It was almost certainly not feasible.

As a Mecha ranking just below the Super God Level, it was already considered one of the absolute top-tier strategic weapons on this planet. Its status was somewhat equivalent to the nuclear weapons of the Old Era.

The Distant Star Federation, Sum Country, and Havel were the only three hegemon-class nations on this planet, largely because these three possessed the greatest number of God Level battle Mechas.

Lu Yuan had specifically researched Mecha levels when Xiao Rui mentioned the Distant Star Federation's three Super God Level Mechas.

Before the SSS-rank, the classification was similar to that of powerful human experts. But after SSS-rank, they were categorized as "Earth Level, Sky-level, God Level, and Super God Level." This was mainly because the combat capability of Mechas above SSS-rank varied greatly and couldn't be measured by individual combat strength alone. Furthermore, Mechas of the same level could display vastly different combat power depending on the pilot. Some special types of Mechas couldn't even be controlled by a single pilot.

Although Lu Yuan wasn't sure exactly how strong a God Level Mecha was, he could glimpse the terrifying nature of this war machine from Lan Chen's description.

And such a terrifying weapon of war... more than one person on this planet could contend with it using their individual strength. Among the most outstanding individuals, Yu Wentong could only be restrained if a Super God Level Mecha—a rank above God Level—was deployed.

Just how powerful is Lord Tong...

I wonder when I'll be able to reach that level...

Lu Yuan sighed softly, then turned to Lan Chen beside him. "Isn't Sum Country deploying a Mecha of the same level?"

Lan Chen shook his head. "That's impossible. Don't forget, this is Distant Star Federation territory."

Lu Yuan understood. For such a top-tier war machine to enter another country's territory was, in a sense, no different from an act of war. No wonder Lan Chen had said the Distant Star Federation set the exploration rules for the Ash Mountain Secret Realm in their favor. Other factions were full of complaints but still had to comply. The underlying reason was clearly this.

Considering this, the Ice God Mech stationed here was likely more for deterring other nations' exploration teams; it probably wouldn't enter the Secret Realm itself.

"...Although we don't have a God Level Mecha deployed this time, our exploration team includes two Sky-level and several Earth Level Mechas. Our strength is quite substantial. It's just that one of the Sky-level Mechas sustained damage during previous exploration activities and was sent back for repairs... That's the one from the first video I showed you, damaged while fighting for that Flame Scarlet Fruit... The crucial part is, we didn't even manage to get it. It's truly... sigh..."

Lan Chen prattled on beside him.

After listening, Lu Yuan thought for a moment and asked, "Since it's a joint exploration, why don't they send in more Mechas to just bulldoze through everything? That would be better than people dying every day, wouldn't it?"

Lan Chen rolled his eyes. "If only it were that simple. Combat Mechas are severely suppressed by the legendary aura within the Secret Realm. Even a Sky-level Mecha can only exert less than a tenth of its combat power. These things are incredibly expensive. The resources needed to repair even a slight dent could be enough to develop several SSS-rank or higher individual combatants..."

"I see." Lu Yuan nodded, his doubts somewhat dispelled.

While he and Lan Chen were talking, the Fly Shuttle slowly descended, landing in a bustling base below.

After they disembarked from the Fly Shuttle, Lu Yuan looked around. He saw that this massive base was actually composed of many smaller encampments. Each smaller encampment flew the flag of a different faction, many of which Lu Yuan had never seen before.

"This is just a supply station. In there..." Lan Chen gestured, "that's the real main camp!"

The moment they stepped off the Fly Shuttle, Lan Chen urged Lu Yuan toward the Secret Realm's entrance. Before the Secret Realm entrance, a single squad of robotic guards briefly verified their identities and promptly allowed them to pass.

Passing through the massive, swirling curtain of light, they officially set foot on the land of Ash Mountain.

Lu Yuan first felt his body grow slightly heavy—an effect of the high gravity, though it wasn't significant. Then, a subtle, mysterious aura in the air seemed to continuously seep into his body. As this mysterious aura flowed in, the blood sphere in Lu Yuan's chest began to spin faster. His spirit felt invigorated, and even his body grew slightly warm. Lu Yuan felt as if he were soaking in a comfortable hot spring. Every pore on his body seemed to open unconsciously, greedily absorbing this unknown and mysterious power.

If one word could describe Lu Yuan's current sensation, it would be... invigorating! An unprecedented sensation of growing stronger just by lying there, doing nothing!

"How is it?" Lan Chen's voice sounded beside him. Lu Yuan turned to see Lan Chen looking at him with a teasing yet concerned expression. "Feeling the pressure, aren't you? Pretty uncomfortable, right? This is the legendary aura, unique to Legendary Level Secret Realms..."

Patting Lu Yuan's shoulder, Lan Chen consoled, "Take your time getting used to it. Everyone goes through this."

Lu Yuan, his expression peculiar, fought to suppress the comfortable sensation akin to a warm bath. He nodded with a composed look and replied to Lan Chen, "Mm, I'll adapt as quickly as possible."

Lan Chen nodded, satisfied, then led Lu Yuan towards a camp ahead.

Lu Yuan followed Lan Chen, observing their surroundings while pondering the origin of this mysterious aura.

This so-called legendary aura... it must be that Extraordinary substance I was tasked to collect when I entered the Elephant God Secret Realm. To be precise, it's the lingering aura left behind after an ancient Evil God was active or manifested within a Secret Realm... I never imagined that the Path of a Pure Martial Grandmaster could directly absorb this power for self-strengthening! At this rate, Ash Mountain is practically a cultivation paradise for me! But why didn't I notice this back in the Elephant God Secret Realm?

Lu Yuan pondered and quickly arrived at a hypothesis: Perhaps the Elephant God Secret Realm had been "dead" for too long. The Elephant God's aura must have decayed over time. Only a vibrant Evil God aura is beneficial to the Path of the Pure Martial Grandmaster. Does this also explain why I could absorb nourishment from the flesh and blood of ancient Evil God creatures? Ancient Evil God creatures are, by nature, products tainted by Evil God aura. The Evil God aura integrated with their flesh and blood would naturally be full of vitality.

After some thought, Lu Yuan decided to call this aura—the Evil God Factor!

However, he couldn't understand the principle behind how the Path of the Pure Martial Grandmaster strengthened itself by absorbing this Evil God Factor. He recalled the Pot Heaven Secret Realm: the small figures in the mural, besides absorbing the Evil God Factor, also drew another kind of power from the throngs of followers and worshippers kneeling at their feet...

A bold conjecture flashed through Lu Yuan's mind—

Could the future cultivation direction of the Path of the Pure Martial Grandmaster be to become something akin to an ancient Evil God—a 'God'?! Was the power those mural figures absorbed from their followers and worshippers actually something like the 'power of faith'?! Ancient Evil Gods placed immense value on their believers because they needed to draw faith from them. A large part of their divine power was composed of this power of faith, so... the essence of the Evil God Factor must be the power of faith!

Thinking this, everything seemed to click into place. Lu Yuan's expression remained calm, but inwardly, he was stirred by this conclusion. He felt that even if his conjecture wasn't entirely correct, it was at least halfway there.

It's a pity that in the current environment, cultivating believers is no longer viable. Not only is it difficult, but one also becomes extremely vulnerable to being branded a Cult and eliminated by the authorities. It's impossible to replicate the path to godhood depicted by those mural figures. Fortunately, I can still absorb the Evil God Factor to grow stronger...

Thoughts swirled in Lu Yuan's mind, and the future path for a Pure Martial Grandmaster became considerably clearer to him.

Judging by the activity and density of the Evil God Factor within the Ash Mountain Secret Realm, it's highly probable that a Phoenix did indeed exist in Ash Mountain. The tales of it being the Phoenix's nirvana ground aren't baseless. Moreover, judging by estimates, the last time the Phoenix was active within Ash Mountain wasn't too long ago. In fact...

Lu Yuan looked up at the magnificent spectacle of fiery clouds blanketing the Secret Realm's sky, thinking to himself, ...it's even highly possible that a Phoenix still exists within Ash Mountain right now!

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Lu Yuan and Lan Chen arrived at the entrance to the main camp ahead. Just as Lan Chen had said, this place within the Secret Realm was the true main camp. Its scale was far larger than the supply base at the entrance.

The encampments of the various factions were constructed in a rough semicircle, expanding layer by layer towards the deeper regions of the Secret Realm. At the outermost perimeter, Lu Yuan saw a super-alloy defensive wall nearly a hundred meters high. Sentry posts were positioned at regular intervals along it, and numerous reconnaissance drones patrolled the skies above the base, buzzing in and out like swarms of bees. Many large-scale energy shield generator stations were also set up within the main camp. However, they weren't active, likely to conserve energy, and would only be powered up when a genuine crisis arose.

Apart from these, the most striking feature of the entire main camp was an enormous virtual screen floating high above, displaying real-time projections. From any corner of the base, a mere glance upward provided a clear view of the screen's content.

Lu Yuan glanced at it. The screen listed rows of names, each followed by a numerical value titled "Ash Value."

"First, Orelsha (Distant Star Federation), Ash Value: 354,671..."

Lu Yuan softly read out the first few names, then turned to Lan Chen beside him. "Is this the contribution value leaderboard you mentioned?"

"Indeed it is." Lan Chen nodded.

"How is this Ash Value calculated?" Lu Yuan inquired.

Lan Chen shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure myself. The comprehensive algorithm is quite complex. What I do know for certain includes a few points: one is kills—slaying native creatures and monsters within the Secret Realm. The Ash Value awarded is calculated based on the strength of the target killed. Second is harvests: the more precious the item and the higher its assessed value, the greater the Ash Value awarded..."

Listening to Lan Chen's explanation, Lu Yuan thought for a moment, then asked, "So, can I choose not to convert my harvests into Ash Value and keep them instead?"

Lan Chen gave him a knowing look and nodded. "An astute question, young man. According to the rules, that's strictly forbidden. But, you know, rules are rigid, while people are adaptable..."

Lu Yuan understood immediately.

But then Lan Chen's tone shifted. "However, I'd personally advise you not to test that rule. Generally speaking, the benefits of converting harvests into Ash Value far outweigh those of privately hoarding them. Unless you manage to obtain some extraordinarily precious Treasure, in which case even the higher-ups would likely help you keep it secret. Of course..."

Lan Chen patted Lu Yuan's shoulder and sighed softly. "With the strength of us two, the probability of finding such a Treasure is practically zero. It's better to honestly explore, kill monsters, and accumulate Ash Value to exchange for Merit..."

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