103: The entrance to the secret realm beneath the grassland
By the third day, Huang Shi was finally able to get out of bed and walk.
His complexion was still somewhat pale, but at least he no longer looked like he might fall apart at any moment.
That afternoon, Bai Ye had just finished a sparring session with Phantom Snow and was sitting on the living room sofa, resting.
Huang Shi walked over, holding a steaming cup of goji berry tea.
"Brother, I've recovered just about enough. When do you think we should set off?"
"So soon?"
Bai Ye looked at Huang Shi with some surprise.
This guy was on the verge of death just two days ago, and today he was full of vitality.
He looked Huang Shi up and down, wondering if he should have him wash away the gray talent on Phantom Snow while he was at it.
"Of course, don't you know who I am?"
Huang Shi proudly patted his chest, but the movement affected his not-yet-fully-recovered body, causing him to wince in pain.
Alright, if that happened again, Bai Ye felt he might really have to collect Huang Shi's corpse.
"Alright, alright, stop acting tough."
Bai Ye looked at him, speechless.
"Since you can move, let's set off tomorrow."
"You got it!"
Huang Shi was overjoyed.
"Then you go ahead and prepare. I'm going to arrange things at home, and by the way, I'll let my clients know I'm going on a long trip so they can settle their maintenance fees beforehand."
After saying this, he hummed a little tune and limped toward his room.
Bai Ye could actually see the ugliness of a capitalist in his retreating figure.
Shaking his head, he began to prepare for tomorrow's Secret Realm trip.
First, he raided Huang Shi's warehouse.
He packed some high-energy compressed food and special recovery potions into his backpack.
According to Huang Shi, there is no sun inside the Secret Realm, which meant his Photosynthesis could only be used during battle.
Bai Ye intended to challenge the latter half of the Secret Realm, so naturally, he needed to prepare more; it's always better to be safe than sorry.
After returning to his room, he called all three beast pets to him for a short pre-battle briefing.
"We're going to challenge a new Secret Realm tomorrow, so everyone needs to be on high alert."
Xiao Lan's Vine Whip swung even faster, indicating that it was ready for battle at any time.
Phantom Snow just nodded coldly, though its golden eyes burned with Battle Intent.
Only Xiao Hei yawned lazily.
"Oh, I forgot to mention, your strength will be significantly weakened after entering the Secret Realm, so this mission will serve as Fusion material."
"Meow~"
The two Phantom Cats didn't react much, but all of Xiao Lan's leaves drooped, looking wilted.
It had trained for so long, yet it had no place to use its skills.
"Uh... I'll find a match for you later, and you can perform however you like on the field."
Bai Ye quickly checked online and found that there was a small competition in Blue-Eyed White Dragon City of the Nine Dragons Domain.
He could let Xiao Lan go by itself then.
Yes, Xiao Lan had grown up; as a mature plant, Xiao Lan should be able to command its own battles.
Hearing that there was a match to fight, Xiao Lan immediately perked up.
Its Vine Whip was already impatient for action.
...
Early the next morning, before dawn, Huang Shi excitedly ran over to knock on Bai Ye's door.
"Let's go, let's go, it's time to set off!"
Bai Ye opened the door, yawning, and looked at the energetic Huang Shi.
Was this guy really that impatient?
"Got it."
The two ate a simple breakfast and then, led by Huang Shi, arrived at the vast grassland behind the manor.
The Lightning Lion King was napping on the grassland and lazily lifted its eyelids when it sensed someone approaching.
Upon realizing it was its boss, it sprang up from the grass with a nimble leap.
It brought its large head close to Bai Ye, looking fawning.
"Big guy, thank you for your hard work these past few days."
Huang Shi patted the Lightning Lion King's head: "We'll get you something delicious when we get back."
The Lightning Lion King snorted in response.
It had a decent impression of this curly-haired man now.
Although he was a bit silly, his attitude toward it was alright.
Huang Shi took Bai Ye to the center of the grassland.
He crouched down and pushed aside the dense grass, revealing a plain-looking stone slab underneath.
He reached out and fumbled around the stone slab for a while before pressing a mechanism.
With a click, the stone slab slowly moved to one side, revealing a dark hole where the interior could not be seen.
"The entrance is down there."
Huang Shi pointed at the hole: "Follow me closely."
After saying this, he jumped down first.
Bai Ye followed closely behind, leaping in with his three beast pets.
Below the opening was a staircase paved with bluestone slabs, winding downward.
After the two entered, the pitch-black cave slowly lit up.
The walls on both sides were embedded with mysterious crystals that emitted a soft white light, illuminating the entire passage as bright as day.
After walking for about ten minutes, a small underground cavern appeared before them.
In the center stood a huge, ancient iron gate.
"This is the place."
Huang Shi stood before the gate, looking up at the magnificent iron door, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
The last time he came here, he was young and impulsive, thinking he could pass the first half on his own.
As a result, the mechanical Puppets inside almost beat his brains out.
Huang Shi took a deep breath and said slowly: "This door, our Family calls it the 'Legacy Gate', and it can only be opened once every ten years."
"Opening it requires our Family's Bloodline as a key."
He spread his hands and said in a self-deprecating tone: "I came here once ten years ago, but I failed on the third floor and almost died inside."
"This time, with you here, I will definitely succeed!"
No wonder this guy was so anxious; it turned out the ten-year cooldown was almost up.
"Right, let me remind you one more time."
Huang Shi turned his head and looked at Bai Ye seriously.
"After entering this Secret Realm, the strength of beast pets will be significantly weakened. Even if a Lord-High Rank enters, it can at most only exert the level of a Transcendence High-rank."
"Are you really going to keep them all outside?"
His gaze fell on the few beast pets on Bai Ye's body.
He couldn't quite understand why Bai Ye's beast pets didn't like returning to his beast taming space.
And aren't you a Second-Tier Beast Tamer? Why can you perform Body Integration with three beast pets?
Huang Shi had many question marks, but since Bai Ye could already fight Elite Rank without using any beast pets, the biggest variable was Bai Ye himself.
"Don't underestimate them. My Body Integration talent doesn't actually value the Rank of the beast pets."
Opening Sage Mode requires the three beast pets as a medium to help him absorb and convert natural energy; it doesn't require them to directly participate in the battle.
Huang Shi nodded.
He didn't get it, but it felt very powerful.
Since Bai Ye was confident, he didn't intend to keep persuading him; he walked to the iron gate, extended his right hand, and bit his index finger.
A drop of bright red blood dripped into an inconspicuous groove in the center of the gate.