The grass and flowers on the plains swayed gently in the wind, while in the distance, a massive army of adventurers surrounded the Lightning Castle in layers.
“So many people surrounding the Lightning Castle?” Luo Feng gazed into the distance, frowning.
The scene before them clearly indicated that this large force had joined together to block the path toward Lightning Castle. Even if you had Lightning Stones, what could you do if they blocked your way outside the castle walls?
“Big Brother, Second Brother, I’ll go contact Elder Mingyu.” Luo Feng transmitted his voice through his primal energy.
“Hmm.” Hong and Thunder God nodded slightly.
Luo Feng closed his eyes and quickly connected to the virtual universe network.
…
In the virtual universe, at the Nine-Star Bay of the Black Dragon Island.
Luo Feng stood on his lawn, facing a screen that displayed an immensely powerful and muscular man—the external steward of the martial division of the Virtual Universe Company’s Black Dragon Mountain branch.
“Haha, Luo Feng!” Mingyu laughed heartily, clearly delighted.
“Elder Mingyu.” Luo Feng bowed slightly in respect. “I’m currently seeing the core area completely surrounded by a large army of adventurers. What’s going on?”
“Oh, a monopoly!”
Mingyu smiled on the screen. “After the various organizations learned of the bounty on the castle’s AI lifeform, they made a unified decision. Each organization dispatched ten percent of their forces to form a joint army. They’ve surrounded the castle, setting up a blockade to prevent anyone not affiliated with the organizations from entering to exchange for treasures.”
“Oh.” Luo Feng understood.
How domineering!
Ten percent of their forces meant nearly two hundred thousand soldiers!
Two hundred thousand soldiers at the Stellar Level, 9th Stage, blocking the path to a single castle—it was far too easy. Thus, even if wandering adventurers obtained Lightning Stones, they would be unable to enter and exchange for treasures.
“But you don’t have to worry. The images and information of you, Hong, and Thunder God have been sent under my name to the temporary command center. So when you go there… the two hundred thousand soldiers will know you are under my command, the steward of the Three-Axe Mountain, and they won’t stop you.” Mingyu smiled.
Luo Feng secretly exhaled in relief.
How cautious!
They had compiled the information of every individual. If you weren’t on the list, you couldn’t enter Lightning Castle at all.
“Elder Mingyu, my squad also has two more members.” Luo Feng sent over the images and basic information of Tie Nanhe and Ao Gu.
“Alright, they’ll also be listed under my name.” Mingyu smiled.
“Thank you, Elder Mingyu. Then I’ll disconnect from the virtual network now.” Luo Feng bowed slightly.
“Haha… Oh, by the way, Luo Feng, you’re going to the castle now, so you must have some gains in mind?” Mingyu asked, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
“You must already know the situation inside the Realm within Realm.” Luo Feng replied helplessly. “With two million soldiers arriving, our five-man squad has practically no chance at all.”
Mingyu nodded slightly on the screen.
“But we’ll do our best not to disappoint you. If we manage to exchange for treasures through sheer determination…” Luo Feng smiled.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.” Mingyu said directly.
“Thank you, Elder.”
The communication ended.
…
Inside the Realm within Realm.
The wind howled as Luo Feng and his four companions swiftly flew toward the allied forces in the distance.
“Halt!” A massive army of adventurers, as solid as a wall of steel, roared. A muscular man with a lion’s mane raised his hand and bellowed.
Luo Feng and his companions landed.
“We are under the command of Elder Mingyu of the Three-Axe Mountain.” Thunder God shouted.
“Oh?”
The lion-man, with deep yellow pupils, scanned the five of them. Behind him stood a vast force of nearly a thousand soldiers. Around the castle, nearly two hundred thousand soldiers were divided into thirty-six units for joint defense, each unit consisting of a thousand soldiers. At any given time, thirty-six thousand soldiers remained on high alert, rotating in shifts. No unaffiliated force would slip through unnoticed.
“Beep.” The lion-man looked down at the screen on his arm-mounted AI console. Indeed, the images and basic data of Luo Feng and his companions appeared. He studied them carefully.
“Haha…” The lion-man laughed heartily. “So you’re from the Three-Axe Mountain. Our comrades from the Three-Axe Mountain aren’t far from here. Just ask around, and you’ll find them.”
“Thank you.” Luo Feng smiled.
The five of them entered the vast crowd.
The lion-man immediately transmitted through his primal energy: “Five of you, do you have any Lightning Stones to sell? We’re willing to pay ten cubes of cosmic crystals per Lightning Stone.”
“Sorry, our master forbids trading.” Luo Feng transmitted back telepathically, glancing at him.
“You know, your master won’t know how many Lightning Stones you’ve obtained here.” The lion-man transmitted. “Why not sell a few and exchange them for cosmic crystals?”
“Oh… Let me think.” Luo Feng smiled.
Then he and the four companions quickly departed.
Watching them leave, the lion-man rubbed his thick nose, clearly displeased at not acquiring any Lightning Stones.
…
The allied forces’ camp was tightly guarded on the outside but relaxed within.
The thirty-six outer sentry units were extremely vigilant, but inside, laughter and chatter filled the air. Secretly, many were trading “Lightning Stones.” As the saying goes, “If one doesn’t act for oneself, heaven and earth will condemn.” Everyone was at the Stellar Level, 9th Stage, and many were indeed trading Lightning Stones.
In the crowd.
Luo Feng and his four companions sat on the grass. The allied forces were scattered in small groups, with many moving around conducting trades.
“That lion-man was quite bold, offering ten cubes of cosmic crystals for a single Lightning Stone. Look, over here, some people are offering a hundred, even two hundred cubes for one!” Thunder God grumbled.
“Though cosmic crystals are valuable, they pale in comparison to those treasures.” Hong said.
“Exchange for treasures.”
Luo Feng looked toward the ancient castle in the distance.
One minute, two minutes…
An hour, two hours…
Luo Feng stared at the castle for three full hours. During that time, he noticed something strange. Occasionally, figures clad in armor with helmets covering their entire heads would enter the castle. In just three hours, nearly a hundred people had entered.
“Could it be that a hundred people have entered to exchange treasures in just three hours? There are only 312 treasures in total!” Luo Feng was puzzled.
“Haha, brother, you’re mistaken.”
A thin, monkey-like figure stopped beside them, smiling at Luo Feng. “Brother, out of ten people entering the castle, nine are just there for show! You see… this allied force is called an alliance, but it’s actually divided into small teams, each representing different Domain Lords and Realm Lords.”
“With two million soldiers coming, the battle will be fierce. So no one wants others to know they’ve obtained treasures.”
“Therefore, they send their subordinates to enter the castle to confuse others. Some even pay soldiers from other teams to enter. After all, just walking into the castle and taking a look can earn a large sum of money. Who wouldn’t want that?” The monkey-like man grinned.
Luo Feng understood.
Creating a smokescreen?
Exactly!
Though it was called an allied force, internally it was not united, and each faction was wary of the others.
“Brother, want to sell any Lightning Stones? I’ll pay you two hundred and fifty cosmic crystal cubes for one.” The monkey-like man smiled again.
“I’ll pay three hundred cosmic crystal cubes for one.” Luo Feng looked at him.
The monkey-like man awkwardly smiled and quickly left.
Lightning Stones represented those treasures. No matter how high the price, it wouldn’t be too much. But now, some factions were exploiting the fact that some Stellar Level, 9th Stage warriors couldn’t resist the temptation of wealth! Three hundred cosmic crystal cubes were equivalent to ten billion Qianwu Credits. How could a typical Stellar Level, 9th Stage warrior resist such temptation?
Yet those treasures…
Such as fifth-stage primal energy weapons, were sold at astronomical prices outside.
Ordinary third-stage primal energy weapons sold for hundreds of millions of Black Dragon Credits (average price). Fourth-stage primal energy weapons sold for nearly a billion Qianwu Credits. Fifth-stage primal energy weapons averaged nearly a billion cosmic credits! That was equivalent to nearly one hundred million cosmic crystal cubes! Even a Domain Lord who had just broken through to Realm Lord would feel the cost.
Only “Kabu Realm Lords,” those at the peak of Realm Lords and extremely wealthy, comparable to “impoverished Immortals,” possessed such immense wealth.
…
Time passed, second by second.
People frequently entered the ancient castle, almost all of them wearing helmets, so no one could tell who had exchanged for treasures and who hadn’t.
“Whoosh!”
Luo Feng took a deep breath, wearing his alloy battle armor with a helmet covering his head, leaving only his eyes exposed. He directly walked toward the castle.
Stepping out of the crowd, walking alone toward the castle.
This drew many gazes, as many scrutinized Luo Feng closely… No one could confirm whether the person heading to the castle was truly going to exchange for treasures or just pretending.
“Your Highness, here are the Lightning Stones from the Second Squad. They mined two regions and defeated three small teams. They obtained approximately 2.1 million Lightning Stones.” In the allied forces’ crowd, the Ninth Prince ‘Brolin,’ surrounded by eight bodyguards, sat as a man respectfully handed him a spatial wristband.
“2.1 million Lightning Stones?” Brolin took the wristband and murmured, “Order the other squads to hurry and deliver their Lightning Stones. To fully redeem the triple password of the inheritance crystal ball, we need a total of 30 million Lightning Stones. We’re still far short.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The man respectfully nodded.
Brolin slightly turned his head, glancing toward the castle. At that moment, Luo Feng had just entered the castle.
“Hmph, a bunch of paupers!”
Brolin sneered. “Everyone is hiding when exchanging for treasures, and in the end, they only get the inferior ones! Hmph, I don’t even care about the second-ranked Lightning Realm Lord’s bank account. Only the complete set of spatial secret technique crystal balls is truly valuable. It’s more important than all other treasures combined!”
“Your Highness.”
Another man rushed in, respectfully bowing and handing over a spatial ring. “This is the 1.68 million Lightning Stones obtained by the Fifth Squad.”
Brolin’s eyes lit up. He grabbed the spatial ring and quickly stood up: “Let’s go, follow me into the castle. We now have enough to redeem one password.”
“Yes.”
Brolin led four bodyguards, not hiding his identity, and directly walked toward the castle, instantly drawing countless gazes from the allied forces.
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