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

Only the Mirage Cloud Dragon quietly guarded its own territory, watching humans continuously land on the fortress.

It also looked at the sealing, which kept emitting red light and began to collapse, revealing a faint sadness in its eyes.

Having waited so long, it still hadn't seen the Source Fire People return from hibernation.

At this moment, it was powerless, no longer able to suppress the volcanic activity.

"Roar! Roar!" it roared at Lu Yuan twice, its intention unclear.

"Mr. Lu, aren't you coming up?" Jin Dongliang shouted loudly.

The ground began to shift, and fish swam away at high speed, the scene before them increasingly resembling the apocalypse.

Lu Yuan, standing next to the old dragon, shouted loudly, "It wants to tell me how it survived the Epoch Disaster; this is our final deal!"

"You guys go back first; I have the ability to save myself! Don't worry!"

Hearing this, Jin Dongliang immediately commanded the insects to take off.

The Sky Fortress, not daring to delay further, heard "Uncle" shout and then ascended into the sky.

Looking down from above, the entire underwater continent shelf resembled a thin sheet of paper. As the seal continuously collapsed, giant cracks pulled open, revealing the fiery red magma beneath.

This disaster was supposed to be at the end of the Eighth Epoch, but it was delayed until the beginning of the Ninth Epoch.

This rich sea area, dazzlingly beautiful, held stories that were equally awe-inspiring.

But up in the sky, everyone's expression was so melancholic, even beginning to wipe away tears. Because this relic would soon vanish, all information on the Source Fire Civilization would be utterly erased, and the loyal dragon would perish here as well.
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It still hadn't seen the day the Source Fire People awoke.

But it had kept its promise, treading an unregretful path.

How many people in the world do not regret at the last moment of their life?

"Roar!" the Mirage Cloud Dragon roared at Lu Yuan, opening its huge mouth wide as if to signal him to enter.

It was very satisfied with the mortal care it had received from humans over this period, considering it was already supposed to die, persisting until today was indeed a bonus.

But the method to survive the Epoch Disaster was somewhat mystical; one had to enter that volcano.

Lu Yuan felt somewhat gloomy, but at this moment, he didn't waste words and directly climbed into the dragon's mouth.

"Do you still have the strength? Want to eat something? I have enough medicine here."

"Phew!" The Mirage Cloud Dragon had regained a bit of strength over the past nine months.

It exhaled white mist from its mouth, letting its body slowly levitate, deliberately stretching its lips so that Lu Yuan could see the external scene through the gaps between its teeth.

"Thanks, brother!"

Lu Yuan saw the rapidly departing Sky Fortress and waved to them.

Immediately after, the man and the dragon arrived at the volcano's mouth, where large bubbles and toxic gases were emerging. The city's seal had not completely collapsed yet, and the magma was rising at a rate of one meter per minute.

The old dragon growled softly, its skin surface glowing with a faint blue light—this was its control over the Ice Cold Power, effectively isolating the high temperature brought by the magma.

Then, with a "plop" sound, it jumped into the fiery red magma.

"Where are we going?" Lu Yuan got a shock and couldn't help asking.

Miraculously, under the protection of the Mirage Cloud Dragon, he couldn't feel too much heat, only seeing the omnipresent red outside. The scene inside the magma was indeed terrifying to the extreme.

Of course, he was also a person of great courage; if he died, then so be it.

The viscosity and high pressure of the magma clearly brought tremendous stress to the severely injured old dragon; it didn't speak, just mustered its last physical strength, its battered body twisting vigorously, like a loach thrashing about in a blaze of red light.

"Hey, old buddy, I'll transfer some Life Energy to you. Don't be nervous." Lu Yuan was worried it might die halfway, took out a precious Life Fruit, and crushed it into powder.

The surging Life Energy entered the dragon's body, leaving it momentarily astonished.

It felt its body grow several years younger.

You still have such a good thing?

Lu Yuan chuckled, not that he was reluctant to use it, but so far, the Life Fruit could only resurrect him.

The Conch Girl had also been resurrected through the Life Fruit, which involved her mother's transformation. At that time, it had required a massive amount of Ideal Energy...

"I heard from the Undying Giant Turtle that anomalies die in this Epoch, and there's a very low probability of rebirthing in the next Epoch."

"I have two Life Fruits here, one for you as energy, the other to assist your Nirvana... That's all I can do. The rest is up to you."

The Mirage Cloud Dragon wanted to roar, but it almost spat Lu Yuan out of its mouth, forcibly holding it back.

After who knows how long, they arrived at their destination.

Lu Yuan's eyes widened as he saw inside the depths of the magma... a massive house?!

This grand house seemed to be carved from white jade stone, astonishingly beautiful, its overall shape somewhat resembling the dragon palaces of myths, and atop its roof sat a gigantic gear, with a diameter of two hundred meters.

The white jade stones showed no signs of melting in the high-temperature magma, and the gear moved slowly.

"Is this a creation of the Source Fire Civilization?"

"No... it doesn't seem to be."

He quickly used the Pioneer's Eye to observe.

[Ha ha ha ha, which lucky civilization has discovered another treasure of my Gear Civilization?]

[This is the White Jade Gear Hall, built upon a Chaos Essence Stone. We constructed this building to protect the rare Chaos Essence Stone from easy discovery by anomalies.]

[The Chaos Essence Stone can absorb the Earth Vein Power here, continuously growing. The longer it grows, the higher its quality will be.]

[According to our estimate, the volcanic eruption will occur at the end of the Eighth Epoch, and by that time, the Chaos Essence Stone could at least have grown to Epic Level quality!]

[If it can last until the Ninth Epoch, it might even reach Immortal Level!]

[Alas, alas, waiting until the Ninth Epoch is too long, my Gear Civilization will not be able to obtain this treasure but leaves it as is, hoping that a destined person will take it.]

[In the very center of the hall, there is also a legacy of craftsmanship skills. Send the most talented craftsman of your civilization, do not waste it.]

[No need to thank us, my Gear Civilization still has many treasures scattered around the Pangu Continent. As for why we do this? Well, it is better to add a bit more vitality.]

Lu Yuan gasped, his heart pounding, there were remnants of Gear Civilization here!

There was also a legacy?

What incredible luck!

It made every hair on his body stand on end!

Then, many thoughts flashed through Lu Yuan's mind.

The Mirage Cloud Dragon, in order to survive the Epoch Disaster, had hidden inside the magma.

By chance, it found this White Jade Hall, which differentiated it from the other Source Fire People.

But the other Source Fire People weren't as lucky, their own sanctuaries obviously couldn't compare with the epic architecture of the Gear Civilization's "White Jade Hall."

At this moment, the depth of the magma far exceeded ten thousand meters, and the immense heat and pressure were almost too much for even the Mirage Cloud Dragon, blood seeping from its nostrils.

Both creature and human burst into the White Jade Hall, only to feel a slight chill—there was actually air here!

An invisible force, like a bubble, separated the searing magma outside, life could enter, but magma was blocked.

Around the hall, countless gear-like mechanisms absorbed the power of the magma, slowly rotating.

This was Lu Yuan's first true contact with the relics of the Gear Civilization; this vast hall, simply a hundred meters high, made him feel as if he were in a land of giants.

The gears, surrounding him on all sides, seemed to exist between tangible and intangible, just like the Tree of Life, virtualizing upon touch.

The pristine white tiles on the floor depicted various peculiar mechanical designs—many of which were gears. This civilization really loved gears.

He couldn't help but widen his eyes, carefully examining these miraculous gear configurations because he saw the engravings, and when materialism and idealism combined, they indeed emitted unprecedented power.

The entirety of the hall's gears, likely numbering over a hundred million, formed an organic whole, almost like a rule in itself.

However, before he could observe much more, the Mirage Cloud Dragon let out a roar, it was actually exhausted, but out of instinct, it still wanted to run out and suppress the volcano.

"You... are you still going out to give it a try?" Lu Yuan sighed, "There's no chance, the outside Sealing Array has collapsed as well. In your condition, how could you suppress the volcano again?"

"And those hibernating Source Fire People... have already..."

"Roar! Roar!" The Mirage Cloud Dragon roared, signaling him to stop talking.

In the end, Lu Yuan didn't tell it the full truth, let it keep that wishful thinking, it was better that way.

"Sigh... if you want to go, go then, don't mind me, just leave me here."

After the Mirage Cloud Dragon left, Lu Yuan found himself trapped in the White Jade Hall, unable to leave.

But it was just a matter of killing himself to return to the city, dying once was not a big deal for Lu Yuan.

Seeing his reluctance to leave, the Mirage Cloud Dragon nodded at him, growled softly as if to thank him for his care over the past few days.

It had nothing to repay him with, so it left this secret to you, Lu Yuan!

Turning its body, it eagerly faced the magma.

"Goodbye." Lu Yuan also knew, it might be the last time they meet in this lifetime, he slightly bowed, "This gift is incredibly significant to me..."

"All these are for you, even if you cannot suppress the volcano, they should aid you in achieving Nirvana."

He stuffed 98 fruits and corns he had on him into the Mirage Cloud Dragon's mouth. (Most of the fruits were actually by the Tree of Life.)

Then, the Mirage Cloud Dragon plunged headfirst into the magma without turning back.