The old man in the green talisman robe glanced at Ye Chen beside him, cleared his throat lightly, and put on an air of noble righteousness. “This old man has the world in his heart, acts with compassion, and seeks to save the people. Seeing any unburied corpse, I cannot help but feel compelled to give it final rites.” This declaration, coupled with his entirely white hair, lent him an almost immortal aura.

Bailan was somewhat moved. “Sir, you truly are a good person.”

The old man in the green talisman robe chuckled internally but maintained a righteous façade. “Not at all. Shouldering the grave responsibility of saving all beings is what men of our standing ought to bear. It is simply what must be done.”

Too lazy to listen to his nonsense, Ye Chen shot him a sidelong glance. “Are you that idle?”

The green talisman man casually replied, “This old man is extremely idle…” He immediately sensed something was amiss, looked up, and caught the fleeting chill in Ye Chen’s eyes. His expression shifted slightly, and he forced a smile. “Ah, I must be getting senile. The auxiliary bay of the spaceship is waiting for my repairs. Well then, young lady, until we meet again! Next time, this old man will surely gift you a peerless treasure.”

With that, he turned tail and drifted swiftly back into the spacecraft.

Bailan stood there, slightly bewildered.

Ye Chen made a gesture with his palm, sealing the talisman space. “Let’s go.” He led the way back to the central area of the third floor, where Bailong and the others had already donned their selected gear and were admiring various accessories before the seven-colored rainbow light.

“Pick out a few more energy weapons,” Ye Chen instructed, bringing Bailong and the others over to the adjacent energy weapon storage area.

He surveyed the scene.

Fifty energy weapons floated in sequence throughout the vast hall, which spanned nearly a hundred zhang wide. Small arms included energy pistols and gas-piston guns; mid-sized weapons featured light-ray cannons and multi-barrel rotary heavy-fire guns; and larger armaments included Magic Light Cannons and Annihilation Bombs, among others.

Ye Chen selected a gas-piston gun and a multi-barrel rotary heavy-fire gun, both crafted from Gold-Grade Fifth Tier materials.

Gas-Piston Gun (Gold-Grade Fifth Tier): Inject Qi into it, and the weapon’s inherent source point compresses the Qi into a bullet for firing. As long as the Qi supply lasts, the ammunition is endless. Capable of killing Level 5000 monsters—provided… you can aim.

For a Level 1000 expert to reliably hit a Level 5000 monster, unless equipped with specialized instruments, their visual acuity simply couldn't keep up with the target’s movement speed.

The Multi-Barrel Rotary Heavy-Fire Gun possessed similar destructive power to the gas-piston gun, but its rate of fire was significantly faster—the difference, perhaps, between a pistol and a machine gun.

“My personal Qi cultivation is at the late stage of Second Tier Qi Master. Based on the ranking of the Fire Civilization ruins, this equates to Gold-Grade Second Tier. Logically, this level of Qi should only suffice to kill Level 2000 monsters. However, due to the compression mechanism within the gas-piston gun’s structure, it tightly condenses the otherwise loose Qi, resulting in a massive surge in power.”

Qi was like cotton fiber; for the same amount of power, Ye Chen could only compress his into the size of a soybean, whereas the gas-piston gun could condense it to the size of a sesame seed, escalating its destructive yield by several tiers.

Ye Chen removed the two silver rings from his right hand. These rings, containing the Blood-Red Battle Saber and the Infinite Ammunition Energy Pistol respectively, he handed over to Bailan. Once the spatial connection point for this ruin was established in the Brightness Base City, the items inside could be placed in the guild’s commercial warehouse for members to purchase with guild contribution points.

He equipped the gas-piston gun and the multi-barrel rotary heavy-fire gun. Both energy weapons possessed the ability to convert matter into energy, transforming into rings, earrings, or other accessories he could carry.

The gas-piston gun was entirely silver-gray, about a foot long, featuring three barrels. The central main barrel was the longest, with a muzzle diameter of approximately 1.5 centimeters. Alongside it were two smaller barrels, five millimeters in diameter. Its overall shape bore a resemblance to a Desert Eagle, giving it a rather imposing presence.

The multi-barrel rotary heavy-fire gun was entirely pale gold, boasting an extremely flashy and rugged design. It was 1.6 meters long, requiring two hands to grip. Its muzzle was a multi-layered rotating cylinder: the outermost ring held eight black muzzles, 2.5 centimeters in diameter; the central ring had sixteen muzzles, 1.2 centimeters in diameter; and the innermost ring contained thirty-two muzzles, six millimeters each.

At the absolute core sat a small cannon muzzle, five meters in diameter—the most powerful component.

Its sheer, aggressive appearance alone was enough to send a chill down one’s spine.

Ye Chen pressed the transformation button. The gas-piston gun dissolved into a shimmer of white light, coiling around his middle finger like fine mist, morphing into a silver-gray ring. The multi-barrel rotary heavy-fire gun transformed into a pale gold bracelet, settling onto his right wrist.

Under Bailan’s guidance, Mo Feng and the others also selected weapons to their liking. Bailong chose the Magic Eye Instant-Kill Gun from the second floor of the treasury. Although it was Gold-Grade Third Tier and less damaging than the gas-piston gun, it was equipped with a multi-reflection mirror array that allowed him to see thousands of kilometers away, making it extremely suitable for stealth operations in the wild.

In addition to that, he also selected a gas-piston gun. For anyone who had awakened their Qi, the gas-piston gun was both a common and incredibly precious type of energy weapon.

Soon, everyone had chosen their respective armaments. Ye Chen found a special defensive item for his younger sister, Yezhu: the Heavenly Emperor Shield, which appeared as a purple crystal necklace. When worn, it accentuated the fairness of her skin, adding a touch of allure.

Should danger arise, the crystal necklace would automatically activate, releasing an energy barrier capable of withstanding a 5000-level destructive force, maintaining its shield for one hour at full charge.

Anyone who obtained a Sixth-Tier ruin could rise to power rapidly. The "Emperor"-titled expert from his previous life had established a base city in Shennongjia solely using one ruin, soaring into the ranks of the world’s top ten base cities in mere months. This illustrated the immense benefits a ruin provided.

Ye Chen had to admit his luck had been extraordinary. In the Atlantean civilization, he had stumbled upon and rescued the System Main God, Alwei.

In this ruin, through sheer dumb luck, he had acquired the Fire Seal and gained the rights of ownership.

If not for these circumstances, he would still be struggling in the Samsara World, possibly dead by now. This ruin had witnessed countless ages, and innumerable geniuses had entered, only to perish under the cruel iron laws of the Samsara World. He doubted he had even a twenty percent chance of surviving under those conditions.

“I can’t afford to be this reckless next time,” Ye Chen mused inwardly. He looked up at Bailan. “Where is the Fire God Fruit we saw last time?”

Bailan smiled sweetly. “It’s in the Treasure Vault. I’ll take you there.” She led the way, and the others followed closely. They soon exited the armory and arrived before a magnificent, towering hall nearby.

“The Treasure Vault stores many miraculous fruits. To prevent decay, the space inside is completely sealed, and the gas is solidified,” Bailan explained with a gentle smile. “You might find the initial atmosphere a bit strange upon entering; just relax.”

Rumble~~~

The great hall slowly opened.

A wave of biting cold air rushed out, making every bone in Ye Chen’s body feel chilled, as if he had suddenly stepped into an ice grotto. Even with his physique, the sensation was intense. After a moment, the frigid air gradually dissipated.

Ye Chen turned to check on the others; seeing they were all unharmed, he relaxed slightly, then looked into the hall and paused, taken aback.

Inside, numerous bubbles floated in the air. Each bubble contained a single item: the Fire God Fruit Ye Chen had seen before, golden fruits shaped like apples, and small purple grasses, among other things.

“There are 1008 rare items stored here,” Bailan said with a smile. “The Fire God Fruit ranks among the top ten inside.”

Ye Chen and the others stepped in. The hall appeared to be only one level but was incredibly spacious. The gravity inside was slightly different from outside—not lighter, but heavier. A person with Level 10 physical conditioning would be instantly pinned to the floor upon entry, their bones potentially crushed.

As he entered, Ye Chen’s body sank slightly before instantly normalizing; this gravitational shift caused him little trouble.

“The Fire God Fruit.” Bailan beckoned, and a bubble enveloping a scarlet Fire God Fruit slowly floated over, landing gently in her jade-like hand without rupturing.

Bailan pierced the bubble with a delicate finger, the powerful force she exerted popping the enclosure. She then handed the fist-sized Fire God Fruit to Ye Chen, who naturally accepted it.

“This Fire God Fruit is not very old; it’s only thirty thousand years. A single drop of its juice would be enough to open all the extraordinary meridians and open the Grand Convergence and Governing Vessels for an ordinary person, thus realizing their potential and awakening their Qi power,” Bailan explained with a smile.

Ye Chen nodded slightly, gazing at the cool Fire God Fruit in his hand, a flicker of intense heat in his eyes. To advance from the Second to the Third Tier of Qi Master, he would ordinarily need to slaughter several thousand flood dragons, a near-impossible feat. Now, it seemed effortless.

If this fruit were crushed and distributed, it would be enough to allow tens of thousands of soldiers in the Brightness Base City to awaken their Qi prematurely, even without reaching Level 100 physical conditioning—much like when Ye Chen consumed the Spirit-Quenching Fruit.

However, the Fire God Fruit contained intense fire essence. Only individuals with a naturally fiery constitution could consume it; otherwise, the clash of attributes would rupture their meridians, leading to fatal explosion.

Ye Chen possessed the innate talent of Qi Devouring, meaning he could absorb any elemental substance. Furthermore, since obtaining the Burning Fire Source, the origin of the Six Paths of Fire, his body structure had undergone a mutation. The two major inner sanctums, the Heavenly Mansion and the Purple Palace, had unexpectedly evolved. The Devouring power that previously coiled in his Dantian Sea of Qi had migrated to the Heavenly Mansion position, while the Burning power now circled within the Purple Palace.

Two distinct elemental aptitudes were intertwined in these two major chambers, one on the left and one on the right.

Effectively, he possessed two innate talents.

However, Devouring remained Ye Chen’s true innate talent; Burning was merely a pseudo-talent. Relying solely on the Burning talent, he could refine the Fire God Fruit, allowing its energy and nutrients to integrate into his blood, bones, and cells, triggering new evolution.

“Are there any other treasures?” Ye Chen asked Bailan.

“Many,” Bailan replied with a slight smile, gesturing to the various items suspended in bubbles. “Some of these are naturally occurring miraculous plants, while others are precious foods refined using essences extracted from various plants; they all possess special effects.”

The Fire Civilization was famed throughout history for its culinary arts.

“This is Dragon Fragrance Grass, eight thousand years old. It enhances vision and hearing.”

“This is a Spirit-Quenching Fruit, two thousand years old. It strengthens the internal organs and physique, increasing combat power by about two thousand points.”