Chapter 57: Section 58: The Origin of the Demon Crystal in the Heart


    The night had passed.


    The morning sun, grazing the horizon, cast slanted beams, leaving faint shadows of gold mica stone on the ground.


    The exploration team had all woken up early.


    They were startled awake by the noise of the scorpions feasting.


    Lord Zhenjin showed no hint of pleasure or anger, his face the very image of calm. But in his heart, there was inevitably a great deal of disappointment.


    Contrary to his expectations, the sun had risen, but reality remained as harsh as ever.


    ...


    The lizard pack had not arrived.


    It seemed that having lost their Silver Level leader, or possibly due to the prior massacre by the scorpion swarms, the lizards had lost their courage, their will to fight drained, daring not to venture here again.


    The whole scorpion swarm was feeding.


    Although Cang Xu had heard Lord Zhenjin’s descriptions before, seeing it firsthand was a different matter. The old scholar couldn’t help but exclaim, “Nature is truly grand; it has created such magical creatures. These gun scorpions eat these stones because they actually feed on metal. Their digestive systems are extremely powerful and unique, able to consume various metals and assimilate them into their shells. It is for this reason that their scorpion shells are so tough.”


    “Wait a second,” a member of the exploration team posed a question, “Isn’t there a powerful Mage on this island? Aren’t these strange monsters all created by this Mage?”


    Cang Xu smiled and shook his head, “Actually, that’s not possible. Even if the master of this island were more powerful, he could only use the natural life around him and then piece it together. It’s like how Mages create puppets and golems by using metal to construct the body of the golem, then harvesting a spirit and infusing it into the golem, giving it intelligence. It’s just like cutting pictures into pieces and then piecing those fragments back together.”


    After a pause, Cang Xu continued, “If the Island Master really had the power to create life, then they would be a creator, entirely above any emperor or duke in this world. To my knowledge, among the deities that are alive, many such as the Holy Emperor, several dukes of the Human Race, the Beast Race’s chieftains, the Great Shamans, and so on, none can achieve the degree of directly creating life.”


    Zi Di clearly agreed with Cang Xu’s statement.


    She also chimed in, “Although the creatures of this island are fierce and eerie, they are actually quite imperfect. The magic power within them is not harmonious. If the Island Master were a creator, they could harmoniously stabilize the magic power within them. Strictly speaking, the Golden Level Magic Beasts of this island can only be considered Quasi-Gold and do not compare to true Golden Magical Beasts. They lack the Magic-like abilities of true Golden Magical Beasts.”


    No one raised any objections.


    Magical Beasts usually possess Magic-like abilities.


    But all the ferocious creatures encountered on this island, one after another, lacked such abilities.


    Flying Squirrels emit electricity because they have an organ structure similar to that of Electric Eels.


    Lizards can spit Acid Liquid because they have sacs for storing acid. Venomous snakes can spit venom because there are poison glands in the snake’s head.


    The essence of Magic-like abilities is to utilize the magic power in the Magic Beasts’ Demon Crystals, creating something out of nothing, ignoring and transcending the physical structure of the creature itself. This is akin to Fighting energy and Magic, which allow the being to exceed individual and racial limits in terms of power!


    But the silence did not last long.


    One of the exploration team members muttered, “Even if these monsters’ magic power is not coordinated, they are still very powerful. If we can’t figure out a way to get rid of the scorpions, we’re all going to die at their hands. Even if these Scorpions don’t eat flesh, we’re going to be shredded to pieces by them. I curse this Island Master! No matter how powerful he is!”


    “He created these things; he must be extremely malicious and dangerous. These scorpions have their tails fashioned into spear tips. And the lizard’s acid can corrode steel.”


    “No matter what high-status figure he is or what research he wants to conduct. If I die here, I’ll turn into a vengeful ghost, a resentful spirit, and haunt him relentlessly, making him taste the agony I suffered in life!”


    Upon hearing this, Cang Xu let out a long sigh, turning his head towards Zi Di, “Miss Zi Di, I am gradually coming to accept your previous speculation.”


    Everyone looked puzzled.


    However, Zi Di understood Cang Xu’s words and smiled, “Are you saying that you now also believe that the Island Master is creating Biological Weapons?”


    “Yes,” Cang Xu, still squatting on the ground, nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the others, “We have previously speculated based on the significant artificial traces on this island that the Island Master is likely a Mage. I had thought that he was creating these monsters as part of some magical research. Perhaps he was seeking the essence of life, to facilitate his own breakthrough.”


    “But having experienced so much and seen various Magical Beasts, I’m more inclined to agree with Miss Zi Di’s guess.”


    “If one were researching a field of magic, seeking the essence of life, they should make artificial life more stable. But the artificial creatures here are vicious and aggressive. Scorpions are the size of warhorses, and their tails have been modified into spear tips. Lizards can spit acid, corroding swords. Flying Squirrels can emit strong electric shocks, all seemingly designed intentionally to counteract metallic armor.”


    “`


    “These creatures were created with an emphasis on their combat abilities. Lord Zhenjin, I remember you saying that you’ve encountered Blade Spiders, and single-horned Black Panthers, Brown Bears that can consume ore to heal themselves, and even Blue Wolves cunning enough to possess human intelligence. These ferocious beasts don’t seem to be merely manufactured for research purposes but rather deliberately crafted as special weapons!”


    Zhenjin thought for a moment, “We’ve encountered not just these ferocious beasts, don’t forget, we also ran into flocks of sheep. Those sheep were all very weak.”


    Cang Xu shook his head, standing by his opinion, “Although the sheep flocks are frail and let us slaughter them at will, such creatures make up too small a proportion.” S~ea??h the N??eFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    “An even more important point is, I believe—these sheep flocks are more formidable than most Magic Beasts!”


    Everyone felt puzzled by Cang Xu’s view.


    Cang Xu continued to explain, “The Island Master intends to create the strongest Biological Weapons, but his (her) technology is not yet mature. There is one major flaw, which is that the magic power used to alter life can’t be synchronized, failing to form Magic Crystals. Therefore, the Island Master altered the environment to suppress the elements and the flow of magic power. Once we’re in it, we can no longer use Fighting Energy or Magic.”


    “From this point, we can see the prowess of the sheep flocks.”


    “Other Magic Beasts have chaotic internal magic power, which dissipates quickly upon death. But the magic power within the sheep flocks has a trend towards stability. Even though the temperature rises, the magic power still remains chaotic and rapidly disperses. However, in colder temperatures, their internal magic power converges and hides so well that we can hardly detect it.”


    It’s precisely because it was undetectable that the exploration team experienced poisoning incidents before.


    “This shows that the Island Master is trying every means to develop Magic Crystals. Although he (she) cannot create them directly, it seems that the natural food chain is being used to indirectly foster the creation of Magic Crystals.”


    “To accelerate the production of Magic Crystals, as well as to test and train the combat abilities of these Biological Weapons, the Island Master has set up transport Arrays. After a certain period, once the Array is activated, the Magic Beasts are transported over, they engage in fierce battles, fighting incessantly, to determine the victors—the qualified Biological Weapons.”


    Of course, Cang Xu knew that the magic power in the sheep flocks actually came from eating the local grass. But this secret still needed to be kept, and he was deliberately misleading the others at this moment.


    This didn’t prevent him from expressing his speculation.


    Honestly, Zhenjin was immediately startled by the conjecture.


    “I have a Magic Crystal in my heart.”


    “How can a person possibly possess a Magic Crystal? This Magic Crystal might be the accidental result of Zi Di pouring bear blood into me to save my life back in the cave of the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear.”


    “So… did I solve the Island Master’s research problem?”


    “The Magic Crystal in my heart, was it actually created indirectly with the help of the Island Master’s power, an artificial Magic Crystal?”


    “What will happen to me if the Island Master finds out?”


    Cang Xu’s speculation caused everyone else to suck in a cold breath.


    “What should we do now?”


    “Perhaps the Island Master has already discovered us, just letting us struggle here.”


    “That’s right, he (she) might be watching us right now, using us to test the might of his creations.”


    “Doesn’t that mean we’re bound to die? Why bother struggling?”


    “Surrender? Yes, we could surrender!”


    “Enough.” Zhenjin suddenly spoke up, forcefully calming himself, his expression serious, “It’s too early for such talk now, everything is just speculation. It’s time for us to leave.”


    The expressions of the rest remained panicked and bewildered.


    Zhenjin sighed, “Have you seen the Island Master? Is there any evidence to support Cang Xu’s speculations?”


    “If you want to give up, believe you’re doomed, or want to surrender, then go ahead!”


    “But if you want to continue following me, then it’s time to go.”


    With that, everyone stopped hesitating and chose to closely follow behind Zhenjin.


    “`