Chapter 1085: Voidfall Star Steel

The treasury's length and width each span several hundred meters, its ceiling rises a hundred meters, and dozens of massive pillars support the dome; aside from a teleportation array, there is no other entrance or exit.

Lei En judged that the treasury must have been built deep underground.

This location lies far from the Storm Temple—perhaps two or three thousand li away—but it is certainly still within the Storm Plane, perhaps hidden beneath a mountain peak, a thousand meters above the ground. Finding such a concealed treasury in the plane would be like searching for a needle in the ocean.

The massive treasury is piled with countless treasures!

Even though Lei En is already rich enough to rival a nation, having handled innumerable riches and having plundered several dragon hoards, his breath still caught when he beheld the treasures before him.

"Sss…"

His eyes were nearly blinded by the glare of gold.

An immense amount of gold!

Gold bricks are stacked neatly into square piles, each at least three meters high; looking around, a third of the treasury is filled with these piles, countless in number, utterly breathtaking!

Lei En stared dumbfounded, unable to estimate the value of the gold.

Elder Sorum was likewise stunned into silence.

He learned of the treasury's existence from the former Titan Elder; the items inside were prepared by Anhe Luozi before the Giant Empire's destruction, in anticipation of the giants' resurgence, but he did not know the treasury's exact contents.

"Did my lord empty the Giant Empire's treasury?" Sorum murmured.

The Giant Empire ruled half the world for over six thousand years, amassing countless riches, but after its fall and the change of eras, the vast majority of that wealth vanished—either plundered in the chaos or destroyed in war—no one knows its exact fate.

It now seems likely that Anhe Luozi took it away.

Aside from the gold, the remaining two‑thirds of the treasury is filled with various materials—mostly magical metals such as refined gold, mithril, orichalcum, and a great quantity of titan blue iron, boxes of gems and crystals, and hundreds of rare metals, all in massive amounts.

In one corner, stacked, are source crystals!

These source crystals have been refined to extremely high purity and are stored within a rune array to prevent energy loss; even after ten thousand years they still contain abundant energy, ready for immediate use.

"Excellent!"

Sorum was ecstatic.

This batch of source crystals weighs at least a million pounds, more than enough to rebuild all six Storm Temples and to power them for millennia.

He had previously worried about a shortage of source crystals, having to barter with Lei En for them, and rebuilding the temples required huge funds and materials; now there is no concern, as the treasury provides everything.

Another section of the treasury houses a large stock of weapons, armor, and magical items, all sized for giants and protected by rune arrays, yet over ten thousand years time has eroded them, the vast majority now inoperative or even rotted.

Among them are several Legend Grade magical items, all now dim and dull.

Sorum thought to himself, "What a pity."

As for the earlier claim he made to Lei En that the treasury might contain divine artifacts, not a single one was seen.

The Titan Elder felt a bit embarrassed, turned to Lei En, and saw Lei En's gaze fixed ahead, at the very center of the treasury where countless gold and magical metals encircle a platform several meters high, upon which a single object sits, strikingly conspicuous.

It is an odd stone!

It hovers in mid‑air, about half a human fist in size, with a primitive texture, resembling a crystal, its color indescribable, its form constantly shifting, perpetually emitting strange energy outward.

Even the most ignorant person can perceive its extraordinary nature.

This is Divine Fire!

It is the world's most precious thing; even deities fight desperately for it, having sparked countless wars and calamities, becoming one of the roots of many nations' destruction and civilization's demise.

All other items in this treasury combined cannot match the value of Divine Fire.

Gold, magical metals, source crystals—no matter how valuable, they remain mundane; to a deity, mortal treasures are worthless. With Divine Fire one can ascend the divine throne and become a deity, and then any amount of such treasures is theirs for the taking.

No one can remain calm before Divine Fire.

Sorum's heart tightened instantly.

But recalling Lei En's earlier behavior, his mood relaxed, and he smiled, "Your Majesty, my proposal still stands; you may take this Divine Fire at any time."

Lei En withdrew his gaze upon hearing this.

He was not coveting Divine Fire; he merely observed a bit longer, curious about how it differed from the Divine Fire of the sun god Anse.

In appearance, the two Divine Fires are indistinguishable, almost identical.

However, Anse's Divine Fire contains divinity, its energy reaction far stronger, like the sun, radiating scorching holy light; this Divine Fire, by contrast, is noticeably purer, having never merged with a deity nor bound to a divine office, thus more subdued.

"Elder, please."

Lei En stepped back two paces, indicating he harbored no greed for this Divine Fire.

Sorum couldn't help shaking his head.

A Divine Fire before them, and he and Lei En each yielding to the other—such a thing had never occurred before; even if spoken of, no one would believe it.

The Titan Elder passed through the glittering gold piles and ascended the platform.

Divine Fire lay within arm's reach.

He inhaled deeply, reached out to touch Divine Fire, and poured a strand of divinity into it. The stone‑shaped Divine Fire flared, then instantly contracted, and the fire vanished, flowing directly into Sorum's body and appearing deep within his soul.

Sorum closed his eyes to sense the Divine Fire; after a long while, he exhaled a long breath.

"All right."

The Titan Elder looked at Lei En, saw curiosity etched on his face, and smiled, "The Divine Fire is only temporarily fused with me, bound to my soul. From now on I can inject divinity into the Divine Fire, using it as a vessel for divinity; once the fire is filled, I can ignite it."

Lei En asked, "What if it isn't filled?"

"An unfilled Divine Fire still allows me to use the divinity within and draw it out at any time, no problem," Sorum replied. "When I ignite the Divine Fire, I must choose a divine office; the fire will convert the divinity into divine power corresponding to that office, unlocking Divine Techniques of that domain."

"Once the Divine Fire is bound to a divine office, I cannot change it."

"After deification, this Divine Fire is wholly under my control; only if I relinquish the converted divine power can I unbind the fire and transfer it away."

Sorum said earnestly, "Therefore, Your Majesty, if you wish to claim this fire, you must do so before I deify."

Lei En nodded.

Then he said, "Elder, continue to prepare for deification with peace of mind; I have no desire to become Anhe Luozi. Even if I deify in the future, I will not be the former god of sky and thunder."

"Alas…"

The Titan Elder sighed, offering no further persuasion.

Lei En was indifferent, already looking toward another part of the treasure vault, "Elder, you promised me half of this vault and that I could pick first; does that still count?"

Suolim looked at the surrounding treasures, and his heart throbbed with pain.

A few days ago, he had no idea the vault was worth so much—almost equal to the Giant Empire's treasury—so he set the terms lightly; now, seeing half of the treasures about to be lost, his heart felt like it was bleeding.

But he thought, since he could even offer divine fire, what did a mere mortal thing matter?

"Of course it counts!"

The Titan Elder shouted, "Your Majesty can take half right now, please!"

"I'll look first." Lei En was very satisfied, but did not rush to act.

He wandered through the vault, his eyes scanning the mountain‑high piles of treasure like a radar, especially the magical metals and rare alchemical materials that could last ten thousand years without decay; their value was bound to be high, so he would have to choose carefully.

A moment later.

Lei En had already chosen and said, "Gold and Source Crystals, I'll take half of each; Elder, no objection?"

Suolim's complexion changed; his greatest fear was Lei En taking the Source Crystals, so he pleaded, "Your Majesty, could you leave all the Source Crystals for me? The Storm Giants need them badly. I'm willing to pay double the Empire's market price in gold as compensation."

"I'm sorry, I also need Source Crystals greatly." Lei En shook his head and refused, "Elder, you know my Star Destroyer consumes massive amounts of Source Crystals, as do my power armor and Electric Light Cannon; my demand for Source Crystals is no less than the Storm Giants'."

Although he had been continuously gathering Source Crystals from the Abyss these years, the numbers of Star Destroyers and power armor were also increasing, so consumption kept rising; the more Source Crystals, the better.

By comparison, gold seemed less important.

If not for Suolim's face, Lei En would even consider taking all the Source Crystals from the vault; leaving half was already generous.

Suolim was helpless, "Very well."

This batch of Source Crystals weighed over ten thousand hundred pounds, and the remaining half still amounted to five hundred thousand pounds, enough for the Storm Giants to use for a long time. As long as the giants revive, they will eventually find a way to collect more Source Crystals.

If truly impossible, they could also seek Lei En's help.

Lei En circled the vault half a turn; each time he reached out, the gold he touched was drawn into the Pixel World, and three freshly acquired Nebula Rings could also contain it; he quickly gathered half the gold, and the vault instantly became much emptier.

Then came the Source Crystals.

The volume of more than five hundred thousand pounds of Source Crystals was not large; not even half a Nebula Ring could hold it.

Suolim watched the halved Source Crystals, his heart aching to the point he could not breathe.

Next, Lei En walked toward those magical metals and alchemical materials, standing before a metal platform. The platform was small but was laid with a rune array protecting a few items inside. Suolim only glanced at it, and his eye corner twitched involuntarily.

On the platform were two black metal blocks, one large and one small; the larger block was not much bigger than a human skull, the smaller was only half the size of the former.

The metal blocks' surfaces were rough, flashing dark‑gold specks, like meteorites.

Lei En observed them and laughed, "Elder, if I'm not mistaken, these two are Void Meteor Steel, right?"

"Yes."

Suolim could not smile at all.

Void Meteor Steel, the world's heaviest and hardest metal, possesses magical conductivity better than mithril, is extremely rare, and forms only in the deepest reaches of the Void after refined gold endures billions of years of energy erosion; a nail‑size piece of Void Meteor Steel is worth dozens of Gold Shields.

These two pieces of Void Meteor Steel are so massive that their value is incalculable.

When Lei En first discovered them, he resolved to take them, because the main material for the Thunder God's Hammer is a piece of Void Meteor Steel!

Unrefined, these two pieces, once refined and melted together, should weigh between seven thousand and eight thousand pounds, only slightly lighter than the Thunder God's Hammer.

Lei En does not intend to forge another Thunder God's Hammer.

He plans to use the Pixel World's workbench, adding Void Meteor Steel and other materials, to reinforce his own Thunder God's Hammer!

Of course, Void Meteor Steel alone is insufficient.

"I'll take them."

Lei En unceremoniously collected the two pieces of Void Meteor Steel, then looked at another item on the platform. They were housed in a treasure chest, shaped like fist‑sized gems, gold‑purple intertwined, dazzlingly brilliant, twelve in total.

Lei En stared at them for a few seconds and could easily identify them.

These are Divine Power Crystals!

Deities separate a portion of their divine power, condensing it into a crystal that contains their unique divine effect and aura.

Mortal believers who obtain a Divine Power Crystal can use its divine power without hindrance, provided their bodies can endure it; their strength spikes instantly.

Divine Power Crystals are also among the best alchemical materials, used to forge artifacts or Legend Grade magical items.

These twelve Divine Power Crystals contain massive thunder‑and‑light power.

Clearly, they were crafted by Anheluoz's hand.

Lei En turned back and said, "Elder, I'll take half of these Divine Power Crystals." He intended to use them to reinforce the Thunder God's Hammer.

"Fine." Suolim nodded, a little numb.

He even thought that Lei En not taking all the Divine Power Crystals was an act of mercy.

Lei En took six Divine Power Crystals, his gaze shifting to a crystal‑clear blue sapphire beside him, only egg‑size, its interior intermittently flashing lightning, energy flowing over its surface, emitting pure thunder‑and‑light power.

"Storm Raw Stone!"

This gem, which is born only in the Storm Plane, is the pinnacle of thunder‑type alchemical material.

It can automatically absorb surrounding thunder‑and‑light power, replenishing consumed energy. If a thunder element master possesses a Storm Raw Stone, it is equivalent to wielding the Lord of Thunder; spell potency doubles, and mana and soul power become almost inexhaustible!

The head of the Thunder God's Hammer already contains a Storm Raw Stone, and it is top‑grade; the one before him is slightly inferior but still very rare.

Lei En took the Storm Raw Stone and still felt unsatisfied.

He turned and asked, "Elder, do you still have Storm Raw Stones on hand?"

"Yes." Suolim produced two Storm Raw Stones, each only half the size and slightly lower quality, and said, "I've been in the Storm Plane for years and only collected two; I hand them to Your Majesty, but you must trade Source Crystals for them."

"Agreed." Lei En readily accepted.

After negotiation, he exchanged fifty thousand pounds of Source Crystals with the Titan Elder for the two Storm Raw Stones.

Next, Lei En took a batch of "Resilver", also a rare magical metal used in forging the Thunder God's Hammer. The vault's Resilver reserves were huge, over ten thousand pounds, and he took the majority.

After selecting the few most precious items, Lei En also chose some rare alchemical materials, leaving a half for Suolim, not cutting things off completely.

A rough valuation showed it still didn't reach half the vault's total value.

Lei En could only take away several million pounds of refined gold and mithril to make up the amount; as for orichalcum iron and titan blue iron, those magical alloys, he had no interest at all.

Seeing Lei En finally stop, Suolim looked around; the treasury was already half empty. His expression was complex, but also a bit relieved. He had obtained the most valuable Divine Fire, paying half a giant treasury, and reclaimed the Storm Plane—no waste!

The Titan Elder activated the teleportation array, taking Lei En back to the Storm Temple and restoring the underground secret chamber there to its original state.

Lei En, smiling broadly, said, "Elder, I will stay on the Storm Plane for a few days; if there is any need, I am at your service at any time."

The mouth that devours is short; the hand that takes is short.

Having received so many benefits, I must see to it that everything is handled properly.

"Very well, Your Majesty, feel free," Suolim nodded, watching Lei En open the teleport gate and step through, returning to the Augustus above.

(End of chapter)