After Sword Spirit picked up the pale yellow bead and a few fragments of Sunflare Stone, she reverted to her small sword form and swiftly flew to Evan Chu's forehead, flashing into his brow.
The items she brought back landed on the ground. Evan saw them and instantly stored them in his storage ring with a thought.
"Lin Feng, did you see that pale yellow bead? That's an incredibly rare treasure—you really lucked out this time!" Sword Spirit said.
"That bead—what exactly is it? Is it a Spirit Pearl? My luck can't be that good, right?" Evan blurted out, excited.
"Spirit Pearl? Of course it's not a Spirit Pearl. You think getting a Spirit Pearl is that easy? Its value may not match a Spirit Pearl, but compared to your Iceflame Crystal, it's more than enough. This is a Sunflare Pearl—a bead with sentience," Sword Spirit explained.
"A sentient bead? Can you be a little clearer, and stop keeping me in suspense," Evan urged.
"This bead can't boost your cultivation, but it can be used as a weapon. When you throw the Sunflare Pearl at an opponent, it releases a blinding light that can make them temporarily lose their sight. You should know what that means. Most importantly, the light doesn't harm you at all," Sword Spirit said.
Evan was overjoyed when he heard this—this was basically a heaven-defying treasure! If he encountered a strong enemy or a crowd, tossing the Sunflare Pearl would instantly blind everyone nearby, making it easy to kill or escape.
"Thank you, Luna! You're the best. Someday, when I reach the top, I'll make sure you have the highest honor—I won't let you suffer!" Evan grinned happily.
"Don't flatter me. Save it for when you actually make it. Right now, it's time to go find the Blacksteel King and get the Metalheart Crystal," Sword Spirit said.
Evan then walked toward the spot in the cave where the Blacksteel King was waiting. The harvest this time had truly left him thrilled.
At this moment, the Blacksteel King was anxiously awaiting Evan's news. He'd heard all the commotion earlier—if Evan really managed to remove the stone, then the Blacksteel Clan would soon regain its strength.
"Big Brother, sorry to keep you waiting! I didn't let you down—I've already removed the stone. Now it's your turn to fetch the sub Metal Crystal for me," Evan said.
"You really got rid of the stone?" Clearly, the Blacksteel King was a bit skeptical of Evan's claim.
"Of course. If you don't believe me, go and see for yourself—I have no reason to lie to you!" Evan replied, well aware of the Blacksteel King's reaction.
The Blacksteel King immediately rushed toward the Sunflare Stone's former location, clearly extremely excited.
Evan quickly followed after him. When the Blacksteel King arrived, he carefully inspected the spot and found the Sunflare Stone really was gone—he burst out laughing with joy.
His laughter sounded almost ghostly, and with his hideous face, it sent chills down anyone's spine.
"Good! You really did remove the stone. You're a great benefactor to the Blacksteel Clan. I'll go get the sub Metal Crystal for you now, but you'll need to wait a moment," said the Blacksteel King.
Evan nodded. Suddenly, a purple-gold light burst from the Blacksteel King's body, and he transformed into a puddle of black liquid that seeped into the ground beneath Evan's feet.
Evan realized that this liquid state was probably the Blacksteel King's true form. He hadn't expected it to look like this—truly, the world is full of wonders.
Just then, Luna's voice sounded: "Evan, there are lots of metallic energy particles in this cave. They're useless to you and me, but they're incredibly beneficial for your Shadow—this is a rare supplement.
Let him out to absorb some. As soon as the Blacksteel King returns, have him go back, so he won't be discovered. Those metallic energy particles could birth dozens of Blacksteel Beasts."
Evan didn't say anything; with a thought, Shadow instantly appeared before him.
Shadow looked groggy when he first appeared and complained, "Big Brother, why'd you call me out for no reason? I was having such a good dream!"
"Cut the nonsense! Hurry up and absorb the energy here. If the owner comes back, you won't get the chance!" Evan snapped.
Only then did Shadow realize what was happening. With his mastery over energy particles, he immediately understood the importance of these Blacksteel energy particles. In a flash of red light, he transformed into a massive lion.
He opened his huge mouth wide and inhaled, sucking in countless Blacksteel energy particles. Evan noticed the cave's metallic glow had dimmed considerably.
Shadow inhaled three times in a row, absorbing about half of the cave's Blacksteel energy particles. Evan quickly called out, "Shadow, that's enough! Come back!"
Shadow wanted to absorb a bit more, but hearing Evan's anxious voice, he realized how serious things were and instantly shrank down, running to Evan's side.
"Big Brother, the energy here is amazing! I can break through several realms with this. I'm heading back into your body to cultivate—if you find any more opportunities like this, be sure to let me know!" Shadow said, then flashed red and returned to Evan's body.
Seeing Shadow leave, Evan finally felt at ease. Even if the Blacksteel King showed up, he'd have no idea what happened—Evan could just make up a story and fool him.
Not long after Shadow entered Evan's body, the Blacksteel King's liquid form reappeared on the ground, quickly reverting to his hideous appearance.
When he noticed the cave had suddenly dimmed and the Blacksteel energy particles had drastically decreased, he was stunned and looked at Evan, asking:
"What exactly happened here? Why have the Blacksteel energy particles dropped so much?"
"I have no idea. Not long after you left, a powerful gust swept through, and countless Blacksteel energy particles surged into the ground. Maybe removing the sub Metal Crystal triggered a need for energy replenishment?" Evan replied seriously.
The Blacksteel King saw Evan didn't look like he was lying, so he was half-convinced. Those energy particles could have created hundreds of Blacksteel Beasts—in other words, Shadow had just swallowed the equivalent of hundreds of his clansmen. That was really over the top.
"Here's the sub Metal Crystal you wanted. Now that you've got it, I hope you'll leave as soon as possible—and never return to the Blacksteel Clan. Now I truly understand humans are always greedy!" the Blacksteel King said.
Evan saw the Blacksteel King holding a black stone bigger than a goose egg and immediately took it, storing it in his storage ring.
"Don't worry, I accept your conditions. But I need your help to get out—the pressure of Weakwater is intense. Getting down is easy, but getting back up is really tough," Evan said.
"I know what to do. Let's go!" The Blacksteel King looked extremely displeased, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Soon, the two left the cave and entered Weakwater again. "Just hit me with all your strength and send me flying out of the water!"
With a thunderous boom, Evan shot up from Weakwater and landed directly on the riverbank...