Only after they had decided to investigate the Secret Realm did Li Yun take his first careful look at it.
He immediately realized that this Secret Realm was unusual. Fascinating, even.
For one thing, it teemed with life.
The land stretched boundlessly beneath a layer of pale-gold soil. Its surface was so hard that even an ordinary Saint Emperor would struggle to inflict serious damage on it.
With every step, Li Yun could feel ancient Dao Resonance stirring slowly deep within the earth.
In the distance, towering ancient trees rose thousands of yards into the sky. Their massive trunks bore naturally grown Zhou Tian Star Patterns, shifting between light and shadow. Wisps of starlit mist drifted down from their branches, veiling the world.
Calling it a Cave Heaven World blessed with natural splendor would be no exaggeration.
After discussing it with Saint Emperor Guangling, Li Yun decided they would begin their investigation where they stood and work outward.
They pressed on.
As Li Yun and Saint Emperor Guangling walked, they exchanged thoughts and occasionally sent their Divine Consciousness far afield, hoping to find something unusual or traces of people who had once been there.
But they found nothing of value.
Not until three days later.
They had traveled roughly thirty thousand miles from their starting point when they finally spotted half a brown brick among the weeds in a Mountain Forest.
"Half a brick?"
The discovery gave both Li Yun and Saint Emperor Guangling a small thrill.
Not because there was anything remarkable about the brick itself.
It was perfectly ordinary. But its existence proved that people had once lived in this Secret Realm.
After all, bricks did not grow in nature.
That meant buildings had indeed stood here once. For some unknown reason, they had later been destroyed, and