The Heart of the Secret Realm

I see.

Seeing the Venerable Pantu's state of mind, Lin Xiao knew he had guessed correctly.

He really wanted to go out.

What is a disciple compared to one's own freedom?

If I could go out on my own, why would I be in such a hurry for someone else to inherit my mantle?

So Lin Xiao smiled innocently at him and said:

"Don't worry, senior. Please wait a moment. I'm sure I can find a way to unseal you and get you out of here."

No wonder Lin Xiao was so confident, because just now, the system in his mind suddenly sounded:

[Friendly Reminder: Please note that the Heart of the Green Wilds Secret Realm will appear within 100 meters of the host.]

It's like finding a needle in a haystack! The Heart of the Secret Realm was right here!

If one possesses the Heart of the Secret Realm and masters this secret realm, even a seal set by the Nascent Soul Realm could be easily broken, right? Lin Xiao thought to himself, which is why he dared to make such a promise to Venerable Pantu.

However, Lin Xiao noticed that although he hadn't moved much since they entered the valley, the system was only giving him a notification now. Why was that?

Just as Lin Xiao was pondering, a bright light flashed across the lake beside him.

If not carefully observed, people might mistake it for just an ordinary reflection of sunlight.

But Lin Xiao, who had been keeping a close eye on his surroundings, noticed it.

He recalled seeing the same light when he first came in.

So he boldly guessed that the reason the system didn't give a notification at that time was because the Heart of the Secret Realm could move?

And they entered just as the Heart of the Secret Realm was leaving?

Therefore, he needs to hurry!

Who knows if the Heart of the Secret Realm will run away again, or if it will ever return, or how long it will take to return?

So he immediately turned to the Venerable Pantu and said:

"Why don't you wait a bit, senior? I'll go find a solution right now! My brother will stay here with you for a while, so please don't lay a hand on him!"

Then he turned to Sun Yigao and said:

"Yigao, wait here for me, I'll be right back!"

After saying that, without waiting for the two to say anything, he turned around and leaped into the shimmering lake.

The two people on the shore—or rather, one person and one soul—were both utterly astonished as they watched Lin Xiao leap into the water.

Sun Yigao was surprised by his behavior, but when he thought that Lin Xiao always had his reasons for doing things, he gradually felt relieved.

The Venerable Pantu was surprised because there was a power in the lake that made him feel uneasy, which prevented him from daring to explore the huge lake right next to him for decades.

It was a power that filled him with utter terror. His intuition told him that if he entered the lake, he would be annihilated by that power.

Moreover, the sentence he didn't finish saying—that everyone who had trespassed into Spirit Heart Valley over the past few decades had been thrown into this lake, which he considered extremely dangerous—was something he hadn't finished saying.

Because his current soul body is only at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement Refining, if he were to fight those little Qi Refining Stage children, it would be time-consuming and exhausting, and it would also easily damage his soul body. Therefore, he usually chooses to throw people directly into the lake and finish them off in one move.

Those people never came back up.

There weren't even any corpses that surfaced.

Seeing Lin Xiao leap off the cliff, Venerable Pantu believed that his chances of survival were slim.

Although the lake seemed to have a protective effect against Divine Sense, he was unable to detect what was happening beneath it or know the condition of the boy who jumped in.

But he thought, how could this kid at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer possibly withstand someone who could instill such fear in him?

So he turned to Sun Yigao and said:

"Your brother is probably in grave danger. Now you're all alone. Do you want to become my disciple, or will I deal with you? After all, I will never let you reveal that my soul is trapped in this secret realm."

Sun Yigao was somewhat helpless.

"Senior, I have no desire to die, nor do I wish to be your disciple. I believe my brother will return safely."

Seeing his stubbornness, Venerable Pantu did not force him. In any case, he had set up illusion arrays in the vicinity, so this little kid at the Qi Refinement Seventh Layer could not escape.

He merely gave Sun Yigao snort and said:

"Since you trust your little brother so much, I'll give you one day to let it go. If he doesn't come up after one day, and you still don't agree, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Meanwhile, in the lake.

Lin Xiao plummeted rapidly through the lake, barely managing to use his self-created Water Control Technique to avoid the water and maintain his breathing.

As soon as he entered the lake, he felt a tremendous suction force coming towards him.

However, before he could come up with a solution, he heard the system in his mind say:

[Friendly Reminder: Please note that the Heart of the Green Wilds Secret Realm will appear within 50 meters of the host.]

[Friendly Reminder: Please note that the Heart of the Green Wilds Secret Realm will appear within ten meters of the host.]

[Friendly Reminder: Please note that the Heart of the Green Wilds Secret Realm has appeared before the host.]

Lin Xiao quickly opened his eyes and saw a green jade stone, about the size of his head, staring at him from five centimeters away.

For some reason, although the green jade stone had no facial features or limbs, Lin Xiao felt as if it was scrutinizing him.

But Lin Xiao didn't care. The opportunity was right in front of him. He quickly raised his hands and grabbed both sides of the green jade stone.

Then, the system notification in his mind immediately sounded:

[Should I collect the Heart of the Green Wilds Secret Realm?]

Sensing that the green jade in his hand was struggling, Lin Xiao didn't even listen to the full prompt before decisively choosing "yes".

So, before the green jade could even begin to struggle, it was taken away.

[The Heart of the Green Wilds Secret Realm has been obtained. Do you wish to begin refining it and bring it to your sect?]

Is there even a question? Lin Xiao would definitely choose yes.

[The refinement of the Heart of the Green Wilds Secret Realm is about to begin. Friendly reminder: Refining at the Heart of the Secret Realm's birthplace will result in a faster and more effective process.]

Just as Lin Xiao was about to complain about how he had no idea where the Heart of the Secret Realm was born, he saw a small pink arrow appear in front of him, pointing straight to the bottom of the lake.

All right.

He immediately dived to the bottom of the lake.

Upon reaching the bottom of the lake, he discovered it was a huge platform made up of a vast amount of algae.

There is a small indentation in the very center of the platform.

Its size matches the Heart of the Secret Realm that was just taken.

So Lin Xiao swam to the top of the depression and sat down cross-legged.

The system's voice sounded again:

[Begin refining the Heart of the Secret Realm. Because the refining process requires the host as a medium, please concentrate during the process, otherwise the refining may fail, the Heart of the Secret Realm will shatter, and it will be reborn ten years later.]

The moment he began refining, Lin Xiao felt as if a bridge was gradually being built between himself and the Heart of the Secret Realm within his private treasury.