When the light on the brow of the demon ape flickered, Lu Yu knew another Star Spirit Pearl would appear.
Two days ago, Lu Yu had nearly died fighting for a single Star Spirit Pearl. He had almost convinced himself that Star Spirit Pearls were just myths.
But today, he never expected that even after two Star Spirit Pearls had dropped, there would still be more. Another Star Spirit Pearl leaped out from the light on the demon ape’s forehead.
Three Star Spirit Pearls from two demon apes—this haul was unexpectedly rich! What a lucky day! One demon ape had dropped two treasures. It seemed his fortune had finally turned!
As Lu Yu thought this, he quickly gathered all three items without hesitation.
However, while collecting the loot, he heard hurried footsteps approaching from the other end of the alley.
Lu Yu swiftly stashed the items and dashed into a nearby half-collapsed house to hide.
Peering through a crack in the wall, he looked outside.
Two more demon apes were approaching. They hadn’t slept at all during the day and were now walking straight into the depths of the alley.
This sent a chill down Lu Yu’s spine.
He could handle one by ambushing it first.
But if these two had arrived earlier, it wouldn’t have just been a matter of two opponents.
Four against one, and he might have paid a heavy price.
It was like the saying goes—two fists can’t fight four hands. You might be able to handle two, but not necessarily four at once.
Lu Yu watched closely, expecting the two demon apes to cry out in grief when they saw their fallen comrades.
The two apes indeed noticed the dead bodies. But to Lu Yu’s surprise, after a brief pause, they rushed forward like hungry ghosts, tore open the skulls of the dead apes, and began devouring their brains hungrily.
The foul stench from the brains drifted toward Lu Yu with the wind, nearly making him pass out.
He thought the stench from the demon apes themselves was bad enough. Who could have guessed their brains would smell even worse?
The two apes didn’t care how their companions had died. After feasting on the brains, they licked their lips with satisfaction and then climbed over the wall, heading toward the city’s center.
“Beasts are indeed beasts, even eating their own kind.”
Lu Yu thought for a moment and then followed them.
With only two of them, he could handle them now.
He trailed the two demon apes toward the city center. The apes walked openly and confidently, as if the city belonged to them, not humans.
But Lu Yu started to hesitate.
He knew the city center had collapsed into a massive sinkhole, a place now teeming with demon apes.
It was their base.
Once you went in, you might never come out.
As he hesitated, the two demon apes had already exited the alley and stepped onto the street.
Lost in thought, Lu Yu followed instinctively, but froze the moment he stepped out.
The scene before him was completely different from that night.
This used to be the most prosperous district of Fanggang. In an instant, the sinkhole had destroyed everything. Now, where the sinkhole lay, stood towering black stone mountains, fifty to sixty meters high.
Previously blocked by other buildings, Lu Yu hadn’t been able to see them.
Now, he saw the ground of the sinkhole covered in black rock, with dense forests of black stone peaks rising like a continuous mountain range.
There were no trees, no sand or gravel—just mountains built entirely from stacked rocks.
The two demon apes approached the edge of one black mountain and quickly climbed to the top.
Lu Yu watched as they struggled to pull a one-foot-square rock from the stone.
But these rocks were part of the mountain itself.
It took them a long time before they finally managed to pry one loose.
Then, the two demon apes excitedly began to strike the rock.
The outer black stone chipped away, revealing a fist-sized piece inside that shimmered with starlight.
Instantly, the two apes became even more excited. They grabbed the stone and leaped down the mountain, eager to leave.
“It must be something valuable!” Lu Yu thought.
If it could excite the demon apes like this, it couldn’t be trash.
So, Lu Yu tightened his grip and watched the two apes retrace their path. He quickly hid behind a wall corner, eyes locked on the apes holding the stone.
As one of the apes passed him, Lu Yu suddenly leaped from his hiding spot and delivered a powerful punch to the back of its head.
“Aaargh!”
The ape howled in pain, the stone dropping from its hand as it staggered.
Lu Yu didn’t go for the stone. Before the ape could react, he swiftly circled around to its side, jumped, and slashed his palm across its carotid artery.
Blood sprayed from the ape’s neck like a crimson jet, flying far into the distance.
With one severely injured and temporarily out of the fight, he focused on the second.
At the cost of thirty life points, Lu Yu managed to eliminate both apes.
As he approached the glowing stone, the brow of one demon ape suddenly emitted a blue light again.
“What kind of day is this!” Lu Yu was stunned.
He had just encountered a few demon apes, yet they had all dropped Star Spirit Pearls?
Today was truly his lucky day.
From the blue light on the demon ape’s brow, a silver dagger-shaped shadow, a few inches long, fell down.
“This can’t be real… this is a Weapon Soul!” Lu Yu stared at the silver dagger shadow, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
A Weapon Soul!
He was absolutely sure of what he saw.
His hands trembling, he picked up the miniature silver dagger.
If his memory served him right, this was indeed a Weapon Soul.
Could his luck get any better today? After three Star Spirit Pearls, a Weapon Soul had dropped too.
A Weapon Soul and a Star Soul were entirely different concepts. A Star Soul enhanced basic attributes.
A Weapon Soul, on its own, had no power.
But when fused with a special item called a Star Crystal, it would become a Star Weapon.
A Star Weapon wasn’t just a weapon with attack power—some special ones might even grant one or two powerful additional skills.
Moreover, like skills, Star Weapons could be upgraded. After several upgrades, a level-one Star Weapon might even evolve into a level-two weapon.
The chance of a Weapon Soul dropping from a monster was even rarer than that of a mutated Star Spirit Pearl.
This was no joke.
A Weapon Soul had actually dropped.
His luck was unstoppable.
The shadow in his palm flowed like liquid, quickly reforming into the silver dagger shape no matter how many times it fragmented.
“Star Crystal… I’m looking for it too,” Lu Yu murmured.
Truthfully, Star Crystals weren’t just used to fuse with Weapon Souls to create Star Weapons.
They were also used to upgrade both Star Weapons and skills—truly an all-purpose treasure.
Yet, while he had knowledge of their uses, he had no idea how to obtain one.
At this point, holding a Weapon Soul was like holding a treasure.
But having the treasure and being unable to use it was a shame.
Though he couldn’t use it now, today’s haul was already impressive, so Lu Yu felt satisfied.
He picked up the glowing stone and examined it carefully.
If even demon apes were excited enough to come dig for it, it couldn’t just be an ordinary stone.
The stone, extracted from the black rock, was also black in color, about the size of a fist, with irregular edges—just like a regular ore.
But inside the black stone, countless tiny stars shimmered, creating a faint, colorful glow under the sunlight.
Lu Yu had no idea what it was. He studied it for a long time but couldn’t find anything particularly special.
But he knew—it had to be something valuable.
“What exactly is this?” Lu Yu frowned, desperately trying to recall any related knowledge.
But his memories were chaotic—trying to recall them might even give him a splitting headache.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Lu Yu’s mind.
“Something related to upgrading…” His thoughts were vague, but he kept searching for more clues.
Suddenly, Lu Yu jumped up, staring at the stone in his hand with immense excitement.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his voice as he whispered, “This… this is a Star Crystal. A level-one Star Crystal. No… this can’t be real.”
He couldn’t believe it.
Because the Star Crystal was in his hand.
A single Star Crystal was barely enough—to upgrade a skill or fuse with a Weapon Soul, it was insufficient.
But what truly thrilled Lu Yu was the black stone mountain in the sinkhole.
That was a mountain of Star Crystals!
No—it must be a Star Crystal mine!
Looking at the black stone forest nearby, it was all made of Star Crystals.
If he could mine the ore, and break off the outer layer like the apes did, he could obtain Star Crystals.
If this was truly a Star Crystal mine, he would never have to worry about upgrades again.
Lu Yu glanced at the sky. It was only noon.
Yet he already felt like he was dreaming.
The city’s center was a Star Crystal mine.
Perhaps he was the first to discover it.
Lu Yu’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
“What if I claim this place as my territory?” he murmured to himself.
Seizing a Star Crystal mine wasn’t impossible.
Being the first to uncover its secret gave him the advantage.
He could mine Star Crystals first, use them to upgrade his skills, fuse with the Weapon Soul, and enhance his Star Weapon.
Owning a mine meant unlimited resources for growth. He could become powerful quickly.
And with more Star Crystals, he could grow even stronger.
Only by growing stronger could he get closer to fulfilling his wish.
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