Inside the tree hollow.

Granny Anya clearly felt the joy of the Holy Tree, the delight of having hidden ailments removed and injuries healed.

Granny Anya smiled reassuringly, ready to pull Zhang Ze back from the depths of the Earth Sea.

However...

When Granny glanced at her wrist, at the bracelet that was identical to the one she had given Zhang Ze, her expression froze.

It had broken.

The safety rope connecting Zhang Ze to the present world was broken.

"What's wrong?" Sister Wang asked.

As a member of the Demon Race, she didn't dare sense the Earth Sea, but she dared to sense Granny Anya, and she clearly felt Granny Anya's brief panic.

"It's broken." After a moment of silence, attempting to remedy the situation but failing, Granny Anya answered.

The other side was still empty, like a kite with a broken string.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward.

Sister Wang, "Broken? What do you mean broken? Anya, give me a clear explanation, is the young master still down there?"

Sister Wang was very anxious, so for a moment, the tree hollow was filled with Demon Qi and murderous intent.

But before Granny Anya could explain, the golden door was slammed open from the outside.

Di Zhuomala and Junior Sister rushed in, seemingly with urgent news to report.

But as they were hit by the Demon Qi in the tree hollow, they immediately knelt down, yet due to the unrelenting momentum, they slid to Sister Wang, suppressed by the Demon Qi, their bodies trembling, unable to speak.

What were they trying to do?

Fortunately, Xiangxiang was there, who did not need to breathe and was unaffected by Sister Wang. Xiangxiang regained the stance of the White Emperor and stopped Sister Wang from going crazy.

"Don't harm Granny Anya, it has nothing to do with her, and Zhang Ze is temporarily safe."

"I wasn't..." Sister Wang was about to argue but was rebuffed by Xiangxiang.

"Your wolf head popped out, and you say you're not angry? Isn't this how you are when you want to tear the place apart?"

Sister Wang shook her head, retracting her true form, her tail, and the substantial Demon Qi in the hollow.

"What's actually going on?" she asked patiently.

Finally able to breathe, Junior Sister helped Di Zhuomala up from the ground and hurriedly explained.

"Senior Brother said he hit the bottom, currently in another place, very safe, and will return once he finds Li and Lin Feng."

Speaking, she pulled out a floor tile from Fucheng from her sleeve.

On it were wobbly inscribed words.

[There is a hole beneath the Earth Sea, I am there, it has nothing to do with Granny, will return once I find A Lin.]

"Who is A Lin?" Sister Wang was puzzled.

"Li and Lin Feng, probably Senior Brother thought their names were cumbersome, so he didn't write them fully."

Understanding him well, Junior Sister explained.

Before Sister Wang could ask further, Junior Sister took out something else from her bosom.

A Postnatal Dao Pill.

"Senior Brother used this to send me the message."

Since grasping the Innate Dao Body, Zhang Ze could mass-produce Postnatal Dao Pills, Postnatal Dao Ropes, and other mystical items.

And these things naturally varied in quality, whether crafted casually or with care made a huge difference.

Like the one Junior Sister held, it was one of Zhang Ze's careful creations.

Besides the basic auxiliary methods for practicing the Acquired Dao Body, it could also be remotely controlled by Zhang Ze.

Previous tests showed that whether in outer space or submerged in shallow Earth Sea, Zhang Ze could briefly control this little ball's vibration and movement.

Making it bounce, vibrate, roll around, and write on the ground.

Therefore, to prevent any mishaps, Zhang Ze placed the object in Junior Sister's hand before diving, to avoid unexpected misunderstandings.

And Zhang Ze's concern was justified; an accidental incident did occur this time.

This led to this emergency communication.

When the little ball started vibrating, hopping, and writing on the ground, Xiangxiang happened to find it.

Upon seeing the message Zhang Ze sent back, Xiangxiang, understanding the master well, immediately realized Sister Wang would definitely panic.

So she brought the two here without delay.

To prevent bigger misunderstandings.

After everything was clarified, Sister Wang asked, "Can we use this little ball to contact the young master?"

"No, this thing is one-way, I can't control it." Junior Sister shook her head in disappointment.

Sister Wang, "So we just wait?"

Junior Sister, "Yes."

Seeing the atmosphere grow a bit grim again, Xiangxiang spoke, "The Holy Tree has deep connections with Zhang Ze, presumably it won't harm him, there's no need to worry excessively, if he discovers anything new, surely he'll contact us using the little ball again."

"Deep connections? What do you mean?" Di Zhuomala asked.

Although she said she let it go, she still cared quite a bit about having her duties intercepted.

"That's how it was..."

Since it wasn't anything particularly secretive and everyone here was involved, Xiangxiang explained her recent discovery in the Spirit Prayer Cave.

Upon hearing this, Sister Wang suddenly understood, thinking to herself that this was the case.

Junior Sister, however, made no comment, perhaps already accustomed to it.

Only Miss Di Zhuomala and Granny Anya, the two involved parties, looked rather peculiar.

Lao Di wore a look that seemed to say, "See, I told you so."

Granny Anya remained silent, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"What's going on?" Junior Sister nudged Di Zhuomala with her elbow.

Di Zhuomala whispered back.

"That year during the trial, when I answered this question, I said it was true, but Granny gave me a zero, saying I was too naive, lacking insight."

"Back then, Granny was the reading comprehension champion, wrote a book about it, and it became an internal classic. It's highly confidential, with only candidates like me and senior shamans allowed to read it."

Junior Sister, "..."

Junior Sister found it difficult to comment, only thinking Granny truly lived up to being a senior, handling such situations with composure, at most just changing her expression slightly.

If it were her, she might have already dug a three-bedroom apartment with her foot and rolled away from this place.

Because of this little old story, the tense atmosphere was somewhat eased. However, for the time being, nobody had any good solutions, so they just stared at the small orb, waiting with wide eyes for new information from Zhang Ze.

If there had to be some good news, it was that after the pain of the Holy Tree ceased, it seemed to remember Granny Anya, and the power of the Holy Tree that almost assimilated her had been withdrawn.

With nothing to do and lacking the skill for cultivating calmness, Junior Sister and Di Zhuomala, feeling bored, borrowed Lily One from Xiangxiang to examine it, hoping to pass the time.

But as soon as this broken thing started up, the annoying voice reminiscent of Lily began broadcasting unofficial history again.

[The bare-assed priest...]

Well, it was no longer boring, but a diplomatic incident was imminent.

...

Over at Zhang Ze's side.

Zhang Ze, having delivered the message, looked around somewhat puzzled.

"Where the heck is this..."

Around him, the vegetation was lush, the Spiritual Qi abundant, and in the distance, the mountains layered with peaks steep and imposing, presenting the image of a celestial sanctuary.

But...

Zhang Ze looked up at the 'sky'.

There was no sky, no stars, sun, or moon, only a seemingly endless sea.

That was the Earth Sea given form.

Looking at that sea, Zhang Ze raised his hand and summoned an exquisite Magical Artifact.

The Magical Artifact circled once in mid-air before returning to Zhang Ze's hand; this Secret Realm Identification Device developed by Dragon Tiger Mountain had arrived at a conclusion.

After identification, this was not another world, but a Secret Realm beneath the Earth Sea.

However, this Secret Realm was excessively large.

It had already exceeded the maximum range of the Secret Realm Identification Device.

Putting away the identification device, he turned around to look behind him, thinking about how to deal with this arm.

The arm had been swept down with him, but this time it hadn't plunged into the ground, instead lying sideways, forming a large pit.

But Lin Feng and Li weren't in the pit; Zhang Ze suspected they might have been transported to this Secret Realm the instant they were struck into the Earth Sea, thus avoiding the erosion by the Earth Sea and the Holy Tree.

But strangely, no matter how he called, neither responded.

Although Zhang Ze could clearly feel that Li was still alive and quite well.

"Better put this broken thing away first."

Raising his hand, he summoned the Hundred Treasures Bag and stored the arm away, only then noticing something seemed to be pressed under it.

"Huh?"

Entering the pit, Zhang Ze found the debris of a small temple crushed between the soil and broken wood.

Zhang Ze bent down and picked up the half-left small statue on the ground, looking at the robe on the lower half of the statue, feeling a bit surprised.

Is there someone here?

Zhang Ze flicked his finger, imprinting a mark on the lower half of the statue, and began using an object-finding technique to restore the statue.

However, when the statue was restored, Zhang Ze frowned.

Such a strange statue.

The statue's upper body was bare, showcased with exquisite artistry and prominent muscles, but the face was blurry, unrecognizable. The figure the statue portrayed held a book in their right hand.

Title: "Onramp"

Finding it somewhat ominous, Zhang Ze hurriedly used the same technique to restore the small temple. Looking at the words inscribed on the temple's plaque, Zhang Ze felt this place had something seriously wrong.

Temple name: "Horror Temple"

"What kind of place is this?"