Firefly Journey

In the once pitch-black Divine Ruins, a point of light suddenly appeared in the distance ahead.

As the light gradually became clearer, appearing larger in the foreground and smaller in the background, the group approached with the hope of seeing the moon through the clouds. It was an opening in a cave.

Unlike the main gate at the palace entrance, this opening was much smaller, probably big enough for an adult to pass through.

Having already explored its interior with shadow magic, Allen stepped inside without hesitation. The scene inside made this shadow mage instinctively cover his face with his hand; it was too bright.

This is indeed a cave.

Hanging from the cave ceiling are cylindrical objects that resemble stalactites, but they are not stalactites; they are more valuable minerals.

Crystals, crystals filling the cave.

Crystals of various shapes are scattered on the ground, cave walls, and ceiling, turning the cave into a crystal palace, and the radiance they emit illuminates the entire space.

As more and more extraordinary individuals entered, everyone was nearly dumbfounded.

Lin Yuanran was among those whose jaws dropped; standing there, he felt as if he were floating.

One, two... countless ones, how much money must that cost!

Yes, a naive young man can only use his existing knowledge to judge a treasure.

"Haha! We're rich!" Some superhumans with poor self-control completely disregarded the principle of being cautious and began to dig for crystals.

"So tough!" Without exception, none of them succeeded. These crystal ores seemed to be firmly welded to the spot, unmoved by any extraordinary means.

"Are we... about to become rich?" Lin Yuanran whispered to his companions.

It was Fay who answered him again: "Why do you say that?"

Lin Yuanran exclaimed excitedly, "The ground is covered in crystals... that's all money!"

“Young man, crystals and crystal coins are two different things,” Fway said.

"Huh?" Lin Yuanran looked confused. Could it be that crystal coins aren't made of crystal?

In fact, the four types of currency circulating in the principality are made of different materials than their names. Regardless of the type, all coins are cast from iron ore, and the surface is plated with different colors as needed to distinguish them.

In other words, the cost of making a copper coin and a crystal coin is actually the same; the only difference is the amount they represent.

It's not that Lin Yuanran was ignorant; in a small town with poor transportation, many townspeople would never understand this matter in their entire lives. Environment determines perception, and perception determines life.

After Fei Wei kindly explained to Lin Yuanran, the small-town boy's face flushed slightly.

What a shame!

Of course, this was mainly due to the environment limiting his thinking, not because he was willing to be an ignorant person.

The night I received the wind chime coin, I bit it hard a few times to confirm it was real. Turns out biting a copper coin has the same effect... he thought miserably.

"Should we... dig some up too?" Lin Yuanran asked tentatively.

Feng Ling said, "Go ahead and try to die."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuanran immediately fell silent. Trusting Fengling was always the right thing to do. He lowered his head, seemingly regretting his loose tongue.

"You noticed it too?" Steve put the magnifying glass down and moved closer to the St. Louis students.

“I’m very curious how you did it. You know, there’s no precedent for our church’s identification tools being leaked to outsiders.”

Wind Chime's answer was simple and direct.

“My family owns a crystal mine, and the crystals here don’t have the same color as the ones here.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuanran raised his head again, glancing at Feng Ling's beautiful profile. Is this what they mean by "having a family fortune"... So extravagant!

Hearing Fengling's reply, Paninger and the others were no longer surprised; they had already been shocked back at the academy.

The two people with mechanical wings, as well as the Robert siblings, were inevitably stirred. Especially Finne Robert; her family also owned mines, albeit ordinary ones like iron, tin, and copper. Ten of their mines couldn't compare to one of their crystal mines. She finally understood one thing—

Even among nobles, there are differences, and these differences are not small.

"Should we remind them..." Lin Yuanran said softly again. After all, they came in together, and these fake crystal mines might be a trap carefully prepared by Klenbo. It would be bad if it caused a conflict.

“No need.” It was Hilda who spoke. “The fake crystal mine is just ordinary rock. The appearance of it has been changed by the master of the Divine Ruins using a special method. It’s good to teach these people a lesson so that they won’t be unable to extricate themselves when they encounter real danger in the future.”

Lin Yuanran thought about it and realized it made sense. "You guys can collect the crystals slowly... Hmm, when we leave the Divine Ruins and find that we've carried several large bags of rocks for nothing, it will definitely be a lesson we never forget."

Similarly, the superhumans who sensed something was wrong with the crystal mine didn't pounce on it like hungry ghosts, nor did they warn these people. The fewer competitors there were, the better. They couldn't blame others for their own losses caused by greed!

Now that we've discovered something unusual about the cave, we must eliminate it; otherwise, we'll be unable to make any progress.

There was no path ahead in the cave, which meant that if they couldn't break through the cave's illusion, their treasure hunt would have to end here.

Lin Yuanran subconsciously looked at the wind chimes, almost as a conditioned reflex, and this time, the girl with blue eyes also seemed to feel embarrassed.

“Paninger, try using time magic to find some clues.”

Paninger nodded in agreement and began the backtracking process.

Then, Fengling said to Robert and his sister, "I hope that we can break this deadlock with your help. This is not only for us, but also for yourselves."

"Yes, I promise you'll have priority in choosing the treasures available to 'diviners'."

Finney and Jamie exchanged a glance; this suggestion didn't seem like a bad deal.

“Sure, but I have conditions,” Finne said. “You can only represent the Duchy and the Papacy. What about other powers? If they try to take it, I’ll still be at a disadvantage.”

“That’s easy,” Wind Chime said.

Next, she instructed Lin Yuanran and others to gather the extraordinary individuals who were unaffected by the illusion and explain the dangers to them.

"Without Miss Finney's help, we would most likely have stopped here. So, she prioritized treasures related to her profession. You have no objections, right?"

Aside from St. Louis, Mechanical Wings, and Ancient Battle Arena, there are only seven other extraordinary individuals remaining.

An old man, three Titans, a man and a woman, who appear to be a couple based on their closeness. The last one is a man dressed similarly to Eren, wrapped in a robe with mysterious patterns, likely a follower of a small, unofficial church.

After thinking it over, everyone agreed to Fine's request. After all, if they couldn't even see the treasure, there was no point in discussing how to distribute it.

Ten meters away, Orlando, leaning against the cave wall, was clearly unaffected by the illusion, yet he remained aloof, and the actions of Wind Chime and the others seemed to him like children playing house.