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

Lu Yuan took a few deep breaths to suppress the curiosity in his heart, dialed the contact number, and called for an emergency security meeting.

Soon, numerous experts, scholars, military personnel, and government officials arrived at the meeting room.

"Comrades, our reconnaissance team has discovered a Snake-man Palace, which might be the chief culprit causing the ghosting phenomenon,"

"Our chance to escape this bizarre situation may very well lie here. Please look at the photos and videos."

Everyone's faces were solemn as they scrutinized each frame, attempting to glean more information.

Before long, someone said, "This palace looks extremely ancient, yet it can still fly in the sky... How powerful must its energy system be?"

The speaker was Sha Mo from the Engineering Department: "I think these Snake-men might be alive; perhaps they are merely basking in the Sun?"

"Without maintenance, no matter how powerful the motive system is, it would be defeated by time."

He added, "Even a Quantum Civilization would need to have a Great Spirit Rhythmer arranged within their flying saucers; surely this palace can't be more powerful than a Quantum Civilization."

"Who knows..." Lu Yuan said with a wry smile, "The so-called Idealism System cannot be judged only by its appearance."

Then, a botany expert, Miss Lu Yueyue, pointed at the photo and said, "This type of red flower is an unseen variety called the Mandala Flower, a name with mythical connotations."

"Our reconnaissance members have found strange flower petals on the grasslands a few days ago; they must be from these flowers."

The mysterious palace hovered in the sky, wafting on the breeze.

The entire city's flowers naturally metabolized, and after the petals withered, they fell onto the grassy ground, eventually picked up by humans.

Humans had never figured out which tree these flowers fell from; now it's finally clear that their origin lies above in the sky.

After withering, the Mandala Flowers became the size of palms, withered and tawny, resembling the color of dried blood.

The result of the identification was somewhat shocking.

[Mandala Flower, a mysterious plant with unknown origin. In certain myths, the Mandala Flower is also known as the guide flower of the Netherworld.]

[Its fruit possesses unique Extraordinary Traits; after consumption, it significantly accelerates the life cycle of intelligent creatures and greatly enhances the consumer's Soul strength and Spirit Resistance. (Low-quality·Natural Oddity)]

"Low-quality... This is just Low-quality?!" Lu Yuan broke into a sweat.

The enhancement in Soul strength is equivalent to the elevation of the "Divine" Attribute, and yet this thing is just Low-quality?

"Yes, indeed it is Low-quality, because the side effects are simply too large," Lu Yueyue explained.

"To significantly accelerate the lifecycle means... the lifespan would be drastically reduced at an unimaginable rate."

"To give a simple example, a human infant, if consuming Mandala fruits regularly, would experience youth, middle age, and old age all within a few short years. Indeed, during the entire process, the Divine Attribute would rise rapidly, but the lifespan would be condensed to just a few years. It's like exchanging lifespan for Divine Attribute."

"Under ordinary circumstances, a natural increase in the Divine Attribute through cultivation would lead to an extension in lifespan. However, the increase from consuming Mandala fruits results in a drastic drop in lifespan."

"It's a unique mechanism issue, so the side effects cannot be diminished... hence the item is rated as Low-quality."

"Couldn't it be used to breed Mutant Animals, Extraordinary Animals? Like, say, egg-laying chickens?" An animal expert suddenly came up with a wild idea.

Extraordinary Animals don't have a high breeding capability, and the probability of passing on their traits is also very low. How to breed them on a large scale has always been a headache, could this thing potentially create miraculous effects?

"No, no no!" Lu Yueyue said, "An accelerated life cycle doesn't mean that growth and development periods will also be accelerated. Humans who consume it over a long period mostly die within 5 years, and a few experts will die within 20 years, by then still only a few years old, essentially short, aged little old men on the verge of death."

"There's the same big problem when used to breed animals. They die too fast, even before they can produce meat."

"Looking at it this way... the value of the Mandala Flower is significantly reduced," Lu Yuan shook his head and then his heart gave a heavy thump.

"No, it's not valueless!" Old Cat said coldly, "In fact, you might say, its value is beyond imagination!"

The conference room fell into silence.

Old Cat's implication was simple—cultivation!

Humans are viviparous, with late maturity and low reproduction rates, unsuitable for cultivation using Mandala Flowers; but what about those egg-laying, early-maturing, high reproduction rate intelligent species? They only need one or two years to mature and lay eggs for the next generation.

Under normal circumstances, it takes education, experience, and societal upbringing to cultivate Divine Attributes above 5 points, but now it is not necessary... it only requires consuming the fruit, a kind of fast tracking.

Thinking this way, everyone looked at the Snake-men and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat; this usage was too dark, even bringing some nameless despair.

After a long time, everyone sighed deeply, their gazes at the photos now filled with profound meaning...

After a while, Old Cat added, "Is there another possibility that this ancient city is not the chief culprit that trapped us here?"

"They are just like us, trapped here for an epoch, ultimately exterminated by an Epoch Disaster."