A Gathering of Experts

As Xiao Ming headed toward the entrance to the Secret Realm, Black Mark City, thirty miles away, was already in constant turmoil.

Just as Xiao Ming had expected, the pillar of light that had suddenly shot into the sky, along with the energy fluctuations from earlier, had drawn the attention of nearly every expert in Black Mark City at the very first moment.

Sensing the pure energy contained within those fluctuations, many people looked astonished before swiftly darting out of their rooms. In less than a minute, every tall building and elevated spot in Black Mark City was filled with figures.

"Where did those energy fluctuations come from?"

"It seems to be west of Black Mark City."

"Look, what is that?!"

"Why did a pillar of light suddenly appear west of Black Mark City?"

"Could the intense energy fluctuations just now mean that some treasure has emerged?!"

"Could it be some Secret Realm opening? I once read in a book that when the Cave Mansion of a high-ranking expert emerges, it causes an astonishing disturbance. This seems pretty similar."

As more and more figures appeared, the whispers grew increasingly numerous. Those who had initially been confused gradually gained a hint of greed in their eyes as they listened to the discussions and looked toward the pillar of light.

Indeed, whatever the pillar of light was, anything capable of causing such a commotion was no ordinary object. It could not be missed.

"Hurry and report this to the Sect Master!"

"You, go inform Elder Xuetian. We'll investigate first. Tell him to gather people and send reinforcements quickly!"

"Hahaha, the three of us brothers truly did not come to this auction for nothing. Who would have thought we'd encounter the emergence of a treasure? Although many experts have gathered in Black Mark City this time, all three of us are Dou Wang. We have nothing to fear from them. Second Brother, Third Brother, let's go!"

"Gate Master, should we gather our men?"

"..."

Looking at the pillar of light that pierced the clouds and soared into the heavens, these experts who had spent years fighting and killing in the Black Corner Region finally could not hold themselves back any longer. Circulating their Dou Qi, they shot toward the pillar of light.

Among them were even several people whose Dou Qi had formed wings. They streaked through the sky at speeds beyond the reach of ordinary people, quickly vanishing from everyone's sight.

Clearly, they were experts above the Dou Wang level who had come to Black Mark City for the auction.

Some figures who had originally been shooting toward the pillar of light could not help stopping after seeing those experts soaring through the sky.

However, there were still people confident in their own strength. Rather than being intimidated, they accelerated.

Within dozens of miles around the pillar of light, what had happened in Black Mark City was repeating itself constantly.

A large number of experts were rapidly closing in on the Secret Realm.

Naturally, Xiao Ming had no way of knowing any of this.

By then, he had already arrived at the location of the pillar of light at the Secret Realm's entrance.

The place where the pillar stood differed from the ordinary areas of the Black Region Great Plains, which were covered in black soil.

Several hundred meters around the pillar were paved entirely with white jade. Strange patterns were carved into the jade, glowing with white light and faintly resonating with the pillar at the center.

This jade-paved plaza sat several dozen centimeters lower than the surrounding black earth.

The jade had likely been buried underground all along. Only after the earlier energy fluctuations blew away the black soil covering it had this Jade Stone Plaza seen the light of day again.

Having finally reached his destination, Xiao Ming did not act rashly. He knew that the Secret Realm had not yet fully opened. Only after the jade lost its glow could people enter. Otherwise, anyone who rashly stepped onto the Jade Stone Plaza without sufficient strength would be blasted into a Blood Mist by the energy on the spot.

Moreover, he was not the first to arrive. Several people had already reached the area around the Jade Stone Plaza before him.

At that moment, those who had arrived before Xiao Ming were fiddling around at the edge of the Jade Stone Plaza, looking eager to give it a try.

However, Xiao Ming's arrival made them stop what they were doing.

"Boss, someone's here." Among them, a thin man with a pointy mouth and monkey-like cheeks looked at Xiao Ming and cautiously spoke to the burly man in their midst.

"Of course I see him. Do you think I don't have eyes?"

"No, Boss, I mean, this pillar of light is a major matter. Should we..."

As he spoke, the skinny man made a throat-slitting gesture.

Clearly, he wanted to kill Xiao Ming so that his group could monopolize the Jade Stone Plaza.

Hearing the skinny man's suggestion, the burly man glanced around.

There were nine people on his side in total. He was a Da Dou Shi, three of his underlings were Dou Shi, and five were Dou Zhe. There was only one person on the other side, and his strength was unknown. It seemed like they might have a chance.

Yet after thinking it over, he shook his head.

"This pillar of light reaches straight into the sky, and the commotion is enormous. It will definitely draw more people here soon. There may even be experts above the Da Dou Shi level among them. With our strength, we can't hold this place. We'd better not stir up extra trouble."

Hearing the burly man's words, the skinny man also realized that his earlier idea had been a little too fanciful. He awkwardly rubbed his nose and said no more.

They did not speak loudly, so Xiao Ming could not hear them clearly. However, the skinny man's throat-slitting gesture had not been concealed at all, and it was clearly ill-intentioned.

Just as Xiao Ming frowned, thinking he had run into trouble again and waiting for them to make a move, he saw that they had gone quiet instead, leaving him somewhat puzzled.

In the end, Xiao Ming put some distance between them, and both sides remained at peace.

Over the next few minutes, just as the burly man had said, people gradually began arriving around the Jade Stone Plaza.

As the number of people increased, not everyone had the patience to wait.

Finally, someone could no longer hold back and tried to enter the Jade Stone Plaza to approach the pillar of light and investigate it.

Watching that person rush toward death, Xiao Ming silently shook his head.

Can't you see that no one else is moving? What's the hurry?

Bang!

Just as Xiao Ming had expected, the moment that person stepped into the Jade Stone Plaza, a streak of white light enveloped him.

After being enveloped, the man's face flushed red. He possessed strength around the Da Dou Shi level, yet his body swelled like a balloon. In just a few seconds, he exploded, and a cloud of red Blood Mist spread through the air.

A light breeze blew past, dispersing the Blood Mist. Nothing remained where he had stood moments ago. The person who had trespassed into the plaza had not even left behind a single bone!

Seeing the fate of that Da Dou Shi, the original clamor around the Jade Stone Plaza abruptly vanished, replaced by an extreme silence.

Some of those who had been eager to try broke out in cold sweat.

They secretly rejoiced that they had not acted rashly. Otherwise, the one reduced to nothing just now would have been them.

After several seconds of silence, more than a dozen figures suddenly appeared in the eastern sky. Not far behind them, several larger black dots could also be vaguely seen.

"Hahaha, this should be the Treasure's Birthplace, right? I didn't expect it to be so close." The figures rapidly grew from tiny specks into clear forms, and a bold laugh, carried by Dou Qi, rang across the land.

Boom! Several figures streaking rapidly through the sky suddenly came to a halt, and the Sharp Wind-Breaking Vigor Qi sounded like a thunderclap exploding in midair.

The people around the Jade Stone Plaza raised their heads in astonishment and looked at the dozen or so figures above them. Their pupils suddenly shrank, and after a long moment, they swallowed hard.

"Dou Wang experts?!"

Not long after those people appeared, several resounding roars rang out as well. The distant black dots gradually grew larger, and soon, enormous Magical Beasts with gigantic wings appeared in the sky above the area.

The enormous Magical Beasts hovered in midair as several figures leaped down from their backs, landing lightly not far from the experts standing in the air.

They were clearly the experts' affiliated forces.

The burly man who had arrived even earlier than Xiao Ming had already had his pupils shrink to pinpoints when he saw those Dou Wang experts. After seeing the figures jump down from the Magical Beasts, he felt his legs begin to tremble.

That was because quite a few of them were Dou Ling-level experts.

The reason the burly man's legs trembled was simple.

Dou Wang experts were powerful and generally would not bother with small fry like them, but those Dou Ling experts might not be so indifferent.