176: Chapter 176 Reaping the Benefits

Mu Cheng: "Why walk along the edges? Can't we just go through the middle?"

After all, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and it would save a lot of trouble.

"This space is so vast, there must be an entrance coming down in the middle. Naturally, that means danger. Walking along the sides is safer; it's much more dangerous down here than above," Xiao Yao explained seriously.

After the monk finished planning the route, he said, "Then let's head out!"

"You guy, you're so skilled at this. Tell me, who exactly are you?" Mu Cheng suddenly coughed and asked.

However, he wasn't interested in the monk's identity at all; he was just speaking casually as they continued along the planned route.

"You gave me a scare." The monk let out a deep sigh of relief, fearing that Mu Cheng might not let the matter go.

After walking for a bit, Xiao Yao suddenly stopped. "I sense movement in the middle. It's quite large."

The monk became cautious.

Mu Cheng didn't panic at all and said:

"Don't be so nervous. Compared to us, those monsters care more about what's inside the Ice Snow Divine Vein."

"Indeed, they aren't interested in us at all," Xiao Yao suddenly added.

Although the monk was skeptical, he didn't ask further.

The three walked for another ten minutes when Xiao Yao suddenly stopped again, staring around very seriously.

"Oh no! We're surrounded."

At the same time, a hidden hint appeared for Mu Cheng.

"Warning! Warning! Warning! A swarm of Ice Sand Rats has been detected 500 meters ahead. Quantity unknown, level unknown."

"Be careful, there might be a lot of them." Mu Cheng didn't hesitate and immediately became extremely cautious.

Before long, a dense, black mass of Ice Sand Rats swarmed toward them.

They were black metallic bodies, only about the size of a kitten, but most importantly... they were all mechanical.

"These guys... are they robots?" Mu Cheng asked, dumbfounded.

Monk: "Who knows what these things are. It's my first time seeing them. I doubt they're very strong!"

Xiao Yao warned: "Be careful! These Ice Sand Rats have been mechanized."

"What should we do? Can we devour and refine them all?" Mu Cheng, fearing trouble, asked for clarification first.

Xiao Yao: "It's hard to say... anyway, once Master enters Qingqiu Camp, you can devour whatever you want. Let's just deal with these directly!"

"Then let's get to it!" After the monk finished speaking, he immediately split into thirty-six clones and charged straight into the Ice Sand Rat swarm.

"This guy... why did he suddenly change? Xiao Yao thinks it must be related to this Ice Sand Divine Vein!" Xiao Yao felt quite surprised watching him.

The monk himself wasn't very strong and had been hiding in the back the whole way; now, he was actually taking the initiative to attack.

Anyone would... indeed find it strange.

"Forget it, whatever. Let's finish them off first." Mu Cheng also suddenly became interested.

But he couldn't worry too much now and followed the monk into the fray against the Ice Sand Rats.

Within a few minutes, the ground was covered in corpses, missing limbs and in various states of disarray.

"These guys don't seem like much, but I have a feeling something isn't right." The monk expressed his suspicion.

To resolve it so easily and effortlessly—one didn't even need to think to know that things couldn't be this simple.

Mu Cheng: "Isn't that obvious? This is the Ice Sand Divine Vein; of course it won't be that simple."

Not having seen a pig run doesn't mean one hasn't eaten pork; even though he didn't know exactly what the Ice Sand Divine Vein was.

For the monk to become so serious, it was naturally not simple.

"Yeah, let's be as cautious as possible and not move too fast," Xiao Yao agreed.

The three continued to venture deeper inside...

Xiao Yao suddenly stopped and became very cautious. "Something's up ahead, be careful! It seems to be a God of Destruction level Lone Wolf."

At that moment, another hidden hint appeared for Mu Cheng.

[Warning! Warning! Warning! Detected: 1-Star God of Destruction Lone Wolf x1, Nine-Star World King God Dark Night Demon Rat x4, 9-Star Berserk Baboon x2...]

A dense crowd of them.

"What's the situation?" Mu Cheng looked bewildered but still asked for clarification.

"Xiao Yao, are you sure you only detected the Lone Wolf? No other signs of life?"

"Yeah, and it seems to be injured," Xiao Yao nodded and replied again.

"This... forget it, let's take it one step at a time." Though Mu Cheng was very puzzled, he didn't give up.

As they went deeper, they saw the so-called Lone Wolf: a pair of red eyes, a body made of black gold metal, and hard, sharp claws...

It bared its sharp fangs; even while lying down, it was over a meter tall, but it remained motionless.

"Another metallic body. It seems we're getting closer to the answer," Lin Mo was still...

"It really is injured. You guys stay here for now; I'll go check it out!" Xiao Yao walked over holding a black gold sword, not taking the One-Eyed Wolf seriously at all.

Mu Cheng: "Okay, be careful."

"Yeah, Sister Xiao Yao... you've got to be careful," the monk also spoke up.

As Xiao Yao approached, the One-Eyed Wolf suddenly lunged to its feet. Xiao Yao understood that this One-Eyed Wolf King was making its final struggle.

Not to mention an injured One-Eyed Wolf, she wouldn't even care if it were uninjured.

In an instant, she leaped up and thrust the black gold sword deep into the one eye's head. The One-Eyed Wolf lost all movement and lay completely flat on the ground.

"Master, this body is still useful; I suggest we keep it!" Yao Yao went over to examine the wounds but couldn't quite figure them out.

After Mu Cheng caught up, Lin Mo really couldn't see anything special and asked, "By the way, how did this One-Eyed Wolf get injured?"

"This Lone Wolf has the strength of a 1-Star God of Destruction. I just checked, and it has multiple types of wounds. For someone with its strength to escape, there must have been a chaotic battle ahead," Xiao Yao analyzed clearly.

Mu Cheng was completely confused by what he heard, but he said happily, "Then what are we waiting for? There must be plenty of good stuff inside."

"Don't get happy too soon. The better the items, the greater the danger," the monk suddenly remarked.

Hearing this, Mu Cheng immediately pretended to be a coward.

"Is it very dangerous ahead? How about we head back first? While there's life, there's hope!"

"I say... can you be a bit more serious?" The monk saw right through Mu Cheng's little scheme.

He just didn't call him out on it!

Xiao Yao: "It is indeed very dangerous, but we can reap the spoils when the time comes."

"Even a 1-Star God of Destruction level monster got injured. Isn't going there just seeking death?" Mu Cheng was now completely unwilling to move forward.

Xiao Yao also stopped in her tracks. "I'm fifty percent sure I can handle a 1-Star God of Destruction level mutated creature, so don't worry! Even if there's danger, I have a way to retreat safely."

The three continued to walk inside... before long.

Suddenly, the monk asked very seriously, "Be careful, the entrance to the interior is right ahead. Are you sure you want to go in?"

The three were cautious. The passage was a massive black ice sand slope, littered with a large number of corpses.

Golden-Scaled Pythons, Wind-Chasing Leopards, Berserk Golden Rats, Nightmare Magic Spiders, and so on—all were metallic bodies...

Mu Cheng felt a bit frightened and said, "This is too cruel, so many corpses. But wealth is found in danger; since we've come this far, we naturally can't give up like this."

"This is nothing. On the Battlefield, the number of humans who die in war is far more than this. Anyone who sees that scene would find it unforgettable," Xiao Yao said.

"This... they all died here. Now I'm certain there are several 9th-Stage Realm King God level existences ahead, and more than one."

"But since things have come to this, we can't just give up!" the monk said casually.

Nevertheless, he still cautiously walked upward, carefully observing the situation...

"These bodies might be of some use to Master, so let's store them for now!" Xiao Yao suddenly spoke up.

"I'll do as you say." Without any hesitation, Mu Cheng tapped his high-tech bracelet and released small robots.

But he still asked curiously, "What exactly is the use of these corpses?"

"To devour and refine them, of course. What else?" Xiao Yao didn't explain much and instead asked back.

As they continued upward, a large number of red energy ore beads appeared ahead. They were crystal clear and emitted a dim red glow, but not a single fallen energy crystal could be seen.

"They're all just ordinary energy crystals; what's the use of these?" the monk asked, somewhat disappointed.

Xiao Yao explained: "Who told you these were ordinary red energy crystals? As soon as they fall off, mutated creatures can sense them, so they naturally won't be left for you."

"The energy crystals here... they wouldn't happen to be very expensive, would they?" Mu Cheng couldn't help but ask.

"Of course, otherwise what did Master think they were?" Xiao Luolu explained.

For Mu Cheng, he was quite short on pure star-glow energy crystals... but that shortage was only temporary.

Once he sold the Transcendent Martial Arts, he'd be making a fortune in no time.

The three continued to walk inside for who knows how long.

Xiao Yao suddenly whispered, "You guys... look ahead!"

Mu Cheng and the monk were completely stunned by the scene before them. Ahead were star-glow energy crystals of all sizes, and in the very center was a large red energy pillar.

The red energy pillar had already developed cracks, which meant the highest-grade star-glow energy crystals were about to fall out.

"A conservative estimate of the number of star-glow crystals here... is probably around fifty billion. We definitely came to the right place this time." The monk became very excited.

A basketball-sized crystal ball was suspended at the top of the pillar, emitting a deep blue light. Seeing it, Mu Cheng pointed and asked:

"What is that thing at the very top?"

Xiao Yao looked and saw it was an ice-attribute black gold iron stone. She froze and stared intently at it.

"That is a ten-million-year-grade ice-attribute special metal... it's indeed much better than what's on the Blue-White Star."

"However, Xiao Yao has discovered that special ten-million-year metal seems to be the core of the entire Ice Sand ore vein."

"What the heck... core or no core, it doesn't seem that important, does it?" Mu Cheng was quite speechless.

Monk: "The core of the ore vein... don't tell me you really don't know what a treasure that is? That thing is more than a hundred times more valuable than the entire ore vein."

Mu Cheng asked awkwardly in a low voice, "This... can't you guys explain it a bit more clearly?"

"Take it if we can! But for now... it looks like black glory energy crystals are about to fall out. Just like outside, we'll go around by the ice wall. Remember to stay close to me!" Xiao Yao said, suddenly becoming serious.

Mu Cheng didn't ask further and went around toward the inside again.

Ten minutes later, they finally saw the situation in the center: three 9th-Stage Realm King God level mutated creatures were surrounding the red energy pillar.

The Golden Eyed Snake looked to be over five meters long and was also a metallic body. Its flattened head was held high, its eyes fixed on the red energy pillar.

The Nightmare Magic Spider was about the size of an adult human, with eight hard golden legs, crawling on a small golden energy deposit in the middle.

Its hard legs were thrust deep into it, and its twelve eyes stared motionlessly at the red energy pillar.

There was also a One-Eyed Wolf King, its body several sizes larger than a normal One-Eyed Wolf.

They were all metallic bodies, clearly here for the star-glow crystals...

"What should we do?" the monk asked, unable to figure it out.

Xiao Yao: "Let's find a place to hide first. Once the star-glow crystals fall out, it will definitely be a brutal struggle!"

Under her lead, they finally found a suitable spot, and the massive red energy pillar also began to gradually shed.

After an unknown amount of time, the monk suddenly spoke. "The mutated creatures nearby are starting to get restless. It looks like the star-glow crystals are about to form."

Ten minutes later, the red energy pillar cracked open, turning into twelve fist-sized black star-glow crystals. The One-Eyed Wolf King took the lead and swallowed four in one go, while the others nearby swarmed down.

"This... there's only that many? Why bother risking their lives here?" Mu Cheng looked on, completely unimpressed.

The monk chuckled. "It's star-glow crystals alright, and those are legendary existences. One piece is worth nearly ten billion."

"I thought the total value was only around fifty billion, but it seems my perspective was too limited."

"What? Are you sure this thing is worth ten billion?" Mu Cheng was shocked and stunned, even expressing serious doubt.

Monk: "Of course. Otherwise, why do you think I'd take such a huge risk?"

"What time do you think it is... can't you be a little more serious?" Xiao Yao suppressed her anger.

If she weren't afraid of being discovered, she might not hit Mu Cheng, but the monk would likely have been beaten into a pulp—the kind even his parents wouldn't recognize.

The Nightmare Magic Spider was quite clever and swallowed the rest into its stomach. energy crystals of this level aren't that easily devoured, and as a result, the Golden Eyed Snake constricted it tightly.

The One-Eyed Wolf King was just about to escape when it was surrounded by a dense crowd of creatures below the 3rd-Stage Realm King God level.

One-Eyed Wolf Kings, Wind-Chasing Leopards, Berserk Golden Rats, Nightmare Magic Spiders, Black Giant Scorpion Kings, and so on... all had the strength of a Nine-Star World King God.

Whether they were monsters or zombies, they would kill each other when fighting for resources.

The chaotic battle lasted for a full three hours. In the end, the One-Eyed Wolf King, Golden Eyed Snake, and Nightmare Magic Spider were all covered in wounds, and dead bodies were everywhere.

Black blood had already stained the energy pillars that hadn't fallen yet; even the monk was somewhat afraid to look at the scene.

"This is just too terrifying!"