Priam stored the stone away and continued moving forward. If the System had alerted him, it meant the treasure was nearby.
As he ventured deeper, the vegetation in the mountain valleys simply disappeared. In its place, dozens of Wild-Spirit Stones dotted the desolate ground.
Without hesitation, Priam began frantically collecting them into his spatial ring.
He pressed onward at an accelerated pace, finding increasingly absurd quantities. In just three hours, he had collected more than eight thousand stones. The amount was so surreal that he almost felt like he was inside a dream.
However, as he advanced, the wind saturated with Qi and wild energy became a deafening gale. To withstand the pressure and avoid attracting unwanted attention, Priam was forced to activate his Elemental Physique.
Those energy-laden gales were terrifying — blasts powerful enough to pulverize the walls of an entire city. The continuous fury of the air currents had stripped the ground completely bare, leaving it polished and gleaming like a stone mirror.
Even the slopes of the valley had been stripped bare; nothing could take root there, and even the loose rocks had disappeared from the ground.
Even so, Priam didn’t retreat.
A few meters ahead, he rounded the final bend of the valley and came across a sight that made him stop in surprise.
The terrain opened into a colossal plateau roughly thirty kilometers wide. At the exact center of that vast expanse stood a two-hundred-meter-tall mountain, jutting out of the ground like a bizarre, monumental stalagmite.
The terrifying aspect of that structure was its composition: it had been formed entirely from countless Wild-Spirit Stones stacked and fused together by heat and pressure, creating a massive, gleaming body.
The energy emanating from it was what triggered the continuous storm of fierce Qi that swept across the entire region.
The moment he saw it, Priam held his breath.
Besides its sheer size, the biggest difference between that mountain and ordinary stones was its flawless transparency, sparkling like a pure diamond. An overwhelming life force radiated from the structure.
And at the heart of that mountain... something even more valuable and terrifying existed.
Nestled at its center was a core. It was certainly the Great Wild-Spirit Stone.
Even from the safe distance where he stood, Priam could feel its monumental pressure crushing his senses.
That treasure was terrifyingly dangerous.
Priam had the distinct certainty that if he dared approach it without proper preparation, the density of that energy would reduce him to a shapeless mass within seconds.
It was identical to the situation with the Sacred Flame of Nature he had found on the Exile Planet — a wonder whose absolute power far surpassed his current capabilities. There was no way he could take this thing by himself.
"You’ve got to be kidding me..."
Priam could practically feel his soul bleeding. Looking at a treasure of that caliber and not being able to simply shove the entire thing into his spatial ring was an unprecedented mental torment.
How could the world dare leave a mountain of wealth like that abandoned in the middle of nowhere? Leaving something like that behind was practically blasphemy!
"I’m just going to take a closer look. Just a little look... maybe there’s a way..." he muttered to himself, even though deep down he knew the chances of success were practically zero.
Activating his Divine Concealment, Priam began sneaking forward with cautious steps.
He didn’t keep the ability active all the time because he wanted to serve as bait to hunt Sorcerers. But he also wasn’t foolish enough to walk around like a glowing beacon. He kept his bait level low, just enough to be sensed by enemies that came very close.
However...
As he got closer, just a few meters from the base, the pressure rose to an unbearable level. A shiver of mortal danger shot down his spine.
Looking upward, his perception finally pierced through the dense energy and detected the hidden presence inside the mountain.
’A Celestial Beast...?’
He swallowed hard. For something to have claimed a nest of this level, it could only be a Level 13 specimen of the most violent race that had survived the collapse:
’Blazing Rock Lizard.’
This was the most brutal and territorial Celestial Beast lineage that had survived. They were as powerful as they were stupid, living in isolation and mercilessly tearing apart any intruder foolish enough to approach.
’This beast is using the entire mountain, and the Great Wild Spirit Stone, just to feed and strengthen itself?’
Priam snorted. If it came down to a direct life-or-death confrontation, he was confident he could kill the beast.
The real problem was the collateral damage. If the monster knew how to manipulate and use the destructive power accumulated within that mountain during the fight, then aside from the immense danger, the entire treasure would most likely be reduced to dust.
Watching that fortune turn to ashes was something Priam’s heart simply couldn’t bear.
Not wanting to alert the giant reptile, he began slowly backing away, as silently as possible.
Only when the mountain finally disappeared from his field of vision did he manage to let the air out of his lungs.
’A man who is never satisfied is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant! I’ve already taken enough stones! I’m a virtuous and self-controlled man!’ Priam tried to reassure himself mentally.
The sensible plan was to go around and look for other opportunities. After all, his time in this realm was running out, and once he left, he certainly wouldn’t be able to return.
’But... do I really have enough? Eight thousand little stones against an entire mountain?!’ greed screamed from the depths of his mind.
’Damn it! Stop tempting me! I’m not going to look at you, you damned mountain from hell!’ Priam squeezed his eyes shut, categorically turning his face in the opposite direction.
The problem was that his senses were still "looking" straight at the mountain.
’Ah... you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? You want to drive me crazy! I’m a respectable Mage. I’m not doing something this stupid!’
He took three steps forward, trying to leave.
But it felt as if an invisible magnetic force, tied directly to his greed, was pulling him back. His feet stopped against the ground, and he involuntarily turned around.
’Greed is a sin. Greed is a sin. Greed is a sin...?’ he repeated to himself like a sacred mantra, until he suddenly sensed something and stopped.
’Huh? People?’
Priam froze in place. A wide, genuinely excited, and wicked smile began spreading across his face as he detected multiple people approaching in the distance.
’Wait a second... they’re Sorcerers! The heavens really do love virtuous people! They sent volunteers to help me!’
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