Blinded by the Brilliance

That giant volcano looked close, but the distance was beyond imagination. After spending another half-day flying over a thousand miles, Lu Chen finally arrived in the vicinity.

The mountain was unusually tall, far surpassing the highest peak of his past life, reaching a staggering height of ten thousand meters.

Fire raged at the summit, and thick, pitch-black, pungent smoke billowed into the sky.

Surrounded by a cluster of mountains, it exuded an even more mysterious and unpredictable aura.

Likely because the volcanic ash scattered during the massive eruption was rich in nutrients, the trees in the surrounding forests were exceptionally tall.

In the nearby jungle, Lu Chen spotted even more lizard populations.

Seraph wasn't lying; these creatures were almost all around Tier 4 in strength.

Along the way, he only saw a handful that had evolved into Tier 5 fierce beasts.

Upon seeing the Lizard King appear in their territory accompanied by a strange reptile, they didn't feel the slightest suspicion, nor did they even ask where the lizard guards who had followed His Highness Seraph had gone.

Furthermore, many of these fellows were fat, lazy in posture, and clumsy when flying, looking extremely strenuous.

Lu Chen suddenly felt they resembled a group of fattened pigs waiting to be slaughtered.

Yes, exactly like fattened pigs.

He completely understood now. This space had remained sealed off all along, never having suffered an invasion by external enemies. Ever since the alien dog-headed cultivators left, the lizard tribe had risen to power and become the supreme rulers.

Without external enemies, life was comfortable, and food was abundant.

Over thousands of years, these creatures had long since lost any sense of awareness regarding potential danger, and had been completely ruined by comfort.

This was why the Lizard King had surrendered so cleanly and neatly upon realizing he was no match for Lu Chen, even harboring the naive illusion that simply handing over a portion of spirit stones could save his life.

Such a scene reminded Lu Chen of Pizarro, a certain Western bandit leader from his past life.

After capturing the Inca king Atahualpa, that fellow promised that as long as a room 22 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 8 feet high was filled with gold, he would release him.

The naive Atahualpa completely believed it and hurriedly had his subjects continuously transport gold from all over to fill the room.

To show his sincerity, he even filled two other rooms with silver.

The result, undoubtedly, was that Pizarro still broke his word and executed him.

So... should he learn from this predecessor? Lu Chen felt a bit hesitant in his heart.

When they passed by a large river in the jungle, Lu Chen suddenly noticed a giant dam built of logs not far away, standing over ten meters tall and cutting right across the entire river.

Downstream from the river dam, many fierce beasts holding wooden log tools were busy, seemingly panning for sand.

These creatures closely resembled the beavers of Blue Star, only they were many times larger.

They were about three meters tall, their bodies covered in a layer of fiery red fur that appeared exceptionally dazzling in the clear river water.

Their strength was even lower, with the strongest beast king among them only at Tier 3.

"What are they doing?" Lu Chen asked out of curiosity.

"Great King, these inferior quadrupeds are called Red-Furred Beavers, servants of the Dragon Clan. Usually, they search for gold in the rivers for us."

"Gold... They are panning for gold?" Lu Chen asked curiously again, "Of what use is gold to your lizard tribe?"

"Gold is extremely useful; our entire Dragon Clan loves it very much. There is a pyramid built in my palace, piled high with gold and treasures inside," Seraph said proudly.

That demeanor and expression were the epitome of a nouveau riche.

Hearing this, Lu Chen was somewhat speechless.

These guys were truly ruined.

Sitting on a huge pile of things that couldn't be eaten or drunk, their brains were simply broken.

Near the riverbank, Lu Chen also saw clusters of tall plants growing in many low-lying areas, with emerald-green leaves and dark red veins adhering to their surfaces.

They must have been deliberately planted, as very few weeds could be seen among them, and Red-Furred Beavers were busy working around them.

Driven by curiosity, Lu Chen asked what kind of plants they were.

"Reporting to the Great King, these are Blood-Veined Rice planted by the Red-Furred Beavers for our Dragon Clan. Rice made from it tastes exceptionally sweet and can provide a lot of energy."

A grain containing spiritual energy!?? Lu Chen immediately realized the value of this plant.

Compared to the useless gold, he felt these lizard monsters had actually done some good things.

He just didn't know if the Blood-Veined Rice would have any effect on him. If possible, Lu Chen intended to promote its cultivation within the Alligator Tribe's territory.

Thinking of this, he immediately spoke up, "This Dragon King is very interested in the Blood-Veined Rice. Can you get me some?"

"No problem," the Lizard King agreed readily.

Then, he let out a few roars into the air.

Soon, several large-sized beavers hurried over, carrying fur bags in their paws. Upon approaching, these creatures respectfully prostrated themselves in salute.

Lu Chen could sense that a faint energy was radiating from the bags. He condensed a clay claw to open a bag and put three or four catties of rice into his mouth.

"Prehistoric Dragon-Veined Rice, provides 21 energy points..."

Calculated this way, a catty of Dragon-Veined Rice could provide about 5 energy points.

This data naturally could not compare to high-quality animal flesh and blood.

Although it didn't have much use for him, Lu Chen was still very excited.

Since the Saltwater Alligators liked eating fruit, rice should probably work too... Under conditions of food scarcity, it should count as a supplement.

If he sold it to the human world, it would be worth at least one hundred thousand spirit stones.

One must know that since the Great Transformation, Lu Chen had never heard of any plant on Blue Star containing so much energy.

He just didn't know if the cultivation conditions were harsh and what the yield was, so Lu Chen planned to try planting some first to see the effects.

With the Lizard King leading the way, their journey was completely unobstructed, and they finally landed in front of a huge cave.

Clinging tightly to the volcanic mountain, the temperature here was noticeably much higher than elsewhere.

The cave entrance was guarded by a dozen lizard guards, likewise around Tier 4 in strength.

Upon seeing the Lizard King, these fellows immediately bowed respectfully.

After His Highness Seraph introduced Lu Chen's identity, the guards felt no suspicion either, their beast pupils simply filled with curiosity.

Just like that, Lu Chen swaggered along with his companion into the cave palace.

Despite being mentally prepared, when he saw the massive pyramid over 10 meters tall before him, his eyes were still blinded with dazzle.

This was a true pyramid, living up to its name, made entirely of gold!

Many gold statues were scattered haphazardly around it.

The largest one was in the shape of the Lizard King, estimated to weigh over ten tons, with a domineering design, looking majestic, glowing golden, and exceptionally flashy.

Aside from the statues, there were many gold-made utensils.

A rough estimate suggested that the wealth accumulated by the lizard tribe over a thousand years amounted to several thousand tons, surpassing the gold reserves of many countries on Blue Star.

If humans were to see this, they would likely go instantly mad.

Beside the gold were piles of colorful gemstones, emitting a mesmerizing glow under the fluorescent light.

Just a few seconds later, Lu Chen's expression returned to normal.

The reason was simple: to him, this gold was utterly useless.

Currently, the alligator civilization had only recently sprouted and had not yet birthed the concept of currency.

There were rumors in his past life that Western dragons loved gold coins and gemstones.

Now Lu Chen could prove that this legend was truer than real gold.