Ye Zhongming didn’t dare to stay to watch. Instead, he and Yangos flew far away, circling at a relatively safe distance as they waited.
He had thrown the Key to the Blue Secret Realm into the valley.
After releasing those demonic creatures onto Earth, he had assumed the secret realm would stabilize somewhat due to the reduced lifeforms, perhaps even extending its existence. But the reality was the opposite—instability had intensified, with conditions deteriorating daily.
Ye Zhongming didn’t know what would happen to the realm key if the dimensional space on the other side collapsed, but he couldn’t take the risk. If something like an energy black hole appeared, it would be disastrous.
This wasn’t paranoia—it was a very real concern. To prepare, he had consulted experts—from science graduates to university professors, even a space physicist. None could say for certain what would happen, but they all agreed his fears were justified.
So, Ye Zhongming made arrangements.
That valley and its strange formation were his solution.
The formation was called the Life-Lock Weaving Formation, purchased from the Taros Red Dwarves at a steep cost in contribution points.
Its primary function was to trap energy within it and convert it into elemental crystals corresponding to the energy’s properties.
Originally, Ye Zhongming had never planned to exchange for this array. Not only was it expensive, but constructing it was even costlier. The stone pillars had to be carved from specific materials, inlaid with over a hundred gemstones, including high-grade nature gems and magic crystals.
Building this formation wasn’t just time-consuming—the gemstones alone were worth several seven-star evolution potions.
But for safety’s sake, he went ahead with it, placing it in a remote mountain valley far from Cloud Peak, inaccessible without flight.
Not long after he and Yangos fled, a tidal wave of energy erupted from the valley. The dragon, already evolving towards level nine, recoiled in terror, retreating further as it mentally conveyed its fear to Ye Zhongming.
At that moment, Ye Zhongming wasn’t sure if the Life-Lock Weaving Array could contain such an explosive release of energy.
Simultaneously, he sensed something—a peculiar frequency within the energy. As his strength had grown, he’d occasionally felt this, but never as intensely as now.
Fortunately, the energy surge didn’t last long, dissipating quickly.
After waiting cautiously, Ye Zhongming and Yangos slowly flew back. Above the valley, he “saw” devastation—the formation was destroyed, and residual energy rose from the ground to several meters high.
Through this energy haze, shapes were faintly visible, but the distortions made it impossible to discern details.
Cautiously, Ye Zhongming tossed a marked rock into the energy field.
The rock vanished upon contact—then reappeared moments later, already on the ground.
In other words, it had traversed dozens of meters instantly.
But the time gap wasn’t short—it was too long. Under normal freefall, it should’ve hit the ground much sooner.
Where had the rock been in between?
This observation revealed something: the “blurriness” wasn’t due to obstruction—the objects below were phasing in and out of existence, creating the illusion.
This made Ye Zhongming even more reluctant to descend. The phenomenon was too unnatural.
Had the key’s destruction left behind energy, the array couldn’t fully process?
If so, his massive investment in the formation might’ve been wasted.
As he pondered solutions, nearby mutated lifeforms began gathering, drawn by the anomaly—until Yangos’s deafening roar sent them scattering.
In the absence of level-nine beings, the dragon was undisputed apex.
Ye Zhongming’s worries didn’t last long. Within twenty minutes, Yangos reported that the energy was fading.
An hour later, the dissipation became undeniable.
Reassured, Ye Zhongming spent the day patrolling the area, hunting level-six and above mutated lifeforms with Yangos. By the time the energy fully cleared, his inventory held:
Over a dozen level-six magic crystals,
Three level-seven crystals,
One level-eight crystal,
Plus assorted materials and herbs.
Finally, they landed in the valley.
What awaited them was… far more than expected.
Most conspicuous were the elemental crystals—shaped like pyramids, densely packed across the valley floor, their obsidian surfaces gleaming.
Ye Zhongming picked one up, immediately sensing spatial energy vibrations. These were space-attuned crystals—incredibly rare and valuable.
Though unsure how to utilize them yet, he knew they’d be pivotal for equipment crafting and battle beast cultivation.
After swiftly collecting them, the valley floor lay bare, revealing other objects.
Methodically, Ye Zhongming combed the area, examining each find. By the end, he held over twenty items—half completely unfamiliar, the others vaguely identifiable by type, attribute, or function.
Returning to Cloud Peak on Yangos’s back, one word echoed in his mind:
Legacy.