Zheng Dong followed Wei Yi out of the hotel and boarded a flying vehicle.
After flying for two to three hours, they landed in a region of towering mountains and rugged peaks.
This area was still within Yanhuang territory, relatively close to Gui City.
However, the surrounding two to three hundred kilometers were uninhabited.
Led by Wei Yi, Zheng Dong entered a mythical-grade ruin space.
This appeared to be a fixed ruin space.
Its area, however, was not very large.
There was no land inside, only water everywhere.
The Volcano Cult had constructed a large platform here.
The platform was divided into multiple zones, primarily for experimental research.
Cultivation, on the other hand, had to be done underwater.
Beneath the water lay a small island the size of a football field.
The cultivation speed on this island was twenty times faster than in the outside world, significantly quicker than even the Diyuan ruin space.
The entire island was enveloped by a transparent defensive barrier, resembling a glass dome, separating the island from the water currents.
The water here was denser than in the outside world, with a density approximately five times greater.
Consequently, the water pressure was immense, requiring special diving suits to descend.
Naturally, Zheng Dong did not need one. He possessed the Sea Contract talent bead, allowing him to merge with the water currents and move freely underwater.
Although Wei Yi possessed the bloodline power of the Evil Spirit Banshee, the banshee's combat ability in water was poor.
Even as a legendary beast tamer, she required a special diving suit.
After all, the depth from the water's surface to the island below was several hundred meters.
Zheng Dong followed Wei Yi as they descended to the island.
Normally, a maximum of three to five people were allowed to cultivate here simultaneously.
Currently, to ensure Zheng Dong's cultivation was undisturbed, the members of the Volcano Cult who were cultivating there had all departed.
On the island, there was only one beast tamer with white hair and a face covered in wrinkles, appearing so aged that one might assume he was eighty or ninety years old.
In reality, he was only slightly older than Wei Yi.
His name was Shi Qian. Before joining the Volcano Cult, he was merely a beast tamer of average talent.
After joining the Volcano Cult, he gained the bloodline power of the Candle Dragon, mastering the power of time. Furthermore, the Volcano Cult helped him acquire a talent bead related to time.
Subsequently, he replaced all his contracted spirit beasts with those of the time element.
However, excessive use of time power affected his lifespan.
This was why he appeared so aged.
Wei Yi held Shi Qian in high regard.
She led Zheng Dong to Shi Qian and bowed slightly.
"Thank you for your trouble."
"You are too kind, Saintess," Shi Qian replied.
He then glanced at Zheng Dong, without much further attention, and summoned his spirit beasts to set up a grand formation.
Setting up the formation consumed considerable resources and required Shi Qian to continuously maintain its operation.
Once the formation was complete, Zheng Dong's cultivation speed on the island could reach approximately thirty times that of the outside world.
This meant that one day of cultivation here was equivalent to one month outside.
Such speed was unimaginable for ordinary individuals.
Zheng Dong also thanked Shi Qian and entered the formation, preparing to cultivate.
First, he needed to adjust his state.
When his own condition reached its optimal state, Zheng Dong took out the legendary-grade resource given by Wei Yi, the Enlightenment Bodhi Fruit.
Zheng Dong's Beast Taming Talent Skill Domain had a similar effect.
However, the Enlightenment Bodhi Fruit could enhance the state of "unity of man and nature," making it easier for Zheng Dong to cross the threshold to become a legendary beast tamer.
Moreover, receiving something for free and not using it would be a waste.
He hadn't even considered selling it for money or exchanging it for other resources.
After all, at this moment, improving his strength was paramount.
Additionally, ordinary people could not offer resources equivalent to legendary-grade items for exchange.
After consuming the Enlightenment Bodhi Fruit, Zheng Dong entered an ineffable and wondrous state.
Principles that were previously incomprehensible were instantly understood.
The effect of the Enlightenment Bodhi Fruit could last for approximately forty-nine days, during which Zheng Dong's cultivation would reach its golden period, yielding the best results.
Following this, Zheng Dong also consumed the Spirit Calming Poria and the Blood Human Fruit.
The Spirit Calming Poria could strengthen spiritual power.
After eating it, he felt refreshed and full of energy.
The Blood Human Fruit was only the size of a fist and resembled a small human, lifelike.
After consuming it, he felt no hunger and sensed streams of power surging into his body, continuously strengthening it.
Subsequently, Zheng Dong began to cultivate.
He had a large quantity of Ethereal Stones provided by the Volcano Cult.
Using these Ethereal Stones, he could upgrade his beast-taming space to Level Seven.
Time always passed quickly during cultivation.
In the blink of an eye, one month passed, and Zheng Dong's spiritual power reached the peak.
Using the skill "Telekinetic Control," he could effortlessly overturn a speeding heavy-duty truck and lift it into the air.
The improvement in his spiritual power was smoother than Zheng Dong had anticipated.
This was likely related to the Enlightenment Bodhi Fruit and the Spirit Calming Poria.
In a state of enlightenment, spiritual power grew faster.
The Spirit Calming Poria also continuously strengthened Zheng Dong's spiritual power, making it normal for it to reach the peak within a month.
Furthermore, the cultivation speed here was thirty times that of the outside world, meaning one month of cultivation here was equivalent to two and a half years outside.
With the breakthrough in his spiritual power, Zheng Dong also touched upon the threshold of becoming a legendary beast tamer.
His beast-taming space was further strengthened, about to be upgraded to Level Seven.
Upon becoming a legendary beast tamer, one could learn certain beast tamer skills, such as phasing, modifying beast-taming space, sealing techniques, and spiritual deterrence.
Of course, whether these skills could be mastered depended on the beast tamer's own abilities.
Many legendary beast tamers could only master spiritual deterrence.
As for Zheng Dong, he was indifferent, as he had mastered all his spirit beasts' skills.
Continuing to cultivate, another fifteen days passed.
Zheng Dong clearly felt his body had become much stronger than before. If a comparison were to be made, he felt his physique was comparable to that of an ordinary Emperor-grade spirit beast.
However, he still could not withstand the impact of two bloodline powers.
Despite this, Zheng Dong had not yet broken through.
He felt he was already halfway to becoming a legendary beast tamer, just a little more needed to achieve it.
Adjusting his state, he continued to cultivate.
In the blink of an eye, another seven days passed, and Zheng Dong finally broke through to become a legendary beast tamer.
His beast-taming space was upgraded to Level Seven, allowing him to contract seven Emperor-grade spirit beasts.
Currently, having contracted Xiao Zi, Xiao Qing, Jing Jing, Yin Xue, and Mao Mao, he could still contract two more spirit beasts.
With the advancement of his realm, his beast-taming talent also improved further.
Under the effect of his skill domain, the cultivation speed of his contracted spirit beasts also became faster. Even upgrading a quasi-divine skill to the "Profound" level would take less than a month.
Moreover, the number of imprinted quasi-divine skills increased to seven.
As for skills below quasi-divine, there was no limit to imprinting.
In addition, Zheng Dong could combine any six skills to form an ultimate technique, unleashing even greater power.
Sensing Zheng Dong's change, Shi Qian breathed a sigh of relief.
To maintain the grand formation, his consumption was also immense, and he looked ten years older.
If Zheng Dong had not broken through, he truly feared he might die here.
However, Zheng Dong had not finished cultivating.
Xiao Zi and the other spirit beasts had not yet broken through.
He also needed to consolidate his gains.
Thus, he cultivated for another ten-plus days.
The first to break through this time was Xiao Qing, whose growth level reached the General grade.
Following closely was Mao Mao, who also advanced to the General grade.
Xiao Zi and Jing Jing both reached the Monarch grade.
Yin Xue was stuck at the Monarch grade and did not advance this time.
Youyou and Ling'er both reached the Emperor grade.
This significantly boosted Zheng Dong's strength.
However, it was still insufficient compared to his current predicament. He needed even greater power to resolve the Ghost Ring and escape the control of the Spirit of the Relic in the Ghost Soul Ruin Space.
After finishing his cultivation, Zheng Dong thanked Shi Qian again and left the island, returning to the platform on the water's surface.
Wei Yi had not left and was still waiting for Zheng Dong.
She had not forgotten her objective: to have Zheng Dong participate in the God Creation Plan.
The God Creation Plan was not merely about creating a single mythical-grade beast tamer, but about finding a fixed path for beast tamers to break through to the divine level.
This was to ensure that in the future, amidst complex and unpredictable changes, humanity would not be eliminated and reduced to the dependents of certain divine-level extraordinary beings.
Seeing Zheng Dong break through to become a legendary beast tamer, Wei Yi seemed even happier than Zheng Dong.
"How do you feel? The legendary grade is vastly different from the Grandmaster grade.
Among ten Grandmasters, perhaps not even one can break through to the legendary level! At your age, you are likely the youngest legendary beast tamer in Yanhuang, or even on the entire Blue Star." Wei Yi said.
"I've just broken through, and compared to you, I still have a long way to go," Zheng Dong replied with a smile.
Of course, he was just saying that.
In a real fight, Wei Yi might not be his opponent.
Wei Yi did not seem to mind.
"Let's go, I'll take you to celebrate."
Wei Yi did not rush to discuss business but led Zheng Dong to a grand hall.
Ample food was prepared here, enough for seven or eight people.
However, no one else was present.
Wei Yi did not eat much herself but instead mixed several delicious cocktails for Zheng Dong.
Seeing that Zheng Dong had eaten his fill, Wei Yi finally spoke:
"Now it's time for you to fulfill your promise and participate in the God Creation Plan."
Zheng Dong's expression was calm, and he nodded slightly.
"I have no problem and can participate anytime, but I know that for every step of the God Creation Plan's experiments, I don't want to be a guinea pig who knows nothing.
Furthermore, I have a problem with my body. I was planted with a Ghost Ring by the Spirit of the Relic in the Ghost Soul Ruin Space. I don't know if it will affect the experiments."
Wei Yi was stunned.
She was very surprised, completely unaware that Zheng Dong had other issues.
She had never heard of a Ghost Ring and had no idea if it would affect the experiments.
She looked at Zheng Dong with a complex expression.
She listened attentively as Zheng Dong recounted everything that had happened in the Ghost Soul Ruin Space.
She frowned.
"I also don't know if it will affect the experiments. We will need to re-evaluate your body and then formulate a detailed plan.
As for the Ghost Ring, we will also try to help you resolve it.
If it cannot be resolved, we can only protect you as you enter the Underworld Ghost King Realm," Wei Yi said.
At this point, their Volcano Cult had already invested significant resources in Zheng Dong and was unwilling to see him suffer any accidents.
Zheng Dong was indifferent.
His body had already deteriorated significantly, and participating in experiments might worsen it. However, there was also hope of gaining greater power. If the God Creation Plan succeeded, he might become a mythical-grade beast tamer.
At that point, he might even be able to control the Volcano Cult.
Afterward, led by Wei Yi, Zheng Dong left the ruin space and headed to the Volcano Cult's secret experimental base.
By now, the national competition had long concluded.
Zheng Dong had also taken leave from Principal Yu of Modu University.
As for whether he would graduate in the end, Zheng Dong was not worried at all.
The Combat Department was different from other departments; graduation depended on strength. As long as one reached the Master-grade beast tamer level, they could graduate.
If one was only a High-grade beast tamer, their performance in regular studies would be considered.
Therefore, Zheng Dong had long met the graduation requirements.
Additionally, Shen Bing and Shen Xue were still within Zheng Dong's ruin space.
If anything happened to the Spirit of the Relic, he could notify Shen Bing and Shen Xue at any time.
Of course, he had not informed Wei Yi of the two sisters' existence.
Going to the Volcano Cult's experimental base was akin to entering a tiger's den, so he had to be cautious.
Although the two sisters' strength was lacking, they could still be of some help.
Led by Wei Yi, Zheng Dong traveled by flying vehicle to the vicinity of the Yun City border.
The mountains here were also vast, and the Volcano Cult's largest experimental base was hidden within them.
The experimental base was built within the mountain range, extending hundreds of meters underground, with a construction area even larger than a county town.
Under Wei Yi's guidance, Zheng Dong entered a canyon and then circled behind a giant rock, where a hidden door was concealed.
Opening the hidden door, they entered a narrow passage with multiple branches. Taking a wrong turn would lead them back outside.
Furthermore, identity verification was required at regular intervals. After multiple verifications, Zheng Dong finally arrived at the entrance of the experimental base with Wei Yi.
"You guys have made this too complicated. Even entering the national resource storage, it wasn't this strict," Zheng Dong complained.
"Of course. In the eyes of our Volcano Cult, this is far more important than the national resource storage. Even our own internal members need to undergo strict selection to enter," Wei Yi said proudly.
Zheng Dong quickly understood.
This place likely stored a vast amount of resources, including various precious bloodline potions.
Some bloodline potions were even comparable in value to legendary or mythical-grade resources.
Moreover, the resources required to extract these bloodline potions were likely even more valuable.
For instance, to extract Vermillion Bird bloodline potions, one only needed to find extraordinary beings with the Vermillion Bird bloodline or well-preserved remains.
The corpses of many divine-level extraordinary beings could remain preserved in certain ruin spaces for tens of thousands of years, or even longer.
Of course, some ruin spaces also contained extraordinary beings with certain bloodline powers.
Related bloodline potions could be extracted from these extraordinary beings.
For example, the Candle Dragon bloodline potion that Shi Qian obtained was extracted from a Time Serpent found in a ruin space.
However, one Time Serpent would certainly not be enough.
To extract sufficient Candle Dragon blood, the Volcano Cult had nearly cleared out all the Time Serpents in that ruin space.
This was why Wei Yi was so proud.
The resources stockpiled in this experimental base were accumulated by their Volcano Cult from the Yan Emperor era until now.
Even the resource storage of Yanhuang might not be as rich in resources as this place.
Entering the experimental base required a final identity confirmation.
The elder who confirmed identities was actually a titled Legendary.