Zhang Deming gazed into the distance, listening to the faint sounds of combat and the rising and falling roars of beasts. He frowned slightly. Recalling Qing Xiaolu’s earlier words, he asked,

"Do the Demon Beasts in the forest go berserk at night?"

Qing Xiaolu nodded. "Yes. They don’t just go berserk, they also become very strange."

Zhang Deming paused, momentarily stunned. ’So that’s why they warn people not to go out after dark? It wasn’t just to scare children?’

"Did this start happening at the same time your tribal lands mutated?" Zhang Deming asked.

Qing Xiaolu nodded again. "Yes, I believe so. It was what our last king said before he died, a truth he paid for with his life. He said the Secret Realm is dead and all the water sources have been polluted."

’The cost of his life?’

’Celestial Derivation Numerology or Oratory Prophecy?’

"Then how do you survive now?" Zhang Deming asked.

"The Clan Elder and Xiaozhi are in charge of our tribe’s water supply," Qing Xiaolu said.

Zhang Deming paused for a moment before it dawned on him. "A Talent for Water Element Techniques?"

Like Demon Beasts, the Flower Demon Elf Sub-Human Race is born with a Bloodline that allows them to use Techniques.

Of course, because of this innate Bloodline, learning Techniques is incredibly difficult for them. Even developing a new Technique from one they already possess is extremely hard.

Take Qing Xiaolu, for example. His Talent is the basic Tier Two Growth Technique.

If Zhang Deming were to give him the current Tier Two Growth Technique and the Tier Three Growth Skill, it would still be incredibly difficult for him to learn them.

As for learning a developed Technique from a completely different series, that would be downright impossible.

Qing Xiaolu nodded. "Mm-hm!"

As the two chatted, the beast roars in the distance continued without stopping.

"Big Brother, do you want to go take a look? From the sound of it, it doesn’t seem like a simple fight between Demon Beasts," Qing Xiaolu asked, listening to the commotion.

Zhang Deming shook his head. "We’re not going. It has nothing to do with us, so let’s not meddle."

"But..." Qing Xiaolu started to protest.

"No ’buts.’ Didn’t you say you wanted to be my attendant Elf? That means I’m the one who calls the shots." Zhang Deming cut him off before he could continue.

Qing Xiaolu lowered his head and fell silent. The two of them listened quietly to the sounds in the distance.

After a long while, a tremendous beast roar, accompanied by a powerful flash of Spiritual Light, erupted simultaneously.

Then, everything fell silent.

Zhang Deming’s brow furrowed slightly. ’That commotion... it sounded like people were involved. Could it be some of the fellow sect brothers who entered the Secret Realm at the same time?’

’Many people should have entered by now, after all this time.’

’Right, just how big is this Secret Realm anyway?’

’At least tens of thousands of people entered, but I’ve only just now detected a single potential sign of life.’

’If everyone is spread out this thinly, then in terms of sheer size, this Secret Realm must be comparable to the entire territory of the Celestial Spirit Sect.’

As the commotion died down, Zhang Deming observed for another moment before turning around. "It’s over now. Let’s get back to sleep."

Qing Xiaolu nodded, turned, and went back to the tree trunk. Just as Zhang Deming was about to jump down and return to his tent, he suddenly paused.

He quickly pulled a small booklet from his pocket and tapped it, bringing up a Light Screen.

The Light Screen didn’t show a detailed map like the one for the outside world. It was completely black, displaying only the areas Zhang Deming had traversed so far.

He had to enable the recording function to map it out himself, bit by bit.

Now, in addition to the dot of light representing him, a small green dot had unexpectedly appeared in the black expanse a few kilometers away.

’What’s this?’

Zhang Deming stared at the small green dot, a look of stunned surprise flashing in his eyes.

He then reached out and gently tapped the small green dot in the dark area of the map.

On the map, the small green dot, which had been moving rapidly and was about to leave the connection range, came to an abrupt halt.

As if it had sensed something, its direction of movement instantly changed, and it began heading straight for Zhang Deming.

A moment later, the green dot arrived in the vicinity and slowed down.

Zhang Deming stood quietly in the tree and, with a wave of his hand, dispelled the Concealing Array he had placed around the vines.

Just then, as the Concealing Array was dispelled, a battered-looking figure slowly emerged from the dense forest.

The moment he saw the figure, Zhang Deming broke into a smile. He leaped down from the branch and stepped forward. "Looks like you’ve had quite an eventful day!"

Upon seeing Zhang Deming, Li Shifan’s tense expression suddenly relaxed, and his body gave a sudden lurch.

Zhang Deming reached out and steadied him, then paused, stunned. "Is it really that bad?" he asked in astonishment.

Zhang Deming had thought he just looked a little worse for wear.

But as he steadied him, he discovered that not only was Li Shifan seriously injured, but he also had less than twenty percent of his Spiritual Power remaining.

Given Li Shifan’s current Cultivation, especially in the Sword Dao, whoever did this to him must have been quite powerful.

Li Shifan gave a bitter smile. "I was injured by the Ghost Vines. It was all I could do to get out of there."

"Then, on top of that, there were the Demon Beasts that suddenly went berserk at night. So, here I am."

"But you, Senior Brother, you look completely unscathed!"

Zhang Deming paused. "You came out of the Flower Sea, too?"

Li Shifan smiled. "So did you, Senior Brother."

Looking at Li Shifan’s expression, Zhang Deming said, "So our entry points weren’t random?"

Li Shifan didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he asked, "Senior Brother, have you seen anyone else here this whole time?"

Zhang Deming shook his head. A realization seemed to strike him as he said, "So it’s not because this place is just that vast?"

Li Shifan said, "This place is indeed huge, but right now, it should just be the two of us."

Hearing this, Zhang Deming asked in confusion, "Why?"