Headache. There's a lot of world-building content today, my forehead is hot.

The fourth update is postponed until noon, and as self-punishment, I'll add an extra chapter. …… Bailan introduced each item to Ye Chen and the others.

Some treasures, like the Spirit Quenching Fruit and Green Wood Leaf, originated after the apocalypse but can still be found in the modern era, whereas items such as the Fire God Fruit and Dragon Incense Grass are already extinct. “Heavenly Fragrance Lotus: There are a total of 12 seeds, each 12,000 years old.

Each seed can boost combat power by 500.” “Blood Essence Pill: Formulated using Red Spot Lotus Root, Golden Dragon Date, and numerous other materials. Ingesting it activates blood circulation and replenishes vital energy.” Bailan pointed to a pitch-black pill.

“This is called the Miasma Pill. After taking it, the entire body will emit an extremely foul odor for three hours.” Yue Heng was startled.

“Foul odor?” Bailan smiled faintly. “While this doesn't enhance one's own strength, it has a special use.

In hazardous environments, consuming this can mask one's vital aura to prevent monsters from detecting it.” Yue Heng suddenly understood. After the introductions were complete, Ye Chen selected some high-grade materials and gave them to Bailong and the others—all intended to enhance physique or increase vital energy.

When one's body reaches a certain level, the effect of low-grade materials is significantly diminished. Ye Chen found a secluded, open spot and sat cross-legged.

He gripped the Fire God Fruit in his right hand, and the Burning Vitality within him surged out, transforming into a fiery lotus that enveloped the fruit. Burning.

The scorching Burning Vitality coiled around the Fire God Fruit like fiery serpents, rapidly absorbing the energy within. The energy was drawn in through his palm, and his pores opened wide, expelling jets of hot air.

The flame energy, dense with power, coursed through his meridians. His vital energy, like water in a lake, slowly grew, and the energy that had reached the late Second Tier became fuller and richer under this pure influx.

In just a moment— Boom. Ye Chen’s mind buzzed.

His skin trembled, and his pores writhed. The blood vessels and bones within him were being compressed and tempered.

His cells continuously ruptured and then regenerated, rupturing again, like a snake shedding its skin. Dead cells were expelled, coalescing into a dark, thick substance that flowed out through his pores, coating his entire body.

As his vital energy broke through to the Third Tier, his physique also improved significantly. His bones transformed from bone-white to crystalline and translucent.

His muscle fibers appeared thicker and denser, and his meridians, like jade, interlaced complexly throughout his body. Once he reached Level 5000, his body would undergo a final transformation, reaching a state known as "Bone-Ice Muscle." Time flowed by...

One day later. Ye Chen opened his eyes.

The Fire God Fruit in his palm had been completely refined; not even the rind remained. Such a treasure held immense energy even in its husk.

“Vitality Master breakthrough to mid-Third Tier. Just a bit more to reach the late stage.

The destructive power of the vital energy alone has reached 1.6 million G,” Ye Chen clenched his fist, his eyes gleaming. “Physique broke through to Level 1300, possessing 650,000 G of strength.” He slowly stood up, activated the Chain of Water God with a movement of his vital energy, and a curtain of water materialized above his head, pouring down and soaking his entire body.

As his skin flexed, the black impurities clinging to his pores were squeezed out and washed away, flowing down to his feet and leaving a dark pool on the ground. Ye Chen circulated his internal Burning Vitality, instantly evaporating all the water on his body.

After cleansing himself, Ye Chen turned and saw Bailong and the others also refining their respective gains. Not long after, Yue Heng was the first to open his eyes, his face alight with pleasant surprise.

“I consumed the Azure Spirit Pill and my physique increased by 50 levels!” Yue Heng was clearly thrilled. Ye Chen nodded slightly.

The Azure Spirit Pill was extremely precious, a rare elixir formulated from hundreds of ingredients; such an effect was not surprising. Soon, Bailong and the others woke up one after another.

“My physique reached Level 500!” Bailong exclaimed, having taken two pills that increased his physique by a total of 80 levels. “Mine is 550!” Zhuge Fan chuckled.

Previously, he was the weakest among them, but since the last siege battle, the sheer volume of monster corpses matching his elemental attributes allowed his strength to surpass Bailong and Yue Heng since then. “Level 520.” Mo Feng stated calmly.

“I’m 600!” Ye Zhu chirped playfully. Now, these once weaklings, the fledglings sheltered beneath Ye Chen’s wings, had grown their feathers and become formidable experts capable of standing on their own.

Anywhere, they could be considered the top powerhouses of any base city; even within the base cities of Huaxia, few could withstand their fierce might. However, against land monsters, this level of strength was still considered mid-to-low tier, and among the vast ocean monsters, they wouldn't even rank in the mid-to-lower ranks.

Ye Chen glanced at the Treasury of Rarities, his eyes flashing. He turned his head to Bailan and asked, “What is the number one item ranked in here?” Bailan smiled sweetly.

“That is a Dragon Pill, formulated by combining many materials. The energy it contains is too pure; an ordinary physique consuming it would easily explode and die.” “Dragon Pill?” Ye Chen was momentarily stunned, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

He looked at Bailan and asked, “How high must one’s physique be to consume it?” Bailan paused thoughtfully. “At least Gold Grade, Third Tier physique.” “Level...?” Ye Chen frowned slightly.

After pondering for a moment, he nodded. “Reserve it for me for now.

I’ll come back for it later.” “Mm,” Bailan nodded gently. Afterward, the group left the Treasury.

Ye Chen looked at Bailan and said, “The daily maintenance of this city requires enormous energy. If I’m not mistaken, there should be an Energy Divine Tree at the city center, correct?” Bailan started, unable to help but look at him again, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“How did you know? This is the core secret of Bolin City; no more than five people know about it.” Ye Chen calmly replied, “I learned about it from other ruins.” Bailan glanced at Bailong and the others beside them, hesitating slightly.

But seeing that Ye Chen made no objection, she finally conceded. “That’s right.

There is an Energy Divine Tree in the city. Venerable Bai Ya seized it from the Wood Element World.

It is not ancient, only 1.2 million years old.” “1.2 million years?” Bailong and the others gasped. A tree living for 1.2 million years?

Considering that modern civilization had only developed for about ten thousand years, how many civilizations had risen and fallen in the span of 1.2 million years? A sharp light flickered in Ye Chen’s eyes, and he said calmly, “Lead the way.” Bailan sighed softly.

“Alright. Since you are the Master of the Ruins now, you have the right to know and use all of this.” With that, she took the lead and walked along the light passage.

The others followed. Yue Heng asked Ye Chen suspiciously, “What is an Energy Divine Tree?” Ye Chen stated plainly, “It is a rather peculiar plant, a natural energy absorption device.” His main purpose for coming to this ruin was this Energy Divine Tree.

It was a miraculous plant whose trunk and branches could absorb ambient light, fire matter elements, dark matter elements, and various other mysterious energies from the air, integrating them into the trunk, purifying them into the purest form of energy, which then condensed into energy fruits on the leaves. The energy collected by the Atlantean civilization was compressed into energy crystals via a light energy converter—an artificially refined energy crystal.

The Energy Divine Tree, however, performed natural refinement. “The equipment in this ruin is running, which indicates abundant energy.

That Energy Divine Tree can sustain the normal operation of the entire city. The surplus energy can be harvested and given to Alvey to forge weapons,” Ye Chen’s eyes glittered.

After the siege battle, the base city had stockpiled many monster corpses but had not used them to forge weapons and armor, primarily due to a lack of energy crystals. Now, as long as they obtained the Energy Divine Tree in this ruin, they could smelt all those monster corpses into armaments.

Flooding the market with them would undoubtedly trigger a massive craze. Moreover, due to the butterfly effect, the mass sale of armaments would increase the number of people possessing them, accelerating the overall strength improvement of humanity—this would implicitly help humanity develop faster.

Soon, the group arrived at the center of Bolin City. Bailan led the way into a magnificent hall.

She pressed something in an unseen location, and with a click, a towering metal statue in the hall slowly turned, revealing a passage. “Let’s go.” Bailan stepped forward.

The group descended the steps along the passage. Before long, they reached the end of the stairs, where they were met by a dim passage blocked by a metal door.

They walked over. Bailan tapped her finger, and the metal door slid open to the sides.

About 100 meters further on, another set of metal barriers presented multiple checkpoints. After consecutively opening nine metal doors, Bailan stopped the group before the final one.

She turned to Ye Chen and said, “I do not have the authority to open this defense. It can only be opened with the direct permission of the Ruin Master.

Display the Burning Fire Source you obtained during your inheritance, and the defense will activate automatically, but the others will not have permission to enter.” The last sentence was clearly directed at Mo Feng and the others. Ye Chen did not insist.

He told his sister, “Wait for me here.” Saying that, he circulated the Burning Vitality within his body, and a thin slit slowly cracked open on his forehead. An eye slowly opened—this eye was blood-red, like a blaze of fire.

Click. The defense slowly opened, leaving behind a wall of black mist that obscured the line of sight, making it impossible to see inside.

“Don’t let your guard down; be careful,” Ye Zhu cautioned worriedly. Ye Chen nodded slightly, glanced at Bailong and the others, and then turned to walk into the black mist.

As soon as he entered, he felt as if he were passing through a ripple of water, and intense light shone from ahead. Ye Chen looked up and instantly held his breath.

Before him was a deeply recessed valley, vast in area, with a diameter of about 1,000 zhang. In the center of the valley stood a towering tree, about a thousand zhang tall and fifty to sixty zhang thick—like a mountain peak.

Its dense canopy was mushroom-shaped, shimmering with flowing cyan light all over, and its leaves were as crystal clear as jade, exuding green radiance.