Discovering the Secrets

“A legacy that even the Virtual Universe Company covets exists within the Demonic Mountain?” Luo Feng pondered to himself. The Demonic Mountain’s history was incredibly ancient, predating the Virtual Universe Company’s control over the Taichu District. If such a naturally formed Demonic Mountain contained a legacy, then that legacy would certainly be extraordinary. It made perfect sense for Immortals to venture into it. But was there truly a legacy? Luo Feng frowned deeply. “Highly likely!” “The natives of Nine Star Sea have called the Demonic Mountain a ‘Legacy Forbidden Zone’ for billions of years. They wouldn’t call it that without reason; there must be some basis!” Luo Feng’s eyes grew brighter. “And the old man Babata detected spoke with such confidence, saying Immortals frequently ventured in. There’s probably some factual basis to that.” “What do Immortals go in for?” “Whatever can attract Immortals is likely no ordinary treasure.” “That old man said the Virtual Universe Company often arranged for noble beings and Immortals to enter. He probably mistook me and the other ‘Your Highnesses’ for such noble beings. They don’t know… we’re on a training mission.” Luo Feng smiled, then suddenly froze. “No, that’s not right!” Luo Feng’s eyes widened, a terrifying light bursting forth from them. “Training mission?” “Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!” A flash of insight struck Luo Feng, and he instantly guessed some secrets. “Those involved are often confused, while bystanders see clearly! That saying is truly accurate… We, who are carrying out training missions, haven’t truly understood. But the native powerhouses have probably seen the real truth!” “Training mission?” “If it were purely for adventure, the Virtual Universe Company could easily create various adventurous environments specifically for geniuses. Is it really necessary to send us to mysterious, naturally formed places in distant, other secret realms for adventure?” Luo Feng’s eyes lit up. “Perhaps having us undertake training missions is one aspect, but more importantly… it’s to give us opportunities for rapid advancement!” “From the Xueluo World mission, one can see the Virtual Universe Company’s cultivation philosophy.” “The ‘Xueluo Crystal’ of Xueluo World is a forbidden item, yet the Virtual Universe Company still allowed us to enter and undertake a training mission. Why? It’s to give us the chance to fuse Xueluo Crystals, thereby improving our strength, comprehension, and other aspects.” Luo Feng’s eyes brightened. “Yes, that’s it!” “Training missions aren’t just about tempering; there are likely some special opportunities awaiting us geniuses.” Luo Feng narrowed his eyes. In his mind, he recalled the several dangerous-level missions he had experienced before. The first was the Xueluo World mission, where he gained a great opportunity and significant benefits. But it was clear… that opportunity was also provided by the Virtual Universe Company. The second was the Dragon Tower Star mission. When he was hunting dragons there, he found Dragon Tower Star to be very peculiar, as there were too many powerful dragon-like beings born on it, and they were incredibly formidable. It was somewhat inconceivable for so many powerful dragons to be born on an ancient planet. The sacred land of Dragon Tower Star was a majestic pagoda—also known as the ‘Dragon Tower.’ However, there were too many powerful dragons around that Dragon Tower, and at the time, he had only focused on completing the mission and hadn’t rashly ventured in. The third was the Void Cliff mission. The Void Cliff was an endless cliff suspended in the void, with strange, thick chains stretching between its abysses. The Void Cliff was truly too bizarre. Luo Feng was extremely cautious at the time, only diving a few thousand kilometers into the cliff’s abyss to collect the mission items before immediately making his escape. … Five dangerous-level missions. This sixth time was a desperate-level mission. This desperate-level mission was even simpler, with two objectives: first, survive for three months (rewarding 100,000 points); second, survive for three years (rewarding 300,000 points). “None of these places are simple!” “If it were merely to test and temper people, the Virtual Universe Company, with its almost omnipotent capabilities, could artificially create dangerous environments. There’s no need to painstakingly send people to perilous places in various secret realms. Moreover, items like Xueluo Crystals are forbidden!” Luo Feng frowned slightly. “I suspect these places all hold secrets! And some of these secrets… might even be greatly beneficial to us!” What was the Virtual Universe Company’s purpose? To train and cultivate! The opportunities contained within these perilous places were actually the true hidden rewards of the training missions. “That’s right!” “It must be this way!” “Otherwise, there would be no need to force us into one dangerous place after another just for adventure. There’s no necessity for that! Sending us to Xueluo World, they probably hoped someone could become a Blood Warrior or even a Black Warrior! Sending us to Dragon Tower Star, Void Cliff, and other places, they likely had similar expectations.” “Allowing peerless geniuses to enter the ‘Demonic Mountain’ probably also implicitly carries a hope that we can obtain the ‘legacy’ of this forbidden zone.” Luo Feng nodded repeatedly, the more he thought about it, the more he felt this was the case. This was the correct approach to cultivating geniuses: tempering them while also providing opportunities. “Whether becoming a Black Warrior or obtaining a forbidden zone’s legacy, it’s likely very difficult. Otherwise, Nine Star Sea, which has possessed this Demonic Mountain for billions of years, would have long had legends of geniuses obtaining legacies. The Virtual Universe Company wouldn’t even need to dispatch Immortals to enter.” Luo Feng nodded to himself. This ancient Demonic Mountain, nine times out of ten, held a legacy! And obtaining the legacy was extremely difficult. The Virtual Universe Company merely provided geniuses with an ‘opportunity’ to obtain it. “Right.” “Absolutely correct.” “Outside Xueluo World, the Sky Eclipse Palace is stationed, with a great being like the Sky Eclipse Palace Master residing there! The Void Cliff also has numerous ascetic Immortals cultivating on it! And at the foot of this Demonic Mountain, a large number of Sector Lords and Immortals are stationed. Just looking at those majestic palaces, you can tell how many Immortals there are!” Luo Feng nodded to himself. “If there were no great secrets, and it was just a trial ground, why would so many Immortals be arranged there?” … Luo Feng stood on the rocky ice layer, pondering. The more he thought, the more certain he became, and an excited expression appeared on his face. “Luo Feng, 19.6 kilometers ahead, there’s a monster about 39 meters tall, resembling an Earth bear, entirely silver-white. It’s approaching.” Babata’s voice echoed in Luo Feng’s sea of consciousness. “Hm?” Luo Feng’s eyes lit up. He looked carefully ahead, and a moment later, in the distance, he saw a large, silver-white bear that looked endearingly clumsy. Its eyes were silver-white, and its entire body seemed carved from silver-white ice, as it ambled slowly. “A Phantom Beast, one of the threats in the Demonic Mountain, alongside Demonic Sound.” Phantom Beasts were peculiar lifeforms naturally generated within the Demonic Mountain. They were formed by the convergence of the Demonic Mountain’s extremely cold energy, possessing very simple consciousness. In terms of intelligence, they were probably inferior to Earth’s former cats and dogs. One could say… they were incredibly dull-witted! But precisely because they were so dull-witted, Phantom Beasts knew only one thing: if they detected any non-Phantom Beast life, they would attack! Any strategy was ineffective against their extremely simple consciousness. “Based on the energy intensity it naturally emits, its strength is comparable to a Universe-level Third-tier,” Babata’s voice rang in Luo Feng’s sea of consciousness. “Roar~~” The silver-white bear saw Luo Feng, immediately let out an excited roar, and then charged forward at a run. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Its speed was extremely fast; it was just a blurry afterimage as it rumbled towards Luo Feng. “Such a cute Phantom Beast.” Luo Feng drew his Blood Shadow Battle Blade, instantly flashed past the Phantom Beast bear, and simultaneously sliced directly through the bear’s head with his battle blade. Chii! A section of its head was sliced off, and hard ice fragments flew off, hitting the nearby rocky mountain wall with a crisp sound. But the Phantom Beast didn’t stop at all, continuing to roar: “Roar~~” “Roar~~”, constantly attacking Luo Feng. “Chii!” “Puff!” Blade light flashed repeatedly, Luo Feng wounded the great bear again and again, until finally, the entire Phantom Beast was completely torn apart, countless ice fragments scattered on the ground. “What a peculiar lifeform. Its entire body is composed of hard ice. Even if I tear it into pieces, its simple consciousness doesn’t dissipate.” Luo Feng watched in surprise as countless ice fragments on the ground slowly drew together, and two pieces would quickly fuse upon contact. “The data said Phantom Beasts are immortal; so this is why.” Luo Feng shook his head and quickly left. He had no patience to keep killing a Phantom Beast with a consciousness simpler than a cat or dog. This time, he was lucky; the Phantom Beast he encountered was relatively weak. The Phantom Beasts in the Demonic Mountain could be as strong as peak Sector Lords, and some often appeared in groups. … In a crystal-clear, deep, and vast rocky ice tunnel, a lean man in black combat armor with black horns, his eyes faintly burning with flames, advanced as if strolling leisurely. Simultaneously, invisible World Energy permeated and searched a thousand-kilometer radius around him. “Hm?” His eyes lit up slightly. Whoosh! He instantly transformed into a streak of light, and with his Sector Lord Sixth-tier strength, he almost immediately shot a thousand kilometers along the winding, vast tunnel. A thousand kilometers away, an Domain Lord Eighth-tier elder and a Universe-level Ninth-tier youth were cautiously advancing, conversing in low voices: “Grandpa, we only need to hold on for two more days, and it’ll be a month!” “Yes, then we’ll be able to join the Virtual Universe Company.” “Who’s there!” The grandfather and grandson instantly saw a streak of light approaching, their expressions changed drastically, and they immediately tried to flee. Boom! Blazing flames suddenly spread, completely engulfing and burning a several-kilometer radius. The Domain Lord Eighth-tier elder and the Universe-level Ninth-tier youth were directly incinerated to death. “Hm?” The lean man with black horns, his flame-burning eyes scanned the area around the Universe-level Ninth-tier youth’s corpse. “No Moyun Teng remnants?” Then, with a single hand gesture, he retrieved a spatial armguard and a spatial ring, examining them carefully. “No red identity token either!” “Hmph!” “This Universe-level Ninth-tier isn’t the target the Divine Lord is looking for.” The lean man with black horns shook his head. “The target hasn’t been found, but I’ve collected over a thousand black tokens. Continue!” The lean man with black horns then continued his exploration, his World Energy searching a thousand-kilometer radius around him.