Lei Yao's fist landed solidly on the Insect King's head, producing a muffled thunderous explosion.

The Insect King's head was instantly blown apart, and even the Star Core within was reduced to dust in the frenzied energy, with the massive energy passing through the Insect King's corpse and dissipating into the ground, creating a pit at least a meter deep and half a meter in diameter.

This was merely the aftershock of the Thunder Shocking Mountain Fist; had all the energy been directed at the ground, the hole would have been at least twice as large.

Chu Chen saw this and quietly lamented; that was a Star Core at the mid-stage Commander Level, even with ordinary attributes, it was worth tens of thousands. What a waste.

After dealing with the Insect King, Lei Yao let out a satisfied roar.

"Alright, stop roaring, go over and help out."

Hearing this, Lei Yao turned to look at Chu Chen, displeasure evident in its eyes.

However, it did not disobey Chu Chen's command and strode quickly towards the swarm of insects.

Seeing no more Wind-Fire Rhinoceros Beetles around, Chu Chen hurried towards the Wind and Fire Grass.

Nearing it, Chu Chen examined the Wind and Fire Grass closely. It was only about a meter tall, with straight stalks, and on either side grew four slender leaves. Interestingly, the leaves on the left were green, while those on the right were fiery red.

Chu Chen didn't plan to investigate further and quickly took out the digging tool from the Space Belt.

A few moments later, Chu Chen carefully placed the Wind and Fire Grass into a wooden box, then got up and met with Zhang Yuyan.

By this time, the remaining ten Wind-Fire Rhinoceros Beetles had been completely slain.

Throwing the wooden box in Zhang Yuyan's hand, Chu Chen said in a deep voice, "Let's get out of here quickly."

Zhang Yuyan took the box, her expression complicated as she nodded.

The two did not return the way they came, but continued deeper, intending to pass through the forest.

The Mature Wind-Fire Rhinoceros Beetles were mostly slain by them. Along the remaining path, they encountered primarily Growth Stage and Juvenile Stage Wind-Fire Rhinoceros Beetles, which they easily dealt with.

A moment later, the two finally escaped the forest.

Zhang Yuyan closed her eyes slightly, sending the message to retreat through the contract to the Holy Light Elf.

The Soul Contract could faintly sense each other's thoughts within a certain distance.

A few moments later, Zhang Yuyan opened her eyes, clearly having sent the message through.

Not waiting at their original spot, the two continued forward but slowed their pace.

A moment later, a buzzing sound came from above Chu Chen's head.

Then Chu Chen felt a sharp pain in his head, as if something had hit him.

Clutching his head, he looked up to see the Holy Light Elf hovering above him, holding a Small Round Shield, glaring at him furiously.

At that moment, Zhang Yuyan, who had been keeping a straight face, suddenly burst into laughter.

Seeing this, the resentment that had risen in Chu Chen's heart vanished instantly.

After causing mischief, the Holy Light Elf quickly hid on Zhang Yuyan's shoulder for protection.

Chu Chen was speechless, this grudge could only be remembered for now.

The Holy Light Elf did not have it easy, chased by the swarm of insects all the way, not to mention the Soul Power stored in the Small Round Shield was exhausted. If delayed any longer, it would really be unable to hold on.

The harvest this time was quite good, a Ninth-Grade Star Treasure worth over a million, and several Star Cores worth hundreds of thousands.

But Chu Chen's favorite was the Slaughter Value; in this battle, he gained more than two thousand points, reaching a high of thirty-five thousand points.

This Secret Realm was undoubtedly a treasure trove for Chu Chen.

As for his most crucial goal, finding the third Guardian Beast, it had not yet been accomplished.

The Secret Realm was inhabited by insect creatures, whose individual combat power was too weak, so Chu Chen abandoned the idea of finding his third Guardian Beast here.

With the Holy Light Elf's antics, Zhang Yuyan's anger dissipated considerably, since the previous incident was a coincidence, and she couldn't hold onto it.

After a brief silence, Zhang Yuyan finally asked, "What do you plan to do next?"

Hearing this, Chu Chen said solemnly, "First, find a safe place to rest, then we'll head directly to the core area of the Secret Realm; I believe the Key is there."

Hearing this, Zhang Yuyan nodded, "Alright, let's go."

After walking a bit further, they found an abandoned cave and decided to take a break there.

Chu Chen briefly cleaned the ground and scattered some animal excrement at the cave entrance.

The excrement belonged to Lord Level insects, serving an intimidation purpose at the cave's entrance.

Back in the cave, Chu Chen took out two Star-Raising Fruits.

Currently, the two were in the middle region of the Secret Realm, where the Star Beasts were notably stronger than those on the outskirts. As they delved deeper, the Star Beasts' strength would only increase.

Therefore, Chu Chen planned to use both Star-Raising Fruits.

But he now faced a decision: should the two Star-Raising Fruits be given to one Guardian Beast, or should each Guardian Beast get one?

If the two Star-Raising Fruits were fed to two separate beasts, both could achieve Ninth Rank War General Level.

Such an increase wouldn't significantly boost their combat power, only enhancing their Star Power slightly.

However, if he fed both Star-Raising Fruits to one Guardian Beast, along with a few drops of Thousand-Year Stalactite Liquid, it might directly reach Commander Level, granting it a third Talent.

After some thought, Chu Chen decided to give both Star-Raising Fruits to Lei Yao.

There was a reason behind Chu Chen's choice.

If choosing Nirvana, it could enhance its strength and defense, but its attack strength remained weak, and stacking Talent took too long, making it hard to function effectively amidst danger in the Secret Realm.

Lei Yao, however, was the opposite; once promoted to Commander Level, the three trump cards' amplification would be terrifying, essential for turning the tide in peril.

Having decided, Chu Chen asked Zhang Yuyan to watch over him while he proceeded.

Without questioning why, she agreed immediately.

With all preparations in place, Chu Chen fed one Star-Raising Fruit to Lei Yao.

The Star Power contained within the Star-Raising Fruit was extremely pure, allowing Lei Yao to easily convert it for its own use after simple refinement.

About half an hour later, Lei Yao effortlessly broke through to Ninth Rank War General Level.

Seeing this, Chu Chen hurriedly fed the second Star-Raising Fruit to Lei Yao.

Without any fuss, Lei Yao consumed the Star-Raising Fruit and immediately began training.

Seeing this, Nirvana's eyes filled with envy, but it soon resumed quiet cultivation to advance quickly.

Chu Chen noticed everything, gently rubbing Nirvana's head, softly saying, "Don't worry, once we're out of the Secret Realm, I'll find other cultivation resources for you to break through quickly."

Hearing this, Nirvana immediately beamed with joy, its antennae swaying.

A moment later, Lei Yao slowly opened its eyes, now at the peak of War General Level, just a step away from Commander Level.

Seeing this, Chu Chen, without hesitation, drew three drops of Thousand-Year Stalactite Liquid and fed them to Lei Yao.

The mountain cave filled with the aroma from the Thousand-Year Stalactite Liquid.

Sniffing the aroma, Zhang Yuyan couldn't help but ask, "What is this?"

Chu Chen didn't hide it, elaborating on everything.

"I didn't expect you to be this lucky."

...

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Originally with eyes tightly closed, Lei Yao suddenly opened them wide, releasing an astonishing aura.

Seeing this, Chu Chen breathed a sigh of relief, as Lei Yao had successfully reached Commander Level, an exceptionally smooth process.

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