"What happened?"
Fang Han was startled and quickly looked down at the source of the light.
The light did not come from him, but from his embrace.
He reached into his clothes and took out the glowing object, which was the Treasure Map.
At this moment, the map, made of light brown animal hide, is radiating a warm and bright golden light.
On the surface of the animal hide, the originally dull patterns lit up one by one, transforming into golden runes that Fang Han had never seen before.
Fang Han glanced at the Treasure Map in his hand, then looked up at the wall that was right next to him.
Golden runes began to light up on the walls.
The runes appeared from nothing, from dark to light, like long-dormant stars being awakened one by one, outlining large patterns on the Gray-White stone wall.
Fang Han looked around and saw that the entire wall was covered with golden runes. These runes were not arranged randomly, but rather formed some kind of mysterious pattern.
Under the cool glow of the Night-Luminescent Pearl, it shimmered with a captivating and mystical radiance.
Immediately afterwards, ripples spread across the wall like waves on water.
The ripples were gentle and silent, yet they made the entire wall appear hazy.
"Could it be...?"
Fang Han took a deep breath, placed his right hand on the sword hilt, and held the Treasure Map, which was still emitting golden light, in his left hand. He slowly took a step forward.
He stretched out his left hand and cautiously reached towards the ripple-like wall.
The moment my fingertips touched the wall, a gentle yet powerful suction suddenly emanated from it.
The suction wasn't a forceful pull, but rather like the enveloping force of flowing water, naturally drawing his body forward.
"Buzz!"
Fang Han did not resist, letting the suction force envelop him.
He disappeared completely into the wall.
First, a sky full of golden light appeared before my eyes, then the world spun around me, and my consciousness fell into chaos.
When I opened my eyes again, I was already in a vast forest.
Sunlight filtered through the layers of leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
The air was moist and fresh, carrying the scent of grass, trees, and earth.
The ancient trees all around are towering and block out the sun, their canopies stretching like a green dome, cutting the sky into countless fragments.
In the distance, the sound of birdsong could be faintly heard, clear and melodious.
Where is this place?
Fang Han was filled with doubt and uncertainty. He moved slightly, about to leap onto the treetop to check the surrounding terrain, when a piece of information suddenly flooded into his mind.
The message was neither text nor sound, but a more mysterious way of transmission—
It was as if someone had directly imprinted a pre-written chapter into his mind.
This is a secret realm, a space created by a powerful cultivator in ancient times.
The token for entering the secret realm was this Treasure Map in his hand.
The holder of the token can stay in the secret realm for three days each year, after which the secret realm will automatically expel them.
The message abruptly ended, and there was no further news.
"A powerful cultivator capable of opening up secret realms?"
Fang Han still, repeatedly processing the information in his mind to make sure nothing was missed, before slowly exhaling a breath of stale air.
The token, the secret realm, the three-day time limit per year—part of the mystery has been solved, but it has also brought more new puzzles.
What kind of powerful cultivator could possibly create a secret realm?
Could he be a cultivator?
But even cultivators probably don't possess such power?
Unless he's a true immortal!
Suppressing his thoughts, Fang Han looked around, preparing to begin exploring this secret realm.
He put the still faintly glowing Treasure Map back into his Storage Ring, took a deep breath, and suppressed the surging thoughts in his mind.
Now is not the time to investigate the origins of this mysterious realm.
Three days.
The token only allows him to stay in the secret realm for three days each year; time is of the essence, and every moment is precious.
He randomly chose a direction and started walking forward.
The ground in the forest was covered with a thick layer of decaying leaves, which was soft and silent when stepped on.
The towering canopy of ancient trees filters the sunlight into countless tiny spots, casting hazy beams of light into the humid air.
It was so quiet it didn't seem like a real world.
"It's too quiet!"
Fang Han paused slightly, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.
There were no birdsong, no insect sounds, and even the sound of the wind seemed to have been swallowed up by some invisible force.
That deathly silence was like a thick, invisible blanket, completely enveloping the entire world.
This is very abnormal.
"Buzz--"
Fang Han's mind stirred slightly, and he activated the Thousand-Mile Soul Lock technique at full power.
The Tracking Secret Technique of the Perfection Realm were unleashed without reservation, sensing the surroundings.
Within a ten-mile radius, the very essence of all things is at my command.
However, as his perception reached its limit, his brow furrowed even more deeply.
No.
Within his ten-mile perception range, there was no sign of any living creature.
There were no monsters, no wild beasts, not even the scent of small animals.
This forest is dead.
The deathly silence was so unusual that it made him feel a sense of unease.
"Something feels off; we need to be careful!"
Fang Han took another step, controlling his speed at a normal walking pace. Each step was extremely steady and light, and the soles of his boots made only a very faint rustling sound as they stepped on the decaying leaves.
His right hand remained firmly on the hilt of the Cloudsplitter Sword, ready to draw it at any moment to meet the enemy.
After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the terrain ahead gradually flattened out, and a rocky slope came into view.
Large and small pebbles are scattered among them, their surfaces covered with moss, clearly having lain in this forest for countless years.
Fang Han's gaze casually swept over the rocky slope, and just as he was about to look away, he suddenly froze.
In the center of the rocky slope, a rock about the size of a human head is half-buried in the soil.
The stone's surface was covered in moss, but in a few gaps where the moss had peeled away, an unusual luster was faintly visible.
The luster was a dark red color, and in the sunlight filtering through the branches and leaves, it had a cool, metallic feel.
Fang Han stepped forward and scraped off a piece of moss from the surface of the stone.
The moss peeled away, revealing a dark red stone beneath—no, it wasn't stone at all.
It was a piece of exposed metal ore.
The ore is dark red throughout, with fine, fish-scale-like natural patterns covering its surface, and it gleams with a cool, deep luster in the sunlight.
He reached out and gently tapped it; the ore emitted a dull, solid sound, as if it were tapping on a piece of refined iron that had been forged through countless hammer blows.
" Redscale Ore."
Fang Han uttered these four words in a low voice, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes.
He had seen records of this mineral in the sect's records— Redscale Ore, named for its surface texture resembling fish scales.
Its texture far surpasses that of ordinary metals, and it has excellent conductivity for all kinds of Internal Qi, making it an excellent material for crafting Dharma Weapon.
In Qingyang Prefecture, a piece of Redscale Ore the size of a fist is enough to make several small forces fight tooth and nail for it.
The piece in front of us is about the size of a human head and weighs at least several dozen kilograms.
"I didn't expect to have such a harvest so soon after entering the secret realm."
A faint smile appeared on Fang Han's lips. With a slight thought, he summoned the System Panel, which was visible only to himself.
A semi-transparent light curtain appeared before my eyes.
[Host: Fang Han ]
[ Root Bone Talent Amplification: 256x ( Level Nine Amplification requires 10 million gold)]
[ Sword Art Talent Amplification: 256x ( Level Nine Amplification requires 10 million gold)]
[ Footwork Talent Amplification: 128x ( Level Eight Amplification requires 1 million gold)]
[ Secret Technique Talent Amplification: 128x ( Level Eight Amplification requires 1 million gold)]
[ Body Tempering Talent Amplification: 128x ( Level Eight Amplification requires 1 million gold)]
[ Possessed Wealth: 520,000 gold]
He reached out and placed his hand on the piece of red scale ore, his mind focusing on it.
" Recharge."
The Crimson Scale Ore vanished without a trace in an instant, as if wiped away by an invisible hand, and the numbers on the System Panel fluctuated accordingly.
[ Possessed Wealth: 520,000 gold → 550,000 gold]
"Thirty thousand gold coins."
Fang Han's gaze lingered on that line of numbers for a moment, and he felt quite satisfied.
Although this Crimson Scale Ore is the size of a human head, it is still just raw, unrefined ore, so its value of 30,000 gold is already quite good.
Fang Han withdrew his hand and continued walking forward.
Having learned from the precedent of the Crimson Scale Mine, Fang Han became even more meticulous in his exploration of this forest.
Their gaze no longer merely swept across the surface, but searched inch by inch, leaving no corner unexplored as to where treasure might be hidden.
After walking for several miles, passing through a dense thicket of thorns, the trees ahead suddenly became sparse.
A relatively open space came into view, with a few large rocks scattered around it, and weeds growing in the crevices between the rocks.
Fang Han's gaze was about to shift when it was suddenly caught by an unusual gleam at the edge of the open space.
It was a skeleton.
Its size was astonishing, measuring over five zhang (approximately 10 meters) from head to tail, and when it lay prostrate on the ground, it resembled a small mountain of white bones.
The thick bones of its limbs are like the pillars of a palace, each as thick as an adult's waist;
The vertebrae of the spine are connected segment by segment, curving into a grotesque arc.
The thick, long tailbone was coiled to one side, the joints fitting together seamlessly.
The enormous skull was half-buried in the soil, its empty eye sockets staring straight at the gray sky, as if it were still gazing at something until its death.
Over the long years, the skeleton has been covered with mottled moss, and vines have climbed and twined around the gaps in the ribs, integrating the entire skeleton into the forest.
"What a huge skeleton! What kind of monster's skeleton is this?"
Fang Han's gaze fell on the skeleton, and he walked over to it.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting slanted rays onto the skeleton.
The surfaces of those thick, pillar-like bones faintly gleamed with a barely perceptible sheen.
Unlike the grayish-white of ordinary withered bones, it has a more warm and understated jade-like texture.
"The bones are actually jade-colored?"
Fang Han's pupils contracted slightly.
He had seen jade-like bones before.
In Green Cliff Mountain, the skeleton of the Black-Scaled Demon Tiger, which was killed by three grandmasters working together, was of this jade color.
These are very likely the remains of a Grandmaster-level demon!
"The remains of a Grandmaster-level demon?!"
Fang Han was slightly startled and quickly walked towards the skeleton.
In the outside world, Grandmaster-level demons are extremely rare; only one has appeared in the entire Qingyang Prefecture.
Unexpectedly, upon entering this secret realm, he discovered the skeleton of a Grandmaster-level demon.