vncnus Chapter 101: Fog
Chapter 101: Fog
Within this boundary, a vast, ancient forest stretched as far as the eye could see.
The air lacked the violent, raging energy of the Wind and Thunder Canyon; instead, it was filled with a rich, almost tangible, life force that was invigorating and refreshing.
Towering trees, some thousands of meters tall, rise from the ground, their massive canopies like canopies, obscuring the azure sky, with only dappled sunlight filtering through the gaps in their leaves.
The five members of Hong's team landed smoothly on the soft ground, feeling a springy texture under their feet.
As soon as Luo Feng landed, he raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with surprise. His mental energy spread out in all directions like a tide, then quickly receded after completing a circle.
"Brother, something's not right here!"
Luo Feng lowered his voice, a hint of excitement in it, "The concentration of primordial energy in the universe here is much higher than outside! If I could cultivate here in seclusion for an extended period, my cultivation speed would definitely increase several times over!"
Thor gripped his sword tightly, feeling the unprecedented activity of his genetic energy, and nodded repeatedly.
"That's right, it's practically a rare cultivation paradise! That realm lord really went all out, creating a realm within a realm right within the Thunder World. It's incredibly extravagant!"
Hong's gaze did not linger long on these enormous ancient plants. As soon as he landed, he raised his head, his eyes piercing through the overlapping canopies of trees, locking onto the massive black tower at the horizon, which seemed to connect heaven and earth.
That place is not only the core of the entire realm within a realm, but also the dwelling place of the mysterious intelligent life form "Mist". The true legacy and endless treasures left behind by Lord Kabu are all there.
"We just forcibly tore through the spatial barrier to get in, and the energy surge outside definitely couldn't have escaped the notice of the true experts in Wind and Thunder Canyon. It's only a matter of time before they discover the anomaly here. We must hurry."
At that moment, Qiu Jian, who had been silent all along, released a large amount of blue data scanning light waves from his eyes, which went straight into the ground beneath everyone's feet.
A few seconds later, Qiu Jian's indifferent electronic voice rang out.
"Master, based on my rough analysis of the soil composition and deep energy structure, this ancient forest contains a high-density energy aggregate deep underground. The purity is extremely high, and the energy readings perfectly match the characteristics of cosmic crystals. Moreover, the reserves... are enormous."
"Cosmic Crystal?"
Thor's eyes lit up the moment he heard those three words. Without a word, he shoved his sword into the ground and eagerly prepared to fight.
"What are we waiting for? This is free money! Let's dig as we head towards that giant tower!"
Hong grabbed Thor.
"Second brother, don't be impulsive. Digging with brute force is a waste of time. Don't lose the big picture for a small gain."
In this realm within a realm, while cosmic crystals are undoubtedly a fortune that could drive any star-level martial artist mad, they are not the "hard currency" here. In the original story, the only currency that could truly be exchanged for Lord Kabu's complete set of spatial secret techniques, the Fruit of Life, and other precious treasures was not cosmic crystals, but rather the "realm ore" unique to the Thunder World.
Hong casually flicked the black spear in his hand across the ground, the hard tip easily penetrating the damp soil and turning up a large chunk of dark brown mud.
The soil scattered, revealing a fist-sized, grayish-black stone. Its surface was covered with peculiar spiral patterns, and faint electric light flowed within them.
Hong used the tip of his spear to lift it from the soil, weighed it in his hand, and then handed it to Qiu Jian's virtual projection.
"Qiu Jian, scan this stone."
Qiu Jian's eyes immediately flashed with high-frequency detection light, scanning the stone from the inside out. A few seconds later, he drew his conclusion in his eternally indifferent tone.
"Master, the physical hardness of this ore exceeds that of ordinary C-grade metals. It contains an extremely concentrated remnant of the laws of lightning. There is no matching mineral record in my database. But it is certain that this is definitely not an ordinary stone; its density and energy resistance are extremely rare."
This should be the boundary ore from the original work.
"A world opened up by a dignified world lord at great cost would not simply be filled with these seemingly useless waste rocks underground." Hong looked at the world ore in his hand.
"This is very likely a product unique to this realm within a realm. I suspect it might even be related to some kind of trial inside that giant tower, or perhaps it's the key to unlocking the treasure."
"We need to collect a large quantity of cosmic crystals and this mineral."
Luo Feng's eyes lit up instantly; he immediately understood Hong's intention.
"Brother, you mean...use the Moyun Vine!"
Just do it.
With a thought, Luo Feng unleashed a torrent of resilient Cloud-Piercing Vine vines, like a black tide, from his body. At the same time, Hong also released the Cloud-Piercing Vine he had cultivated.
The vines of the two major plant life forms boldly burrowed into the deep soil of the realm within a realm.
"Second brother, Tainuo, and Fuxi, the three of you are responsible for collecting resources on the left and right flanks! Third brother and I will stay in the middle and focus all our efforts on controlling the Moyun Vine!"
At Hong's command, the five-person team transformed into a blurry afterimage flying close to the ground, rapidly heading towards the black giant tower at the horizon.
Beneath their feet, the tendrils of two Moyun vines intertwined deep underground, forming a massive net. They easily crushed and pushed aside the hard rocks and soil.
Each vine of the Moyun Vine precisely bypassed the useless soil and rocks, forcibly tearing and peeling away veins of extremely pure cosmic crystal minerals from the strata.
At the same time, the boundary minerals mixed in the soil were swept away by the vines.
A massive amount of wealth was continuously transported back to Hong and Luo Feng's spatial rings.
"That's awesome! That's so awesome!" Thor roared in the team's comms, his voice filled with undisguised elation. "Third brother, eldest brother, these Moyun Vine are simply super excavators! This efficiency is a million times faster than if we did it ourselves!"
As Luo Feng manipulated the Moyun Vine, he grinned, unable to hide the smile on his face.
"We're really going to strike it rich this time! The cosmic crystals we've unearthed on this trip could probably buy several galaxies!"
While maintaining high speed, Hong calmly kept an eye on the distance calculation on the auxiliary optical computer.
"Don't be too careless. Smear up any traces underground as much as possible. We absolutely cannot leave any signposts for any powerful forces that might come later. Hurry up, the tower is getting closer!"
After five days of frantic underground raiding and low-altitude flying, the five-person team finally approached the colossal black tower that connected heaven and earth.
As they drew closer, the tower's imposing presence seemed to freeze the surrounding space. The hardness of the soil beneath their feet also increased dramatically.
"receive!"
Hong and Luo Feng exchanged a glance and simultaneously gave the order to bring back the Mo Yun Teng vines.
They had just stood in a black metal plaza at the base of the giant tower, and before they could even catch their breath, a sudden change occurred.
A silver phantom, without warning, rapidly coiled and expanded along the towering structure that reached into the clouds.
In just a few breaths, the silver phantom grew to the size of the entire giant tower.
The phantom image was that of a gaunt old man whose pure silver eyes looked down at the five outsiders in the square, who were as insignificant as ants, without any emotion.
It was the intelligent life form of Kabu, the master of the Thunder World—'Mist'.