Shibeng was covered in molten rock. The hand gripping the Gray Ore Race member was still dripping with red magma.

The magma flowed over the Gray Ore Race member’s body, leaving black scorch marks in its wake.

Shibeng gave him no chance. With a wrench of his arm, he twisted the Gray Ore Race member’s neck, then stomped the fallen body to pieces.

He watched for a long time, but the Gray Ore Race member’s body didn’t move again. It seemed to be truly dead.

In his molten form, Shibeng stood amidst the black, superheated crystals, staring at his arm as if studying his current state.

’I wonder if killing this Gray Ore Race member will also give me that sudden surge of power.’

Mo Ling watched the Gray Ore Race member, his heart filled with shock.

’This seems to be an Abnormal Vein Patient.’

But he hadn’t been infected by the Abnormal Vein malady, perhaps due to Shibeng’s Molten Armor.

Or maybe it was because this battlefield wasn’t real, so the Abnormal Vein malady couldn’t be transmitted here.

Moreover, Mo Ling had seen it clearly. After being grabbed by Shibeng, the Gray Ore Race member’s expression had changed from regret to relief.

He maintained that relieved expression right up until the moment he was killed and his head hit the ground, as if he were very satisfied with Shibeng’s performance.

’He’s about to die, and he’s this happy?’

Mo Ling couldn’t wrap his head around it.

But now, it seemed Shibeng had won the battle.

A blinding white light enveloped the entire Thorn Stone Forest. The ground suddenly transformed into countless rainbow-colored gems that surged into Shibeng’s body.

Immediately after, Shibeng vanished, and the surroundings plunged into darkness.

However, Mo Ling was still floating in the dark.

’Aren’t they sending me back?’

As he puzzled over this, the scene around him rapidly reconstructed itself, returning him to the ground of the Thorn Stone Forest. Only this time, there were no collapsed stone pillars, nor was the air thick with dust.

The slender Gray Ore Race member was sitting on a rock up ahead. He was propped up on his four hands, his two feet dangling and swinging leisurely in front of him. He still wore that same relieved expression.

He glanced at Mo Ling, and a white stone bracelet instantly appeared on Mo Ling’s arm.

Mo Ling raised his arm to study it for a moment and discovered that he could make sounds emanate from the bracelet with just a thought.

"You’re not dead?" Mo Ling blurted out the moment he understood the bracelet’s function.

"It’s all a simulation, so of course I didn’t die." The Gray Ore Race member patted the rock beside him, gesturing for Mo Ling to come sit.

Although Mo Ling was suspicious, he checked and confirmed that he could leave the battlefield at any time. So, he walked over and plopped down next to the Gray Ore Race member.

Mo Ling hadn’t gotten a good look during the fight. Now that the great battle was over, he looked at the Gray Ore Race member and noticed something strange about his body.

The gray basalt plates looked as if they had been copied and pasted; the pattern on each one was identical. It was the kind of detail you wouldn’t notice unless you were looking for it.

"No need to look, this is fake too." The Gray Ore Race member seemed very happy now, and his tone was light and relaxed.

"Then what does your real body look like?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"I’ll tell you later. I’m not here," the Gray Ore Race member said mysteriously.

’It seems most things in this simulated battlefield are fake.’

Recalling why he had entered the battlefield in the first place, Mo Ling asked, "Then where are you? That inciting signal... did you send it?"

The Gray Ore Race member didn’t answer where he was. Instead, he nodded and admitted, "I did indeed send the signal."

’Ci Xing’s guess was right. There really is an unseen hand manipulating all the Mineral Race in the Thorn Stone Forest.’

"Why did you start a war? Does that mean you caused the great earthquake too?" Mo Ling strongly suspected the being before him was the main culprit behind the destruction of civilizations.

But to Mo Ling’s surprise, the Gray Ore Race member admitted it again.

"Yes, I did it all."

His face was still filled with joy, completely unconcerned with the destruction of civilizations Mo Ling mentioned. It was as if he were admitting to something trivial.

A chill ran down Mo Ling’s spine.

’He destroyed so many civilizations and used a signal to incite war, yet here he is, looking completely relaxed and unbothered.’

’How arrogant.’

"Why would you do that?" Mo Ling couldn’t understand.

Over this period, Mo Ling had truly come to feel that the Mineral Race was living a miserable existence.

They were intelligent beings, yet they fought like beasts every day. Even when they managed to create a civilization, it would be instantly destroyed.

And the main culprit behind it all had just admitted to it as casually as if he were making small talk.

The Gray Ore Race member finally seemed to notice Mo Ling’s serious demeanor and dropped his leisurely posture.

After a moment of silence, he sat up straight. As he stared at the ground, the look of exhaustion and helplessness returned.

"Why did I do it?"

"Because... I’m going to die..."

The Gray Ore Race member slowly began to tell Mo Ling the reason he had done all this.

***

He was an ancient mineral-based lifeform.

He had lived for so long that he couldn’t even remember how old he was. He only remembered being born from a piece of stone.

He had no companions and had never seen another of his kind.

Unlike the Mineral Race of the Thorn Stone Forest, who were born with intelligence, he only gradually built up his knowledge after many years of life.

He began to understand himself, to study himself.

His long life gave him ample time to accumulate power. Although he lived in the dangerous Abyss, this power was enough for him to handle any disaster.

He’d had a long and storied past—he had met companions, explored the Abyss, and even faced the brink of death.

Through his continuous exploration of the Abyss, he gradually came into contact with the world. Though he was slow to learn, over time he accumulated a wealth of knowledge.

However, on one unremarkable night, he suddenly sensed something tragic

—he was going to die.

It was an extremely clear sensation. He could feel his abilities and consciousness slowly fading, growing dull.

It was like he was turning into a rock, into a "dead thing."

He panicked and began searching for a way to save himself, but the transformation seemed inevitable.

Although the process was very long, he could clearly feel his powers slowly weakening. It would take him a long time just to think about a single matter.

Sometimes, he would even fall into a stupor, only to wake up and find that several years had passed, like an old man in his twilight years slowly losing his sense of time.

This feeling caused him immense pain.

While searching for a way to save himself, he met many other ancient and powerful beings like him.

But none of these beings showed signs of senescence like he did. They tended to grow more powerful with age and were helpless to do anything about his decline.

Even with his immense power and profound knowledge, he was as helpless about his condition now as he had been at the moment of his birth.

He could only begin trying all sorts of methods, using various relics, and seeking the guidance of even older and more powerful lifeforms.

Until one day, he visited a being that resembled a veil of Purple gauze. The Purple gauze-like being said to him:

"There is no cure for your condition. This is the spread of death. However, you can try another way to escape it."

"Have you ever heard of the word... ’offspring’?"