Chapter 4403: On The Way Out

Harksha was feeling afraid of even moving. If the guardian cores were already that strong, then how terrifying was this winged spider that carried far more energy than many of them combined? Just standing there with it resting on her remaining shoulder made her entire body tense. "Y-You don’t really need to stay on my shoulder, right?"

The Nexus Core AI turned one of its glowing eyes toward her. "According to the data retrieved from this airplane, you are the leader of your elite exploration group. It is paramount for this AI to remain close to the highest-ranked member during the investigation."

Harksha’s gaze immediately shifted toward everyone else aboard the airplane, silently begging for someone to help her. Unfortunately, all she received in return were encouraging smiles and thumbs-ups.

"You can do it, Senior Harksha!"

"As expected of our leader!"

"Even the AI recognizes Senior Harksha’s importance. That’s definitely a good thing."

Harksha nearly exploded in anger. Traitors! Every single one of you!

Naturally, she didn’t dare say any of that aloud. Instead, she forced a smile onto her face and cleared her throat. "A-Ahem... so that’s how it is. Very well, I shall bring you with me to the Besgol Region."

Even so, she refused to give up immediately. Her mind raced until an excuse finally came to her. "However, as you have already seen from the airplane’s database, our exploration has two objectives. The first was to confirm the existence of additional ruins, which we have obviously accomplished. The second is to search for Thousand-Vein Root Hydras."

She looked hopefully at the winged spider. "So... perhaps this AI friend coul—"

"Wait a moment," the spider interrupted before she could finish. It immediately turned toward Rean. "Fly this vessel out of the Repulsing Tower."

"Oh, so that’s what this Light Pillar Structure is called?" Rean nodded with interest as he guided the airplane forward. "Repulsing Tower... that’s a fitting name."

He barely needed to move before a gigantic exit opened on the floor below them. Just like the other entrance inside the structure that they had used, it was more than large enough for the airplane to pass through safely.

"You may leave through there."

Rean wasted no time and guided the airplane outside. However, just as they emerged from the tower, one of the Spatial Silver Boxes they had seen earlier was already waiting for them. Before anyone could ask what it was doing there, the winged spider took control of the airplane once again and opened the cargo hatch.

The silver box floated directly into the airplane, where Harksha instinctively caught it with her Celestial Energy.

Everyone immediately looked toward the AI.

"Could this be...?"

Harksha didn’t waste a second. She sent her Celestial Sense into the Spatial Storage inside the box. To her complete surprise, all the protective restrictions that had prevented them from examining the other boxes were open.

A moment later, her eyes widened.

"Heartwood... Spirit Sap... and Root Tendons!" she exclaimed in disbelief. "There’s so much of it!"

The quantity was enormous. If they had searched normally, they would have considered themselves fortunate to gather even a small fraction of these materials during the entire expedition. Yet the silver box contained enough resources to surpass all of their expectations.

The AI calmly explained, "Although most Godly Creatures avoid this AI’s territory, some eventually wander too close. My primary directives require eliminating such threats. These materials were harvested from Thousand-Vein Root Hydras over the last ten thousand years."

It paused for a brief moment before continuing, "To ensure a swift conclusion to this investigation, this AI has determined that transferring these materials to you is the most efficient course of action. Now you require no extra time for other objectives."

Senkiyu immediately grinned.

"Nicely done, Senior Harksha!"

"Thanks to you, we can head straight back home," Cantra added with obvious satisfaction.

Rean couldn’t resist joining in. "Please continue taking good care of our new friend, Senior Harksha."

Whether the others were teasing her or genuinely thankful was difficult to tell. Rean, however, was clearly enjoying himself.

A single tear slid down Harksha’s cheek.

In the end, she was still the one stuck carrying the terrifying machine that could probably erase her from existence with a single attack. ’Just wait until we’re back. I’ll remember every single one of you...’

After leaving the Repulsing Tower behind, Rean finally deactivated the airplane’s disguise. There was no longer any reason to keep wasting the stored Godly Pressure, especially after the AI confirmed that the airplane had already been registered as an authorized exception within the tower’s defense system.

Several hours later, they reached the enormous barrier surrounding the ruins. The barrier opened without offering any resistance, allowing the airplane to leave safely.

It was difficult to judge whether the expedition had been a complete success.

On one hand, they had failed to obtain even a single rune from the Sacred Relic’s technology, which had been one of their primary objectives.

On the other hand, they had returned with the Nexus AI itself, an incredible amount of rare cultivation materials, and perhaps the greatest opportunity the Besgol Region had encountered in countless generations.

Everything now depended on what the AI would decide after seeing the Besgol Region with its own eyes.

---

Meanwhile, back in Besgol...

The mysterious intruder had already reached the Sacred Relic several days earlier.

Initially, he hadn’t been able to move around freely. Too bad he wanted to investigate the area where the Godly Horros died, and it had quite a few experts around.

Fortunately for the man, he eventually found an opening in their work, which he used to approach. It only took a few days.

He silently descended onto the ground while the object in his hand pulsed with the familiar white-and-golden light. Compared to before, however, the glow had become much stronger.

"So... it really is here."

Ordinarily, approaching this close to the Sacred Relic would have attracted immediate attention. Yet that didn’t seem to apply to him. It was as though his very existence had disappeared from the world. As long as he was careful, no one would notice he was there at all.

A moment later, his eyes brightened.

"Oh... here it is."

He immediately raised one arm.

*Zush!*

*Tu!*

His hand pierced straight through the ground while his Godly Energy surged hundreds of meters beneath the surface. Almost instantly, it wrapped around something hidden deep underground and forcefully dragged it upward.

A tiny yellow creature burst from the earth, struggling frantically to escape his grasp.

It was the same little yellow lizard the Godly Colossi had used to activate their Power-Link.

After the Godly Horrors had perished, the creature had seemingly vanished without leaving behind the slightest trace. Tobao and the other experts had searched extensively for it, yet none of them ever found it. The little lizard possessed an extraordinary ability to conceal itself completely from the senses of ordinary cultivators.

Ignoring its desperate struggles, the man sent his own Divine Sense into the creature to inspect it. "So Clovalski was telling the truth. The Power-Link was used here."

He narrowed his eyes before turning toward the Sacred Relic standing in the distance.

"Even so... so many Godly Horrors reached this place. They even received reinforcement through the Power-Link to withstand the Sacred Relic’s suppression." His gaze remained fixed on the floating monument. "And yet... the Sacred Relic itself appears completely intact."

The man remained silent for a few moments, considering the implications before finally making up his mind. "It seems I’ll have to investigate further if I want to understand what truly happened here."

*Splat!*

Without the slightest hesitation, he crushed the little yellow lizard in his hand, destroying it completely this time.

Then he took flight.

His figure vanished into the distance without leaving behind a single trace, and throughout the entire process, not one cultivator in Besgol realized that he had ever been there.

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