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

Lu Yuan finally saw the true appearance of this colossal creature: eyes like a cat, bright and spirited; claws and teeth like an eagle, sharp and cutting; mane like a lion, elegant and dazzling; spine like a snake, agile and powerful; tail like a python, spry and smooth.

"There really are dragons in this world..." His pupils involuntarily dilated.

[Anomaly, Essence·Mirage Cloud Dragon]

[Essence, a lower anomaly of the [Demon], a relatively rare existence. The growth rate of [Essence] is slower than that of [Demon], often possessing a modicum of intelligence, and does not fall under the Catastrophe level.]

That was all the information there was; everything else about its attributes and abilities was marked with "???".

This was the largest animal Lu Yuan had seen apart from the "Stone-Carrying Giant Turtle," its pale blue scales opening and closing with each breath, its coiled muscles hiding a terrifying strength, weighing thousands of tons.

Regrettably, this colossal creature had indeed aged.

Conch was right, its life force was slowly ebbing away...

Many scales had fallen off, revealing dark red scabs, and pus was oozing out in some places.

The air was permeated with a scent of decay and ancientness.

Lu Yuan squinted his eyes: "To think I'd see such an aged species..."

Aside from the Four Great Calamities and turtle anomalies, which have nearly endless lifespans, all other anomalies also have a supposed lifespan. Like in the Da Lai Empire Prison, so many anomalies starved to death or died of old age.

The first way to gain more life was to absorb a large amount of "Spirit," which is the Ideal Energy, to forcibly extend one's life.

The second was to use various Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, but such items tended to work wonders when used at a younger age.

By the time one is white-haired and aged, attempting to use them in desperation will yield far inferior results in extending life.

"Roar!!"

The Mirage Cloud Dragon emerged from Different Space, opening its massive maw and biting viciously at the Frozen Undying Giant Turtle!

It clamped its jaws onto the giant turtle frozen into a huge block of ice, but unexpectedly, the turtle's hardness was terrifying, almost chipping its teeth.

"Go to hell, at my peak, I was even larger than you, never would I allow you to hassle me like this!" raged the Undying Giant Turtle, dangling in midair like a little chick, cursing up a storm.

The next second, the Mirage Dragon forcibly swallowed it, a "gulp" sound coming from its throat.

"Good buddy, save me!" the giant turtle bellowed from inside the dragon's belly, "It's so dark in here!"

Lu Yuan knew that his meat shield was gone, they had to resolve this quickly. With a "whoosh" of Instant Teleportation, he moved onto the vast head of the Mirage Dragon and activated the "Spirit Rune," a dreadful chill erupting from the rune!

A phantom image of a green-faced demon with sharp teeth appeared!

With a shrill "waah", a piercing howl emanated, with the horrific sound producing a fan-shaped Spirit Storm that blew forward.

"Aoow!!" the massive creature was caught off guard and sprayed right in the face.

It showed an agonized expression, frantically twisting in pain!

The water's surface erupted with waves like Mountain Shifting.

It truly was old, its combat strength not what it once was; the direct hit of the Spirit Rune at close range left it feeling dizzy and nearly unconscious!

"How can it be so weak?" Lu Yuan was baffled, having expected to fight hundreds of rounds. Could the effect of the Spirit Rune really be that good?

He even considered whether it was better to kill the creature or capture it alive for human use.

The next second, the Mirage Dragon once again Virtualized.

"Splash!"

Lu Yuan also fell in a free fall, dropping into the water.

Perhaps this was some kind of life-saving superpower, for in the blink of an eye, the dragon merged into the water, and before his very eyes, it disappeared.

At that moment, without the maintenance of superpowers, the thick fog quickly dissipated under the sunlight.

"*static* Captain Lu, it seems to have run away? Its combat strength was much weaker than we anticipated, with one more rune, it might have actually fainted."

Yes, other than that very powerful Freezing Ability, with the right artifacts, even a Level Six Grandmaster could potentially put up a fight.

"But we still haven't rescued the Undying Giant Turtle! How are we going to save it? *static*"

Lu Yuan laughed, "No worries, it won't die. It will be pulled out after a while. When that happens, just comfort Mr. Turtle, give it some face, and don't mention this incident."

"Of course, of course."

Everyone laughed; the existence of Mr. Turtle was indeed a boon to all of humanity.

Not only could it provide its Turtle Shell, but it could also undertake many dangerous tasks, reducing unnecessary casualties, which is why it was classified as S-level top talent.

Following that thought, Lu Yuan remembered the pressing matter at hand, and flipped his speedboat back into the water, speeding towards the direction of the massive volcano.

That majestic volcano stood tall above the vast ocean, like a sleeping giant, its stature towering, its peak piercing into the clouds as if it could touch the edge of the sky. Ruins scattered around it added a desolate atmosphere.

It was the last remnant of a civilization.

From ten kilometers away, Lu Yuan could feel the immense heat. At a glance, everything was buried under thick layers of volcanic ash.

So he circled around to see if there were any intact structures.

"Captain Lu, (*static*) to the west!"

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes; it was a massive steel structure resembling the "Bird's Nest" used in the Olympic Games, but much larger.

He quickly changed direction, heading toward the building.

"Roar!!"

A warning sense once again lingered around his ears.

"Be careful, the white fog is appearing again!"

This time, the attack was much slower than the last, possibly because the spiritual attack had indeed caused damage to the enemy.

Icicles launched at Lu Yuan.

But Lu Yuan was fearless and, with an Instant Teleportation, he forcefully broke into the different space where the dark shadow resided.

He could still hear the Undying Giant Turtle yelling from inside the Mirage Cloud Dragon's stomach, "Good brother, are you saving me, or have you just run off yourself? Its stomach is kind of fierce; I can't escape."

"I'm here now, why the rush!"

He took out another Spirit Rune; the rune once again ignited a ghastly shadow with a hideous face, emitting a "wa" roar, sweeping across with a strong Spirit Storm.

Immediately after, he leaped fiercely, grabbing one of the creature's scales.

"Roar!" The Mirage Cloud Dragon showed a look of pain.

It had never expected this little human to enter its different space.

In the next instant, it merged into the water again and vanished from sight.

Lu Yuan looked at the scale in his hand—the size of a water tank, with a whiff of decaying and withering qi.

[Scale of the Mirage Cloud Dragon, a natural material inclined towards cold attributes, Inferior Grade·Natural Wonders.]

This type of Extraordinary Material indeed had some use, but to think, it was only of Inferior Grade...

His mythic dream shattered, Lu Yuan sighed deeply and once again returned to the speedboat, heading toward the building.

"Roar!"

The Mirage Cloud Dragon appeared again.

Having suffered two close-range spiritual attacks, it was extremely weak, barely able to lift its head.

But it still tried desperately to stop Lu Yuan from approaching, the icicles it summoned twisting awkwardly, barely flying a few meters before falling into the sea.

Then, the Mirage Cloud Dragon once again merged into the ocean, leaving only the shouting of the Undying Giant Turtle, "It's so dark here..."

Lu Yuan frowned, thinking it might have fainted, "Check the surrounding sea for any unconscious Mirage Cloud Dragons, and if there are, tie them up and take them back. I'm going to check out the volcano."

"Understood!"

He guided the speedboat to the coastline, where he saw the huge active volcano and the Bird's Nest-shaped structure.

At the moment, restive powers churned inside the volcano crater, dense black smoke spiraling up like messengers from the Netherworld, intertwining and hovering in the sky, partially obscuring the sun. The black smoke, mingled with ash and scorching air currents, wove together and collided in the air, creating a stirring scene.

"Roar!" The Mirage Cloud Dragon appeared again, its enormous body rolling and scraping across the beach.

Seemingly aware it was no match, it began to plead with Lu Yuan.

The huge head nodded incessantly, its massive mouth open, appearing utterly sincere.

Tears, like mist, even seeped from its enormous eyes, one by one rolling down onto the sand.

This scene was somewhat unexpected to Lu Yuan.

His Communicator also relayed this scene back.

The surveillance room fell silent, everyone staring blankly at the old Mirage Cloud Dragon, which might have once been in its prime, the guardian spirit of the whole civilization.

But at this moment, it couldn't even stop Lu Yuan's advance.

All it was guarding was just a pile of empty, uninhabited ruins.

"What's happening, Conch?" Lu Yuan inquired in his mind.

"It's indicating that is its territory and asking us not to approach," the Conch translated cautiously. Find more chapters on My Virtual Library Empire

"Heh, so brutal at first, thinking about eating humans, and now it's meek after taking a beating?" Lu Yuan snorted coldly, "Such a big relic—it's due to its existence that humans should stop excavating?!"

That was also true; even if the Conch was a kind-hearted girl, she couldn't express any opposition on such a matter.

There were too many regrets in the world; all humans could do was focus on the present and seize every opportunity to become stronger.

"Roar!"

The Mirage Cloud Dragon, finding its pleas useless, summoned the last of its energy in an attack, but Lu Yuan, who was on alert, easily dodged it using "Different Space."

The cold frost sprayed on the ground, instantly forming a thick layer of rime.

Lu Yuan leaped out from the different space. Initially, he wanted to hit his opponent with an "Explosion Rune," but ultimately he just snorted and carefully walked past the paralyzed creature, heading toward the direction of the ruins...