High Martial Arts Era

Chapter 172: Demon Blood Spirit Crystal

After ending the call, Li Yuan didn't waste any time. He stood up, swung his spear, and killed the nearly unconscious purple-robed man on the ground. His head was split in two, ensuring he was dead beyond resurrection.

"[You have continuously killed low-tier creatures and obtained spiritual nourishment. Spiritual awakening has reached 29%]" flashed a notification on the Divine Palace interface.

In fact, Li Yuan was so certain that these three were from the alien race, and not Seven-Star humans, not because he understood their conversation or noticed too many clues, but simply because the Divine Palace's scan indicated that killing them would yield "spiritual nourishment." This kind of prompt only appeared with alien beings.

"No matter how well you disguise yourself, you can't escape the Divine Palace's detection," Li Yuan said, glancing at the corpses.

In reality, if Li Yuan hadn't killed them, the injured Heavenly Virtue clan member would have certainly died due to his wounds. Moreover, in this wild jungle, losing mobility was equivalent to waiting for death. Who knows when a beast or alien might come smelling the blood.

"Chasing after a human? Why?" Li Yuan murmured to himself, reflecting on the information he had just obtained.

The information was not extensive, primarily two points:

The Heavenly Virtue clan members Li Yuan killed were merely 'Tier 1 Warriors' assigned to guard the Bright Ruins Astral Realm, similar to military martial artists in human civilization. They were part of a squad sent to pursue a human martial artist from hundreds of kilometers away. However, they had no knowledge of the specific identity of this human or why they were being pursued.

"A squad from the Heavenly Virtue clan, at least 50 warriors," Li Yuan mused, "There must be more than one Tier 19 warrior among them."

The Seven-Star human civilization and the Heavenly Virtue civilization had interactions not just through the Bright Ruins Astral Realm but also through other astral realms. Although they were not engaged in a frenzy of warfare like the alien civilization behind the Luo Bo Sea, they were always in an antagonistic relationship.

Over the years, both sides had developed a deep understanding of each other's language, culture, and even technological history. This was why Li Yuan, once confirming they were 'aliens,' acted without hesitation.

No need to question the reason. According to the base's 'rules of engagement,' encountering two major alien civilizations within 1000 kilometers of the base allowed for direct attack.

Clang~ Li Yuan quickly searched the three corpses but found little of value. Weapons? Armor? All were Tier 1 mid-grade, of little worth and no place to store them. Most of the rest were just provisions.

"Ah, a life detector? Tier 1," Li Yuan grinned, discovering something truly valuable on the most powerful Heavenly Virtue clan member.

It was a technological product of the Heavenly Virtue clan, somewhat similar to the Seven-Star human civilization's 'life blood detection instrument,' but of better quality and truly miniaturized for portability.

Although Li Yuan had the Divine Palace scan and didn't need this device, it could fetch millions of Blue Star Coins if handed to the base.

"Perhaps our life blood detection instruments in the Seven-Star human civilization were inspired by this," Li Yuan thought.

War, in a way, continuously drives technological advancement, forcing a civilization to become stronger to avoid extinction. Over centuries, the Seven-Star human civilization had made leaps in both technology and martial arts through interactions with numerous alien civilizations.

"Beast civilizations often have weak technology," Li Yuan mused. "But many humanoid civilizations have very advanced technology, surpassing even human civilization."

This information might be unknown to ordinary people, but it wasn't a secret to source martial artists. Li Yuan had read extensive materials from the Starlight Martial Hall and was well aware of this.

"Despite how slow it seems, the body search took only a few dozen seconds," Li Yuan said, tossing the life detector into his tight backpack.

"Observation Point 19?"

He set the direction on his smart ring and set off at full speed.

The straight-line distance was 40 kilometers!

"At full speed, I should be able to arrive within 20 minutes. I hope they can hold on," Li Yuan thought, his figure turning into a streak of light as he dashed towards Observation Point 19.

A squad of Heavenly Virtue clan warriors?

Breaking into an observation point wasn't difficult, especially without advanced technological weapons.

"30% spiritual awakening, just 1% away," a fierce light flashed in Li Yuan's eyes. "I'll use you for my experiment."

The Seven-Star human civilization, within the Bright Ruins Astral Realm, is divided into outposts and data points in addition to the forward base. Data points are areas suitable for cultivating valuable herbs or mining resources. Observation points are usually at the outermost edge of activity, meant for surveillance and vigilance over a large area. They also provide a temporary resting place for many martial artists honing their skills in the outer regions.

Observation Point 19 was an observation point situated far from the war base, hidden within a mountain. The entire mountain's interior had been hollowed out, making it look like an ordinary small hill from the outside, but complex inside.

For decades, it had been safe. But today, Observation Point 19 faced a catastrophic disaster.

The outer defense system of the observation point had been breached.

"Da-da-da!"

Fierce fire snakes howled as over ten metal bullets sealed a wide passage, completely suppressing dozens of Heavenly Virtue clan warriors outside the passage.

In such a confined space, even Tier 19 experts would find it extremely dangerous to force their way through the barrage of metal bullets.

"Damn it," a towering man who looked like a monster, standing outside the passage, cursed. He was over 2.5 meters tall, wearing black armor, with eyes that seemed ready to shoot fire.

The surrounding Heavenly Virtue warriors remained silent.

"Captain Logan, what should we do?" a short, stout man asked, his voice low. "We know that this observation point might have other passages. If we delay too long, they might escape."

"The key issue is that this place is very close to the Seven-Star human base. They are definitely calling for reinforcements. Once the source martial artists arrive, we'll be doomed."

"Failing the mission will bring us big trouble as well," the short man said, looking at his companion. "Lord Blood Guardian won't spare us."

Clearly, among the more than forty Heavenly Virtue clan warriors present, these two had the highest rank.

"Molong, I don't need you to remind me," the burly man named Logan said coldly. "I know the consequences of failing the mission better than you."

"Don't hesitate. Let's break through together."

"Yes."

The two powerful Heavenly Virtue clan leaders, no longer hesitating, took out a small vial from their pockets. Opening it revealed a blood-red pill.

They swallowed the pills directly.

Seeing the blood-red pills, the surrounding Heavenly Virtue clan warriors' eyes flashed with envy.

Boom! Boom!

Quickly, the burly man Logan and the short man Molong's skin turned fiery red, with blood-red energy flowing over their bodies. This was a special treasure of the Heavenly Virtue clan, the 'Demon Blood Spirit Crystal.' Taking it would significantly enhance their strength, speed, and provide a touch of special source power.

It had little effect on source warriors but provided immense benefits to Tier 1 beings. Not only did it cause a massive increase in strength with no significant side effects, but it also improved overall physical fitness slightly after the drug's effect wore off.

However, this drug was extremely precious and usually inaccessible to Tier 1 warriors. This was a special mission, and the two leaders, being above Tier 19, each received one for critical moments.

Clang~ Crack~

Logan and Molong's armor completely covered their bodies.

"Let's charge; you follow."

"Kill!" Logan roared.

Boom! Boom! The two men, one wielding a war blade and the other a giant battle axe, darted into the passage.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Countless metal bullets rained down on them, their terrifying impact reducing their speed, but the blood-red energy flowing over their bodies, combined with their armor, blocked the bullets.

Inside Observation Point 19, dozens of human warriors, all holding weapons, stared anxiously at the passage.

The firearms were controlled directly by the observation point's intelligent system.

"Captain," Shi Xiao, gripping her war blade, said coldly, staring intently.

"Relax," said Wu Qiong, the captain standing next to her. About thirty years old, she exuded a mature aura. "Your strength is second only to mine in the squad; it's just that you lack experience."

"In life-or-death battles, calmness is crucial," Wu Qiong said softly, being a veteran martial artist in the Bright Ruins Astral Realm.

"Understood," Shi Xiao nodded.

"Captain Wu Qiong, don't worry."

"With the ammunition we have, it shouldn't be difficult to hold them off for over half an hour," said the observation point's officer.

"Just now, you said the outer defenses could hold for at least twenty minutes, and what happened?" Wu Qiong shot him a cold glance. "Three of my team members are dead."

The officer fell silent. He hadn't expected the Heavenly Virtue clan warriors to be so fierce, all above Tier 18, definitely an elite squad.

Suddenly, "Not good, they've broken through," Wu Qiong's eyes flashed with cold light as she shouted, "Prepare for battle! Kill!"

Boom!

As the two terrifying Heavenly Virtue clan leaders burst through the metal storm into the passage, their figures flashed, destroying numerous firearm launchers. The following dozens of Heavenly Virtue clan warriors surged in like a tidal wave.

"Kill!"

"Fight back!" More than twenty human martial artists had no way to retreat and immediately charged into battle.

"A bunch of trash."

"You can't escape," the burly man Logan said, spotting his target and charging forward.

"You're facing me," Wu Qiong swung her spear, blocking his path.

"Get lost!"

...

After about 23 minutes, Li Yuan, racing at full speed according to the smart ring's map, finally reached the mountain forest outside Observation Point 19.

His expression changed as he surveyed the surroundings.

"Corpses?" Li Yuan scanned and saw numerous bodies in the outer area. Many wore purple robes, clearly Heavenly Virtue clan warriors. Many others were clearly Seven-Star humans.

"So many dead?" Li Yuan's eyes flashed with a hint of killing intent.

"Has the observation point fallen?" Li Yuan wondered, his ears picking up the sound of battle.

"There are still survivors."

With a flash, Li Yuan sped down the exposed wide passage and charged in.