90: Skipping levels and a crisis of trust

On the boundless grassland, Zhou Yan held a compass and a map, lost in thought.

He felt he had been deceived.

"No, where is this?"

Zhou Yan's mournful cry echoed across the grassland, but no one responded.

All of this had to be traced back to before entering the Secret Realm.

"Senior Brother, take these two items."

Shi Suiyan handed a blueprint and a compass to Zhou Yan.

[Hand-drawn Map]

[Quality: Common]

Description: A map drawn on special material paper, capable of self-adjusting its content based on the environment (only for use in special environments).

[Projection Compass]

[Quality: Excellent]

Description: Combines projection spellcraft with a small directional formation, capable of guiding direction within a limited space and triggering projected content at specific locations.

"This is?"

Zhou Yan asked while checking the information, and Shi Suiyan had already turned to distribute the same items to Wang Yao and Mu Qianqiu; even Niu Zhiyuan, who was in charge of logistics, received a set.

"This blueprint and compass contain some of my knowledge about the Secret Realm."

"Although it's not as detailed or convenient as my personal explanation,"

"considering we might get separated during the teleportation,"

"it's necessary to prepare these."

Looking at Shi Suiyan's confident expression, an ominous premonition subtly rose in Zhou Yan's heart.

However, an extra layer of security was ultimately a good thing.

Just then, countless flying boats streaked across the sky, piercing through the clouds, arriving as if by instantaneous movement and stopping near Zhou Yan and the others.

Immediately after, several spatial rifts opened in the air, and several more luxurious flying boats emerged from them.

In the distance, countless Cultivators and strangely shaped creatures, either flying on swords or carried by powerful individuals, rapidly approached.

Before long, the empty space that had only contained Zhou Yan and a few others was packed with people, and numerous flying boats circled in the sky.

Fortunately, Niu Zhiyuan had not exaggerated; the Niu Family indeed held an extraordinary status in Great Yu.

As soon as the guards responsible for campsite security revealed the Niu Family's identity, they deterred many ill-intentioned individuals.

As for those who didn't recognize the Niu Family, they quickly understood the situation through the "friendly exchanges" of the Niu Family's armored soldiers and Cultivators, which helped them with a small daily Popular Science on recognizing new forces.

In this strange atmosphere, all parties quietly awaited the opening of the Secret Realm's door.

In the sky, the previously clear scene suddenly began to distort, like a pixelated display screen, constantly showing static and flickering.

Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the abnormal sky.

Finally, a crisp shattering sound rang out.

Then came one thunderous clang after another of breaking chains, and countless iron chains carved with inscriptions materialized in the air.

A door, inverted in the sky, slowly emerged.

"Buzz..."

"Buzz..."

Zhou Yan took out his key, which was faintly glowing and had entered vibration mode. It then melted from an ancient key into a liquid, quickly reassembled, and transformed into a token.

The token depicted a faceless man sitting in a small boat.

Zhou Yan looked at the others, but was surprised to find that their tokens uniformly depicted a faceless man holding a bow, in the act of drawing an arrow.

"Eh? Why isn't ours..."

Before Zhou Yan could finish speaking, a seven-colored light beam enveloped him.

A powerful suction force quickly lifted him, pulling him into the door in the sky.

His thoughts returned, and Zhou Yan finally understood his predicament.

This must all be related to his unique key.

The different pattern caused him and his teammates to land at different points.

And judging by the vastness of this grassland, it would likely be difficult to meet his companions anytime soon.

Just as he stopped shouting, the map seemed to finally connect to the Secret Realm space here.

Clear text appeared on the previously blank blueprint.

[Second Layer: Mirror Combat]

As the map unfolded, a projection also appeared on the compass.

It was a miniature Shi Suiyan. Unlike the black robes she wore before entering the Secret Realm, she was now dressed in a blue gauze dress, appearing dignified and elegant.

"If you see this projection, it means you have been separated from everyone else."

"The only requirement to clear this stage is to find Mirror Lake."

"Reflect yourself in the lake water, and you can enter the Mirror World."

"There, you need to find the door to the third layer amidst the interference of your own mirror image. Remember, the strength of the mirror images in the Mirror World is equal to your own, and they are endless. Do not engage in prolonged combat with them."

With that, the phantom disappeared.

Zhou Yan stared, dumbfounded.

That's it?

And... why am I on the second layer?

Unfortunately, no one on the empty grassland could answer him.

Secret Realm, First Layer.

In a stone passage, Wang Yao grabbed Mu Qianqiu's collar and slammed him against the rock wall.

"I knew there was something wrong with your Joyous Union Sect! Tell me, where did you take my Senior Brother!"

This left Mu Qianqiu utterly bewildered.

"No, what does this have to do with me!"

"This was all outsourced! Outsourced!"

Mu Qianqiu had unspeakable grievances.

He had been instructed before coming that this was merely to enter the Secret Realm, and he only needed to secretly look after Zhou Yan to ensure no accidents befell him; everything else was unimportant.

But as it turned out, as soon as he arrived, the first one to bring an accident to Zhou Yan was his own Sect.

Who did I provoke?

Which scoundrel is messing with me again?

"Junior Brother Wang, let him down. If he really had ill intentions, he would have waited until after entering the Secret Realm to act, not be so eager," Shi Suiyan said calmly.

"I took an extra look at Senior Brother's key at the time,"

"if I'm not mistaken, there should have been a backdoor on that key, likely allowing Senior Brother to proceed to the next layer in advance."

"So, what we should do now is to quickly go to the next layer and rendezvous with Senior Brother."

Hearing this, Wang Yao, though somewhat reluctant, still released Mu Qianqiu, but the warning in his eyes was obvious.

If Mu Qianqiu made even the slightest move, he would not hesitate to smash his head in.

Seeing that look, Mu Qianqiu subconsciously shrank his neck.

Is this really Foundation Establishment Early Stage?

With this surging Qi and blood, I'd believe he could punch a Core Formation Cultivator to death!

But he didn't dare to say that out loud.

He finally understood; these two were both a bit abnormal.

When Zhou Yan was present, one was bold and straightforward, the other innocent and naive.

As soon as Zhou Yan left, one started discriminating against Sects, and the other became cold as ice.

"That... I really don't know why this happened..."

Wang Yao's eyes sharpened again, and Mu Qianqiu quickly changed his tune.

"But, but, but!"

"I will definitely help you find Brother Zhou! He's also my friend; we made an alliance pact before coming!"

"If you don't trust me, you should at least trust Brother Zhou!"

"Besides, I've always been at odds with those lunatics from the Joyous Union Sect. Maybe they deliberately set me up... You... you should also know what kind of character the Joyous Union Sect has!"

At this moment, Student Mu, for his personal safety, had decisively "abandoned the dark and turned to the light," making a righteous break with the Joyous Union Sect.

Shi Suiyan didn't care much about him to begin with, so she naturally didn't say anything more.

But Wang Yao, hearing his sincere words, and recalling the Joyous Union Sect's usual conduct, as well as Zhou Yan's eyes that could see through people's hearts, gained a bit more trust in Mu Qianqiu.

Of course, if something really went wrong, he would still crush Mu Qianqiu like a watermelon at the first opportunity.

"Oh my, how exciting." A voice came from the far end of the passage.

"From afar, I thought your relationship was so good, but who knew you'd be fighting amongst yourselves like this as soon as you entered."

"Mu Qianqiu, Wang Yao, you two are really regressing."

Wang Yao temporarily put aside his hostility towards Mu Qianqiu and looked towards the depths of the passage.

This passage was very peculiar; Divine Sense was difficult to extend, making it impossible to detect anything far away.

The light sources along the walls were also strange; one could only see the light they emitted when approaching them.

From a distance, it was pitch black.

All these factors severely restricted visibility.

Mu Qianqiu also looked in the direction of the voice; he felt the voice sounded somewhat familiar.

The person did not keep them waiting long and soon emerged from the darkness.

He had a delicate appearance, but his complexion was pale, and coupled with his lifeless eyes, it added a touch of grimness to him.

He wore a black and red long robe, a tall black hat, faint white Qi lingered around him, and a section of chain was wrapped around his left arm.

He bared his teeth, speaking to Wang Yao and Mu Qianqiu with a somewhat mocking tone.

"Long time no see, you two."

The two almost simultaneously shouted his name.

"Hun Wushang?"

"Liu Dabiao?"

"I'll f*cking Liu Dabiao! Don't call me that name!"