Lu Yu never expected the Star Spirit Stone to be so enticing.
Just a single piece of Star Spirit Stone was enough to make these man-eating monsters willingly serve as laborers.
At that moment, a few demon apes spoke in broken language, “Willing… we willing to mine for you. Just give us Star Spirit Stone to eat, we mine more for you.”
One of the demon apes even bowed its head and said, “We do anything you say. We just… just want one piece of Star Spirit Stone.”
Seeing their attitude, Lu Yu didn’t know whether to be angry or pity them.
These monsters, who treated humans as food, were merely surviving for the sake of sustenance—something no human could accept. Yet, for a single Star Spirit Stone, they were even willing to obey their former prey. It was tragic.
If they wanted to eat, they could have come here anytime to mine and take it.
But now, they stubbornly waited for orders before daring to eat. Perhaps this was the difference in intelligence.
Lu Yu thought for a moment and muttered to himself, “Maybe… this is just how they are.”
The sixteen demon apes remained kneeling, not daring to rise without Lu Yu’s command.
“Show me around,” Lu Yu said. Though he had entered the mine, he hadn’t truly observed it.
If he wanted to claim this place, he needed to understand every inch of it.
The sixteen demon apes scrambled to their feet and led the way, guiding Lu Yu through the heart of the mine.
From the outside, it just looked like a mass of dark, rocky mountains.
But inside, the range was covered in jagged, protruding ore. Towering stone trees, formed from stacked ore, grew on the slopes—some several meters tall, others over ten meters.
Clusters of these stone trees formed forests across the mountains.
Lu Yu walked through the stone forest, slowly passing low hills, imprinting every corner of this place into his mind.
Standing atop the central peak of the mine, he felt an odd sense of peace, as if he had returned home.
“Too bad… this isn’t home,” Lu Yu muttered with a bitter smile. “But do I even have a home anymore?”
He was starting to forget that home. It was because of that home that he had been forced to come here, living a solitary life.
Lu Yu stood silently as memories flashed before his eyes.
No one could tell what he was thinking. The demon apes only saw his expressions shift—sometimes smiling, sometimes hateful, sometimes icy with killing intent, sometimes warm with nostalgia.
But with each change, his eyes grew colder, more ruthless.
“Maybe… coming to this city, standing here, is my path!” Lu Yu glared at the sky and said coldly, “From today onward, I don’t just want this mine—I want this entire city. Before, I could carve out a place for myself here. But now, in a world without laws, I don’t just want a place—I want everything that belongs to me. Wait for me. I’ll come for you. And not just you—I’ll make sure those people regret everything they did!”
He punched the air, his voice trembling yet resolute. His gaze turned icy and unshakable.
At this moment, nothing could sway his determination.
Unless—he died!
The sixteen demon apes beside him sensed his killing intent and couldn’t help but roar toward the sky.
One of them gestured for the others to raise their hands and said, “Total… total six pieces. We mined these yesterday.” Several apes held up Star Spirit Stones in their palms.
Lu Yu looked at the six stones and took four, pointing at the remaining two. “You can have those.”
The moment he spoke, the sixteen demon apes lunged at each other, gnawing at the stones.
Only the one who had spoken earlier sensed something off. This human seemed different after his declaration—his face had grown colder, more severe.
But demon apes were still demon apes, with limited intelligence. It quickly dismissed the thought. They had worked day and night, starving themselves, just for a taste of Star Spirit Stone.
Now that they had food, why think about anything else? The moment the stones entered their stomachs, the blissful sensation made them slump together, too satisfied to move.
Sixteen apes had only managed to eat one and a half stones—the remaining half was too much for them.
Lu Yu guessed that some energy in the stones couldn’t be digested quickly. Creatures that could devour dozens of pounds of meat in one sitting were now stuffed after just a bite.
But this was good—it meant he wouldn’t have to worry about feeding them.
Lu Yu walked into the stone forest, found a flat spot to sit, and pulled out the seventy Star Spirit Pearls he had just obtained. Without hesitation, he crushed them all in his hands.
A surge of energy swirled between his palms before flooding into his body.
“Congratulations! Level 1 Slaughter Star Soul activated. Progress to Level 2: 1%.”
“Base HP increased by 200. Attack increased by 100. Strength increased by 100.”
As he absorbed the pearls, his Star Soul stirred again.
But this time, the seventy pearls provided far fewer gains.
The fact that it only raised his Slaughter Star Soul by 1% chilled his heart.
If seventy pearls only gave 1%, then reaching Level 2 would require seven thousand.
How many monsters would he have to kill to collect that many?
“Damn it! Of all the mutations, why did it have to be one that can’t cultivate—only fight? Trying to exhaust me to death?” Lu Yu gritted his teeth in frustration.
He pulled out the three Weapon Souls he had left.
The axe-shaped one he got from the vendor was average, similar to Silver Edge.
He planned to forge it into a Star Weapon and sell it. The other two were what he really wanted.
One had dropped from the Wolf Demon on the rooftop.
Its effect was identical to Star Radiance Halo—Life.
“If I hold two Star Radiance Halos, will the effect stack?” Lu Yu wondered as he took out the Weapon Soul and a Star Spirit Stone.
When the Weapon Soul reached its peak potency, he fused it without hesitation.
Just as he was about to equip the halo, a prompt appeared:
“You already possess a Star Radiance Halo of the same attribute. Would you like to fuse the two for an upgrade? Upgrading will grant additional bonuses beyond base stats.”
“This can be upgraded too?” Lu Yu checked the halo’s properties again.
Would the stat increase be reduced?
But—
He didn’t care. If upgrading was useless, why would the option exist?
Besides, this saved him a Star Spirit Stone—something far more valuable right now.
The two halos merged swiftly.
…
Fusion successful.
Star Radiance Halo—Life!
Level: 1 (Can be upgraded twice more.)
Effect: Permanently increases base HP by 250.
Special Effect: Can be fused with higher-tier halos to retain all attributes.
Upgrading with a same-type Star Weapon grants additional bonuses—HP increased by 250.
…
A faint smile touched Lu Yu’s lips as he read the upgraded halo’s stats.
“Upgrading was the right call!” He equipped it again.
Between the seventy pearls and the halo’s boost, his HP was nearing 1,500.
If he was careful, he could still fight Black Wolf Demons.
Just as he was about to fuse the gauntlet, the lethargic demon apes suddenly jolted awake.
All sixteen stood rigid, their black fur bristling as they stared southward.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Yu was slightly startled.
“People… entered,” one ape answered urgently.
“How do you know?” Lu Yu frowned.
The area wasn’t small—rolling hills stretched far, making it unlikely for sounds to carry.
Even with their keen hearing, the apes shouldn’t have detected intruders so quickly.
Yet, from their tone, they sensed the newcomers the moment they stepped into the region.
“We… born with sense. Can feel all life in Star Spirit Mine,” the ape explained.
“You have that ability too?” Lu Yu studied them. These lowly creatures weren’t as simple as they seemed.
Though primitive, their skills were impressive—mining Star Spirit ore, sensing intruders…
They weren’t just laborers—they were treasures.
With them, defending this mine would be easy.
“If they can’t take the stones, let them be,” Lu Yu said, uninterested in confrontation.
“But… they killed two apes! Took one Star Spirit Stone!” the ape continued.
Lu Yu’s expression darkened, his eyes turning icy.
“Show me where they are.”
He had assumed this place would remain hidden for a while longer.
But he had been naive.
Once a single stone was taken back, more would come.
This mine would no longer be a secret—and neither would the apes.
Defending it would become far harder.
A lesson from his past echoed in his mind:
“Fighting isn’t about proving your strength—it’s about making others understand it. When someone challenges you, you must show them your power.”
To keep this mine, to make it his forbidden territory, he had to make everyone understand.
The ape pointed in a direction.
Without even fusing the gauntlet, Lu Yu sprinted southeast at full speed.
As he ran, he tore off a sleeve and wrapped it around his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.
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