For Kent, evolving and upgrading other monsters was an easy task.
However, he wasn't a pushover, nor did he need to overly please the Mountain Spike Beast King. As long as the deal was fair and just, that was enough.
After about half an hour, Kent completed this extraordinary transaction. Thanks to the gloves, he successfully moved the Chaos Memory God Stone into his spatial ring. He then evolved three Mountain Spike Beasts to the lower gold grade, including White Earth, and helped ten others break through major bottlenecks and reach key levels.
"Great benefactor, we won't see you off," a group of Mountain Spike Beasts said in unison as they watched Kent leave.
Kent nodded and left their lair, realizing he had already delayed here for a while.
Once back on the surface, Kent sat down to rest for a while. Not only was it a break, but he also needed to organize the information given by the Mountain Spike Beast King and plan the fastest route.
"Let's go," he said as he set out toward a rocky mountain about a hundred miles to the northwest. Beneath this mountain grew a type of brown grass that oozed a brown juice. Drinking it made one feel refreshed and clear-headed.
The journey was somewhat dull, though novel, with not much to report.
Six days passed quickly.
Over these six days, Kent verified most of the information provided by the Mountain Spike Beast King. He encountered a Giant Tooth Shark and also saw Ye Qiugao from afar, though they didn't greet each other.
"Now, it's time to head to the Red Fire Ore." Kent had just finished a nap. Over the past three days, he hadn't slept much, only relying on the Dragon Herb juice to stay awake and sharp.
The juice from the Dragon Herb, which oozed from the brown grass, was incredibly effective at restoring energy. Kent had become fond of it after his first try and had gathered several bottles as backup.
Two hours later, Kent arrived at Sheep's Horn Mountain. The Mowling Secret Realm was a vast forest with many hills, but Sheep's Horn Mountain was a true peak, towering two thousand meters high. Its unique shape resembled a curving ram's horn, making it quite a spectacle.
Located at the northernmost edge of the forest, Sheep's Horn Mountain was Kent's last stop to verify all the information. The entrance to the secret realm's cloud cluster was to the west.
So, once Kent confirmed the Red Fire Ore veins at Sheep's Horn Mountain, he planned to follow the lakeshore eastward, circumnavigate the forest, and finally return to the cloud cluster.
Over the past few days, he had already checked and verified the other areas of the forest, finding no further points of interest.
"Master, that's Sheep's Horn Mountain," White Earth, a Mountain Spike Beast, said as he prepared to dig a tunnel that would lead Kent directly to the Red Fire Ore veins.
According to the Beast King, these Red Fire Ore veins were quite large, probably the largest in the entire Mowling Secret Realm, with abundant reserves.
A fist-sized Red Fire Ore could burn brightly throughout the night, making it highly valuable. It was considered the most precious resource in the Mowling Secret Realm.
Kent was greatly intrigued. On Earthstar, resources were scarce, and fire-making in the wild often required expensive animal fats.
In the cities, electricity for daily use, like boiling water or cooking, was highly regulated. Many people survived on dry rations, and bathing once every two weeks was considered a luxury.
This scarcity of fats and the difficulty of refining them made it a rare commodity. If the Red Fire Ore veins here could be mined, it would at least relieve some urgent needs.
Kent had been on Earthstar for quite some time now. He had integrated into the world, made a name for himself, and even found a beloved partner. He wasn't just thinking about himself anymore.
If he could help Earthstar's people, he would do so without hesitation.
Just as he was preparing to enter the cave, a sudden red light flashed at the corner of his eye. He quickly looked up and witnessed a strange sight.
"What… just happened?"
A massive red glow suddenly erupted from Sheep's Horn Mountain, enveloping the entire peak like a protective shield. The glow vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared, but the disturbance it caused was too significant to be ignored. Kent raised an eyebrow. It seemed something unusual was happening at Sheep's Horn Mountain, or more specifically, beneath it, in the Red Fire Ore veins.
At that moment, a fiery red figure soared into the air, floating midair.
Kent looked up and saw a familiar fire-type creature, a Kylin, with a cold-faced youth on its back—Long Buyu.
"What is he doing here?" Kent wondered, growing more puzzled. Long Buyu had just flown out of Sheep's Horn Mountain. Kent quickly considered a few possibilities—was Long Buyu here by accident, or had he deliberately come for Sheep's Horn Mountain?
But Kent's surprise didn't end there. From the distance, Huang Jintian appeared, as though he had been near as well. Less than a minute after the red light flashed, Huang Jintian appeared on the scene. This coincidence was too strange.
The Mowling Secret Realm was so vast, yet three out of the four explorers in the secret realm—Kent, Long Buyu, and Huang Jintian—happened to be at the same location. Only Ye Qiugao had yet to appear.
Kent saw Huang Jintian heading straight toward him, clearly having noticed him. Kent decided to wait and ask why he was here.
Huang Jintian's speed was impressive. He approached Kent in an instant, moving as though the wind itself carried him.
"Kent?" he asked, appearing surprised.
Kent immediately understood that Huang Jintian was just as confused as he was about Kent's presence here, so he asked, "Huang, what brings you here?"
Huang Jintian hesitated for a moment before answering, "I saw a red light flash here just now. Did you notice it?"
Kent was even more puzzled now. Was Huang Jintian pretending to be clueless, or was he trying to deceive him?
The red light had been visible to anyone within a hundred miles, so how could Huang Jintian have missed it?
Kent also considered whether Huang Jintian had followed him here, but that didn't make sense either.
"Yes, I saw the red light flash," Kent replied. "But, Huang, what are you doing here?"
Huang Jintian's expression darkened immediately. He stared coldly at Kent. "Does this have anything to do with you? Do I owe you an explanation?"
Kent's patience snapped. The man was acting so arrogantly, completely disregarding him. Kent felt like teaching him a lesson.
Kent didn't reply, turning and heading toward Sheep's Horn Mountain to see what was going on.
Seeing that Kent ignored him, Huang Jintian narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing in them. He too headed toward Sheep's Horn Mountain, but chose to approach from a different direction.
Suddenly, Sheep's Horn Mountain rumbled, and Kent felt the ground shake violently, as if some primordial beast was hammering the earth, causing a powerful shockwave.
"What's going on here?" Kent looked up at Long Buyu in the sky, only to see a look of deep unease on his face.
Kent immediately understood—there was something terrifying beneath Sheep's Horn Mountain, and Long Buyu had evidently provoked it.