Because he had fled so quickly, in the end Jie Ming left only two Bovine-Tripe creatures alive. The rest had been swatted by his hand into a cloud of blood mist.
In fact, even those two survivors were alive only because they were seventh-rank. After two slaps from Jie Ming, they had been hurt but not killed.
Jie Ming looked at the remaining pair and reached out. The Dharma Aspect grabbed them like chicks in its palm.
One of them struggled wildly, but its body was still being scorched by the Trigram Fire Annihilation Divine Light. The other had its eyes squeezed shut, clearly aware of its fate.
Jie Ming didn't waste words with them. He directly cast the soul-system sorcery Soul Search. Under the spell's influence, his mental power turned into countless fine threads and stabbed into the depths of their souls.
Layers of deeply hidden information were stripped away, and countless memory fragments rapidly assembled in front of Jie Ming's eyes. Soon, the whole story was completely clear.
The origins were much as Jie Ming had guessed—it all came down to that Reflection Prism. As those Bovine-Tripe creatures had once mocked the Multiracial Alliance joint squad, the Tripe Tribe truly had once produced a ninth-rank existence.
That ninth-rank ancestor, however, had left the clan in the distant past and gone deep into the Endless Chaotic Void to explore higher worlds, never sending back word again.
The only thing that ninth-rank existence had left behind was this Reflection Prism.
So the Reflection Prism was a true ninth-rank creation. Its effect was exactly what Jie Ming had witnessed: without consuming any additional energy, it could directly open a passage to the Reflection Dimension.
One could use the dimensional difference between the two dimensions to launch attacks and obliterate most enemies, or one could open a dimensional passage and use special means to enter the Reflection Dimension itself.
On the defensive side, because it had received the blessing of that ninth-rank existence, the Reflection Prism was also indestructible. Facing precise single-target attacks, it could be used as a shield.
The only reason Jie Ming had had to endure those attacks earlier was that his Dharma Aspect's fingers were simply too large, and the Bovine-Tripe creatures themselves were too big to squeeze their entire bodies behind the Reflection Prism. Otherwise, this battle would have been far easier.
In pure value, this Reflection Prism far exceeded that miniature energy instrument he had taken from the Octopusmen. That, too, was a ninth-rank creation, but it was only an energy device that could produce energy from nothing, with limited output.
The Reflection Prism, on the other hand, was a ninth-rank creation that could genuinely be used as a weapon—a true strategic-grade weapon.
But if the Reflection Prism had only been that, its value wouldn't have been enough to make that Multiracial Alliance squad dispatch an eighth-rank existence and do everything in its power to seize it, even going so far as to try to exterminate the entire race to silence the truth. Nor would the Tripe Tribe have been willing to risk offending the Multiracial Alliance to silence their enemies and never reveal it.
After probing the relevant information, Jie Ming couldn't help widening his eyes. "This... damn!"
The truly precious thing about the Reflection Prism was a piece of information sealed in the deepest part of the prism.
The Tripe Tribe's ninth-rank ancestor had managed to advance to the ninth rank precisely by entering the Reflection Dimension and obtaining the ability to make his thoughts reality. He continued to develop this ability and eventually obtained the power to create something from nothing, thereby advancing to the ninth rank!
The Reflection Prism had originally been the tool that ninth-rank existence used to open the Reflection Dimension. For this reason, the prism contained the complete advancement record of that ninth-rank ancestor from eighth rank to ninth rank! This was a genuine advancement record!
This was not a few fragments of words or theoretical speculation, but the entire process of an existence who had truly stepped into the ninth-rank life level, from when he first began searching for a breakthrough to his final success!
Although the record mainly documented the various failures and the adjustments made after each failure, it still preserved all the experience intact. After confirming this memory again, Jie Ming felt as if his breathing had stopped.
A ninth-rank advancement record.
To be honest, with these words alone, the value of this Reflection Prism could no longer be measured by any resource. It might even be said that, even across the entire Endless Chaotic Void, such things could be counted on one hand!
Even within Wizard Civilization, every ninth-rank advancement record was extremely precious material, split into countless parts, and every part required an astronomical price!
But even so, Wizard Civilization was already one of the few enlightened civilizations worth mentioning in the entire Endless Chaotic Void.
After all, worldly treasures like this having a completely open and transparent exchange channel was something unimaginable even for many civilizations that had multiple ninth-rank existences!
It was only at this moment that Jie Ming fully understood why both sides had been willing to launch such a brutal ambush over this Reflection Prism.
It could be said that after this battle, the entire Tripe Tribe had lost all high-end combat power above the sixth rank—a truly tragic price!
Jie Ming slowly withdrew his mental power and thought for a moment, then let out a helpless sigh. In his palm, the two Bovine-Tripe creatures turned into ash and dispersed completely.
Jie Ming raised his hand, and the Reflection Prism flew slowly into the Dharma Aspect's palm. Looking at this prize, Jie Ming felt a headache, "Trouble... This thing is a little too hot to handle."
But no matter how hot it was, throwing it away was impossible—never in this life! He now shared the same thought as the Tripe Tribe and the Multiracial Alliance task force: he absolutely could not let anyone know that he had obtained this treasure!
If this news got out, he was afraid a large group of eighth-rank wizards would be coming for him.
After eliminating those two Bovine-Tripe creatures, Jie Ming was still not reassured. He opened his True Illusion Void-Breaking Eye, then activated the Fate System and mobilized the Law of Fate.
He forcibly controlled his gaze, making sure not to absorb information from the surrounding Endless Chaotic Void, and then began to comb through the fate on his body bit by bit.
After confirming that obtaining this thing really had been an accident, not a trap set by someone, he carefully severed the fate of this area to ensure no one would discover that the thing was in his hands.
At the same time, Jie Ming used the Causality Tracing Technique to search out all residual information in the area. Whether that information had anything to do with him or not, he erased it as much as possible.
It could be said that thanks to that Multiracial Alliance task force, Jie Ming didn't need to worry too much about other remnants of the Tripe Tribe. Apart from these high-end Bovine-Tripe creatures, the low-level Bovine-Tripe creatures had already been completely wiped out by the task force.
After all, the Multiracial Alliance task force had managed to get the Reflection Prism by launching an attack while the Tripe Tribe's high-end combat power was away. To silence everyone involved, nearly the entire Tripe Tribe had been wiped out.
Of course, from the souls of those two Bovine-Tripe creatures, Jie Ming learned that they had still arranged for a few clansmen to hide themselves away. If they didn't return with the Reflection Prism within the time limit, they would spread the information about it. Jie Ming didn't plan to deal with those people.
First, as if they had anticipated that their souls might be searched, those hidden Bovine-Tripe creatures had chosen their own hiding places; the two captured Bovine-Tripe creatures didn't know exactly where they were.
By now, even with the Law of Fate, it would be difficult to find them. And even if he found them, there was no guarantee he could stop their information from being released—there were plenty of ways to release information.
Second, those Bovine-Tripe creatures didn't even know Jie Ming existed, so the information they released would actually cover for him. If he chose to act, though, it might make things worse.
After spending several days and finally stirring up a chaotic storm in the void to bury this entire region, Jie Ming left with that enormous pitch-black prism, as if carved from black obsidian.