Li Yu watched quietly as everything in Stone Town was set ablaze by flames.

Houses, streets, remnants of the O family, and townspeople who survived but were corrupted by the O family's ideology all burned and decomposed in the extreme heat, ultimately returning to nothingness.

A moment later, the phoenix retracted its wings, and the platinum flames receded like a tide.

The once intact stone town has completely disappeared, leaving only a scorched black land that has been vitrified by high temperatures, like an ugly scar on the earth.

Li Yu stood in the center of this absolutely silent ruin, slowly closed his eyes, and activated the vortex.

The next moment, countless energies of varying purity, but all carrying the unique aura of the Ao family, surged from every corner of this scorched land as if drawn by an invisible vortex, and were swept into the vortex.

The cyclone doesn't rotate very fast, and the conversion doesn't take much time before it devours all the energy.

Upgrade successful

[Bulletproof Vest LV10 > LV15: Defense +150, Damage Reduction 87%, Damage Reflection, Heavy Attack Protection]

[Unlock: Energy Deflection]

When attacked by energy, there is a high chance that some of the attack energy will be deflected.

The notification that the upgrade was complete flashed through Li Yu's mind. She slowly opened her eyes, her golden-white heterochromatic pupils appearing even more profound amidst the scorching heat of the scorched earth.

The scattered energy of these remnants of the Ao family who have awakened, even if combined, is still less than that of Han Qing alone.

"Now, it's time to see what 'gift' the Ao family left me," Li Yu muttered to himself, his gaze lowered.

It felt as if it could penetrate the still slightly hot, charred ground beneath its feet and look directly down into everything beneath.

After a brief and careful observation, Li Yu did not try to dig downwards, but instead walked towards a seemingly ordinary mountain wall on the edge of the town.

Upon closer inspection, one could see rainwater flowing down the mountainside, washing it until it was exceptionally smooth.

Li Yu raised his hand and pressed it down. The texture of the rock was cold and solid. Both the visual and tactile aspects were so realistic that it was impeccable. There was not a single flaw to be found. Everything was extremely realistic.

But in his eyes, the spatial fluctuations here were as dazzling as firelight.

"It even has spatial disguise."

Li Yu then understood why the member of the Ao family had been so confident that even if he stood in front of the treasure vault, he wouldn't be able to discover it.

Such an exquisite spatial barrier, almost blending seamlessly with the natural environment, is indeed enough to deceive the vast majority of awakened beings and detection methods in the world.

But now that he has mastered some spatial abilities, he is exceptionally sensitive to spatial fluctuations and can easily sense anything unusual here.

Setting up this realistic spatial barrier actually makes this place easier to discover.

Li Yu raised his hand again, but this time he did not touch the mountain wall. Instead, he slightly clenched his fingers and gently struck the rocky mountain wall in front of him.

An invisible force of pulverization instantly penetrated the structure of the spatial barrier.

"Crack!"

A faint yet clear cracking sound came from inside the mountain, and the spatial barrier in front of us shattered in response!

It was as if a pane of glass hanging on a mountain wall had been shattered in an instant, leaving cracks in the mountain wall.

The translucent spatial fluctuations quickly dissipated, revealing a previously perfectly concealed dark opening.

Behind the cave entrance is a stone staircase that extends downwards, its bottom unknown, its destination a mystery.

Li Yu gestured for the phoenix to stay and wait for him, then slung the phoenix bow behind his back and, without hesitation, turned and stepped into the darkness.

The stone steps are rough and meander downwards.

The walls are also rough, carved rock passages.

It was pitch black inside, but that didn't affect Li Yu's vision at all.

The stairs descended in a crooked and erratic manner, reaching a depth far exceeding expectations.

Only when they got closer and closer to the underground silk threads did a relatively spacious underground cave platform finally appear below.

At the end of the platform was a massive door that looked incredibly heavy, as if it were made of some kind of alloy.

The door was smooth as a mirror and had no keyhole, so it seemed that a specific method was needed to open it.

Clearly, this is the secret treasure trove that Han Qingxin has been longing for, the place where the Ao family has hidden away.

When Li Yu arrived at the platform, he found signs that someone had lived there for many years around the gate, and two guards were sitting there. Due to living underground for a long time, their faces were eerily pale.

When the two treasure vault guards suddenly saw Li Yu walking down the steps, they were clearly taken aback, their faces showing extreme surprise.

This place is extremely secluded; they have never seen a stranger, other than their regular contact, reach this location.

The older guard on the left instinctively stood up, stepped forward, and said with a hint of anxiety:

"Oh dear, young man, you've come to the wrong place. This isn't the way to take risks."

Through those golden eyes, he mistook Li Yu for an audacious adventurer who had strayed into the cave while exploring it, unaware of his own limitations.

"Hurry up, return the way you came, and leave as soon as possible," the older guard reminded him.

"If the people of Stone Town find out you've been here, you...you won't be able to leave!"

Stone Town has very strict jurisdiction over this place. Once this young man is found to have been here, he will definitely not be able to leave the town alive.

The older awakened ones did not want the young Li Yu to lose his life by accidentally wandering into the cave while exploring it.

The younger guard on the right glanced up at Li Yu, but didn't move. His eyes were filled with a lifeless despair, and he weakly added:

"Listen to our advice, otherwise if you get caught, even if you don't die, you'll end up like us, stuck in this dark and gloomy place forever guarding the gate until you die."

His tone was filled with the despair of being forced into this place. It was clear that the young guard had not stayed here voluntarily, but was forced to guard it, as if he were living in an underground prison.

Seeing Li Yu still walking towards him, the older guard hurriedly called out:

Seeing that Li Yu not only did not retreat, but continued to advance, the older guard's voice suddenly rose:

"Stop! Don't go any further!"

He pointed to the area around the platform where several pieces of fluorite, emitting a faint white light, were embedded:

"See those stones? They're not just for lighting! The moment you step on them, the people above will know! Then the passage will be blocked, and you won't be able to leave!"

Seeing that the two seemed genuinely anxious, Li Yu didn't stop walking towards the platform. Instead, she calmly told them the truth:

"Don't worry, the stone town above has completely disappeared, along with all the people inside, and they no longer exist."

"What?!" Upon hearing this, the two guards' expressions changed drastically!

They stared at Li Yu in disbelief, then subconsciously looked towards the cave entrance.

Although the passage was pitch black and they couldn't see anything, the calm yet undeniable tone in Li Yu's words made their hearts pound.

The town is gone?