I became a god by treasure hunting after arriving 500 years early

Inspiration burst forth, a state that was desirable yet elusive.

Lu Yuan had persevered rigidly for a month, and had it not been for the recovery abilities of the Tree of Life, he would have long since been exhausted to the point of fainting.

Now, as the answer to his considerations emerged, his boiling mind finally regained tranquility.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, feeling an indescribable weariness.

All he wanted to do was to have a good sleep.

But he was also incredibly excited!

In that terrible narrow gap, he had found his own path!

Eagerly opening his eyes, the next second, Lu Yuan felt embarrassed because all his companions were staring at him with wide eyes.

Especially the turtle, which looked as though it was emitting green smoke from its body.

And he smelled the pungent odor of urine from the latrine pit.

Lu Yuan's heart skipped a beat, "Damn, I forgot to give them water!!"

...

Lu Yuan first took out a barrel of water, satisfying his little friends' physiological needs, and then blissfully fell asleep.

Even in his dreams, there were nothing but engravings.

Upon waking from his sleep, he felt refreshed, and the entire world had changed.

"What kind of plan did you come up with? We've been wandering around the edge of the desert for seven months now," Old Cat asked.

Lu Yuan took out the Superior dagger and some simple materials and began to engrave on the tricycle.

Mithril, Black Iron, and even some animal blood and plant juices were used; these materials were combined in an organic form.

A few hours later, his first labor of love was completed.

[Lu Yuan has created a Concealing Rune with supernatural stealth properties.]

[If not looked at carefully, one would think this tricycle was an ordinary inanimate object, unworthy of attention.]

[The lower the Intelligence, the lower the Divine Attribute of a creature, the easier it is to be deceived by the Concealing Rune.]

Without delay, he then engraved another complex symbol on the tricycle.

[Lu Yuan has created a Solid Rune, capable of significantly enhancing the solidity of surrounding materials.]

When Old Cat looked at the tricycle, it no longer appeared to be a tricycle but merely an unremarkable stone.

"How does it feel to learn?"

Lu Yuan was quite proud of himself, but thinking back on the dark days of learning, he could only feign toughness, "I, the Greedy Demon God, fell in love with studying... like a wolf falling for a sheep."

Regarding engravings, he had finally made significant progress; no longer needing to copy, he now had his own understanding.

This was very difficult.

Next, Lu Yuan made a set of leather clothing for everyone.

He engraved all of them with the "Concealing" rune, so even Old Wolf and the turtle were dressed, making them look like blocks of stone.

He also improved his own weapons.

For instance, the dagger and the Black Iron Sword were also engraved with "Solid" runes.

Of course, currently, he only knew about defensive engravings; more knowledge could only be learned from "Daedalus's Books," which was a long-term project and couldn't be rushed.

So, after handling these matters, that night, the group finally entered the majestic desert!

Even at night, the pervasive yellow sand blew painfully against the skin; Lu Yuan changed into a robe and trudged through the desert, pushing the tricycle with each sinking step.

Lu Yuan felt grateful that the Rize people had gifted specialized desert tires.

Walking in the desert was strenuous, with each step sinking into the sand and consuming more physical energy.

The splendid stars hung overhead like countless silver pearls, scattered across the endless sea of sand, lending this desolate place a mysterious and enchanting aura.

"Soul lonely, faith in pain."

"Lonely travels, forever my companion."

"Carry out bold dreams, forget the distress."

"With a solitary lamp in hand, in search of the stars!"

The Crash Artist wrote a lighthearted poem.

The only thing that marred the scene were the frequent battles among insects.

In one month, they had seen at least a thousand insects of Extraordinary Level!

The lowest Level was 1, and the highest even reached Level 5.

Their fierce spikes and thick carapaces made them seem like small tanks.

The further into the desert they went, the more numerous the insects became.

"Why are there so many monsters?"

"Even the relics of Sky City couldn't produce so many Extraordinary Creatures..."

Lu Yuan became numb; if it weren't for the "Concealing" rune, he feared being chased to the ends of the earth by these monsters.

"Could it be that this instance is too high-level for me to handle right now?"

In the distance, monsters were fighting again, a battle between a ten-meter-long sandworm and a roach-like insect.

They hadn't noticed the tricycle hundreds of meters away, and were solely engaged in death struggles, tangled up with each other.

Having seen too many such factional disputes, Lu Yuan was too lazy to pay attention and chose to go around.

Suddenly, his Explorer's Eye flashed with a grand golden light.

Following the direction of the golden light, he took a sharp breath.

He saw...

A black line vertical to the desert that was three thousand meters tall, a size unmatched by any, as if it reached above the sun itself.

It was a... a giant tree on the verge of collapse.

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It was truly gigantic, sprawling before him like a small mountain, its slanted shadow slowly transferring across as the sun inched across the sky, gradually enveloping Lu Yuan.

A mysterious emotion suddenly surged into his mind…

The starry galaxy splendid, the vast landscape sprawling.

The accompaniment of time narrated an endless desolation.

Once remembered, someone planted it into the soil.

Mischievous children frolicking over the ridges, while the elderly remained peacefully serene.

Amidst the laughter, there was anticipation for its growth.

But now, the crying children have turned to dry bones; the bustling civilization reduced to dust and scattered in the wind.
Experience new stories on empire

It had escaped.

The cruel slaughter, the blinding yellow sands.

What's left in the end is only death…

Lu Yuan was stunned for a long time.

Perhaps anyone who witnessed this magnificent scene would be infected by this intense emotion.

He was truly overwhelmed, with voices incessantly echoing in his head, so much so that he couldn't speak for quite some time.

That profound emotion was constantly influencing him.

What lay before his eyes was a corpse… the size of a mountain!

A decaying tree, crawling with insects.

It had been dead for many, many years.

Numerous insects lay their eggs and breed here.

But for some reason, one could still taste a plethora of emotions here…

Emotions emitted by a "corpse".

Lu Yuan let out a heavy sigh, and with a pulse of the Eternal Spark, he absorbed all these emotions cleanly.

He took a closer look.

There were bits and pieces of buildings on the tree, many details eroded by the wind and sand, but indeed traces of man-made constructions.

There once was a saying about the Tamarisk: "It lives a thousand years without dying, stands a thousand years after death, and remains undecayed a thousand years after falling."

This tree was no less remarkable; its roots were all buried in the desert, its main trunk slightly inclined, with countless branches spreading like a peacock's tail for miles, showcasing the vast Life Force it once held.

But now, it was dead.

Turned into an insect nest…

[An "Extraordinary Creature", dead for over two thousand years.]

[All the essence of its flesh has been devoured by the insects, and now only a shell remains, on the verge of complete collapse anytime.]

[Even its name can no longer be investigated.]

"So it was a 'Demon'," the Undying Giant Turtle squinted, looking off into the distance, "Only a 'Demon' could grow so immense."

"It was so powerful…"

"Just the emotions lingering here indicate how strong it must have been. Perhaps in its prime, it could've briefly contended with a 'Ghost'."

Even the turtle marveled, highlighting the intensity of these emotions.

Old Cat was also deeply shocked; such wonders existed in the midst of the desert.

The Wolf trembled uncontrollably, quaking with fear.

Lu Yuan couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, a Catastrophe-level Anomaly 'Demon', had actually perished in this stretch of the desert.

He examined it carefully; a 3000-meter tall plant, partly consumed by insects, it was hard to imagine what it looked like at its peak.

How did it die?

What kind of disaster could have killed such a large tree?

All these became unknowns.

Now, the 'Demon' was just an empty shell, its trunk covered in insect nests, gnawing away at its last essence.

"No wonder there are so many Extraordinary Lives here, turns out there lies a carcass of an anomaly."

"Such a pity, I arrived too late…" a pained expression crossed his face.

Theoretically, there might be some scraps left on this carcass, but the risk was not worth the potential gain; the insects were too numerous, easily in the millions or even billions!

If he were to rush in, he feared he would be utterly devoured.

"This place is probably not Sky City."

"The 'Demon' escaped from Sky City… that means Sky City must be even more powerful than I imagined!" Lu Yuan sought solace amid the pain, comforting himself.

The most crucial task now was to find Sky City.

The 'Demon' here, along with the buildings on it, had been ravaged by the insects, leaving no need for further investigation.

"Let's go, consider it witnessing a wondrous sight." Lu Yuan left with regrets.

"Perhaps, in a hundred years, this spectacle will be devoured entirely by the insects."

Old Cat took photographs, speaking with a heavy heart, "Is there a possibility that the tree died because its mobility was poor, and it simply perished of thirst in the desert?"

"Die that easily, a 'Demon'?" Lu Yuan turned the tricycle's head, changing direction and moving away from the giant tree.

"Although a 'Demon' can grow indefinitely, it does not possess immortality; even the Undying Giant Turtle might die of thirst, so of course, it could die due to physiological reasons."

The turtle, upon hearing that it might die of thirst, was about to curse.

Yet it forcefully held back, wearing a look of resentment—what if Lu Yuan refused it water?

"Let's go, get on!"

Just as everyone was about to leave, a curious, slightly crisp voice entered their ears: "Honorable travelers, can you take me with you?"

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