144: The secret to the crown, a strategy offered by Pan Shi!

A sharp glint flashed in Bedrock's eyes as he pointed to the flame heart crown in the center of the hall and said,

"The Old Elf outside will likely finish cleaning up the mess soon."

"We don't have much time."

"Senior, do you mean we should act now?"

Lu Yuan glanced at the water-blue elemental chains.

"I don't have enough Source Power for this either?"

Bedrock, however, waved his hand, a confident smile on his face.

"I know."

"So, we don't need to go through all that trouble."

Before he finished speaking, he rummaged through his backpack, and a palm-sized, uniquely shaped silver instrument appeared in his hand.

"What is this?" Lu Yuan asked curiously.

Bedrock aimed the silver instrument at the flame heart crown in the distance.

"A small invention of Tinder, the All-Encompassing Replicator."

"Specifically designed for situations like this."

Lu Yuan secretly clicked his tongue in amazement.

All-Encompassing Replicator?

The name was quite fitting.

The Tinder organization indeed had profound capabilities; such a device would likely be difficult for even the most cutting-edge laboratories in the Alliance to produce easily.

Bedrock gently pressed a button on the side of the instrument.

"Buzz—"

A faint blue beam of light lit up from the front of the instrument, precisely projecting onto the flame heart crown.

The beam, like a living thing, slowly scanned along every facet, every gem inlay, and every subtle pattern of the crown.

On a small mirror surface of the instrument, countless data streams flashed rapidly, dazzling the eyes.

Lu Yuan held his breath, watching silently.

The Flame Sprites also sensed the abnormality, stopping their frolicking and looking towards the crown, then at the instrument in Bedrock's hand, their tiny eyes filled with confusion.

What's going on?

After about half a minute, the instrument emitted a soft "beep."

The blue light beam disappeared, and the data stream stopped scrolling.

Bedrock retracted the instrument and quickly operated it a few times.

The next moment, a white light beam, several times thicker than before, shot out from the bottom of the instrument.

The beam did not project onto the crown, but rather towards an empty space not far in front of the two.

The light gradually solidified in the air... In a moment, a replica identical to the flame heart crown in the center of the hall appeared out of thin air before Lu Yuan and Bedrock!

The shape, size, intricate patterns, and even the reflections of the gem facets were all perfectly replicated.

The only difference was that this replica crown had no energy fluctuations; it was merely an exquisite model.

"Holy crap!"

Lu Yuan's eyes widened as he leaned in for a closer look.

"This... this is simply..."

He reached out and weighed the replica.

Solid weight!

"Aside from not having the true world origin aura, it's absolutely identical in appearance!"

A hint of pride appeared on Bedrock's face.

"It's just for show."

"Now, that's the key."

As he spoke, he flipped his palm, and a card appeared between his fingers.

It was an orange card!

On the front of the card, countless runes and light and shadow were depicted, as if containing illusions of all things in the world.

Six stars sparkled brightly along the card's edge!

Orange six-star!

Another big spender!

And this aura... Bedrock showed the card to Lu Yuan.

"One of my source cards, Super Phantom Simulation."

"As long as Source Power is sufficient, theoretically, it can simulate the aura and energy fluctuations of anything I perceive. Of course, the more powerful the object, the greater the cost of simulation and the shorter the duration."

Lu Yuan's heart was greatly shaken.

This was the first time he had heard of such a skill.

Super Phantom Simulation!

"Senior... you've hidden yourself so well!" Lu Yuan exclaimed sincerely.

Bedrock smiled faintly.

"Walking in this world full of dangers, one must always keep some trump cards up their sleeve."

"Otherwise, I would probably have become a ghost under the claws of those Alliance hounds long ago."

He gently placed the Super Phantom Simulation card onto the fake crown.

The card merged into the crown and disappeared.

Immediately after, Bedrock slapped the card package at his waist.

Clatter!

Dozens of high-level source cards, as if they were free, poured out of the card slots and floated in front of him.

"Condense!"

Bedrock let out a low shout and abruptly clenched his hands!

"Bang bang bang bang—!"

A series of dull explosions rang out.

Those dozens of high-level source cards were instantly crushed by him simultaneously!

Vast and pure Source Power, like an ocean, transformed into a visible torrent, surging frantically towards the fake crown!

"Buzz—!!!!"

The fake crown instantly glowed brightly!

The metallic texture rapidly faded, replaced by a scorching and violent, immense fire-element energy fluctuation that was almost identical to the flame heart crown in the center of the hall!

The temperature throughout the entire temple suddenly rose because of this!

"Chirp chirp? Chirp chirp!"

The Flame Sprites were startled by this sudden aura and scattered, then curiously gathered around the fake crown emitting a "familiar" aura, making confused chirping sounds, their tiny heads tilting from side to side, seemingly unable to distinguish.

Lu Yuan was also pushed back two steps by this energy impact, once again having his eyes opened.

Bedrock looked at the fake crown emitting a "real" aura and nodded with satisfaction.

"Not bad, it seems these Little Fellows have also been temporarily fooled."

He extended a hand, and the "fiery" fake crown flew into his hand.

Then, he took out another card and handed it to Lu Yuan.

It was a purple card, with a blurry shadow drawn on its face, rapidly flickering between two points.

"Breath Concealment Transfer Card, purple three-star."

"The quality isn't high, but it excels in discreet activation. Its effect is to perform a silent and instantaneous position swap within a short period, provided the target volumes are not too different and the distance does not exceed ten meters."

Bedrock handed the fake crown and this purple card to Lu Yuan.

"Little Friend Lu Yuan, later, when the Old Elf begins to unlock the elemental chains of the flame heart crown, he will inevitably be fully focused and emotionally stirred."

"That will be your chance."

"Use this Breath Concealment Transfer Card to swap this replica with the true flame heart crown."

Lu Yuan took the fake crown and then picked up the Breath Concealment Transfer Card.

He instantly understood Bedrock's plan.

Stealing the sky and replacing the sun!

"I understand."

"Swap this fake for the real one."

"Exactly!"

"The flame heart crown has been sealed for too long, and the Old Elf will surely be eager to retrieve it. Coupled with the energy isolation and interference from those elemental chains, he will find it difficult to detect subtle anomalies immediately."

"Especially when he feels this 'familiar' energy fluctuation."

Lu Yuan caressed the scorching fake crown in his hand, feeling the fire-element energy within it.

Although this energy was immense, compared to the profound and heavy world origin of the true flame heart crown, there was still a fundamental difference.

However, for a short period, it might truly work to deceive the Old Elf whose mind was in disarray.

"What if... he notices?" Lu Yuan asked the crucial question.

Bedrock's smile remained unchanged.

"Then we can only rely on our luck."

"However, I have confidence in my Super Phantom Simulation."

"The aura emitted by this replica is enough to pass off as real for an hour."

"An hour is enough for us to safely leave here with the true flame heart crown, and even... completely leave the Lost Water Realm."

Lu Yuan's thoughts raced.

An hour... it sounded quite ample.

But every step of this plan was full of variables.

The Old Elf's strength was unfathomable; if he saw through it on the spot... then they would be completely "done for."

"What's wrong?" Bedrock raised an eyebrow, seeing Lu Yuan lost in thought, "Do you think there isn't enough time? Or... do you not trust me?"

Lu Yuan looked up, meeting Bedrock's gaze.

"Senior, you worry too much."

"I'm just thinking about how we'll escape after the swap is successful."

"After all, the Old Elf will surely be furious when he discovers the crown is fake."

Upon hearing this, Bedrock's lips curved into a mysterious smile.

"You don't need to worry about that."

"Since I dare to covet this flame heart crown, I naturally have thorough preparations for a safe retreat."

"You only need to focus on swapping the crown, and make sure to succeed in one strike."

Lu Yuan nodded, no longer asking further questions.

This guy, as expected, still had backup plans.

"Alright."

"I'll do my best."

Things had come to this; the arrow was on the string and had to be shot...