Spiritual Sense Exploration, Discovering the Secret Realm

I stared at the fleeting image of the doorway, my heart skipping a beat.

The surface of the stone returned to its usual calm, as if nothing had happened. But I knew that instant wasn't an illusion. My spiritual sense still lingered between my brows, tingling slightly, a reminder that my discovery was real.

I withdrew my hand, the palm no longer feeling warm. After the rune was completed, the fluctuations within the stone ceased, but the feeling of being drawn to something remained. It was like an undercurrent in deep water, unseen but its direction palpable.

I sat down cross-legged and closed my eyes. My spiritual sense slowly unfurled from between my brows, first sweeping the surroundings. Within ten feet, the textures of fallen leaves, broken stones, and moss became clear. The spirit beast lay beside me, its breathing steady, its body temperature slightly higher than usual, perhaps a little tense from the recent energy fluctuations.

This time, I didn't rush to extend my reach. I still remembered the feeling of my spiritual sense nearly dissipating when I last probed the standing stone. The most important thing now was to remain steady.

I focused my attention on the surface of the standing stone. My fingertips could still feel the location of the indentation. After the rune was complete, a faint trace of energy remained within the stone, like a damp mark left on the ground after water has flowed. It was faint, almost imperceptible, but I could follow it in a certain direction.

On my first attempt, my spiritual sense broke as soon as it touched the trace. I was too hasty, and my control over the force was poor.

On my second attempt, I slowed down, letting my spiritual sense gently adhere to the trace like a fine thread. The trace trembled slightly, like a startled snake, quickly retreating deeper.

On my third attempt, I finally grasped it.

The energy seeped into the ground from the bottom of the stone, extending all the way to the deepest part of the valley. My spiritual sense followed it, passing through damp soil, rock layers, and the gaps between intertwined tree roots. The further I went, the greater the resistance in the air. With each step forward, my brow throbbed with increasing pain.

After advancing about a hundred paces, my spiritual sense suddenly encountered a barrier.

It wasn't a physical object, nor was it an interference caused by mist. It was like an invisible net, stretched out before me, preventing any probing from passing through. As soon as my spiritual sense touched the edge, it was repelled, and a sharp stab shot through my brow, causing cold sweat to break out on my forehead.

I immediately withdrew my spiritual sense and opened my eyes.

My breathing was a little ragged, but my mind was clear. That barrier... it wasn't naturally formed. Its structure was too regular, and the way the energy flowed had traces of human intervention, similar to the runes on the standing stone.

"System," I asked internally, "did you detect anything unusual?"

After a few breaths, the System didn't respond.

I wasn't surprised. It only provided hints at critical junctures and didn't manage every little thing. The clues I had were enough to indicate a problem – something was indeed hidden in the depths of this valley.

I turned to look at the spirit beast. It hadn't moved, but its ears were perked, the tips of its horns angled slightly forward, as if sensing some danger.

"Do you want me to stop?" I asked softly.

It didn't look up or make a sound, but it leaned closer to me, its tail gently coiling around my ankle.

This was its way of expressing unease.

I reached out and stroked its back. Beneath the warm fur, its muscles were tense. It didn't want me to go, but it wouldn't stop me either.

"If there's real danger, we can retreat at any time," I said. "But for now, I want to see what's back there."

I stood up and stretched my limbs. My meridians were clear, my spiritual power was abundant, and my condition was much better than before the breakthrough. As long as I didn't force my way through, I should be fine.

After taking five steps, I released my spiritual sense again.

This time, I wasn't tracking the energy trace but using a point-scan method. Every three steps, I condensed my spiritual sense into a needle-point and sent it into the void ahead, only moving forward after confirming it was safe. This was slow, but it was secure.

The further I went, the thicker the mist became. My vision was reduced to less than two zhang, and a stale smell filled the air, like a stone chamber sealed for years that had just been opened. The ground also began to change; the soft soil became hard, and stepping on it produced a slight echo, as if there was space beneath.

The spirit beast followed behind me, its steps light, pausing with each one as if judging whether the ground beneath was safe.

When I had gone about two hundred paces, the spiritual sense probe suddenly vanished.

It wasn't blocked or absorbed; it simply stopped responding. It was like throwing a stone into a deep well, with no echo at all.

I stopped.

Three steps ahead, the color of the mist changed. It was no longer gray-white but had a faint blue glow, like moonlight on water. The air had also become stagnant; the wind stopped here, leaves didn't move, and even the chirping of insects was absent.

I knew this was it.

I withdrew my spiritual sense and took out a jade slip from my storage bag. This was a detection-type magic tool rewarded by the System earlier, capable of sensing spatial anomalies to a certain extent. I injected spiritual power into it, and a faint light pattern appeared on its surface.

The light pattern pointed directly ahead.

I took out another rune token, the size of a copper coin, and tossed it lightly into the air. The token hovered for a moment, then vibrated violently before splitting in two with a "crack." A wisp of black smoke drifted out from it and was instantly swallowed by the mist.

Two tests, the same result – there was a seal ahead.

I took a deep breath, raised my hand, and condensed a drop of pure spiritual power at my fingertip. This wasn't for attack but to test the barrier's reaction. I slowly pushed the spiritual power forward, sending it towards the blue misty area.

The moment the spiritual power touched the mist, it felt like hitting an invisible wall.

But it didn't rebound or disappear. Instead, like a water droplet on a lotus leaf, it spread out, forming a ripple. At the center of the expanding ripple, a semi-transparent light screen appeared.

The light screen had patterns on it, ancient and complex, layered upon each other, like the projection of some kind of formation. I recognized it immediately – it was of the same origin as the runes on the standing stone!

At this very moment, my brow suddenly felt warm.

The System's voice sounded: [Detected high-dimensional space anchor, matching degree 89%, conforms to "place of opportunity" predictive model].

I didn't speak, just stared at the light screen.

Through its fluctuating surface, I could vaguely see what was behind it. The eaves of a palace, a stone pillar, and mottled carvings on the steps. They seemed submerged underwater, not clearly visible, but undeniably present.

This was the entrance to the secret realm.

I glanced back at the spirit beast. It had already crouched down, its forelimbs on the ground, its horns pointed towards the light screen, its entire body tensed, ready to deal with any sudden developments.

"Found it," I said.

It looked up at me, its eyes filled with worry and trust.

I didn't step forward immediately. The fact that the seal could block ordinary probes indicated that the person who set it up was not weak. Rashly disturbing it might trigger a countermeasure.

I took two steps back and took out a small green stone from my embrace. This was the "barrier-breaking stone" rewarded from the last quiz, specifically used to analyze low-level seal structures. I injected spiritual power into it, and fine patterns appeared on the stone's surface, beginning to automatically record the rune trajectory on the light screen.

The recording lasted for half a stick of incense.

When the last pattern was complete, the barrier-breaking stone suddenly became hot, then turned to powder and slipped through my fingers.

At the same time, the System prompted again: [Analysis complete, partial penetration is possible. It is recommended to use the host's origin aura for guidance to avoid triggering the alarm mechanism].

I nodded, bit my fingertip, and smeared a drop of blood onto my right palm. Then, I slowly raised my hand and pushed it towards the center of the light screen.

The moment the blood bead touched the barrier, the entire light screen trembled slightly.

Those patterns began to rotate slowly, like a lock cylinder being turned by a key. A tiny crack appeared in the center, only as wide as a strand of hair, but it exuded a cool aura.

I stopped my movement, not continuing.

The crack did not widen, nor did it close. It just stayed there quietly, as if waiting for me to make a decision.

The spirit beast let out a low hum, very soft, but I knew it was reminding me—once I went in, there might be no turning back.

I looked at the crack, my breathing slowing.

Then, I lifted my foot and took a step forward.