Pretending to be a genius starts with the civilization advancement assessment.

Chapter 294 Limited-Time Exchange, News of Ninth Senior Brother (7K)

The ten days passed swiftly, like sand slipping through our fingers, amidst the tense yet orderly gathering and handover.

Inside the Pale Forbidden Zone camp, the atmosphere was busy yet filled with a sense of relief at the successful completion of a mission.

The last group of outbound teams has returned safely. In the open space in the center of the camp, specially made metal boxes with subtle spatial runes flowing on their surfaces are neatly stacked into several square formations.

Zhou Yuxuan walked quickly to Lin Yi, who was standing outside the command cabin.

"Captain."

Zhou Yuxuan handed over a data board. "The final statistics are complete. The total amount of standard blood crystal coins we brought back this time, as well as unprocessed blood crystal ore with more complete energy preservation, is approximately 700 billion."

He took a deep breath and pointed to the sea of ​​metal boxes. "All the supplies have been packed into 700 standard miniature storage boxes."

Despite the fact that it had been predicted, when the figure of "700 billion" was officially announced, a hint of joy still flashed in the eyes of Chen Yu, Andrei, and other core members who were listening in.

Lin Yi's gaze slowly swept over this sea of ​​boxes that contained a vast amount of resources, and a sharp glint flashed deep in the depths of his calm eyes.

He seemed to already see how these seemingly chaotic crystals, after being purified, would transform into a solid stepping stone for the Dongfeng Mercenary Group's rise.

"well done."

"Pack your gear and prepare to leave. The secret realm is now under the complete control of the Astral Army. Our mission is complete."

The order was quickly relayed, and the entire camp, like a sophisticated machine, began operating at high speed once again, making final preparations for returning to the main universe.

Lin Yi, in a flash, arrived at the Starbound Army's forward fortress, which was already taking shape. In a room filled with holographic projections of various detection instruments, he found Lan He, who was intently analyzing data.

"Lanhe Consultant"

Lin Yi gently knocked on the open door. "Our Dongfeng Mercenary Group is about to return to the main universe and has come to say goodbye. We thank the advisor for his care during this exploration of the secret realm."

Upon hearing this, Lanhe looked up from the complex energy spectrum and smiled.

"Commander Lin Yi, you're too kind. How much resources your Dongfeng Mercenary Group can obtain is up to its own capabilities. There was source material in this secret realm. When we return to the main universe, the military's reward should be quite substantial. I congratulate you in advance and look forward to the day when we meet again in the vast starry sea."

"Thank you for your kind words, consultant."

Lin Yi exchanged pleasantries, then looked out the window at the bright sun and asked about the main purpose of his visit before his departure.

"Advisor Lanhe, before leaving the secret realm, I still have some doubts in my mind. I wonder if it would be convenient for you to answer them?"

"Oh? Tell me."

Lanhe put down the data stream in his hand with great interest.

"I'm a little curious, why does this blood-red sunlight possess characteristics of madness and pollution?"

Lin Yi frowned slightly, organizing his thoughts, "Source matter, as far as I know, is the physical manifestation of the origin of the universe. Since this blood sun is so closely related to source matter, why is this happening?"

"Oh? You mean this?"

Lanhe chuckled.

"Commander Lin Yi, you may not know this, but the manifestation of source matter is not static. It can be not only inanimate objects, but also living objects."

"A living thing?" Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat.

"Yes, a living thing. This blood sun is actually a living entity."

As he spoke, Lanhe also turned his gaze to the bright sun outside the window, his eyes becoming profound. "Furthermore, strictly speaking, it is still in an extremely long growth period."

"It's a living being."

Lin Yi murmured something, then a thought struck him: "Could the periodic blood sun phenomenon during the day be a part of its growth process?"

"good."

Lanhe nodded slightly. "Just like ordinary children, who need to expel impurities from their bodies to grow strong, the sun, in its growth process, also needs to periodically expel fragments of rules and energy impurities. This is the ultimate source of pollution and madness in this world."

"Of course, while expelling these filthy substances, just as a flowing river inevitably carries silt, it will also inevitably carry out a very small amount of source matter derivatives."

"These derivatives, combined with impure energy, ultimately created the unique environment of this world."

Lin Yi suddenly understood upon hearing this.

"I see. The special environment of this secret realm is actually the reason for the metabolism of the source matter. I just don't know how long it will take for this source matter life form to get through the growth period."

Lanhe smiled upon hearing this, "We have conducted a preliminary analysis and calculation based on its energy emission cycle and intensity, and it will probably take more than a thousand epochs."

"It'll take that long?" Lin Yi was somewhat surprised.

An era is 129,600 years.

"Hehe, it sounds long, but on a cosmic scale, it's already considered very short, even shorter than the lifespan of a Transformation Realm level being. So, there should be quite a few gods looking forward to the maturation of this Origin Essence."

Lanhe added, "You should know that some ancient source matter that existed in the primitive era of the universe had a gestation process that took hundreds of millions of epochs."

Lin Yi remained silent upon hearing this.

At the level of a source-material life form, its strength after maturity must be considerable. However, even so, it is nothing more than meat on a chopping board. The essence of the universe, where the strong prey on the weak, is revealed at this moment.

Fortunately, we're currently on the stronger side.

Lin Yi sighed inwardly, then bid farewell to Lan He, "Thank you for your guidance, advisor. Goodbye."

Lanhe nodded and watched them go.

Then, Lin Yi's figure transformed into a stream of light and merged into the torrent of the Dongfeng Mercenary Group, which had already lined up in formation.

Seven hundred miniature storage boxes were pulled by a special force field and, along with the procession, entered the stable, blue mirror-like spatial passage.
-
The giant space platform of the secret passage outside the "Rayo" space station.

When the main force of the Dongfeng Mercenary Group appeared with the huge number of storage boxes, it attracted many curious and inquisitive glances, but no one asked any questions.

The space station staff and the Astral Army stationed there all knew that the group exploring this secret realm was the Dongfeng Mercenary Group.

The handover of the mission proceeded smoothly and as usual. The officer in charge of receiving the mission solemnly showed Lin Yi the assessment results that were instantly updated on the screen:

【Exploration Mission: TQ-73419-X (Early Exploration of an Unknown Realm)】

[Basic Task Completion Assessment: S+]

[Basic Military Merit Reward: 5000000 points]

[Special Contribution Bonus (Confirming the correlation of the strategic resource "Source Essence" and establishing a comprehensive intelligence network and early intervention forces): 50000000 points]

Total Military Merit Points: 55000000

Fifty-five million military merits.

Although he had expected it, a hint of joy still flashed in Lin Yi's eyes when the number was clearly presented before him.

After all, discovering new secret realms yields a huge amount of merit points. For secret realms that have already been discovered, it's essentially just doing manual labor, and the military merit points are usually around 1000 million.

The extra portion is mainly due to the presence of Source Material in this secret realm; it's considered good luck, a bonus from the Astral Army.

Lin Yi did not linger at the Lei Yao Space Station and led his team back quickly to the Border Legion Fortress Base.

Irelia, who had already received the news, was waiting at the entrance of the fortress. She did not neglect him just because it was Lin Yi's clone who had returned.

Irelia's clear blue eyes quickly swept over the crowd, and after confirming that no one was missing or seriously injured, they finally landed on Lin Yi. The corners of her lips curved slightly, forming a faint smile: "Welcome back, Captain."

"Yes, everything went smoothly." Lin Yi looked at her and nodded.

Upon entering the fortress, the clone first met with the main body in the cultivation room and exchanged information about the situation within the secret realm.

After all, some things cannot be said in other ways.

After understanding the situation, Lin Yi first sent his clone back to the private rest room that had been set up for him, and then immediately began to make intensive arrangements.

He first distributed the merits for this exploration according to the pre-established contribution system, which caused the entire group to cheer with joy. Then, he instructed Xuanji:

"Xuanji, connect to the virtual network and contact the Tree of Life Company for me to request a conversation with Manager Estelle."

"Yes, Master, link application in progress." The palace-clad phantom bowed and waved to help Lin Yi connect to the silver-blue space reception room of the virtual network.

A few minutes later, an elegant figure with the characteristics of the Spirit Race appeared in front of Lin Yi.

It was Estelle, the head of the Purple Gold Star Alliance branch of the Tree of Life Company.

She remained as beautiful as a work of art, her emerald eyes carrying a professional smile.

"Lord Lin Yi, it's a pleasure to see you again."

“Manager Estelle, it’s been a long time.” Lin Yi got straight to the point. “I have a large quantity of special energy crystals, but their energy structure has been contaminated by an extremely stubborn pollutant.”

He waved his hand and sent over a package containing detailed energy structure analysis and pollution characteristic maps of the blood crystal coins.

"I would like to commission Tree of Life Corporation to purify these supplies, with the goal of removing the pollution and chaotic ideas as thoroughly as possible while retaining their other functions."

Estelle received the data and examined it carefully.

A moment later, the smile on her face faded slightly.

"Lord Lin Yi."

Her tone turned serious. "Based on the data provided, the depth and complexity of the pollution in this energy crystal are indeed far beyond what is common. This distortion, which involves the very root of the rules, cannot be resolved by ordinary purification methods."

Estelle paused slightly, seemingly retrieving permissions and calculating the plan. "To process such a large quantity of materials with such a high level of contamination efficiently, we would need to activate at least a Transcendent-level purification matrix, and we must invite at least one Transcendent-level expert to personally control the matrix core in order to ensure the purification effect and the integrity of the materials."

She raised her eyes, looked at Lin Yi, and announced a number that still made Lin Yi's heart skip a beat, even though he was somewhat prepared.

"Therefore, even considering your good working relationship with us and your previous contributions, and the fact that we can offer you a friendly internal price, the final total price will still be 500 billion star crystals."

Lin Yi's expression remained unchanged, but his mind was racing.

A hundred years ago, he would never have been able to afford that price.

But after decades of accumulation, he has accumulated a lot of points in the Star Core level training camp. After reserving them for exchanging for cultivation resources, he still has a lot left over. With his current connections, it would be very easy for him to monetize them.

Although points are much harder to obtain than star crystals, and usually no one would use points to exchange for star crystals, Lin Yi neither wanted to ask to borrow them nor was he willing to mortgage the life planet given to him by his senior sister. After thinking it over, this was the only way that was convenient and quick.

Moreover, given the characteristics exhibited by the Blood Crystal Coins, once purification is complete, the boost to the Dongfeng Mercenary Group will be absolutely enormous.

"can."

With that in mind, Lin Yi no longer hesitated. "Let's proceed with this plan. I will immediately arrange for an absolutely reliable transport ship to deliver the first batch of purification supplies to the designated coordinates via a secure shipping route. The deposit will be paid later."

A hint of surprise flashed in Estelle's eyes, then she bowed slightly: "Rest assured, Mr. Lin Yi, our Tree of Life Company will absolutely not let you down in this regard."

Three years is but a fleeting moment on the scale of the main universe.

On this day, Lin Yi was performing his routine cultivation in the cultivation room.

"Master, we have received a communication request from Estelle of the Tree of Life Company." Xuanji's figure appeared. "So fast? Connect."

Lin Yi was somewhat surprised. He had originally thought it would take ten years or so, but then he thought about it again and realized that it made sense. After all, the total price was only a few hundred billion star crystals, so how could it take so long to use the power of the Derivation Realm?

"Lord Lin Yi, I have not failed you in your mission."

Estelle appeared, her face showing a hint of relief and pride after completing the task. "The materials you entrusted to be purified have all been processed. We have successfully removed 99.987% of the rule pollution and related chaotic thoughts, while retaining the most essential source material derivative characteristics."

"This is a detailed energy spectrum comparison and analysis report before and after purification."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi smiled awkwardly, thinking to himself that, as expected, a force of this level must have had considerable contact with Origin Essence.

He checked the transmitted data, especially the report showing that the core traits had been perfectly preserved, and felt relieved. He then thanked her, saying, "The results exceeded expectations. Thank you for your hard work, Manager Estelle."

"That's only right. It's a pleasure to cooperate, Mr. Lin Yi."

More than a month later, as the Tree of Life Company's transport ship arrived and the handover was completed, Lin Yi immediately went to the specially prepared confidential warehouse.

When he opened a sample box, what came into view was no longer the dark red and murky crystal, but a crystal that emitted a soft, pale golden halo, with a warm, misty aura slowly flowing inside.

Lin Yi casually picked up a piece, and a gentle and pure energy slowly seeped into his soul along his arm. The subtle stagnation in the application of the rules of death began to loosen.

"Let's name it Qiming Crystal."

After pondering for a moment, Lin Yi decided on a name that would inspire wisdom and illuminate the path ahead.

"Xuanji."

"Owner."

"Name this crystal 'Enlightenment Crystal,' include two-thirds of its total quantity in the mercenary group's exchange list, and issue a notice for a limited-time exchange."

"Okay, master."

The illusory figure in palace attire bowed slightly before disappearing.

Meanwhile, all members of the Dongfeng Mercenary Group received a notification.

[Limited-time update to the Merit Exchange List!]

【Name: Qiming Crystal (Micro)】

[Source: Blood Crystal Coins and Blood Crystal Ore from the Secret Realm, refined and purified by the Tree of Life Company, eliminating the madness within, and containing a trace of the primordial aura of the universe.]

[Efficacy: Gently nourishes the soul's essence, slightly enhances mental activity and the efficiency of understanding rules, and long-term use has a slight auxiliary effect on breaking through cultivation bottlenecks. (Note: Effects vary from person to person and are related to individual aptitude and compatibility with rules.)]

[Status: Limited quantity, available for redemption for a limited time!]

This news instantly ignited the entire Dongfeng Mercenary Group.

Because the news about the secret realm, especially the role of Blood Crystal Coins, was not exactly a secret within the Dongfeng Mercenary Group, almost all members with enough points submitted their exchange applications as soon as the limited-time exchange information was released.

Irelia was the first to submit it.

She barely checked the required points and directly used all her accumulated points to exchange for a massive amount of "Enlightenment Crystals," enough to support her several deep retreats.

Back in her meditation room, she lightly touched the pale golden crystal with her fingertips, and a gentle, vast energy surged into her body, reaching deep into her soul.

“What a wonderful feeling.”

Irelia closed her eyes, and a deep black aura around her involuntarily shone, purer and more vibrant than ever before.

Encouraged by Lin Yi, she chose the rule of death as her second rule. However, progress was slow, and after many years, she had only just begun to grasp the basics.

Irelia discovered that as the Enlightenment Crystals continued to fade and be consumed, the vague perceptions she had previously had about the "transformation of life and death" and "cycle of life and death" in the rules of life seemed to have been wiped away and become clear.

She could even see the finer details of the lines of rules, and an unprecedented realization welled up in her mind. The bottleneck that had troubled her for so long showed obvious signs of loosening.

Chen Yu and Andrei made their exchange at almost the same time.

"Hurry up and change them, Lao Zhou, you should change them too, change as many as you can."

As Chen Yu shouted, a fierce flame burned in his eyes.

After obtaining the crystal, he went straight into the training room.

Holding the "Enlightenment Crystal," Chen Yu felt as if his brain had been cleansed by an icy spring. His understanding of the two core flame rules, "explosion" and "condensation," was no longer a matter of either/or, but rather he began to clearly perceive the dynamic balance between them.

He tried to control the flames, and a fire serpent, condensed to the point of being tangible, appeared out of thin air and danced nimbly. This was a level of control that he had struggled to achieve even after many years of arduous training.

Andrei, on the other hand, felt a different kind of shock.

The gentle energy seeped into his heavy earthly rules, without changing its essence, but as if it had infused it with spirituality.

His understanding of power was no longer limited to physical collisions and pressures, but began to naturally touch upon more fundamental aspects such as gravity. In the training room, the earthy yellow light around him was no longer just for defense, but also subtly emitted a force field effect that distorted gravity.

Zhou Yuxuan, Elizabeth, and every core member benefited greatly from this opportunity.

Zhou Yuxuan discovered that his perception of energy flow had become several times more acute, and Elizabeth's ice-based rules had gained an extra layer of resilience and vitality.

Throughout the training area, various fluctuations of rules rose and fell, like sparks spreading across the plains, indicating that the team's overall strength was undergoing a qualitative leap.

Of course, Lin Yi did not forget Blue Star.

He specially allocated a considerable number of Qiming Crystals and dispatched an absolutely loyal and powerful squad to secretly deliver them to Blue Star on a disguised transport ship. He personally handed them over to Li Zhenguo and Zhou Donglai, along with detailed instructions for use and strict confidentiality regulations.

These resources will be used to reward those who have made indelible contributions to the stability and technological development of the Silverblue civilization.

At the same time, he also used his personal points to redeem a gift for his family.

While the entire mercenary group was immersed in the joy of their soaring strength and the craze for cultivation, Lin Yi's clone was conducting a crucial challenge in an absolutely quiet meditation room.

Before the clone, tens of thousands of cultivation manuals from the "Blood Sun Secret Realm" were projected virtually, ranging from rudimentary Qi-inducing techniques to bizarre forbidden manuals, encompassing a wide range of subjects.

During this period, as required by the main body, the clone's only task was to find a way to utilize the spiritual energy.

However, he devoted immeasurable mental energy to analysis and reverse deduction, attempting to find even the slightest clue from this ocean of knowledge to safely extract and preserve the spiritual essence sealed within his own soul.

Unfortunately, the result was disappointing.

The cultivation system in the secret realm is fundamentally centered around how to utilize and combat that polluted energy, leaving a complete void regarding how to actively and safely control one's own more primal and pure power.

"It seems that there is no hope of finding a way by simply relying on the books in the secret realm."

The clone opened its eyes, a resolute glint in them. "No one has ever done this before, but there may be others in the future. Now, I can only create my own."

There is certainly a reason for making this decision.

His confidence stemmed not only from the solid framework built upon his profound understanding of the four rules, but also from his miraculous spiritual enlightenment.

In addition, although the answers cannot be found directly in those classic texts, they can still provide a lot of reference.

After making the decision, the clone calmed down and meticulously planned the spiritual energy it had accumulated over seventy years since it became the "Time-Tracing Clone".

He decided to use a five-year cycle for the deduction, investing spiritual energy in batches to achieve insights and creations that transcend limits.

In the first five years, spiritual enlightenment surged into the sea of ​​consciousness like a burst dam.

Countless microscopic manipulation models of soul power, exquisite techniques of energy stripping, and combinations of rule runes flashed, collided, and annihilated like a kaleidoscope.

The amount of information was so vast that it could cause the souls of ordinary star-domain level powerhouses to collapse.

Five years later, the simulation was progressing slowly, and only a large number of incorrect directions were eliminated.

Continue investing in the second five years!

The deduction went deeper, and they began to try to construct a structural model of the origin of the soul, simulating the mysterious generation and flow of spiritual energy within it.

The third five-year plan, the fourth five-year plan—the projections are progressing slowly and with difficulty.

When the tenth cycle had been completed, after investing the equivalent of fifty years' worth of spiritual energy, the body of the meditating clone suddenly trembled.

In the deepest part of his consciousness, in the core area shrouded by the vast light of enlightenment, all the previously chaotic information, failed models, and vague perceptions, like rivers flowing into the sea, were suddenly arranged and optimized perfectly in a mysterious way.

Quantitative change leads to qualitative change!
Lin Yi clearly sensed that at the very core of the slowly rotating purple mist space, a wisp of purple mist, thousands of times finer than a strand of hair, was trembling slightly at a unique frequency that contained the mysteries of time and rules.

In a moment of inspiration, he used the power of his perfected time rules as a guide, focused his mind, and outlined a composite rule rune that had multiple effects, including guiding, stripping, stabilizing, and sealing.

This rune seemed to be the culmination of his life's learning.

Lin Yi manipulated the rune as if it were the most precise scalpel in the world, carefully and cautiously, clearing his mind of all distractions, gently touching it and then softly yet firmly enveloping the trembling purple mist.
It worked!
Overwhelmed by immense joy, the clone was instantly consumed.

That faint yet infinitely potential spiritual energy was perfectly extracted from the purple mist space and sealed within a "space-time bubble" constructed from his own soul power and the rules of time.

This spacetime bubble exists independently outside the purple mist space, like a private treasure trove that can be clearly perceived and freely controlled by his will.

After a long period of deduction, consuming up to fifty years' worth of spiritual energy reserves, it was finally successful.

The clone immediately approached the original body, informing it of the good news and explaining the principles behind the method.

After a short while, Lin Yi mastered the method. A spacetime bubble containing a trace of spiritual enlightenment quietly appeared at his fingertips, emitting a hazy and mysterious purple glow. The misty energy inside slowly circulated, as if it possessed life.

He carefully examined every detail of this creation, feeling the immense potential and infinite possibilities it contained.

After the initial euphoria, Lin Yi regained his composure.

"Although we have a solution, the timing is far from right."

Lin Yi made a judgment immediately.

This substance has such extraordinary effects that if it were to be leaked, the resulting storm would far surpass that of the "Enlightenment Crystal".

Without sufficient strength, perfect "packaging," and a plausible "origin" story, this spiritual energy can only be transmitted from the clone to the main body for use, and must never be known to a third party.

With a thought, Lin Yi's time bubble re-integrated into the depths of his soul, quietly nurturing itself.

"The clone still has about twenty years' worth of spiritual energy left, while the main body has over seventy years, totaling nearly a hundred years. However, according to calculations, to comprehend the rules of death, even with a conservative estimate, it would take approximately two hundred and fifty years."

Even assuming double the accumulation efficiency in the future, it would still take over seventy years. That's still a bit slow. We need to find some treasures that can quickly boost our understanding in a short period.

As Lin Yi was pondering his future path to understanding the rules of death, Xuanji's figure suddenly appeared beside him.

"Master, a visit invitation has been received from the virtual universe network. The contact person is Cangming. The message is: Junior Brother, I heard you returned from the secret realm with great gains? We have something to discuss."

Ninth Senior Brother?
A hint of surprise flashed in Lin Yi's eyes.

He wasn't surprised that his Ninth Senior Brother was well-informed; the fact that his Ninth Senior Brother was invited to be an overseer meant that he naturally had a close relationship with the Star Guardians.

However, his ninth senior brother, who was in charge of the tiered battlefield, had not contacted him for a long time since he sent a congratulatory message after learning that Lin Yi had comprehended the rules of time. Now, his sudden statement that he had something to discuss aroused Lin Yi's curiosity and anticipation.

After all, every time I contact Ninth Senior Brother, it's always something good!

(End of this chapter)