245: Chapter 245 The Mysterious Realm, The Gathering Participants

Chapter 245: Mysterious Realm, The Gatherers

This suddenly appearing voice was clear and steady, without the slightest fluctuation.

It seemed to ring directly in everyone's minds, without passing through the conduction of the air.

"An Esper?!"

Black Wolf and Lord Bao instantly tensed their bodies, like bristling beasts, their entire beings ready to strike, vigilantly observing their surroundings.

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Xiao Bei and the other three associates similarly widened their eyes, their heads turning left and right in a panic, trying to find the source of the voice in the thick fog-filled darkness.

Fang Cheng's expression also turned stern, a sharp glint flashing across his pupils.

To be able to silently transmit the voice into his own ears under such circumstances was definitely no ordinary person.

Furthermore, this voice seemed to carry a hint of familiarity...

Fang Cheng didn't have time to think deeply before a series of faint rustling sounds successively came from around them.

The other teams hidden in the dark seemed to have also been startled by this sudden voice.

The quiet atmosphere during their original lurking was instantly broken, and everyone tacitly began whispering to each other or searching everywhere for targets.

The feeling of unease, like a thick smog, rapidly spread through the forest.

Even a slight tremor of a leaf or an abnormal bend of a branch seemed capable of instantly pulling at their tensed nerves.

"Everyone, no need to be nervous. I have no malicious intent."

That voice sounded once again, appearing exceptionally unfathomable in this dark and tranquil mountain forest.

"I just want to chat with everyone about our common goal in this manor."

"Presuming you all are lurking here in the dead of night, what you seek is the same. Rather than fighting each other separately and remaining at a stalemate, why not join hands and advance together?"

The speaker's tone was unhurried, peaceful, and soft, carrying an irresistible bewitching power, seeming truly able to dispel the fog before everyone and find a shortcut leading to the goal.

"If any of you are interested, you can come to my private Secret Realm. We might as well all sit down together and discuss matters of cooperation."

"Perhaps we can find a proper way to break the current situation, instead of continuing to waste time in vain..."

Afterwards, the voice paused for a few seconds, seemingly waiting for everyone to digest these words.

Then, it reported a string of letters in a slow and solemn tone.

These letters sounded obscure and awkward to pronounce, yet the syllables contained a mysterious rhythm.

Resembling an invisible key capable of knocking open a certain door leading to an unknown space.

"This is my contact passphrase. Welcome, everyone."

Finally, the voice drifted leisurely away in their minds, lingering with a faint echo, teasing people's hearts as if present yet absent.

The forest in the mist was eerily tranquil for a time.

Occasionally, a few cries of the Night Owl came through, yet they only highlighted the surrounding dead silence.

Only the searchlights of the distant manor still pierced through the mist, shooting out two dazzling beams of light.

The treasure hunters hidden in the dark seemed to be savoring the words described by that voice, full of doubts yet somewhat tempted.

Who on earth was this mysterious person? Was his proposal sincere, or did it hide a trap?

Everyone seemed to be weighing the pros and cons in their hearts, considering their next move.

Fang Cheng, Black Wolf, and the others also looked at each other in dismay, seeing the same doubt and vigilance in each other's eyes.

"Lord Bao, did you all hear that voice just now? What on earth are they?"

Ada couldn't help asking.

A'er and A'san also cast their gazes over, hoping to get answers from this big shot with rich Jianghu experience.

Lord Bao's gaze was solemn as he slowly spoke:

"The other party is a mental ability user. Judging from the intensity of the mental fluctuations, their cultivation is probably more than twice higher than mine."

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help drawing a cold breath.

Everyone was clear on Lord Bao's specific strength, and thus understood what this gap in mental cultivation meant.

Fearing that with the slightest carelessness, they would suffer the other party's bewitchment and be played in the palm of their hand.

Xiao Bei scratched his bald head and asked somewhat nervously:

"Uncle, the other party invited us to a private Secret Realm. What on earth is this thing? Will there be danger?"

Hearing this, Black Wolf looked at the other associates who, like Xiao Bei, revealed curious gazes, and thus explained:

"This is the most secretive method of communication among us extraordinary beings. Through the contact passphrase, we enter the mental space constructed by the inviter in the world of consciousness."

"Although it is far from comparable to the Legacy Secret Realm of ancient noble families that can affect reality, anyone privately capable of establishing a mental Secret Realm is undoubtedly a top expert in mental abilities."

Black Wolf paused, his brows tightly locked, and then added a reminder:

"Also, we must consider one point: although entering the Secret Realm is only in the form of consciousness while the Physical Body remains in the outside world, there are still certain risks. We must guard against whatever bewitching methods the other party might use."

Hearing this, everyone immediately started discussing animatedly.

"I think this matter is very fishy. How could someone pop up out of nowhere and invite us to some Secret Realm to talk? In case it's a trap set by the Lu family experts in the manor, wouldn't we become turtles in a jar once we go in?"

"Why don't we send someone to scout the path around first and contact other teams to see what background this mysterious person has?"

Ada and A'er expressed their views with deep concern. A'san, not fluent in speech, also revealed a sense of worry in his eyes.

Black Wolf scanned the circle and cast his gaze toward Fang Cheng, who had been silent and thinking:

"Brother White Ghost, what do you think?"

Fang Cheng raised his head to look at the brightly lit manor, his eyes slightly narrowing as he said in a deep voice:

"This mysterious person is able to transmit voice into each of our ears. If he wanted to deal with us using mental ability, he could have actually started just now without being so polite. Since he dares to throw out an olive branch, perhaps he really has some trump cards on hand."

"Of course, the risks of cooperation are also obvious."

"But I feel this risk does not lie in the mental Secret Realm aspect, but rather that choosing to participate in this cooperative meeting is equivalent to handing over the initiative and acknowledging the other party as the leader in a certain sense."

"What White Ghost said makes a lot of sense."

Listening to Fang Cheng's rather unique analysis, Lord Bao nodded and took over the conversation:

"But with the current stalemate, if we don't have good methods and continue to waste time, without anyone else making a move, we will have to sneakily retreat down the mountain."

Seeing that several big shots were somewhat indecisive, Ada then asked cautiously:

"Lord Bao, Lord Wolf, Lord Ghost, then are we going to that so-called Secret Realm?"

"Go."

Fang Cheng's gaze coagulated as he replied resolutely:

"If all other teams participate in this secret gathering and only we don't go, just imagine, what is most likely to happen next?"

Hearing this, everyone's hearts skipped a beat, and a picture instantly surfaced in their minds.

The other teams uniting together, led by the mysterious person, eliminating their uncooperative team first to prevent future troubles.

Only then did everyone realize that the other party's strategy was truly extremely seasoned, step by step, which could be said to have completely grasped the thoughts of all treasure hunters.

Even knowing it was a trap, they had to hold a skeptical attitude and step in to investigate.

"Then let's also participate and see what kind of medicine is being sold in the other party's gourd."

Lord Bao pondered for a moment and made a decision:

"If cooperation can really be successfully negotiated, our chances of winning can be raised quite a bit. The manor's guards are heavily guarded, and there are so many wolves and tigers outside; relying purely on ourselves definitely won't work."

Black Wolf frowned:

"Are all of us going?"

Lord Bao pondered slightly and replied:

"Two people will go to look after each other, and the others will stay behind and await orders in place."

Among the team members, those with relatively high mental attributes and eligibility to enter the Secret Realm were Black Wolf, Lord Bao, and that A'san.

After discussing, everyone decided that Lord Bao would bring A'san to participate in the gathering, while Black Wolf would stay behind to look after the team to prevent external changes.

If the mental state of the people entering the Secret Realm showed abnormalities, they could also make a move in time to wake them up.

Fang Cheng suddenly said:

"It's better for Lord Bao and me to go together."

Black Wolf couldn't help being stunned, his face revealing an expression of surprise:

"Brother White Ghost, is your mental energy sufficient to enter the Secret Realm?"

He was preemptive, thinking that since Fang Cheng's physical fitness was so strong, his mental aspect should be slightly weaker.

Fang Cheng replied with a calm expression:

"No problem."

Seeing him so assured, although Black Wolf still had doubts in his heart, it wasn't good to say much more, so he nodded and responded: "Alright."

Lord Bao naturally had no objections.

After all, with such a capable assistant, his confidence in dealing with unknown risks within the Secret Realm would be one point stronger.

Right now, everyone made slight preparations and acted according to the plan.

Fang Cheng's eyelids closed slightly, gathering his mind, and chanted the extremely awkward incantation precisely and fluently.

As the noise by his ears surged like a tide and quickly dissipated.

When he opened his eyelids again, Fang Cheng's gaze pierced through the extremely thick black fog, quickly locking onto the target hidden in the dark world.

At the edge of consciousness, a magnificent and majestic building slowly emerged.

It rose from the ground, fully four stories high, with its dome bulging high.

The entire body was carefully carved and pieced together from flawless white marble.

When consciousness touched this mysterious building, one could even faintly hear a melodious and ethereal sound of an organ.

Fang Cheng then pushed open the room door, walked out of the Memory Palace, and stepped forward.

Before he could raise his hand to knock on the door leaf, the heavy door opened with a "creak".

A hazy halo radiated from it, dimly illuminating the doorway, as if welcoming the traveler in the dark to visit.

Fang Cheng stepped forward and familiarly submerged into this light door.

White light flashed before his eyes, and the next instant his figure appeared in an extremely spacious room.

As soon as he landed, a strong sense of space rushed toward his face.

Raising his head to look, he saw the dome high above, out of reach, giving people a profound and boundless feeling.

Scattered brilliantly on the four walls and ceiling were dazzling crystal lights, like twinkling stars in the night sky, providing soft lighting for the entire room.

Most eye-catching of all were the rows of bookshelves building up the entire wall.

They stood lofty and towering, filled with all sorts of books. Some covers were simple and heavy, while others shone with colorful light, seemingly containing mysterious power.

These books were densely packed, stacked layer upon layer, stretching all the way to the end of vision.

"It seems to be a library..."

Fang Cheng carefully looked around and muttered to himself in a low voice.

Music as gentle as the wind lingered by his ears, accompanied by a subtle yet clear voice.

Ripples stirred in the surrounding space, and other figures flashed and emerged successively.

Some were alone and standing by themselves, while others were accompanied in pairs, huddling together and whispering.

These people were unknown whether they belonged to the master's side of the Secret Realm or were visitors similarly invited.

Moreover, the number was still increasing successively, making the originally spacious room gradually become lively.

A moment later, wrapped in a soft halo of light, Lord Bao also appeared in this mysterious library.

He opened his eyes, as if shocked by the magnificent and spectacular sight before him, staying frozen in place.

After a good while coming back to his senses, he quickly looked around and found Fang Cheng standing to the side.

Seeing that he had actually entered this place even earlier than himself, a trace of surprise flashed in Lord Bao's eyes.

He immediately stepped forward and stood side by side with tacit understanding.

"Any discoveries?"

Lord Bao took the lead to ask.

Fang Cheng shook his head and replied:

"The scale here is unexpectedly large, and it doesn't look quite the same as ordinary Secret Realms. The master's strength cannot be underestimated."

Lord Bao nodded slightly, indicating approval.

The two of them were wearing Cham masks at the moment and wearing black clothes, looking exactly the same as in reality.

This mental Secret Realm was different from the Smiling Demon's "chat room", actually able to directly project the visitors' current physical appearance 100% in.

Fortunately, the two had made disguises in advance, so they didn't worry about exposing their identities because of this.

Looking around, one could see some people also wearing masks or concealing their figures in other ways.

Of course, most of them showed themselves with their true faces.

Perhaps they were bold with high skills, possessing absolute confidence in their own strength, or perhaps they hadn't expected the special rules of the Secret Realm at all, leaving them completely unprepared.

They spontaneously divided into small groups, maintaining a certain distance from each other, with vigilant looks in their eyes, as if the surroundings were all potential enemies.

After observing without changing expression, Fang Cheng tilted his head and asked in a low voice:

"Do you know all these people?"

Lord Bao's gaze turned cold, and he replied with a hint of hatred:

"I've crossed hands with a few of them before; I consider them acquaintances."

As he spoke, he raised his hand to point into the crowd, identifying familiar figures one by one.

"That scrawny guy is called Baming. Don't look at him as unremarkable; he's actually full of bad water, adept at using poison and poisoning, making people impossible to guard against. Going up against him is very tricky."

"Those two big guys who look like bears have the nickname 'Heihe Twin Heroes'. They are a pair of twins with astonishingly huge strength, and once smashed open the skull bone of one of my associates with a single punch!"

"And that Nailhead, ability unknown, but you must pay special attention to him; he's very dangerous..."

Fang Cheng nodded slightly, listening to Lord Bao introduce the situation of various potential opponents.

Inadvertently, his gaze fell upon a figure emanating black and red light all over.

That light was like a weird flame, jumping and churning around his body, exuding an unfathomable mysterious feeling.

Seeming to have noticed his line of sight, that person also turned his head and looked straight over.

Fang Cheng's expression was calm, and then he withdrew his gaze, communicating softly with Lord Bao as if nothing had happened.

All kinds of guessing and discussing voices around rose and fell, appearing somewhat noisy.

Everyone waited in the library for a long time, and the initial novelty and vigilance were also slowly fading away.

Just as someone started shouting impatiently, a voice suddenly rang out:

"Time is almost up; those who should come should have all arrived."

That voice was soft and steady, full of penetrative power, and it was precisely the mysterious person who had previously transmitted sound to every treasure hunter.

Everyone immediately looked in the direction of the voice in unison, their eyes full of eagerness and curiosity, all wanting to see the true face of the master at the first moment.

Then, a tall and thin figure walked slowly out from behind a bookshelf.