TL: Etude

Ye Tian employed the Forbidden Talent Concealment, effortlessly bypassing the patrols of the Forbidden Insect Race as he approached their nest.

Two lord-level forbidden insects guarded the Forbidden Insect Race nest as always.

Ye Tian did not approach them directly. Instead, he navigated toward the nest from another direction to minimize the chance of being detected by the lord-level forbidden insects.

The passage grew closer and closer.

“I’m in!” Ye Tian let out a sigh of relief. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

At this moment, he had reached one of the tunnels leading into the Forbidden Insect Race nest and slowly flew deeper into its interior.

Since he was under the effect of the Concealment talent, none of the forbidden insects noticed his presence.

Before long, Ye Tian successfully infiltrated the depths of the nest.

This time, he avoided the area near the Forbidden Insect Tree. There was no need to go back; after all, he had already been there previously. Even if he visited again, it would only confirm whether a new lord-level Forbidden Insect had been born, which didn’t mean anything.

Instead, he decided to explore other areas within the Forbidden Insect Race nest.

The internal space of the nest was vast. During his first visit, Ye Tian had rushed straight to the core region and had not investigated other areas. Now, as he ventured further, he discovered several intriguing places.

It didn’t take long before Ye Tian stumbled upon a mine.

This vein appeared to be connected to a vortex, with numerous materials emanating from the vortex and merging into the vein itself.

Ye Tian landed atop the mine and carefully examined its material composition.

“This is…”

A realization formed in his mind.

The vein consisted of black-gold material, incomparably sturdy. Even he struggled to damage it, let alone refine it. The material had an intense shock resistance and perfectly integrated the Force of Forbidden Rules.

These properties matched a rare and unique material he had read about—Dark Dull Gold! Dark Dull Gold was an exceptional material ideal for crafting Forbidden Weapons, even more suitable than other Forbidden Wondrous Objects for creating such artifacts.

Typical Forbidden Wondrous Objects or Forbidden Supreme Treasures, while immensely powerful, were prone to breaking under great strain. For example, the Forbidden Wondrous Object wielded by Imperial Son Fengyang had been shattered by him in the past.

However, Forbidden Wondrous Objects crafted with Dark Dull Gold possessed unbreakable properties. Unless faced with an overwhelming force from a Half-Step Domain Ancestor or Domain Ancestor, the weapon would remain intact. Even in such rare instances, the gap in strength would likely result in the wielder’s death before the weapon could be targeted.

In short, Dark Dull Gold was immensely valuable. On the resource exchange list of Blackwind Mountain, Dark Dull Gold was extremely scarce. One could only exchange for a few fragments, far from sufficient to forge an entire Forbidden Weapon. At most, it could be added sparingly to enhance one.

But here lay an entire vein of Dark Dull Gold! Ye Tian was ecstatic, though he forced himself to calm down.

“I can’t be reckless. This vein is enormous, likely formed by residual material from various Forbidden Treasures refined within the Forbidden Insect Race nest. It coalesced here into Dark Dull Gold.”

“If I expose myself, I’m dead for sure. I won’t be able to take this Dark Dull Gold vein with me either!” Ye Tian murmured to himself.

He knew he had to proceed with extreme caution, ensuring that extracting the Dark Dull Gold vein caused no disturbances. Otherwise, any commotion inside the nest would immediately alert the forbidden insects.

“Let’s see if I can move this Dark Dull Gold vein!” Ye Tian thought to himself.

When he enveloped the vein with his power, attempting to absorb it into his internal world, he unexpectedly caused the vortex to tremble, which in turn led to a slight vibration throughout the Forbidden Insect Race nest.

Whoosh! Ye Tian swiftly retreated, not daring to linger.

Shortly after, a commander-level Forbidden Insect arrived at the scene. It glanced at the pile of material but paid it no attention before leaving.

To the creature, its kind would not touch such “waste.” It assumed the tremor was caused by some minor issue within the nest.

Lacking intelligence, it never considered the possibility that an outsider had tampered with the pile.

“That was close! I almost got discovered!” Ye Tian murmured to himself.

He also realized that with his current strength, it was impossible to take away the Dark Dull Gold vein. He would have to come up with another method in the future.

He then ventured deeper into other parts of the Forbidden Insect Race nest.

“Is that a Forbidden Continent Fragment?”

While flying, Ye Tian spotted a massive black landmass, crookedly floating in the void. It was severely damaged. If not for the faint traces of ancient structures on its surface, he might not have recognized it as a Forbidden Continent Fragment.

Based on Ye Tian’s speculation, this fragment was likely a Domain Realm Fragment that had fallen into the Dark Forbidden Domain, transforming into a Forbidden Continent. It was later dragged into the Forbidden Insect Race nest.

Ye Tian stepped onto the Forbidden Continent Fragment and explored. After a thorough search, he discovered several sect relics. However, the inheritances left behind were of low value and of no use to him.

After some time, Ye Tian suddenly sensed an extraordinarily strong Force of Forbidden Rules.

Flying toward the source, he came upon a stele.

“This is a natural Forbidden Stele from the Dark Forbidden Domain!”

Ye Tian stared at the human-sized Forbidden Stele and gasped in astonishment.

This was entirely different from the Forbidden Stele in Blackwind Mountain. Strictly speaking, the Blackwind Mountain Forbidden Stele was a fabricated version. It had been inscribed with the insights of various Half-Step Domain Ancestors on the Forbidden Dao.

However, insights gained through personal understanding were inherently incomplete and could not compare to the naturally existing Forbidden Dao within the Dark Forbidden Domain.

For instance, the Forbidden Stele Fragment that Ouyang Jiu’er had once given Ye Tian was a genuine piece of a natural Forbidden Stele. Even though it was only a fragment, its value was immeasurable.

The Forbidden Stele before him was even more precious—it was a complete Forbidden Stele. It contained a comprehensive understanding of the Forbidden Dao, and the strength of its Forbidden Dao was unparalleled. Even to a Half-Step Domain Ancestor, it would be a Supreme Treasure worth fighting over.

What excited Ye Tian even more was that this Forbidden Stele had been discarded here by the forbidden insects, surrounded by a heap of waste materials.

Clearly, the Forbidden Insect Race had been raiding resources throughout the Dark Forbidden Domain and had brought back this Forbidden Stele. However, they found it useless for nurturing forbidden insects, as it contained no energy, and had tossed it aside as scrap.

The forbidden insects, incapable of cultivation or comprehending the Forbidden Dao, had no understanding of the stele’s value.

“It’s not connected to the Forbidden Insect Race nest. I can take it away!”

Ye Tian stepped forward, waved his hand, and stored the Forbidden Stele into his internal world.