Although there was no sound when the two forces collided, everyone on the island simultaneously felt their hearing vanish and their vision go black. Two of them even fainted on the spot.

Trickles of blood seeped from the ears of many.

The space containing the entire island shattered in an instant. At its center, where the slime was, an area already riddled with spatial fissures was torn wide open.

A silvery, yellow-green liquid, slightly more viscous than mercury, began to slowly pour in from the other side.

Not only had the dome of the sky shattered, but the entire sky itself had vanished, now bordering the open sky above the outer Hengduan Mountain Range.

The moment Zhang Deming saw the slime pouring in, his expression changed drastically. The space on the other side was a boundless ocean of the stuff.

Within the ocean, countless deformed, serpentine creatures swayed. They too were covered in eyes and sported large, chrysanthemum-like mouths. Their entire bodies gleamed with a metallic sheen.

They swayed on the surface of the sea like vegetation.

On the entire surface of this sea, there was only a single, dilapidated, futuristic spaceship at the center of these monsters. A metallic sphere floated above its top.

The sphere emanated a mixed aura—that of an intelligent computer core and the Geng Metal Secret Realm’s Earth Spirit.

Zhang Deming gasped, his scalp tingling. He looked back and found that not only had the dome vanished, but the Secret Realm’s entire sky was gone.

Looking up, he saw the Haoyang of the Hongmeng Realm shining down into the Secret Realm through the massive opening.

At this moment, it was as if more than half of the Secret Realm was floating in the sky, though it was only a few hundred meters from the ground below.

Zhang Deming and Li Shifan exchanged a look, and without a word, decisively turned and fled.

No one else was foolish enough to stay. Seeing the slime advancing like a slow-moving mudslide, they all turned and ran.

Above the slime, the battle between the Dragon head and the thirteen tentacles grew increasingly fierce.

Feeling the battle behind them intensify, with globs of slime raining down and shooting off in all directions, Zhang Deming dodged as he spoke to Li Shifan.

"This is no good. At this rate, we’ll never reach the building complex.

Besides, given the circumstances, there’s no guarantee the exit Teleportation Array is even working."

Hearing this, Li Shifan glanced up at the Haoyang in the sky and said, "We’ll go up!"

Zhang Deming’s expression darkened. "Can we really just charge out of the Secret Realm like that? The sky might be shattered, but we don’t know if there’s any residual Space Power lingering.

One wrong move and we’ll be dragged into it."

Li Shifan dodged another glob of slime. "It’s better than getting hit by this stuff, isn’t it? Even a Shield can’t defend against it."

While they were running, they had both clearly seen someone try to use a Spiritual Shield to block it. The moment the slime touched the shield, the person was instantly contaminated.

Zhang Deming glanced back at the heart of the battle and nodded. "Alright! Let’s give it a shot!"

By this time, the two had reached the edge of the island. The catastrophe unfolding there was already apparent to the people waiting beyond the lake.

After all, half of the Secret Realm’s sky had been shattered, creating a direct border with the sky of the Hongmeng Realm.

Many of the more timid onlookers had already started to retreat, planning to leave entirely. The bolder ones, however, were still by the lake, waiting for the return of the trailblazers they had sent in.

Reaching the lakeshore, many people swiftly took to the air, flying toward the far bank.

Zhang Deming and Li Shifan, however, did not join them. Instead, they crouched down as low as possible and leaped straight up toward the sky.

"What are they trying to do?" On the opposite shore, the actions of Zhang Deming and Li Shifan drew the attention of many.

"No idea. Maybe they can’t fly and can only glide!"

"But if they wanted to glide, shouldn’t they have jumped toward us? Why are they shooting straight up?"

Across the lake, many people discussed among themselves.

After leaping to the apex of their jump, during the brief moment they hung in the air, Zhang Deming and Li Shifan exchanged a glance.

Li Shifan raised his Long Sword over his head, while the Vines in Zhang Deming’s hands wove themselves into an emerald Long Sword.

Their auras entwined, and they again transformed into two intertwining streams of light, spiraling upward like a tornado and shooting into the sky.

After ascending for another stretch, they still hadn’t broken out of the Secret Realm. Li Shifan said, "It’s no use, Deming! I’ve hit my limit! I’m almost out of power. We can’t break through."

Hearing this, Zhang Deming glanced down. Thanks to their jump and the extreme power of the Twin Swords Unite, the two had risen to a dizzying height.

But they were still inside the Secret Realm; the people below had shrunk to a tiny cluster.

At the island’s center, the Dragon head and the thirteen tentacles were locked in a ferocious battle.

The surrounding slime continuously surged toward it, and the fighting flung even more of the substance out, causing it to spread across the entire island.

Seeing all this, Zhang Deming’s heart sank.

’This is not going to work!’

’I can’t let us fall. If we fall back down, our chances of escape are far smaller than our chances of dying. One wrong move and we’ll meet our end here.’

’I only caught a fleeting glimpse of those countless monsters and that bizarre metal sphere in the ocean, but it was clear that none of them were simple.’

’Especially if the Teleportation Array no longer works. If we get contaminated by that stuff from behind, the odds of dying are almost certain.’

A thousand thoughts raced through his mind. Zhang Deming took a deep breath, looked at Li Shifan, and said, "In a moment, make sure you hold onto me. Don’t let me fall."

Li Shifan froze, bewildered. "Huh? W-what?"

Zhang Deming didn’t answer. Instead, to Li Shifan’s utter shock, he placed one hand on his chest and began to chant: 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Infinite Hongmeng, the root of all Spirits.

Cultivate the Ten Thousand Laws, to manifest my Divine Abilities.

Among the stars of All Heavens, Spirit Nurturing reigns supreme.

Encompassing Heaven and Earth, to nurture all living things."