At the crack of dawn, the Eternal Sun had just risen, its golden brilliance tearing through the veil of night.
Across the Wilderness, what should have been the end of a demonic beast carnival had instead beco a scene of powerful figures riding their pet beasts, flying through the sky, galloping across the land, burrowing through the earth, and more…
The weakest among them were at least Mid-tier Gold, and there were many powerhouses at the Spirituality Transformation Level.
They exuded powerful auras that made the demonic beasts tremble in fear, terrified of running into these formidable individuals and being swatted to death.
Though their thods varied, they all shared a common destination…
The Ecological Mystic Realm in an independent space located several hundred kiloters west of Great Abyss City—the Nest of Decay.
It was composed of environnts like dense forests, swamps, and streams, seemingly no different from other Ecological Mystic Realms. However, it was ho to a special creature known as the Decay Miasma Poison Bee.
A dark green, calf-sized, bee-type pet beast, its stinger an inverted triangle containing potent poison. Following the usual custom of Bug-type beasts, they lived in colonies, birthed and ruled by a Queen Bee.
Despite their ferocious and terrifying appearance, they were not purely carnivorous creatures like wasps; they gathered honey.
It was just that what they collected was not from various flowers, but…
Decaying flesh and blood!
Like vultures, they had a particular fondness for the flesh and blood of creatures after they had rotted.
Using a long, soft, jointed proboscis covered in fine hairs with a labellum at the tip, they used their racial skill, 【Miasma Kiss】, to extract a special "Blood Honey" from the pathogen-filled, decaying flesh.
As this special "Blood Honey" was drawn into the Honey Pouch of the Decay Miasma Poison Bee, it would mix with secretions from the maxillary gland—Miasma Conversion Enzy.
This initiated a special spiritual mixing process. They repeatedly brewed the honey and constantly fanned their wings to evaporate moisture, accelerating the transformation and concentration until the honey was fully mature.
This "honey," after being processed by the Logistics Bees, transford into a special transcendent product—Decay Blood Honey.
It contained a potent poison and could not be consud by humans, but it could be used to enhance the toxins of Poison-type Pet Beasts or to create special potions to remove the Decay Poison Curse.
During this collection process, the bee swarm would excrete a large amount of miasma. Over ti, this enveloped the entire mystic realm, forming a special miasma ecological environnt.
Besides the bee swarm, any other life that entered would have its vitality corroded by the miasma. Only so poison-attribute and miasma lifeforms could survive within it.
Because it had existed for too long, coupled with the corrosion of the miasma, the enormous bee swarm, and the harsh environnt, a large number of Aberrant Creatures with spirituality imbalance would appear, making exploration extrely difficult and in-depth research impossible.
Alliance researchers could only roughly speculate that the formation of this mystic realm was related to the ancestors of the Decay Miasma Poison Bee or so powerful miasma lifeform.
Coupled with its characteristic of repelling those of the Morning Star Rank, it was classified as a Four-Star Mystic Realm.
And in the intelligence Lu Yu had sold, the location of the Spirit Ascension Tree was within this mystic realm.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
On the great earth, a giant Gold-armored Baboon ca running, leaving behind a series of powerful footprints. Pebbles jumped frequently in its wake, as if it were an armored vehicle at full throttle, crushing everything in its path.
A few Little Demon Ghouls that failed to get out of the way—these troubleso evil creatures that enjoyed attacking caravans in the wilderness—were trampled into a pile of at paste without any ability to resist.
"Roar!"
The Gold-armored Baboon clenched its fists and beat its chest, striking its golden armor and producing a thunderous sound like war drums, utterly domineering.
Qi Changhai, dressed in white, stood atop the Gold-armored Baboon's head. His clothes fluttered, giving him the air of a master as he said calmly:
"See that? This is the strength of the Gold-armored Baboon after its Spirituality Transformation.
If it reaches the Morning Star Rank, a single punch could collapse a small mountain. Among those of the sa tier, getting close to it ans taking a beating.
If it can continuously devour high-level mineral veins, it might even have a chance to beco the legendary top-tier Monarch pet beast—the Earth Behemoth.
Even if it can't, the Spiritual Puzzle I, your father, have developed, 【Mountain-moving Strongman】, can be further perfected to beco a Mountain-moving Giant Spirit and so on.
In theory, it has the potential to push through everything."
Behind him, Qi Wei listened to his old man's bold words and asked curiously:
"But can it beat Lu Yu?"
"…"
Qi Changhai's face darkened.
Can't you avoid touching a sore spot?
Don't make slap you on such a happy day!
Ever since the last ti he almost committed an act of unnatural cruelty to his own son, he had started his "Plan to Raise a Side Account." Then, after half a month of soaking goji berries in a thermos, he suddenly felt…
This son of his could still be saved!
Although a second child hadn't appeared, Qi Changhai had a breakthrough in his will.
The bottleneck that had troubled him for over a decade was easily broken. He then used the Prival Copper he had long since acquired to sublimate his spirituality, becoming a powerhouse of Spirituality Transformation.
Thus, after receiving an invitation to Joy Street, Qi Changhai, with his body full of tally marks, was certainly not interested in the Banshees, Succubi, Mountain Demons, rmaids, and so on inside.
He had never even heard of them!
He was only reluctantly going to see it to broaden his child's horizons and show him the world.
He also participated in the final Conch Trade Fair and purchased the intelligence on the Primordial Spirit Ascension Tree.
Lu Yu's performance naturally didn't escape his notice.
Faced with a trap, Lu Yu used a few tricks to turn it into a way to make money, having a Beast Tar far stronger than himself in the palm of his hand, and earning several million in one go.
It made him feel like the new generation surpasses the old.
Especially Lu Yu's wave… it was so powerful it left him stranded on the beach with no fight left in him.
If it were in the previous ruins, facing Little Spider who controlled the Ruin Gundam, even his Gold-armored Baboon, now at the Spirituality Transformation level, would have been hacked into eighteen pieces.
That kid is a monster!
'I guess no one could have imagined that the kid everyone thought was on a path of willing degeneration has now beco the Borderlands' Star of the Future…'
Thinking about the words he had said before, Qi Changhai blushed a little, but the sha lasted only a mont before turning into envy for soone else's child. As for his own…
All he did was hole up in his room all day writing short compositions, letting out strange laughs, and muttering weird things like "It blew up,"
"It's trending,"
"Lu Yu is amazing."
This made his old father's heart burn with anxiety.
But defeating Lu Yu… that dream was too lofty. One had to know how to weigh the pros and cons…
It's good to have a different dream!
For example, this ti was clearly a trap aid at Lu Yu.
After taking the money and leaving, he definitely wouldn't co back.
So, Qi Changhai wanted to help his son seize the Primordial Spirit Ascension Fruit.
If he could help Qi Wei ascend to the Gold Rank with Azure-Gold Spiritual Power and strengthen his foundation, there might be a chance for him to catch up to Lu Yu and beco one of the future top-tier geniuses of the Borderlands.
My son has a Monarch's aptitude!
Qi Wei didn't believe in this Big Pie.
After all, his old man had just evolved. How could he possibly defeat a group of veteran Spirituality Transformation experts?
Fortunately, the Gold-armored Baboon was famously durable.
Even if it couldn't win, it could run. Plus, he could avoid that terrifying woman, Yu Xiyan, so he was willing to join in the fun.
During this ti, Qi Wei had beco popular and earned a lot of money from his edited videos of Lu Yu, but he saved half of it to buy a high-level material for him later as a copyright fee.
In his entire life, Qi Wei would never freeload!
However, he now had to hurry up and improve his strength, or he wouldn't even be strong enough to follow and film Lu Yu.
He couldn't just beco a flaker content creator, could he?
If Qi Changhai knew that the reason his son wanted to strive was just to follow and film soone, he would probably be moved to tears.
Soon, the two arrived at the periphery of the 【Nest of Decay】.
They could see an area shrouded in miasma, deathly still and gloomy.
It seed to exist in this world, but in reality, walking into it would pull you into a special space.
At this ti, a large number of Beast Tars and non-human races had already gathered near the mystic realm, including so famous figures. But none of them were grouped together; instead, they maintained a safe distance from each other.
Behind them were various powerful Beast Form and Elental Type pet beasts, exuding terrifying auras.
However, no one was in a hurry to enter the mystic realm.
Qi Wei asked curiously, "Why aren't they going in?"
"Are you stupid?"
Qi Changhai couldn't help but glare at him and said irritably:
"Did you forget that the intelligence this ti was suspected to be a trap for fishing? Although Lu Yu muddled the waters, making it impossible for the mastermind behind the scenes to set up an ambush.
But we can't guarantee they won't exploit this ntal loophole, do the opposite, and continue to set traps, specifically targeting those who are alone.
Besides, it's very likely they've already mixed into the crowd. If you go in first, the probability of being stabbed in the back is very high."
"Isn't this just like the ga Werewolf…"
Qi Wei thought of a recently popular tabletop ga, and his gaze towards the crowd beca vigilant.
He felt like everyone looked like a werewolf.
After all, in the real world, there was no Witch's potion to revive you.
Once you died, you were completely screwed.
Qi Changhai shook his head helplessly.
Compared to Lu Yu's ability to cause great turmoil with ease, his own son was too green.
"They're the sa age, how can the gap be so huge? Qi Wei's grades don't seem that different from Lu Yu's. The only difference seems to be that he died… Hmm, I can't continue this topic."
Qi Changhai quickly extinguished a certain thought, otherwise he might be sacrificed for the plot.
"I can't believe that fellow Qi Changhai also ascended to Spirituality Transformation!"
"It seems Lu Yu really did take the money and run. His personality is cautious enough."
"Exploring next will be a hassle too.
It's not a solution to stay deadlocked here…"
"…"
The crowd noticed the arrival of the Qi Father and Son, their minds turning. They were also sowhat amazed at Lu Yu's decisiveness; he really wasn't coming.
So extrely cautious!
Without this Mystic Realm God of War, the difficulty of conquering it would skyrocket, not to ntion the many moles in the crowd.
Thus, the crowd just looked at each other, and the scene fell silent.
Finally, a handso, blond man stood out and said proactively:
"This stalemate won't solve anything. According to the intelligence, the Primordial Spirit Ascension Fruit is close to maturing, and it's already being guarded by a swarm of Decay Miasma Poison Bees, led by a Queen Bee of the Beast King System.
One person's strength is definitely not enough.
Therefore, I suggest everyone unites to conquer the mystic realm.
We can have trusted people watch the front and back. If anyone tries to make trouble, we can all surround and annihilate them."
As his voice fell, everyone lowered their heads to contemplate the feasibility of this thod.
Soon, a bald, scar-faced man raised an objection, frowning:
"There's only one Primordial Spirit Ascension Fruit. How should it be distributed? Don't tell it'll go to you in the end."
"Of course, after clearing the obstacles, everyone will compete for it each according to their ability.
Let's not hurt our harmony. If we can unite, we can completely clear the mystic realm, wipe out the Decay Miasma Bee nest, and conquer the realm.
We can then choose from even more treasures. Maybe there's even a Secret Treasure that can help us ascend to Morning Star…"
The blond man replied unhurriedly, then continued:
"I believe many of you recognize .
If you can trust , I can organize this operation. I will be responsible for everyone's safety.
Just let take an extra share when we distribute the mystic realm's spoils."
"Who is this show-off?" Qi Wei whispered when he heard this.
Qi Changhai muttered, "This guy is Liang Kui, the boss of the Sun-chasing Adventure Group, second only to the few large-scale adventure groups in Great Abyss City. He reached the Spirituality Transformation Level several years ago.
He's always been this much of a show-off, loves acting as the diator, and resolving conflicts between various adventure groups. The mont I saw him, I knew he'd jump out and speak."
Qi Wei nodded.
He could see that this guy's goal probably wasn't the Spirit Ascension Fruit, but to use their combined strength to conquer the mystic realm and reap huge benefits.
As expected, none of these veteran Beast Tars were simple; they were all old sly dogs.
The bald man who had asked the question earlier relaxed his expression upon hearing this and nodded:
"Sounds acceptable…"
The others were also sowhat moved. After all, this was a viable thod.
They could supervise each other, making it safer.
Compared to the Spirit Ascension Fruit, the benefits of the mystic realm were also quite tempting to them.
As for Liang Kui taking an extra share… that was normal. After all, why would he jump out if there was no benefit in it for him? Otherwise, everyone would be suspicious of his true intentions.
So, everyone nodded in agreent. Qi Changhai also joined in, and they began to gather closer.
Seeing this, Liang Kui also smiled. But as he began to arrange the formation based on the different pet beast abilities, soone beside him suddenly raised an objection.
A plain and unremarkable-looking middle-aged man ca to his side, frowned, and said:
"I think there's still a loophole in the plan. It's missing a step."
"What's missing?"
Liang Kui frowned slightly, a little displeased, but he maintained a warm smile and said:
"If you have a suitable suggestion, you can bring it up for everyone to discuss."
The middle-aged man nodded and said seriously:
"I think this plan is missing one step, and it's the most important one—attacking the mind is the best strategy!"
'Attacking the mind? What kind of idiot is this? Will the Queen Bee and the swarm even care about your psychological tactics? He's lived so long, yet he's learned nothing.
No wonder he can't ascend to Morning Star…'
Liang Kui cursed inwardly, but in order to unite everyone, he continued in a gentle tone:
"It's a good suggestion, but I don't think the Queen Bee will fall for it. It's not human…"
Before he could finish, Liang Kui suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.
He subconsciously looked down, only to find that where his heart should be was now a cavity.
He'd been chilled right through!
His life force sustained by his spiritual power, he looked up to see that in front of the plain-looking middle-aged man, a giant hand woven from tree rootlets marked with Yellow Springs Patterns had appeared, clutching a bloody, still-beating heart.
Feeling his life force rapidly draining away, Liang Kui said in disbelief:
"You… you…"
"I know you're anxious, but don't be. You must want to know my na.
You can call …"
"The Disciple!"
As the middle-aged man spoke, golden flas ignited on his body, yet they weren't hot. They burned from head to toe, and in the blink of an eye, he transford from a plain-looking man into a man in a formal suit and felt hat, one hand resting on a civilization cane.
He tipped his hat and said with a smile:
"The attack on the heart is complete. Now the plan is perfect!"
Bang!
After speaking, the giant hand ford from rootlets clenched violently, directly crushing the heart.
This scene happened so fast that everyone was stunned. They had thought he was an idiot who wanted to conquer the Queen Bee, but it turned out he was playing at attacking the heart in a physical sense.
Although it happened suddenly, the crowd quickly pulled away, their eyes wary. Could this guy be the mastermind behind the scenes?
"Damn youuuu…"
The shattering of his heart extinguished Liang Kui's last sliver of hope, his eyes filled with venomous hatred.
"Kill him!"
The ones who roared were not Liang Kui, but the bald man who had questioned him earlier and a black-haired old woman, their faces ferocious.
The two pet beasts behind them charged out.
Both were at the Spirituality Transformation Level. One was an Extre Ice Mammoth that looked like it was carved from ice, and the other was a Dark Demon-kin, its entire body composed of dark elents, with a humanoid upper body and a lower body of mist.
"Combination Skill—Extre Ice Prison!"
"Combination Skill—Dark Entanglent!"
Ice Power swept forth, leaving a frost path in its wake. A massive amount of dark elents ford tentacles that sward forward, enough to shred everything to pieces.
After seeing these two make their move, the others continued to pull away.
Boom!
Both attacks descended at once.
First, the dark power shredded the area where The Disciple was, and then it was frozen into an Ice Hell.
To everyone's shock, The Disciple had vanished.
"Teleportation? No, it's an illusion! Then where is his real body?"
The bald man was shocked. His gaze swept around and soon spotted The Disciple's figure at the entrance of the Nest of Decay.
"Not good! He wants to enter the mystic realm! Kill him, he must be the mastermind behind the scenes!"
The old woman let out a sharp cry, trying to rally everyone to attack together. However, when she turned around, she was t with wary and suspicious gazes from the others.
Her heart sank. She inwardly cursed, 'Not good.
'
They had acted too hastily!
Logically, a person's first reaction when encountering trouble is self-preservation, yet the bald man who had raised the objection attacked in a rage.
It was completely different from the bystander attitude he had shown before.
Their coordination was too good!
It was hard not to wonder what their relationship was.
Although it was possible they were just acting on injustice, the seed of suspicion had been sown.
Most people decided to wait and see.
"I want you dead!"
Seeing his enemy about to step into the mystic realm and leave so nonchalantly, the life force draining away from him, Liang Kui went completely insane.
With his last ounce of strength, he gave a command to his pet beast, the 【Sun-chasing Knight】.
This was a Humanoid Pet Beast.
Its appearance was that of a three-ter-tall figure clad in heavy golden armor with sun patterns. It had no human flesh and blood; only holy light shone from the gaps in its armor.
Wielding a greatsword, it exuded a powerful, oppressive aura.
Boom!
After hearing its master's command, its soul began to burn, transforming into imnse spiritual energy to suppress the severe backlash from its Beast Tar's death.
Holy light shone, forming a pillar of light that shot into the sky. It swung the greatsword in its hand, which transford into a giant blade of light that slashed forward.
Secret Art—Judgnt Light Blade!
Boom!
With a trendous roar, the Judgnt Light Blade struck The Disciple and instantly exploded, sending a shockwave sweeping in all directions, kicking up howling winds and a cloud of dust.
Just as everyone thought The Disciple would be either dead or severely injured, the dust settled.
Over a hundred full moon shields had appeared around The Disciple, layered on top of each other. Although they were covered in a dense web of cracks, they hadn't shattered, having forcibly blocked the attack.
Being able to enter the mystic realm ant he was also at the Spirituality Transformation level.
Yet he could block a full-power attack from a peer without a scratch.
What kind of monster was this?
From beginning to end, The Disciple never looked back. He simply walked calmly into the mystic realm, his figure swallowed by the miasma.
"How is that possible!?"
This scene made Liang Kui let out an unwilling roar. His life force completely drained away, and he collapsed to the ground.
And his Sun-chasing Knight, severely damaged by the contract due to its Beast Tar's death and its previously burned soul, dropped to one knee and disappeared into specks of light.
It clearly possessed great strength, yet it was forced into oblivion because its Beast Tar was attacked.
Before reaching the Morning Star Rank, although a Beast Tar's own physique would be strengthened far beyond an ordinary person's, it was still missing the final step for a qualitative change.
But that one step was the distance between life and death!
"Let's go!"
The bald man and the old woman exchanged a look and, while everyone was distracted, charged directly into the mystic realm.
"Those guys really are a group!"
Qi Changhai was also filled with lingering fear. He never expected that Liang Kui, who appeared so righteous on the surface, was one of the masterminds behind the scenes.
He had even put on an act and deceived everyone present.
He just didn't expect to run into an even more mysterious and unfathomable "Disciple" who fooled everyone and directly ripped out his heart.
'This way, cooperation is impossible. Was this also part of The Disciple's plan…'
Qi Changhai looked at the wary crowd, knowing that trust had been completely shattered.
After all, The Disciple's transformation ability was comparable to that of the rumored Faceless Brotherhood, making one suspect if there were others in disguise mixed among them.
This force could no longer be gathered.
As expected, the remaining people chose to go with their companions or alone. No one suggested grouping up again.
After taking pre-prepared magic potions to counteract the miasma, they entered the Nest of Decay mystic realm one after another.
"Ti to go!"
Qi Changhai, not wanting to be left behind, had his Gold-armored Baboon charge in.
He didn't notice that Qi Wei, behind him, had a dazed look in his eyes. Recalling The Disciple's entrance, only one thought remained in his mind:
"The Disciple is truly…"
"Too elegant!"
…………………………
On the other side, The Disciple… that is, Lu Yu, rushed into the Nest of Decay mystic realm.
He sprinted in a random direction for a while, changing course several tis, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming no one was following him.
He glanced at the pocket where Little Mouse lay collapsed, twitching, its fur dull, and said:
"You've worked hard."
To look cool in front of others, you have to suffer behind the scenes.
Little Mouse's strength had improved, but it hadn't reached the Gold Rank. By exhausting its ntal energy and hundreds of thoughts, plus consuming a whole block of Life Honey to sustain itself, it managed to block that desperate Secret Art attack with its Thousand Faces Shield.
The power gap between Peak Gold Rank and Spirituality Transformation was too great.
Unless two pet beasts tead up, they couldn't suppress a Spirituality Transformation expert.
And although Little Mouse's mana bar had been completely drained and it couldn't take a second hit, to achieve this at Peak Silver was enough to cause a sensation throughout the entire Alliance.
As expected of the future Mouse Heavenly Emperor!
"No… need… to thank…"
Little Mouse said chanically, having already entered Sage Mouse Mode.
It felt as if the four elents were all empty, its body completely drained.
"Ying!"
Little Spider looked at Little Mouse with a worried expression and handed over a second piece of Life Honey.
After Little Mouse finished gnawing on it, it gradually regained so strength, but its mind was still numb.
It began to recall so Sese thoughts, slowly filling the ntal void, and its eyes soon regained their clarity.
"Little Mouse has been revived!"
Little Mouse suddenly got up, let out a long breath, and felt a lingering fear.
It almost thought it was going to beco a Monk Hamster.
This feeling of having all its thoughts drained was simply too awful.
Next ti, I must accumulate more thoughts!
This is the perfect excuse to get the Cultivator to give a massage.
After all, it's for work!
Perfectly justified!
Cultivator, you don't want Little Mouse to be unable to block attacks, do you…
"Hehehe…"
At this thought, the thoughts in Little Mouse's mind began to grow explosively. Its clear eyes started to beco turbid, its fur began to shine, and it subconsciously wiped its drool with its little paws.
Little Spider watched it dotingly from the side, made a comb out of spider silk, and grood its ssy fur.
Lu Yu watched this harmonious scene and nodded slightly.
What made him even happier was that he had slaughtered a bastard who had plotted against him.
Did he really think a disguise would fool him?
Back when he revealed his malicious intent at the trade fair, his soul aura had been recorded by Little Mouse.
He dared to plot against him.
Doesn't he know that I, Lu, never let a grudge last overnight?
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