Late at night, a blood-red full moon hung high in the sky above the Secret Realm. The gloomy moonlight spilled into the mountain forest, casting a crimson halo over the pitch-black woods and making them look sinister and terrifying.

In the forest, inside a cave emanating a faint glow, Changmao was lying on the ground, playing with a rock out of boredom. He glanced over at Shen Haoran from time to time, but seeing that Shen Haoran’s tightly shut eyes showed no sign of opening, he could only let out a soft sigh and look away.

At that moment, the Level Five Source Pill was spinning in front of Shen Haoran. Wisps of pure energy surged toward his body, seeping in through his pores before rushing rapidly toward his limbs and bones!

As the energy poured in, a look of extreme pleasure appeared on Shen Haoran’s face. The warm energy was purer and easier to absorb than the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power from the outside world. Moreover, as his body absorbed this energy, a faint sheen appeared on his skin. Some black impurities slowly emerged beneath this glow, finally congealing on the surface.

These were all impurities from within Shen Haoran’s body. The energy released from the Source Pill was not only increasing his internal Spiritual Power, but also tempering his physical body!

After a while, as Shen Haoran continued to absorb it, the Level Five Source Pill shrank from the size of a fist to the size of a walnut, and finally disappeared completely.

The instant the Source Pill vanished, Shen Haoran’s tightly shut eyes snapped open. Two beams of tangible, brilliant light flashed from them, startling the dozing Changmao, who woke with a jolt.

"Huuu..."

Shen Haoran stood up and exhaled a breath of foul air. He looked at the black impurities that had formed on his body, then surged his Spiritual Power, shattering the layer of filth on his skin’s surface to reveal skin as fair and smooth as a baby’s!

"These Source Pills are really something else!" Shen Haoran said with pleasant surprise, clenching his fists. This single Level Five Source Pill was equivalent to half a month of his nonstop cultivation. He could also clearly feel that his physical constitution had grown stronger. Although it was only by a small amount, it was still a noticeable improvement. ’And this was just one pill. What if I had ten, or a hundred?’ At this thought, Shen Haoran’s body couldn’t help but tremble with excitement. He was even starting to regret giving those two Level Four Source Pills to Changmao.

Meanwhile, a bewildered Changmao saw Shen Haoran’s predatory gaze and couldn’t help but shrink its neck back, terrified. ’Who knows what this weird master is thinking now?’

Fortunately, Shen Haoran only glanced at Changmao before looking away. He then turned his gaze outside the cave to the darkness, his brow furrowed.

He had been in this Secret Realm for two days. With his speed, two days was enough time for him to run a full circle around the Red Flame Mountain Range. But in this Secret Realm, there seemed to be no end in sight. Moreover, he hadn’t run into Shui Ruolan or Long Mo, and he had no idea where they were.

By the looks of it, he wouldn’t be able to find them anytime soon, and he grew anxious. The Secret Realm was only open for one month, and he still had to find the Fire Spirit Pearl. According to Elder Huo, the place where the Fire Spirit Pearl was located was dangerous, and obtaining it would be no easy task.

After thinking for a long time, Shen Haoran made a decision: he would find the Fire Spirit Pearl first.

The Fire Spirit Pearl was extremely important to him. Only by obtaining it could his Fire Spirit Black Obsidian become complete, fulfilling the condition to awaken his Chaos Divine Body. As for Long Mo and Shui Ruolan, they were both strong. As long as they didn’t encounter any extraordinary dangers, they would be fine. Even if they did, they should still be able to escape, so Shen Haoran wasn’t too worried.

Having made his decision, Shen Haoran sat down cross-legged, took out the map Chen Yu had given him, and began to study it carefully.

...

The next day, as the first rays of morning sunlight streamed into the cave, Shen Haoran slowly opened his eyes, a slight smile on his lips. After a full night of studying, he had finally figured out his current location and that of the Fire Spirit Pearl.

"Let’s go. Time to head out. Let’s see if the place with the Fire Spirit Pearl is as sinister as they say!" Shen Haoran stood up, stretched his limbs, and walked out of the cave.

After getting his bearings, Shen Haoran immediately set off, hurrying toward the Fire Spirit Pearl without pause.

This journey made Shen Haoran realize just how vast the Secret Realm truly was. A distance that had looked short on the map took him a full ten days of running to cover. And that was at his top speed, even though he was constantly hunting Primordial Beasts and obtaining Source Pills along the way.

Shen Haoran was now walking on a stone mountain range covered in strange rocks and steep ridges. In this entire area, he couldn’t feel any signs of life, not even the mixed Five Elements Energy that was usually present.

In fact, on his way here, the closer he got to the Fire Spirit Pearl’s location, the scarcer living creatures had become. For the past two days, the path had been nothing but rocks. Everywhere he looked was a desolate, gray landscape, making him feel incredibly oppressed. The sight made Shen Haoran’s scalp tingle.

Within Shi Lin, Shen Haoran moved forward cautiously. He didn’t know what dangers might be lurking here, but he had a strange feeling about the place. It was pure intuition.

After a while, Shen Haoran still hadn’t encountered any danger, but that strange feeling was indeed growing stronger.

As he continued forward, the narrow, rugged stone path suddenly widened, and a huge plaza appeared before him.

Seeing the plaza before him, Shen Haoran’s brow furrowed. He finally understood—the source of that strange feeling was the plaza itself.

Shen Haoran gazed out into the plaza. Sixteen enormous stone statues stood there, each one holding a massive Stone Sword. The gazes of all the statues were fixed on him, as if they were alive, staring so intensely that the hairs on his body stood on end!

"Boss, this place feels really creepy. Maybe we should get out of here!" Perched on Shen Haoran’s shoulder, Changmao stared at the statues. It had the distinct feeling of being watched, and a cold draft on the back of its neck made it flinch.

"Tch. Look at you, what a coward. And you call yourself an Ancient Fierce Beast!" Shen Haoran shot Changmao a disdainful look. He had come here for the Fire Spirit Pearl, and he wasn’t about to back down before he got it.

However, Shen Haoran wasn’t one to be reckless. The sixteen stone statues gave him a hair-raising feeling. To be safe, he picked up a rock at his feet and hurled it into the plaza with all his might.

CLANG... CLANG...

The rock ricocheted between several statues before landing in the center of the plaza. A gentle breeze blew past, but there was still no movement from the plaza. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Of course, this didn’t mean there was no danger in the plaza, only that his probing tactic hadn’t worked.

"Looks like I have to go down and see for myself," Shen Haoran said with a wry smile. The Fire Spirit Pearl was just ahead. No matter how dangerous the plaza was, he had to cross it!

"Huuu..." Shen Haoran took a deep breath, then lifted his foot and gently stepped into the plaza...