Nighttime in the wild was far more dangerous than the daytime—
especially in the depths of the Lingyin Mountain Range, where human presence was virtually nonexistent.
Once night fell, countless land-king–class beasts roamed freely.
It was practically a forbidden zone for humans.
Although Zhao Xuan was confident in his strength,
he wasn't reckless enough to wander the mountains in the middle of the night just to suffer.
After dinner, he returned to his hotel and immediately entered the desert relic.
He had nothing else to do anyway.
Sleeping now would be too early.
And besides—
he needed money.
Perfect time to grind desert golems for profit.
With his current strength, killing four-star desert golems was like chopping vegetables.
Effortless.
He didn't even need to use his partial dragon-form—
in normal human form, without even activating his Azure Dragon Fruit,
he could crush them easily.
One… then another… and another…
In just two to three hours, Zhao Xuan smashed apart over thirty to forty four-star golems.
"Phew…"
Looking at the endless desert before him, Zhao Xuan couldn't help feeling curious:
"Just how big is this relic? Why does it feel like there's no end?"
He shook his head.
Why bother thinking so much?
Bigger was better.
It simply meant unlimited golems to kill.
After chewing a large bite of spirit cactus and drinking a bag of low-grade energy fluid,
he continued deeper into the desert.
He pressed forward—
farther and farther—
Until…
Zhao Xuan suddenly stopped before a massive dune.
"Treasure! There must be treasure!"
His eyes lit up as he stared at the enormous dune—
far larger than any dune he'd seen in the relic so far.
Like a small mountain.
Normally, a dune only had one desert golem guarding it.
But this giant dune…
Even from a distance, he could see five or six golems patrolling atop it.
And judging from their size,
all of them were four-star.
A dune guarded by at least six four-star golems—
What did that mean?
"Could the spirit cactus on that dune be… a four-star variant!?"
Zhao Xuan felt his heartbeat quicken.
A three-star spirit cactus already sold for around ten million,
because of its ability to promote Armament Haki awakening and growth.
If that cactus was truly four-star…
"It could easily be worth tens of millions."
Not that selling mattered.
Even if it were worth a hundred million,
he wouldn't sell it.
He didn't even have enough for himself.
After breaking through to fourth rank and raising his Armament Haki proficiency,
three-star cactus was becoming less effective.
In fact—
he suspected that once his Armament Haki reached the Master level,
three-star cactus might stop working entirely.
And that would be a disaster.
One reason his Armament Haki had grown so quickly was precisely because
he ate spirit cactus like candy.
"Please let that cactus be four-star!"
Taking a deep breath, Zhao Xuan activated Soru,
shooting toward the massive dune.
The moment he reached the foot of the dune—
"ROOOAR!!"
Golem roars erupted.
Several four-star golems thundered down toward him.
Unfazed, Zhao Xuan dashed forward,
slipping into partial dragon form.
One punch—
and the first golem's head exploded.
Crystal core acquired—
next.
Another punch—
half a stone face shattered, then another blow to finish it.
Just as he grabbed the core—
"WHOOSH!"
A gust hit his back.
Without looking, Zhao Xuan threw a counterpunch.
Stone shattered.
An entire stone arm broke apart.
He stepped forward, leapt—
and smashed its head in.
Three down.
He continued climbing.
More appeared—
two more crushed.
Just as he prepared to continue—
"RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!"
The ground quaked violently.
Zhao Xuan looked up—
And his grin widened.
Seven four-star golems were charging down the slope in a line.
Counting the five he already killed—
This dune housed twelve four-star golems.
What did that mean?!
There was definitely treasure on top.
Zhao Xuan charged upward, excited.
The seven golems worked together,
but their massive size made them too slow.
And their famed defense meant nothing before Zhao Xuan's monstrous strength.
He slaughtered them all.
Then…
no more golems.
Smooth climbing afterward.
Soon—
he reached the summit.
There, a single cactus grew.
Surprisingly small—
even smaller than some three-star cacti he'd seen.
But the spiritual energy radiating from it…
was outrageously dense.
"Good stuff. This must be extremely good stuff."
He approached—
and then noticed something.
"Wait… wait… wait!"
He rubbed his eyes.
Looked again.
"The cactus… has a flower!?"
Cactuses could bloom?
Apparently—yes.
He took a step closer.
An intoxicating fragrance washed over him,
causing warmth to spread through his body.
That warmth gathered…
and began guiding his Armament Haki into motion.
"This feeling…!!"
His eyes widened.
"Exactly like the first time I ever ate a spirit cactus!"
Which meant—
Just smelling the flower
was equal to eating half a three-star cactus.
If he ate the flower itself…?!
Zhao Xuan trembled with excitement.
He carefully plucked the blossom—
Instantly, the entire cactus shriveled into a withered husk.
He checked the flower—
still intact.
Good.
Atop a two- to three-hundred-meter dune, he surveyed the vast desert.
Still no end in sight.
No other dunes of comparable size, either.
And it was nearly midnight.
He decided to return.
He rushed back, reaching his makeshift base after half an hour.
He dumped the bag of four-star crystal cores aside
and immediately took out the cactus flower.
He inhaled deeply—
Warmth surged again.
Armament Haki began flowing aggressively.
The scent lasted around a minute.
Then Zhao Xuan opened his eyes wide:
"This is stronger than eating half a spirit cactus! No mistake—this is definitely a four-star spiritual herb!"
"If the scent alone is this potent… what if I eat the petals!?"
Temptation surged.
But he forced himself to calm down.
What if only the fragrance works?
After steadying his breath, he recalled something.
In the Dreamscape, Fatty Fu mentioned a massive archive in Bureau 794's dream world—
recording nearly every herb known to the world.
Zhao Xuan immediately exited the relic
and entered the Dreamscape through his medal.
At the archive, he searched using keywords:
"desert," "cactus," "flower."
He soon found it.
[Cactus Blossom] – Five-Star Spiritual Herb
—Upon being plucked, emits a fragrance for three months.
—Smelling the scent promotes Armament Haki awakening and growth.
—Consuming the petals provides a high chance to trigger Armament Haki awakening.
—If Armament Haki is already awakened, consuming petals rapidly accelerates growth.
(Effect only applies to Armament Haki below Master level.)
"WHAT THE—!!!!!!!"
Zhao Xuan's eyes nearly popped out.
"A FIVE-STAR herb! Even the cheapest five-star herbs cost tens of millions! Something that boosts Armament Haki this much… the price would be insane!!"
After calming down—
His gaze locked on one sentence:
"Consuming petals rapidly accelerates Armament Haki growth."
His eyes lit up.
He exited the Dreamscape,
returned to the relic,
plucked a single petal—
And swallowed it.
Instantly—
A massive surge of warmth exploded inside him.
His Armament Haki began evolving rapidly.
--------------------------------------------------
Read 30 Chapters ahead: [email protected] / KaiOynx