Sovereign of the Ashes

The purity of this top-grade inert crystal was slightly higher than that of the one Sein had obtained previously.

It would directly enhance the destructive power of the super bomb Sein was crafting, pushing it even further.

“Deep within that massive inert crystal vein lies an inert essence of even higher grade and specification. Crystals of that level are far beyond the limits of my lifetime of research. Not only are they impossible to mine at present, but even if we somehow managed to extract them, I doubt I could develop anything useful in the short term. And you certainly couldn’t use such a crystal to craft an explosive directly—I’d be worried you’d blow us all to pieces before you even finished it,” Gilbert said.

“This crystal we have now is fine,” he continued. “Although its quality is slightly better than the last one, its grade still doesn’t exceed the highest level I have encountered so far.”

Gilbert’s words left Sein inwardly startled and amazed, yet they also brought him a measure of relief.

With this crystal in hand, Sein’s group now had a much better chance of standing up to a Rank Six creature.

If Qixiu’s claws had not already been half-destroyed, Sein would have seriously considered having him dig out another superior crystal like this.

While Sein transformed this crystal into a super bomb, the group lingered in this area for some time.

With Gilbert, an expert in inert crystals, guiding the process, the work progressed smoothly despite slight differences between this crystal and the Gray Quartz used previously.

The resulting super bomb possessed a theoretical destructive power roughly five percent greater than the one that had severely wounded the eight-winged angel named Fermera.

Though the increase was only five percent, it was no small achievement.

After all, breakthroughs were usually made in small steps, not in a single leap.

With the super bomb completed, Sein’s group continued onward.

During this period, they discovered more than ten additional fragments of secret treasures.

Sometimes, encountering too many treasures could dull one’s sense of excitement.

Since Sein’s Magic Cube remained dormant, these fragments were temporarily stored away by the group.

All the treasure fragments left behind by the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization were technological artifacts.

Aside from Sein, who could have his Magic Cube directly absorb the law energies in them, the benefits these fragments offered to Grethel, Roth, and the others were quite limited.

At the beginning, when they first obtained such fragments, everyone had been filled with excitement.

The tension and exhilaration they felt when the first and second fragments were secured would remain unforgettable for countless years.

Whenever Roth and the others discovered a fragment now, they simply handed it over to Sein for safekeeping.

Black Oblivion was no longer as greedy as he once had been. In his own words, he had already earned enough.

Hoarding too many valuable items was not necessarily a good thing.

As for secret treasure fragments, Black Oblivion rarely touched them anymore.

However, when it came to other forms of loot and the “junk” left behind by this technological civilization, he still took great pleasure in scavenging alongside his two cousins.

Even so, the three world-class secret treasure fluctuation points that Sein’s cube had detected after they entered this skyscraper continued to linger in Black Oblivion’s thoughts.

While he had already gathered more than enough fragments, no one would ever turn down a complete world-class secret treasure!

Sein still vividly remembered how that flashy bastard had waved the Black Merlot Civilization’s bone staff around during their last clash, though he had not yet fully mastered it.

To Black Oblivion, that thing had been little more than a glorified fire poker.

Black Oblivion’s own world-class secret treasure was a water tower.

He had not used it much in recent battles, largely because the arid environment of this subspace was inherently ill-suited to his elemental nature.

Had he been fighting on a water-attribute plane or amidst White Stella’s sea race legions, Black Oblivion would have been in his element, moving across the battlefield with far greater ease.

After all, he was a hydro elemental flood dragon.

“My cube’s upgrade is nearly complete. I can sense that it’s about to reawaken. As for the three world-class secret treasure fluctuations the cube detected within the tower, aside from the one deep underground that is beyond our reach, the closest is directly above us.” Sein pointed overhead.

The group was currently somewhere above the 1400th floor.

Even at this height, they had not yet reached the uppermost extent of the inert crystal ore deposits.

As they continued upward along the skyscraper, the inert crystal vein stretched even farther.

However, the strength of the ceilings and partitions above far exceeded those that they had previously broken through.

After searching this level for quite some time, the group finally came to a stop before a special passageway.

This passage was unlike any they had encountered before. It was a ghostly white corridor that radiated distinct and unsettling energy fluctuations.

Before approaching this peculiar passage, Sein warned Grethel and the others nearby.

The sensation emanating from it faintly resembled the defensive mechanisms of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization they had encountered earlier.

At the end of the passageway stood a silver-white metal valve door.

The moment HALL-E saw the passage, it suddenly jolted, as if recalling something.

Its tracked legs began moving of their own accord, propelling it forward.

HALL-E’s abnormal behavior immediately caught the attention of Sein and the others.

Grethel moved to intercept it, but Sein lifted his right arm to stop her.

HALL-E itself was an existence that originated from the ruins of this top-tier civilization and undoubtedly harbored certain secrets.

Having it lead the way was far safer than having Sein and the others recklessly force their way in.

Sure enough, after HALL-E entered the narrow white passageway that had filled Sein with a faint sense of danger and oppressive pressure, nothing unusual happened.

HALL-E did not even follow a specific route. It simply drove straight ahead.

At that moment, PAL—who had become pretty friendly with the dragonkins—suddenly leapt from Black Oblivion’s fingertips and darted straight toward HALL-E’s shoulder.

The pair had always been inseparable. PAL had only grown close to Black Oblivion and the others largely because of their shared fondness for drinking Black Merlot Civilization genetic fluids.

It was much like how Sein enjoyed fruit juice, while many knights of Magus World preferred alcohol.

The size difference between PAL and Black Oblivion, as well as the other dragonkins, was striking, yet it did not hinder their friendly relationship.

At most, PAL could only be called a “bug” in terms of size. As a half-mechanical creature, it was not dirty like an actual cockroach. In fact, it often kept itself meticulously clean.

Because of its lively and energetic nature, Grethel had often rewarded it with several sweet-tasting hydro-elemental potions.

PAL’s half-mechanical, half-organic constitution gave it traits of both a robot and a creature of flesh and blood.

Grethel’s kindness toward it likely stemmed from the opportunity to observe and collect rare specimens.

Unexpectedly, HALL-E passed through the peculiar passageway without incident.

But the instant PAL leapt inside, the surrounding ghostly white light abruptly turned blood-red.

Sensing the sudden surge of oppressive energy fluctuations, Sein’s expression darkened.

“This is bad. We need to get out of here now!” he yelled.