With all his remote-controlled mechs now scrapped, Qin Feng was left entirely to his own devices. He now had to rely solely on his own strength to challenge the monsters within the Level 7 Spiritual Energy Convergence Zone. While it would consume a significant amount of his power, the rewards were still considerable.
Without further delay, Qin Feng proceeded directly to the next Level 7 Spiritual Energy Convergence Zone, guided by the coordinates from the Tian Yuan Di Fang chessboard. He hoped this location would be a secret realm rather than a teleportation array. Monsters in secret realms were solitary, whereas teleportation arrays housed groups. Moreover, monsters at this level possessed formidable intelligence, and facing multiple Level 7 Spiritual Energy Convergence Zone monsters simultaneously could prove extremely dangerous, even with his perfect defense, as it would still be a drain on his strength.
Qin Feng was unwilling to court such risks. He needed to choose a battlefield that favored him – a secret realm. If it were a teleportation array, he would simply leave. Especially now, with his vast Red Alert army, he could unleash immense power by employing formations that synchronized offense and defense. In a secret realm, with only one monster that couldn't move, he could easily overwhelm it by leveling the mountain it resided on.
Given such a significant advantage, why wouldn't he utilize it? Challenging monsters in a teleportation array meant facing them alone, while challenging monsters in a secret realm allowed him to deploy his Red Alert army. The difference was stark. Thus, Qin Feng rapidly advanced towards the designated coordinates, hoping for a secret realm and not a teleportation array.
Before long, Qin Feng arrived. With his current speed, utilizing the Sword Control Technique to its fullest allowed him to cover vast distances in the blink of an eye, reaching this Level 7 Spiritual Energy Convergence Zone swiftly. What greeted him was a cave and a steep mountain peak. Without a doubt, this was the location of a secret realm. Qin Feng was elated, perhaps due to his luck. With it being a secret realm, he felt confident in his ability to defeat the monster within.
However, Qin Feng was still undecided on whether to enter alone and face the monster. What if the monster inside was adept at defense, much like the one in the previous Level 7 Spiritual Energy Convergence Zone? Defeating it could consume a great deal of his time. That monster's defense was outrageously strong; even with Qin Feng’s full power channeled into the Sword Control Technique, he couldn't breach its defenses. It was only at a critical juncture, when his remote-controlled mechs unleashed their varied elemental artillery, that the monster was pressured into a mutual destruction tactic. Otherwise, victory would have demanded far more of his strength.
The secret realm before him was of the same type as the previous one. If the monster here was also defensive rather than offensive, Qin Feng would be in a difficult situation. His Sword Control Technique’s most potent move was perfect defense. If the opponent was aggressive, he could negate their advantage and achieve victory unexpectedly. But if the opponent was defensive, his perfect defense would be rendered useless, forcing him to clash his own strength against their formidable defense, ultimately depleting his own power. Therefore, Qin Feng decided against going in alone.
He knew that once he entered a secret realm, exiting would be difficult, as the walls within were specially reinforced and incredibly hard to break from the inside. However, excavating the entire mountain from the outside would be much easier. He could utilize various machinery and his vast Red Alert army to his advantage. Once the monster was exposed to sunlight, he could use his Red Alert army to outnumber and overwhelm it, even if it was defensively strong, it wouldn't withstand his relentless, attritional attacks.
Qin Feng pondered whether to enter the secret realm alone for a one-on-one battle or to spend some time leveling the mountain. The latter, while much safer and greatly increasing his chances of victory, would be incredibly time-consuming. This mountain was colossal, far more imposing than the peaks where lower-level monsters resided. Flattening it would require a substantial amount of time, at least three days, meaning he would be wasting three days here. If he entered the secret realm alone, he might resolve the battle quickly and advance his level, leaving Qin Feng in a dilemma.
He was unsure of the monster's attributes. Ultimately, Qin Feng chose the safer option: leveling the mountain and letting his Red Alert army assist him in attacking the monster, allowing him to win through superior numbers and defeat the monster without expending his own energy, thereby gaining valuable experience and treasures.
Qin Feng’s decision was not an easy one, as time was of the essence. He could sense that as time passed, this planet would become increasingly perilous. With his strength constantly growing and the levels and numbers of monsters he defeated increasing, the powerful entity lurking in the shadows would eventually take notice. At that point, a formidable monster that he couldn't handle, one that could spell his doom, might appear. This was all based on Ye Shen's precognitive abilities.
The stronger an individual became, the greater the calamities they faced. The force that transported them to this planet intended for them to evolve continuously. His current strength made him virtually invincible on this planet; ordinary monsters dared not approach him unless he actively challenged them, and even his Red Alert army could defeat them. That force would not tolerate such power existing on the planet. Their ultimate focus would inevitably shift to him, and that would be dangerous.
Therefore, time was crucial for Qin Feng. If disaster struck, reaching level 1000 would become exceedingly difficult. Yet, Qin Feng ultimately opted for the safer, albeit more time-consuming, approach. This decision was made after careful consideration. Although the dark force might have already taken notice of him, and unknown disasters might be imminent, they wouldn't manifest overnight. If he risked entering the secret realm alone, the time wasted could potentially exceed that of excavating the entire mountain. Thus, his choice for safety was not just for his own protection, but potentially a way to save time. He had few options, and this was currently the most secure and the only viable plan: excavate the mountain and expose the monster to the sunlight.