CHAPTER 87: CHAPTER 87: GATHERING AT THE CENTRAL REGION

The Golden Stone Giant sensed the terrifying aura of Lei Yao, and its expression gradually became serious.

Such a strong opponent, it had never encountered before.

The Golden Stone Giant let out a roar and charged at Lei Yao again.

Lei Yao watched without any fear, instead showing a hint of excitement.

Raising its fists, it directly met the Golden Stone Giant’s fists.

With a fierce roar, the Golden Stone Giant’s arms were shattered to powder by Lei Yao.

Chu Chen, witnessing this, immediately showed joy. Lei Yao’s current strength had exceeded his expectations, but unfortunately, this state could only last for a very short time.

"Lei Yao, attack its Elemental Core," Chu Chen said urgently.

Upon hearing this, Lei Yao didn’t hesitate at all; its figure flickered and instantly appeared in front of the Golden Stone Giant.

After using the Thunder Ape Secret Technique, Lei Yao’s speed had improved significantly.

The Golden Stone Giant could barely react and could only watch as Lei Yao’s fist poured towards its chest.

A "crack" sound came from the Golden Stone Giant’s chest, shattering instantly.

Lei Yao directly reached into its chest with his palm.

At this moment, the Golden Stone Giant’s fist was already aimed at Lei Yao.

Lei Yao showed no intention of dodging, instead grabbing the Golden Stone Giant’s Elemental Core.

"Boom"

The Golden Stone Giant’s fist smashed directly into Lei Yao’s shoulder.

Lei Yao let out a muffled hum, his body hit by a giant force and thrown away.

The Golden Stone Giant didn’t pursue Lei Yao but lowered its head to check the condition of its chest.

Its chest was empty; it lifted its head and stared at Lei Yao, immediately stepping towards Lei Yao.

At this moment, Lei Yao opened his right hand, revealing a metallic sphere in his palm.

The Golden Stone Giant saw this and showed fear, instinctively accelerating towards Lei Yao.

Lei Yao watched the fearful expression of the Golden Stone Giant, grinned, showing pride, and then applied force with his right hand, crushing the Elemental Core.

The Golden Stone Giant froze mid-charge, and due to inertia, fell to the ground, losing all signs of life.

At this time, Lei Yao’s aura also plummeted, reverting to Ninth Rank Slave Level peak in a mere breath, but its current strength likely couldn’t even match a Third Rank Star Beast.

Chu Chen quickly took out two Healing Pills and stuffed them into Lei Yao’s mouth, then poured a pound of Monkey Wine down Lei Yao’s throat.

Mu Chengxue and others only returned to their senses now, their gazes at Chu Chen filled with astonishment.

Chu Chen, seeing this, smiled and said, "Don’t just stand there, hurry up and collect the loot. The commotion here is too great; it’s not suitable to stay long."

"Oh, right." The two responded instinctively.

Mu Chengxue carefully dug out the Golden Sword Grass and stored it in the Space Bracelet.

Xie Licheng also retrieved the Golden Stone Giant’s Star Core.

"Alright, we should descend the mountain quickly. Lei Yao’s condition is rather severe and won’t be able to help for the next several hours. My safety is in your hands," Chu Chen said solemnly.

Mu Chengxue, feeling somewhat guilty, replied, "It’s thanks to you that we got the Golden Sword Grass. From now on, your safety is up to me."

"We’re brothers through thick and thin; don’t worry, we’ll protect you," Xie Licheng said with a smile.

Without delay, the three followed the path back down the mountain and found a safe place to rest.

With time passing, they unknowingly entered the third day of the Secret Realm.

Chu Chen glanced at the time and decided to set out again.

His current position was several hours away from the Secret Realm’s central area.

At present, Lei Yao’s condition had improved. Both physical strength and Star Power had recovered to peak state, but its injuries had yet to fully heal. In a few hours, they should be 80-90% healed.

The Golden Armored Bull and Shadow Cat had fully recovered and should be ready for the upcoming battles.

Three hours later, Chu Chen and his team finally reached the Secret Realm’s center.

But there were already several teams gathered here.

The arrival of Chu Chen and his team immediately caught their attention.

A clear voice echoed from afar.

"Chu Chen, over here."

Chu Chen looked towards the voice and saw a girl in a white combat outfit waving at him.

Chu Chen smiled upon seeing this; the girl was Ji Mingyue.

"Let’s go over," Chu Chen said with a smile to Mu Chengxue and the others.

They silently followed; Chu Chen, a local of Celestial Star City, naturally knew some of the talents entering the Secret Realm. Having more people together meant more safety.

"Why did you guys arrive so late?" Ji Mingyue asked with a smile.

"We encountered some troubles en route, which delayed us a bit."

Chu Chen didn’t elaborate further, just offered some brief explanations.

Ji Mingyue’s team consisted of five people, two of whom Chu Chen was familiar with: Qian Jiadong and Zhao Peng.

Both looked somewhat uneasy seeing Chu Chen, clearly not wanting to be too close to him.

Especially Qian Jiadong, whose gaze towards Chu Chen still contained resentment.

The other two members were Chen Haoyu and Zhang Liting.

Chen Haoyu was a strong-built youth.

Zhang Liting was a beautiful-looking girl.

Like Mu Chengxue, both were from other cities and were talented students cultivated by the Five Great Daoist Schools.

After chatting briefly, Chu Chen gained a general understanding of the center area.

The central area currently had five teams, with only two being humans: Chu Chen’s three-person team and Ji Mingyue’s five-person team forming one.

The other team had six members, led by Zhang Haoran, who reportedly broke through to Soul Warrior Level yesterday.

The other three teams belonged to the Star Beast side, enjoying a numerical advantage, making one more team reasonable.

One of the Star Beast teams was led by an ice-blue fierce tiger that had previously fought the Four-Armed Strength Ape. It had eight Star Beasts, and this tiger had, unexpectedly, broken through to War General Level.

Another team was led by an eagle-type Star Beast, also at War General Level. Its team consisted of only five Star Beasts, but all of them were flying beasts, making their strength considerable.

The last Star Beast team had six members, led by a wolf-type Star Beast in jade green. Although its realm only reached the peak of Ninth Rank Slave Level, leading five equally ranked Star Beasts sufficed to demonstrate its formidable strength.

The teams had already explored the area before Chu Chen and the others arrived.

The central area housed only one type of Star Beast, the Two-headed Poison Wolf.

There were over two hundred of them, with their strength starting at Seventh Rank Slave Level. Four had reached War General Level, and the Wolf King’s strength exceeded War General Level Sixth Rank.

The coveted Key was within the Two-headed Poison Wolf nest.

Meaning anyone wanting the Key would have to get past the wolf pack first.