"It really is a Mu Ya crystal!"
Wei Wen moved swiftly, following the scent of rice wafting through the air. Before long, he caught sight of a faint glow—a pale, luminous crystal emitting that unmistakable aroma.
The white, translucent crystal floated gently as Wei Wen swept it into his hand with a thought, using his spiritual force. Its mere presence confirmed what he suspected: Babata had noticed him.
Until now, Mist Island had shown no signs of change. Wei Wen hadn't been sure whether Babata was asleep, distracted, or simply ignoring everything happening on the island. But the appearance of a Mu Ya crystal was a clear message—he was being watched.
Wei Wen didn't know exactly how wide his neural pathway activation was, but it certainly wasn't in the league of the global top-tier prodigies, whose figures reached 21% and 15%. Still, something about his spiritual force amplitude must have stood out. For someone with low neural activation to possess such a powerful force of mind—it would be enough to make anyone reevaluate their understanding of genius.
Wei Wen had no intention of competing for Hu Yanbo's inheritance, but Babata's stockpile of treasures? That was a different story. Things like Mu Ya crystals were just lying around, waiting to be found.
Since the first crystal had appeared because of him, chances were there would be more.
"For someone like me, showing this kind of abnormal potential... I wonder how many Mu Ya crystals Babata will throw at me?" Wei Wen grinned to himself.
Mu Ya crystals were no ordinary resources—they were advanced cultivation materials used by Planetary-level warriors. Their potency was absurd. Just one crystal could push a mid- or high-tier Wargod to break through into the first layer of the Planetary Realm within a month.
With enough crystals, breaking into the Star Traveler Realm wasn't out of the question either.
For Wei Wen, who was just a spiritual-type Planetary-level cultivator, but whose physical warrior body hadn't yet reached that same stage, the Mu Ya crystal was exactly what he needed. With one, he could likely push his physical strength to match his spiritual level.
And if he gave it to Luo Feng instead, the feedback effect from their spiritual link would be even stronger.
Needless to say, Wei Wen wasn't going to stop at one. He began wandering Mist Island more deliberately now, searching, exploring underground tunnels, all while dreaming of breakthrough after breakthrough.
A few Lord-level monsters, too blind to realize what they were up against, attacked him. But a single mental blade cut them down. Even high-tier Lords fell with one strike.
Fifteen thousand meters beneath Mist Island, buried deep in Earth's crust, an ancient spacecraft sat in silence. The Meteorite Star, forged from grade-F alloy, had endured the pressure and heat for tens of thousands of years without the slightest sign of damage.
Inside, a few alien corpses—remnants of long-dead Undying warriors—lay scattered.
But within the ship's Virtual Control Core, a figure stirred. A red-eyed demon with curled horns appeared, projected into the virtual space. Babata, the intelligent AI steward of Hu Yanbo, stood before a holographic display showing Wei Wen in real time—equipped with his Black God armor and top-tier SS combat gear.
"Target locked."
"Modifying suggestions. Initiating subconscious guidance."
A signal—undetectable by light, sound, technology, or even spiritual force—flashed from the Meteorite Star. It passed through rock, magma, and metal, traveling straight into Wei Wen's conscious sea.
It didn't control him. It couldn't. But it nudged his subconscious, a whisper beneath thought itself.
Still, if someone was aware enough, they could resist it.
"Maybe his neural scan was wrong," Babata muttered to himself. "But that growth rate... I haven't seen anything like it in fifty thousand years."
"On speed alone, he's already qualified to inherit the legacy."
"Wei Wen, right? Just come a little closer. There's more waiting for you."
"Fifty thousand years since my master's death... I swore to uphold your will, and I will. I'll find a true heir and revive the glory of Yun Mo Planet."
Wei Wen had no idea that Babata had begun manipulating his path.
What he did notice, though, was that Mu Ya crystals were appearing more frequently. It felt like the more he searched, the more he found.
"That glow up ahead… another one?"
He charged forward through the dim caverns beneath the island, toward the soft shimmer of another crystal.
Mu Ya crystals weren't only coveted by humans—beasts craved them even more. In the original timeline, just one of these crystals had allowed a mid-tier Lord-class aquatic beast to evolve into a King-class (Planetary-level) creature on the spot.
And when Wei Wen arrived, he saw exactly what he expected—a crowd of monsters encircling the white crystal.
Some had already tried to swallow it. The remains of those that failed—bodies ruptured from the overwhelming energy—lay in pieces. The survivors, cautious now, circled warily.
The moment they spotted Wei Wen flying in, they attacked in unison.
But they didn't last long. Wei Wen dispatched them effortlessly, the Mu Ya crystal practically floating into his hand.
"That makes thirty…" he muttered, pocketing it.
But he also realized something: he'd unknowingly gone deeper and deeper into the core of Mist Island.
In the original story, when Mu Ya crystals first appeared on Earth, the world's Planetary-level elites had descended in droves. Over 50 Planetary warriors and countless Wargods had battled over fewer than 20 crystals. Some even died for them.
Yet here was Wei Wen, casually gathering them like seashells.
As someone who had reincarnated with knowledge of the original plot, he had a good idea what was happening.
After some reflection, Wei Wen realized a strange impulse had taken root in his mind. A tug to keep moving in a specific direction. It wasn't overt control, but a suggestion—a buried compass pointing deeper into the labyrinth.
"So Babata's pulling tricks since he can't leave the ship…"
Wei Wen was mentally prepared. He wouldn't fall for it. But outwardly, he pretended to be clueless, continuing his crystal hunt in the exact direction Babata wanted.
Because the best hunters often look like prey.
"He doesn't even fully understand what Mu Ya crystals are, but he's obviously figured out they're valuable—and he's greedy," Babata mused with a smirk.
"But you're just a native Earthling. How could you possibly escape my control?"
Babata watched from the projection screen as Wei Wen—seemingly oblivious—grinned like a child in a toy store, discovering crystal after crystal.
And to make sure the bait remained enticing, Babata kept tossing a few more into his path.