Based on the information obtained earlier, the Source Crystal Mine was only a few kilometers away from the resort as the crow flies, located in a certain area in the forest behind the castle.
The forest was vast and filled with countless Demonized Beasts.
A few days ago, he walked down this mountain road, and in the middle section, there was a relatively gentle gap where one could enter the forest...
"However, taking this detour was too far, wasted time, and Number One and Number Two, as Guardian Puppets, had limited activity range, unable to leave their territory too far. It's better to go directly."
On the side of the road near the forest was a towering mountain wall, overgrown with vegetation, densely intertwined. Even an Awakener, without extensive climbing experience, couldn't make it up.
Tang Yu directly gave an order to Number One.
In an instant, spiderweb-like cracks appeared under Number One's feet, and its entire body shot up towards the sky, forcibly creating a path through the dense shrubbery.
For a moment, broken branches and leaves fell like rain, crashing onto the mountain road, creating a mess on the ground.
Tang Yu's mouth twitched slightly as he looked at the path cleared through the mountain wall and then at the rope hanging down from above... Indeed, violence was the best solution to difficulties.
Outside the forest, the sunlight was scorching and unbearably hot.
Inside the forest, it was a completely different story.
Trees grew vigorously, trunks and roots crisscrossed, branches and leaves lush, as if stepping into a primeval forest, with sunlight blocked out. Not only did the light become much dimmer, but even the temperature must have dropped several degrees.
Undoubtedly, these changes occurred only after the apocalypse.
Each tree seemed to have taken growth hormones, and in some densely packed areas, Tang Yu even saw branches intertwined together in an inappropriate embrace!
Perhaps it wouldn't be long before even if the plants became sentient, Tang Yu wouldn't be surprised.
The forest was very silent, with only the occasional rustling sound caused by the wind brushing past the treetops.
The chirping of insects and birds was no longer heard, and Tang Yu was actually curious as insects seemed to have disappeared post-apocalypse... As for birds, at least he had seen the Demonized Bird polluted by the red mist, but insects, he indeed had not seen.
They were supposed to be the most common creatures, yet indeed there hadn't been a report of insect mutations. Could it be that insects were too weak and got wiped out?
Tang Yu felt that couldn't be true. Insects had top-notch reproductive and adaptive abilities. He was more worried that if insects got Demonized and some mutations occurred, they might be more difficult to deal with than ordinary Demonized Beasts.
Then, Number Two, who was walking on the right side, suddenly stepped forward, reaching out to grab a green vine and squeezed it hard.
The vine burst open, and yellow-green liquid splattered all over, making a sizzling sound.
"Is this... a snake?!"
He was startled; if he had been alone, he certainly wouldn't have dared to enter such a forest.
Outside, apart from a few assassination-type Demonized Beasts, most were not difficult to spot. However, in the forest, snake, which retained its original animal hunting habits even after Demonization, became much more dangerous in such complex environments.
This was just a relatively weak Demonized Snake.
"Unfortunately, the meat of Demonized Beasts is mostly inedible. If it were a Mutated Snake, it would be a different story."
It seemed like the beginning.
As he gradually delved into the forest, more and more Demonized Beasts appeared before Tang Yu.
Some native Demonized Beasts retained their original appearance, while others mutated, becoming bizarre and grotesque.
Giant Demonized Rabbits larger than tigers and leopards, Demonized Squirrels with three tails, and even more grotesque entities crawling out of Abyssal Rifts, mostly unseen before...
He thought that in the future, if given the chance, he could number these Demonized Beasts and give them names. Otherwise, encountering them without being able to identify them would seem quite uneducated.
The environment in the forest was complex, and the location of the Source Crystal Mine was also uncertain. Tang Yu wandered for a long time without finding the Source Crystal Mine.
"Could this information be false? But would Wang Tai dare to trade a false message with the Lindong boss?"
Regardless of the message's truth, the forest's danger level was such that Han Jing's team wouldn't last long even if they ventured in, let alone find the Source Crystal Mine.
It's said that even Wang Tai and his team only saw it from a distance while fleeing.
In this forest, with such dense trees already obstructing vision, how could they see it?
He felt like he had received false information!
A large patch of bright light appeared ahead, and Tang Yu rubbed his eyes, quite sure it was sunlight.
"How could sunlight be in this forest? Could it be outside the forest already? That's impossible, considering how slowly one moves through the forest. According to the position, this should just be the forest's edge, far from crossing to the other side, so then..."
He stepped forward quickly, with sounds of impacts coming from both sides as Numbers One and Two dealt with some harassing Demonized Beasts.
The front suddenly became clear.
A pit appeared in sight, with sunlight pouring in, causing a shimmering sparkle.
It was a giant pit, with the bottom covered in gleaming white stones—minerals containing Source Crystals, Rough Stones.
Unsurprisingly, it was a bare mine.
The Source Crystal Mine was already stunning from afar, especially under the sun, as the stone blocks reflected a gleaming white light. But Tang Yu's gaze remained fixed on the center of the giant pit.
There stood a gigantic tree.
The forest's trees were already quite towering, yet they couldn't compare to this one.
The giant tree rooted itself at the Source Crystal Mine's center, with underground roots intertwined like winding dragons.
The tree's branches were plentiful, but rather than the usual lush green, the leaves were seemingly transparent white.
Tang Yu fixed his eyes, seemingly seeing networks running through the transparent leaves.
The giant tree seemed dreamlike.
In comparison, the Source Crystal Mine below paled in its brilliance.
Shaking his head, Tang Yu refrained from probing the tree further.
The giant tree didn't appear dangerous, and as for how it mutated, that could be explored later—after all, the tree wouldn't disappear. For now, it was best to move the Rough Stones away first.
He didn't want to get too close to the tree, only finding a spot at the edge of the giant pit where Rough Stones were abundant.
With Numbers One and Two guarding his side, Tang Yu took a handful of round balls from his pocket and threw them out forcefully.
The Basic-Type Warrior Puppets, it had to be them!
In midair, accompanied by a slight sound, the balls, the size of ping-pong balls, continued to deform and expand until they became puppets with round torsos and thick arms.
As soon as the puppets landed, Tang Yu immediately controlled them to mine—Basic-Type Warrior Puppets didn't have this action programmed, but it was simple, like clearing stones at the resort usually with swings and strikes. There was no worry of damage, as Rough Stones, along with ordinary rocks, were thrown out.
The Rough Stones were quite large, but contained little Source Crystal. If using an ordinary backpack, not much could be carried. However, Tang Yu had a Space Backpack.
Piece by piece, Rough Stones were packed into the backpack.
The puppets' movements were rather commotion-heavy, like stirring up a hornet's nest.
From beneath the giant tree, in its root entanglement, countless Demonized Beasts surged out.
In a massive wave of black, they fiercely rushed forward.
Tang Yu frowned, "There are quite a few, but fortunately, it's not necessary to repel all these Demonized Beasts, only to hold on for a while."
Leaving Number Two to guard the surroundings, Number One darted with lightning speed into the midst of the Demonized Beasts.
The silver spear in Number One's hand moved like a dancing dragon, darting and sweeping rather than stabbing with precision. Where it passed, Demonized Beasts were either mortally wounded and bloody or completely blasted into a mist of blood.
There was no opponent that could withstand a single engagement.
This was the upgraded Guardian Puppet.
With each Territory upgrade, the two Guardian Puppets would also receive a significant boost.
In terms of strength, even Luo Zhe, who had broken through the Body-shaping Realm, couldn't compare with these two puppets. If it weren't for their limited activity range, Tang Yu would have dared to confront the boss at Lindong Sanctuary with them.
With the Demonized Beasts' death, a continuous flow of soul power surged into Tang Yu's body.
Each Demonized Beast's soul power might have been a trickle, but now, it felt like a rushing river.
For a moment, though not yet refined, he felt a sense of fullness.
Truly, there were too many Demonized Beasts!
If he were hunting on his own, even with Awakening Second-tier strength, against First Layer Demonized Beasts, he needed to be cautious. After battling each Demonized Beast, a considerable amount of rest was required, not to mention facing the dangers of the encounters.
He somewhat understood why some people, despite awakening for a while, still stayed at the same power level, not that they weren't putting in effort, but because... they simply couldn't defeat the Demonized Beasts!
To level up, going without cheats wasn't an option.
Indeed, this was the true usage of Guardian Puppets.