Fantasy: Immortality Begins with Absorbing Demons

Chapter 523 The Outer Layer of the Secret Realm

If estimated by height, these trees are at least several hundred meters tall, their canopies blocking out the sun like giant umbrellas covering an area of ​​tens of meters in radius.

"So magnificent...so wondrous..."

Gongsun Di sighed, then stepped forward and gently stroked it, her face full of admiration.

She never imagined that one day she would witness such a magnificent and spectacular sight, one that she could only dream of.

These trees are unlike any other trees in the world. Their leaves are large and broad, spear-shaped, and their trunks are covered with moss. Withered vines often climb up the trees, leading to unknown destinations, exuding a long history.

Xiao Zhong was also dumbfounded. His family was well-off, and three generations of his family had held important positions in the military.

He had followed the imperial army since childhood, traveling all over the country, and considered himself a well-traveled and knowledgeable person. Whenever the army broke camp and trekked through mountains and rivers, he had seen many towering trees that had been growing for hundreds or even thousands of years.

Compared to these ancient trees, they are insignificant; in their presence, people are as small as insects.

Within the range visible to the naked eye, what we see is nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

Han Yi was also slightly shocked.

But what he cared about wasn't the tall, ancient trees in front of him, but the changes inside his own body.

He vaguely felt that with each breath he took, his muscles, meridians, and skin all became active and excited.

It's like a person who has been malnourished for a long time suddenly finding that they can eat their fill.

Every part of his body, every cell, was frantically absorbing the nutrients flowing in from the outside, and a feeling of comfortable satisfaction burst forth from within.

'So this is what they call a place where vital energy gathers and is rich in it...' Han Yi pondered to himself.

Secret realms are usually located in places where the primordial energy of heaven and earth is concentrated and gathered.

This is an explanation from classical texts.

But he really didn't expect that the rich Yuan energy would be so helpful for cultivation.

The group followed the forest path among the tall, ancient trees and headed deeper into the dense forest.

In the towering, dense forest, it was dark and cold, with countless wisps of white smoke swirling like mist, making the entire forest blurry and hazy.

"What's that?" Gongsun Di pointed in a direction.

The white mist flowed slowly, and a giant beast could be vaguely seen standing in the distance.

The four became wary and slowly approached. Upon getting closer, they realized it was just a fallen tree, more than ten meters wide, with its roots twisted and intertwined in the ground, stretching across the landscape like a hill.

The tree's interior had long been corroded and decomposed, creating a huge cavity. The surrounding area was covered with fungi and damp moss, forming a deep and thick layer of humus on the ground. Stepping on it felt like walking on a sponge, and it occasionally emitted a faint blue light.

Most importantly, a huge claw mark, resembling that of a bird or beast, is clearly visible on the tree trunk.

The claw marks were crystal clear with extremely smooth edges, clearly caused by the immense speed and power of the instantaneous burst.

Everyone fell silent.

A terrifying entity capable of easily destroying trees tens of meters tall...

With such sharp claws, just how enormous must its true form be?

After a long pause, Xiao Zhong said somewhat uncertainly, "Alright, the Hundred Flowers Secret Realm has been open more than once or twice, and I've never heard of such a terrifying monster."

Perhaps this is a man-made scare tactic.

"Don't speculate, everyone. We'll go back on time, there won't be any problems."

However, his tone was weak, and he himself was filled with fear and unease.

The group continued walking, the atmosphere silent and somber.

"Damn it, what is this thing again?"

As they walked, they suddenly heard Meng Ren shout.

Following the direction of the sight, one could see several large, withered leaves nearby, each as big as a bed, with veins as thick as a handful, amidst the withered leaves and various strange and peculiar fungi and mosses.

Half-hidden was a dark, indistinct object, which was neither human nor non-human, but had eyes, eyebrows, and wings, with a huge toad lying beneath it.

The group, who had been frightened by the claw marks, immediately became wary again. But as they got closer, they realized that it was not a living creature.

Xiao Zhong stepped forward, gently brushed away the surface dirt, and discovered that it was just a jade figurine.

The jade figurine is made of a material similar to dried bone, with a surface covered in gold spots and clearly visible, ghost-like patterns.

He breathed a sigh of relief: "It's alright, it's just a marker set up inside the secret realm's grand formation. We can use it to determine our location and mark resource points."

After saying that, Xiao Zhong took out the map and carefully compared it with the map.

Sure enough, a moment later, he exclaimed in surprise, "Yinxiang Fruit, it's Yinxiang Fruit!"

Han Yi and the others went over. Behind the jade figurine, on the grass, grew a patch of purple vegetation, its leaves like upside-down bells, tinkling in the wind.

These fragrant fruits can be used to neutralize the impact of demonic beast enhancement catalysts, increasing the success rate of strength enhancement; they are valuable medicinal herbs on the market. Using the tools they had prepared beforehand, the group harvested the fragrant fruits above the stem and carefully stored them in a specially made safe jade box.

"That's a great start! Easy peasy!" Xiao Zhong chuckled as he closed the map and took out his tools.

Generally speaking, the reason why the most common white jade key is traded by Wanhua Palace is entirely because the outer layer of the secret realm cannot guarantee the security of various resource points.

Some resource points may be safe and sound, like they are now. But other resource points may be guarded by monsters, which can be extremely troublesome.

Only in the innermost part of the secret realm can one easily harvest truly large quantities of priceless, rare medicinal herbs.

However, the inner layer of the secret realm is truly exclusive to the Wan Hua Palace, and even the entrance and exit points are separate from those of the outer layer. Outsiders can hardly glimpse its secrets.

After easily harvesting these fragrant fruits, the four of them felt a little more uplifted and less depressed.

Based on the current location of the jade figurines and following the map's guidance, they soon made another discovery in the dense forest.

Golden Davidia involucrata, Aconite, Lotus Fragrance, Jade Cardamom…

These are all precious medicines that are difficult to survive in the external environment and have very limited reserves.

But now here, it's easy; you can grab a handful right away.

This is only the outer layer; the resources inside are far beyond what most people can imagine.

No wonder countless people yearn for and flock to the secret realm.

Of course, Han Yi and his team did encounter some unexpected events during this process.

Occasionally, I would encounter a few groups of people, either insiders of Jingtian Manor or independent martial arts practitioners.

The former would exchange greetings and then disperse to collect their respective resources. Those rogue martial artists, encountering the latter, would flee as if facing a formidable enemy.

With such a vast and resource-rich secret realm, there is no need to clash with the most powerful disciples of Jingtian Manor.

They were unwilling, and dared not.

Of course, the four of them had also encountered the guardian monsters at the resource points.

However, these monsters, after years of harvesting, simply cannot grow up.

Any one of Han Yi's four men could easily solve the problem.

As time went on, everyone realized that Elder Kang's words were true.

The Hundred Flowers Secret Realm is indeed not dangerous.

The absence of danger here only applies to their group. For independent martial artists or those from small factions and families, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous challenge. After all, among the four of them, the weakest is at least at the fifth level of True Skill.

So, in order to speed up the resource harvesting process, the four agreed on a time and place and split up to carry out their tasks.

call…...

Han Yi exhaled, and in an instant, the white mist in front of him dissipated.

Without the burden of Xiao Zhong and the other two, he was finally able to use his power to his heart's content.

With a single leap, aided by the active blood and qi within his body, he instantly arrived deep within the dense forest.

The fog here is thicker, like a sticky rice porridge, making it hard to breathe.

Han Yi took out the white jade key and saw that, sure enough, the patterns on it were fading away even faster.

He had actually discovered this earlier. The deeper they went into the dense forest, the faster the white jade key would lose its effectiveness.

This is why he suggested that the four of them split up and act independently.

He wanted to see if there was any end to the outer layer of this Hundred Flowers Secret Realm.

Find out why the key's effectiveness diminishes as you go deeper.

call out!

A white mist flashed, and a sharp claw silently stabbed towards Han Yi's back.

The claw was still in mid-air when it was firmly gripped by a large hand.

puff!

A bloody, mangled mess of flesh slowly slid from Han Yi's hand.

This is a strange bird-like monster. It has no eyes, no mouth, not even a head, only a body, two wings, and two sharp claws.

Although this strange thing can blend into the white mist, it is basically invisible to the naked eye.

But Han Yi's senses cannot be judged by common sense; it was just a matter of a casual slap.

The deeper he went, the more frequently he encountered this strange bird.

Han Yi vaguely sensed a force subtly preventing him from exploring the depths of the secret realm.

'Is this the power of an array, or is there a hidden manipulator operating within this so-called secret realm?'

Han Yi moved rapidly through the white mist, with countless towering ancient trees, resembling demons, flashing past.

As he pondered this, he soon arrived at the end of the white mist.

This is a massive rock face. The rock face is steep, standing at almost a vertical ninety-degree angle.

Looking up, the rock face is barren, devoid of any vegetation, and almost touching the sky.

Those towering trees, hundreds of meters tall, are no more than weeds in front of this rock wall.

"It seems this is the end..."

Han Yi gently touched the rock wall; it was rough and cracked, like a huge whetstone.

"But I'm currently in the outer layer of the Hundred Flowers Secret Realm. Since the Hundred Flowers Secret Realm has inner and outer layers, it couldn't possibly only be this large..."

He began to think about it carefully.

"In that case, this rock wall is very likely a barrier separating the inner and outer layers..."

Han Yi felt that his idea was correct. So, he quickly began searching along the rock face.

The main reason was that he was really unwilling to give up. He had gone deep into the dense forest, how could he return empty-handed without any results?

Isn't this like entering a treasure mountain and returning empty-handed?

Time passed little by little.

Han Yi found nothing; the entrance to what appeared to be the inner layer of the secret realm seemed to simply not exist.

The rock face was so vast and endless that even with his energy, he would find little to nothing in a short time, no matter how much he ran.

"Since there's no road, let's try and see if we can forge one..."

Han Yi froze, stopping in front of a crack.

This is a narrow, triangular crevice, completely clogged with moss and mud, and the ground is covered with jagged rocks.

However, the gap was very narrow, seemingly a tiny crack caused by the shaking of the mountain wall, far too narrow for a person to pass through.

"Pure Yang Titanium Extreme - Amazing!"

He gave a low shout, and his muscles under his body changed rapidly.

Since there's no road, let's use our fists to blast one through!