Chapter 524 - 366: Star Realm Vein Ore

Eighty li away, a fortress built into a natural cavern was under siege by a tide of Mutant Beasts.

The fortress’s outer Protective Array was on the verge of collapse. The Energy ripples trembled violently, and with every impact, several Runes would shatter.

Carved into the rock wall above the fortress were three crooked, large words: Rock Heart Castle.

Most of the besieging Mutant Beasts were common subterranean varieties—mutants of burrowing worms, rock-shelled spiders, and nocturnal bats.

But what truly pushed the Protective Array to the brink of collapse was the behemoth at the center of the beast tide.

It was an Earthworm King over fifty meters long.

Its Shell was dark purple and covered in jagged Bone Spikes. When its mandibles gaped open, they revealed four spiraling rows of sharp teeth.

Every time it rammed the fortress, it tore a fissure in the Protective Array. Its corrosive saliva would splash onto the Energy Barrier, producing a SIZZLING sound.

Inside the fortress.

The one-eyed, middle-aged leader of Rock Heart Castle stared intently at the cracked Array Disc core in his hands.

Most of the Warriors behind him were injured; some had already collapsed, bleeding from their orifices due to mental exhaustion.

"Leader... We can’t hold on much longer..." a young Warrior said, his body trembling.

The one-eyed leader gritted his teeth and pulled out an energy-storing Rune Token. This was the fortress’s last reserve, originally intended to repair the Protective Array, but there was no time for that now.

He was about to crush the Jade Token and forcefully detonate the Energy inside...

...when the beast tide outside the fortress suddenly froze. All the Mutant Beasts stiffened at once.

The Earthworm King’s four rows of teeth were still gnashing, but its massive body had strangely lifted half a meter off the ground, its eight pairs of jointed legs flailing uselessly in the air.

Reflected in the king’s compound eyes was a black-haired figure.

The figure had just emerged from the rock stratum, as naturally as if passing through water.

Ian landed in the center of the beast tide. He slightly raised his right hand, his five fingers gently curling shut.

PFFT!

Dozens of bloody holes erupted simultaneously on the surface of the Earthworm King’s tough Shell.

The worm king couldn’t even manage a scream as its massive body began to collapse inward. A flash of golden light swept over it, turning it to a cloud of fine Ash.

Before the surrounding elite Mutant Beasts could even react, Ian gave a light snap of his fingers.

The Level Two and Three Mutants froze in unison. An instant later, their bodies melted into charcoal from the inside out, leaving not even Ashes behind.

As for the remaining Low Level monsters, Gaga spread its wings and took flight, its wingspan instantly swelling to a hundred meters.

Wings of Shadow swept over the beast tide, and the heads of all the Mutant Beasts exploded simultaneously.

The entire process, from Ian’s appearance to the annihilation of the beast tide, took less than three breaths’ time.

Rock Heart Castle’s Protective Array was still flickering faintly.

The fortress fell deathly silent.

The one-eyed leader’s mouth hung open, and he wondered if he was hallucinating—until the black-haired young man turned around.

Golden light spilled from his fingertips, falling upon the fortress. The dim Energy Barrier solidified once more, becoming even sturdier than it had been at its peak.

"You’re the leader of Rock Heart Castle?" Ian asked, stepping inside in a single stride.

The one-eyed man shuddered, staring blankly at Ian as he entered the fortress.

"I... I am..."

"I require the knowledge of the Starlight Empire—technical blueprints are a priority—and any leads on Star Realm Refined Gold."

In exchange, Ian would purify the five hundred li around Rock Heart Castle and erect a Barrier that would last for ten years.

The one-eyed leader was stunned for a moment, then, ecstatic, he spun around and roared at the Warriors behind him.

"Go! Bring out everything from the Secret Vault with writing on it! Everything! Metal plates, beast-hide scrolls, even Stones with patterns carved on them!"

Then, remembering something, he hastily added, "My lord, we know the location of a Star Realm Vein Ore!"

"Where?"

"To the northwest, about two thousand two hundred li deep underground, near a lava zone."

The one-eyed leader spoke rapidly. "Decades ago, an ’Earth-Devouring Demon Lizard’ arrived."

"That monster can devour Earth Energy to heal itself, and its terrifying aura is so strong we don’t dare go near it."

Ian listened quietly, his Gravity Perception already extending in the direction the one-eyed leader had pointed.

Deep underground, two thousand two hundred li away, there was indeed a vast, hollow structure: the main vein tunnel.

A heavy pulse emanated from the tunnel’s entrance, like the slow breathing of a slumbering, ancient Fierce Beast.

The Energy flow around the tunnel was abnormally chaotic—precisely the kind of environment where Star Realm Refined Gold could form.

Evidently, the Earth-Devouring Demon Lizard was continuously drawing on the Earth Energy, making the area’s spatial structure even more fragile.

By this time, the Warriors of Rock Heart Castle had already brought out a dozen or so boxes.

Most of the contents were fragmented technical blueprints: partial schematics for anti-gravity Runes, design plans for Energy Conduction pipelines, and even a few documents on the forging process for a Floating City’s outer armor.

Although they were incomplete, Ian wasn’t one to complain.

With a wave of his hand, all the boxes and the Star Realm Refined Gold ore were absorbed into his personal storage space.

He then raised his left hand, and a pale golden Purification Light bored into the surrounding rock, water, and air.

The moment the Barrier took shape, everyone inside the fortress felt a long-forgotten sense of "cleanliness."

Some laughed and some cried, releasing years of pent-up emotions.

Ian turned. "Try to cultivate Starlight Power. The Starlight has never abandoned you."

As his voice faded, his figure had already vanished into a Gravity Passage.

The one-eyed leader rushed to the spot where Ian had stood, only to see a faint golden glow lingering on the ground.

He knelt and touched the light. It was warm and pure, like the true radiance of the sun.

At the entrance to the main vein tunnel, Ian emerged from the rock stratum.

It was a colossal tunnel over a hundred meters in diameter—an engineering marvel excavated during the zenith of the Starlight Empire.

Now, however, the tunnel entrance was completely covered in a sticky, dark-red organic tissue.

Heavy breathing echoed from deep within the tunnel. Each exhalation caused the rock in the entire area to tremble slightly.

Earth Vein Energy was being continuously extracted, flowing endlessly into the depths of the tunnel.

The Earth-Devouring Demon Lizard was feeding even in its slumber.

Ian stood at the entrance, his Gravity Perception seeping past the surface of the tissue to quickly map out the internal structure.

The tunnel had been transformed into a labyrinthine structure of cavities. Countless eggs, each half the height of a man, were piled within the chambers, and faint heartbeats pulsed from within their shells.

In the deepest part of the labyrinth, the Earth-Devouring Demon Lizard was slumbering, its aura at about Level Four Middle Stage.

Its Energy fluctuations were thirty percent stronger than the Intelligent Mutant Beast he had killed before, and its affinity for the Earth Rule was exceptionally high.

This meant that within its lair, it could mobilize nearly all the Earth Vein Energy in the entire region.

On top of its home-field advantage, it also possessed the ability to devour Earth Energy for rapid recovery.

Ian quickly ran through battle strategies in his mind.

’A frontal assault isn’t out of the question, but it might trigger the lair’s self-destruct mechanism, or even damage the Star Realm Vein Ore deeper inside.’

’The best approach would be a swift, decisive strike. I need to crush it with an absolute application of the Rules before it can fully mobilize the Earth Vein Energy.’

’I’ll need to adjust my tactics.’

’The Gravity Rule will handle Imprisonment and internal destruction. The Thermal Energy Rule will cut off its energy flow. The Purification Rule will dismantle its very source of pollution. I’ll activate all three Rules simultaneously.’

From the shadows, Gaga seemed to sense his thoughts, its gaze locking onto the depths of the tunnel.

"Should we make our move?" The query came through their Spiritual Link.

Ian raised his right hand, and the phantom of a Blazing Star Core the size of a Rice Grain appeared in his palm.

Its first three rings of light were the brightest; the last two were comparatively dim but were also growing slowly.

’This battle might be an opportunity. The Earth-Devouring Demon Lizard has a high affinity with the Earth Rule.’

’If I can fully analyze its life structure, I might be able to advance my comprehension of the Earth Rule.’

"Gaga," he said softly, "you’re responsible for clearing out the eggs and secondary Pollution Sources. Don’t let a single one hatch."

"Understood." The Shadow Night Kite spread its wings, its body melting into the shadows and vanishing from sight.

Ian took a deep breath. Although his Morning Star Body had long since ceased to require it, he had kept the habit.

He took a step forward, and his Gravity Domain unfurled.

The instant it touched the lair’s tissue, the slumbering Earth-Devouring Demon Lizard’s eyes snapped open.

They were a pair of crystalline, earth-yellow vertical pupils, and reflected deep within them were the phantoms of countless rock structures.

It sensed a mortal threat—not one of Energy levels, but of a vast disparity in the Rules.

"ROAR!!!"

A deafening roar erupted from deep within the tunnel.

The entire lair began to writhe frantically. Thousands of blood vessels pulsed in unison, pumping massive amounts of Earth Vein Energy into the Demon Lizard’s body.

"Don’t move. I’ve got a little treasure to show you!"