Chapter 817

The moment he rushed into the vortex space, Xu Jingming felt as if he'd been teleported by Ling Shuang—slightly uncomfortable.

But the sensation came quickly and vanished just as fast.

In an instant, his vision went dark, then brightened again.

He found himself suspended in midair, falling toward the ground.

"Lei Long Yi!"

Whoo—

Behind him, a pair of brilliant golden lightning wings unfolded, wreathed in thunder, and Xu Jingming swiftly halted his fall, hovering in midair.

Beneath his feet lay a lush, dense forest.

Occasional roars of ferocious beasts echoed from within the jungle.

"Before entering the vortex, I was holding Ling Shuang's hand."

"Yet she didn't teleport to the same location—this Ye Er Mirage truly is random."

Xu Jingming pulled out the space token Ling Shuang had given him; no spatial fluctuation emanated from it.

"Ling Shuang's long-range teleportation seems to have failed too—otherwise she should've appeared here by now."

Xu Jingming silently pondered.

The Ye Er Mirage was highly unusual; before entering, he and Ling Shuang had anticipated this possibility.

"But with Ling Shuang's spatial ability, no one here can threaten her."

"Splitting up might even increase our efficiency in gathering rare flowers and herbs."

Xu Jingming activated the smart bracer on his wrist and ordered:

"Eva, scan the surrounding environment and determine our location."

Though he had a map, the random teleportation meant he had no idea where he currently was.

"Eva received."

The little girl Eva emerged from the smart bracer.

Her waist-length green hair, tied in twin pigtails, fluttered in the wind as pale blue virtual rays spread outward from her.

"Terrain data collecting..."

"Data collection complete, location coordinates analyzing..."

"Location coordinates confirmed. We are currently in the northeast quadrant of the Ye Er Mirage."

Within mere seconds, Eva had pinpointed their position and marked it on the map.

"This location's pretty remote—another twenty kilometers north and we'll hit the Mirage's boundary."

Xu Jingming frowned.

In the Ye Er Mirage, the earlier-numbered Hundred Flower Valleys were all clustered in the southwest.

"Eva, which Hundred Flower Valley is closest to us?" Xu Jingming asked.

"No. 67, southeast of our position, roughly forty kilometers straight-line distance," Eva replied.

"Low ranking, but better than nothing."

"Perfect—I'll get to see just how wildly these rare flowers and herbs grow in this Mirage."

The Ye Er Mirage contained seventy-eight Hundred Flower Valleys; No. 67 was indeed low-ranked.

The Black Meta Armor enveloped Xu Jingming entirely, leaving only a pair of calm, composed eyes exposed.

His Lei Long Wings flared once, golden lightning flickering, and he shot forward like a streak of light.

The Mirage's gravity was indeed ten times that of Blue Star, but it affected him minimally.

His flight speed had merely dropped from 1. times the speed of sound to 0. .

Forty kilometers would take just over two minutes to cover.

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—

Wind howled past his ears at near-supersonic speed.

The air around Xu Jingming thinned; an ordinary person might suffocate from it.

But it had no effect on him.

Eva remained constantly beside him, her pale blue virtual rays sweeping the ground, scanning continuously.

The Ye Er Mirage opened only once every four or five years; though maps existed, some terrain features might have shifted slightly.

When still less than ten kilometers from No. 67 Hundred Flower Valley, Eva suddenly gasped:

"Huh? S-class—I've realized this Ye Er Mirage is actually the Flower Goddess's plant cultivation garden!"

"The Flower Goddess?"

Xu Jingming was surprised. "Didn't she possess only the Qing Feng Mirage? How is this space Mirage hers too?"

"As an ultimate powerhouse, she wouldn't own just one space."

"Qing Feng Mirage is where she studies plant life; this Ye Er Mirage is where she cultivates rare flowers and herbs."

Eva replied, her gaze flickering. "Too bad I didn't find this information earlier—if I had, I'd have known this Mirage was the Flower Goddess's backyard."

Eva looked troubled.

As an artificial intelligence, she could infiltrate most electronic devices on Blue Star.

But she couldn't penetrate the virtual world at all.

Crucial information about the interior of the Ye Er Mirage was stored within the virtual world.

Had she not entered with Xu Jingming, she'd never have discovered this Mirage was the Flower Goddess's backyard.

"Could there be an even stronger AI controlling the virtual world? Otherwise, how could I find zero vulnerabilities?"

Little Eva tilted her head, her adorable face filled with confusion.

She planned to ask her mother in detail once she awoke.

"Even knowing this is the Flower Goddess's backyard doesn't help."

"The Ye Er Mirage has opened over a dozen times—any valuable items would've been looted long ago."

Xu Jingming shook his head.

"Not necessarily—the Flower Goddess built a palace within her backyard."

"This palace is hidden in a layered space—a secret even the ultimate powerhouses likely don't know."

"The palace probably still holds some rare flowers, herbs, and plant seeds left behind by the Flower Goddess—if we find it, we'll strike it rich."

"S-class, should we first locate Ling Shuang and use her spatial ability to find this palace?" Eva asked eagerly.

"An ultimate's palace won't just open when you find it—do you have the key?" Xu Jingming asked.

"You can't just find the palace of an ultimate powerhouse and expect to open it—do you have a key?" Xu Jingming asked.

Eva froze, then drooped like a wilted eggplant:

"The Flower Goddess's palace does require a key, but it's been over a thousand years—no one knows where that key is anymore."

"Forget the key—stick to the original plan: gather rare flowers and herbs first."

Xu Jingming flew swiftly; he was now less than three kilometers from No. 67 Hundred Flower Valley.

At this moment, through his Mind Net perception, he sensed three distinct energy signatures already present within the valley.

"Looks like someone got here faster than we did."

Xu Jingming smiled, accelerated, and landed just outside the perimeter of No. 67 Hundred Flower Valley.

The moment his feet touched ground, a wave of floral fragrances surged toward him.

Before his eyes stretched an ocean of flowers and grasses.

Some emitted bone-chilling cold, others bloomed with flames.

A hundred blossoms competed in brilliance, dazzlingly vibrant.

"Hundred Flower Valley—this name truly fits."

"And this is only No. 67—already so many rare flowers and herbs."

"What must the top-ranked valley look like?"

Xu Jingming's eyes gleamed faintly.

Though most of these rare plants were only D-class or C-class,

the visual impact they delivered was extraordinary.

"Friend, this valley is already claimed—please leave."

Suddenly, a booming English voice erupted from the sky.

Three figures shot out from the flower sea ahead, appearing in Xu Jingming's line of sight.

Three figures shot out from the flower sea ahead, appearing in Xu Jingming's line of sight.