Leaving (Please Follow and Vote)

Luo Lin crashed heavily onto the charred, hardened ground, rolling more than ten meters before coming to a stop.

He felt as though every bone in his body had fallen apart, his organs displaced, and his spiritual power utterly drained.

He struggled to get up, only to cough up another mouthful of blood.

Baha landed beside him, clutching the blue essence that continuously radiated cold air, and let out an anxious cry.

Looking at the Water Elemental Essence Baha held in its claws, sensing the pure energy within that was enough to drive any Third-Rank Apprentice mad, Luo Lin forced a difficult smile onto his pale face.

They had succeeded... though at a terrible cost.

He did not dare linger. Enduring the intense pain, he took out a high-efficiency healing potion and a spiritual recovery potion and drank them.

As the medicine took effect, it slightly eased the pain in his body and the dizziness in his mind.

Luo Lin forced himself to stand, took the essence still radiating cold air, and found it icy and heavy in his hand, as though he were holding a block of ten-thousand-year ice.

He swiftly sealed it inside a lead box lined with heat-insulating runes and stored it in his dimensional bag.

"Move!"

Luo Lin barked at Baha. After getting his bearings, he staggered away from the energy crater.

The commotion just now had been too great. It had likely drawn the attention of other explorers or creatures within the secret realm.

He had to find somewhere safe as quickly as possible, tend to his injuries, and recover his condition.

Obtaining the Elemental Essence was only the first step. The true key was safely taking it out of the secret realm and ultimately turning it into fuel for his advancement.

Enduring the pain and spiritual exhaustion, Luo Lin followed Baha's guidance and found a relatively concealed hiding place.

It was a narrow underground hollow half-covered by a massive metal wreckage.

The entrance was naturally concealed by rocks. The space inside was small, but sufficient for him to hide in temporarily.

Luo Lin immediately set up several simple warning and concealment runes at the entrance.

Their effects were limited, but they could at least provide some warning.

After finishing, he could no longer hold on. He slumped to the ground and began coughing violently, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth.

His internal organs had been badly injured, and his spiritual power had been excessively depleted from forcibly constructing the Deflection Field. It now felt like a dried-up riverbed, sending wave after wave of needle-like pain through him.

Luo Lin did not dare delay and took another healing potion and spiritual recovery potion.

As the medicine took effect, gentle energy began repairing his damaged body, while a cool aura nourished his depleted Mental Sea.

He sat cross-legged and fully circulated the Perfect Meditation Method, guiding the medicine's effects while slowly absorbing the chaotic yet abundant energy particles in the secret realm to replenish his expenditure.

Baha guarded the entrance to the hollow, its three pairs of eyes vigilantly watching the outside. Through their connection, it continuously sent soothing emotions to help Luo Lin steady his mind.

The healing process was slow and painful.

The injuries inflicted by the energy turbulence were mixed with a strange corrosive energy, making recovery especially difficult.

Luo Lin had no choice but to devote part of his focus to carefully driving his mana to disperse those lingering foreign energies.

Time passed amid the silent healing.

He did not know how long it had been—perhaps one day, perhaps two—before Luo Lin slowly opened his eyes.

His face was still somewhat pale, but the light in his eyes had returned, and his aura had grown steadier.

Under the effects of the potions and meditation, his severe injuries had finally stabilized, though complete recovery would still require time and rest.

He checked his condition.

His physical condition had recovered sixty to seventy percent, while his spiritual power had recovered by about half.

For the time being, he could no longer engage in intense combat or cast spells with enormous consumption.

Luo Lin took out the lead box and opened a narrow gap.

The deep blue radiance and pure chill emitted by the Water Elemental Essence immediately spread through the hollow, lowering the temperature inside by several degrees.

Feeling the immense yet gentle energy contained within, Luo Lin felt somewhat reassured.

This gain was enough to make up for the risks he had taken.

"We can't keep hiding here."

Luo Lin knew full well that the secret realm was fraught with danger. Staying in one place for too long was not a good idea.

He needed to recover while continuing to explore, making the most of the remaining time.

Over the following days, Luo Lin became even more cautious.

He no longer actively approached those dangerous areas where energy was unusually active. Instead, he focused on searching the relatively safe outskirts while seizing every moment to recover.

With Baha's sharp perception, they found several more scattered gains.

Beside a cracked crystal vein, he discovered several Voidspace Stone fragments of decent quality. This stone was one of the basic materials used to make spatial bags and certain teleportation arrays.

The fragments were small, but exceedingly valuable.

Luo Lin also found a dimensional bag beside the skeleton of an explorer who had died an unknown number of years ago. It had not yet been completely damaged.

The bag's original owner had clearly been dead for a long time, and the spiritual imprint on it had already dissipated.

Luo Lin opened the bag. Aside from some long-expired potions and rotten materials, there was unexpectedly a small bottle of perfectly sealed Dragonblood Ink inside.

It was not the blood of a true dragon, but made from the blood of some draconic magical creature mixed with special materials.

It was a precious material for drawing high-level scrolls and certain contract runes, and was directly related to the Origin Ink knowledge he had obtained earlier.

Though these gains could not compare to Elemental Essence, they greatly enriched his collection. In particular, the materials related to runes and scroll-making might prove useful for his future study of the Star Source Meditation Method and the construction of innate spells.

During that time, Luo Lin also sensed violent energy fluctuations and the sounds of battle from other areas in the distance. Clearly, the other explorers were also fighting desperately for their own opportunities.

Once, he even saw a brilliant silver beam shoot into the sky, tearing through a patch of dark red clouds. The sharp aura within left a deep impression on him, and he guessed it might have been a powerful wizard apprentice or some enchanted item.

Luo Lin also encountered several minor crises.

Once, he was chased by a swarm of Venom Crystal Bees that had become exceptionally aggressive under the influence of the secret realm's energy. Fortunately, Baha warned him in advance, and they used the complicated terrain to escape.

Another time, he accidentally entered a chaotic swamp where the elements were in disorder, and only escaped after great effort once he found the pattern.

These experiences gave him a deeper understanding of the secret realm's strangeness and dangers, while also honing his ability to handle unexpected situations.

As the time for the secret realm's closure approached, spatial fluctuations in the air became increasingly apparent, and an invisible repulsive force slowly intensified.

Luo Lin knew it was time to prepare to leave.

His injuries had recovered eighty to ninety percent, and his spiritual power had basically returned to full.

Though this trip into the secret realm had been perilous, the gains far exceeded his expectations.

Not only had he successfully obtained the Water Elemental Essence and acquired the Star Source Meditation Method with limitless potential, he had also gathered a great number of rare materials and pieces of knowledge.

He organized his dimensional bag, making sure the most important items were secure.

The Water Elemental Essence, the Star Source Meditation Method scroll, Mind-Calming Silverleaf, those mysterious metal plates, and the like were all placed in the safest location.

Standing at the exit of the hollow, he gave this barren and dangerous secret realm one final look.

The dark red sky, the twisted earth, and the chaotic energy still permeating the air.

"It's time to go back."

He murmured softly. Baha, perched on his shoulder, let out a clear cry as though answering him.

The thirty-day limit was approaching, and all survivors would be expelled by the secret realm's power.

When the repulsive force originating from the secret realm's source intensified beyond resistance, Luo Lin felt the space around him twist violently once more, while the scene before his eyes blurred and shifted.

By the time everything stabilized, he had reappeared within the teleportation array at the central plaza of Shadow Crow Holy Tower Arcane Academy.

Lights flashed one after another around him, and figures emerged. They were the other apprentices returning from the secret realm...

Compared to when they had entered, their numbers had clearly dwindled. Many faces had been left behind forever in that dangerous land.

Most of the survivors looked exhausted, yet different lights flickered in their eyes.

Excitement, loss, or somberness.

Luo Lin swiftly scanned his surroundings and spotted Kyle. His aura had become even sharper, and he seemed to have gained quite a lot.

He also saw Lina. Her figure remained vague, as though she had blended into the shadows of the plaza.

Quite a few people bore injuries, their auras fluctuating unstably.

The wizard presiding over the ceremony said little. He merely announced that the exploration had ended and that all gains belonged to the individuals who obtained them, then dismissed everyone.