55: Hidden dragons in the abyss, gathering of geniuses

At the east end of the market, the golden signboard of the Immortal Guest Restaurant shone dazzlingly under the sun.

The building itself was a High Grade Magical Artifact, with Spiritual Qi swirling, carved beams and painted rafters, exuding an extraordinary aura.

But at this moment, all its brilliance was completely overshadowed by the massive floating stone plaza in front of it.

The plaza, like a mountain peak leveled by an Immortal, floated silently a hundred zhang in the air, with clouds and mist coiling beneath it, without any visible support.

A silent, magnificent sense of power washed over him.

Lin Gou mingled with the crowd, walking up the Spiritual light staircase, his mind, however, was calculating how many people would be crushed if this thing fell, and if he died in it, whether the reward could reach A-rank.

Around him, the crowd surged, their auras complex.

There were Sect Disciples, scions of noble families, but more often, like him, there were Loose Cultivators with a hint of ruthlessness and anticipation in their eyes.

Each person unreservedly exuded an aura named "ambition."

Lin Gou's "Presence Weakening Aura" made him blend into this noisy ocean like a drop of water.

His gaze seemingly casually swept through the crowd, but in reality, he was rapidly conducting risk assessments.

Those few Blackwood Sect Cultivators had heavy Evil Qi; they clearly held grudges, so he needed to stay far away.

Over there, several brocade-clad Cultivators surrounding the pale Young Master, their attire and insignia originating from the same source as Ye Jun, were clearly members of the Ye family, and thus high-risk pollution sources.

Occasionally, their gazes swept over Lin Gou's unremarkable face, automatically ignoring him as if he were a stone.

Lin Gou was very pleased with this effect.

He arrived at the registration point.

Behind a long table made of millennia-old cold jade sat several expressionless Late Stage Foundation Establishment deacons.

"Name, bone age, cultivation level."

A deacon didn't even lift his eyelids, his voice imbued with the numbness of routine.

"Lin Gou, sixteen, Early Stage Foundation Establishment."

Lin Gou replied in the plainest tone.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

The deacon suddenly looked up, his sharp gaze like two small swords, piercing fiercely into Lin Gou.

The surrounding queue instantly fell silent, and countless gazes, mixed with shock, envy, scrutiny, and even killing intent, focused on him.

"Sixteen-year-old Foundation Establishment?!"

"Where did this Prodigy come from?!"

"Hmph, he must be a useless pile of Medicinal Pills, good for nothing but show; he'll be the first to die in the Secret Realm!"

Malicious whispers surged like a tide.

Lin Gou cooperatively showed a hint of panic and unease, his body slightly shrinking, perfectly playing the role of a scared, lucky Loose Cultivator.

The deacon scrutinized Lin Gou for a long time before coldly pointing to the spirit-testing crystal on the table.

"Place your hand on it."

Lin Gou complied.

The crystal stone emitted a gentle white light, and a line of clear small characters appeared inside: Bone age sixteen, Early Stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, stable Foundation.

The deacon's pupils slightly contracted.

He expressionlessly handed Lin Gou a cyan jade talisman, but at an angle no one noticed, his fingertip left an extremely faint, almost imperceptible Divine Sense mark on the back of the talisman.

"Your credential, and also your identity marker."

The deacon's voice was still cold, but it carried a hint of warning.

"In the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm, you are responsible for your own life and death. Remember, if you die in there, you are truly dead."

"Thank you for the reminder, Deacon."

Lin Gou took the jade talisman, showing a grave and grateful expression, nodded, and quickly turned to squeeze into the crowd, disappearing from sight.

Inside, he was frantically complaining: "Truly dead? He says that as if he's giving me a welfare bonus! How considerate!"

Just then, a more ostentatious clamor came from not far away.

"Young Master Ye, rest assured, for this Hidden Dragon Secret Realm token, besides you, who else is qualified to take it?"

"When Young Master Ye joins the Heavenly Sword Sect, we will all have to rely on your patronage in the future!"

Lin Gou looked in the direction of the sound.

Ye Jun was surrounded by a group of people, beaming, enjoying the cheap flattery, as if he had already trampled the entire Secret Realm underfoot.

He had long forgotten that two days ago, he had casually slapped to death an "ant" who didn't know his place.

"Easy to say, easy to say!"

Ye Jun fanned himself with his jade-boned folding fan, his voice echoing across half the plaza.

"My Revered Master has already promised that as long as I achieve a top three ranking, he will personally empower me! By then, what is a mere Tiannan County worth?"

Lin Gou's gaze, like the most precise probe, locked onto that arrogant figure.

"Karma Perception," activated!

Boom!

The entire plaza instantly transformed into a museum of sin in his eyes.

Countless gray-black lines intertwined, like a dark forest.

Most of the Prodigies were entangled with Karma, thick or thin, but everyone's "sins" became like fireflies compared to the bright moon before Ye Jun.

Lin Gou's pupils excitedly contracted slightly.

In his vision, Ye Jun was densely entangled with thousands of ink-black threads!

Those threads emitted resentment and unwillingness, and he could even see distorted human faces floating and roaring within them, forming a terrifying shroud of Karma.

And at the very top of all the black threads, a newly generated thread, connecting towards his direction, was exceptionally thick and clear.

"Top-grade..."

Lin Gou let out a satisfied sigh in his heart.

"What kind of Prodigy is this? This is clearly a walking, self-destructing super Karma volcano!"

"Last time he didn't use his full strength, only one Medicinal Pill exploded; it was such a waste. This time in the Secret Realm, I must plan carefully to make him die... no, to make my death more valuable."

Just then.

"Dong—!"

A distant and ancient bell chime resounded through the sky.

The entire plaza instantly became silent.

Everyone looked in unison at the sky above the center of the plaza.

The space there violently twisted and folded like boiling water.

A massive, pitch-black crack (rift) was forcibly torn open by an invisible force!

Behind the rift was a chaotic, dazzling array of colors, and an ancient, desolate, and utterly primeval aura surged out like a breached floodgate!

Everyone felt a sense of insignificance from the depths of their Soul.

"Hidden Dragon Secret Realm, open!"

A majestic and vast voice descended from the heavens.

"All Disciples holding talismans, enter!"

"Charge!"

"The Opportunity is mine!"

After a brief silence, there was a volcanic eruption of madness.

Thousands of young Prodigies transformed into locust-like streaks of light, scrambling to rush into the massive spatial rift.

Lin Gou did not move.

He lingered at the very back of the crowd, unhurried, like a timid coward who had been frightened.

His eyes reflected the fervent and greedy faces of those Prodigies, and a subtle, compassionate smile, unnoticed by anyone, played on his lips.

"A bunch of good people rushing to be reborn."

He slowly stepped into the chaotic light curtain with the last wave of people.

The world spun!

An irresistible tearing force enveloped his entire body, as if his Soul was crushed and then reassembled.

When his feet touched solid ground, the scene before him had completely changed.

There was no floating plaza, no noisy crowd.

Only an boundless, terrifying Ten Thousand Poison Swamp emitting colorful poisonous light.

In the air, a thick, unyielding, strange smell, a mixture of decaying plants and peculiar sweetness, permeated.

Lin Gou took a deep breath.

A needle-like stinging pain came from his lungs, but this sharp pain invigorated him, as if he had drunk a peerless fine wine.

Under his feet was black mud, from which colorful bubbles occasionally emerged, popping with a "bo" sound and emitting poisonous mist that could dizzy even a Golden Core cultivator.

Lin Gou watched all this with intoxication.

Ding! Detected a high-value death environment: Ten Thousand Poison Swamp!

The swamp contains 372 types of potent poisons, 31 of which can pose a fatal threat to Nascent Soul Cultivators!

Friendly reminder: Please let go of yourself, explore new ways to court death, and unlock more rare death achievements!

The System's prompt sound was like celestial music.

Lin Gou felt as if he had not arrived at a dead end, but had returned to heaven.

A self-service paradise, tailor-made for him, full of Opportunities and challenges!

"So, which poison should I start with for an appetizer?"

Lin Gou's gaze, like a picky gourmet, swept over the alluring and deadly poisonous flowers and plants around him, his face filled with happy trouble.

Just then.

"Roar—!!!"

An earth-shattering beast roar suddenly came from the depths of the swamp!

The violent demonic power contained in that roar actually shattered a circle of poisonous miasma within a ten-mile radius!

Immediately after.

An incredibly sharp, cyan Sword Intent, as if it could cleave the sky, shot up into the clouds!

Wherever the Sword Intent passed, the poisonous mist was split in two, and the Void Realm trembled slightly.

In the depths of the swamp, there were clearly two powerful beings he couldn't afford to provoke, engaged in a life-and-death struggle.

Lin Gou's spirit instantly lifted.

The smile on his face became even brighter and more greedy.

"Oh? Just about to have an appetizer, and the main course and dessert are already delivering themselves to my door?"