24: Diamond-level treasure chest, I was so happy.

Click, click, click!

A series of chilling sounds of flesh separating.

The ugly Gall Willow was uprooted like a weed.

Its intertwined roots emerged from the blood pool, causing Yang Luqiong's pupils to constrict!

Entangled in those tentacle-like roots were 4 corpses—they were exactly the teammates who had just been dragged into the blood pool!

Seeing this, Yang Luqiong felt a mix of sorrow and relief.

At least she could take her sisters' bodies home.

For Professionals, being able to leave behind a complete corpse to return to their roots is already something worth being grateful for.

But at that moment, a shrill baby's cry rang out.

It sounded like a human, yet also like an insect.

Yang Luqiong looked over.

She saw one of the Gall Willow's roots, like an umbilical cord, connected to a baby that was entirely blood-red.

The baby had six arms, curled up like a caterpillar, looking eerie and disgusting.

[Name]: Insect Infant.

[Rank]: 5.

[Strength]: 50.

[Agility]: 50.

[Physique]: 2400.

[Spirit]: 50.

"What kind of stats are these!!!"

Seeing the Boss's actual stats, Yang Luqiong gasped.

This guy is only Rank 5, and its total stats reach 2550 points?

Could it be... a rare 5-Star Boss?

With such a super-high Physique of 2400 points, if one didn't have stats that crushed it, it would be impossible to break through its defense!

But Qin Yang had only just completed his Awakening not long ago; no matter how high his strength was, it was impossible to have such outrageous stats.

In other words... they couldn't kill this Boss. They wouldn't get anything from this trip to the Secret Realm, and so many people had died in vain.

Yang Luqiong's face was filled with regret, but Qin Yang, standing to the side, started to laugh.

"Hahaha!"

"It seems the harvest this time is even better than imagined!"

A 5-Star Boss is far stronger than a 1-Star Boss of the same Rank. The experience and rewards given are doubled!

Of course, Qin Yang also noticed that 2400 Physique.

With the Insect Infant's tankiness, he certainly couldn't break through its defense right now.

However, it was just a Rank 5 child!

Thinking this, he raised his left hand and grasped into the Void Realm.

The invisible and massive Hand of Imperial Authority moved in sync, grasping that strange-looking baby in its palm.

At the same time, he activated another skill: Nine Lineages Extermination!

[Insect Infant (Rank 5), Nine Lineages Extermination: 1 person, 1 person locked, highest Rank among them is 5, requires 257 points of Imperial Power.]

"As expected, it's a demon born of heaven and earth."

"Destroy it."

The corners of Qin Yang's mouth curled up as he prepared to one-shot it.

As for whether Yang Luqiong was nearby, there was no need to worry.

At most, she would know he could one-shot monsters, but she wouldn't understand the mechanism of the skill.

Nine Lineages, Extermination!

As the skill activated, the Insect Infant, controlled in mid-air by the Hand of Imperial Authority, began to rapidly decompose, turning into wisps of dust that drifted away in the dim tomb.

As part of the Boss, the uprooted Gall Willow met the same fate, disintegrating into ash along with those fleshy willow branches and hair-like willow catkins.

In an instant, the dim tomb seemed to have been purified by an unknown power, and all the eerie things within it vanished into thin air!

Seeing this scene, Yang Luqiong felt her heart skip a beat.

She remembered the scene before entering the Secret Realm where thousands of plague rats suddenly turned to dust.

She would never forget that eerie scene for the rest of her life.

She had originally thought some expert had used unknown means to instantly clear the Secret Realm.

Now she saw that the expert was right in front of her—a Professional who had completed his Awakening less than half a month ago!

There were only two possibilities for how Qin Yang could do this.

One, the Dragon Pavilion Guild possessed a method to clear Secret Realms. Two, it was Qin Yang's own method.

Regardless of which it was, both were beyond Yang Luqiong's understanding, filling her with a bone-deep awe for the Hongwu Qin Family!

Meanwhile, a kill notification appeared before Qin Yang's eyes.

[You have killed Rank 5 Insect Infant (Leader)!]

[Experience + 2400.]

[Dropped Treasure Chest]: Rank 5 Diamond Treasure Chest.

[brutal military medal activated, Agility + 2.]

[You have killed Rank 18 Gall Willow (Leader Symbiotic Organ)!]

[Experience + 18440.]

[Dropped Treasure Chest]: Rank 18 Platinum Treasure Chest.

"The Gall Willow was just an organ of the Insect Infant, and the brutal military medal only triggered once, which means it doesn't count as a separate Boss, but the experience from a 3-Star potential monster is truly massive!"

Qin Yang analyzed in his heart. 30,000 experience points were added, his experience bar rose by 20%, and two treasure chests emitting brilliant light slowly appeared before his eyes.

A Platinum Treasure Chest was already rare enough. To think there was actually a Diamond Treasure Chest!

This was a grade of treasure chest that even Qin Chuan rarely saw!

Don't look at it as only Rank 5; it had the potential to drop Purple-grade equipment!

Thinking of this, Qin Yang looked at Yang Luqiong.

This Secret Realm was an open-style instance; the treasure chests dropped by the Boss wouldn't go directly into the killer's inventory but would appear in the external area, visible to everyone.

A Diamond Treasure Chest was enough to breed malicious intent. Regardless of whether Yang Luqiong had bad intentions or could threaten him, he had to keep his guard up.

At this moment, Yang Luqiong didn't seem to care about the treasure chests at all; she was simply moving between the corpses of her teammates, checking their breathing one by one.

Seeing this, Qin Yang directly collected the two treasure chests into his inventory and opened them immediately.

[Rank 18 Platinum Treasure Chest opened! You obtained...]

[Equipment Blueprint]: crimson monks robe (Blue-grade)

[Potion]: Special Spirit Potion * 5.

[Materials]: Breakthrough Orb (Elite).

[Crystal Units]: 4.5 million.

[Rank 5 Diamond Treasure Chest opened! You obtained...]

[Weapon]: Blood Drink Sword (Purple-grade).

[Item]: Skill Awakening Scroll.

[Skill Book]: Physique Overload.

[Crystal Units]: 3.5 million.

"Awesome!" The moment he saw the rewards, Qin Yang couldn't help but exclaim in satisfaction.

Not to mention the 8 million Crystal Units. Every single reward in the treasure chests was worth a fortune!

The Breakthrough Orb was an essential item for reaching the Elite Rank. Without this thing, one would be stuck below Rank 30 for life.

The Skill Awakening Scroll could awaken a general skill into a profession-specific skill. The higher the profession's strength, the better the effect.

For Qin Yang, who possessed a unique profession, this thing was no less than a Divine Artifact!

Physique Overload was a passive skill that every tank dreamed of; it provided a fixed increase of 100 base points, and for every skill level added, it increased by another 100! At maximum, it could increase base Physique by 1000 points!

The Blue-grade equipment blueprint was also a rare item that could be put on the auction house, as most equipment on the market was still Green-grade.

As for the Purple-grade weapon... it was the ceiling of what ordinary Professionals could come into contact with!

With all the rewards added together, it was hard to measure their value in money.

This confirmed an old saying... even a pig coming out of a Secret Realm could take flight!

"Let's see the stats of the Blood Drink Sword!" Qin Yang thought, preparing to expand the equipment details.

At this moment, sobbing sounds came from the side. Qin Yang looked over and saw Yang Luqiong kneeling before the corpse of a female warrior, weeping while covering her face.

She had just been holding onto a last shred of hope, testing the breathing of her teammates. No miracle occurred; the 4 people besides her were all dead.

Seeing this, Qin Yang thought it would be better not to look at the equipment first. She was crying so sadly; if he saw the weapon's stats and couldn't help but laugh, that would be impolite.

Just as Qin Yang closed his personal interface and prepared to leave the Secret Realm, an Emperor option appeared before his eyes.

[Facing a subject who has lost loved ones, you choose...]

[Benevolent Ruler]: Bestow great Imperial grace and attempt to save her loved ones. (Profession Skill: Emperors Demeanor.)

[Foolish Ruler]: I wish to comfort her with love; come, send Beauty Yang back to the sleeping quarters. (Physique + 10.)

[Tyrant]: Lowly commoner! You have ruined my mood, you deserve to die! Drag her away and behead her! (Strength + 10.)