Chu Mu was a little surprised. He repeated the action, but the outcome was still the same.

’Is it all one piece?’

Lost in thought, Chu Mu put the Jade Bottle he had just taken out back away.

With that, he took a step, leaving the magma and entering the raging sea of fire.

He could clearly sense that the source of the danger he felt lay in the center of the fiery sea before him.

This feeling grew increasingly strange as he drew closer.

He clearly sensed danger, yet for some inexplicable reason, there was also a hint of temptation.

It was an unprecedented sensation, both strange and eerie.

It’s instinct to seek good fortune and avoid calamity.

With his Divine Soul Long Saber, he could avoid disaster. But as for seeking fortune, he didn’t seem to possess any such special ability.

Advancing through the sea of fire, free from the thick obstruction of the magma, Chu Mu’s speed was extremely fast. The sea of fire itself seemed to be entangled by those mysterious black lines, limiting its Mighty Power.

Through his Divine Sense Perception, he noticed that the closer he got to the center of the fiery sea, the more numerous the black lines coiling within the flames became.

Even the color of the flames began to shift, changing little by little from a scorching red until, at last...

The fiery red was reduced to mere wisps, and the main body of the fiery sea had become an expanse of black flames.

After about a quarter of an hour, Chu Mu finally came to a halt amidst the inky blackness.

He looked ahead. The fiery red was completely gone. What met his eyes was a long, narrow rift, from which an inky-black mist surged like a tide.

The vast sea of fire was like an army poised for battle; as the black mist poured from the rift, the flames immediately clashed with it.

As flame and black mist intertwined, billowing black smoke filled the air. The black mist appeared to be undergoing Refinement, and in the process, the inky color of the already-black flames seemed to deepen.

The sea of fire churned, and this infectious, inky color spread bit by bit throughout the entire fiery expanse as the intertwined Refinement continued.

This scene...

A realization seemed to dawn on Chu Mu.

Why the Earth Vein Fire Qi was so dense, yet had never erupted or spread.

Why the magma lake at the bottom was so vast, and why there was inverted magma and an endless sea of fire...

Based on his understanding, there seemed to be only one explanation for it all.

A Great Divine Power User had harnessed this Fire Vein, a natural wonder of the world, and used some method beyond his comprehension to lay down an unimaginably magnificent Grand Array!

Otherwise, it was impossible to explain the scene before him, or the other phenomena he had just witnessed.

The Spiritual Radiance Blessing descended, and Chu Mu wracked his brain, sifting through all his knowledge to analyze the magnificent Grand Array before him.

The Array Dao was not foreign to him.

The most crucial component of the Artifact Refining Skill was the Array Prohibition, which was derived from Arrays and shared the same origin.

’Sealing... Refinement...’

After a long while, he finally pieced together a vague answer with his limited knowledge.

The scene before him was indeed a magnificent Grand Array, just as he had guessed.

It used the power of the Fire Vein to form a magnificent Grand Array!

Its purpose was to seal and refine the black mist pouring from the rift!

And judging by the speed at which the inky blackness was spreading, this Grand Array—or rather, this process of sealing and Refinement—must have been active for a very, very long time.

’This... what is this black mist?’

Chu Mu was puzzled, and very cautious.

Judging by the ancient nature of these Array Prohibitions, their origin was very likely that mysterious Immortal Dao Sect.

He didn’t know how powerful the Immortal Dao Sect was, but this Secret Realm, this Illusory World, offered a glimpse into the terrifying nature of that Ancient Sect.

For such a massive Ancient Sect to merely seal and refine this black mist within its own Secret Realm, rather than eradicating it completely...

These clues alone were enough to hint at the terror of the black mist.

’Hm? No, that’s not right...’

As he observed more closely, Chu Mu’s pupils suddenly constricted. His gaze shifted from the billowing black mist and locked onto the slender rift!

’This rift... there’s something wrong with it!’

Chu Mu wracked his brain, and then, as if he’d remembered something, he hurriedly took out an unactivated Storage Talisman.

A flicker of Spiritual Light appeared at his fingertip. He poked the Storage Talisman, and its Runes shattered. An extremely subtle fluctuation clearly registered within his Divine Sense Perception.

This fluctuation, originating from the collapse of the Storage Talisman’s pocket space, was remarkably similar to the fluctuations coming from the rift before him.

’This is a... Spatial... Rift!’

Chu Mu swallowed hard, his mind reeling. A Spatial Rift, inverted magma, a sea of fire refining black mist...

Ignoring the trepidation in his heart, he tentatively extended his Divine Sense to touch the surging black mist.

The instant he made contact, an ineffable sense of evil and chaos flooded his mind.

’Its properties seem similar to Spiritual Qi, only... it’s laced with evil and chaos, and it erodes one’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit...’

He reached a rough conclusion in his mind.

He took out a Spirit Stone, intending to see what would happen when it touched the black mist...

The moment the black mist touched the Spirit Stone, he perceived with his Divine Sense that the wisp of mist began to rapidly corrode the Spiritual Qi contained within, spreading like a virus.

In the space of just a few breaths, the crystal-clear Spirit Stone had been corroded into an inky-black rock.

’Horrifying!’

Chu Mu took a deep breath, his heart filled with absolute horror.

Through his Divine Sense Perception, the nature of the inky-black stone became perfectly clear.

The pure Spiritual Qi contained within the Spirit Stone had been almost instantly twisted and corroded. The quality of the Spiritual Qi hadn’t changed, but it was now suffused with that same ineffable evil and chaos.

And judging by the speed of the corrosion, if not for this Grand Array’s sealing and Refinement, the sheer volume of this tide of black mist...

It wouldn’t take long for all the Spiritual Qi in this Secret Realm to be completely contaminated. The entire Secret Realm would be lost!

If it were ever connected to the outer Cultivation Immortal Realm, it would likely cause widespread decay in a very short amount of time, creating an irreversible disaster!

One must remember that the evil and chaotic nature of this black mist could erode a person’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit!

The Spiritual Qi would be contaminated by the black mist, and Cultivators need Spiritual Qi...

Chu Mu dared not even imagine such a scenario.

If such a scene were to truly unfold, would Cultivation Immortal... still be the cultivation of immortals?

Without a moment’s hesitation, he channeled his Magical Power, and the inky-black Spirit Stone disintegrated into dust.

He glanced around, sensing the constant Refinement and corrosion from the vast sea of fire, and the anxiety in his heart eased slightly.

At least, judging by the current rate of Refinement and corrosion, this vast sea of fire could hold out for a very, very long time, barring any accidents.

By the time that day truly arrived, if he were still alive, he would likely be a Great Power in his own right.

Besides, this was all happening inside a Secret Realm, one isolated from the rest of the world. Even if an accident were to occur, the chances of it affecting the outside world were probably slim...

...