A large number of ninth-rank aliens were fleeing towards the inner area of the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm.
The main continent of the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm is divided into three areas: the outer area, the inner area, and the core area.
The outer area is the smallest, which is why the ninth-rank evolvers of human civilization were able to form a blockade and force all the ninth-rank aliens into that distant canyon.
Compared to the outer area, the inner area is much more vast.
With the current number of human civilization evolvers, it's impossible to cover the entire inner area.
Those ninth-rank aliens who flee to the inner area will quickly escape the pursuit of human civilization.
Of course, the safety of the inner area is only temporary.
Once a hundred years pass and the secret realm begins to close, any strong being not in the outer area will be eradicated by the secret realm.
Lin Yuan stood in the void, watching as the many aliens frantically fled, but he did not pursue them.
With tens of thousands of ninth-rank aliens scattering in all directions, even if Lin Yuan maintained his power of two billion layers of space, it would be difficult to kill them all.
Moreover, the fact that these alien strong beings were actively fleeing to the inner area was exactly what Lin Yuan wanted, saving him the trouble of having to take action.
"Milky Way Star Lord, those ninth-rank aliens have hidden in the inner area. We probably can't do much now," Doko said as he approached and stood behind Lin Yuan, his tone filled with shame.
The vastness of the inner area was one factor.
Another was that the many native life forms scattered throughout the area were extremely powerful.
If human civilization were to form a blockade in the inner area as they did in the outer area, they might not even find the ninth-rank aliens before being overwhelmed by the native life forms.
"It doesn't matter," Lin Yuan shook his head.
Hearing this, Doko felt slightly relieved.
He was worried that the Milky Way Star Lord might harbor resentment.
After all, their previous plan involved the Milky Way Star Lord taking 90% of the rewards for each ninth-rank alien killed.
But now, with all the aliens fleeing to the inner area, the number of ninth-rank aliens killed would be very few, which would result in fewer rewards for the Milky Way Star Lord.
"But with the Milky Way Star Lord's strength, he could easily chase them down and leave at least a few hundred ninth-rank aliens behind," Doko thought to himself, though he dared not ask more questions. He had his own suspicions.
The Milky Way Star Lord had taken on four opponents, including the Son of the Tree World and the Dragon Scale King, and had used some sort of explosive secret art.
And such secret arts usually come with a price, such as a period of weakness afterward.
Perhaps this was why the Milky Way Star Lord didn't pursue the fleeing aliens? Could it be that after suppressing the Son of the Tree World and the other three legendary ninth-rank beings, the Milky Way Star Lord had indeed paid some price?
With this thought, Doko found it much more reasonable.
"Since these aliens have fled to the inner area, let's make sure they don't come out again," Lin Yuan said quietly, hands behind his back.
"Of course!" Doko nodded.
He looked at the fleeing ninth-rank aliens, his eyes filled with killing intent.
In truth, Doko could fully understand the actions of these ninth-rank aliens.
Even if they were to die, they didn't want to make it easy for human civilization.
If Doko were in their position, he would likely make the same choice.
But understanding is one thing; actually doing it is another.
Since these aliens are so eager to die in the secret realm, then let them die.
Although hiding in the inner area reduced the income of the ninth-rank evolvers of human civilization, it also meant a significant loss for the aliens.
Not only would they gain nothing from this venture into the secret realm, but they would also lose an avatar.
In the distance beyond the canyon, many ninth-rank strong beings who had been watching the battle were now filled with mixed emotions.
When the Son of the Tree World, the Dragon Scale King, and the other legendary ninth-rank beings appeared, they had thought that the situation would change.
At the very least, the invincible Milky Way Star Lord would be restrained.
But now it seemed that these four legendary ninth-rank beings could not even hold out for long against the Milky Way Star Lord.
"How exactly did the Milky Way Star Lord cultivate?"
"So terrifying. Fortunately, our race has no major conflicts with human civilization."
"Those peak races must be feeling heartache now."
The emotions of the various ninth-rank strong beings varied—some were amazed, some were shocked, some found it unbelievable, and others were gloating.
Deep within the vast universe, in a certain layer of space.
This was also a cosmic secret realm, incredibly vast, with an ancient dark green tree towering in the center.
The ancient tree reached the sky, its roots covering the entire cosmic secret realm.
Next to this towering ancient tree, a much shorter tree swayed gently.
"This type of explosive secret art must come with significant drawbacks. Otherwise, with the Milky Way Star Lord's strength, he should have continued to pursue the enemies, but instead, he watched as our strong ones fled into the inner area."
One by one, the tenth and eleventh-rank Celestial Lords of the Tianyu Clan analyzed the information from the 'video footage,' trying to deduce the exact capabilities of the Milky Way Star Lord.
They had paid a high price to invite a legendary ninth-rank being into the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm specifically to probe the limits of the Milky Way Star Lord.
The goal was to better counter the Milky Way Star Lord in future large-scale battles.
In the eyes of the Tianyu Clan's tenth and eleventh-rank Celestial Lords, the Milky Way Star Lord was destined to become a significant force on the large battlefield in the future.
If they did not understand the Milky Way Star Lord's true limits now, they might end up sending tenth-rank beings of lesser strength, only to have them sacrificed. Wouldn't that be a waste?
Even at the tenth rank, the weakest level beings are the core strength of their race and cannot be casually sacrificed.
This is especially true for the peak races. For the strong races, tenth-rank beings are the pillars of their race.
Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm.
Lin Yuan's figure vanished, reappearing in the deepest part of the secret realm.
At the same time, he was sensing every detail within the secret realm, particularly in the inner area where the many alien strong beings had fled.
To avoid revealing too much of his strength and to keep his status as the master of the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm a secret, Lin Yuan couldn't directly kill these ninth-rank aliens.
He had to wait until the secret realm closed and they were all eradicated by the realm itself, at which point he could collect their remains.
"Eight thousand seven hundred and ninety-two ninth-rank aliens..." Through his control of the secret realm, Lin Yuan easily identified all the aliens in the inner area.
"How much can I gain from so many ninth-rank aliens?" A smile appeared on Lin Yuan's face.
Since the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm first opened, over two hundred ninth-rank secret treasures had been obtained from those who attempted to remain in the secret realm and were eradicated.
It doesn't seem like much, but the ninth-rank beings who tried to stay in the secret realm were prepared to die, so most of their treasures were taken out through various means.
That's why the total number of ninth-rank secret treasures doesn't exceed three hundred.
But now, the situation is different for the eight thousand or so ninth-rank aliens hiding in the inner area.
They had no such preparations, and their secret treasures and weapons were still with them. While not all of them were extremely valuable, the sheer quantity made up for it.
"Perfect."
"What I need most for cultivating the 'Mysterious Emperor's Body' are various resources, whether secret treasures or weapons. They can all serve as nourishment for the 'Mysterious Emperor's Body'."
Lin Yuan thought to himself.
The three great Guardian Secret Arts of the Mysterious Sovereign Lineage include the so-called indestructible "Mysterious Emperor's Body," which requires a large number of universe crystals for cultivation, as well as various other resources.
Secret treasures, weapons, and the like can all be devoured and transformed into the foundation of the "Mysterious Emperor's Body."
With "Mysterious Emperor's Strike" and "Steps of Time and Space," Lin Yuan could rely on his unparalleled insight to quickly master and perfect them.
But the "Mysterious Emperor's Body" is fundamentally about accumulating resources. This is something that cannot be achieved through insight alone; it requires a massive investment of real resources.
Lin Yuan's true body was not the only one cultivating the "Mysterious Emperor's Body"; his two Primal Spirits also needed to cultivate it, so the demand for resources was immense.
But with nearly ten thousand aliens' contributions, Lin Yuan was confident that his progress in cultivating the "Mysterious Emperor's Body" would be rapid.
In fact, even if Lin Yuan obtained those secret treasures and weapons, he couldn't easily take them out, as they could be easily recognized.
So he might as well use them all as nourishment for the "Mysterious Emperor's Body," saving himself the trouble of acquiring other resources for cultivating this secret art.
"The priority now is to quickly refine the core of the secret realm."
Lin Yuan sat cross-legged, and a yellow crystal appeared in front of him.
Even when he had fought the "Son of the Tree World" and the other legendary ninth-rank beings, Lin Yuan had continued to refine the core of the secret realm.
The strong beings watching the battle all believed that Lin Yuan had gone all out to suppress the "Son of the Tree World" and the other three legendary ninth-rank beings, even resorting to using explosive secret arts.
Little did they know that Lin Yuan had merely been toying with them. Of the 2 billion layers of space he commanded, he had only used 200M.
As for the so-called explosive secret art? Once "Mysterious Emperor's Strike" is mastered, it can become a 'permanent state,' with each strike exceeding his own limits.
Apart from the high consumption, there was no price to pay.
As for why he didn't pursue them, it was merely a matter of letting things take their course.
Those ninth-rank aliens who fled into the inner area would eventually be eradicated by the secret realm, and their treasures, weapons, and even bodies would fall into Lin Yuan's hands.
Time passed.
In the blink of an eye, a year had gone by.
Lin Yuan's refinement of the core of the secret realm had also reached its final stage.
...
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