Gripping the wooden ring tightly, Su Ze immediately pulled Mr. Ya and fled.

Although the process of killing the Tiger King General had been smooth, giving him no chance to send a message, they couldn’t be sure if Bai Guishou had noticed the commotion or received news through some clandestine method.

It was safer to leave the scene first.

The two of them fled several thousand meters away and found a remote corner before Su Ze took out the wooden ring.

"This is... a ring? But the size and style are a bit off..."

Su Ze frowned. The storage item looked like a ring, but it didn’t seem to be a finger ring. Otherwise, why wouldn’t the Tiger King General have worn it on his hand?

Recalling that he had found this "ring" on the Tiger King General’s chest, his expression suddenly turned strange.

’Is this a goddamn... nipple ring?’

’The Tiger King General looked so righteous, with his thick brows and big eyes, yet he had a hobby like this!’

’You really can’t judge a book by its cover.’

Su Ze was also puzzled. Of the two storage items he’d obtained, one was a woman’s earring and the other was a nipple ring. Weren’t there any finger rings, bracelets, or other accessories that would suit him?

"Mr. Ya, this storage item is for you. Remember to wear it properly," Su Ze said with a laugh.

Mr. Ya nodded blankly, not yet understanding what this storage item actually was.

Su Ze sank his Spiritual Power into the storage item’s internal space and immediately saw its contents: a miscellaneous collection of various Evolution Items, all quite valuable.

But he couldn’t find the drop of Miracle Spring Water!

The extracts drawn from the bodies of the dead evolved individuals weren’t there either.

It seemed the Tiger King General had handed over the Miracle Spring Water, along with those human extracts, to Bai Guishou.

That was understandable, however.

But for Su Ze, this was not good news. His goal was to obtain the Miracle Spring Water. If the Tiger King General didn’t have it, acquiring it would become much more difficult.

He certainly couldn’t go after Bai Guishou; he didn’t have the power for that.

Trying to get it directly from the inner circle of the Miracle Oasis would be just as dangerous and difficult.

Su Ze sighed. There were still many valuable treasures in the nipple ring storage item, but he was in no mood to divvy up the spoils right now. He simply tossed the storage item to Mr. Ya, planning to take inventory of the loot after they returned.

Now they faced a choice: what should they do next?

Su Ze was definitely unwilling to just give up on the Miracle Spring Water. He had finally come across a material that could upgrade one of his skills.

"Right now, we can either report directly to the Oasis Commerce Association and tell them a Saint-level elder from the Filth Earth Organization has infiltrated the Miracle Oasis’s inner circle—make some trouble for that flashy old geezer in the white suit—or we can risk entering the inner circle ourselves and try our luck..." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Su Ze and Mr. Ya discussed their options. Su Ze felt that reporting him would certainly cause trouble for Bai Guishou, but whether he could actually be taken down would depend on the Oasis Commerce Association’s methods and Bai Guishou’s own escape abilities.

But in any case, even if the Oasis Commerce Association did kill Bai Guishou, it would be impossible for Su Ze to get the Miracle Spring Water.

If they were to risk entering the inner circle... that would depend on Mr. Ya.

If they ran into danger inside, their survival would still depend on Mr. Ya’s escape abilities and whether he could get them out of an area rumored to be extremely dangerous.

Mr. Ya took the initiative. "Didn’t that barefoot girl we met earlier say that it’s safe to enter the inner circle as long as you don’t have any hostile intent? Why don’t I go in first and test the waters? If there’s no problem, I’ll come back and get you, Boss.

"If it’s dangerous, I can escape on my own with my ’Void’ skill."

"Alright. Be careful, then," Su Ze said with a nod.

Mr. Ya immediately stepped toward the inner circle. He was extremely cautious the whole way, placing each step carefully, afraid of brushing against the Spiritual Plants around him.

He kept the girl’s words firmly in mind, making sure not to harbor any greed or hostility toward the Spiritual Plants and exotic beasts. He maintained a pure heart, silently reciting textbook passages he had memorized for his graduation exams to keep his mind occupied.

Finally, he reached the ring of carnivorous Spiritual Plants on the outskirts of the inner circle. Typically, these were the most aggressive ones.

Mr. Ya instantly held his breath, carefully observing the movements of every Spiritual Plant before him, ready to flee at any moment.

Then, he quickened his pace slightly and walked past the carnivorous Spiritual Plants.

"Don’t hit me, don’t hit me..." Mr. Ya prayed in a low voice. Suddenly, the leaf of a giant flower moved, and he was so startled that his first instinct was to run.

But in the end, he found that the giant flower had only extended a leaf to gently rub against his calf.

’That gave me a scare...’ Mr. Ya breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed what the barefoot girl had said was true.

Watching Mr. Ya successfully pass the row of carnivorous Spiritual Plants, Su Ze also let out a long breath.

Mr. Ya didn’t immediately return to get Su Ze. Instead, he continued deeper into the inner circle to explore, while also testing whether his various life-saving skills still worked there.

More than ten minutes later, Mr. Ya came jogging back.

"Boss, it’s really strange in here. My Earth Escape Skill is completely useless; I can’t burrow into the ground at all. My flight ability is also suppressed. I can only fly slowly at low altitudes, which is no different from walking.

"But as for danger, I really didn’t run into any. I even came across a few strange exotic beasts just now. Some of them ran when they saw me, others completely ignored me. In any case, none of them attacked."

"That does sound miraculous. Let’s go," Su Ze said, and he and Mr. Ya walked into the inner circle side by side.

Although Mr. Ya’s Earth Escape Skill was useless, he still had many other life-saving skills. To guard against any sudden danger, Su Ze stuck close to Mr. Ya as they explored the inner circle together.

The two of them kept the barefoot girl’s words firmly in mind. Even when they saw extremely precious Spiritual Plants, they felt no greed, even averting their eyes immediately so as not to look too long.

This approach actually worked. The two walked for several hundred meters without being attacked by any Spiritual Plants or exotic beasts.

Maintaining this state, the two of them soon relaxed. Their minds grew peaceful. It seemed the inner circle wasn’t as terrifying as the rumors claimed.

"If it’s this simple to avoid attacks from the Exotic Beast Spiritual Plants and enter the inner circle safely, why do the rumors outside make it sound so dangerous?"

Su Ze was slightly puzzled, but he quickly figured it out—the Hunters from the outside world who entered the Miracle Oasis were all there for profit. How could they not be tempted when they entered this inner circle, where treasures were everywhere? How could they not make a move against the exotic beasts and Spiritual Plants here?

And once they developed greed and killing intent, they would inevitably be met with the inner circle’s retaliation.

In other words, if one were to wander around the inner circle without any greed, they wouldn’t gain any benefits—it would be pure sightseeing. Those Hunters probably wouldn’t even bother coming in for that.

After all, everyone had paid an entrance fee. They weren’t here to look at the scenery.

Therefore, any Hunters from the outside who rushed into the inner circle without being warned would almost certainly die. Over time, the inner circle became known in outside rumors as a place of certain death.

"Let’s go take a look at the very center," Su Ze said.

His goal for this trip was the Miracle Spring in the central area, but Su Ze suspected that even if he got there, he wouldn’t be able to obtain any of its water.

Who knew if the act of taking the water would be judged as "hostile" by the Oasis Mother Tree, which might then strangle them on the spot.

’Well, let’s go over and take a look first...’

As they approached the center of the Miracle Oasis, Su Ze finally saw the legendary Oasis Mother Tree from a distance. Its trunk was like a pillar holding up the heavens, its lush branches and leaves blotting out the sky. It was an incomparably magnificent and breathtaking sight.

Just gazing at it from a distance felt like a baptism for the soul, making one marvel at the awesome power and majesty of nature.

A sense of awe involuntarily rose in the hearts of both Su Ze and Mr. Ya.

"Doesn’t this look more like a god than that so-called ’God of Evolution’ from the Evolution Divine Teachings?" Su Ze remarked with feeling.

Su Ze suddenly felt that even if he gained nothing from this trip, it wouldn’t be a loss just to have witnessed the Oasis Mother Tree.

As the two walked under the shade of the Oasis Mother Tree, they began to see increasingly strange and bizarre exotic beasts and Spiritual Plants.

Butterflies with blooming flowers on their wings danced gracefully, scattering a floral fragrance.

A hippo covered in vines napped contentedly by a pond, the vines fanning their leaves to keep it cool.

An exotic treeshrew climbed onto the pitcher of a pitcher plant, licking the nectar from its lid while using the pitcher as a natural toilet, eating and defecating at the same time. Its excrement, in turn, was natural fertilizer for the pitcher Spiritual Plant.

A sloth, its back covered in green moss, slowly climbed a tree. It would occasionally turn its head with extreme slowness, extend its tongue to roll up a piece of moss, and pop it into its mouth to chew, while the moss regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Su Ze even saw a giant turtle carrying a botanical garden on its back.

Here, the exotic beasts and Spiritual Plants had achieved a harmonious symbiosis.

Regarding the arrival of Su Ze and his companion, some of the exotic beasts watched with curiosity, and the bolder ones even drew closer.

Just then, Su Ze’s nose twitched. He frowned and said, "I smell that foul stench again. It’s not too far ahead. It looks like the elder from the Filth Earth Organization has already reached the center of the Oasis."

By now, Su Ze and Mr. Ya were deep inside the Oasis. A little further, and they would reach its core area.

Mr. Ya sniffed the air but smelled nothing. If Su Ze’s sense of smell hadn’t been enhanced, he surely wouldn’t have noticed it either.

"Should we keep going, then?" Mr. Ya asked.

His Earth Escape was useless here, and running into Bai Guishou would be a huge problem.

Su Ze knew that going deeper could be dangerous. As he hesitated, he suddenly smelled another familiar scent approaching.

It was a fresh, clean fragrance, coming from the barefoot girl.

Su Ze had made all sorts of guesses about the barefoot girl’s identity, but he was certain she was incredibly powerful. He also felt she bore them no ill will.

After a moment’s thought, Su Ze said, "Come on, let’s go over there."

He followed the source of the fragrance.

A moment later, they saw the barefoot girl again, still accompanied by the small beast with fiery red wings.