatively far from the Light Gate to the Calamity Beast."
Overall, this location is not a particularly safe choice for important matters, especially for the Calamity Beast.
Having said that, she gently turned her head to look at Shen Heng.
"Is that so?"
Shen Heng nodded slightly.
Zhou Xuan subconsciously retorted from the side:
"Perhaps the Calamity Beast is using the 'blind spotlight' tactic?"
Seeing that Shen Heng nodded in agreement with her idea, Han Ling continued:
Even if it's the darkest place under the lamp, theoretically there should still be enough combat power deployed here.
"Even if there aren't enough beast hands, there shouldn't be such a huge shortage of the Profound Crystal Griffin."
Zhou Xuan nodded thoughtfully, then asked:
"What are the possible uses?"
This time, Han Ling didn't answer, but turned to look at Shen Heng.
Everyone looked over as well.
Shen Heng gazed into the distance and slowly said in a deep voice:
"What do you think is the purpose of the Ruins Realm?"
The group was somewhat confused, not because the question was too difficult, but because it was too easy; they had already known it on their first day at the Supervision Bureau.
"Of course, it's invading Blue Star!" Zhou Xuan said matter-of-factly.
The others nodded slightly upon hearing this.
"If we're going to invade Blue Star, what's the best way?" Shen Heng then asked.
This time, Zhou Xuan did not answer immediately.
He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Defeat us, and then launch a large-scale invasion?"
"But the current situation doesn't support them deploying a large-scale, sufficiently advanced fighting force. In other words, they can't defeat us so easily, so..."
Shen Heng paused, his gaze scrutinizing Zhou Xuan.
"Then what should we do?"
"Well..."
Zhou Xuan hesitated for a long time, unable to give an answer.
Han Ling pondered for a moment, then said:
"How can we get more, or even stronger, Calamity Beast Calamity Beast onto the battlefield?"
Shen Heng nodded slightly and looked away.
"Uh... what does this mean?" Zhou Xuan was a little confused for a moment.
"In other words, we need to find other ways to make the Erosion Zone more stable, so that we can deploy more or stronger Calamity Beast Calamity Beast, in order to defeat us more easily," Han Ling said calmly, looking at Zhou Xuan.
"So, they can beat us more easily?" Zhou Xuan understood somewhat.
"Yes, and even a nuclear bomb might not be able to easily destroy the Erosion Zone." Shen Heng nodded, gazing solemnly into the distance.
Before coming here, he thought that the crystal might be a cultivation resource for a high-level Calamity Beast.
But after arriving here and seeing the situation, he was 90% certain that the crystals were used to stabilize the space of the Ruins Realm!