407: Chapter 407 Opportunity

"Indeed, he is quite cautious, especially within this Secret Realm."

As they spoke, the spiritual light at Fairy Hanyan's fingertips didn't cease, and one Formation barrier after another dissipated before her.

The two continued deeper into the cave until the fourth Formation appeared. Before Zhenyue Daoist could ask, she took the initiative to explain: "The outermost three were all Formations to shroud heavenly secrets, meant to prevent outsiders from spying..."

"The outermost three were Formations to shroud heavenly secrets, preventing outsiders from spying..."

"And this one?"

"Also shrouding heavenly secrets."

Zhenyue Daoist: "..."

He was momentarily speechless. Four consecutive Formations just to shroud heavenly secrets? With such caution, what kind of identity did the person hidden inside possess?

Along the way, twelve barriers shrouding heavenly secrets were broken one after another. The scenery before them suddenly changed, and the two finally stepped into the depths of the cave.

The cave was no longer a narrow passage but a spacious stone chamber, with a faint scent of sandalwood permeating the air.

Bluish-black stone slabs paved the floor, and on both sides, hundreds of stone tablets were neatly arranged. The tablets were mottled, their inscriptions blurred and hard to distinguish; it was actually a hidden graveyard.

In the center of the graveyard, a man stood with his back to them. His dark wide robes accentuated his tall and lean figure, his black hair tied up with a simple wooden hairpin, and the profile of his face was cold and sharp.

He was raising a hand to lightly stroke a stone tablet, his movements gentle, as if reminiscing about something.

Hearing their footsteps, the man slowly turned around. His gaze fell upon Fairy Hanyan, his tone flat and emotionless:

"You've come."

Fairy Hanyan glanced at him, her expression somewhat speechless. "What did you use this time? A Talisman paper man, or that Puppet substitute?"

Hearing this, Zhenyue Daoist's eyelid couldn't help but twitch violently.

After passing through twelve Formations and layers of protection, it turned out they still weren't meeting his true body?

Seriously, what was the point of all this?

Xu Muchen smiled slightly. "Carefulness allows a ship to sail for ten thousand years."

"One only has one life; no amount of caution can be considered excessive."

Having said that, he cupped his hands in greeting toward Zhenyue Daoist. "This must be Lord Jiang, the former Tower Master of the Demon Suppressing Tower of the Rain God Continent? A pleasure to meet you."

Zhenyue Daoist raised his hand to return the gesture, his tone indifferent. "I haven't been the Tower Master for a long time. I've made a fool of myself before you, Fellow Daoist."

"Fellow Daoist, you are being too modest."

Xu Muchen waved his hand with a serious expression. "I have long heard of your deeds, Fellow Daoist. I truly wish to become acquainted with you."

Wanting to get acquainted yet unwilling to even show your true body? Zhenyue Daoist muttered a Yin and Yang remark in his heart.

Fairy Hanyan complained from the side, "Since you want to get acquainted, don't set up so many Formations to get in the way."

"If I hadn't used these Formations, our meeting and conversation today might have already been overheard by someone."

Hearing this, Fairy Hanyan's exquisite face instantly turned solemn. "What do you mean by that? Have you perhaps discovered something?"

"No, it's just my speculation."

Xu Muchen smiled. "From the day the Secret Realm opened, everyone who entered might have been under constant observation."

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhenyue Daoist felt a chill rush to his brain, and even Fairy Hanyan beside him was filled with shock.

"Fellow Daoist, surely you are joking?"

Zhenyue Daoist immediately countered, clearly not believing such absurd words. "If someone were truly watching in secret, how could the many great powers like the Wansheng Dao Court, Tiangong Pavilion, and Demon Abyss Pavilion have failed to notice?"

Xu Muchen was not surprised by their reaction.

He continued to explain, "I have only just made some discoveries, so these are merely speculations."

"Do you know... what kind of place this Secret Realm is?"

Fairy Hanyan and Zhenyue Daoist looked at each other and remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

Xu Muchen spoke slowly, "If my guess is correct, this is an Ancient Battlefield between the Human Race and the Yao Race from thousands, or even tens of thousands of years ago."

An Ancient Battlefield!

How could this be...

Zhenyue Daoist felt his head buzzing and quickly took a sip of wine to calm his nerves.

"And in that great war, the Human Race lost."

Xu Muchen's voice continued, each word like a thunderclap. "That is why this great desert is now truly ruled by the Yao Race. As for the Sand-Devouring Rats we encountered in the desert, they are the transformed forms of the defeated Human Race Cultivators from back then."

"This... how is that possible?"

Fairy Hanyan cried out in shock.

She couldn't help but think of the Sand-Devouring Rats she had casually killed after entering the Secret Realm. How could Cultivators from thousands or tens of thousands of years ago still be alive today, and even turned into such ugly and hideous creatures?

"I haven't been able to determine the reasons behind it yet," Xu Muchen said calmly.

"If you don't believe me, you can go to Camel Bell Ferry or the other three cities to inquire after we leave. While you might not get the full picture, it won't be difficult to piece together some of the truth from fragments and details."

Zhenyue Daoist said in a heavy voice, "When you said someone is 'watching' us, Fellow Daoist, do you mean..."

"Exactly."

Xu Muchen looked up at the top of the cave, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate the rock layers. "It should be the gaze of the winner from ten thousand years ago—the Yao Sovereign. As for its purpose, I haven't guessed it yet."

"Then the stone tablets in this graveyard are..."

Fairy Hanyan's gaze swept across the surroundings. Based on her understanding of the man before her, she already believed about seventy or eighty percent of his words.

"This is merely a ruin of a Human Race Sect from ten thousand years ago."

He turned and walked to a stone tablet, reaching out to gently brush away the accumulated dust, his movements carrying a hint of solemnity. "It is likely because of these predecessors' lack of fear for death that the Human Race enjoys its current prosperity."

"By the way!"

As if sensing the guilt in Fairy Hanyan's heart, Xu Muchen comforted her, "Even if you killed the Sand-Devouring Rats outside earlier, there's no need to take it to heart. For them, their Divine Souls have long been broken; such a release might not be a bad thing."

Fairy Hanyan was not, after all, an inexperienced young girl. She quickly calmed her mind and looked up to ask, "In that case, the danger of this Secret Realm is much higher than we imagined."

"Should we now look for an opportunity to leave this Secret Realm?"

Zhenyue Daoist listened quietly from the side, having fallen into a silent state at some point.

Even though the wine flask in his hand was already empty, he was completely unaware.

Xu Muchen shook his head slightly. "There's no need for such haste. The guixu immortal ferry boat appeared in this Secret Realm before. Even if a Yao Sovereign is truly watching this place in secret, ants with our level of cultivation base would never be its target."

"The Wansheng Dao Court, the Medicine Hut, the Demon Abyss Pavilion, and so on—these great Sects can perfectly attract all the attention."

"So, we still have an opportunity to reach that guixu immortal ferry boat."