Upon entering the wooden cabin, the expression on Li Qian’s face grew even more peculiar. Aside from a bed and a blanket, there was nothing else inside.

Even though he trusted Mu Qianqian a great deal, at this very moment, Li Qian couldn’t help but suspect her motives for bringing him into this small wooden cabin.

"Sister Qian, isn’t this a bit... inappropriate?" Li Qian looked at the beaming Mu Qianqian, his imagination starting to run wild.

’With Mu Qianqian’s looks and figure, plus being at the most mature and alluring age for a woman, if she really wanted to do something to me, I probably wouldn’t even resist,’ he thought.

"What are you thinking about? This big sister isn’t interested in a little brat like you!" Mu Qianqian chuckled and quickly walked over.

Reaching the low bed, she lifted the blanket, tossed it aside, and pressed a spot on the wooden bed frame.

With a CREAK, the bed frame instantly split apart, revealing the entrance to a stone staircase.

"So that’s where the entrance is." A wry smile touched Li Qian’s lips as he watched. ’All this mystery... it really sent my mind to the wrong places.’

"If the entrance wasn’t here, why else would I have called you over?" Mu Qianqian gave Li Qian a knowing smirk, her eyes glinting with amusement.

Li Qian let out a long sigh. ’Mom was right,’ he thought. ’When you’re away from home, you have to be able to resist temptation.’ He refused to believe that Mu Qianqian hadn’t made things so mysterious on purpose just to tease him.

’In the end, I’m just too young. I only just came of age. How could I see through the playful tricks of these older women?’

Not letting the topic drop, Mu Qianqian continued in that same teasing tone, "Otherwise, what did you think I called you over here for?"

"Right. What else could it be for? Obviously, it’s because the entrance is here," Li Qian said, quickly playing along and stating the obvious. "It’s just a little well-hidden. A bit unexpected, that’s all."

Mu Qianqian didn’t call his bluff. Instead, she went along with it and said, "As one of the entrances to the Mysterious Forest Secret Realm, it has to be well-hidden. If it weren’t, outsiders would eventually find it, and that would be a huge problem. So, some necessary measures for concealment are unavoidable."

After speaking, she looked at Li Qian and asked in a playful tone, "Don’t you agree, Li Qian?"

The corner of Li Qian’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly at her words. ’I really need to spend less time with these older women,’ he grumbled internally. ’It’s more than I can handle.’

Despite his inner complaints, he outwardly agreed, saying, "I think what Sister Qian says makes a lot of sense. An entrance this important naturally has to be well-concealed."

"Um, it’s getting late. We should head inside. My stomach has been rumbling for ages." Before Mu Qianqian could say anything else, Li Qian quickly looked toward the entrance to the stone staircase.

Seeing this, a faint smile played on Mu Qianqian’s lips. She then led the way into the staircase, and Li Qian naturally followed close behind.

The inside of the staircase wasn’t what Li Qian had expected. It was neither gloomy nor dark. The ceiling was inlaid with some kind of unknown stones that emitted a soft glow.

Noticing Li Qian looking at the stones on the ceiling with curiosity, Mu Qianqian explained, "They’re called Parrot Stones. In bright light, they’re as dull as dirt, but in the dark, they emit a soft glow. Five-colored parrots love collecting them, which is how the stones got their name."

Li Qian nodded. "That’s pretty interesting," he remarked, then continued to follow Mu Qianqian’s lead as they descended deeper.

The two walked at a steady, unhurried pace. The deeper they went, the brighter the light became until, after about ten minutes, they reached the end of the staircase.

At the end of the path was not a door, but a membrane of light shimmering with a hazy glow. This was the source of the light that had grown brighter as they descended.

"We’re here." Mu Qianqian gestured toward the shimmering membrane. She then opened her hand, revealing a golden yellow leaf resting in her palm that hadn’t been there a moment ago.

Li Qian glanced from the membrane of light to the golden leaf in Mu Qianqian’s hand. It was a banyan leaf, and he guessed it must be the key to the Mysterious Forest Secret Realm.

From what Li Qian knew, so-called Secret Realms were mostly formed from the Beast Taming Spaces left behind by powerful Beast Masters after they perished.

These spaces didn’t overlap with the real world; they were more like Dimension Planes, existing in a different dimension entirely.

To enter and exit such a space, one either had to stumble upon it by pure chance, or... possess a key item from that dimension.

These key items were also known as "spatial keys." This golden banyan leaf was undoubtedly one of them. ’I wonder if it has anything to do with the "Rong Saint" that Mu Qianqian mentioned earlier,’ he mused.

Without hesitating, Li Qian took the golden banyan leaf from Mu Qianqian. Then, following her lead, he walked into the membrane of light.

It felt like passing through a ripple that separated worlds. The next moment, Li Qian found himself in a strange, new space.

This space had no rivers or oceans, no mountains or fields, no sun, moon, or stars. And yet, it was brightly lit by a light with no discernible source.

There was only a forest in this space—an endless forest. It was filled with all kinds of trees, some of which looked to be hundreds of meters tall.

"So this is the Mysterious Forest Secret Realm!" Li Qian said with curiosity, looking all around him.

Mu Qianqian continued walking, gesturing for Li Qian to keep up. As they walked, she began her explanation. "A Secret Realm isn’t really that different from the outside world. It’s just a small, independent space."

"Of course, since most Secret Realms are formed from the Beast Taming Spaces left behind by our predecessors, the rules that govern them are a bit different from the outside world."

Without breaking stride, she led Li Qian deeper into the dense forest. "Take this space, for example—our Mu Family’s Mysterious Forest Secret Realm. It was formed from the Beast Taming Space left behind by one of our ancestors, a Saint Spirit Level Beast Master. His Beast Taming Talent was ’Dominator of Wood,’ so the Beast Taming Space he left behind is exceptionally suitable for Wood-type Pet Beasts to live and grow."

She continued, revealing a secret of the Mu Family without reservation. "The reason our Mu Family has endured and prospered for so long is because of this Mysterious Forest Secret Realm. It provides our descendants with a continuous supply of high-quality Wood-type Pet Beasts with great Potential. It’s just a shame that..."