Death... and me

Hurio nodded his head, saying in response, "Indeed, I'm also looking after Fallen Light Star Fragments. Then again, I was just mentioning why most of the people that came here enter the Lost Star Realm. Oh, and one more thing. Roan mentioned the Divine Origin Energy that appears close to the entrance. Such a thing doesn't exist. If you want to find it, you'll need to venture far deeper."

Roan didn't mind. "That's fine. From what we found, Fallen Light Star Fragments can only be found far deeper in the realm as well."

Hurio agreed with Roan, telling them, "That's almost true. Well, you can find Fallen Light Star Fragments without heading so deep. But they're even harder to find, and they'll be only tiny pieces, just like the one Rean and I found in the city. Considering the vastness of the Lost Star Realm, Rean's detection abilities and my tablet won't be of much help. After all, such a tiny piece emanates far too little Light Element, so we need to get within a few kilometers away from it to even notice its presence. It's way too small of a range."

"He's right. I would need to be more or less within five or so kilometers away from a piece like that before I could feel it at all," Rean said, continuing where Hurio left off.

Though, Rean asked something else after that. "Wait, could it be that the Fallen Light Star Fragments are related to the areas with Divine Origin Energy? Maybe we can find those areas if we detect the fragments first."

Hurio shook his head, explaining, "Not really. Although hard to find, there's no lack of records about the areas with Divine Origin Energy found by the cultivators. A lot of time has already passed, after all. However, 99% or more of them didn't have any fragments at all. As for the ones that did, it was most likely a coincidence since they're both found deep in the realm."

Rean's excited expression faded as fast as it appeared. "Such a bummer..."

It was then that Rean thought about something and looked at Kentucky. He then used his Divine Sense to ask him, 'Can you feel the presence of Fallen Light Star Fragments, Kentucky?' Rean knew that Kentucky could detect Golden Peak-level materials from much further away. Perhaps he could do it with the Fallen Light Star Fragments as well.

Kentucky shook his head and answered through Divine Sense, telling Rean, 'They aren't exactly ores, so I can't feel anything. At least the one that Hurio showed earlier didn't stir anything in me. Of course, I felt the Light Element coming from it. However, I doubt my senses would be better than yours in this case.'

Rean nodded, already expecting that. 'It's fine. I guess it would be too much of a coincidence.'

Sometime later, Hurio continued explaining information about the Lost Star Realm. "Now then, about the dangers. One of them is obviously the cultivators themselves. You probably can imagine the battles that happen because of the treasures, divine medicines, heavenly pills, and so on."

Rean and Roan nodded. "That happens basically anywhere treasures can be found, and everyone knows about it. Just continue."

Of course, Hurio did just that. "As you can imagine, the most perilous aspect of the Lost Star Realm is actually the realm itself. There are some incredibly powerful ancient beasts in there, all of them far too powerful for any of the beings that venture into the realm to face. If you encounter a more mild-tempered one, you could simply try not to stir it up and go around without much trouble. However, if you encounter a violent one that actively attacks even without being provoked, then you'll have to pray that you survive the ordeal somehow."

"The second danger would be the ancient formations."

"Ancient formations? Are they not the same as normal formations?" Rean asked.

Hurio nodded, saying, "Correct. No one can tell what level those formations are. Some even say that they were left behind by immortals. There are many of them hidden, and the further in you go, the higher the chances of you bumping into one without even noticing. Not many like to venture too deep into the Lost Star Realm because of this. It might turn out to be an illusion that will trap you forever. Or perhaps it's something that will rob you of your entire cultivation, making you a mortal once again. Or perhaps, you could come across the worst-case scenario, slaughtering formations, which you'd be considered pretty much dead once you get inside."

Roan pondered in silence for a bit before asking, "After so many years of exploration, surely there would be some maps with these areas marked down, no?"

Hurio shook his head once again. "Not even close. It's not because no one knows how it works, but it's because those ancient formations appear and disappear randomly. It can even appear close to the entrance, although that's very unlikely to happen. Once again, there are more of them the deeper you go."

Hurio couldn't help but sigh as he continued, "With that being said, it's more often than not that less than half of the cultivators who head deep into that place will die there."

Roan nodded after hearing that. "That's the life of a cultivator, alright. Great risks come with great rewards, after all."

Rean then looked at the Lost Star Realm's entrance and asked, "So, shall we get going?"

Hurio shook his head. "Not so fast, my friends. There's one more reason I called you over during this day and this specific hill. Look there." Huring then pointed at what seemed to be a big stage. As mentioned before, there were no buildings, so the stage was set up in an open area. "That's where the Lost Star Realm auction will happen. The auctioneers will bring rare items that have been found in the past year in the Lost Star Realm. You should stay and see if you want something from there."

Rean obviously understood what Hurio wanted to do, saying, "You think that someone might place Fallen Light Star Fragments for auction, right? I don't think such a thing will happen since no one wants them."

Hurio nodded in agreement. "Maybe. However, we don't know that just yet. Perhaps we will find something of interest as well, even if it may not be Fallen Light Star Fragments. In any case, the auction will only last one day, so shouldn't you take this opportunity to see if you can acquire something?"

The twins looked at each other and nodded after that. A single extra day won't change much in their schedule anyway. "Very well."