Unlike the forest, another island was a volcano, where scorching heat surged out like a sea. Countless little flames poured endlessly from the volcano, charging recklessly at the battered students as though they had souls.
A woman in a fiery red dress, her hair an unusually vivid red, watched with a grave expression as wave after wave of flames advanced like a sea.
"Sister Ji Shao, there's nothing we can do about the monsters born from these flames! Even Qingyu can't withstand their reckless attacks!" The girl who spoke asked the red-haired woman in a panic, seemingly complaining.
Ji Shao frowned, her expression troubled. "I didn't expect Canglan Academy to change the rules of the secret realm this year. These little things weren't here in previous years."
"What do we do now, then? Those little things are about to break through Sister Qingyu's barrier. Should we press the distress button on our student badges?"
"No... At the very least, we can't be the first to call for help. Since this has happened to us, the people on the other islands should be in the same situation."
"Then let's see who can hold out the longest!" Ji Shao's brow furrowed. A brilliant flame burst to life in her hand, blazing with an array of colors. Terrifying anger seemed to flicker in her red eyes as she said coldly, "Today, I'll make sure these little monsters die here in this secret realm. Tell Qingyu to get ready to break the barrier and let those little things in!!"
Just as she had expected, almost all the students on the other islands had encountered attacks by strange monsters, and they could only defend themselves.
Except for Li Chen, who was still lost in the jungle.
He seemed to have wandered deep into the forest, and bones crunched under his feet, one patch after another.
Li Chen stared at the sight before him in shock. An altar made from countless bones stood in front of him.
"What's this?" He crouched down and touched the bones, his eyes full of doubt. They were not human bones at all, but more like those of a monster. This kind of monster should only have appeared in books, yet here it was in the secret realm.
At that moment, several Tree Demons slowly walked up behind him and gave him a shove.
"Hm? What does this mean?" Li Chen glanced at the Tree Demons, which were still swaying, seemingly unable to understand what they meant. He had only reached this place because of them; they had kept directing him along the way.
But Li Chen couldn't understand what they meant. The Tree Demons could only shake their leaves, and could only guide him in their own way to express themselves.
"Do these trees want me to go to the altar?" Li Chen pointed at the center of the altar and looked back at the Tree Demons.
The Tree Demons swayed more enthusiastically, as though nodding. Perhaps because of their physical exchanges along the way, Li Chen seemed to understand.
But he was still puzzled and wary. He had no idea why the Tree Demons had led him here, much less what the altar was for.
He looked around as he walked, trying to get a view of the whole altar, but bones covered much of it. He could barely make out a few red lines through the gaps.
"Could something be sealed here?" It wasn't hard for Li Chen to reach that conclusion. He had seen altars in the news on his phone before; they were commonly used by cults to summon monsters or make sacrifices, and modern people generally knew that.
As Li Chen continued forward, lost in thought, rumbling sounds reached him, accompanied by Su Baozi's shouts.
"Sister Meng, don't run that way!!"
"Aren't we trying to get out?!!"
The rumbling and Su Zhe's voice made Li Chen look in that direction. Su Zhe, Jianping, and the others had regrouped, and who knew how many Tree Demons were chasing them.
"Brother Ping, couldn't you cut them down with one strike?" Su Zhe shouted as he ran.
But Jianping swept past him like an indifferent gust of wind, tossing out a casual remark as he went. "Too many. One strike, and I die while they live."
Su Zhe froze for a moment, but he didn't stop running. Luo Lin was jumping from tree to tree, shouting, "The exit's up ahead!!"
"I saw a huge clearing there. We can send a distress signal!!"
Even as she spoke, the rumbling beneath her feet rapidly grew louder.
She was standing on a Tree Demon's branch. Suddenly, a trunk whipped into her body, sending her flying as though she had been hit by a car.
"Lin!!!!"
A trace of anger seemed to flash in Meng Xi's eyes, but her ability was dreams, and it was useless against the Tree Demons.
Luo Lin was flung through the air, spitting out a mouthful of blood. She hadn't expected the Tree Demon beneath her feet to launch a sneak attack either.
If her telekinesis hadn't blocked most of the damage, she would probably have passed out by now. But she no longer had the strength to use it. She was only at the Dripping Water Realm, after all, and didn't yet have enough mental power to sustain her telekinesis.
But suddenly, a figure appeared beside her and grabbed hold of her. "I'm here," he said calmly.
Luo Lin was fully conscious, and she knew who had come in an instant.
Li Chen carried her down into the bones, his eyes seeming to change slightly. He wasn't sure why Luo Lin and the others were being chased by the Tree Demons.
He, on the other hand, had been led away by them. Had the Tree Demons taken a liking to him?
"Let go!"
A cold voice suddenly interrupted Li Chen's thoughts. Pale red blood was still flowing from her mouth, where the Tree Demon had injured her.
Li Chen merely glanced at her before letting her go. "Why are those Tree Demons chasing you?" he asked.
After getting free of his grasp, Luo Lin spoke quietly.
"I don't know. Those Tree Demons just kept chasing us. The distress signal from our student badges was blocked in the forest."
"The locator couldn't find our position. Instructor Yu told us to wait somewhere more open."
"..." Li Chen nodded slightly and continued toward Su Zhe and the others. While he had been asking his question, he had looked around and noticed that the Tree Demons did seem hostile only toward them, not him. They wouldn't even enter the area around the altar.
"I'll go save them."