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

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The speedboat's roaring propellers churned up a trail of silvery-white spray on the sea surface, like pearls brushing against the face, mixed with the salty sea breeze, bringing an ice-cool chill. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

Lu Yuan's thoughts drifted back to more than sixty years ago; back then, he darted among the major cities of the Rize Civilization, feeling a similar thrill of speed.

"Conch, if that thing shows up, you hit me with the battle buff first."

"We communicate if possible, and if not, we fight and thrash it!"

"Understood."

At critical moments, his companions had always been reliable.

The Undying Giant Turtle, unaware that Lu Yuan harbored a tree and a conch in his mind, chirped incessantly, "Bro, what's the plan? I'll take the hits, you deal the damage?"

"As you know, Mr. Turtle, although I'm tough, my attack power isn't high."

Lu Yuan chuckled, "I brought three Spirit Runes. If they don't work after I've used them all, we'll just get out of here. No need to risk our lives in this place."

"No problem," the foolish turtle retracted its neck slightly, voice lowered, "Bro, if that thing is too strong, you escape on your own. I won't die anyway."

Lu Yuan smiled. He did have that intention; though the Undying Giant Turtle was somewhat lacking in capability, the camaraderie was top-notch.

"(*Static) Captain Lu, we're observing you from ten kilometers high. Turn on the Sun Lamp; it can disperse some of the fog."

"Sure."

The speedboat hovered at the edge of the white fog without rashly pressing deeper.

The visibility worsened, and the bank of fog drifted closer, enveloping him.

Lu Yuan's wandering thoughts ceased as he took out a "pearl for underwater breathing" and placed it under his tongue, a cold sensation enveloping his entire body.

He then shook the cloak meant for concealing his qi tighter around himself.

Subsequently, he dived into the water, hugging the speedboat tightly.

Headset: (*Static) "Captain Lu, there's a shadow approaching from the northeast direction! 4 kilometers... 3.5 kilometers... 3 kilometers! It's moving fast!"

Lu Yuan turned his head, eyes widening as a rotten and fishy odor hit him.

A huge elongated shadow loomed, flickering in and out of the mist, at least a hundred meters in length; its head alone, raised, was more than ten meters tall—a daunting oppressive force.

The Undying Giant Turtle promptly lifted its neck to increase its own fighting spirit—a common intimidating gesture to make oneself appear larger.

But it seemed somewhat futile.

"Don't get agitated yet!"

"It could still be hiding in Different Space; this one might just be a shadow."

Lu Yuan telepathically communicated with the Undying Giant Turtle while calling on the conch to soothe the approaching shadow.

If they could resolve this peacefully, it would be for the best.

The huge shadow's eyes emitted a faint red glow which deepened to a bright red, then darker, continually sizing up the Undying Giant Turtle and Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan still clung to the underbelly of the speedboat.

In his mind, he pondered whether using "Spatial Teleportation" to directly enter the opponent's Different Space for a fierce close combat was an option?

But as a man who preferred to fight with his "intelligence," he liked to plan before acting.

Unless there was enough certainty, there was no need to act recklessly.

"Splash!" Waves surged as the Undying Giant Turtle swung its four legs, struggling to balance its body.

The turtle appeared nervous, not out of fear, but due to the opponent's size dwarfing its own, which agitated it; how could it have not grown more after all the years of eating?

Its eyes bulged, muscles across its body tensed.

"Mr. Turtle, if it really comes to a fight, I'll use the Spirit Attack Rune straight away. You just protect yourself," Lu Yuan prepared for defense.

The turtle retracted its head; the rune, with 40% power of the Devil·Painted Skin version, could generate a powerful Spirit Storm. In tests, it had knocked the turtle out cold, causing no small psychological trauma.

And the conch continued to communicate, occasionally sending a message, "This big fellow seems to really have intelligence, but not much of it, a bit exhausting to deal with... and it even shows a hint of senility. Could it really be from the last Epoch?"

"It's communicating with me."

"Mm... I'm trying."

"ROAR!!" The dark shadow suddenly let out a loud roar.

"Trouble... It seems a bit angry, it keeps roaring, wanting us to leave this place!"

Lu Yuan also felt something was off; the red glow in the creature's eye sockets flickered like flames, heavy with anger lurking in the air.

"WAH GA GA!" The Undying Giant Turtle, not to be outdone, let out a roar of its own.

In the next instant, red light shattered across the scene, and waves up to two meters high appeared on the surface of the water.

The shadow became increasingly agitated, and the voice of the conch grew more urgent, "Mr. Lu... it seems a little angry; I can't console it."

A crisis was imminent!

Lu Yuan held his breath, shield in the left hand, Spirit Impact Rune pinched in the right. He was clear that the shadow was still hiding in a Different Space; he had to find the right opportunity to give it a serious blow.

"Conch, are there any other creatures around here?"

"There should be... should be only this one; it's extremely violent, rejecting other creatures from coming here."

"What I mean is, are there any young ones around? That's why it's so agitated."

"Should be... none... I've sensed it; there are none." The conch began casting buff spells on Lu Yuan.

Using "Mind Control," an imitation of "Animal Affinity," would be slightly weaker than the original version.

But the conch could use even more Divine Skills, such as "Child of the Sea," a rare ability capable of commanding marine life, or "Natural Affinity," an Upper Ability of Animal Affinity.

Adding these up, her ability to soothe was actually somewhat higher than others.

"(*Static) Captain Lu, that shadow is changing; it's brewing something!"

"An attack could be coming any moment!!" The reconnaissance team in the sky once again yelled over the headset.

The next moment, ice arrows as fast as lightning were launched towards Lu Yuan and the Undying Giant Turtle with the speed that left no room for reaction!

The ice arrows, like cone-shaped stalagmites, each weighed hundreds of kilograms, bringing a bone-chilling gleam!

Lu Yuan quickly took cover behind the Large Shield, his body glowing red; the cold-resistant gear truly did its job as he emerged almost unscathed.

While the Undying Giant Turtle took the brunt of the attack, icicles smashed onto its shell, creating surging waves. Its four paws didn't stop moving through the water, angrily roaring, "You dare launch a sneak attack, you loach!"

"Let's see how granddad deals with you."

"Mr. Turtle, hold on a second; I'll look for an opportunity to sneak attack." Lu Yuan plunged into the water with a 'plop,' using the body of the Undying Giant Turtle to block the opponent's view, and activated Different Space to protect himself.

At this moment, the huge shadow was still hiding in a Different Space, firing ice arrows!

The Undying Giant Turtle, cursing under its breath, charged forward undaunted, biting at what seemed like just an illusion, for the real Mirage Dragon was still hidden in a Different Space!

"WAH GA GA!"

"ROAR!!"

A slight blue light started to glow beside the Undying Giant Turtle; this could be the Mirage Dragon's real killer move!

This move was overwhelmingly powerful; with the threat of death enveloping him, Lu Yuan did not dare to be careless and immediately used Different Space.

Even the Flying Team tens of thousands of meters high in the sky felt an intense chill, and the people in the monitoring room couldn't help but widen their eyes, their hearts pounding with fear.

Upon looking again, the seawater in an area of hundreds of meters around had all frozen into ice!

And the turtle had turned into a massive ice lump, motionless.

"Good, good, brother has finally been defeated." Lu Yuan stared intently,

In the next instant, that dark shadow finally... moved!

It slowly pushed its massive head out from the Different Space...