Amidst the vast expanse of the communal wasteland, where the discarded relics of countless realms were strewn about, a figure stood in awe. His name was Qin昊, a cultivator who had stumbled upon something extraordinary.

Before him lay a storage ring, an A+ grade treasure that intrigued Qin昊 greatly. What set it apart was the small hollow space within, large enough to be a pocket universe. The ring itself had a unique skill emblazoned upon it.

【Vacuum Qi: Automatically absorbs the Qi from the void, capable of housing living beings.】

Qin昊's eyes widened with surprise at the sight of this. he realized that this was no ordinary ring, for it could not only store vast amounts of items but also harbor living beings, allowing them to thrive within its confines. Such a ring, in the richness of the cosmos, was a rarity, for it was akin to a six-stage life-strength cultivator's inner realm, though such realms were usually no more than a few hundred square meters in size. This storage ring, however, had an expansive million square meters, leaving the inner realms in the dust.

“I wonder how much this could fetch if I were to auction it,” Qin昊 pondered.

While he had desired such a ring before obtaining his system, which included a Creation God Pagoda capable of creating space and sealing others, the ring was little more than a means to acquire more cultivation resources. It was precious indeed, but it was no substitute for his system or the Creation God Pagoda.

With the Vacuum Qi Ring securely stowed away in his system warehouse, Qin昊 decided to stay a while longer in the communal wasteland. His luck had been in overdrive today, and he might just find another treasure, be it a mythical artifact, a divine weapon, or even a supreme elixir.

He wandered through the space, eyes cast about for any hidden gems that the others had overlooked. These objects had long been sifted through by many, and the chances of finding anything valuable were slim, but Qin昊 had the advantage of his system.

Here and there, he picked up items that others had deemed trash—rubbish that, in his eyes, held the potential for immense power.

After what felt like miles of searching, Qin昊 found two such items.

【Crumpled Sun Yang Iron Lock, Grade E.】

【Original Dispersed Blood Dragon Iron, Grade C.】

After picking them up, he discarded them without even glancing at their properties, for they were still worth a few points to him for recycling.

As the points accumulated, Qin昊's heart swelled with satisfaction. Others might see them as waste, but to him, they were treasure.

Without a care for the time passing, Qin昊 ventured deeper into the wasteland. The further he went, the more he felt a resisting force, as if the space itself were trying to halt his progress. With a burst of speed from the Lotus Saint Robe, he defied the spatial barrier.

“Ahead lies a garbage valley, perhaps it harbors some lost treasures,” Qin昊 thought as he charged in.

When he entered the valley, he found a small stream of running water among the heaps of garbage. And at the source, a mist enshrouded the sight. The projections from his system revealed a peculiar sight—a small tree of about one meter in height with a trunk resembling a dragon's scales, solid as metal. Two red, orange-sized fruits hung from its branches, looking delicious.

“What is that?” Qin昊 puzzled over, his mind flashing through countless knowledge of spiritual fruits but coming up empty. It was a fruit he had never seen before. Could it be...

【Yin-Yang Spiritual Fruit】

【Rank: 3rd Grade Spiritual Fruit.】

【Description: A seed from a yin-yang fairy tree from a medium-sized cosmic world that had absorbed yin and yang energies, allowing for rapid growth. It flowers in ten days, bears fruit in ten days, and withers after ten days, producing only two fruits, one yin and one yang, before it dies.】

It was the rarest of fruits, and Qin昊 was upon a treasure once again.

“Just how much might this fruit enhance my cultivation?” Qin昊 wondered as he approached the mist.

As he drew closer, a powerful burst from the mist knocked him back. He summoned a chaotic imprint from within his life particles.

Crash!

With a thunderous roar, the imprint smashed the mist, and the space around it began to crack, the sound of crackling filling the air. The mist dissipated, revealing the true form of the yin-yang tree.

Simultaneously, thousands of miles away, within a mountain, a mist began to swirl and emerge. Its eyes shot open, revealing a glint of intelligence, and a hoarse voice echoed from its throat: “I am just one fruit short of breaking through. I must go seek some resources, perhaps in the human realm this time.”

A whisp of mist surged as it made its way, soon appearing among the yin-yang fruit.

When Qin昊 detected the incoming threat, he knew exactly what kind of being he was facing, a mists-being.

Among the myriad races brought by the waste, many had thrived in this space, and many were hostile to humans. Some even showed goodwill. But this mist-being was from the Mists Race, a known enemy to humans.

The mists-being spoke, “Human, hand over the fruit, and I will spare you.”

Recognizing this as a劫修, Qin昊 knew that these beings were cultivators who sought resources by pillaging others and were universally despised.

“All I hear is silence, so it seems your life is over,” the mists-being said as it unleashed its power upon Qin昊, the mist swirling and enveloping the space around them. Weapons and fearsome creatures appeared, thousands of them, slicing and dicing at Qin昊 from every angle.

“Rubbish!” Qin昊 cursed, feeling insulted by the mere thought that he could be so easily subdued. With a thought, he activated the Lotus Saint Robe, which burst into golden light and formed a protective aura around him.

Poom!

Boom!

Thunks...

The sounds of impact reverberated through the air.

After a moment, the mists-being chuckled, “You thought you could escape with just a life? I will leave you alive for a moment!”

The mists-being's figure vanished, only to appear moments later in a pile of smoldering debris. He gazed at the intact figure of Qin昊, his face contorted in shock. “How is this possible!”

In the next instant, Qin昊 saw a massive seal, swirling with the essence of chaos and radiating with an aura of the primordial, hurtling towards him.