The Secret Realm

This place wasn't quite a secret realm. From the information in his mind, Chen Qing learned that in the early days of the Primordial Universe's cycle of reincarnation, it had given birth to a race.

The strongest among them had only been an Overlord. Sadly, in that savage era, they had vanished from history early on, despite possessing a Supreme Treasure.

However, the treasure had been cast into the void. After absorbing it, the Primal Universe Will had modified it, preparing to evolve a new secret realm.

Two hundred years ago, Green Lotus had descended. Its Dao resonance had awakened the Primal Universe Will, which had been unable to interfere with the evolution of living beings, so it had lingered nearby.

Then Chen Qing broke through, and Green Lotus began to bloom. Its supreme Dao resonance greatly enhanced the Primal Universe Will's sentience.

To obtain more, it had even instinctively increased Chen Qing's strength. Unfortunately, Green Lotus hadn't paid it much attention.

Even the Supreme Rule probably hadn't expected the instinctive Primal Universe Will to use its authority to nurture Special Lifeforms and stuff Chen Qing into this unfinished secret realm!

Basically, it was saying, "I won't interfere with you, but you're not allowed out until you're mature!"

Chen Qing scratched his scalp, baffled by the Primordial Universe. What did "mature" even mean? The Natural Beast God had a Perfect Gene! Could he be in the same situation?

"I don't know much about the secret realm either, but it's an opportunity for us. We'll just need enough strength to seize it!"

Then, worried he'd put too much pressure on the two women, Chen Qing quickly reassured them:

"The good news is that the secret realm is incomplete, and not many lifeforms have been born inside yet. So I can still guarantee our safety!"

Since the Primal Universe Will regarded this place as its birthing ground, it was naturally the master of the secret realm.

More importantly, the secret realm had been created by modifying a Supreme Treasure. Didn't that mean there was at least one Supreme Treasure inside?

"The bad news is that the secret realm is several million light-years across, with a main continent 180,000 light-years wide and countless fragments in the sky. We can't enter the Dark Universe.

"The good news is that the outer area is wrapped in the Origin. I expect you'll soon gain some insights. It's just that the three of us will probably be staying here for quite a while!"

"That's fine. Training is the same wherever we do it!" Jiang Fang said with a carefree smile, her tone calm.

"Actually, it's not that bad." Yao Rao blinked.

"I just logged into the Virtual Universe Company. Nothing seems to be affected. Could those powerful beings you mentioned..."

"If the secret realm had emerged, that would be possible. But it's still being formed. It's probably still drifting through the Origin Land."

With no immediate pressure, Chen Qing's thoughts began to stir. "We have plenty of time. Let's explore the area first. If there are no risks, we can focus on cultivating!"

The secret realm was rich in cosmic energy, and the plain before them didn't look dangerous. Even so, Chen Qing didn't dare to let his guard down.

They switched to a new spacecraft and moved forward slowly.

"Spirit Butterfly, maintain the exterior simulation. Carefully scan the surrounding environment, mark the intensity of energy fluctuations, and build a three-dimensional model!"

"Yes, Master!"

At the intelligent assistant's response, a miniature model spanning tens of millions of kilometers appeared in the hall, densely dotted with specks of light.

It was a pity that it was just a tool without emotions. Unfortunately, he couldn't buy an intelligent assistant with feelings, and he had no interest in raising one himself.

"Spirit Butterfly, continue scanning at maximum range. Display one thousand kilometers around the spacecraft, and flag anything beyond Domain Lord Level strength!"

With the command issued, the simulation finally became a little clearer—but only a little.

"Chen Qing, do you have any plans?"

Looking at the three-dimensional map, Jiang Fang rubbed her temples.

"I checked the Virtual Universe just now. There's limited information on secret realms, and most of it is related to the realms themselves, so we don't have access. We can't buy much either. Where should we start?"

"Should we ask Big Brother and the others?"

Yao Rao walked over to Chen Qing and said softly, "Time World Lord should have some experience, and Luo Feng should have the necessary clearance!"

Chen Qing considered it, then nodded. "We can ask Big Brother and explain what's going on while we're at it, so they won't worry.

"As for Luo Feng, let's not. The company's internal information is valuable, but it'll be restricted. That would only make things difficult for him. Besides, he has a company assignment right now. We shouldn't distract him.

"We have time anyway. Once we get stronger, the truth about Earth will probably come out. We'll have plenty of opportunities then!"

At the Virtual Universe Company Headquarters, a vast island encircled by lightning was home to countless Immortals and beings of even greater strength. This was Thunder Island.

In a luxurious palace amid the clouds atop Thunder Mountain, the Chaos City Lord, clad in dark red armor, quietly studied the screen before him.

It displayed only three names: Luo Feng, who had just left Chaos City and was still in the Xueluo World; Hong, whose excellent soul talent had caught his junior brother's interest; and the mysterious Chen Qing.

Hong had been discovered by his junior brother. If his junior brother valued him, his talent couldn't be too bad. But what about Luo Feng?

He'd just reviewed Luo Feng's past trial footage. It was fairly ordinary: nine levels in the Illusion Sea, and World Lord willpower at Universe Level. Not bad, but nothing more.

The Chaos City Lord had studied it for a long time without finding anything remarkable. Chen Qing, on the other hand, was a mystery.

Sigh. Nearly two hundred years had passed since his teacher had suddenly told him that the Primal Universe Will had been lingering in an area of the Ganwu Universe Kingdom. He'd been startled.

To investigate, he'd even asked his junior brother, the Dark Lord, to spend some of his divine body and return from the Chaos Sea.

After all, he was a hidden trump card. No one would notice anything unusual if he disappeared for a while.

The Virtual Universe Company hadn't been idle over the years. It had raised the intelligence alert level for the Ganwu region to the highest, but no abnormalities had been found.

Unexpectedly, just after his junior brother returned, he discovered a promising talent. At first, the Chaos City Lord hadn't paid much attention.

But a report from the branch had inadvertently drawn the Shadow Monarch's attention to Hong and Pinghai Company. Xu Xin had also recently joined the Apocalypse Secret Realm, so the Shadow Monarch had taken extra notice.

In the past, none of this would have drawn attention. The company would have handled it according to the rules, and the matter would never have reached the Shadow Monarch.

But Overlords were extraordinarily perceptive. From one brief report, the Shadow Monarch had quickly pieced things together and realized that both Hong and Luo Feng came from an indigenous planet.

For a small planet to produce three core members within just one or two centuries was rather astonishing.

Once a suspicious detail had come to light—and core disciples were involved—an investigation was inevitable. They checked every login record, conversation, transaction, and personal connection.

Then all the information went straight to the Chaos City Lord. "Those clever little fellows!"

"Senior Brother, why did you call me over so urgently? Is there a new lead?"

The Dark Lord, dressed in a black robe, suddenly appeared outside the palace. His voice reached them before he did.

"Junior Brother, did you find anything?"

The Chaos City Lord had suddenly grown unhurried. He asked with a smile.

"How could it be that simple? There were no unusual fluctuations, so we can only take it one step at a time. Though I did find plenty of other nonsense!"

"Since you haven't found anything, why not take a look at this? I think you'll find it useful."

"Oh? Is that so?"

After receiving the information, the Dark Lord fell silent. In a moment, he understood the whole story.

"Hahaha, what a coincidence! Black Dragon Mountain? It's not far. I'll go take a look at this Earth they're talking about!"

He'd been prepared to search for several eras, but a lead had turned up almost immediately. The Dark Lord was in such a good mood that he couldn't help laughing.

"Senior Brother, I've already claimed Hong. It'll take several dozen eras to restore my origin anyway, so I'll have plenty of time to teach him!"