The Crown Prince, a leopard cat, flickered in and out of sight as it neared the giant python’s tail. Annelise Locke and the python were locked in a standoff, neither daring to relax.

Lex Cross’s dark energy enveloped both him and Flora Bloom. They suddenly vanished into the shadows, reappearing a moment later at the giant python’s tail.

The giant python seemed to sense Flora Bloom’s intentions. It was about to sweep its massive tail to eliminate the four people who had appeared behind it when it suddenly found itself in an unfamiliar place.

The mountains and rivers were beautiful, brimming with Spiritual Energy. The river connected to the sea, and the entire place teemed with life. A mark from the space, both natural and yet overwhelmingly dominant, was unknowingly imprinted deep within its soul. With the giant python clearing the path, they crossed the next three lakes with ease. They didn’t even need Lex Cross’s dark energy for concealment; under the giant python’s intimidating presence, almost no creature dared approach them.

However, while crossing a swamp, a few strange bird calls suddenly echoed from the sky, followed by a flock of bizarre black birds that began to circle above them.

"It’s the giant python’s natural enemy!" Flora Bloom exclaimed after mentally communicating with the serpent, quickly recalling it into her space.

Having lost their target, the bizarre birds circling overhead showed no interest in the comparatively minuscule humans and listlessly flew away from the swamp.

Flora Bloom’s group successfully reached the hill. Strangely, they found it filled with swirling dust. The ox—the one with a crescent horn, a mark of intertwined lightning and fire on its forehead, and a body that radiated an auspicious glow—was dead.

Five went forward to examine the cause of death. He saw that its body and head had been pierced straight through by something. The wound was clean and smooth. The fatal blow was to its head.

Saul Sterling looked at the ox’s wound and recalled something. "It was that long-haired black chimpanzee, Three-Eyes! The residual energy is the same as when it attacked me with its superpower."

"So that long-haired chimpanzee, Three-Eyes, killed this ox? What kind of freakishly powerful species is that thing? It’s from the ape tribe in the forest, so why did it show up in a wetland park? Did it get lost?"

Saul Sterling and the others launched into a heated discussion about the long-haired chimpanzee, Three-Eyes, but all of them were intimidated by its formidable attack power. It wasn’t just any attack; its third eye could use a superpower to track down the true source of a target and strike, leaving them absolutely no place to hide.

It was obvious that the long-haired chimpanzee, Three-Eyes, couldn’t actually enter the cave, so it must have used its third eye’s ability to shoot and kill the ox from a distance.

Flora Bloom stepped forward, rolled the ox’s body over, and without a word, swung her axe at its head.

This ox was clearly an evolved creature; she wondered if there was a Crystal Core in its head. But with a loud CLANG, the axe struck the ox’s head, making a harsh metallic sound. The head was completely unscathed. Suddenly, the mark on its forehead flared with brilliant light, and a few seconds later, an irregular, two-toned bone fragment—half blue and half red—floated up.

"What is this?" Flora Bloom grabbed the bone fragment, turning it over and over, but she couldn’t see anything unusual about it. Aside from the even color distribution, the fragment’s outer edge was irregularly shaped and surprisingly sharp to the touch, as if it had been violently torn off something.

Lex Cross glanced at it and shook his head. "I don’t know. You should put it away for now."

Lex Cross squatted down, took out a dagger, and swiftly sliced open the ox’s lower jaw. "This ox was a dual lightning and fire element. It actually has two Crystal Cores." He handed the extracted cores to Flora Bloom, who recoiled in disgust.

A sheath of deep blue water enveloped the blue and red Crystal Cores, washing them clean before she tossed them into her space.

"This ox’s bones are too tough for ordinary sharp weapons to cut. Keep the carcass in your space for now. In the future, when your father’s superpower reaches a High-level, he can use these bones to forge weapons."

Flora Bloom listened to Lex Cross and asked, "How do you know that a High-level Gold Ability User can forge weapons from the bones of High-level evolved species?"

"Everything your planet is experiencing now has already happened on other planets," Saul Sterling said with a grin. "It’s all recorded in the cosmic historical archives. You’ll understand when you marry the boss and go to the Cross family’s Source Universe." His words made Flora Bloom blush uncontrollably.

"What are you talking about! Who’s going to marry your boss!" Flora Bloom retorted, storing the ox’s carcass in her space. ’This ox’s hide is tough and its bones are hard—its whole body is a treasure.’

Although she was embarrassed by the mention of marrying Lex Cross, it did nothing to diminish the intense curiosity Flora Bloom felt about that unfamiliar place, the Star Nation.

When Lex Cross heard Flora Bloom’s retort, he extended an arm and pulled her into his embrace. "If you’re not going to marry me, who are you going to marry?" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Flora Bloom frowned as she saw Cynthia Grant and Shauna Wallace covering their mouths and snickering on the sidelines. She quickly pushed Lex Cross away. "Hey, let go! We need to get back to the base!"

The light inside the cave was extremely dim; they could only faintly see some vibrant weeds and wildflowers growing in the crevices of the rock walls.

Suddenly, a softly pulsing red light appeared a short distance ahead. The group hurried over to see what it was. To their astonishment, the object glowing with a deep, dusky red light was a gigantic ruby.

"Wow, what a huge ruby! It’s beautiful!"

It’s said that women are naturally drawn to shiny things. Seeing such a massive ruby, Flora Bloom, Cynthia Grant, Shauna Wallace, and Annelise Locke all gathered around it, their eyes twinkling.

The four women, faced with a ruby larger than any of them, reached out to touch and tap it, bending over to peer inside, their faces alight with joy.

"Flora, grab it, grab it! We’ll take it back, put it in our room, and take turns sleeping with it. Ah, just thinking about it is pure bliss!" Cynthia Grant exclaimed, sprawling out on the ruby and pressing her cheek against its surface with a look of utter contentment.

But as Flora Bloom reached out and touched the massive gemstone, her eyes widened and she froze in place.

"This thing... it doesn’t seem to be just a gemstone," Flora Bloom murmured, moving closer and pressing both hands flat against it.

Pure energy surged like a tidal wave from within the gemstone, pouring through Flora Bloom’s palms and into her body. The energy was incredibly pure yet exceptionally gentle. It entered the vortex in her sea of consciousness and obediently flowed into the red Crystal Stone orbiting within.

After absorbing this energy, the red Crystal Stone grew slightly larger, and at that very moment, Flora Bloom’s Fire Element superpower broke through to Level 2.

"What kind of gemstone is this? I only absorbed a tiny bit and my Fire Element superpower already broke through a level?" Flora Bloom stared at the massive gemstone in astonishment, then turned to see the look of mild surprise on Lex Cross’s face.

"To think we’d find one of these on Earth. I can only say that your luck is incredible."

Flora Bloom looked at Cynthia Grant, Shauna Wallace, and Annelise Locke in confusion. "Don’t you guys feel anything?"

Cynthia Grant blinked. "Feel what? The feeling of striking it rich overnight? Hahaha! Flora, hurry up and stow this thing away!"

Flora Bloom looked at her hand, then pressed it against the gemstone again. The energy still flowed through her palm and into her body, entering her sea of consciousness to be absorbed by the red Crystal Stone.

"Flora, that’s an Energy Gemstone. It’s a special gemstone used by those with superpowers for cultivation. They typically only appear in the higher civilizations of the universe. I don’t know why there’s one here, but with it, your Fire Element superpower will absolutely skyrocket."