“What is this?”

Under the jade glow, Zhao Yuan blankly stared at the flickering silver ring. The undulations from the silver light felt a little familiar to him.

He hesitated slightly as the Heavenly Yuan Brush in his hand suddenly grew, transforming into its martial form. With a gentle flick of the brush tip, he retrieved the ring from the branch.

Zhou Yuan reached out and grabbed the ring as a cold sensation entering his hand. At closer inspection, he realised that there were some ancient-looking patterns on the ring which gave off a strange aura.

Moreover, while he was holding the ring, Zhou Yuan felt the Spirit between his brows stir restlessly as if its power was being amplified.

“This ring can strengthen one’s Spirit?” A thought flashed in Zhou Yuan’s mind as he raised his head and looked at the Jade Infant Tree. the Spirit undulations from the Jade Infant Tree had weakened after removing the ring from the branch.

“The earlier Spirit attacks were the Jade Spirit Tree’s instinctive protective measures, but how can a Jade Infant Tree have such a powerful Spirit?” Zhou Yuan’s eyes flickered with thought before he turned once again to stare at the dull silver ring in his hand.

Could it be… that this ring was the reason why the Jade Infant Tree’s Spirit had been strengthened, giving it the power to protect itself.

After mulling over it for some time, Zhou Yuan decided to give up for the time being and let Yaoyao take a look later. She would likely know the ring’s function.

Zhou Yuan kept the ring and retrieved two jade boxes from his Universe bag. The tip of his foot pushed off the ground as he flew up towards the Jade Infant Tree. Light flashed at his fingertips and the two Jade Infant Fruits on the tree fell into the boxes.

Zhou Yuan immediately closed the boxes so as to prevent better preserve the effects of the Jade Infant Fruit ,before very carefully returning them to inside his Universe bag.

“Finally got them.”

Zhou Yuan’s entire body relaxed as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Now that he had obtained the Jade Infant Fruit, he would be able to help his mother regain her lost lifespan. Then, he would no longer have to worry about Qin Yu’s ten year life expectancy...

...

By the lakeside, Qi Hao expression was rather ugly as he watched Zhou Yuan collect the treasures on the island.

There was a mysterious expression in the Black Venom King’s eyes as he remarked, “Prince Zhou Yuan does indeed have some skills.”

Qi Hao’s expression was as dark as a storm as he flatly said, “Let him be happy a little while longer. Don’t worry, whatever he obtains now will ultimately fall into our hands.”

“The current him is merely akin to the dowry of a bride.”

“It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of expression he will have when all of the treasures he so painstakingly collected ends up in our hands.”

After speaking, Qi Hao could no longer be bothered with this area and stormed off.

Nearby, Wei Canglan and the rest finally began to relax upon seeing the Qi Hao’s group depart. The former had been closely watching the latter since the beginning.

Wei Canglan and the rest understood that it was not because Qi Hao’s group had given up, but because they did not want to start a fight with the former here.

After all, the most important Fire Spirit Grain had yet to be seen.

Zhou Yuan inspected the entirety of the small island. Only after ascertaining that there was nothing else was he satisfied. He then proceeded to return with the two Jade Infant Fruits and the dull silver ring.

Wei Canglan smiled and cupped his fists together towards Zhou Yuan who had just reached the lake bank. “Congratulations on successfully obtaining the treasures your highness.”

Zhou Yuan chuckled, his eyes narrowing as he shot a glance in the direction Qi Hao had left in. He knew that this was only a tiny setback to the latter, and the real battle would only begin when they found the Fire Spirit Grain.

There were still several factions around the lake watching Zhou Yuan with greed-filled eyes. The allure of the Jade Infant Fruit was not small after all.

However, due to the strength of Zhou Yuan’s party and the Alpha-Origin stage Wei Canglan, all of these groups had no choice but to restrain the greed in their hearts as they regretfully withdrew, turning towards other places in the ruins to see if they would be luckier there.

Zhou Yuan did not intend to waste any more time and said, “Qi Hao’s group has already headed towards the depths of the ruins where the Fire Spirit Grain is located. We cannot tarry any further, let us prepare to move.”

The Fire Spirit Grain was too important and could not be allowed to fall into Qi Manor’s hands or their strength would definitely soar.

Everyone nodded upon hearing this.

Hence, the party swiftly began their preparations before heading towards the depths of the ruins.

Along the way, Zhou Yuan found a chance to pass the dull silver ring to Yaoyao and let her have a look.

“This ring is a treasure… it should be a Genesis artifact.” There seemed to be some interest in Yaoyao’s voice as she continued to inspect it. “It seems to have the function of strengthening and nourishing one’s Spirit and is very beneficial for Spirit cultivation. The Spirit attacks from the tree were probably only possible through the help of this artifact.”

“But… it seems to be broken.”

Yaoyao pointed at the faded ancient rune on the dull silver ring. It seemed that it had been damaged because the Jade Infant Tree had used too much of the ring’s power.

“If this artifact is repaired, it may be able to temporarily amplify one’s Spirit to a pretty astonishing level.”

Zhou Yuan scratched his head. “Is there anyone who can repair it?”

With his mastery of Genesis Runes, he could not even identify the Genesis Rune on the ring, let alone repair it.

“Who else do you know besides me?” Yaoyao laughed softly.

Only then did Zhou Yuan chuckle. “Then I’ll have to trouble big sis Yaoyao.”

...

The group no longer made any pit stops on their way to the deepest part of the ruins. Every obstruction they encountered was completely swept away by their full power.

They would occasionally pass by several locations leaking the light of treasures that drew over numerous factions. But Zhou Yuan decisively chose to turn a blind eye and continue towards the depths of the ruins.

The Fire Spirit Grain was the most important thing for now.

After an hour of their full speed travelling, they began to sense the surrounding ruins grow increasingly clustered and grand. The battle puppets that appeared were also growing stronger and stronger, so strong that even an elite party like theirs suffered several injuries.

Rumble!

A berserk wave of Qi exploded from a particular area in the ruins, shattering the surrounding rocks.

Atop a boulder, Zhou Yuan’s expression was grave as he observed the battle field in front of him where eight Heaven Gate level battle puppets had appeared. As such, even Lu Tieshan and the other Heaven Gate experts had been forced into action this time.

“It is fortunate that we managed to win general Wei to our side. I really cannot imagine how great of a price we would have to pay to enter the deepest part of the ruins without him.” Zhou Yuan sighed in his heart.

As he sighed, the intense battle drew to a close. Lu Tieshan and the rest gradually defeated the battle puppets with their superiority in numbers.

However, their side had also suffered injuries. The only silver lining was that no one had died yet.

Zhou Yuan gazed at Lu Tieshan and the other fighters as he smiled and said, “It’s been hard on all of you.”

“Your highness, the Fire Spirit Grain is likely right ahead.” Wei Canglan suddenly interjected. He had sensed that the Genesis Qi some distance to their front was extremely abundant and vigorous.

Zhou Yuan nodded as his eyes seemed to burn.

“Go!”

The party proceeded onwards with a wave from Zhou Yuan after Lu Tieshan and the other fighters rested for a while. A flurry of figures shot forth as the sounds of shuttling wind rang out.

The group swiftly ascended a hill as the view before them suddenly opened up and a desolate valley appeared before their eyes.

Another group was standing on one side of the valley. It was Qi Hao and the Black Venom King.

They had also sensed the arrival of Zhou Yuan’s group, but only gave the latter a glance before turning their heads away, their burning gazes staring into the valley.

Zhou Yuan and the rest stopped on another side of the valley and looked down. They immediately saw dazzling fiery-red plant gently swaying at the bottom of the valley.

The plant was entirely red, as if flames were burning on it. A wave of pure Genesis Qi pulsed from it along with a faint fragrance.

The eyes of Zhou Yuan and his group could not longer shift away after seeing the fiery-red plant.

Zhou Yuan licked his lips, his eyes burning with excitement.

“Is this the grade 4 Genesis Food, Fire Spirit Grain?”