Rowan casually offered an excuse, though it was rather flimsy. He did not bother caring whether Babata believed him or not.
Babata's sharp eyes scanned Rowan from head to toe, lingering for a moment before he finally exhaled and decided not to press further. He knew Rowan carried a great secret.
The more secrets Rowan held, the happier Babata felt. Rowan's strength promised great prospects for the revival of the Fallen Star lineage, something very valuable to Babata.
"Enough, enough. You all should hurry and start refining the Magic Vines," Babata said. "With my guidance, you can detect all crystals within dozens of kilometers. Earlier, you made the right choice by taking all those ores, because among them were Realm Stones."
"I've done a rough count. There are ninety-eight thousand six hundred and twenty-five stones in total. I've changed my mind: I'll have you, Hong, Rofeng, and Rowan, elevate the Magic Vines to the Cosmic level for now. Life Fruits still carry a lot of energy, so you can continue refining them later. Once you reach Cosmic level, given the toughness of Magic Vines, even a C2-class laser cannon will struggle to destroy them."
At Babata's words, the group's excitement surged.
The process of refining the Magic Vines was astonishingly simple. Just a drop of blood was enough to begin the refinement.
"Hehe… Each of us carries a Stellar-level Magic Vine. Four Seventh Stage Vines, one Sixth Stage, one Eighth Stage. Our speed at collecting Realm Stones will far surpass theirs."
Thunder God grinned mischievously, as if he could already see vast quantities of Realm Stones waving at them.
"Let's go, Second Brother! Time waits for no one!"
Rowan laughed heartily, and the group immediately surged forward, disappearing from the castle's outskirts in the blink of an eye.
Almost everyone had left the castle's periphery in search of Realm Stones, leaving the area deserted.
As a result, no one knew about Rowan and his companions refining the Magic Vines.
Of course, some were excluded from knowing: at that moment, in the virtual space, Tianxu Buxiu and Cang Bo observed silently.
"Everyone has Magic Vines?" Tianxu Buxiu murmured, unable to hide his surprise.
Cang Bo's lips twitched slightly, muttering in disbelief. Magic Vines were extremely rare life-saving plants, difficult to cultivate, and generally obtainable only by significant contributors to the Virtual Universe Company. Wild Magic Vines were almost impossible to find.
Yet Rowan had casually produced four Stellar-level Vines, a display of sheer wealth and power.
With Magic Vines in hand, Rowan's team would dominate the Realm of Realms, collecting Realm Stones with remarkable efficiency.
"No wonder they separated from the main force. With Magic Vines, their efficiency far exceeds that of a squad hundreds strong."
At that point, over two million troops had arrived in the Realm of Realms. Each faction divided their forces into small squads of three hundred, assigned to the twenty-six zones most likely to contain large quantities of Realm Stones.
With Magic Vines, Rowan's team's efficiency rivaled squads of over five thousand.
Stellar-level Magic Vines had thirty-six main tendrils, each thirty kilometers long a devastating advantage. In the subterranean terrain, the vines could sweep up countless Realm Stones with ease.
"This boy holds secrets. Ordinary Stellar-level Vines shouldn't allow such grand results. He truly hasn't infiltrated the Virtual Universe Company?" Tianxu Buxiu murmured, astonished.
"That's natural," Cang Bo replied, chuckling, choosing not to comment further.
Meanwhile, in the Realm of Realms, under Babata's guidance, Rowan's squad moved in and out of the underground, concentrating in the southern region occupied by the Three Axe Mountain faction. Here, Rowan could freely navigate, harvesting Realm Stones at will.
"Magic Vines, strike!" Rowan commanded. The thirty-six main tendrils of his Vines swept across a ten-kilometer radius, drawing every Realm Stone into his space.
Hong and Thunder God did the same, while Aogu used his psychic powers to extract hidden stones. Rofeng and Iron Box proceeded to the next zone, dividing into three teams no more than thirty kilometers apart.
With the Vines' support, only a C2-class laser cannon posed a significant threat, and even then, escape remained possible. Efficiency soared with Babata's guidance.
"Strange. This area supposedly contains many Realm Stones. Why have we found so few?"
"I've only found over six thousand. That's far from enough to exchange for a Fifth-rank Primal Weapon!"
Members of the Three Axe Mountain faction searched as well, but their zones had already been harvested by Rowan's team. They found nothing and grew frustrated.
Rowan's team, assisted by Babata's detection abilities, operated far more efficiently. While Three Axe Mountain soldiers had intelligence systems, they were inferior to Babata, who was already an intelligent lifeform. Consequently, even combined, Three Axe Mountain's collection was minimal.
In the virtual space, Ming Yu, observing from Cang Bo's side, twitched at the sheer terror of Rowan and Rofeng's efficiency. Thirty thousand Three Axe Mountain soldiers could not match half of their output. It was infuriating.
Ming Yu longed to claim some treasures for himself, such as a Fifth-rank Primal Weapon to replace his current Fourth-rank one. Cang Bo simply smiled, allowing them to have their way.
Meanwhile, Rowan and Babata discovered another cavern rich in Realm Stones and Cosmic Crystals. The team harvested with reckless abandon.
Suddenly, Rowan's communication device buzzed. He frowned as he read the incoming message:
"Move out of Three Axe Mountain's area and go to another zone?"
Hong noticed Rowan pause mid-harvest and flew over to ask what had happened.
"Three Axe Mountain wants us to leave this zone and mine elsewhere. Apparently, we've stripped their area of Realm Stones, and word has reached higher-ups."
Rowan's eyes narrowed as he realized the problem.
"That's impossible. Although we were in their territory, we avoided the main search areas and worked only where their forces hadn't been. There should have been almost no chance of detection."
Hong retracted his Magic Vines, sensing trouble. They exchanged a glance, realizing their actions had indeed been monitored.
"Damn it. Rowan, we're being watched!"
Babata's expression stiffened as he scanned the surroundings. He soon spotted tiny, mosquito-sized monitoring devices about five hundred meters above the northeastern wall.
"Observers!" Rowan said, spreading his mental aura to lock onto the minuscule devices.
Previously, they had noticed these tiny insects but assumed they were harmless. Now, he realized they had been under surveillance all along.
Was this the Virtual Universe Company's doing?
Rowan considered the possibility but quickly dismissed one idea. Though he was Stellar-level and possessed remarkable talent, he was not yet on par with the geniuses who participated in the company's Genius Wars. Still, his team's abilities had attracted attention, explaining why they had inexplicably gained Three Axe Mountain's protection without any deal.
"Damn. We've been monitored all along, and we only noticed now," Rowan muttered. Yet he quickly regained composure, thankful that his foresight had allowed him to transfer part of his body to a clone.
"What do we do? We have no choice but to move to another area."
Hong understood they had pushed their luck too far. They had aggressively harvested Realm Stones from Three Axe Mountain's territory, risking betrayal.
"Big brother, contact Rofeng and the others. Tell them to join us immediately. We will head to the area controlled by the White Tiger Tower and loot it."
Babata scanned the surroundings and identified the nearest faction: the White Tiger Tower, which, along with the Imperial Martial Corps, occupied the western mineral-rich region.
The Imperial Martial Corps had sixty thousand soldiers divided into two routes. The White Tiger Tower had only fifteen thousand. Naturally, Rowan chose to strike the White Tiger Tower first.
Soon, Rofeng and the others received the message and hurried to join them.
"Let's move!" Rowan commanded, and they set off for the next zone.
After three days of flight, they reached the White Tiger Tower's territory, having collected two smaller mineral deposits en route. The outer regions with fewer resources had already been claimed by weaker groups.
The five major factions White Tiger Tower, Beilong City, Black Cloud Mountain, Three Axe Mountain, and Imperial Martial Corps had occupied the three richest zones, resulting in hundreds, even thousands, of clashes over resources.
Whenever two factions discovered the same deposit, a brutal battle ensued, with each side confiscating the opponent's storage space and claiming all Realm Stones.
Rowan's team avoided such skirmishes entirely, moving directly to untouched deposits based on Babata's precise guidance, harvesting as efficiently as possible.
By the fifth day, in the White Tiger Tower's zone, six thousand meters underground, countless vines had entwined massive quantities of Realm Stones, depositing them into Rowan's space.
"We're rich! We've collected three million seven hundred ninety-seven thousand twenty-one Realm Stones, enough to exchange for three Life Fruits!" Babata exclaimed in delight.
"We must exchange the Life Fruits immediately before someone else does."
"With the three Magic Vines elevated to Cosmic level, you will dominate the Realm of Realms," Babata added excitedly.
Rowan and Rofeng's eyes gleamed red, Rowan thrilled at the thought of slaughter, Rofeng stirred by a strange bloodlust triggered by the influence of the Golden Horned Beast.
"We need to exchange quickly. Most areas have already been stripped. The remaining zones are increasingly scarce, which will raise our risk of encountering enemies. We must prepare!" Hong warned, drawing on his experience.
Everyone understood. Rowan summoned the Black Dragon, and they boarded, preparing to break through and speed toward the castle.
However, after flying just over two hundred kilometers, Babata urgently shouted, "Bad news! Six aircraft are rapidly approaching us they belong to the White Tiger Tower!"