At the Ariely Mine.
The middle-aged man, heir to the Incan legacy marked with "Li Fan," nervously asked, "You... what do you want with me?"
Lu Jun's expression darkened. He struck first, bellowing, "Shelton, you recklessly entered the Nazca geoglyphs and stole the sacred artifact. Your actions plunged the entire nation into chaos—your crime is unforgivable."
As the truth came to light, Shelton panicked and shouted, "I didn't! It wasn't me!"
The Chinese mages and Peruvian officials exchanged glances—everyone saw how suspicious his reaction was.
Especially the locals, who already revered the Nazca lines. Furious upon learning that Shelton disturbed a sacred site, they were outraged.
Lu Jun sneered: "Hand over the stolen item—I'll restore it myself. You stir up the Nazca geoglyphs, yet we national team take the blame."
Shelton still denied everything. But under the workers' assistance, a translucent cerulean gemstone was found within the cave seams he frequented—fist-sized, smooth, with a slitted pupil pattern, deep and lively.
Once in Lu Jun's hands, he glanced at the dazed Shelton, whose collarbone bore a glowing Li Fan flower mark—pure and tranquil.
The Li Fan Flower was a rare South American plant with mysterious power—once used as a sedative before mind-magic was invented. Also revered in ancient Incan culture as the Flower of Time and Space. In the original story, the time fluid Mo Fan acquired was likely made from this material.
Unfortunately, the Li Fan Flower had long since gone extinct. Only deep within the Great Gobi ruins did it still exist—an opportunity belonging to Jiang Shaoxu, as a mind-mage capable of extracting its essence.
This was exactly why Lu Jun urgently wanted to explore the ruins—it perfectly fit his interests.
The Li Fan Flower linked to Psychic Magic, the Time Fluid reversed time—tied to Spatial Magic, and then the Nazca Geoglyph's association with Summoning! Summoning countless mysterious birds to attack a city—this terrifying ability, like Sun Wukong pulling one hair to create innumerable clones, was clearly a combination of Psychic and Summoning magic in the original story.
This shows the ancient Incan Empire's studies of Psychic, Summoning, and Space were truly elite.
Lu Jun had mainlined Metal, Water, and Curse—strong and abnormal. He had largely broken free of the magic framework. But his "Psychic", "Space", and "Summoning" systems remained "unremarkable".
This perfect opportunity covered those lagging three systems—perhaps offering hope for sublimation!
So when he left Sydney to find the Water Holy Spirit, he hesitated no longer.
Fortunately, now that he'd arrived and had the Nazca gemstone in hand, he felt elated. He faintly sensed vast power within it—hard to tap into, but maybe there'd be some reaction when brought into the ruins?
Before departing, he casually told Shelton: "So you truly are the Incan heir…"
Upon hearing this, Shelton's face turned scarlet with shame. Instead of preserving his ancestors' legacy, he stole a sacred artifact merely to sell it for debauchery.
Lu Jun ignored him. If someone wished to revive their people, taking the Nazca gem for research would be defensible. But selling it cheaply for personal pleasure and dragging the nation into shame? That was low-end behavior.
What could he say? "Old swallows from aristocratic halls now nest in common homes."
When Lu Jun returned to Hami City, the national team had already gathered. Nan Jue had prepared the Element Suppressor.
Pressed for time—and wanting to return the Nazca gemstone soon—he didn't hesitate and ordered entry into the Great Gobi Valley.
Crack, crack.
The valley was treacherous—sheer cliffs everywhere, deep fissures in the rocks. One misstep could mean death.
This was precisely why the Element Suppressor was needed—to subdue the Moonstone Earth Demons—earth-element creatures guarding the valley, forcing them into slumber.
Lu Jun surveyed the region thick with earth-element energy, suspecting it might conceal a Earth Spirit.
After all, it was here that Mo Fan casually found an Earth Elemental Essence Crystal (i.e., the raw material used to craft a Soul Seed), and every Moonstone Demon possessed the strength of a minor Warrior.
To add, it was also in this very Gobi Canyon that Lu Yilin had deliberately destroyed the Element Suppressor, throwing the tailless Mo Fan into a desperate situation.
But Lu Jun had already slaughtered that fool—sending the entire family to the afterlife neatly—so he didn't experience such cruelty firsthand.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
Nan Jue drove one Element Suppressor Geoprobe after another into the ground along the path. The team cautiously advanced, and along the way, everything went smoothly. Even when passing by hulking Moonstone Demons, all of them remained sound asleep.
"Impressive," Dongfang Lie gave a thumbs-up and said, "As expected of military personnel—superb technique."
The valiant female officer gave a faint smile and replied, "The difference between humans and monsters lies in tool usage. Just relying on magic alone, it's hard to match magical beasts of the same tier. But with the aid of magical tools and devices, things change drastically."
Ding~, the mermaid girl exclaimed in admiration. She was curious about all things human and disliked staying in Lu Jun's soul-bonded dimension—just like a little "Yanji Baby."
Lu Jun and his group passed through the canyon, each harvesting small treasures from cracks in the rocks.
Among them, Mo Fan had the hottest luck—he picked up an Earth Elemental Crystal!
Such gains, with virtually no danger, made the group even more excited for the coming exploration.
As they went deeper, the terrain grew flatter, and ruins—crumbling walls and fragmented remnants—began to appear. At the end of the path, a shocking scene came into view.
A gigantic, black-gray tornado burst from the ground like a soaring black dragon, piercing the clouds—its overwhelming presence between heaven and earth left everyone gasping!
The tornado's form resembled a dragon's body. Even from afar, they could clearly see the powerful, muscular funnel, and its top—where it touched the sky—spread wide like a gaping mouth, inducing suffocation.
More terrifying still, the entire black windstorm was threaded with purple-gold lightning. The electric chains were as thick as pythons, flashing at high frequency—impossible to follow with the naked eye!
Such a breathtaking spectacle stood tall in this barren part of western Peru. If they hadn't passed through the Gobi Canyon, no one would have known this wonder even existed.
The Storm Sealing Zone!
Lu Jun's destination—hidden within the eye of this storm—was a spatial-temporal town created by a supreme spatial mage.
Beside him, Mo Fan grew excited and exclaimed, "Damn! Such intense wind and lightning elements! There's definitely a Soul Seed forming inside!"
Guan Yu scoffed and said, "Yeah, but you'll die before you get it."
They had been walking for quite a while. Dusk had fallen, so they decided to camp and rest for the night, planning to enter the eye of the storm the next day.
Mo Fan dove into a tent and casually told Lu Jun and Zhao Manyan that he planned to break through to high-tier Summoning, and asked them to help protect him.
Hearing this, Zhao Manyan was dumbfounded—Fourth Element already?! So fast?!
Lu Jun was equally surprised. That was one element faster than in the original storyline. But it made sense—Mo Fan had avoided a demonization downgrade, and by the Ancient Capital arc, he was already full-circle in four elements. The timing was just right.
Coincidentally, Lu Jun also planned to enter seclusion to break through—it was the last of his six magic systems yet to reach high-tier: Summoning. As an excuse, he said his Water element was about to rise a minor threshold.
"You guys… all of you are advancing cultivation."
Zhao Manyan was crushed—he had just been thoroughly "Versailles-ed."
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
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